Chapter 194 Imperial Marriage
After a brief moment of shock, Li Yuanzhao quickly composed himself, stood up, and knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace! However, the title 'Tian Ce' is too heavy, and I fear I am not up to the task. I beg Your Majesty to rescind your decree."
She was more clear-headed than anyone else.
If the Emperor truly intended for her to succeed to the throne, he would have directly appointed her as Crown Prince, instead of giving her this seemingly supreme and favored title, which is still lower than that of Crown Prince.
"If I say you can handle it, then you can handle it."
Li Ye's gaze was deep. "Remember this, this is both recognition of your achievements and my expectation of you. I hope you can protect this Great Qi empire for me, safeguard the people of the world, and in the future... also protect your younger brothers and sisters."
Li Ye spoke his last sentence very softly, but Li Yuanzhao heard it.
While the others were still in shock, Zheng Wenkai was the first to stand up, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise! The Princess has made outstanding contributions, and her promotion is well-deserved. We, your subjects, congratulate the Princess!"
With Zheng Wenkai taking the lead, the other officials also stood up to offer their congratulations.
Li Yuanzhao did not refuse again and readily kowtowed to express his gratitude.
She wanted to see just how far her father was going to go in this game.
After all, such power was so great that it could threaten the imperial authority, and she didn't believe her father would entrust it to her so readily.
Sure enough, after the congratulations in the hall subsided, Li Ye slowly spoke to Li Yuanzhao.
"Over the years, you have had to handle both court affairs and the defense of the capital, which has been very tiring for you. I am thinking that it would be better to appoint Zheng Xinglang, the nephew of Prime Minister Zheng, as the deputy general of the Imperial Guard to assist you in managing the military affairs of the Imperial Guard. This way, we can share some of the burden with you and save you from doing everything yourself and becoming too tired."
Upon hearing this, all eyes in the hall turned to Zheng Wenkai.
Zheng Xinglang's background is quite extraordinary. His mother is Princess Jiahe, the daughter of the emperor's aunt, and his father is the younger brother of this Prime Minister Zheng.
In terms of kinship, he was related to the royal family by marriage.
In terms of family background, he was a top-tier nobleman.
More importantly, he had frequented the palace since childhood and was a study companion to the second prince, Li Yuanyou. The two grew up together and had a deep friendship. In their early years, he and Shen Churong served as deputy generals in the Imperial Guard and had a colleague relationship.
Cui Shiliang suddenly realized that there was such a clever scheme behind His Majesty's bestowal of honors!
First, Li Yuanzhao was elevated to a high position by being given the title of "Princess Tiance Zhenguo," and given great power to handle political affairs, which made people feel that this was the highest honor.
Then, under the guise of "sharing the burden," they openly placed Zheng Xinglang into the Jinwu Guard.
It sounds nice to say something like "assisting in military affairs," but in reality, it's about gradually taking back military power from Li Yuanzhao.
What's even more ingenious is that if Li Yuanzhao were to refuse the transfer of military power after such a generous reward, it would only make her seem sinister.
His Majesty wants her to willingly hand over her military power in front of the whole world!
It seems that His Majesty is still making plans for the Second Prince.
Li Yuanzhao now has achievements, military power, and popular support. If he is not checked and balanced, he may very well become too powerful and overshadow his master in the future.
However, if a pretext is found to strip her of her power, it will discourage the ministers who support her, cause turmoil in the court, and may even provoke her to rebel.
This move not only preserved Li Yuanzhao's face and prestige, but also quietly stripped her of her most crucial military power, while paving the way for the second prince's future succession.
In this way, even if His Majesty passes the throne to the Second Prince after his death, Li Yuanzhao will no longer have the power to raise an army. As for the Cui family, they will have to be wary of Li Yuanzhao's "regency" status and will not act rashly.
Cui Shiliang became increasingly alarmed as he thought about it, and his gaze toward Li Ye on the throne held a newfound respect.
This emperor, though seemingly plagued by illness, was actually incredibly shrewd and calculating, taking every step with meticulous care to understand human nature.
This seemingly glorious bestowal of titles was used to re-examine the relationships among the three forces, minimizing obstacles for the subsequent transfer of power.
Unfortunately... his meticulous plan is destined to come to naught tonight.
Li Yuanshu also realized what was going on at this moment.
So why were the uncle and mother so certain that Li Yuanzhao would rebel tonight? Did they already know that the emperor would issue such an order today?
The title of "Princess Tian Ce Zheng Guo" may seem extremely prestigious, but what does it amount to compared to real military power?
To put it bluntly, once Li Yuanzhao relinquishes the Imperial Guard, her father could find any pretext to strip her of her title and power at any time.
At that point, she would be like fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
If she were Li Yuanzhao, she would probably also have the idea of taking a risk and wanting to rebel.
The other officials in the hall looked at Li Yuanzhao with more complex emotions.
Whether this seemingly glorious investiture was a blessing or a curse, only the eldest princess herself probably knows.
Before Li Yuanzhao could even speak, Zheng Wenkai stepped forward again and knelt down to express his gratitude.
"Your Majesty, on behalf of your nephew, I thank you! Xinglang is young and ignorant, but fortunately Your Majesty has taken a liking to him. From now on, I will certainly follow Your Majesty's teachings and do my best to assist the Princess and protect the peace of the Great Qi!"
Because of the incident where Xiao Duo, the commander of the Imperial Guards, made a mistake while drinking at the hunting grounds, generals from various armies in the capital region, such as Zheng Xinglang and Shen Churong, are required to lead their troops on duty at the current royal banquet and cannot attend the banquet. Therefore, they are not present at the banquet.
Therefore, it is understandable that Zheng Wenkai expressed his gratitude on behalf of his nephew.
A cold smile flashed across Li Yuanzhao's face.
Before she could even speak, Zheng Wenkai, in his haste, immediately agreed on her behalf.
However, she maintained a respectful demeanor, saying, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for your compassion..."
But before she could finish speaking, Li Ye interrupted her with a smile, "Don't thank me yet, I have some good news to tell you."
Li Yuanzhao looked at him with a puzzled expression.
What could be "better" than this?
Li Ye stopped looking at her and turned to the people in the palace, his tone suddenly carrying a hint of wistful reminiscence.
"Que Nu's mother was my first wife, and we shared a deep affection..."
Upon hearing this, Cui Yunyi's face instantly darkened.
That old man is about to start acting again.
"It's a pity that she passed away shortly after birth. Since then, I have personally raised her and raised her, so much so that even though she has reached marriageable age, I still can't bear to let her get married."
He paused, then continued, "But now, my health is deteriorating day by day. After much thought, I still have to find her a considerate and reliable husband so that she can live a happy and carefree life in her later years, which will put my mind at ease."
A murmur of discussion immediately arose inside the hall.
The emperor not only conferred a title upon the eldest princess today, but also intends to bestow a marriage upon her.
Everyone was speculating about which talented young man had caught the emperor's eye.
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