"My son, are you confused?"
Seeing his mother scolding him for his foolishness with a look of annoyance, Chen Huai'an, who was already confused, became even more bewildered. He could only spread his hands and look at his mother, Xu Ruoyun, with a blank expression.
Eh—
Seeing this, Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun sighed and recounted the whole story to Chen Huai'an.
It turned out that when Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an issued an edict in the Uyghur palace to posthumously confer the title of Western King of the Great Tang on Moyanchuo, the valiant Khan who died defending the glory of the Great Tang, and to allow his descendants to inherit the title, the news immediately caused a great uproar among the civil and military officials.
Even Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, who resided in the inner palace and did not concern herself with politics, heard various discussions and rumors about this matter from the eunuchs and palace maids of the inner palace.
Some people say that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's move was to make up for the regret of not being able to make Princess Pijia the empress of the new dynasty. He intended to support the imperial concubine Yue Qiluo to the throne and make her the queen of the Western Regions. They say that this is like letting a tiger return to the mountain, and that chaos in the Western Regions will surely reappear in the future.
Some have suggested that Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an's actions were a prelude to the future implementation of the "conferring of royal titles upon princes" system in the Tang Dynasty. The emperor would not only confer the title of prince upon the sons born to the imperial concubines, but also confer the title of prince upon the sons of other concubines, just like Emperor Gaozu of Han.
Some people even strongly opposed Emperor Zhaowu's enfeoffment of kings, saying that the chaos of the princes in the Han Dynasty and the chaos of the princes in the previous dynasty Daxin were warnings, and that rashly enfeoffing kings would do nothing but harm the country and the nation.
They even made alarmist claims, saying that once the Tang Dynasty opened the door to granting titles of nobility, it would inevitably sow the seeds for the dynasty's eventual division a century later.
In short, before Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an had even officially bestowed the title of Prince of the West upon the second prince born to the Imperial Noble Consort, it had already caused a great uproar in the court and among the people, with various discussions, disputes, and voices of opposition constantly emerging.
In addition, the so-called "controversy over the selection of an empress" at the beginning of the founding of the dynasty had already brought a series of negative effects and unstable factors to the Tang Dynasty (mainly the rebellion of Liu Ziyu, the sworn brother of Empress Liu Shujun and the Earl of Wuyi of the Tang Dynasty).
Therefore, Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun was worried that Chen Huai'an's move would provoke opposition from civil and military officials, causing turmoil in the court and threatening the stability of the Tang Dynasty.
Hahaha!
Chen Huai'an, who had been looking solemn, finally burst into laughter after hearing his mother Xu Ruoyun's worries and the reactions of the civil and military officials to the matter of being granted the title of king.
After a long while, Chen Huai'an, who had stopped laughing, said to his mother, Xu Ruoyun, "Mother, I thought it was something important, but it turns out it's just this matter!"
"Mother, I assure you, the chaos among the princes, the fratricide among brothers, and the internal division of the dynasty that these civil and military officials are worried about will never happen!"
Chen Huai'an said confidently, "Given the lessons of the Han and Xin dynasties, how could I possibly repeat their mistakes?"
"My decree allowing the descendants of the valiant Khan Moyanchuo to inherit his title of Western King of the Great Tang is merely to commend Moyanchuo's heroic performance in resisting the invasion of our vassal states by the Arab Empire;"
"This was to set an example for the kingdoms of the Western Regions."
As Chen Huai'an spoke, he came to his mother Xu Ruoyun's side and, as always, gently massaged her shoulders to relax her muscles.
Furthermore, he assured his mother, "Mother, I have my own judgment and decision-making regarding matters of state. You don't need to worry about so much. You'd be better off spending your time enjoying family life instead."
"From this day forward, you will be the Empress Dowager of the two princes, haha!"
Chen Huai'an comforted his mother, saying that he did not want to tell her about his deployment of a million troops in the Western Regions, his implementation of the new policy of "separation of military and political power" in the various kingdoms of the Western Regions, and his construction of the Great Wall outside the region.
It wasn't that there was any rule against the empress dowager interfering in politics, but rather that Chen Huai'an knew that with his mother's experience and knowledge, it was difficult for her to compare with him, a transmigrator who had lived two lives.
The only thing Chen Huai'an was certain of was that the so-called rebellion of princes would definitely not happen.
Currently, whether it's the Central Plains dynasty or the Tang army in the Western Regions, 80% of them are private soldiers produced by the "Born to be an Emperor" system.
You're saying that Wang can mobilize even a single soldier, and that he harbors rebellious intentions?
Eh—
Xu Ruoyun, who was enjoying her son Chen Huai'an relaxing her muscles with her eyes half-closed, finally just sighed and stopped arguing or getting entangled with Chen Huai'an on the matter.
Her son had grown up and was now the supreme ruler of the country. No matter how much she worried about him, she should let go and let him handle these important military and national affairs on his own.
Although, in the eyes of outsiders, Chen Huai'an was a wise and powerful emperor, an invincible and brave general;
However, in his mother Xu Ruoyun's eyes, he was still the child who made her worry about him all the time;
Most mothers in the world, like Empress Dowager Xu Ruoyun, probably worry about their children until their deaths.
Perhaps this is the best interpretation of a mother's worry when her son travels a thousand miles away!
Suddenly, Xu Ruoyun, who had been half-closing her eyes, abruptly opened them. Her body, which was leaning back in the chair, also jolted. Chen Huai'an, who was massaging her from behind, also subconsciously stopped what he was doing.
The next moment, Xu Ruoyun suddenly turned around, looked at Chen Huai'an with a serious expression, and said, "My son, your mother has suddenly remembered something else;"
"The Empress Dowager heard a few days ago that, in the recently concluded imperial examinations, of the two hundred successful candidates from various regions who were admitted to the provincial and national academies, one hundred and eighty-seven were born in the twelve southern provinces, while only thirteen came from the north."
"Rumors are circulating that the imperial examination reforms being implemented by the court are seriously flawed, and some even go so far as to say that the Tang Dynasty only possesses half of its territory;"
After a pause, Xu Ruoyun continued with a grave expression, "My son, I don't know if the Minister of Rites, Zhang Fu, and the Duke of Wei, Chang Yuchun, who is acting as prime minister, have submitted a memorial to you regarding this matter;"
"However, this matter cannot be handled carelessly;"
"Even the Empress Dowager, who has lived deep within the palace for so long, can hear such rumors. One can only imagine how this matter must have spread outside the palace, among students in both the north and south of the Tang Dynasty!"
Xu Ruoyun said, "My son, your mother knows well that after you ascended the throne, you vigorously promoted the imperial examination reform in order to break the monopoly of aristocratic families on the appointment and selection of court officials, and to open up a clear path for scholars throughout the land to become officials through their studies."
"Although my mother was a woman, she deeply understood the profound significance of the imperial examination reform for the country and the Tang Dynasty."
"Therefore, this first imperial examination after the founding of the Tang Dynasty must not be reduced to the claim by some that the Tang Dynasty only possessed half of its territory!"
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