The commander-in-chief of the Wei army on this expedition was the veteran general Zhao Tong, the second prince Li Zhongqian was in charge of transporting food and fodder, and the third and fourth princes each led a team of 2,000 people to provide support.
Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen stayed in the capital.
Li Yaoying was afraid that the Eastern Palace would take the opportunity to assassinate Li Zhongqian, so she sent people to keep an eye on the Eastern Palace.
For several days, there were no suspicious movements in the East Palace.
The insider in the Eastern Palace only sent out one message: Princess Fukang had closer contacts with the Yelu tribe, and might be plotting to rescue Princess Yiqing.
Yao Ying frowned.
I don't know why, but Zhu Luyun in this life is more ruthless than in the last life. Last year, she secretly colluded with Nan Chuxi, causing the Wei army to lose several cities. Li De punished her to reflect on her mistakes in seclusion, and the old ministers of the previous dynasty, headed by Prime Minister Zheng, rarely pleaded for her.
In order to atone for Zhu Luyun's crime, Li Xuanzhen took the initiative to lead troops to recapture Jiang County. He narrowly escaped death and returned seriously injured.
Zhu Luyun was moved and felt guilty, and she took care of Li Xuanzhen without taking off her clothes. Crown Princess Zheng Biyu thought they had reconciled, so she asked Qin Tianjian and prepared to choose a date for the wedding.
The bridal chamber for the wedding was already set up, but the two had a big fight and the wedding was called off.
Yao Ying was not interested in the on-and-off relationship between Li Xuanzhen and Zhu Luyun, but was afraid that Zhu Luyun would cause trouble that would affect others.
Her fears were soon confirmed.
Two days later, Yao Ying was sitting at the window writing a letter to Li Zhongqian who was far away, when she suddenly heard hurried footsteps in the corridor.
The birds that were pecking at the fruits on the steps started up, flapped their wings and flew towards the lush flowers, chirping loudly.
"My lord!" Xie Qing walked in quickly, stood outside the screen, and said with a bow, "Something happened."
Yao Ying's heart skipped a beat. The purple-hair brush in her hand paused on the paper, and ink dripped, spreading out into a light brown color.
She put down her pen, stood up and left the study, and asked, "What happened?"
Xie Qing lowered his eyes and said, "Today, there was a grand banquet in the palace. The emperor received envoys from various countries in the Linde Hall and watched a polo match. Princess Fukang also attended the banquet. The warriors of the Yelu tribe won, and the emperor rewarded the warriors. The warriors said that they admired the Central Plains Dynasty and wanted to submit to the Wei Dynasty. They asked the emperor to give a noblewoman from the Central Plains to be the wife of their chieftain."
He paused.
"Without waiting for His Majesty to speak, Princess Fukang stepped out from the crowd and said that she was willing to go to the grassland to marry a foreigner, and she accepted Chief Yelu's proposal in public."
Yao Ying was stunned for a long while, unable to believe her ears: "How is this possible?"
How can a marriage be so casual? Is Zhu Luyun crazy?
Xie Qing said expressionlessly with a straight face, "My lord, the news is absolutely true. Princess Fukang agreed too quickly, and the ministers in the government hall had no time to stop her. The envoys from various countries had already congratulated her. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the sage could not say anything. Prime Minister Zheng was so angry that he smashed his wine cup, and Governor Pei drew his sword. The people from the Ministry of Rites came out to mediate, but the Yelu tribe seemed to have been prepared for it, and completely ignored the hints from the Ministry of Rites, forcing the sage to issue an edict to grant the marriage. Princess Fukang also knelt down and begged the sage to issue an edict, and accepted the token of the Yelu tribe in public."
Yao Ying paced back and forth, unable to recover for a long time.
She knew that Zhu Luyun was willful and would stop at nothing to get revenge, but she never expected that this princess of the former dynasty would be so selfish as to treat state affairs as a joke!
Among all the princesses, only Zhu Luyun was a princess with a title. She was also a descendant of the Zhu family of the previous dynasty and had an extraordinary status. She rashly accepted the proposal, which not only put herself in danger, but also directly destroyed Li De's plan.
Li De tried his best to win over the Hu people and divide them, in order to gradually defeat the barbarians entrenched in the northwest, recover the Hetao and Western Regions, and eliminate the northwest border threat, so that the people in Guanzhong can live a peaceful and stable life. It also allowed the Wei Dynasty to take a breather and not be attacked from all sides. On the one hand, it had to beware of other forces, and on the other hand, it had to kowtow again and again, using gold, silver and beauties to buy off the barbarians, so that they would not move south.
He did want to pull the Yelu tribe under his wing, but the Wei Dynasty did not need to send a legitimate princess to marry.
When dealing with the Hu people, we must use both force to intimidate them and gentle means to appease them.
The reason why Li De led his troops to war as soon as he ascended the throne was to let the Hu people see how brave and capable the Wei army was.
First, we should scare them by using force, and then discuss cooperation. By then, Wei can take the initiative.
Because of Zhu Luyun's interference, Li De lost all the initiative and was in a passive position. In order to appease the barbarians and dispel the other tribes' vigilance and suspicion towards the Wei Dynasty, he had no choice but to let Zhu Luyun marry him!
Yao Ying could almost imagine how angry Li De was now.
The Li family was an old retainer of the Zhu family, and half of the ministers in the court had once been loyal to the Zhu family. When the last emperor was assassinated, Li De did not come to his rescue and deliberately delayed sending troops.
So Li De adopted Zhu Luyun, named her a princess, and was very tolerant of her.
Firstly, it can clear the Li family of the stigma of disloyalty.
Secondly, it showed the world the tolerance and magnanimity of the Li family, appeased the former ministers, and showed goodwill to the aristocratic families.
Third, it demonstrated the legitimacy of the Li family's succession to the throne.
Fourth, use Zhu Luyun to monitor the forces in the court who sympathize with the last emperor and balance the court.
Li De never did business at a loss. Zhu Luyun attempted assassination several times, but he found evidence each time and let her go each time without touching a single hair of Zhu Luyun. This was not only to continue using Zhu Luyun, but also to consume the last bit of sympathy and loyalty of the court ministers towards the Zhu family of the previous dynasty, so that they would be completely loyal to the new dynasty.
He certainly could not have imagined that when Zhu Luyun went crazy, she could actually make such a big thing.
Diplomatic relations are no trivial matter.
The Xin Dynasty was established not long ago, and it was the time to win the hearts of the people, build prestige, and subdue the barbarians. Zhu Luyun agreed to the marriage in public, and the Yelu tribe took advantage of the situation. If the Wei Dynasty could not handle this matter properly, the previous battles would be in vain.
Li De had to eat this loss even if he didn't want to.
…
At the same time, the reactions of the Eastern Palace Chief Clerk Wei Ming and Li Yaoying were exactly the same, with expressions of disbelief and shock on their faces.
"Is Princess Fukang crazy?" He was so anxious that his voice changed. "She actually wants to marry a foreign prince?"
The person who brought the message was the captain Qin Fei, a subordinate of Crown Prince Li Xuanzhen. He wiped his sweat and said, "Chief Secretary, what do you think we should do?"
Wei Ming was so angry that he was shaking all over. "Ignorant woman! Ignorant woman! My soldiers fought bravely outside to win the support of the barbarians. Your Majesty worked hard to make the barbarians surrender and sign an alliance with them. But this foolish woman ruined your plan with just a few words!"
Zhu Luyun is the daughter of the Zhu family. She accepted the token in public and did not leave any way out for the saint. She was really stupid!
Qin Fei grinned and supported Wei Ming: "Chief Secretary, now is not the time to scold people!"
He waved his finger.
"The Crown Prince will never allow Princess Fukang to marry."
Wei Ming also thought of this, his teeth clenched, he closed his eyes and breathed, suppressed his anger, calmed down, and asked: "The prince is not inappropriate in public, right?"
Qin Fei stamped his feet and sighed, "You also know how much the Crown Prince values Princess Fukang. When the Yelu tribe proposed marriage, the Crown Prince had just come down from the court and went to the back hall to change clothes. I don't know who stopped him. He came back after a long time. When he learned that Princess Fukang was going to marry into the Yelu tribe, his face changed immediately. He took Princess Fukang away without waiting for His Majesty to say anything."
Li Xuanzhen pulled Zhu Luyun away, Li De looked gloomy, the Yelu tribe became more and more demanding, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were so angry that they jumped three feet high, and the banquet ended in a bad mood.
The officials in the Eastern Palace were at a loss and could only send Qin Fei back to the Eastern Palace to ask Wei Ming for advice.
Wei Ming was angry, hateful and anxious, and there was a faint fishy smell at the roots of his teeth.
The emperor is a man of his own accord. He does not want to miss the opportunity to form an alliance with the barbarians. No matter how upset he is, he will still let Zhu Luyun marry.
The prince and Zhu Luyun have been entangled for many years, and he would definitely not sit idly by and watch Zhu Luyun marry to the grassland. Even if she did, the prince would lead his troops to bring her back.
No one can stop the prince.
By then, the prince will definitely come into conflict with the emperor!
Once there is a rift between the emperor and the Eastern Palace, the second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince will have the opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
Wei Ming thought quickly and made a decision in a few breaths: no matter what, he must find a way to stabilize the prince.
He didn't care who Zhu Luyun married, he was just afraid that the prince would make a mistake in a hurry.
Before he could plan anything, he heard a few horses neighing outside the window, and several guards from the Eastern Palace jumped off their horses and ran into the courtyard.
"Chief His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince has been detained by the Emperor's guards!"
Wei Ming's head buzzed and he rushed out of the study.
Something happened so soon?
The attendant was horrified and clasped his fists, saying, "Changshi, just now the Crown Prince was trying to escort the princess out of the city, but was stopped by the Jinwu Guards at the city gate and sent back to the palace. There was a conflict between the Crown Prince and His Majesty, and His Majesty was furious and had the guards tie up the Crown Prince."
Wei Ming was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He knew something was going to go wrong!
"Go and invite Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess!"
Zheng was a daughter of a prominent family, gentle, virtuous, well-educated and well-mannered. Her husband Li Xuanzhen and Zhu Luyun were always together, but she was never jealous and always advised Li Xuanzhen to marry Zhu Luyun as soon as possible to avoid damaging their reputations.
After Wei Ming heard the report of what happened in the palace from his attendants, he knew that the matter was urgent, so he did not bother to avoid her and went to her for help.
Zheng Biyu was flustered for a moment, but soon calmed down and said, "I am a woman in the inner chamber, I dare not discuss state affairs. What does the chief secretary want me to do?"
Wei Ming secretly praised Zheng, saying that she was worthy of being the daughter of a prominent family. Her composure was enough to surpass Zhu Luyun.
He sighed and said, "Your Highness, the Crown Prince impulsively clashed with the Emperor and is being detained in the palace for the time being. Now only you can persuade the Crown Prince to submit to the Emperor."
Li Dexian was so angry with Zhu Luyun that he was half to death. Before he could come up with a solution, he heard that Li Xuanzhen had run away with Zhu Luyun, and he became even more furious.
How can a king of a country act so impulsively?
He sent people to send Zhu Luyun to the princess's mansion for strict supervision, and kidnapped Li Xuanzhen, forcing him to completely draw a clear line between himself and Zhu Luyun. If he did not agree, he would be deposed.
Li Xuanzhen refused to bow his head.
Li De was furious and drew out the sword hanging in front of the dragon table, preparing to chop Li Xuanzhen, but was persuaded to stop by the attendants beside him.
Now Li Xuanzhen is still imprisoned in the palace, and no matter who tries to persuade him, he ignores them.
Zheng Biyu had heard from the maid that Zhu Luyun had taken the initiative to ask for a marriage alliance, and said, "Your Highness is a person who will not easily yield."
She was Li Xuanzhen's wife and knew Li Xuanzhen better than anyone else.
He usually looks gentle and calm, with proper manners, but in fact he is gloomy, cold, sensitive, suspicious, moody and unpredictable.
Zheng Biyu had been married to him for four years, and except for the lingering ghost of Zhu Luyun, she had never suffered any other injustice.
Li Xuanzhen respected her, and she reciprocated by being willing to respect her husband.
There is only respect, no closeness.
After sleeping in the same bed for several years and giving birth to a son, Zheng Biyu found that she still could not enter Li Xuanzhen's heart.
She never blamed Li Xuanzhen.
He once witnessed his mother, who depended on him for everything, being burned to death in front of him. The woman, whose face was burned beyond recognition by the flames, held his hand tightly before her death and urged him to avenge her.
Zheng Biyu had seen people who were burned by fire. She still felt horrified when she thought of that horrific scene.
Tang ended his life in the most tragic way, planting an everlasting fire of revenge in his son's heart.
She made Li Xuanzhen successful.
It also destroyed Li Xuanzhen.
Zheng Biyu could not hate Li Xuanzhen, a man who was haunted by nightmares all year round, turned pale when he saw fire, and often wielded a sword madly with bare eyes.
She felt sorry for her husband.
Zhu Luyun doesn't believe Li Xuanzhen's sincerity.
Zheng Biyu believed it.
That year, Li Xuanzhen was ordered to find Zhu Luyun and her mother who were living among the people, and rescued the mother and daughter from a fire.
The former concubine who had experienced many hardships was burned by fire. On her deathbed, she begged Li Xuanzhen to take good care of Zhu Luyun.
It's so similar to Tang's.
Li Xuanzhen sympathized with Zhu Luyun and swore to the concubine that he would take good care of Zhu Luyun, guard her, and protect her at all costs.
No matter how much trouble she causes.
Zheng Biyu understood that Li Xuanzhen's feelings for Zhu Luyun were not just a man's love and pity for a woman, but were also mixed with responsibility, promises, self-harm and a kind of compensation for his youth that he himself was not aware of.
This kind of relationship lasts much longer than love between men and women.
Zheng Biyu sighed and said, "Chief Secretary, unless you stop His Majesty from granting the marriage, it will be a waste of my time to go to the palace to persuade His Highness."
Wei Ming smiled bitterly: "The emperor is angry now, and Princess Fukang is determined to marry him. The Yelu tribe has joined other barbarians to put pressure on the court, and the edict of marriage may have been written."
The court was now in a difficult situation and could only arrange the marriage. Li De was so angry at Zhu Luyun's audacity that he was furious. The marriage was irreversible.
Zheng Biyu looked worried: "Isn't there nothing we can do?"
Wei Ming shook his head and lowered his voice: "Since we can't stop the arranged marriage, we can only find another way."
Zheng Biyu looked at Wei Ming in confusion.
Wei Ming whispered, "Li Dai Tao Jiang."
Zheng Biyu suddenly realized: "What the Chief Secretary means is to find another noblewoman to marry in place of Princess Fukang?"
Wei Ming nodded.
Zheng Biyu thought for a moment and said, "The Yelu tribe may not agree."
Zhu Luyun dared to cause such a big disaster. Obviously, she had already reached some conditions with the Yelu tribe in private. Otherwise, the Yelu tribe would not risk breaking off relations with the Wei Dynasty and make trouble.
One of them is willing to marry, and the other is willing to marry. Li De is helpless. What can they do?
Wei Ming smiled and said, "Whether the Yelu tribe agrees to change people is a matter for the future. Your Highness only needs to go to the palace and tell the Crown Prince about this idea, so that the Crown Prince knows that there is still a way to turn things around."
The top priority now is to stabilize Li Xuanzhen and avoid greater conflict between father and son.
Zheng Biyu pondered for a while, nodded, and ordered his servants to prepare the carriage and horses.
The author has something to say: Thanks to the little angel who threw the grenade: 40804725
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: Xie Zhinan; eat, eat, eat