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

Chapter 590: The Crown Princess Selection, the World's Aristocratic Families Are Tempted (Part )

The third year of Yongwei, New Year’s Day.

Tai Chi Hall.

Zhengdan Dynasty.

Li Chengqian, dressed in a scarlet and yellow dragon robe, sat on the imperial couch with an indifferent expression, the twelve white jade tassels on his head swaying gently.

Su Shu, also wearing a phoenix robe and phoenix crown, sat beside Li Chengqian.

Crown Prince Li Xiang, Prince of Yong Li Jue, and Prince of Dai Li Yu, all three of them were wearing light yellow dragon robes and were standing on the steps of the imperial palace.

The ministers and chancellors on the left, and the kings and generals on the right.

Standing in front of the hall full of civil and military officials, retired elders, and envoys from both inside and outside the palace.

Protect the imperial power.

"...Li Xizhi, the Minister of Rites and Duke of Shi'an, has worked hard for many years and is now allowed to return in glory. He is specially appointed as the Prince's Guardian. This is my decree!" Shizhong Yu Zhining stood to the upper left of the ministers and read the imperial edict aloud.

Li Xizhi breathed a sigh of relief and walked out calmly under the gaze of all the ministers in the hall.

Standing in the center of the hall, Li Xizhi knelt down solemnly and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, I, Li Xizhi, bow my head in thanks. May your Majesty live forever, and may the Tang Dynasty endure forever."

"The Great Tang Dynasty will never last." Li Chengqian looked at Li Xizhi and nodded with emotion. "I'm sorry to have troubled you, Lord Shi'an, over the past few years. You wanted to retire years ago, but I kept you here until today. Although you're retired now, if there's anything important that requires your advice, I might come to consult you personally."

"Then I will prepare fine wine at home and await Your Majesty's arrival." Li Xizhi kowtowed solemnly again.

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

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Li Xizhi bowed again, then stood up and returned to the train.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but sigh. It was just the beginning of the year and an important official had retired.

Especially Li Xizhi, Li Xiyu, Li Anqi and their family, they were all important officials that Li Chengqian relied on.

After calming down, Li Chengqian turned sideways and looked at Yu Zhining.

Yu Zhining bowed slightly, opened the imperial edict again, and said loudly: "In the third year of Yongwei... Du Xingsheng, the Minister of Rites, can be the Minister of Rites."

Du Xingsheng bowed earnestly, then kowtowed solemnly: "I accept your command and thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

The ministers looked at Du Xingsheng with serious eyes.

Du He, Du Gou, Du Zhenglun, Du Fengju, and now Du Xingsheng has been promoted to Minister of Rites.

In addition, Concubine Du was also quite favored in the palace.

The Jingzhao Du family now shows signs of rising again.

"Dou Dexuan, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, has been promoted to the Minister of Rites." Yu Zhining continued to announce.

Dou Dexuan stood up and kowtowed heavily to the ground: "I accept your command and thank you for your grace, Your Majesty."

The ministers muttered in their hearts.

Fufeng Dou family.

"Shanzhou Governor Fang Renyu was transferred to Shazhou as Governor."

Fang Renyu was a little surprised. He still had two years before he took office, so why was he being transferred now?
But it’s okay. Although Shazhou is on the border, it was promoted after all. Moreover, Shazhou is an important border town and needs to support the four towns of Anxi at any time.

If there is a war, Fang Renyu might have the opportunity to go to Anxi to fight.

More to his liking.

Fang Renyu stood up and kowtowed, saying, "I accept your command and thank you for your great grace, Your Majesty."

Looking at Fang Renyu's efficient appearance, Li Chengqian nodded slightly with satisfaction.

He once considered appointing Fang Renyu, but after thinking for a long time, he finally decided to send him to the Western Regions rather than let him be tested near Chang'an.

Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly, and Yu Zhining continued to read the imperial edict: "Tongzhou Governor Chu Suiliang is transferred to the position of Shanzhou Governor."

After Yu Zhining finished speaking, Yang Sina suddenly looked up in surprise.

A series of previous appointments flashed through his mind in an instant, and he realized that the emperor's purpose was to transfer Chu Suiliang to Shanzhou.

Yang Sina suddenly felt a sense of unease in his heart.

Chu Suiliang was transferred to be the governor of Shanzhou, which made the situation difficult.

"Li Xiyu, the governor of Shazhou, is transferred to be the governor of Huazhou." Yu Zhining didn't even wait for Yang Sina to think and kept reading the imperial edict.

The corner of Yang Sina's mouth twitched slightly. Li Xiyu was also one of the emperor's loyal followers.

Huazhou is right next to Yongzhou, and Tongguan and Hanguan Valley are themselves part of Huazhou.

It can be said that Li Xiyu, stationed in Huazhou, not only blocked the road from outside Hangu Pass to Guanzhong, but also, once something happened in Shanzhou, Huazhou could immediately mobilize the Tang army to quell the rebellion, without the emperor even having to do anything.

The emperor was strangling Hongnong Yang's throat bit by bit.

Yang Sina didn't know whether his brother was right or wrong in impeaching Zhangsun Wuji for treason in Luoyang, but the emperor's tricks were endless, and he was afraid that there would be trouble at home.

"Yang Sixun, the governor of Bazhou, has been transferred to be the governor of Hongzhou." After Yu Zhining's voice fell, Yang Sina suddenly looked up.

Before he could think any more, he stood up and kowtowed, saying, "I, Yang Sina, the Minister of Justice, accept your order on behalf of my brother and thank you for your great grace."

"Hmm!" The emperor's faint voice came from the Danbi. Yang Sina kowtowed to the ground, his face becoming completely solemn.

His second brother Yang Sixun was originally the governor of Bazhou. Bashu was integrated into the land of abundance, and Jingzhou could be controlled to the east. Although he was transferred to be the governor of Hongzhou and promoted, his previous layout would be in vain, and Hongzhou was a blank place. It would take several years just to clean it up.

What exactly does the emperor want to do?

Yu Zhining's voice continued to be heard from above, but Yang Sina no longer had much intention to listen.

Right now, I have to contact my family about this matter.

However, Yang Sina didn't notice at all that many of the court officials in key positions on both sides looked at him with a hint of peculiarity in their eyes. Many things that had been nothing more than speculation last year were now becoming clearer step by step.

Especially Xiangli Xuanjiang, he lowered his head with a cold look in his eyes.

Although he was only the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple, he could still take action at critical moments.

If you don't take action, it's fine. But if you do, it will cost someone's life.

Adjustments within the DPRK are still ongoing.

In the past two years, Xiao Yu, Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian and others died of illness one after another, causing their descendants to observe mourning periods, leaving many positions in the court and in local areas vacant.

Although there have been adjustments before, when one thing is adjusted, another one becomes vacant.

Although the vacancies can be filled by the people below, they are still a minority.

At the same time, preparations must be made for next year's eastern expedition to Goguryeo.

Among them, Cui Renshi was transferred to be the governor of Dingzhou, which was very surprising.

Boling is in Dingzhou. Now transferring Cui Renshi to be the governor of Dingzhou seems to go against the rules of the court.

However, none of the prime ministers in the court, including Changsun Wuji, said a word.

Now everything should be focused on preparations for the eastern expedition to Goguryeo, and other matters should be put aside.

All states offer auspicious signs, and all tribes offer gifts.

Before we knew it, the New Year's Day ceremony on the first day of the first lunar month of the third year of Yongwei had come to an end.

……

In the Liangyi Hall, the emperor hosted a banquet for his ministers.

Yang Sina sat a little further back. All the kings, ministers, chancellors, ministers, generals and generals were in the hall, so Yang Sina could not sit in the front at all.

At this time, he didn't care about these.

Although the emperor and the kings are one, there are also many contradictions.

As for the other ministers, chancellors, and generals, Yang Sina didn't care much about them.

As a prominent family in the country, the Hongnong Yang family was initially subject to a lot of suspicion at the end of the Sui Dynasty. However, with the appointment of Yang Gongren and Yang Sidao as prime ministers, they quickly recovered.

But now the emperor is gradually targeting the Hongnong Yang family. Apart from anything else, the emperor's transfer today alone makes him feel uneasy.

Although Hongnong is located on the main road between Luoyang and Chang'an, there are also problems here.

Once Hangu Pass and the Qiao-Han Ancient Road were completely blocked, the entire Hongnong would be completely strangled.

As for going north.

The Chief Secretary of Bingzhou Dadu Prefecture and the Magistrate of Jinyang County in Taiyuan were both close confidants of the emperor.

Yang Sina couldn't help but sigh softly. At this moment, a voice suddenly came from above: "The prince is not young anymore. His marriage..."

Yang Sina suddenly looked up and looked at the emperor and empress sitting on the imperial bed.

Yang Sina suddenly realized that the prince had started toasting in the hall since some time ago.

Following the crown prince were the crown prince's household steward Su Jun, the crown prince's chancellor Lai Heng, the crown prince's junior chancellor Yuwen Zhongfang, the crown prince's chief guard Dugu Dabao, the crown prince's servant Changsun Huan, the crown prince's secretary Li Yanshou, the crown prince's secretaries Zhao Chiman and Feng Yandao, and others.

Before he knew it, the prince had a large group of people around him.

Especially the Prince's Secretary Lai Heng, he even still has the qualifications to be the prime minister.

Yang Sina vaguely knew some of his brother's plans, but now the prince has gradually grown stronger. Now he just needs a qualified marriage, then he can stabilize the situation even if the emperor is not in Chang'an.

Can their plan really proceed stably?

……

Li Chengqian glanced at Yang Sina lightly, then looked at Su Shu and said seriously, "The prince's marriage must be decided before July of next year. Whether it's a wedding or an engagement, the queen must choose a candidate."

"Yes!" Su Shu nodded, then she said with some embarrassment, "There are many women of suitable age in the court, but choosing who to be the Crown Princess is really difficult."

"That's the Queen's business." Li Chengqian couldn't help laughing.

Almost all the ministers who were closer to the front of the hall heard the emperor's voice.

Many people's eyes couldn't help but flicker.

If it were the previous emperor's dynasty, the court officials would still be cautious about the selection of the Crown Princess.

But it is different now. The emperor ascended the throne as the crown prince, and in recent years, the emperor has gradually had the idea of ​​making use of his eldest son.

In other words, as long as the prince does not make any mistakes in the future, he will be able to sit firmly on the throne until the day he ascends the throne.

And on that day, the Crown Princess will become the Queen.

If his daughter can become the Crown Princess now, then in the future, she will have a great chance of becoming the Queen.

Over the years of the Tang Dynasty, whether it was Emperor Gaozu and Empress Taimu, the previous emperor and Empress Wende, the current emperor and the empress, or even the deposed Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and his Crown Princess Zheng, they all had deep feelings for each other.

Therefore, as long as their daughter can become the Crown Princess, the possibility of her becoming the Queen is really great.

All the important officials in the court and all the major families in the world.

At this time, I couldn't help but be moved.

……

Li Chengqian held up the wine glass and looked down at the clear wine.

His eyes were inside, eerily calm.

(End of this chapter)