Qin Mubai's family has been in Gaochang for a few days, one to rest, and the other is to worship Qin Shubao.

Gaochang, the place where Qin Shubao died in battle. On the Mountain of Flames, there is a statue of him. This is also the birthplace of Qin Shubao's "miracles", and many legends about Qin Shubao have been gradually deified by word of mouth, saying that he often appeared to protect the people of Gaochang and protect the safety of merchants on the Silk Road.

In the minds of the Chinese people, heroes and bears are counting on the fallen leaves to return to their roots. But Qin Shubao died in battle, and his bones were burned to ashes by a fire, and now he is by Qin Mubai's side, wandering the world and traveling thousands of miles. In front of the statue, Qin's mother, Liu, Shuang'er and others couldn't help but cry bitterly and sighed.

"San Lang, you really should go back to the Central Plains and bury your father's ashes in the Qin family's hometown in Licheng, Qizhou." Liu said, "Fallen leaves return to the roots, who doesn't want to return to the roots......"

"It's a child who is not filial...... Since the last time he married Gao Yang and left Chang'an, he has never been able to set foot in the Central Plains. Qin Mubai was also helpless, so he had to say, "But our family has settled in the Western Regions since then, and it will also become our second hometown." When I settle down, I will choose a feng shui treasure to bury my father. From then on, my Qin family will also take the Western Regions as its roots! ”

At the same time, a solemn and solemn ceremony is being held on the Taiji Hall of the Imperial City of Chang'an.

- Li Ke, crowned heir!

Soon after Li Tao returned to the court, this important event, which had been delayed for a long time, was finally put on the agenda and officially held.

Li Shimin summoned and conferred the title of Li Ke, the king of Wu, as the crown prince and personally crowned him. The nude photos are high, the civil and military officials should be present, the colorful flags are flying and the gold armor is dazzling, and the cheers are thunderous.

Since Li Ke has been appointed as the prince, it is correspondingly necessary to form a set of civil and military ministers to assist Li Ke. At this point, Li Shimin can be said to have tried his best.

The first to bear the brunt is Sun Wuji, the first minister of Zhenguan. Previously, he was Li Ke's biggest resistance. In order to reconcile his relationship with Li Ke, Li Shimin put a lot of thought into it, both publicly and privately. This time, in addition to letting the eldest grandson Wuji continue to serve as Situ and Shangshu's servant, he also specially named him the prince and the prince - became Li Ke's teacher!

Another important minister, Fang Xuanling, was appointed as the crown prince.

The first head of the military, Li Tao, was appointed as the crown prince.

Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou and other important ministers of the court, respectively appointed to important positions in Chunfang; The original governor of King Wu's mansion, Shi Quan Wanji, served as the crown prince Zhan Shi, equivalent to the general manager of the affairs of the East Palace, and still assisted Li Ke left and right.

The Guanxi army that returned to the dynasty was reorganized into an army of two guards directly under the emperor - the left and right dragon guards, and the perennial guards of Chang'an.

Xue Rengui was awarded the title of Champion General (Sanpin Honor) and awarded the Right Dragon Wuwei General for his outstanding military achievements, commanding the most elite royal field in the imperial capital, and became the patron saint of Chang'an and the symbol of the first combat power of the Tang Dynasty; Pang Fei was appointed as the general of the left prison guard, commanding the Imperial City Imperial Forest Army, guarding the Daming Palace and Taiji Palace.

It is worth mentioning that after returning to the dynasty, the generals of the Kansai Army, in addition to holding important positions in the Sixteen Guards, also each hung the command of the six rates of the crown prince's Dongying, all of which were under the command of Li Ke.

In this way, a temporary new team of courtiers centered on Li Ke was formed.

It wasn't until the coronation ceremony and the canonization were over that the ministers suddenly remembered one thing: why didn't there be a mention of a person who should be the most important person today-

Qin Mubai?

……

Only ten days after the crown prince's coronation, the imperial court summoned and ordered Li Ke to be the general manager of the march of Liaodong Province, and Li Tao and Li Daozong to be the deputy governors to conquer Liaodong!

Xue Rengui, Li Daliang, Wei Chi Jingde, Cheng Zhijie and other generals, led a total of 300,000 troops from Long Wuwei and Wei to the left and right, and set out on the same day under the command of Li Ke!

ingenious, Li Shimin asked the eldest grandson Wuji to serve as Li Ke's marching commander and go to Liaodong together. Fang Xuanling, the butler of the Tang Dynasty, is still the governor of the future. Pang Fei was sent to Dengzhou to supervise the construction of sea ships, and the sailors of the Governor Datang were also under the command of Li Ke, and assisted in the cross-sea attack.

Before setting out, Li Ke went to the harem to say goodbye to Li Shimin.

"Father, my son is about to go on an expedition tomorrow." Li Ke said, "I went to Liaodong here, Guanshan was thousands of miles away, and I don't know when I will come back to serve my father." I also asked my father to rest and recuperate more and take care of the dragon's body. ”

"I know it." Li Shimin said, "The matter you mentioned to me, I thought about it again and again, and decided to do it as you proposed. ”

Li Ke's heart moved, and he said, "Is it the matter of making Qin Mubai the prince of the county?" ”

"That's right." Li Shimin frowned slightly, but his eyes lit up, and he said, "In the years before and after I ascended the throne, I cut down a lot of the royal princes of my Li family. Since then, except for the surrendered foreign khan Jieli, the abandoned sect and others, the Tang Dynasty has never conferred any king with a different surname. Previously, you proposed to make Qin Mubai the king, but I refused in one bite. But after thinking about it, I weighed the pros and cons again and again, for the long-term peace and stability of the Western Regions, and for the sake of the Tang Dynasty's conquest of Liaodong, I decided to make Qin Mubai the king! ”

"Father is wise!" Li Ke was a little happy in his heart, and bowed his hand and said, "The Tang Dynasty Western Regions have been initially decided, the pattern is unclear, and the people are unstable, and they need a beam and pillar to lift this half of the country." Although Su Dingfang and others were outstanding, their reputation in the Western Regions was not enough to convince the public, especially those foreign chieftains and people of various races, who only recognized Qin Mubai, the 'son of the true god'. Now that Qin Mubai has resigned and has no real power, he has been crowned king, but he can stabilize the hearts of the people in the Western Regions. Besides, having said that, Mu Bai was originally a prince of the horses, and with his high merits, it was not an exaggeration to be named a prince. ”

"You're right." Li Shimin also nodded in agreement, "In fact, the rules are set by people. After the Han Dynasty did not seal the king with a different surname, all dynasties and generations generally inherited this practice. But it is not an exaggeration for a person like Qin Mubai to be named a prince. If someone can make his contribution and reach his heights in the future, they will be qualified to be crowned king. Otherwise, even if the Li family is not crowned king, they will all shut up obediently! ”

Li Ke breathed a long sigh in his heart: Okay, finally before leaving, this big thing was over! Mu Bai was named a prince, which means that he can forever control the Western Regions. Not only can the Western Regions of my Tang Dynasty be peaceful from now on, but Mu Bai can also enjoy a good death, and his achievements will be glorious through the ages!

"As for the title of the county king, I have drafted a few, why don't you copy them for me?" Li Shimin said, "One is the king of Loulan County, the second is the king of Yuyang County, and the third is the king of Gongyue County. ”

The meaning of Li Shimin's words is obvious, Loulan, Yumen Pass and Yangguan are either military towns or currently barren beaches, and there are no residents, so there is no food. If the first two are conferred, they are pure empty county kings, with only the title of Juelu, and no land and food.

And Yuzuki City is different. Gongyue City is the capital of the former Western Turkic Beiting, and it is also a hub city on the Silk Road. If you can enjoy some food here, you will undoubtedly be rich, and future generations will not have to worry about food and clothing.

After thinking for a while, Li Ke said: "Father, the son is foolish, since he has generously named Qin Mubai as the king, he will be a good person to the end and give him some food." Gongyue City is an important town in the Western Regions, and if Qin Mubai can be allowed to settle here, it will undoubtedly mean that the Tang Dynasty has laid a solid foundation in the Western Regions. With Gongyue City as the center, my Datang has more than ten governor's mansions in the Western Regions, and it will be convenient for me to pass the administrative order of Datang in the future! ”

Li Shimin was silent for a moment after listening, obviously thinking deeply. Finally, he nodded, "That's good, I will crown Qin Mubai as the king of Gongyue County, with 800 households; Future generations, hereditary replacement! ”

Just when the angel holding the holy decree left Chang'an, Qin Mubai's family also set off from Gaochang and went to Samojian.

Qin Mubai was worried about the pearl who was pregnant with Liujia in his heart, so he didn't dare to delay any longer, and left early. When he arrived in the Western Regions, Qin Mubai was like "swimming in the dragon into the sea", and people from all over the prefectures and counties and people of different races actually came to pay homage. Along the way, there is no shortage of soldiers and horses to open the road and escort them. Therefore, the journey was not arduous and the walk was fast.

More than a month later, Qin Mubai's family finally set foot in Samad to build the city! He rushed to Wu Meiniang's prime minister's mansion in a hurry, but he didn't find anyone. Listening to the report of the next person, saying that it was today's "queen's birth", Wu Meiniang went to the palace to accompany her.

Qin Mubai hurriedly took his family to the palace, there was no one here who didn't know him, so he traveled all the way unhindered, and went directly into the harem and arrived at the palace of the Crescent Queen.

Sure enough, people are coming in and out here, extremely nervous and busy, and Wu Meiniang is waiting anxiously outside the dormitory. Seeing Qin Mubai and his entourage coming, Wu Meiniang was overjoyed and came up, kneeling in front of Liu: "My daughter-in-law has seen my mother-in-law!" ”

"Good daughter-in-law, get up quickly!" The Liu family has always liked Wu Meiniang the most, and happily helped her up, "Meiniang, I haven't seen you for a few years, you are becoming more and more beautiful and capable, and you have become the prime minister of Zhaowu Kingdom!" It's a joy to see you again! ”

As soon as the words fell, the door of the queen's bedroom was opened, and Su Lianqing rushed out of it, shouting in surprise: "Birth, birth!" Haha, dragon and phoenix fetus! - Hey, Qin Mubai, are you here? It came at the right time! ”

"Raw? Or twins? Qin Mubai greeted him with great joy, grabbed Su Lianqing's arms tightly with both hands, and was so excited that he was incoherent, "I, can I go in?" May I? ”

"Let go, you're going to crush the old lady!" Su Lianqing broke free angrily, glanced at Yuwen Hongtai who was hiding behind, and ran over happily, not caring about the countless people present, jumping up and pounced on Yuwen Hongtai.

"You're finally back, my mother wants to kill you!" Su Lianqing put her arms around his neck, her legs around his waist, and kissed him wildly on the face.

"Stinky mother-in-law, the third brother and godmother are here, you are less presumptuous!" Yuwen Hongtai roared loudly and threw Su Lianqing away.

Su Lianqing sat on the ground with her ass, and scolded her mother so angrily, "Stinky sunspot, my mother will look good with you in a while!" ”

The crowd burst into laughter. Then the palace doctor came out and said that everyone could go in and visit the queen.

Qin Mubai, Wu Meiniang and others eagerly rushed in, and saw Queen Mingzhu lying on the incense couch, sweating profusely, her face was extremely weak, and the two palace maids around her were each holding a baby.

"Mingzhu, I'm here!" Qin Mubai hurriedly stepped forward and sat down in front of the couch and held Mingzhu's hand, "I'm sorry, I'm late." ”

"It's not too late, it's not too late......," Mingzhu smiled weakly but happily, "Mu Bai, I've always been assertive and incompetent, but this time my stomach is angry." Look, I've bore you a son and a daughter. The daughter was born half a quarter early, and she is an older sister...... You, you go and hug! ”

"Okay, I'll hug it!" Qin Mubai's tears of excitement were about to fall, and Qin's mother Liu, Shuang'er and others were even more excited, scrambling to hold the child, and then they each went to Mingzhu's couch to comfort and wait for her.

"Mother, our Qin family has added another ding!" Qin Mubai happily hugged his two children and said, "Let's ask my mother to name my grandson!" ”

"My mother hasn't read any books, so I'm afraid I won't be able to get up well......" Liu was a little embarrassed while being happy. But Qin Mubai, Wu Meiniang and others insisted again and again. Liu thought for a while, and then said: "Since the female baby is the elder sister and the male baby is the younger brother, then how about Qin Si and Qin Nian?" ”

"Qin Si, Qin Nian...... Missing, missing, good, good! Qin Mubai agreed, sat down in front of Mingzhu's bed with the child in his arms, and said softly: "Mingzhu, what do you think?" ”

"It's all up to my mother-in-law...... Sisi, Nian'er, is indeed a very good name! ”

Qin Mubai finally let out a long breath, looked at the two children in his arms, and secretly said to himself: "Sisi and Nian'er...... Since then, our thoughts about Datang and our homeland will never be broken! ”