Chapter 5137: Balancing Civil and Military Affairs

Chapter 5137: Balancing Civil and Military Affairs
Li Chengqian held his newborn son in his arms, rocking him gently while asking Wang De, "The queen is not coming back?"

Wang De bowed and stood by, secretly swallowing his saliva, and said carefully: "The Queen said that since spring, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has been ill many times, and recently he has some asthma and cough. He must stay in the East Palace to take care of the Crown Prince and return to the palace when the Crown Prince recovers."

"Haha, I didn't realize that the Queen is actually so stubborn?"

Wang De lowered his head and didn't dare to respond.

For women, "stubborn" is not a good word...

The graceful, charming and beautiful Concubine Shen smiled softly, "Mother and son are connected by heart. It is understandable that the Queen is worried about the Crown Prince. Just like my heart is on the prince now, I am worried even if he coughs or spits up milk. What the Queen did is what a mother should do, and it is not inappropriate. Please don't blame your majesty."

Wang De lowered his head even lower.

Li Chengqian glanced at Concubine Shen coldly, handed the child in his arms to the wet nurse beside him, stood up, and said condescendingly: "Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there have been thousands of rules in this palace, but in fact, the most basic one is: do not break the rules!"

After a pause, he said to Wang De: "The Queen is the legitimate mother of the prince. In two days, the prince will be sent to the Queen to be raised by her."

How can someone with a narrow mind, cunningness and many schemes raise a prince?

"Here."

Wang De agreed, then followed Li Chengqian out of the bedroom and went to the imperial study.

Behind him, Concubine Shen's pretty face was pale, her body was trembling slightly, her eyes were full of panic and fear, she didn't even care that her son was taken away from her...

Overstepping the boundaries?!
It's a capital crime!
……

Returning to the imperial study, Li Chengqian knelt on the mat by the window, looking at the beautiful scenery outside, feeling depressed and unhappy.

Disharmony between husband and wife makes all life a mess...

Wang De stood quietly behind the door, not daring to speak.

After a while, Li Chengqian said, "Summon the Minister of the Central Secretariat, the Minister of the Imperial Court, and the Minister of War to come and have them report on the situation of the war in the Western Regions... and call Lord Ying along as well."

"Here."

After Wang De left, Li Chengqian sat for a while and drank two cups of tea. Then he stood up and returned to the imperial desk, picking up the red pen to review the memorials.

Less than half an hour later, Li Ji, Liu Li, Ma Zhou and Cui Dunli came in one after another and bowed to greet them.

"Everyone, I love you!"

After reviewing official documents for a while, Li Chengqian calmed down. He smiled and waved his hand, then stood up and came out from behind the imperial desk. He asked a few people to sit on the mat in front of the window and asked the eunuchs to serve cakes and tea.

After everyone was holding their teacups and drinking tea, he looked at Cui Dunli and asked, "Are there any latest war reports in the Western Regions?"

Cui Dunli said: "There is no latest battle report yet. The most recent one was six days ago."

Chang'an is more than 5,000 miles away from the Western Regions, and Suiye is in the Seven Rivers Basin, nearly 10,000 miles away. Even if an 800-mile express train is set up along the way, it will take at least a month for the battle report to reach Chang'an from Suiye City. If there is rain or snow on the way, or if something happens to the postman or the horse, it will be delayed even longer.

Therefore, the latest situation of Suiye City that Chang'an knew was two months ago. The journey was too long and the timeliness was too poor...

Li Chengqian ordered people to hang the map on the wall: "What is the current situation in the Western Regions?"

Cui Dunli knew the situation well: "Since March, the armies of various countries and tribes in Central Asia have been gathering towards Kesan City under the order of the Caliph of the Arab Empire. By the beginning of April, more than 30,000 troops had gathered. Together with the 100,000 elite troops led by Yazid, the total force reached more than 130,000. On April 20, Xue Rengui led 20,000 elite troops of the Anxi Army from Suiye City, moving westward along the northern foot of the Alatau Mountains, passing through Julan and Henglus, and heading straight for Kesan City, actively launching a surprise attack to interrupt the enemy's gathering."

Li Chengqian turned sideways and, following Cui Dunli's words, searched for place names on the map.

"How is Ashina Helu doing?"

"There is no sudden situation. The Duke of Yue has sent someone to deliver a letter to A Luohan, another garrison commander of Tuozh City, promising that if he is willing to join the Tang Dynasty after the war, he will be granted a rank above the fourth rank. If he is unwilling to join the Tang Dynasty, he will stay in Tuozh City forever and become a vassal of the Tang Dynasty. A Luohan has already agreed. Once the war begins, he will join forces with Ashina Helu to raise an army in Tuozh City and attack the rear of Kesan City."

Liu Li suddenly said, "According to this, no matter whether we win or lose this battle, it will probably be over in a few months?"

Cui Dunli frowned and said calmly: "We are stationed in the rear, thousands of miles away from the battlefield. How can we know the changes in the situation? The soldiers on the front line are fighting bloody battles, and the commanders are making plans. We only need to ensure the logistics supply and cannot hinder them."

Liu Li disagreed: "But the food and fodder shipped to the Western Regions is enough for the Anxi Army to fight for two consecutive years. Defeating the Arabs and ensuring the stability of the Western Regions is important, but we can't just keep asking for food and fodder and drag down the national finances, right?"

Cui Dunli refused to give in. "The army gathering in Suiye City is not just the Anxi army, but also the Turkic, Huihe, and Turkic tribes. We can't let them come to help and bring their own food, right? The Arabs have traveled a long way, and we have also traveled thousands of miles. If we don't have enough food and supplies, how can we fight this battle?"

"Is it worthwhile to reserve two years' worth of supplies?"

"In matters of war, one must be extremely cautious. One must consider defeat before considering victory, and one must prepare for a rainy day."

"It's easier said than done. Do you know how much effort it took to prepare these food and fodder?"

"It's really difficult for the Minister of the Central Secretariat. How about you abdicate and let the wise man go home to rest for a while, and replace him with someone who is not afraid of fatigue or hardship. After this war, when there is peace, you can come back to take charge of the central government and supervise all the ministers?"

Liu Li was so angry that he laughed: "How rude of you!"

Cui Dunli admitted his mistake with a positive attitude: "I was reckless and spoke without thinking, please don't blame me, Minister of the Central Secretariat."

"That's enough! When a general is away from home, he may not obey orders from the emperor, let alone the matter of raising food and fodder. No matter what Erlang asks, the court must go all out to ensure the supply. Soldiers fought bravely on the battlefield to defend their country. If we, the emperor and his subjects, can't even do this well, how can we face the fallen soldiers?"

Li Chengqian made the final decision, ending the debate.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Liu Li held his breath, feeling helpless.

Li Chengqian looked at Li Ji and asked, "Do you think the Anxi Army's strategy is reasonable?"

Li Ji recovered from his invisible state, stroked his beard and said thoughtfully: "As I said before, the situation on the battlefield changes rapidly. Only those who are on the front line can make the most accurate response. We are in the rear and deduce all kinds of battle reports, which is just paper talk. As for whether the strategy is reasonable, we should still respect the response of the generals on the front line."

Li Chengqian was speechless.

This person finally spoke, and it seemed that he didn't say anything...

Liu Li also asked: "In your opinion, Duke Ying, is there any other strategic plan for the Duke of Yue to mobilize such a huge amount of food and fodder?"

Li Ji glanced at him and said unhappily, "I am in the rear, how can I know what is happening on the front line? Since I don't know the specific details, of course I can't make a reasonable deduction. Should I just rely on guesses to confirm or deny the decisions made by the soldiers in the front? The victory or defeat of a war involves a wide range of issues. Every tiny detail may determine success or failure. No one can predict it in advance. What we should do is not difficult. We just need to do our own job."

Liu Li's expression remained unchanged and he looked calm as usual, but in fact he was filled with shame and anger.

The military commanders and generals, both big and small, looked down upon him because he, the Minister of the Central Secretariat, had never been on the battlefield or led troops in battle.

Li Chengqian did not care about the conflicts among his subjects, and even welcomed it.

At present, the court has the Political Affairs Hall for the civil officials and the Military Affairs Council for the military officials. The interests of both sides conflict and they compete with each other. At critical moments, he, the emperor, is needed to mediate and make the final decision. If both sides really put aside their prejudices, be selfless, and then cooperate with each other, then he, the emperor, will be shelved and put on a tablet, completely sidelined.

The essence of "balance" is to "help the weak and suppress the strong." Now that the civil service is weak and the military is strong, he has to stand up and take sides...

"Although what Lord Ying said is not wrong, we cannot point fingers at the frontline soldiers from the rear, but the Zhongshu Ling's concerns are also reasonable. We can't work hard in the rear and not know anything about the strategy in the front, right? So, Minister Cui will send a letter to Suiye City in the name of the Ministry of War, asking Erlang if he has any follow-up plans, so that the court can organize and raise funds and fully support him."

"Here."

Cui Dunli agreed.

Li Chengqian continued, "Lun Qinling led his family to the Tang Dynasty to show his loyalty and his desire to stay in the Tang Dynasty for a long time... In fact, he was taken as a hostage. In order to appease his heart and demonstrate the magnanimous national policy of the Tang Dynasty, I intend to grant him an official position, so that he can receive the salary of the Tang Dynasty and serve the Tang Dynasty. It should be no less than a fourth-rank official position. Which government office do you think has vacancies and can be properly placed?"

Just like when the various Turkic tribes came to the Tang Dynasty, it was only natural to grant them official positions to reassure them. Although there was a national policy of "no official position without imperial examination", this did not apply to foreigners who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

Ashina Helu's sons can be granted the position of Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, and Lun Qinling should also enjoy the same treatment.

Liu Li asked: "Your Majesty, do you want to give him an idle position or give him a real job?"

Li Chengqian thought for a moment and said, "He is a model for taking the initiative to submit to the emperor. He should not be left idle and without any power. He should be given a real position."

Liu Li frowned in thought.

It is easy to get a leisurely position, but it is difficult to get a real job. Some government offices involve national policy making and even state secrets, so of course foreigners cannot be allowed to participate.

Cui Dunli suggested: "How about the Lieutenant General of the Imperial Guards?"

The Zhechongfu of the Tang Dynasty was divided into the inner and outer prefectures.

The outer palace refers to the Zhechongfu that takes turns to guard the capital, while the inner palace refers to the three palaces and three guards, the three guards are the Qinwei, the Xunwei, and the Yiwei. The three palaces are called Qinfu, Xunfu, and Yifu. Their soldiers are mainly from the royal family, nobles, officials' children, and those who have been promoted for military merit.