Chapter 677: Traveling through Li Shimin and stabilizing the harem
In 638 AD,
This year was also the twelfth year of Zhenguan.

The leap month of February has just passed, spring is back, grass is growing and birds are flying.

When the holy emperor Li Shimin returned from a tour of Hebei, he began to deal with the backlog of memorials.

Before this, Li Shimin had ordered his minister Gao Shilian to lead people to compile the "Clan Records".

As a result, Gao Shilian simply made some revisions to the previous "Clan Records" and submitted it to Li Shimin's desk.

When Li Shimin saw the ranking of the five surnames and seven clans, namely Cui, Lu, Zheng, Li, and Wang, he was furious.

at this time.

Su Mingzhe traveled through time.

In this life, Su Mingzhe chose to travel through time and space in the body of an emperor, hoping to use the emperor's identity to help him with some research work.

Therefore, he chose to travel back to the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

After looking at the dragon robe on his body, he absorbed the memories of Li Shimin in his mind.

Regarding the things that annoyed Li Shimin, he just slightly curved his lips, smiled at the eunuchs beside him, and said:

"Ananda, give this memorial to Wuji and ask him to revise it."

"Here."

Zhang Ananda was the chief eunuch in the palace when Li Shimin was the Prince of Qin. He followed Li Shimin for more than 20 years and was sincere and dedicated. Not only did he manage the eunuch team in an orderly manner, he even had military merits.

At this moment, after hearing Su Mingzhe's words, Zhang Ananda took the memorial, backed out of the imperial study, and walked outside.

Wuji, also known as Zhangsun Wuji.

He was not only Li Shimin's brother-in-law and the uncle of the crown prince, but also Gao Shilian's nephew. His official title was Sikong (one of the Three Dukes) and his title was Duke of Zhao. He could be said to be the number one royal relative of the dynasty.

Su Mingzhe was dissatisfied with Gao Shilian's memorial, and if he pushed it to any other minister for handling, it might cause Gao Shilian to speculate and panic.

As long as it is given to Changsun Wuji, Gao Shilian will not have any opinion about it.

Su Mingzhe dealt with a few more memorials and became increasingly irritated.

More than 90% of these memorials involved the interests of prominent families in various places.

Even the emperor could not easily discipline the prominent families.

So, Su Mingzhe looked at a few more copies, put the memorials on the table, and walked out of the hall.

The rise of the aristocratic families began in the Eastern Han Dynasty.

By the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the power of the aristocratic families had begun to influence and control the situation in a country.

The Sui and Tang dynasties were able to replace the previous dynasties because they relied on the power of the aristocratic families.

In later generations, some people on the Internet compared Li Shimin and Zhu Yuanzhang, asking who was better at civil and military affairs.

In fact, you can easily draw a conclusion by just looking at their backgrounds and the ways they solved problems.

Although Li Shimin is also qualified to be called a sage monarch, he is really not on the same level as Zhu Yuanzhang.

After all, when Zhu Yuanzhang dealt with memorials, he would not let court officials influence his opinions.

"My son, I pay my respects to my father!"

As soon as he walked out of the hall, a young man in a dragon robe saluted Su Mingzhe, which made Su Mingzhe look dazed for a moment:
"Cheng Qian, I'm going to see the Crown Prince, please come with me."

"Here."

Crown Prince Li Chengqian, this name is a bit unlucky.

In the official history, Li Chengqian was lame in one leg. Later, because he was cultivated by Li Shimin using the method of raising poisonous insects, he was frightened and rebelled, and finally committed suicide.

The same is true of Li Chengqian in "Joy of Life".

When Su Mingzhe traveled through the world of "Joy of Life", he felt that Li Chengqian's life was too hard, so he helped him solve his pain in advance.

Now, he has traveled to the dimension of "Wu Zetian" and seen another Li Chengqian, who is his son.

Su Mingzhe felt guilty and wanted to compensate him.

The father and son left the Taiji Hall and got on the sedan chair together.

The emperor rode in a sedan chair, and his entourage ranged from thirty to sixty people, depending on the emperor's intention.

The number of attendants of the crown prince, empress, imperial concubine, etc., dropped from sixteen to more than thirty.

If a prince, minister, or emperor prince was in the imperial palace and was allowed to ride in a sedan chair, the number of people accompanying him could not exceed sixteen.

These are the rules.

Su Mingzhe took Li Chengqian to sit on the sedan chair, chatted with him about family matters for a while, and asked him if he had any questions recently.

Li Chengqian responded to his father's concerns one by one.

Li Chengqian is only nineteen years old now. He got married very early. Three years ago, he married Su, the eldest daughter of Secretary Su Tan, as the Crown Princess.

Now, after three years of marriage, Su finally gave birth to the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin hurried back to the court last month because he heard the news that Su was about to give birth and was worried about the safety of his grandson.

Fortunately, mother and child are safe.

Su Mingzhe brought Li Chengqian to the Eastern Palace, and saw his "eldest grandson" in the Yin'an Hall.

The main reason why Su Mingzhe came to see his grandson this time was that the child mortality rate was too high in this era.

To be on the safe side, Su Mingzhe plans to add several layers of protection for his grandson.

After the protection was added, Su Mingzhe stayed for a while, rewarded the Crown Princess with some gifts, and left this time.

Before leaving, Su Mingzhe once again warned Li Chengqian:

"Qian'er, my grandson has just been born. You are a father now. You must not be careless when you are a new father. When my grandson is one month old, I will confer the title of Crown Prince on him..."

Li Chengqian was surprised and delighted by his father's words. He bowed and saluted repeatedly to show that he accepted his father's orders.
"My son, I obey."

"Well, you can stay and look after my good grandson."

Su Mingzhe also felt some pity for his son Li Chengqian, which is why he said so many words.

Historical records show that the next year, Li Chengqian broke his leg while learning horse riding and archery from the Turks and became a cripple.

From then on, his character changed drastically, changing his gentle and refined temperament, and began to indulge in pleasure and even began to favor handsome eunuchs. Up to now, these messy things have not happened.

At least Su Mingzhe didn't find out that Li Chengqian had any disease.

Therefore, Su Mingzhe warned Li Chengqian in advance not to have any undue ideas and not to learn from himself and cause any Xuanwu Gate Incident or rebellion.

Li Chengqian had no idea that his own father had such thoughts when he said these words to him.

He understood the meaning.

That is the relationship between generations.

This father loves his son more than he loves himself.

But this is also a good thing.

If Su Mingzhe really issued an edict to confer the title of Crown Prince on Li Chengqian's son, it would mean that Prince Wei Li Tai, who had been competing with the crown prince in the court, would definitely have no chance of becoming emperor.

After thinking this through, Li Chengqian felt a little happier about his son. He went to see the Crown Princess again and told her the good news.

Su Mingzhe comforted his son Li Chengqian, and then came to Ganlu Palace in a sedan chair.

By this time, it was already late.

The eunuch Wang De came to ask whether the meal should be served.

Su Mingzhe ordered him to serve the meal, thought for a moment, and then asked:
"Who is in charge of the harem now?"

Li Shimin's queen, Zhangsun, had passed away two years ago, and there were only four concubines in charge of the harem.

However, these four concubines did not take charge together, but took turns.

The most favored among them was Concubine Yang, the daughter of Emperor Yang Guang of Sui Dynasty.

Because she was a princess of the previous dynasty, Concubine Yang was usually cautious and prudent in her daily actions and not overbearing.

The most beautiful concubine was Concubine Yin, the daughter of Yin Shishi, a minister of the previous dynasty.

After Li Yuan started his rebellion, Yin Shishi dug up Li's ancestral tomb and killed Li Yuan's fifth son.

Despite her family background, Concubine Yin was still able to be kept in the harem by Li Shimin and be canonized as a concubine. This shows how beautiful and charming Concubine Yin was.

The third favored concubine was called Concubine Wei, the daughter of Jingzhao Wei.

Wei Gui'er had been married once before before she married Li Shimin.

After marrying Li Shimin, she gave birth to another son and a daughter.

The fact that she was married once and was taken into the palace by Li Shimin shows that Concubine Wei’s ability in serving men is not weak at all.

The last concubine to be favored was Concubine Yan, a descendant of the Longxi noble family Yan.

The appearance of Concubine Yan was naturally remarkable, but the reason why she was favored by Li Shimin, apart from her family background, was mainly because she was a "lady from a noble family with both virtue and talent".

Although Li Shimin himself was not very good at literature, he liked women with literary talent.

In Li Shimin's harem, there was Concubine Yan first, and later Concubine Xu. Both of them were favored because of their talents.

Now, Su Mingzhe suddenly asked which concubine was in charge.

Wang De didn't know what was going on, so he could only tell the truth: "Your Majesty, now the harem is in charge of Concubine Wei."

"is it?"

Su Mingzhe recalled Concubine Wei and frowned slightly, but still opened his mouth and ordered:

"Call Concubine Wei to sleep with you."

Because emperors changed too quickly during the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, and especially were assassinated too often, after the Sui and Tang Dynasties, if concubines wanted to sleep with the emperor, they had to go through layers of inspections, bathe and change clothes before they could get to the emperor's side.

By the time the imperial kitchen brought over dinner, Su Mingzhe had already eaten half of it when Concubine Wei finally arrived.

As soon as she entered the hall, Concubine Wei crossed her hands, placed them on her right side, and saluted:
"Your Majesty, I, Wei Gui'er, pay my respects to His Majesty."

Wei Gui'er is forty years old now, but she has taken good care of herself in the deep palace and looks like a young woman in her thirties, still graceful and elegant.

"My beloved concubine, there is no need to be so polite. Come and sit next to me."

Su Mingzhe didn't show any expression on his face. He just smiled faintly and asked her to sit next to him and eat some more food with him.

Wait until after dinner.

Su Mingzhe then asked about some matters in the harem.

Two years ago, Empress Changsun died of illness.

Li Shimin was so sad that he no longer planned to appoint a queen, so he let the four concubines take turns in charge.

Because Concubine Wei had the most powerful family background, she believed that she had a chance to be in charge of the six palaces, so when it was her turn to be in charge of the harem, she was always exceptionally strict.

At this moment, hearing Su Mingzhe's question, Concubine Wei exaggerated and explained some things again.

Su Mingzhe did not believe her one-sided words. After chatting for a few words, he carried her to bed to rest.

Concubine Wei enjoyed every kind of pampering that night. When she left the next day, her face was full of smiles and her eyes were full of tears. She felt that she was one step closer to being in charge of the six palaces.

this day.

Su Mingzhe was busy in Taiji Hall for half a day. In the afternoon, he returned to Ganlu Hall and called Concubine Yang over to pamper her all night.

Three days passed like this.

After Concubine Yin and Concubine Yan were favored in turn.

Only then did Su Mingzhe find out which of the four concubines was best at management.

That is Concubine Yan.

Concubine Yan gave birth to two sons for Li Shimin, namely Li Zhen and Li Xiao.

These two princes did things in an orderly and rigorous manner and never bullied others by taking advantage of their power.

Among them, Li Zhen was later known as a wise king.

This Concubine Yan can discipline her two sons well, and Su Mingzhe believes that she can also manage the harem well.

(End of this chapter)