Thief Emperor

Chapter 1041 The Richest Person in the New Dynasty
During the imperial era, the imperial clan system was a crucial system that influenced the court and even the entire country, since the emperor's divine authority was unified with the nation as a whole.

The so-called "I" am the state.

This is not empty talk.

The emperor is the backbone of the country, and the emperor's family, in a sense, also influences the future and destiny of the country. Therefore, it is natural that some rules need to be set for the country.

Li Yun, as the future founding emperor, was precisely the one who could establish this rule.

The system of tributary states was very complex.

Previously, Emperor Li had already decreed that only those with great merit could inherit positions hereditarily, which in effect had significantly weakened the power of the imperial clans.

Now, the fact that princes are no longer required to be granted the title of Prince or even a peerage is another blow he has inflicted on the imperial clan after ten years on the throne.

However, at this time, Li Yun was no longer making decisions on his own. His eldest son, the future emperor of the Tang Dynasty, had grown up. Taking advantage of the time when his third son was about to come of age, Li Yun wanted to hear his eldest son's opinion.

After hearing Li Yun's words, the Crown Prince was somewhat stunned. He lowered his head and thought for a long time before returning to his father. After carefully observing his father's expression, he lowered his head slightly and said, "Father, we are all family after all."

He said quietly, "Leaving aside our family, if this rule is passed down as a precedent to future generations, then among the princes of the same generation, some will sit on the throne, while others... will find it difficult to even obtain a title."

His Highness the Crown Prince said in a low voice, "I'm afraid this will cause resentment among people. Furthermore, doing so will weaken the power of the imperial clans. In addition, since the title of prince cannot be inherited, if a future emperor's son does not have a successor, I'm afraid the entire court will not have even one prince from the Li family."

“Even princes are quite rare.”

The prince was certainly not stupid, and what he said was completely correct.

If the system envisioned by Li Yun were to be implemented meticulously by later emperors, then such problems might indeed arise in the future.

If the imperial lineage is prosperous, that's fine. But if the imperial lineage fails to prosper for two or three generations in a row, and the titles of princes bestowed by previous generations are demoted, then there will truly be a situation in the court where there are no princes of the Li family's close relatives.

The power and status of the imperial clansmen will be completely crushed by the court officials and nobles.

Upon hearing this, His Majesty the Emperor first looked down at the documents on his table, then remained silent for a while before slowly nodding: "My son is right."

He said quietly, "It's because Father Emperor hasn't thought things through enough."

People always consider things from their own perspective. Li Yun already has eleven princes, or to be precise, twelve.

Last year, Consort Lu, who was left in Jinling due to her pregnancy, successfully gave birth to a prince and is currently on her way back to Luoyang. She is expected to return to Luoyang this month.

This was Emperor Li's twelfth son.

Moreover, he is only forty years old this year. If nothing unexpected happens, having twenty or so children shouldn't be a big problem. If he wants, he can even have more.

But this was the situation at the beginning of the founding of the nation, when the country was prosperous.

Throughout history, it is evident that the emperor's fertility tends to decline in the later stages of his reign, with the number of princes decreasing. In some cases, it is not uncommon for an emperor to die out and then have his heirs adopted from a collateral branch.

"Then let's set a fixed quota."

Emperor Li looked at the Crown Prince and said his other plan: "In each generation, apart from the Crown Prince, at least one prince and three dukes should be granted titles. This will ensure that the imperial clan does not weaken."

"It's not like you can be granted land and be king solely based on your birth."

His Highness the Crown Prince thought for a moment, then bowed deeply and said, "Father is wise."

He thought for a moment, then said, "Father, among the princes born before the founding of our dynasty, there were only three of us. Now that the court is newly established, it is necessary to elevate the status of the imperial family. I believe that the younger brothers born after the founding of the dynasty can be granted titles as appropriate. As for the Third Prince..."

"Let him be granted the title of Prince again."

His Majesty the Emperor pondered for a moment, then looked at the Crown Prince, nodded with satisfaction, and said with a smile, "My son has indeed made great progress since he began to govern. It seems that in the future, we, father and son, can discuss matters more often."

The Crown Prince, upon hearing the Emperor's praise, also showed delight: "Your subject will certainly continue to study diligently."

His Majesty the Emperor nodded and said nothing more, so His Highness the Crown Prince bowed and took his leave.

After His Highness the Crown Prince left, Emperor Li summoned Gu Chang and instructed him, "Go and summon the Third Prince to see me."

Gu Chang responded and quickly took small steps to get there.

He arrived at Consort Qin's palace, bowed deeply, and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty summons the Third Prince to the Ganlu Palace."

Qin Zhaorong quickly bowed her head and replied, "Yes," then beckoned her son.

At this time, the third prince, Li Cang, had grown taller than her, but he was only of medium height. He was not only far less tall than the Prince of Yue, but also less slender than the Crown Prince.

He resembled his mother, being fair-skinned and rather thin, with a scholarly air about him. Among the emperor's three sons, he was the one who loved reading the most.

The Third Prince responded to Gu Chang with a "Yes," and then bowed to Consort Qin, saying, "Mother, I'm off." Consort Qin tugged at his sleeve, somewhat worried, and whispered, "Your father came this afternoon, and now he's summoning you again. He's probably going to bestow a title upon you as well. Be careful what you say."

"Don't anger your father."

The Third Prince smiled and said, "Father isn't one to lose his temper easily; at most, his rank is just a little lower."

"My son doesn't value these things."

The Third Prince bowed and then looked back at the outside of the palace: "I just want to go out of the palace and take a walk around outside."

After the mother and son spoke for a while, the third prince was led by Gu Chang to the Ganlu Hall. After bowing and paying his respects to His Majesty the Emperor, the Emperor looked at him and shook his head, saying, "No need to kowtow, sit down and talk."

The third prince quickly stood up and carefully sat down next to his father. Emperor Li left his throne, walked up to him, and without wasting any words, said directly, "Next year, you will be leaving the palace to establish your own government. You don't like military affairs, and being an official is too low-ranking, so I'm assigning you some other tasks."

"In a few days, you can leave the palace to study. As for your accommodation outside the palace... I will have someone arrange it for you."

Li Cang was taken aback, then stood up and bowed his head, asking, "Father, what do you want me to do?"

"Go and manage some of the royal family's businesses."

Looking at his expression, Li Yun asked, "Are you willing?"

Li Cang was taken aback, then asked, "Which industries?"

"Liulichang, soap factories, and some industries that originated from the Jinling workshops."

"And then there are one or two larger grain stores."

Emperor Li looked at him and said, "I first need to know if you have any talent in this area. In a few days, Marquis Xue Fang of Changping will return to Luoyang, and these matters will be temporarily handled by him. You will follow behind him and learn as much as you can."

"If you're capable of managing it."

His Majesty the Emperor said quietly, "After you leave the palace and establish your own household, I will entrust all these royal properties to you to manage, and I will also give you some shares, which will be passed down from generation to generation by your branch of the family."

Unlike all previous dynasties, Li Yun's reign not only had government-run industries such as salt, iron, and copper, but his former workshop in Jinling also spawned new industries and developed new businesses.

Some of these businesses were managed by his brother-in-law Xue Fang, while others were managed by the old masters of the Jinling workshops and palace servants from the Inner Palace.

Over the years, thanks to these royal properties, Li's private treasury has never been lacking, and he has even occasionally been able to give back to the court by taking money out of his own pocket.

However, the numerous industries were too diverse and chaotic, and these things needed to be integrated. But the royal industries were not something that ordinary people could easily integrate.

It would be more appropriate for the emperor's son to handle the integration.

The gentle and frail third prince was more suited to doing these things.

The third prince stood there, somewhat surprised: "Father, you want me to go into business?"

The emperor remained calm: "These are all our family's properties. Haven't I been doing business all these years?"

"Businessmen aren't as lowly as you think. Besides, you only need to be the general manager; the specifics will be handled by others."

His Majesty the Emperor said slowly, "These industries bring in a lot of profit every year and are considered one of our family's most important assets. However, they have always been entrusted to others. If we don't send someone to keep an eye on them, I'm afraid the money that ends up in the imperial treasury will become less and less."

"You need to think about this yourself. If you're not willing..."

The emperor said quietly, "We can only let the children of the Chu family temporarily manage these matters."

This was Li Yun's separate enfeoffment.

The third prince has little chance of inheriting the throne, so if he is given some shares in the imperial merchants, his branch of the family will surely be very wealthy, even if they have no power for generations.

Having said that, the Third Prince could only lower his head and reply, "When Marquis Changping returns to the capital, I... I will go and see him first, and learn from him."

"it is good."

His Majesty the Emperor smiled and said, "Wait until you see the scale of those industries."

"They probably won't refuse."

The Third Prince bowed deeply and said, "Your son only asks to do something for Father Emperor."

"Ignoring everything else."

(End of this chapter)