Chapter 325 Hesitation
After Li Yuan finished laughing, he said seriously, "Order the Prince of Zhao to come see me."

Yuwen Chengye and Li Qinglian both understood that the emperor was planning to send troops. Zhaojun Prince Li Huaizhen had been leading the troops since the uprising in Shu. Apart from several princes and princes of Qin, Jin, and Qi, he had the highest achievements and was one of the royal family members that Li Yuan valued the most.

Then, he asked Li Qinglian to leave. "Go back and tell Silang that the situation in Hebei should be stabilized first. All matters east of Tongguan will be handed over to him."

"Yes, I will take my leave."

Li Qinglian withdrew, and soon after, Li Huaizhen, the General of the Left Guard and Prince of Zhao, who was on duty in the imperial city, entered the hall wearing a purple robe.

"Your Majesty, I, Li Huaizhen, pay my respects to you."

Li Yuan said: "No need to be polite, stand up and take a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"Silang, please allow me to send a troop from Guanzhong to cross the river from Puban and attack Hedong together with Luoyang. I remember that when Emperor Wu of Wei attacked Guanzhong, he sent Xu Huang to cross the river from Puban and defeat Han Sui and Ma Chao. Since Hedong is not under the rule of the Tang Dynasty, Guanzhong has never been stable. This time, you will lead 15,000 troops to attack Hedong."

Li Huaizhen immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "I obey your command."

Li Yuan nodded and said, "I will ask my followers to draft a recruitment plan later. I will grant you a seal and token. You can go and select your soldiers and generals and set out on a chosen day."

"Yes. I will take my leave."

After Li Huaizhen left the hall, all affairs were almost dealt with and the prime ministers also left.

Li Yuan only left Shangshu You Pushe and Sima Xiuye.

The reason why Sima Xiuye ​​was kept was because they were good friends and had worked together in the past. After the uprising, Sima Xiuye ​​quickly joined the Western Yan. During the palace coup in which Li Dalang died, Sima Xiuye ​​also stood completely on the side of the Li family and helped stabilize the situation.

"Brother Xiuye, I won't hide it from you. I feel very uncomfortable in this position."

Li Yuan complained to Sima Xiuye, and I became me.

Sima Xiuye ​​said with a smile: "The capable ones should work harder. Only saints would have such troubles."

Li Yuan smiled and pointed at Sima Xiuye ​​and said, "Brother Xiuye, what you said sounds like a flatterer."

Sima Xiuye ​​also jokingly asked, "Your Majesty, do you sound like a wise ruler?"

"Hahahaha." Li Yuan laughed out loud when he heard this. This seat was old and very restrictive. For Li Yuan, it was still necessary to have a few jokes with such an old friend.

After saying that and laughing, Li Yuan sighed again and said, "I was just joking, but Brother Xiuye, you can see that although the current situation of the Tang Dynasty seems to be flourishing, it is actually not optimistic. Liu Xuanji from Hebei has captured dozens of cities in Jizhou in just a few months. He is quite heroic and has the demeanor of a tyrant. He must be a great enemy of the Tang Dynasty."

"Cao Xuan of the Western Wei Dynasty is a man who can bend and stretch. He is lurking in southern Jing. If we are not prepared, he will be a great threat."

"Cao Yuanjing of the Eastern Wei is also a worry. If he hadn't suffered a great loss at the hands of Silang a few years ago, he would have had to go north year after year."

"Our Tang Dynasty has just been established and there is a lot of work to be done. We need time to prepare for war and recuperate."

"What worries me most are these guys."

Upon hearing this, Sima Xiuye ​​said sternly, "After Prince Zhaode, the Prince of Qin is the oldest. Whether he is the heir apparent, the eldest son, or the most virtuous, he should be the crown prince. Why is Your Majesty hesitating?"

Sima Xiuye ​​was not a member of the Qin King's party, and in fact, he had a better personal relationship with the late Dalang and Sanlang.

But at this time, the advocacy of making the King of Qin the crown prince was entirely out of public interest and the so-called order of seniority.

But Li Yuan remained silent upon hearing this. Sima Xiuye ​​looked at Li Yuan's hesitation and understood something in his heart.

He knew what Li Yuan was worried about.

High merit covers the master.

Li Yuan knew that among all the current princes, the Prince of Qin was the most suitable to be the crown prince. He had the highest reputation among all the princes and was also the eldest legitimate son.

But he had two concerns.

One reason was that the fortune teller Yuan from Shu had said something that made him wary of his sons. In addition, the second son's strength and popularity really made him uneasy. He was worried that if the second son became the crown prince, all the ministers in the court would align themselves with the second son, and he, the emperor, would gradually become powerless.

This was something he couldn't accept.

So even after knowing that the second son was the most suitable among the eldest son, he did not want to immediately make the second son the crown prince.

What he wanted was to let his sons check and balance each other, and when he was no longer able to do anything, he would make the second son the crown prince and gradually hand over power.

As for his grandson, he was partial to him, but he never really thought of making him the crown prince.

Because the disparity is too great.

The second, third and fourth brothers, none of them can compare to the grandson.

Even if he forced his grandson to be crown prince, he would not be able to keep that position, and even the ministers in the court might not agree.

Because the world is not yet united, and you are making a young grandson the crown prince, what are you trying to do? Wouldn't the princes and nobles who have made great military achievements be furious?

"Xiuye, I understand what you said, but it's difficult for me too."

After hearing what Li Yuan said, Sima Xiuye ​​stopped making suggestions, because he was not the kind of person who would get to the bottom of things and pursue the matter relentlessly.

If you ask me for my opinion, I will express it, but I won't chase you around.

Because everyone's status is different now, Li Yuan is the emperor now. Even if he treats him like a friend, as a minister, he must have some ideas in his mind.

The most essential relationship between the two sides now is no longer that of friends, but that of monarch and subject.

Friends are a supplementary relationship that can make the relationship between the ruler and his subjects more harmonious and closer, but we cannot think that the identity of friends replaces the relationship between the ruler and his subjects.

This is a big no-no.

After a few more idle words, Sima Xiuye ​​also tried to comfort himself, but he never mentioned who would be made the crown prince.

After a while, the elderly Li Yuan felt a little tired, and Sima Xiuye ​​took the opportunity to resign.

Li Yuan smiled and escorted him out of the palace, then returned to the bedroom behind the hall to rest.

After Li Yuan ascended the throne, he did not appoint a queen. Firstly, he was grateful for the decades of marriage with Madam Dou, and secondly, the situation did not allow him to do so.

Apart from anything else, if he showed any sign of wanting to make someone the queen, those three powerful and well-armed legitimate sons would definitely drop everything they were doing and come to Chang'an to force him to abdicate.

He knew the whole matter clearly.

How he played in the harem was his business, and none of his sons dared to say anything. But if he dared to shake the status of his sons as legitimate sons, or wanted to have more legitimate sons, then something big would happen.

Without a queen, the person with the highest status in the palace was Concubine Wan, the biological mother of Prince of Chu Li Zhiji. She was also the only concubine in the harem with the title of concubine and was in charge of palace affairs.

This is also because Concubine Wan has been with Li Yuan for a long time and entered the palace before Empress Dou passed away.

The most favored ones were the two newly appointed concubines, Zhang and Yin, who were always by his side.

After returning to the bedroom, Li Yuan lay on the couch and ordered someone to summon Concubine Zhang to massage his back.

Concubine Zhang, who was around twenty years old, was in the prime of her life. She was a palace maid of the Former Yan Dynasty. Because of her outstanding beauty, she was taken as a concubine after Li Yuan entered the palace.

"Your Majesty has been feeling troubled these days, and you look frowned the whole day," Concubine Zhang consoled Li Yuan while patting his back.

Li Yuan laughed and said, "Sitting in this position, there are not many things that go well for you. You must be very sad. Forget it. I won't talk to you about these things."

Just as Li Yuan was enjoying himself with his eyes closed, a palace servant suddenly came in to report.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Zhao requests to see you. I'm afraid the Prince of Zheng is dying."

(End of this chapter)