Three whips break the father-son relationship, please call me prince

Chapter 260 Nepotism
"I really don't want it."

Li You muttered softly.

What is the first prince?

He really doesn't care at all.

Is it possible to live such a carefree life in Chang'an, with singing and dancing, and a life of debauchery?
He is just a dissolute prince who insists on doing things.

This is just forcing people to do something against their will and putting the cart before the horse.

"Brother, I am a piece of mud that can't be helped."

"Prince First, I never thought about it."

"You should give it to the third brother."

Li You said sullenly, very dissatisfied with this arrangement.

"What did you say?"

Li Chengqian's tone turned slightly colder, his eyes narrowed, and an aura of majesty without anger burst out silently.

Li You's heart skipped a beat, and Li Ke hurriedly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Brother, Wu Lang didn't mean that."

"After all, Wulang has only been back from Tibet for a few months. He must be a little emotional because he suddenly has to go to the Northeast again."

"He doesn't want to be away from the protection of his father and brother, right?"

As he spoke, he winked at Li You, signaling him not to go against his brother's wishes anymore.

The prince is the first one, give him to me, and I don’t need you to give him up.

When I am appointed to India, it won’t matter whether I am number one or not.

Li You said hurriedly: "Yes, I just can't bear to leave my brother and father."

"No other meaning."

"Since my brother wants me to go to the Northeast, then I will go to the Northeast."

Hearing this, Li Chengqian's expression eased slightly and he said, "The matter in the Northeast is very important."

"This concerns the major strategy of the Tang Dynasty, as well as my plan."

"I can't rest assured if I leave it to others. You are my brother. I will only feel at ease if you go."

"Goro."

"Don't blame your brother. Your brother needs you. You have to help him."

Li You opened his mouth and immediately expressed his opinion, saying, "Don't worry, brother. As long as you need me to go, I will do my best to help you."

"only……."

He chuckled, "If I mess things up for you, don't blame me."

Li Chengqian laughed, "Don't worry, just go ahead and do it. No matter what happens, I won't blame you."

"That's good."

"You still don't go out, and you don't take off your shoes. You've even used up the map."

Li Chengqian scolded, and Li You quickly stood up to take off his shoes, and then stood on the map again.

Seeing this, Li Chengqian nodded slightly, walked to the northeast corner of the map, and said: "The most important thing about the northeast is here."

His toes stepped on the island of Dongying, which was separated from the Northeast Military Governor's Office by a sea.

"here?"

Li You was confused and said, "It's just a tiny country, what's so important about it?"

Li Ke was also puzzled, as this was also the case in his opinion.

"Whether it's important or not depends on how you do it."

Li Chengqian said calmly: "I have paved the way for you. There is a naturalized Soga, you can make good use of it."

"I understand." Li You was puzzled, but still agreed.

"You still don't understand."

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "Since the Northeast is the territory of the Tang Dynasty, then Dongying Island is like a neighboring country in the past."

"You must remember one thing: there must not be any hostile neighboring countries around the Tang Dynasty, nor any powerful neighboring countries."

"Toyo Island is separated from Liaodong Province by a sea, but it is also very close to Liaodong Province and may pose a threat to Liaodong Province."

"So, you should understand, right?"

Li You nodded heavily and said, "That is to kill them. Even if we can't kill them, we must make sure they have no hostility towards the Tang Dynasty and not allow them to become too powerful."

"It's good to know."

"I'll let you do it. As long as it's not a matter of principle, I'll cover for you."

Li You grinned immediately, "Then I'm relieved, brother, just take good care of it."

After eating in the East Palace, Li You and Li Ke left together.

Li Ke still had a lot of things about Tubo that he wanted to ask Li You for advice.

"Huaiying, what do you think?"

Li Chengqian had some free time and questioned Di Renjie.

At the age of sixteen, Di Renjie was still very young and energetic, but he also had a calmness and thinking that was not typical of his peers.

"Your Highness's use of His Highness the Prince of Qi is a brilliant arrangement."

"Other than that?"

"The same is true for Dongying Island. Based on the behavior of His Royal Highness Prince Qi in Tubo, Dongying will sooner or later become a part of the Tang Dynasty."

Di Renjie said without hesitation.

He had been serving at the prince's side before and heard everything. He was also thinking about the prince's intention behind it.

"Ok?"

Li Chengqian raised his eyebrows and said, "You have a very good opinion of the King of Qi."

"Although His Royal Highness Prince Qi has done something out of line in some ways, what he has done is completely beneficial to the Tang Dynasty and has no harm at all."

Di Renjie said: "I dare to say that the Prince of Qi is bearing the infamy for the sake of the court."

"Ha ha!"

Li Chengqian smiled and thought that Di Renjie was not wrong.

Li You really is the one who bears the infamy for the imperial court.

Don't worry if you have too much debt, and don't be afraid of itching if you have too many lice.

Anyway, Li You's reputation is synonymous with brutality, so a little more of it wouldn't matter.

People outside may only look at the surface, but only the core ministers of the central government understand how good it is to have such a scapegoat.

……

The King of Wu and the King of Qi took office.

Soon it will be the turn of the new chief officials of the three municipalities.

The governor of Guangzhou was Dang Renhong, the former governor of Guangzhou. Li Shimin was a close confidant and loved him very much.

The chief official of Shanghai Prefecture was Li Jingxuan, who had returned from Tubo.

Li Jingxuan was born into the Zhaojun Li family and is now considered a member of the Eastern Palace.

He is 32 years old this year and has been appointed as the chief official of Shanghai. His official rank has soared, which has made many people envious.

There is a bright future ahead of you if you follow the prince.

The scholars who were awarded the scholar badge back then are all promising now and have smooth careers.

Among those who had scholar badges, the one who made the most exaggerated and fastest progress was Pei Xingjian, the chief official of Liaobei Province.

Before he was thirty years old, he became a high-ranking official governing a place.

How many people are still struggling to find a way to become a government official at the age of thirty.

Now, this young man, Pei Xingjian, is on equal footing with ministers who have been in the officialdom for many years.

This is the road to success by following the right person and finding the right backer.

Li Jingxuan was a member of the Five Surnames and Seven Ancestral Families system, and the place where he was employed was not in Shandong, but in the south of the Yangtze River.

This received strong support from Shandong officials, and the Zhaojun Li family also viewed it differently.

The only ones who were dissatisfied were the Jiangnan gentry.

I thought that after Shanghai Prefecture was directly under the central government, the chief official would be selected from the Jiangnan gentry, but in the end, the peach was picked by the descendants of the five surnames and seven families.

But no matter how dissatisfied they were, since this was the decision and they had the support of the Shandong family, they could do nothing about it.

The governor of Laizhou has not been announced yet.

The Shandong noble families are working hard and running around to make sure that the governor of Laizhou is a Shandong person.

Who knows, once the personnel are announced.

I was immediately speechless.

This is not the way to appoint people based on personal connections.

Wang Jingzhi, the Duke of Fuma, the husband of Princess Nanping, your Majesty's son-in-law, and the prince's brother-in-law.

From these titles, we can see how pure Wang Jingzhi's character is.

Don’t worry about whether his surname is Wang or whether he is from Shanxi.

Judging from his identity, it is clear why His Majesty and the Crown Prince placed him as the Governor of Laizhou.

It doesn't matter whether you have the ability or not.

The important thing is that he is on the side of His Majesty and the Crown Prince.

This shows that Your Majesty and the Crown Prince do not trust the Shandong family.

We need to put people like Wang Jingzhi on the stage.

Before taking up their posts, Li Jingxuan and Wang Jingzhi came to the Eastern Palace to pay a visit to Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian met them alone.

“Shanghai is a very important place.”

Li Chengqian said to Li Jingxuan: "You have been transferred from a civilian position in the military to a local official. The pressure must be quite high, right?"

"I dare not deceive Your Highness. I am truly terrified." Li Jingxuan said frankly.

When he returned to Chang'an, he never thought that he would be appointed as a local official, and such an important position at the beginning.

The governor of a directly-administered prefecture.

There are only three places in the entire Tang Dynasty.

The pressure and attention that one has to face are not something that ordinary people can bear.

If there is even the slightest mistake, I don't know how many people will criticize me and my report will reach the emperor.

"It is right to be afraid, but we cannot be afraid to retreat."

Li Chengqian said: "Shanghai was originally a small county that was not well-known. Now that it is directly under the jurisdiction of the government, it must act like a directly-governed county."

"This represents the face and decision-making of the court."

"From scratch, you have to make Shanghai the best place in Jiangnan, and even in the world."

Li Jingxuan leaned forward slightly and said, "I will do my best."

"Don't just try your best, use all your strength." Li Chengqian knew that no matter who it was, they would lack confidence.

It is understandable that Li Jingxuan does not have many resources and lacks confidence.

"The imperial court's policies are biased towards the directly-administered states, with the goal of supporting their growth and development."

"If you take advantage of it, everything will be easy."

Li Chengqian said: "You should understand what it means to you if Shanghai is well governed and well developed."

"I won't promise you anything for now, but as long as you do well, I believe that Your Majesty and the court will see it."

In order to make you suffer and withstand pressure, they must paint a rosy picture for you.

Whether you can eat the pie is one thing, but if you are not willing to even draw the pie, who will have the motivation and drive?

Li Jingxuan naturally understood the reason behind this. This was his opportunity.

If you miss this opportunity, you may never have it again.

Not to mention catching up with Pei Xingjian.

After Li Jingxuan left, Li Chengqian summoned Wang Jingzhi.

This cheap brother-in-law is actually very close to Li Chengqian.

However, he still lacks some abilities and is totally unqualified to be the governor of a state directly under the central government.

The fact that he was able to sit on it was the result of balance and compromise.

The governor of Guangzhou was Li Shimin's man.

The governor of Shanghai Prefecture was Li Chengqian.

The two direct-controlled states each have their own affiliation, so the selection of the governor of Laizhou requires many considerations.

Wang Jingzhi was Li Shimin, and also the crown prince, and was more or less from a noble family in Shanxi.

In this position, he can represent the interests of all parties.

Li Chengqian was not too concerned about Laizhou. Whether it could develop depended entirely on whether the Shandong family could understand the essence of a direct-controlled prefecture.

If you understand and are willing to support Laizhou, then Laizhou can develop relying on the court policies.

If you can’t understand it, you will definitely fall behind.

Shanghai and Guangzhou are the top priorities.

Shanghai can radiate to the northern waters and make up for the influence that Laizhou may lose.

Guangzhou’s destination is the southeast sea route.

(End of this chapter)