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

Chapter 147 Chai Lingwu: What the General Says (Part )
In the Liangyi Hall, Li You held up a wine jar, his face flushed with anger, but his anger was forcibly suppressed.

For Li You, being pointed at in the nose and scolded like this had never been done by anyone else except the emperor.

He raised his head and looked at Li Chengqian with some difficulty.

His eldest brother, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty, was scolding him with a cold face.

Li You's eyes were wide open.

At this moment, Li You's gaze inadvertently passed Li Chengqian and fell on Wei Ting, the Imperial Censor, who was among the ministers on the other side behind Li Chengqian.

His father-in-law, the father of the Princess of Qi, was the Imperial Censor Wei Ting.

Wei Ting looked at him seriously, then shook his head slightly with a serious look in his eyes.

Li You took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and slowly bowed and said: "I have made a mistake, please punish me, my emperor."

Li Chengqian looked at Li You and said in a deep voice, "Qi and Lu are fertile lands, yet for the past few years, the annual income and autumn harvest taxes of Qizhou's people have been less than 80% of those of other provinces. King Qi, who do you think I should ask about this? Who do you think the court should ask about this?"

"It's You!" Li You bowed. He could feel a pair of cold eyes looking straight at him from the side.

It was the emperor, who was using the prince to criticize him.

Li Chengqian nodded slightly and said, "Since you know you are wrong, then I ask you, will you change?"

"I will change it when I go back." Li You lowered his head solemnly. Although he looked regretful, his teeth were already gritted invisibly.

"Personally cultivate the fields, nurture the seedlings, know the rainy season, understand the farming seasons, assist with the harvest, and finally understand the people's harvest. How much is left after paying taxes? Is it enough to get through the New Year and the autumn harvest? If not, how to make up for it? These are all things you, the Governor of Qizhou, need to understand." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian looked at Li You seriously and said, "King Qi, do you understand?"

"Your Majesty, I will follow your instructions." Li You stiffened his body and bowed deeply.

The other kings around them all followed suit and bowed, saying, "We will faithfully follow the Crown Prince's instructions."

The kings trembled, but the other ministers in the hall nodded in satisfaction.

Chai Lingwu, who was in the corner, inadvertently cast his subtle gaze on Li You, whose face was stiff.

Thoughts began to slowly stir in my heart.

……

"My lords, the crown prince is wise, come and drink this cup to the full!" Li Shimin suddenly spoke, his eyes swept over the bowing kings, and then he raised the wine jar with satisfaction.

The ministers immediately followed the wine jar and said, "The Crown Prince is wise and virtuous, Your Majesty is powerful and blessed. May the Tang Dynasty last forever, and may Your Majesty live forever!"

Li Chengqian raised the wine jar and bowed to the emperor, and the other kings also raised their wine jars at the same time.

"Haha!" The emperor laughed and drank the wine in the glass.

The ministers in the hall drank the wine in one gulp, looking delighted.

While Li Chengqian was drinking, his eyes lightly passed over the Imperial Censor Wei Ting.

Wei Ting, a member of the Jingzhao Wei clan, was a youngest brother of Xiaoyaogong's family. When he was young, he was friendly with the deposed Crown Prince Li Jiancheng. Later, he served as the Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince. After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, he was exiled. During the Zhenguan period, he was restored to the throne and served as Shangshu Youcheng, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and later Vice Minister of the Imperial Household and concurrently in charge of the Wei Wang Palace. Later, he served as the Chief Censor.

Li Chengqian remembered very clearly that when Li You rebelled, his father-in-law Wei Ting, the Prince of Qi, was not affected at all. Instead, when Li Tai failed in his bid for the throne, Wei Ting was severely punished.

It has been many years since Wei Ting took charge of the affairs of the Prince of Wei's Palace. In addition, his eldest daughter is the Princess of Qi, and his eldest son Wei Daijia married the eldest daughter of Li Daozon, Prince of Jiangxia. It is difficult to see his position clearly.

Now, the situation has changed drastically. What will Wei Ting choose?

Li Chengqian put down the wine jar and bowed respectfully to the emperor. The emperor smiled, then looked at Li You with a slightly cold expression. At this moment, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.

Li Shimin was a little surprised and looked up at Zhang Ananda. Zhang Ananda immediately bowed, then turned around and quickly walked out of the hall.

Soon, Zhang Ananda returned, knelt on the ground with a look of joy, and said, "Your Majesty, just now, the East Palace physician diagnosed that Crown Prince Liangti Zheng is pregnant.

"I, Your Majesty, congratulate you on the extension of your bloodline, which is more beautiful than the reign of Emperor Yao; and your descendants are as virtuous as those of the Zhou Dynasty."

"You old slave are quite good at talking." Li Shimin waved his hand and said with a smile, "Get up."

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian, smiled and nodded, saying: "Congratulations, Chengqian!"

"Thank you very much, father. I am happy to hear that you are here." Li Chengqian finally reacted and bowed.

At this time, all the ministers in the hall also bowed and congratulated: "Congratulations to the Crown Prince on the continuation of the bloodline. Congratulations to Your Majesty on the continuation of the family tree. May the Great Tang Dynasty live long, and Your Majesty live long."

On the other side, Zheng Rentai bowed with a look of surprise.

Originally, he was worried that his daughter would be neglected because the crown prince married Wei Zheng's daughter as Crown Prince Liangti. Unexpectedly, in the blink of an eye, his daughter was pregnant with the emperor's grandson.

The emperor’s grandson, that’s the emperor’s grandson.

Once the prince ascends the throne, he will at least be a prince.

Not to mention the rights of a prince himself, there are dozens of positions in the palace that can be provided for his own descendants and clan members to enter the officialdom. There are too many benefits in this.

Zheng Rentai's expression became stern.

The prince will ascend the throne in the future, and no one can stop him. Anyone who tries to seize the prince's position as crown prince will become an enemy of his entire Xingyang Zheng family.

Unlike the Wugong Su family, who invested a lot in Li Tai because of Su Xu, the Xingyang Zheng family wanted to invest everything on the prince this time.

You must know that the main branch of the Xingyang Zheng family invested all their resources in Li Jiancheng, which eventually led to Li Jiancheng's death and also dealt a huge blow to the entire Xingyang Zheng family.

The entire Xingyang Zheng family now has the lowest status among the five surnames and seven families.

Now, the Zheng family has another prince, Liangti. Fortunately, it is Prince Liangti, so they can invest as much as possible, but at the same time, they can ensure that if there is any change, they will not suffer the biggest blow.

Very good, very good, that's good.

It would be even better if the prince could ascend the throne and become emperor.

……

"Everyone, please stand up." The emperor smiled with satisfaction, then looked at the anxious Li Chengqian and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, Chengqian, you're no longer needed here. Go back to see your Crown Prince Liangti and take good care of her. I'm still waiting for my grandson to be born, hahahaha!"

"Father, I will take my leave." Li Chengqian excitedly bowed, then turned and left quickly after a solemn salute. Watching Li Chengqian's departing figure, the emperor sighed softly, then turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji beside him and said, "Wuji, the crown prince will soon have four children. In this way, I can be said to have done my duty to Guanyinbi."

"The Crown Prince has many descendants, is a calm and reasonable person, and is considerate of the people. He is truly your Majesty's destined successor." Changsun Wuji bowed slightly and raised his glass, saying, "I congratulate your majesty."

"Your Majesty, we congratulate you!" All the ministers raised their glasses and congratulated the emperor.

"Gentlemen, drink again!" The emperor raised his glass again with satisfaction and drank it all.

Putting down the wine jar, the emperor looked at Qi Wang Li You standing beside him, his expression calmed down: "Qi Wang!"

"My son is here."

Li Shimin looked at Li You solemnly and said, "The Crown Prince's words are my words. Over the past year, your actions have been the most absurd in the local area. I wanted to punish you severely, but now that the Crown Prince is pregnant, I will show mercy and fine you one month's salary. I will also fine Prince Guo and Prince Jiang one month's salary each."

"We acknowledge our mistakes and thank Your Majesty for your forgiveness!" Li Feng and Li Yuanxiang breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

Although Li You was a step behind, he still followed closely and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, I know I was wrong. Thank you for your forgiveness, Father."

"Sit down and continue the feast." The emperor waved his hand slightly, then raised his head and said, "Come on, dance!"

The dance and music started again, and the graceful palace maids entered the hall again and began to dance the graceful court ladies' dance.

Chai Lingwu sat behind the ministers, his eyes occasionally sweeping over Hou Junji, the King of Qi, the King of Jiang, and the King of Guo.

Finally, he looked at Duke of Liang Fang Xuanling.

But after just a glance, Chai Lingwu lowered his head and looked at the wine bottle on the table.

The clear surface of the wine reflected his face alone.

……

Chai Lingwu raised his head and looked at the restaurant room in front of him.

The restaurant is located in Pingkangfang, facing Chang'an Avenue and to the east is the East Market.

At dusk, red lights are hung everywhere and people are coming and going.

Chai Lingwu looked across and saw a figure sitting there in the shadows.

Chai Lingwu picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for the person opposite him, then asked, "What do you say, General?"

The figure opposite extended a rough hand, grasped the wine jug, and then returned to the darkness. "Aye said that under the current circumstances, the King of Wei has completely lost the favor of His Majesty. Even if he could gain some favor in the future, it would not be comparable to the Crown Prince."

"The King of Wei is your Majesty's legitimate son after all." Chai Lingwu couldn't help but retort.

"Your Majesty's legitimate sons are not limited to the Crown Prince and the King of Wei." The figure opposite shook his head and said, "Why do you have to do this? You must hang yourself on a tree with the King of Wei."

"I've invested too much." Chai Lingwu said with a wry smile, "It's not easy to withdraw now. Besides, the King of Wei may not be completely without a chance. The Crown Prince may make another mistake at any time, so I want to keep trying."

"Okay." The figure opposite nodded slightly and said, "Aye knew you would say that, so he told me to tell you to find someone who can help you."

"Yes?" Chai Lingwu suddenly became serious.

"Hou Zhiyi, son of Hou Junji, Duke of Chen." The figure opposite calmly uttered the name of Hou Junji's son.

"So you've all been keeping an eye on Duke Chen." Chai Lingwu's pupils narrowed slightly, and he then asked, "Why? Duke Chen's inability to become prime minister is only temporary. As long as he makes some contributions, he could become prime minister again in the future. Not to mention he's very close to the Crown Prince."

"So what if they're close? The Crown Prince's ascension to the throne is still unknown." The figure opposite sneered, then said, "As for the present, as long as Your Majesty is in power, Hou Junji will never have the chance to be appointed Prime Minister."

"Never?" Chai Lingwu was extremely surprised. Is there something here that he doesn't know?
"There won't be any in the next three to five years. After that, Hou Junji will be old and unable to achieve anything, so naturally there won't be any." The figure opposite said with certainty.

Chai Lingwu knew that it was not he who said it, but the general behind him. He couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

"Your Majesty, before the army returned two years ago, consulted the ministers, secretaries, and generals." The figure opposite shook his head and said, "No one supported the appointment of Duke Chen as Minister of the Interior, and each gave reasons that Your Majesty found difficult to refute... Gaochang's looting was just one of them."

Chai Lingwu's expression was full of confusion.

Did Hou Junji actually offend all the prime ministers and six ministers in the court?

"The most important thing is that His Majesty doesn't want to." The figure opposite sneered twice and said, "If you are really interested, ask Hou Zhiyi more. He knows more."

"Hmm!" Chai Lingwu calmed down and said, "So, in the name of the King of Wei, if we promise to give the Duke of Chen the position of Prime Minister in the future, we can win him over."

"Be careful, the prince is watching too, don't make things worse." The figure opposite warned solemnly.

"I know." Chai Lingwu looked up and said, "You all know about the situation in Hebei. The Qi family is finished, and Your Majesty is replacing the Qi family with the Gao family. Do we need to deal with this matter?"

"No need. Aye said that using the Gao family to replace the Qi family is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes, it is much more convenient for the Gao family to do it than for us." The figure opposite waved his hand indifferently. Chai Lingwu could hear that they wanted to use the Gao family in return.

"Then what will happen in the future? If Your Majesty really conquers Liaodong, with the support of the Gao family, then Goguryeo will not be able to stop him."

"That's a good thing!" The figure on the opposite side interrupted Chai Lingwu and said, "Father, and Brother Ling, we may all be on the battlefield by then, so it's better if Goguryeo is weaker... Erlang, you have to understand that we are not on the same side as Goguryeo."

Chai Lingwu nodded: "I know, I'm worried that if His Majesty destroys Goguryeo..."

"You're overthinking it. Back then, Yang Guang led three million troops on a campaign, but he failed to destroy Goguryeo three times. Even if Your Majesty is wise and powerful, it would be difficult."

"This is what the general said." Chai Lingwu raised his eyes slightly.

"Hmm!" The figure opposite suddenly drank the wine in the glass, then stood up and said, "Okay, let's call it a night and talk later."

"Okay, I should also find a way to meet Hou Zhiyi." Chai Lingwu stood up and watched the other party leave wearing a black hat. He then breathed a sigh of relief. The situation had not yet reached the worst. However, he said that he wanted to meet Hou Zhiyi, but before meeting Hou Zhiyi, he had to meet Fang Yiai.

……

The carriage slowly left Pingkangfang.

In the dark shadows, a figure in a green robe emerged from behind the pillars.

He looked at the restaurant where Chai Lingwu was originally with an expressionless face. Half a minute later, he walked out of Pingkangfang.

He slowly followed in the direction of Chai Lingwu's carriage in the distance.

(End of this chapter)