Chapter 522: The gap between mother and daughter

As the battle of Anxi Army entered its last moment in Tocharo, the battle of Longyou was always in a stalemate. Shortly after the failure of the march into Jiuqu, the Tubo army led by Ma Chongying received the support of Tubo Zampo again, adding 30,000 troops, making Ma Chongying's troops reach 70,000. This time, Ma Chongying learned the lessons of the last failure and no longer divided his troops to attack in multiple ways, but concentrated his troops to compete for the Jiuqu area.

At this time, the Tang army in Jiuqu area had only 20,000 troops, and its strength was far inferior to that of the Tubo army. The general of Longyou, Li Guangbi, made a decision and ordered the general Li Sheng to withdraw from Jiuqu of the Yellow River, but he seized the retreat of the Tubo people and occupied Wuhai and Baihai.

In this way, Li Guangbi's 20,000 troops were in Dafeichuan, Wang Sili's 40,000 troops were in Hezhou and Weizhou, Li Sheng's 20,000 troops were on the front line of Jishishan, and three Tang army troops formed a font to encircle 70,000 Tubo troops in the Jiuqu area of ​​the Yellow River.

After Ma Chongying occupied the Jiuqu area of ​​the Yellow River, his logistics supplies were guaranteed, so he was not in a hurry, so he patiently confronted the Tang army. His mission was not only to capture Longyou, but also to delay the Tang army and give Tocharo's victory time and create opportunities.

Similarly, Li Guangbi was also waiting for news from Tochar. According to the deployment of the entire battle situation, he had to trap Ma Chongying's troops in the Nine Curves of the Yellow River and cut off his ties with Tubo.

The two sides tacitly formed a stalemate. Patrol soldiers usually sent to inspect the actual control site. For several months, neither side had a war.

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In Chang'an, Li Heng ascended the throne for several months. With his extensive official title and re-gift, there were no more opposing him than before. At first, nearly a thousand people signed the manifesto against him, but now, at least a half of them have become his subordinates. Some of these people are greedy for wealth and power, some are frightened by his tyranny, some are afraid of losing the opportunity, and some are royal families, because they have received the land return of Li Heng, and become his hard-core supporters. Various reasons have led to Li Heng's small court starting to operate.

However, there were still many people who opposed him, especially local prefectures and counties. They responded to the appeals of Pei Min and others, and refused to recognize Li Heng's court, so that Li Heng's actual control was limited to the Guanzhong area east of Chang'an, as well as the areas south of Hedong Road and eastern Henan Road.

Not only were local prefectures and counties opposed him, but even in Chang'an, Li Heng's sphere of influence was only half a city, limited to one county in Wannian County. In Chang'an County, his power was hard to enter. 20,000 Niuwei, 8,000 Yulin Army, and 15,000 Anxi Army firmly controlled the western regions of Chang'an County and Guanzhong.

This also includes civil officials. Dugu Changfeng was appointed as Fengxiang Yin. All Xiguanzhong County Magistrates, including Chang'an County Magistrate Su Zhen, were appointed by Li Qing'an. They only obeyed Li Qing'an's instructions and did not recognize Li Heng's new court, which put Li Heng's new court in an unprecedented embarrassment.

In the afternoon, the dragon chariot Li Heng rode back to the Daming Palace. The Daming Palace was silent, covering a vast area, but it was difficult to see a figure in the magnificent palace complex. This made Li Heng feel very dissatisfied, but helpless.

Although there was the factor of his son Li Yu, shortly after Li Yu ascended the throne, in order to reduce the cost of the palace, he dismissed a large number of harems and palace servants. Most of Li Longji's more than 40,000 concubines were let go by him, and the palace maids and eunuchs were all dismissed from the palace.

After Li Heng ascended the throne, his queen Zhang Liangdi once again cleaned the harem. Most young and beautiful women in the palace were sent back to her parents' home by her. This made Li Heng really dissatisfied, but he could do nothing about it. Zhang Liangdi had very good reasons. Li Heng's health has never been good. His Yong Prince's Mansion has more than twenty concubines, which is enough. If Li Heng wants to be the emperor for a longer time, he should cherish his body. At the same time, being able to gain a reputation as a wise ruler if he is close to women, which is very beneficial to Li Heng, the weakest Emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

For the sake of his reputation, Li Heng had to endure this tone and dare not to expand his concubines. However, Li Heng was a little respectful and afraid of his Empress Zhang. This woman was very smart and capable. After he ascended the throne, she put down her airs and visited their wives at the homes of various unemployed famous ministers and powerful people. Her hard work paid off. Zhang Liangdi successfully used the power of the wind by her side. More than 30 ministers came to surrender, including famous ministers such as Miao Jinqing, Fengxiang Yin and Li Qiwu, as well as famous generals such as Ji Guangchen, Li Huan, Xu Shuji, and Dong Qin. They all expressed their willingness to be loyal to Li Heng and do their best for the new court.

Li Heng was overjoyed and immediately appointed Miao Jinqing as the Minister of Rites, Li Qiwu as the Minister of Justice, and the two of them were the Minister of the Secretariat of the Secretariat, and they entered the cabinet to become prime ministers, and expanded the Political Affairs Hall to nine prime ministers.

Li Huan was appointed as the governor of Hanzhong and Hanzhong. Ji Guangchen was appointed as the governor of Zhengcai. He led 30,000 troops to guard the front lines of Zhengzhou and Caizhou for him. Xu Shuji was appointed as the governor of Huapu, and led 20,000 troops to guard Huazhou and Puzhou. Dong Qin was appointed as the governor of Pujiang and led 20,000 troops to guard the southern prefectures in the Hedong region.

This is also the reason why Li Heng dared not attack the Anxi Army in Guanzhong. Although he had 120,000 Guanzhong Army and later recruited 80,000 troops, claiming to be a 200,000 army, most of his army was scattered all over the place. For example, Wang Sili led 40,000 troops to participate in the Battle of Longyou, while Li Huan, Ji Guangchen, Xu Shuji, Dong Qin and others all led the troops. Li Heng's army in Guanzhong actually had only 80,000 troops, and he still claimed to the outside world that 200,000 troops.

In addition, Li Heng was also extremely afraid of Guo Ziyi, the governor of Guan Nei Dao. Guo Ziyi was a staunch supporter of Li Shi. After Li Shi passed away, Guo Ziyi never made any statement, which made Li Heng feel uneasy. If Anxi Army and Guo Ziyi joined forces, his 80,000 Guanzhong Army would be vulnerable. On the other hand, he also had a hint of luck. Perhaps Li Qingan could finally recognize his throne, after all, Li Qingan was his first person.

It is precisely based on these considerations that Li Heng always tolerated the Anxi Army. As long as the Anxi Army does not interfere in his government affairs and does not cross the border with Wannian County, he will try not to provoke this powerful army.

Li Heng came to the Bath Hall, which was his and Queen Zhang's bedroom. It was a group of palaces with hundreds of pavilions and halls. It was also a place with a slightly more popular place in the Daming Palace. When you enter the palace gate, you can see eunuchs and palace maids busying around.

"I will meet your majesty!" Several palace maids and eunuchs knelt down at the same time to salute.

"No gift." Li Heng waved his hand and asked again: "Can the Queen be there?"

"Your Majesty, I am here!"

Empress Zhang Liangdi came out surrounded by a group of palace maids. Liangdi was actually the title of Princess's concubine, and Queen Zhang had been Liangdi for a long time, so this became her name. Few people know her real name.

Zhang Liangdi is about 40 years old this year and has been following Li Heng for nearly 30 years. Her son Li Shi is now the Grand Marshal of the World. It is only a matter of time before Li Shi becomes the crown prince because of his mother. At the same time, she is also one of the two people Li Heng trusts the most. One is Li Fuguo and the other is Zhang Liangdi. Unlike other women, Zhang Liangdi has a great desire for power. Not only does she control the harem, but her hand also extends to the government. Her younger brother Zhang Chaoju is the Minister of Personnel and has great power. The appointment of many officials is determined based on Zhang Liangdi's will.

Li Heng knew this very well, but Zhang Liangdi could convince many ministers to be loyal to him, so Zhang Liangdi occasionally crossed the line and pretended not to know.

Zhang Liangdi hurried forward and bowed to Li Heng and said, "I will meet your Majesty, I wish you a long life!"

"The queen is flat!"

Li Heng asked with a smile: "What is the queen doing?"

"I am writing a letter from my family. My father recently bought a few acres of land and caused some gossip. I am advising him to do good deeds in the countryside and not to add trouble to His Majesty."

Empress Zhang's mother's home is in Luoyang, an famous local clan. Li Heng frowned slightly and said, "Didn't I give the father-in-law fifty hectares of land last time?"

"Report to Your Majesty, I have many concubines and tribe members. My father saved all the land to the tribe members, but he lost it himself, so he bought a few acres of land near Dongdu."

Li Heng nodded and asked no more questions. In order to win the support of the major powers and nobles, he completely abolished Li Yu's land reform and re-arranged land annexation, causing the trend of land annexation to rise again. He also returned all the land east of Guanzhong to the original owner, destroying the good foundation laid by Li Yu with all his efforts. Li Heng's move did receive strong support from many powerful people, including Li Longji who also recognized him as the legal emperor of the Tang Dynasty, but the vast majority of farmers hated him to the core.

Li Heng came to find Zhang Liangdi today for something else. He walked into the palace and sat down, smiled at Zhang Liangdi, "I am back early today, I want to entrust you with something."

Zhang Liangdi smiled and said, "Your Majesty only speaks, as long as I can do it, I will do it."

"You can do it. I heard in the morning that Dugu Haoran's wife was sick. I want to ask you to visit her."

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Dugu Haoran's wife, Mrs. Pei, has indeed fallen ill in the past two days, but she was not sick because of illness, but was so angry that she was ill by her eldest daughter Mingyue.

The crux of the problem lies in the marriage of her little daughter Mingzhu. This incident has always been Mrs. Pei's heart disease. She has been looking for Mingzhu's in-laws for a long time. She has been on a blind date for countless times, but in the end none of them succeeded. Later, when others heard that they were looking for a in-laws for Li Qing'an's sister-in-law, they were so scared that no one dared to consider it. This originated from a drunk joke three years ago when Li Qing'an joked, "The moon and the pearls are all treasures of me, Li Qing'an."

The person who speaks this sentence is unintentional, but the person who listens is intentional. Soon it came from the court and country in Chang'an. Who dares to marry Mingzhu?

Originally, Mrs. Pei was firmly opposed to her younger daughter marrying Li Qing'an, the dignified daughter of the Dugu family. How could she be someone else's second wife? However, since Li Qing'an restored her identity as a royal family, she was named King of Zhao, and her clan uncle Pei Zunqing also advised her that Li Qing'an would very likely ascend the throne to the emperor and asked her to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the Pei family.

Pei Zunqing means his granddaughter Pei Wan'er, but Mrs. Pei thought of her little daughter Mingzhu. She originally didn't want her little daughter to be Li Qing'an's second wife, but if she was a concubine or even a concubine, it would be a different matter and would never be wronged by her daughter.

Her two daughters, one as the queen and the other as the imperial concubine, were simply a blessing she had cultivated for several lifetimes. So Mrs. Pei changed her mind and began to support Mingzhu. She no longer had a blind date for her. She just waited for her eldest daughter to come back to discuss the matter with her.

After Mingyue returned to Beijing, she met Pei Kuan and died soon after, and the emperor passed away. The family and state affairs were in chaos. Mrs. Pei did not mention this matter. Only after the matter gradually subsided, Mrs. Pei found an opportunity to mention Mingyue’s marriage.

Mingyue is the Princess Zhao. According to the etiquette system, Li Qing'an must obtain Mingyue's consent to marry a concubine. Mingzhu's marriage to Li Qing'an is actually just a matter of Mingzhu's words, which is very simple.

Mrs. Pei raised this matter to Mingyue with full hope, but she never expected that Mingyue would refuse and firmly object, which disappointed Mrs. Pei to the extreme. She thought that her daughter was afraid of her sister's favor, so she tried her best to persuade her that only when the sisters were united can the interests of the Dugu family be better protected.

But Mingyue still firmly opposed it and wanted to find her sister's in-laws' house. Mrs. Pei couldn't figure it out and was depressed in her heart. Soon she fell ill.

In the ward, Mrs. Pei was lying on the couch with a pale face without a trace of blood. She lost a lot of weight. Several close maids knelt on the side silently, ready to serve her wife at any time.

Mingzhu sat next to her mother, holding a bowl, and was carefully serving her mother for lunch. The bowl was made of fine porridge made of rice on Huzhou, but Mrs. Pei was unwilling to eat. She shook her head, "I'm full and don't want to eat."

Mingzhu scooped a spoonful of fine porridge, carefully blew it cold, and smiled and said, "Mom, can you be full if you only eat two spoons? How can your body be better if you don't eat more?"

Seeing that her daughter became sensible, she remembered Mingzhu's naughty and rebelliousness when she was a child, and refused to be obedient. She was useless to dress up all day long. Now that she has grown up, she can actually take care of herself who is sick. Mrs. Pei's eyes couldn't help but turn red. She took her daughter's hand and said, "Don't worry, mom will fulfill your thoughts no matter what, no matter how your sister objected, it wouldn't be possible. When your brother-in-law comes back, I will talk to him in person. I know that your brother-in-law also likes you. As long as he agrees, it's not your sister's turn to decide this family."

Since the Pei Wan'er incident, she has become a different person. Everyone has found that she has suddenly grown up. Mingzhu also knows that some things cannot be forced, so why bother to make things difficult for Li Qing'an and why bother to hurt the sisterhood. She smiled faintly and said, "There must be something in the fate. Don't force it when you are in the fate. Mom, don't mention this matter deliberately. I have my own fate."

After hearing what his daughter said, Mrs. Pei felt even more uncomfortable. How could such destiny remarks be expressed from her always lively and cheerful daughter? She insisted: "Mom has her own opinions. In short, I will not let my daughter be wronged for the rest of her life. You have to listen to me."

"Okay, let's not mention this anymore. After you finish drinking the porridge, I'll just listen to you."

The mother and daughter were talking in the room. At this time, Mingyue came to her mother's door and made her angry. She felt very uncomfortable, but she had to stick to some things.

Outside, the maid Qiuju had already boiled the medicine and poured the medicine into a bowl, "I'll do it!" Mingyue stepped forward and carefully picked up the tray, and asked Qiuju, "How is my mother's condition?"

"Doctor Qi came in the morning and said that his wife's condition has improved a little, mainly because she needs to rest and need to be recuperated for at least half a month before she can recover."

"I get it, please lift the curtain for me."

Qiu Ju lifted the curtain, Mingzhu picked up the tray and walked into the room. Mrs. Pei was talking to Mingzhu when she suddenly saw her eldest daughter coming in. Her face suddenly sank and she said unhappily: "What are you doing?"

"My daughter is here to visit her mother's condition."

"Hmph! You can say this. My illness was caused by you. You are almost cured of my illness. I feel unwilling to accept it. I am angry with me again, right?"

Mingyue sighed in her heart, put down the medicine bowl and said, "Daughter doesn't dare. My daughter really hopes that her mother's health will recover soon."

Mrs. Pei snorted again. She wanted to speak. Seeing Mingzhu beside her, she patted her hand and said softly: "You go first! Write a letter to your elder brother, saying that there is no problem with your mother's health, so she let him be an official in Fengxiang."

"I got it, I'll go now."

Mingzhu stood up, smiled reluctantly at her sister, then lowered her head and hurried away. When Mrs. Pei saw her youngest daughter walking away, she said to Mingyue hatefully: "Did you see it? How did you hurt your sister? She has become a different person, both pessimistic and pitiful. Even if you don't think of my 18-year raising of you, you should consider the sisterhood. Back then, Prince Gelu wanted to marry you by force, who had traveled to Anxi to report the news? Have you forgotten?"

Mrs. Pei said very heavily, Mingyue's eyes turned red. She knelt in front of her mother and choked and said in a choking voice: "My daughter never dares to forget the kindness of mother's raising. Mingzhu will always be my favorite sister, and I will never hurt her. But there are some things that my daughter really cannot agree to, and beg her to understand me."

When Mrs. Pei saw that her eldest daughter was crying, she knew that she was ruthless, so she could only sigh and said, "Sit down! Wipe off your tears first. I don't like seeing your tears."

Mingyue sat down, took out the veil and wiped away the tears from her face. At this time, Mrs. Pei said again: "You are already the dignified Princess Zhao. Maybe your idea is different from before, but you are also a mother. You should understand my mother's heart. I used to object that Mingzhu liked her brother-in-law, so every time she sneaked out to find her brother-in-law, I would punish her heavily. I just thought she was ignorant and had a child mentality, but now she is twenty-one years old, but she still has no in-laws and can never get married. Do you know why

Is it? Because no one dared to marry her. Last year, your uncle wanted to betroth her to the new Jinshi, Jinhua Qiao Murong. The young man was very good, and I liked it very much, and they happily agreed. But the next day, he heard that Zhu was Li Qing'an's sister-in-law, so he was so scared that he returned the marriage post and said that he would not dare to have such a heartbeat. Tell me, everyone in the Tang Dynasty knew that Li Qing'an's sister-in-law could not be married. If you marry, you would have a great disaster. What should you do if you let Mingzhu do? Go and be a nun? Or never get married for the rest of your life!"

After a while, Mingyue whispered: "Leave my sister's marriage to me, and I will definitely find the best family for her."

"You! You are so selfish and don't think about your sister. Why did you refuse to marry that Zhao Xuming at the time? Isn't it because you don't like him? Do you like Li Qing'an? You are still seeking life and you know that you want to marry the man you like, but why don't you let your sister marry the person she likes? Just find someone you think is good to marry your sister, and don't care whether your sister likes or not, and let her be depressed for the rest of her life? I really don't understand. You would rather promise Wan'er to marry Li Qing'an, but make things difficult for her sister so hard. Why is this?"

"Because I don't want the Dugu family to be the second in the Yang family!" Mingyue finally couldn't help but tell the real reason why she refused to agree to Mingzhu.
Chapter completed!