Chapter 2 The current situation of the Li family
Just as Dugu was explaining the rules of audience with the emperor to her grandson, a maid ran in hurriedly and reported: "Madam, the lady is about to give birth!"

"Why are you panicking? It should have been these few days. Can you go and invite the worldly doctor?"

It was not easy for women from aristocratic families to seek medical advice from outside, so they were trained to become doctors from a young age, specializing in gynecology, especially midwifery.

"Replying to the old lady, Madam Chen will stay in the inner courtyard for the next few days."

Dugu nodded and was about to go to bed. Among her four daughters-in-law, Dou was the one who served her the most wholeheartedly, so even if she was not feeling well, she would go and accompany her in person.

"Bishamon, please go to the inner room and pray for your mother in front of the Buddha statue."

Li Jiancheng helped his grandmother up and responded. Bishamon was his nickname. Since the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism has flourished. People at that time always wanted to give their children Buddhist names to pray for peace. The nickname of the current emperor is Naloyana.

After Dugu led the maids away, Li Jiancheng did not rush to pray, but walked out of the room, looked up at the sky and murmured: "There are no two dragons playing with the pearls."

Li Jiancheng shook his head and returned to the inner room, but he did not kowtow to the Buddha immediately. Instead, he frowned and pondered. After a moment, he sighed and knelt on the cushion with sincerity: "Please bless our family to work together to create a great cause. As for the rest, it depends on our own ability."

After all, Dou had given birth to a child, so the good news came quickly. Li Jiancheng was able to rush to see his younger brother, and it was obvious that there was no sign of him becoming the emperor.

Dugu was very happy holding her little grandson at this time. She and her husband Li Bing, Duke of Tang and General, had three sons and one illegitimate son, but in the end only the youngest son Li Yuan grew up to inherit the family business. The rest either died on the battlefield or died of illness.

Now the family has finally grown again.

The wet nurse who had been prepared long ago took Li Erlang away to feed him. Dugu went in to take a look at her daughter-in-law, then came out and sent servants to Qiaozhou to report the good news to Li Yuan.

Li Yuan, who inherited the title of Duke of Tang at the age of seven, is currently serving as the governor of Qiaozhou. It sounds quite prominent, but in fact he only governs four counties: Linhuan County, Yongcheng County, Shansang County, and Qi County.

You should know that there are 190 counties and more than 1,200 counties in the world, so the states are also divided into levels. The upper-level states can govern more than 20 counties, and their governors are officials of the third rank in the imperial court.

The governor of a medium-sized state may have jurisdiction over more than ten counties and is a fourth-rank official. As for the governor of a lower-level state, he is a fourth-rank official and only manages a few counties.

From this we can also know that because Li Jiancheng's grandfather Li Bing died of illness at the age of thirty, Li Yuan was too young when he inherited the family business and was unable to fully accept Li's students and old friends in the army, resulting in the Li family actually no longer having the glory of the past.

When Li Hu, one of the Eight Pillars of the Western Wei Dynasty, was still alive, the young Li Bing was granted the title of Earl of Ruyang County, with a fief of 500 households, and the position of General of Chariots and Cavalry by the Prime Minister of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Yuwen Tai.

After Li Hu died, the fifteen-year-old Li Bing inherited the title of Duke of Longxi County, and was promoted to General of the Cavalry and the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

After the establishment of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the 28-year-old Li Bing inherited the title of Duke of Tang, was granted the title of Yu Zhengzhong Daifu, and served as the governor of Anzhou. Later, he was granted the title of General Zhuguo, and was appointed as Shao Bao, Dudu of the military affairs of eight states including Tonghua.

Lord Li Yuan is now over thirty years old. Apart from the title of Duke of Tang, he is just a governor of a remote and inferior state. This is a high-ranking official for ordinary people, but for the Li family, it is indeed a state of decline.

The title only represents an honorary position. Without real power, the position is empty. According to the last letter, Li Yuan asked his old friend who worked in the Ministry of Personnel for news that he would be transferred to Longdong County after the New Year, but he would still be a minor governor, in charge of the four counties of Weiyin, Changshe, Nanyou and Weiyang.

The servant who came to deliver the letter also said that the frustrated Duke had no mood to pacify the people in Qiaozhou. He spent his days either taking his followers out for horseback riding and hunting or holding banquets with people drinking and having fun, behaving like many famous scholars of the Wei and Jin dynasties.

This may seem like a period of transition, but in fact, the current emperor has been deliberately suppressing the Guanlong nobles. He is afraid of losing the world in the same way he won it. Anyone in this position will do the same, it is not surprising.

Compared with other prosperous families of Guanlong nobles, the Li family is naturally a soft persimmon. If it were not for the original shares of the Guanlong Group and the care of the current Queen, they would probably be even worse off.

Therefore, Li Jiancheng knew who he should find in order to accumulate more foundation for himself and his family. The letter from his grandmother was obtained through his overt and covert coaxing over the past few months.

This letter was indeed sent at the right time. It was of little use in the early years, and of little use in the later years. But now it can help one get into the power center of the Sui Dynasty and gain some benefits, although they are not so decent.

As the saying goes, there is no greater merit than saving the emperor, and no greater achievement than following the emperor. Although it is a little late, it is better than nothing.

Li Jiancheng was not in a hurry to return to Beijing because the opportunity he was waiting for had not yet come, but the wind had already started to blow.

In the afternoon, he did not read the Four Books and Five Classics, nor did he read the popular poems and essays of the time. Instead, he read Buddhist scriptures in order to please the most important person. If you have an opportunity, you must be prepared, otherwise, if you fail to seize the opportunity, it would be the same as having no opportunity at all.

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Early in the morning, it was the day for the court meeting. The emperor and empress of the Sui Dynasty got up at the same time, washed and dressed, and after a simple breakfast, they rode side by side in their sedan chairs until they got off the sedan chairs hand in hand at the back door of the hall.

Empress Dugu looked at her husband, who had a strong figure, wearing a Tongtian crown, a wide-sleeved robe, and cloud-shaped and high-heeled shoes. Emperor Yang Jian of the Sui Dynasty also looked at his wife, whom he had cherished all his life, with a tender look.

The two were too familiar with each other, so there was no need to say much. Yang Jian strode to the court, while Empress Dugu sat in a small hall nearby. From time to time, the eunuchs would come and report the contents of the court meeting and the officials' responses in detail, word for word.

Sometimes, when Empress Dugu felt that something was wrong, she would immediately let the eunuchs convey her opinions to the emperor. The ministers in the court were accustomed to seeing the eunuchs whispering behind the emperor's throne. After all, this situation had been going on for almost twenty years.

In recent years, it has been difficult to distinguish which are the emperor's ideas and which are the empress's ideas, both big and small, both inside and outside the court. These two emperors and empresses who are like one are called the Two Saints by the court and the public.

This time, Empress Dugu conveyed only one message to the emperor: "Don't pay attention to the jealousy of the rats."

The Sui emperor remained silent after hearing this, while Pang Huang, the Right Guard General of Biyang County, was still chattering in front of the palace: "The Turkic Khan Dulan has already fled, and the Duke of Yue, the Right Minister Yang Su, has submitted a petition to return to the court. However, the Duke of Qi, the Left Minister Gao Zuo, as the prime minister, has not considered the difficulties of the country and has asked the court to increase troops and food. In my opinion, he is clearly plotting a rebellion!"

When the officials saw that the emperor ignored them, they immediately expressed their opinions. Gao Zuo was a pillar of the court and had followed Your Majesty for many years and had always been loyal. Pang Huang, a villain, dared to alienate the emperor and the prime minister. He was harboring evil intentions and should be executed immediately!

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(End of this chapter)