Chapter 289: The Kingdom (Finale)

To be honest, as of now, his eldest son is very good, steady and down-to-earth, but he is not the most talented among the princes, nor is he the most powerful one in his mother's family.

The Lanling Xiao family began to decline after the death of Xiao Cong. Over the past six or seven years, too many new nobles have risen in the court, and the old have been replaced by the new.

But it was precisely because of this that he became more determined to establish his eldest son as the heir, because even he could not see which son could make the Tang Dynasty continue to prosper.

The princes knew how to play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses when they were eight or nine years old. Each of them had their own merits. One was resolute, another was friendly, another was smart, another was generous...

Of course they all have shortcomings, but no one can compare to their uncle.

The emperor ordered his ministers to arrange the ceremony of enthroning the prince. Only a few of his younger brothers were left in the hall. The third prince of Jin, Li Xuanba, died with the emperor a few years ago.

However, Li Yuan did leave him seven younger brothers and sisters.

The emperor looked at the deposed King of Qi and said, "Yuanji, you have regretted your actions over the years."

Li Yuanji just knelt down and kowtowed. Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin who had hated him in the past, hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, Yuanji knows he is wrong, but he is now a devout Buddhist. He kept silent last year to pray for the blessing of his father, the emperor, and his mother, the empress, so he cannot answer."

After all, they were brothers from the same mother. Li Jiancheng did not care whether Li Yuanji really believed in Buddhism or did not want to talk to him.

The emperor nodded and said, "It's good that you can be filial. I originally wanted to imprison you for life, but before my mother died, she was most worried about you, so she asked me to release you in a few years, at least you can be free."

Li Yuanji looked up suddenly, in disbelief. He didn't believe that the mother who had almost abandoned him would think of him when she was dying.

Li Jiancheng waved his hand and an old female official came out and relayed the words that Dou had given to Li Yuanji before her death.

Li Yuanji burst into tears after hearing this, and Li Shimin was also in tears.

...............

"The eldest son is the best person to take charge of the family. The heir to the throne must have two heirs. This is to pass on the throne and also to establish the family line. This is how the family line is strengthened and the foundation is preserved for all nations.

The great righteousness of the monarch and his parents, and the grand example of the emperor, are nowhere greater than this.

I, with my humble body, have inherited the mandate of Heaven, founded the country and established the system. I have been vigilant and cautious every night, only thinking of long-term plans. I have inherited the glory of eight generations, and I am known as the greatest in the world. I am the master of the country, the important one in offering sacrifices to the country, the first to establish the noble and legitimate heir, and the first to establish a state.

The eldest son inherits the family line. He knows etiquette from birth. He is both the legitimate son and the eldest. He is intelligent, quick-witted, warm, respectful, and filial to his parents. He is not complacent or pretentious. He follows the constitution, celebrates the good fortune of the ancestors, and shows good omen. Only a father can understand the way to be a son.

Judging from his aspirations and ambitions, he is worthy of inheriting the throne. He is capable of commanding the military and supervising the government, carrying the heavy responsibility of carrying out the work, and constantly working on the right path. He is humble, respectful and respected.

"The greetings must come from the heart. When he entered school, I knew that he was going to be the heir to the throne. He can be made the crown prince. I should ask the relevant officials to choose a date and prepare the ceremony to enthrone him!"

The news that the deposed King of Qi was pardoned did not cause any ripples in the capital. The enthronement of the crown prince was the major event that concerned the interests of everyone.

The East Palace has been vacant for more than ten years. Now it finally has an owner. At the same time, this huge empire also has a clear successor.

There is only one character difference between the prince and the crown prince, but the power they can wield is vastly different. The Eastern Palace has its own guards.

After the enthronement ceremony, many people still had not given up, because they felt that if His Majesty really favored Li Chengzong, it would not have been delayed until today.

But the emperor's next decree made them almost give up. The emperor ordered all vassal states and princes in the court to send their sons and daughters to the East Palace to serve as the prince's attendants and officials.

Everyone tacitly sent the most outstanding legitimate son in the family over, so the prince was established and his position as heir was extremely secure.

The emperor also began to delegate power to the prince, allowing him to enter the cabinet and participate in government affairs. Some simple government affairs were first reviewed by him as a training.

As for the other princes, the emperor did not give them the opportunity to covet, but he was not prepared to raise them into useless people. After their wedding, they would go to the western regions of Liaodong and Yingzhou (Wakoku) overseas to establish fiefdoms and states.

If the situation is similar to that of Li Xuanba, the Prince of Jin in the past, who cannot travel far away, he can stay in the capital, but without a fiefdom he can only serve as an official in the clan office and enjoy wealth and honor.

After 6 AD, the emperor was no longer interested in expanding territory, but instead focused on governing his existing territories and establishing schools to promote industry and commerce.

Li Jiancheng had clearly felt that in this era, controlling such a large territory was already the limit. Anything further away would be an enclave and could only be divided up.

After obtaining a large amount of silver mines from Japan, the emperor began to establish a silver standard system, and set up a national bank to store and issue paper money with the credit of the Tang Dynasty to facilitate trade.

As the center of the world, the Tang Dynasty had the ability and confidence to try anything, and Li Jiancheng had no interest in setting any ancestral rules for his children and grandchildren. He just ordered the navy to go out and explore new lands overseas. If there were any countries, he would set routes and give books to facilitate exchanges, and ordered the soldiers to find specific crops to bring back to the Central Plains.

In the tenth year AD, on the second day after the emperor's fiftieth birthday, the son of Crown Prince Li Chengzong was born, and all the officials believed that this was a good omen.

The emperor was also happy, but also worried. He already had grandchildren, so how long would his death be? A few decades was a long time, but also a short time.

Who would be willing to die after becoming an emperor?
The most obvious thing was that after he had a grandson, those monks and Taoists began to appear in front of him frequently again, and he had been offered countless recipes for prolonging life.

Some of them are quite particular, and although they can't prolong your life, at least they can keep you healthy. Some of them require taking elixirs made of gold and stone, and if you believe in them, your life will be shortened by at least ten or twenty years.

Some were evil remedies that required the use of the hearts and lungs of young boys and girls. The emperor beheaded all these evil monks.

It was also this year that the Queen died suddenly of illness. It was so sudden that even the supreme ruler of such an empire was powerless to save the situation.

The emperor was very sad and buried the queen in the mausoleum where they would live forever.

For the sake of the crown prince and the country, he did not appoint another queen, but only ordered Concubine Zheng and the crown princess to jointly manage the affairs of the palace.

Without a wife, he became a widower, and the emperor remained a widower for another ten years.

During these ten years, he killed many people, including many arrogant soldiers and generals who became proud of their achievements and committed crimes, as well as many royal relatives. Gradually, there were fewer old people around him.

As the crown prince's position became more secure, more and more civil and military officials gathered in the Eastern Palace, such as Xue Rengui, who stood out in suppressing the rebellion in Liaodong, and Di Renjie, a young talent who became famous in the imperial examinations.

Gradually, the prince became more and more stable, and the emperor gradually realized that although he still held great power, the prince's voice in the court was second only to his, and was approaching his every year.

This is a very repulsive thing. He has been in power for too many years. Even Li Yuan has never been so close to his power.

The emperor instinctively wanted to take action. He had many sons. With just one decree, all the accumulation of the Eastern Palace would be wiped out, and he could still continue to hold the power of the god on earth with peace of mind.

The emperor, sitting alone on the dragon throne, touched his graying temples and sighed softly.

In AD 20, when the emperor was still strong and could lead his civil and military officials on hunting trips, and his mind was not muddled, and he was still praised as the most holy emperor, he suddenly issued an edict to pass the throne to the crown prince.

Helping someone get on the horse and sending them on their way may be the best ending.

The prince knelt down again and again to decline, and even confined himself to the East Palace with his wife and children, not allowing anyone to see him, in order to show his true feelings.

The emperor was still very pleased, although he could see that his son was retreating to advance and was testing his feelings.

But it's a good thing after all. If the prince was happily preparing to ascend the throne, he would probably regret his blindness in establishing such a stupid heir.

In the East Palace, the emperor comforted his grandchildren, then ordered his daughter-in-law to take them away, leaving only his son and eldest grandson.

"Father, you are in good health. Why would you do this? I don't have such intentions!"

Li Jiancheng said with a smile: "How many years can Kang Jian stay healthy? It's just a matter of time. I don't want to pass on the throne in such a hurry, which will cause unrest both inside and outside the country. It's more reassuring to see it with my own eyes.

As a father, I hope that you will be able to do this in the future and hand over the country to your son personally, but this is not easy. I don’t know if you will have the courage to do so.”

Li Chengzong looked at his son beside him and said: "Father has set a good example for his son. Naturally, his son will inherit the throne for the sake of our Li family's country and will not harm the country and the people for his own selfish desires."

"that's great."

At the end of the year, the ceremony of abdication was held. The emperor handed over the empire he had built to his son without any joy or sadness. He became the second emperor emeritus of the Tang Dynasty.

Although he was no longer the emperor, Li Jiancheng continued to control the government for more than a year before completely handing over power to his son and returning to Chang'an.

He was still a little uncomfortable in the first two years, but as he saw the country continue to prosper, he gradually began to enjoy life.

The land is rich in natural resources, and the world is under his control. His horses gallop past the barbarians, and his capital is the center of his power. He is respected by all nations. This is his country and it also belongs to future generations.

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(End of this chapter)