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

Chapter 575 Uncle, I am on an Eastern Tour, You Are the Regent (Part )

July, early autumn, is sunny and windy.

In the Taiji Hall, the ink in the inkstone is extremely cold.

Xu Jingzong sat behind a curtain on the side, holding a pen in his hand, but he could not write a single word.

Because the emperor didn't say a word.

Li Chengqian sat on the Danbi, looking at Princess Wencheng kneeling on the ground with a complicated expression.

Behind Princess Wencheng, kneeling was the Tubo envoy Wei Damarenzeng, with a look of uneasiness on his face.

Although he brought 60,000 taels of gold with him when he came to Tang this time and persuaded the Queen Consort, he would have no choice if the Emperor insisted on not letting the Queen Consort return to Lhasa.

On both sides of the hall, Zhangsun Wuji, Tang Jian, Yu Zhining, Ma Zhou, Lai Ji and others stood solemnly.

At the end of the ministers stood Li Daozon, the Grand Commander of Yizhou who had just returned from Yizhou.

Li Daozon looked at Princess Wencheng, his eyes full of helplessness.

However, since the emperor didn't speak, he couldn't say anything.

……

The atmosphere in the hall was extremely depressing.

After a long while, Li Chengqian finally spoke, "Royal sister, have you thought it through? Do you really want to return to Tubo?"

Princess Wencheng raised her head slightly and said seriously, "Your Majesty, I am the Grand Consort of Tubo. Now that my husband has passed away, the country is in turmoil. I must return to take charge of the situation. This... is also my responsibility."

When Princess Wencheng heard the word "responsibility", her expression was extremely firm.

Li Chengqian closed his eyes gently.

He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and nodded slowly, "Okay, since you've said so, if I continue to obstruct you, it will be my fault."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Princess Wencheng and Wei Damarenzeng kowtowed at the same time.

Li Chengqian's gaze fell on Wei Damarenzeng, and he spoke calmly, "Envoy, although the princess is your Grand Consort, she is my sister. If she suffers any injustice in Lhasa, believe me, I have countless means to make you regret it."

"Yes!" Wei Damarenzeng bowed heavily. Based on his understanding of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, if the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty wanted to deal with them, he would definitely have countless ways to do it.

Li Chengqian looked back at Princess Wencheng and said softly, "My dear sister, now that you have returned to Tubo, I have a feeling it will be a long time before I see you again."

Princess Wencheng raised her head, tears welling in her eyes, and kowtowed again, saying, "Your Majesty, I thank you for your care."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian took a deep breath and raised his head slightly, not wanting to be seen by others. He spoke slowly, "You should come back this time. You know I am most worried, so... Prince of Jiangxia!"

"I'm here!" Li Daozon stood up from the side and bowed to receive the order.

"Select three hundred guards from the army to accompany the princess back to Lhasa, and then station her on Red Mountain." Li Chengqian's gaze fell on Wei Damarenzeng and he said, "Envoy, if I remember correctly, the deed to that mountain was given to the Tang Dynasty by Songtsen as a betrothal gift, correct?"

"Yes!" Wei Damarenzeng's face suddenly became solemn.

In those days, the Zamp sent Hongshan as a betrothal gift to the Tang Dynasty to marry the princess. At that time, the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet was harmonious, so it was a beautiful story.

But now, the relationship between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty is tense, Songtsen has passed away due to illness, and the current Tubo Zamp has been replaced. It is still a question whether the new Zamp will recognize this matter.

But the key point is that if the new Zamp does not acknowledge this matter, the Tang Dynasty will immediately turn against it.

The emperor is not a man who is easy to talk to.

If this matter is not resolved properly, he will send people to invade Tubo.

"I don't ask for much. Three hundred cavalrymen will accompany my sister to Luoshui and station them on Hongshan as her personal soldiers." Li Chengqian leaned forward and looked at Wei Dama Renzeng. "Envoy, the Queen Consort of Tubo, you don't have the right to have your own private soldiers, do you?"

Feeling the pressure of the emperor's heavy gaze, Wei Damarenzeng quickly said, "If you are the Queen Mother's private soldiers, you can station them on Red Mountain."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "These three hundred private soldiers will not interfere in Tubo's internal affairs. They are only responsible for protecting the safety of the imperial sister. Wencheng!"

"Your Majesty!" Princess Wencheng looked up gratefully.

"These three hundred private soldiers are the symbol of your safety in Tubo. You must understand that they may use the life and death of these three hundred private soldiers to force you to hand over these three hundred private soldiers, but you must also understand that these three hundred private soldiers are the ones they dare not move by force. Once these three hundred private soldiers suffer heavy losses, I will immediately send troops to kill them in Luoshui. So, don't make any concessions for the life and death of these three hundred private soldiers." Li Chengqian looked extremely serious.

Both Princess Wencheng and the three hundred private soldiers eventually arrived in Tubo and Lhasa.

The Tibetans had ten thousand ways to surround these three hundred private soldiers. They might not attack them directly, but they would use these three hundred lives to force Princess Wencheng to give up control of them.

The Tibetans would definitely do such disgusting things.

Li Chengqian was worried that Princess Wencheng would show weakness and hand over control of these 300 private soldiers.

By then, even if these 300 people could survive, their lives would definitely be worse than death.

It would be better to let them die in the battle to protect Princess Wencheng.

"I understand." Princess Wencheng nodded seriously.

Li Chengqian raised his eyes and looked at Li Daozon on the side.

Li Daozon bowed solemnly.

He understood what the emperor meant. If that time really came, the 300 men would no longer obey Princess Wencheng's orders. Even if they died charging forward as assassins, they would not become tools of blackmail and would not lay down their weapons and die in humiliation.

Li Chengqian raised his eyes, looked at Wei Dama Renzeng, and said, "Envoy, the monthly food expenses for these three hundred people can be deducted from the gold."

"Yes!" Wei Damarenzeng immediately looked up in surprise.

"Also, Tang envoys stationed in Tubo must pay their respects to my sister once every seven days. If they fail to do so, if news of this cannot reach Chang'an from Tubo, I will assume that Tubo is preparing to attack Tang again." As soon as Li Chengqian paused, Wei Damarengzeng kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, this will not happen."

"King Jiangxia, you know what to do." Li Chengqian turned and looked at Li Daozon.

Li Dao Zong bowed seriously and said, "I understand."

Li Chengqian finally looked at Princess Wencheng, sighed deeply, and said, "You will set off in seven days. I will not see you off. Let the Crown Prince and Prince Ji go on my behalf. This way, you don't have to be too sad, and neither do I."

"Your Majesty! Brother!" Princess Wencheng finally couldn't bear it anymore and knelt on the ground crying loudly.

After a long time, Li Chengqian wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes and said, "Okay, okay, now let Prince Jiangxia accompany you to the Taimiao. This matter needs to be told to father eventually." "Yes." Princess Wencheng kowtowed with sobs, then stood up with some difficulty, bowed deeply to Li Chengqian, and then she left Liangyi Hall with tears in her eyes.

……

When Princess Wencheng's figure completely disappeared, Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh softly: "My lords, what I really hope for is that Tubo can focus on educating its people in the future, rather than constantly thinking about foreign conquests. In this way, Tubo can become a true and eternal ally of the Tang Dynasty. But what a pity!"

"Your Majesty!" Zhangsun Wuji stood up and bowed to Li Chengqian on the Danbi. "Although the Tang Dynasty's focus is on Goguryeo, we cannot relax on matters concerning Tubo. We must find a way to weaken their power, otherwise they will undoubtedly pose a threat to the Tang Dynasty in the future."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "It's Su Bi and Yang Tong. I understand. However, their actions are likely to make Tubo sensitive. So, in my opinion, the Tang Dynasty's focus in the west should be on Eastern and Western Tuyuhun. Now is the time to prepare to completely undermine the royal power of Eastern and Western Tuyuhun and bring the military forces of the two countries under Tang control."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed solemnly.

Subi and Yang were both vassal states of Tubo, so the Tang Dynasty could not do much. However, both Eastern and Western Tuyuhun were vassal states of the Tang Dynasty, and they were located on the entire Southern Silk Road. When the Tang Dynasty started to take action against them, no one could do anything.

"Uncle, the Secretariat, the Ministry of War, and the Honglu Temple, please work out a strategy on how to seize the military power of Eastern and Western Tuyuhun at the lowest cost." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly. He believed that this was not a difficult task.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji, Tang Jian, Cui Dunli and others all bowed.

"With the Eastern and Western Tuyuhun blocked, the external passages of Subi and Yangtong are also blocked." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Finally, we should be careful of the Western Turks and Tubo joining forces. However, it is unlikely to happen right now. After all, Mangsong Mangzan is too young. What we need to be careful of now is Tubo instigating the Western Turks to attack the Tang Dynasty. Tell Anxi Guo Xiaoke to be careful!"

"Yes!" All the ministers in the hall bowed.

Li Chengqian looked at Zhangsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, next month I will be making an eastern tour to Luoyang. Tang Qing and Liu Qing will go with me. You will stay in Luoyang and assist the Crown Prince in supervising the country."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji, Tang Jian, Liu Dewei and others all bowed.

"Alright, let's stop here for today." Li Chengqian stood up and walked down the steps. The ministers bowed and said, "Farewell, Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian walked out of Liangyi Hall calmly.

……

In Ganlu Palace, Li Chengqian flipped through the memorial in his hand.

This eastern tour to Luoyang will not take too long, so there is no need for all the officials in the court to go with him.

There will be more people from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works.

Tang Jian and Liu Dewei are both veteran officials. Together with Luozhou Governor Li Wenliang and Luozhou Chief Clerk Xiao Jun, the safety of Luoyang will not be a big problem.

As for Chang'an, Li Chengqian was most relieved that Changsun Wuji stayed in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian turned sideways and looked to the side.

Xu An bowed knowingly, "Your Majesty!"

"Let's arrange Xu's affairs and resolve them in Luoyang." Li Chengqian looked serious.

"Yes!" Xu An bowed and asked, "Your Majesty, which concubine will accompany you on this eastern tour?"

"No one needs it. It's better for Luoyang to be quiet." Li Chengqian waved his hand slightly.

"Then which concubine will sleep with you tonight?" Xu An bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian sighed and thought for a moment before saying, "Let's arrange for Concubine Du to sleep with us tonight. The Du family's caravans are very important for communication between Eastern and Western Tuyuhun, as well as the Western Regions. We should appease them."

"Yes!" Xu An bowed and then carefully left the hall.

Li Chengqian lowered his head and continued to deal with official documents.

Before I knew it, it was dark.

"Your Majesty!" A clear voice came forward in the hall.

Li Chengqian subconsciously looked up. Under the bright lights, a tall beauty in a red and green skirt was standing in the hall.

Du Ni was a daughter of the famous Du family in Jingzhao.

She has a bright appearance, bright eyes and white teeth. She looks radiant when she walks, and has an elegant air.

From Li Chengqian's perspective, he looked heroic, spoke gently, and his movements were graceful and elegant.

This is the noble lady brought up by the top family in Chang'an.

Li Chengqian looked at Du Ni who raised her head. She was not shy or afraid at all. Instead, she looked at him with curiosity and a little provocation.

Li Chengqian felt funny but also had a slight headache.

It's obvious that Du Ni is not an easy person to deal with.

I'm afraid it will be difficult for the palace to calm down in the future.

"Stand up." Li Chengqian stood up, walked down from the Danbi, walked to the opposite side of Du Ni, and looked at her with scrutiny.

Du Ni stood up, but lowered his head: "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian felt amused for a moment: He still knows how to show weakness.

"Come!" Li Chengqian reached out and grabbed Du Ni's wrist, then pulled her to the bed in the inner hall.

Du Ni was a little stunned. The emperor didn't let her sit down.

Just as Du Ni was stunned, Li Chengqian reached out and hugged her in his arms, then looked up and waved.

The maid immediately brought the wedding wine to Li Chengqian and Du Ni.

Li Chengqian picked up the wedding wine and handed it to Du Ni. Then Du Ni sat in his arms and drank the wedding wine with him.

For a moment, Du Ni's face was flushed with shame.

Li Chengqian put down his wine glass, then let go of Du Ni and let her stand in front of him.

Then he reached out and took off her wedding dress piece by piece.

The candlelight flickered gently behind her.

(End of this chapter)