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

Chapter 408: Adjustment of Power (Part )
In the Lizheng Hall, Li Chengqian sat at his desk, writing a memorial earnestly: "The sacred artifact is the greatest treasure of the world, and the recipient is the great honor of the emperor..."

When the emperor abdicated, he needed to write a letter of thanks.

This is a great gift.

Outside the hall, bursts of noise were heard.

Then there was the sound of people walking.

Li Chengqian put down the thin bamboo gold pen, stood up and walked to the front of the hall.

Countless eunuchs and palace maids, under the command of Su Shu, the queen, moved things into Wanchun Hall, Lizheng Hall and Daji Hall.

"Wait!" Li Chengqian waved his hand, stopped Su Shu, and asked, "What are you doing, my beloved concubine?"

Su Shu stepped forward with a delighted look on her face, bowed to Li Chengqian and said, "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Please stand up, my dear."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Su Shu stood up playfully and said to Li Chengqian, "Your Majesty has ascended the throne. I, along with Concubine Zheng and Concubine Wei, will all move in, so we're making preparations in advance."

"Let's put it on hold for now." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly and said, "I haven't officially held the ceremony yet, so the concubines shouldn't move into the Taiji Palace. Let them wait in the East Palace for a while. After I confer the title on them, we can move everything."

When the emperor abdicated and became the retired emperor, the concubines would naturally become dowager concubines, and Li Chengqian's concubines in the Eastern Palace would naturally be canonized.

You know, this canonization is not a trivial matter.

Each of Li Chengqian's concubines is not a simple character.

Behind Zheng Shuang'er is General Zheng Rentai of the Left Jinwu Guard, who is not only from the Zheng family of Xingyang, but is also a top military general.

Not to mention Wei Wei, she is Wei Zheng's youngest daughter.

Even Zhang Xuan, who has the lowest status, has the Zhang family, one of the four major families in Jiangnan, behind her, and her maternal grandfather is Yu Shinan.

Li Chengqian's enthronement of them was also a way to win over the families behind them.

Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian, frowned suddenly, and said, "Your Highness, don't you want them to move in now?"

"My beloved concubine still understands me." Li Chengqian stretched out his right hand. Su Shu raised her eyebrows, then put her left hand into Li Chengqian's hand, and finally was pulled into Li Chengqian by him.

Entering the inner hall on the east side, Li Chengqian waved his hand, and the palace maids and eunuchs in the hall immediately left the hall.

Li Chengqian sat on the bed, stretched out his hand and pulled Su Shu into his arms, then spoke: "On the day I ascend the throne, I will canonize my beloved concubine as empress, but that's all. Xiang'er will not be canonized as crown prince, and the other concubines will not be canonized either."

"Why?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian with some confusion. Although she was a little confused, she didn't really take these things seriously.

After all, Li Chengqian is about to officially ascend the throne, and she will also be officially crowned as queen. Even if other people's affairs are slower, it will not have much impact.

As for Li Xiang, although she could not become the crown prince immediately, Li Chengqian was already the emperor and she was the empress, so their son was the natural heir to the throne.

Status and nothing else are too important, especially since the sons are still young.

The most important thing is that Su Shu knows Li Chengqian well enough. She knows that he must have his own intentions for doing this.

Li Chengqian hugged Su Shu and whispered, "My beloved concubine, what do you think of this palace now?"

"It's okay." Su Shu blinked. She didn't quite understand what Li Chengqian meant.

"I didn't move the imperial guards, so this palace is still under the control of my father." Su Shu's face changed slightly after hearing Li Chengqian's words.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Not only that, in the court today, Prime Minister Fang is my man, my uncle's relationship with my father is closer than mine, Prime Minister Chu is my uncle's man, and as for Prime Minister Yu and Prime Minister Ma, they are my men, and Duke Ying is a fence-sitter...

As for the six ministers, Tang Jian and Yan Lide are both my father's relatives. Liu Dewei and King Jiangxia have fought with my father for many years. Yang Shidao is my father's man. Only Cui Dunli, the Minister of War, is my man.

"I'm afraid Your Majesty cannot replace them all." Su Shu has roughly understood it.

Although Li Chengqian has now succeeded to the throne as emperor, the palace, government affairs, and even the provincial governors of the world are all in the hands of the retired emperor.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "You are more familiar with my father. Although they are not unfamiliar with me, they still have some doubts about me as the emperor."

If the emperor passed away, they naturally would have no choice, but now, sometimes they would still subconsciously think of the emperor.

"Your Highness, are you worried that your father is still trying to control the government through them?" Su Shu frowned.

"No!" Li Chengqian smiled and waved his hands, saying, "My father's health is not good. Since he has retired, he will not do anything more. His only concern now is to stop me before I make a big mistake, and to clean up the mess for me after I make a big mistake."

"Then what is Your Highness worried about?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "I'm worried that someone will use my father's name to target me."

In the name of doing good for you, under the banner of Li Shimin, they eroded Li Chengqian's power.

"Who?" Su Shu asked softly.

"It's not certain who it is?" Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Many matters in the court cannot be determined by one person or one incident. For example, in this case, it is possible that lower-level officials, those who are not appreciated by me and have failed in their promotion, will form a group and then, using my father's name, get close to a minister..."

"This is inevitable, right?" Su Shu has understood.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "There are always losers in court struggles, and most of them are losers, and there are always some who are dissatisfied.

All I can do is prevent them from using my father's name as their own. Therefore, apart from my beloved concubine and our four children, no one else will enter the Taiji Palace. I won't even reward them prematurely, so that the families of the concubines in the palace can rest assured."

His father's concubines, his father's children, and his father's brothers were famously numerous.

These people could not seize his throne, nor would they rebel, but it was inevitable that they would form a group in secret and erode his power.

Li Chengqian now needs to calm these people down. The emperor's concubines have become concubines, and Li Chengqian's concubines have been canonized one by one, which will inevitably make these people dissatisfied.

This is caused by the damage to natural interests.

"The only thing I can do is to slow down this process and deal with these things after I have completely stabilized people's hearts." Li Chengqian shook his head calmly. He needed time to master the power of life and death so that these people would not dare to act recklessly in the future.

"Ok!"

……

On the side of the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian sat on a sedan chair and walked out of the Xianchun Gate.

Also sitting on the sedan chair were Su Shu, their young daughter Princess Ankang, and Li Yu, while Li Xiang and Li Jue were walking beside them.

Pass through the Ganlu Gate and enter the Ganlu Palace.

Wu Meiniang stood to one side, and said to Li Chengqian and Su Shufu with some trepidation: "Your Majesty, the Queen."

"Mr. Wu, please stand up." Li Chengqian smiled calmly and said, "I've wronged Ms. Wu recently."

"I dare not." Wu Meiniang quickly bowed, made way, and led Li Chengqian and his group into the inner hall.

A while ago, the retired emperor fainted, but as to why the retired emperor suddenly went from Ganlu Palace to Lizheng Palace, Zhangsun Wuji and Zhang Ananda led a detailed investigation. In the end, it was proved that it had nothing to do with Wu Meiniang. However, she was also imprisoned during this period and had a hard time. She has just been released.

"Father!" Li Chengqian, Su Shu, Li Xiang, Li Jue, Li Yu, and Princess Ankang all saluted at the same time.

"Now you are the king and I am the minister. Ultimately, it is because I performed the ceremony first." Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian.

"Your Majesty, what are you talking about? I will always be your son and this will never change." Li Chengqian waved his hand. Li Xiang, Li Jue and others all rushed to Li Shimin's side and shouted at the same time: "Grandpa Emperor!"

Li Shimin suddenly smiled with great joy, and laughed very happily.

These are all his direct grandchildren!
After a while, when Su Shu led the people to the central hall to rest, Li Chengqian sat down on the side, looked at Li Shimin, and asked, "Father, have you felt better recently?"

"Yeah!" Li Shimin nodded. Although the tension in his heart had not completely disappeared, it was almost gone.

He hasn't had nightmares these days.

When he goes to Cuiwei Palace to recuperate again, he won't have to worry about anything.

Li Shimin raised his head, looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Has the date for ascending the throne been chosen?"

"The Imperial Historian Bureau has chosen the 15th day of the sixth lunar month for me to ascend the throne." Li Chengqian paused briefly before continuing, "However, I have come here today to ask your father's opinion on something."

"What did you say?" Li Shimin looked up.

"I want Prime Minister Fang to resign from his post as Shangshu Zuo Pushe and take up the position of Situ exclusively." Li Chengqian expressed his thoughts.

Li Shimin lowered his eyebrows slightly, and said instantly: "You want your uncle to be the Shangshu Zuo Pushe, and Fang Xiang's side..."

"Prime Minister Fang needs to rest." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Prime Minister Fang's health has not been so good in recent years, and he is already seventy years old. Father, I want him to work less so that he can serve me for a few more years."

Li Shimin immediately understood that Li Chengqian's plan was not for the present, but for the future. He nodded and said, "If you can convince Prime Minister Fang, then who will be the Shangshu You Pushe?"

"Duke Ying." Li Chengqian raised his hand and said, "Duke Ying's contribution is sufficient."

"You want to show him a favor." Li Shimin saw through Li Chengqian's thoughts at a glance.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Although Duke Ying has been the Crown Prince's Left Guard Commander for many years, I always feel that he is somewhat distant."

"All those people in Wagang are like this." Li Shimin waved his hand and said, "Don't worry about it, just use them."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then I want to use him to serve as the Minister of the Imperial Household and the Vice Minister of State Affairs!"

"Then what about Lai Heng?" Li Shimin asked in surprise.

Lai Heng and Lai Ji are brothers, and Lai Heng is Li Chengqian's Prince's Secretary. Logically, Li Chengqian should be more inclined to Lai Heng.

"Lai Heng will be appointed Chief Clerk of Yongzhou." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Zhang Xingcheng will be appointed Secretary of the Crown Prince's Office."

"What about Zhang Xuansu?" Li Shimin asked curiously.

"The Hongwen Academy will have a Grand Secretary and a Vice-Chancellor, who will oversee the Hongwen Academy, Chongwen Academy, Imperial College, and Imperial University, and will also edit national history. At the same time, I want Zhang Qing to be the chief examiner for the imperial examination next year." Li Chengqian looked at Li Shimin carefully.

"Are you planning to make a fuss about the imperial examination?" Li Shimin's expression became serious.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "In a few years, I want to add a palace examination to test the level of the Jinshi candidates myself. In recent years, the importance of children from aristocratic families in the imperial examination has become increasingly important."

"Hahaha..." Li Shimin laughed and nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, it's up to you. You are still very much like me."

Li Chengqian nodded and continued, "I don't want to make any major changes to the officials in the Eastern Palace. There aren't enough positions for them in the court, so I'll just move three or five people. At the beginning of next year, I'll enthrone Xiang'er as the Crown Prince, and they'll serve as Xiang'er's staff."

"Next year?" Li Shimin gradually sensed Li Chengqian's train of thought. He sighed softly and said, "Zhuge Liang was always cautious throughout his life, and you are even more cautious than him."

"Your Majesty has walked on thin ice his entire life, and I, your son, have been no exception." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Finally, I would like to promote Chang He to the rank of General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard, and transfer Li Anyan to the rank of General of the Left Thousand Oxen Guard."

"Aren't you going to transfer him to the General of the Imperial Guard?" Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise.

Li Chengqian shook his head and said solemnly, "Father's injury this time was ultimately caused by the Tibetans, but apart from a captain of the Imperial Guards who committed suicide, nothing else has been found. I want Li Anyan to take charge of this."

"Is that so?" Li Shimin thought for a moment, then shook his head, smiled and sighed, "Forget it, go check it out!"

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)