To be honest, Li Shimin is indeed very affectionate and has nostalgic feelings for old friends like Qiu Xinggong. In the first half of the year, he played it all to the end, and even before the Chinese New Year, he personally started to make arrangements for his comeback.
Knowing the current tense relationship between the Qiu and Wu families, they even arranged for a marriage between the two families to turn their hostility into friendship. In the eyes of the emperor, brothers Qiu Xinggong and Qiu Xingze were his confidants. Qiu Xinggong even saved his life several times, and Wu Huaiyu
He is also his current confidant. This is his base. He does not want them to fight among themselves. After all, the throne is not really secure yet.
This is what happened.
But the emperor did not stand in Huaiyu's position and think about his feelings.
There was no big conflict between him and the Qiu family at first. He was a little impulsive at first and shouldn't have impeached Qiu Xinggong harshly, but he had done some things and had no regrets.
Now that the Qiu family wants to take revenge, he is not afraid.
The emperor stepped in.
Asking Wu Huaiyu and Naqiu Xinggong's daughter to be his concubine made Huaiyu feel disgusted. It was just like when Chai Shao asked him to lead the hospital town to rescue Longxi, and deliberately asked him to pretend to be the main force as a bait. He did not explain such a dangerous thing.
Now the emperor also wants his daughter from the Qiu family to be his concubine.
Really disgusting.
But the first thing the emperor said when they met today made Huaiyu have to be cautious. The emperor said that someone had accused him of treason.
Although he was not afraid of this matter, it was not that simple when it came from the emperor's mouth.
Zhang Ananda appeared silently.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Hello, Supervisor Zhang."
Zhang Ananda, who was dressed in a purple robe, walked side by side with him with his hands in his sleeves and no expression on his face. "There is nothing to be hesitant about. This is your Majesty's decision."
"Supervisor Zhang also knows about this?"
"Boy, thunder, rain and dew are all due to your kindness. Do you still want to refuse something that can make your majesty speak personally?"
"You are not ashamed to associate with Qiu Jing."
"You took his daughter as a concubine, why did you become a mate? This is a minister who is full of honors and relatives. Who's family doesn't marry and get married everywhere? The relationship is intricate. Besides, this is just taking a concubine.
You have taken advantage of this matter. The Qiu family is also a well-known noble family in Guanlong. This time, His Majesty personally came forward to protect you. You made a mistake last year and was promoted to the title of Duke.
, do you know how many people in the court are staring at you and how many people are jealous of you?"
"This time the Qiu family is going to launch an attack, how many people are willing to go along with it?"
"My body is upright and I am not afraid of slanting shadows."
"Wrong, you are still too young. You think things are so simple. If you really start attacking, it will be endless. What you are most afraid of is not overt swords or overt guns, but secret guns and cold arrows. There is no one or anything in this world.
Things can really be done like this."
"Now His Majesty has come forward to let a daughter from your Naqiu family become a concubine. This matter has been settled. You have paid nothing, but the Qiu family has paid for a daughter. Who do you think will lose and who will gain?"
"You kid, you're so good at taking advantage of it. I'm afraid the Qiu family is even more disgusted than you are."
Wu Huaiyu thought about it, and it seemed to be the same. No matter how skinny the Qiu family's camel was, it was still bigger than a horse. In the past, there was one country and five counties and ten counties. Now, at least there is one country and four counties. His grandsons are all founding counties.
Son, the fifth rank has commanded the army.
They wanted to go to war with Wu Huaiyu, but the emperor directly suppressed them and asked them to marry a daughter to Huaiyu as his concubine. They were declared defeated before the war started, which was indeed aggrieved.
That said, the emperor really took good care of him.
"The Qiu family may not be convinced, and I feel unhappy too." Huaiyu said bluntly.
"Whether you are unconvinced or unhappy, you have to endure it. Are you really being lawless? Is this still the Tang Dynasty? Are you still His Majesty's ministers?" Zhang Anan reminded him that they were all the Emperor's confidants, Yuan Cong.
The emperor was so polite and personally came forward to mediate. Otherwise, if other people were doing business, both sides would lose in the end. The emperor would still be happy to see his ministers fighting like this occasionally.
"You have been in the limelight recently, so try to be as low-key as possible when you return to Beijing this time,"
Zhang Ananda took great care of Wu Huaiyu, and mostly looked at his granddaughter Fan Xuanfu.
Although Wu Huaiyu was relatively favored by the emperor, he had insufficient qualifications, especially because he was from the Wu family, the Supreme Emperor Yuancong.
"Do you know Liu Shili?"
"Your Majesty Qiandi Yuancong, one of the nine generals of the Xuanwu Sect."
"Yes, last year someone accused Liu Shili of treason. His Majesty asked, Liu Shili said that he was only in the sixth rank in the Sui Dynasty. He followed the emperor and became the general of Zuo Xiaowei. He paid homage to the Duke of Xiangwu and was given thousands of pieces of silk. How could he dare to rebel? Your Majesty listened to it very much.
I am moved and give you silk to comfort you.
But Luo Yi rebelled and was executed. Liu Shili, Luo Yi's friend and relative, was expelled from the country.
Up to now, more than half a year has passed, and Liu Shili is still at home reflecting, he is still a commoner, but he has been looking for connections everywhere, and he still has no way to come back."
Wu Huaiyu couldn't help but look solemn after hearing this. Last year's Luo Yi rebellion case later implicated many people, such as the Emperor's Yuanmou hero Liu Zhenghui, the Minister of Criminal Affairs, General Zuo Xiaowei Liu Shili, and even Changsun Queen's brother Changsun Anye
wait.
Liu Shili was one of the nine generals of the Xuanwu Sect. He had made great contributions. He had joined Li Shimin from Wang Shichong in his early years. His qualifications were not low. He originally had a promising future, but now he has failed to do so.
Regardless of whether the emperor Qiandi Yuancong or the new dynasty was a hero, his status was not stable.
Young nobles like Wu Huaiyu must be even more careful.
"Make fewer enemies and make more friends. The Qiu family has relatives and friends everywhere. Don't offend if you can, and reconcile if you have the chance."
Wu Huaiyu sighed.
"Is Qiu Xinggong coming back?"
"Well, it is probably to restore his position as Duke of Tianshui County and transfer to the post of General Youhou Wuhou. Qiu Shili will be added as a regular attendant on the cavalry, and the number of fictitious settlements will be increased by 300 households."
Wu Huaiyu was surprised, "Qiu Xinggong is actually going to restore the title of Duke?"
"He was already granted the title of Duke of Tianshui County before. As long as he does not commit any serious crime of crossing the line, His Majesty will not really punish him because of his old feelings."
"Besides, Qiu He is not dead yet."
Mr. Qiu has served in five dynasties and served as a minister in three dynasties. His reputation and status are very high.
"Okay, don't think about it. Even though you are young, you are already a duke. Don't you still understand such simple truths? Don't make enemies easily over trivial matters. If so,
It’s not a long journey.”
Although Wu Huaiyu is the 49th official who has been awarded the title of meritorious service, in today's world, with so many high-ranking families and upstarts, Wu Huaiyu really cannot be ranked high.
Some old clans that seem to be in decline are actually still rich in heritage. This is the fundamental reason why upstarts such as Cheng Yaojin, Zhang Liang, and even Fang Xuanling and Wei Zheng want to marry into the old gentry clan.
When leaving, Zhang Anan revealed a little secret. It was said that the dragon in the queen's arms was most likely to be a prince. He was somewhat regretful that Wu Chengsi would not be able to honor Her Royal Highness the princess.
Huaiyu had already guessed that the queen's baby would be Li Zhi.
"How is your Royal Highness doing lately?" Huaiyu asked the student proactively.
"It's good and bad. Your Majesty and the Queen both respect the Crown Prince. However, because King Yue Tai has returned to the clan, the Emperor and Queen have become closer to King Tai of Yue recently. This makes the Crown Prince seem a little unhappy. Over at Chongwen Hall, there is also
He often made Li Gang, the youngest guardian of the prince, unhappy. Kong Yingda and other teachers often told His Majesty that the prince was not serious in his studies. Your Majesty reprimanded the prince several times."
Huaiyu couldn't help but frown when he heard this.
When he was not in the East Palace, the prince's teaching in Chongwen Hall was still in charge of the great Confucian scholars such as Li Gang, Kong Yingda and Lu Deming, but Cheng Qian did not like their approach.
During this period, the emperor was very fond of Li Tai, who called him father again, and wanted to compensate. Empress Changsun was pregnant and did not have much energy to take care of Cheng Qian. This change probably made Cheng Qian feel more and more disappointed.
The prince will soon be ten years old, and he is indeed quite sensitive at this age.
He could understand Cheng Qian's emotions at this time, but to be honest, he hadn't decided whether to have a close relationship with the prince. Although he also served as the prince's horse washer and the owner of the Chongxian Hall, he still had a feeling in his heart.
There is another layer of concern, that is, in history, the prince Chengqian was not regarded as the emperor.
Reasonably, I felt that Cheng Qian's failure to become the crown prince was due to many comprehensive factors, which cannot be easily interfered by an individual, but to be honest, I felt like taking a gamble.
Zhang Anang looked at him and said nothing.
After thanking Zhang Anan for reminding him, Huaiyu left the palace.
As he was about to leave the East Palace Gate, a voice sounded from behind him.
"When did Mr. Wu return to Beijing?"
Turning around, it was Prince Cheng Qian.
After almost a year of not seeing each other, this young man has grown a bit taller. He has a slender body, rich clothes and jade belt. He is very handsome, but a little on the thin side. He is followed by a group of young men, most of whom are the descendants of princes and nobles and classmates of Chongwen Hall.
Cheng Qian crossed his hands and saluted, "Your Majesty Wu Huaiyu pays homage to His Highness the Crown Prince."
Cheng Qian was very happy to see him. He came up with a smile and even held his hand in a slightly pretentious manner. "When I am alone in Chang'an, I can often hear about your bravery outside. Every time I hear about it, I feel very proud."
, Sir is the owner of our Chongxian Pavilion, when did you return to Beijing?"
"I just arrived this afternoon. Your Majesty summoned me as soon as I entered the city."
"Are you going back after the call?"
"Um."
"Let's go sit down at Chongxian Pavilion and tell me how you defeated Luo Yi. Master Liang is waiting for you."
Cheng Qianfei took Huaiyu and turned around and went to Chongxian Hall. Feeling the enthusiasm of the young people, Huaiyu had no choice but to go there and tell them about Pingluo Yi and the destruction of Liangshidu.
Wu Huaiyu was already very eloquent. When he stood there, it was as if he was talking about storytelling. Occasionally, he even had the flavor of a stand-up comic, telling stories that were very exciting and ups and downs. How many teenagers had ever heard of this?
Everyone sat there, listening attentively, even intoxicated. After listening to the story, Cheng Qian even led everyone to add many props, put up maps, put up statues, swords, etc., and finally even talked with his classmates
Pretend to be two men and a horse and simulate it.
Unknowingly, we played until dark, and when we heard the sound of bells and drums, the palace door was about to be locked, and everyone realized it.
"Your Highness, I am going to resign and leave the palace. If it is too late, the palace door will be locked and I will not be able to get out."
Cheng Qian was a little reluctant to leave, he was having a great time, "Okay, let's send Mr. out of the palace. How about he come back tomorrow morning?"
A group of other young princes, including the eldest grandson's family, the Gao family, the Dugu family, the Dou family, the Li family, etc., were also flushed with anticipation.
"Writing is still interesting. Listening to those old masters chanting nonsense every day is too boring."
"that is,"
The prince sent Huaiyu out of the palace, and the other students went home, but they all couldn't forget today's activities. They all envied Wu Huaiyu and even worshiped him.
The prince returned to his palace and suddenly remembered that he hadn't copied the Filial Piety Classic that Li Gang had punished him to copy today. He couldn't help but have a headache. "This old guy is over eighty years old. Why isn't he dead? If he dies, he won't have to face it every day."
