Chapter 360: In-laws' Power (Special thanks to book friend daddycool for 2 monthly tickets!)

Chai Zongxun knew that the five armies that were to conquer Beiming and Tubo would go out together, and the Ministry of War was preparing military supplies and logistics, so the efficiency would naturally be much higher than if the task were done in two parts.

Now that Jingsheng and other five corps that went to Central Asia to fight against the Xingxing Sect have already gained the upper hand, it would be better to let the three corps that are heading to the North Sea rest for a while, wait for the ninth and tenth corps that are heading to the Tubo to return to Beijing, and then go out together.

Chai Zongxun said:

“Now that the Siege of Bekara has been lifted, I do not need to rush to send troops to reinforce. It is better to wait until the Tibetan expeditionary corps returns to Beijing and the Royal Arsenal produces another batch of artillery, and then send five corps as the second batch of troops to Central Asia to fight.

The Fourth and Eighth Corps faced an enemy with ten times the strength of theirs. They were not afraid of sacrifice for the sake of their country and the people, and bravely defended the city of Bekara, which prevented the war from extending into the Central Asian region of our Great Zhou. Their contribution was enormous!
In this Battle of Bekara, the soldiers of the 4th and 8th Corps made great contributions. I cannot bear to let the soldiers of the two corps continue to fight hard.

The emperor ordered Cao Bin and Yang Ye to lead the 4th and 8th Corps back to Bian Jing for rest and recuperation.

If two batches of ten Dragon Army regiments still cannot completely conquer the Star Religion countries, then I will not hesitate to send a third and fourth batch of troops to Central Asia to fight!"

All the ministers said that if they sent out ten Dragon Sovereign Army corps, they would be able to conquer all the countries in the Star Religion world.

Li Hang came out of class and said:
“Your Majesty, Minister Kou must have arrived in the Roman Empire by now.

With Minister Kou's great talent, he will surely be able to persuade the emperor and his ministers of the Roman Empire to form an alliance with our Great Zhou to jointly deal with the Star Church, which will increase our chances of winning and reduce the casualties of our Great Zhou soldiers.

Rome is also a great country with a population of 20 million. With its help, the ten legions sent by Your Majesty are more than enough to conquer the entire Star Religion world!"

After retiring from court, Chai Zongxun walked to Baoci Hall and had lunch with Empress Dowager Fu and the two empresses and ten concubines.

The two newly-wed concubines, Guo Ling'er and Liu E, were rather reserved in the first few days, but under the influence of the warm and relaxed family atmosphere led by Chai Zongxun, the two concubines gradually calmed down.

In recent years, as the Great Zhou Empire conquered more territory, several new imperial chefs were added to the imperial palace's kitchen. The meals for the imperial family members were improved by adding some famous dishes from Liao, Central Asia, Dali, Goryeo and other places.

Concubines Guo Ling'er and Liu E had never eaten the same dish twice in the one month since they entered the palace. They could not help but sigh in admiration at the luxury of the Zhou Dynasty's imperial family.

After the meal, Chai Zongxun chatted with Empress Dowager Fu and the concubines for a while. When he was about to get up and go to the Qingshou Hall for a nap and let the concubines accompany their mother to play chess and chat, Empress Dowager Fu stopped him and said:

"My son, please don't leave. Your Majesty has something to discuss with you."

Chai Zongxun immediately sat in the chair and waited for Empress Dowager Fu to speak.

But she saw Empress Fu sitting back in the chair, holding up the tea bowl and taking small sips.

The concubines knew that Empress Dowager Fu did not want to discuss matters with the emperor in front of them, so they immediately bowed and left the hall.

After all the concubines left, Empress Dowager Fu said:
"My son, your mother knows that you have been busy with the war in Central Asia in recent months, so she has not mentioned it to you.

Now that Zhou'er and Yu'er are both sixteen years old, is it time for them to get married?"

Chai Zongxun then remembered this matter, but he had never mentioned it because he subconsciously felt that he should get married after turning 18.

In the palace, no one dared to speak out on the matter except his mother, the queen mother, unless he spoke up.

Chai Zongxun smiled and said:
"My Queen Mother called me back for this matter. I thought it was a big deal!"

Empress Dowager Fu said angrily:
"Isn't it a matter of great importance to the state if the imperial family flourishes?

Zhou'er and Yu'er, you are dividing the ancestral rites of the two families of the Chai and Guo imperial families of our Great Zhou. This is a matter of great importance and the emperor should not take it lightly. "

Chai Zongxun nodded and said:

"Don't worry, mother. I understand. When Zhou'er and Yu'er are eighteen years old, I will select them from among the nobles in the country, and it won't be too late for them to get married."

Empress Dowager Fu hesitated and said:

“Then the Queen Mother will be relieved.

My son, isn't it a bit late to arrange the wedding of Zhou'er and Yu'er at the age of 18?

Besides, wouldn't their wives be chosen from the families of the princes and ministers in the court?"

The Chinese royal marriage system, since the Qin Dynasty, has always been based on marriages with the families of ministers and nobles, and on choosing the prince's principal wife, especially the heir to the throne.

The impact of doing so is that it often leads to the external relatives becoming too powerful, thus causing chaos in the government.

During the Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, there were many families of relatives by marriage who had the power to influence government affairs and depose and enthrone emperors.

Such as the families of Empress Lü, Empress Dowager Dou, and Empress Dowager Wang in the Western Han Dynasty, and the families of Empress Dowager Dou, Empress Dowager Liang, and Empress Dowager He in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, there were the families of Empress Changsun, Wu Zetian, Empress Wei, and Empress Guo.

In Chai Zongxun's view, the eunuchs' power has now been completely tamed and institutionalized, and the same should be done for the power of external relatives.

From the perspective of Chinese history, the imperial marriage system of the Ming Dynasty in Chai Zongxun's previous life was the most effective in preventing the monopoly of power by external relatives.

As for the Qing Dynasty, it was a barbaric and backward regime that plagued China for three hundred years and left endless harm. Basically, it learned the Ming system and can be ignored.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Mother, at the age of sixteen, the bodies of boys and girls have not yet fully grown. Marrying too early will harm the body and will not be conducive to giving birth to a good next generation.

You have to wait until you are at least 18 years old to avoid harm to your health.

In all dynasties, the royal family's marriages were based on the custom of ministers and high-ranking officials. In the eyes of his sons and ministers, this was a sign of weakness, as the emperor's power was insufficient and he had to rely on the power of external relatives through marriage.

Although this policy can bring temporary benefits to the royal family, in the long run, it is very likely to bring about the harm of external relatives' monopoly of power.

Therefore, I think that the royal descendants should select their principal wives from the people and limit the power of the maternal relatives. This will ensure that the disaster of maternal relatives' monopoly of power will not happen again in our Great Zhou Empire."

When Empress Dowager Fu heard this, she felt a little unhappy, because she could be said to be one of the representatives of the foreign relatives' family.

However, thinking about her niece Fu Zhenzhen who got married at the age of sixteen, gave birth to a child at the age of seventeen but lost her fertility due to dystocia, and perhaps this was the reason why the eldest son Guo Jizhou had limited intelligence, Empress Dowager Fu could not help but sigh dejectedly.

Queen Mother Fu said:

"My prince, the age is up to you.

But why not choose the daughters of ministers and officials as the principal wives for Zhou'er and Yu'er?
Hasn't your mother's family been supporting you strongly since the emperor ascended the throne?

With the help of their capable family members, Zhou'er and Yu'er's positions will be more stable."

Chai Zongxun thought:
“If I had not immediately gathered up all the orphans in the country and formed the Longxiang Army and Longxiang Guards that were absolutely loyal to me after I eliminated the Zhao traitor and balanced the military power, who knows how many more Zhao traitors and Yang Jians would have appeared in the future?
The most important thing is that the emperor himself has powerful military forces.

Moreover, in order to protect the lineage of Zhou Er who "claimed himself emperor in the country", I have already raised the power of the Fu family to the limit of control, and appointed them as the governor of the border states. Why would I need to marry any noble ministers?"

(End of this chapter)

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