The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 249: Interference in Politics
"General Bai," Li Heng turned to Bai Xiaode, "some of your Bai clan are in Qiuci, and some are in Guazhou and Shazhou. Please make sure to control the Bai clan and prevent your clan members from being deceived by Tubo."

Bai Xiaode said: "I will be loyal to the Tang Dynasty and follow your orders. If anyone in the Bai family disobeys your orders, I will clean up the mess."

Li Heng nodded, sighed, and said, "The Tang Dynasty controlled the Western Regions and operated the Silk Road in order to make all countries prosperous and the people live and work in peace. But Tubo has wolfish ambitions and secretly used despicable means to reignite the war in the Western Regions. This is against the will of heaven and harms the people. Everyone has the right to punish them."

"That's right." Bai Xiaode echoed, "As a minister of the Tang Dynasty, although I am not capable enough to repay the grace of heaven and bring peace to the world, I will fight to the death for the Tang Dynasty to protect the country and the people."

"Very good." Li Ying patted Bai Xiaode's shoulder, "General Bai, go and get busy first."

"Yes." Bai Xiaode took the order and left.

Li Heng then gave instructions to other people before returning home.

In the mansion, Yang Yuhuan had already prepared ginseng soup for Li Ying. When she saw Li Ying coming in, she handed him a bowl of ginseng soup.

Li Ying took a sip, savored it for a moment, and said, "Did you make it yourself?"

Yang Yuhuan nodded and said with a smile: "My dear, you have eaten the Sage's Thousand Years Banquet in Chang'an. I am afraid you will not like the soup I made."

"No matter how delicious the delicacies are, they can't compare to a cup of tea made by you. Besides..." Li Ying thought of what happened at the Qianqiu Banquet.

Modern people think that company team-building is like overtime work, but Li Ying’s Qianqiu Banquet is full of intrigue and is like a war.

Li Heng paused, then continued, "If I had a choice, I would rather go hungry than attend a banquet like that."

Yang Yuhuan said: "It seems that my husband actually wants to be a free prince."

"Yes." Li Heng did not deny it and smiled, "But freedom always has a price. You are good at playing Guangling San, and you must know a lot about Ji Kang and others. Wang Bo once wrote that Ruan Ji was crazy, so why would he cry like a desperate man? A person can choose to be free, but the result is not determined by himself."

Yang Yuhuan said: "With your talent and wisdom, it should not be difficult for you to just be free, but you have more people in your heart. I followed Your Highness from Qiuci to Tingzhou, to Gaochang in Xizhou, and now I am in Shanshan, getting closer and closer to Chang'an."

"Wouldn't it be better to be closer to Chang'an?" Li Ying asked.

"The closer we get to Chang'an, the more nervous I feel." Yang Yuhuan said, standing up and walking to the window.

It was also the tenth month of the lunar calendar. The sky was getting darker and sparse snowflakes were floating outside the window.

Not far away, you can hear the noise from Li Ling and her younger brothers and sisters.

Li Ying hugged Yang Yuhuan from behind and asked, "What's wrong?"

Yang Yuhuan held Li Heng's hand and said, "I really hope we can stay like this forever."

Li Ying said: "You are old."

"Hmm?" Yang Yuhuan was puzzled. She turned around and took a look in the mirror and said, "My dear, don't you like it?"

Li Heng shook his head and smiled, "What I mean is that only old people tend to feel sentimental."

Yang Yuhuan chuckled when she heard this and said, "If that's the case, you are much older than me."

Li Heng did not refute, but instead said, "I left your cousin in the Liangzhou prison, you won't blame me, right?"

"How could that be?" Yang Yuhuan shook her head. "He must be in trouble if he comes to Qixi. But even if you leave him in Liangzhou, he will come with you. The prison in Liangzhou cannot hold him."

Li Heng asked, "Why do you say that?" Yang Yuhuan replied, "He works for the Right Prime Minister. Even if he really did something wrong, the officials in Liangzhou would not do anything to him. My lord kept him in Liangzhou because he is anxious to deal with Tubo and has no intention of taking care of him. He is afraid that he will do something wrong in the rear of Qixi."

"Uh..." Li Heng was a little surprised to see that Yang Yuhuan had guessed his thoughts at once, and said, "If I had known that you understood everything, I would have brought him to Qixi and let you deal with him."

Yang Yuhuan said: "That's not good either. How can a princess interfere in government affairs?"

Li Heng said, "You have to intervene. Du Youlin and his family have already followed us here. The prince asked Li Jingzhong to send people to follow them all the way. When Li Jingzhong's people arrive in Shanshan, they will surely investigate everywhere to find evidence of my crime. At that time, they will definitely secretly investigate the matter of mining Shanshan saltpeter to make ice. I will go to Guazhou and Shazhou in a few days. The matter in Shanshan can only be left to you to handle."

Yang Yuhuan asked, "Why don't you send a trusted person to deal with him?"

Li Heng said, "No matter who I send, you are not as effective as the mistress. If I send a general, it will be suspected that I am trying to cover up something."

"Then I will obey your command and go beyond the rules." Yang Yuhuan smiled.

Li Heng pinched Yang Yuhuan's cheek and said with a smile, "You were shirking this matter earlier. Were you trying to be lazy?"

"No." Yang Yuhuan shook her head, "I also have important things to do."

"What's the important matter?" Li Ying asked.

Yang Yuhuan said, "My husband and Aqisi's marriage. Although my husband is marrying Aqisi as a concubine, it involves a marriage between two countries. The etiquette must comply with the regulations of the Tang Dynasty and also satisfy the demands of the Kingdom of Bukhara... No, it should be called Ningyuan. It must satisfy the demands of Ningyuan. My husband and Aqisi's marriage is different from an ordinary political marriage. If it is not handled properly, it will be counterproductive."

What Yang Yuhuan said was different from ordinary political marriages. In ordinary political marriages, the stronger party marries their daughter to the weaker party.

There are two reasons for doing this.

The first is the issue of seniority.

The party marrying off the daughter is stronger and should be considered the elder, while the weaker party should submit and marry the younger one. This is reasonable.

Just like when Tubo married a Tang princess, during peace talks they kept saying that Tang and Tubo were in a uncle-nephew relationship.

The second issue is how to deal with the women who marry into the family.

In general political marriages, the woman who marries into the marriage usually becomes the mistress, and the child she gives birth to will most likely become the next generation monarch. This is the way to maximize the benefits of the marriage.

How can a woman from a weak country be the mistress of a strong country?
Li Ying understood what Yang Yuhuan meant and said, "This is indeed very annoying."

Yang Yuhuan sighed and said with a smile: "It can't be helped. After all, I have become your princess consort."

Li Ying said, "It's my fault. Not only do I have to marry another woman, but I also have to make you work so hard."

Yang Yuhuan was surprised when she heard this.

When Li Heng saw Yang Yuhuan's expression, he was also surprised.

Yang Yuhuan was surprised because she didn't expect Li Ying to say such a thing, because in her understanding, a prince like Li Ying, especially a prince of the Tang Dynasty, under the corrupt governance of Li Longji and Li Linfu, had only one wife and two concubines, including Aqisi, and usually did not indulge in promiscuous things. This was already the limit of restraint.

Even with such restraint, I still feel bad about myself.

What surprised Li Heng was that he realized that he was cursed by knowledge.

(End of this chapter)