The Notes on Emperor Xuanzong's Daily Life in the History of the Tang Dynasty records: "On the 27th of the twelfth lunar month in the 24th year of Kaiyuan, the emperor heard that King Shou and his wife had arrived, and left in a hurry to find them. When he didn't see them, he returned to the Liyuan in despair."
When Li Yunze returned to his home, he didn't know that Li Sanlang could not see his daughter-in-law, so he spent the whole night watching the Liyuan Opera in great depression.
Later generations of crosstalk, folk arts, magic, acrobatics, etc. were collectively called the children of the Liyuan. Their origin was the Liyuan that Li Sanlang spent countless national resources to build.
When Li Yunze returned to the palace, he first asked Yang Yuhuan to arrange a banquet and entertain guests in the evening.
And he himself entertained the guest in his study.
This guest can be said to be penniless now, but he is a famous figure in the history books.
This person is the famous Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty and his relative, Yang Guozhong.
Of course, his name is not yet Yang Guozhong, but his real name is Yang Zhao.
The reason why he later changed his name to Yang Guozhong was, of course, to mean being loyal to the country. It was purely a face-saving project with a smooth surface.
Originally, Yang Zhao was a county lieutenant in Fufeng County, in charge of local public security.
After Li Yunze played the harp and the jade slave, he immediately sent his servants to Fufeng County to call Yang Zhao over.
If you want to do something, you need people.
As a prince, it is taboo to expand one's strength wantonly.
Although the princes of the Tang Dynasty were not raised like pigs like the princes of the Ming Dynasty, nor were they controlled in every possible way like the princes of the Song Dynasty.
The princes of the Song Dynasty were closely monitored because Zhao Guangyi himself became emperor by beheading his brothers. Of course, his descendants were extremely wary of his brothers.
However, the princes of the Tang Dynasty rebelled one after another. Li Er's younger brother rebelled, Li Er's son rebelled, and Li Sanlang's elders rebelled.
Because there are too many rebel princes, they cannot openly expand their strength.
Moreover, with his current status, it is not easy for others to sincerely rely on him. On the contrary, if he uses his relatives, not only will no one say anything, but they will also praise him for attaching importance to his in-laws.
Yang Yuhuan's background is not low. Her father is the serious Duke of Qi.
It's a pity that there was only one son who died early. Although the remaining four daughters were many, they were not needed.
The entire Yang family is short of men, and the only one who can really be used is Yang Zhao.
"Your Majesty, Fufeng County Lieutenant Yang Zhao, pays homage to your Majesty. Your Majesty is a thousand years old~~~"
Li Yunze, who was sitting on the chair, looked at the tall and handsome Yang Zhao in front of him, and nodded slowly, "Get up and talk."
"Thank you, Your Majesty~~~"
With an excited look on his face, Yang Zhao stood up and stood to one side with his hands folded and his head bowed.
Yang Guozhong's external conditions were very good, and he had a handsome appearance. After all, he was the nephew of the famous handsome man Zhang Yizhi, and he was more likely to be his illegitimate son.
Li Yunze looked at him and didn't care about his reputation in history.
What's wrong with the traitorous minister? A traitorous minister is also a minister, so long as he can be used.
"You're welcome." Li Yunze smiled and gestured for him to sit down. "You are Yuhuan's brother, so we are a family. From now on, there is no need to be polite in front of this king, just sit down."
"Thank you, Your Majesty~~~"
With a proud look on his face, Yang Zhao carefully sat down on a stool with half his buttocks.
“Is it okay in Fufeng County?”
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."
After some useless pleasantries, Li Yunze entered the topic, "I invite you back this time because I want you to help me."
Yang Zhao hurriedly stood up and saluted, "I am willing to do your best for the king!"
"Sit first, sit first."
Li Yunze, who was smiling, stretched out his hand and said, "Sit down and talk."
When Yang Zhao sat down again, Li Yunze's face hardened, and he said in a deep voice, "You are Yuhuan's brother and one of our own. I don't need to hide it from you. My ambition is in the East Palace. What you have to do now is to help me enter."
Lord of the East Palace. After the matter is completed, it will naturally not
I've treated you badly."
Yang Zhao was so overjoyed that he wanted to cut open his belly and take out his heart and liver and show it to Li Yunze on the spot, in order to show his true feelings: "I am willing to go through fire and water for the king!"
"well."
Li Yunze stood up, walked to the bookshelf and took down a heavy wooden box.
Then he placed the wooden box in Yang Zhao's hand.
Yang Zhao's arm suddenly dropped after taking the wooden box, it was too heavy.
At Li Yunze's instruction, he opened the wooden box, and his eyes immediately went straight.
Inside the wooden box were neatly arranged gold bars, full of them. The dazzling golden light made Yang Zhao's hands tremble.
"There are eight hundred taels of gold here." Li Yunze, who was standing with his hands behind his back, said calmly, "Go to the Western Regions and select elite men from the border troops to serve as the royal family members. It doesn't need to be many, just a hundred people. Remember, Anxi Festival
Du Lai Yao had a military commander named Zhao
Li Siye, this person must be recruited to the palace no matter what."
"Li Siye." Yang Zhao closed the wooden box with trembling hands and nodded vigorously, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty, I will definitely bring him back!"
"Do it well."
With a smile on his face, Li Yunze raised his hand and patted Yang Zhao on the shoulder, "I won't treat you badly. By the way, why don't you change your name."
Yang Zhao was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stood up and saluted, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the name~~~"
"As a minister, you should serve your country with all your loyalty. How about changing your name to Yang Guozhong?"
"Thank you, Your Majesty! From now on, I will be Yang Guozhong!"
"Let's go and eat first. Yuhuan is very happy to know that you are here. He has cooked and arranged a banquet for you."
"My dear, thank you, Princess~~~"
Yang Yuhuan was indeed very happy, because she had a small family and lacked men, so she was naturally very kind to this cousin.
At the banquet, they exchanged glasses and learned that Yang Zhao had changed his name to Yang Guozhong, and even told him to work hard for King Shou.
Yang Yuhuan has a gentle personality, but no matter how gentle she is, she is still a woman.
As long as you are a woman, there is no one who does not want her husband to stand out.
At the level of a prince, the only goal to stand out is to enter the East Palace.
Li Yunze's purpose in taking over the East Palace was not just to be the crown prince. His most important goal was that the East Palace was the only place where he could legally possess military power.
After the Tang Dynasty, the prince's six rates had completely become a decoration, but in the Tang Dynasty, they could actually raise troops.
At that time, Li Jiancheng's crown prince Liu Li almost forced Li Er to jump over the wall when he was at Xuanwu Gate.
Li Chengqian's prince Liuli was the main force during his rebellion.
Although there are many restrictions now, it may be the greatest victory to have it.
The most important thing about this army is not its quantity or strength. What is really important is that it can exist reasonably and legally in the capital.
Millions of powerful soldiers are all on the border, not as good as thousands of elite soldiers in the capital.
Yang Guozhong, who had a banquet and saw the opportunity to rise to prominence, obtained the security guard from the deacon of the Marriage Affairs Office. With this, he could move around the Tang Dynasty, especially when leaving Yumen Pass, it was absolutely impossible without security guards.
After drinking a cup of tea and chatting for a while, the impatient Yang Guozhong said goodbye and left, rushing to Anxi.
Li Longji kept fighting for months and months. Although he emptied the national treasury, he also created a vast and vast territory.
The Tang Dynasty's frontier army also became the most powerful army in the world through continuous tempering through years of war.
The Tang Army's frontier troops were so powerful that it would be no exaggeration to say that they would defeat the world.
Such a powerful frontier army was eventually consumed in the Anshi Rebellion twenty years later. There is no other emotion except regret.
At this time, the internal conflicts in Datang were already very acute.
Although Wu Zetian successfully suppressed the powerful families, these families with profound heritage passed down for hundreds of years are still tenaciously recovering their strength.
And the new forces formed by a group of eunuchs and treacherous ministers re-employed by Li Sanlang were running rampant across the country and tearing apart the entire Tang Dynasty.
Li Yunze must speed up his pace to prevent Datang from embarking on a path of no return.
After Yang Guozhong left, Li Yunze sent his servant to send a greeting card to Li Linfu.
Li Linfu is a member of the Tang clan, and his ancestor is Li Yuan's cousin Li Shuliang, who was granted the title of Prince of Changping County.
Last year, Li Linfu was granted the title of Minister of Rites and the title of Prime Minister of Tong Zhongshu.
Li Linfu was a powerful official, and he was also a cunning and powerful official.
Li Yunze went to visit him, but he shouldn't have done so. After all, the prince's mingling with the prime minister would cause criticism.
It's just that Li Yunze didn't care about this. He made a date and came to visit him after a few days.
The only reason why I came to visit Li Linfu was that he had the help of Concubine Wu Hui when he went up, and he belonged to Concubine Wu Hui's faction.
The teacher of Prince Li Ying was Zhang Jiuling, the prime minister of the dynasty. For Li Linfu who wanted to continue to climb up the ladder and gain power, Zhang Jiuling was the biggest stumbling block in front of him.
Zhang Jiuling and Prince Li Ying supported each other. It was impossible to deal with either one alone, and they could only attack together.
As a result, Li Linfu and Wu Huifei's faction, who were eager to promote Li Xuan to the throne, naturally came together to work together.
"My lord, Li Linfu, pays homage to your Majesty. Your Majesty is a thousand years old~~~"
"The great uncle doesn't need to be polite." Li Yunze stepped forward quickly and helped Li Linfu, who was making a gesture. "The great uncle is the prime minister of the country. There is no need to be so polite to all officials."
In the Tang Dynasty, the prime minister was extremely powerful. All officials would bow to the prime minister when they saw him, but the prime minister did not have to return the favor.
This is true even at the level of a prince.
Although the current prime minister is actually Zhang Jiuling, Li Linfu also calmly accepted Li Yunze's statement.
Li Linfu prepared a banquet and called some of his sons at home to accompany him.
At the banquet, we talk about common things and exchange some non-nutritious greetings with each other, which can be regarded as a great time for the guests and the host.
The real highlight was the interview in the study after the banquet.
After coming to the study and taking a sip of tea, Li Yunze, who had been doing homemaking before, put down the tea bowl in his hand and his expression immediately straightened.
"Li Gong, I want to take over the East Palace, and I hope Li Gong can help me."
"oh."
Li Linfu lowered his head and sipped the tea unhurriedly, "This is the emperor's family matter, how can outsiders like us say more."
"It's a family matter and a state matter."
Li Yunze frowned slightly with dissatisfaction, "Zhang Jiuling is domineering and wants to be prime minister. Li Gong, who is loyal to the country, is the most suitable prime minister."
Li Linfu smiled and said, "The prince's benevolence cannot be changed lightly."
"Zhang Jiuling takes power and has to make his own decisions on everything. Where does this put the emperor?"
"The prince is looked up to by people, and all the officials respect him and the world looks up to him."
"Zhang Jiuling"
"Prince."
"."
After some seemingly far-fetched probing, Li Yunze simply stood up and handed over his hands, "Mr. Li, I'm leaving."
Li Linfu laughed and said, "Your Majesty, please walk slowly, I will see you off not far away."
When Li Yunze left, Li Linfu slowly stopped his smile this time and said, "It's okay."
After leaving Li Linfu's residence, Li Yunze took a deep breath, got on his horse, and raised his hand to touch his nose.