The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 142 Recommending the Crown Prince
"What do you think?"

Li Longji asked others again.

Li Longji's meaning was very clear, and Li Linfu also agreed. Naturally, other people had no objections and ordered them to follow suit.

After symbolically soliciting the opinions of others, Li Longji said: "The specific items for expanding the army and increasing the number of officials will be discussed by Shibalang together with the right prime minister, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War, and the results can be reported to me."

"Yes." Li Heng and the others accepted the order and said, "Father, Anxi originally governed four towns, which is a very wide area. Now there is Suiye City. Is it too vast? Do the counties under its jurisdiction need to be redivided?"

Li Heng's words were asking Li Longji whether he wanted to weaken his power.

Anxi now has 30,000 soldiers and horses. To send reinforcements to Suiye City, at least 6,000 to 7,000 people are needed. If the city is to be fully staffed, Suiye City will need 10,000 soldiers.

By this calculation, Li Heng had 40,000 soldiers under his command.

Moreover, by the 25th year of Kaiyuan, the impact of the collapse of the equal-field system and the military system had been profound. At the suggestion of Li Linfu, the court promulgated a conscription system to recruit soldiers for long-term garrison at the border.

Under the conscription system, especially in border areas, the power to command and mobilize troops was gradually concentrated in the hands of the Jiedushi. These arrogant and brave generals basically followed the orders of the Jiedushi.

As the number of troops increased and power was centralized, Li Heng had no choice but to retreat in order to advance and request to weaken himself.

After hearing what Li Heng said, Li Longji hesitated and pondered.

First of all, Li Ying's current performance is extremely loyal and filial. He led the troops to Anxi, and his purpose was also to guard the border for the Tang Dynasty.

Secondly, with Li Heng's current merits, if it were anyone else, Li Longji might be willing to give Hexi to Li Heng. Now it would be fine if he didn't give him Hexi, but he even wanted to take away the captured Suiye City. That was too much of a defensive move.

In this way, he will not only be criticized, but also dampen the enthusiasm of other soldiers to make meritorious deeds.

For a monarch who wants to expand his territory, this will do more harm than good.

Finally, even if we take a step back, Anxi is far away from Chang'an. Even if Li Heng has any other ill intentions and wants to threaten Chang'an, it would be very difficult.

Li Longji thought about these three points in an instant, and no longer had any doubts. He smiled and said, "Commanding the five towns is indeed a bit hard, but you are both wise and brave, have outstanding abilities, and are loyal, filial, and righteous. Only when you command Anxi, I will feel at ease."

Li Longji stood up, stood with his hands behind his back, looked into the distance, and continued: "During the time of Empress Wu Zetian, my Tang Dynasty was defeated in Anxi. Not only did we lose Suiye City, but we also lost and regained the other four towns in Anxi. The Silk Road of my Tang Dynasty has always been blocked. Now we have finally taken back Suiye City. If we lose it again, how can I face my ancestors?"

At this moment, Li Longji seemed to have returned to his youth, full of vigor and vitality.

The ministers looked at Li Longji's demeanor with surprise, admiration and regret.

Their complex emotions came from the fact that they all knew that Li Longji would only be like this for a short time.

Apart from these extremely important military and national affairs, Li Longji basically ignored state affairs.

Li Longji continued, "Shiba'er, you have worked hard and made great contributions. I appreciate your kindness. I will reward you with 200,000 pieces of cloth and set up a special medical bureau for you. The chief official of the bureau will be a doctor of medicine, and Zhang Lingzhi will be in charge. The rest of the officials will be the same as those in the prefecture. You can make your own arrangements."

Not only did Li Longji not deprive Li Heng of any power, but he gave Li Heng great favor.

This made the princes such as Li Heng who were listening to the government affairs nearby so envious that their eyes turned red.

Li Heng was also a little surprised, and hurriedly thanked him, saying, "Father, your grace is so great that I will never be able to repay it even if I die."

Li Longji smiled slightly and his eyes fell on the pile of memorials on the dragon table.

These memorials were all about recommending candidates for the new crown prince.

Li Longji said: "A few days ago, I asked you to recommend a new crown prince. Forty percent of the officials recommended Prince Zhong, thirty percent recommended Prince Qing, one percent recommended Prince Rong, and the remaining two percent each made their own recommendations." Prince Zhong was Li Heng, Prince Qing was Li Cong, and Prince Rong was Li Wan.

Logically speaking, after Li Cong's face was disfigured, he had basically no chance of becoming the crown prince. However, since Li Linfu recommended Li Cong, 30% of the officials followed Li Linfu's votes.

After Li Longji finished speaking, he looked at Wang Zhongsi and said, "Zhongsi, you haven't submitted your memorial yet, who do you recommend?"

A few days ago, Wang Zhongsi followed Li Heng's advice and planned to attack the Xi tribe and the Turks, barely escaping Dong Yanguang's involvement.

But the planning was still in the talk stage and no results had been achieved. Therefore, although Li Longji did not pursue Wang Zhongsi, he still had some opinions about him in his heart.

Wang Zhongsi understood this, and also understood that Li Longji did not want him, a border general, to recommend Li Heng.

However, Wang Zhongsi was a man of upright character, and based on the order of seniority, he felt that the position of crown prince should belong to Li Heng.

In terms of moral character, although Li Heng had bribed him twice before, Li Heng later realized his mistakes and treated him as a state figure. He felt that such a person would not have a bad character.

From a personal perspective, he and Li Heng had a good personal relationship when they were young. Li Heng treated him well, and he should repay Li Heng's kindness.

With these three points, Wang Zhongsi almost did not hesitate and replied: "Your Majesty, I recommend His Royal Highness Prince Zhong."

After hearing this answer, Li Longji's eyes showed a hint of coldness, but it was only for a moment, Li Longji smiled and said: "Oh, everyone has different opinions on this matter, let's discuss it later."

Li Longji did not make a decision and asked everyone to leave the court.

Outside Xingqing Palace, Wang Zhongsi caught up with Li Heng, bowed to him, and said, "I am sorry to disappoint Your Highness today."

Li Heng smiled upon hearing this and said, "General Wang, you are too kind. Being able to speak your mind candidly requires not only good character, but also great courage. If General Wang does not have this courage, he would not be the General Wang who is feared by the Mobei."

"Your Highness, thank you for your compliment." Wang Zhongsi saluted Li Ying again. When he looked up and saw Li Ying's smile, he couldn't help but be dazzled.

In Wang Zhongsi's eyes, Li Heng is not only smart and wise, but also far-sighted, and open-minded and optimistic, and able to tolerate and understand others.

In the history of the Tang Dynasty, there was only one prince who possessed all these qualities at the same time, and that person was Taizong.

For a moment, Wang Zhongsi sincerely hoped that Li Heng was the eldest son of the emperor. Even if he was not the eldest son, he would be in good health.

What a pity, what a pity!
Wang Zhongsi sighed silently in his heart.

The moment the two men stopped, Li Linfu and An Lushan followed behind them.

When Wang Zhongsi saw the two men, he symbolically bowed to Li Linfu, glanced at An Lushan, and bid farewell to Li Heng.

Li Heng and the other two watched Wang Zhongsi leave together.

But Li Heng was smiling, Li Linfu's eyes revealed coldness, and An Lushan was a little confused.

The three of them were silent for a while, and Li Linfu said, "The last time His Highness returned to Chang'an, we were at this intersection as well."

Last time, Li Heng and Li Linfu were determined to split at this intersection, but this time, they might have some "cooperation".

Li Heng also felt a little emotional, and said with a half-smile: "Time flies, the right prime minister is still the right prime minister, and I am still the governor of Anxi. But General An was promoted to governor of Pinglu."

An Lushan said hurriedly: "I am where I am today because of the grace of the saint, the recommendation of the right prime minister, and the teachings of your highness."

(End of this chapter)