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

Chapter 264: Regarding the matter of offspring, why is there no news from Zhinu? (Part )

The second day of the first lunar month, warm winter sun.

The main hall of Duke Zheng's mansion.

Wei Zheng sat on the main couch, glanced at his daughter, who was surrounded by his wife and daughter-in-law, then calmly looked at Li Chengqian, who was taking his pulse, and said calmly, "Your Highness is becoming more and more sophisticated. He clearly wanted everyone to know that his wife and concubine are pregnant, but he kept it secret. In the end, it still became known to the whole city."

Li Chengqian felt Wei Zheng's strong beating pulse, looked up in confusion, and shook his head slightly. He finally reacted.

Wei Zheng was talking about the fact that Su Shu and Wei Wei were pregnant.

At the beginning, Zhao Jie and Li Yuanchang did suggest that Li Chengqian spread the news of this matter to the entire Chang'an City, so that all the people in Chang'an City would know that the Crown Princess and Crown Prince Liangti were pregnant, and then they would all be happy for Li Chengqian.

However, out of caution, Li Chengqian rejected such a proposal and instead passed the news to all important officials in the court.

However, his actions were not secretive, and the news quickly spread throughout Chang'an City.

Although not all the people in Chang'an knew about it that night, the news spread throughout the city after just one day and two nights.

"Your Highness, don't bother with this old fellow. He's just been feeling better lately, and then he's become restless again." Pei came over from the side, snorted coldly at Wei Zheng, and said, "Old fellow, you're not the Prime Minister anymore, so don't act so arrogantly."

"But I am still the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince." Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian and said seriously, "Your Highness should act with more dignity and magnanimity, and not be so timid and scheming."

"Aye!" Wei Wei couldn't help but walk over. Wei Zheng's words were a bit too much.

"That's all right." Li Chengqian waved his hand quickly and said with a smile, "Father, even if you want to listen to your father-in-law's teachings, you can't hear them now. It's a blessing for me to be able to hear them."

Wei Zheng looked up with some pride and glanced at his wife. His wife didn't know what to say for a moment.

Li Chengqian slightly released Wei Zheng's wrist and said, "Father-in-law's health has indeed improved a lot recently, but he still needs to be careful to control his anger, but also not to suppress it too much. If you have anything to say, just say it directly, or you can write a memorial and submit it to me and the emperor. I and my father will take it seriously."

Hearing Li Chengqian's words, Wei Zheng felt a little embarrassed and said, "This old minister has been a little too harsh on Your Highness."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I should indeed act with dignity and grandeur, but what happened that night was, firstly, because I didn't want to be too conspicuous and distract my father from the army, and secondly, I wanted to be cautious."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian grasped Wei Wei's wrist, then said helplessly, "Before they diagnosed the pregnancy, they were in the Lizheng Hall in the palace. Most of the concubines were there... Father-in-law knows that the concubines' minds are unpredictable. If they have any crazy ideas and use the methods they use in the palace on the Eastern Palace..."

"The prince is right and should be more cautious." Wei Zheng nodded quickly.

What the concubines in the palace desire most is to have the emperor's children, but the prince's concubines keep getting pregnant. It is really hard to say what these people will think, so it is better to be cautious.

Li Chengqian smiled.

Wei Zheng raised his head, looked at his wife, the woman, his son and his daughter-in-law, and said sternly, "You all should go down. The Crown Prince and I have something to say."

"Yes!" Pei nodded, then left the main hall with her children and daughter-in-law.

Wei Zheng turned to look at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty has been away from the court all year. Do you know where the biggest crisis in the court lies right now?"

Li Chengqian nodded gently and said, "With the emperor away, there are too many ambitious people who will jump out."

"Your Highness had better not meet too many foreign officials. At the same time, you should be careful to restrain the officials of the Eastern Palace and the relatives inside and outside the palace." Wei Zheng instructed seriously.

There is no doubt that when the emperor is away, ambitious people will naturally jump out, but what will they do?

The best way, of course, is to make something of the Crown Prince Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian nodded slowly and said, "If it weren't for my father-in-law reminding me, I would have almost forgotten."

"I heard that things have been a bit quiet in Xueyantuo and Western Turkic areas recently?" Wei Zheng asked. Li Chengqian couldn't help but look at him in surprise. Wei Zheng shook his head and said, "Although I'm at home, I haven't lost any information from inside and outside. The sudden silence in Xueyantuo and Western Turkic areas is not a good thing."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian retracted his gaze, sighed, and said, "This shows that they are secretly colluding in places that the Tang Dynasty cannot see."

"They've even made contact." Wei Zheng shook his head, then said softly, "Your Majesty is on an expedition to the east, leaving the court empty. No one will miss this opportunity... By the way, Your Highness, how are things in Tubo?"

"They're sending people to spy on us," Li Chengqian sighed softly. "If the Tang Dynasty loses the war against the Western Turks and the Xueyantuo, Tubo will definitely take action. At the very least, they'll instigate the Tuyuhun to invade Shanzhou and Lanzhou."

"Songtsen is still ruthless." Wei Zheng sighed and asked, "How is your Highness, are you prepared for the Western Turks and Xueyantuo?"

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "People from the Military Affairs Department have already gone to the Tiele and Huihe tribes to observe their movements and to win them over and warn them."

"Your Highness is very clever!" Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

If the Xueyantuo wanted to go south, they would have to bring the Tiele and Uighur tribes along with them. At that time, the news would naturally be passed from the Tiele and Uighur tribes to the Tang Dynasty.

Of course, it would be better if the Xueyantuo did not bring the Tiele and Uighur tribes with them, as that would mean that the number of enemies the Tang Dynasty would have to face would be smaller.

"The Western Turks will all be handed over to the Anxi Protectorate, Guo Xiaoke, for disposal. Li Xiyu of Shazhou will provide full assistance." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "As for the Xueyantuo, the Lingzhou Governor, Right Guard General Qian Jiulong, as well as Right Garrison General Chai Zhewei, and Xiazhou Chief Clerk Li Dejian are already mobilizing their forces for battle." "The troops are insufficient. Chang'an might need reinforcements," Wei Zheng pointed out, then added, "In all wars between these tribes, there will inevitably be collusion between internal and external forces. The Xueyantuo have always been connected to certain people in the court. Although Zhang Liang is dead, there's no guarantee that there won't be others."

Li Chengqian nodded, then asked in a low voice, "How much do you know about those people, father-in-law?"

"Those people!" Wei Zheng looked up, sighed, and said, "In the final analysis, they are nothing more than losers in the political struggles, and marginalized figures in the struggles between aristocratic families. Out of resentment, they might do anything."

"Every family has such a person." Li Chengqian's eyes became serious.

"So, such a network will always exist. It's nothing more than someone falling and someone else standing up. Not to mention, getting rid of Zhang Liang before is far from touching their roots." Wei Zheng shook his head.

"The imperial court's policies are unpredictable. If the Xueyantuo want to know the details, they must come to Chang'an. Once they arrive in Chang'an, it will be difficult for them to remain secretive." Li Chengqian said softly with a cold expression, "Even if I don't expose them all, I will use true and false information to trick them to death."

Wei Zheng thought for a moment and then asked, "If we go on an expedition, who will Your Highness send?"

"The Duke of E cannot be moved." Li Chengqian first rejected Yuchi Jingde, then said, "The Duke of Susong County is actually the best candidate, but his relationship with me..."

Zheng Rentai couldn't move.

"The remaining ones are Zuo Kuangzheng, General of the Left Jinwu Guard, Li Anyan, General of the Right Guard, and Xue Wanbei, General of the Crown Prince's Right Guard." Li Chengqian looked up at Wei Zheng and said, "I have hesitated for a long time, but I still prefer Li Anyan and Xue Wanbei."

"Your Highness doesn't trust Zuo Kuangzheng?" Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "There is some suspicion about him in the matter of Duke Chen."

"What about Hou Junji?" Wei Zheng frowned slightly, then his eyes jumped. He looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Your Highness is worried that Zuo Kuangzheng would welcome Hou Junji into the palace that night."

"If nothing unexpected happened that night, he should have been guarding the palace gate." Li Chengqian sighed and said, "And he also has 3,000 Right Golden Guards at his disposal. If he had cooperated with Hou Junji in the end, it's hard to say what the situation would have been."

"That's what I said." Wei Zheng looked at Li Chengqian, shook his head, and said, "I'm not exaggerating, but I do know Zuo Kuangzheng. He's not greedy for money and has always been brave in battle. If you say he has some minor flaws, I believe him. But if you say he's colluding with Hou Junji to betray Your Majesty, he wouldn't and wouldn't dare."

"This!" Li Chengqian hesitated for a moment. He looked up at Wei Zheng and said, "Father-in-law, I have my own doubts about this matter. My people, including my father's, have thoroughly investigated him, but have found nothing. On the contrary, I have information about Hou Junji and Zhang Liang, even if they didn't commit treason."

"That means it wasn't him." After a brief pause, Wei Zheng waved his hand and said, "Or to be more precise, someone is using him as a shield."

Wei Zheng finally understood everything when he said this. He said, "It was someone close to him who was colluding with Hou Junji. Your Highness guessed the wrong person."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly, then looked at Wei Zheng and said, "But this is also troublesome. If it's not him, but someone around him, then how different is it from him?"

"This will test your ability, Your Highness." Wei Zheng smiled and said, "If Your Highness can successfully resolve this matter, the generals in the army will respect you even more."

Li Chengqian nodded slowly.

……

The sixth day of the first lunar month.

Youzhou, the imperial palace.

Sitting on the imperial couch, Li Shimin handed the memorial in his hand to Zhangsun Wuji and said with a smile: "The Crown Princess and the Crown Prince's Liangdi Wei are both pregnant. I hereby order the entire army to have double the amount of wine and meat tonight."

"Yes!" Zhangsun Wuji bowed slightly to the emperor and said, "The Crown Prince has many sons. This is completely inherited from Your Majesty."

"Haha!" Li Shimin couldn't help but burst into laughter.

His father Li Yuan had more than forty children, and he himself had more than thirty children. The prince had the most offspring among all the sons, and even the kings could not compare with him.

Thinking of this, Li Shimin's expression slightly restrained. He turned to look at Zhangsun Wuji and asked, "Wuji, it's been half a year since Zhinu's wedding, why is there no news at all?"

"Prince Jin's wedding has only been six months." Zhang Sun Wuji waved his hands with amusement and said, "Don't worry, maybe we can get married in a few years!"

"How many years?" The emperor's expression was slightly gloomy.

Changsun Wuji stood aside, lowering his head slightly with a deep look in his eyes.

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(End of this chapter)