A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1219: Conferring the title of King Jiujiang

"When I was four years old, a Taoist fortune teller who passed by praised me to Emperor Gaozu as having the appearance of a dragon and a phoenix, the appearance of the sun and the sky, and that I would be able to help the world and bring peace to the people when I was twenty. Emperor Gaozu later named me Shimin."

Li Shimin walked into the pavilion,
To Zhang Anan, he said, "Zhang Jian, bring me a pot of tea."

Zhang Ananda quickly had someone serve a pot of the emperor's favorite milk tea, and then retreated to a distance.

Prince Chengqian poured tea for his father.
It's rare for the father and son to sit down and chat and drink tea.

"My father is a man of unparalleled bravery. He pacified the four directions with his military prowess. During the Zhenguan Reign, he was a man of great virtue in both civil and military affairs. He has the virtue to rule the world and the merit to bring peace to the world for all eternity." Cheng Qian praised his father.

The emperor smiled and said, "When I was sixteen, I joined the army as a teenager. I followed Yun Dingxing to Yanmen Pass to relieve the siege of Emperor Yang of Sui. When I was eighteen, I initiated an uprising in Taiyuan and was appointed as the Right Commander-in-Chief of the Army. I led the troops to capture Chang'an.

When the Tang Dynasty was established, I was only nineteen years old.

After that, he led troops to pacify the separatist forces of Xue Rengao, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Wang Shichong, Liu Heita, etc., and made great contributions to the unification of the Tang Dynasty. He was named King of Qin, appointed General of Tiance, and promoted to Minister of Civil Affairs. "

"When he was appointed as the Minister of Heavenly Strategy, he was 22 years old."

Cheng Qian said, "I am already 24 years old this year, and I am far behind."

Li Shimin smiled, picked up the teacup and took a big sip.

The combination of brick tea and milk is very fragrant.

"I became the crown prince at the age of twenty-seven, and have only been the crown prince for two months, but you have been the crown prince for sixteen years. In terms of being a crown prince, you have performed better than I have."

Sixteen years of princehood,

Li Chengqian was the third crown prince of the Tang Dynasty and the longest-serving crown prince. The first crown prince of the Tang Dynasty, Li Jiancheng, served for nine years before being usurped by his second brother, Li Shimin, who even lost his life. Li Shimin served as crown prince for only two months before Li Yuan abdicated the throne to him and ascended the throne as emperor.

Cheng Qian has been crowned the crown prince since the ninth year of Wude until today.

Li Shimin served as crown prince for as long as he was emperor.

He was named the crown prince at the age of eight and is now twenty-four years old.

When Li Shimin was 22 years old, he had captured a king and destroyed a country, and won the Central Plains War. In the battle of Hulao Pass, he defeated 100,000 troops with 5,000 troops, captured Dou Jiande, and forced Luoyang Wang Shichong to surrender. He was promoted to General Tiance and was granted the title of Situ.

"Sixteen years have passed in the blink of an eye," Li Shimin said with emotion, holding a teacup. "Now that I think about it, it was easier when I led troops to fight in the past. Although leading troops to fight requires both strategy and fighting hard, military orders are as firm as a mountain and are straightforward.

As an emperor, you can't be so straightforward about the people and things in the court. Only when you really sit in this position, you will feel how difficult it is.

It is said that it is easy to conquer a kingdom but difficult to maintain it.
I have deeply experienced this over the past sixteen years.

In the past, when leading troops to fight, we had to follow orders and enforce discipline, reward those who made contributions and punish those who made mistakes, but now it is not that simple.”

"Now I understand why the emperor calls himself a lonely man."

"My desk is piled with memorials, including those from the Imperial Censors, who have heard rumors and impeached the lawless, and those from the Censors, who have made remonstrances and advised against it.
There are also secret reports from the Hundred Cavalry Division,
King Pei Shi of Shule took his queen to Suiye to pay homage to Wu Huaiyu. As a result, Wu Huaiyu slept with Queen Ashina of Shule, and then asked Pei Shi to divorce the queen the next day.

Wu Huaiyu conquered the Shi Kingdom and announced to the public that his adopted son was the son of the youngest son of the former king of the Shi Kingdom who fled to the Central Plains, and was a prince. He then directly pushed Shi Shouxin to the throne of the king of the Shi Kingdom.

An Lushan, who weighed more than 300 pounds, led his troops to attack and destroy Qiuci and broke into the royal capital. He not only allowed his troops to plunder, but also slept with the queens and concubines of several generations of kings in the Qiuci Palace.

Han Wei, the former governor of Yizhou and governor of Qiuci, occupied a lot of land in Yizhou, accepted many bribes, and even openly extorted Silk Road merchants passing through Yizhou.

Zhao Yuankai, the chief secretary of the Anxi Grand Marshal's Office, flattered his superior. When Wu Huaiyu's mount was injured, he actually sucked the pus from the wound of Wu Huaiyu's horse.

Your uncle, when he was in Luoyang, often abused his power for personal gain and placed members of the Changsun family in positions of power. This time, he even asked your brother-in-law Changsun Chong to go to the Western Regions to serve as the governor of Yanqi, which was also done in violation of regulations with your uncle Gao Shilian.

"Even Wei Zheng was found to have used backdoors for his relatives."

"It's not easy to manage a family, let alone manage this vast country. Not to mention Wu Huaiyu, he is your teacher and the prime minister I admire and trust the most.

He has made great military achievements, and this time his contribution in the Western Regions is even greater.

But he did make many mistakes in the Western Regions, one by one, so many that they could fill a small box. If it were another emperor, he would have died when Wu Huaiyu returned to Beijing."

Cheng Qian was extremely shocked when he heard this. He didn't expect his father to tell him the date of his death.

I quickly tried to defend the teacher.

"You don't have to rush to speak for Wu Huaiyu. I am not Emperor Wen of Sui, who killed General Shi Wansui. I am not Yang Guang, who harmed the meritorious official Yang Su.

I am telling you all this here today just to have a heart-to-heart talk."

Li Shimin looked at his son, "What do you think of Wu Huaiyu?"

Cheng Qian held the teacup and answered without hesitation, "He is a good teacher, and also a capable official who is both civil and military. He is also good at poetry, calligraphy, painting, medicine, and even financial management."

Li Shimin nodded, "Yes, this is a rare genius, there is nothing he is not good at. Sixteen years ago, he came out of Zhongnan Mountain and was still a little immature.

But now, sometimes I can’t see through him.”

"He is only thirty-four years old this year. Nine years younger than me, and only ten years older than you."

Li Shimin drank another sip of tea.

He said calmly, "Wu Huaiyu is indeed a man of extraordinary talent, and his outstanding achievements over the past sixteen years have already proven this.

only,"

Just one word made Cheng Qian's heart beat slower.

"Cheng Qian, you have been the crown prince for sixteen years, and you often stayed behind to supervise the country and handle military and state affairs when I was away from the capital. You are no longer young.

You should know that a minister like Wu Huaiyu is indeed a rare talent, but his current achievements and status have reached the point where we have to be more cautious. "

"Not only did Wu Huaiyu have many achievements, but he was also appointed prime minister several times in the court. Moreover, Wu Huaiyu has built up a huge network of relationships in the court and in the local areas over the past decade."

Cheng Qian was silent.

"Prince, I want you to read Wu Huaiyu's Zizhi Tongjian more. Many capable ministers in history later became powerful ministers, and even became traitors who plotted to usurp the throne.

Huo Guang and Wang Mang are representatives of this group.
Huo Guang and Wang Mang were both very capable and humble, and were highly respected by the court and the public. Huo Guang had been with Emperor Wu for more than 20 years and had never made any mistakes. Later, he became an important minister entrusted with the care of the emperor, but he was able to depose and enthrone the emperor.

Not to mention Wang Mang, who was frugal, diligent, learned, filial to his mother, and known for his virtue in his early years. But later, Wang Mang took control of the government, and then he killed dissidents and cultivated his own faction.
When Ru Ziying was the emperor, Wang Mang seized the throne in the name of regent. Later, he deposed Ru Ziying, usurped the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, changing the country's name to Xin. "

"In the Zizhi Tongjian written by Wu Huaiyu, when he wrote about Wang Mang, there was a line of poetry that left a deep impression on me. Do you remember it?"

Cheng Qian said immediately, "Your son remembers, that line is "When Zhou Gong was afraid of rumors, Wang Mang was humble and courteous before he usurped the throne. If he had died at the beginning, who would know the truth about his life?" "Yes," Li Shimin nodded, "When Wang Mang was humble and courteous before he usurped the throne, Wu Huaiyu wrote this poem well. In fact, those usurpers were all very humble before they usurped the throne. For example, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty in the previous dynasty was also known for his humility and virtue during the Northern Zhou Dynasty.

I think that whether it is Wang Mang or Yang Jian, or Huo Guang who deposed and enthroned but did not usurp the throne, none of these people are necessarily born bad, and none of them are born rebellious. They just gradually reached the point where they could usurp the throne. With that strength, no one could restrain them, which made them usurpers and rebels. "

In fact, Li Shimin also had some deep understanding of this aspect.

Because he himself came to the throne through a coup. The reason why he was able to succeed in the coup 16 years ago was not only because of his title of King Qin, but also because of his great achievements and reputation, as well as his network of connections in the Qin Palace of the Tiance General.
He has a large number of loyal supporters and many allies in the court.

"I am worried that if this continues, Wu Huaiyu will become the powerful official Huo Guang, or even the usurper Wang Mang,"

"No, the teacher is not the kind of person with wolfish ambitions."

Li Shimin was somewhat disappointed with the prince's answer. After all, he had been the prince for sixteen years and had never experienced any complicated struggles.

"Cheng Qian, once a person reaches a certain level, he is no longer just himself. There are countless people supporting him. His followers will hope to continue to support him to higher levels."

Just like before the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin hesitated and retreated.

However, his confidants such as Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin and Changsun Wuji kept urging him to take the risk.

We are all in the same boat, and we prosper together and suffer together.

As long as there is a glimmer of hope, there will always be someone willing to take a risk.

Once successful, it would be considered a credit for supporting the throne and one would become a founding hero of the new dynasty.

Over the past 16 years, Wu Huaiyu has already woven a large network of relationships. The relationships are intricate, but all of them are interconnected by interests. There are many people in Wu Huaiyu's network, and many of them are of high status.
The Minister of the Central Secretariat Ma Zhou is his brother-in-law, the military god Weiguo Duke Li Jing is his teacher, the door god Qin Qiong is his adoptive father, and Su Dingfang is his senior brother.

Fan Xing, Qiu Xinggong, Qiu Xingze, Li Xiuxing, Yun Shide, Yun Shiduan, Yun Shitai, Duan Wencao and other generals were all related to him by marriage.
Even among the five surnames and seven families such as Lu Chengqing of Fanyang, several of them were his relatives by marriage.

Zhangsun Wuji, Gao Shilian, Zhang Jian and others also married into the Wu family.

Not to mention that Wu Huaiyu had been doing business in Lingnan for many years and had intermarried with local nobles such as Feng, Xian, Chen, Ning, and Yang.

From the imperial court to the local areas, from the political affairs hall to the three provinces and six ministries, and then to Longyou and Lingnan, Wu Huaiyu's relatives, students, and old friends were everywhere.
This made Li Shimin very afraid.

Now that he has made such a great contribution, it would be difficult to arrange for Wu Huaiyu to return to the court again.

Many people have suggested that Wu Huaiyu should serve as the Minister of Personnel after returning to the court, and some even believe that Wu Huaiyu is qualified to be the Shangshu You Pushe.

But the emperor did not respond to any of them.
Because Li Shimin is now very cautious and does not want to give Wu Huaiyu more real power.

He could give Wu Huaiyu a higher official title and more fiefs, but he could not give him any more real power, otherwise Wu Huaiyu might become a powerful official in the Tang Dynasty. Maybe he would not become one when he was in power, but Wu Huaiyu was much younger than him, and was only thirty-five.
Huo Guang was by Emperor Wu of Han's side for twenty years and never made any mistakes. But later on, when he became a regent, didn't he eventually defeat the other regents and ministers, and then monopolized power and was able to depose and enthrone emperors?

Cheng Qian understood what his father meant and knew that he had to take precautions and not let anyone else take the knife.

But he still couldn't help but defend his teacher, "I believe in you, you are not that ambitious person. You have retreated many times over the years. If you were really that ambitious person, you wouldn't have taken the initiative to give in again and again."

"Teacher has made such a great contribution this time. If the court treats him unfairly in the end, no matter what high-sounding reasons are used, I am afraid it will be difficult to convince the people. The people have their own standards in their hearts."

Li Shimin was a little surprised. "Your Highness, what you said is right. Although an emperor must make a balance, he must not lose his impartiality, and he must not ignore the will of the people."

The emperor drank his tea slowly.
After drinking a pot of tea,

The emperor took a long breath.

"Then I'll give him a try,"

On that day, the emperor's edict was conveyed to the Council of State Affairs, and he asked the Secretariat to draft it.

Si Tu Wu Huaiyu made great contributions to the country and was promoted to Taiwei for his merits.

The next day, another decree was issued.
Taiwei Wu Huaiyu was given an additional fiefdom of 1,000 households, bringing the total to 3,000 households.

On the third day, another decree was issued to the Council of State.

Wu Huaiyu, the Grand Commandant, was appointed as the Minister of the Central Secretariat and concurrently the Minister of Personnel.

On the fourth day, they were given a national surname and nationality.

On the fifth day, Wu Huaiyu, the Grand Commandant, Minister of the Central Secretariat and Minister of Personnel, and Duke of Song, was promoted to Prince of Jiujiang.

The prime ministers in the Council of State were faced with decrees that were becoming more and more shocking day by day. They had originally been discussing the matter seriously, but now they simply could not continue.

The previous Si Tu Jin Tai Wei, the increase of the food fief of a thousand households, and even the Zhong Shu Ling concurrently serving as the Minister of Personnel, still had room for discussion.

But this directly crowned him king.

It's really hard to accept.

"No, absolutely not. Wu Huaiyu is not some surrendered barbarian chieftain or king. How can he, the prime minister of the imperial court, be crowned king?"

"This precedent must never be set!"

Wei Zheng opposed it most vehemently.

They didn't know that the emperor had told the prince that day that he wanted to give Wu Huaiyu a try, and was planning to directly confer upon Wu Huaiyu the titles of Shangshu Ling and Taiwei, and also to bestow upon him the surname of the emperor and confer upon him the title of King of Wu.

Cheng Qian tried to persuade him for a long time.

Even if you want to test Wu Huaiyu, you can't be so obvious. Besides, who would dare to accept the offer, as you are the Shangshu Ling and the King of Wu?

Since Li Shimin became the Minister of the Chancellery, this position has never been given to another minister. This was because the Minister of the Chancellery had too much power and also because Li Shimin had indeed held this position.

Of course, the most important reason was that the Shangshu Ling had too much power, so it was left vacant and not authorized, and his deputies, the Shangshu Zuo Pushe and Zuo Pushe, were responsible for the six ministries of the Shangshu.

Cheng Qian was worried that once his father issued the decree of reward, Wu Huaiyu would become the target of countless people, and if that happened, it would be a storm and he was afraid that it would not end well.

He suggested to his father that Wu Huaiyu should be given an additional title of 300 households, and then he should be given the existing title of Prime Minister, Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi, and concurrently serve as the Minister of Personnel.

But in the end, Li Shimin issued an edict every day for five consecutive days.

On the fourth day, he was crowned king.
On the fifth day, Wu Huaiyu was granted the nationality of the emperor and became a member of the royal family of Li of the Tang Dynasty.

The new year is approaching,

The city of Chang'an was in an uproar following the emperor's five edicts.

(End of this chapter)