After Yu Minglei finished talking about Changsun Wuji instructing Qiu Yingqi to go south to assassinate Fang Jun, Li Tai was already furious and furious: "This is so crazy! Our Tang Dynasty established the country by law, and everything has laws. How can we do this to the ministers of the DPRK?"
The method of assassination is used to eliminate colleagues with different political opinions? If everyone follows suit, the country will not be a country, and this is a sign of national destruction!"
The most important thing for a country is political stability, so that the policies formulated by the court can be implemented smoothly throughout the country.
If everyone followed Sun Wuji's example of treating political opponents like this, it would be the end of the world.
As powerful as the Qin and Han dynasties, it was precisely in the political turmoil and the precarious situation of the courtiers that they fell into the abyss and fell apart.
Fang Jun frowned, touched the short mustache on his lips and thought for a long time, then asked: "What can your Majesty do?"
Yu Minglei thought for a while, shook his head and said: "I have never heard of any measures. Qiu Xinggong said that Qiu Yingqi committed suicide out of fear of crime. His Majesty did not even send anyone to investigate. As for Changsun Wuji, he did not criticize him at all. It seemed that he was still the same
Thinking about the past friendship will stop here."
Fang Jun sighed and said: "This is not His Majesty's nature. It would be better if Lei Lei was furious and refused to give in. But he is so forbearing now. It is obvious that he does not want to destroy the stability of the court before the Eastern Expedition. Everything is based on the overall situation.
"
Li Tai also said: "So, after the Eastern Expedition, my father will definitely make big moves!"
Fang Jun was convinced.
The Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo was not only about opening up the territory, but actually incorporating this land that had never really surrendered to the Central Plains dynasty into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and creating a majestic hegemony of one emperor through the ages. It was also because Goguryeo had a vast territory and a large population.
There are many people there, and their people gather from many tribes in the Northeast. Because they have lived in the bitter cold land for a long time, their folk customs are fierce and brave, and they are good at fighting. If they just sit back and watch their continuous development, they will one day become a serious problem in the Central Plains.
The terrain in the Northeast is so favorable. Yuguan is backed by mountains and faces the sea. One man can block it and no one can open it. Goguryeo only needs to occupy the northeastern land to recuperate and develop vigorously. In the future, after Johnson and Johnson break through the pass, they will face the plains of Hebei and Hedong.
The nomads who are good at riding and shooting can march southward without stopping, and they can wreak havoc in the Central Plains and destroy the foundation of the dynasty.
Any king with a strategy cannot allow the political forces in the Northeast to develop freely. He must deal a heavy blow to them at the beginning of their rise. Even if they cannot completely destroy them, they must destroy the foundation of their stable development and keep them alive.
It can no longer pose a threat to the Central Plains.
Therefore, the Eastern Expedition to Goguryeo was imperative, and the entire Tang Dynasty had already unanimously agreed.
For this reason, His Majesty Li Er tried his best to tolerate it. Even if Changsun Wuji's actions had already trampled on his bottom line, he put it aside for the time being and must first eliminate Goguryeo, a serious problem in his heart.
Fang Jun said with emotion: "Your Majesty's mind is really unparalleled. There are few kings in the past and present who can match it. In this case, how can I, as a minister, watch your Majesty swallow his breath? Your Majesty can't do his duty, for fear of being extremely miserable."
Drastic changes have brought disaster to the court, so the humble ministers should use their own efforts to deal with the old thief, the grandson!"
If His Majesty Li Er pursues this matter, he will definitely investigate thoroughly from top to bottom with thunderous force. In this way, it will be difficult to control the intensity and scale, and it will easily lead to widespread involvement and too much turmoil. You can also adopt a posture of tolerance and compromise.
It is not a wise move. It may cause Changsun Wuji and others to push their limits and not know how to restrain themselves, and then make some shocking moves. His Majesty Li Er will have to step in to clean up the mess. The result will still be that the situation in the court will be out of control.
turmoil.
The best way is naturally for someone to contain Changsun Wuji and others, attack and restrict them on an equal level, and limit the impact to this level.
Then the best candidate must be Fang Jun.
It seems that the reason why Fang Xuanling sent Yu Minglei all the way to Jiangnan to inform Chang'an about these things was to get Fang Jun to return to Beijing as soon as possible.
It's just that this dad has probably been the Prime Minister for a long time, and his words and deeds must be subtle and subtle. If you don't guess, you will pull him down, but he will never give anyone the slightest excuse for omissions...
Li Tai thought for a while, nodded and said: "That's very good. Anyway, the affairs in Jiangnan have been basically settled. I will stay here for a few days to clean up everything. You can quickly return to Chang'an by boat and wait until
I will prepare the food carefully and then I will protect Changle Gaoyang and others and go back together."
Fang Jun then said: "Your Highness, I will leave early tomorrow morning."
The two of them discussed the strategy in a few words, and Yu Minglei on the side was very dissatisfied: "Hey, you are too selfish, you only think about yourself, have you ever thought about it? You have traveled thousands of miles in the open air, and your bones are about to fall apart.
Who can bear it before setting off back to Beijing after only two days of rest?"
Fang Jun disagreed: "Didn't Young Hero Yu Ming once boast that he was invulnerable with his iron skin and iron bones? It was only a few thousand miles away, and most of them were by boat, so the physical exertion was limited. With Young Hero Yu Ming's ability, it was
Going back and forth ten or eight times is just leisurely."
Yu Minglei was speechless.
Although he was reluctant, he also knew that time was running out and Fang Jun must quickly return to Chang'an to take charge of the overall situation and have a head-to-head fight with Changsun Wuji and others in order to relieve His Majesty Li Er's worries.
I could only nod my head in agreement.
When Yu Minglei was sent down by the chamberlain to wash up, eat something and catch up on his sleep, Fang Jun was about to discuss with Li Tai how to deal with the people in Jiangnan, when he saw a chamberlain coming in to report that he was the governor of Suzhou.
Mu Yuanzuo asked to see him.
Li Tai summoned him immediately.
Mu Yuanzuo strode into the hall and saw Li Tai and Fang Jun sitting on the throne. He saluted first, then stood up and said: "Your Highness, Duke of Yue, I have something urgent to report to you."
Fang Jun frowned and said, "What happened?"
Mu Yuanzuo said: "Since this morning, there have been changes in the fleets of various companies in the south of the Yangtze River. Hundreds of ships have gathered on the river in Haiyu Town. The boats are like clouds covering the sky and the sun, and the momentum is very grand.
"
Fang Jun was startled: "What do they want to do?"
His first thought was: Could it be that Li Tai's repeated blackmails had knocked these Jiangnan nobles into disarray and finally couldn't stand it anymore and wanted to rise up to fight?
Mu Yuanzuo said: "The lower official has an informant and reported that these families have taken on a business. Someone in Guanzhong hired these ships to transport a batch of important goods from Guanzhong to the sea. However, the specific details are not yet known. Who hired them?
I don’t know what they are transporting. This time the gathering was initiated by the core figures of each family. Even the team leader was ignorant of the inside story. He only knew that after arriving in Guanzhong, he followed orders."
Li Taiqi said: "With so many ships gathering, it must be a big deal. Since so many people are involved, how can it be possible that no details have been revealed? This confidentiality effort was well done."
Fang Jun was silent.
At present, the waterway in Guanzhong is about to freeze, and water transportation to and from Guanzhong has basically stopped at this time. It is extremely rare for such a large-scale employment of Jiangnan ships to transport goods northward.
What kind of goods must be transported out of the customs before the Weishui River and the Yellow River freeze?
The answer is ready to come out.
"Your Highness, there is no need to be surprised. This must be the work of His Highness the King of Jin and Duke Zhao. When Wei Chen resigned as Minister of War, a large number of ordnance was under construction. Calculating the time, it should be completed at this moment. This batch of ordnance is to be transported to Liaodong.
The equipment for each garrison must arrive before the snowfall in Liaodong, otherwise it will have to wait for the next spring, which will inevitably affect the army's preparations for war. The original plan was for Weichen to mobilize naval warships to Guanzhong and transport this batch of ordnance along the Yellow River waterway.
Go to the sea, and then go north to the docks in Liucheng, Liaodong. However, now that Wei Chen has resigned from the post of Minister of War, this matter naturally has nothing to do with Wei Chen, and His Highness the King of Jin is in charge of the Ministry of War. He is probably unwilling to seek help from Wei Chen, so he does not hesitate to spend huge sums of money.
Hire ships from Jiangnan."
After a little research, Fang Jun guessed the cause and effect, and there wouldn't be much deviation.
With so many ships needed and time so tight, the Ministry of War must transport that batch of ordnance...
Li Tai frowned. He naturally knew that Fang Jun's "unwillingness to ask in front of him" was just a euphemism. The fact should be that King Jin thought that even if he asked shyly, Fang Jun would definitely refuse.
Mu Yuanzuo's eyes suddenly lit up and he said excitedly: "Is this the reason? Oops, my subordinates immediately sent instructions to various docks and checkpoints to stop these ships and not allow them to go north smoothly.
Chang'an!"
In his opinion, this is the best opportunity to directly contribute to His Highness the Crown Prince!