After Li Shimin finished speaking, Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but urge him on again.
"Your Highness, please speak quickly, lest you worry His Majesty!"
Upon hearing this, Li Jue stuck out his tongue guiltily, then began to speak eloquently.
"It's actually very simple, we just need to emulate the Tang Dynasty's militia system!"
"The Fubing system?"
"Yes!"
“The people of Goguryeo were trained into soldiers, and they were granted permanent land, as well as more land and houses, and exempted from corvée labor and taxes.”
"Having gained such a huge advantage, they will certainly cherish their status as soldiers and be even more proactive in suppressing the rebellious Goguryeo people!"
"Moreover, in order to maintain their independence, the grandson suggested that they live together in a group."
"concentrated?"
Li Shimin wasn't surprised when Li Jue proposed the Fubing system. But when it came to the word "centralization," Li Shimin was completely baffled.
"My grandson suggests allocating fertile land around the strategically important areas of Goguryeo to build towns, so that those selected to serve in the Goguryeo army can move there."
"At the same time, some laws were promulgated to prohibit intermarriage between soldiers and ordinary people. They could only marry soldiers of the Tang Dynasty or other soldiers."
"Your Majesty can also select some soldiers with families from the army and have them voluntarily marry into these families. In this way, after several generations, these people can be assimilated by us and become the most loyal soldiers of the Tang Dynasty!"
"I see..."
Li Shimin instinctively felt that his grandson's words were plausible and highly feasible. However, the matter was too significant, involving too many interests, making it difficult for him to make a decision for the time being.
While Li Shimin was still hesitating, Li Shiji took the initiative to stand up and speak.
"Your Majesty, the eldest grandson is right!"
"If the eldest grandson really arranges it this way, then the Goguryeo army will have no choice but to rely on the Tang Dynasty and be loyal to the Tang Dynasty."
"Because apart from the Tang Dynasty, no one else can guarantee their interests!"
Li Shimin naturally understood this principle. The reason he hesitated was because he was thinking about whether the Tang Dynasty's military system also needed to be reformed.
While listening to what Li Jue was saying, a sudden thought flashed through his mind, and he realized that this was the most effective way to control the army.
Throughout history, dynasties have lost control of their armies, which led to their downfall.
This was true of the Sui Dynasty, the Zhou Dynasty, and especially of the Northern Wei Dynasty.
It was hard to say that the Tang Dynasty would not repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty, but he had racked his brains for several years and still couldn't come up with any solution.
It was only after hearing Li Jue's words that he felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun had shone through.
Yes!
The military should be the military, and should not mix with ordinary people!
If the Tang Dynasty's militia were concentrated in one place according to the scale of a Zhechong Prefecture, these people would inevitably be separated from ordinary people due to intermarriage over generations.
Then, if the royal family maintains intermarriage with the generals for generations, wouldn't they be able to firmly control the Tang army through military generals and the Sixteen Guards?
no……
There are still many loopholes here, and we need to study them carefully.
For example, issues such as the inheritance of the status of Fubing soldiers, the promotion and rewards of Fubing soldiers, and the perpetual land of Fubing soldiers.
Li Shimin felt a headache coming on when he thought about this.
Although he was still brave in battle and his strategies were still superb, he was old after all, already in his fifties, and his body and mind were no longer young.
well!
I can only initiate this matter; the rest is up to this grandson to handle…
Thinking of this, Li Shimin couldn't help but glare at Li Jue, cursing inwardly that this grandson was inhuman and knew how to cause trouble for himself!
In fact, Li Jue came up with this idea by drawing inspiration from the Eight Banners system of the Qing Dynasty.
The Eight Banners system had many flaws, but one thing was undeniable: it guaranteed the Manchu emperors absolute control over the army.
But Li Jue had no intention of establishing any ridiculous Eight Banners system in the Tang Dynasty. He merely borrowed from it and planned to create a group of Goguryeo lackeys completely loyal to the Tang Dynasty.
After all, the Manchu Eight Banners had no real people, only lackeys.
The Tang Dynasty did not need slaves; what it needed were people with ideas, integrity, and self-respect!
"We'll discuss this later..."
"It's getting late, everyone should go back and rest!"
"promise!"
Li Shimin said he would discuss it later, but the next day he issued a series of decrees.
First, he transferred a large number of officials from within the country, including those who had committed capital crimes in the Tang Dynasty and were supposed to be executed in the autumn.
Secondly, Li Shimin ordered Goguryeo and Baekje to each contribute one hundred officials who were knowledgeable about Tang culture and familiar with the situation on the peninsula.
Furthermore, it does not care about one's origin, whether one comes from sacred bones, true bones, or even mortal bones.
Finally, Li Shimin ordered Li Shiji, Cheng Yaojin, and others to select soldiers in Goguryeo.
The Goguryeo people are generally short, so it is very difficult to recruit soldiers here who are as tall as the soldiers of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, Cheng Yaojin and Li Shiji, after a long and difficult process, spent a full half month selecting three thousand qualified people from among hundreds of thousands of people in Pyongyang.
Li Shimin was very generous to these three thousand people, immediately granting them land, grain, and copper coins. He also thoughtfully allocated three residential areas outside Pyongyang City for them to establish three military commands.
These three thousand people were all of commoner origin, some even slaves.
Overwhelmed by such a sudden and courteous reception, they were all deeply moved and cut their faces to express their absolute loyalty to Li Shimin and the Tang Dynasty.
Park Jin is one of the beneficiaries of this reform. His ancestors were originally nobles, but by his generation, the family had fallen so low that they were almost reduced to begging for a living.
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