Chapter 108: The Tang Dynasty Princess Marries into the World

  "The eldest daughter of Su is quite good and can be the crown prince's consort." Li Shimin said with a warm gaze as he watched Empress Changsun gently stroke her belly.

  "Is that Su Da's eldest daughter?" Empress Zhangsun slightly furrowed her brow, somewhat displeased, and said, "Isn't she the great-granddaughter of Su Wei?"

  Su Wei was a talented person, and the Su family was also considered to be a prominent aristocratic family in Jingzhao, but his personal character was not very good. He had served several masters from Northern Zhou to Sui and then Tang. After Li Shimin defeated Wang Shichong, Su Wei asked to see both Li Shimin and Li Yuan, but was rejected by both. He eventually died of illness in Chang'an in the sixth year of Wude. Now that Li Shimin has chosen such a person as the consort for the crown prince, Empress Longsun naturally had some dissatisfaction.

  The Empress Longsun patted the soft hair of her well-bred daughter-in-law and Li Shimin smiled and said: "Su Wei is a bit...". He paused for a moment, with a hint of depth in his eyes, before continuing: "But Su Rou is indeed a good girl. Moreover, Su Yan is the second son of Su Kui, and Su Xun is her cousin, they have an excellent relationship."

  "Is that girl named Su Wan?" Empress Changsun's hand, which was stroking her belly, paused for a moment. "If I'm not mistaken, the children of the Su family in this generation are all 'Yu' character lineage, right."

  "Just as Guanyin said." Li Shimin couldn't help but smile, "Su Wan is the most outstanding girl of this generation in the Su family, and was formally named Su Wan not long ago, and has been added to the Su family tree."

  The Empress Dowager Longsun was shocked: "The Su family actually gave a name to a woman and recorded it in the genealogy?"

  The Su family is a pure Han Chinese family and takes pride in it, they have always advocated Confucianism and have many restrictions on women, can the name of a Su family daughter actually be recorded in the genealogy? Empress Changsun found it hard to believe.

  "Guanyin, the Han family is also completely a bunch of pedantic people. Although Su Wei's actions are slightly unconventional, the Su family is good, especially since they have been cultivating Su Yu with all their heart and soul. Now that she is only ten years old, she already shows great promise. If it weren't for the crown prince, I wouldn't dare to issue a decree to make her the crown princess." Li Shimin couldn't help but sneer at those people who always found fault in the Li Tang bloodline, thinking that they were just like some petty clowns who couldn't get what they wanted and thus said it was sour.

  Although Li Shimin had nothing but praise for Na Suowan, Empress Changsun still wasn't quite satisfied. In her heart, she thought that her eldest son was the most outstanding young man in all of Tang Dynasty, and yet Li Shimin seemed to be implying that there were flaws to be picked at in the Na family! If she didn't want to quarrel with Li Shimin, she really wouldn't have wanted this daughter-in-law.

  "Yage, the emperor has chosen a crown princess for you. What do you think?" She turned her head to look at Yage, who was holding Princess Chengyang. Emperor Taizong of Tang had always placed great importance on this eldest son and would often discuss some court matters with him. If he didn't want to marry this crown princess, it's possible that Emperor Taizong might reconsider.

  "Mother, this marriage has always been a parental arrangement, and as the son, I will of course listen to you and Father. Yage has long known that in this world, he must get married and have children, continuing the family line is the most basic duty as a crown prince. So no matter who he marries, it doesn't really matter, even if they can't be together in love for a lifetime, at the very least, they will treat each other with respect, and he dares to guarantee that he can definitely do that."

  Glaring at her son with a scowl, Empress Changsun turned to Li Shimin, who was smiling happily on the side: "You father and son are in cahoots, leaving me alone to nitpick, huh?"

  "After my mother, the emperor must have chosen a crown princess for me after careful consideration. Moreover, my father also knows my son's preferences and will not let me marry an unsuitable wife." Li Shimin nodded in agreement with Ya Ge's words.

  His own son, of course, was spoiled, and he couldn't give him a wife like Lu Shi from the House of Fang Xuanling who was jealous by nature. The woman Li Shimin loved most was Empress Zhangsun, and Yage also appreciated women like his mother, so Su Wan was indeed the best candidate for crown princess that he had chosen after a long time.

  He did not know that Yage was willing to marry a wife like Lu Shi, because he really did not want to deal with the complicated harem. For Yage, if he had to get married, it would be better to have only one wife. Since it is now the system of inheritance by the eldest son, why bother to take concubines and produce children? Brothers born of the same mother may fight each other for profit, let alone those not from the same womb, who will surely fight to the death.

  The prince's concubine, no matter how nice it sounds, is not a wife? Ah Ka won't stop other men from marrying and having concubines, but he won't let himself do so, nor will he let his children do so. The women in the crown prince's backyard are not of poor origin, and on the surface, they may be harmonious, but after having their own sons, they must think differently.

  If the royal family can be monogamous and the five empresses cannot come from the same family, then the harem of the previous dynasty may not be connected in a line, and there is no need to worry too much about the problem of usurpation by the imperial clan. However, this is just Yage's idea, if the royal family does not have enough power, it is easy for the imperial clan to be marginalized.

  Yage thinks that the royal family being marginalized is not a big deal, and giving more power to the people is a good thing. However, this idea is really ahead of its time. In the Qing dynasty, he could have implemented constitutional monarchy, but in this era, such an advanced idea cannot be put into practice.

  Why did Emperor Yang of Sui fall? Apart from the fact that he was indeed tyrannical and oppressive, making people's lives unbearable, a more important reason is that he vigorously promoted the imperial examination system to select officials from humble families, affecting the interests of aristocratic families! After Li Yuan and Li Shimin came to power, they did not abolish the imperial examination system, but nor did they attach as much importance to it as Emperor Yang of Sui. It's not that the Tang royal family was willing to let those aristocratic families continue to dominate, but rather that their foundation was still not very stable at this time and they couldn't make too many moves.

  As an emperor, who doesn't want their centralized power under their name to be even more concentrated?

  Li Shimin endured in this way, and could only choose to gradually weaken the aristocratic families. How could Yang Guang still go against the trend of the times? At most, he could only do some things quietly after he truly came to power. Now it's just the fifth year of Zhenguan, and there are still 17 years left in the Zhenguan dynasty. What he needs to do now is still selectively let people see his talents.

  The struggle between the Guanzhong aristocracy and the Shandong aristocracy on the court had never stopped, and Li Shimin could not make them stop either. Only by continuing to struggle like this could he maintain the court in a state of balance, and even more so, suppress them without leaving any trace.

  And this is another reason why he chose Su Shi's eldest daughter as the crown princess for Ya Ge. The Su family, as a prominent family in the capital, was strong, but compared to those truly powerful families, they were still a bit inferior. The wife of the crown prince must have some influence, but not too much, and certainly not from a family that will eventually decline!

  Soon after, Taizong Li Shimin issued a decree to appoint Su Shi's eldest daughter as the crown prince's consort, throwing a huge stone into the seemingly calm Chang'an and stirring up waves. No matter what these people thought or wanted to do because of this decree, the selection of Ya Ge's wife was settled.

  Three years later, in the eighth year of the Zhenguan era, 16-year-old Crown Prince Li Chengqian married 13-year-old Crown Princess Su Wan at the Eastern Palace. From then on, the Eastern Palace had a mistress, and Ya Ge also formally possessed the power to participate in politics during the morning court, rather than just attending the morning court to listen to politics.

  This year, three months before the Crown Prince's wedding to his Crown Princess, Empress Changsun gave birth to another daughter. At her full moon ceremony, she was named Princess Xincheng by Emperor Taizong of Tang. Although he had many children, Emperor Taizong was still delighted at the birth of this daughter. The people in the harem once again understood that Empress Changsun and her children held a completely different position in Emperor Taizong's heart!

  Yang Empress, the emperor's concubine, felt bitter and resentful as she watched the honors bestowed upon Consort Longsun and her children, but she didn't dare make any moves. The Crown Prince's position was becoming increasingly secure, and Emperor Taizong trusted both Consort Longsun and the Crown Prince deeply. However, whenever she thought about how mercilessly Emperor Taizong had purged the Yang family from the previous court and the palace three years ago, her heart would turn cold.

  She thought she had a place in Li Shimin's heart, but at first it was only because of her special identity that she could only enter the Qin Wangfu as a concubine. Moreover, later on when Li Shimin successfully seized power and became emperor, Yang's family also made not a small sacrifice.

  She had two sons, Li Ke and Li Yu, who were also favored by Emperor Taizong of Tang. However, compared to the Crown Prince and Li Zhi, they were far inferior. Although Li Ke was of the same age as Li Chengqian, he was not as accomplished as Li Chengqian, but among his peers, he was still head and shoulders above them. Three years ago, Li Chengqian had already come of age and now he had married a daughter of the Su family as Crown Princess and held actual power in the imperial court.

  And what about Li Ke? Although he was made the King of Wu, his coronation ceremony was still far off, and the selection of his queen had not yet been settled. But it was said that Emperor Taizong and Empress Zhangsun were already considering a match for Li Tai, the King of Wei, who was one year younger than Li Ke.

  It's no wonder that Yang Guifei didn't dare to use the remaining power in the harem again. She hated Empress Changsun even more, and she hated Li Chengqian even more! If it weren't for Li Chengqian, her Li Ke would have been the most similar to Emperor Taizong among all the princes, plus he had the noble blood of the Dugu, Yang, and Li families, making him the best candidate to succeed Emperor Taizong.

  At first, she cut off her arm to marry Li Shimin for what reason, wasn't it just so that the Yang family's bloodline could become the next emperor? Unfortunately, her enemy was too strong, she looked down on Changsunshi, and as a result, Changsunshi gave birth to Li Shimin's eldest son several months earlier. She looked down on Li Chengqian, but his performance turned out to be far beyond her expectations, even the things she secretly arranged couldn't lead this crown prince astray, instead he grew more and more excellent, leaving her Li Ke far behind.

  At first, the imperial dowager's gift to Su's family was already enviable, but yesterday's ten-li red sedan chair from outside the palace made Yang Fei jealous. Unfortunately, she could only envy and be jealous in private, while on the surface, she still had to smile and congratulate Empress Longsun and her good son.

  The entire imperial palace is filled with joy today, even the previously most idle palace staff are busy rushing about. The Crown Prince's wedding is no simple matter, and since the Crown Prince is not only the Emperor's favored son but also a powerful figure in court politics, it would be strange if these people didn't try to curry favor with him!

  However, Yang Fei was very clear in her heart that today, only a few people in the imperial palace were truly happy.

  The author has something to say: Thank you to the little cuties below, Potato loves you guys to death~

  The cat in the box threw a grenade.

  The cat in the box threw a rocket gun

  Blood-colored song threw a landmine

  She casually threw out a landmine.

  Blood-colored song threw a landmine

  The cat in the box threw a rocket launcher

  Many people are dazzled by the numerous historical records of the Tang Dynasty, but in fact, it was not easy to achieve the prosperous governance during the Zhenguan period.

  Li Shimin wanted to suppress the hereditary families and also govern the entire country well...

  Wei Zheng was not a truly upright minister. In fact, he and Emperor Taizong of Tang often put on an act. Otherwise, he would not have been flogged by Li Shimin after his death.

  Wei Zheng for the interests of Shandong aristocracy, Li Shimin for the face of Li Tang... what a sad feeling, sigh

  At first, Li Shimin wanted to marry his eldest daughter to Wei Zheng's son, but unfortunately Wei Zheng died and the engagement was cancelled.

  As expected, the royal family still has the most benefits.