Tibet.

Chapter 1379 Internal Security Reform (Part )

At noon, Li Ye invited Wei Jiansu and Yan Zhenqing to have dinner at Danfeng Restaurant.

Although Li Ye rejected Yan Zhenqing's memorial requesting the disbanding of the Inner Guards, he also admired Yan Zhenqing's courage to take responsibility for the people and his subordinates, and pointed out the harm of the Inner Guards for himself. Otherwise, he would not have known that the Inner Guards had become the point where both humans and gods were indignant and the people were boiling with resentment.

It was obvious that Yan Zhenqing was in a bad mood. He ate sullenly with his head down, and never said a word.

Li Ye smiled and poured him a glass of wine, saying, "A founding hero who has made many great contributions was killed right after the founding of the country. What will the soldiers of the world think?"

Yan Zhenqing said stiffly: "But if it is a general with a long history of bad deeds and who has harmed countless people, killing him can serve as a warning to the army!"

"It's not like you're harming the people!"

Li Ye asked calmly, "Did the internal guards commit crimes such as wantonly raping women and killing people?"

"That's not the case for now, but extortion and arbitrary arrests have made the people shudder. This is not an isolated phenomenon, but a common one. It is an indisputable fact that the Internal Guard has become a black sheep. Your Majesty, the world is at peace, and the Internal Guard is really unnecessary. The meritorious officers of the Internal Guard can be promoted and arranged separately, and the functions of other government offices can be strengthened. Your Majesty, the Internal Guard is an army, and the army is not suitable for managing a peaceful and prosperous era!"

Li Ye smiled and said, "Cui Yuan's son was selling private salt. If it weren't for the Internal Guards, who would have been able to investigate this case? In fact, I have long defined the nature of the Internal Guards. They arrest the big ones and let the small ones go. The Internal Guards only handle major cases. The local government can't handle major cases, such as the Salt and Iron Supervision Bureau, the Taxation Bureau, the Private Inspection Bureau, the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Justice, and the Dali Temple. They will naturally ask for help from the Internal Guards. The major case of privately minting copper coins in Shuofang and the case of the collective poisoning of 35 members of the Saint Girls Association in Suiye, these major cases can only be investigated by the Internal Guards. Minister Yan said that the Internal Guards are useless, which is not fair."

Yan Zhenqing was about to speak, but Li Ye stopped him with a wave of his hand, "We all know that diyega made from opium is a poison. Overdose will lead to addiction, making the body withered and it will be difficult to quit for life. However, a small amount of diyega can also be a good medicine for labor pains.

Everything has two sides. The key lies in how the user uses it. A knife can be a good kitchen tool or a murder weapon. The inner guard is a sharp knife. If used well, it will benefit the country and the people. If used poorly, it will bring disaster to the country and the people. Minister Yan should not regard the inner guard as a scourge just because it is not managed properly at the moment. He must kill it as soon as possible. This is a bit like throwing the baby out with the bathwater. "

Wei Jiansu beside him also nodded, "I support your majesty's point of view. The key is that the system has not kept up. In the past few years, the Internal Guard has made many great contributions. In the past two years, a small group of Internal Guard soldiers have been partial to each other and perverted the law, which has ruined the reputation of the Internal Guard. I also believe that if the system keeps up, the Internal Guard can indeed achieve great things."

Although Yan Zhenqing was upright, he was not stupid. The real reason why he asked for the abolition of the Internal Guards was not that they disturbed the people. The real reason was the surveillance of officials by the Internal Guards. On the surface, it seemed that the officials were caught for prostitution, but if you think about it carefully, it is terrifying. It means that the Internal Guards were monitoring the officials all the time. Even when the officials got together for a meal, they were monitored by the Internal Guards. This was the reason why Yan Zhenqing asked for the abolition of the Internal Guards.

At this time, Yan Zhenqing also understood what the emperor meant. It was impossible to abolish the inner guards, but he could reform the system. He sighed in his heart. If he really couldn't abolish it, then he could only settle for the next best thing and see how to change it.
While drinking tea, Yan Zhenqing took a sip of tea and asked, "Your Majesty, do you have any ideas about the reform of the internal security?"

Li Ye nodded, "Minister Yan's memorial was handed to me on the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month. I have been thinking about this matter throughout the New Year. I have two options. The first is to streamline the military and government. As Minister Yan said, the world is peaceful now, and the inner guards don't have so many things to do. Forty thousand people are indeed too many, and the inner treasury is burdened. I plan to reduce thirty thousand, let the soldiers go home, and only keep ten thousand elite soldiers."

Yan Zhenqing bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Li Ye smiled and continued, "The second step is institutional reform, transforming the inner guard from a military to a government office. I plan to set up a Suzaku Hall in the inner guard, which has the same function as the White Tiger Hall in the imperial court. All cases of the inner guard must be assigned by the Suzaku Hall. If someone gets involved in a case without Suzaku's approval, it is a serious violation. At the very least, they will be punished, and at the worst, they will be dismissed and questioned. If serious consequences are caused, they will be beheaded in public. In this way, what the inner guard can and cannot do will be decided by the Suzaku Hall."

Wei Jiansu gave a thumbs up and praised: "Your Majesty's Suzaku Hall is just as brilliant as the White Tiger Hall!"

Yan Zhenqing also nodded and said, "If you strictly follow this system, then I have no objection."

Wei Jiansu thought about it and asked again, "Does the Internal Guard accept civilian cases?" Li Ye shook his head. "I have set rules for the Internal Guard a long time ago, arresting the big ones and letting them go, but the Internal Guard did not strictly enforce them. The reason is that there are various special circumstances. Once there is a loophole, everything will be regarded as a special case. So the best way is to cut it off. Even if the people come to ask for help in the middle of the night, it is the business of the night guards, and has nothing to do with the Internal Guard. The Internal Guard resolutely does not accept direct reports from the people, and only accepts reports from the county government and other government offices. In this way, the situations reported by Minister Yan will not happen."

After the meal, Li Ye returned to his imperial study, while Wei Jiansu and Yan Zhenqing walked back to the official office in the Council of State Affairs.

"In fact, I understand Minister Yan's feelings. The surveillance of officials by the inner guards is indeed criticized, but we also need to understand the interests of the emperor. The inner guards have always been a weapon used by the emperor to consolidate the throne, so it is impossible for the emperor to give up the inner guards. Both sides can only seek a balance point that both sides can accept. Since the emperor is willing to make concessions, Minister Yan should not insist on the proposal to abolish the inner guards."

Yan Zhenqing sighed and asked, "Does the Prime Minister think that the inner guards will still monitor the ministers?"

"Of course there will be surveillance!"

Wei Jiansu smiled slightly and said, "But it's different from the general surveillance now. It's a case-based surveillance. For example, at the request of the Censorate, a case is filed to monitor a minister. Or at the request of the emperor, a case is filed to monitor someone. This is called case-based surveillance."

Yan Zhenqing nodded and said, "It is normal to file a case for surveillance, as long as it is not to monitor officials in restaurants, music halls, and dance halls."

"The practice of monitoring officials is often because the superiors are not in a legitimate position or have serious lack of self-confidence, just like the eunuchs monitored the officials in the past. But our emperor does not have such an idea. This is actually a misunderstanding. The inner guards are executing the emperor's decree that officials are not allowed to visit prostitutes, but the emperor did not let them do so.

Once the Suzaku Hall system is established, such surveillance requests are generally made by the Censorate, but the Censorate's request is to be submitted to the emperor by the Political Affairs Hall. We think it is inappropriate, so we can directly submit it to the emperor and ask him to veto it, and the request will not reach the hands of the inner guards. "

"I understand that I am not against monitoring officials per se, but I am against their expansion. Criminal cases should be monitored, but monitoring a large number of innocent officials is inappropriate."

"Don't worry. Once the internal security reform plan is drafted, the emperor will give it to us for review."

The two of them walked back to their respective official rooms while talking. Wei Jiansu had just sat down when a servant reported, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister, Luo Hao, the Minister of Rites, wants to see you!"

Wei Jiansu nodded. He had asked the Minister of Rites to contact Prince Shiguo early in the morning, and there should be news by now.

"Invite him in!"

Not long after, Luo Hao hurried in, bowed and said, "Greetings to the Prime Minister!"

"How is it going? Have you talked to the Prince of Shi?"

"I talked to him this morning. He said a lot, but he just wanted to say one thing: the loss of Suiye had nothing to do with them!"

(End of this chapter)