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

Chapter 517: Testing with Death, General Hu’s Survival Wisdom (Part )

After lunch, Fang Yiai walked out of Qianqiu Hall.

He looked out over the entire palace with a serious expression.

At this moment, a sound of calm footsteps sounded behind him.

Fang Yiai gently turned sideways, and Li Yuanjing, who was wearing a white linen mourning dress, walked up from the side and came to Fang Yiai's side.

"Are you still thinking about what happened today between Duke Bi and Duke Liang?" Li Yuanjing asked calmly, looking forward.

"Uncle Wang, have you also noticed something wrong?" Fang Yiai bowed slightly, looked up, and asked eagerly.

"It's just the survival wisdom of the Hu generals." Li Yuanjing shook his head and said, "The late emperor is gone. They were so loyal to him back then that they naturally worry about what Your Majesty will think of them and their tribe in the future. That's why they are testing His Majesty with their own death today."

"Test." Fang Yiai chewed the two words lightly in his mouth.

"Or more accurately, this is called mutual need." Li Yuanjing chuckled softly, then said, "The vassal generals and the tribes behind them need to understand Your Majesty's attitude towards them, and Your Majesty also needs to understand the vassal generals' attitude towards him. Today, I cannot seek death. Duke Liang and Duke Bi have received Your Majesty's great favor. As long as there is gratitude and obligation, there is no need to worry about rebellion."

Fang Yiai nodded and said in amazement: "Indeed."

"That's not all." Li Yuanjing turned around, looking towards the Liangyi Hall, and said softly, "You see, His Majesty decisively and simply issued an edict today prohibiting human sacrifice. But you don't understand that His Majesty has been preparing this edict for a long time."

"Your Majesty is also acting today?" Fang Yiai asked in surprise.

"That's not entirely clear." Li Yuanjing shook his head and said, "But the edict prohibiting human sacrifice is something Your Majesty has considered long ago."

"Please give me some advice, Uncle Wang." Fang Yiai bowed to Li Yuanjing seriously.

Li Yuanjing smiled softly, then said, "Some years ago, due to the incident involving Yang Yu, the son of Duke Ande, His Majesty issued a summons to severely punish those who wantonly tortured and killed slaves. Do you remember?"

"I remember." Fang Yiai nodded. He had done some of those ridiculous things when he was young, but he stopped doing them after he entered the Prince of Wei's Palace.

Li Yuanjing's expression calmed down, and he asked with a slight seriousness, "Who benefited from that incident?"

"Slaves and maids in each family." Fang Yiai gave the answer.

"His Majesty has issued a decree prohibiting human sacrifice." Li Yuanjing looked at Fang Yiai calmly and asked, "Who do you think will benefit this time?"

"Palace ladies and servants." Fang Yiai nodded vigorously.

Those who can commit human sacrifice are not just ordinary people.

Princes, nobles, and even the emperor.

The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty was of course an exception. Whether it was Emperor Gaozu, the late Emperor, or Your Majesty, they were all extremely disgusted with such things.

When the late emperor was still alive, he issued an edict: Anyone who buries slaves as alive with the dead will be sentenced to three years in prison.

It was even written into the Zhenguan Law.

However, this kind of thing cannot be prevented. It is nothing more than finding a dozen slaves to be buried alive with the deceased, and then finding a dozen more slaves to take the blame.

This kind of method is not uncommon among powerful and wealthy families.

At that time, the emperor issued an edict that anyone who buried slaves with the dead would be treated as murderer.

Although this increased the number of people buried alive by the powerful and wealthy families, there were still some who ignored it.

What’s really cruel is that once the facts are verified, three generations of descendants will not be allowed to hold official positions.

This is what the powerful and wealthy fear the most.

Who doesn’t have three or five enemies?

Once they lose their official positions and the ability to protect themselves, the slaves under them alone can tear them apart.

Therefore, the imperial edict issued by the emperor today can completely ban these things.

Similarly, this will allow more slaves to survive.

"The Tang Dynasty has at least a million slaves, all of whom would be grateful to Your Majesty as if they were their own parents." After a brief pause, Li Yuanjing shook his head and said, "But it's far more than that."

"Uncle Wang, please help me solve this problem." Fang Yiai bowed again.

"Killing slaves and burying them alive with the dead will only reduce the number of slaves. When there are fewer slaves, people will naturally go to the market to find them." Li Yuanjing glanced at Fang Yiai and asked, "Do I need to tell you the methods used by the powerful and wealthy families to plunder slaves?"

"Yeah!" Fang Yiai nodded. Borrowing money, high interest, and damage can make people unable to pay it back in their entire lives. The powerful and wealthy have a series of methods to make people slaves and dogs.

"Now, with the law in place, the rich and powerful can no longer arbitrarily beat or kill slaves, or use them as burial companions or to take the blame for their crimes. This means they need fewer slaves, and the people will have a much better life." Li Yuanjing sighed and said, "Furthermore, even if the people are forced to voluntarily enslave their children, they don't have to worry about their children ending up in a terrible situation. This is all due to Your Majesty's virtue."

Fang Yiai nodded gently. He understood that once these laws were implemented in combination, people's lives would be much better.

Don't treat the people as ignorant and foolish. They can feel for themselves what is good and what is bad.

"Also, when the late emperor's funeral was first laid to rest, His Majesty issued an edict exempting the people of Chang'an from taxes for a year." Li Yuanjing smiled bitterly and said, "Nowadays, the people of Chang'an almost regard His Majesty as the Buddha of all nations. If you don't believe me, listen carefully!"

Fang Yiai raised his head and looked towards the city of Chang'an in the distance.

Faintly, one seemed to hear bursts of cheers coming from Chang'an City.

"From today on, Your Majesty will be as stable as Mount Tai in Chang'an." Li Yuanjing said calmly, "Furthermore, with today's conclusion on the human sacrifice, Your Majesty's reputation in history books will undoubtedly be high. This means that in the eyes of scholars and virtuous court officials, Your Majesty is a first-class benevolent monarch."

Fang Yiai's mouth twitched slightly, and for a moment he didn't know what to say. He really didn't expect that the emperor would reap almost endless benefits from such a thing.

"Is there no one who objects?" Fang Yiai looked at Li Yuanjing cautiously.

Li Yuanjing looked at him deeply, then said, "Yes, of course there is. But who can object? Although this was decided by Your Majesty, it is actually for the late emperor's funeral. The late emperor also wants to increase his reputation. The Duke of Zhao, the Duke of Liang, and all the important officials in the court will support it to the utmost. Anyone who opposes it will definitely be killed without a burial place."

"Thank you Uncle Wang for your guidance. Erlang understands now." Fang Yiai sighed lightly and nodded seriously.

……

Li Yuanjing looked at Fang Yiai and smiled softly, "No matter who it is, if they want to make further progress, from now on, they must be more aware of His Majesty's attitude."

"One step further." Fang Yiai smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "I'm afraid it will be difficult for Erlang to make any further progress."

"Shaofu Shaojian." Li Yuanjing shook his head and said, "If the Shaofu Shaojian wants to move up a level, he can either become a minister of the nine temples, a vice minister of the six ministries, or be sent to a remote place to be a governor. The Shaofu is your majesty's money bag. I don't know how many governors are eager to give up their governorships to become the Shaofu Shaojian.

You want too much.”

"Erlang only hopes to be sent to a good place as a governor in the future. That's enough for him." Fang Yiai raised his head, looked in the direction of Liangyi Hall, and said softly, "Although His Majesty has not pursued the matter between Erlang and the King of Wei, it is certain that there is still no place for Erlang in the court."

Li Yuanjing looked straight at Fang Yiai, who was terrified by Li Yuanjing's gaze and subconsciously asked, "What's wrong, Uncle Wang?"

"Don't think anything is impossible." Li Yuanjing turned and said, "Right now, at the court, at least three of the six ministers, including Prime Minister Tang, Duke of Ande, Duke of Shi'an, etc., will retire within the next three to five years. Only half of the prime ministers will remain. How can you think you have no chance?"

"These are all left by His Majesty for his confidants. Erlang will have two years left as the Junior Supervisor of the Imperial Household. I just hope that His Majesty won't kick me out and appoint me as the Governor of a lower state. That's enough." Fang Yiai couldn't help but sigh.

"As long as Duke Liang is here, His Majesty will not treat you unfairly." Li Yuanjing paused, looked at Fang Yiai, and said, "Even if Duke Liang is gone, as long as you grasp what His Majesty wants most, even if you make a huge mistake, he will still use you regardless of past grudges."

"What do you want most?" Fang Yiai looked at Li Yuanjing with some confusion.

"Your Majesty's goal in torturing and killing slaves, burying them alive with the dead, and exempting the people of Chang'an from taxes for a year is nothing more than population growth. He himself made it clear long ago." Li Yuanjing patted Fang Yiai's shoulder and said softly, "How can we increase the population? As long as you have a good plan, even if it means being the Minister of Revenue, His Majesty will give you the position."

"Method?" Fang Yiai's eyes gradually became eager.

"You have to ask Duke Liang about this. He will definitely have a way." Li Yuanjing smiled, then turned and entered the Qianqiu Palace.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch and stamped his seal on the written edict.

Zhang Ananda took it from the side, then walked down the steps and handed it to Changsun Wuji.

Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji, breathed a sigh of relief, and then said, "If the Qianniu Guards hadn't been aware of this in advance, I'm afraid I would have been hard-pressed to withstand such a sudden attack from Duke Bi and Duke Liang."

"Your Majesty, you're worrying too much." Changsun Wuji shook his head and said, "They both leaked the news to each other in advance to let Your Majesty know so that there wouldn't be any mistakes."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded, "Uncle is right."

"After what happened today, these two, as well as all the generals in the court and the tribes behind them, will do their utmost to serve Your Majesty." Changsun Wuji smiled and bowed, saying, "I haven't congratulated Your Majesty yet."

Zhishisili, Qibi Heli, Ashina She'er, Ashina Zhong, Xue Gu Wu Ren, etc. There were at least nearly ten vassal generals and grand generals in the court.

Not to mention, there are the Left and Right Brave Guards, the Left and Right Leading Army Guards, the Left and Right Military Guards, nearly 100,000 vassal soldiers, and nearly one million clan members.

The issue of stable appointment was completely resolved at today's court meeting.

"My uncle also contributed to this." Li Chengqian nodded gratefully to Changsun Wuji.

"Your Majesty is wise. I forgot to ask for the extra silk." Changsun Wuji sighed with some emotion.

"It's just money. Using six thousand pieces of silk to exchange for the safety of a million people, I don't know how much I can earn." Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "I'm afraid many people will soon understand what happened today. However, I think they are more afraid."

"Your Majesty is talking about Ashina Helu." Changsun Wuji's expression became serious.

"Our Western Turkic Khan nominally commands three hundred thousand soldiers and two million civilians. He should not be underestimated!" Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "Uncle, it's time to prepare someone to replace him."

"I obey your order." Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly.

"There's also the imperial edict prohibiting human sacrifice." Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said seriously, "Uncle, this must be strictly enforced."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed and accepted the order.

Li Chengqian raised his head and sighed softly, "Although this isn't the final legacy my father leaves to the world, it is a significant achievement that will undoubtedly be recorded in history books. Only by ensuring its strictest implementation can my father's reputation for benevolence and holiness be passed down through the ages."

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will never let anyone tarnish the late emperor's reputation as a benevolent and wise man." Changsun Wuji nodded vigorously.

"That should be the case." Li Chengqian breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled. He knew that when it came to this matter, Changsun Wuji would care more about it than he did.

"Alright, it's time to go to Qianqiu Palace." Li Chengqian was about to stand up when Zhangsun Wuji immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have something else to ask."

"Huh?" Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Wuji in surprise.

"I heard that Your Majesty has decided to let Concubine Yang leave the palace and become a nun in Dunhuafang?" Changsun Wuji looked at Li Chengqian with a serious expression.

"Is there something wrong with this?" Li Chengqian looked stunned.

"Your Majesty, Concubine Yang cannot leave the palace." Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly to Li Chengqian with a serious expression and a firm word.

(End of this chapter)