Li Shimin raised his eyebrows.
"Tian Khan?"
He said with a half-smile,
"I am a majestic emperor, so I don't care about being their khan!"
Xu Fenglei shook his head.
"Your Majesty, the name is just a code name. In the language system of the grassland tribes, Khan means god and heaven. It is even higher than the word 'Emperor'!"
He smiled and explained,
"The so-called Tian Khan is even more powerful than Heaven. It can be understood as - the co-owner of the nine heavens and ten earths, the supreme king of the universe!"
"Of course, this is an exaggeration. To put it more bluntly, all the tribes in the grassland are willing to respect you as the boss and follow you to earn a living from now on!"
Li Shimin grinned slightly.
"So that's what it means..."
He stroked his beard and shook his head and said,
"You barbarians, get rid of these fancy titles."
Even so, the corners of Li Er's mouth had already raised crazily, and he couldn't hide his proud look.
"We respect each other and we are the Khan of Heaven!"
Li Chengqian suddenly stood up and congratulated his father,
"My son, congratulations to my father!"
Li Tai and Li Lizhi also put down their chopsticks and congratulated their father:
"My son, congratulations to my father!"
"Hahaha...Okay, okay." Li Shimin finally couldn't hold back and laughed heartily, waving his hands and saying, "Good children, my father accepts your congratulations. Sit down, all of you, sit down!"
He turned to look at Xu Fenglei and asked with a smile:
"Listen clearly, which tribes are co-signing?"
Xu Fenglei glanced at the signature below.
"Your Majesty, basically all the tribal forces in the entire grassland are here."
He handed over the joint booklet and said as if announcing the name of the dish,
"The Chile tribes, Huihe tribes, Bayegu tribes and other tribes in Mobei; dozens of tribes such as Xi and Ping in Modong; Mohe, Khitan and other tribes..."
"The largest among them is the Xue Yantuo tribe. Its leader Yi Nan was previously canonized by His Majesty as Zhenzhu Piga Khan. Now he understands the truth. He united all the tribes to come up with this."
Li Shimin took it and took a look, and he was immediately delighted.
"Okay, okay, it seems these barbarians are quite sensible!"
He said happily,
"I didn't even need to give an order, they just came to me."
"It saves you worry! Hahaha..."
After that, Li Er took out the cigarette case from his arms and was about to take out one, but was stopped by Changsun Wugou on the side.
"Smoking again!"
The eldest grandson Wugu raised his eyebrows and said,
"It smells terrible! If you smoke again today, you won't be allowed to come!"
Li Shimin held the cigarette and waved his hand.
"Oh, I'm so happy today...don't be so strict."
He continued,
"Just one, just one..."
Wow!
The alert attendant at the side had already prepared a candle and lit a cigarette for the emperor.
One breath, one spit.
As a puff of smoke puffed out, his inner joy rose to several levels.
"Comfortable, so comfortable..."
Li Er squinted his eyes with a look of enjoyment.
"Listen, look at the poison you brought back and how your Majesty has become obsessed with it!"
The eldest grandson Wugao bit his silver teeth, suddenly turned his head to look at Xu Fenglei, and said angrily,
"You are responsible for diverting the trouble you caused, otherwise, I will punish you!"
Xu Fenglei smiled bitterly.
"Queen, please calm down. There aren't many cigarettes, just a few. Once you smoke them, they'll be gone..."
He scratched his head and said,
"With your Majesty's frequency, in two days at most, they will all be exhausted!"
"So... there's no need to worry, Madam."
After hearing this, Changsun Wugu glanced at Li Shimin's cigarette case, and then his expression softened.
But Li Er suddenly opened his eyes.
"That's not okay, this is a treasure!"
He continued,
"I can't live without this thing now. If I don't use it a few times a day, I feel like there are ants crawling all over my body, and I even doze off!"
"No, no, we must ensure a stable supply of tobacco!"
Smoking is easy, quitting is hard!
Changsun Wujia: "!!!"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty!"
Seeing that the emperor and empress were about to quarrel, Xu Fenglei quickly changed the subject and said,
"I thought that since the grassland tribes are so sensible, you should also respond."
"Do you still remember what I said in the political hall? Your Majesty is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty and the Heavenly Khan of all the grassland tribes. You must remain cautious towards them and not merge with them, but the distance between the two parties should be close. Not far."
"Therefore, in the future, when you issue decrees to the grassland tribes, you should regard yourself as the Khan of Heaven. This will surely bring the distance between the two parties closer and better rule the barbarians."
Li Shimin's eyes lit up.
"That makes sense, that makes sense."
He stroked his beard and smiled,
"Now I think the title Tian Khan is not bad, it has a wild beauty!"
"Tomorrow, as Tian Khan, I will send a reply to Xue Yantuo and others, giving them gifts. In addition, I will also ask them to help me find tobacco."
"You said earlier that there was... in Modong, right? I asked the Khitans, Xi, Ling and other troops to search for it, and we will definitely find it."
Changsun Wugou's face darkened.
Xu Fenglei looked embarrassed.
This cigarette thing...isn't going to go away, right?
If I had known I wouldn't have come back with this thing! Why……
Just as Changsun Wugou's expression became more and more dangerous, and Xu Fenglei's expression became more and more regretful, a voice came:
"Your Majesty, the Queen, Princess Xiangcheng is here."
The emperor and empress all raised their heads.
"The child has met his father, his mother, and his master."
Li Qingquan stepped into the room and saluted the three people present.
Xu Fenglei breathed a sigh of relief, smiled slightly, and nodded.
Li Shimin's eyes flickered, as if he thought of something, and showed a bit of displeasure, but did not respond.
"Qingquan is here, hurry up, sit down, sit down."
On the other hand, Changsun Wugou stood up and greeted enthusiastically,
"I've been waiting for you for a long time. Fortunately, with this hot pot, you don't have to worry about the food getting cold. You can eat it right away."
"Come on, are you done with the bank affairs?"
Li Qingquan glanced at his father, pursed his lips, and then smiled and responded warmly:
"My father, mother, master, brothers and sisters have been waiting for a long time."
"After returning to my mother, I have just finished handling the pension matter. The list of those killed in the Battle of the North has been collated. According to the father's request, all the fallen soldiers must receive double pensions. Just now, the first batch of pensions The money has been sent out and I believe it will be sent to their families soon."
Li Shimin's expression softened slightly.
Although he was still a little resentful of the previous unpleasantness between the two parties, he was still very satisfied with Li Qingquan's ability to do things.
Hey...if she wasn't a girl...
"Father."
Li Qingquan sat next to Changsun Wugou, but looked at Li Shimin.
"Huh?" Li Shimin glanced sideways.
"The child even left a pension specially."
Li Qingquan cupped his hands and said,
"As you said before, you should go to the families of the fallen soldiers in person. The child has compiled a list. The fallen soldiers on it are all from Chang'an. Most of them are from good families in rural areas. Most of their addresses are in the suburbs, not far from Chang'an City. "
"Father, please follow this list and go to express condolences. Everything is ready."
After saying that, she took out a piece of paper from her arms and handed it over.
Li Shimin: "..."
He slowly took the list and looked at it, and a few big words came to his mind——
The arrangements are clear!
"……good."
Li Shimin couldn't help but praise,
"I'm very pleased that you can remember this, and you chose the person well."
"Children from good families in rural areas are often from poor families. Their families have lost the young adults who are the breadwinners of the family, and their lives will definitely be even more difficult."
"The families of these fallen soldiers are the ones who deserve condolences and compensation the most!"
Li Qingquan smiled slightly.
"Thank you for the compliment, my father, I just did a little thing within my power."
She looked humble and offered her hand again.
"Look, our Qingquan is always so good."
Changsun Wugou said proudly,
"After all, it's me who brought up the child myself. It's really gratifying... Hear Ming, you are the master's judge?"
Xu Fenglei nodded.
"Qingquan is very capable and is my best disciple. She has a special characteristic, that is, she is as careful as her hair."
He highly praised,
"If you are careful, you can discover many things that ordinary people cannot discover. In this way, your work and career can be done more perfectly. This is something that many men do not have."
The corners of Li Qingquan's mouth raised slightly, smiling broadly.
"Thank you, Queen Mother, thank you Master."
Different from being reserved and humble when facing her father, she was obviously more happy when she heard the praise from her mother and master.
"Sister, hurry up and put in the meat. The pot is almost out of water."
Li Tai's mouth was full of oil and he said vaguely.
His words made everyone laugh.
Immediately, pieces of tender beef and mutton were thrown into the pot, and the gurgling heat steamed away, dispersing the smell of smoke and bringing in a delicious aroma.
Everyone in the family was feasting, but Li Shimin was still smoking a cigarette with his head down.
"Er Feng, eat..."
Changsun Wugou pushed Li Shimin and said doubtfully,
"You hungry?"
Li Shimin shook his head.
"I'm worried, I don't have much appetite."
He waved and said,
"You guys can eat..."
Changsun Wugu looked strange and put down his chopsticks.
"What's the matter?"
Xu Fenglei and several children also raised their heads.
"Hey...it's not Du Ruhui's business."
Li Shimin took another puff of cigarette and sighed softly,
"I regret a little. Why did I promise him a marriage then..."
"Now that the news has spread to the entire court, even if I want to regret it, I can't. This will undermine the emperor's majesty and will make it impossible for me to face Du Ruhui!"
"Mr. Guanyin, please tell me... what should I do?"
"It's hard to do, it's hard to do..."
Changsun Wugou was slightly startled and fell into silence.
She looked at Li Qingquan, but Li Qingquan didn't answer, just lowered his head and stirred his chopsticks.
Xu Fenglei smiled secretly in his heart.
This is too hard, how about a soft one?
He suddenly thought of a famous scene in later generations——
With a cigarette in his mouth, he lifted the table with a bang.
Difficult?
If it’s difficult to do, then don’t do it!
cough……
The room fell into silence, except for the bubbling sound of the soup in the hot pot.
Several children noticed something was wrong in the atmosphere. Even Li Tai slowed down his eating speed and looked at his father and then his sister, thoughtfully.
"cough……"
Li Shimin's dry cough broke the silence. He stared at Li Qingquan and said as softly as possible,
"Qingquan, we were unhappy that time because my father was too irritable."
"This is my father's fault."
"Let's not be irritable or angry today. Let's have a good and heart-to-heart talk, okay?"
Li Qingquan raised his head slightly.
"My father understands what he means."
Her tone was soft, but her expression was firm.
"The father wants the child to marry Du Xiang's son, and the child can understand the father's difficulties. Once the golden mouth is opened, it cannot be changed."
"But I still want to ask my father... to think of other ways."
She stood up gently and bowed to Li Shimin.
"I still remember that a few years ago, my son took the word 'guan' after the word 'zhen' for the title of the new dynasty, and he won the outstanding student of that year. My father once made a promise to my son."
Li Qingquan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice,
"All this time, the child has never asked his father for anything."
"But this time, I want to exercise my rights. I want to refuse this marriage!"
Li Shimin couldn't help but be stunned when he heard this.
"Is this happening?" he said subconsciously.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Xu Fenglei immediately assisted,
"It was at the end of the ninth year of Wude. Your Majesty was discussing the reign name in the East Palace. Chengqian took Zheng and Qingquan took Guan. The two together became the reign name of Zhenguan. His Majesty Long Yan was very happy and asked the two of them to mention it as much as they wanted. Require."
"At that time, Chengqian asked for Scimitar and Fiery Horse, and His Majesty agreed. However, Qingquan did not ask for it and has kept it until now."
"All the ministers were there at the time, and they were all witnesses."
Li Shimin: "..."
This was almost five years ago! I am so busy every day, how can I remember?
But when Xu Fenglei said it in detail...he really remembered it!
"It seems that there is such a thing..." Li Er murmured.
Li Qingquan pursed his lips.
"Once my father opens his mouth, he cannot go back on his words."
She said resolutely,
"This is true for Prime Minister Du, and it should be true for children."
"Now that the child has made a request, please father not to refuse."
"My child, thank you!"
Snapped!
As soon as she finished speaking, she fell to the ground.
"Oh, Qingquan, what are you doing? Get up..."
Changsun Wugou hurriedly went to pull her.
But this girl is a stubborn ass, she can’t pull her up no matter what!
"……well!"
Li Shimin held his forehead and said with a look of despair,
"What evil have I done!"
In the past, if the child was so rebellious, he would have been so angry that he would slam the table and lose his temper!
But it ended like that last time, will it happen again this time?
It’s useless! Can't solve the problem...
He just felt that... he must be careful in his words and deeds in the future! We can no longer make promises casually!
How terrible!
"Your Majesty, you cannot go back on your promise to Prime Minister Du, and your promise to Qingquan cannot be voided."
Xu Fenglei spoke at the right time and said,
"I do have a plan to resolve this matter."
"Speak directly!" Li Er said displeased.
I'm still being pushy right now...I'm so annoyed!
"Choose another princess to marry into the Du family."
Xu Fenglei smiled and said,
"His Majesty only said that he would be betrothed to a princess, and he did not name the princess."
"I thought that Princess Runan, your Majesty's next daughter, could be promised to Du He."
Li Shimin was stunned.
"Runan? She's not old enough to get married yet!"
Xu Fenglei waved his hand.
"Can't we just wait another two years?"
He said,
"Your Majesty has not said when he will marry the princess! At that time, he only needs to issue a decree to let the two of them make a marriage contract first, and then let them get married when Princess Runan reaches the age..."
"Isn't this difficult matter... solved?"
