Records of the King of Xin'an County

After leaving Yuewang Mansion, Li Hui did not return to Dali Temple, but rode his horse back to Puwang Mansion.He furrowed his brows tightly, and immediately summoned the trilogy who were in charge of following Princess Anxing in the study of the outer courtyard, and gave them the names of two Hu merchants from the Western Regions, ordering them to investigate quickly.

Perhaps because of his preoccupation, he didn't even take care of the evening meal, and was busy adjusting the distribution of manpower in Beijing.Princess Anxing and the Yang family are important, but the forces that entered the capital silently and almost succeeded in framing the Yue Palace should not be underestimated, and must be given enough attention.Even if the manpower of Prince Pu's Mansion has always been somewhat insufficient, special personnel must be dispatched as soon as possible to investigate this matter as clearly as possible.

So, when Prince Xian came back, he saw Mrs. Zhang greeted her with a worried face: "Mr. Wang, Sanlang has locked himself in the study for half a day. Not only did we not allow us to approach at will, but he even sent us the evening meal." No need, what should I do? Could something have happened? Do you need to send someone to send a letter to Da Lang in Luoyang?"

"Mother Fu, don't worry, I'll go and have a look first." The prince comforted her with a warm voice, and went to the study with the food box.The trilogy guarding outside the study door saw that he was coming, and stood still silently, without any intention of obstructing him—after all, everyone in the mansion knew that this Wang Langjun was just like the other man in Pu Wang's mansion. Master, the king of his own small county has always put no defense against him.

The candlelight in the study was a little dim, and Li Hui's face was hidden in the shadows, as if carrying a heavy and gloomy look, which was quite different from his usual smiling appearance.Seeing this, Wang Zixian couldn't help feeling a little worried, his brows furrowed, and he gently sat down beside him.

The slight rubbing sound of the clothes brought Li Hui back from his contemplation.After realizing that his best friend was by his side, he didn't realize that his expression had gradually softened: "It seems that uncle should have a good conversation with you? He actually kept you in the palace for lunch and evening meal, until now Just let you back?"

"I just had lunch with the sage. It's a pity to eat with His Majesty. No matter how delicious the delicacies taste, it tastes bland. Even the Hoto soup we tasted on the street is not as good." Wang Zixian looked at it carefully Looking at his expression, "After leaving the palace, I went back to the Vine Garden to discuss today's audience with my husband. What's the matter? You didn't go back to the mansion directly in the morning? Could it be that you went to Dali Temple to check the case?" According to the current situation Look, probably only a change in that case would make him so worried.

Li Hui was not surprised that he could easily guess his itinerary, nodded and said: "I just wanted to check the file, but I didn't want the old fox of the third division to be there, so I went to the Yue Palace. The second father did not hide anything , I said a lot—but, we guessed wrong this time—this case may have something to do with Princess Anxing, but she may not be the mastermind behind it.”

"How do you know?" Wang Zixian opened the food box, and brought out a plate of exquisite snacks and two cups of camel's hoof soup.These foods are still warm, exuding a tempting aroma.It wasn't until this moment that Li Hui felt a little hungry in his belly, so he raised his chopsticks and used a few pieces of crystal dragon and phoenix cakes as a cushion.

"The second father gave the names of two Hu merchants from the Western Regions—the names are very common, but their whereabouts are very secretive. They disappeared when they left Lanzhou. Speaking of which, we have ordered people to follow Princess Anxing for three or four years. I have never seen any close contacts between her mansion and Hu merchants in the Western Regions. Perhaps, Princess Anxing and the Yang family attracted our attention on the bright side, so we didn't realize that there were more and more people in Chang'an city at some point. Another undercurrent." If he doesn't find out this undercurrent, he will never feel at ease.This time it was the Prince Yue's Mansion, and next time it might be the Prince Pu's Mansion's turn.

Prince Xian's expression moved slightly, and he said in a low voice: "We are indeed a little careless, but not everyone is so careless." He thought of the way His Majesty the Emperor smiled while stroking his mustache earlier, and couldn't help feeling admiration in his heart .No matter what the reason for His Majesty's suspicion, this time's suspicion may be true.

Under Li Hui's puzzled eyes, he unhurriedly handed the camel hoof soup to him, and then asked instead: "You have also read my current affairs policy answer sheet, and you think it is those words that touched me?" A saint, is it enough for him to appoint me as the head of Jiadi?"

"..." As if he had figured something out, Li Hui was a little moved, "Support the Qin system and oppose Zhou and Han's emphasis on outside and inside! , Uncle and grandfather objected one after another, so they had no choice but to give up. Could it be that there are still people secretly promoting the matter of enfeoffment, which makes uncle feel vigilant?"

The so-called emphasis on the outside and the light on the inside means imitating the Zhou and Han, enforcing princes and kings outside the capital, and the fiefdoms are completely under the jurisdiction of the princes and kings, just like a country within a country-as long as the power of the kings becomes stronger and the land is wider, the emperor's fiefs and lands will be more important. Prestige must gradually become smaller and lighter under the squeeze.Just like thousands of years ago, when the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period rose up, the common people in the world only knew King Qin and King Chu, and the status of Zhou Tianzi as a monarch existed in name only.And hundreds of years ago, after the Han Dynasty divided the kings, the princes and kings repeatedly conspired to rebel.In order to suppress the princes and kings, the emperor had to carry out the "Decree of Tweeting Grace" to divide his country and his descendants, which stabilized the prestige of the court.

Wang Zixian nodded slightly: "Today, the sage also mentioned this matter. Although it is an understatement, there are turbulent waves hidden in it. Moreover, when I traveled in Longyou Road and Guannei Road, I heard many local scholars discuss the matter of enfeoffment .If it wasn’t for someone secretly contributing to the flames, how could this matter have aroused heated discussions among scribes?”

Hu merchants in the Western Regions... Enfeoffment...

Suddenly, Li Hui's eyes lit up, and he jumped up against the crime, and pulled Wang Zixian to the wall where the map of the Tang Dynasty was hung.Prince Xianshun carried a lamp in his hand, and the dim light shone on the map, from Chang'an all the way to the Western Regions, one by one appeared in their field of vision.

"Among the royal clans today, only Gao Zu's lineage stays in Chang'an. As distant relatives of the same clan, the Yong'an County King, Hejian County King, and Jiangxia County King and other lines either stay in the fief, or hold important positions in the town, or wander in the clouds and wild cranes. The days are completely different." At this moment, Li Hui felt that it was worthwhile for him to memorize the genealogy of the royal clan, otherwise, how could he know the situation in the clan well?

"I also remember that these three county kings all followed Gaozu to fight in the world, and made great military achievements." The prince offered, "Their descendants still lead the military power today?" He didn't dare to intervene in the government affairs at will, but the clan brothers held the important power and dominated one side.Comparing the two is simply ridiculous and sad.Whoever is His Majesty the Emperor would never be able to feel at ease.

"Yes, the three county kings who are now inheriting the title are all the governors of the town." Li Hui stretched out his hand and pressed on the map, and said slowly from west to east, "Yong'an County King, the governor of Shazhou, guarded Yumen Pass for two whole days." Ten years. He is the elder brother of his grandfather. He is more than [-] years old. His grandfather once wanted to call him back to Chang'an for retirement, but he bluntly said that he didn't like the lingering sound of silk and bamboo in Chang'an, and only wanted to hear the sound of the majestic military drum. , so he has been staying in Shazhou to resist the Western Turks. His family members are scattered in Lingzhou and the fiefs of Taiyuan Prefecture."

"The last Jiangxia County King was the governor of Lingzhou, and later transferred to the governor of Shuozhou. He died of illness a year ago. Now he is the only son who is only 20 years old. He is currently guarding filial piety in the fief Ezhou. .This son is born weak, and my uncle intends to let him move to Chang'an with his family. After the filial piety period, the Jiangxia County King will probably move his family to Chang'an and receive idle jobs to live."

"The king of Hejian County has been the governor of Shengzhou for ten years, and it is in the prime of life. Speaking of which, it was exactly [-] or [-] years ago when he inherited the title of county king. However, his fief and the governor's mansion are both in Hebei. Dao and Hedong Dao should have never been to Lingzhou, Lanzhou, Liangzhou and other places in Longyou Dao and Guannei Dao, and they will not have much contact with Hu merchants in the Western Regions."

"Except for these three county kings, the rest of the same family are just idle clans. King Jing is Zong Zhengqing and has never held military power; King Peng and King Lu are remote governors and have no real power." Speaking of this , Li Hui also smiled wryly, "Speaking of which, the princes are almost all idle, but the county kings are highly valued—maybe it is because their blood is far enough that grandfather and uncle can trust them as brothers." If the blood relationship is closer, it will be a threat to the throne, so although the title is high, he dare not let him hold power.

"According to the common sense, if clan brothers seek high positions, their names are not justified; if blood brothers seek high positions, as long as their excuses are clever enough, that's enough." Prince Xian continued sharply, "However, people's hearts will never be satisfied. Who can be sure that these 'loyal' clan brothers will not feel resentment, jealousy and dissatisfaction in their hearts? They hold the military power in their hands. If they manage it properly, who says they can't change the world? After all, they are all from the Li family, aren't they?"

Li Hui sighed helplessly: "What's wrong with the distant branch clan? You can enjoy the title, but you don't have to be trembling. It's thousands of miles away from Chang'an, as long as you don't commit crimes, you can live comfortably. Why is it so?" I can't think about it—you want to plot rebellion?"

"The title of the Yuanzhi Clan will be lowered again and again, and sooner or later it will be lost to everyone." Prince Xian shook his head, "What's more, people who have different opinions, can they be satisfied with ordinary glory and wealth? Presumably, He has long been coveting the throne of the emperor. Perhaps, when the case of seizing the heirloom occurred more than ten years ago, he found an opportunity. What power did Princess Anxing have at that time? The Yang family was no more than I just sent a child to the sage who was King Jin at that time."

"You mean, he saved the remnants of the so-called seizure of the heirloom case? You should only listen to him?" Li Hui pondered slightly, "Princess Anxing and the Yang family are just supported by him in the open. pawns? To draw them to the attention of the others, while he flicked around—moving quietly and secretly?"

"That's right, the rise and ambition of the Yang family is really a bit strange. It should be him who sent someone to instigate it privately. Perhaps he has placed chess pieces beside Princess Anxing and the Yang family." Determined, "However, Princess Anxing is not someone who can be easily driven, and she will never obey him in everything. If this time goes well, she should push everything to Princess Anxing like in the past It shouldn't have broken those two Hu merchants and let this person expose his whereabouts."

"In this way, the conflict between Princess Anxing and this person will definitely get deeper and deeper... Maybe it will be our chance in the future." Li Hui's gaze slowly moved from Shazhou on the map to Sheng Zhouzhou and Ezhou, "...who will it be..."

"Don't worry, there is no evidence now, no matter how much you guess, it's useless." Wang Zixian hugged him and brought him back to the desk, "It's better to drink the camel's hoof soup first."

Li Hui's waist stiffened slightly, and then calmly relaxed.Wang Zixian just didn't notice it, and his demeanor and behavior were as usual.