gnovel Chapter 31: Emperor Taizong of Tang or Zhu Di?
Chapter 31: Emperor Taizong of Tang or Zhu Di?
"Grandpa."
"The Crown Prince's guards are only recruited from the sons of marquises who have been stripped of their titles and the descendants of criminals."
"I....."
Gongsun Jingsheng was still somewhat unconvinced.
The Crown Prince's affair has become a laughing stock in Chang'an. If he were to enter the Crown Prince's palace, wouldn't he become a laughing stock as well?
"Use your pig brain to think."
What do the sons of marquises who have been stripped of their titles need?
"Among those criminals were descendants of the feudal lords from the time of Emperor Gaozu and descendants of generals from Western Chu."
"Aren't these people more capable than a piece of trash like you?"
Gongsun He was furious. He knew he was mediocre, which was why he tried to curry favor with powerful figures, but even his son couldn't recognize his own worth.
"Grandpa."
"You mean the Crown Prince did this on purpose?"
Gongsun Jingsheng said somewhat uncertainly.
"And what do you think?"
Gongsun He asked with exasperation, "Why did the Crown Prince clean up the Crown Prince's palace?"
"Isn't it just about having a crown prince's palace that he can completely control?"
"All the guards we're recruiting now are after the Crown Prince."
"These people are talented and capable, but what they lack is a ruler like the Crown Prince."
"If it were His Majesty, he wouldn't need them, nor would he care about them."
"The Crown Prince's favor will surely inspire his loyalty to the people, even unto death."
"At today's court assembly, the Crown Prince took the initiative to accept the task of resettling more than 500,000 refugees from Guandong, which won the approval of the ministers."
"His Majesty has sent the young Marquis of Champion to the Crown Prince's palace for his upbringing, and the Crown Prince will take over the connections of the Wei and Huo families."
"Do you still think entering the Crown Prince's Palace isn't important?"
"I...I..."
Gongsun Jingsheng could barely speak properly.
The transformation of Crown Prince Liu Ju has been fully demonstrated. Anyone with a brain knows that he is striding towards becoming the emperor. If he misses this opportunity, it will be a pipe dream for him to become a minister who follows the emperor's rise to power.
"Someone, prepare generous gifts."
"what?"
Gongsun Jingsheng was slightly taken aback.
"The Crown Prince wants to appoint an official in charge of agriculture to settle more than 500,000 displaced people and to manage the affairs of the Shanglin Garden."
"You, right now, immediately, come with me to the Crown Prince's Palace."
Having been in charge of court affairs for many years, Gongsun He keenly sensed that this was an opportunity, perhaps the last chance for the Gongsun family to get on board the Crown Prince's bandwagon.
"promise."
Although Gongsun Jingsheng didn't understand why, he still did it in detail.
...................
Meanwhile, at Bowangyuan.
"Your Highness."
Two days ago, Li Yannian, the Commandant of Music, sent his sister, Li, to the General's Mansion.
Zhang He, the Crown Prince's steward, reported a piece of news.
"hehe."
Liu Ju sneered and said sarcastically, "My aunt is truly a woman of great intelligence."
"So quickly you've already figured out how to leave yourself a way out."
"It seems that my uncle's health is worse than I expected."
"Your Highness is wise."
Zhang He added, "The inner and outer courtyards of the General's Mansion have already been taken over by Princess Pingyang's people."
"The spy could not infiltrate the inner courtyard, let alone understand the situation of Marquis Changping."
"I only received some information from the Imperial Physician of the Imperial Household Department."
"Years of fighting have left many hidden injuries on the Marquis of Changping's body, and he is gradually showing signs of exhaustion."
"If these hidden injuries cannot be repaired, Marquis Changping will probably not live for more than a few years."
'Thump!'
Liu Ju's heart skipped a beat.
Historically, Marquis Changping, Wei Qing, passed away in the fifth year of the Yuanfeng era (106 BC), only 5 years ago.
The reason he can now confront Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, so recklessly is because of Wei Qing, the still-living imperial general who has supreme prestige in the army, a prestige that even Emperor Wu of Han cannot match.
If Wei Qing were to die, Liu Ju would face suppression from all sides, which led to the witchcraft scare.
Five years. During these five years, he had to cultivate his own power base, at least to the point of being able to rival Emperor Wu of Han, or even seize power.
"call!!!"
Thinking of this, Liu Ju's mood became extremely heavy.
Throughout China's thousands of years of history, there have been very few monarchs who can truly be called great emperors of all time, and Emperor Wu of Han is one of them.
Dealing with Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, was no easy task!
Among later emperors, there were countless usurpers, but the most valuable examples are Emperor Taizong of Tang (Li Shimin) and Emperor Chengzu of Ming (Zhu Di).
The former launched the Xuanwu Gate Incident, while the latter spearheaded the Jingnan Campaign.
Emperor Yongle (Zhu Di) took a very dangerous path. Relying on his status as a prince and son-in-law of Xu Da, he established military prestige on the frontier of the Ming Dynasty. His confrontation with Emperor Jianwen (Zhu Yunwen) was a real battle, and the slightest mistake could have led to total defeat.
Even though they ultimately won, the internal strife had far-reaching consequences, severely depleting the Ming Dynasty's national strength, which should have been on the rise. As a result, Zhu Di had to rely on Zheng He's voyages to acquire external wealth to support his numerous northern expeditions.
The territory of the Ming Dynasty reached its peak during the Yongle reign, and it began to shrink continuously from that period onwards.
Under the rule of Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, the territory of the Han Dynasty expanded rapidly, and the national strength was almost exhausted.
If Liu Ju had followed Zhu Di's example and launched a campaign to quell the rebellion, the empire would have disintegrated and been engulfed in war long before he ascended the throne. Liu family princes and ambitious figures would have risen up, and heroes would have vied for control of the Central Plains.
At that time, the Xiongnu in the northern desert, the Wuheng and Xianbei in Liaodong, as well as the southwestern Yi and Qiang people will all return.
This was an outcome that Liu Ju could neither accept nor tolerate.
In contrast, the Xuanwu Gate Incident did not deplete the national strength of the Tang Dynasty; its impact was limited to the royal family.
Despite being criticized by later generations, this does not diminish the fact that Li Shimin led the Tang Dynasty to a new height and laid the foundation for its greatness.
"That's it!"
Liu Ju's eyes lit up, and he resolved to take the Xuanwu Gate Incident as a reference.
There are three reasons why Li Shimin was able to smoothly transfer power during this bloody power struggle.
First, the Tian Ce Mansion's personnel could support the entire court's operations; second, he enjoyed supreme prestige in the military and among the people; and third, the two most important border armies at the time chose neutrality.
Li Jing, the Grand General of Lingzhou (present-day Wuzhong City, Ningxia), was stationed in the northwest, while Li Ji, the General Commander of Bingzhou Road (present-day Shanxi), pacified Hedong and Hebei. Their neutral stance indirectly supported Li Shimin's coup and ensured the security of the northern border.
So, the first thing he needs to do now is to build his own team.
It's not enough to just have the Crown Prince's Household Steward, the Palace Steward, the Palace Attendant, and the Chief Clerk; we need to have a larger pool of talent.
Ideally, it should be like the Eastern Palace during the Sui and Tang dynasties, with the Court of Imperial Sacrifices under it, which would oversee all affairs of the Eastern Palace, including the administration of the Eastern Palace Household Steward, the Palace Attendant, the Three Temples of the Palace Attendants, the Left and Right Guards, the Left and Right Imperial Attendants, the Left and Right Gatekeepers, the Left and Right Inner Palaces, and the Ten Palace Attendants, similar to the Ministry of Personnel. It would also have the Left and Right Spring Palaces, which would be a miniature version of the Secretariat and the Chancellery.
As the pinnacle of feudal monarchy, the Three Departments and Six Ministries were undoubtedly the most powerful ruling system in ancient times.