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

Chapter 689 Wu Meiniang, Hatred Rekindles (Third Update)

The spring rain is gentle and continuous, nourishing all things silently.

Li Chengqian sat on the steps in front of Zhenguan Hall, looking at the entire city of Luoyang before him.

In the light rain, Luoyang was unusually quiet.

For a moment, the sound of drizzle hitting the stone slabs could be clearly heard.

"Your Majesty!" Xu Hui walked up from the side and placed a cup of tea on the table in front of Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian glanced at Xu Hui, then opened his left hand outwards.

Xu Hui obediently sat in Li Chengqian's lap.

Li Chengqian gently sniffed the fragrance on her neck.

It carries a hint of peach blossom fragrance.

Xu Hui couldn't help but blush slightly at the nape of her neck.

Li Chengqian smiled, turned to the side, picked up the memorial beside him and handed it to Xu Hui, saying, "This is a memorial that Pei Shuang, the chief secretary of the Jingzhou Grand General's Office, just sent to Chang'an. He has already begun to work with Chu Suiliang, the Grand General of Jingzhou, to carry out a land survey in Jingzhou."

"Grand Commander of Jingzhou." Xu Hui pondered as she took the memorial, then turned to Li Chengqian and asked, "Your Majesty, is Prime Minister Chu preparing to retire?"

"Hahahaha..." Li Chengqian couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Chu Suiliang's actions in Jingzhou were nothing more than telling Li Chengqian that he could continue the investigation of hidden lands for him in the future. However, he had no idea that his thoughts had already been told to Li Chengqian by Changsun Wuji.

He was still thinking about returning to the capital to become prime minister, but he never considered that at the age of sixty, being appointed as a regional governor was his last act of respectability before retiring.

These are things that Xu Hui, a woman in the harem, could see clearly, but Chu Suiliang could not see them at all.

Being blinded by a single leaf has led to this situation.

"Alright." Li Chengqian suppressed his laughter slightly, looked down at Xu Hui, and asked, "What do you think of Chu Suiliang?"

Xu Hui's expression turned serious. After a slight hesitation, she said, "As for Prime Minister Chu, I have always felt that Your Majesty would be more suitable to appoint him as a Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, a Gentleman Attendant at the Secretariat, or the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. However, if you appoint him as a Chamberlain or the Chancellor, something bad will happen."

“He is very ambitious.” Li Chengqian nodded and said, “When he is in a low position, he can obey his ambition and do anything, but once he has achieved his ambition, he will start to seek personal gain, and he will make many mistakes because of his arrogance.”

This was actually the reason why Chu Suiliang was demoted from Chang'an for suppressing the purchase of land by his subordinates.

Chu Suiliang would not make this mistake only once.

Such a person is not unique to Chu Suiliang in the entire court.

"Does His Majesty attach great importance to the investigation of hidden farms in Jingzhou? Why is it being launched in Jingzhou at this time? If His Majesty has a plan, this may risk alerting the enemy." Xu Hui looked at Li Chengqian with some concern.

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and said, "This year, the most important thing in the world is the war in the Eastern Islands. I think that within two years, one country in the Eastern Islands will be destroyed. In three years, all three countries in the Eastern Islands will be destroyed and then completely incorporated into the Tang Dynasty. After that, we need to prepare for the war between the Western Turks and Tibet."

“This requires a lot of food and fodder.” Xu Hui immediately understood.

“Therefore, the world needs more people and land to pay taxes.” Li Chengqian’s expression turned serious as he said, “My original plan was to have Du Zhenglun, after he returned to Chang’an, to use his position as Grand Secretary to investigate all the hidden land in the world, at least to support the war effort in the Eastern Islands, the Western Turks, and Tibet.”

Xu Hui nodded gently. She knew that when the emperor said to "get through this," he meant not only to ensure that there was enough food for the army, but also to ensure that the price of grain in the country remained stable throughout the war so as not to affect the livelihoods of the people.

"That's why we need to thoroughly investigate hidden lands to get through these next few years. At the same time, we also need a lot of land to reward meritorious soldiers in the future." Over the years, Li Chengqian has gradually established his own land system, which is to stabilize the local militia with military merits and force the powerful families in the world to make concessions with the militia.

In this way, even if the powerful families of the world want to retaliate in the future, the first thing they will face will not be Li Chengqian, but the imperial guards of the world.

Regaining his composure, Li Chengqian continued, "Even if Minister Du were to act as Chancellor, he would only start with Henan Province. After all, Henan Province had already been investigated once before, so the backlash would be smaller. However, Minister Chu is willing to pave the way in Jingzhou first, which I would be very happy to do. It would be better for me and for the world to start at the same time in Jingzhou and Henan."

"Yes!" Xu Hui understood Li Chengqian's thoughts.

For the sake of the grand plan, there are some obstacles in the way.

Once it comes out, destroy it.

"So, what if Jingzhou succeeds five years from now?" Xu Hui raised her head and looked at Li Chengqian.

"Who knows what will happen in five years?" Li Chengqian sighed softly and said, "In five years, the greatest enemy in the world will be Tibet, and Tibet will be known for its many tricks... Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I'm going back to Chang'an at the end of the month. How's the packing going?"

"It's almost done." Xu Hui bowed slightly and then asked, "Your Majesty, may I come to Luoyang again in the future?"

"The way you're saying that makes it sound like I've never come to Luoyang without you," Li Chengqian couldn't help but laugh.

"Thank you, Your Majesty..." Xu Hui was halfway through her sentence when she suddenly turned to the side, covered her mouth, and began to gag.

Li Chengqian was stunned by what he saw, but then he quickly recovered and gently patted Xu Hui's back, asking in a low voice, "How many months pregnant?"

No wonder Xu Hui asked that question before.

Xu Hui wiped her mouth with a silk handkerchief, then turned to look cautiously at Li Chengqian and asked, "Your Majesty, could you please not..."

"Shut up!" Li Chengqian's expression turned cold. He looked deeply at Xu Hui, who was bowing her head and remaining silent, then sighed softly, hugged Xu Hui, and said, "This year, you will stay in Luoyang. I will arrange the rest... Also, let your sister serve you tonight."

Xu Hui immediately understood the emperor's thoughts. While feeling relieved, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, but she still nodded and said, "Yes!"

Li Chengqian turned to the side, looking at the drizzle before him, and his mind suddenly calmed down. ...

At the end of February, the emperor returned to Chang'an.

Standing atop the massive imperial ship, Li Chengqian felt the approaching eastward wind, turned to look at the city of Luoyang on either side, and murmured, "No wonder the grain transport always travels from Luoyang to Chang'an in March. If only I could also travel down to Luoyang in winter with the northwest wind and return to Chang'an in spring with the east wind."

“Your Majesty is wise.” Li Ji stood to the side and said in a low voice, “The reason we are setting off now is because the canal transport has not yet officially started. Even so, it has delayed the canal transport for a while. In normal times, Your Majesty should have come to Luoyang from Chang’an at the end of March. By then, the canal transport would have ended. So that would be better for the country.”

Changsun Wuji was not present; he was currently in charge of the imperial examinations in Chang'an.

"That's one reason." After a slight pause, Li Ji continued, "Secondly, grain prices in Chang'an are lowest after the autumn harvest and highest before it. His Majesty's eastern tour was precisely to facilitate Guanzhong. Before the harvest, His Majesty being in Luoyang would alleviate the burden on Chang'an. But if His Majesty is in Chang'an before the harvest, I'm afraid..."

Li Chengqian waved his hand, indicating that he understood the reasoning behind it.

“This year, the most important thing is still the agricultural affairs of the whole country.” Li Chengqian’s expression became serious as he said, “We should pay special attention to the weather this year. Although Luoyang has received a lot of rain in the spring, it is not necessarily enough for the whole country. We should pay attention to digging wells to supply the country with water.”

"Yes!" Li Ji nodded earnestly.

"And then there's the war on Dongdao Island." Li Chengqian glanced behind him and asked, "What's Gao Baozang up to lately?"

“He’s waiting patiently. His Majesty has already issued an edict summoning Kim Chun-chu to Chang’an. Once the two of them confront each other, His Majesty will be able to suppress Silla.” Li Ji paused slightly, then shrugged and said, “At least that’s what Gao Baozang thinks.”

"That's good." Li Chengqian breathed a slight sigh of relief and asked, "Where is Jin Chunqiu?"

"Liaodong!" Li Ji cupped his hands and said, "Jin Chunqiu's speed is not fast."

“He made arrangements.” Li Chengqian nodded, then sneered and said, “We also made arrangements.”

"Yes!" Li Ji nodded and said seriously, "Su Dingfang replied that everything is under control."

"Hmm! What about the other foreign envoys?"

"It's almost done. Although the Western Turks are a bit anxious, everyone came to Chang'an with them, and then came to Luoyang together. They were delayed for a year and a half, and they didn't notice anything." Li Ji smiled slightly.

“We must keep a close eye on the Western Turks.” Li Chengqian’s expression relaxed as he said, “Wang Fangyi does have some tricks up his sleeve. The military system of the two protectorates of the Western Turks has been successfully established. As long as these Western Turkic nobles return to the Western Turks in the autumn, the whole situation will be completely settled.”

"Yes!" Li Ji nodded and said, "I will make the arrangements."

“The most important thing is still Tibet.” Li Chengqian gritted his teeth slightly and said, “Although the Western Turks and Goguryeo have dealt with the Tang Dynasty for many years, Tibet has the deepest understanding of the Tang Dynasty. In particular, Tibet has the advantage of the high plateau. It will not be an easy thing for us to invade Tibet.”

"I will have the Ministry of Works, the Directorate of Works, and the Bureau of Crafts devise a solution," Li Ji said earnestly, bowing respectfully.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian turned to the side and looked at the wide Luo River in front of him, becoming somewhat mesmerized.

……

Wu Meiniang returned to her cabin from the deck.

A maidservant brought tea to Wu Meiniang, who was already seated on the long couch.

She had just returned from paying her respects to the Empress.

However, she met almost all the concubines, but not Xu Hui.

This is normal, though. Although Xu Hui is in the palace, she has no official status there. She is only in the palace because of her status as the sister of Consort Xu.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, they were not qualified to meet the Empress.

But Wu Meiniang felt something was wrong, though she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

Her gaze drifted out of the cabin; the large ship was rapidly heading towards Chang'an.

The scenery outside flashed by.

Before they knew it, the boat had entered the Yellow River from the Luo River.

With the east wind blowing, against the Yellow River, it flows into the Luo River.

Following the long and winding Luo River, we finally returned to Chang'an.

……

No sooner had she settled into her palace than news reached Wu Meiniang's ears.

Consort Xu is pregnant.

The emperor has been sent to Daming Palace to recuperate.

Wu Meiniang was taken aback, and then her face paled slightly.

It's not Consort Xu.

It's Xu Hui.

Wu Meiniang's face turned completely cold.

(End of this chapter)