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

Chapter 437: Heroic Official - Ashina Helu (Part )

The night was deep, and the bustle of Luoyang City gradually faded after the curfew.

Inside the palace, apart from the guards patrolling back and forth, there were not many people to be seen.

In the Zhuangjing Hall, the candlelight is bright.

Su Shu, wearing a light green skirt, walked in from outside the hall and then into the inner hall. She raised her hand slightly, and the palace maids on both sides had already lowered the curtains.

The candlelight was dim. Su Shu walked to the bed and sat down opposite Li Chengqian, who was resting with his eyes closed.

"Your Majesty, my father and mother came to the palace today. My mother asked when my father could be transferred back to Chang'an?" Su Shu looked at Li Chengqian calmly.

Li Chengqian gently opened his eyes, erasing the faces of the governors he had summoned today from his mind. He then looked at Su Shu and said, "It will take a few years. Your father-in-law will serve as the governor of Hangzhou for another two years. I will transfer him to the position of Chief Clerk of the Yangzhou Grand Military Governor's Office, and then the Governor of Luoyang."

Su Shu couldn't help but be stunned. How many years would it take?

"You're so impatient!" Li Chengqian smiled and shook his head, saying, "My father and I were discussing the reconstruction of the Ziwei Palace today. By the time my father-in-law becomes the governor of Luozhou, the Ziwei Palace will be completed. When we tour the east, we'll have at least half a year to spend with my father-in-law. Why rush?"

"Renovate the Ziwei Palace?" Su Shu relaxed, remembering that the Ziwei Palace hadn't been renovated since the end of the Sui Dynasty. She nodded slightly, "This place really needs to be properly renovated."

"Not only that, if my father-in-law wants to go further, he must proceed step by step steadily. Otherwise, if he is not careful amidst the court disputes and attacks, something bad will happen." Li Chengqian shook his head slightly.

"With His Majesty here, is there anyone who would attack Aye?" Su Shu couldn't help but stand up.

"Of course." Li Chengqian nodded, then his expression turned serious. "Queen, do you know who was the last father-in-law of the emperor since the Sui and Tang dynasties?"

"The previous one wasn't Concubine Zhang's father..." Su Shu suddenly laughed and shook her head, saying, "How dare you call a Concubine Zhang's father your father-in-law?"

The father of Zhang Jieyushi, Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, is also a figure whose name is recorded in history books.

When the retired emperor conquered Luoyang, Concubine Zhang asked to be told that Emperor Gaozu had allocated a piece of land to her father.

Emperor Gaozu issued an imperial edict, but when Concubine Zhang's father brought the edict to Luoyang to take the land, the land had already been given to King Huainan Li Shentong as a military merit.

Of course, Concubine Zhang did not have a good ending in the end, and the same was true for her father.

Emperor Gaozu was also wrong in this matter, because it offended Li Shentong, the most prestigious member of the royal family, King Huainan.

This also allowed the retired emperor to gain the greatest support from the royal family when he forced Emperor Gaozu to abdicate.

"If he is not Concubine Zhang's father, then he should be Yang Guang's father-in-law?" Su Shu suddenly remembered.

"Empress Xiao's father, Emperor Ming of Liang, Xiao Kui, died in the fifth year of the Kaihuang reign." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "At that time, Emperor Wen of Sui was still in power."

"Then he must be Emperor Wen of Sui's father-in-law." Su Shu looked up and said, "Duke Dugu Xin of Zhao?"

Dugu Xin was not only Yang Jian's father-in-law and Yang Guang's maternal grandfather, but also Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan's maternal grandfather.

"Duke Zhao died during the Northern Zhou Dynasty and didn't live to see the Sui Dynasty." Li Chengqian looked at Su Shu and said, "Going back further, it should be the Empress of Emperor Xuan of Zhou. She was the father of Empress Yang Lihua of Emperor Xuan of Zhou and the grandfather of Emperor Jing of Zhou, the son of Emperor Xuan of Zhou. Does the Empress still remember who it was?"

"It's Emperor Wen of Sui, Yang Jian." Su Shu's face became increasingly ugly.

"The former Sui Dynasty was very recent." Li Chengqian sighed and said, "My father, my uncle, and even my father-in-law, they all came from the former Sui Dynasty. Moreover, the queen's great-grandfather supported Yang Jian in usurping the Zhou Dynasty and establishing the Sui Dynasty."

There are actually quite a few stories involved here. Although Su Wei was an important official in the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was unwilling to serve the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Later, when the Sui Dynasty was established, he became Yang Jian's Shangshu Zuo Pushe, which shows his inclination.

"The former Sui Dynasty is very close." Su Shu stood there in a daze.

Li Chengqian reached out and grasped Su Shu's wrist, whispering, "Your father-in-law is the only father-in-law who survived the ascension of an emperor since Yang Jian."

Some people worry that Su Tan will become the next Yang Jian.

Seize the Li Tang dynasty.

When Li Chengqian was alive, Su Tan naturally had no chance, but once Li Chengqian was gone and Li Xiang ascended the throne, everything would be hard to say.

Su Shu even couldn't bear to think that her father would do such a thing.

"Don't be stunned." Li Chengqian shook his head and said with a smile: "The Queen doesn't know who my father-in-law is, and I know it too, so that kind of thing is impossible to happen. It's just that some people in the court will use it to criticize me. After all, the higher you go, the fewer positions there are."

There are only a few third-rank positions in the three provinces, six ministries, nine temples and five academies, let alone the prime minister.

"My father-in-law might be able to take a chance on becoming the Minister of the Six Ministries. The Minister of Rites is the easiest, and the Minister of Revenue is also possible, but the Minister of Personnel and the Prime Minister are very difficult." Li Chengqian's expression became serious. Even he was not willing to take such a risk in the future.

"Your Majesty is right." Su Shu came back to her senses and looked at Li Chengqian and said, "For Xiang'er and for Father, it would be better for Father to stay in the countryside for a few more years." "Actually, Gui'er is getting older." Li Chengqian smiled and said, "If there is any favor you can give, give it to Gui'er."

Su Tan's only son, Su Gui, was already eleven years old and had started to study. In five or six years, he would be able to become an official.

"Go slower, I feel a little dizzy!" Su Shu couldn't help but touch her forehead.

Li Chengqian smiled, reached out and gently grasped Su Shu's collar, then slowly turned it down. At the same time, he whispered in her ear, "The reason why Emperor Jing of Zhou was deprived of his throne by Yang Jian was because he was Yang Lihua's stepson, not her biological son. Therefore, to put an end to these things, the Queen should give me more sons."

Su Shu reacted immediately and lowered her head. All she had left on her body was a light green mandarin duck undergarment.

……

"Drag him out and throw him into the prison."

In the Huiyou Hall, Li Chengqian stood up with a stern expression. He looked at the pale-faced Huaizhou Governor Lu Shanzong, who was kneeling in the hall. He gritted his teeth and said, "Issue an order. For the crime of deceiving the emperor and neglecting his duties, all official titles and ranks of Huaizhou Governor Lu Shanzong are stripped. He is to be handed over to the Dali Temple, the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the three courts for joint trial and investigation of all his crimes."

Two Qianniu Guards covered in golden armor strode out from outside the hall and grabbed Lu Shanzong directly.

Lu Shanzong finally came to his senses, kowtowed to the ground, and cried, "Grand Emperor, Your Majesty, I have been wronged, Your Majesty, I have been wronged!"

"The story of the local tyrants in Huaizhou seizing the people's land and causing casualties is also false." Li Chengqian pointed at Lu Shanzong and said angrily, "As the local governor, not only did you not punish them severely, but you accepted treasures and concealed the criminal case, deceiving the emperor. If you are wrongly accused, then there will be no one left in the world who deserves death."

Li Shimin leaned on the soft cushion with an indifferent expression.

"Speaking, tell the Qianniu Guards to immediately send men to Huaizhou and seal the official residence." After a brief pause, Li Chengqian said, "Have the Chief Censor Gao Zhizhou conduct an interrogation overnight. If other officials were involved, arrest them as well. At the same time, raid Lu Shanzong's home."

"Yes!" Liu Rengui, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat who was sitting on his knees beside him, immediately stood up, bowed, and walked out of the hall quickly along with Lu Shanzong who was taken away by the Qianniu Guards.

At this time, the resentment in Li Chengqian's heart gradually dissipated.

Li Shimin leaned on the soft cushion, looked at Li Chengqian, and whispered, "Just confiscate the property, don't implicate the entire clan."

"I understand." Li Chengqian nodded, knelt down, and said in a low voice, "Although the Tang Dynasty has been established for thirty years, and Chang'an and Luoyang are prosperous enough, the local prefectures and counties are still difficult to get to. Some households can't even find three pieces of clothing. Yet, even so, local nobles are still encroaching on their land."

When Emperor Gaozu founded the country, each household was granted 100 mu of land. Logically speaking, food, clothing and shelter should not be a problem.

However, this is an area of ​​plains and hills, and in the mountains, it is not easy for a family to get half of the land.

However, some local governors allowed local nobles and clerks to collude and transfer the taxes they were supposed to bear to other people.

Then when they can no longer support themselves, or when someone in their family is sick and struggling, some people will even directly create fights, artificially making it difficult for the people to survive, and then encroach on their land.

Finally, they were forced to sign a contract to sell themselves.

All these methods are almost brutal to the extreme.

"And a provincial governor like Lu Shanzong, who turned a blind eye to a piece of calligraphy and painting," Li Chengqian gritted his teeth and said, "And the Ministry of Personnel, how do they evaluate officials?"

"In a large county, they wouldn't dare act so blatantly. But in a small place, they have no scruples." Li Shimin shook his head and said, "Lu Shanzong was a relatively honest official when he was the governor of Xingzhou in his early years. But now that he is in his last term, it's inevitable that he might be treacherous."

"The Ministry of Personnel will eventually punish them." Li Chengqian sighed and said, "Only by punishing them will the local governors dare not act recklessly."

"It's fine to confiscate their property. It will be enough to compensate the people for their losses." Li Shimin raised his head and looked at Zhang Ananda: "Who's next?"

"Nifushabolayahu of Western Turkic Khaganate, Ashina Helu." Zhang Ananda bowed solemnly.

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian and said, "Helu's contribution to Guo Xiaoke's pacification of Kucha is not small. We must appease him well."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded, but his expression became serious.

The name Ashina Helu is unexpectedly familiar, even more familiar than the loyal minister of the Tang Dynasty like Ashina Zhong.

Such people who can leave their names in history are either extremely loyal to the Tang Dynasty or later traitors.

Li Chengqian knew that Li Shimin's greatest achievement was the destruction of the Eastern Turks, while Li Zhi's greatest achievement in his previous life was the destruction of Goguryeo and the Western Turks.

Ashina Helu.

Western Turkic Yehu.

(End of this chapter)