Thief Emperor

Chapter 953 Condolences
When it came to conferring titles on members of the royal family, Li Yun was actually quite restrained.

In fact, throughout history, any emperor who came from a humble background would, after ascending the throne, madly confer titles on many kings in order to elevate his own family and create a ruling class as quickly as possible.

As long as it is related, it must be sealed.

For example, Emperor Taizu Liu and Emperor Taizu Zhu in another world, after becoming supreme rulers, both conferred titles on various kings and almost all of their relatives who could be related to them.

This is not surprising.

Because of his humble origins, it meant that his family did not have any huge power. Even if he became an emperor, it was impossible for his family's power to emerge out of nothing.

Inevitably, there will be some forces joining the side of this kind of entrepreneur. If he does not raise his own status quickly, as time goes by, he will be outnumbered and power may fall into the hands of others.

For example, Li Yun now, after he became the emperor, his own Li family actually does not have many people. Apart from anything else, the number of people from the Jingzhao Du family in the court far exceeds that of the Li family.

Moreover, many of the Du family members held high positions.

In this situation, there is nothing wrong with enfeoffing many kings.

In the past few years, the reason why Emperor Li did not confer titles on many kings was, on the one hand, because he took into consideration his several young sons, and on the other hand, it was because Li Feng left Cangshan in his early years and did not return to the "Li Family" until he became the King of Wu. It can be said that he did not make any contribution.

Emperor Li was not happy about making him a king immediately.

Now, the family has been reunited for eight or nine years, almost ten years. The initial unhappiness has disappeared, and now it is indeed time to create a royal family, which is why Emperor Li made this night journey.

Seeing Li Feng nodded in agreement, Li Yun looked at him, then at Li Zheng, and said with a smile: "You are now also the chief of the clan, you can come and talk to my elder brother about how to confer the title."

Li Zheng thought about it, then smiled at Li Feng and said, "Brother, I have discussed this matter with my second brother before. If you are willing to be the chief of the clan, then you will be crowned King Xuan. One of your two sons will stay with you as the crown prince and inherit your title in the future."

"Another one."

When Li Zheng said this, he looked up at Li Yun and said nothing.

Emperor Li lowered his head to drink tea and said, "Please don't be a prince."

It is unlikely that the title of King Xuan will be inherited from generation to generation, which means that Li Feng's son will inherit the title in the future, that is, the title of Prince of a County.

Both of his sons will be princes.

Li Feng stood up, bowed deeply to Li Yun, saluted and said: "On behalf of my two sons, I would like to thank Erlang!"

Li Yun supported him and said with a smile: "Over the years, we have almost always celebrated the New Year together. We have long been a family. Brother, you don't have to be so polite."

"Besides, my two nephews have been crowned kings, so they have to do things for me."

Li Feng hesitated for a moment after hearing this, then bowed his head and said, "Erlang, these two have been working in the Yulin Army and the Nine Departments for the past few years. They haven't seen much of the world. I don't think they can take on any major responsibilities in a short period of time. I want them to gain experience for a few more years. Otherwise, it would be a small matter for them to suffer a crime, but it would be a big matter for Erlang to be ruined."

Li Yun looked at Li Feng and said with a smile: "Brother is a scholar after all, so his words are pleasant to the ears."

"Don't worry, there won't be anything too important for them to do. There are just some places where they need to go around to prevent the people below from cheating."

"The imperial edict to confer the title of king will probably come down within ten days or half a month."

Li Yun stood up, looked at Li Feng, and said seriously: "Brother, it's too late. I won't say anything more today, and I won't meet my two nephews again. When you meet them, please warn them for me."

"After being crowned a king, you must respect your dignity, but you must not look down on others. If you are out on a mission, you must not be arrogant."

He said slowly: "A title is a title, and an official is an official. You have to distinguish them clearly. If they make trouble, I will take back their titles."

Li Feng said seriously: "Don't worry, Erlang, I will definitely teach them well."

Emperor Li then nodded and left the mansion with Li Zheng. After arriving at the gate, he got on the carriage and waved to Li Feng who came to see him off. The carriage slowly drove away.

In the darkness of night, the carriage moved slowly through Luoyang City. The avenue was empty at this time, but some lively sounds could occasionally be heard in the various neighborhoods.

There is still a curfew in Luoyang at this time.

However, this curfew only meant that the gates of the neighborhoods would be closed at fixed times and people were not allowed to walk on the streets. The people in each neighborhood could still carry on their normal activities within their own neighborhoods.

In the carriage, Li Yun first looked out the window for a while, then looked at Li Zheng, and said with a smile: "After a few years, when the Li family grows stronger, I won't have to be trapped in Luoyang City anymore, and I can go out and walk around freely."

Li Zheng smiled and said, "If my second brother had made my eldest brother's family kings a few years earlier, we could move around freely now."

Li Yun looked at Li Zheng, shook his head and said, "They didn't work with us."

Li Zheng was stunned for a moment, then slowly nodded. Emperor Li continued: "In the future, they will most likely have status but no authority."

"I have my own scale in my heart for these things, and I can tell the difference very clearly."

Li Zheng nodded slowly, then looked at Li Yun and said with a smile: "Even if their family is not counted, in another ten years, the princes of my second brother's family will all be adults. By then, our Li family will be prosperous."

I don’t know if it is a coincidence or the destiny of a country, but when a country is first established or in a period of rising national fortune, it is not difficult for the emperor to have sons. Some emperors even have dozens of sons.

In the middle and late stages, when the country's fortunes were in decline, having sons became extremely difficult. Some emperors even had no descendants, and the lineage then migrated.

Now that the Li Tang Dynasty had just been established, Emperor Li naturally wanted to expand his dynasty.

In the first year of Zhangwu, he had only three sons and one daughter. Although several women in the harem were pregnant at that time, they did not give birth after all.

After the expansion of the harem in the first year of Zhangwu, the emperor's harem was expanded three times in the following years. By the eighth year of Zhangwu, Li Yun had eleven princes and six or seven daughters in the palace, not counting those who died young.

If all these princes grow up, the Li family will be able to expand immediately in the future, and within fifty years, the family will be quite large.

At this point, Li Yun's "reproduction mission" as the emperor has actually been completed. After all, he already has double-digit offspring, which is enough to ensure the smooth passage of the royal family.

Emperor Li glanced at Li Zheng, smiled, and said, "I heard that you married a Khitan woman some time ago. You really have a good appetite."

Upon hearing this, Prince Jin's face turned red and he quickly waved his hands and said, "That's right, that's right."

He smiled bitterly and said, "Lao Jiu sent her from Liaodong and asked me to take her in. Second brother, I..."

"All right."

Emperor Li rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily, "I didn't say anything about you."

"Take good care of it."

Emperor Li looked out the window and said with a smile, "Maybe it will be useful in the future."

…………

The next morning, in Ganlu Palace, Zhou Luo, the commander of the Imperial Guards, dressed in his official uniform, knelt before Li Yun, bowed his head, and choked up, saying, "Your Majesty."

Emperor Li looked at him, a little surprised, and asked, "What's wrong? How can a man cry?"

Zhou Luo knelt on the ground, shedding tears, and said, "Your Majesty, I received an urgent report from Yangzhou. My father said in the letter that my grandfather passed away at home five days ago."

He wept uncontrollably, "I have come here to inform Your Majesty of the death and to ask for leave to return to my home in Yangzhou to attend the funeral."

Emperor Li was shocked when he heard this. He stood up and walked to Zhou Luo, helped him up, and then sighed: "I saw you in Luoyang a few years ago, but I never thought that the last time we parted, it would be forever."

He sighed deeply, patted Zhou Luo on the shoulder, and said, "Go home and attend the funeral with peace of mind. The envoys sent by the court to offer condolences should arrive as soon as possible."

He paused, then said, "After the Zhou family has handled my eldest brother's funeral, I will ask your father to come to Luoyang and I will give him the title."

He looked at Zhou Luo and said solemnly, "I promised your Zhou family at the beginning, and I will not break my promise. After your father inherits the title of Duke, the Zhou family will no longer surrender. As long as you do not rebel or cause chaos, you will be the Duke of Li Tang for generations."

Zhou Luo took two steps back, bowed to Li Yun and said, "I thank your majesty..."

Li Yun looked at him and said seriously, "It's still early spring, and the road is cold. Walk slower."

Zhou Luo shed tears and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty. I will remember this."

He bowed his head, said goodbye respectfully and left.

After Zhou Luo left, Emperor Li silently watched his back. After a while, he said, "Go, call Xue Gui."

"Yes."

Only half an hour later, Xue Gui rushed all the way to Ganlu Palace, bowed to Li Yun and said, "Your Majesty."

He looked up at Li Yun with a smile on his face: "Are you looking for me?"

Li Yun glanced at him, tapped the table with his hand, and said, "King Jiangdu has passed away. Take my imperial edict and go to Yangzhou."

"Please give my condolences to King Jiangdu."

(End of this chapter)