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

Chapter 697 The Emperor Never Had Himself (Second Update)
As the year drew to a close, Chang'an was filled with a joyous and celebratory atmosphere.

In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian handed the news of victory to Changsun Wuji, who was standing to the side. Holding the Silla King's Seal, he smiled easily and said, "Su Dingfang has finally given me the best New Year's gift before the end of the year. It's a pity that I can't reward him."

"It's alright. There will be plenty of opportunities to reward those who govern the regions later." Changsun Wuji looked at the memorial in his hand, then looked up at Li Chengqian and said with emotion, "Although Your Majesty's style is different from that of the late Emperor, it is basically about accumulating strength before unleashing it in one fell swoop. In the blink of an eye, Goguryeo and Silla have been completely destroyed."

Now, all the political power of Goguryeo is in the hands of Su Xu, and all the military power of Goguryeo is in the hands of Su Dingfang. It's no different from destroying the country.

With Silla already destroyed, the entire eastern island is not far from being completely incorporated into the Tang Dynasty.

Hearing Changsun Wuji say this, Li Chengqian suddenly calmed down. He gently shook his head and said, "No, Uncle, the real difficulties have only just begun. The reason why Dongdao can become an obstacle for the Tang Dynasty is that the key lies in those deep mountains. Once the remnants of the Three Kingdoms run into the deep mountains, it will inevitably be a big problem to govern them in the future."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji's expression turned solemn.

"Tell Fang Yi'ai to conduct a thorough investigation of the remaining Goguryeo and Silla forces in the mountains. Be ruthless; use any means necessary to wipe them all out." Li Chengqian's eyes hardened, and Changsun Wuji immediately bowed and said, "Yes, sir!"

"And Liu Rengui, we need to be careful on the sea voyage; it's not going to be easy." Li Chengqian took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty is worried about the Baekje navy." Changsun Wuji's eyes twitched.

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "The news of the destruction of Goguryeo and Silla should have already reached Baekje. They should be on high alert. This battle will be the most difficult one for the Tang Dynasty in the future."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji replied solemnly.

Li Chengqian suddenly smiled and said, "Uncle, just send the message. I believe that both Su Dingfang and Liu Rengui have ways to deal with the current situation."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed, but his expression remained uneasy.

"So be it." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "I cannot reward the soldiers openly, so I will have the Prince of Han take more auspicious money with him when he goes to Goguryeo."

"King of Han," Changsun Wuji looked up and asked, "I've heard that the King of Han is doing some things..."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian nodded and said, "The governance of Dongdao requires the concerted efforts of all the noble families in the land. I am using the Prince of Han and the imperial clan as bait."

"I see." Changsun Wuji instantly understood everything, and then earnestly cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

"All the world's hustle and bustle is for profit; all the world's hustle and bustle is for gain." Li Chengqian sighed softly. Only profit can attract people's hearts.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji nodded gently.

Li Chengqian snapped out of his thoughts, picked up a box from the table, and handed it to Changsun Wuji with a smile, saying, "These are newly minted auspicious coins from the Imperial Household Department. Uncle, take them back with you. On the morning of the 30th of the twelfth lunar month, you can give them to your children and grandchildren for their enjoyment."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji stepped forward to accept it.

“Next year!” Li Chengqian looked up, his eyes turning serious. “Next year won’t be easy.”

"Yes!"

……

After seeing off Changsun Wuji, Li Chengqian sat on the imperial carriage and slowly moved forward.

He had not only been thinking about governing Dongdao for a long time, but had also been taking action for quite some time.

Unfortunately, many people are only just realizing this.

"Fall!" Xu An's voice rang out from the side.

Li Chengqian glanced sideways and saw that he was already in the Guanyun Hall.

The palace was vast, and faint sounds of laughter could be heard.

Li Chengqian stepped down from the imperial carriage and then walked up the steps of the Guanyun Hall.

Wang Youlan, dressed in a light green cloud-patterned ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and wearing a red cloak, quickly emerged from the inner hall and happily curtsied to Li Chengqian, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Rise!" Li Chengqian nodded gently, then walked towards the inner hall.

Wang Youlan quickly followed with a smile, and then went forward to help Li Chengqian change clothes and wash up.

Everything was done with exceptional skill.

After changing his clothes, Li Chengqian embraced Wang Youlan and sat down on a short couch to the side.

A maidservant had already brought over a bowl of red date, ginseng, and lotus seed soup.

Wang Youlan sat in Li Chengqian's lap, then picked up the lotus seed soup and carefully fed it to him.

After Li Chengqian finished eating, she said excitedly, "Your Majesty, I originally thought you wouldn't come today!"

"How could this be?" Li Chengqian looked at Wang Youlan with some surprise.

Wang Youlan lowered her head and said, "Your Majesty has already stayed with me for seven days. The Empress has a rule that Your Majesty cannot stay with a concubine for more than seven consecutive days, so..."

“This is my harem. I can go wherever I want.” Li Chengqian put his arm around Wang Youlan, pinched her upturned nose, and then said, “As for the Empress, you don’t need to worry. I have already spoken to her. I will stay here with you until the end of the year.”

“Always!” Wang Youlan suddenly froze.

Li Chengqian hugged her tightly, almost melding her into his body, before whispering, "Even after all this, don't you understand?"

Wang Youlan blushed, then suddenly realized: "Your Majesty is talking about the child... not that we're not in a hurry... Your Majesty is talking about the four consorts... Your Majesty is saying that I am one of the four consorts?"

Seeing Wang Youlan finally understand and looking incredulous, Li Chengqian carried her to the bed and calmly said, "I have spoken with the Empress. I will make you a Consort Xian. I will officially confer the title of Consort Xian when you become pregnant."

"Your Majesty!" Wang Youlan looked at Li Chengqian, tears streaming down her face with joy. She tried to wipe them away several times, but couldn't.

Li Chengqian placed Wang Youlan on the bed, removed her outer garment, and then gently untied her dress. Finally, he whispered in her ear, "My virtuous consort is only you, and can only be you!"

"Your Majesty!" Wang Youlan hugged Li Chengqian tightly and burst into loud sobs.

At this moment, Li Chengqian gently lowered the curtain.

……

Wang Youlan finally fell into a deep sleep.

Li Chengqian held Wang Youlan in his arms and pulled the red quilt up to cover her back.

Turning to the side, Li Chengqian looked outside the curtain.

In the dim light, the candlelight burned gently.

Li Chengqian truly loved Wang Youlan; after all, she had been with him since she was thirteen, experiencing many things together, and it had been fifteen years since then.

The two of them had a very deep relationship.

Most importantly, after discussing it with Su Shu, if they temporarily set aside Consort De and only decided on Consort Xian, then they could only choose between Wang Youlan and Yang Mi, since becoming one of the emperor's four consorts was not an easy task.

Li Chengqian ultimately chose Wang Youlan. It could even be said that as long as Wang Youlan had no children, he would not make her one of the four imperial concubines, and everyone else would have to stop.

This matter is not as simple as Li Chengqian thought.

Wang Youlan was backed by the Wang family of Taiyuan and the Liu family of Hedong, and even had the shadow of Changsun Wuji.

If Li Chengqian stopped bestowing titles upon the four imperial concubines and other concubines, then other powerful families would naturally be dissatisfied, but their resentment would not be directed at the emperor.

Wang Youlan was already the emperor's concubine when she was in the Eastern Palace.

Therefore, their real target can only be the Wang family of Taiyuan.

How could the Wang family of Taiyuan possibly give up? Their daughter had the potential to become the emperor's virtuous concubine, and they were determined to maintain the emperor's mindset at all costs.

This would lead to conflict between the Wang clan of Taiyuan and other powerful clans.

Creating conflict and antagonism among various powerful families was the emperor's means of controlling the world.

As for Wang Youlan being pregnant, there's no need to worry. As long as the news gets out of the palace, that's enough.

With Wang Youlan having a child, becoming a virtuous consort, and enjoying the emperor's favor, the Wang family members from Taiyuan will become even more arrogant and disrespectful of others. The only outcome will be that the conflict between the Wang family and other families will intensify.

Not to mention, there's also the distribution of profits among Anton's associates. ...

In the Linzhao Hall, Yang Mi sat on the main couch, staring blankly ahead.

The ninth prince, Li Ji, was playing with his wet nurse in the inner palace.

The afternoon sun shone through the windows into the hall, casting dappled shadows.

Wu Meiniang sat on the short couch on the left, Yang Shan sat opposite her, and Helan Minyue sat to the left of Wu Meiniang.

"The news has been confirmed." Wu Meiniang looked up at Yang Mi and said, "His Majesty is waiting for Consort Wang to become pregnant. For at least one or two years, as long as Consort Wang does not become pregnant, His Majesty will not confer titles on any of the other consorts."

"How could this happen?" Yang Shan looked at Yang Mi with some concern and asked in a low voice, "What should we do, sister?"

Yang Mi came to her senses, breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at everyone, saying, "The one who should be most anxious about this matter is not us, but Consort Xiao and Consort Cui."

This time, the emperor only bestowed the title of Virtuous Consort, but not Consort of Virtue, which immediately raised the family background threshold required for the title of Virtuous Consort.

Of course, women from ordinary families couldn't enter the emperor's harem, but this still filtered out a large number of people.

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "Although Consort Cui came from the Cui clan of Boling and gave birth to a prince, to be honest, the emperor's four consorts still had to come from the powerful clans of Guanzhong. Of course, Consort Xiao was an exception."

Behind the Xiao family is the Jiangnan Xiao clan, descendants of emperors. Two generations of the Xiao clan married into the palace as concubines, and Xiao Zi even had a son.

Although Xiao Zi's identity was sensitive, she wielded considerable power in the court and had multiple marriage alliances with the emperor, so there was no problem with her being named a Virtuous Consort.

“What kind of person is His Majesty? Since such rumors have spread, there is no doubt about it.” Wu Meiniang paused slightly and said, “However, if His Majesty is so determined, it is probably not that simple. So let’s just assume that Consort Wang is already a Virtuous Consort. Then the remaining Consort, the Virtuous Consort, will be the real target of the competition among the consorts.”

"Does Aunt mean that His Majesty deliberately allowed the competition?" Yang Mi looked at Wu Meiniang in surprise.

Wu Meiniang sighed softly, nodded, and then looked at the three people in front of her.

Yang Mi and Yang Shan are her nieces in terms of generation, not to mention He Lan Min Yue, who is her sister's daughter.

The reason she got involved in this matter was because the Yang family of Hongnong urged her from behind, and the Yang family of Hongnong got involved.

Although the Hongnong Yang family declined due to the misbehavior of the eldest branch, they were still very confident in their position above the emperor's four consorts.

During the reign of the late emperor, three daughters of the Yang family were his consorts, one of whom was even a Noble Consort.

She was not Yang Guang's daughter, but the mother of Prince Zhao, Li Fu.

In addition, there was Consort Yan, who was the granddaughter of the Yang family.

Of course, there was also Wu Zetian, who was the late emperor's concubine.

The Yang family's influence in the imperial harem far surpassed that of other families. Therefore, the Yang family hoped to revitalize their family by having Yang Mi become one of the emperor's four consorts.

This is what the Yang family wanted.

but……

"Your Majesty," Wu Meiniang paused slightly, then said, "Although Your Majesty's thoughts are not easy to fathom, there are actually some clues."

Yang Mi, Yang Shan, and He Lanminyue all became serious at the same time.

Wu Meiniang smiled helplessly and said, "Your Majesty is the emperor. An emperor has no self. Your Majesty's affairs are the affairs of the world. Therefore, the affairs of Your Majesty's harem are deeply connected with the affairs of the world. And the most important thing in the world right now is to completely destroy the three kingdoms of Goguryeo, Baekje, and Pyongyang."

Yang Mi, Yang Shan, and He Lanminyue were momentarily confused.

"The destruction of the three kingdoms of the Eastern Islands is already in Your Majesty's hands. The next challenge is how to stabilize and develop Andong, and fully integrate Andong into the Tang Dynasty." Wu Meiniang paused deliberately before continuing, "The migration of the people is the most important and also the most difficult. Who would be willing to leave their homeland unless faced with a life-or-death situation?"

"Therefore, His Majesty needs the aristocratic families to take the lead." Yang Mi had already begun to understand.

“The Wang family must have already made a move.” Wu Meiniang sighed deeply and said, “With the Grand Commandant, Liu Shi, the Vice Minister of Justice, Wang Fangyi, the Left General of the Thousand Ox Guard, and Wang Renyou, the Chief Administrator of the Yizhou Grand Commandant, they must have made their next move, which is why His Majesty has temporarily suppressed this matter.”

"The Wei family, and the Du family." Yang Mi softly read out the names of the Wei family and the Du family of Jingzhao.

“That’s right.” Wu Meiniang looked at Yang Mi and said seriously, “The Wei family has Wei Daijia, and the Du family has Du Zhenglun, Du He, Du Gou, and Du Fengju. They will definitely make a move in this matter. Consort Wei and Consort Pei just don’t have a prince right now. Once they have a son, then the remaining Consort De will be theirs.”

"Yes!" Yang Mi nodded vigorously and said, "I will talk to Father about this at home."

“Mi’er’s greatest advantage is that she already has a prince. If she could have another one, then whether it’s a child or a son, the position of Consort De would definitely be Mi’er’s.” Wu Meiniang nodded encouragingly. Yang Mi smiled easily. It was all about pleasing the emperor. She knew best what the emperor liked.

Nowadays, there aren't so many messy things happening in the imperial harem.

The concubines were all still young, and the emperor's favor was evenly distributed among them without much bias.

Therefore, everyone had an equal chance of having offspring, but Yang Mi was a little older.

Just then, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside the hall. A eunuch entered the hall, came to Yang Mi's side, whispered a few words, and then left the hall.

Seeing the curious expressions on everyone's faces, Yang Mi sighed softly and said, "The news just came in: Consort Xu has given birth to a prince at Daming Palace, and His Majesty has already gone there."

Yang Shan's expression changed slightly. Consort Xu already had two princes, and now Consort De had become a strong competitor.

Wu Meiniang glanced at Yang Shan and gently shook her head, saying, "There's no need to worry about Madam Xu. Although she has two princes, the Xu family's background is too poor, and many things in the family cannot withstand scrutiny. If His Majesty really wants to send her to the position of Consort De, then all of the Xu family's shameful past will be exposed."

In particular, the son Xu Yi just gave birth to is not Xu Yi's.

"Auntie, would you like to..." Yang Shan couldn't help but ask.

Wu Meiniang lowered her head and thought for a long time, but finally shook her head slightly and said, "His Majesty does not like the infighting in the palace to spread outside the palace. If we really do that, His Majesty will already be disgusted with us, and then others will benefit."

"I'll listen to my aunt!" Yang Mi made the decision immediately. In any case, the emperor's favor was the most important thing.

"It's almost time, we should go back." Wu Meiniang pulled Helan Minyue up and nodded to Yang Mi, saying, "Mi'er, you don't need to do anything. The more you do, the more mistakes you'll make. His Majesty's favor is what matters forever."

"Mi'er understands, thank you, Auntie." Yang Mi stood up and escorted Wu Meiniang to the palace gate.

Wu Meiniang and Helan Minyue walked calmly along the palace path. Helan Minyue turned to look at Wu Meiniang and asked, "Aunt, will the Yang family send another legitimate daughter into the palace?"

"Why do you think that?" Wu Meiniang looked at Helan Minyue in surprise.

“From the reign of the late emperor, the late emperor had three Consort Yangs, two Consort Weis, two Consort Xiaos, and many other unregistered sister consorts.” Helan Minyue sighed softly and said, “In His Majesty’s palace, the Empress and Consort Zhao are cousins, the mothers of Consort Xiu and Consort Liu are cousins, and the mother of Consort Shu and the father of Consort Cui are cousins…”

“When powerful families intermarry, they don’t even share the same surname. Why do you care so much?” Wu Meiniang calmly shook her head and said, “Back when Consort Yan was in the palace, she and my aunt were cousins, but when did she ever really pay attention to me?”

He Lanminyue was slightly taken aback, then slowly nodded.

"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's go back." Wu Meiniang walked forward calmly, her mind filled with thoughts of Xu Hui.

Xu Hui's matter was certainly not so easy to resolve, but the palace was full of the emperor's spies.

Some things can be said, and some things cannot.

Helan Minyue followed behind Wu Meiniang, her eyes showing a slightly strange expression.

……

Outside the Linde Hall of Daming Palace.

Li Chengqian couldn't help but smile as he listened to the baby crying coming from inside the hall.

"Your Majesty!" Xu An walked quickly from the side and whispered a few words in Li Chengqian's ear.

Li Chengqian was slightly taken aback, then his eyes turned indifferent, and he waved his hand, saying, "Ignore it."

"Yes." Xu An bowed slightly, then retreated into the shadows to the side.

Li Chengqian raised his gaze and looked in the direction of Goguryeo.

The three kingdoms of the Eastern Islands, with their millions of inhabitants, required the Tang Dynasty to exert all its strength to completely assimilate them.

This is not easy.

(End of this chapter)