The Crown Prince is the Regent, which means that all documents sent to various parts of the Tang Dynasty will be handled according to the writing style and standard regulations of the Eastern Palace.
In addition to the officials of the Prince's Mansion who can temporarily handle the daily affairs of the court at this time, all the officials from the three provinces and six ministries who are at the level of prime minister and can participate in state affairs, except for the Prince's Mansion, will be temporarily granted the titles of officials of various departments of the Eastern Palace before the emperor leaves.
In this way, two institutions were formed to discuss and handle government affairs together. First, they could assist the crown prince and help the officials of the Eastern Palace to become familiar with government affairs. Second, they could provide certain supervision when the officials of the Eastern Palace were in charge of handling government affairs.
But in general, when the crown prince was regent, major government affairs were still decided by the heads of the three ministries, but they were issued using the procedures and regulations of the Eastern Palace.
The Chongwen Hall above the Chongwen Pavilion in the Eastern Palace had long been converted into a conference room that could accommodate a hundred people. At this time, some court officials had already arrived at the door before dawn.
Over the past three or four years, Li Hong has finally gotten rid of his habit of sleeping in. Every day, he is woken up by Xia Zhi or Xiao Xue before dawn, and then jogs in the East Palace accompanied by Hua Meng and Mang Zhong.
He would run for about half an hour each time, until he was so tired that his clothes were soaked, and then he would take a short break and continue with what His Royal Highness the Crown Prince called strength training.
A lot of new things have been added to the back garden of the East Palace in recent years, but they are all cold and heavy stone locks, discs and other heavy objects, which are necessary for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to build up his strength.
After returning to his own bedroom, he took a bath and changed his clothes with the help of Xiaoxue and Xiazhi, and then had a quick breakfast. Then he began to prepare for today's affairs in the East Palace meeting hall.
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Over the years, what Xia Zhi and Xiao Xue had been most relieved about was the Crown Prince's eating habits. He was never picky about food. From a child to a strong, handsome and masculine boy, the Crown Prince had never been picky about food. In Bai Chun's secret words: He was like a pig, he would eat whatever he was given!
He finished his breakfast in a hurry, then snatched the milk from Bai Chun, who was wearing snow-white clothes and had a fairy-like temperament, and drank it all in one gulp. Then he picked up Bai Chun's sleeve and wiped his mouth roughly, and walked quickly towards the meeting hall accompanied by Hua Meng and Mangzhong.
Bai Chun was too lazy to even move. He rolled his eyes and sighed helplessly, allowing his sleeve to be used to wipe his mouth and then put down.
At the door of the council hall, all the court officials looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince who came in a hurry, and then, under the false voice of a eunuch, after the Crown Prince stood firm, they began to salute him with an order.
After the ceremony, everyone could slowly enter the meeting hall only after the prince entered.
Li Hong placed name tags on every seat, so it was clear at a glance who should sit where and who should not.
Original officials of the Eastern Palace, such as Xu Jingzong, Shangguan Yi, Li Yifu, Yang Sijian and others, naturally had to move a few seats back after the bigwigs of the three provinces and six ministries came.
Pei Yan, Cen Changqian, Zhang Wenguan, Zhao Renben and other bigwigs from the three provinces naturally sat on the left and right sides of the front.
Next came the officials from the six ministries and other officials with the third rank of Zhongshu Menxia. Dozens of people filled the entire conference hall at once.
Yang Jiong, Xu Yanbo and others began to place the meeting documents that had been printed overnight in front of each official, in order to inform everyone that today's topic would not allow them to deviate from it.
After Yang Jiong and others had distributed the documents, the maids took out bright glass cups and poured a glass of water for each person.
There is no way. In the past, there was free fresh tea available, but since His Royal Highness the Crown Prince suddenly stopped drinking tea, the tea here has all been turned into boiled water.
Some officials even privately discussed that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was trying to save money.
After the noise of the moving of tables, chairs, and other things gradually faded away, Li Hong, who was sitting in the middle of the upper seat, said bluntly: "Today's meeting topic has been sent to everyone. Before we start discussing matters, let me remind you that if we can't come up with a reasonable opinion, then don't leave this door today. When we have a solution, we can leave and adjourn the court."
The court officials were stunned. How shameless! This was definitely a case of kidnapping!
But there was nothing to be done at this time, because two soldiers from the prince's left guard suddenly appeared at the door. Judging from their cold expressions, it was likely that except for the prince who could come and go freely, no one else present could walk past them.
Li Hong glanced at the whole audience, lowered his head to look at the document in his hand, and said: "His Majesty has not given an order yet, so you don't have to think about how His Majesty will decide. Regarding Goryeo Quan's offering of the city to ask for help from the Tang Dynasty, I think it is just a power struggle within Goryeo. And from the analysis of the request, Quan Nanjian and Quan Nanchan, the two sons of Quan Nan, have no signs of an alliance with Silla and Baekje, so we don't need to send more reinforcements to Goryeo. Liu Renyuan and Sun Renshi will continue to guard the border between Goryeo and Baekje. If there is a war, they can join forces with the Goryeo soldiers to attack and defend. They don't seek to conquer Baekje and Silla, but they must not retreat a step. The other person will be stationed in the Goryeo royal city to help Goryeo train soldiers."
"Your Highness, I feel that this matter still needs to be considered, or we should ask Your Majesty's opinion. Goryeo and our Tang Dynasty have always been neighbors, and when Your Majesty was enthroned at Mount Tai, the King of Goryeo sent Quan Nansheng to accompany you. Now if we stop and do not send reinforcements, I am afraid that Goryeo Quan Nansheng will question the sincerity of our Tang Dynasty." Dai Zhide said to himself with a dark face, looking at the document in his hand.
Li Hong smiled, looked at Dai Zhide and asked, "Who will be the King of Goryeo? Does it matter to the Tang Dynasty? Besides, Silla, Baekje and Wa have all sent people here, so why don't we just surrender?"
"Your Highness, that is not what we mean. Goryeo has always helped the Tang Dynasty to stop the wolf ambitions of Baekje and Silla. If Goryeo is destroyed, Your Highness, have you ever thought that Liaodong will be under the watchful eyes of Baekje and Silla?" Yan Liben of the Ministry of Works also expressed his opposition and said as he closed the document in his hand.
Li Hong held his chin with one hand, looked at Yan Liben quietly, then glanced at the meeting hall and asked slowly: "What do you think, Ministry of War?"
The Ministry of War now has Ren Yaxiang as the actual Shangshu, and after Liu Rengui defeated the Baekje coalition forces that year, he was also granted the right to participate in politics and affairs of state. At this time, he sits next to Ren Yaxiang.
"I think that in order to demonstrate the power of our Great Tang, we must send troops in time to suppress Quan Nanjian and others in Goryeo, and establish Quan Nanjian as the King of Goryeo." Ren Yaxiang said lightly.
"Minister Liu, you are most familiar with Goryeo, Baekje and Silla. What do you think?" Li Hong sighed and asked Liu Rengui.
"I also think that we should continue to send more reinforcements to Goryeo. I'm afraid it won't be a long-term solution for Liu Renyuan and Sun Renshi to guard the place together." Liu Rengui said solemnly.
Liu Rengui's answer was within Li Hong's expectations. Having spent his entire life in military service and living for war, it was understandable that he was willing to send troops to Goryeo.
But no one knew that two years later, the Andong Protectorate established by the Tang Dynasty in Liaodong and led by Xue Rengui lost control of Goryeo again after Xue Rengui was sent to the Western Regions due to the tense war in the Western Regions.
Coupled with the fact that the former Goryeo and other remnant ministers joined forces with Silla to restore their country, Liaodong was lost to the Tang Dynasty.
Li Hong took the document from Yang Jiong who rushed in, took a look and asked, "General Liu, how many troops does Goryeo have now? How many troops does the Tang have stationed in Baekje?"
"Goryeo has a combat force of 150,000 soldiers. Our Tang Dynasty now has a total force of more than 100,000 soldiers led by Liu Renyuan and Sun Renyuan." Liu Rengui answered fluently.
"How many troops does Baekje and Silla have?" Li Hong asked.
"More than 200,000." Liu Rengui glanced at Li Hong and instantly understood what Li Hong meant, so he said hastily: "Your Highness, the battlefield is never judged by the number of troops. Although the Tang Dynasty and Goryeo have more troops than Baekje and Silla, Goryeo soldiers have never been good at fighting. I have fought in Goryeo for many years and have a deep understanding of this. In every battle, the Tang Dynasty soldiers are the main force, and they are the auxiliary."
Li Hong looked up at the ceiling, then stared at him and said, "Then do you know that war of attrition has always been a strategic means? Goryeo is now preserving its strength. When the Tang Dynasty consumes most of the troops of Baekje and Silla for Goryeo, and when the Tang Dynasty's Anxi area is ineffective, at that time, if Goryeo rebels against the Tang Dynasty, what are you going to use to suppress Goryeo?"
Without waiting for the ministers to speak, Li Hong continued to speak anxiously: "Do you know that no matter whether it is Silla, Goryeo or Baekje, any one of them is a threat to our Tang Dynasty? Now Goryeo is fighting with our Tang Dynasty soldiers as the main force. Can you guarantee that one day Silla and Goryeo will not unite to destroy Baekje? And then turn around and bite us? Baekje is the weakest among the three kingdoms, and Goryeo has always been powerful. Now even without the strength of our Tang Dynasty, they can still be invincible! Quan Gaisuwen's death has plunged Goryeo into civil war. Our Tang Dynasty only needs to deter Silla and Baekje from destroying Goryeo during the Goryeo civil war! Consuming Goryeo, Baekje, and Silla is the best foreign strategy for our Tang Dynasty!"
"Your Highness, the relationship between two countries is based on trust and sincerity. If we go on like this, we will only lose trust with other countries, and the prestige of our Tang Dynasty will be gone forever because of your Majesty's hard work to accumulate." Dai Zhide said with a dark face.
"As long as Goryeo survives, I don't care who is the king of Goryeo, and the Tang Dynasty doesn't care either! Whether it's Baekje, Silla, or Goryeo, I don't care whether they are influenced by the virtue of the Tang Dynasty or intimidated by the military strength of the Tang Dynasty. As the Minister of Rites, you are responsible for diplomatic mediation. How to use diplomatic means to gain more benefits for the Tang Dynasty from Liaodong is your duty, not to worry about who is the king and who is the minister of Goryeo. Now Anxi is in crisis, and Liaodong is on the way. I just want it to continue to be in internal troubles, which is in the interests of the Tang Dynasty. As for the majesty, virtue, and integrity you mentioned, do the Tang Dynasty need to care about it?"
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