For the entire first month, Chang 'an passed in a relaxed and lazy atmosphere.
With the internal strife of Tubo and the various princes vying for the throne, they could barely take care of themselves. Naturally, the plan to ally with the Turks collapsed.
Misa was a Tubo general and he also had his own tribe. He also had a prince who was most in line with the interests of his tribe and himself. Now that the male protagonist of the marriage was dead, there was no reason for him to stay in Chang 'an. The day after he heard the grievous news, he hurriedly left and rushed back to Tubo to participate in the struggle for power.
The Tubo's release made the Turks feel a little helpless. However, the Turkic envoy, Mo Hegan, could not leave with his tail between his legs like Misa. He still lingered in Chang 'an. Wu Zetian's attitude now clearly became more forceful. Mo Hegan had asked for an audience ten times, but only once was granted. The situation was stronger than the person, so Mo Hegan could not be overbearing.
After the first month, the spring wind gradually warmed the earth and the Great Zhou Dynasty welcomed two happy events.
In order to avoid the marriage with Tubo, the Prince of Xiang had urgently chosen husbands for his two oldest daughters, Xian Yuan and Shou Chang. Although the Tubo were no longer forcing the marriage due to the internal strife, the marriage that had already been arranged naturally had to be carried out. Therefore, Wu Zetian issued an edict for the marriage of Shou Chang and Xian Yuan.
Wu Zetian had the Luantai come out and say, "The Prince of Xiang's daughters, Shou Chang County Magistrate and Xian Yuan County Magistrate, together with Ling Tian Han, will gradually train the royal family, their qualities are brilliant and their natures are fragrant and elegant. The Emperor's grandson is about to surrender. It has only been a year, and the people of the country are willing to allow him to return. Cui Zhen, the Minister of the Pure Temple, and Xue Boyang, the Crown Prince's Left Minister, will be dressed in ceremonial robes, and will bow to the teachings of the famous. They will be beautiful and talented. The flying phoenix is auspicious; riding on the dragon's back is appropriate. The Shou Chang County Magistrate can be Shi Zhen, the Xian Yuan County Magistrate can be Shi Boyang … "
Once the edict was issued, the two families immediately prepared for the marriage. In the third month of spring, the two county magistrates were married. At the wedding banquet, the Prince of Xiang's daughters gathered together, and a table was set up in the rear residence. Although they were young, they still ate some rice wine. After all, this was a day of great joy.
Qingyang raised her cup and said to her sisters, "The sudden death of the Tufan King allowed us sisters to escape this calamity. This is all thanks to Shiniang's contribution. Sisters, why haven't you raised your cup yet? Let us toast Shiniang to show our gratitude."
Qing Yang was teasing Li Chiying, and all the sisters laughed and raised their glasses. Li Huawan was worried that her younger sister would lose face, so she hurriedly pulled Qing Yang's clothes, but it was too late.
Unexpectedly, Li Chiying was not the slightest bit annoyed. She had a faint smile on her face and calmly raised her cup, accepting the salute from her sisters. The sisters thought that she was putting on airs, but Li Chiying was secretly proud of herself. I was the one who helped you resolve this matter, so it's only right for me to receive your respect. "
Li Chiying was already convinced that the sudden death of the Tufan King was the work of Yang Fan, but because of her previous oath and because she was a person who took her promises very seriously, it was not good for her to announce this secret to the public. In this little girl's heart, she already regarded Yang Fan as a deity.
In truth, when she heard from her third brother that Yang Fan had ingeniously planned to rescue the Prince of Luling from Fangzhou and bring him back to Luoyang, she had already regarded Yang Fan as a celestial being. Were this not the case, she would not have been so desperate to seek medical help, believing that as long as Yang Fan was willing to think of a way, he would be able to resolve this calamity for her.
It was precisely because she had long believed that Yang Fan possessed unfathomable abilities that she attributed the death of the Tufan Zanpu to Yang Fan. However, although the death of the Tufan Zanpu from the Nanzhao Kingdom was an unexpected accident, the idea of using the Nanzhao Kingdom to restrain the Tufan Kingdom was indeed Yang Fan's idea, and he was also the one who facilitated it. However, this result was not his doing, so Li Chiying could be considered to have guessed half of it correctly.
Because of the sudden death of the Tufan Kingdom's Zanpu, they did not have time to make arrangements for his funeral, and now they really fell into internal strife.
When the two princesses of the Prince of Xiang's Mansion got married, Yang Fan had already received news from the Tufan Kingdom's spies that the struggle for hegemony among the Tufan princes had been 'settled', and a new king had been elected.
Seeing that all the major tribes had their own masters, and that the entire Tufan Kingdom was about to fall apart, the Empress Dowager, Chi Mali, hurriedly stepped forward and took charge of the state affairs as the Empress Dowager.
After the Empress Dowager took charge of the state affairs, she decisively appointed her seven-year-old grandson, Qili Lasan, as Zanpu. Qili Lasan's mother's name was Zanmoto, and his family was extremely powerful. Empress Dowager Chi Mali's maternal family was also extremely powerful. With the cooperation of the two families, and the fact that the Empress Dowager chose a grandson of the King was a perfectly justifiable move, the position of Zanpu was finally confirmed.
However, this only ensured the stability on the surface, the tribes and families behind the princes were not willing to accept this. The rapid decline of the royal power had become a fact, and without a strong Prime Minister to suppress them, many tribes began to act on their own, and the royal power could no longer be enforced throughout the Tufan Kingdom.
After meeting with Shen Mu, Yang Fan evaluated the situation, and believed that the Tufan Kingdom would be in chaos for at least twenty years, until after Qili Lasan's death, if he could become a great king like Songzan Gampo, the Tufan Kingdom would recover. For at least twenty years, it would be difficult for the Tufan Kingdom to pose a threat to the Central Plains.
The two of them came to this conclusion after fully understanding the situation of the various forces in the Tufan Kingdom, and after receiving the detailed analysis of many wise men from the 'Heaven Observation Division'. In reality, after Qili Lasan's death, he did not become a great king, and the subsequent generations of Tufan and Zanpu did not produce another hero like Songzan Gampo.
The decline of the Tufan Kingdom began at this time, and from this moment on, the Tufan Kingdom continued to go downhill until its demise.
Three days after the marriage of the two princesses of the Prince of Xiang's estate, on the day they officially returned home, good news came from the Western Regions about Tang Xiujing. When Tang Xiujing arrived at Suiye, he used both carrot and stick on the Ten Families Tribe, writing empty checks as if they didn't cost money, completely beguiling the leaders of the Ten Families Tribe.
The Lord of the Ten Families Tribe, Wuzhile, was officially conferred the title of Prefecture King by the Great Zhou and recognized as the Turkic Shihan. From this point onwards, he could rightfully kick Hussero aside and become the Lord of the Ten Families Tribe. He had obtained the greatest benefit, so he gladly agreed to send troops.
By sending troops to suppress Moche, Wuzhile would not only gain even more support from the Tang dynasty, but it would also be in line with his own interests. After all, the Eastern and Western Turks had been mortal enemies ever since they split up. Since he had replaced Ashina Hussero as the Lord of the Western Turks, he had to attack the Lord of the Eastern Turks.
Wuzhile had two hundred thousand soldiers, only half of Moche's. However, Moche's territory was too vast and needed to be garrisoned everywhere, especially on the border with the Great Zhou. Thus, the number of soldiers he could actually mobilize was not greater than Wuzhile's. As a result, Moche could only stop fighting on the eastern front and move soldiers to meet Wuzhile.
When Mo Hegu heard this news, he immediately changed his attitude. What he needed to do now was not to force the Great Zhou into a marriage, but to express goodwill and repair the relationship between the two countries so that the Great Zhou would not ally with the Ten Families Tribe and stab them in the back.
Yang Fan and Shen Mu, these two bad friends, were naturally delighted in the Tubo and Turkic backyards being set ablaze, but they had not expected that once the Great Zhou was rid of its external threat, it would begin to fight among itself.
This internal strife was naturally between the officials and the Second Zhang.
The Second Zhang had always been in constant conflict with the officials, but the spark that had ignited this all-out war was Zhang Changqi.
When Zhang Changqi had been impeached and demoted by the Imperial Censor, Wu Zetian had taken sides and used the power of the Emperor to 'demote' him to Qi Province Minister. When Zhang Changqi arrived at Qi Province, the Tubo and Turkic forces had joined forces to invade. Zhang Changqi complained incessantly, but he did not dare to abandon the city and escape. Fortunately, there were border troops stationed in front of them, so he could only close the city gates and wait anxiously for the enemy.
In the end, not long after, Chen Daci won a great victory in Maozhou, so the Tubo troops did not dare to act rashly. Next, the Tubo Zanpu personally went to the Six Zhao, but in the end, he was infected with a miasma and died in the army. The Tubo kings fought for hegemony, causing an internal strife. Wu's external threat was removed, so it could be said that it was a daunting experience but not a dangerous one.
At this time, Zhang Changqi's cleverness came into play. He pretended to lead his troops to 'chase and kill' for a while, but did not even see the shadow of the Tubo troops before 'triumphantly returning'. Zhang Changqi then reported that he had defeated the invading enemy and asked his cousin to help him find an official position.
With this reason, naturally Er Zhang begged Wu Zetian all day long. Wu Zetian could not resist the coaxing and pestering of her two lovers; she had no choice but to agree to help Zhang Changqi find an official position. One morning at the morning court, the Ministry of Appointments reported that there was a vacancy in the Chief Historian of Yongzhou. Wu Zetian immediately remembered her promise to her lover. She looked around at the Prime Ministers and asked: "There is a vacancy in the Chief Historian of Yongzhou, who can fill the post?"
Wei Yuanzhong reported: "Xue Jichang can do it."
This Xue Jichang was originally the Chief Historian of Yongzhou, but now he was the Chief Minister of Right Station. Compared to before, he was a lot nobler, but he did not have as much authority as before. Wei Yuanzhong wanted this colleague and good friend to be the Chief Historian of Yongzhou again. The Son of Heaven was old, the world was about to change, if he had more authority, he would have a greater chance of success in the future.
Among the Prime Ministers, Yang Zaisi, Su Weiwei, Wei Chengqing and Wei Sili all had deep friendship with Er Zhang. But this incident happened too suddenly, they did not have Er Zhang's permission beforehand, so naturally they would not nominate Zhang Changqi.
Wu Zetian knew that she could not count on the Prime Ministers to recommend her, so she took the initiative and said, "Xue Jichang has been in the Capital for a long time, Zhen has another important position. Recently, Qizhou's Deputy Minister Zhang Changqi has repelled the Tubo invading enemy, he has established a military service. Zhen wants to appoint Zhang Changqi as the Chief Historian of Yongzhou. What does the Prime Ministers think? "
Only now did Yang Zaisi, Su Weiwei and the other Prime Ministers understand Wu Zetian's intention. Promptly they bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise!"
Wei Yuanzhong stepped out from the crowd and said in a loud voice, "Zhang Changqi cannot be the Chief Historian of Yongzhou!"
Wu Zetian knitted her brows slightly. "Why does Prime Minister Wei say that?" she asked.
Wei Yuanzhong said, "Zhang Changqi is young and ignorant, he does not understand local government affairs. He has only been in Qizhou for a short period of time, it is even more difficult to say that he has gained experience. Yongzhou is the Imperial Capital (Yongzhou is the Governor of the Capital, it is located in Chang 'an), the government affairs are complicated, how can Zhang Changqi be competent? Comparing this person with Xue Jichang, the superiority and inferiority can be seen at a glance. "
Actually, the Prime Ministers have the right to recommend officials. Right now Yang Zaisi, Su Weiwei and the others have understood Wu Zetian's intention. As long as Wu Zetian insisted, these Prime Ministers would definitely step forward to support her. However, Wu Zetian also knew that Zhang Changqi was not qualified to be the Chief Historian of Yongzhou, be it in terms of seniority, ability or reputation.
Wu Zetian had abused her official position for personal gain, so she did not have much confidence. As soon as Wei Yuanzhong spoke, she unexpectedly fell silent. Yang Zaisi, Su Weiwei and the others were all old foxes; seeing that the Emperor did not insist, naturally they would not step forward to say anything. If something happened to Zhang Changqi in Yongzhou, as the people who recommended him, they would also have to bear the responsibility. Unexpectedly, this matter was left unsettled.
When the two Zhangs heard about this matter, they could not help but fly into a rage. Zhang Changzong slapped the table and sternly shouted, "This old man Wei has repeatedly made things difficult for our Zhang family. If this can be tolerated, what can be tolerated?"
Zhang Yizhi, who has always been more composed than him, was also provoked by Wei Yuanzhong. He angrily said, "This old thing does not know how to appreciate favors, he really wants to climb all over us. Does he think that our Zhang family is easy to bully? If we don't teach him a lesson, this old man will certainly become even more savage! "After the two brothers had a discussion, they immediately launched their revenge against Wei Yuanzhong.
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