Seeing Qin Qiong running for his son, Li Zhiyun was actually very happy. Generals who were good at conquering and fighting were indispensable for the empire's external expansion. Qin Huaiyu and other generals' descendants were the candidates with the best chance of becoming this important link.
However, Li Zhiyun was just happy. Whether they could eventually become useful talents to the empire could only be tested by time.
Days are still passing day by day, and the Tang Dynasty is flourishing. Naturally, there is no need to elaborate further. There is no natural disaster, and with the foundation of the Central Plains, it soon begins to recover quickly, and now it is showing signs of prosperity.
However, some people have seen that under this heyday, the empire's sword has been sharpened and sharpened. Once it is unsheathed, it will inevitably drink blood!
Many people already know who the next prey will be.
Tuyuhun!
In April, news came from Goguryeo that the war between the two sides was so intense that they were unable to continue. They had begun to enter into an endless tug-of-war, fighting and stopping at the same time. After learning the news, Li Zhiyun was not surprised, and gave instructions to let
People continue to sell obsolete ordnance at high prices.
Regardless of whether Goguryeo is at war or at peace, as long as they continue to be divided, it will allow them to continue to suffer internal conflicts.
This is what the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty were happy to see.
It was a clear day, and Li Zhiyun took the queen for a walk in the inner garden. Recently, the government was harmonious, the place was smooth, and the accumulated government affairs were properly handled. It was a rare occasion for him to put down his important tasks and take a stroll in the harem to rest.
"Your Majesty is in a much better mood recently." Empress Yang held her husband's hand and teased the latter with a smile.
Li Zhiyun's mouth moved, but he didn't say anything. Some things are not beautiful to say.
"How can you tell that I am in a good mood?"
"If Your Majesty is in a bad mood, I'm afraid he will be frowning in the Manna Hall right now. Why would he come to accompany my concubine for a stroll in the courtyard?"
Facing his wife's rhetorical question, Li Zhiyun nodded.
"Yes, I am in a good mood indeed."
Empress Yang showed a smile like a little girl, gently leaning on the emperor, and walked among the flowers. When the maids saw this, they all stopped consciously and looked at the emperor and empress from a distance as they walked into the flowers.
Li Zhiyun enjoyed the fragrance of flowers on his nose and said, "Actually, sometimes, I really want to put aside state affairs and enjoy the mountains and rivers with you."
He really couldn't put it down with power, but at certain moments, he would feel really tired or even stressed.
The reason why he doesn't want to be a fool is because he can't have fun. And being unable to have fun will turn into an unshirkable responsibility.
It is the responsibility of being an emperor and a person who knows what will happen in future generations.
"Your Majesty is the emperor, so you can be lazy but not slack off." Empress Yang said seriously: "If your Majesty is tired, where will you leave your people?"
Where?
Li Zhiyun sighed softly. If it weren't for his people, he would have wanted to stop and take a breath sometimes.
All kinds of things are pressing him forward, which is actually really tiring.
Not only now, he was also very tired in the past. But at that time, he was doing it to be able to control his own destiny. But now, he is tired because he is actually more responsible for the fate of thousands of people in the Tang Dynasty.
If the center is rotten, the whole place will be rotten.
If you don't take out your heart, lungs and intestines, wash them, and dry them, they may have rotted away long ago. No one in the center is stupid. If they do something wrong, it's not stupid, but bad. If you don't keep an eye on it all the time,
Sooner or later something big will happen.
People often laugh at the common people in Guanzhong; ordinary people do not understand the government and discuss state affairs arbitrarily. How can you, the little people, think about what the princes in the court have not thought about?
This is not entirely true. At the very least, the central ministers are very smart, but once they turn bad, they are really bad and vicious.
"You're right." Li Zhiyun nodded.
Queen Yang smiled and said: "Your Majesty is suffering from political affairs, which is the sign of a wise king. Now that the government is stable and the civil and military forces are strong, Your Majesty can lead a prosperous era. Although I am a fool in the palace, I know that Your Majesty will be respected by kings of all generations in the future."
"
"The king of all ages respects you?" Li Zhiyun was stunned, then shook his head, "This is not quite right."
"Why?" Queen Yang was puzzled.
Why doesn't my husband seem to like hearing compliments from me?
Li Zhiyun stretched out his hand to pluck off the petals and said melancholy: "No gold is pure and no one is perfect. After thousands of years of looking at it, there is only one person who can be admired by thousands of people. I don't have the qualifications."
"Who is that person?" Queen Yang asked curiously.
Li Zhiyun smiled and did not answer. He just found a stone bench and sat down, holding his chin in his hand, quietly meditating on something.
Empress Yang didn't ask any more questions, just walked up behind him and gently squeezed his shoulders.
After a while, Li Zhiyun joked: "You are the Empress of the Tang Dynasty, and you are the mother of all the people. How can you pinch my shoulders?"
"But my concubine is your Majesty's wife first, and the Empress of the Tang Dynasty second."
"My harem is peaceful, and you have made a great contribution to it."
"My concubine didn't do anything." She smiled and shook her head, and then she said melancholy: "It seems that we husband and wife haven't talked like this for a long time."
"Really?" Li Zhiyun said: "Every time I go to Changle Hall, don't I chat with you."
"Your Majesty, are you just chatting?" Queen Yang rolled her eyes at him.
Li Zhiyun asked: "How about next time I go over and just chat?"
"Huh!" Empress Yang said coquettishly and lightly hit his shoulder to show her dissatisfaction.
Li Zhiyun laughed and stretched out his arms to hug Queen Yang.
"Madam, I have indeed been feeling sad these past few days, but for a moment I don't know where the sadness comes from. Looking at everything, I find that I seem to be thinking too much, but there is always something empty in my heart. I don't know why.
That's the problem. Tell me, can I not take any time off?"
Empress Yang stretched out her hand to smooth her husband's frown, and comforted her softly: "The reason why my husband thinks so is because he has been busy in the past few years. Fighting rebellions, providing disaster relief, and exterminating Turks, none of which will make my husband exhausted mentally and physically.
Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty is booming and everything is smooth, but now my husband feels a little empty."
"Am I being hypocritical?" Li Zhiyun laughed.
Empress Yang said: "I think this is not the case. Your Majesty wants to do everything personally, so you will naturally feel busy. In the future, your Majesty will be at the center and decide the affairs of the world, so you will naturally become familiar with it."
Do you have to do everything yourself?
Li Zhiyun wanted to let go, but he knew that he could not do so. With the integrity of those aristocratic families, letting go by himself would be equivalent to making the game more difficult for the future heir.
"I hope so." Li Zhiyun smiled. Then he asked about the harem.
Empress Yang did not hide anything from her husband. She told her husband one by one about the size of the harem, who was rewarded, who was punished, which concubines were jealous, etc. Everything was told. In terms of family feuds, the emperor's harem was actually the same.
Same.
Another point is that mahjong has become popular in the harem recently. Perhaps it is because there are more women in the harem and more poker players. People gather at the table every once in a while.
"It's not okay to go on like this. You have to keep a close eye on this." Li Zhiyun said: "But there is no need to be too prohibitive. Small gambling is fine for pleasure, but if anyone is addicted to gambling, you can punish him severely."
He also knew that his women would be bored in the harem all day long, so he had no intention of completely banning mahjong.
"Concubine, please remember this."
Li Zhiyun asked again: "Is there a day to greet the Queen Mother?" He was busy with government affairs and could only visit Queen Mother Wan once every four or five days.
"Don't worry, husband, my sisters and children are very filial and often visit my mother."