A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1189 Three Wills
"I believe that Prime Minister Wu's original intention was good,"

Ma Zhou knew that Wu Huaiyu's decision to let his adopted son Shi Shouxin be the king of Shi State and governor of Dayuan was not handled properly and would definitely become a handle for others to attack him, but he still spoke up for Wu Huaiyu.

"The Asiqie tribes rebelled repeatedly and were erratic. As the second largest of the nine Sogdian states in Hezhong, Shiguo was no longer a country ruled by the Sogdians, but a country completely controlled by the Western Turks after it was conquered by Shekui Khan and replaced by the Turkic monarchy.
Since Nisu Khan, Shiguo has been completely obedient to the Asiqie tribe. The two Asiqie tribes fled to Shiguo, and the king of Shiguo refused to cooperate with our Tang army's pursuit. This shows which side they stand on between the Tang Dynasty and the Western Turks and Asiqie.

Ma Zhou analyzed it very seriously for the emperor.

"I believe that if the Tang Dynasty wants to rule the Western Regions, it must destroy the Asiqie tribe, and its four vassal states, including the Shi Kingdom and Shule, should also be eliminated."

"The Anxi Army conquered the capital of Shiguo and captured its kings, but it was not easy to control Shiguo afterwards. Prime Minister Wu made Shi Shouxin the king of Shiguo, which was a very clever and practical move."

Li Shimin was wearing a cloak and looking at the horizon.

He did not comment on Ma Zhou's words, but only asked, "Is Wu Huaiyu's adopted son Shi Shouxin really the grandson of the Shi Kingdom?"

Ma Zhou was unable to answer. Wu Huaiyu recommended Shi Shouxin to the court as the King of Shi State and Governor of Dayuan, saying that Shi Shouxin was the grandson of the King of Shi State, but did not say whether it was true or not.

Ma Zhou felt that it was unlikely that Shi Shouxin was the real grandson of the Shi Kingdom. It was not such a coincidence. Wu Huaiyu said this just to facilitate the placement of a trusted general to guard the Shi Kingdom.

In this case, the matter of Shi Shouxin being the fake prince certainly cannot be spread around.

The emperor said, "Huaiyu reported to me in secret that Shi Shouxin is not the grandson of the Shi Kingdom."

"Destroy the Shi Kingdom, capture King You, and then restore the Shi surname royal lineage. These are all correct. If so, why not find a real descendant of Shi Nie? I believe that there must be someone in the royal family of Shi Kingdom."

When Ma Zhou heard this, he didn't dare to respond. The emperor was obviously not very happy about Wu Huaiyu recommending his adopted son to be the king of Shi Kingdom.

Now there are strange phenomena in the sky, and some people interpret it as there will be a rebellion in the Western Regions, and say that if a minister plots against his lord, the country will be in danger, and some even say that if the emperor is in chaos, the country will be doomed.

Isn't this an attack on Wu Huaiyu, saying that he will rebel in the Western Regions?

Of course, Ma Zhou would never agree with this statement. Even if there were strange phenomena in the sky, there could be many explanations. Even if the celestial phenomena warned that there would be war and turmoil in the Western Regions, and there would be rebellion by ministers and strategists,

He also believed that it was a sign of a rebellion in the Western Turks, or a rebellion in Shule, Zhaowu and other countries. It was impossible for Wu Huaiyu to rebel.

But if the emperor believed it, or even hesitated a little,
There was a hint of suspicion,
That would be terrible.

The key point of this matter is that Shi Shouxin is not only a general of Anxi, he is also Wu Huaiyu's adopted son. He has followed Wu Huaiyu since he was a teenager, and they have been father and son for more than ten years.

Who would believe that Wu Huaiyu had no selfish motives in letting his adopted son become the King of Shi Kingdom and Governor of Dayuan?

Wu Huaiyu not only appointed his adopted son Shi Shouxin as the governor of Dayuan, but also arranged for several of his adopted sons to hold important positions in Anxi.

"Your Majesty, I also think that although Prime Minister Wu had good intentions, he did not do things right. The court can find the descendants of King Shi Nie of the Shi Kingdom and enthrone him as king. Shi Shouxin is not suitable to be king."

The emperor was silent for a long time, and no one knew what he was thinking.

"Forget it. Trust the people you employ, and don't employ the people you doubt. I have never doubted Huaiyu's loyalty. I have seen that since he entered the Western Regions, he has captured Yugushe, destroyed Gaochang, defeated Helu, killed Buzhen, defeated Asijie, and captured the two kings of the Shi Kingdom.

Not only did he add the two states of Xi and Ting to the Tang Dynasty, he also spread the prestige of the Tang Dynasty to the north of Tianshan Mountain and in Hezhong. This achievement is not something that ordinary people can achieve.

The Western Regions are thousands of miles away. As the commander-in-chief, I have already given him the power to act at his own discretion and the power to grant titles.
What Huaiyu is doing in the Western Regions now is actually within my authorization."

Ma Zhou breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, the emperor was not an ordinary emperor. This saint had a very broad mind, otherwise it would have been impossible for him to transform the Tang Dynasty from a country shattered by the mountains and rivers and bullied by the Turks to a country where all the barbarians were submissive in just fifteen years.

He asked tentatively,
"Your Majesty, now that the Western Regions have surrendered, should we summon Prime Minister Wu back to the capital?"

"Huaiyu said that he wanted to destroy Asijie in one fell swoop, so that no one in the Western Regions would dare to challenge the Tang Dynasty. He also wanted to destroy the three countries of Shuole and plant the Tang flag in Shannan and Congling. At that time, he would also establish Shule Town in Shannan and Congling Shouzhuo.
I think this plan is good. It doesn't need to bother two masters for one thing, and it won't be easy to lead the troops on the battlefield. Let Huaiyu continue to preside over the Western Regions."

Although the court is now in an uproar,

But the emperor calmed down and thought carefully for a long time, especially looking back at his acquaintance with Wu Huaiyu, the trust between the monarch and the minister was still there. More importantly, Wu Huaiyu had always done things that made Li Shimin very satisfied.
There is a special tacit understanding between the monarch and his subjects.

Take the Western Regions for example. Wu Huaiyu not only knew the emperor's intentions well, but was also able to perform exceptionally well in the Western Regions. He completed what would have taken ten years for the emperor to plan in less than a year in the Western Regions.

With such capable ministers and generals, the emperor cannot change the general because of some astronomical phenomena or attacks. That will lead to setbacks in the Western Region strategy, which the emperor cannot accept.

If Wu Huaiyu is to be summoned back to the court, it is at least necessary to completely destroy Asikya, and then attack and destroy the three kingdoms of Shule, Zhujubo, and Kepantu.

Even regarding Shi Shouxin's appointment as governor of Dayuan by the King of Shi State, Li Shimin planned to agree first.

The next day.

After the morning court in the Golden Palace,
The eunuchs carried several rosewood boxes to the government hall of the inner chamber and handed over several imperial edicts to the prime ministers.

The first will,
The nineteenth princess, Princess Lanling, was granted a fief of 500 households, and the officials immediately granted her the fief.

This decree was brought to the Council of State Affairs to be submitted to the prime ministers for process. The Secretariat would draft the edict, which would be reviewed by the Ministry of Personnel and executed by the Minister of State Affairs. The Council of State Affairs and the prime minister would work together to directly reach a decision, thus avoiding disagreements between the Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel and pushing the issue back and forth.

"This is against the rules,"

Wei Zheng, the Minister of the Imperial Court, spoke first, "Although the princesses of this dynasty are entitled to 3,000 households after being canonized, that is just a nominal fief." Although there were princesses who could get a real fief before marriage, it was usually between dozens and hundreds of households, never more than 600 households, and basically, this real fief could only be obtained when they got married.

Even the eldest princess, Princess Changle County Li Lizhi, who was the emperor's favorite before, was granted a fief of 300 households before her marriage, and later it was increased to 600 households. However, it was only after she married Zhangsun Chong that she received the real fief of 600 households.

In addition,
Among the princesses of the day, only Princess Jinyang and Princess Hengshan, the two young legitimate princesses, were given titles before their marriage.
These two legitimate princesses were first granted the title of one hundred households each, and later they were granted an additional title, so now they both have the title of three hundred households each.

Princess Lanling was the daughter of Concubine Yang, not a legitimate princess.

But now they want to seal off 500 households.

This means that Princess Lanling's actual fiefdom was second only to the 600 households of the married eldest princess, Princess Changle, and was 200 households higher than the fiefdoms of the eldest princesses, Princess Jinyang and Princess Hengshan.

Princess Lanling is fourteen this year.

After the decree to grant Princess Lanling a fief of 500 households, the second decree required court officials to prepare a dowry for Princess Lanling, and specifically ordered that it should be prepared according to the specifications of Princess Changle's dowry.

Back then, when the emperor was preparing a dowry for his eldest daughter, Princess Changle, he specifically asked for half more than the dowry of his younger sister, Princess Yongjia. As a result, Wei Zheng, Wei Ting and others advised against it.

However, although the emperor accepted the advice at the time, the princess's wedding was still extremely luxurious.

Five hundred households of fiefdom, and the same dowry as Princess Changle, all these together made people think of Princess Lanling's fiancé.
Wu Chengsi, Duke of Sanyuan County, was the eldest son of Wu Huaiyu, the prime minister, co-minister of the Secretariat, Grand Protector of Anxi and Governor of Liangzhou.

The prime ministers are all shrewd people.
Everyone immediately thought that the emperor bestowed such an extraordinary title on the princess at this time, and that the preparation of the dowry at this time was obviously related to Wu Huaiyu, who was now being impeached by many people.

really,

The third will,
Wu Chengsi was granted the title of Imperial Court Official and Water Envoy, and was granted the title of Duke of Taiyuan County in Jin Dynasty.

The reason for the promotion was because of his father Huaiyu's merits.

Even the Minister of the Central Secretariat Ma Zhou felt that this decree was a little inappropriate. He was Wu Chengsi's uncle, but he also felt that it was too much.

After all, Wu Chengsi was only fifteen years old. Even though he was the emperor's prospective son-in-law and Wu Huaiyu's eldest son, he was still so young.

Chao San Dai Fu was a fifth-rank civil official, and Du Shui Shi Zhe was an even fifth-rank official.

The Dushui Envoy was not only a fifth-rank official, but also the head of the Dushui Supervisory Office.

The so-called nine temples and five academies, the Du Shui Jian is known as the Jiangzu Jian, the Imperial College, the Shaofu Jian, and the Military Equipment Jian. The Du Shui Jian had considerable powers, and was in charge of matters such as rivers, bridges, dikes, and weirs.

Although the power of the Nine Temples and Five Censors is far less than that of the Three Provinces and Six Ministries,
But it is also a central authority department.

The chief officer, the Water Envoy, was actually given to a fifteen-year-old boy. Wu Chengsi was only a student of the Imperial Academy. Although he had served the emperor for several years, he was still a teenager after all.

Now let him be the chief officer of the Water Conservancy Bureau.
Isn't that ridiculous?
"Since Prime Minister Wu made great contributions in pacifying the Western Regions, his son should be given a special title based on his merits. Wu Chengsi, the Duke of Sanyuan County, was promoted to the Duke of Taiyuan County. This is acceptable, but I am against appointing him as the Envoy of Du Shui." Ma Zhou expressed his opinion directly.

Wei Zheng was also the one who opposed it.
"A fifteen-year-old water messenger is unprecedented. This is not possible."

Imperial Censor Zhang Liang smiled and said, "The Water Conservancy Department is a leisurely office. The Wu Consort is a smart young man. He has been well educated by the Wu Xiang since he was a child. A few years ago, he was raised in the palace by the saint and taught by him. I often meet Wu Consorts, good young men who are both literary and martial.

Prince Consort Wu will be getting married next year, and now the Saint wants him to go to the Dushui Prison for training, which is also good."

Seeing that Zhang Liang was so shameless, everyone didn't want to pay any attention to him.

But after Zhang Liang opened this up,

Except for Xiao Yu who also opposed the passing of this decree, the Left Prime Minister Fang Xuanling and the Right Prime Minister Gao Shilian remained silent. The three decrees of the emperor made them all understand the emperor's intentions.
On the surface, it seemed to be a reward to Princess Lanling and Wu Chengsi, but in reality, the emperor finally came forward to protect Wu Huaiyu.

No matter how Wu Huaiyu was attacked from the outside, the emperor finally chose to trust Wu Huaiyu as always.

The three imperial edicts were discussed in the Council of State Affairs and were not decided upon before the Emperor.

The next day, the three imperial edicts were delivered to the Council of State as is. On that day, Wei Zheng, Xiao Yu and others still firmly disagreed.

On the third day, the imperial edict was delivered to the Council of State as it was.

Things became a little complicated. Generally speaking, if the emperor's order could not be approved by the Council of State, the emperor would either modify it or withdraw it.

Alternatively, the prime minister who refuted the proposal would have to resign.

Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu were so angry that they wanted to resign, but Fang Xuanling, Gao Shilian, Zhang Liang, Liu Li, Cen Wenben and others came to persuade them.
Ma Zhou was silent for a long time.

Finally, these three edicts were passed in the Council of State Affairs after persuasion by Fang Xuanling and others.

The Zhongshu drafted the edict, the Menxia reviewed it, and finally it was handed over to the Shangshu Province for execution.

The next day, the Golden Palace held an early morning audience.

Several imperial edicts were read out in the palace.
It shocked countless people.

(End of this chapter)