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

Chapter 116: Appointing Ma Zhou as the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary (Part )
Chang'an, East Palace.

Chongjiao Hall.

Li Chengqian looked at the document in front of him, frowned and said, "The Tibetans stopped at Tongtian River?"

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed and said, "It is said that the princess saw that the local people had the bad habit of reddening their faces, so Songtsen stayed in Tongtian River and waited until the people had completely changed their bad habit of reddening their faces before welcoming the princess to Tubo. However, Lu Dongzan sent a message saying that this would take at most half a year."

"Nonsense." Li Chengqian threw the document on the table and sneered, "It's likely that the imperial sister encountered plateau miasma and is feeling unwell, so she stopped."

"Your Highness, do you want to send someone to ask?" Zhang Xuansu, the Prince's Junior Secretary, suggested.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked at the ministers in the hall.

The Prince's Junior Secretary Zhang Xuansu, the Prince's Household Manager Li Anyan, the Prince's Chief of Staff Changsun Xiang, the Prince's Sergeant Dugu Dabao, the Prince's Groom Linghu Defen, the Prince's Central Sheriff Xiao Jun, and a group of the Prince's Sheriffs were all present.

Ever since Yu Zhining returned home to observe mourning, Li Chengqian began to often bring the officials of the Eastern Palace with him to help them become more familiar with state affairs.

As the Crown Prince is the regent, officials of the Eastern Palace are more involved in the political affairs of the three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five academies, become familiar with the officials of each ministry, and infiltrate the Crown Prince's influence. This is the greatest benefit of the Crown Prince being the regent to the Eastern Palace.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Forget it. Ever since the Great Fei River, my sister has been someone else's wife. Now that Songtsen is willing to stay at Tongtian River for my sister's health, it's not a bad thing."

"Your Highness, maybe Songtsen wants to use the princess to infiltrate the Dangxiang people, or even make these Dangxiang people betray the Tang Dynasty at a critical moment." Li Anyan bowed slightly with a solemn expression.

"This is inevitable. This is all part of their plan." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head and said, "Let him be. After Tuyuhun's kneeling, the benefits of this marriage to the Tang Dynasty will surpass those of the Tibetans. Other nations will fear the Tang Dynasty even more than they fear the Tibetans. This is enough."

"Yes!" Li Anyan bowed slightly.

Li Chengqian looked up at the crowd and asked, "Do you have any other opinions?"

The ministers in the hall couldn't help but shake their heads. They knew less about Tubo and the situation in that area than Li Chengqian did.

"Your Highness!" A voice suddenly rang out from behind the ministers. Then a thin, middle-aged man of ordinary build stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, I believe Songtsen is using the princess to suppress and reform some of Tubo's old customs, thereby achieving the goal of developing and strengthening Tubo."

Li Chengqian looked at Li Yanshou, the Prince's Chief Steward, who had stepped forward and could not help but nod his head. "Mr. Li, what you say makes sense. If that is true, then Songtsen is truly a man of great talent and strategy!"

The expressions of all the ministers in the hall became solemn at the same time. Although the countries surrounding the Tang Dynasty were strong and weak respectively, most of their monarchs were incompetent.

Even the Turkic Khan Jie Li was deposed by the emperor by simply throwing Zhao Deyan at him.

But if Songtsen was such a man of great talent and strategy, he would definitely be a huge threat to the Tang Dynasty.

"Continue to gather all the information on Tubo. The intelligence gathered by the Hundred Cavalry Division in Tubo will also be sent to the Eastern Palace. You ministers should analyze and understand it." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian looked at Li Anyan and said, "Regarding the incident of the Tubo Zanpu kneeling before my father on the Tuyuhun grasslands, have the Military Affairs Department find ways to spread the news. At the same time, have the Tuyuhun Murong clan strengthen their control over Tuyuhun."

Although Princess Wencheng had left the influence of the Tang Dynasty and arrived in Tubo, the matter was not over.

Yuwen Chongsi, the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, would follow Princess Wencheng all the way to Lhasa, the capital of the Tubo Kingdom.

He would not return to Chang'an until they had officially held their wedding ceremony in Lhasa.

The merchants and travelers who went with him, as well as the people from the Military Affairs Department, would all take root deeply in Tubo at this time.

This information will be continuously sent back to Chang'an for analysis and compilation by the Baiqi Division and the people of the Eastern Palace.

"Yes!" Li Anyan and the other ministers in the hall immediately bowed.

Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief, then looked ahead and said, "We should approach the Tubo matter step by step. First, we should understand Tubo, then go deep into Tubo, and finally dig into its roots."

"Yes!"

……

Li Chengqian leaned back slightly and said with emotion, "In fact, if Songtsen and the imperial sister can have children, this marriage can be considered a beautiful one."

Li Chengqian had the memories of Li Qian, a later generation, and he knew that when Songtsen was alive, he was very good to Princess Wencheng.

In the entire Tubo, apart from Songtsen, Princess Wencheng had the highest status in Tubo. It was almost like even if Princess Wencheng asked for the moon in the sky, Songtsen would be willing to pick it for her.

But the only problem is offspring.

The biggest problem is also offspring.

Li Chengqian didn't know whether Princess Wencheng's body couldn't adapt to the plateau or Songtsen deliberately prevented her from getting pregnant, but the end result was that they had no children.

More importantly, Songtsen only had a few years left to live.

Over the years, he fought in many battles and suffered countless injuries. Tubo lacked sufficient medicine to treat his wounds, which ultimately resulted in Songtsen not being able to live for more than a few years.

As soon as Songtsen died, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo took a sharp turn for the worse.

Soon, Lu Dongzan began to invade the Bailang tribe of Tuyuhun, and finally directly destroyed Tuyuhun.

What followed was the border issue between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

If nothing unexpected happens, once the emperor dies, Li Chengqian will most likely have to face direct pressure from Tubo.

Once Tuyuhun was destroyed, Tubo would immediately threaten the Western Regions and the Silk Road. The Tang Dynasty, which had received huge tax revenues from the Silk Road, would immediately suffer a huge impact.

Of course, that's for later.

The emperor should have also seen this, so he hoped that Li Chengqian would focus more on this aspect. In this way, Li Chengqian would not build up power in Chang'an and would not threaten the emperor's position, so that both father and son would be safe.

"All the nobles may withdraw. Lord Zhang, please stay for a moment."

……

"Your Highness." Zhang Xuansu looked at Li Chengqian in surprise. Now, there were only the two of them in the entire hall.

"Mr. Zhang." Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Xuansu and said seriously, "Mr. Zhang, now that Master Yu has left Chang'an, all matters of the Eastern Palace are under the purview of Mr. Zhang. However, I have recently discovered that Mr. Zhang's control over the affairs of the Eastern Palace is insufficient."

"Your Highness, I..." Zhang Xuansu's face was a little embarrassed. He said bitterly, "I am not good at these things."

Zhang Xuansu, if you ask him to give advice or concentrate on doing a specific thing, he can do it very well, but if you ask him to take charge of everything, it is beyond his ability.

"Mr. Zhang," Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "There are some things I originally didn't want to say, but today I have to say them."

"Your Highness, please speak."

"Master Yu's official position should be Palace Attendant, Duke of Liyang County, and Inspector of the Prince's Secretariat." Li Chengqian glanced at Zhang Xuansu.

Zhang Xuansu nodded subconsciously.

"Master Yu has returned to his hometown to observe mourning for a year. If Mr. Zhang is unable to lead the Eastern Palace as Master Yu did during this year, then father will most likely appoint a new Prince Secretary to the Eastern Palace." Li Chengqian's expression grew serious.

"Ah!" Zhang Xuansu didn't react for a moment.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "The next six months are easy to deal with. There's no rush for things in the Eastern Palace. But next spring, your father will have to consider the Eastern Tour, and I still have to supervise the country. If Lord Zhang can't take over the command soon, your father might actually replace him."

In the previous life, the emperor was replaced.

When Yu Zhining returned to his hometown to observe mourning, Zhang Xuansu was unable to persuade Li Chengqian, so the emperor appointed Zhang Liang, the Minister of Works, as the Inspector of the Prince's Secretariat. However, Zhang Liang was unable to persuade him, so the emperor reinstated Yu Zhining.

But at that time, Zhang Liang had already been appointed as the Inspector of the Prince's Secretary, so Yu Zhining was transferred to the Prince's Left Assistant, and Zhang Xuansu, who was originally only the Inspector of the Prince's Left Assistant as the Prince's Junior Secretary, was appointed as the Inspector of the Prince's Right Assistant. Li Baiyao, the Prince's Right Assistant, was about to retire.

Li Chengqian didn't want Zhang Liang to interfere in the Eastern Palace because this guy's mind was not in the Eastern Palace at all.

Later, he even secretly raised five hundred adopted sons with the intention of rebelling.

Li Chengqian hopes that Zhang Liang can get close to Li Tai.

In this way, Li Tai's capital for rebellion will become more and more abundant. Together with Qi Zhixuan and his group, Li Tai will inevitably embark on the path of rebellion.

"Mr. Zhang, let the housekeeper assist you with all matters in the Eastern Palace and take charge of everything as quickly as possible. I would rather you be promoted to the Prince's Secretary than have my father transfer someone else." Li Chengqian looked at Zhang Xuansu sincerely.

"I understand." Zhang Xuansu nodded seriously.

……

Watching Zhang Xuansu's departing figure, Li Anyan stood to one side and asked in a low voice, "Your Highness, if Mr. Zhang is promoted to the Crown Prince's Secretary, then the Crown Prince's Junior Secretary will also need someone to come in."

"Of course, but that way, the people coming in would have more choices." Li Chengqian's eyes were filled with excitement, and he said softly, "If the position of Junior Secretary of the Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace is vacant, I hope that Prime Minister Wei can recommend Ma Zhou, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, to be the Junior Secretary of the Crown Prince."

If we have Ma Zhou, who needs Zhang Liang?

"Alright." Li Chengqian collected his thoughts and handed the memorial to Li Anyan, saying, "Gaoyang and Chengyang are getting married. Your Majesty doesn't want me to go to Luoyang. He has asked my cousin Changsun Xiang to go in my place. However, I think you should go with them and deliver the gifts from me and the Crown Princess."

Li Anyan immediately understood the loophole that Li Chengqian was taking advantage of.

The emperor asked the crown prince's night watchman Changsun Xiang to go in his place, but did not mention the crown princess.

It’s not a big deal for Li Anyan to go in place of the Crown Princess.

"Your Highness, are you considering the gift?" Li Anyan looked at Li Chengqian carefully.

Li Chengqian shook his head slightly and said, "I know about the gift. I'm actually thinking about the Duke of Liang."

"Prime Minister Fang?" Li Anyan suddenly became solemn and said with a salutation, "Your Highness, what has Prime Minister Fang done again?"

"No, Prime Minister Fang has done nothing." Li Chengqian smiled and said meaningfully, "Since Fang Yiai was transferred to Songzhou, Prime Minister Fang has done nothing."

"Your Highness, do you mean that Prime Minister Fang and King Wei have severed their ties?" Li Anyan's face was full of surprise.

"What other explanation could there be?" Li Chengqian raised his head, looked outside the palace, and said softly, "Since Prime Minister Fang doesn't want to be associated with Qingque for the time being, then I will go a step further and completely sever his ties with Qingque."

"Your Highness, what about the past?" Li Anyan looked at Li Chengqian uncertainly.

"Take your time." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly, squinting his eyes and said, "With Fang Xiang here, Qingque can always consult for final advice on everything he does. Fang is always decisive, this is no joke, so we must cut off the relationship between Fang Xiang and Qingque.

As for the matter of Fang Xiang..."

Li Chengqian sneered softly and said, "How can it be so easy to sever the relationship between him and Qingque? It's just that he wants to sever the relationship now, and I want him to know that I want to see him and Qingque separated, and I won't even bother to pursue the previous matters."

"Prime Minister Fang will cut ties with King Wei, but in the end, he will definitely be implicated by King Wei." Li Anyan nodded slowly with a ferocious look on his face.

(End of this chapter)