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

Chapter 565: Transforming the Family into a Nation, the Ambition of the Aristocratic Family (Part )
In midsummer May, the mountains and rivers are majestic.

At the foot of Jiuyi Mountain, teams of Jinwu Guards came directly from Chang'an City.

Li Chengqian, dressed in raw hemp mourning clothes, walked to Zhaoling Mausoleum under the gaze of countless officials from the court and the kings inside and outside the country.

Then they would offer sacrifices in a temple on the mountainside, burn incense and make offerings, and bow down to offer sacrifices.

Suddenly, a burst of mournful cries rang out throughout Zhaoling.

As the Minister of Justice, Yang Sina holds a very high position among the ministers.

Only behind the kings, princesses, princes-in-law, prime ministers, six ministers, generals, and nine temple ministers.

Yang Sina knelt on the ground with tears on her face, crying and wailing with others to mourn the late emperor. However, inadvertently, Yang Sina looked up and her eyes fell on Prince of Wu Li Ke and Prince of Jing Li Yuanjing, and a deep look flashed in her eyes.

The mother of King Wu was the daughter of Yang Guang. Even if people said that Yang Guang's lineage was not the same as theirs, in fact, Yang Jian's lineage was the direct descendant of the Hongnong Yang family.

Like most Hedong families, they changed their names to Hu during the Five Barbarians Invasion period, and later changed them back.

For example, the Wuhuan Wang family is a branch of the Taiyuan Wang family.

All the aristocratic families are aware of this.

In particular, Li Ke's father-in-law, Yang Yu, the governor of Fenzhou, was Yang Sina's cousin.

Prince Guan Yang Xiong had two younger brothers.

One is Yang Da and the other is Yang Shigui.

Yang Yu is the son of Yang Shigui.

She is Yang Sina's cousin and married Li Ke.

Li Ke is actually Yang Sina's cousin-in-law.

The relationship between the two sides is very close.

Of course, in the eyes of outsiders, Li Ke was more deeply influenced by Yang Guang, so much so that people somewhat overlooked the Hongnong Yang family behind him.

Yang Sina's eyes narrowed slightly.

In his hands he had the late emperor's imperial edict, the late emperor's son, and the late emperor's widow.

As long as these people can unite, it will be enough to send Li Ke to the supreme position at the critical moment.

Of course, although Li Ke has deep bloodline of the Hongnong Yang family, no matter what, he is not as good as the Hongnong Yang family in occupying the world.

As for what to do, Yang Jian had already set an example before. Later generations only needed to follow his rules to turn their families into a country.

Transform family into country.

Who wouldn't want to.

During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, I don’t know how many people did it.

The later Pengcheng Liu family, the current Longxi Li family, and the Hongnong Yang family and Yang Jian's lineage that had achieved this before are all excellent examples.

Yang Sina gently withdrew his gaze from King Jing Li Yuanjing.

In his plan, Li Yuanjing's position is extremely important.

The imperial edict in his hand needed to be recognized. If Li Yuanjing, the eldest surviving son of Emperor Gaozu, spoke, at least 50% of the people in the world would believe it.

that's enough.

All that remains is to choose a collaborator in the power struggle within the court.

As for the conflict between the emperor and Zhangsun Wuji.

Yang Sina was not in a hurry. It was impossible for the emperor and Zhangsun Wuji to remain in peace forever. As long as a conflict broke out between them, there would be countless means at their disposal.

……

Before offering the hall, Li Chengqian bowed solemnly.

Standing up, he inserted the tall incense stick in his hand into the incense burner.

From all four sides of Zhaoling Mausoleum, four columns of smoke shot straight into the sky.

"Father, the war against Goguryeo has begun." Li Chengqian looked at the memorial tablet before him and said softly, "Soon, Goguryeo will cease to exist. It won't be long before Dongdao will be completely annexed by the Tang Dynasty. At that time, it will be time for me to turn my full strength westward, crush the Western Turks, destroy Tibet, advance into India, and then towards Persia and the Arabs."

A magnificent picture has clearly appeared before Li Chengqian's eyes.

Li Chengqian bowed his head slightly and continued, "After conquering Goguryeo, I will use the power of this great victory to eliminate the hidden dangers in the court."

Hidden dangers in the court, what hidden dangers.

Naturally, it is the business of Yintian and Yinhu.

If this issue is not taken seriously, then the speed at which he can govern the Tang Dynasty into a prosperous era will be greatly delayed.

It might not even be completed until his death.

Of course, the hidden fields and hidden households are of great importance. If he launches an all-out war, the aristocratic families all over the world will rise up in opposition, and he will become the next Yang Guang.

Therefore, he could only choose a target that was strong enough to attack.

Then use their blood to intimidate others, and finally slowly advance the affairs of Yintian and Yinhu. You can't be too hasty at this time.

And this target is the Hongnong Yang family.

Yang Sina has fallen into Li Chengqian's trap.

Poor him, he still knows nothing.

The more he does, the more severe everything will be when it backfires on the Hongnong Yang family in the future.

In this way, Li Chengqian could investigate the hidden fields and households of the Hongnong Yang family in the name of treason.

Only then can he bring sufficient benefits to the people of the world and those who follow him, and then follow the inertia of reform to govern the world more prosperously.

Li Chengqian raised his head and looked from Zhaoling Mausoleum to the entire sky.

The sky is clear and blue.

It’s thousands of miles away.

……

The imperial carriage landed beside the Suzaku Gate.

The emperor entered the Taiji Hall in his imperial sedan chair.

A grand banquet was held in Taiji Hall for all the ministers.

The black dragon robe was changed and Li Chengqian put on a red and yellow dragon robe.

The queen sat at the side.

All the kings and officials bowed and said, "Your Majesty!"

"Stand up." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly, and the ministers stood up solemnly.

Li Chengqian looked at the crowd, raised his glass, and nodded, saying, "You have all worked hard this year. Today, I will entertain you with a grand banquet. After the banquet, I will give you silk gifts and send them to your residences. You can drink the fine wine today and get drunk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" All the ministers stood up and raised their glasses.

"Come, drink!" Li Chengqian smiled and drank the wine in his cup. "Drink!" All the ministers drank the wine in their cups in unison.

Li Chengqian raised his hand and shouted, "Dance!"

As soon as the voice came down, forty-nine Qianniu Guards, armed with swords and shields, walked into the hall.

The King of Qin broke the formation, and the sword flashed and killed.

The entire hall gradually became quiet, and everyone's attention was focused on the martial arts performance.

Many people couldn't help but have a flash of nostalgia in their eyes.

The king of Qin broke the formation and danced.

A war dance created by the late emperor himself.

Before we knew it, it had been a year since the late emperor passed away.

The world as a whole doesn't seem to have changed much.

A few people were startled awake and could not help but turn sideways to look at the emperor who was sitting on the steps admiring the Qin King's dance.

Then they all lowered their heads.

……

Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, looking at the flashing sword light, his eyes couldn't help but become blurred.

As one person, he sits above thirty million people.

The phrase "walking on thin ice" is far from enough to describe his difficulties.

Ever since the late emperor was buried, Li Chengqian has carefully begun to make various arrangements.

First, he asked the ministers to inspect the local areas, suppress the local families, and reduce local conflicts.

At the same time, he reviewed the troops and won over the hearts of the sixteen guards.

Then he kicked Yang Shidao out of the position of Minister of Personnel, leaving the position vacant and letting the Guanzhong families keep an eye on this position.

Of course, in the end this position was actually taken by Changsun Wuji.

The people of Guanzhong also resent Changsun Wuji.

Yuan Tiangang was forced out again, and Changsun Wuji's attention was completely focused on Yuan Tiangang and Hongnong Yang.

Finally, preparations for the Goguryeo War began.

Military achievements and wealth attracted many people's hearts.
Unknowingly, the transition period since the death of the late emperor has passed.

The so-called vigorous effort will lead to failure and exhaustion.

After the death of the previous emperor, the kings, meritorious officials, military generals, officials, aristocratic families, and local powerful families should have been ready to make some trouble to express their disapproval of the new emperor, but all these were resolved by Li Chengqian's deliberate planning.

Sitting on the imperial couch, Li Chengqian could vaguely feel the flow of people's hearts, but none of them was directed at him directly.

Even Yang Sina, who was sitting not far away, focused more on Changsun Wuji.

No one dared to directly challenge Emperor Li Chengqian.

Because if he said to drag him away and behead him, it is very likely that he would really be beheaded.

A burst of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall.

Li Chengqian slightly turned sideways, Zhang Ananda bowed, and then quickly walked out of the hall from the side.

Afterwards, a memorial was brought in and placed on the desk in front of Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian opened it and took a look.

There was a moment of shock in his eyes, then he smiled and continued to enjoy the banquet with his ministers.

……

"Songtsen is dead." Li Chengqian stood in the east side hall, washed his hands and face, and then looked at Changsun Wuji who was reading the memorial.

The memorial was sent back by Li Junxian from Tongtian River. Tubo officially informed the Tang Dynasty that the Tubo King Songtsen had died of illness and the new King Mangsong Mangtsen had ascended the throne.

The Tibetan messenger was still on the way, but Li Junxian had already sent the news back.

Changsun Wuji put the memorial down, then looked at Li Chengqian and said, "The memorial says that Songtsen died of illness on the fourth day of the fifth month, but I feel like he was already dead, and is only now sending the news to all corners of the world after everything is sorted out."

"Keeping the death secret is the usual tactic of the Tibetans." Li Chengqian calmly walked to the imperial couch and sat down, raising his hand slightly.

Changsun Wuji walked to the left and knelt down before looking at Li Chengqian and said, "If that's the case, then with Songtsen's death, we won't have any chance to take advantage of it."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said calmly, "The Tang Dynasty has already turned eastward. The news of Songtsen's death means that Tubo will not take any action for a considerable period of time."

"Yes." Changsun Wuji nodded slightly. Mangsong Mangzan was only three years old. For at least the next ten years, Tubo would be busy trying to resolve the internal power struggle.

Zhang Sun Wuji suddenly looked up and whispered, "Your Majesty, if this is the case, the Tibetans will probably ask the princess to return to Tibet."

"This is inevitable." Li Chengqian sighed and said, "The imperial sister is the Tibetan Queen. Even if she just returns, it will be enough to calm most people's hearts. So, this time, the Tibetans are probably determined to get the imperial sister back."

"And your majesty?"

"It depends on what the princess wishes." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "This time the Tibetans are coming, I'm afraid they'll bring not only the news of Songtsen's own death, but also the news that Mangsong Mangtsen's grandmother, Mangfei Chijia, was buried alive with him."

Since Li Chengqian, the Tang Dynasty has completely abolished human sacrifice, but Tubo did not.

The last time the Tibetan envoy Wei Dama Renzeng came to Chang'an, Li Chengqian implicitly put forward his own request.

Princess Wencheng could return to Tubo, but Mangfei Chijia had to die, so that Wencheng could live in Tubo as the legitimate grandmother of Mangsong Mangzan.

"The reason why I don't want my sister to return to Tubo is because I'm afraid that she will be forced to be buried alive with Songtsen Gampo after his death. Now that the matter of Songtsen has been decided, as long as Mangfei Chijia is confirmed to have been buried alive, I will no longer stop her from returning to Tubo." Li Chengqian's expression was unexpectedly calm for Changsun Wuji.

"What if the Tibetans don't obey the rules and use the princess as a threat to the Tang Dynasty after she returns? What should we do?" Changsun Wuji couldn't help but look up.

"Let the Prince of Jiangxia send more troops to Tongtian River." Li Chengqian said calmly, "I have Li Junxian stationed troops at Tongtian River all the time, isn't it so that he can attack Tubo at any time? This way, with the troops outside and my sister inside, Tubo will not encounter any accidents when the Tang Dynasty attacks Goguryeo. As for the future."

Li Chengqian stood up and walked out of the hall: "In the future, I will destroy Tubo and personally welcome her back to Chang'an!"

Changsun Wuji sighed lightly and bowed solemnly.

……

Lizheng Hall.

Li Chengqian walked into the hall calmly.

Wu Meiniang was helping the Queen to properly place the slightly tipsy Li Xiang, Li Jue, Li Yu and others.

Finally, he followed the Queen and bowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Majesty!"

"Thank you for accompanying the princess to rest tonight." Li Chengqian nodded to Wu Meiniang, then walked over and took Su Shu, who was wearing the queen's phoenix robe, to the inner hall.

Su Shu blushed, but Li Chengqian grabbed her wrist tightly and pulled her into the inner hall.

The curtains are lowered.

Red candles flicker.

A moment later, Wu Meiniang, who was lying in the West Palace, had a blush on her face and a hint of uncontrollable desire in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)