Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 101 Fang Xuanling Rebellion? (Part )

As summer begins in April, cicadas begin to chirp.

Zhaode Hall is located to the east of Taiji Hall and northeast of Menxia Province, and Longshou Canal flows into Wude Gate from the middle.

The emperor had left Mount Li, passed through Hangu Pass and headed for Luoyang.

Li Chengqian put down the memorial in his hand and looked outside Zhaode Hall.

There are two bridges on the Longshou Canal, one leading to the History Museum and the other leading to the Hongwen Museum. Both the History Museum and the Hongwen Museum are close to the Menxia Province.

The Political Affairs Hall is also located in the Menxia Province, but unfortunately, there is only one prime minister in Chang'an now, Wei Zheng.

Of course, the entire three ministries of Shangshu, Zhongshu and Menxia left enough teams to help Li Chengqian handle state affairs.

When the emperor went to Luoyang, it was impossible for all state affairs to be sent to Luoyang for processing.

Therefore, many matters in Guanzhong, Jiannan, Longyou, Ganliang, the Western Regions, Tuyuhun and the grasslands will be handled in Chang'an.

Only matters that cannot be decided here will be sent to Luoyang for the emperor to deal with.

Of course, there weren't many things that Li Chengqian had to deal with directly. Wei Zheng had everything arranged in an orderly manner, and most of the matters had already been handled by the people from the three provinces and six ministries...

"Your Highness." A familiar, somewhat hoarse voice sounded outside the hall. Li Chengqian looked up and saw Wei Zheng, dressed in a purple official robe, with a cautious expression and scrutinizing eyes, appear outside the hall.

Li Chengqian quickly stood up and nodded, "Duke Zheng, please come in."

Wei Zheng walked into the hall and bowed seriously to Li Chengqian.

"No need to be polite." Li Chengqian raised his hand and said, "Duke Zheng, please take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Wei Zheng then walked to the upper left of Li Chengqian and sat down.

Wei Zheng glanced at the memorial on Li Chengqian's desk, understanding it slightly. Then he asked curiously, "Your Highness seems to attach great importance to Lanzhou Chief Clerk Li Dejian?"

What was placed on Li Chengqian's desk was indeed Li Dejian's memorial.

Li Chengqian smiled, then looked at Wei Zheng and asked seriously, "Prime Minister Wei, do you know when Li Dejian first came to serve in the Eastern Palace?"

"I don't remember." Wei Zheng shook his head directly. He didn't pay attention to such trivial matters.

"It was in the tenth year of Zhenguan, after the battle with Tuyuhun." Li Chengqian said, and sighed softly.

Wei Zheng frowned and said, "After the Tuyuhun War, when Li Jing was impeached for treason by Gao Zongsheng and Tang Fengyi?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "It wasn't when the Duke of Wei led an army of 160,000 to attack the Turks, nor was it when he led an army of 100,000 to destroy the Tuyuhun. It was after the war, when he was falsely accused of treason."

"That matter?" Wei Zheng shook his head, sighed, and said, "Gao Zongsheng is, after all, an old man in the Qin Palace. He also made great contributions in the battle of Luoyang. Your Majesty must take his impeachment seriously."

"Even if Prime Minister Wei doesn't mention it, I understand what's going on here." Li Chengqian smiled faintly.

It's nothing more than that Li Jing is not an old man in the sequence of the Qin Palace, nor is he close to the old ministers of Emperor Gaozu, and he has no relationship with surrendered generals such as Yuchi Jingde, Cheng Yaojin and even Wei Zheng. Although he has made many military achievements and served as Shangshu You Pushe, to be honest, it is normal for the emperor not to trust him when facing those old men in the Qin Palace.

But no matter how normal it is, it still hurts people's hearts.

"Since then, the Duke of Wei has stayed strictly at home and rarely left." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said with emotion, "Li Dejian was clearly the son of the Prime Minister, but he was almost framed as the son of a traitor. At that time, he was terrified day and night when he entered the Eastern Palace. I took extra care of him, and later he was transferred to Songzhou."

Li Dejian was a smart man. He could see that the current emperor didn't trust their family, so...

Therefore, he is very loyal to Li Chengqian and is one of the few talents that Li Chengqian can truly trust.

……

"Speaking of Li Dejian," Wei Zheng glanced at the memorial on the table, then turned to Li Chengqian and asked, "The Crown Prince painstakingly sent Li Dejian to Lanzhou, and then kept a close eye on the Tuyuhun and the Turks. What was he planning?"

Li Chengqian had a lot of thoughts about Tubo, and Wei Zheng saw this very clearly.

Whether it was asking Songtsen to lead his army down the Tuyuhun Plateau to check the situation of malaria in the lowlands, or spreading the news that the Tubo royal family had few descendants with the intention of causing internal and external unrest, all these measures were aimed at Tubo. However, this ultimately could not get rid of one problem: Tubo was too far away from the Tang Dynasty.

"I don't have many ideas. All my actions were just to allow the Tibetan King Songtsen Gampo to pay his respects to Chang'an and my father in front of all the Tuyuhun people."

As Li Chengqian spoke, he couldn't help but clench his fists slightly.

"It is still undermining the prestige of the Tubo Zamp." Wei Zheng still shook his head.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I have sent an artist to Tuyuhun. If the Tibetan king pays homage to Chang'an, I will draw a picture and then present it to my father as a New Year's gift at the end of the year."

Wei Zheng suddenly looked up, looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, and said, "Your Highness is thoughtful." "As a son, it is my duty to be filial to my father." Li Chengqian nodded happily when he heard Wei Zheng's praise.

He did the right thing.

However, there is one thing he did not say, that is, Yan Liben had already started creating the Procession of Emperor Taizong to Meet the Buddhist Monk Xuanzang.

That’s right, it’s the Procession of Emperor Taizong to Meet Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that has been passed down through the ages.

The Procession of Emperor Taizong to Meet Emperor Xuanzong will be presented to the emperor by Yan Liben at the end of this year.

In the entire Tang Dynasty, there were not many painters who could compare with Yan Liben, and Li Chengqian only had one, Li Yuanchang, the King of Han.

Whether the final result is comparable or not is one thing, but at least in terms of intention, Li Chengqian is definitely not worse than Yan Liben.

……

Wei Zheng took a sip of his cold tea and continued, "I heard that Your Highness once submitted a petition to Your Majesty, hoping to establish Changzhou west of the Tangut states?"

Li Chengqian didn't know why Wei Zheng asked so many questions today, but he still answered seriously: "It is true, but because it is too far away, my father denied it."

"Your Highness, do you know that six years ago, after the destruction of Tuyuhun, when the court was discussing the follow-up, someone mentioned that we should establish a tributary state in Tuyuhun and use it to govern the entire Tuyuhun." Wei Zheng raised his head and stared straight at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, then slowly shook his head and said, "I was only fifteen at the time. I remember there seemed to be such a discussion, but it was soon decided to rebuild Tuyuhun, with Murong Shun as the king of Tuyuhun. Early last year, Murong Shun died, and his son Murong Nuohebo succeeded him as king of Tuyuhun and married Princess Honghua."

"That's right." Wei Zheng nodded and said, "It was the Duke of Liang who first suggested establishing a tributary state in Tuyuhun."

Fang Xuanling?
Li Chengqian was a little surprised.

"But the old ministers and some other people finally persuaded Your Majesty to reinstate Tuyuhun and not implement the policy of controlling the states." Wei Zheng calmly stated the situation.

"Why?" Li Chengqian was a little curious.

"We've already established over a dozen vassal states in the Turkic region to the north. If we also establish a few in Tuyuhun," Wei Zheng said, looking up and staring directly at Li Chengqian, "if something were to happen, the Tang Dynasty would immediately be plunged into another situation like the Sixteen Kingdoms of the Northern and Southern Dynasties or the Five Barbarians' Invasion of China."

Li Chengqian was startled and his face turned a little ugly.

"The system of tributary states, after all, is the same as forcing foreign tribes to submit. It reached its peak during the Han Dynasty, but what was the final outcome?" Wei Zheng asked, looking at Li Chengqian. "The Tuyuhun are ultimately a group of Xianbei and Qiang people. Your Highness should remember what the Qiang were during the late Han Dynasty."

"The Qiang rebellion lasted throughout the Eastern Han Dynasty, and both the Dingling and the Xiongnu were involved." Li Chengqian's expression softened slightly, but he was still nervous.

It was precisely because the conquest of the Qiang people in the late Eastern Han Dynasty consumed a large amount of manpower, material and financial resources of the Han Dynasty that the Yellow Turban Rebellion broke out in the year of natural disasters.

"The Qiang people's submission was essentially due to the fact that there were too many Qiang people in Tuyuhun's territory. They annexed the Gansu, Liang, and Longxi regions and subsequently joined the Han. However, the Han population grew, and conflicts arose between them. This was followed by oppression from officials and excessive taxation, which led to the Qiang rebellion."

Wei Zheng raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian, and said, "Let's not talk about the Tuyuhun, just talking about the Turks. Your Highness, what do you think, in a few decades or hundreds of years, will the Turks integrate into the Tang Dynasty, or will they betray the Tang Dynasty, or even take advantage of the Tang Dynasty's weakness to stab it in the back?"

Li Chengqian's face looked very ugly. He didn't need to speculate at all, as history had already told him the answer.

"Your Highness, do you still remember Gaochang?" Wei Zheng suddenly changed the subject and talked about Gaochang.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "After Gaochang was conquered, the court also discussed whether to establish a prefecture or county, or to restore Gaochang."

"I am opposed to establishing a prefecture or county in Gaochang." Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "This has nothing to do with Tuyuhun. It's simply because it's too far away and difficult to garrison."

Li Chengqian nodded. If the Silk Road was not so important, it would be hard to imagine stationing troops two thousand miles away in the desert.

"But I do agree with the conquest of Goguryeo." Wei Zheng raised his eyes, looked at Li Chengqian, and said seriously: "I am only opposed to Your Majesty leading the expedition in person."

"This is something I haven't heard of before." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly.

The expedition against Goguryeo was still a secret. Although Li Chengqian had guessed some of it, it was still not as straightforward as Wei Zheng's discussion with the emperor.

"However, Prime Minister Fang is against Your Majesty's conquest of Goguryeo, and even opposes Your Majesty establishing prefectures and counties in Goguryeo after conquering Goguryeo." Wei Zheng suddenly threw out another sentence.

Li Chengqian stared at Wei Zheng in shock. After a long moment, he uttered two words with a heavy voice: "Prime Minister Wei!"

"When Your Majesty was attacked at Mount Li, it was right that the two Imperial Guards were afraid of the expedition. Their fear wasn't of Luoyang, but of Goguryeo." Wei Zheng sneered, "That's why they shot at the Hot Spring Palace at night, hoping Your Majesty would stop the attack on Goguryeo."

Hot Spring Palace, the emperor was attacked, Fang Xuanling, Goguryeo.

These words were inexplicably connected in Li Chengqian's mind.

Another thing also came to his mind, that is, when the emperor of his previous life was on an eastern expedition to Goguryeo, someone reported Fang Xuanling for rebellion.

(End of this chapter)