Li Xi still has quite a few connections in the imperial capital. Not to mention the court, just various noble houses, many female relatives of aristocratic families have a close relationship with her.
Especially in the matter of rebelling against King Li Kuang, Princess Fenyang passed the test smoothly without being implicated in any way, which made everyone feel relieved and started dealing with her again.
Coupled with the fact that Murong Xue was a close confidant of the imperial court and the young head of the wealthy Murong family, all the ladies and ladies from all walks of life deliberately fawned over him, and his reputation grew.
With the help of this favorable condition, Li Xi not only won over a group of "pink followers", but also got closer and closer to Wei Zixuan's wife, Xiang. It is likely that the feud will turn into friendship, and the two families will help each other in the future.
Of course, this is just a superficial phenomenon. Behind the scenes, both Wei Zixuan and his wife, as well as the seventh princess Li Xi, regard each other as a thorn in their side and a thorn in their flesh, and they are always on guard and pay attention to everything.
Not long ago, Wei Zixuan instructed his Minister of Rites to submit a memorial to the emperor Li Bing.
The content of the memorial is very unusual: the appointment of a queen.
The Ministry of Rites pointed out that the emperor had been on the throne for a long time, and currently there were only two concubines in the harem but no queen in the main palace. This was not in line with the court laws and was not conducive to the stability of the royal family. Therefore, it advised Li Bing to identify a suitable candidate to take charge of the harem as soon as possible.
Urging the emperor to marry a wife should really be the concern of the Ministry of Rites. However, there has never been a queen in the Shengtang Dynasty. It is related to the emperor's bloodline and the reproduction of direct heirs, which is also very worthy of attention and concern.
Therefore, as soon as the Ministry of Rites's note was submitted, Li Bing quickly received a reply.
Emperor Li Bing's meaning is: At present, the Turks have just been destroyed and the south is not at peace. All his energy is focused on defeating the rebellion and restoring people's livelihood. He has no time to worry about his personal marriage, choosing a queen, etc.
This reply was already expected by Wei Zixuan and others.
As soon as the emperor's approval came out, seven or eight officials came to complain one after another the next day, enumerating the various shortcomings of not registering the queen. They talked about the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, the previous monarchs, and the iron laws of the royal family to the rise and fall of the country. In short, they said: Your emperor's pursuit of a wife is not your own business, but concerns the entire Holy Tang Dynasty!
As soon as this big hat was slapped on him, Li Bing was a little overwhelmed. With no choice but to find a few important ministers, he began to discuss the matter of establishing a queen.
Regarding the appointment of a queen, there are basically two ideas. One is to choose from the two current concubines, and the other is to choose from outside the palace.
Under Wei Zixuan's advance instruction, the Minister of Rites advocated merging the two roads together and proceeding at the same time.
The reason is, of course, selection of the best among the best, fairness and reasonableness.
Li Bing never considered that Wei Zixuan would engage in intrigues in this matter, so after consulting several other ministers, he finally made the decision to adopt the method proposed by the Ministry of Rites and issue a clear edict to the world to let the royal family and the court recommend the candidate for the queen.
As soon as the news came out, the entire imperial capital, and even half of the Holy Tang in the north, became restless.
Officials and wealthy families, as long as they have unmarried sisters and daughters, are all eager to try.
Queen, you are the mother of the world. This honor cannot be achieved in several lifetimes, so how can you miss it so easily?
Suddenly, officials from the second rank and above and the direct royal family who were qualified to recommend candidates for the queen became the targets of various wealthy families competing to fawn over. Even Li Xi's mansion was bustling with visitors all day long.
The sensitive seventh princess quickly smelled the conspiracy, but she was not sure what Wei Zixuan was up to, so she sent a letter to Li Jiangyao specifically to ask for his opinion.
Li Jiangyao was originally not interested in such nonsense. However, since the Hornets are involved, Lao Jianhua must also be involved, so enough attention should be paid to it.
Anyway, the war was left to Wang Wenlie and the others, and he was idle. Li Jiangyao thought it was a change of mind, a break, and began to analyze the issue of selecting a queen.
Since ancient times, the queen has been more than just the emperor's wife.
As the Phoenix Lord of the Mother World, the Queen is also a very important political role in the dynasty. Throughout the dynasties, there were many cases of harems interfering in politics and descendants taking exclusive power. There were even cases of queens usurping the throne directly and becoming the king of a country.
Therefore, what is happening now seems to be choosing a wife for Li Bing, but in fact it is shaping a powerful political faction or supporting a powerful political family.
And this is only one aspect. The other aspect is more direct: provoking conflicts and disputes.
Because the queen's status is extremely noble and the power and benefits she brings are immeasurable, she is bound to become the target of fierce competition.
The former queen-to-be, Liu Yanru, was born in the Wenkui Liu family, and was the granddaughter of Zhongshu Ling Liu Shiming. With such a background, even the Ma Hongjie family, which had an army of 500,000 Jingxiang troops, and the extremely wealthy Murong family could not be compared, let alone other families who dared to come out to compete with her.
However, it is a pity that the beautiful lady of the Liu family died tragically on the way to Luoyi for her wedding, leaving the position of queen vacant.
Now that there are no strong players like the Liu family, everyone will naturally be dissatisfied with anyone, and they will definitely fight to the death for the throne of the queen.
Li Jiangyao wondered, would Wei Zixuan take this opportunity to provoke infighting within the court?
It's possible, but it's still a bit superficial.
He shook his head slightly. Creating conflicts and cultivating forces can certainly disrupt the situation of the government to a certain extent, but for the rebels in Jiangnan, it still cannot solve their fundamental pressure.
Only by hitting the key point of the court can we have a chance to truly make a comeback.
So, what is the key to the imperial court?
Emperor Li Bing? Five legions? Zhenjiang Army? I?
When he thought of himself, Li Jiangyao suddenly became alert: Damn it, is that guy Wei Zixuan coming for me?
If we were to list the people Lao Jianhua hates the most, Li Jiangyao would definitely be able to easily enter the top three, or simply be the first.
Among the top five, there must be Shen Lie and Murong Xue, and maybe Xu Youchang and Dong Tianxing. These people all have a deep connection with themselves.
Therefore, if he could be killed, Li Jiangyao, it would not only destroy the relationship between the Zhenjiang Army and the imperial court, but also implicate Shen Lie and the others, and even make the entire Ghost Desert of Western Xinjiang form a blood feud with Shengtang.
In this case, the North will surely fall into chaos again, giving the South an opportunity to take advantage of it.
Li Jiangyao stood up from the wicker chair, paced in the handsome tent with his hands behind his hands, and began to seriously consider the problem at hand: Wei Zixuan had spent so much time planning to appoint a queen, how could he have anything to do with me?
In other words, where will the real breakthrough be?
-
"As for the issue of the naval commander, I think we should be more cautious."
Li Bing hurriedly took a few mouthfuls of the already slightly cold dinner and said to the ministers standing in front of him: "As soon as Li Jiangyao left, he quickly reversed the navy's disadvantage and achieved a great victory at Jiangxin Island. This It shows that he can do it. The war situation is tense now, and I agree to investigate the murder of Sun Chen and others, but when it comes to replacing Li Jiangyao... who can take his place? "
Yin Cheng resolutely raised his hand and responded: "Your Majesty, I have understood clearly. The actual commander of the battle on Jiangxin Island was Yang Li from the Imperial Capital's Martial Arts Hall. Li Jiangyao himself was not familiar with the method of water warfare and did not personally direct it. Fleet combat.”
Li Bing was stunned when he heard this: "Is this true?"
"It's absolutely true." Wei Zixuan responded from the side: "Everyone in the navy knows that in the battle that day, Li Jiangyao just led his troops to land on Jiangxin Island and raided the fortress. The battle was still a land battle. He sunk the rebels for one hundred The man who owns many battleships is Yang Li, the son of the Grand Protector of Yang Xingtai. Before, I and others failed to discover this talent. Please be punished by your Majesty for dereliction of duty."
"So, Yang Li can definitely shoulder this heavy burden?" Li Bing was still hesitant.
Yin Chengyi nodded: "Your Majesty, Yang Li is definitely qualified for the job. He is an instructor in the Navy Department of the Imperial Capital Yanwu Hall, and he comes from a family of generals. Regardless of his ability and background, he is the best candidate for Navy Commander."
Li Bing thought for a moment and suddenly asked: "Where is Dong Tianxing? Why didn't he come?"
Wei Zixuan responded: "Your Majesty, have you forgotten? Mr. Dong set out yesterday to inspect the eastern state capital to coordinate the fight against Japanese bandits."
"Oh, yes, I remembered it." Li Bing patted his forehead gently: "Hey, we should also listen to his opinion on the navy matter."
Yin Chengyi sneered and said, "Dong Tianxing? Your Majesty, what else does he have to say? Naturally, he speaks to Li Jiangyao, as he always does."
Hearing this, Li Bing was slightly stunned, but immediately said nothing more.
Tian Mu said at this time: "Your Majesty, it is imperative to replace Li Jiangyao. Otherwise, Nilin Division will not be able to carry out investigations among the navy. You should be able to understand the resistance."
Li Bing thought for a while, then suddenly smiled bitterly and said: "I can understand it, but... such an act of crossing the river and burning the bridge can't help but make people feel cold. I think many people will talk behind my back, saying that I change orders every day and are fickle."
Wei Zixuan cupped his hands and said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, this is wrong. This incident was entirely caused by Li Jiangyao's arbitrary power and indiscriminate killing, not by your changing orders day and night, let alone burning bridges across rivers. This has always been the law of the imperial court, and merit is merit. If you make a mistake, you will be rewarded, and if you make a mistake, you will be punished.”
"Yes, Your Majesty. You cannot allow the general to act recklessly just because he has made a small contribution." Tian Mu said sadly: "Today he dared to kill an official of the imperial court for no reason, and tomorrow he dared to raise an army to rebel. Jiangnan Rebels Enough is enough, is it possible to raise another evil tiger?"
This was an extremely serious statement, and it was almost as if Li Jiangyao had rebellious intentions.
Li Bing pondered for a moment and said cautiously: "Let's do this. Don't remove Li Jiangyao from the position of naval commander for the time being. Instead, Yang Li will be promoted to deputy commander and command the navy on his behalf. The order is issued to summon Li Jiangyao. Then we can return to the imperial capital, and the Ministry of War, the Governor's Office and the Beiya will ask about the execution of Sun Chen and others. If the matter can be explained clearly, we will still let him lead the navy."
