In the morning of the next day, Prime Minister Wei Jiansu and Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Yan hurriedly came to see Li Ye. Li Ye asked them to sit down and said with a smile: "The Dugu family donated the Baoji Cabinet Shop before, and I promised to let Dugu Ming take the post of Shangzhou."
He declined, but the quota is still reserved. The Dugu family hopes to give this quota to Dugujun. I agreed and need to discuss it with you."
At present, for local state officials in the Tang Dynasty, Li Ye, as the emperor, can directly appoint the chief officials of the five major mansions, namely Jingzhao Mansion, Henan Mansion, Taiyuan Mansion, Chengdu Mansion and Xiangyang Mansion.
Appointment belongs to the authority of the emperor, and the appointment of state and county officials below the five major prefectures falls under the authority of the prime minister and the Ministry of Personnel.
Of course, Li Ye would not agree without principle. Dugujun has always been an official of the fourth rank. Although he has senior qualifications, his official career is relatively mediocre and he has done nothing, so he has reached the top of the fourth rank.
Since it was the emperor who proposed it, this face must be given. Wei Jiansu thought for a while and said: "Hebei has suffered a lot of damage and is now gradually recovering. There is no need to do anything. We just need to recuperate and try not to disturb the people. Wei Chen thinks that Dugu
It would be more appropriate for Jun to go to Hebei."
Li Ye looked at Liu Yan again, and Liu Yan smiled and said: "Actually, the position of governor of Shangzhou is vacant, and there is no candidate yet, but Wei Xiangguo is right, Shangzhou is about to expand the Danba Waterway, and the task is arduous.
I'm afraid Dugujun can't afford it. Wei Chen also recommended Hebei, and there are no vacancies for the governors of Xiangzhou and Weizhou."
Li Ye then said: "Come to Xiangzhou! There is no need to bother, let the people rest and recuperate."
Wei Jiansu and Liu Yan both agreed. At this time, Wei Jiansu smiled and said: "Speaking of the Dugu family, Xiao Shangshu came to me yesterday afternoon and said that the Dugu family and the Ministry of Household Affairs signed a contract for the secondment of 20,000 prisoners of war.
, the conditions are quite harsh, the Dugu family actually offered to pay a guarantee of twenty guan per person, the Ministry of Household Affairs actually did not have any conditions, but the Dugu family took the initiative to raise the threshold, which confused the Ministry of Household Affairs, and even the ministers were puzzled."
Li Ye laughed, "This is because I asked the Dugu family to treat the prisoners of war well, which put a lot of pressure on the Dugu family, because the prisoners of war were not only given to them, but also to other Guanlong nobles. He was afraid that other Guanlong nobles would abuse the prisoners of war, resulting in a large number of
He couldn't explain his death to me, so he simply raised the bar and asked other families to retreat in the face of difficulties, or at least not dare to abuse them! After all, there is a deposit of 20 guan in the imperial court, and a contract was signed with the imperial court."
Wei Jiansu suddenly realized it and said with a smile: "So that's it. I said that those who set limits for themselves are using the imperial court to restrain other families. This method is not bad. I think it is feasible."
Li Ye nodded, "It is better to be lenient than to be strict. These terms should have been proposed by the Ministry of Household Affairs. Although the Dugu family are relatives, if I break the rules for them, it will not be easy to convince the public in the future, but it will ruin my reputation, so
My attitude has never changed, and I must treat all relatives of the emperor and the country equally, and it will be easier for all ministries to do their jobs in the future."
"Your Majesty is right. I will go back and have a good talk with Xiao Shangshu to establish the system."
Li Ye took out another report and said with a smile: "There is one more thing I want to discuss with you, which is about the trafficked girls. This time we arrested two hundred missionary women from the Saint Sisters. I specifically asked the internal guards not to kill them.
Try to capture them alive, hoping that these women are the girls who were sold back then and were forced or brainwashed by the Holy Maiden Society.
I asked the inner guards to treat them well and take them back to their hometown to look for the graves of their childhood and parents. The effect was very good. More than 180 of the 200 people wanted to stay in the Tang Dynasty and did not want to return to Samarkand.
This group of women were absorbed by the inner guards.
But next I want to bring back all the trafficked girls, so that all the people of the Tang Dynasty who are forced to live in foreign lands have the opportunity to return. I will consider taking this as an opportunity to send troops to the west next year!"
Wei Jiansu and Liu Yan looked at each other. The girl's incident was just an excuse to send troops. The emperor might have other motives for sending troops to the Western Regions, or even had a plan in advance.
Wei Jiansu said to Li Ye again: "Didn't your Majesty decide to send troops to Japan and Silla next year?"
Li Ye smiled and said: "Japan and Silla are barren and unprofitable. My main purpose in attacking Japan is to eliminate their court, promote the fragmentation of Japan, and plunge them into a long civil war. Secondly, I want to occupy Maoren Island in the north of Japan.
, there is abundant cypress wood, which is the best material for shipbuilding and high-grade wood for building palaces.
Moreover, the Japanese military force is low. I only need to send 30,000 naval troops and 2,000 Modao troops to sweep away the Japanese army. It does not have to be until next year. If the time is right, we can send troops now!"
“What about Silla?”
Liu Yan next to him asked again: "How does your Majesty plan to deal with it?"
Li Ye walked two steps with his hands behind his back: "Silla first used the Nanzhao plan to restore the boundaries of the fourth year of Xianqing, reset the Xiongjin Governor's Palace, and stationed Tang troops in Silla. After the situation in Liaodong was completely stabilized, Xinluo
Luo was changed to a state in Tang Dynasty"
Wei Jiansu understood that the emperor had already had a plan to deal with Silla, and it was reasonable and legal.
In the first year of the General Chapter of the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty destroyed Goguryeo and established nine governor's offices, forty-two prefectures, and one hundred counties within its territory, and established the Andong governor's office in Pyongyang to administer it.
In the fourth year of Emperor Xianqing's reign in the Tang Dynasty, Su Dingfang, the chief general of the Tang army, led an army of 130,000 to attack Baekje. In the same year, Baekje was destroyed and merged into the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty established five governors in Baekje: Xiongjin, Mahan, Dongming, Jinlian, and De'an.
The Mansion also falls under the jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate Mansion.
Silla was originally just a small country in the southeast of the peninsula. It used various despicable means to continuously invade and encroach on Baekje's land. It also took advantage of the Anshi Rebellion in the Tang Dynasty to not only occupy Baekje's land, but also went northward to annex the Andong capital of the Tang Dynasty.
Hufu occupied a large territory, pushing the border all the way to the Yalu River.
Therefore, Li Ye's first goal was to restore the boundaries of Xianqing four years and return Silla to its original shape.
It seems that the emperor is indeed far-sighted. In terms of foreign affairs, the Political Affairs Hall does not understand the situation very well and indeed has no say.
But both Wei Jiansu and Liu Yan were worried that attacking Silla would repeat the crisis of the late Sui Dynasty.
Wei Jiansu cautiously advised: "Wei Chen advises to be fully prepared and carefully explore the enemy's situation to avoid repeating the tragedy of the late Sui Dynasty!"
Li Ye smiled slightly and said: "The Prime Minister has thought too much. The Tang army's attack on Silla was not a full-scale war, but a point-and-point battle to directly capture the capital. He will never make the same mistake again!"
Wei Jiansu breathed a sigh of relief. He was silent for a moment and then said: "Your Majesty, just using the girl incident as a reason to send troops to the Western Regions is still a bit weak and a bit unknown."
Liu Yan next to him smiled and said: "Your Majesty, sending troops to the Western Regions is not only about the girl's incident, but also about recovering the homeland. Have you forgotten, Your Majesty? Xianhai County is the westernmost county in the Tang Dynasty. That is why we signed an agreement with the Khazar State.
The county towns that truly belong to the Tang Dynasty include Juzhanti, Talas City, Julan City and Baishui City. These are the cities that were acquired by countless warriors from the Tang Dynasty who died in battle. Now they have been occupied by foreigners. Taking them back now is not the last step.
Good reason?”
Li Ye nodded and said slowly: "We have to tell the truth in our internal negotiations. I am sending troops to the Western Regions for the copper and silver mines of Tochara, the gold mines of Bakhna, and the silver mines of Shiguo. If
If there is no profit, I will not send troops, which will waste the national power of the Tang Dynasty.
The Prime Minister is right. We must have a good reputation. Recovering our former lands is indeed a good reason to send troops. However, after all, they are too far away and I am afraid that they cannot make the Tang soldiers and people share the same hatred. Therefore, after having the legal basis for sending troops,
, but also need a reason that can impress people.
The most touching thing is to save our children, to save the girls of the Tang Dynasty who were sold to the far west. Only then will we touch the heartstrings deep in everyone's heart, and will the people of the Tang Dynasty support our Western Expedition."
"Then what is the clear goal of His Majesty's Western Expedition?"
"Recover Tocharo and Bakhna, take these two places into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, and then send troops to destroy the Holy Maiden Society before the Great Eclipse, rescue the girls of the Tang Dynasty, and at the same time win over the hearts and minds of all Sogdian countries."
Wei Jiansu and Liu Yan retreated, and Li Ye stood in front of the map and pondered for a long time without saying a word.
He is rethinking Japan's plan. In fact, he has already formulated the plan, but he has not considered stationing troops in Japan before, nor has he considered seizing land from the Japanese archipelago.
Now he is considering taking Kyushu Island and making it the base camp for the Tang Dynasty to control the Japanese archipelago.