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

Chapter 146: In the Seventeenth Year of Zhenguan, Prince Li You of Qi Revolted (Part )

In the Liangyi Hall, the emperor held a banquet for his ministers.

Fine wine, delicious food, singing, feasting and dancing.

Drinking and drinking, laughter and laughter.

Li Chengqian sat behind a low table and watched the ministers raise their glasses to celebrate. He gradually calmed down.

Wei Zheng's daughter was originally a bargaining chip he used to force the emperor to allow him to marry Zheng Rentai's daughter as Crown Prince Liangti. However, after Su Shu went to Duke Zheng's mansion, she fell in love with Wei Zheng's daughter. Later, when she went there for the second time, she began to hint at her.

It happened that Wei Zheng was not feeling well, so this hint was immediately made clear.

From this, it seems that the emperor was indeed next to Wei Zheng's bed that day!
This marriage now has a bit of a happy atmosphere... No, the real one who brought good luck was not Li Chengqian, but Wei Zheng's eldest son Wei Shuyu.

The emperor had granted the marriage years ago, and Wei Shuyu married the daughter of Xue Danian of the Hedong Xue family.

Xue Danian had passed away, but his sister was Emperor Gaozu's concubine Xue, who was the concubine who took care of Li Zhi and Princess Jinyang.

Originally, Wei Shuyu was supposed to marry Princess Xincheng, but Xincheng was too small, so he married Concubine Xue's niece.

This is a good thing, as it avoided a tragedy.

Li Chengqian raised his glass slightly and sipped the wine carefully.

In his previous life, Wei Shuyu married Princess Xincheng, and Wei Wei married Xue from Hedong; but now, Wei Wei married Li Chengqian, and Wei Shuyu married Xue's daughter.

In this way, Li Chengqian and Xue became involved in a disguised way.

You know, there are quite a few people from the Hedong Xue family in the court now. In addition to the brothers Xue Wanjun and Xue Wanche, there are also a large number of Xue family governors serving in various parts of the country.

There was also a man in the court named Xue Yuanjing, who was once one of the eighteen scholars in the Qin Palace and the director of the Imperial College. The younger Xue Yuanchao was also very outstanding.

There will be another Xue Rengui in the future...

"Crown Prince..." The emperor's voice came from the side. Li Chengqian turned around immediately: "Father!"

Li Shimin smiled at him and said, "Don't think about your Crown Prince Liangti anymore. Now, stand up and have a toast.

You, young slave, toast to all the ministers on my behalf, thanking them for their hard work last year and the bountiful harvest!"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian and Li Zhi bowed together.

All officials serve, the emperor expresses his gratitude, and the princes take over. This has been the custom for many years. Unfortunately, Li Tai has not been around for the past two years.

……

Li Chengqian was in charge of the interior of the Liangyi Hall, while Li Zhi was in charge of the exterior of the Liangyi Hall.

Li Chengqian was the first to walk up to Changsun Wuji, raised his glass and bowed, saying, "Uncle, thank you for your hard work this year, and may you have a healthy and happy new year!"

"Long live the prince!" Changsun Wuji smiled and nodded, then raised his glass and drank the wine in it.

Li Chengqian also drank the whole glass of wine without hesitation. Then he looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, please sit down."

"Slow down a bit." Zhang Sun Wuji advised, and Li Chengqian immediately nodded and said, "My nephew obeys."

"Haha!" Changsun Wuji also laughed. He almost forgot that Prince Li Chengqian had done this kind of thing countless times and there was no need to remind him too much.

Li Chengqian walked up to Fang Xuanling and raised his glass earnestly, bowing and saying, "Duke Liang, thank you for your hard work this year. May you have a healthy and happy new year."

"Thank you, Your Highness. Long live Your Highness!" Fang Xuanling raised his glass solemnly and drank it all in one gulp.

Li Chengqian drank it all in one gulp, then looked at Fang Xuanling and said, "Prime Minister Fang, please take a seat!"

Fang Xuanling raised his eyebrows slightly, then sat down. The addition of the word "An" made the situation different.

Li Chengqian walked up to Gao Shilian and raised his glass, saying, "Uncle, thank you for your hard work this year. May you have good health in the New Year."

"His Majesty, may you be well." Gao Shilian raised his glass and looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Thank you for what happened last night, His Majesty."

"This is what a nephew should do." Li Chengqian bowed again, and Gao Shilian drank the glass of wine with satisfaction.

Although Wei Zheng had retired, Li Chengqian still had supporters in the central government. Gao Shilian was one of the people who supported Li Chengqian the most in his previous life.

In his previous life, if Wei Zheng had not died of illness and Gao Shilian had not retired, he would not have been forced to the point of being unable to breathe.

Li Chengqian then walked up to Wei Zheng. Suddenly, for some unknown reason, his face flushed completely. He raised his glass and bowed, saying, "Prime Minister Wei, Happy New Year."

"The prince should call him father-in-law." Zhangsun Wuji on the side suddenly joked, and immediately, everyone from the emperor to Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and others burst into laughter.

"Father-in-law, Happy New Year!" Li Chengqian blushed and raised his glass again, bowing. Then he said, "Father-in-law, please drink less to keep healthy."

"I will listen to your advice and drink less!" Wei Zheng said, but his eyes turned to the emperor. Li Shimin immediately smiled helplessly, then raised his glass slightly and drank it all in one gulp.

Wei Zheng then turned to look at Li Chengqian and said solemnly, "Prince, in your future actions, you should pay more attention to the suffering of the people and remember to be down-to-earth and not be too ambitious."

"I will follow your advice!" Li Chengqian immediately bowed seriously.

He could tell that Wei Zheng's words were actually telling him to put more effort into cultivating more talented people for the future at the lower levels of the court, without realizing that he was now fighting for power in the center. This kind of prince was what the emperor liked.

"Your Highness, please!" Wei Zheng saw that Li Chengqian had listened to him and nodded with satisfaction. Just as he was about to drink the wine in the cup, Li Chengqian suddenly said, "Drink less!"

Wei Zheng was stunned, then couldn't help laughing.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian toasted Yang Shidao, Liu Li, Cen Wenben, and then came to Hou Junji.

Hou Junji raised his wine glass, looked at Li Chengqian, and said with a complicated expression: "Your Highness, congratulations."

"Duke Chen, Happy New Year." Li Chengqian looked at Hou Junji seriously.

Hou Junji smiled, then sighed softly and said, "I regret it a little. I should have listened to Your Highness."

After saying this, Hou Junji drank the wine in the cup in one gulp.

At the end of the previous year, Li Chengqian suggested that Hou Junji be able to take up a post in a border state.

If this is really possible, then during the Battle of Xueyantuo last year, it was Hou Junji who led the army into battle, and after one battle, he was directly appointed prime minister again for his military merits.

Unlike today, although he was the Minister of Personnel and the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, he actually performed his duties mostly as the Chief Secretary of Yongzhou, and he had to transfer at least half of the power of the Ministry of Personnel.

Although Yongzhou was the most important province in the world, it had achieved very little in the way of merit. Even in the case of catching a traitor and an assassin, Hou Junji had made very few contributions. Without merit, he could not be appointed prime minister.

Just like Liu Li, although he was the Vice-Chancellor, he was never able to make further progress because his achievements were not enough.

The same is true for Hou Junji now. As the Chief Clerk of Yongzhou and the Minister of Personnel, this position has trapped him. On the contrary, it was Li Ji who secured the position of Minister of War through this battle.

Chai Lingwu was watching from behind, and seeing Hou Junji's somewhat lonely expression, his eyes couldn't help but fall into deep thought.

……

Prime Minister, six ministers, six vice ministers, nine temple ministers, nine temple vice ministers, provincial governors, various ministers, secretaries of the Secretariat, and officials in charge of the imperial court.

Li Chengqian paid his respects to all the ministers in the hall.

All the ministers drank it all in one gulp very respectfully. They were all sharp-eyed people. The King of Wei had not attended the New Year's court for two consecutive years, and the Crown Prince was favored by the emperor. They could basically see that the Crown Prince's position was very stable and could not be shaken by the King of Wei.

Before he knew it, Li Chengqian had arrived in front of Chai Lingwu.

"Cousin!" Li Chengqian looked at Chai Lingwu with a smile and said, "Thank you for your hard work this year. May you have a healthy and happy new year."

"Your Highness, Happy New Year." Chai Lingwu immediately raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp with a sincere look.
Li Chengqian raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp. Then he looked at Chai Lingwu and said, "Has my cousin returned to Daizhou now?"

Chai Lingwu's expression suddenly tightened, and then he said, "Three days ago, I returned to the Great Wall with the Duke of Ying."

Although the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Xueyantuo had ended, the Tang army had not yet completely retreated back to the Great Wall.

Li Ji is now also in front of the army.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "When will I have a few drinks with you again, cousin, when you return to Chang'an?"

"Yes!" Chai Lingwu forced a smile on his face.

Li Chengqian smiled and walked towards the others.

Although Chai Lingwu seems to be showing off his power in Chang'an City, in fact, the person he fears most is his brother Chai Zhewei.

The eldest brother is like a father. At the critical moment, Chai Zhewei will really beat him hard.

……

"Thank you all for your hard work." Li Chengqian smiled and raised his glass to the people in the Censorate.

"May Your Highness live a long and healthy life." Su Liangsi, Li Yifu, and the others raised their glasses at the same time, and then whispered, "Congratulations, Your Highness."

"Congratulations, everyone." Li Chengqian replied meaningfully, then drank the wine in the glass in one gulp.

Su Liangsi and Li Yifu were slightly stunned, and the next moment, a hint of joy appeared on both of their faces.

The two of them worked so hard last year and are finally going to get a promotion.

I just don’t know what Huisheng will do.

Subconsciously, Su Liangsi and Li Yifu looked at each other, then raised their glasses and laughed silently.

Li Chengqian looked serious as he went up to the generals, lieutenant generals, such as Cheng Zhijie, Yuchi Gong, Niu Jinda, Duan Zhixuan, Zhishisili, Guo Xiaoke, Su Dingfang and other military leaders, and toasted them one by one.

At last he came before the kings.

Li Chengqian had just raised his glass to Prince of Jing, Li Yuanjing, when the Emperor's voice suddenly rang out from the imperial couch beside him: "Crown Prince, I have reviewed the memorial on personal farming that you and the Zongzheng Temple compiled last year. Now, please have a good talk with them."

Li Chengqian was slightly stunned, then turned around and bowed, saying, "Yes!"

Li Shimin smiled calmly, then looked at Li Chengqian and Li Yuanjing with a scrutinizing look in his eyes.

The ministers in the hall gradually quieted down and their eyes fell on Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian raised his glass, looked at Li Yuanjing, and said, "Uncle King of Jing, you have worked hard last year. I have seen your personal farming. Among all the kings, you are second only to Uncle King of Han and Uncle King of Wu. I offer you a toast. Uncle, you have worked hard in governing Fuzhou. Please, Uncle! Happy New Year!"

"Long live Your Highness!" King Jing breathed a sigh of relief, quickly raised his glass, and drank it all in one gulp.

Fuzhou is not far from Chang'an. During the New Year's Eve banquet two years ago, Li Chengqian brought up the topic. Although Li Yuanjing did not care too much about it, he did not ignore it either. He was a very cautious person, so he farmed the land himself in a proper manner and achieved pretty good results.

Li Yuanjing was the oldest among Emperor Gaozu's sons except the emperor. He was nine years old at the time of the Xuanwu Gate Incident and remembered everything clearly.

Li Chengqian smiled and walked towards King Han Li Yuanchang.

Li Yuanchang and Li Chengqian had a good relationship. Li Chengqian had reminded him more than once in their correspondence, and he had done his job properly.

Among Emperor Gaozu's sons, most of them did a good job, but there were two who completely ignored it, namely Prince Guo Li Feng and Prince Jiang Li Yuanxiang.

Li Chengqian had just reprimanded them with a cold expression when the emperor immediately fined them three months' salary.

The ministers immediately understood that the emperor was trying to establish the prince's prestige among the royal family.

At the same time, it also prevents them from underestimating the importance of farming themselves, so that they can govern the place well.

Unconsciously, the ministers became more and more respectful of Li Chengqian.

……

Li Chengqian looked at Li Ke in front of him, raised his glass with a smile, and said, "Sanlang is the best among all the kings. I toast you a glass."

"Thank you, Your Highness." Li Ke breathed a sigh of relief and quickly raised his glass and drank it all.

Whether it is Li Ke or Li Yuanjing, they are the eldest among the emperor's illegitimate sons and also the most cautious.

Li Chengqian walked past Li Ke and then came to Li You. His expression instantly turned cold and he couldn't help but raise his voice: "King of Qi!"

Li You shuddered suddenly, raised his cup and said, "Your humble servant is here."

Li Chengqian narrowed his eyes slightly: Prince of Qi Li You rebelled in the 17th year of Zhenguan.

"King Qi, you were the worst at farming last year. You didn't even go to your official fields for a single day!"

Li Chengqian put down his wine glass, looked at Li You coldly and said, "Tell me, how should I punish you?"

　So in March 643 (the th year of Zhenguan), Li You recruited all men over the age of in the city, secretly appointed his left and right as officials such as Shang Zhuguo and Kaifu Yitong Sansi, opened the treasury to reward them, drove the people into the city to serve as soldiers, set up government offices, and appointed his confidants as King of Tuoxi, King of Tuodong, etc.

　　Emperor Taizong of Tang then ordered the Minister of War Li Ji to mobilize troops from the nine prefectures of Huai, Luo, Bian, Song, Lu, Hua, Ji, Yun, and Hai to join Liu Dewei in suppressing the rebellion.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)