Late Tang

(Thanks to ermaozhao and Fanhuazi password monthly ticket support, begging for a monthly ticket!)

Although Damingbao is a newspaper run by Weibo Town, it has a lot of influence.The headlines on the front page of the new issue of the famous newspaper quickly spread from the Yellow River and the Weihe River to Guanzhong.When the emperor Li Xuan saw this newspaper, many people in the capital of Chang'an already knew the news.

Afterwards, the news quickly spread in the city of Chang'an like the wind, and the few famous newspapers that were sent to Chang'an by merchants and postmen became extremely precious and circulated by countless people.

When the emperor sent people to summon the ministers to discuss matters in the forbidden center, eight or nine out of ten ministers had already known the sensational news in the capital.

Every minister who entered the palace was worried, and everyone knew the shocking news.

If Li Jing really betrayed Tang Zili and got the support of the four towns, then the northeastern Hebei and even Henan would really be lost.

"Your Majesty, this is a plan to alienate the Hebei rebels. Li Jing is loyal to the Tang Dynasty and will never betray His Majesty and the Tang Dynasty!" Prime Minister Yu Cong was the first to speak.The Yu family has a close relationship with Li Jing, Yu Ju is Li Jing's teacher, and Yu Ju's daughter-in-law lived in Li Jing's residence for several years, following Li Jing for no apparent reason.No matter how you look at it, in the eyes of others, the Yu and Li families are very close. If something happens to Li Jing, the Yu family will definitely be shaken.Back then, the Yu family was implicated because of the strife between the courts. Even if Yu Cong was a son-in-law and a prime minister, the three brothers in the family were all commanders-in-chief. The higher you go, the harder you fall.

Zhang Tai, the envoy of the North Court of Xuanhui and the guard of the right prison guard, also stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this old slave also thinks that this is a plan to separate the rebels from Hebei. The kings are suspicious of each other. Your Majesty must not trust traitors lightly, so as not to hurt the hearts of loyal officials and soldiers."

In fact, don't say that Li Jing didn't rebel right now, even if Li Jing rebelled, as long as he didn't proclaim himself emperor, the court would have to find a way to appease instead of suppress him.With Huangchao and the four towns in Hebei, the imperial court is already in a hurry, how can it afford the catastrophic consequences of Li Jing's rebellion.

"The king of Andong County sent troops to Pi, forcing Huang Chao to withdraw from Sizhou and Linhuai, and then sent troops to the north to force Youzhou and south to the Yellow River, forcing the Hebei rebels to divide their troops to take precautions. I think it was Li Shuai who sent troops to threaten The rebels made them come up with this divorce plan. To deal with the rebels' divorce plan, the court should reward Li Junwang heavily, so as to avoid the county king's worry and suspicion. You can feel at ease." Li Wei, Minister of the Household Department and Tongping Zhangshi, also followed suit.Based on the financial aspects he was responsible for, the prime minister also believed that the imperial court was simply unable to bear the consequences of Li Jing's rebellion at this time.

"It is appropriate to reward and appease Li Jing!" This was the unanimous approval of all the courtiers in Yanying Hall.

Even people like Lu Xie, Tian Lingzi and others understand that Li Jing must not be angered at this time.Although they hate Li Jing, they also know that no matter which side Li Jing joins, it will bring subversive results to the current situation.For this reason, the imperial court must appease Li Jing at all costs. At the very least, the imperial court must first solve Huang Chao and Hebei's four anti-kings.At that time, it will not be too late to settle accounts with Li Jingqiu.

"Private Envoy Yang, does the Privy Council have any details about this matter?" Li Xuan shot Yang Fugong with lightning-like eyes.

Being stared at by the emperor's sharp eyes, Yang Fugong also felt a sense of oppression, hurriedly came out and replied respectfully: "Return to your majesty, the secret agent of the official party has just sent back the news that the king of the Four Anti-Hebei has indeed sent Liu Rengong, the governor of Mozhou. I met Li Jing when I went to Liaodong City. They sent Li Jing Liumian, the emperor, and wanted to make Li Jing emperor."

Hearing that Si Zhenguo had embraced Li Jing, even Li Xuan and other ministers couldn't help but look down.Before, everyone thought that this matter was just a divorce plan, but now it seems that this may not be as simple as a divorce plan.

"However, Li Jing rejected the proposal of the four towns and drove Liu Rengong away."

Li Xuan's nervous heart was relieved.

"However, the businessmen in the Northeast made a deal with Li Quanzhong, who occupied the Yiwu Army. Li Quanzhong sold the original Yiwu Army and his family members in Yiding Erzhou, as well as nearly [-] people who opposed him, to the Northeast businessmen. , and then exchanged for a large number of ordnance supplies including iron armor, leather armor, spears, and horizontal knives."

There was a sound of inhalation, and the news caused the faces of nearly half of the ministers in the hall to change again.

No matter who made the deal on the surface, everyone understood that in essence, this was Li Jing's transaction with the rebels, and it was also a transaction of population and armaments.The meaning of this is complicated.Just when the rebels were about to respect Li Jing as emperor, Li Jing drove away the rebel envoys, but then started the ordnance business with the rebels.This is in wartime, this kind of business is collaborating with the enemy, which is tantamount to rebellion!

But right now, although everyone understands that Li Jing's actions are tantamount to rebellion, as long as Li Jing does not rebel, the court dare not reveal the matter.

Li Jing is already powerful, the last time the court named Li Jing Marshal first, Li Jing refused to express his opinion and send troops.Later, it was sealed until the Jiedudushi of the Twelve Towns, and only a part of the soldiers were mobilized.But up to now, Li Jing has not really attacked the rebels. This kind of behavior, with an ambiguous attitude, is very dangerous.

Of course, the court hoped that Li Jing could send troops to Hebei, but Li Jing made it clear that he did not want to send troops to fight the rebels, which made the court very helpless.

For Li Jing right now, apart from Ziqing Town and Denglai Town, the five prefectures are in the east of Henan, and the other sixteen prefectures are all in the northeast of Hebei. On the contrary, the imperial court could not do anything to him.

"I propose to build the Northeast Road Xingtai, grant Li Jing the order of the Northeast Xingtai, and give Li Jing King Qi to send troops to Hebei." Dou Luzhen gritted his teeth and said in a deep voice.

Hearing Dou Luzhen's proposal, everyone in the hall was shocked.

Xingtai belongs to the official position above the prefecture level. As early as the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xingtai Province was generally established. Later, the Eastern Wei Dynasty, Western Wei Dynasty, Northern Zhou Dynasty, and Northern Qi Dynasty were all used. It was also established during the Sui and Tang Dynasties.Xingtai Province was also established in the early Tang Dynasty, but it was abolished after the world was settled.

From the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the Xingtai system existed for hundreds of years, and the nature of the surnames was also different, but there were roughly four types.

That is to say, the platform used as a temporary central government axe, the platform used as a branch of the Shangshu Province, the platform in a transitional state, and the platform of the highest level of local administrative agencies.

During the Northern Wei and Northern Qi Dynasties, Xingtai had become the highest level of local administrative organization.

The Xingtai in the early period of the Northern Wei Dynasty was set up temporarily by the central government during the conquest by the emperor.

During the period of the Sixteen Kingdoms, Xingtai was established in the local area, and this kind of Xingtai was already a branch of Shangshu Province.

Before the Six Towns Uprising in the Northern Wei Dynasty, the imperial court often dispatched some officials to form Xingtai to inspect or handle military and political affairs everywhere.Because of the endless wars in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, Shangshu Province was unable to afford the trip, and most of the officials in the trip were officials from other ministries of the central government.Due to the protracted war, these Xingtai gradually developed into long-term institutions to control the local military. Even after the war stopped, due to local instability, Xingtai would not be withdrawn immediately, but became a permanent local organization. In some important military towns, Xingtai districts has begun to take shape.

By the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, seven fixed Xingtai districts had been formed, and Xingtai officials had been transferred from the central government to local officials, and from central agencies to the highest local administrative organization.The promotion of officials in the Xingtai is also promoted within the Xingtai, without having to transfer to another station.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, the country was divided into six provinces, and six Xingtai provinces were established, the largest of which was Daxingtai Province in Eastern Shaanxi Province, and Li Shimin served as Daxingtai Shangshuling.However, the Xingtai in the early Tang Dynasty only lasted for ten years, and they were all withdrawn in the end.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Liudaoxingtai was a local agency sent by the central Shangshu Province, in charge of military affairs and civil affairs, with a high position and authority.

Xiangzhou Daoxingtai once owned 250 seven states including Jiao, Guang, An, and Huang.

In the Xingtai of the six towns, Li Shimin and other princes were appointed as ministers, but for Xianzhou Road and Dongnan Road, Yang Shilin, a local tyrant in Huai'an, and Du Fuwei, a bandit commander in Hezhou, served as ministers.

The grades of Xingtai officials in the early Tang Dynasty were comparable to those of the Central Minister of Shangshu, the grade was the same or even only one rank lower.

For example, the Shangshu Order of the Central Shangshu Province is the second-rank official, the Daxingtai Shangshu order is also the second-rank official, and the Xingtai Shangshu order is the second-rank second.

Others such as the left and right servants, the left and right ministers, the capital affairs, the principal affairs, the six ministers, and the six ministers are also set up in the same way.

Due to the heavy power of Xingtai, it only lasted for ten years in the end. After the central government of the Tang Dynasty basically grasped the situation, they canceled the six-way Xingtai one by one.

In the entire Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin was the only person who held the official Shangshuling, but there were still a few people who held the official Shangshuling.Li Shimin, Li Yuanji, Du Fuwei, and Yang Shilin all successively served as Minister of Xingtai.

The Six Paths of the Early Tang Dynasty had much more power than the Ten Paths Jiedu envoys of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.And the Jiedushi of the Ten Towns during Tang Xuanzong's time was also much more powerful than the Jiedushi today.

The last time the imperial court appointed Li Jing as the Jiedu envoy to command a Jiedu district and control twelve towns, in exchange for Li Jing finally mobilized tens of thousands of troops.

Now, the situation is even more dangerous, and the four towns in Hebei respect Li Jing as the emperor. At this time, Dou Luzhen thinks that only giving Li Jing more power can induce him to send troops.The power of Xingtai is huge, but if compared with the Great Qi Emperor, it is obviously inferior.

But at this time, the imperial court could not bear the consequences of Li Jing's rebellion. After much deliberation, the only way to promote Li Jing was to give him the official title of Xingtai Shangshuling and King Qi.Although this approach will only make Li Jing more difficult to control in the future, and the tail will not be lost.

But drinking poison to quench thirst is definitely better than dying of thirst right away.Stabilize Li Jing first, solve the Hebei rebellion, and then come to slowly map Li Jing.

When Tian Lingzi heard Dou Luzhen's proposal, he rolled his eyes, almost jumping out and scolding him.But after thinking about it, he should keep a low profile right now, because he couldn't think of a better plan.It's true that Li Jing has turned against him. If Datang is gone, can he, an eunuch, rely on Li Jing again?

Like Tian Lingzi, many officials felt that this reward was too high, even if it was to appease Li Jing, it was too high.

Lu Xie objected, and Dou Luzhen argued hard. He had already given Li Jing a degree of Jiedu before. Besides giving Xingtai and King Qi, would Li Jing care about other official positions?Compared with the current situation, although Xingtai and King Qi have high official titles, there is nothing they can do.Besides, the 21 states currently controlled by Li Jing, whether the imperial court will give Xingtai, in fact, Li Jing still has complete control like Xingtai?

Dou Luzhen pointed out that the current situation in Hebei is already very dangerous. If Li Jing is really persuaded by the rebels, it will do too much harm to the court.The imperial court should come up with conditions that can make Li Jing feel at ease while Li Jing is still on the sidelines.

Li Xuan listened to the discussions of the ministers in the hall, his heart was full of anger and blood, and he wished to throw up his sleeves and leave.But he also understood that although these words made him angry, he had no other better way.Dou Lu was right, the imperial court could not afford the consequences of Li Jing's immediate rebellion.

At the very least, the court had to make stronger preparations.

At least, the imperial court has to wait until after the four towns in Hebei are resolved, or after the four towns in Hebei have been severely damaged.

Jiedu envoys, marshals, and Jiedu envoys all promoted Li Jing along the way. Now, even Jiedu envoys can no longer satisfy Li Jing.Today I gave Xingtai, and from then on Li Jing will really be in charge of the army and the people, and the 21 Northeast Provinces will be completely controlled by Li Jing.But does he have any other choice?Even if he wanted to start a war with Li Jing, at least not now.

After thinking for a long time, Li Xuan glanced across the hall again.

All the ministers are waiting for the emperor's decision. Since the emperor has devoted himself to governing, the ministers have gradually become accustomed to the emperor's participation in these major military and political affairs.

"According to my decree, add Andong County King, Hebei, Northeast Dao Marshal, Ziqing and other twelve township festivals to make Li Jing Dongbei Dao Xingtai Shang Shuling!" Li Yan said coldly.

All the ministers waited for a while, but they didn't hear the expected decree of ennobling King Qi, so they raised their heads and looked at the emperor strangely.At this time, is it necessary to be stingy with a prince?

Li Xuan was indeed unwilling to confer the title of king. Although Li Tang conferred kings on meritorious officials with different surnames, very few of them were crowned kings with the same name.One-word king, but a prince than a prince, this time as Prince Li Jing, what will be used to add Li Jing next time?

Now that the emperor didn't like Li Jing in his heart, he began to think more subconsciously.

The officials didn't expect that the emperor would have such a plan at this time, and they all knelt there in a daze.

Seeing the reactions of the ministers, a burst of anger flashed in Li Xuan's heart, his chest heaved several times, and finally he suppressed the anger and added: "Give Li Jing the title of Daxingtai of the Northeast Road, and the officials of Daxingtai will be appointed and dismissed by Li Jing himself. Order Li Jing to send troops to attack Youzhou immediately after receiving the order!"

In the end, Li Xuan would rather give Li Jing the honor than give Li Jing the title of king.

Seeing this, all the ministers in the palace thought about it, and then accepted it in silence, and no one made a sound! (To be continued.)