Li Jing is not a fool, and a fool cannot have such great achievements as him. However, today, he has become more and more aware of the stupidity of what he did back then. If he does not get involved in the struggle for imperial power and just sits on the sidelines, his wealth and life will be in vain.
Yu, however, also made the crown prince and the King of Qin at that time jealous of him, and he was not a human being inside or outside.
As a result, Zhenguan was ostracized for more than ten years and became idle.
This means that His Majesty Li Er has a broad mind. If the original crown prince Li Jiancheng ascended the throne as emperor, he would have been killed many times, and his descendants and their families would also suffer...
If they are idle officials who just sit back and stay away from the power struggle to avoid being harmed, that is fine. However, if they reach a certain level and have strong power and influence, they cannot hide away just because they want.
For example, in the current situation, although he has lived in seclusion in the palace for more than ten years, he still has influence on the army. The prince can see this, so he shows his kindness and recruits him. How could King Jin not see this?
Woolen cloth?
If he politely declines the prince's invitation, the King of Jin will come to visit him in person.
Are you still going to be indifferent and just sit on the sidelines like you did back then?
It's not impossible, but when the future reserve position is determined, and even after the new monarch ascends the throne, we have to pray that the new monarch can have the same broad mind as His Majesty Li Er, and will not mind Li Jing's disdain now...
Fang Jun has a good saying: When people are in the arena, they cannot help themselves.
What are rivers and lakes? Where there are people, interests, and struggles, there are rivers and lakes, and there is a big rivers and lakes above the court.
As long as you are in it, it will be difficult to protect yourself wisely...
*****
On the first day of March, the entire city of Chang'an was under martial law.
There are still two days before His Majesty Li Er swears to go out for war. The troops from all walks of life in Guanzhong have gathered outside Chang'an City one after another. The camps stretch for dozens of miles. Both sides of Baqiao in the east of the city and the west of the city to the bank of Kunming Pool are all surrounded by continuous waves.
Occupied by the military camp.
In order to prevent someone from waiting for an opportunity to cause trouble and affect the smoothness of the oath-taking expedition, Jingzhao Prefecture's Yamen patrols and soldiers from various Yamen were posted every ten steps and one sentry every five steps in Chang'an City. Any factors that may affect the stability of Chang'an City will be punished.
Pull out, there are countless gangsters who have been imprisoned in Jingzhao Mansion prison due to private fights between cities and towns in the past two days.
"Baiqisi" is even more elite.
The interrogations at all city gates are meticulous, and anyone whose identity is suspected will be rigorously investigated. If there is any suspicion, he will be arrested and interrogated by the "Hundred Cavalry Division".
The various yamen in charge of public security in Chang'an are busy working day and night, and dare not neglect the slightest bit. Once an error occurs at such a critical moment, it is very likely to lead to a purge of the entire system, and countless people will be implicated.
The busiest one is naturally the Ministry of War.
Although the Ministry of War still does not have the power to recruit troops and decide strategies, the logistics work of the entire army is burdened by the Ministry of War. The number of troops gathered near Chang'an has exceeded 100,000, and the huge amount of food and fodder consumed every day is astronomical.
Numbers need to be collected by the Ministry of War from various places, transported, and then distributed one by one.
The slightest mistake will lead to dissatisfaction in an army, which will lead to unparalleled negative effects.
Li Zhi and Fang Jun spent most of their time in the Yamen of the Ministry of War in the past two days. As the Minister of the Ministry of War, Fang Jun naturally had to sit in the middle and be responsible for the final decision on all matters. As the "Change of the Ministry of War", Li Zhi had no power in his hands.
Fang Jun is bigger, but the responsibilities he needs to bear are no less than Fang Jun. Although he thinks that Fang Jun may not take the opportunity to frame him, but many matters are on Fang Jun, and human energy is limited after all.
Jun was negligent for a moment and something went wrong. What should you do?
So he had to watch with Fang Jun.
Li Zhi was sitting in the duty room, looking slightly sideways out of the window. There were crowds of people in the whole yard. All the officials of the Ministry of War were in a hurry, with solemn expressions. They were holding various official documents in their hands and were responsible for the military affairs around Chang'an.
Liaison and material distribution.
The tension and solemnity before the war made Li Zhi, who had always been free and easy-going, feel a little thirsty.
This is what the imperial machine will look like after it is running at full speed. Everyone is a part of this machine. It may seem redundant, but in fact it is indispensable. Any deviation in the operation of any part will lead to overall errors, and even
affects the highest level.
In the past, Li Zhi did not regard the Eastern Expedition as a great event. People around him always regarded the Eastern Expedition as a "victory has begun and success is imminent", which made Li Zhi also think that it was just a "goshawk war".
It was a war similar to "Boutu". The strength of the two sides was very different. It was known that once the Tang Dynasty's troops arrived, Goguryeo would fall apart in an instant.
It was not until this moment that he realized what kind of danger such a national war meant to the empire. Of course, the whole country would rejoice in the victory, and there would be no strong country in the surrounding area. But once it failed, perhaps the end of the former Sui Dynasty would be
Tomorrow of the Tang Dynasty.
After taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, Li Zhi looked at Fang Jun, who was sitting opposite him at the desk and writing quickly, constantly reviewing documents, and couldn't help but ask: "Brother-in-law, this Eastern Expedition will definitely be successful, right?"
Fang Jun raised his eyes and glanced at him, without replying, and continued to review the documents in his hand.
He already knew something about Li Zhi's habits. He often switched his titles perfectly between "Yue Guo Gong" and "Brother-in-law." When calling him "Yue Guo Gong", it meant that business was done in a matter-of-fact manner, and there was no need to talk about personal relationships.
, and when called "brother-in-law", it means that we get along with each other as relatives, and we can speak more casually.
This will allow him to occupy a favorable position everywhere.
What a cunning little guy...
After finishing reviewing the official documents in his hand, he closed them and put them aside. Then he picked up one from the top of the pile of official documents on his desk, unfolded it and looked at it. He dipped his brush in the inkstone and dipped it in ink. He thought about it and said, "Edit and read."
According to history books, has there ever been a battle that must be won in this world? There are countless cases where a small number of people defeated a large number. Even in this corner of Goguryeo, when the entire army of the Sui Dynasty poured out the entire country, didn’t they all fall into disgrace and return home defeated? So,
Sun Tzu said, 'Soldiers are important matters of the country, the place of life and death, and the path to survival. We must pay attention to them'."
Li Zhi hesitated for a moment and said, "Isn't that the case? The reason why the former Sui Dynasty's Eastern Expedition failed was because Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty conquered Goguryeo aggressively and was arrogant and arrogant without taking Goguryeo into consideration. This was why he was defeated because he underestimated the enemy. Now the Tang Dynasty
The whole country was united as one, and the whole country went out to fight, and attached great importance to Goguryeo. How could we repeat the mistakes of the previous Sui Dynasty?"
"Ah!"
Fang Jun laughed, simply put down the brush, stretched out, took a sip of tea, and then said: "Your Highness, have you read "The Book of Sui"?"
Li Zhi nodded.
Fang Jun clicked his tongue and said tactfully: "It is said that 'it is better to believe in no books than to have no books at all', especially history books. You can carefully read them and try to figure out the way of the saint king, but you cannot blindly believe them as truth. You need to know that history books have always been written by
How can it be absolutely objective if the history of the losers is compiled by the victors and compiled by the latecomers?"
Li Zhi frowned: "Other historical books may be mixed with the personal wishes of the compilers, but only "Historical Records" and "Sui Shu" do not. Tai Shigong is unyielding, and Wei Xuancheng is loyal and outspoken. The character of these two people It is rare in the ages. How could the situation mentioned by my brother-in-law happen?"
Fang Jun held the tea cup, shook his head, and sighed: "As long as you are a human being, you will have seven emotions and six desires, and you will have personal likes and dislikes. No one is a saint, and no one can be completely objective. This is impossible."
For things like history books, just read them. Real things never appear in history books.
Not to mention the "Historical Records", which is known as "the swan song of historians, the rhymeless "Li Sao"", there are countless subjective assumptions in it, mixed with too many personal emotions; talking about "Sui Shu" alone, is it really because of Wei Zheng Is the ironclad character absolutely authentic and trustworthy?
not necessarily.
It is true that "Book of Sui" carries forward the fine historical tradition of straight writing, and there are fewer taboos in the evaluation of characters. Wei Zheng was an upright man, and the biographies he presided over compiled less inflections and were not tabooed by the venerable. For example, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Situations such as "mean" and arbitrary, "displeased with poems and books", "dark on the road", Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's pretentious appearance, "hoeing off the flesh and blood, and slaughtering the loyal" are all written truthfully, without any hidden taboos.
But it may not be fair.
A work that represents the core ideas of the compiler. Wei Zheng was an aide to Prince Yin Li Jiancheng. After the "Xuanwumen Incident", he became a representative figure among His Majesty Li Er's team who was characterized by loyal words and direct advice. Such a person has a temperament If you are strong-willed and hate evil as much as you hate evil, how can you treat things with a normal heart?