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

Chapter 1826: Duke Bian's Military Strategy, the Kaiyuan Era

On the second day of the first lunar month, the sky was bright and sunny.

The Duke of Bian’s Mansion is quiet and empty.

In the back hall, Liu Jinyu was reading in a low voice the memorial submitted by Ren Zhigu, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue.

Liu Rengui listened quietly and finally sighed: "If it had been like this earlier, Silla would have been destroyed long ago."

"No one could have imagined that there was such a trick." Li Xuan walked back from the hall, looked at the gray-haired and youthful Liu Rengui, sat down beside him, and said, "My grandson-in-law has asked Ren Zhigu and the secret guards to go to Yangzhou to prepare for the purchase of grain. They need to act quickly, otherwise once summer comes and the news of the drought in the Tang Dynasty spreads, the Silla people will tighten their belts immediately."

"If this year's food is insufficient, we can go back next year. Be patient." Liu Rengui relaxed, then looked at Li Xuan and said, "After three or two years, the Silla people's food reserves have been used up by you.

Once the war breaks out, they will have to fight their way out of the mountains and forests. Silla has at least millions of people. How can they survive? "

Li Xuan nodded in agreement.

"Especially, in things like this, let alone the complete disappearance of grain reserves, even if there is a one-tenth shortage, the price of grain in the entire Silla will continue to rise until one-tenth of the population starves to death." Liu Rengui was an old official in state affairs, and he saw such things more clearly than anyone else.

"So, with this strategy, Silla will be destroyed." Liu Rengui completely relaxed.

"It's hard to say." Li Xuan suddenly added, and Liu Rengui looked over with surprise.

Li Xuan shook his head slightly with a serious expression and said, "There is also Japan. We are in danger of losing our teeth. Who knows if they will take action? Last time at Baekgangkou, wasn't it the sudden appearance of the Japanese that made Yue Weng's military exploits a success?

Moreover, compared to Silla, the Japanese were more adept at naval warfare, especially in their grasp of the weather.”

"Yes, it's the right time!" Liu Rengui nodded slightly. He was a veteran in naval battles and naturally knew the risks involved.

"So, we still need Mr. Yue to publish a book that details all the matters concerning naval battles. Why not call it "The Art of War of Duke Bian"?" Li Xuan waved his hand with a heroic look.

Liu Rengui immediately couldn't help laughing, then he sat up straight and said with a little sigh: "I am still not as good as the Duke of Weiguo."

In today's Tang Dynasty, the military strategy used in the army is the "Weigong Military Strategy" left by Weiguogong Li Jing.

In those days, Hou Junji and Li Ji both learned the Art of War of Duke Wei.

Now Li Xuan wants Liu Rengui to keep "The Art of War by Duke Bian" in order to compare him with Li Jing.

Although Liu Rengui said no, he became angry.

Li Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "The Duke of Weiguo cannot be compared with Mr. Yue. The Duke of Weiguo is only the Shangshu You Pushe at most. How can he be as important as Mr. Yue, who has served as the Shangshu Zuo Pushe for several times and is truly a minister of the country!"

"Haha!" Liu Rengui glanced at Li Xuan and said, "The Emperor is afraid that I will lose my ambition and become a superstar overnight, so he said so much."

"No, that's not what old man Yue said. Your grandson-in-law is still waiting to be enthroned together with old man Yue..." Li Xuan suddenly stopped talking in the middle of his words.

Liu Rengui's expression suddenly became solemn. He looked at Li Xuan and said, "I heard that the emperor personally told all the officials at the lunch yesterday that he would perform Fengshan on Mount Tai in the future."

"It's not that easy to perform Fengshan at Mount Tai." Li Xuan sighed slightly, put one hand on the table, and then said, "Don't mention the grandson-in-law, even if it was Emperor Taizong, the Fengshan was not successful. Wei Xiang advised against it. There were changes in the celestial phenomena, wars with foreign tribes, and floods and droughts. If things in the world change a little, the Fengshan will not be successful. The grandson-in-law has enough reasons to delay."

Li Xuan was the emperor. If he didn't want to offer sacrifices to the gods on Mount Tai, no one could force him to do so.

"If one day, everything goes smoothly, the people at home and abroad are submissive, and the world has a good harvest, will you go or not?" Liu Rengui looked straight at Li Xuan.

"Then the grandson-in-law should just expose the matter directly." Li Xuan's eyes were cold, and he said softly: "If those people are killed, Fengshan will not be a big deal."

Isn't the trick behind Fengshan that the officials and local nobles take advantage of the rites and laws to blatantly embezzle everything?

When the emperor offers a ceremony to enshrine the gods, he can sell you an equal amount of gold for a stick of incense.

Nothing can be as real as real gold and silver.

The next year, while you are happy, bring about another disaster in the world, and then use the disaster as a legitimate reason to seize land and wealth.

The Battle of Dayuechuan during the reign of Emperor Gaozong was full of traces of these events.

Liu Rengui waved his hand slightly and said, "It won't come to that, but the Fengshan matter..."

"Let's go to Songshan first, and then to Huashan. At worst, we can go to Hengshan." Li Xuan paused, then said, "Compared to Mount Tai, things in Bingzhou are relatively simpler."

Mount Tai, the Eastern Peak, and the land of Qi and Lu, are bordered by Hebei to the north, Henan to the west, and Shannan, Huainan and Jiangnan to the south.

The Fengshan ceremony on Mount Tai caused too much noise.

However, when it comes to Fengshan in Hengshan, with the Wang family in Taiyuan, Li Xuan can control it anyway.

"Raise the status of Songshan Mountain and make it the world's most important place. You can continue to do what Emperor Gaozong failed to accomplish in his later years." Liu Rengui said.

Li Xuan's eyes jumped, and he subconsciously asked, "Emperor Gaozong also discovered the trick back then." "Emperor Gaozong is so wise, how could he not have discovered this?" Liu Rengui looked at Li Xuan with a half-smile, and then said, "If you can offer sacrifices to the gods at Mount Song someday, I will go with you. I haven't been to Mount Song for many years."

"Yes!" Li Xuan bowed slightly, paused for a moment, and said, "Father Yue, Liu Zhu has been the Censor for two years now. It's time for him to be sent out. I want to send him to a place a little further away."

When Liu Rengui heard Li Xuan mention his grandson, he sat up straight, looked at Li Xuan and asked, "Where do you plan to take him?"

"There are several places, one is Taiyuan, one is Yangzhou, and the other is Jingzhou. However, if he goes to these places, he can only be a county magistrate at most. But if he goes to Chencang, he can directly be a county magistrate. Changzhou is also possible, and Hebei is also fine. After all, my grandson-in-law will inspect Hebei next year." Li Xuan mentioned several places, either where Liu Rengui had been or where Li Xuan had been.

No matter where Liu Zhu went, there was always someone to take care of him.

Liu Rengui shook his head slightly and said, "Southern officials are appointed to the north, northern officials are appointed to the south, eastern officials are appointed to the west, and western officials are appointed to the east. This is the rule of the court. It was the same for you back then. You cannot make an exception for him."

Li Xuan was the deputy governor of Wuzhou at that time. Although his fief was in Nanchang, he was actually from Pengzhou, so he was an official in the west but was appointed to the east.

And he himself is a member of the royal family, so fundamentally speaking, he should be appointed as an official in the north and the south.

Liu Zhu's native place should be in Weishi County, Bianzhou, in the north. The most suitable place for him to hold office is still in the south.

Li Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "Why not just go and serve as the magistrate of Anlu County?"

Anlu was a superior county, and the county magistrate was of the sixth rank.

The Censor-in-Chief was of the eighth rank, and being transferred to the position of county magistrate of the sixth rank was somewhat of an advancement. However, Liu Zhu was the cousin of the empress, so it was acceptable for him to be given some favor.

"Have you made up your mind to take action against the Xu family?" Liu Rengui's face became serious.

The Xu family of Anlu is a local aristocratic family, and they have all the ills that local aristocratic families have.

Especially in recent years, the Xu family has not been well-received in the court.

If Li Xuan takes action against Xu, then the Anlu County Government will naturally be involved.

"The Anlu County Government should be thoroughly cleaned up from top to bottom. This way, it will be acceptable for Liu Zhu to be transferred there even if he does not have much ability in local governance." Li Xuan nodded seriously.

"Well, let him be the county magistrate of Jiangling first, so that he can learn about personnel matters. When he is transferred from Jiangling to Anlu, the people of Jingzhou will treat him as one of their own, and things will be much easier." Liu Rengui looked at Li Xuan and shook his head slightly, saying, "Liu Zhu is not the kind of child with a decisive personality. He cannot compare to Yao Chong and Song Jing. On the contrary, Liu Mian is better."

Liu Mian, Secretary.

Liu Mian, the Secretary-General, is almost catching up with Liu Yuanlang, the Doctor of Rites.

However, everyone obviously knows that Liu Yuanlang, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites, has a direct line to the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

The Ministry of Rites is relatively relaxed, so the resume requirements are not that strict.

Not to mention that Liu Yuanlang served as a Deputy Director of the Ministry of Revenue in his early years and made many contributions. He has also been working as a Director of the Ministry of Rites for almost six years.

In another two years, he will definitely be promoted to the fourth rank official, and no one can stop him, not to mention that he is the queen's father.

In other words, Li Xuan has been very strict with the seniority system in the past two years, and Liu Yuanlang has been used as an example. Otherwise, he would have been appointed as the Junior Secretary of the Nine Temples long ago.

……

Li Xuan raised his head, looked at the sky above the Duke of Bian's Mansion, and said softly, "If the Xu family had not taken action in Annan this time, and even caused the Annan Protector to die for his country, it would have been difficult for my grandson-in-law to convince the ministers to completely eradicate them."

Liu Yanyou, Protector General of Annan, was born into the Liu family of Pengcheng.

As the prime minister, Liu Jingxian would not give up easily, and others had to take Liu Rengui's attitude into consideration.

After all, the Hejian Liu family is a branch of the Pengcheng Liu family. The involvement of the Anlu Xu family in Liu Yanyou's martyrdom made it impossible for many people to plead for him.

Not to mention, there is also the matter of Empress Wu.

"Lin Renji has already arrived in Guangzhou." Liu Rengui looked at Li Xuan and said with a smile, "Finally, he got a third-rank position in the Tongzhongshumen."

Li Xuan smiled and said, "I originally planned to let him retire as a special promotion, but he still chose to go to Lingnan to give it a try... Well, he still has a few old subordinates in Lingnan, so I can rest assured about Annan's affairs."

"Oh, the world!" Liu Rengui sighed and said, "People are greedy!"

"People are naturally greedy." Li Xuan shook his head and said, "My grandson-in-law is actually greedy too. He wants the world to be stable, the people to be happy, and then he can create a prosperous era that does not belong to the Zhenguan and Yonghui eras."

"Kaiyuan prosperous era." Liu Rengui looked at Li Xuan and nodded, "So, you only plan to use Kaiyuan as your reign title for the rest of your life."

"Yes!" Li Xuan nodded seriously.

The Kaiyuan Era will surely be a great success.

(End of this chapter)