A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 817: Demarcation of territory as a prison

Wu Huaiyu felt that in the era of imperial power, women should not play politics.

You can like piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, female celebrity cooking, or even playing polo or hunting. The Tang court was very chaotic. He felt that it had a lot to do with those ambitious women, such as Empress Wu, Empress Wei, Princess Anle, and Taiping. Princess wait,

If we include Li Yuanshi’s Concubine Yin De and Zhang Jieyu,

Li Tang's court has always been chaotic, and some even said it was dirty.

It’s not that Wu Huaiyu discriminated against women, it’s just that in the medieval era, women had many restrictions, which also limited their knowledge and structure. Moreover, in the patriarchal era, even if women were powerful like Empress Lu or Wu, they would still be Times are not favorable, and conflicts are more likely to cause trouble.

Facing the girl Wu Er, Huaiyu was amazed at her talent for politics, but also deeply worried. He actually didn't want her to return to the historical track.

Maybe she led Wu to a peak, but she also led Wu to almost the end.

"The Queen is about to go to Jiucheng Palace for summer vacation and recuperation. Have you gone to see her to say goodbye?" Huaiyu changed the subject. He felt that Queen Changsun was a very smart woman, especially one who knew how to measure and understand boundaries. That’s why Li Shimin loves Empress Changsun so much,

Queen Changsun has always restrained the Changsun family.

If Queen Changsun had not died early, perhaps there would not have been the tragic death of Changsun Wuji and the decline of the Changsun family.

Wu Huaiyu hoped that Wu Er could learn from his senior empress Sun,

"The queen's phoenix body is against the rules, so I dare not disturb her."

Huaiyu thought for a while, "I don't think you should think like this. You have promised the prince to be the prince's concubine. Although she has not married yet, the queen is also the mother of her fiancé. Now that the queen is unwell, you should visit her more often.

How about I tell the saint and the queen that you will accompany your mother, Mrs. Yang, to the Jiucheng Palace to accompany the eldest grandson, the empress?

You can not only show your filial piety, but also learn from the Queen. Queen Changsun is a mother-in-law and is well-known for her virtues. You should learn from her. "

Wu Erniang lowered her head and thought for a while, "Is it really possible?"

"There's nothing wrong with it. Fourth uncle also wants to accompany Jiucheng Palace this time. You guys should go with us too. The queen also needs someone to accompany her."

"Okay, I'll listen to my brother."

For a moment, a thought even flashed through Wu Huaiyu's mind. Should he do something unexpected and erase her? Maybe there would be no future disaster?

It is said that Li Ji is a ruthless person, very ruthless.

He was sworn to Jinlan's brother Shan Xiongxin, and in the late Sui Dynasty they were each their masters. Shan Xiongxin surrendered to Wang Shichong after the defeat of Wagang, and also married Wang Shichong's sister. He devoted himself to protecting Wang Shichong and almost took Li Shimin's life on the battlefield.

After the Tang army captured Luoyang, Shan Xiongxin surrendered with Wang Shichong and others.

However, although Li Yuan pardoned Wang Shichong, he did not pardon Shan Xiongxin and other Luoyang generals. He insisted on killing him, and Li Ji's pleas were in vain. In the end, Li Ji bid farewell to his brothers on death row. It is said that he directly cut off a piece of meat from his thigh with a knife and gave it to him. Brother Shanxiong believes in it.

And that's not all he's cruel to.

Li Ji had a son-in-law who was also a son of a distinguished relative. He was a playboy and had frivolous friendships. Li Ji felt that this son-in-law would endanger the Li family, so when he led his troops on an expedition, he specifically selected this son-in-law to accompany him on the expedition.

Then he agreed to light the meal the next day, but he deliberately got the son-in-law drunk in the tent the night before. Then the next morning, when the drunken son-in-law missed the meal, Li Ji used military law to kill him while he was still drunk. The son-in-law was beheaded.

狠，

If Wu Huaiyu could be as ruthless as Li Ji, then since he knew that Wu Erniang had become Emperor Zetian in history, for the sake of the Wu family, he should create an accident for her and let her die young.

But this thought just passed by for a moment,

Seeing such a cute girl calling him "brother, brother", Wu Huaiyu couldn't help but feel so sad.

Maybe that will change?

It's a pity that this is not her biological sister, otherwise Wu Huaiyu could take her to Lingnan, teach her personally, and change her mind. But now he can only arrange for her to stay with Empress Changsun to see if she can change.

After all, she is still young.

"Brother,"

Huaiyu, who was having random thoughts, was awakened by her.

Wu Erniang looked at him, "Brother, what are you thinking about?"

"I'm a little worried about the queen's condition."

Wu Erniang was silent for a while, "I hope the Queen will be well soon,"

"Brother, do you know something?"

"what?"

"It was Prime Minister Xiao Yu who asked the saint Shangshu to establish feudalism and enfeoff the princes to establish the country."

"Oh, I heard about this."

"Does Brother support feudalism?"

"I have always had the same attitude towards enfeoffment. I support the enfeoffment of the emperor's younger brothers and princes, but I can only enfeoff to the surrounding areas."

Wu Erniang laughed and said, "I also support brother's idea. It is good to enfeoff. The emperor's younger brothers and princes are getting older, so it is not a good thing to gather in the capital. It is better to enfeoff as soon as possible to avoid civil strife.

It would be best to be able to follow what brother said, enfeoff to all four sides and build a country."    This girl always pays attention to such strange things, unlike her sisters who only care about perfume, rouge, brocade and silk.

"Brother, I think that after the emperor's brother and prince were divided into feudal states and established a country, they should no longer hold the posts of governor, governor, general, etc. It is important to develop the fiefdom and vassal state with peace of mind."

The prince system of the previous Sui dynasty was based on the title of nobility regardless of land. Instead, officials took on actual duties and guarded the local area. For example, when Yang Guang was appointed king of Jin, he first guarded Bingzhou, and after pacifying Nanchen, he continued to guard Yangzhou.

Later, Yang Liang, the king of Han Dynasty, took over the town and merged it with the state, and also took charge of Hebei.

The King of Shu, King Qin, and others divided the towns into Bashu, Longyou and other places, and held the post of general manager.

In the Tang Dynasty, during the Wude Dynasty of Li Yuan, he was still busy unifying the world and fighting against the Turks. The oldest princes at that time were Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, and the prince Jiancheng. The other princes were all young, and Li Shimin and Li Yuanji were all in charge. The position of prime minister and the leader's office combined with a long list of important positions.

However, like the Sui Dynasty, there was no land enfeoffment.

It has been six years since Zhenguan,

There are many royal brothers and princes, and they are getting older. The eldest are fourteen or fifteen years old. How to arrange the clan is indeed an urgent problem.

Some people think that we should be granted titles without dividing the land, and be appointed officials without receiving actual duties.

Some people also think that when the emperor's younger brothers and princes reach adulthood, they can go out to the town to serve as governors and other practical positions, and when they are minors, they can first take official positions remotely.

Of course, Xiao Yu has always been a feudalist. He believes that feudalism should be implemented, and feudalism should be established to build a country, split the soil and seal the grass, just like the prefectures and states of the Han Dynasty.

Setting aside some areas to divide the feudal vassal states and allowing them to govern themselves should at least be the same as the Jin Dynasty's feudal kings were divided up, allowing them to have greater governance power in the feudal state and even giving them a certain amount of troops.

It's just that Xiao Yu doesn't have many supporters.

The mainstream in the court is still centralized, and they are not willing to carve out vassal kings to build a country, so let them be crowned kings without giving them fiefs, just like how they are now conferring titles on nobles. Whether they are Dukes or Marquises, even if they are real titles, they are nothing more than titles. To give some income from the feudal household, but without any real fiefdom,

Wu Erniang had her own opinions on this matter. She supported the enfeoffment system and the founding of the country. She even believed that not only the princes and younger brothers of the clan should be given fiefdoms to found the country, but also the heroes with different surnames should be given fiefdoms according to their titles.

At the age of sixteen, the clan should be enfeoffed into a vassal state. In the future, they would not be allowed to leave the fiefdom or enter the capital without an edict.

Huaiyu immediately heard what this girl was thinking.

This was for the sake of the prince, who had begun to think about it early, and for the prince to firmly inherit the power, and did not want to give the other princes any chance.

Just like Li Tai, who was so favored before that he almost shook the throne. With this emperor's second son here, who knows whether there will be a recurrence.

The little fat man is not young anymore. He will be sixteen in two years. Then he will be entrusted to distant places such as Qianzhong, Nanzhong, or Annan to establish the country.

Give him a piece of land and let him do whatever he wants.

It can also be regarded as a prison.

If he is not allowed to return to Beijing, he will naturally not be able to stir up trouble.

The prince's position is naturally stable.

And allocating territories to the heroes is naturally to win over the heroes for the prince. Even the Wu family itself is the hero.

If the territory is divided, the Wu family can take a step further and greatly increase their strength, which will also be a strong foreign aid for her natal family.

This girl can see five steps with every step she takes.

"The King of Wei favors all other kings. It would be best if we could enfeoff King Wei to Lingnan to establish a vassal state." Wu Erniang said,

Wu Huaiyu is now guarding Lingnan, and enfeoffing Li Tai to Lingnan is equivalent to putting him under Huaiyu's nose. Lingnan is far away from the Central Plains. With Wu Huaiyu personally watching, it is impossible for the young Li Tai to cause any trouble. With the death of Li Tai, the biggest threat to Prince Chengqian will be removed.

The second mother really put a lot of effort into saving the throne for the prince.

If Wu Huaiyu didn't know the history, I'm afraid no one would believe such an idea. It would be this girl's own, and she must have thought that they all belonged to Wu Shitong or Mrs. Yang.

Wu Huaiyu did not agree to her immediately.

Li Shimin has indeed always wanted to restore enfeoffment, and Xiao Yu has been taking the lead in advocating it, but there are only a few supporters. Wu Huaiyu supports enfeoffment, but he also has his own ideas, such as insisting that enfeoffment can only be carried out in border areas, and even imposing many restrictions on the enfeoffment.

For example, only a small number of guards were given to the princes, and no military power was given. Even the officials of the feudal country should be appointed by the court. The court was responsible for finance, taxation, troops and horses, and the princes enjoyed part of the taxation and supervisory rights.

Even after the country was enfeoffed, the enfeoffments were extended again and again, and the enfeoffments continued to become smaller and smaller.

But whether it's Xiao Yu's retro-style enfeoffment or Wu Huaiyu's idea of ​​only enfeoffing the frontiers, there are few supporters of their ideas in the current government.

The mainstream still favors enfeoffment of nobility but not land. Everyone believes that centralization of power is the right approach.

Therefore, Li Shimin has been emperor for six years, and the enfeoffment system that he has been thinking about, hoping that the Li family will be passed down from generation to generation and the country will be forever, has been shelved.

"Brother, Your Majesty appreciates Prime Minister Xiao's suggestion of enfeoffment again, but not many ministers in the court support it. Your Majesty is very disappointed. Brother is a hero of the saint Yuan Cong. Shouldn't he stand up and publicly support it at this time?"

"Furthermore, my brother is the prince's teacher. The prince has always respected my brother. The teacher and our Wu family have long been connected with the interests of the East Palace. We will both prosper and lose. If we can implement enfeoffment, it will eliminate many threats to the prince. Why still Are you hesitating?"

"Brother, I think enfeoffment is a good thing. For the sake of the long-term peace and stability of the imperial court, I enfeoff the kings in the border areas. Counties are separated by states and counties to restrain each other, so that they can work together to support the royal family.

At the same time, the officials set up for the vassal state must be selected and hired by the Shangshu Province. Except for the decrees of the central court, they are not allowed to impose penalties without authorization. Rules must be set in advance for other matters.

There is also the matter of taxes. The feudal country also follows the two-tax law. The tax is three-thirds, and the state and county retain one share. The feudal country pays one share, and then one share is turned over to the treasury..."

This girl is really talkative and thoughtful.

(End of this chapter)