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

Chapter 125: Requesting the Tang Dynasty to Grant a Princess a Marriage (Part )
Under the tutelage of Chengtian.

All the officials came from the Suzaku Gate, and Li Chengqian came from the East Palace in a sedan chair. Both parties arrived at the Chengtian Gate almost at the same time.

Li Chengqian's eyes immediately swept over Li Dejian, who was wearing a dark crimson official robe, and Li Dejian nodded slightly.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but smile in his heart.

It is not so easy to plot against Li Jing's son.

Li Chengqian's gaze fell on Li Tai, who was walking to the upper right of the ministers, and a smile suddenly bloomed on his face.

As the sedan chair landed, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yang Shidao, Li Tai, Li Yuanying and others who happened to be walking by immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, we pay our respects to the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian skillfully dismounted from the sedan chair. After he stood still, he smiled and nodded, saying, "Gentlemen, please stand."

"Thank you, Your Highness." The ministers immediately stood up and calmed down.

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly, his gaze fixed on the tightly packed Chengtian Gate, then addressed the courtiers, "On the eve of the New Year, I will be hosting a hundred-day banquet for Princess Ankang. If you are free, please bring your families along... And Qingque, I haven't seen Xin'er in a while, please come along one day."

"I obey your command." Li Tai bowed calmly. It can be seen that he is much more mature than at the beginning of the year.

Perhaps the emperor's whip really made him grow a lot.

At this moment, the palace gate opened.

On the palace walls, countless soldiers held long spears and stood guard in awe.

Beneath the palace walls, the eunuch Zhang Ananda emerged, whisk in hand, and announced loudly, "The Emperor is attending court this morning. All the ministers are here to see you!"

……

In the Taiji Hall, the emperor sat high on the imperial couch.

On both sides of the hall, all officials of Chang'an above the fifth rank were lined up.

Li Chengqian stood calmly on the third step of the Danbi, holding a sceptre, while Li Tai stood beside him.

Li Chengqian glanced at Li Tai from the corner of his eye, then looked forward.

Shangshu Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling stood up with his hands clasped, holding a hut and reporting: "Your Majesty, the Tibetan king Songtsen is still staying in Tongtian River and has built a palace for the princess. He has not returned to Tibet to marry."

The ministers in the hall couldn't help but be slightly shocked, and they all raised their eyes and looked at the emperor.

When the Tang Dynasty married off a girl, although all the rituals had been completed, they were ultimately the woman's rituals. Tubo still had its own rituals to complete. Only then was the marriage considered completely completed.

The emperor looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Crown Prince?"

"Your Majesty!" Li Chengqian bowed and said, "According to the news, Tubo is currently undergoing large-scale reforms. For example, the use of ochre for facial makeup and many other primitive customs, cleanliness and hygiene, and improved dietary structure are all being carried out by Songtsen."

"Songtsan?" Li Shimin nodded and said, "He is indeed a great figure. Prince, you must continue to pay attention to the affairs of Tubo."

"Your son obeys the order." Li Chengqian bowed and stepped back.

No one could stop Tubo from using the Tang princess to carry out comprehensive reforms.

The Tang Dynasty had foreseen this before the princess married off. However, according to the arrangements of the emperor and Zhangsun Wuji and others, after the Tibetans had reformed these bad habits, the Tang Dynasty would be able to annex Tibet with less effort when it exterminated Tibet in the future.

"Your Majesty," Minister of Personnel Hou Junji stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "The Ministry of Personnel has drafted a list of thirty-seven provincial governors to return to the capital to report on their work. Here is the list, please review it, Your Majesty."

Zhang Ananda immediately walked down, retrieved the memorial and presented it to the emperor.

Li Shimin took a look and nodded, saying, "That's it."

Hou Junji bowed and then returned to the train.

Minister of Revenue Tang Jian stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue has completed the annual revenue statistics for this year and is submitting them for your review."

Zhang Ananda stepped down again, retrieved the memorial, and brought it before the emperor. The emperor calmly opened it, read it, nodded, looked at Tang Jian, and said, "Today's annual revenue is 1.4 million more than last year."

Tang Jian bowed and said, "Your Majesty, last year there was a war in Gaochang, which cut off half of the Silk Road. Therefore, this year's annual revenue is 1.4 million more than last year."

After the Silk Road was opened up in Gaochang, it began to gradually recover, but it was only just beginning to recover and was still far from the point in its heyday when it could account for a quarter of the annual income of the Tang Dynasty.

"Yes!" The emperor nodded and said, "Thank you for your hard work, ministers of the Ministry of Revenue."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your praise." Tang Jian bowed and returned to the train.

Cui Dunli, the Minister of War, stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the Mobei army has gradually ceased fighting. We can return at any time upon Your Majesty's order."

"I heard that the envoy of Xueyantuo has arrived?" Li Shimin suddenly leaned forward.

Minister of Rites Li Daozong stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Xueyantuo envoys are waiting outside Chengtian Gate."

"Announce!" Li Shimin looked up and his expression turned cold.

……

"Your Majesty, Shange, the envoy of Xueyantuo, comes to pay his respects to the Heavenly Khan, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. May your Majesty live long and long." Shange, who was wearing a brand new woolen coat, kowtowed heavily to the ground with a nervous look on his face.

The emperor smiled softly and said, "The battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo is raging. Why are you here?"

The ministers in the hall couldn't help but laugh softly.

The battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo was in full swing. What a bullshit battle! It was the Tang Dynasty that was holding the Xueyantuo under its feet.

Even the rubbing is done.

Not to mention, the Tang Dynasty did not really make a move this time. Although it deployed hundreds of thousands of troops on the border, the troops in the rear were actually able to stop the second batch of the same troops at any time and attack.

None of Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Jingde, Hou Junji, and Li Daozon moved, and the emperor stayed safely in Luoyang.

No one really took the Xueyantuo seriously, so what was the point of the fierce battle? But everyone understood that if the distance was not so great, the Tang Dynasty would really have wiped out the Xueyantuo.

Shan Ge didn't dare look up, his forehead pressed against the cold tile floor. He then pleaded, "Your Majesty, the Khan has sent me here to explain the misunderstanding. This is a conflict between the Xueyantuo and the Turks. It is the Xueyantuo's fault for unintentionally disturbing the Celestial Empire. Therefore, the Khan has sent me here to offer three thousand war horses as an apology, begging for Your Majesty's forgiveness."

On the imperial couch, the emperor's expression suddenly turned cold. "Shange, I seem to remember that Xueyantuo was a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty."

"Yes!" Shange kowtowed heavily, not daring to look up.

"Two years ago, I told Yi Nan that the Xueyantuo and the Turks were separated by the desert. The Xueyantuo lived to the north of the desert, and the Turks lived to the south. If anyone invaded, I would punish them.

This time, you relied on your strength to cross the desert and attack the Turks. Is this a crime or a mistake? "The emperor suddenly shouted angrily, and all the ministers in the hall looked at Shange coldly at the same time.

Shange immediately kowtowed heavily and said, "It is the Xueyantuo's fault. The Xueyantuo promise that they will never invade the Turks again in the future."

"Hmph!" Li Shimin snorted coldly and said, "Li Ji only has a few thousand cavalry, and you are already in such a mess. Go back and tell the Yi people that every move must be made with due care. If this happens again, it will be the time when the Xueyantuo will be destroyed."

"Yes!" Shange kowtowed heavily and breathed a sigh of relief. Then he realized that he was soaked all over.

……

"Stand up." The emperor looked at Shange with some disgust.

Shange then stood up in a panic, straightening his expression slightly. He bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, I have another matter. The Khan's son, Datushe, died on the battlefield. It was his fate that he met his end. However, the small Khan seal he carried with him was lost on the battlefield. I would like to ask if the Tang Dynasty confiscated it?"

"The seal of the Little Khan?" Li Shimin frowned.

When Xueyantuo was founded, the seal of the Khan was bestowed by Li Shimin. Later, when Xueyantuo rose to power, in order to divide Xueyantuo, Li Shimin also appointed Yinan's two sons as small Khans.

Datushe was one of the little khans.

The emperor looked at Cui Dunli and asked, "Mr. Cui, did the Ministry of War obtain any small Khan seals?"

Chai Lingwu, who was standing behind the ministers, narrowed his eyes slightly. He was not clear about the specific details of the matter, nor did he know how Qi Zhixuan had arranged it.

Cui Dunli, the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, stepped forward and bowed, "Your Majesty, the Ministry of War has only captured the head of Dadushe."

"May I ask which general... took care of the little Khan's body? I wonder if the little Khan's seal is on you?" Shange turned sideways and his eyes fell directly on Li Dejian.

The ministers in the hall couldn't help but frown, wondering what the Xueyantuo people were doing.

Although Li Dejian is Li Jing's son, he rushed across hundreds of miles of grassland, even if...

Unconsciously, the ministers began to feel a little restless.

Chai Lingwu stood behind and lowered his head slightly.

Xueyantuo envoy, just this one sentence is enough.

"Your Majesty, it is the magnanimous decision of me to behead you." Li Dejian stood up with his hands clasped and bowed solemnly to the emperor.

Li Shimin suddenly smiled, looked at Li Dejian and asked, "My dear, have you seen any small Khan seal?"

"Your Majesty," Li Dejian thought for a moment before saying, "When I beheaded Dadushe, besides the head, I brought back quite a few miscellaneous items. However, I have only just returned to the capital, and haven't had time to count them yet. However, the Small Khan's Seal... Your Majesty, I am not well-educated and don't recognize the Small Khan's Seal."

The emperor was stunned for a moment, then said, "Yes, the seal of the Xueyantuo Khan is written in Tiele script. It's normal that you don't recognize it."

"Your Majesty, please send someone to accompany me to get it." Li Dejian bowed seriously.

Chai Lingwu couldn't help but frown slightly, as if something was wrong.

"Okay, the Honglu Temple will send someone to go with Li Qing to get it." The emperor waved his hand nonchalantly, then looked at Shange and said, "This small Khan seal was captured by Li Qing on the battlefield. I can't just take it back like that. Please exchange it for fifty war horses. I'll take a small loss."

The corner of Shange's mouth twitched slightly, and he bowed and said, "Yes!"

Behind the ministers, the Censor Wang An, who was in his early fifties, watched all this calmly, his eyes slightly glancing outside the hall.

At this moment, Shange suddenly bowed again and said, "Your Majesty, in this battle, the Khan's eldest son died on the battlefield, leaving only one legitimate son. The Khan has sent me here to ask the Tang Dynasty to grant a princess in marriage to ensure the continuation of the Xueyantuo bloodline."

Li Chengqian stood on the Danbi and looked at Shange with surprise.

Although he had heard such shameless words in his previous life, he was still shocked when he heard them again this time.

How could they say such shameless words?

……

On the imperial couch, the emperor's eyes turned cold.

Yinan is imitating Tubo and Songtsen Gampo.

No, this may be what Songtsen taught.

Li Shimin had a strong feeling for a moment that Songtsen was now stationed at Tongtian River with 30,000 elite troops, perhaps waiting for the outcome of the battle between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo.

If the Tang Dynasty and Xueyantuo were to encounter difficulties on this trip, Songtsen, who had just become the son-in-law of the Tang Dynasty, might immediately turn around and lead 30,000 elite troops down to the plateau to attack Lanzhou.

The border of the Tang Dynasty was devastated.

Songtsen and Yinan are all connected to each other.

There is even an agreement.

Damn, why hadn't he thought of that before?

Li Shimin exhaled calmly, leaned back slightly, looked at Li Chengqian, and said, "Prince, you come and answer for me."

Li Chengqian raised his eyes in surprise. This had never happened in his previous life!

(End of this chapter)