Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

wow~

As Li Chengqian finished speaking, a huge commotion erupted inside the Taiji Hall.

Civil and military officials looked at each other in astonishment.

"The Prince of Zhennan not only conquered the four kingdoms of the Southern Frontier, but also sent troops to attack the remaining three kingdoms. Are the fighting capabilities of the kingdoms in the Southern Frontier really that weak?"

How are newly conquered fiefdoms calculated?

"Should it be attributed to the imperial court or to the Prince of Zhennan?"

It should be noted that the territory of the four kingdoms in the southern border region was already quite large, and now that the other three smaller kingdoms are included, Li Daozong's territory is much larger.

After a while.

Cheng Yaojin stood up and asked, "Your Majesty, if the Prince of Zhennan conquers Panpan Kingdom, Dandan Kingdom, and Duoheluo Kingdom, to whom will these three fiefdoms belong?"

All the officials, both civil and military, immediately focused their attention on Li Chengqian.

This is no small matter!

If they conquer new territories in the future and claim them as their own, then they will have plenty of room to maneuver.

On the imperial platform.

Li Chengqian turned to Du He and asked, "King Han, what are your thoughts?"

All eyes turned to Du He.

Du He stood up, cupped his hands, and said, “Your Majesty, the court initially granted Lin Yi, Zhenla, Pyu, and Srivijaya as fiefdoms for the King of Zhennan. The newly conquered territories naturally belong to the court.”

"Your Majesty, it is up to Your Majesty to decide how the court should deal with those new territories."

Upon hearing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Now, Prince Li Daozong of Zhennan commands an army of 10 and has hundreds of large ships in his hands. If he is not restricted, his territory will only expand further.

Perhaps by the time the imperial court sets out on its expedition, many countries in the southern border regions will have already fallen into the territory of the Prince of Zhennan.

"it is good!"

Li Chengqian shouted "Good!"

He ordered Ma Zhou, "Grand Chancellor, you will draft an imperial edict later to explain to the Prince of Zhennan that the newly conquered territory belongs to the imperial court."

"However, expanding territory is a great achievement, and I will reward him with population, seeds, and the technology of the Academy of Natural Sciences."

"Tell the Prince of Zhenbei again that he is the ninth meritorious official of Lingyan Pavilion!"

Li Chengqian would naturally not dampen the enthusiasm of such a meritorious official who was so eager to expand his territory; he would offer him something good to encourage him.

Ma Zhou, holding his official tablet, stood up, bowed, and said, "Your subject obeys the decree!"

After discussing the new territorial issues.

Li Chengqian then smiled and said, "In this battle, the Prince of Zhennan killed more than 40 enemy soldiers, captured more than 5 enemy soldiers, and captured more than 35 young women."

"However, the four kingdoms of the Southern Frontier still need a large number of people for construction. I have decided to leave forty percent of the population and gold and silver to the Prince of Zhennan!"

The four kingdoms of southern Xinjiang were very poor, and were not even in the same league as the Tibetan Empire, which had plundered much of India.

In addition, southern Xinjiang is mostly forested and malaria-ridden, making it extremely difficult to clear land for farming.

The officials all stood up and echoed their agreement.

"Your Majesty, Holy Might!"

Li Chengqian waved his hand, gesturing for everyone to sit down.

A moment of silence.

Li Chengqian stroked his chin and asked, "Left Minister, how is the selection of concubines for me progressing?"

He has been on the throne for more than a month, but the harem is still empty.

This made Li Chengqian, who had some free time, feel a little anxious.

Li Ji stood up and replied, "Your Highness, the governors of Guannei Circuit, Hedong Circuit, Henan Circuit, and Jiangnan Circuit are currently sending people to escort noble ladies to Chang'an."

"It is estimated that more than 3000 nobles will travel to Chang'an within a month."

How much...how much?

There were actually 3000 noblewomen who came to Chang'an?

Upon hearing this enormous sum, Li Chengqian's face showed an expression of disbelief.

He had often lamented to his eunuchs that he would establish a harem of three thousand beauties after ascending the throne.

Unexpectedly, these people prepared three thousand noblewomen for themselves.

Not bad!

They are all pillars of the state!

Li Chengqian said with a smile, "Li Ji, you have handled this matter well, but you must send someone to protect the safety of all the noble ladies, and you must not allow any accidents to happen."

"Once these three thousand noble ladies arrive in Chang'an, all the concubines will be selected by the King of Han."

"The appointment of the four consorts, nine concubines, and the Jieyu will be personally selected by me!"

When the civil and military officials heard that His Majesty had entrusted the selection of concubines to the Prince of Han, they showed no surprise whatsoever.

The relationship between the King of Han and His Majesty is so good that they are like brothers, and the King of Han knows best what kind of women His Majesty likes, so it is naturally most appropriate to entrust this matter to the King of Han.

Before Du He could even stand up to receive the decree, a wronged voice rang out from the row of civil officials.

"Your Majesty, the selection of imperial concubines is a matter for the Ministry of Rites. You cannot overstep the bounds of propriety!"

"I hope Your Majesty will reconsider!"

The officials looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the speaker was none other than Xu Jingzong, the Minister of Rites.

Ha ha!

This old fool actually wants to compete with the King of Han for this task?

Has your brain been kicked by a donkey?

Li Chengqian frowned and waved his hand, saying, "The Prince of Han is the head of all officials, and the Ministry of Rites is also under his control. There is no need to discuss this matter further."

"The court session is adjourned for today!"

The civil and military officials glanced at Xu Jingzong with disdain, then stood up and bowed, holding their official tablets.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

After His Majesty and his civil and military officials left the Taiji Hall, many officials glanced at Xu Jingzong and then left the Taiji Hall in small groups.

After all the officials had left, Xu Jingzong, who had been standing there in a daze for a long time, finally walked out with a guilty conscience.

Before Xu Jingzong had gone far, a group of officials dressed in scarlet robes suddenly rushed out from both sides, talking all at once.

"Minister Xu, quickly return the gift!"

"You don't even have the power to select concubines, yet you dare to make such boasts to us, treating us like fools?"

"Quickly return it! We need to give it to the King of Han!"

"..."

When he heard that all the officials who had asked him to do favors were demanding that he return the generous gifts, his face turned ashen.

Wait until the crowd's voices die down.

Xu Jingzong said coldly, "Gentlemen, are the small gifts you've given me to celebrate my birthday?"

"What does this have to do with the selection of imperial concubines?"

What a joke!

Once those lavish gifts have entered his treasury, how could he possibly return them?

Besides, if he were to return the small gift he received through his own merit, what face would he have left in the imperial court?

Seeing Xu Jingzong's shameless tone, the officials were so angry that they started cursing him.

"Xu Jingzong, you have no martial ethics! You dare to embezzle our family heirloom!"

"Believe it or not, I will go to the Censorate and impeach you!"

"At worst, we'll both suffer heavy losses!"

"Those who are barefoot are not afraid of those who are wearing shoes!"

Seeing the serious expressions on the faces of these officials, Xu Jingzong felt a little guilty.

After all, he was the Minister of Rites, a third-rank official; how could he possibly die together with these fourth- and fifth-rank officials?

However, he also felt heartbroken if he vomited too much.

"Quiet!"

Xu Jingzong gave a low shout, then gritted his teeth and said, "You can return the small gifts, but you have to exchange them for other congratulatory gifts, otherwise there's no point in talking!"

"If you want to fight me to the death, you may go to the Censorate!"

He ignored the officials and strode quickly toward the Ministry of Rites.

The officials, seeing Xu Jingzong's shameless behavior, all spat and cursed.

"Pooh!"

"A greedy and treacherous villain!"

Despite their cursing, they didn't want to fight Xu Jingzong to the death, otherwise all ten or so of them would lose their official robes.