After Fang Xuanling finished speaking, the enthusiasm of the civil and military officials in the court obviously dropped a level. Prince Li Tai of Wei felt that he could not let this matter go. This was the first time he had commented on military and national affairs in the court. If it was just left unresolved, it would be a huge blow to those below.
When Li Xiang was in the capital, King Wei Li Tai could not raise his head and was suppressed by Li Xiang. It was not easy for this little bastard to go to the front line. King Wei Li Tai also started to build his own Great Wall during this period. It seems to be taking shape now. If he suffers a crushing defeat in this matter, then his subordinates will lose confidence in him even more, and some of them will even change their allegiance. When Li Xiang comes back, I don't know how many people will pounce on him.
"Your Majesty, I have heard that during this battle against Tuyuhun, our soldiers seized a great deal of their treasure. If we convert this into military expenses, wouldn't that save us a great deal? That way, we wouldn't need to spend any money from the Ministry of Revenue, and wouldn't we be able to hold out longer?"
After Li Tai said this, the faces of the generals present immediately changed. What you are doing is breaking the rules. According to the rules originally set by Li Shimin, no matter what you rob on the battlefield, half of it belongs to you, and the other half belongs to the court. According to Li Tai's statement, doesn't it mean that we will have nothing even if we win a battle in the future?
Everyone understands that money can move people's hearts. Although the imperial court talks about great principles every day and always talks about serving the country and the people, only the generals who have fought on the battlefield understand that sometimes these spoils of war are the most important. They can boost the morale of the soldiers. If you convert these spoils of war into military expenses and collect them all, then in the next battle, I am afraid that not many soldiers will fight to the death.
Everyone understands one thing: everyone likes to increase their treatment, but if you reduce their treatment, even a little bit, many people from top to bottom will be dissatisfied. What's more, these people are not in idle positions, they are at the forefront of the empire. It is too late to reward them now, so how can we take money out of their hands?
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable..."
What Li Tai didn't expect was that his words were immediately opposed by General Li Jing. General Li Jing was like a military god in the entire court. Although he was not leading troops outside now, when General Li Jing said a word, all the civil and military generals in the court would not object. Li Tai never thought that his words would offend all the military generals.
At that time, Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was considered an outstanding talent and was quite popular among the court ministers, but he was incompatible with the military generals. Finally, during the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Jiancheng was directly beheaded by Li Shimin. This shows the importance of controlling military power. When Li Tai saw Li Jing coming out to oppose him, he was also panicked in his heart. If he made enemies with all the military generals, even if he developed well in the future, he would probably not be able to keep this position.
"I understand. There's no need to discuss this matter further. The rules of the battlefield are the rules. I have no intention of changing them in any way. Generals, please don't have any other ideas."
Li Shimin's words directly rejected the idea that Li Tai had just proposed. Moreover, when Li Shimin spoke, his eyes were fixed on Li Tai, and his meaning was very clear. If you have any ideas, just say you have no ideas and don't talk nonsense. You almost caused the court and these generals to become alienated.
Li Shimin started his career with the help of these military generals, so he naturally knew how important their support was. They were not good at business, and most of their wealth was earned on the battlefield. This could be said to be their main source of income. If you let them get stuck, how would these people live in the future? Why should they be loyal to you?
"The Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War will go back and discuss this, and report to the court tomorrow morning."
It was supposed to be a happy thing, but Li Tai ended up in this state. Li Tai didn't understand why the generals were so sensitive about this issue. Even if I said something wrong, you don't have to look at me like that, as if I had dug up your ancestral graves.
"uncle……"
After Li Shimin finished speaking, the audience dispersed. Li Tai looked up and happened to meet his uncle Changsun Wuji, who was standing next to Changsun Wuji in a low voice.
"If you don't understand military matters, don't speak up. Didn't you see I didn't say anything? It's not that I won't teach you some things; you need to understand them on your own. If you rely on others for everything, you'll never grow up. Learn more about military matters when you go back."
Changsun Wuji shook his head and said that in his opinion, this nephew was only good at being clever and only thinking about trying to please his father, the emperor. But when you were trying to please the emperor, could you use your brain a little?
What's more, you coaxed your emperor for a long time but he was still not happy, and you almost ruined the foundation he left behind. If you create a rift between the emperor and the generals, you can forget about having a good life today.
Looking at Changsun Wuji walking away, Li Tai felt extremely aggrieved. After rehearsing at home for a long time, he finally had a chance to speak freely. He felt that the method he came up with could solve the financial crisis of the court, and the staff under him also praised him. But now, not only did he not make his father happy, but he put himself in a dangerous situation.
When walking out of the hall, Li Tai saw several important officials of the court being invited in by Wang De. He suddenly thought of how Li Xiang had been treated before. That boy was also able to go and discuss matters with his father. Why don’t I have this opportunity?
When Li Xiang left the capital, Li Tai lamented that he had no way to seize the military power, but on the other hand he was secretly happy. After all, Li Xiang was far away from the center and he could do a lot of things in Chang'an City. Now it seemed that Li Xiang had been away for nearly two months. All Li Tai's efforts were defeated this morning, and they were defeated by the emperor he wanted to curry favor with.
Now I think it would be better to do nothing, at least doing nothing is not bad. But now it’s terrible. All the civil and military officials in the court feel like I’m a waste, especially people like Yuchi Jingde and Li Xiaogong. They look at me as if they want to skin me alive. What have I done?