Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4474 Power Concentration
Since the Li and Tang royal family usurped the former Sui Dynasty by the Guanlong clan, how could they not know how frenzied the clan's erosion of the army was?Distributing the sixteen guards to all parts of the world can indeed deter all parties and make the political situation stable, but it will also give the local elites the opportunity to infiltrate and erode the army.

Once these armies are controlled by aristocratic families from all over the country and do not respect the orders of the court, there will even be an old story of "Eighteen princes begging for tiger prisons" in the late Han Dynasty.

Fang Jun took a sip of tea and said calmly: "Don't worry, the king of the county. After the Sixteenth Guards are stationed in various places, they will regularly rotate their generals to avoid the bad habits of the army who only know the commander and don't know the court."

There was a moment of silence in the Hall of Wude, Li Xiaogong was also a little startled, opened his mouth, but did not speak in the end.

The main rotation?

How dare you!
Military power comes from the support of the army. This is not something that can only be achieved by the army chief. It takes a long time to install cronies and win people's hearts. But anyone who can reach the position of an army leader is an outstanding person. Such a person has spent countless efforts to temper The army that comes out is ruthless and obedient, and then you are rotated?
Who can be willing?

Sixteen guards, sixteen generals, even if they take turns once a year, it will take 16 years... Who will be able to fully control the army from now on?
How can military power be manifested if one cannot command the army?
Without military power, how can those generals let go?

This is directly overturning all the rules and taking all the military power that originally belonged to the general to the emperor...

Can it be implemented?
Li Xiaogong didn't know, but if it was implemented smoothly, it would mean an unprecedented concentration of imperial power, and it would be possible to truly realize "no one dares not to obey the emperor's order".

Li Ji on the side expressed his concern: "Let's not talk about whether such an approach will make the generals of the Sixteenth Guards panic. Just the rotation of the generals of the Sixteenth Guards will inevitably lead to the situation that the generals do not know the soldiers, and the soldiers do not know the generals, which will seriously weaken the army. combat power and affect the unity of the army.”

Fang Jun disagrees: "When all the middle and upper-level officers in the army come from the 'Jiangwutang', have received the most systematic education, and have a deep-rooted loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, these worries will no longer exist."

The army is the most special existence. If a country cannot fully control the army, it will die sooner or later. The only way to make the army completely loyal to the country and the monarch is for all officers in the army to undergo systematic patriotic education , making them determined to contribute to the country, no matter when and where they put national interests above everything else.

Of course, in this era, if we want to achieve such a goal, we cannot achieve it without decades of hard work. During this period, we not only have to invest heavily in the construction of military academies, but also have to fight against the middle and high-level military who are reluctant to give up military power.

A long way to go.

Li Chengqian made a final decision: "No reform can be achieved overnight, but from now on, this policy will become the key to the reform of the army, and the imperial court will implement it consistently. You should do your best to cooperate with me."

"Here!"

Several military ministers responded in unison.

Today, with the strong support of Fang Jun, and the aristocratic family is in a state of extreme weakness, the emperor's authority has reached its peak, even worse than when he was in Zhenguan. , but the power of the aristocratic family makes it difficult to stretch their ambitions and constrains them everywhere.

And Li Chengqian obtained the concentration of imperial power that Emperor Taizong had never obtained through two huge risks of almost escaping from death...

As long as Fang Jun supports any policy, no one else can block it, including Li Ji, the "National No. 1".

In fact, everyone knew that Li Chengqian was mediocre in talent, and that all reforms must have been done by Fang Jun. In other words, Fang Jun used the emperor Li Chengqian to realize his changes to the empire.

Is this a good thing?
Of course not, Li Chengqian's role is a bit embarrassing, almost equivalent to a "puppet". As long as Fang Jun is willing, he seems to be able to control the government at any time and complete the evolution of a "power minister".

Is it bad?

It doesn't seem to count, everyone present is a man of insight and knows where the potential crisis of the empire lies. If Fang Jun's series of reforms are carried out slowly, the empire will only become stronger and stronger.

The unparalleled concentration of imperial power displayed today is all an illusion. Given time, when various reforms are on the right track, imperial politics will inevitably return to the "political affairs hall system" and "restrict imperial power collectively."

Reform needs a strong force to forcibly promote and break through the heavy resistance of vested interests. This is unanimously recognized by the ministers, and no one can stop it.

The "political affairs hall system" divides the imperial power into countless shares, and the prime ministers will govern the country through the political affairs hall, which is also what the ministers hope.

Since Fang Jun is already pushing forward the most difficult thing, why not push the boat along the way and be happy to see it come to fruition?

If successful, everyone's power has not been weakened.

If it fails, all the responsibilities can be borne by Fang Jun alone...

To advance can be attacked, and retreat can be defended.

Therefore, when Fang Jun submitted the matter of forming the left and right Jinwu Guards, and recommended candidates for the left and right Jinwu Guards generals, no one had any objection.

Everyone knows that this is not only His Majesty's praise for Fang Jun's military exploits in the rebellion, but also His Majesty's trust in Fang Jun to take charge of the security of the capital.

But Li Xiaogong couldn't help but said: "The name 'Jinwuwei' must have originated from Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty's 'Zhijinwu'. Hearing the introduction of Yue Guogong's powers and responsibilities, it is not too much... It's just that the capital is forbidden. , Is it appropriate to give an army such supernatural powers?"

According to the terms of reference of the Jinwu Guard after Fang Jun was established, it includes following the capital, banning thieves, arresting criminals, trying prison cases, guarding the capital, temporary conquests, patrolling the capital, Fenghou, water and fire, and roads all belong to their duties... ...the power is too great, almost the entire city of Chang'an is under its jurisdiction, and tens of thousands of horses and horses shuttle around the capital without restraint.

In those days, even Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu, the lord of ZTE, once said enviously that "officials are regarded as the ruler of the Jinwu, and married wives are regarded as Yin Lihua", which shows the overwhelming power of "the ruler of the Jinwu".

The "Golden Guard" established and led by Fang Jun controls the capital, which is able to maintain the stability of the imperial power, but at the same time puts the entire capital under his own control, and the power is overwhelming, which will inevitably touch the interests of others and lead to internal power struggles. just a good thing...

Li Chengqian is undisputable about this point: "Emperor Taizong marched eastward and mobilized countless money and food in Guanzhong. After that, he rebelled twice in a row. The whole place in Guanzhong was even more turbulent and chaotic. There were people who were not ministers one after another. Jingzhaofu, Baiqisi, left and right Wu The powers and responsibilities of guards and others are intertwined, and management is chaotic, which leads to the speculative pursuit of petty people and endangers the country. Now it is necessary to unify the powers and responsibilities of Jinwu Guards."

The Jinwu Guards control both inside and outside Chang'an, which is indeed a great threat to the imperial power, but as long as the Jin Wu Guards are in Fang Jun's hands, Li Chengqian can sleep peacefully and will not think about the safety of the imperial power at all.

On the contrary, during the previous two rebellions of Guanlong and King Jin, not only did the center of the imperial court stagnate, but the defense, public security, and robbery of the entire Chang'an completely collapsed. The instigation, assassination, and disturbance outside the city made the huge Chang'an city terrified and undefended. If Li Jing hadn't been ordered to sit outside the Chunming Gate to intimidate all the city gates, Chang'an City would have fallen already.

Inside the Taiji Palace, the Baiqisi and the imperial guards are in charge of the guards, while outside the Taiji Palace, all the left and right Jinwu Guards are in charge. The rights and responsibilities are clear, and the duties are clearly defined, which will surely be able to better manage and defend Chang'an.

After all, when the reforms on land and taxes are slowly advanced, he, the emperor, is very likely to become a "faint lord" and "tyrant" who will be condemned by the world's population. One day, he will be assassinated by collusion from inside and outside of the aristocratic family...

Only by handing over the defense of Chang'an City to Fang Jun, can he, the emperor, rest in peace, and he can't trust anyone else.

Everyone could only be silent, but they couldn't help sighing in their hearts. The power and responsibility of the Jinwu Guard are overwhelming, and at the same time, Fang Jun, who is in charge of the Jinwu Guard, can be said to be powerful.

If it wasn't for Fang Jun's insistence on refusing to manage government affairs, I am afraid that the first "power minister" in Datang has already appeared...

But Fang Jun has a general sense, knows how to advance and retreat, and hides a deep sense of awe. He takes the initiative to avoid government affairs, and only controls military power, leaving room for it.

*****
Meals were prepared in the imperial dining room at noon, and the emperor and several military ministers briefly used them in the duty room of the "Military Department". The meeting lasted until the evening, and it was considered a temporary conclusion.The two successive mutinies of Guan Long and the King of Jin show that there are huge problems in the current military system, and reform is really necessary. However, facing the drastic actions of the emperor and Fang Jun, Li Ji, Li Jing, and Li Xiaogong are cautious attitude, expressing opposition from time to time, but because Xue Wanche followed Fang Jun's pace throughout the whole process, as long as Fang Jun proposed, he agreed with it, which led to many proposals being passed one after another.

It made Li Ji, Li Jing, and Li Xiaogong very depressed...

They didn't mean to maintain the vested interests in the past, but they were naturally dissatisfied seeing the political affairs hall being messed up by Xue Wanche, an unprincipled muddlehead.

Even if the number of military ministers is reduced by one, it's better than messing around with Xue Wanche, an ignorant bastard here, right?

Fang Jun and Xue Wanche, the five members of the military aircraft department, each have one vote, plus two votes from His Majesty, they can always pass each policy smoothly under the rule of "the minority obeys the majority"...

Li Ji and others have finally seen the power demonstrated by the concentration of imperial power. In a simple sentence, it is "nine-five supreme, with the constitution of heaven in his mouth". One.

Of course, the premise is that the emperor is wise and mighty and will not be stubborn, conceited and arbitrary, and will not be bewitched or coerced by powerful ministers...

(End of this chapter)