People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1814: The Emperor's Teaching of His Son, Silla's Plan

On the eighth day of November, it snowed heavily.

Zhang Jianzhi walked along the palace path that had just been cleared towards the Liangyi Hall. The woolen sweater under his scarlet court dress kept him warm.

Under the gloomy sky, there were not many people on duty in the entire palace except the guards.

It was snowing heavily in winter. When the gates of the city just opened in the early morning, the Jinwu Guards were already on horseback shouting all over Chang'an City.

Today and tomorrow are special holidays, and all officials do not need to report for duty.

Therefore, there are not many officials to be seen in the entire palace.

Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they don’t exist. Some people were still called to the palace on rare occasions.

For example, Zhang Jianzhi had just returned to Chang'an and had rested for two days. He was originally scheduled to meet the emperor today.

Fortunately, although it snowed heavily today, the stove inside the carriage kept it from being too cold.

The woolen sweaters distributed by the palace made people feel even warmer.

In front of the Liangyi Hall, Zhang Jianzhi's expression became serious. He straightened his official uniform a little before stepping onto the jade steps.

After crossing the threshold, Zhang Jianzhi glanced around briefly, then quickly stepped inside, walked into the hall, and kowtowed solemnly, saying, "Your Majesty, I, the Imperial Censor, and the Crown Prince's attendant Zhang Jianzhi, pay my respects to His Majesty. May Your Majesty live a long and healthy life."

"Mr. Zhang, please stand up. You must have worked hard on the journey." Li Xuan sat on the imperial couch, put down the golden bamboo brush in his hand, and looked up at Zhang Jianzhi.

His temples were gray, his face was haggard, and the snowflakes on his body had gradually begun to melt away under the warm stove in the hall.

"Someone, please take a seat and serve hot tea." Li Xuan turned sideways and glanced at Xu Lu.

Xu Lu immediately bowed and walked quickly out of the hall.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Zhang Jianzhi just stood up and bowed again in gratitude.

"That's not necessary." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, glanced at Zhang Jianzhi, then looked to the left and said, "You are the prince's attendant. It's a coincidence that you have met the prince."

Zhang Jianzhi was slightly stunned, then turned left and saw at a glance the Crown Prince Li Zhizhao sitting behind the left pillar, and the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary Xing Wenwei sitting next to Li Zhizhao.

"Your Majesty, I am Zhang Jianzhi. I greet His Royal Highness the Crown Prince." Zhang Jianzhi bowed solemnly to Li Zhizhao.

Li Zhizhao quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Meet Mr. Zhang."

"Your Highness!" Zhang Jianzhi turned to look at Li Xuan with some surprise. At this time, the prince should not salute them!
"After he turns fourteen, there will be no need to perform the ceremony. Before he turns fourteen, you officials of the Eastern Palace are his teachers. Just consider it as performing the teacher-student ceremony." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly.

Zhang Jianzhi immediately realized Li Xuan's good intentions and said, "Yes!"

"Please sit down." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly. Xu Lu on the side had already set up a short couch for Zhang Jianzhi. There was also a table in front of it with a teapot and teacups on it.

……

The teacup was already filled with hot tea and steam was already rising.

Li Xuan then looked at Zhang Jianzhi and said, "Zhang Qing, you came back relatively early. If you were a step slower, you would have been completely blocked on the road by the heavy snow."

"I don't care. My only worry is this winter. If there is still so much snow, there will be floods next year, which will be bad for the country." Zhang Jianzhi looked at Li Xuan with a heavy face.

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly and said, "Zhang Qing has good intentions, but don't worry too much about this matter. What will happen next year depends on the entire winter of this year. It's only November now, and there have only been three snowfalls, and only this one was a heavy snowfall. We still have to look at December and January. If there are still heavy snowfalls in February, then we really need to worry."

"Yes!" Zhang Jianzhi bowed seriously.

Li Xuan continued, "If there is no more heavy snow this winter, then we should be worried about drought next summer."

"Your Majesty's teachings are all correct." Zhang Jianzhi breathed a sigh of relief.

"Okay, let's talk business. What's going on in Hebei?" Li Xuan's expression became serious.

"Yes!" Zhang Jianzhi was about to speak, but his eyes swept across Li Zhizhao who was sitting opposite him, and he hesitated subconsciously.

"Tell me, I asked the prince to come here today so that he can start preparing to handle government affairs on his own in the future." Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, looked at his son Li Zhizhao, and said, "The expedition to Dongdao has never been a simple matter. It is well known that Yang Guang's three expeditions to Goguryeo led to the destruction of the country. Emperor Gaozong destroyed Goryeo and Baekje mobilized troops more than a dozen times. It is also said that the subsequent war with Silla lasted for five years."

Zhang Jianzhi's expression suddenly became serious.

“Even for Emperor Taizong, few people probably remember that he also mobilized troops three times to conquer Goryeo. Especially the third time, he mobilized 300,000 soldiers and thousands of ships, so that the people in Jiannan Road had to sell their houses and even their children, and rebellions broke out in various places.” Li Xuan shook his head slightly and said, “It was in May of the following year that Emperor Taizong died of illness. Otherwise, it would be hard to say whether he would become the next Yang Guang.” Zhang Jianzhi fell silent. He was born in the eighth year of Wude and was exactly twenty-five years old at the end of Zhenguan. When he was twenty years old, Emperor Taizong began to conquer Goryeo, but the first time was quite unsuccessful. However, Emperor Taizong decisively withdrew his troops in time. Despite this, after returning to Hebei, his old illness recurred.

After that, three years later, the emperor began to prepare for the eastern expedition to Goryeo, and even had 10,000 soldiers to kill Goryeo, but unfortunately, at that time, the Uighurs in the northwest were in chaos again.

The following year, Li Xuan talked about mobilizing 300,000 troops to invade Goryeo.

Although the people were not destitute after several years of war, the treasury was indeed dwindling. Even wealthy places like Jiannan Road and Shuzhong had to sell their houses and even their children because of the local officials' eagerness to collect taxes.

The situation in the Chengdu area was still okay, but in western and southern Sichuan, many people were forced to hide in their homes, and some even colluded with the Liao people to rise up and resist the Tang Dynasty.

In the court, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and others also advised Emperor Taizong more than once, but Emperor Taizong still ignored them.

It was not until the spring of the following year that the emperor suddenly fell ill and died in May.

It happened that at that time, Emperor Taizong was on a tour to Cuiwei Palace in the east, and Li Zhi only later rushed back to Chang'an to ascend the throne.

……

The past events appeared in front of Zhang Jianzhi's eyes one by one. He bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I admire your prudence."

Zhang Jianzhi did not persuade Li Xuan not to conquer Silla. Those places on Dongdao Island had been the territory of the Central Plains since the Han Dynasty.

Yang Guang, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin, and Emperor Gaozong Li Zhi all attacked the Eastern Palace. As the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty, Li Xuan would not give up this opportunity.

In particular, although people all over the world admired his access to the throne, it was still somewhat illegitimate.

It is precisely because of this that he needs to prove himself with stronger military achievements and then be enthroned on Mount Tai.

This is almost the consensus of both the government and the opposition.

Moreover, since it involved the Fengshan Ceremony at Mount Tai, every official hoped that his name could be recorded in history books.

Anyone who advised the emperor not to go to Mount Tai for the Fengshan ceremony would be an enemy of all officials in the world.

Before that, attacking Silla was inevitable.

The emperor was full of martial virtue, even better than Emperor Taizong. Even the most pessimistic officials did not think that the emperor would be defeated. The only difference was the loss of his energy.

……

"I am not an arrogant person." Li Xuan looked at Feixue outside the hall in front of him, sighed, and said: "I have made preparations for the third expedition to Silla. The first time, 50,000 troops will be mobilized. The troops will be sent out in March and withdrawn in September. It will take only half a year. Then we will do it again in the second year and the third year. In this way, we don't have to worry about the long-distance transportation of food and grass. It's just that the soldiers will have to work harder."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Jianzhi bowed slightly, and Li Xuan said almost everything he could say this time.

The expedition to Dongdao Island would be much easier as long as we did not consider the long supply lines of the army in winter.

Although the design is perfect, is the emperor really sure he can do it?

"I have been on an expedition to the east for three years. Even if I don't invade Silla personally, I still have to go to Hebei to take charge, so the court should be handed over to the crown prince." Li Xuan turned and looked at Li Zhizhao. Li Zhizhao stood up subconsciously and bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, signaling Li Zhizhao to sit down, and then said: "I don't want the prince to understand anything now, I just hope he can remember my way of doing things, and when he comes to power, he can just copy me."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Jianzhi nodded seriously.

"After three years, if we can conquer Silla, we must make Silla self-sufficient within a year." After a brief pause, Li Xuan looked up and said, "I will use the Fanzhou method, that is, the court provides food and grass, and Silla provides ore, gold and silver, which can be regarded as repayment, or loan, or credit. The fastest way to achieve basic self-sufficiency is, of course, the use of people is very critical."

Zhang Jianzhi was sitting on one side. He could see that the emperor was actually lost in thought about the future.

"I might use Li Duozuo as the first governor of Xindong. After all, he has personally seen all the methods I used in Fanzhou. If he works, I will let him stay in Xindong for four years. If not, I will replace him with Heichi Changzhi." Li Xuan suddenly mentioned Heichi Changzhi, and Zhang Jianzhi's expression suddenly became solemn.

Heichi Changzhi was the one who truly inherited the emperor's mantle. If the emperor had not needed him to suppress the Western Regions, he might have transferred him to Hebei long ago.

Li Xuan came back to his senses, looked at Zhang Jianzhi, and said with a smile: "As for you, my dear, I will not let you go to Xindong. At your age, going there may cause greater loss of life span. I can't bear it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding." Zhang Jianzhi smiled bitterly. He is now sixty-two years old and his official career has just begun, but fortunately the emperor trusts him, otherwise he would have retired long ago.

"Perhaps at that time, I will let Zhang Qing go to Youzhou and serve as the governor of Youzhou, and transport grain and grass, but that is a matter for the future." Li Xuan's expression became solemn and said, "Okay, let's not talk about this, let's talk about Hebei."

"Yes!" Zhang Jianzhi's face became serious. The situation in Hebei was not easy either.

(End of this chapter)