Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 17: We agreed not to rebel, why do you always think about that?

"Cough!" A light cough interrupted Li Chengqian's thoughts.

Li Chengqian, who was sitting on the main couch, suddenly came to his senses. He looked at Yu Zhining on his left with a somewhat apologetic look and said, "It has been a long time since I last saw you all. I am extremely happy to see you all again today. Please take a seat."

Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly, and the officials of the Eastern Palace smiled softly and sat down in their respective seats.

When the East Palace held meetings, unlike the grand court, where all the ministers stood in silence, it was more like a regular court, and the ministers could sit upright in front of Li Chengqian.

Of course, everyone has his own position. Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Ouyang Xun, Yan Shigu and others need not be mentioned much. The other princes' servants mostly sit in the back and always take notes.

Li Chengqian's expression grew solemn. He looked at Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Ouyang Xun, Yan Shigu and others around him and said seriously, "From today onwards, all affairs in the Eastern Palace will return to normal. Meetings will begin at 9:10 am, and hearings will be held from 12:2 am to 5: pm. In the afternoon, classes will begin at : pm and end at : pm."

"We obey your command." All the ministers bowed.

This was their usual time, because most of the time, although Li Chengqian did not attend the regular court sessions in Taiji Hall, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu, Kong Yingda, Li Baiyao, Ouyang Xun and Yan Shigu all had to attend the regular court sessions.

All meetings in the Eastern Palace would begin only after the regular court session in the Taiji Hall was over. In many cases, all matters concerning the Eastern Palace had to be transferred from the Secretariat after the regular court session was over.

Yes, it was transferred from the Secretariat.

Although Li Chengqian started managing affairs very early, he was actually learning how to govern most of the time.

The Secretariat would transfer some of the most iconic state affairs to the Eastern Palace. After the Eastern Palace had properly handled them, they would be transferred back to the Secretariat, which would then report to the emperor for execution.

The Eastern Palace has no real authority over affairs.

The real stage of the Eastern Palace was the academic administration, and it was in this stage until Li Chengqian ascended the throne.

Of course, if the emperor trusts her, many things will be handled according to the East Palace's decision. In disguise, the East Palace has the right to handle political affairs.

But if the emperor does not trust the prince and does not follow the instructions of the Eastern Palace, then the Eastern Palace's intention to depose the prince is obvious.

Emperor Taizong was very concerned about his reputation. Although he favored Li Tai, he would not remove Li Chengqian directly until he showed sufficient reasons to be deposed.

Therefore, the Eastern Palace is still one of the top forces in the entire Tang Dynasty court.

Far above the Prince of Wei's Palace.

……

Li Chengqian sat on the main couch and looked at the officials in the Eastern Palace. He said, "Before we discuss matters today, I have three things to say!"

"Your Highness, please give us your instructions." All the ministers bowed in unison.

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "The first thing to do is to deal with the Tubo marriage proposal. Since your Majesty has allowed the Eastern Palace to intervene, the Eastern Palace will send people to the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Household to inquire about the various etiquette, schedules, titles, dowry, and other matters every day. The Eastern Palace will select someone to inquire about this every day. I hope you can decide who is the best person to go."

"Your Highness!" Yu Zhining spoke up, "Your Highness, in my opinion, it would be most appropriate for the Duke of Anping to have the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan and the Right Assistant to the Crown Prince go and inquire with the various departments. Furthermore, the Imperial Clan is also involved in this matter and cannot be removed, so they can send someone to deliver a message at any time."

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, looked at Li Baiyao, whose temples were gray but whose expression was still energetic, and asked, "How is it, Lord Anping?"

Although Li Baiyao was the Junior Minister of the Imperial Clan, he was a descendant of the Li family of Zhao County.

"I obey your command." Li Baiyao bowed solemnly, but then he asked, "May I ask Your Highness if there is anything else I can tell you?"

Li Chengqian paused for a moment before saying, "As for the marriage certificate, Tubo requested the marriage three days ago. However, since the marriage certificate is a matter of state, it's not likely to be easily prepared by the Ministry of Rites. This matter also requires the involvement of the Zongzheng Temple. Therefore, everything your father mentioned yesterday regarding the queen must be written into the marriage certificate. As for the issue of offspring, I've also sent a separate copy. Please ask the Tubo King to come to Chang'an with the queen and prince to offer congratulations in the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era!"

"Yes!" Li Baiyao bowed solemnly.

What Li Chengqian said yesterday in the Taiji Hall about the difficulty of having an heir for the Tubo king has spread in Chang'an.

If a Tang princess really married into Tubo without having any children, it would definitely not be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty.

"The second thing." Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at the ministers and said, "My father summoned me alone yesterday to talk about the "Guo Di Zhi"." Li Chengqian said this, and all the ministers in the East Palace looked over.

The reason why the King of Wei posed a threat to the Eastern Palace was, firstly, that the Crown Prince had a weak leg, and secondly, that the King of Wei was compiling the "Guo Di Zhi" in order to win the hearts of scholars all over the world.

"The matter of the Comprehensive Geography has its own hidden secrets, which I shall not discuss, but my father has ordered the Crown Prince to compile the Records of Craftsmen to complement it." Li Chengqian looked to the side, where Li Anyan pulled out an imperial edict from his sleeve and handed it to Yu Zhining, saying, "This matter is secret, so there is no explicit order. However, all the funds needed for compiling the Records of Craftsmen will be paid from the Chief of Works and the Minister of the Treasury."

If there is no clear intention, it is a secret intention and does not need to be read out publicly.

Yu Zhining took the secret order, nodded, and said, "Anything needed for the Comprehensive Geography can be obtained from the Weiwei Temple and Guanglu Temple. It seems that there is indeed something unusual."

The ministers in the hall could not help but nod their heads.

With a snap, Yu Zhining quickly closed the secret decree. Amidst the astonished gazes of the ministers, he looked at Li Chengqian and asked, "Who did Your Highness employ? Who should know about this matter?"

Li Chengqian nodded slightly, looked at Zhang Xuansu and said, "For this matter, I will be the general manager, the Minister of State will oversee it, and Minister Zhang will coordinate and mobilize personnel."

"Yes!" Zhang Xuansu bowed solemnly.

Yu Zhining, who was standing at the side, handed the secret decree to Zhang Xuansu. After Zhang Xuansu read it once, he carefully closed it and said to Li Chengqian, "Your Highness, this decree no longer needs to be known to others."

"Okay!" Li Chengqian nodded and took the imperial edict.

Zhang Xuansu looked at everyone and said, "Kaogongzhi is derived from Zhouli. Kong Siye should write a preface to it!"

"Yes!" Kong Yingda nodded in acceptance. He was a descendant of Confucius, and the "Preface to Kaogong Zhi" he wrote could make this book more accepted by Confucian scholars.

"'Kaogong Zhi' is divided into chapters, and we need to mobilize craftsmen and secret manuals from all over the country." Zhang Xuansu pondered for a moment, then looked at Changsun Xiang, the Crown Prince's lieutenant, and said, "According to the imperial decree of His Majesty, Changsun, the lieutenant, will take the Crown Prince's handwritten order to the Ministry of Works and the Supervisor of Works and the Minister of the Imperial Household to mobilize personnel to obey your orders."

"Yes!" Chang Sunxiang bowed solemnly.

Changsun Xiang was the nephew of Changsun Wuji. When he appeared, the other departments had to give him some face when they needed to mobilize manpower.

What Li Chengqian cares more about is these manpower.

……

"Masters Ouyang and Yan are responsible for retrieving the secret books from the Secretariat and the Imperial Household." Zhang Xuansu looked at Ouyang Xun and Yan Shigu. Xiao Jun said, "The land is in Chongwen Hall."

"Yes!" Ouyang Xun, Yan Shigu, and Xiao Jun immediately bowed.

"Linghu De Xima led his subordinates to participate in writing the records." Zhang Xuansu immediately looked at Linghu Defen again.

Linghu Defen bowed and said, "Yes!"

Zhang Xuansu looked at the ministers again and said, "As for the others, they will be responsible for other affairs of the Eastern Palace and will be available upon summons."

"Yes!" Everyone bowed.

In just a few words, almost everyone in the Eastern Palace was involved in this matter.

As to how far this matter can ultimately go and whether it can surpass the impression left by "Guo Di Zhi" in the hearts of people all over the world, it depends on the efforts of everyone.

However, the only thing Li Chengqian cared about was that through the "Kaogong Zhi", he could transfer more craftsmen into the Eastern Palace.

You know, all the craftsmen in the world are physically strong, and the "Kaogongzhi" involves the forging of swords, bows and lances...

Li Chengqian suddenly couldn't help shaking his head. He had agreed not to rebel, so why was he always thinking about that?

(End of this chapter)