Huang Hao prepared his pen and ink and came to His Majesty's side to resume his duties.
Li Shimin sat on the couch, pointed at the writing on the desk and said:
"I will name a few people, and you will write down the circumstances of these people's families, mainly the names and ages of their children.
I want to select suitable people, and take advantage of the fact that there is nothing important at this time, and send them to Xiaoyao Gongzhu to apprentice. "
Huang Hao suddenly realized after hearing this, no wonder His Majesty was so excited.
Seeing that Huang Hao was already sitting in front of the case, Li Shimin said:
"The son of Prime Minister Zhuge, the son of Shangshu Ling Jiang Wan, and the son of Anhan General Wang Ping..."
Huang Hao listened to the names read out by His Majesty, and while thinking, he quickly recorded the corresponding information on the silk.
Not long after, Li Shimin had finished reading the names of those he thought needed to be sent to Xiaoyao Gongchu to become his disciples.
Huang Hao also finished recording the information later. As soon as he put down his pen, he couldn't wait to hold it in front of His Majesty with both hands.
"Your Majesty, I have compiled the list. Please take a look at it."
Li Shimin took the list and reviewed it carefully.
"Well, there are quite a lot of people here. You can record it again, and I will select some of them as the first batch of people to become disciples of Xiaoyao Gong."
After repeated weighing, Li Shimin finally decided on the first group of people to go to Fan Ji to study gilding.
There are a total of eight people on the list, most of whom are in the age of Dancing Elephant. The youngest is Zhuge Zhan, the eldest son of Prime Minister Zhuge, who is still young.
The elder is only Fu Qian, the son of Fu Xu, who is just eighteen years old and not even close to the weak crown.
"That's all for today. After tomorrow morning, you will immediately go to the residence of these people and ask them to come to Chengdu to see me before the end of the year."
Huang Hao bowed and accepted the order.
Li Shimin thought for a while and added:
"No matter who these people are currently apprentices to, or if their parents have any questions, just say that I want to promote them and have them come to me for an assessment."
After explaining Huang Hao, Li Shimin could no longer bear the fatigue of many days. After waving Huang Hao away, he fell asleep on the dragon couch.
Time flies by like a white horse. Since Li Shimin returned to Chengdu, the first ten days of the twelfth lunar month have passed before he knew it.
After the morning court that day, Li Shimin was chatting with the queen in the harem courtyard.
At this time, only the Queen's maid, Zhang Yan and Huang Hao were around the two of them.
Seeing that there were no outsiders here, and remembering that this was his first New Year's Eve since his resurrection, Li Shimin wanted to ask the Queen about the annual meeting.
Just as she was about to ask questions, the queen spoke first:
“Since the death of the Prime Minister, nearly April, Your Majesty has been busy with political affairs.
Now that the court is temporarily stable and the rebellion is basically going smoothly, should Your Majesty pay more attention to the affairs of the harem? "
Li Shimin was puzzled when he heard this:
"On weekdays, whenever I have the opportunity, I will come to the harem to meet the Queen. I consciously have never neglected the Queen. I wonder where the Queen started with these words?"
The Queen felt sweet and worried at the same time when she saw that His Majesty only thought about herself and never mentioned anyone else in the harem.
Then he explained to His Majesty:
"Your Majesty, as a wise king, must know that 'filial piety' is the first of all virtues.
At first, the court was in turmoil and rebellions broke out. The concubines thought that His Majesty had many things to do and temporarily forgot about filial piety.
Now it seems that Your Majesty may have completely forgotten Empress Dowager Wu! "
When Li Shimin heard this, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his heart and thought:
"No! Now that Empress Dowager Wu is still here, I can't ignore both emotions and reasons.
Besides, Empress Dowager Wu is the sister of Wu Yi and Wu Ban of Dongzhou. If I don’t handle Empress Dowager Wu’s affairs well, I’m afraid it will make the Dongzhou gentry suspicious.”
Thinking of this, Li Shimin took the queen into his arms and praised:
"The Queen is truly my wise wife! If the Queen hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten this matter!"
Zhang Yan couldn't help feeling disgusted when she saw His Majesty flirting with her sister in front of several people.
"Brother Adou, does he regard this courtyard as his sister's bedroom? How could he do such a frivolous thing in public?"
Li Shimin was confused by Zhang Yan's words. He thought that he, the king of a country, couldn't be intimate with the queen in the harem?
Just as she was about to reply, the Queen gently pushed His Majesty away and said softly:
"My little sister is right. Your Majesty's move is unseemly."
Seeing that Li Shimin couldn't talk to the two sisters on this matter, he simply skipped the topic, stood up and said:
"I happen to have nothing to do today, so without further delay, I will go to pay my respects to Queen Mother Wu. Queen, please come with me."
When Zhang Yan saw that His Majesty was cheating on her and ignored her, she couldn't help but said:
"In that case, let me just ask my sister to accompany me. This guard is not feeling well, so he will not accompany your majesty!"
Li Shimin was not in a hurry after hearing this, and just looked at the queen with a slight request.
The queen understood, stood up with a smile, took Zhang Yan's hand and said softly:
"If my little sister is not with His Majesty to protect him, then who will be responsible for His Majesty's safety?
Besides, since you became His Majesty's personal guard, our sisters have met very rarely.
The elder sister now needs the little sister to accompany her to reminisce about old times. Can the little sister have the heart to refuse? "
Hearing this, Zhang Yan rolled her eyes at His Majesty, and then followed the Queen without saying a word.
When Li Shimin saw this, he chuckled, shook his head, and walked towards the Queen Mother's palace.
Huang Hao, on the other hand, went to the Queen Mother's palace first and informed the Queen Mother of His Majesty's itinerary so that the Queen Mother could be prepared to avoid disturbing the Queen Mother Luan Jia due to sudden arrival.
Not long after, Li Shimin and others arrived at the Queen Mother's palace.
Huang Hao, who was waiting here, rushed to meet His Majesty and reported back:
"Your Majesty, the Queen Mother is waiting in the main hall of the palace. Your Majesty can go in directly to pay her respects."
Hearing this, Li Shimin nodded slightly, and then led the Queen and Zhang Yan directly to see the Queen Mother without stopping.
When he arrived at the front hall, Li Shimin saw a noble man in his forties sitting on the couch, and knew that this person was the Queen Mother Wu.
Li Shimin bowed forward to say hello while observing the appearance of Empress Dowager Wu.
I saw that Empress Dowager Wu was just like the previous legend, with a face like a full moon, a pair of bright red and phoenix eyes, a dignified appearance, and a glowing face.
At first glance, it looks like a wealthy and prosperous husband. The person you marry will be blessed to become an emperor.
"In recent days, I have only been focusing on the affairs of the court, but rarely come to pay my respects to the Queen Mother.
Now that the court has settled down, I am afraid that the Queen Mother's palace will be cold, so I came here to express my regards to the Queen Mother.
I also hope that the Queen Mother will not blame the minister for his previous unfilial piety. "
Empress Dowager Wu couldn't help but smile when she heard this and said lovingly:
"My son, as the king of a country, should take state affairs as his top priority. There is no need to worry about me here all the time.
But my son must not forget the hardships that the late Emperor went through to start his own business.
Now we should put the people first, spread benevolence, make our Shu region strong and prosperous, and fulfill the late emperor's legacy of reviving the Han Dynasty as soon as possible. "
Li Shimin quickly stepped forward and replied respectfully:
"The Queen Mother's teachings should be kept in mind."
Seeing that the two of them had finished greeting each other, the Queen and Zhang Yan stepped forward to salute the Queen Mother together.
After everyone had finished bowing, Empress Dowager Wu called Li Shimin in front of her and said slowly:
"Since my son has arrived today, I have some small matters that I want to discuss with my son.
If it's nothing important, why don't I have a few words with you? "
Li Shimin's original intention was to pay his respects to the Queen Mother and to get closer to the Queen Mother, so as to reassure the Dongzhou nobles.
Now it happened that the Queen Mother wanted to discuss something, and Li Shimin immediately agreed.
Seeing His Majesty nodding in agreement, the Queen Mother smiled and said:
"Don't think I'm nagging you. Now that the world has been divided into three parts, we, Shu, are relatively poor and weak.
In addition, the late emperor and the Laoshen family are outsiders. If we want to stay in Sichuan, it is not enough to rely on the methods above the court.
You should think more about how to quickly win over and appease the Yizhou princes outside the court.
I have always had some ideas in my mind, which may be useful for you to win over and appease the princes of Yizhou and even the princes of other factions. "
Li Shimin couldn't help but wonder when he heard this. He didn't expect that the Queen Mother, who had lived in the palace for a long time, had such knowledge.
"I am stupid, I hope the Queen Mother will make it clear!"
"Do you know why the late emperor accepted me as his concubine, and why he made me his queen?"
"Oh! What the Queen Mother is thinking is that she wants her ministers to win over and appease the princes in the court through marriage?"
The Queen Mother couldn't help but smile when she heard this and said with approval:
"I thought that my son's sudden change of temperament in the past few days was a rumor spread by people in the palace, but I didn't expect that my son is indeed a wise king.
This matter has only begun for me, and my son can think of me, and I feel so relieved! "
After Empress Dowager Wu's reminder, Li Shimin suddenly felt enlightened.
Regardless of the previous marriage princesses such as Jieyou and Wusun, or the princesses such as Wencheng and Honghua in my previous life, they have all made great contributions to the stability of the country.
To put it more simply, isn't it for the sake of family prosperity that noble families intermarry with each other?
Wasn’t my Queen Jing Ai married to Zhang Fei by the late Emperor to consolidate his imperial power?
After thinking about it, Li Shimin discussed in detail the current candidates for marriage with the Empress Dowager Wu and the Queen.
When the Queen Mother saw that the emperor was so wise and filial, she was so happy that she took over the matter.
From then on, whenever there were suitable candidates for marriage, the Queen Mother would first record and sort them out, and then hand them over to the Emperor for his decision.
After the marriage was decided, Li Shimin saw that it was almost done, so he stood up and said goodbye to the Queen Mother, and led the Queen, Zhang Yan and others out of the Queen Mother's palace.
When walking to the Imperial Garden, he happened to meet Huo Ge who was going to the harem to look for His Majesty.
When Huo Ge saw His Majesty, he hurriedly greeted His Majesty, bowed and said:
"Your Majesty, the battle report from Yueyong County has arrived. At the same time, the people you told Huang Hao to look for have just arrived."
Li Shimin laughed when he heard this and said:
"It seems that my peaceful days are coming to an end again. Let's go, follow me to the Gold and Silver Palace, and deal with everything one by one."
Seeing that His Majesty had to deal with government affairs again, the Queen resigned to His Majesty in a timely manner.
Li Shimin said goodbye to the queen, cheered up, and led Huang Hao, Huo Ge, Zhang Yan and others to the Gold and Silver Palace.
