A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 977 I’ll be a matchmaker

The emperor summoned Wu Huaiyu again.

Still in Xiyuan Thatched Cottage.

"I heard that the Zheng family in Xingyang offered to give you a daughter to be your concubine. This is a good thing." Li Shimin called Zheng Cairen, "She is Zheng Cairen, and she is Zheng Chongsi's aunt in terms of seniority. Zheng Cairen said Zheng Chongsi’s younger sister is twenty-eight years old and extremely young.”

Wu Huaiyu glanced at Zheng Cairen with his peripheral vision.

Young, beautiful, and gorgeously dressed.

He quickly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head and replied, "The matter about Fan Lou has been decided before, and I have no intention of pursuing it any further. They have also compensated Fan Lou for his losses, and this matter is over. As for taking the Zheng family's daughter as a concubine, I don't want to pursue it anymore." No such intention.”

"Although the Zheng family in Xingyang has declined in recent years, it is still a fifth surname. A skinny camel is bigger than a horse. Besides, the tutors from famous families are really good. The women they teach are very polite and well-educated. By taking the Zheng family as your concubine, you have resolved the relationship with Zheng. It's their misunderstanding..." the emperor persuaded with a smile.

"Your Majesty, I have seen Zheng Chongsi, but he is really not worth mentioning."

When Zheng Cairen heard these words from the side, his face turned red, but he did not dare to interrupt, and his eyes widened in anger.

This matter involves an old case. In the early years of Zhenguan, Empress Changsun once personally searched for ladies from well-known families to enter the palace for the emperor, and at that time she chose the daughter of Zheng Renji, the general secretary.

"He also became a monk at Ganluni Temple in the north of Shengyefang Street in the east of Chang'an City."

But now Li Shimin doesn't even want to let go of Zheng Renji, who became a nun. He wants to pull him out again and give Wu Huaiyu as his concubine.

"In a blink of an eye, I have been a monk for many years. If you want to return to secular life, then go home." The emperor said.

This matter is over and over, but now the emperor wants to whip the corpse again and marry the daughter of the Zheng family to Lu Shuang as a continuation of the marriage. Isn't this forcing the Zheng family to eat shit?

Wu Huaiyu did not accept Zheng Xuan's daughter as his concubine, but ended up accepting Zheng Renji's daughter as his concubine. This was not a marriage, but a trample on the Zheng family's face.

Wu Huaiyu had a clear mind, but he did not object and could not object. Besides, keeping a distance from them was the political correctness of today.

Touching the emperor's bottom line again and again,
The emperor naturally wanted to fight back, but this fight was a bit harsh.
This marriage was intended to make both the Zheng family and the Lu family feel uncomfortable.

Li Shimin laughed,

"Zheng Renji is not a bad girl. She is very beautiful. She is only in her twenties. How about I decree that I make you my concubine?"

Wasn't this Zheng's face thrown to the ground and stepped on again and again?

But Wei Zheng said that the ministers were deliberately catering to the emperor, and Lu Shuang was just afraid of being blamed, so he denied it.

It seems that the Zheng family really angered the emperor this time, and the Zheng family's plan to send their daughter to Wu Huaiyu as a concubine angered the emperor again.

On the other hand, Lu Shuang's official career was pretty good since then, and he has now reached the sixth rank of Tongshi Shiren. He married his wife soon after that incident, but his wife died of illness the year before last.

Li Shimin looked at Wu Huaiyu while holding the teacup, "Zheng Chongsi is stunning, you missed the opportunity."

What is Lu Shuang?
Although the Lu family is considered a famous family in Hebei, it is still far behind the fifth surname Zheng family. At that time, the Lu and Zheng families had a marriage contract, but Lu Shuang gave up. As a result, the Zheng family was not allowed to enter the palace, and was also Forced to become a monk.

But at this time, Fang Xuanling, Wen Yan, Bowei, Weiting and other ministers came forward, thinking that there was no clear evidence for this matter. The canonization ceremony had already begun, so there was no reason to stop halfway. Even Lu Shuang hurriedly wrote a letter saying that his father Lu Kang I was good friends with Zheng Renji at that time. When the Zheng family had trouble, Lu Kang gave him a sum of money, but it was a loan, not a gift, and he never issued a marriage certificate.

But Li Shimin finally withdrew the canonization edict.
Of course, Lu Shuang couldn't marry Zheng, but no one else dared to marry Zheng, so in the end the Zheng family had no choice but to let Zheng become a nun.

"Forget it, let me choose another good match for Mrs. Zheng to marry,"

Zheng opened a dragon dumpling, making tea in the traditional way.

But Wu Huaiyu demoted the Zheng family to nothing in front of the emperor, and even showed his resolute disdain for marrying the Zheng family.

After all, the Zheng family took the initiative to give their legitimate daughter to Wu Huaiyu as a concubine, but Wu Huaiyu ruthlessly refused. The emperor immediately gave the Zheng family to Lu Shuang as a continuation of their marriage.

It can be said that this incident made Mr. Zheng lose face at the time.

Of course, this also has another purpose, which is to completely ruin the possibility of a marriage between Wu and Zheng, and even make it difficult for Wu Huaiyu and the Zheng family to get better.

Wu Huaiyuxin said that the emperor was really cruel.

"Is Zheng Renji's daughter still a monk now?" Li Shimin took a sip of tea and raised his head to ask Zheng Cairen.

This is not the best thing about two surnames. This is obviously opening the scar and letting blood.

When Wu Huaiyu said this, he wanted to laugh in his heart, but Zheng Cairen's face turned pale and ugly.

She is good at making tea, and her movements are smooth and smooth, giving her a bit of a kung fu tea flavor.

"Zheng's marriage to Lu Shuang is no worse than being Huaiyu's concubine, right?" Li Shimin said with a smile.

Wu Huaiyu just smiled.

"Lu Shuang, the minister of Tongshi, is also a famous scholar. I will give Zheng Xuan Xu's daughter to Lu Shuang as his wife."

Now that Wu Huaiyu rejected the Zheng family's intention to get married, the emperor gave Zheng Xuan's daughter-in-law a marriage to Lu Shuang as a continuation of the marriage. This was already a huge slap in the Zheng family's face.

Because of that incident, the friendship between the Lu and Zheng families was over.

Wu Huaiyu was amazed, does the emperor really want the Wu family and the Zheng family to fight to the death?
The daughter of Zheng Renji was originally engaged to Lu Shuang, but Empress Changsun didn't know it and recommended her to the emperor. Li Shimin issued an edict to concubine her as a concubine of the ninth concubine, and she was of the second rank. The Zheng family obviously had a marriage contract with the Lu family, but they still accepted the decree. However, in the middle of the canonization ceremony, Wei Zheng jumped out and challenged it.
In the end, things got very ugly. The Zheng and Lu families were completely disgraced, and Zheng became a nun.

Zheng Cairen was driven back.

The queen heard that this girl had an extraordinary appearance and recommended her to the emperor, who made her the most beautiful of the nine concubines. The emperor issued an edict to confer the title, but Wei Zheng jumped out to object, saying that Zheng's daughter had a marriage contract with the scholar Lu Shuang. The emperor was also surprised after hearing this, so he ordered that he be conferred and exempted from travel.

The emperor now wants to marry Zheng Chongsi's sister to Lu Shuang.
This is a slap in the face of the Zheng family.

After speaking, Li Shimin asked Zheng Cai to make tea for the two of them.

Although Zheng Renji, as well as Zheng Shanguo and Zheng Yuanxuan, the leading figures of the Zheng family in the court at that time, said that they had no engagement with the Lu family,

"Zheng Cairen, I originally wanted to be a matchmaker and help your Zheng family facilitate this good thing. Since Huaiyu is not willing, he can't force it. The only blame is Zheng Chongsi for ruining the Zheng family's reputation this time."

Wu Huaiyu and the emperor repeatedly slapped the Zheng family in the face.

Even if you, Wu Huaiyu, refuses someone else’s proposal to give your daughter as a concubine, you still do this, is the Zheng family shameless?

You sent your eldest son to Lingnan for exile, and now you are trampling on your dignity like this. There is no room for relaxation.

"Your Majesty, since Ms. Zheng has been a nun for many years, it is best not to disturb her."

"Mr. Zheng was also forced to become a monk. It was not her original intention. How could she waste her great years in the Qingdeng Ancient Scroll? After all, that was a mistake I made back then. Now I can make up for it."

Wu Huaiyu had nothing to say.
The emperor acted rogue and could not cope with it.

"This matter has been settled. I will immediately issue an order for Zheng Renji to go to the monastery to pick him up. You can choose a good and auspicious day to bring him back to the Duke of Jin."

When Wu Huaiyu left Xiyuan, he could only sigh helplessly. The emperor is becoming more and more capable of tormenting.

He and the Zheng family were completely feuding. Although he was not afraid, it was actually quite unpleasant for him to be plotted by the emperor like this.

But thinking about it, I didn't tell the emperor the real situation in Luzon, and I still hid it, which made me feel a little more balanced.

Cottage.

Li Shimin leaned on the couch and closed his eyes.

After a long time, the emperor opened his eyes again, and his eyes lit up again.

The emperor stood up and walked to the back hall with his hands behind his back.

On the floor of the back hall is a large map, stitched together with cowhide, with the territory of the Tang Dynasty drawn on it.

The emperor stood in Chang'an,
Facing south,

He set his sights on Shannan and Jiangxi, crossed the Five Ridges, and gazed at Lingnan.

Today's Lingnan territory is extremely vast, with six governor's offices, 49 prefectures, and 72 Jisu prefectures under its jurisdiction. One more state should be added, Changtai state, which was a vassal territory entrusted to King Li Tai of Wei.

Guangzhou, Jiaozhou,
There are also Liuzhou in the East China Sea, Zhuya in the South China Sea, and Luzon in the deep sea.

The emperor's eyes only glanced at Luzon, and then withdrew his gaze.

He looked along the sea and looked eastward. The part on the cowhide map was a vast ocean, but at the east end of the map, there was also a continent.
That is the land of Eastern Lu and Yin that Wu Huaiyu once said,
A legendary place where auspicious crops such as corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and peppers come from.

The emperor's eyes moved north,

All the way to the northernmost point, there is only a strait between the Eastern Continent and the snowy ice country of Yaksha Liugui and other countries in the extreme northeast of the Tang Dynasty.

Over the years, Li Shimin secretly and openly sent fleets to the Far North. They traveled along the coastline. After several years, they visited many Mohe tribes. They also crossed the mouth of the Heilong River and arrived at Xiaohai, where they met the more savage messenger deer. , dog riding, fishing and other departments,

I found the three countries of Liugui, Yaksha, and Qudumei, and even found the strait, and reached the northern part of the east coast, but it was just like the countries such as Liugui and Yaksha, barbaric, ice and snow,
Those expedition ships that went through untold hardships only saw some wild natives, but did not discover such things as corn, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, nor the Yin people.

But the emperor still firmly believed that Teacher Wu Huaiyu had been to the East China Sea, met the Yin people, and brought back those auspicious things from there.
He firmly believed that by continuing southward along the eastern coast, he would surely find a zone with a more comfortable climate.

Although this expedition route is very dangerous and difficult, and it takes several years at a time, and supplies and winter bases must be established along the way, Li Shimin still invests money in it every year.

The emperor's eyes turned to the Eastern Land,
But in the end he withdrew his gaze,

Compared to the ethereal and distant Eastern Land of Yin, he knew in his heart that what the Tang Dynasty really wanted to focus on was the Central Plains.

The most important of the four sides is the northern Xinjiang, which is Hetao and Daibei south of Yinshan Mountain, then the two corridors of Liaoxi and Hexi, and then Longyou and western Sichuan.

As for the status of Nanzhong and Central Guizhou, it is far inferior to that of places such as Hetao and Liaoxi.

As for Lingnan, its status is higher than that of Nanzhong and Central Guizhou. It has the advantage of sea trade, but now it has basically settled down. Next, some soldiers and horses can be transferred back from Lingnan. Those soldiers and horses Wu Huaiyu has been trained in actual combat. It just so happens that they can be transferred to the north of Beijing or the Longyou line in Hexi.

The overall situation of Lingnan has been decided.

There is no need for so many defensive measures.
Wu Huaiyu set up seven garrison towns in Lingnan, and fourteen prefectures, Zhechong Prefecture, plus patrol navy, coastal inspection camp, and envoy's management army, plus the garrison camps of seven prefectures, etc.
There are too many soldiers in Lingnan.

Even Annan can be separated from Lingnan and set up a separate road.

The emperor walked around the map and looked at it,

Finally, I stopped in Beijing,
He stood at the Loop,

After so many years, the DTZ has been completely disintegrated and weakened, so the Turkic tribes in Monan can also reshape their structure.

Relying on the Yinshan Mountains and using the former sites of the six towns of the Northern Wei Dynasty, we rebuilt the garrison line of Saibei Town on one side, repaired the castles of Wuchuan and other military towns, and stationed troops there.

Then we will build a second line of defense in Hetao and Daibei, starting from Lingzhou in the west, Fengzhou in the north, and Huaihuang in the east, leaning against the Great Wall, and farming and herding horses.

The third line of defense is naturally the Great Wall Line of Defense.

The defense line was advanced and deployed to the north, and some of the governor's offices that were originally located in the interior were withdrawn and newly established, such as the Fengzhou governor's office and the Yanran governor's office.

With the construction of these three lines of defense, the core is still the Hetao Plain.

The imperial court wanted to build Sanshoujiang City in the Hetao Plain and build thousands of beacons. The core of the three lines of defense must be the Hetao Plain.
Only the supply of grain and grass in the Hetao Plain can ensure the supply of the military towns in the north of Yinshan Mountain, and only by occupying the Hetao Plain can the nomadic tribes be unable to grow in Monan.

The Turkic tribes south of the Yin Mountains must continue to be divided, some tribes must continue to move south, and the remaining tribes must be divided and conquered.

Seven towns in Lingnan,

Li Shimin thought for a moment and realized that the Gaozhou Governor's Office had already been withdrawn, so the Fuzhou Governor's Office might also be able to withdraw.

In this way, Lingnan retains the five governor's offices, and the seven towns in Lingnan can first remove two towns.

The 10,000 troops in these two towns can be directly transferred to northern Beijing and deployed in Xinliu Town north of Yinshan Mountain, or in Sanshoujiang City in Hetao.

The fourteen Zhechong mansions in Lingnan can be left behind.

The emperor looked at the map and thought,

The original seven garrison camps in Lingnan, with a total of 21,000 men, can replace the remaining five army town garrison troops, so that the remaining 15,000 garrison troops can also be transferred back.

It can be deployed to Longyou and Qinghai lines.

In this way, all the 35,000 garrison troops in Lingnan will be transferred, 20,000 will be used to guard the capture camp, and 15,000 will be drawn to supplement the garrison troops in the five towns, leaving 6,000. The remaining five governor's offices will retain one thousand each. Two hundred people guard the capture camp.

The emperor calculated the adjusted Lingnan military strength,

Wu Huaiyu had an army of 6,000 troops, 15,000 garrison troops in the new five towns in Lingnan, and 6,000 soldiers in the five prefectures. Wu Huaiyu still had 27,000 troops under his command.

Including the navy and patrol battalions with 3,000 each, that’s 33,000.

There are more than 10,000 people in the Fourteenth Zhechong Mansion, but these are government soldiers, not state and town garrison soldiers.

There are more than 30,000 state garrison troops, which is already quite powerful. In the fifty states in Lingnan, there are also state unity soldiers and local soldiers from the Jisi tribe.

Li Shimin even felt that there were still too many soldiers in Lingnan.

But considering that seven towns of garrison troops were transferred from Lingnan at one time, which was 35,000 soldiers, in the end I decided to leave it at that.

Ten thousand were deployed to the north of Beijing, ten thousand to Hexi, ten thousand to Longyou, and five thousand to Jiannan.

Wu Huaiyu continued to patrol Lingnan, and after taking away the garrison troops from seven towns, Li Shimin felt much more relaxed.

(End of this chapter)