"Even if the Turkic Khan agrees, Ashina Duowen may not be able to act according to the orders of the Turkic Royal Court. We still have to be careful about them."
Xiao Yu said.
The current situation in Liaodong is hard to say. If the Tang army launches an attack on Goguryeo in the south, it is difficult to say what decision Ashina Duowen will make.
Wen Yanbo said: "If I were Ashina Duowen, seeing the imminent fall of Goguryeo, I should sit back and watch the two countries fight, and take advantage of that fisherman. If that is the case, I really have to be careful."
"It is reasonable for Ashina to hear that he wants to replace Goguryeo, but can the Turkic royal court really allow it to become powerful and ignore it?"
Speaking of which, although the future is still difficult to predict because people's hearts are unpredictable, the key point is already clear.
Smiles slowly appeared on the faces of the three people.
Li Po was the first to laugh. No matter what, Datang was in a favorable position.
"If Ashina hears wise words, that's the end of it. If he plays clever, he will die. If he is defeated, he can also cut off an arm of the Turks. This kind of business might as well be done.
.”
Wen Yanbo echoed: "I heard that Ashinaduo is too ambitious and will be troubled. When does your majesty think the Turkic royal court will have an attack?"
Li Po said: "Wait a minute, we will probably see the result next year. They can keep their composure over there, so we have to be more patient..."
…………
The monarch and his ministers talked a few more words about the affairs in Liaodong, and the topic gradually expanded.
This year, the military and political affairs of the Tang Dynasty have become more and more stable, and the personnel changes in the court are not as frequent as in previous years. All signs indicate that the Tang Dynasty is rapidly entering a period of recovery.
The imperial court was consciously or unconsciously gathering military and political power and strengthening the construction of centralization, whether it was revising the Tang Code, reforming the land system, establishing Zhechong Mansion, restarting the military system of government soldiers plus town troops, and opening schools to recruit scholars, etc.
, in fact, they are all efforts towards the goal of centralization.
It's the end of the year, and it's time to summarize the gains and losses of the year.
The three current prime ministers all felt that they had gained a lot this year and should discuss it carefully.
In terms of domestic affairs, the role of the Central Secretary is somewhat weaker. In formulating national policies, the Central Secretary launched many measures last year and the year before last. This year, it is only necessary to consolidate and implement them step by step, and there is no need to make any further decisions in the general direction.
change.
How else can we say that Shangshu has great power?
As the executive department of the strategy, the powers and responsibilities of the Shangshu Province are gradually increasing. As the government becomes more and more stable, it is time for the Shangshu Province to make achievements.
This year alone, the Ministry of War and the Imperial Guard have suppressed banditry and put down more than 400 rebellions. It looks like there are more, but in fact it is nearly half less than last year.
In fact, most of them are just refugees who walked out of the mountains and forests and returned to the government.
The main achievement lies in reducing the number of troops, consolidating military power, establishing Zhechong Mansion, and re-stricting the military regulations and commandments of various ministries. These are all serious internal skills. There is no standard for judging whether they are done well or not, but the impact will be extremely far-reaching.
It seems that the Ministry of War has done a good job this year and everything is going on in an orderly manner.
In addition, the destruction of Baekje and Japan was a direct manifestation of military merit. Without this support, this year would be a little dull.
…………
The Ministry of Personnel is in charge of literary selection, honors, and examinations. It is the head of the six departments. The key to the stability of the government depends on the selection.
Needless to say, since ancient times, and even in the future, to use an exaggerated statement, all problems can be attributed to human affairs.
After the Tang Code was formulated, the best support was given to the officials, who only had to act in accordance with the Tang Code.
Pei Shiqing was old and did not want to be meddlesome. When he participated in the revision of the Tang Dynasty, he did not make much achievements. Therefore, in the past few years when he was in charge of the Ministry of Personnel, he was better than stable.
Of course, Li Po has no dissatisfaction with him. The most rare thing is stability and stability in the world. It would be a disaster if the troubles were like those in Luoyang and Cao Qigui was chosen.
As for the reward for merit at the end of each year, the officials are able to do it in a reasonable and well-founded manner, balancing various demands. It can be said that the details are very satisfactory to Li Po.
It's just that the situation is a little different this year. Two young men, Fang Xuanling and Yan Shigu, have been sent to the Ministry of Civil Affairs. They are thinking about eliminating redundant officials and cutting off too many titles, which may cause some trouble.
As Shangshu Zuopushe, Wen Yanbo was extremely supportive of this, and he could also understand the emperor's other intentions, which were to prepare Pei Shiqing for his official appointment.
…………
The Household Department is still so active this year. After the Gao Shen case and being separated from Sinong Temple, Su Dan is still able to hold on to the money bag. The Su family's martial arts is indeed well-deserved.
After struggling to sort out the household registration, the Ministry of Household Affairs has been replenishing manpower in the past two years while vigorously promoting land, warehousing and other reform policies. This year's results are more significant.
The grain production of each province is almost higher than last year. This is the most critical indicator for the functional department of the Ministry of Household Affairs. National taxation is the top priority.
Whether a family can accumulate wealth depends on the careful calculation of officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs.
Therefore, no matter when it comes, the Household Department is the largest department of the imperial court. No yamen inside and outside the government can be separated from the Household Department. At least everyone's salary is in the hands of the Household Department.
The Ministry of Revenue has been relatively turbulent in recent years, with many things going on, but it has managed to maintain a steady pace and follow the imperial government's policies and operate smoothly. Su Dan and others deserve a lot of credit.
Although Li Po had been suppressing Su Dan intentionally or unintentionally, his voice for being promoted to the right servant of the Minister was getting louder and louder day by day.
Before Li Jing returned to Beijing, some people said that he was going to settle in Shangshu Province. Su Yuanzai started to show up in front of Li Po from time to time, pitifully telling the hardships of the Ministry of Finance. It was too obvious what he wanted.
If he hadn't been reasonably rational, he might have suggested that Li Jing be appointed minister so that he could retain his position. It was true that the Su family was obsessed with becoming an official.
Speaking of Su Yuanzai, Xiao Yu said, "Su Yuanzai wants to be a good man, so he is not suitable to be in charge of the Ministry of Secretariat..."
Well, he really wasn't afraid of offending anyone. If this sentence got out, he might become enemies with Su Dan.
Li Po, however, thought of the noble family member who had come to Yun Nei for a long time and was as cold as a hornet all the way, and couldn't help but smile.
He felt that although Xiao Shiwen's words were straightforward, they were quite to the point. Su Yuanzai, who had followed him all the way, always appeared from time to time and wanted to get a few sticks...
But again, the old man in Yun Nei was destined to have a different kind of confidant than others, so he had to take care of those who could take care of him, otherwise Su Yuanzai would definitely whisper in private that Li Po did not miss his old love and so on.
Of course, once he hears about it, he will definitely take Su Yuanzai to Fusang or Lingnan for a tour.
…………
The Department of Etiquette also performed well this year. Together with Taichang Temple, they began to revise etiquette, clothing, etc. in accordance with the regulations set by the Tang Dynasty. They made everything presentable and performed several grand ceremonies very well.
Especially for the imperial examination, it was finally held. In July of this year, another provincial examination was held. It was much more formal than last year. At least when the examination is held at the end of this year, there will be no need to kill so many people.
It was decided that the provincial examination would be held in Daozhong. The Supervisory Temple and the Ministry of Rites would send people to invigilate the examination. It would also be much more difficult if there were people from the local government who would cause trouble.
Once it is discovered that the scholars recommended by the county are too poor, they will immediately notify the Ministry of Personnel to punish them. This is more casual, but once it is linked to the official's position, it also makes the officials of the county a lot more concerned.
The Ministry of Rites is also preparing to separate another level and set up a county examination to fundamentally eliminate the loopholes in the imperial examination.
These are the achievements of the Ministry of Rites. Although Li Gang is old, he is undoubtedly a capable minister.
…………
The Ministry of Punishment has nothing to say, the Tang Law is there, and criminal cases can be handled in accordance with the law.
Moreover, at this time, the Ministry of Justice did not have much power and responsibilities, and the power of judicial interpretation was in the hands of Zhongshu. Once an official of seventh rank or above was found guilty, the Ministry of Personnel, or even the Supervisor Temple, had more say than the Ministry of Justice.
Once a specific criminal case is involved, it is handled by the Ministry of Punishment, but they only have the power to produce evidence, but not the power to punish.
It needs to be reported to the Shangshu Province, which will transfer it to Dali Temple for the final judgment, and then it will be reviewed by the disciples.
Needless to say, there is no need to talk about the unfairness of the world. The protection of officials has been like this from ancient times to the present. Otherwise, why would so many people want to be officials?
…………
The Ministry of Works... It's hard to say now, because the emperor Li Po paid too much attention to it, and with the status of the Ministry of Works, he can almost compete with the Ministry of Households.
Especially after the start of major infrastructure projects, the Ministry of Industry was in charge of various projects and was sought after by businessmen. Corruption appeared a lot, which gave the Ministry of Punishment and the Inspectorate Temple many opportunities.
But Yun Dingxing's life was still pleasant. This guy was not popular, but he was indeed a good engineer.
Having experienced the baptism of many projects in the former Sui Dynasty and having been in charge of a large government office, he was quite qualified for the position of Minister of the Ministry of Industry.
Whether it was advising on the construction of the imperial mausoleum, the construction of the Merit Forest, the Lingyan Pavilion, or the construction of academies, docks, and wharves in various places, he did his best and could not find any faults.
After Tobe dragged him back a little bit, he screamed and complained to the emperor without caring about his own face at all. Well, this man never had any face at all.
This guy is not young yet, but he still looks like he is alive and well and can live for many years, which makes Su Dan and others disgusted.
Li Po doesn't care about this, as long as he gets things done, Yun Dingxing's position as Minister of the Ministry of Industry will be very stable.
What he wants is to develop both industry and commerce and create a prosperous era.
If the reality were not like this, he would have made the Ministry of Industry the head of all ministries, so no matter how bad Yun Dingxing was, as long as he understood what he meant and didn't do anything too outrageous, everything else would be tolerated.
.
…………
Several people talked about it and made a brief summary of this year's situation.
Overall, the situation is quite gratifying.
Seeing the emperor with a smile on his face, having a drink from time to time, and seeming to have nothing to worry about, the three ministers all had the feeling that a wise emperor was in power and was in his rightful place.
Please remember the first domain name of this book: ._