Ouyang Xun's death was unexpected and reasonable. No one expected that he would leave just after finishing the housework.
But considering that he was already eighty-four years old, and that he had completely settled his affairs and had no worries, everything seemed logical.
Ouyang Tong was so sad that he fainted from crying several times.
Regarding his funeral, given his rank, he was not qualified for the court to help with funeral arrangements.
But because of his achievements in calligraphy and Li Shimin's obsession with calligraphy, he specifically asked the Ministry of Rites to send an official to conduct the funeral.
This is already a great honor.
But Li Chengqian didn't know where he heard about Ouyang Tong, so he quietly went to Chen Jingke and said, "This Ouyang Tong is very talented?"
Chen Jingke squinted at him and said, "You are a dog, right? Your nose is so sharp?"
Li Chengqian said angrily: "Respect me, who allowed you to talk to the prince like this?"
Chen Jingke stood up and left: "You are a great prince, let me get out of here."
Li Chengqian quickly grabbed him and said, "For the sake of our brotherhood, I will pardon you. Now tell me what is happening to Ouyang Tong?"
Chen Jingke rolled his eyes, but joking aside, he then said seriously: "I think he is a great talent, as talented as the Prime Minister."
Li Chengqian patted his thigh and said, "Okay, I understand, you can get out."
After saying that, he left with a big smile, and Chen Jingke jumped up and down in anger.
Then Li Chengqian personally appeared at Ouyang Xun's funeral and helped organize his funeral.
This favor made Ouyang Xun's other three sons so excited that they almost knelt down and hugged each other's thighs.
Li Chengqian also heard about the deeds of the three people. Although he was very disdainful in his heart, he also behaved very gently.
He didn't have much communication with Ouyang Tong. He just told him to study hard and be filial to his mother.
Even so, Ouyang Tong was moved to tears, as a scholar has the urge to die for his confidant.
Chen Jingke secretly gave Li Chengqian a thumbs up. With this method of winning people's hearts, he was indeed worthy of being a prince.
Li Chengqian pretended not to see him and continued to help with the funeral.
After this incident spread, his reputation rose to a higher level, and everyone praised the prince as a benevolent king.
Ouyang Xun's death was a big event for the Ouyang family, but it was a trivial matter for the court and even the people of the world.
Everyone still lives their own little life at their own pace.
Time came to the end of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan without realizing it, and there were only ten days left before Yuan Day.
Chen Jingke also became busy, not because there were too many people coming to Zixiao Temple to give gifts. Wu Shu took care of all such matters, so he basically didn't have to worry.
It's not a matter of the academy. Cheng Huailiang is in charge here, and it's taken care of in an orderly manner.
He doesn't need to worry about the industrial park. Xue Xun and Yu Chiyue have already adapted to the rhythm there and are making the business prosperous.
The reason why he is busy is because something happy has happened.
Princess Li Shu of Gaoyang is getting married.
"Oh, I'm really worried about my second wife. She has bronchitis before she gets married. If she gets married, she will have to kneel on the washboard every day."
In Qinzheng Hall of Daxing Palace, Chen Jingke sighed deliberately in front of Li Shu.
She bit her angry teeth secretly. Normally she would have attacked him.
But after all, it was her wedding, so she was inevitably a little shy, so she endured it.
When Chen Jingke saw that she was silent, he felt proud and prepared to continue joking.
Then his ears were lifted up by a hand: "You bastard, you are bullying my sister here."
Chen Jingke hurriedly said: "Oh, oh, oh, my aunt is in pain, please let go."
The little Sizi on the side felt extremely distressed.
Changsun Wugou said angrily: "Stop pretending, I didn't even try hard, so little Sizi will be deceived by you."
"Hehe." Chen Jingke said proudly: "Xiao Sizi and I are heart to heart."
Changsun Wugou said: "Okay, okay, no matter how heart-to-heart you two get married, you will have to wait at least two years..."
When it comes to her marriage, Xiao Sizi is both shy and yearning.
Chen Jingke knew that she was thin-skinned, so he smiled and changed the subject: "When my sister gets married, I, as an elder brother, will definitely help. If you need me to do anything, just ask me."
Changsun Wugou said: "There is really something that requires you to go. I will go to the Prime Minister's house later to see how they are preparing."
Chen Jingke stood up and said, "Okay, I'll go now."
When he reached the door, he stopped again, turned to Li Shu and said, "Is there anything you want me to pass on to the second room?"
Li Shu bit his lip and said, "Tell him to stop drinking with his friends."
"Pfft haha..." Changsun Wugou couldn't help laughing: "I really sympathize with Fang Erlang."
Chen Jingke laughed so hard that he couldn't stand up and said, "Okay, I promise to convey it to you word for word."
After leaving the palace, he went straight to Fang Xuanling's house, which was also decorated with lanterns and decorations.
Fang Yiai is the second son and will live in separate houses after getting married.
Moreover, he is marrying a princess, and the young couple will live in the princess' mansion after marriage.
But when you get married, you must marry into the Fang family. This is a sign of respect for Fang Xuanling, the first prime minister.
After getting married, the young couple will move to the princess mansion and live their own life.
Fang Xuanling was also smiling from ear to ear. When she saw Chen Jingke coming over, she stepped forward to greet him personally.
"Zhenren Chen, what kind of wind brings you here?"
Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Of course it's a happy occasion. First, I would like to congratulate you on your marriage."
Fang Xuanling said with a smile: "I'm so happy, but when it comes to Erlang and the princess, I have to thank you."
This is true at all. Without Chen Jingke's help, the relationship between Fang Yiai and Li Shu would not be as harmonious as it is now.
And because Fang Yiai and Chen Jingke were relatively close, his relationship with the Fang family became very good.
Although they are not allies, both sides maintain a tacit understanding on many things in the court.
After a few casual chats, the two got down to business. Fang Xuanling said, "Please excuse me, Madam. I've got everything ready, just waiting for the wedding to arrive."
Chen Jingke didn't say much and went to see Fang Yiai again.
At this time, Fang Yiai smiled every time she saw anyone, and when she saw Chen Jingke, she smiled even more happily.
Especially after hearing what Chen Jingke relayed, he quickly patted his chest and promised, "Please help me tell Shu'er, I promise not to go out."
Chen Jingke was quite speechless, but he didn't say much.
One of the young couple is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer. It is best for others not to worry about that.
Soon the wedding day arrived, and the Fang family's wedding team came to pick up the bride in a lively manner.
Chen Jingke also participated, but this time he was not welcoming the bride, but blocking the door as a family member.
The bride-to-be was caught and given a beating, which made her feel so comfortable.
Princess Gaoyang, as the daughter raised by the empress, is loved by the empress, and her wedding treatment is the same as that of the direct princess.
In addition, the man is the husband of the first assistant Fang Xuanling's family, so one can imagine the grandeur.
All the respectable people came to participate, and those who couldn't come themselves would send their family members.
In short, this wedding can be said to be the most lively event before Yuan Day.
This year's Yuan Day will be more lively than in previous years. The Tang Dynasty destroyed Xue Yantuo and completely solved the hidden dangers in the grassland and desert.
At the same time, this incident also shocked other countries. Even powerful people like Xue Yantuo were defeated in one battle, and a generation of heroic Yi Nan became a prisoner.
Their strength is far inferior to Xue Yantuo, so they dare not disrespect the Tang Dynasty.
In order to show their respect to the Tang Dynasty, various forces sent larger envoys to perform Hajj to show their loyalty.
But the most unexpected one is Lingnan Feng An.
Li Shimin said happily: "The Duke of Yue has submitted a request to the imperial court to send floating officials to take over the government affairs of Lingnan. What do you think?"
Fang Xuanling stroked his beard and said: "It seems that the Duke of Yue has finally made up his mind, which is a good thing. I think the court should follow the trend and completely take over Lingnan."
Others also said that this was a good thing.
Wei Zheng, in particular, said happily: "The Duke of Yue has a profound understanding of righteousness and should be a role model."
Everyone could understand why he was happy. It was rumored among the people that Feng Ang was rebelling, and Li Shimin was preparing to send troops to conquer it.
It was he who stood up to speak to Feng An, thinking that he should send someone to ask first.
If he really rebelled, it would not be too late to mobilize troops. If he did not rebel, then rashly launching troops would only force him to rebel.
Li Shimin listened to his opinion and sent an envoy to Lingnan to check, and found that Feng An did not rebel.
A military disaster was eliminated.
After Feng Ang heard about this, he was always very grateful to Wei Zheng. Although the two parties did not have much contact, there was still a feeling of affection.
At this time, Feng Ang went to court again and asked the court to take over Lingnan, and his face was bright.
Soon everyone unanimously decided to take over Lingnan.
But everyone knew that Feng Ang could not give up Lingnan for no reason, he must have some conspiracy.
Changsun Wuji stepped forward to clear up everyone's doubts: "A month ago, Duke Yue fell seriously ill and almost died. Although he was saved by doctors, his health was no longer as good as before."
"He must have completely handed over Lingnan to prepare for his death... and another reason is that he hopes to live to see his feudal country."
Everyone was silent, it was hard for anyone to be the first to speak when Feng Guo was in serious trouble.
The Tang Dynasty has carried out three enfeoffments. Except for the first experimental one, the next two enfeoffments were all small princes and kings who had left the center of power.
The largest fiefdoms were no more than one county, and the smallest fiefdoms were only a few towns.
He was still the first to be a powerful prince like Feng Ang.
Moreover, the Feng family in Lingnan was actually a semi-separatist force, so we should be more cautious in enfeoffing him.
It can be said that no one dares to speak casually about such a big matter except the emperor himself who has made the decision.
Li Shimin saw that everyone was silent and did not ask any further questions. Instead, he asked Li Chengqian: "Prince, what do you think we should do?"
Li Chengqian said: "The Duke of Yue is an example of loyalty to the country. The court should not hurt the loyal ministers. I think he should be enfeoffed."
Li Shimin still did not express his position, but continued to ask: "Where is the best place to seal it?"
Li Chengqian pondered: "The Duke of Yue is a principality, and its territory cannot be small. Only the southern islands can be sealed..."
"Yizhou Island, Yazhou, and the Indochina Peninsula are unenclosed lands, and there are only islands farther away."
"I think Luzon is the most suitable island. It is not far or close to the Tang Dynasty, and the land is fertile and rich in minerals."
"Making this place a feudal state for the Duke of Yue is also a commendation for his loyalty to the country."
What kind of commendation sounds nice, but is actually just an exchange of benefits.
If Datang wanted to take over Lingnan smoothly, it could not do without the help of the Feng family.
In exchange, it is necessary to find a suitable place to serve as the Feng family's fiefdom.
Feng An just wanted to confirm this matter before he died.
Otherwise, when he dies, the Tang Dynasty will immediately dismember the Feng family by issuing grace orders.
By that time, the Feng family will completely lose their qualifications to negotiate.
The imperial court would not abandon their family's feudal state, but it was hard to say where exactly it would be granted.
Both the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty accepted this exchange.
After all, Lingnan is more important than Luzon.
Especially Sun Simiao's epidemic prevention manual, coupled with the emergence of new rice and sucrose refining technology...
Lingnan has transformed from a dangerous place into a treasure land.
Although this treasure land still needs further development, the prerequisites for development are already in place. Everything is ready and all it needs is the east wind.
Feng Ang took the initiative to cooperate in handing over Lingnan, which was a great good thing for Datang.
After the basic policy was determined, the emperors and ministers of the Tang Dynasty unanimously decided to allocate a piece of land on Luzon Island as the location of the Feng family's fiefdom.
Then they began to discuss how to govern Lingnan.
Fang Xuanling was the first to say: "Now Lingnan Road covers an area of thousands of miles. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is the first road in the Tang Dynasty."
"For such a huge land to be placed under the jurisdiction of one government, it would be a great hidden danger for the court, so I think the land in Lingnan should be re-divided."
Wei Zheng said: "I second the proposal."
Yang Shidao said: "I second the proposal."
"I second the proposal." The others also agreed.
The court was worried about having such a huge piece of land under the jurisdiction of a government agency, and it was not a good thing for local officials.
Spin-off is the best way.
Obviously this opinion is in line with Li Shimin's thoughts. He nodded and said: "In that case, let's split it up, but how should we split it up?"
Gao Shilian said: "I thought we could divide Lingnan into two and set up Lingnan East Road and Lingnan West Road..."
At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he was demoted to Jiaozhi County. He knew the situation here best, so he had the most say.
However, there is really nothing to say about this division method, and it can be said that it is the only division method.
Therefore, the split plan was quickly approved, and the entire Lingnan Road with Guangxin City as the boundary was split into Lingnan East Road and Lingnan West Road.
Next comes the appointment of officials.
Normally, each faction would be scrambling to send their own people there, but this time everyone maintained restraint.
It would not work without restraint. Feng was finally willing to hand over power, and the emperor would never allow anyone to disrupt this matter.
Anyone who dares to neglect public affairs for personal reasons at this time will be punished.
Now it is different from the past. In the past, the emperor would only reprimand a few words, but would not really do anything to these humiliated ministers.
Now the emperor can directly cut off your feudal state. Today, he will cut off three to five hundred miles, and tomorrow he will cut off a little more. Sooner or later, it will be all gone.
Compared with enfeoffing the country, the amount of political power in front of us seems to be too unworthy.
It can also be said that Li Shimin completely controlled their seven inches, preventing them from doing anything rashly.
Finally, after discussion, everyone decided to let Yu Wenjie and Cen Wenwen serve as governors of the East and West Lingnan Roads and fully preside over the affairs of the two roads.
Afterwards, we discussed the next development plan, such as the allocation of money and grain, support for various industries, and the relocation of 10,000 poor households from the Central Plains to Lingnan within a year, etc.