The rise of the prince

Chapter 842 The Emperor's Support

In the middle of the twelfth lunar month, the eunuchs and eunuchs in the palace were full of joy, not only because of the New Year, but also because the saints above were in a good mood and their lives were easy.

Nowadays, regardless of whether it is inside or outside the palace, there has long been a lot of rumors about the great achievements of the emperor's grandson.

As the New Year draws near, envoys from all over the world come to watch the wind, and even the distant Tubo countries also send people to visit, not to mention the nearer countries such as Goryeo, Jin, Xia, Baiyi, Dali, Jiaozhi and so on.

This year's Northern War has come to an end. It is basically determined who will be the new hegemon of the world. It is also reasonable for many countries to come to worship.

When the Liao Kingdom was also Jingguo and dominated the north and the south, many countries adopted the strategy of standing on both sides and proclaiming their vassals on both sides, such as Xia Guo and Goryeo.

I thought that after the Liao Kingdom, there would be another confrontation between the north and the south, and the two heroes would respect each other. I didn't expect that Jing Guo would defeat the new northern overlord in one fell swoop. Paying tribute to the state is almost equivalent to shitting on the head of the state of Jin.

At this point, it is almost clear at a glance which side to stand on.

Since the emperor came in the twelfth lunar month, his face was full of red, and he even walked much more briskly. He was not as strict with those who served them as before.

Recently, as long as you speak more good words, many people have already been rewarded. Even if you make a small mistake, you will not be criticized as before.

Hearing that the emperor's grandson is going to enter the palace to accompany the emperor and queen to have dinner today, everyone worked hard. It is inevitable to please the emperor's grandson. In addition, their current situation is mostly due to the emperor's grandson.

In the afternoon, the grandson of the emperor came, and the little eunuch who led the way was waiting in front of the palace gate.

The emperor's grandson did not come alone, but also brought his two concubines and another woman.

After entering the palace, surrounded by the crowd, he went directly to the harem, and many people around him cast their eyes curiously.

The banquet in the palace is actually not that rich, and it is still a royal family banquet, not a palace banquet.

In fact, as a royal family, I have never tasted fresh delicacies from mountains and seas, so I eat with my heart. The dishes are not so complicated and diverse, but the style is exquisite and very careful.

Li Xingzhou brought Gillian and Shiyu, and they also brought two children, Xiaochen and Yinyin. The emperor and queen just wanted to meet the two little guys.

There is also Qifang, Li Xingzhou wants to take her to Shuzhong, but he must inform the queen first, and ask her to say hello to his family first.

In life, many things are unavoidable, even if he is the grandson of the emperor and the future successor of the empire.

For example, to the Wu family.

The Patriarch of the Wu family, Wu Zhengqing, is the queen's blood relative, and Li Xingzhou really can't wait for it.

He remembered the tens of thousands of troops killed by Wu Zhengqing in Faliao a few years ago. At that time, he assured Yang Wenguang that sooner or later, Wu Zhengqing would be liquidated and thoroughly investigated.

It's just that the battle between him and the crown prince was at a critical juncture at that time, either the crown prince died or he died, so he would not offend the queen's family, nor could he offend the great clan in central Shu.

He originally planned to find a way to deal with Wu Zhengqing after he returned from the Liao Kingdom.

But after returning to the country, the prince usurped the throne, and there was another bloody cleansing and power alternation.

After successfully taking over the power, what ushered in was an opportunity to act as soon as possible to solve the worries of the Jin Kingdom.

But now that the Kingdom of Jin was finally pacified, he could no longer attack Wu Zhengqing.

Because in order to deal with the powerful families along the coast, we must first stabilize the big families in central Shu. To stabilize the big families in central Shu, the Wu family bears the brunt.

At the dinner table, the emperor was in a good mood, and even drank half a glass of wine. The queen was also very happy, and kept passing on her child-care experience to Shiyu and Gillian.

From time to time, Qifang and Li Xingzhou would say a few words about important national affairs to the emperor. Recently, although various countries have come to court, although they have not reached the grand occasion of the peak of the strong man, they have begun to have a sense of "all nations come to court".

The emperor talked about it, and he was full of longing for it.

But in fact, everyone knows very well that there is still a long way to go. Even if they defeat Liao and Jin and regain Liaodong and Liaoxi, there is still a long way to go to reach the peak level of the Han Dynasty.

Not to mention the strength of the people, but if the territory is to reach the level of the Han Dynasty, Dali, Baiyi, Jiaozhi, and Koryo must be conquered, Hetao, Hexi Corridor, Xixia must be recovered, and many countries in the Western Regions must be controlled through the Hexi Corridor.

Just thinking about these things does not know how much time it will take and when they will be realized.

However, everyone did not discuss this topic in depth, but just passed it by.

When the family banquet was almost over, the emperor and the empress were all focused on teasing the two children, so Li Xingzhou had no choice but to take the topic: "I want to go to Sichuan in the next year."

Both the queen and the emperor were taken aback for a moment, and then the queen was overjoyed: "Are you really going to Sichuan?"

"Well, I've been traveling for a year, and I want to relax for a few months. Central Sichuan is the land of abundance, and I want to visit it. But I'll go quietly, without making any noise." Li Xingzhou explained.

With his current status, if he went swaggeringly, it would indeed be a waste of money and people.

"Well, central Sichuan is a good place to go. Xingzhou, after working so long, you really should rest." The queen said happily, she is from Sichuan and Sichuan, and she naturally prefers her hometown. you."

Li Xingzhou nodded: "That's what I mean. I want to ask Grandma Huang to help me edit books for my uncles in Shuzhong. I'm not familiar with the place I'm born in. I'm afraid I'll take a detour."

The queen was even more happy when she heard this: "I was willing to let you get in touch with your uncle and the young people in the family, but I was afraid that you would be busy with family and country affairs for years, and you would not be able to separate your mind, which would delay your important affairs. Now you want to It would be best to rest and take the initiative to go.

Tomorrow, I will write a family letter and send it to Sichuan, so that your uncles and younger generations will prepare well. Next year, you will go there and let you rest comfortably without too much work. "

"Thank you Grandma Huang." Li Xingzhou said.

"The whole family can say thank you, as long as you can feel comfortable in Sichuan." As a grandma, the queen doted on him very much.

Then at the family banquet, some family stories were mentioned, and since Li Xingzhou brought Qifang, it was equivalent to explaining Qifang's identity to the emperor and queen.

Because the emperor asked about Fang's father, Qi Fang's father did not perform well after he was appointed as a scholar in the middle school. The emperor was going to let him retire, but considering Fang's affection, he planned to let him go to Honglu Temple to take up a freelance job , still in the capital.

It seems that she was talking about her father with Qifang, but she was actually talking about her father to Li Zhou.

Li Xingzhou spoke directly for Qifang: "How can she understand this as a woman, and besides, the emperor is the emperor of ninety-five years, and he can say what he says. Naturally, you have the final say on these matters, so don't worry about us."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction, but Qifang glanced at him without saying a word.

After the dinner, the emperor called him to the study alone, and asked, "Didn't you go to Shuzhong to rest?"

Li Xingzhou nodded and did not hide it. The queen can hide it, but the old emperor is very shrewd.

"I know about your reforms in the coastal states. Last year, there were too many cases of impeachment." The emperor paced around the table, "Tell me, why you insist on doing this."

Li Xingzhou understood that the emperor was asking him for a reason. If the reason was sufficient, the emperor might support him. This was a turning point.

He said cautiously: "In order to prevent the wealthy family from becoming bigger and annexing the land. Looking at the history books and books, every time a wealthy family grows bigger and monopolizes the land, the people at the bottom have no land to cultivate and plant, and there will inevitably be turmoil.

In the end, all these grievances will be concentrated on the court, and they will sit idly by, and the country will not be far away from subjugation! "

The emperor frowned: "Is Jingguo so serious?"

"No." Li Xingzhou shook his head: "My Li family has established the country for more than a hundred years, and the land annexation of local wealthy families has not yet reached its peak, and commerce and trade are developed, and the people will naturally be distracted and reduce their attention when they become rich.

However, the impact of the wealthy clan's expansion and annexation of land, and the lack of land for ordinary people to cultivate has already been reflected. The Suzhou rebellion five or six years ago had this reason.

And the big clan has also started to be unscrupulous, and a few years ago, the poor supervision and transportation of food and grass harmed the frontline soldiers."

"That's heavy rain from the sky, and it's not a matter of human affairs." The emperor said.

"But this year is still the case. The army is fighting in the front, and they are raising food prices in the rear to take advantage of the opportunity. If Wang Ke is not capable, the whole battle situation may have a big problem." Li Xingzhou's voice became severe.

"Your Majesty, you must never place your hope on the conscience of these people. As long as they have the opportunity, they will definitely continue to seize the land of ordinary people to strengthen themselves. As for loyalty to the emperor and patriotism, they will naturally shout when it is beneficial to them. The first to turn against each other."

The emperor was silent for a while, "Why don't I understand, but they are deeply ingrained and have a far-reaching influence, and it is difficult to eradicate them. I am afraid that if you are not careful, you will be lost forever."

"They are indeed powerful, but they are not that scary. I am going to fight one faction against another. First, stabilize central Sichuan and the north, and deal with the coastal continents. After the coastal areas are settled, we will deal with the northern regions. Finally, central Sichuan will be taken step by step.

So I have to go to Shuzhong in person to stabilize the emotions of the big clans in Shuzhong. I have blood ties with them, so I can persuade them better. "

Seeing that he was determined, the emperor finally just nodded: "That's fine, you've grown up and have your own ideas. I don't care about you, and I don't want to restrain you. I just hope that you don't rush for quick success and quick gains, and think more about a perfect plan."

"Grandson remembers the teaching carefully."

"Well, I'm old and frail, I can't run around, and I can't do any big things, but as long as I'm still here, you don't have to worry about the rich and famous families in the capital and its vicinity. They won't make any waves in my hands." The emperor said indifferently. road.

Li Xingzhou was overjoyed and bowed again.

It seems that the emperor has agreed with his approach and personally supported it. If the emperor helps to sit in the town, then when he moves, the capital and the surrounding areas will be as stable as Mount Tai, so his worries will be gone.

In the evening, when Li Xingzhou came out of the palace, Shiyu and Gillian took the children into the carriage, while Li Xingzhou and Qifang rode on horseback.

On the way, Qifang asked him puzzled: "With the prestige of His Royal Highness, do you still need to be so cautious? In my opinion, it would save effort to clean up the central Sichuan and the coastal states together?"

Li Xingzhou chuckled, Qifang was still too young, he didn't know what would happen if the whole country fought hard together, Yongzheng was forced to be helpless when he was the emperor.

"You have never thought about one thing, the dog will jump the wall in a hurry, not to mention the fact that every household needs to know the specific acreage of each household. Can I rest assured that the local officials will do the statistics and calculations?
cannot!If I let them do it, they will definitely be in the same boat as those local big families, and the final statistics will most likely be underreporting and concealment. "This is also a historical lesson. At the beginning, Yongzheng asked the officials below to count the land of the gentry in various places. As a result, many provinces forcibly lost [-]% of the land.

Qi Fang thought for a while.

"So for these things, I can only shoot cronies and send trustworthy people to do it. At the same time, I even need to mobilize new troops to cooperate, just in case. This can only be done step by step." He further explained.

Qi Fang nodded: "Your Highness is still thoughtful. How long are you going to stay in Shu this time?"

"It depends on the effect." Li Xingzhou looked up at the pitch-black night: "It can be a few months at least, or a year or so at most. If it doesn't work, I will brazenly drag it in the middle of Sichuan, and then send someone to the coast to deal with it quickly."

Qi Fang smiled: "Does the dignified Crown Prince also want to play hooligans?"

"If being a hooligan solves all problems, I'd rather be a hooligan."

"Hehehe, I will do my best to enter Shu this time."

On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month, Li Xingzhou specially invited Yang Wenguang to Wangjiang Tower for a small gathering, and asked Fang Xin to prepare a private room on the third floor for them.

He bluntly apologized to Yang Wenguang, because he had indeed broken his promise.

Yang Wenguang was taken aback, and quickly expressed that he did not dare to accept it.

Li Xingzhou didn't pester him too much, but told him directly about Wu Zhengqing.

It was Wu Zhengqing who harmed Yang Wenguang's soldiers at the beginning, and he also promised Yang Wenguang that he would liquidate Wu Zhengqing, but now this matter may be delayed again.

After hearing about it, Yang Wenguang also sighed.

Li Xingzhou had no choice but to solemnly assure him: "I have not forgotten the soldiers who died in vain, and I have not forgotten what Wu Zhengqing did. He is my uncle and cannot be forgiven. He will pay the price sooner or later, but I have my own plan. Things must be done step by step. Step by step, can you trust me?"

"His Royal Highness, no matter when and what happens!" Yang Wenguang said solemnly.

Li Xingzhou nodded, feeling guilty in his heart. He had agreed to this matter a long time ago, but due to the complicated interests and relationships involved, and some emergencies, he repeatedly delayed it. Until today, he still cannot deal with Wu Zhengqing.

Unknowingly, at the end of the twelfth lunar month, Li Xingzhou began to send gifts to various families.

First of all, Zhong Daoyu, who was idle at home, was once the number one god of war in Jingguo, and now this title has been given to him by more and more people.

Then there is Chen Yu, who has been teaching in the school of the palace after he was dismissed from office, teaching the children the learning of Xunzi, and receiving a generous salary from the palace.

Next came De Gong, He Zhao and other important officials.

As for the generals who were originally in the post house, Li Xingzhou directly asked them to stay in the palace temporarily. Anyway, the New Year is going to be lively, and the palace has no shortage of rooms.

Even Yelu Dashi was brought over to celebrate the New Year together.

Yelu Dashi was named the Prince of Liao, he was well treated and had his own palace, but his only family member was Yelu Yali, and it was not easy to be alone in Jingguo, so he might as well invite him over.

So this year the palace is particularly lively, and it is already noisy before the new year, full of the spirit of the year.

(End of this chapter)