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

Chapter 683 Duke, It's Time to Change Path (Third Update)

Luoyang, Ziwei Palace.

Qianyuan Hall.

Li Chengqian sat on the imperial couch, looking at Prince Qi, Li You, who was kneeling on the ground, and said softly, "Fifth Prince, you are much more mature than before."

Upon hearing this, Li You couldn't hold back his tears and choked out, "Brother!"

"It's good that you're out." Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "This time, I used the pretext of the Fengshan ceremony to persuade the court officials to release you with great difficulty."

However, you can forget about the title of Prince; the court will not allow it. After careful consideration, I hereby bestow upon you the title of Prince of Jian'an and appoint you as the Prefect of Jianzhou. Serve well for a few years, and I will promote you to Governor of Jianzhou. Govern the region well.”

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li You stood up and bowed with trembling hands.

"Today, you will stay in Luoyang. I have already had the Prince of Jian'an's residence prepared for you. Take the Princess and the Dowager Princess with you and move in together." After a slight pause, Li Chengqian said, "Next year, you will return to Chang'an to pay homage to your father at Zhaoling."

"Yes!" Li You immediately burst into tears.

When the late emperor passed away, he was imprisoned in Luoyang and could only pay his respects from afar. He never expected that he would have the opportunity to personally pay his respects at Zhaoling Mausoleum in this lifetime.

"After that, take the Princess and the Dowager Princess with you to Jianzhou." Li Chengqian turned to the side with some sadness and said, "Alright, leave the palace and have a good time in Luoyang. It won't be easy for you to come back in the future."

"Yes!" Li You kowtowed, and once again burst into tears.

……

The news that Prince Qi, Li You, had been released from the palace immediately spread like wildfire throughout Luoyang.

More than a decade ago, the story of Prince Li You of Qi's rebellion was brought up again.

There are bound to be some strange things going on.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with the emperor. In fact, the reason why Prince Qi, Li You, was able to save his life was because the emperor pleaded with the late emperor, which ultimately resulted in him being imprisoned in Mangshan.

Now, the emperor himself has lifted the Prince of Qi from confinement.

Their brotherly love and filial piety are exemplary, almost a model for the whole world.

More than a decade has passed, and the Yin family behind Li You has almost completely disappeared. Fortunately, the Wei family behind Princess Qi is still around.

Although Li You is no longer the Prince of Qi, as the Prince of Jian'an, he can still place many people under his command.

Such an official position would not be easily underestimated even by the Wei family of Jingzhao.

In recent years, in particular, the emperor has tightened his control over the powerful families of the land.

So soon, the Wei family came knocking on their door.

Especially Wei Daijia, the Right Guard General who served the emperor.

He was the elder brother of the Princess Consort of Qi.

Just as the people of Luoyang were discussing whether the emperor would also release the Prince of Wei, a fast horse hurriedly entered the palace through the East Gate.

……

In the Qianyuan Hall, Li Chengqian stared in disbelief at the memorial before him, then looked at Changsun Wuji, Li Ji, and the assembled officials, and said with a slight tremor, "The city has been massacred. The King of Silla has completely slaughtered a city of Goguryeo."

Li Ji stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, although it is a small city with only three thousand people, it was indeed a massacre."

Li Chengqian suddenly put down the memorial and sighed softly, saying, "What a pity. In this way, the hatred between Goguryeo and Silla will be difficult to resolve."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, Gao Baozang is outside Chengtian Gate, kowtowing and requesting an audience."

"I will not see him." Li Chengqian calmly waved his hand and said, "What he wants to say is nothing more than for the Tang Dynasty to uphold justice for Goguryeo. Tell him that I will uphold justice for him. Issue an edict ordering King Kim Chunchu of Silla to come to Chang'an to explain this matter, and at the same time, order Su Xu to send someone to mediate the war between the two countries..."

Hearing the emperor's thoughtful expression, the courtiers couldn't help but look up: "Your Majesty!"

Li Chengqian snapped out of his reverie, looked at his ministers, and said solemnly, "My lords, the goal of the Great Tang Dynasty from the very beginning was to destroy all three kingdoms."

Now that things have come to this point, there is no longer any room for compromise between Goguryeo and Silla. The war will inevitably continue, ending with the demise of one kingdom as the first phase. But what exactly should be done, Ministry of War?

"Your Majesty!" Minister of War Cui Dunli stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, the focus of the war between the three kingdoms of the Eastern Islands ultimately falls on Goguryeo."

Because Goguryeo was originally twice the size of Silla and Baekje combined, not even including Liaodong.

"So, the Ministry of War's view is that Silla should destroy the Goguryeo dynasty, but does Silla have the strength to do so?" Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and said, "I believe that Silla has enough power to disrupt southern Goguryeo, but as for the idea that they can go north and destroy Goguryeo, let alone whether they dare to do so, that's a question."

Now, the Tang Dynasty has stationed troops north of the Datong River. With the Tang Dynasty there, Silla can be said to dare to gradually invade Goguryeo's territory, but they probably wouldn't dare to destroy the country.

“Normally, they wouldn’t dare,” Cui Dunli said calmly, bowing his head. “But if the Tang Dynasty supports Goguryeo and can use any means to retaliate against Silla’s massacre, Silla will inevitably invade deep into Goguryeo.”

If at this point they discover that Goguryeo's defenses are as thin as paper, they will uncontrollably invade Pyeongran..."

The Tang Dynasty supported Goguryeo and used all means to retaliate against Silla's massacre of the city.

Choi Don-rye's words were somewhat convoluted and cryptic, but everyone present understood that they boiled down to just two words: massacre. Goguryeo retaliated against Silla's massacre with a massacre of its city.

If Goguryeo were to massacre the city, then the Tang Dynasty could inform Silla that it would remain neutral in the matter.

Given the hatred the Silla people harbored towards the Goguryeo people, once they received permission from the Tang Dynasty, they would immediately disregard everything and invade Goguryeo, then relentlessly charge and kill.

At this point, once they discover that Goguryeo's city defenses are as thin as paper, they will immediately be unable to resist charging forward relentlessly.

Until finally breaking into Pingrang.

“We need to make the Goguryeo people lose faith in Gao Baozang. We need someone to guide them and tell the Goguryeo people that only the Tang Dynasty's military intervention can truly reassure them and allow them to take revenge on Silla.” Choi Don-rye looked up and said, “Your Majesty, it’s time for Yeon Gaesomun’s son and former subordinates to play their part.”

“The people of Goguryeo voluntarily submitted to the Tang Dynasty, and then the Tang Dynasty led the Goguryeo army to invade Silla, destroy the country, and then drag Baekje into the mess, finally destroying Baekje. All three kingdoms then submitted to the Tang Dynasty.” Li Chengqian couldn’t help but sigh and looked at Cui Dunli, saying, “The Ministry of War’s plan is feasible on paper, but in practice, there are many difficulties, especially in terms of public sentiment, as well as various details such as timing and location.”

"Yes!" Cui Dunli cupped his hands and said, "This is all the Ministry of War can do. The rest is something the commander-in-chief of the army is not familiar with in more detail. After all, Luoyang is too far from Tuzhou, and there is not much communication between them."

“Su Dingfang.” Li Chengqian nodded slightly, then shook his head and said, “There’s no need to send Su Dingfang back to court. Just have him send the memorial back via express courier.”

“Yes!” Cui Dunli bowed respectfully and then returned to the train.

Li Chengqian turned to Changsun Wuji and said, "Uncle, go and tell Gao Baozang that I am furious about the massacre of Goguryeo. The Tang Dynasty is willing to help Goguryeo take revenge. Have him order all Goguryeo soldiers to obey the orders of the Tang Dynasty."

Without the intervention of the Tang Dynasty, how could Silla have so easily invaded Pyeongnam?

The details here are very important.

"I obey your command." Changsun Wuji bowed seriously.

Li Chengqian gently tapped the imperial desk and sighed softly, saying, "The war on the Eastern Island has broken out again, and my first Fengshan ceremony has been completely ruined."

"Your Majesty!" The ministers bowed in unison.

Li Chengqian turned to look at Sun Fujia and asked, "Minister Sun, an autumn has passed. How is the investigation of local affairs progressing?"

“Your Majesty!” Sun Fujia stepped forward with a solemn expression, cupped his hands and said, “Your Majesty, the Secretariat, the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, the Ministry of Revenue’s Bureau of Personnel, together with the local officials, clerks, and legal advisors, have jointly investigated. It has now been found that nine prefects and thirty-three county magistrates have neglected their duties, resulting in the deaths of more than a thousand people and the suffering of tens of thousands of civilians in thirty-three counties. I beg Your Majesty to punish them severely.”

Sun Fujia's words immediately silenced the assembled officials in the hall.

Changsun Wuji couldn't help but want to stand up and say something, but suddenly he remembered what Li Ji had said to him in Luoyang. After some hesitation, Changsun Wuji still didn't speak.

“I will not punish him severely.” Li Chengqian calmly shook his head and said, “Minister Sun, lead the Censorate, the Ministry of Justice, and the Court of Judicial Review. Handle this matter according to the Tang law… Remember, no one is allowed to plead for leniency in this matter.”

"Yes!" The ministers bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we will obey your instructions."

"Let Minister Sun use this matter to draft a memorial rejecting my proposal to perform the Fengshan ceremony," Li Chengqian said, waving his hand slightly.

"Your subject obeys the decree." Sun Fujia bowed forcefully.

During the reign of the late emperor, Wei Zheng wrote "Ten Thoughts for the Emperor".

Now it's his grandson Fuqia's turn.

“Uncle!” Li Chengqian looked at Changsun Wuji, who was somewhat stunned, and said, “Uncle, the Fengshan ceremony has been stopped. What should we do next? You should bring it up in a few days.”

"I understand." Changsun Wuji bowed seriously.

……

The Ministry of Personnel, the official residence of the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

Chu Suiliang looked at Changsun Wuji and earnestly cupped his hands, saying, "Duke, of all things under heaven, besides the heavens and earth, the only things that Bai Liao cares about are probably the gods."

"Gods?" A hint of doubt flashed across Changsun Wuji's brow.

“That’s right.” Chu Suiliang nodded and said, “Among them, it is either Haotian or Buddhism and Taoism. Feng Haotian is actually similar to Fengchan, so it should be Buddhism and Taoism more likely.”

"Forget about Buddhism, but Taoism is worth considering." Changsun Wuji nodded slowly.

"The royal family are descendants of the Moral True Lord, so may Your Majesty posthumously confer the title of Moral True Lord?" Chu Suiliang looked cautiously at Changsun Wuji.

"You have an idea?" Changsun Wuji immediately understood Chu Suiliang's words.

"For example, the Supreme Emperor of the Mysterious Origin, how about that?" Chu Suiliang smiled slightly and cupped his hands.

"Excellent!" Changsun Wuji breathed a sigh of relief. He leaned back slightly and looked at Chu Suiliang, saying, "You should submit a memorial on this matter. As the Minister of Rites, it's best for you to submit a memorial. Moreover, you've been handling the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Song all along. Once the matter of bestowing the title of Supreme Emperor Xuanyuan is settled, it will be just the right time for you to take another step forward."

"Go a step further?" Chu Suiliang looked up in surprise.

"Tang Jian will retire at the end of the year." Changsun Wuji sighed slightly and said, "A position of Grand Secretary has become vacant, and many people will be promoted to the next position. You were already the Prime Minister, so this is the perfect time to take another step forward."

Chu Suiliang looked at Changsun Wuji and shook his head with a bitter expression, saying, "Duke, do I really still have a chance to advance further?"

Sometimes, taking a step back opens up a vast expanse, while taking a step forward leads to a precipice.

(End of this chapter)