His Majesty Li Er loved and valued Fang Jun a lot, and constantly entrusted him with important tasks. However, he repeatedly suppressed his titles and official positions.
He hopes that Fang Jun can become a pillar of the empire in the future, rather than a powerful minister.
However, the merits of the Hexi victory can be said to be the support of heaven and turn the tide. If these achievements are not rewarded, let alone whether Fang Jun will be willing to do so, what will the government and the opposition think?
Zhuge Liang once said, "In the palace and in the mansion, they are all integrated into one body. There should be no differences or similarities in terms of punishment and punishment." This has been the foundation of governing affairs throughout the ages. As a superior, the most important thing is to distinguish rewards and punishments, rather than treat them differently. Of course, Fang Jun can
Although we understand the emperor's good intentions, how can we continue to be loyal to him in the future?
If you don't get a reward for your meritorious service, who will work hard...
His Majesty Li Er has a headache.
From time to time, the stick would perform great feats, which he could not suppress even if he wanted to. He was really careless...
Li Ji knew His Majesty Li Er's troubles, so he said: "Your Majesty clearly knows that although the Duke of Yue has made great achievements and can be called the pillar of the empire, he is still young after all. If he is favored too much, it is not a good thing."
Everyone has selfish motives.
His Majesty Li Er's love for Fang Jun was seen by everyone in the civil and military dynasties, and they were envious and envious. Now that Fang Jun has made great achievements, although His Majesty is probably still inclined to suppress it, the reward is too much, but who can understand the emperor's mind?
clear?
If you get too excited and give a big reward, that would be bad.
At present, the Jiangnan gentry and the Shandong aristocratic families are colluding with each other openly and secretly, forming a faction to jointly attack the Guanlong clan that has been in the center for many years. As the saying goes, a snake cannot move without a head. As the leader of the prime ministers, an imperial noble, and a famous general of the Tang Dynasty, the British Duke Li Ji
, is the nominal "leader", even Xiao Yu, a veteran of the two dynasties and a leader of Qingliu, has to accept defeat.
However, Fang Jun has emerged as a new force in recent years. He is in charge of the Royal Navy and has gathered all the Jiangnan nobles and Shandong families under one roof. He tightly controls the economic lifeline of each family and follows the rules. No one dares to question him.
He is even more unique in the army, and he is already on the same level as Li Ji.
If the emperor were to lavish rewards this time, raising his reputation, status, and power to a higher level again, it might not breed Fang Jun's ambition to compete for the position of "lead leader."
After all, this is just a young man who is not yet young. He has an unstable mind and strives for the top. It is inevitable.
If it is true, it will plant a nail in the alliance between the Jiangnan gentry and the Shandong aristocratic families, causing internal divisions and mutual struggle for power.
How can we achieve great things if we fight among ourselves before we eliminate the powerful enemy?
If the emperor's current opportunity to suppress Guanlongmen still fails to suppress it, then one day Guanlongmen will surely regain its past glory. At that time, both the Jiangnan nobles and the Shandong aristocratic families will bear unbearable hardships.
Bear the backlash.
His Majesty Li Er stroked his beard and said "Hmm", weighing the situation repeatedly in his heart and feeling in a dilemma.
The ministers' contributions were so great that as the emperor, instead of thinking about how to reward them generously, he tried every means to suppress them. This was extremely rare among emperors throughout the ages. His Majesty Li Er himself shook his head helplessly.
On the other side, Changsun Wuji, who was holding the Chang'an Emergency News and reading it word for word, felt full of loss, depression, and dissatisfaction!
The eldest son has been lurking in Goguryeo for a long time. He has made countless efforts to gain the trust of Yeon Gaesumun, and is able to counsel military aircraft. He knows the secrets of deploying troops and generals in Goguryeo and arranging troops, so he can pass them back to the army, hoping that he will make great contributions and get a reward.
With your majesty's pardon, I returned to Chang'an.
If a peace negotiation between the two countries can be brought about, Changsun Chong, who is the central coordinator, deserves to be the first to attack. Not only will his return to Chang'an be a matter of course, but he will also be favored by His Majesty.
As for whether Yeon Gaesomun sincerely negotiated peace, it didn't matter to Changsun Wuji at all. When the army arrived at Pyongyang City, Yeon Gaesomun had no way to save himself. Could he really live and die with Pyongyang City and be buried with the Goguryeo Dynasty?
Even if Yeon Gaesumun was determined to die, Changsun Chong could conspire with his crown prince and assassinate Yeon Gaesumun during the chaos. Then his crown prince, Yuon Gaesumun, would replace the Yuan family and even the Goguryeo royal family to negotiate with the Tang army.
At that time, His Majesty Li Er is not willing to lose troops and waste equipment, but also wants to end the Eastern Expedition as soon as possible and return to Chang'an to stabilize the capital. He will definitely not insist on a bloody battle under Pingrang City, and will definitely agree to the peace proposal.
As long as the peace negotiation is successful, no matter what conditions are given to Goguryeo, the first attack will still be Changsun Chong's...
However, Fang Jun's stick made the impossible possible, turning a battle that everyone in the government and the public considered a defeat, into a sudden victory.
Tens of thousands of Tuyuhun's cavalry were smashed in front of Youtunwei's firearms and their heads were bruised. Tens of thousands of people were wiped out in ashes. Tuyuhun Khan Nuohebo abandoned his horse and ran away in embarrassment. His eldest son even died in the fighting among the rebels...
What Changsun Wuji was paying attention to at the moment was not how Fang Jun's battle was fought or how powerful firearms were, but that after this battle, Youtunwei won a complete victory, the entire territory of Hexi was stabilized, and the gates in Guanzhong were tightly guarded.
All crises are easily resolved.
Although the Western Region is still plagued by frequent wars and hundreds of thousands of giant man-eating locusts generally invade the territory, it is still far away from Chang'an, so we can make arrangements calmly and not be as passive as before.
As for Liaodong, now that the crisis in Hexi has been resolved, even if it is delayed for a few days, it will not affect the overall situation.
His Majesty Li Er can march calmly and besiege Pingrang City. It is not so urgent whether the two countries can negotiate a peace to end the Eastern Expedition as soon as possible.
If Yeon Gaesomun makes a slight mistake in this and is too proud of His Majesty's steadfastness, the peace talks will immediately fall through, and he will order a fierce attack on Pyongrang City until Goguryeo City is destroyed and the country is destroyed.
Changsun Chong led the initiative to seize the opportunity to seize the first attack, but it naturally disappeared.
Although being in Pingrang City and cooperating with the outside world and conveying the defenses of the Goguryeo army to the emperor in every detail was a great achievement, how could this compare with the meritorious service of leading the peace negotiation?
Even if His Majesty Li Er did not break his promise to pardon Changsun Chong and allow him to return to Chang'an due to his meritorious service as an internal agent, there would definitely be criticism from both the government and the public. At the very least, those imperial officials would jump out and question it.
However, if Changsun Chong could lead the peace talks and make the capital city of a country be captured without bloodshed, and the entire country would be attached to the Tang Dynasty, who would dare to question such achievements?
Thinking of this, Changsun Wuji couldn't help but grit his teeth with hatred: Fang Er, this bastard, seems to be at odds with his son. If he doesn't win a victory sooner or later, he won't win a victory later. However, he won a victory at this time, which ruined Dalang's great opportunity to establish a special honor. He is really born.
nemesis...
As expected, His Majesty Li Er had already stroked his beard and said: "Now that the crisis in Hexi has been lifted, it is not so important whether the Eastern Expedition ends quickly. In this way, peace negotiations can be started with the Yuan bandits, but the army's attack cannot be stopped, and we must move as quickly as possible
With such speed, we captured Bobi City and snatched the crossing, so that the army could cross the Yalu River and attack Pingrang City."
Although they were all temporarily in contact with Yeon Gaesomun and tentatively discussing the matter of peace, negotiating peace with them in an eagerness to end the Eastern Campaign was completely different in nature from negotiating peace with the smallest sacrifice to obtain the greatest encouragement.
The former would inevitably have to accept some conditions that were favorable to Yeon Gaesumun, while the latter took full initiative and left the Tang army to decide whether to fight or make peace.
Changsun Wuji's mouth was a little bitter, but he could only nod his head and said: "Here! After the old minister went down, he wrote a letter to Quanzi, asking him to start discussions with Yeon Gaesumun. After reaching a certain consensus, your Majesty will appoint specialized personnel to contact Goguryeo.
Get in touch.”
Even so, he worked hard to promote peace talks and did not lose hope...
His Majesty Li Er was naturally well aware of Changsun Wuji's thoughts. He took a sip of tea and said to Changsun Wuji in a pleasant manner: "There is no need to disturb the auxiliary. Since I have promised to grant amnesty to Changsun Chong once he has made great achievements, I will allow him to be reincarnated."
How can I make money by breaking my promise when I return to Chang'an? That's peace of mind."
The meaning behind the words is, "Even if Changsun Chongzhi's contribution may not be so prominent, I will still be lenient." This is indeed the style of His Majesty Li Er. He is ruthless when he should be ruthless, but he can also be kind when he should be.
Be magnanimous and show kindness to others.
How could Changsun Wuji not understand?
I was a little moved in my heart. After all, what my son committed was a serious crime of "rebellion." In all dynasties, it would have been a capital crime of beheading, and there was no reason for amnesty.
Immediately he stood up and knelt at the feet of His Majesty Li Er. With tears streaming down his face, he said with great gratitude: "I have no way to teach my children, and I am so ashamed! Fortunately, Your Majesty is magnanimous. The eldest grandson should do his best and be a hawk forever!"
"
"Alas! Why should the auxiliary machine be like this? The principle of law is nothing more than human feelings. I watched Changsun Chong grow up, and I naturally knew that his original intention was not to assassinate the king and kill the king. It was just a momentary misstep and misstep. In any case, for the sake of auxiliary
For the sake of opportunity, how can you be stingy with an amnesty order? Get up quickly."
He reached out to help him, but his heart felt a little disgusting.
This brother-in-law has been sinister and scheming all his life, but he also has a tough temper. He has gone through countless ups and downs over the years. When he was kicked out of the house one after another and had to beg for shelter at Gao Shilian's door, he never shed a tear. But recently,
In the past few years, I have cried bitterly in front of myself from time to time.
If we had known today, why would we have done it in the first place...