This Yu Zhining was not an ordinary person. He came from a famous family. He was the great-grandson of Yu Jin, the Taishi of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, and the second son of Yu Xuandao, who was from Zhongshushe. He first served in the Sui Dynasty and was appointed the county magistrate of Guanshi. After Jinyang raised an army, he defected to the King of Qin, Li Shimin, to make plans.
He was the eighteenth bachelor of the Prince of Qin's palace and was highly relied upon. After Li Shimin succeeded to the throne, he was granted the title of County Duke and appointed Prince Zhan Shi, responsible for teaching the crown prince. His vision and knowledge were both top-notch, and Li Shimin's intentions were immediately apparent.
But in fact, Li Shimin didn't think so much when he first did it. He only realized the benefits of doing it step by step. He couldn't help but admire Li Mu even more. He didn't know whether this kid did it intentionally or unintentionally.
It solved a problem that had not been solved by any dynasty in history. From then on, power would be concentrated in the hands of the emperor, and there would no longer be a possibility for the prime minister's power to compete with the imperial power.
For Li Shimin, the most important thing now is to balance the background of the bachelors in the Secretary's Pavilion. If the bachelors in the Secretary's Pavilion are all from the same faction, there will still be an imbalance. Li Shimin was the first to promote Ma Zhou. Although it was an accident,
It can be considered a stroke of genius.
Ma Zhou came from a poor family and had no background. Before he was in high school, he only had contact with the courtiers, Chang He, a general of the rank of Zhonglang. Chang He was just a warrior, who was awarded the title of general of the rank of Zhonglang, because of his military merit and loyalty, and had close contact with the court.
He has no relationship with any of the forces in the country. Ma Zhou is considered a lone minister. He will not be biased towards any force. If there is a possibility of bias, it can only be biased towards the poor.
This coincides with Li Shimin's thinking. Why did Li Shimin establish the imperial examination? Isn't it just to promote poor families with no powerful background and form a faction in the court that is only loyal to the royal family?
Ma Zhou undoubtedly met Li Shimin's requirements.
Chu Suiliang has always been a talent that Li Shimin focused on inspecting. Chu Suiliang was upright and did not rub sand in his eyes. He was a scholar. In a sense, he was somewhat similar to Kong Yingda.
Tao, never look back even after death. Li Shimin appointed him because he wanted him to make achievements in the law. As the saying goes, people should make the best use of their talents and materials should be put to good use. Li Shimin was very confident in appointing Chu Suiliang in terms of punishment.
The Emperor's Art is the art of balance. In the future, there will still be children from aristocratic families in the Secretary's Pavilion. This is not a compromise, but for the sake of balance. The ninth-grade bachelor also gave Li Shimin the flexibility to appoint and remove him at will.
After all, the rank is there, he is just a 'bachelor', and whether he is appointed or not is all decided by Li Shimin. Compared with courtiers, he is easier to control.
…
Just when Li Shimin was making drastic changes to the court, two fleets gathered in Yangzhou Port. The first fleet consisted of a thousand-stone ship equipped with six cannons, plus four four-hundred-stone ships equipped with two cannons.
The "Explorer" consists of stone frigates. Their mission is to draw detailed charts of Southeast Asia. This time the fleet brought a large number of surveyors, who will map each reef, draft, wind and wave size, and local preferences.
All the information about the goods, the products produced, etc. are compiled into a book to provide first-hand basic guarantee for future ocean trade.
Li Mu gave them half a year. After half a year, they must return. By then, the construction of Mingzhou Port will be completed, and sea trade will officially begin.
The other fleet was an ore transport fleet returning from Japan. By chance, they caught up one day. Li Chongyi followed the fleet back. Li Mu had just sent Li You off and picked him up.
After not seeing each other for several months, the two brothers had no trace of each other. Returning to Gu Yuan, Li Mu asked Li Chongyi to take a shower and sleep. At night, he took Dugu Jiu to see Li Chongyi. The three brothers
The man took charcoal and a barbecue grill, went to an open space by the sea, and roasted the whole sheep.
The flames jumped, and the grease came out sizzlingly. Li Mu kept brushing his secret sauce on the mutton. Dugujiu was lying on a rock, holding a wine bag in his hand, and drank every sip. Li Chongyi
Sitting next to Li Mu, holding a wine jar in his hand, he untied his two giant axes and threw them aside. Half of the axes were stuck in the beach.
While Li Mu was grilling meat, he told Li Chongyi what Qige was thinking. After speaking, he carefully looked at Li Chongyi's expression. He thought that Li Chongyi would be somewhat disappointed after being declined. He had even thought of how to comfort him, but with him
Contrary to what he thought, Li Chongyi not only did not feel disappointed, but he breathed a sigh of relief and looked relieved.
Li Mu asked strangely: "Aren't you disappointed at all? Your baby kiss is just gone!"
"I'm not disappointed." Li Chongyi said in a deep voice: "I don't know much about relationships at first, but I just remember that there is such a thing, and I can't let go of it, and I don't know what to do. She doesn't want to be with me, it's just that she doesn't want to be with me.
It couldn't be better. From today on, I don't have to think about these things anymore, and it's a worry that has gone away."
Li Mu looked at him and thought to himself that he was worried for nothing, this kid obviously hadn't figured it out yet.
"Okay, let's not talk about feelings. Do you think what she said is true or false?"
"I don't know." Li Chongyi thought for a moment and said, "If you have to say what she said, it makes sense. But my intuition tells me that his father is not a good person. But I have no evidence now, so
I have no idea."
"You can't accuse someone unjustly without evidence..." Li Mu pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, go and investigate it yourself. Do you want to avenge your father?"
"Think!" Li Chongyi said loudly, the voice was so loud that it startled a group of seabirds resting on the sea. Dugujiu threw a stone, and a seabird fell down in response, and he threw it in front of Li Mu.
"I'll bake it for you later." Li Mu said, looked at Li Chongyi, and said: "His Majesty should use troops against Goguryeo this year. Judging from His Majesty's attitude, he wants to fight with all his strength. The current battle plan is to use land and sea.
Attack from two directions, but I think if we can have an army of troops and horses behind Goguryeo to attack, we will be able to get twice the result with half the effort."
Li Mu took a piece of firewood and drew a simple map on the beach. Li Chongyi followed Li Mu and had already learned how to read maps. Seeing the location marked by Li Mu, he quickly understood what Li Mu meant and said: "Brother is
Do you want me to unify the various tribes in Mohe?"
"Yes." Li Mu nodded and said: "I have obtained your Majesty's consent to allow you to take the Jinyi Guards to do things easily. There are currently 3,000 members of the Jinyi Guards, and the actual number is 5,000. You can take all the people away, and I will do it for you."
You have prepared a thousand sets of repeating crossbows, three thousand boxes of arrows, and other military supplies, all of which are paid from your adoptive father's Bingzhou Governor's Mansion. But there is one thing..." Li Mu said in a deep voice: "After leaving the border, your identities will be revealed.
It has nothing to do with the Tang Dynasty. If you have any issues before the war begins..."
Li Mu sighed and said: "The imperial court will not avenge you. You can only wait for me to find an opportunity to avenge you."
Li Chongyi was silent for a while and said: "Brother, I understand the pros and cons."
In fact, Li Chongyi understood everything. Li Mu would rather risk being feared by hundreds of officials and the emperor to develop the Jin Yiwei. Li Chongyi understood early on that Li Mu's move was entirely for him.
Nowadays, the Jinyiwei has grown, but the hundreds and thousands of households at each level are all those who followed Li Chongyi in the battle in Zhenla. The entire Jinyiwei framework is made up of Li Chongyi’s direct descendants. This arrangement is to one day bring these people together.
When a vital force is given to him, he can direct it like an arm and there is no need to waste time on getting used to it.
As for why it is three thousand, it is because this is the limit that Li Shimin can accept, and it is also the limit that the civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty can accept. If it exceeds this number, it will be suspected of recuperating and trying to rebel. And Li Mu can't explain it clearly.
, he has no reason to raise so many soldiers. Who can believe that Li Mu wastes so much effort just to avenge his brother?
Li Mu saw that Li Chongyi had turned into a dull gourd again, so he patted him on the shoulder and said, "Are you confident?"
"Yes!" Li Chongyi raised his head and said seriously: "Brother, I have confidence."
"If you really can't do it, don't force it." Li Mu drew another line on the beach. This is a path: "If nothing can be done, retreat from here. I have already said hello to my adoptive father. Even if it is against the rules, he will send troops.
I will respond to you. But if this happens, the war may start in advance. And we are not ready yet. If you have no choice, don't do it. But if your life is involved, don't resist. Coming back alive is more important than anything else.
, do you know?"
Li Chongyi agreed. Li Mu thought for a while and then said: "Qige, what are you going to do with her? Are you going to take her away or leave her here?"
"Take her away!" Li Chongyi said: "Although she knows a little martial arts, it's nothing compared to me. If she has a problem, I..." Li Chongyi's eyes were blank for a moment, but he quickly recovered:
"If she has a problem, I will let her go. After all, she is the only person in my memory. But if we meet again, I won't be polite!" He looked at Li Mu and said: "Brother, you
Do you believe me? I will never ruin anything because of her!"
"Of course I believe you, silly boy." Li Mu patted the sand on his body, stood up, and called out to Dugu Jiu. Dugu Jiu drew his sword, and without seeing him swinging it, the mutton was cut into pieces.
Surprisingly, it was broken but not broken. It was still on the sheep's body. I picked it up lightly with chopsticks before it fell off.
"After resting for a few days, after all the ore is unloaded and the supplies are loaded, the three of us brothers will go together. Ma Zhou has returned to Chang'an, and I have to make some arrangements for Luoyang. Let's cross the river together, and you can go north along the canal.
, let’s go to Luoyang again.”
"Okay!" Li Chongyi opened another jar of wine and placed it in front of Li Mu. Li Mu grabbed the jar, took a sip, and poured it on the soft beach.
His drinking capacity could originally compete with Dugu Jiu and Li Chongyi, but now, because his wife is in charge, he drinks less and has been left far behind by the two of them. Li Chongyi drinks, like his people, liberally
Dahe, poured it into a few jars, and fell asleep when he was drunk.
Dugujiu, on the other hand, likes to sip slowly, but he also drinks a lot. With a wine bag, he went in in less than half an hour.
When the sun climbed up, the three brothers were all drunk. They lay down together and fell asleep. Zhang Tianai led people to patrol the area. When he saw the three of them, he didn't wake them up and let them go.
Already.
She still remembered that when they were first in Chang'an, the three brothers always drank like this. She was also surprised that when the three brothers were together, they had nothing to talk about. After a few words, they started drinking. What happened?
What's the meaning.
Maybe this is a man's friendship, women can't figure it out.
…
The news that Li Mu was going back to Luoyang seemed to have grown wings. Li Mu hadn't even set off yet, but the news had already spread back to Luoyang.
All parties took action upon hearing the news, and the strongest reaction was the stocks of Luoyang Trading Center. The stocks of Feng Qiuhuang and Ba Shang Winery rose in response, and even the Sihai Gambling House, which had no connection with him now, also rose with the wind.
Twenty percent.
Although various parties have different opinions on Li Mu, one thing is definitely recognized by everyone. That is, in terms of business, Li Mu is the absolute number one. Since he appeared in the public eye, no one of the transactions he has invested in has been unfavorable.
Those who make money. Anyone who has anything to do with him will also make a lot of money. The most typical example is the Cheng family.
Before getting together with Li Mu, the Cheng family was like a joke.
Cheng Yaojin is a rough man, and he is also a gangster. A closer look shows that he is good at almost nothing. In terms of force, he is not the best, in terms of bravery, he is not the bravest, let alone in terms of strategy.
, in most battles, he can only serve as a vanguard. His ability to reach this point is ultimately due to four big words: good luck.
Because he has no real merits that can be used to control the situation. Cheng Yaojin is actually looked down upon in the military, and in the circle of nobles, the nobles of Longyou are respected. Cheng Yaojin
It just didn't count, and the position was rather awkward. But he couldn't stand up to his reputation, so Qinghe's daughter Cui fell in love with him. Cheng Yaojin married the Cui family's daughter, and stepped into the circle of wealthy families.
But he is both an honorable person and a member of a powerful family. The advantage of having both sides is that he can earn money and never starve to death. However, there is also a disadvantage, that is, he cannot enter the inner circle of either party. Therefore, when he met Li Mu
In the past, the Cheng family's business was just the bones left over from both sides, with a little bit of meat. You would definitely not be full after eating them.
But since they got involved with Li Mu, the Cheng family has taken off immediately. The business of the racecourse is booming, and the polo match has been held in Shuzhou. Because of the polo match in the Tang Dynasty, there has been a craze for raising horses. A good horse is good.
The horses from the Western Regions are not even bloody horses, and their prices have soared to thousands of dollars, which is ten times higher than the previous market price.
The income of the Cheng family has risen from the margins in the past to the top of the Tang Dynasty. Some good people have calculated that the annual income of the Cheng family is conservatively estimated to be more than 300,000 yuan.