Li Hong looked at Li Yifu, who was confused and didn't know why he was laughing. He nodded and walked out of his shadow. He looked at him and said, "Are you planning to get some of this malachite and sell it in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places?"
Li Yifu smiled implicitly. He did have such an idea, but it was not for himself, but to please the King of Dai in front of him. Ever since he met King Dai, he felt that money had a strong attraction to King Dai, so he came up with the idea of pleasuring Li Hong.
Now most people in the court can see that this three-year-old Prince of Dai has unlimited potential, and his mother has been canonized by His Majesty as the Empress of the Tang Dynasty. As the eldest son of His Majesty and the Queen, and as he has been extremely intelligent and lovable since childhood, he is deeply loved by His Majesty and the Queen. It is likely that he will be made the Crown Prince sooner or later. This has made Li Yifu, who is known for his keen sense of touch in the court, have already made detailed plans in his mind.
That is to get closer to the modern king and make yourself a support for the King of Dai. Doing so will bring many benefits to your future political career.
Li Yifu nodded repeatedly and said, "The King of Dai is smart. I do have this idea. If we get some malachite and sell it in Chang'an and Luoyang, it will surely bring huge profits."
Li Yifu was making his own plans in his mind, and Li Hong was also making his own plans in his mind. The two of them smiled at each other in an ambiguous way.
Li Hong also made a preliminary decision and plan for the future of Li Yifu, so he said: "Although this item is precious, I don't know if it can cater to the favor of wealthy merchants in Chang'an, Luoyang and other places. This item is not abundant in the south, and it is not so easy to transport it from the south. You can try, but you have to find some trustworthy people."
"That's right, don't worry. I promise to make it foolproof and ensure that your money will not be lost in any way."
"I'm not worried about the money, but I think you're thinking too simply." Li Hong said, leaving the question unanswered.
...
...
"What does the King of Dai want? Please, King of Dai..."
"The place where this thing is produced should be deep in the mountains. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, copper and iron, not to mention gold and silver, have all been scarce. This is even more so for copper coins. There don't seem to be many coins in sufficient quantity. As the saying goes, 'Where there are poisonous snakes, there must be an antidote within seven steps.' I think this ore can't be too bad. If we can find malachite, that would be great. If we can't find malachite, wouldn't it be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty to find other ores?" Li Hong said eloquently.
"I admire the wisdom of King Dai." This time, Li Yifu sincerely paid tribute to Li Hong. The contempt he had just felt for Li Hong disappeared without a trace.
"You're welcome. If you read more books when you have nothing to do, you will know these things. As the saying goes, 'Books are the source of beauty and golden houses.' That's the truth." Li Hong shook his head like an old scholar, and Li Yifu followed closely behind him.
"Ah? The King of Dai is really the Star of Literature. He can actually...can speak eloquently! Books contain beautiful women and golden houses..." Li Yifu murmured to himself.
Li Hong was shocked after hearing Li Yifu's words. He was too cocky. The saying "beauty is always there in books" is still true at this moment. But as Song Emperor's younger brother Zhao Heng said several hundred years later, he was too cocky.
Li Yifu's skill of hiding a dagger behind a smile is really perfect. He felt elated without realizing it, and unconsciously revealed his true feelings and relaxed his guard.
Watching Li Yifu's departing back, Li Hong also figured out how to place Li Yifu. That was to turn him into a true businessman, and let him shift his focus from spreading rumors and misleading others in the court to managing his own finances. In this way, he would no longer be able to stay close to his mother and stir up trouble every day.
Time was more than enough for Li Hong. Although both Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong were trying to please the queen mother and were threatening to become her right-hand men, it would take several years before they could exert the greatest influence of their nicknames.
Now, Li Hong has plenty of time to get them both by his side, so that future unrest in the court and the historical event of the struggle between the emperor and the queen can be nipped in the bud.
He could not openly try to win over Li Yifu and Xu Jingzong, after all, he had no name or status. What's more, he now needs to rely on these two people to speak up for him in front of his father and mother and let them make him the crown prince.
Only when he becomes the crown prince, can he truly and legitimately win the two of them over to his side, keep them away from the court, and restore a clear sky in the court.
Seeing that the entire palace was busy preparing for the ceremony of enthroning his mother as empress, he was the only one in the palace like a lonely ghost all day long, doing nothing with the palace maids and eunuchs every day, playing with cats and dogs. But now there was a follower following him - Li Xian.
He didn't dare to go to the deep palace openly, but he knew that his mother must know every time he went there, but she didn't pursue him because he didn't do anything excessive.
Li Yifu, the big mouth, read out in front of all the ministers what he had read that day, "Books contain beautiful women and golden houses." It seemed like an unintentional act, but it was just to praise the King of Dai for his extraordinary intelligence.
But many people, including Li Hong, knew that this was Li Yifu's attempt to build momentum for himself to become the crown prince. His main purpose was to send a message to the court that Prince Dai Li Hong, as the eldest son of His Majesty and the Queen, should be made the crown prince instead of the current illegitimate son Li Zhong.
Three days later, the ceremony of enthroning the empress was held in Taiji Palace. With the loud voices of the ceremonial officers, the Tang Dynasty ushered in the era of Wu Mei as the empress. As to whether the competition between the emperor and the empress could be staged again in the future, and whether the only female emperor in Chinese history could appear, no one knew now. Even Li Hong, who had been reincarnated for ten generations, did not know who would decide the future path of the Tang Dynasty.
The lengthy proclamation of offering sacrifices to heaven made Li Zhi and a prince behind Wu Mei drowsy, while the others were fully alert and listened to the "lullaby" attentively.
The edict to confer the title upon the queen had been written yesterday and was read out at the morning court today. The court officials, dressed in formal formal attire and holding boards in their hands, stood there listening attentively, and from time to time they nodded their heads along with the loud voice of the ceremonial officer, as if they were immersed in the scene and enjoying it.
Li Hong and other princes and princesses knelt behind Li Zhong, looking at everyone in the court. Zhangsun Wuji had a blank expression on his face. Everything in the court now was a scene that the Guanlong Group headed by him did not want to see.
When it came to establishing a queen, Li Zhi no longer considered the opinions of his old ministers. This also showed them that Li Zhi wanted to monopolize power and no longer wanted to govern the country based on their will, but had his own ideas.
After the imperial edict was read, the ceremonial officer took out the phoenix seal from the jade plate, then slowly walked up to Wu Mei who was kneeling in the court, and handed it to her respectfully and solemnly.
Wu Mei was dressed in a grand phoenix robe and crown, shining with colorful light, noble and elegant, gentle yet dignified. She looked at the phoenix seal in the ceremonial officer's hand with bright eyes, slowly took it, and then put it into the wooden box that the palace maid behind her had prepared for a long time.
Li Zhi was smiling happily and looked extremely energetic. He watched Wu Mei's every move with fiery eyes. He had been looking forward to this moment for a long time.
Court officials and concubines bowed and kowtowed to congratulate, and envoys and princes from various countries bowed and kowtowed to congratulate. The ritual officials recorded it in the ancestral temple and changed the imperial edict inside the jade butterfly to make Wu Mei the empress.
Next, everyone went to the Linhu Palace for a banquet and drinking. Naturally, there was singing and dancing, and envoys from various countries came to show the gifts they brought for the Queen of the Tang Dynasty.
Linhu Hall is equivalent to a part of the Daming Palace. Since the Daming Palace had not been completed, after the death of Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan, Emperor Taizong ordered to stop the construction. But now, Li Zhi did not have the energy and time to continue the construction, and only improved several palaces such as the Linhu Palace next to the Taiji Palace.
The emperor and the empress sat side by side at the top, followed by the crown prince and court officials. Shaboluo of the Western Turkic Khanate sent his young Khan to congratulate the Tang Dynasty and also to request the Tang Dynasty to stop using military force against the Western Turkic Khanate.
Goryeo, Silla, Baekje and other countries also sent envoys. It was not so much that they came to congratulate the Tang Dynasty on the establishment of the queen, but rather to file a lawsuit, let the Tang Dynasty make the decision for them, or even ask for help.
Small countries in the Western Regions such as Guizi, Tocharia and Shiguo also sent special envoys to express their congratulations.
Among them, Japan had the largest lineup. After all, they sent a large number of envoys to study in the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, they also brought extremely precious gifts to the Tang Dynasty's ceremony of enthroning the queen.
Princes Li Hong and others were naturally just there to watch such a momentous celebration. They could only sit in an inconspicuous corner with princes from other countries or the little Khan.
Elegant music slowly sounded in the Linhu Palace like a drizzle that moistened everything. The sound was like cotton but not soft, and it smoothly reached everyone's ears. The banquet officially began after Li Zhi gave some polite remarks.
While Li Zhi was talking, Li Hong had already started to eat the food on the table, which aroused the contempt of Ashin, the young Khan of the Western Turkic Khaganate who was not far away.
After despising Li Hong, Ashinu was attracted by the beauty of Yi Yang who was standing next to Li Hong. Today, Yi Yang had specially combed her hair into two flat buns, one on each side of her head, with two bright gold hairpins inserted in them.
Yi Yang watched Li Hong eat heartily and said in annoyance, "Hey, can you wait a moment? This is really embarrassing for the royal family."
"I'm hungry. My mother transferred all my palace maids away early this morning. No one brings me food. What am I waiting for if not to eat now?" Li Hong said after swallowing a piece of meat.
"You look terrible for eating this." Yi Yang said as she noticed someone looking at her, and seeing that it was someone she didn't know staring at her, she glared at him threateningly.
Unexpectedly, instead of retracting his gaze, Ashnu smiled at her and looked at her even more unscrupulously.
Yi Yang tugged at Li Hong's sleeve and whispered, "Who is that guy? He's even more impolite than you. He kept staring at me. I warned him and he still stared at me."
"Who told you to dress so beautifully today? You're almost stealing the limelight from your mother." Li Hong ignored her and raised his voice as he saw that everyone had already started drinking.
"Hey, help me, that guy is still looking at me." Yi Yang felt uncomfortable under Ashnu's gaze, and snatched the meat from Li Hong's hand and said.
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