Tiantang

Chapter 296 Add fuel to the fire
Chapter 304 Adding Oil to the Fire

Many "princeling" courtiers stood up one after another to echo Li Yu's words.

But the original backbone of the "princelings", General Chen Xuanli and Minister of War Gongsun Liang remained strangely silent and did not interfere with this matter.

Chen Xuanli didn't want to confront Zhang Xuan again, so as not to trap himself; while Gongsun Liang didn't dare to act rashly because his son Gongsun Xiaoke's braid was pinched in Zhang Xuan's hands.If he offends Zhang Xuan, he will definitely be overwhelmed and walk around.

Li Yu looked solemn, but he had no selfish intentions. As the future "Crown Prince", he was thinking about the long-term interests of the central court of the Tang Dynasty.There's nothing wrong with that, based on who he is and where he stands.

Li Heng smiled slightly, "Yu'er, it's only temporarily placed in Lingzhou. In the future, the Yamen of the Firearms Department will still be moved to the capital.",

Li Heng patiently explained to his eldest son that in front of all the officials, he certainly couldn't hurt Li Yu's face too much.After all, Li Yu is his eldest son, the prospective prince in many people's minds.

Li Yu just wanted to talk, but he heard the voice of Jianning King Li Tan from behind him, "The technique of firearms was originally developed by King Yongning. In order to ensure that the firearms are safe, it is appropriate for the firearms department to be temporarily located in Lingzhou. My minister agrees very much. Moreover, In Longshuo, I have personally seen the production of firearms and the practice of launching them in the army, the art of firearms is very complicated, if there is no reminder from Yongning King at any time, there will definitely be mistakes."

Li Yu didn't expect that his younger brother, who was always gentle and courteous, would sing against him in public, and couldn't help being furious.

To be honest, the relationship between Li Heng's sons was very close. Although they were not born to the same mother, they were better than siblings from the same mother.Especially during the more than ten years when Li Heng was suppressed by Li Longji, the grandchildren of the Eastern Palace were almost dependent on each other.

And with Li Heng's rising power, his sons inevitably fell into the pattern of imperial power struggle.

Li Yu is the eldest son, and he considers himself the next crown prince, so of course he acted aggressively and boldly, and quietly gathered a group of courtiers around him, secretly cultivating his own power.

As for his brothers, they can be roughly divided into two categories.One type is indifferent and unambitious, and only Li Yu follows the lead; the other type is passively born with ambition, gradually repelled and hostile by Li Yu, and has to start resisting in order to protect itself.

In fact, this has nothing to do with Li Yu, but the result of Li Heng's secret manipulation.

"Brothers are starting to see signs of fighting... From this point of view, although this Li Heng has not really become the emperor, the emperor's mentality has improved a lot. How the old emperor treated him back then, he is now learning to play with his own son. Generation after generation, the vicious circle is unavoidable." Zhang Xuan looked on coldly, with a clear mind.

Ever since Jianning King Li Tan was ordered to go to Longshuo, and Li Heng asked him to find Zhang Xuan as a backer, Zhang Xuan understood Li Heng's real intention in his heart.

"If it's according to my brother, the matter of firearms will not be done without King Yongning? King Yongning has a heavy responsibility to guard Longshuo's frontier defense against Tubo for the imperial court. How can he be distracted by such trivial matters as firearms—" Li Yu retorted But he glanced at Li Tan gloomyly, thinking, Li Tan, you are so brave, you dare to confront me face to face!
Li Tan looked at Li Yu without fear and smiled, "Brother Wang, the art of firearms was developed by King Yongning. The real art of firearms is actually in the hands of King Yongning alone. What about the firearms?" Can we get away from Yongning King himself?"

Li Yu was still about to say something, Li Heng snorted coldly, and said in a deep voice, "Okay, you all don't want to argue anymore, I have my own opinion. The Firearms Department is temporarily placed in Lingzhou, but it is not the governor of Longshuo. The government is also in charge, and the imperial court will appoint the minister in charge."

Li Yu had no choice but to sit back resentfully.Li Tan, on the other hand, sat back without changing his expression or beating his heart.

Zhang Xuan suddenly took a step forward and smiled loudly, "Your Highness, His Highness King Jianning works calmly. It is better for King Jianning to take up the post of Zhengqing of the Department of Firearms."

As soon as Zhang Xuan said this, many courtiers were shocked.

This is of course Zhang Xuan's friendly response to King Jianning, and it also represents Zhang Xuan's political stance.Zhang Xuan wants to side with King Jianning?Chen Xilie and the others thought about the lightning, and immediately began to calculate.

Chen Xuanli and the others gasped, and Li Yu's expression changed drastically.If King Jianning has Zhang Xuan's support behind him, it is really hard to say what the outcome of his future crown prince battle with Li Yu will be.

Li Yu clenched his hands tightly, his gaze became extremely sinister.

Out of the corner of Zhang Xuan's eyes, he glanced at Li Yu who was casting a bitter glance, and the corner of his mouth sunk, quietly waiting for Li Heng's reply.

Li Heng hesitated a little.

Li Heng's original intention was to make Li Yu the crown prince.Because Li Yu is not only the eldest son, but also has outstanding qualities in all aspects, and he is the one among the many sons who makes him more satisfied.

The reason why King Jianning was sent as an envoy to Longshuo was to imply that Li Tan made friends with Zhang Xuan. Firstly, it was because of the consideration of cultivating Li Tan to check and balance Li Yu and prevent Li Yu's power from growing out of control. Second, it was also for the future. If Yu succeeds to the throne, Li Tan has Zhang Xuan as his backer, and Li Yu can't do anything with him to avoid fratricide.

It should be said that although this is Li Heng's imperial mind, it also contains a trace of his father's good intentions.

Li Tan's gaze became very fiery, and he sat there quietly, his heart tumbling.

If you can master the Firearms Division, on the one hand, you can consolidate your relationship with Zhang Xuan, on the other hand, you will have actual power, and you will have the right to speak in the court.

Li Heng was indecisive, Yang Guozhong secretly glanced at Zhang Xuan, Xin Dao Donggong and the two had already set their sights on the position of the crown prince before they knew what to do, and started fighting openly and secretly. You are so intrusive, is it not adding fuel to the fire? ?
"Yang Xiang, Chen Xiang, what do you two think?" Li Heng looked at Yang Guozhong and Chen Xilie and said loudly.

When Li Heng asked such a question, Li Yu felt cold in his heart.

Everyone knows that Yang Guozhong is now almost on the same front as Zhang Xuan, advancing and retreating together. How could he oppose Zhang Xuan's proposal?And Chen Xilie is an old fritter on the wall, and he will not publicly offend Zhang Xuan on this kind of issue.

However, for Yang Guozhong, this is not just a question of agreeing or disagreeing with Zhang Xuan's proposal, but a question of whether he supports Li Yu or Li Tan, and he should not talk nonsense.He pondered for a while, and spoke very vaguely, "Your Highness, it is not impossible for King Jianning to act as the firearms department, but if King Jianning Tianhuang and his nobles go far away to the border of Longshuo, I think it seems inappropriate, ha ha."

Yang Guozhong's words are so ambiguous, let alone an old fox like Chen Xilie.

Chen Xilie immediately took the bait and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this veteran thinks that such important military and state affairs need to be decided by His Highness alone, and this veteran dare not speak nonsense!"

Li Heng cursed "Old Fox" without laughing, then waved his hands decisively and said, "Okay, according to King Yongning's suggestion, let Jianning King Li Tan be the Minister of Firearms."

In any case, Li Heng is more at ease in entrusting the important affairs of the military and the country to his son.At the same time, he considered that Li Tan and Zhang Xuan had a good relationship, and they were easy to get along with when they worked together.

Li Tan was overjoyed, got up and knelt down on the ground and shouted, "Thank you, my minister! I must do my best and live up to the court's high expectations!"

Li Yu looked at Zhang Xuan indignantly, and then stared at Li Tan's back, his hands were clenched tightly, his nails were dug into the palm of his hand, and traces of blood oozed out.

……

……

The Palace of Yongning Palace was decorated with lanterns and festoons, full of joy.Although there are still a few days before the Chinese New Year, but because Zhang Xuan returned to Beijing, the mansion has already entered the Chinese New Year state ahead of schedule.

In the evening, Yongning Palace will hold a rich and grand family banquet, and all relatives and family members will attend to welcome Zhang Xuan home.

Preparations for the banquet began the moment Zhang Xuan arrived in Beijing.

Brothers Liu, Zhang Jiuming and Zhang Jiugao, including brothers Zhang Ning and Zhang Huan, Zhang Jiuming and Zhang Xuan's cousins ​​from Zhang Jiugao's lineage, all gathered in Yongning Palace.

Mrs. Liu accompanied Zhang Jiuming and Zhang Jiugao to talk in the hall, while Cui Ying and Li Tengkong directed the servants to come and go, and the two little girls, Ruyan Ruyu, stood behind the two girls excitedly, waiting for them at any time. handle.

Although Cui Ying had personal maids who were married as dowry, Cui Ying resolutely kept Zhang Xuan's two personal maids by her side as a sign of trust after she came to Zhang's house.It should be said that this kind of belly and heart is not something that ordinary women can do.

Watching the servants in the mansion coming and going with joyful expressions on their faces, and preparing for the evening banquet, Cui Ying's heart suddenly moved, she turned her head to look at Li Tengkong's delicate, elegant and vigorous face, smiled and said in a low voice, "Kong'er, today you It is also a great joy for our family to be conferred the title of Mrs. County by the imperial court. I don’t think it is worse than this, tonight is the wedding night for you and your lord.”

Cui Ying's words were half teasing and half reminder and temptation.

After all, no matter what, Li Tengkong is Zhang Xuan's woman. This point can no longer be changed, especially after being conferred by the imperial court.As Zhang Xuan's woman, Li Tengkong stayed in the palace. If he did not consummate the marriage with Zhang Xuan for a long time, it would not only embarrass Zhang Xuan, but also make her feel uncomfortable.

Li Tengkong blushed when he heard the words, but immediately lowered his head silently.

This time, Zhang Xuan got angry and went to war for her, and it was impossible for her to say in her heart that she would not be moved at all; but, she...would she throw herself into Zhang Xuan's arms because of this?She suddenly felt a little ashamed.

Cui Ying was very aware of Li Tengkong's mental state at the moment, so she whispered solemnly in her ear, "Kong'er, it's not that my sister is forcing you, but you have to think carefully, it's not suitable for you to be like this for a long time... ...Lang Jun is a nice person, if you follow him, you won't be wronged, trust my sister."

"My sister will tell it for you."

"Sister, I...don't..." Li Tengkong blushed, but subconsciously shook his head, as if he still refused.

But Cui Ying pretended not to see it, and said with a smile, "That's it."

(End of this chapter)