The return of the conquering army is indeed worthy of a grand ceremony and a grand celebration.
As for the high standard, it still needs to be decided by the court through discussion.
In fact, as long as you don't go too far, Li Jing is different from others.
He is the head of the country. This status determines that he has no great achievements. Furthermore, his age, he is in his fifties and almost sixty, there is nothing to be taboo about.
If it were someone else, the government would have to think carefully about it, and you would have to think carefully about it yourself, otherwise, the greater your contribution, the more tragic the reckoning may be in the future.
In another time and space, Li Jing conquered the east and west and made great contributions to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. In his later years, he only enjoyed wealth and honor in Chang'an. What was it for? Just because he wanted a good death.
Although Li Shimin killed his brothers and promoted his father to become the Supreme Emperor, which was a very powerful method, to be honest, he was pretty good to his heroes.
The most important point is that Li Shimin himself has a lot of merit and can suppress these arrogant and powerful generals, so he behaves very tolerantly.
In comparison, Li Po is not bad at all, and can give Li Jing more room to display.
If you look at it now, Li Jing wiped out Goguryeo with just a wave of his hand, without the need for him to lead a military expedition in person. This time Li Jing returned to Beijing, Li Po had almost figured out how to arrange his father-in-law.
It's really a good idea to ask two generals to greet him. There are not many generals in Beijing, and the recruitment of generals to return to Beijing has been talked about for several years.
But to be honest, Li Po was a little worried without these people guarding everywhere outside. After all, it had only been more than three years since the world had been peaceful.
There are many rising stars in the army, but he is not a god. He is a mere mortal, and he still trusts the generals he personally promoted.
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"You guys, your eyes light up when you mention military merits. After so many years of fighting, why haven't you done enough?"
Wang Zhibian laughed and said: "Your Majesty said this... Haha, I still remember what your Majesty said back then. There are many enemies in the world, so don't worry about not having the opportunity to make meritorious deeds and be rewarded..."
Xu Shiji also smiled and nodded, "I have also heard of it. Your Majesty should have said this when he led the troops south from Jinyang to Chang'an, right?"
Li Po shook his hand, "My memory is not bad, but I have said it several times. I will lead the troops forward, and every decisive battle is to win or not."
I don’t dare to lose my ambition, I have to find a way out if there is no way out, otherwise how can I be today?”
Having said this, Li Po paused his wine glass and said, "As the ancients said, if you are willing to fight, you will perish, and if you forget to fight, you will be in danger. Therefore, although the country has been conquered, it cannot be fought year after year, which will deplete the country's strength. It must rest and recuperate.
But I still say what I said, we still have to fight the battles that need to be fought, but we can't just go around like I did back then with a knife in hand, eager to try, always thinking of solving the problem with one or two battles.
You generals, you should think more and stop thinking about military exploits. Don’t you have accomplished enough military exploits?
Maintain your troops in peacetime and be ready for emergencies. The country will surely need you when the time comes..."
The meaning of these words was still unfinished. Wang Zhibian would not think too much about it. He had already resigned from an official position once. He was an outlier among more than a dozen generals and had a peaceful mind.
Xu Shiji and Changsun Shunde are different. People who have read have many eyes and think too much.
They could feel the admonishment and warning from the emperor's words. After all, the seventh year of Yuanzhen was different from the previous years. The most powerful enemy of the Tang Dynasty should have been the Turks, but now that the Tang Dynasty and the Turks were on good terms, in the short term
It doesn't look like there's going to be a war.
The small countries on the East China Sea were wiped out. Just last year, Goguryeo was also destroyed by Li Jing. At the same time, Tubo was also wiped out in the west.
Now Datang looked around, even if he took out the knife, he didn't know where to cut...
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Xu Shiji couldn't help but secretly wake up. Although his life after returning to Beijing was a bit dull, it seemed that he really had to get used to it. How many years would this stay last?
Yuchi Gong also serves as the Minister of War. He may have to work hard to do a good job in the military affairs of Zuowu Houwei Mansion. It is indeed a pity that there is no battle to fight, but there will be no less things to do.
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, some military reforms were carried out, the most important of which was the establishment of Zhechong Mansion under the Wei Mansion. The generals did not pay much attention when they were leading troops outside, but after returning to the capital, they could not turn a blind eye.
.
If you ignore it and let the Ministry of War take charge of Zhechong Mansion, the Wei Mansion will become a decoration.
Xu Shiji carefully thought about the responsibilities of the Wei Mansion. In addition to leading troops during war, he should also be responsible for guarding the capital, various passes, and cities on weekdays. He was also responsible for recruiting soldiers, training troops, raising horses, and farming.
Waiting for something.
In the pre-Sui Dynasty, one of the most important responsibilities of the Wei Mansion was to control the army and the military status of the government soldiers. But now this has been handed over to the Ministry of War, plus other powers such as raising food and fodder during war, rewards and punishments, and examinations...
…
Thinking of this, Xu Shiji had already cursed his mother. He didn't want to know, but he was shocked when he thought about it. The power of the Ministry of War was already very powerful, and it almost controlled the lifeblood of the Wei Mansion.
Maybe after a few years of this, the generals will all have to listen to the orders of the Ministry of War.
Thinking about it secretly, he felt that Yu Chigong was the earliest to return to Beijing and took the most correct route. It seemed that he had to get a position in the Ministry of War to leave a way out for himself.
This is the advantage of talking to the emperor. You can grasp the pulse of the imperial government's policies at any time. The so-called political correctness is not a term imagined by later generations.
Officials of all dynasties have always danced within this large framework, and those who went against the trend were crushed to pieces.
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After only a few glasses of wine and a few bites of food, the monarch and his ministers had already had lunch while they were talking. The three ministers accompanied the emperor back to the Tai Chi Hall.
Drinking fragrant tea and talking, until the afternoon, people began to enter the palace one after another. They were all dressed in bulk, and they obviously knew the hardships of going to the city to watch the lanterns.
The number of people who can accompany the emperor to watch the lanterns is much smaller than those who attended the palace banquet before. They are all senior officials of third rank or above. In fact, it is almost only the chief officials of various government agencies who have this qualification.
Basically, it can be seen that the political core of the Tang Dynasty has arrived. If anyone has the ability to put some explosives on the city tower, the new Tang Dynasty will probably be gone.
Ashina Rongzhen and Luo Shixin are responsible for the security, and have sent troops to guard the inside and outside. Yuchi Gong, as the Lieutenant General of Yulin, will accompany Li Po.
When this guy entered the palace, he deliberately called Luo Shixin over and beat him up happily. Look how similar it is to the two of us in Mayi. We were all doing the job of guarding the city gate.
At that time, I was eating wine in the gatehouse of the city gate, and you guarded the city gate. It's almost the same now. I went to watch the lanterns on the city, and you looked around, haha, it just seems like yesterday.
Luo Shixin's face turned green with anger. He rolled up his arms and sleeves and wanted to go up and kill the guy, but the generals pulled him away. Yuchi Gong turned around and fled after being satisfied.
At the entrance of the Taiji Hall, Ashina Rongzhen stopped him. After waiting for half an hour, he still didn't dare to show off his dignity as a Shangguan. He made the black guy's nose runny from the cold before letting him in.
The three chief officers of the Yulin Army were busy coming and going.
Yuchi Gong was a bit shy, and he always liked to tease Luo Shixin when he had nothing to do. If there wasn't a noble concubine standing by to distract him, he would really be able to take advantage of him a lot.
There is no way, Luo Sanlang has never been very thoughtful, otherwise his fists would not be so strong.
The old saying is still true, those who work hard control others, and those who work hard are controlled by others...
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When Yuchi Gong arrived, no one came over yet. After all, he was in charge of the Yulin Army and couldn't be late.
Looking at Yu Chigong, who was very cold, with his dark face turning pale, and his nose twitching from time to time, as if he had rhinitis, Li Po was happy, and Xu Shiji and Wang Zhibian also laughed happily.
Li Po waited for him to finish his salute, beckoned Yuchi Gong to him, and laughed in a low voice: "How old are you? Why do you always provoke Luo Sanlang when you are in a high and powerful position?
What happened back then is worth remembering now? To put it this way, when I first entered the city gate, you sent me to the refugee camp. If I were more petty, wouldn't I have to light a sky lantern for you to calm my anger? "
I don't know whether he was cold or frightened, but Yu Chigong's face turned a lot whiter and he even shivered. Hehehe smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I don't know, and I don't know what's going on. As long as I see Luo San, I think...hehe." , I can’t even imagine what my interests are, so I ask Your Majesty to atone for my sins.”
Li Po slapped Yuchi Gong's generous shoulder hard, "Please save yourself. If you get punched or kicked by Luo Sanlang someday, I won't make the decision for you."
Yuchi Gong was proud that Luo Sanlang was the emperor's sworn brother. Every time he poked Luo San's side, His Majesty had to look at him a few times. Only in this way could the friendship be maintained for a long time.
Otherwise, he would be out of the capital all day supervising the construction of the imperial mausoleum, and would also have to deal with military affairs and general affairs of the Ministry of War. He would not be able to see the emperor a few times throughout the year. As time goes by, he might not be as close to the emperor as before.
You see, evildoers emerge from troubled times, and Yuchi Jingde is no less thoughtful than Lao Cheng.
He still knew Li Po, and Li Po actually laughed and exposed it, because he liked smart and clever guys. As long as Yu Chigong didn't get beaten by Luo Shixin, it meant that Yu Chigong was very measured.
It doesn't matter if you make some jokes, it's just that you don't understand the seriousness of it...
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When Wen Yanbo arrived, he saw that there were not many people in the palace, and he glanced at Changsun Shunde. He snorted secretly in his heart. There was an accident in Menxia Province during the festival. Changsun Shunde should have arrived earlier.
Xiao Yu arrived with Taichang Temple Qing Yuwen. Before entering the temple, Xiao Yu was still talking about something. Yuwen just nodded in agreement, but he was probably complaining in his heart. How could he be so late with this person? In one place, I didn’t say a word of joy, and all I said was my fault. It was really unlucky.