In Liu Ziyu's view, Princess Yueqiluo of the Uyghur Khanate should not have been conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort at all.
Although the power and status of the Imperial Noble Consort in the harem were clearly one level lower than that of the Empress.
However, the Imperial Noble Consort is the highest-ranking consort in the harem, and to a certain extent, she can assist the emperor in handling some state affairs.
If the Empress fails to give birth to a prince for the Emperor, the Imperial Noble Consort's son may be made Crown Prince.
Furthermore, given Yue Qiluo's status as a Uyghur princess, she will inevitably play a significant role in the Tang Dynasty's major decisions regarding the Silk Road and the management of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
In fact, her influence will even surpass that of her adopted sister, the reigning Empress Liu Shujun.
This is something Liu Ziyu cannot tolerate!
He also hoped that, with the help of his sworn sister, he could one day expand the influence of the civil and military officials' interest group in the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun to the Thirty-Six Kingdoms of the Western Regions.
Silk, tea bricks, porcelain, and medicinal herbs from the Central Plains were all sought-after items from the Western Regions, while woolen textiles, dried fruits, and fine horses from the Western Regions also had a large market in the Central Plains.
These back-and-forth trips in private have brought back a lot of hard-earned money!
When Liu Ziyu was still the garrison commander of Wuzhou in the previous dynasty, he used his position to do business with the Turks in Wuzhou and the northern border, making a fortune.
However, after the Turks on the northern grasslands were almost wiped out by Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an and the remaining people fled to the western desert, Liu Ziyu's smuggling business in Wuzhou City plummeted.
The salary he received from the new dynasty's Ministry of Revenue was insufficient to allow him to continue his previous extravagant lifestyle.
Now, especially after Liu Ziyu established an alliance with the governors of Liangjiang and Lianghu, he saw even greater potential benefits on the future Silk Road.
Once the establishment of a community of interests among the four regions of "Jiangnan, Youyun, Anxi, and the Western Regions" can be facilitated, silk, tea, medicinal herbs, and porcelain from the Jiangnan region can be purchased at low prices and then resold at high prices to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
They also bought woolen textiles, dried fruits, and fine horses from the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions at low prices and resold them to the Central Plains, making a profit from the price difference. That was truly like holding a treasure bowl that could make a fortune every day.
Therefore, in the matter of establishing an empress in the new dynasty, Liu Ziyu spared no effort in supporting his sworn sister Liu Shujun. A small part of his motivation was out of affection between the sworn siblings, but the majority of his motivation was for his own benefit.
But fate had other plans!
Liu Ziyu's dream was only half fulfilled. Although Emperor Zhaowu made his adopted sister Liu Shujun the empress of the new dynasty, he also conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort Yue Qiluo, the princess of the Uyghur Khanate, the leader of the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions.
This made it much more difficult for Liu Ziyu to smuggle products from the Central Plains to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions via the Silk Road!
However, the imperial decree to confer the title of Imperial Noble Consort on Yue Qiluo of the new dynasty had already been issued, and the investiture ceremony had been completed. No matter how much objection Liu Ziyu had, he dared not express it in front of the emperor and the civil and military officials!
However, Liu Ziyu had already begun to plan in his mind what kind of strategy he could use to bring down Yue Qiluo, that enchantress from the Western Regions, from her position as the Imperial Noble Consort of the Tang Dynasty!
On the other side of the Hall of Union, Lukes, the envoy from the Uyghur Khanate, had a glimmer of hope rekindled after hearing the news that Princess Bilge Yue Qiluo had been conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort of the Tang Dynasty.
Princess Bilge fell short in the matter of establishing an empress, but when the new dynasty establishes a crown prince in the future, Princess Bilge, as an imperial concubine, will not be without any chance.
As long as Empress Liu Shujun cannot give birth to a prince for Emperor Zhaowu, and Princess Bilge can give birth to a prince for Emperor Zhaowu, then the Uyghur Khanate can still play the game that the old prime minister Has put himself into back then.
The key question is, how to prevent Empress Liu Shujun from giving birth to a prince for Emperor Zhaowu?
For a time, the thoughts of Lukes, the envoy of the Uyghur Khanate, also began to stir.
The struggle for the selection of an empress in the Tang Dynasty may seem to have come to an end, but in reality, it was just the beginning of a new upheaval!
On the dragon throne in the Hall of Union, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an looked at the civil and military officials and envoys from various countries kneeling before him. He knew very well that beneath this seemingly peaceful and tranquil surface, there must be undercurrents surging.
However, this is the most reasonable solution he can think of at the moment to resolve the dispute over the succession of the new dynasty.
This approach prevented the court officials from criticizing or opposing him as emperor based on secular etiquette, while also leaving a glimmer of hope for the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, especially the Uyghur Khanate, so that they could genuinely recognize him as an enlightened founding emperor, thus paving the way for the subsequent implementation of a policy of ethnic integration.
This incident also made Chen Huai'an realize that if he wanted to be a good emperor, especially a great emperor who would be remembered for generations, he still had a long way to go.
On the day he ascended the throne, he couldn't help but exclaim: "The road to self-cultivation is long and arduous; I will continue to explore and seek the truth!"
After the ceremony of establishing the empress and bestowing the title of imperial concubine in the new dynasty concluded, civil and military officials and envoys from various countries moved from the Hall of Union to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to attend the evening banquet.
Officials from the Ministry of Rites had already directed the palace maids and eunuchs of the Imperial Kitchen to decorate the vast Hall of Supreme Harmony into a banquet scene.
After the civil and military officials and envoys from various countries were seated in the Hall of Supreme Harmony according to their official ranks, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, accompanied by Empress Liu Shujun, who had changed her clothes, and Imperial Noble Consort Yue Qiluo, attended the banquet.
Chen Huai'an was still wearing the bright yellow dragon robe he wore at the coronation ceremony, while Liu Shujun, who had just been made empress of the new dynasty, had changed out of her bright red phoenix robe and put on a bright yellow phoenix robe, with a phoenix shawl and a rosy crown, looking dignified and elegant.
Imperial Noble Consort Yue Qiluo also changed out of the bright red phoenix robe she wore to the enthronement ceremony, and instead wore a golden phoenix robe, looking stunningly beautiful and captivating.
When Zhaowu Chen Huai'an arrived, Empress Liu Shujun and Imperial Noble Consort Yue Qiluo took their seats on the dragon throne and phoenix throne in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and the founding banquet of the Tang Dynasty officially began.
Chen Huai'an took the wine cup from the eunuch Cai He, rose to face the assembled officials of the Taihe Hall, and proclaimed with unparalleled dominance: "My beloved ministers, envoys from all nations, raise your cups—"
brush!
Inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, civil and military officials and envoys from various countries rose to their feet and respectfully raised their wine cups to Emperor Zhaowu on the throne.
Chen Huai'an said, "Today is an auspicious day for the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Let us raise this cup together and wish our Tang Dynasty eternal prosperity!"
"cheers!"
The banquet inside the Hall of Supreme Harmony continued until nightfall.
At the banquet, Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an drank quite a bit of wine, so much so that he had to be helped out of the Taihe Hall by Empress Liu Shujun and several palace maids.
Imperial Noble Consort Yue Qiluo tactfully left the opportunity to take care of the Emperor to Empress Liu Shujun, while she herself returned to her palace somewhat forlornly.
It was just past 7 PM.
A grand fireworks display was held in the Imperial City of Nanjing. Hu Zhijun, the Minister of Works, finally had the opportunity to show his face in front of the Emperor. He led the gunpowder craftsmen of the Ministry of Works to personally set off fireworks in the square outside the Imperial City.
call out--
Beep!
call out--
Beep!
The gunpowder artisans of the Ministry of Works meticulously crafted fireworks and firecrackers for the Emperor's coronation ceremony. One after another, they rose into the night sky and exploded, bursting forth with colorful flames that lit up the New Year's night sky like a celestial maiden scattering flowers.
Outside Kunning Palace (the Empress's bedroom), the continuous bursts of fireworks and firecrackers brought a moment of clarity to Emperor Zhaowu Chen Huai'an, who was intoxicated.
Supported by Empress Liu Shujun, he paused, gazing at the fireworks exploding and blooming in the night sky, and then turned to look at Liu Shujun beside him, who was dressed in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robe.
Looking at that beautiful face deep in his memory, even though it had become somewhat blurred with the passage of time, he had never dared to forget it, and Chen Huai'an felt a sense of familiarity as if from another world.
He instinctively lunged forward until his lips were enveloped by that warm, sweet sensation. At that moment, his mind finally went completely blank, leaving only his body's most primal instincts.
"Your Majesty, no, not here—"
After a long while, Empress Liu Shujun, who was almost suffocating, finally pushed Chen Huai'an away.
Then, with the help of his personal maid, they finally managed to get Chen Huai'an into Kunning Palace.
As Liu Shujun sat in front of the bed, about to help Chen Huai'an undress, he was suddenly tackled by a powerful force, his nose filled with a strong sense of masculinity.
"Your Majesty, no—"
(38,000 words omitted here; dear readers, please fill in the blanks with your own imagination, hahaha!)
......
After the banquet in the Hall of Supreme Harmony ended, a considerable number of civil and military officials and envoys from various countries voluntarily stopped in the square outside the imperial city to enjoy the fireworks display that the Ministry of Works had meticulously prepared for the emperor's enthronement ceremony.
The court officials, thoroughly intoxicated, chatted amongst themselves, discussing the dazzling fireworks and composing impromptu poems. They mingled with the people of Nanjing who had come to watch the fireworks display, creating a scene of peace and prosperity for the nation.
Of course, some people had no interest in appreciating the beautiful fireworks and instead continued to move on to other places, fueled by alcohol.
Liu Ziyu, the top military general of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun who was riding high in the struggle for the succession of the new dynasty's empress, was one of them.
Under Liu Ziyu's organization, a group of civil and military officials from the Youyun region, as well as some regional governors from the Liangjiang and Lianghu regions, went straight to the banks of the Qinhuai River after leaving the Taihe Hall.
With the backing of Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, the largest pleasure boat on the Qinhuai River had already been prepared for a group of powerful ministers.
Listening to Shannon's soft, sweet tunes, everyone continued to add wine, relight the lamps, and resume the banquet.
As the sworn brother of the Empress and the "brother-in-law" of Emperor Chen Huai'an, Deputy General Liu Ziyu naturally became the protagonist of this banquet.
"Gentlemen, I propose that we first toast General Liu..."
The speaker was Su Chen, the Governor-General of Liangjiang. He had just finished saying the three words "General Liu" when he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself, saying with a forced smile, "Hey, look at my memory!"
"Now, we have to change how we address him. We can't call him General Liu anymore; we have to call him the Imperial Brother-in-Law!"
Hahaha!
Upon hearing this, the civil and military officials on the pleasure boat were first taken aback, then suddenly realized what was happening and raised their wine cups with fawning smiles, vying to say, "To the Imperial Uncle!"
"Yes, General Liu is the adopted son of Prince Wu Ning and the sworn brother of the current Empress. Isn't he the Emperor's brother-in-law?"
"Come, everyone, let's all pay our respects to the Imperial Brother-in-Law!"
Faced with the flattery of a group of high-ranking officials and regional governors, Liu Ziyu appeared extremely humble on the surface, but in reality, his vanity was greatly satisfied.
He enjoyed the feeling of being adored by thousands, and the feeling of looking down on everyone from a high place.
Liu Ziyu waved his hand and said modestly, "Gentlemen, gentlemen, please listen to me. This title of Imperial Brother-in-Law doesn't count. My sworn brother is just a sworn brother!"
"Your Excellency, you can't say that!"
Governor-General Jiang Ning of the Two Lakes immediately took over the role of the straight man, saying, "Although the Imperial Brother-in-law is the adopted son of Prince Wuning, Prince Wuning only has one daughter, the Empress."
"I have heard that although the Emperor's brother-in-law and the Empress are not blood-related siblings, their bond is stronger than that of blood-related siblings."
"Back then, the second emperor of the previous dynasty, Zhao Gan, listened to the slander of the wicked concubine Wenren Yu and wanted to send our Empress to the Uyghur Khanate for a political marriage. Your uncle was the first to stand up and protect the Empress!"
Governor-General Jiang Ning of the Two Lakes continued, speaking with great detail: "I have also heard that the Emperor's brother-in-law, in order to protect the Empress and Prince Wu Ning, has already prepared to raise an army against the tyrant Zhao Gan;"
"The reason why His Majesty was able to lead the elite cavalry of Longcheng on a thousand-mile detour, passing through Wuzhou undetected from the northern grasslands, and ambushing the tyrant Zhao Gan, who was personally leading the expedition, near Tumu Fortress, was entirely due to the secret assistance of the Emperor's brother-in-law;"
"With this sentiment alone, the Imperial Brother-in-Law deserves the honor of being the Imperial Brother-in-Law of the new dynasty!"
"Don't you all agree?"
"Yes, Lord Jiang is absolutely right!"
"The Emperor's brother-in-law, truly deserving of the title!"
"......"
Under the atmosphere created by Jiang Ning, the Governor-General of Hubei and Hunan, a group of civil and military officials who were already quite drunk and enjoying themselves were all flattering Liu Ziyu.
He was praised for his loyalty, hard work, and great achievements, and was absolutely worthy of the honor of being the new emperor's brother-in-law.
Liu Ziyu also lost himself in the praise, waving his hand to signal everyone to be quiet while he began to reminisce and boast about his "glorious past"!
He spoke with great emotion: "To be honest, when I learned that the former tyrant was going to send my sworn sister, Shujun... and the Empress to the Uyghurs for a marriage alliance, I did indeed consider raising an army to oppose the court;"
"What you all may not know is that this prince not only recognized and mentored me, but also took on the responsibilities of a father figure as I rose from an unknown soldier to a garrison general guarding a region."
"It's no exaggeration to say that the Prince is like my second parents, and the Empress is like my own sister!"
At this emotional moment, Liu Ziyu, with tears in his eyes, said with deep emotion, "I, Liu Ziyu, am also a man of integrity. How could I tolerate that tyrannical emperor of the previous dynasty bullying my adoptive father and humiliating my adopted sister?"
"Back then, if it weren't for the current emperor raising an army to quell the rebellion, I, Liu Ziyu, would also have raised an army to protect my father and my sworn sister's family!"
Upon hearing this, Governor-General Su Chen of Liangjiang raised his glass again and said, "The Imperial Brother-in-law is a model of loyalty and righteousness for us all!"
"This cup of wine is to the Imperial Brother-in-Law!"
"Respectfully, Your Excellency the Imperial Brother-in-Law!"
"cheers!"
"Dry!"
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