Zhang Xuan finally remained silent about Yang Ji'er, but Zhang Xuan also knew that Yang Ji'er was not the cause, but the result. The fundamental reason why the prime ministers were keen to arrange for him to marry Yang Ji'er was to promote him to ascend the throne.

Once he founded the country, it would mean the birth of an empire, and his country would become stable from then on, which would have a strong oppressive force on the Tang Dynasty, thus forming a huge siphon advantage on talents in the world.

Zhang Xuan had no psychological barriers to ascending the throne and founding the country, but he was still a little confused about the system.

At noon, Zhang Xuan's carriage slowly stopped in front of the Pei Mansion under the tight escort of hundreds of guards. Without notice in advance, he came to find Pei Ju, the Grand Marshal who had disappeared from the Northern Sui officialdom for nearly a year. Pei Ju's last appearance was when he represented the Northern Sui Dynasty in Chang'an to negotiate with the Tang Dynasty the next year, but he fell ill shortly after he came back and was paralyzed on the bed. Almost a year had passed since Zhang Xuan visited him last time.

The carriage had just stopped, but he saw Pei Hong coming out of the mansion. Pei Hong was once the Central Commander and served as the prefect of Liang County and the Shangtai Shangtai of Henan. He returned to Beijing two days ago to report his work and lived in his grandfather's mansion. Pei Hong recognized Zhang Xuan's carriage at a glance, and looked surprised in his eyes. He hurriedly stepped forward and bowed, "I'm going to see Your Highness!"

Zhang Xuan came out of the carriage, and he didn't expect to meet Pei Hong here, so he smiled and said, "When will Taishou Pei return to Beijing?"

"Weichen just arrived yesterday and is scheduled to officially report his duties to Ziwei Pavilion tomorrow afternoon, and he will report his duties to His Highness three days later."

According to the regulations of the Northern Sui Dynasty, the prefects of each county need to return to Beijing to report their duties every year. The prefects need to report their duties to the Regent and Ziwei Pavilion respectively. The contents of the report are different. The specific report time is sent to each county by the Secretariat, and the time for each county is different.

Zhang Xuan nodded. He had not seen the secretary-in-chief's schedule yet, no wonder he didn't know.

"I'm here to see your grandfather today. Is he here?"

"Grandfather is here, fishing in the back garden."

Zhang Xuan was a little surprised. Pei Ju was actually fishing. He asked quickly: "Have your grandfather recovered?"

"Report to Your Highness, in addition to his inconvenience in legs and feet, his body is also strong. I took Your Highness over there."

"No need, go and have a good time, I'll talk to your grandfather."

Pei Hong was a very smart official. He immediately understood that Zhang Xuan and his grandfather were inconvenient to chat with him, so he called the butler to lead the way and said goodbye.

Zhang Xuan followed the housekeeper into the back garden. Pei Ju enjoyed the treatment of a prime minister. His mansion covers an area of ​​about 80 acres, and the back garden has 30 acres, including a pond with nearly 20 acres. It is surrounded by weeping willows, and the breeze is swaying, which makes people feel particularly refreshed.

The housekeeper pointed to a pavilion, and Zhang Xuan also saw that Pei Ju was wearing a loose thin linen robe and a straw hat, sitting on a wide soft couch, fishing with concentration. Next to him was a little maid serving him, and behind him were four servants.

Zhang Xuan smiled and walked up calmly. The butler followed behind and waved to the four servants. The four servants hurriedly followed the butler and retreated.

Zhang Xuan stood behind Pei Ju with his hands behind his back and watched for a moment. The little maid lowered her head timidly and did not dare to say anything. At this time, the reed rod float on the water surface moved. Pei Ju was about to pull the fishing rod, but Zhang Xuan smiled and said, "This is an empty hook, Mr. Pei wait a little longer!"

Pei Ju turned around and was startled and said quickly: "It turns out that your highness is here. Please forgive me for being rude!"

Zhang Xuan gently pressed his thin body and smiled and said, "Pei Gong, please sit down, there is no need to be too polite."

As he said that, Zhang Xuan sat down on an embroidery pier beside him. Pei Ju hurriedly said to the maid: "Pour tea for Your Highness!"

The little maid quickly poured Zhang Xuan a bowl of herbal tea and served it with both hands. Zhang Xuan took it and took a sip of the tea, and smiled and said, "It's such a hot day, Mr. Pei is very happy!"

Pei Ju smiled bitterly, "I wanted to fish in the back garden twenty years ago. I thought about it for twenty years but couldn't catch it. Now I finally have a chance. It doesn't matter if the weather is a little hotter."

"When will I fish too, cultivate my mind and cultivate my nature."

"Your Highness has a lot of things to do every day, so there is no time to fish. If Your Highness also starts fishing, it can only be said that it will be a misfortune for the people of the world."

Zhang Xuan smiled, "Mr. Pei looks down on me so much."

"I'm telling the truth. Your Highness regains Luoyang and shakes the world. With Your Highness's status, the welfare of the people in the world depends on Your Highness. Your Highness has no time to enjoy leisure and leisure!"

"Look at Mr. Pei's health is pretty good." Zhang Xuan smiled again.

"Only one handful of bones are left. It is rare for a person to live seventy. I am already eighty and I am satisfied. Let's go through the last few years quietly! Children and grandchildren have their own blessings, so I don't care."

The two chatted for a few moments. At this time, Zhang Xuan glanced at the lower maid next to him. Pei Ju understood and said to the little maid: "You retreat first!"

The little maid bowed and stepped down.

At this time, Pei Ju smiled faintly and said, "If I was not wrong, I want to talk to me about the ascension of the throne!"

"How did Mr. Pei guess?" Zhang Xuan asked in surprise.

Pei Ju smiled slightly and said, "Hundreds of thousands of people shouted "Long live the Emperor, Your Highness, do you think I can't hear it?"

Zhang Xuan laughed silently, "Just this point, Mr. Pei shouldn't be able to guess my purpose! A prime minister should have visited Mr. Pei recently."

Pei Ju narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Your Highness is indeed brilliant! Su Prime Minister came to visit me the day before yesterday to solicit my opinions on your ascension to the throne, so I can guess what Your Highness is coming."

"What is Mr. Pei's opinion?"

"I had no objection, so I told him that instead of asking this or that, it would be better to talk to His Highness openly. If there are any difficulties, we will find a way to solve them. It is meaningless to ask me."

"Do you want to say this to me?" Zhang Xuan asked with a smile.

Pei Ju shook his head, "Of course your highness is different. If your highness asks the old minister, the old minister will definitely do his best to help."

Zhang Xuan pondered for a moment and said, "I do have a question to ask Mr. Pei, what should I do if I ascend the throne, military power?"

"Is this your highest heart disease?"

Zhang Xuan nodded, "If this problem is not solved, I will not be able to consider becoming an corruption and establishing a country."

"Actually, I have been idle at home in the past two years and have been thinking about many things, including the military power issue mentioned by Your Highness. I have carefully considered that Wang Shichong's demise is directly related to his nepotism. The Tang Dynasty is actually the same problem. The competition between countries is a competition of talents, not only literary talents, but also the generals in the army. If the generals of each army are children of the royal family and generals will never make a comeback, then who is willing to die for the dynasty? In the past two years, there were basically no famous generals in the Tang Dynasty. Finally, a slightly warlike Li Xiaogong was dismissed. On the contrary, the famous generals emerged in the side of Your Highness, and the young generals are gradually mature. Who can't be the one on their own? The demise of Zheng and the repeated defeats of the Tang Dynasty are a very important reason."

"Why does Mr. Pei think this situation is caused?"

“That’s the key.”

Pei Ju said slowly: "Tang and Zheng appointed royal families to control military power only, but the result, not the reason. The fundamental reason is that Tang and Zheng lack a balanced system of military power. In fact, we don't have it either. It's just that because Your Highness personally led the army to fight, he made up for the institutional defects. Tang and Zheng would not have this opportunity. But if Your Highness ascended the throne, if it was not handled well, he would repeat the mistakes of Tang and Zheng. The key is to establish a balanced system of military power."

Pei Ju's suggestion made Zhang Xuan feel like he was awakened as if he was dreaming. This was the fundamental reason why he was unable to ascend the throne for a long time. He always couldn't think of the problem. Pei Ju's words revealed the essence and allowed Zhang Xuan to see the root cause and the balance of military power.

"Pei Gong, please continue."

Pei Ju smiled and continued, "After Your Highness ascended the throne, I suggest that the Qi Prince's Mansion should not be revoked. It can be changed. It should also strengthen its power, and be on par with Ziwei Pavilion. Ziwei Pavilion is in charge of the government and is responsible to Your Highness. The New Army Office manages the army and is also responsible to Your Highness. Your Highness will do a good job in military and political arrest. As for the generals of each army, Your Highness can delegate the combat power, but at the same time, there must be a military supervisor. The military supervisor is sent by the New Army Office, military supervisor power, intelligence power, reward and punishment power, logistics allocation power, and new recruit training power. These are the New Army Office. The recruitment, military farming, militia, county soldiers, prisoners of war, casualties, mountain and river maps, military imperial examinations, etc. will continue to be handed over to the Ministry of War for management. I think as long as the military supervisor is in place and the control is in place, the military power will still be firmly in the hands of Your Highness."

Zhang Xuan secretly sighed that Jiang is worthy of being old, and only by seeing through the problem can you have such a direction.
Chapter completed!