Chapter 507: Raising the Emperor's Banner

On February 18th, Prince of Jin Li Xuanqing, on behalf of Emperor Li Yuan, offered sacrifices to the Taimiao and held a ceremony to present captives. The great military achievements of the Tang Dynasty were glorious for a time.

Afterwards, Jili Khan was pardoned for his crime of violating the border without reason and was named King Guiyi.

He pardoned Cao Xuan for disrespecting the king's way and conferred him the title of Duke of Feng.

On February 20, Li Xuanqing accepted Li Yuan's abdication in the palace and became the second emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

The first edict honored Li Yuan as the Supreme Emperor, and he continued to live in the Wude Hall.

The second edict named Princess Xue of Prince Jin as the empress.

Afterwards, important officials in the court and the heroes who had contributed to the destruction of the Western Wei and the Battle of Gaoping were given titles and honors. Pei Hongde, the left servant of the Shangshu and Duke of Jin, was promoted to the position of Taifu, with a fief of 3,000 households. Ma Xiuye, the right servant of the Wen State, was transferred to the position of Shangshu Ling, and promoted to Sikong, with a fief of 3,000 households. Wen Daya, Yuwen Chengye and other prime ministers were also given additional fiefs, and county dukes became county dukes, and county dukes became state dukes.

The heroes who contributed to the destruction of the Western Wei and the Battle of Gaoping were also promoted to higher positions.

Zhao Yi, the General of the Zhenjun Army, was given the title of Pillar of the State, and was granted the same title as the Three Officials. He was granted the title of Duke of Yin and was given a fief of 3,500 households.

Chai Rong, the son-in-law of the emperor, general of the Right Guard, and Duke of Qiao, was promoted to general of the Left Guard, and was promoted to Shangzhuguo, and was granted the same title as the Three Departments. He was renamed Duke of Wei and was given a fief of 4,000 households.

Hou Jun, the governor of Xiazhou, was promoted to the general of the Left Guard, and was granted the title of Duke of Chen, with a fief of 2,000 households.

Yuwen Xiao, the General of the Left Guard, was promoted to the rank of General of the Right Guard, and was granted the title of Duke of Ying, with a fief of 1,800 households.

Duan Xiong, the General of the Right Guard, was promoted to the General of the Left Jinwu Guard, and was granted the title of Duke of Baoguo, with a fief of 2,000 households.

Xue Renmei, the governor of Tianshui, was transferred to be the governor of Xiazhou and the general of Zhenxi, and was granted the title of Duke of Ju, with a fief of 1,800 households.

As for the generals under Luoyang Bafu who had made great contributions, Li Sanlang did not give them direct rewards, because he had to wait for Li Si to come to Chang'an to discuss it with him.

As for the Prince of Qi, who currently holds the highest status besides the Emperor and has a large number of troops under his command, he also did not receive any rewards in the first place.

This is mainly because the King of Qi has reached the top of his official position.

The Grand Commandant, Situ, General Tiance, Shangshu Ling, Zhongshu Ling, Shaanxi East Circuit Grand Chancellor, Dongdu Liaison Officer, and Commander-in-Chief of the Military Affairs in Guandong had a total of 16,000 households in fiefs.

Add the nine gifts, the chief minister, and the prime minister.
But the latter few titles are standard equipment for powerful ministers to usurp the throne. As the current first in line to the throne, Li Si has no need to get these.

The Golden Casket Alliance has already agreed on the inheritance of the throne between brothers. Now the King of Qi has a large army under his command and is in charge of all the states in the Guandong region. Even if the King of Jin becomes the emperor, can he remove the King of Qi's military power with just a decree?

If everything in the world could be that simple, there wouldn't be so many disputes.

This time when Li Si returned to Chang'an, he brought only 800 guards, which was almost considered a small entourage.

In March, he arrived in Chang'an. The new emperor led all the officials to welcome him and issued an edict, granting Prince Yuan Hui of Qi the right to bow without naming his name, enter the court without running, and enter the palace with a sword and shoes, just like Xiao He.

Afterwards, the emperor and the King of Qi entered the palace together and went to the Wude Hall to pay homage to the retired emperor.

The two brothers rode side by side, just as they had done in the past.

Li Yuan was in good health, but not very energetic. He was very happy to see Li Si. After the two of them talked for a while, he felt a little tired, so the two brothers left first.

Walking in the corridor of Wude Hall, the attendants who were following him were pushed back dozens of steps by Li San. Only then did he say with a sense of relief: "Now I understand Aye's difficulties."

Li Si smiled when he heard this, and then said, "It's not too late to know now."

"Hahahaha, now the only one who can talk to me like this is you, Shiro."

"Hahaha."

After laughing, Li San said, "Some things can only be decided when you come. Second brother wants to be posthumously named emperor, but the temple name and posthumous title are limited."

Li Si said directly: "Emperor Taizong Wen. And my eldest brother, as the eldest son, should be the ruler. If you are unwilling to give up even a title, aren't you the same as Sun Zhongmou?"

Li San thought about it for a moment, then nodded, "That's right, Silang."

After leaving Wude Hall, Li San invited Li Si to a banquet at Taiji Palace, and the two brothers chatted some more.

When they mentioned their deceased brother, both of them looked gloomy and drank a lot of wine, but they didn't say anything serious. When they returned to the Prince of Qi's mansion at night, Murong Wuji, Dugu Ying and the accompanying guards Wang Fobao and Xie Shufang were waiting.

Seeing the worried looks on the faces of several of his confidants, Li Yuanhui comforted them, "Don't worry, I drank a few more cups with His Majesty."

Li Yuanhui took the tea handed to him by the servant, blew on it, and put it down because he felt it was too hot.

"Does Gu Dulang have anything to say?"

Dugu Ying said: "Although the King and Your Majesty have a deep brotherly relationship, Your Majesty is now the Son of Heaven, and the King has too much power, so you still have to be careful."

Li Yuanhui did not refute, but nodded, and then asked: "Wuji, what is the situation in Chang'an now?"

Murong Wuji said: "After the current emperor ascended the throne, he promoted all the prime ministers to higher positions. Although Pei Gong was promoted to Grand Tutor, he resigned from the position of prime minister. Sima Gong was promoted to Minister of Works and Minister of the Chancellery, ranking first among the prime ministers, followed by Wen Gong and Dou Gong."

"The prince's old subordinates, such as Yuwen Xiao, Zhai Sixun, Duan Xiong and others, were all appointed as generals of the Twelve Guards, but they were not in charge of guard affairs."

"The same is true for Liu Zongxun, Dou Cong and others."

"Yao Yi and Zu Junyan from the Prince of Jin's Palace are the Ministers of the Secretariat, and Cui Xiaotong is the Minister of the Imperial Court. They all hold important positions."

Li Yuanhui listened to Murong Wuji's narration and also had some understanding of the current situation in Chang'an. After his third brother became emperor, he did not make drastic changes to the court. Except for Pei Hongde, all the six prime ministers of the old Wude Dynasty were still in office.

The focus was still on the military, which underwent a large-scale relocation. Many of the prince's former subordinates were promoted to generals due to their military merits, but they were not in charge of the military, that is, they did not specifically command the troops.

In addition, Li Xuanqing had been in Chang'an in the past few years, so he already had influence in the court. Therefore, the speed at which he took over the military and political power was actually very fast, and there was no fluctuation, it was very stable.

To achieve this level, both means and prestige are indispensable.

Li Yuanhui was not at all unhappy about this. With his second brother gone, his third brother would definitely have the final say in Guanzhong.

This is inevitable.

Even next, the second brother's trusted old subordinates will inevitably be integrated by the third brother.

All expected.

At that time, Li Yuanhui also got a share of the pie. The 6,000 elite troops originally led by the East Palace were now in Luoyang.

Li San was still a little concerned about Li Er's elite troops from the Eastern Palace, so he sent them to Guandong in the name of supporting Luoyang. But the war in Henei ended before they arrived in Luoyang, and now they are naturally under the control of the Qi Wangfu.

As for this trip to Chang'an, Li Yuanhui really came to discuss state affairs.

On the second day, Li Yuanhui attended the meeting.

Li Xuanqing also formally proposed a series of new policies and reforms.

The first step was to continue dividing the big states. The Jingzhou that had just been captured was divided into three parts. Nanjun to Xiangyang was Jingzhou, Nanyang was Dengzhou, and the four counties in southern Jingzhou were Xiangzhou. Henei County was divided into two parts, Huaizhou, with its capital in Huai County, and Ji County, Xiuwu, and Huojia were divided into Ji County.

The twelve guards and four prefectures became sixteen guards.

Among them, the Left and Right Guards, Left and Right Xiao Guards, Left and Right Wu Guards, Left and Right Mighty Guards, Left and Right Jinwu Guards, and Left and Right Leading Army Guards remain the same, while the Left and Right Jianmen Mansion and the Left and Right Beishen Mansion were changed to the Left and Right Jianmen Guards and the Left and Right Qianniu Guards.

The Twelve Guards still command the troops of the Wei Palace, while the Left and Right Gate Guards are in charge of the guards and gate records of the various gates.

The left and right Qianniu guards were in charge of guarding the emperor and providing him with weapons. The left and right Qianniu guards were responsible for holding bows and arrows for the imperial guards, and the main weapons were responsible for guarding the weapons. On the day of the imperial court, they led the left and right guards to the palace to serve.

The Left and Right Gate Guards and the Left and Right Thousand Oxen Guards were not palace soldiers, but recruited soldiers.

The twelve guards also added five more Zhechongfu, and the staff was expanded to 30,000 people.
The meeting lasted for five days in total. It seemed that Li Sanlang had prepared a plan for almost everything and had some considerations. It made people feel that he had considered it for a long time before coming up with it. Few people could raise any objections, or the interests of all parties had been taken care of, so there was almost no room for objection.

Before returning to Luoyang, Li Yuanhui finally drew up a list of all the promotions in Luoyang Bafu.

But before leaving, Li Xuanqing gave him a big gift, which caused an uproar in the court and the country.

The King of Qi was given a procession of honor and the emperor's flags.

(End of this chapter)