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

Chapter 240: Going to Luoyang to meet Li Zhi (Part )
In the Wude Hall, Ma Zhou was the first to speak: "Your Highness, among the aristocratic families in Hebei, the most prominent are the Cui family of Boling, the Lu family of Fanyang, and the Cui family of Qinghe. Next are the Zhang family of Qinghe, the Zhao family of Qinghe, the Feng family of Jizhou, the Wei family of Xiangzhou, the Liu family of Hejian, and the Gao family of Bohai. There are more than twenty families in total, both large and small."

After a brief pause, Ma Zhou said, "Although Your Majesty is currently selecting a princess for the Prince of Jin in Hebei, it may not necessarily be limited to Hebei... The Wang family of Taiyuan, the Zheng family of Xingyang, the Yang family of Hongnong, and so on are all possible candidates."

Taiyuan Wang Shi, Li Chengqian couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he heard Taiyuan Wang Shi.

Li Zhi's original wife, Princess Jin, was Queen Wang, who came from the Wang family of Taiyuan.

It's hard to say whether the Emperor will choose Queen Wang again this time when he chooses Princess Jin...

Wait, no.

The reason why Queen Wang, who had a very pitiful end in later generations, became the queen of Li Zhi was not because she was from the Wang family of Taiyuan, but because Princess Tongan was her great-aunt.

The people she really relied on were actually her uncle, the Imperial Censor Liu Shi, as well as Chu Suiliang and Zhangsun Wuji and their gang.

And now she seems to be only ten years old.

Too young.

"Your Majesty is selecting a princess for the Prince of Jin," Zhang Da'an said thoughtfully, "I'm afraid this is to stabilize Hebei during the conquest of Goguryeo. So, in my opinion, the Prince of Jin's princess must be from Hebei."

Li Chengqian nodded. Now the Wang, Zheng, Yang, and other families outside Hebei could be ruled out.

"The Boling Cui family, the Fanyang Lu family, and the Qinghe Cui family are probably not high-ranking either." Ma Zhou nodded and said, "These three families are prominent families in Hebei. I'm afraid that Your Majesty would not want to see their daughters become the Princess of Jin."

The power of his mother's family is too strong. After all, Li Zhi is the emperor's legitimate son, so it is hard to say that he will not ascend the throne in the future.

If Li Zhi really became the emperor, Shandong clans such as the Cui family of Boling, the Lu family of Fanyang and the Cui family of Qinghe would probably immediately pose a threat to the Guanlong clans.

This is definitely not what the emperor wants to see.

"Then they are the second-rate families." Ma Zhou raised his head and said with a half-smile, "The Qinghe Zhang family, the Qinghe Zhao family, the Jizhou Feng family, the Hejian Liu family, and so on."

While Ma Zhou was speaking, he eliminated the Wei family of Xiangzhou and the Gao family of Bohai.

The Wei family of Xiangzhou is the family of Wei Zheng. The daughter of the Wei family married into the Eastern Palace and became the Crown Prince Liangti. How could they marry their daughter to be the Princess of Jin?

As for the Bohai Gao family, Gao Shilian was the uncle of Empress Wende, and his son Gao Luxing married Princess Dongyang. This family had very close ties with the royal family.

If I marry my daughter to be the Princess of Jin, the political situation will change drastically.

"The Qinghe Zhang family is impossible." Zhang Da'an shook his head and said, "Prince, don't forget about the Duke of Xun."

Although Zhang Liang was born in Luoyang, he was a descendant of Zhang Liang.

"It's impossible for the Liu family of Hejian either." Ma Zhou nodded. At the beginning of the year, the governor of Daizhou, Liu Lancheng, had just rebelled.

"The only ones left are the Qinghe Zhao family and the Jizhou Feng family." Li Chengqian nodded slowly.

Zhao Hongzhi shook his head and said, "Your Highness, the Qinghe Zhao family is not of high enough status. It's fine for a concubine of the Prince of Jin, but for the Princess of Jin, let alone the Qinghe Zhao family and the Jizhou Feng family, the status of other families is not high enough."

"That's true!" Ma Zhou nodded in agreement.

The Zhang family of Qinghe is a descendant of Zhang Liang, and there are many talented people in this dynasty. The Liu family of Hejian is a descendant of the royal family with the surname Liu, and their status is also high enough.

The others are much worse.

"Your Highness, perhaps it's not because of the Hebei family's connections." Gao Zhenxing spoke up at this time, saying, "Perhaps someone's family has a marriage alliance with a powerful family in Guanzhong, and this status is enough."

"That's a lot." Zhao Hongzhi couldn't help but look up.

Their Zhao family had intermarriages with the Hongnong Yang family, the Qinghe Cui family, the Hedong Pei family, and even the Longxi Li family, the Guanzhong Wei family, and so on.

Because although the Zhao family is a small family in Hebei, it is a big family in the whole world.

All the Zhao families in the world originated from Tianshui. The Tianshui Zhao family is the root of the Zhao surname, and the Tianshui Zhao family has close ties with other families.

Zhao Jie and Zhao Hongzhi had such a relationship, and Zhao Jie was even a generation younger than Zhao Hongzhi.

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Okay, no need to guess."

Everyone looked at Li Chengqian.

"I'm only concerned about my younger brother's marriage. I only want Zhinu to have a virtuous princess, a harmonious family, and many offspring. That's all I need." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "My younger brother, Qingque, is already that kind of person. Zhinu is a smart and humble child. You gentlemen, please get closer to Zhinu and teach him more, so he doesn't become like Qingque in the future."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed in unison. They all understood that the prince was worried that the prince of Jin would follow the example of the prince of Wei in the future and challenge the prince's position, which would end up in a rebellion.

In this case, it would be a good thing for both the King of Jin and the Crown Prince to be close to the King of Jin from the beginning and guide him in the direction of becoming a wise prince of the royal family.

……

Watching everyone leave, Li Chengqian's expression calmed down.

Regarding Li Zhi's Princess Jin, Li Chengqian had already guessed which family she was from, or more accurately, which family she was related to.

The current prime ministers, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Gao Shilian, all have deep ties with the royal family, so it cannot be them.

It is even more unlikely that Liu Li and Cen Wenben were both from the south.

Yu Zhining was Li Chengqian's tutor to the crown prince, so the emperor would not choose him.

The six ministers Li Daozon, Li Ji and Li Daliang all have the surname Li, Liu Dewei is from the Pengcheng Liu family, Tang Jian is from Taiyuan, so the only one left is Yang Shidao.

Yang Shidao was born into the Hongnong Yang clan and was the son of Prince Guan Yang Xiong. Yang Xiong was best known for his astonishingly large number of offspring. At that point, it would be sufficient to select a relative from the aristocratic Hebei family who was a descendant of Yang Xiong.

It doesn't have to be a big family, nor does it have to be a small soldier. It is enough as long as he is related to the Hongnong Yang family.

Yang Shidao was the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Inspector of the Ministry of Personnel. Although he would not do anything directly, even if he did nothing, it was enough to support Li Zhi.

But the support is not strong enough, but it is just enough.

What an ingenious trick!
Li Chengqian had somewhat seen through his father's methods. He used Li Zhi to check and balance him, but it was just a check and balance and would not cause any real impact on Li Chengqian's position as the crown prince.

But unfortunately, his father was wrong this time.

Or to be more precise, his father had misjudged the person again.

Last time, he didn't expect Li Tai to rebel. This time, he probably didn't expect Li Zhi to be so treacherous.

Li Zhi, and Wu Zetian.

I wonder how many stories have been made up by later generations about the "interesting things" between this pair.

However, if you think about it carefully, Li Zhi had some connection with Wu Zetian when Li Shimin was seriously ill, and then after Li Zhi ascended the throne, he ruthlessly sent Wu Zetian out of the palace.

If Wu Zetian had not taken the initiative to find a way to get close to Li Zhi, Li Zhi would not have remembered her at all.

This is enough to show that Li Zhi's real purpose in getting close to Wu Zetian was to monitor the emperor from nearby.

There was only one reason why Wu Zetian was favored by Li Zhi: she was a talented person who was responsible for taking care of the emperor.

Wu Zetian!

Li Chengqian shook his head. He had no impression of this woman in his mind.

After all, she was the emperor's concubine and stayed in the harem all year round. Even Li Chengqian could not see her easily.

Especially now that the emperor is in good health.

The reason why Wu Meiniang later appeared in front of Li Zhi was because the emperor's health deteriorated rapidly after returning from the eastern expedition to Goguryeo, and Wu Meiniang gradually came to the fore.

So, how should we treat Li Zhi and how should we treat Wu Meiniang?
Li Chengqian raised his head and began to think seriously.

If he really wants to do something, he must start planning now.

Li Tai, we have to find a way to let Li Zhi and Li Tai meet.

There is also Li Xin. Li Xin and Li Zhi have always had a good relationship.

It just so happened that Yan Wan's health had not been good some time ago, so I took this opportunity to write a memorial to talk about Li Xin's affairs.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and immediately spread out the paper and began to write the memorial.

Not long after the memorial was completed, Li Chengqian immediately sent it to Hebei.

However, after the memorial arrived in Hebei, there was no immediate reply. It was not until June, at the end of June, that the emperor returned to Luoyang from Hebei.

In July, the emperor summoned Li Chengqian, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Yu Zhining, Ma Zhou, Li Daliang and others to Luoyang to meet him.

……

Escorted by thousands of guards, Li Chengqian, wearing a black python robe, rode on a horse. Looking at the Dingding Gate not far ahead, he couldn't help but frowned.

Turning sideways, Li Chengqian looked at Fang Xuanling beside him and asked in a low voice, "Prime Minister Fang, what's wrong with the emperor? Luoyang and Chang'an are not far apart. The emperor could have gone straight back to Chang'an. Why did he summon us all to Luoyang?"

Fang Xuanling looked at the towering Luoyang City with a serious expression.

If Chang'an is risky, then it is understandable that the emperor would be more cautious and summon these people to Luoyang for safety before returning to Chang'an.

But there is no risk in Chang'an City today. The emperor obviously has other ideas.

Fang Xuanling glanced at the black carriage behind him, then said softly, "Your Majesty may want to resolve the matter of the King of Wei in Luoyang. Your Highness will be meeting the Emperor today, so please be careful."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly.

This time they brought not only Li Tai, but also Zhang Liang.

Look clearly, the emperor has no intention of letting the two of them return to Chang'an.

Dingding Gate, the main gate of Luoyang.

The city gate is majestic and solemn, and countless soldiers stand solemnly on the city wall holding long spears.

Under the city, flags are waving.

Zhangsun Wuji, Yang Shidao, Liu Li, Cen Wenben, Li Zhi, and other officials in Chang'an came together to welcome the prince to the capital.

Li Zhi.

Li Chengqian immediately saw Prince Jin Li Zhi, who was wearing a crimson robe, was extremely tall, but had a gentle expression, and was standing closely next to Changsun Wuji.

(End of this chapter)