Crown Tang emperor

Yang Li lowered her head and said in a deep voice: "Since I have been in charge of the family affairs, I have entrusted her to His Royal Highness to protect her. The family business has improved day by day, and she can be called a worthy relative. Now it is also for her own sake. Instead of using it for nothing, it is better to take advantage of this situation." Calmness is in exchange for true love. Concubine is selfless to Your Highness, I only hope His Highness will show grace, so that this concubine can get closer according to love, so that there will be no room for her!"

When Li Tong heard this, he was touched for a moment. He raised his hand to cover Yang Li's white hand, and said in a low voice: "My lady is a rare heroine in the world, but I am just a power-hungry fan. Is it an honor to be grateful for the love of a lady? The level of life experience is just the idle plan of the worldly people. But if I deeply investigate the truth, I will be the one who has won the lady. As long as the lady does not despise me, a filthy powerful person, I will not leave my body. Don't give up!"

When Yang Li heard this, tears welled up in her pretty eyes: "Your Majesty, I will believe it! I am a rare great lady in the world. A sincere heart is more expensive than pearls and jade, and a thousand pieces of gold can be obtained. This kind of heart is hard to find. Since you are so light Throw it at Your Highness, I hope His Highness will protect it and not lose it!"

Gradually, the two snuggled together.

Suddenly a figure by the window flashed by, and Li Ge saw Yang Xianzong in front of him suddenly turn around and back away in the corridor. ..."

After hearing the words, Yang Xianzong glared at Li Ge, and was about to scold Li Ge when Yang Li's figure flashed in front of the door, pointing at the two of them and said: "His Royal Highness waits to see you."

"Amei, I didn't...it was Li Dahe!"

Yang Xianzong hurried forward, with a blunt smile on his face, but he just rolled his eyes in exchange.

Chapter 0431 Thousands of soldiers enter the capital, just waiting to be called

Standing in front of the table, Li Tong saw the two entering the room, and motioned for them to take their seats.

Seeing that Yang Xianzong was dressed in a splendid and dandyish attire, while Li Ge looked like a short-brown coolie, Li Tong couldn't help being amused, pointing at the two of them with a smile and said, "You two have a clear division of labor, with distinct distinctions between high and low."

After taking his seat, Yang Xianzong let out a dry laugh and sighed, "The only thing that is more expensive is this robe, and you still have to run around for food and drink for these poor soldiers."

This is true, the two have their own division of labor.Yang Xianzong led brave warriors into Shendu City under the guise of a merchant caravan. The goods they transported were mainly grain, which was used to supply the soldiers of the Old Clothes Society led by Li Ge.

This group of soldiers is quite large, and they have not yet been fully integrated into the water transportation system in Jinai, so Yang Xianzong and others still need to provide food and clothing to a large extent.

After chatting for a while, Li Tong signaled Li Ge to make a report first.

"Now there are thousands of soldiers entering the city, and they will be transferred in one after another. It's just that the mansions and shops have not been completely laid out, and the fortifications are still being negotiated with the Metropolitan Water Superintendent. There are only about [-] people who actually work. ..."

Although the imperial court let go of the rental and sales of mansions and shops around Xintan, it did not allow merchants to recruit a large number of helpers in private. Every application of labor needs to be reported to the imperial court, and the imperial court will come forward and organize it in a unified way.

One of the purposes of the imperial court’s reform of water transport was to use work as a substitute for relief. Through administrative means, the migrants who had no land to cultivate around Heluo were organized as soon as possible and placed in their posts, so that these young men would not be left idle. It also provides them with a livelihood guarantee.

This task is currently under the responsibility of the Metropolitan Water Supervision, which conducts a general survey of the stations required for water transportation around Gyeonggi, and then recruits Ding Li to allocate them.Inside and outside Gyeonggi, there are tens of thousands of workstations, most of which are transport canals outside the city.As for the city, one is that the imperial court itself has official slaves available, and the other is that it is more wary of a large number of young adults entering the city, so the scale of release is relatively small.

Although Tang Xiuzhong, the father-in-law, is the real direct leader of Dushui, Li Tong did not dare to occupy all the work positions in the city, and basically recruited the soldiers from the old clothing club in a ratio of three to one. .

Li Ge first explained the situation a little bit, and also took out a map of the square to explain in detail: "At present, Lide Square and Chengfu Square have a total of seven Dingying. The north and south of the west gate of Defang, as for those who will enter the city later, the subordinates suggest that they should not all gather in one square, but can be scattered in several squares around Beishi."

Li Tong took the map of the square and took a look. The west gate of Lidefang is directly facing Hui'anmen Street. After leaving the workshop, you can go northward for a short distance to Xuanrenmen, the east city of Da Nei, and further north is the most important warehouse in Jinai. Jiacang City.The members of the Old Clothes Society were concentrated here, and it can be said that they are already close to Ouchi Miyagi.

Li Tong also agrees with Li Ge's suggestion.Although there are plans to move a large number of people from the Old Clothes Society into the city of God, just in case, the main thing is to arrange a livelihood for these people from the Old Clothes Society.If you really want to do things with open swords and guns, it is not very reliable to rely on these loyal disciples alone.

These former believers have neither strict organization nor clear goals of struggle. If they really want to make trouble, their combat effectiveness may not be as good as those street disciples of Jinwuwei in Nanya.If you rely on them to fight directly with the forbidden army, it is tantamount to courting death.

In fact, there was a lot of discussion within the imperial court on whether to recruit a group of troops from outside the city and place them inside the city.

However, due to the high popularity of the land around Xintan, the voice of attracting investment still dominates, so it is appropriate to arrange these forces for the time being.Once the limelight passes, the placement of these troops will definitely need to be adjusted again.

But as long as people have already entered the city, they will have more room for maneuver if they are adjusted later. Even if they do not rely on the palace defense, they can still be placed in the city.

Li Tong did not give any more instructions to these old clothes community members who entered the city. He just ordered Li Geqin to do a visit. If there is any disease or famine, he will provide some help according to the situation, so that they can have an extra layer of protection, and even not No emphasis on strengthening organization.

After all, once people get together, they will inevitably be bold and energetic, and may even make trouble out of nothing.Shenducheng is far different from Fangye. Once there is a collusion of people who obviously violates the ban, it will be absolutely severe suppression, and there is no need to hesitate at all.

The Guyishe itself is just a mutual aid company for the living people, providing them with a person to turn to when they are in distress, rather than controlling the living people.The purpose of such a company is not prohibited in itself, and it is even advocated by the government.

There are many firms in the two cities of Shendu City. Merchants join these firms according to the industry they are engaged in and the goods they sell. They agree on prices and borrow goods. This is within the rules and can even be regarded as two. The management organization under the City Supervisor is different only that it is a non-governmental organization formed spontaneously by merchants.

Even if you don't talk about the agencies of these merchants, there are also quite a few aristocratic families and Hu tribe chiefs who settled in the city.

For example, the Goguryeo people who had a good relationship with Li Tong, they lived in large numbers in a few squares near Jianchun Gate in the east of Luoyang City.As for the former Prime Minister Yang Zhirou’s residence in Zunxianfang, most of the residences are from the Hongnong Yang clan.There is a Zoroastrian temple in the festival square, and once any religious ceremony is held, there will be tens of thousands of Hu people gathered in the square.

Even in the Forbidden Palace, there are some small groups.For example, Yang Chong, the old eunuch of Sigongtai, madly recognized his godson, and the maids also formed friendships and helped each other, and even pooled money to dig caves in Longmen to worship Buddha, or raised funds to bury some palace maids who died of old age.

Among these various organizations, Guyishe is not conspicuous.Unless Li Tong himself stood up and said that he was the head of the Old Clothes Society, which attracted the attention of the upper political forces, or the members of the Old Clothes Society gathered every day to hold a meeting and shout slogans, to fight against the military and support Li, and to seek death.

After Li Ge finished his report, Li Tong looked at Yang Xianzong again.

Yang Xianzong stood up and said: "Tian Weng is equal to Bianzhou. The grain and goods purchased in Bianzhou have been transported to Luozhou in batches, and stored in the countryside outside the city to help the community. The warriors are also obtaining their names, or hometowns, or Now there are [-] disciples from the temple, and the rest are scattered in the countryside to look after the warehouses. Some car shops and foot shops in the city are gradually taking over."

Warriors are undoubtedly Li Tong's most reliable private armed force in the city. At the real critical moment, they need to be organized to fight head-on.

The base camp of the warriors is located in Beishi, but if necessary, they can be mobilized to most of the districts in the city by boat, vehicle and foot power.

Of course, don’t think about Jishanfang, which is similar to Li Tong’s mansion. The real expensive places in these cities are absolutely not allowed to have a sudden influx of large numbers of outsiders.Even if guests come to visit, Wuhou and street disciples in the square will strictly investigate.

After Yang Xianzong finished his report, Li Tong handed him a name card and said, "Hold my name card and go to pay respects to Zheng Ke later. He is the supervisor of the Youshang Office and is directly in charge of the warehouse affairs of the Shangfang Supervisor. I have Inform him, and he will receive you when the time comes."

Although the relationship with Zheng's family was considered close, Li Tong did not directly negotiate the purchase of warehouse goods.He is a majestic prince, but he personally intervened in the affairs of the warehouse of Shang Fangjian's subordinates, anyone can guess that there must be something wrong.There is still far from a tacit understanding of collusion between each other, and it is a cover-up for Yang Xianzong to come forward to make contact.

He also didn't need to arrange a special identity for Yang Xianzong. It was no secret that Yang Li was appreciated by His Majesty the Holy Emperor after entering the palace.Yang Xianzong, as his cousin, took advantage of this relationship to conduct some business transactions with the Shaofu Shangfang Supervisor, which is also normal.

The imperial court itself has a large number of artisan households. These artisan households have constant production. In addition to official consumption, there is also some excess production capacity, some of which flow into the private sector through palace trading. There is no fixed group of imperial merchants.

Get in touch with each other, first cultivate some tacit understanding, and then gradually extend to the sale of some forbidden items, but there is no need to make a clear-cut statement that you want to steal or sell arms.

After Yang Xianzong received the name card, he took out a brocade box from his side and presented it in front of Li Tong's case, and said: "The things in the box were purchased from the market. I feel a little strange. Please appreciate it, Your Highness."

Li Tong opened the brocade box, and saw a two-foot-long dagger with a sheath inside. He raised his hand and took out the dagger, and when he pulled it away, a cold light shone from the short body of the sword. It has its own fine cloud patterns and a unique halo left by dipping in fire.

It's just that after the sword body was completely drawn out, Li Tong realized what Yang Xianzong said was strange. The craftsmanship of the sword itself was extraordinary, but the blade was sharpened with sand and stone, which made the blade uneven and full of gaps. , as if sawtooth.Looking at the spine of the sword, there is already a military standard, but looking at the edge, it is only the grade of a hatchet.

Frowning, he took off the small knife at his waist, and peeled off the tendons wrapped around the hilt, only to find that there were obvious traces of patchwork welding between the sword body and the hilt.Seeing this, no matter how incomprehensible he is with ordnance, he can still tell that this is a crudely modified Forbidden Army Barrier Knife.

"Where did you buy this thing?"

Li Tong put the sword back into the box, and planned to return to the mansion later for Yan Yanfan and others to examine it carefully.

Yang Xianzong mentioned the name of a shop in Beishi, and said: "Many of the utensils sold in that shop are of high quality and exquisite workmanship, not just this sword."

"Check it out and be careful not to expose yourself."

Li Tong also instructed that the folks in the Tang Dynasty did not have too strict a military ban. After all, the government soldiers had to prepare a lot of weapons by themselves. When the government soldiers were in good shape, these weapons could still have a unified supervision.

However, with the gradual collapse of the government military system, a large number of military weapons flowed into the people, so it was not uncommon for the people to sell swords and other equipment.

But if the utensils sold in that store are of excellent quality but the workmanship is so-so, it would be a bit strange, and it is not ruled out that someone has already taken Li Tong one step ahead, secretly stealing and selling the equipment of the Forbidden Army.

Chapter 0432

After Yang Xianzong and others left, Li Tong was not in a hurry to leave.Now that his status is getting higher and higher, his every move attracts wide attention. This time, he had to prepare for several days to enter the folk village. He only got out when he accompanied his wife Tang Lingshu back to the province. There were many people covering up on the way.

Just because it is not easy to act in private, many private matters are also arranged to be dealt with in a centralized manner.

After waiting in the small building for another half an hour, Su Sanyou, who was dressed as a pawn, hurried up the building and reported: "Master, Guo Silang has been brought in."

Li Tong nodded, Su Sanyou went out again, and after a while, a burly figure walked into the building, it was Guo Da, commander of Qianqi Brigade.

"This subordinate pays homage to the Lord Lang!"

Guo Da bowed before entering, his expression and tone were quite excited.

Li Tong stood up, stepped forward to help Guo Da, patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile: "There were many eyes and ears in the camp before, and it was not convenient to get close to Shiro. It's not because of affection, Shiro, don't mind."

"Lang's master is always on the sidelines, and his subordinates know it! It's just that he has lost his teaching all year round, so he is inevitably hesitant in his thinking! I hope that I can personally receive the teaching order and know what the future plan is."

Li Tong signaled Guo Da to take a seat, and took the time to communicate with Guo Da about the personnel consultation he had heard from Zhao Changxing and others and what he had observed.

Guo Da has worked in Qianqi for a long time, and what he knows and sees is also meticulous. After listening to Li Tong's narration, he made some additions and corrections, so that Li Tong's understanding of Qianqi's internal personnel structure is more detailed and detailed. .

Through Guo Da's narration, Li Tong knew that among the officers belonging to the Wu family faction in Qianqi, there were as many as three of them at the first level of Guoyi alone.As for the lower-level Zhichang, Lushuai, etc., there are more.

Although Li Tong had foreseen this for a long time, after knowing the details, he couldn't help feeling that the Wu family's penetration of Qianqi was really strong.No wonder Wu Youning was able to easily give up his business. This is the confidence brought by years of infiltration.

If Li Tong adjusts Qianqi's operations without knowing the specific situation, he will definitely be constrained and destroyed secretly. It is still light to sweep the ground. If things really get serious, he may not even be able to keep this hard-won Qianqi envoy .

However, after repeated inquiries, Li Tong was able to confirm that although the Wu family had recruited a considerable number of Qianqi officers, they were not very popular among the lower classes.

One is that the upper ranks of the martial arts family have a strange process, no prestige at all, and lack of outstanding military achievements. In the eyes of ordinary soldiers, it is inevitable to despise them.Of course, so did Li Tong.After all, Qianqi's main activities are in several military cities in Ouchi, and the generals and officers are all airborne, unlike the normal combat system, which does not have the camaraderie of killing enemies on the battlefield and fighting side by side.

The second is that most of the soldiers in the Qianqi battalion were born as household slaves. No matter how courteous the corporals of the Wu family were, they would not be able to go deep into the grassroots and mix with these humble household slaves.

After learning about this, Li Tong was even more sure that his idea of ​​pulling Qianqi out of the inner circle before making moves was feasible.

If it was still the original environment, Qianqi was only confined to the busy guard patrol, and he wanted to win Qianqi away from the influence of the samurai family, and it would definitely not be possible in a short period of time.Especially in terms of personnel adjustment, a relatively in-depth major shake-up must be carried out.

However, Li Tong was not sure how long he would be able to divide Qianqi into custody, and the current appointment was still an expedient arrangement made by his grandmother based on the current situation.If the situation becomes stable in the future, maybe one day he will be transferred from the Beiya.

Therefore, we must seize this opportunity and infiltrate as soon as possible. By expanding the function and scale of Qianqi, we can ensure that we have a profound influence in Qianqi.

After reconfirming this idea, Li Tong looked at Guo Da again and said: "I and Shiro have been sworn brothers for a long time, but it is not easy to get too close in the camp. Once the story is revealed, it will be harmful to you, Shiro."

Guo Da nodded after hearing the words, and also understood that once the fact that he had been in contact with Dai Wang was discovered, someone would definitely follow this to disturb.If the investigation continues, each other will suffer greatly.

"There will be adjustments to Qianqi's mission in the future. Among these affairs, I will not favor Shiro, and I will use you to stand up."

For Guo Da, Li Tong had nothing to hide, and slowly revealed his plan.Next, he will introduce a group of people to join the Qianqi team. If Guo Da is only promoted based on his feelings, then the meaning of Guo Da's lurking for such a long time will inevitably be greatly reduced.

Therefore, Li Tong planned to gradually suppress and eliminate the members of the Wu family, then highlight Guo Da, push him to Wu Youning's side, and continue to lurk as pawns.

When Guo Da heard this, he couldn't help being a little embarrassed: "The character of the subordinates dare not boast, once they pretend to be King Jianchang, they really can't guarantee that they can cover up well."

After Li Tong heard the words, he said with a smile: "You don't need to put on any pretense, you just need to follow the old pattern and do things with peace of mind. As for making the King of Jianchang more important to you, you don't need to worry about it."

If you want to do infernal affairs, you also need a delicate layout. Li Tong is just talking to Guo Da for a while, so don't be in a hurry when you start to implement it.

After the meeting with Guo Da, it was already evening, and after some twists and turns, Li Tong returned to the Tang House in Qinghuafang without alarming outsiders.

At this time, Tang Xiuzhong also returned home, and Li Tong went to the hall to chat with his father-in-law about the current affairs.

"The adjustment of the water affairs in Jinai has achieved initial results. All the ministers in the court are looking forward to it, and all praise His Highness's economy and national economy. Since the arch, there has been no such exciting personnel reform in the internal affairs of the imperial court for a long time!"

When it comes to the affairs of his current position, Tang Xiuzhong is also excited.Although he has not been in the court for a long time, he can get a little idea of ​​the old state by listening to the officials' discussions.The financial difficulties of the imperial court are no longer a short-term problem, and Baisi is also struggling because of this.

For example, the Dushui Supervisor Tang Xiuzhong worked for used to do everything in order to generate income. The most important method was to keep an eye on the water canals inside and outside the capital, seize every private boat that came and went for exploitation, or search the countryside to arrest some sneaky people. Villagers who hunt and fish.Even so, Jingnian's income is still limited, but he is notorious, and is accused of copying money and water ghosts.

After the reform of water transportation began, the Dushui Supervisor became a key government office that connected various departments, and the number of personnel that needed to be dealt with in the government increased sharply, and the treatment of officials in the government was greatly improved as a result.

In particular, some low-ranking and exiled officials who have no way to guarantee their salaries and are often in arrears for several months have greatly improved their spending and famine, and they are even more enthusiastic about the reform of various water affairs.Talking privately about His Royal Highness who promoted all these changes, the gratitude is beyond words.

Hearing what Tang Xiuzhong said, Li Tong was quite proud.If you are big, you can help the world, and if you are poor, you can be alone. In the past, he only focused on improving his own situation. Now he finally has the ability to promote some personnel, and he is willing to see someone benefit from it.

"I just sit back and talk about things. The reform of water affairs can have a good start because of people like my father-in-law who are really doing things. In the past, the situation was chaotic, and few people could concentrate on things. If the big things are big and the small things are used, everything will inevitably go to waste."

In fact, before Tianbao, there was no big problem with the central structure of the imperial court. Generally speaking, if the politics were clear and the people were employed appropriately, the morals of the world could maintain a momentum of prosperity.Even after the establishment of the political line of Li Wu in the late Wu Zhou Dynasty, internal affairs and people's livelihood entered a stable recovery period, laying a good foundation for the prosperity of Kaiyuan.

The reform of water affairs promoted by Li Tong does not have any advanced concepts beyond the times. There is only one core idea, that is, the court reduces its burden and empowers the people.Since the people are impetuous and can't concentrate on things, there is no point in forcing too much, splitting things up, bringing in people's power, and building together.

Although the imperial court is in the hands of water transportation hubs like Xintan, it cannot fully realize its potential. The affairs are scattered among the desks of various divisions, and they can neither cooperate nor receive enough attention.Then you might as well give it up and let the people who are more thirsty for it make use of it.

Of course, the ills of such powers do not lie in the structure of the imperial court itself, but in the fact that the brutal political struggles have affected the normal conduct of affairs.

The imperial court is not without relevant talents, but those in high positions, such as Yang Zaisi, Dou Lu Qinwang, and Wu Sansi who have recently joined the Zhengshitang, the reason why they can rise to the top lies in the balance of various forces rather than in their own abilities. .

People like Di Renjie who really have administrative talents have to be treated coldly because of power struggles, and they can't use their talents to show their talents.

Of course, the reform of water transportation is not all good news, and some affairs are still hindered.

With Xintan as the core in Kinei, the introduction of people's wealth and people's power will of course make the private water transport enter a period of rapid development in the next period of time.Correspondingly, the construction of supporting weirs and dredging of rivers and canals should also be put on the agenda, otherwise it will not be enough to ensure the increase of transport capacity.

"The water canals in the city can still be maintained, but the canals outside the city are often congested and flooded. At present, the imperial court does not have much use for water affairs, and the democracy movement can still pretend to be Daoist officials. There will be no way to go. There are still a few months to dredge and remedy. If this matter is not taken seriously in advance, the people will inevitably complain, and good governance will become bad governance. It is really necessary to guard against it!"

When Tang Xiuzhong talked about this, there was no lack of worry on his face: "Recently, I have frequently visited the Dongguan in the southern province, but I have never been received by the officials, and I have not been able to discuss matters. It seems that the capital water supervision has frequently infringed on Dongguan's power recently, so the accumulation of incidents has turned into complaints. "

Hearing this, Li Tong also felt quite a headache.To operate such a major event, the coordination of various divisions is a key.However, there is currently no one in their department who is in a high position and can coordinate all parties, so many things are unavoidably troublesome.

After thinking about it, he said again: "I will visit Yang Xianggong at a suitable time, and it is convenient to ask him to come forward for a while."

As he said so, Li Tong was also considering picking someone from within himself to take the top spot. Even if he couldn't enter the Buzhengshitang, Wenchang Left and Right Chancellor of Wenchang Station in Shangshu Province would be the next best choice.

Right now, officials in his department are mainly responsible for the reform of water transportation. As the results begin to show, their voices will increase accordingly, which will attract the attention of the Zhengshitang.

After talking about these things, it was already very late, so Li Tong simply stayed at the Tang's house.Luobei belongs to the patrol area of ​​the Zuo Jinwu Guard, and walking on the street after dark will inevitably be dangerous.

Chapter 0433 on behalf of the king's prestige, favoritism and stealing merit

In the first ten days of May, when the sun rose, Li Tong led his troops to the palace to be on duty for the police.

In today's early court, the atmosphere was not bad, and the ministers played mainly on matters related to the reform of water transportation.

Among them, the rental and sales of various shops around Xintan have been basically completed. This item alone has brought direct income to the court and converted more than [-] yuan. This is only the beginning, and there are follow-ups related to this. Year by year rental income, as well as the city tax increase brought about by the increase in goods entering the city.

Numbers give people the most intuitive feeling. When they heard that the reforms surrounding Xintan alone could bring more than 30 yuan of stable income to the imperial court every year, all court officials couldn't help being amazed.

After listening to these reports, Holy Emperor Wu Zetian's face was also full of joy. He looked at Dai Wang who was standing on the side of the imperial case, his eyes were full of admiration, and he announced in the palace that all the officers and officers who were responsible for this were all The rank will be increased by one class, and the meritorious service will be given after the examination is completed. There is no need to stand for the election, and you can directly participate in the official department's selection and then serve as a lecturer.

Hearing this sacred intention, the courtiers in the hall were all amazed and envious.These are all real generous gifts, especially the fact that serving officials can directly serve as ministers without being elected, which is even more enviable.

Keeping the election can be said to be a major obstacle in the official career. It is not uncommon for an official to serve for three years and keep the election for ten years.The long guard election not only makes people idle, but also consumes a lot of willpower.