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

Chapter 76: Demoted Fang Yiai and Leaving Beijing (Thanks to the book friend Fanfanfantuaner for the starting coins)

"Your Majesty is wise." Hou Junji understood everything clearly. He continued, bowing, "As for Fang Yiai, although he did make mistakes, I have considered the overall situation and feel that his actions were quite methodical and that he was very resourceful in many matters. I think he can redeem himself for meritorious service. Your Majesty may wish to reconsider this."

Li Shimin raised his head, looked deeply into the night outside the palace, and said quietly, "If it weren't for this incident, I might have appointed him as the General of the Right Guard after he married Gao Yang."

The Right Guard General was a rank 4th lower officer, in charge of 5,000 Right Guard cavalrymen.

If the general is absent, he will take his place and be in charge of the military affairs of the second-in-command general.

Fang Yiai is now a sixth-rank military officer of the King of Wei. After getting married, he will be a fifth-rank imperial concubine's captain.

The next level up from the rank of Duke of Fuma is General of the Right Guard.

Hou Junji's expression suddenly became solemn. The emperor really loved and respected Fang Yiai to the extreme!

But unfortunately, something happened this time, and at least the position of Right Guard General is gone.

For some reason, the image of Li Chengqian suddenly flashed through Hou Junji's mind.

"But this time, he really did something wrong." The emperor's expression turned fierce, and he shook his head. "Leaving aside the Right Guard General, I originally wanted to demote him to the position of Assistant Commander of the Yizhou Grand Military Governor's Office. But you have a point. He should gain some experience. So... transfer him to Songzhou and make him the Chief of Songzhou. He has been tricked by the Tibetans, so let's face them head-on."

Songzhou, in the western part of Jiannan Road. Two years ago, Songtsen Gampo sent troops to attack Songzhou, but was defeated by Niu Jinda at the gate of Songzhou.

Hou Junji was still the commander-in-chief in that battle, but unfortunately, before he arrived in Songzhou, Songtsen Gampo was defeated and retreated early.

The strength of the Tang Dynasty's military was far beyond Songtsen Gampo's expectations.

"Yes!" Hou Junji bowed solemnly. He is still the Minister of Personnel, and this matter is within his scope of handling.

After Fang Yiai married Princess Gaoyang, he was appointed as the son-in-law of the emperor and the chief officer of Songzhou, a fifth-rank official.

Although the grade remains unchanged, smart people can still hear the sound of wind and rain in it and infer some things.

But that was all. The emperor had no intention of canceling the marriage between Fang Yiai and Princess Gaoyang.

That's enough.

Duke of Liang, Shangshu Zuo Pushe Fang Xuanling, was, after all, a meritorious official during the Zhenguan period, and now held great weight in the court, second only to Duke of Zhao Zhangsun Wuji.

It is normal for the emperor to love his wife and everyone in her family as well.

……

"Thank you, Jiqing." The emperor looked up, sighed softly, and said, "Although this man has bad character, he is still the Imperial Physician. Jun Ji, record the secret files. Fang Yiai is guilty of murder. I will pardon him temporarily for the sake of discussing marriage. If he does not achieve outstanding achievements in the future, he will never be allowed to return to Chang'an."

Special merit can offset the crime of murder.

The emperor still did not let Fang Yiai go.

"Your Majesty!" Hou Junji looked up in surprise and said with a folded hand, "If that's the case, what should the princess do?"

"Four years ago, I built Prince City for Prince Peng in Pengzhou. Prince Peng is now the governor of Lizhou, and Prince City is vacant. After the wedding next year, let Gao Yang live in Prince City, Pengzhou for a while. It is not far from Songzhou." The emperor looked indifferent.

"Yes!" Hou Junji looked serious.

Princess Gaoyang was one of the emperor's most beloved daughters. Although Fang Yiai became her husband, it was very likely that he would never be able to return to Chang'an.

The punishment here is enough for Hou Junji to explain to everyone.

But deep in Hou Junji's eyes, he suddenly realized that his guess was correct. The emperor still showed mercy to Fang Yiai.

The war between Songzhou and Tubo just ended less than two years ago, so maybe the opportunity to make a contribution will come someday.

In this way, Fang Yiai could return to Beijing.

"And those two guards." Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then shook his head. "Although they are guilty, I cannot bear to kill them. I sentence them to be exiled to the Anxi Army to fight the Turks... The warriors of the Tang Dynasty will die on the battlefield."

"Yes!" Hou Junji bowed again with a solemn expression.

"The last one is the Tibetans." The emperor's face turned cold, and he said stiffly, "If it weren't for them, this matter wouldn't have come to this. Zhou Cang and Xie Jiqing might not have died. Their sinister intentions are obvious. Jun Ji, do you think I should cancel the marriage between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet?"

Seeing the emperor's gaze descend upon him, Hou Junji immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Crown Prince once consulted the Imperial Secretary about this matter. The Imperial Secretary replied, 'If the marriage between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is cancelled, it will immediately lead to a war between Jiannan and Longyou. Is the Tang Dynasty prepared?'"

Li Shimin pondered for a moment, then shook his head and said softly, "But I still can't accept it!"

Hou Junji couldn't help but frown. Why did the emperor's words sound so much like what the prince said?

"Go, invite Jiang Wuji, Fang Qing, Wei Xiang, and the prince here. I want to hear his opinions." Li Shimin looked up at Zhang Ananda.

Zhang Ananda immediately bowed and walked quickly towards the inner hall.

……

Li Chengqian followed behind Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng, his steps slow but his breaths quick and thin. The alcohol in his mouth was quickly expelled from his body, and he quickly sobered up.

Entering the side hall, his eyes quickly fell on Hou Junji.

Now that Hou Junji appears here, I'm afraid that what happened outside the palace has been thoroughly investigated.

Therefore, there is no doubt that Fang Yiai will be kicked out of the Prince of Wei's Mansion by the emperor.

However, Li Chengqian was a little confused as to why Li Tai was called over just now. Could it be that things had reached the point where Li Tai would inevitably be implicated?

Also, where is Li Tai now?

Wei Zheng stopped, and Li Chengqian immediately followed the others in front of him and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."

Li Shimin nodded slightly, then looked at Hou Junji and said, "Junji, please tell me."

"Yes!" Hou Junji turned solemnly and looked at Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Li Chengqian. He said seriously, "Some time ago, the Thousand Oxen Guard leader Zhou Cang died in the forests of Zhuoying County at the foot of Mount Zhongnan. After investigation, a jade Buddha was found at his place of death. It was finally determined to be something brought to Chang'an by the Tibetans."

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng subconsciously turned their heads to look at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian looked at Hou Junji in surprise. He knew about the jade Buddha, but what about the silver ingots?

"Yongzhou Prefecture, together with the Dali Temple and the Jinwu Guards, investigated and finally found the two Tibetan warriors who committed the murder. Unfortunately, the two men resisted and were killed, so we cannot directly confirm whether the Tibetan envoy Lu Dongzan is related to this incident." Hou Junji bowed lightly. Not only those silver ingots, but even the traces of the Prince of Wei's Mansion in this matter were completely erased by him.

Li Chengqian calmed down for a moment.

In the past period of time, the emperor has persuaded Hou Junji to completely erase all traces of the Prince of Wei's Mansion in this matter.

Based on Li Chengqian's understanding of the emperor, no matter how much he favored Li Tai, he needed to give an explanation that would convince Hou Junji.

Now it obviously has.

"No need to check further, there must be something." Changsun Wuji sneered lightly and glanced at Li Chengqian.

He still remembered that Li Tai and Li Chengqian had both received golden Buddhas from Tubo.

"How should this matter be handled?" The emperor shook his head and said, "I can't cancel the marriage with Tubo, can I?"

"Your Majesty, I believe it's time to intensify our surveillance of Tubo." Changsun Wuji didn't answer directly, but instead bowed and said, "The Tubo people's ambitions are obvious. Even if they seek to marry my Tang princess now, I'm afraid they will still pose a threat to my Tang Dynasty in the future."

"It's a pity that Tubo is too far away," Fang Xuanling said, then shook his head after a moment's hesitation. "Dangxiang and Tuyuhun are already poor enough, and Suobei and Yangtong are even worse than them. Tubo is even further behind them. The route is long, the climate is harsh, and supply is difficult. It would be disadvantageous for the Tang Dynasty to attack proactively."

"Then there's only one way: wait for the Tibetans to attack directly." Wei Zheng looked at the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the Tibetans have already attacked Yangtong. The Tuyuhun and Dangxiang won't be far behind. We need to prepare early."

In the ninth year of Zhenguan, the Tang Dynasty sent troops to attack Tuyuhun, and the Tuyuhun king Fuyun hanged himself to death.

Afterwards, Fuyun's son Murong Shun led the Tuyuhun to submit to the Tang Dynasty and was named Khan and Prince of Xiping.

So in the end Tuyuhun became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

Tuyuhun had a population of hundreds of thousands. Although it submitted to the Tang Dynasty, its people did not support it, so it could only be a vassal state.

"Shanzhou and Hezhou need to send people deep into Tuyuhun to occupy the dangerous areas." Li Shimin nodded slightly.

Shanzhou is west of Lanzhou and Hezhou is south of Lanzhou, both of which are close to Tuyuhun.

Once the Tibetans' power becomes too infiltrated, the Tang Dynasty will need to prepare for future wars.

Yes, it is too much. The Tibetans had a great influence among the Tuyuhun people.

The Tuyuhun people participated in the Battle of Songzhou two years ago.

"Your Majesty, after all, it is the Tibetans who have sent people to propose marriage. As long as the marriage is handled properly, the stability between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty should be able to be maintained for a considerable period of time." Changsun Wuji said solemnly.

Li Shimin nodded, then looked at Li Chengqian: "Prince, you go ahead."

"Yes, Father." Li Chengqian bowed and said, "The Tibetans' proposal of marriage to the Tang Dynasty may actually be an attempt to leverage the Tang Dynasty's prestige to intimidate other nations."

Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, and Hou Junji all looked gloomy.

Li Chengqian continued to bow and said, "Now that the marriage is irreversible, I think we can use this opportunity to spread some information to the Dangxiang, Tuyuhun, and even the Yangtong and Subi countries."

"What's the matter?" Li Shimin asked subconsciously.

"The Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo has only one heir for three generations. The difficulty of having descendants has been passed down to other countries." Li Chengqian bowed.

With these words, everyone present couldn't help but feel their hearts skip a beat.

　Thank you to my book friend Fanfan Fantuaner for the Qidian coins. I wish you good health, all the best, blessings every step of the way, wealth every day, a Mid-Autumn Festival reunion, and everything goes well.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)