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

Chapter 9: Tibetan King, can he still have children?
In the Taiji Hall, on the throne, Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian in surprise, glanced at Lu Dongzan, then smiled and nodded, saying, "Prince, if you have any questions, just say it."

"Yes!" Li Chengqian held up his hu tablet and bowed, then turned to look at Lu Dongzan and said in a cold voice, "Prime Minister, I have a few questions here, and I hope you can answer them truthfully."

"Your Highness, please ask." Lu Dongzan bowed slightly. For some reason, he suddenly felt like he was in a court.

Li Chengqian's expression turned indifferent. He asked calmly, "I heard that the Tibetan king had a son several years ago?"

Lu Dongzan's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "I dare not deceive the Crown Prince. The Zanpu and Concubine Meng do have a son, who is now eight years old, but he is their only son."

The expressions of the ministers in the hall couldn't help but become solemn. Although the Tang princess was the principal wife when she married into Tubo, it was a bit embarrassing because she had an eight-year-old son.

After all, the princess who was going to marry in the Tang Dynasty was not very old.

Li Chengqian nodded and continued, "May I ask, Prime Minister, how many sons did the Zamp's father have?"

Lu Dongzan was stunned. What kind of question was this? But he quickly answered, "Your Highness, the father of the Zamp has only one son."

"What about the Zamp's grandfather? How many sons did he have?" Li Chengqian glanced at Lu Dongzan with a knife-like gaze.

Lu Dongzan's brows immediately furrowed, and his heart sank slightly. He knew that there was definitely something wrong with Li Chengqian's question, but he couldn't tell why.

"Your Highness, the Zamp's grandfather had two sons, but the eldest son died young." Lu Dongzan looked up at Li Chengqian carefully.

Li Chengqian smiled faintly and said, "That means it's been a single-line inheritance for three generations... Oh, no, maybe it's four generations. May I ask, Prime Minister, how many sons did the Zamp's great-grandfather have?"

"Your Highness, I can't remember." Lu Dongzan shook his head in embarrassment and said, "At that time, the Tibetan regime had not yet been unified and had been passed down for many generations. However, the Tibetan royal family had been passed down to the Zamp for thirty-two generations, more than five hundred years, and there were many royal branches."

Li Chengqian calmly shook his head and said, "That's not what I meant. My question is about the Tibetan king. Can he still have children?"

Li Chengqian's sudden turn of events startled many people in the hall, and they couldn't help wanting to laugh. However, at this moment, their sharp eyes discovered that the prime ministers and ministers standing in the front had no intention of laughing, and even looked solemn.

Look solemn?

Everyone was stunned, but then, their sharp expressions darkened at the same time.

The prince asked very clearly just now that Songtsen Gampo already had an eight-year-old son.

And there is only this one.

For several generations, the Tubo royal family has been a single-line family. Even if there was a person who gave birth to two sons, they died early.

If the Tang Dynasty simply married a princess there to temporarily stabilize the border, it would be fine, but the Tang Dynasty married a princess off not only for the present, but also for the future.

If the princess of the Tang Dynasty could have a child in Tubo, then the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo would be harmonious for many years in the future.

But if the Tubo king only has one son in his life, and he is not the son of the Tang princess, then not only will the relationship between the Tang and Tubo become tense again in the future, but even the life of the Tang princess in Tubo will become much more difficult.

If this is true, the Tang Dynasty will suffer a loss.

……

What kind of person is Lu Dongzan? When Li Chengqian asked the last question, he immediately heard the tremendous danger in it.

Now he finally understood the power of Li Chengqian, the Crown Prince of the Tang Dynasty.

And they were only slightly involved in the struggle for the throne of the Tang Dynasty, but they were immediately and fiercely retaliated against, and it was very painful.

Lu Dongzan took a deep breath, then bowed solemnly and said, "Your Highness, you are wrong. The Zamp is only twenty-three years old this year, and already has a son. This means that the Zamp will surely have many descendants in the future, and his blessings will last for generations."

"Twenty-three years old, only two years older than me!" Li Chengqian looked up at Lu Dongzan and said calmly, "Let's wait and see. If Songzan and the princess still haven't been able to have children in the next three to five years, then we can invite him to Chang'an and let the famous doctors of the Tang Dynasty treat him."

Lu Dongzan's mouth twitched involuntarily, and he solemnly bowed and said, "I dare not trouble the Tang Dynasty, Tubo will take care of it..."

"Let it be so." Li Shimin, who was sitting on the imperial couch, suddenly spoke up and made the decision. He also said, "In seven years, it will be the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Dynasty. Tell Songtsen that by then, he must bring my grandson to Chang'an for an audience. If not..."

"Understood!" Lu Dongzan's face suddenly beamed with a smile as he bowed, saying, "The Zamp will definitely bring Your Majesty a grandson." Li Shimin nodded indifferently, looking down, and said, "The marriage between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is now finalized. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the Imperial Clan, the Imperial Household, the Imperial Rites, the Imperial Household, and the Imperial Household will jointly discuss all matters concerning the marriage and engagement ceremony. Duke Liang will oversee all matters, and the Crown Prince and Duke Zhao will supervise at all times."

"We obey your orders!" Li Chengqian, Zhangsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Tang Jian, Li Xiaogong, Dou Dan, Li Daozon and others all held up their tablets and accepted your orders.

Li Shimin raised his head, looked at Lu Dongzan, and said seriously: "I hope that the Tang Dynasty and Tubo can be friendly and united forever. I hope Tubo will not let me down."

"Yes!" Lu Dongzan bowed heavily. He now understood that the Tang Dynasty's vigilance against Tubo had resurfaced because of the prince's previous words.

Not only will Tubo need to be more cautious in its future plans in the Western Regions, but if the Zamp is unable to have children with the princess, the Tang Dynasty will definitely find a way to intervene in Tubo affairs.

This also means that it is difficult for Lu Dongzan to achieve his original purpose of proposing marriage this time.

The original reason for all this was that after they arrived in the Tang Dynasty, they only paid a visit to the King of Wei, but not to the Crown Prince.

Now, he has become the target for the prince to establish his authority.

Sitting on the imperial couch, Li Shimin, not in a very good mood, nodded and said, "Okay, that's all for today. I'm dismissing the court."

"Your Majesty, we respectfully bid you farewell!" All the ministers bowed their heads.

The emperor had already walked down from the imperial bed.

Walk down from Li Chengqian's side.

Go straight into the east wing of Taiji Hall.

……

The court meeting was over and the ministers lined up outside the Taiji Hall.

After leaving Taiji Hall, the ministers went their separate ways.

The Menxia Province and the Zhongshu Province were both on both sides of the Taiji Hall, and even the Sikong Mansion was on the east side of the Zhongshu Province, but everyone else needed to go to their official residences.

At this point, etiquette is no longer of much importance.

Li Chengqian walked forward slowly with a calm expression.

Among all the ministers, no one, no matter how anxious, dared to surpass the prince at this time.

Today, just one sentence, "Can the Zamp still live?", laid the groundwork for the Tang Dynasty's future intervention in Tubo.

The prince, after recuperating for more than half a year, took action again.

Precise and ruthless.

The prince is still the prince that all the ministers fear and revere.

"Royal brother!" Li Tai hadn't known when he had caught up to Li Chengqian's side, even passing him by a step while walking. He turned sideways to look at Li Chengqian and asked, "Royal brother, now that you've recovered, let's have a horse hunting competition."

Li Chengqian stopped and looked at Li Tai calmly. There was no hatred or anger in his eyes, only calmness.

Silently, Yan Liben, Du Chuke and others had come behind Li Tai.

Similarly, Li Anyan, Yu Zhining, Zhang Xuansu and others also came behind Li Chengqian, and even more officials from the Eastern Palace gradually returned to Li Chengqian.

The hearts of the people in the East Palace have begun to reunite.

At the moment, the atmosphere is gradually becoming tense.

(End of this chapter)