Thief Emperor

Chapter 1090 Struggle for the Throne

These are matters of imperial family private affairs, and these questions are too sensitive. Even if Li Yun were to ask Du Qian, the Prime Minister probably wouldn't give him a very honest answer.

But Meng Qing would answer.

This Duke of Xuan followed Li Yun when he was still a young boy, and it was Li Yun who brought him up.

Although the two were only about five years apart in age, the emperor, who was in his early twenties at the time, was not actually twenty years old. In a sense, he had been raising Meng Qing as a son all these years.

Meng Qing was also very close to Li Yun. Although he did not consider himself Li Yun's son, after changing his surname to Li, he regarded himself as one of Li Yun's family.

Therefore, he was able to answer Li Yun directly at this point.

Emperor Li thought for a moment and asked, "Should I allow him to command the troops?"

Meng Qing shook her head directly: "No."

Meng Qing looked at Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty, there are troops stationed in Chang'an. If needed, the Second Prince can lead troops and make temporary deployments."

Li Yun thought for a moment before silently nodding.

During the reign of Emperor Zhangwu, whether the princes who were enfeoffed in their respective regions led troops or not did not have much impact on Li Yun. As long as he was alive, no one could cause any trouble.

Furthermore, if the princes were allowed to lead the troops, the power of the Li family, that is, the royal family, could be expanded rapidly, allowing this humble family to become the most powerful force in the world in the shortest possible time.

This vastness refers to its dominance over all four corners of the world.

The Li family now can only be described as powerful, not as large, because the only truly powerful member of the Li family is Li Yun; few of the other members are capable of leading troops.

Before becoming emperor, Li Yun had learned about many historical stories. He did not quite understand some of the actions of Emperor Zhu. He felt that Emperor Zhu had enfeoffed his sons and allowed them to command troops, and even enfeoffed many border kings who held great military power.

Such a method of sealing off territory will inevitably lead to great chaos in the future.

The lessons of the Rebellion of the Seven Kingdoms and the Rebellion of the Eight Princes are not particularly far removed from the Ming Dynasty.

He couldn't quite understand why Emperor Zhu would still do this despite so many lessons to be learned. At the time, Li Yun felt that Emperor Zhu was still a peasant at heart, too short-sighted, and therefore made some unwise moves, which ultimately led to the Jingnan Rebellion.

Now, after ten years as emperor, he looks back at the history of the two worlds and many things become clear.

Emperor Zhu was of peasant origin, or rather, he had no origin at all.

When he first ascended the throne, he had virtually no royal family to speak of, a situation almost identical to Li Yun's current predicament.

If the goal is to spread the influence of the imperial family to all parts of the country as quickly as possible, or at least to let the people of the country know about and feel the influence of the Ming imperial family, then the enfeoffment system is indeed the fastest way.

In the end, when things get chaotic, the chaos spills over into our own pot.

Li Yun now only has three sons who are sixteen years old. If he were to suddenly die now, and if a powerful minister were to seize control of the army and usurp the throne, his sons would not even have a chance to speak.

Even if they do, very few people can hear them.

His Majesty sat silently for a long time before finally looking at Meng Qing and saying, "I'll think about this matter more carefully, but I'll still let him be enfeoffed in Chang'an..."

"It's not bad."

The emperor looked at Meng Qing and said with a smile, "I still have a lot of political affairs to attend to. Let's stop here for today. In a couple of days, bring your family to the palace again, and we'll have another meal together."

Emperor Li said with a smile, "Bring your son to the palace as well, and I will grant him an official position through hereditary privilege."

Meng Qing bowed deeply: "Your Majesty, I thank you."

After saying this, he carefully lowered his head and left the Ganlu Hall.

After Meng Qing left, Emperor Li sat alone for a long time. On his desk were two stacks of documents. On the left were only a dozen or so documents, which were the ones he had to deal with personally that day.

Another tall stack consisted of documents that the Crown Prince had processed throughout the day yesterday. After being transcribed by a special clerk from the Secretariat, these documents were sent to Emperor Li.

At this moment, the emperor remained very patient, reviewing each document that the crown prince had processed.

After finishing his day's political affairs, it was already dark outside. Li Yun stretched, walked out of Ganlu Hall, stretched his body, and then practiced his martial arts as usual.

Over the past few years, he has diligently practiced internal martial arts. Although there haven't been any miraculous changes, his energy levels have indeed improved significantly compared to the previous two years.

After finishing his studies, His Majesty the Emperor went to the inner palace to find the Empress. After exchanging a few words, the couple went to sleep together fully clothed.

Lying in bed, Li Yun stroked Empress Xue's slightly protruding belly, then looked at his wife and whispered, "Yuan'er knows, doesn't he?"

Empress Xue nodded: "I spoke to him about it a few days ago."

"Well."

The emperor stroked the empress's hair and said with a smile, "Let's announce it tomorrow."

Empress Xue nestled in Li Yun's arms and nodded gently.

"it is good."

………………

Two more days passed, and after resting at home for two days, Duke Meng Qing of Xuanguo finally left his residence.

It was the transition from spring to summer, a time of great growth for all things. Meng Qing had arranged to go hunting in the suburbs with His Highness the Prince of Yue. When Meng Qing arrived at the agreed-upon spot, the Prince of Yue, dressed in a martial attire, had been waiting for him for a while. Upon seeing Meng Qing, the Prince rode forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said with a smile, "Knowing that you've been busy these past few days, Uncle, I haven't had time to disturb you. Congratulations, Uncle!"

The imperial edict has now been issued, and the court and the public are already aware of Meng Qing's promotion to Deputy Privy Councilor and his inspection of the Imperial Guards.

This is the undisputed number two figure in the Tang Dynasty's military, far surpassing Zhao Cheng, the Minister of War, at the military level.

After all, if we look at it in detail, Minister Zhao could already be considered a civil official.

The way His Highness the King of Yue addresses Meng Qing is also quite particular. In the past, he would call Meng Qing "Uncle Meng," but now he directly calls him "Uncle."

Because at this point, the two already shared the same surname.

When the emperor bestowed the imperial surname upon Meng Qing, it was to some extent akin to turning Meng Qing into a member of his own family.

Meng Qing smiled and clasped his hands in a fist salute, saying, "Your Highness is too kind."

His Highness the King of Yue said with a smile, "When I left my uncle's camp last time, I asked my uncle to find me a beautiful steed that could travel a thousand miles."

"Has my uncle looked for one for me?"

Meng Qing was taken aback upon hearing this, then smiled wryly and waved his hand: "There were too many things to do on the battlefield, I completely forgot."

His Highness the King of Yue rolled his eyes and looked down at the horse under Meng Qing's legs. Meng Qing said helplessly, "This is an old brother who has been with me for many years. I can't give it to Your Highness."

Prince Yue laughed heartily: "Uncle is too stingy."

"Let's go hunting! Let's make a bet today: if I hunt more than my uncle, he'll give me this horse, how about that?"

Meng Qing thought for a moment before smiling and saying, "What if I win?"

His Highness the King of Yue rode away, saying, "Then I will let my uncle deal with me!"

After saying that, he ran away in a flash.

That day, the two hunted until dusk. As evening approached, they gathered together and piled their game on the ground. King Li Zheng of Yue deftly pulled out a small knife from his boot, skinned a fat rabbit, and grilled it while looking at Meng Qing with a smile, saying, "Uncle, did you invite me out because you have something to say?"

Meng Qing, who was also grilling something, smiled and said upon hearing this, "Your Highness is truly clever."

"I would like to ask Your Highness what you plan to do in the future and where you intend to be enfeoffed."

The King of Yue thought for a moment and said helplessly, "Isn't all of this just a matter of following my father's arrangements?"

Meng Qing smiled and shook his head, saying, "His Majesty rarely forces anyone to do anything. How you do it in the future is entirely up to Your Highness."

"I want to be a general who kills traitors for my country."

Meng Qing looked up at him, thought for a moment, and asked, "Is that all?"

He remained calm: "Has Your Highness never considered vying for the throne?"

Now, the two of them were in the open, with no one around to listen in.

Even so, Li Zheng was still terrified and turned pale. He was nothing like Meng Qing, who had experienced life and death on the battlefield and was much braver. It took him a long time to catch his breath and look up at Meng Qing.

"I, I...I didn't."

General Meng shook his head slightly and said, "Then why are you working so hard?"

"Wouldn't it be wonderful to be a carefree prince, living a happy life forever?"

The King of Yue remained silent.

After a long while, he sat down next to Meng Qing and sighed, "Uncle, was this a question asked by my father or by you?"

Meng Qing thought for a moment and replied, "It's hard to say."

"If Your Highness answers, I may selectively report to His Majesty; if Your Highness does not answer, then we will each go home in a while."

After considering it carefully, Prince Yue lowered his head, looked at the rabbit meat being roasted over the raging fire, and finally exhaled a breath of stale air.

"I want to do more things so my dad can see..."

"As for the position of heir apparent, I have certainly thought about it, but I dare not even entertain the thought of vying for it."

He said quietly, "I always think about doing as much as possible for my father to see, as for the end..."

Prince Yue looked up at Meng Qing and said with a wry smile, "It all depends on what Father Emperor chooses."

Meng Qing looked at him and smiled.

"It's rare to hear such honest words."

He patted the King of Yue on the shoulder and praised him.

"Your Highness is a good child."

(End of this chapter)