Chapter 931: Heroes of the Western Expedition
The emperor shouted loudly, and Li Jing walked out from the front row holding a tablet in his hand, his face solemn.
He raised his head and looked upward. The emperor was staring at him sternly. The imperial teacher had a slight smile on his face and his eyes were like the clear sky after the rain, as if he was looking at an outstanding work of art.
He immediately lowered his head, took two steps forward and then stopped, his thoughts churning in his mind.
How many years?
Li Jing couldn't remember how long it had been since he had responded with such courage and boldness, "I'm here!"
He closed the door to visitors.
He writes books at home.
He declined to socialize.
He is seriously ill.
He is the invincible military god, but he can only hide in his mansion, watching others stir up trouble with bitterness.
He is the acting Shangshu Zuo Pushe, ranked first in the Council of State Affairs. He is the chief steward of the Zuo Qinglong Guard, the number one person in the military of the Tang Dynasty, and is granted the title of the first-class Weiguo Duke, but not many people care about him.
He was in a state of panic and worry all day long.
Because in the Tang Dynasty, he was a redundant person, but now, he has become a useful person to the Tang Dynasty again.
He could finally stand with his head held high in the Tai Chi Hall, facing everyone's gaze and the king who held his life and death in his hands.
He is waiting for the emperor's appointment.
When the emperor said that it was the imperial teacher who asked the prince to go to the vassal state, Li Jing knew his fate.
Many years ago, the Imperial Master had foreseen his own end, and had pushed himself forward step by step, serving as the Prince's Guardian until today.
All the ministers looked at Li Jing. They were all very clear about Li Jing's embarrassing position.
Today, as the Crown Prince was renamed the King of Qin and went to a fiefdom, it is very likely that Li Jing will leave with him. Otherwise, Your Majesty will not be at ease if the Crown Prince is left alone.
Only with Li Jing, the military god of the Tang Dynasty, can Li Chengqian's safety be guaranteed.
"Duke Weiguo, you and I have been king and subject for a long time. The King of Qin is in a foreign vassal state, ruling the people. He is young, and I am worried. You are the military god of the Tang Dynasty, invincible. I will appoint you as the King of Qin's Grand Tutor, the same position as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor. Only if you protect the King of Qin can I feel at ease."
Li Shimin's words caused a slight commotion in the palace. In the past Tang Dynasty and some earlier periods, except for the first-rank Qin Wang, the highest-ranking officials in the Prince's Mansion were the fourth-rank Changshi and the fourth-rank Sima, which were not considered high positions. But now the Prince's Grand Tutor was listed as a second-rank official.
It is conceivable that the palace regulations of the Prince of Qin, who was away to a fiefdom, were only one level lower than those of the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace, but it was already far superior to that of an ordinary prince's palace, and had quite a bit of the flavor of the former Tiance General's Palace.
Moreover, if there is Wang Taibao, there will be Wang Taishi and Wang Taifu, as well as Wang Shaobao, Wang Shaoshi and Wang Shaofu. Many high-level and powerful official positions will appear in conjunction with it.
As for whether the power granted is too great, some people will naturally worry, but Qin Wang Li Chengqian is going out to explore new areas, and whether he can succeed is the most important thing, so he must delegate enough power.
People like Li Jing were not only ministers of the King of Qin, but also similar to the ministers of the various vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty, responsible for communicating between the emperor and the vassal states.
Li Jing held the tablet in his hand and said solemnly, "I will obey your majesty's orders. Your majesty has not given me a heavy responsibility because of my old age. I am deeply grateful and will do my best to assist the King of Qin. I will do my best and die on the battlefield to repay your majesty's kindness."
"Cheng Qian, go and pay your respects to your Third Master Taibao."
Li Chengqian, who was originally worried about the development, was overjoyed when he heard that Li Jing would serve as his Qin Wang Taibao. He immediately turned around and bowed to Li Jing.
Li Jing hurriedly supported Li Chengqian's bowing body. He was somewhat grateful to Li Chengqian.
If it weren't for Li Chengqian, his current situation would be even worse, and he would definitely not have the chance to return to the battlefield.
Golden Book.
Gold seal.
King's clothing.
When one by one the objects representing the crown prince were taken away, and one by one the objects representing the prince were added to Li Chengqian, everyone woke up from the great shock of the enfeoffment.
If the dethronement of the crown prince was likened to a huge wave, then the enfeoffment of the kings would be like a tsunami that destroyed the world. Anyone could say that the dethronement of the crown prince was peaceful and calm.
but.
The Tang Dynasty really has no crown prince!
Li Chengqian looked at his brother, the Prince of Wei, with some resentment, and thought to himself, "It's such a good deal for him."
Many people in the hall were secretly looking at King Wei. The current situation was really beyond their expectations that the position of Crown Prince would actually fall to King Wei.
Li Tai's face was beaming with joy. In his more than twenty years of life, he had never been so happy as he was today. Soon he would fulfill his long-cherished wish and become the prince he had always longed to be.
He looked at the emperor, his father, his eyes full of expectation. Father, please announce it quickly, I can't wait.
Li Shimin naturally felt his son's gaze and sighed deeply in his heart. It was true. His thoughts couldn't help but drift back to that day in Lingtian Pavilion when he decided to send Li Chengqian to a fiefdom and talked with the national teacher Luo Su about the candidate for the future crown prince.
He remembered him saying, "When Chengqian leaves for his fiefdom, I will make Qingniao the crown prince."
He will never forget that the Imperial Master smiled gently and said, "Anyone can be made the Crown Prince, even the Crown Princess, but not Prince Wei Li Tai!"
He had rarely seen the Imperial Master use such firm words to deny someone.
He didn't even have time to think about the Crown Princess.
He believed in the national teacher not for personal reasons, but because the national teacher admired his son Li Tai very much, just like he admired Prince of Yan Li Ke.
He asked that question, full of doubt, "Master, why?"
What did the national teacher say?
The sun was shining brightly in Lingtian Pavilion that day, making the hall warm and bright. The national teacher said to himself in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty and I have known each other for many years. You have made great contributions and made the people of the world live and work in peace and contentment. People like you should have a good ending.
There was a huge conflict between you and your father and brothers, and I'm sure you wouldn't want the same thing to happen with your son.
Li Tai, Prince of Wei, was very talented, but cruel and ruthless. He would eliminate anyone who threatened his position, especially he had a grudge against Li Ke, Prince of Yan, and Crown Prince Cheng Qian.
If he becomes the emperor in the future, will it disrupt the pattern of the kings being granted titles outside the capital?
If he recalled Crown Prince Cheng Qian and Prince of Yan Li Ke, what should the two princes do?
Either he rebelled on the spot, causing the second generation of the kings to be exiled, or Crown Prince Cheng Qian and Prince of Yan Li Ke died in the deep palace after returning.
From the royal family to the country, it is a good thing to prevent him from taking the throne.
What do you think, my Lord?"
The Imperial Master was always in control. His words were gentle and the room was warm, but Li Shimin felt like he was on a glacier. There was no sun in front of him, but a biting cold wind.
He saw the fire burning the palace. He saw Cheng Qian lying in the palace, holding a sword in his hand, shouting with anger on his face, "Li Tai, I will kill you in my next life."
Then there was bright red blood, and Cheng Qian died in a hail of arrows.
Where is Ke'er?
He was brave and decisive, and would lead the cavalry from Mobei to the south. In the end, he was killed in the desert by Li Ji or some other general.
Li Shimin came back to his senses. He looked at the imperial teacher who was smiling at him and said bitterly again: "Is your prediction wrong?"
Luo Su didn't say anything. Bu'ercuo was a top-notch talent as a king's assistant, but Luo Su had never made a single mistake.
Back in the Taiji Hall, Li Shimin withdrew his gaze from Li Tai, as if he did not see the expectant look.
"Cheng Qian, when Ke'er went to Mobei to guard the border, Mobei had already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and it was only two or three thousand miles away from the Tang Dynasty, which was not too far. I granted him 12,000 households and called them the Twelve Tribes of the King of Yan.
Now you have to go to explore a place five thousand miles away, and it is an unknown, wild and foggy land. I don’t know if you can come back in this life.
I grant you 200,000 dan of grain and fodder, 100,000 war horses, 100,000 pack horses, and 300,000 cattle and sheep, as you need for your march and future nation-building. Even if those places can be used for farming, you will probably have to be a nomadic person in the early days when no city was built.
30,000 sets of Tang Dynasty standard armor, 100,000 sets of Tang Dynasty standard bows and crossbows and weapons, and 300,000 arrows.
There were five thousand craftsmen, monks, Taoists, doctors, and scholars of all kinds.
A total of 20,000 Han households will be transferred from Hebei, Bingzhou and Guanzhong, and another 20,000 foreign households will be transferred to you from the Turkic, Tiele, Khitan and other tribes in Youzhou and Anbei Protectorate.
If you can really gain a foothold, I will send Han people to you, just like the old days in Yan State."
Every word the emperor said made the heads of the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, Ministry of Works, Lifanyuan and Privy Council tremble. It was really too generous, much more generous than when Prince Yan went to the frontier.
Among all the countries under the sun, only the now prosperous Tang Dynasty can produce so many things.
The least valuable of these are food and fodder, and the most valuable are horses.
This time, almost a quarter of the Tang Dynasty’s horses were taken out.
Twenty thousand Han households and twenty thousand aboriginal households total forty thousand households, more than two hundred thousand people. If they could be supported on the road, Li Shimin would have wanted to directly give Li Chengqian a population of one hundred thousand households.
This was not only a debt he owed to Li Chengqian, but also Luo Su's request, to use various means to immigrate to the border areas and change the population ratio.
The prisons in various counties and cities in the Central Plains have been relatively empty in recent years because they have basically been moved to the border areas.
This was Luo Su's strategy of "migrating the Tibetans to the south and migrating the Han people to the north", that is, migrating the Tibetans in the northern border who had surrendered to the Tang Dynasty to the southwest, and migrating the Han people in the Central Plains to the border.
This was not a large-scale migration, but a subtle process. From the time when King Yan guarded the north to the present, about 200,000 people have migrated to Mobei, forming a large number of Han nomadic armed groups.
Some Han armed groups had become so powerful that they needed Li Ke to give them official positions in order to win them over. It could be said that they were developing extremely quickly.
A small number of Han people would be assimilated in the past, but if a large number of Han people gathered together, they would change each other.
Even if they are bound to become nomads in the future, they will be nomads who understand the scriptures of sages and know their origins, but they will be assimilated just like in the past years.
Li Chengqian knelt deeply on the ground and sobbed, "I am unfilial if I cannot serve my father and offer sacrifices to my mother in the future. I hope to take my mother's tablet away and offer sacrifices to her every day."
Speaking of Empress Changsun, Li Shimin also wanted to shed tears. He touched his head again and kept saying, "Good boy, I will have someone make a memorial tablet right away."
This scene of a loving father and a filial son made all the ministers in the palace feel very complicated. In the past, there were frequent conflicts between father and son, but now that the crown prince has been deposed, people can actually feel the father-son love. They really don't know what to say.
Family love in heaven is really difficult.
"Jun Cheng."
Li Shimin came out of his sadness and called Luo Juncheng's name in a complicated tone.
Luo Juncheng stood up from his seat, walked solemnly into the hall, and bowed meticulously, "I am here."
"You were born in the first year of Wude, you are my nephew, and you married my Changle, you are my son-in-law. You were crowned in the eleventh year of Zhenguan. Both your parents died early, and you inherited the title of Prince of Zhou. You are all alone. I am one of your closest elders, so I went to your house to give you a name.
I didn't promote you these years because I thought that when Cheng Qian succeeded to the throne, you would naturally have all these things. You are a smart child and you must understand this, but I didn't expect that things are unpredictable and I won't be able to wait for that day."
At the grand court meeting, Li Shimin was speaking in detail like an ordinary family member, while Luo Juncheng had already prostrated himself on the ground, saying emotionally: "I will never forget the kindness of my uncle."
Li Shimin walked up to him and said with emotion: "I know you very well, you are very much like your father, you value friendship and loyalty. I really don't want to let you leave Chang'an, and my Changle, she is such a delicate girl, and her child is only two years old. How can I be at ease when you go to that wild place in the future?
But I know that when the Imperial Master told Cheng Qian to leave the town, I knew that even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, you would definitely follow Cheng Qian and leave Chang'an, and I could not stop you.
Cheng Qian is a little older than you and is your cousin, but you are more mature and stable. You two brothers should help each other in the future. I promised Qingyang that I would take good care of his offspring, but now I let you go to a foreign land. I feel guilty. "
Luo Juncheng could only kowtow, "Your Majesty, rest assured. Your Highness the Prince of Qin and I will live up to the spirit of the Tang Dynasty. Princess Changle, I will definitely protect her."
Li Shimin's expression gradually hardened. Everything was a foregone conclusion. There was nothing more to say.
His eyes were cast towards the rays of light in the hall. Is that the future of the Tang Dynasty?
…
"Are Prince and Cousin Cheng going to leave Chang'an?"
Li Chengqian and Luo Juncheng were silently packing up their things in the East Palace. In fact, they didn't need to pack up these things. They were just feeling a little nostalgic.
Suddenly, several childish voices were heard from outside the door, and then several little heads popped out from behind the door. They all had their hair in a bun, which was popular in the palace. They were Li Chengqian's sisters, the nine-year-old Princess Chengyang, Princess Jinyang Li Mingda, who was already seven years old, and the only five-year-old Princess Hengshan. They were all young, but almost all of them were beautiful, charming and lovely.
Li Chengqian had a bad relationship with Li Tai, but he had a good relationship with his other brothers and sisters, especially his three biological sisters, the youngest of whom were Princess Jinyang and Princess Hengshan, because he was old enough to be their father.
Luo Juncheng smiled and waved his hand, and the three little princesses trotted in, but they all had tearful expressions on their faces.
"Who bullied us three princesses? Tell your cousin and he will teach him a lesson."
If we were to ask who among all the princesses was the most favored by Li Shimin, it would definitely be Princess Jinyang. She was the only princess who was raised by Li Shimin himself. Moreover, Princess Jinyang, Li Mingda, was good at calligraphy, especially her imitation of Li Shimin's flying white, which was almost indistinguishable from the real thing. This made Li Shimin, who loved calligraphy, like her to the extreme.
Princess Jinyang's eyes were red as she spoke in a baby voice, "People outside the palace said that the Crown Prince, my cousin, and my sister are leaving Chang'an and going to a very, very far place, and will never come back. Is this true?"
Luo Juncheng and Li Chengqian looked at each other and said gently, "My cousin and the prince have some important matters to attend to and need to leave Chang'an."
Before she could finish her words, Princess Jinyang was already silently shedding tears. Tears were sliding down her fair and tender face, glittering in the light like glass, which made people feel heartbroken. "Brother Crown Prince and cousin don't want Jinyang anymore? Jinyang, stop being naughty in the future and don't leave, okay?"
Li Chengqian turned his head away, almost crying. Luo Juncheng felt a pain in his heart, so he could only force a smile and said, "How could it be? Jinyang is so cute, no one would not want a princess."
Jinyang sobbed, unable to stop crying, "Father said that mother went to a very, very far place. Until now, Jinyang has not seen her. The prince and cousin are also leaving Jinyang."
The childish words were funny at first, but when Li Chengqian heard the word "Queen Mother", he burst into tears. Princess Chengyang was a little older and knew that the Queen Mother had passed away. She wiped Li Chengqian's tears and said, "Jinyang, don't talk nonsense. The Crown Prince and cousin are not the same as the Queen Mother."
The youngest Princess Hengshan stretched out her hands and touched Luo Juncheng's face, and said in a baby voice: "Mammy said that when you smile in an ugly way, you just want to cry. Cousin, if you want to cry, why are you smiling?"
The words of these children are the most powerful in breaking people's defenses. Now Luo Juncheng and Li Chengqian truly felt it. The two of them had just been cleaning up the East Palace for a long time, and they were just feeling a little nostalgic. Now, after hearing what these three children said, they actually wanted to cry.
"Thump, thump, thump."
The sound of footsteps came from outside. Several people looked up and saw that it was Luo Juncheng's younger brother Luo Junzhuo. He was ten years old this year and was quite tall. After he came in, he saw that Jinyang and others were indeed here, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Highness Prince Qin, brother."
Luo Junzhuo bowed to the two of them. When Princess Jinyang and Princess Hengshan saw Luo Junzhuo coming, they hurried over. Although Princess Jinyang was young and didn't understand what a fiancé was, people around her said that Luo Junzhuo was the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with, so she was very close to Luo Junzhuo.
"Cousin, please persuade my brother the Crown Prince and my cousin Jun Cheng not to leave Chang'an, okay?"
Looking at the anxious Princess Jinyang, Luo Junzhuo's eyes dimmed. Although Princess Jinyang was not very sensible when Empress Zhangsun passed away, she knew something vaguely, which made her feel particularly insecure.
At the beginning of this year, when Jinyang Li Zhi started to handle government affairs, Princess Jinyang pulled Jin Wang Li Zhi's clothes and refused to let him go. The brother and sister cried bitterly. Finally, Luo Junzhuo carried Princess Jinyang, who was tired of crying, away.
Princess Jinyang often asked Luo Junzhuo whether he would leave her. Now Li Chengqian, Luo Juncheng and Princess Changle Li Lizhi have appeared. These three people who are extremely important to Princess Jinyang are going to leave Chang'an. How can Princess Jinyang bear this?
Luo Junzhuo reached out and took Princess Jinyang's soft and boneless body into his arms, then said softly, "The prince and my brother are only going out of town for a while. When I have time, I will take the princess to find them, okay?"
Princess Jinyang is not just a crybaby. She is very smart and sensible. She knows Luo Junzhuo very well because Luo Junzhuo never refuses her and always satisfies her various strange requests. If Luo Junzhuo can't do it, then it means that this matter really can't be done.
Her tears fell on Luo Junzhuo's neck, "Jinyang knows about this. In the future, you must take Jinyang to find the prince, sister, and cousin Juncheng, okay?"
Luo Junzhuo patted Princess Jinyang gently, "You are so good."
Looking at the scene in front of him, Luo Juncheng felt that it was just like when he and Changle were young. He felt a little bit sad but also happy from the bottom of his heart. It was so good.
It is easy to get tired when you are young. Princess Jinyang actually fell asleep in Luo Junzhuo's arms with the tears on her face still intact.
Luo Juncheng looked at Luo Junzhuo and said softly, "Junzhuo, I will not be in Chang'an anymore. I will leave the house of Prince Zhou to you. Please do not bring shame to the reputation of Prince Zhou's mansion. It will be up to you to maintain your father's reputation after his death."
Luo Junzhuo nodded solemnly. Worried about disturbing Princess Jinyang, he only said softly, "Don't worry, brother!"
The descendants of the Luo family in this generation of Prince Zhou are all blessed by King Su and have very good talents. Luo Juncheng has nothing to worry about Luo Junzhuo.
After everyone left the East Palace, Li Chengqian and Luo Juncheng looked at each other, put down their things, and fell into silence. After a long time, Luo Juncheng said, "Chengqian, go check on your cousin's wife and see if anyone in her family wants to leave, including your child.
Me too."
…
Prince Zhou's Mansion has always been a place of great renown, but today it is a bit desolate. At a time like this, no one would come to the mansion. After Luo Juncheng pushed open the door, he saw that everyone in the mansion was in a hurry.
The appointment from the palace has come down. For many people, it was a bolt from the blue. In the eyes of most people, the difference between this and exile is that in exile one is escorted on the road, while in exile one goes to the palace on his own initiative.
But there are so many people from foreign countries in Chang'an City who would rather be a powerless waste in Chang'an City than become a leader outside the Great Wall. This is very telling.
Not to mention that this time they are not just heading to the outskirts of the Great Wall, but it is said to be a wilderness that no one has ever been to. That's simply too scary.
Of course, no one knows about these people now.
In fact, the place chosen by Li Chengqian should be the best piece of land. Although that land can also be considered grassland, it is completely different from Mobei.
First of all, the climate is not as bad as that in Mobei. There will not be white disasters and black disasters all the time. Moreover, the grassland is extremely fertile and the temperature is not that low. It is similar to Hetao. Grazing there is much better than in Mobei.
Moreover, it is not a place like Mobei where only grazing is allowed. In fact, it is not a grassland but a "plain with grass".
Especially the East European Plain further west, which is black soil in a warm climate.
With the farming talent of the people in the Central Plains, just digging two shovels of soil there can produce a higher yield than in Hebei and Guanzhong Plains in the Central Plains. It can be said that the difficulty of reclaiming land is very easy.
Of course, no one knows this now. After all, the tribes living there have no talent for farming and can only let the land go to waste.
The problem facing Luo Juncheng now is that his child is only two years old.
Princess Changle, Li Lizhi, had been married to him for several years and gave birth to his first child. He felt that it was difficult for the Luo family to have children, and he didn't know how his mother gave birth to three children.
"My husband and my brother are going to the wild land to build a country. I will definitely follow them, but our child is still too young."
Traveling is a very tiring thing. Many adults can't bear it, let alone babies.
Luo Juncheng sighed and said, "Madam, I am not worried about our child. Our child is blessed by the Su King. He will not die before he is fifteen years old. Even if he is sick, he will recover in the end.
What I am worried about is the prince's child. Although his child is older than ours, at five years old, he is indeed too young."
This was the first time Li Lizhi had heard of this. She was somewhat doubtful and said, "The Su Wang's blessing? Can it really make our child safe?"
Luo Juncheng looked at the delicate and graceful child next to him, a trace of tenderness flashed across his face, "Haven't you noticed in the past two years?
Our children have never been sick or have any disasters.
The direct descendants of the Zhou Junwang lineage are all blessed by the Suwang. This is what our ancestor said personally, so we don’t have to worry. "
Li Lizhi's obvious worries suddenly relaxed.
She was stunningly beautiful, with smooth black hair and skin as white as jade. "That's good."
Luo Juncheng held her hand and apologized gently, "Madam, you may no longer have a pampered life in the future. I don't know what dangers you will encounter in the future."
Li Lizhi suddenly became proud, and her expression reminded Luo Juncheng of his mother, the Princess Pingyang. The two people's expressions were exactly the same.
"My dear husband, I am a woman, but how can a woman of the Li family be so weak that she cannot take care of herself?
How could it be that Luozi's wife could only enjoy romance and love but not be able to withstand the wind and rain?
We grew up together, you really look down on me.
Chang'an is a warm and nurturing place. I only need to enter the palace on time and keep in touch with the nobles. But now, when I go out, I dare to say that women are as good as men.
After leaving Chang'an, how far we can go in the new Qin State depends on whether my husband and I can go on together.
My husband, you can’t have such thoughts.”
She raised her head, full of energy and vigor, and Luo Juncheng just felt that she was too beautiful!
————
"The Supreme King of the Underworld shines in the sky. The bright light of the Mo Dao cuts through the dark night. The galloping war horses and the armored men of the Tang Dynasty whistle. The bleak cold night is reflected in the snow and blood. This is heaven, this is hell." - "The Heroes of the Western Expedition"
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
