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

Chapter 448: Songzan is learning from Jie Li, the Weishui Alliance (Part )
On the second day of the first lunar month, the emperor offered sacrifices to heaven and earth.

On the side of the Circular Mound in the southern suburbs of Chang'an, countless silks, gold papers, grains and sacrifices were burning in a bronze tripod in the northeast, and wisps of green smoke rose up into the sky.

Li Chengqian was wearing a black robe with a golden dragon pattern and a white jade crown on his head. He stood on the top of the Circular Mound, holding three tall incense sticks and bowing deeply.

Standing up and watching the green smoke slowly rising into the sky, Li Chengqian couldn't help but mutter in his heart.

With the blessing of heaven and earth, we will win the war.

Under the altar, Ashina Helu knelt on the ground, his hands resting on the ground, his eyes slightly raised, the surprise in his eyes was hard to contain.

Tubo sent troops.

Tubo sent troops to attack the Tang Dynasty.

Helu could never have imagined that Tubo would actually dare to take advantage of the transfer of imperial power in the Tang Dynasty and launch an attack.

The last person to do this was Jie Li.

Emperor Gaozu abdicated and Tian Khan ascended the throne. Then Jie Li seized the opportunity and marched his army south.

As the leader of the Western Turks, Helu knew the real situation of that year better than anyone else.

Although the newly established Tang Dynasty was in chaos, the Heavenly Khan had already begun to guard against the Eastern Turks long before the incident.

Therefore, when Jie Li led his army south, he actually encountered obstacles in all aspects. Although he finally reached the city of Chang'an, he was already exhausted by then.

It is impossible to attack Chang'an, which has a strong city wall and thick moats.

As for the Weishui Alliance, it seemed that the Tang Dynasty was compromising, but in fact it was just a way for Jie Li to save face.

Just a step.

Since then, the Eastern Turks quickly went downhill until they were finally destroyed by the Tang Dynasty.

Jie Li was also captured and brought to Chang'an, where he danced for the Heavenly Khan in front of all the officials of the Tang Dynasty.

Being laughed at by the whole world.

Now, there are actually people who are learning from Jie Li.

Helu took a deep breath. From his interactions with the new emperor these days, he knew that although this man did not have the domineering power of the Heavenly Khan, he had a tough temperament, a sharp vision, was very restrained, and was well versed in political tactics. It would be difficult for anyone to defeat such a person before he himself was destroyed by pleasure.

Especially the Heavenly Khan behind him is still alive.

The Tibetans really picked the worst time.

Helu kowtowed deeply. He knew that the Tibetans dared to do this because they must have done something before.

For example, the rumor that the Tibetans attempted to murder the Heavenly Khan that has been circulating these days seems to be true now, but unfortunately, after sending away a fierce tiger, a hungry wolf came.

The sound of crisp footsteps sounded in front, and Helu's expression immediately became solemn.

"Everyone, please stand up." Li Chengqian's voice came from the front.

Helu quickly kowtowed and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Afterwards, Helu and dozens of foreign envoys from Yanqi, Khotan, Shule, Shiguo, Kangguo, Anguo, Tianzhu, Huihe, Eastern Turks, Khitan, etc. stood up together.

"I have fasted and bathed, praying for peace in the world. I hope that you will work together with me to seek Chang'an and enjoy a prosperous era together." Li Chengqian's eyes swept across the ministers and finally fell on a group of foreign envoys.

"Your Majesty, we are willing to work together with you to seek peace and prosperity together." Everyone bowed their hands.

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Okay, let's go. Let's go worship Hou Tu and then the Taimiao."

"Here!" Everyone raised their hands in unison.

Seeing Li Chengqian walking towards the carriage first, Helu hurried to follow.

Then for the whole day, Helu followed Li Chengqian to worship Hou Tu the earth, and then they also worshiped outside the Taimiao together.

After all these ceremonies were over, he was led into the Honglu Temple.

There was a grand banquet in the Honglu Temple, but the smiling Sikong Zhangsun Wuji, who was sitting in the main seat in the middle, made everyone feel nervous.

……

The night is hazy and the East Palace is silent.

Li Chengqian sat on the imperial carriage with his eyes slightly closed.

The battle situation in Shanzhou is still on my mind.

Even though he has made very careful arrangements now, he will feel uneasy as long as the detailed military reports from Shanzhou and Lanzhou are not delivered.

Before I knew it, I had arrived at Cheng'en Hall.

Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly and said, "Send Concubine Cui to the bedchamber!"

"Yes!" Xu An bowed and then walked towards Yixing.

Li Chengqian walked into Cheng'en Hall, took off his coat, and then walked to the short couch in the inner hall and sat down.

A maid immediately stepped forward, placed a cup of honey tea on the low table beside Li Chengqian, and then stepped back.

Li Chengqian picked up the bookcase beside him and started reading.

After a while, a burst of hurried footsteps sounded outside the hall. When they reached the hall door, the footsteps suddenly slowed down, and then they walked lightly into the hall.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and looked towards the door.

Cui Luan, dressed in a light yellow skirt, came into Li Chengqian's sight. She then walked in front of him, bowed carefully, and said, "Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you. May your Majesty live long and healthy!"

"Stand up." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly.

"Yes!" Cui Luan stood up and subconsciously stepped aside.

"No need, take two steps forward and stand in front of me." Li Chengqian raised his eyes slightly.

"Yes!" Cui Luan responded, then walked forward meekly.

With picturesque eyebrows, graceful figure, skin as white as snow, and a hint of timidity in her dark eyes, everything about Cui Luan instantly appeared in Li Chengqian's eyes.

Li Chengqian stretched out his hand and pulled Cui Luan into his arms.

Sitting in Li Chengqian's arms, Cui Luan's face flushed instantly, and then he whispered, "Your Majesty!"

"Did you miss me?" Li Chengqian looked up and stared into Cui Luan's eyes.

"Your Majesty!" Cui Luan's blush spread from his cheeks to his fair neck. "Haha!" Li Chengqian looked at Cui Luan's charming appearance and smiled with satisfaction.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and picked up a book from the table beside him. He opened it in front of Cui Luan and asked, "Isn't it a disgrace that I only conferred the title of Xiurong upon you?"

"No!" Cui Luan looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, then whispered, "Even though Concubine Zhang has children, she is still just a concubine, not to mention that I, Your Majesty, don't have any children yet."

Yesterday, after the New Year's Day court session, Su Shu held the imperial edict and read out the titles bestowed upon Li Chengqian's concubines.

Zheng Shuang'er was the Imperial Concubine, and Wei Wei was the Imperial Concubine.

The positions of Defei, Xianfei, and Zhaoyi, the head of the nine concubines, were all vacant.

Zhang Xuan is Zhaorong.

Su Yi is Zhaoyuan, Wang Youlan is Xiuyi, and Cui Luan is the last Xiurong.

There are only seven of them in Li Chengqian's harem now.

"Did Lan'er say the same thing?" Li Chengqian smiled lightly.

"Sister Lan said that the vacancies of Concubine De, Concubine Xian, and Zhaoyi are actually prepared by His Majesty for the three of us. As long as we have children, we can move up to the next level." Cui Luan was a little shy.

"That's right." Li Chengqian hugged Cui Luan and shook his head. "But whoever has a child first will be the Defei or Xianfei, and whoever has a child last will be the Zhaoyi."

Among the ladies in the palace, the four concubines are the noble concubine, the virtuous concubine, the virtuous concubine and the virtuous concubine; the nine concubines are the Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong and Chongyuan.

Even the Zhaoyi, the head of the Nine Concubines, and the Xianfei, the last of the Four Concubines, had a huge gap.

Cui Luan certainly understood this. She looked at Li Chengqian sincerely and said, "As long as Your Majesty favors me, nothing else matters."

Li Chengqian couldn't help but reach out and touch Cui Luan's delicate cheek. He knew that this was her personality.

"Did your uncle write to your father and tell him anything about his transfer to the post of Governor of Liangzhou?" Li Chengqian turned to the business.

"No." Cui Luan shook his head slightly and said, "My uncle rarely told Aye about these things, and Aye rarely told Luan'er either."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded, then said, "I'll ask your father to tell your uncle that it's not that I don't want him to stay in the court, but given his qualifications, if he stays in the court, he will definitely have to advance further. Your uncle is already the Minister of War. If he stays any longer, something bad will happen."

The political struggle in the court in recent years has been concentrated on the competition for the throne among Li Chengqian, Li Zhi and Li Tai.

What followed was the invisible transfer of power between Li Chengqian and Li Shimin.

During this period, officials in the court did not pay much attention to the power struggle among each other.

But that may not be the case in the future.

The position of Assistant Minister of Personnel was too conspicuous, especially when Zhangsun Wuji had his eyes on it. If Cui Renshi did not leave as agreed, he would probably be in trouble next.

When Li Chengqian first ascended the throne, although he would restrain and check Changsun Wuji, if Changsun Wuji wanted to take action, Li Chengqian would not help him if Cui Renshi was really caught making a mistake.

Not to mention that Liu Shi is Wang Youlan's uncle.

In this situation, transfer is actually the best option.

"Going to the lower levels isn't necessarily a bad thing. Liangzhou is a high-ranking province. At least he's currently a third-rank official. When he's transferred back to the imperial court in the future, he'll definitely be a Minister of the Nine Temples." Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and whispered, "Maybe even Minister of the Ministry of Rites."

The Minister of Taichang Temple is the only one of the nine ministers of the third rank, and his status is equal to that of the six ministers.

"I understand." Cui Luan responded softly. In fact, she didn't understand much about these things, but Li Chengqian asked her to pass on the message, so she did it.

Cui Luan's soft breath fell into Li Chengqian's ear. Li Chengqian finally couldn't help it. He held her hands with both hands, and then slowly lifted her clothes from behind.

Her dress fluttered, her arms were bare and her neck was exposed.

For a time, there was endless spring.

……

On the third day of the first lunar month, the morning light is warm.

Helu rode his horse towards the palace. At the banquet yesterday, Sikong Changsun Wuji mentioned that he wanted to mobilize the troops of each family to fight against the Tubo army, and everyone agreed.

What remains is how many troops each company will mobilize and when.

This is what we are going to discuss today.

It depends on the scale of the Tibetan military mobilization this time.

But no one ever said not to mobilize troops.

At this time, if anyone dared to object to the Tang Dynasty, Helu would be sure that the Tang Dynasty would target them next.

Helu raised his head and sighed softly.

too weird.

Tubo had just attacked Shanzhou, and the news reached Chang'an in the afternoon.

Even with just the smoke of war, the emperor and his court officials were certain that Tubo was invading, and they had even begun to mobilize troops, food, and military equipment.

It seemed that they had complete control over all the movements of the Tibetans.

trap.

trap.

trap.

Helu was sure that this was a trap.

Tubo fell into the trap set by the Tang Dynasty.

For some reason, Helu thought of Jie Li.

This is how he stepped into the trap of the Tang Dynasty step by step.

This is the case with Tubo today, as well as Songtsen.

At this moment, on Chang'an Avenue ahead, a fast horse was rushing towards the direction of Suzaku Gate.

Immediately, a Qianniu guard shouted loudly: "Emergency news from Shanzhou, urgent news from Shanzhou..."

Helu's expression became solemn. Today, the scale of Tubo's invasion of Tang will finally be revealed.

(End of this chapter)