Since the death of Li Shimin and Empress Changsun, Li Zhi entered the Taiji Palace, and Cai'er, as his queen, naturally moved to live in the Lizheng Palace. At that time, Concubine Yang deliberately stayed in Chang'an for a few more months, handed over all the management matters in the palace to Cai'er, and then went to Taiwan to live with Li Su's family.

In the glass conservatory on the side of the Taiji Palace, there is hot water flowing through the underground copper pipe, which makes the temperature in the conservatory very high, all kinds of flowers and plants are growing very well, and there are even some bees flying around in the flowers, which looks no different from the scenery in spring, but looking out through the glass of the conservatory, you can only see large snowflakes flying outside.

"It's snowing again in Chang'an, where it's like Taiwan, it's just raining all winter, and you can't see any snowflakes at all, for those of us who grew up in the north, if there are no snowflakes in winter, it's not winter!" In a small pavilion for people to rest in the conservatory, Li Su said with some emotion while drinking the tea made by Cai'er himself.

Today is the third snow since the beginning of winter in Chang'an, and the cold north wind blows the 'woo' sound, the snowflakes in the sky have not fallen, and the cold wind blows again, making the surroundings white, pedestrians can't see the road clearly, and many people are nested at home and do not come out.

"Cousin, you always say something cool, Chang'an is such a cold weather, I still can't adapt to it, every winter I miss the warm sunshine in Taiwan, but now it's impossible to go back, so I have to stay in the palace every day, at most, I come to this greenhouse to plant tea and weed, it's really boring!" Cai'er, who was sitting in front of Li Su, said a little lazily, she has lived in Taiwan since she was a child. Naturally, I can't stand this cold weather in the north.

Now Cai'er is also over 30 years old, and her smile exudes mature charm. Over the years, she and Li Zhi have given birth to a total of two boys and a girl, of which the eldest son Li Hong was made the prince of the Tang Dynasty. In addition, Li Zhi's body has also had some problems over the years. is mainly inherited from Li Shimin's qi disease, Cai'er feels sorry for him, so sometimes he helps Li Zhi deal with government affairs, and now he has become Li Zhi's most trusted and important assistant. It is precisely because of this that the current Cai'er looks mature with a bit of intellectuality, and she has the feeling of a strong woman in later generations.

Hearing Cai'er's complaint, Li Su smiled and said: "Although Chang'an is good here, it is too cold in winter and a little humid in summer. In terms of conditions, the conditions are not as good as Luoyang, and the development of Dengzhou and Shanghai is also good, and some people in Datang have long proposed to move the capital, you and the ninth brother can consider it! ”

"Huh? Cousin, aren't you going to merge the four countries, and then directly set a capital along the Datang coast, and my husband and I will just move there, where is the use to move the capital? After Cai'er finished speaking, she glanced at Li Su, and there was a deep meaning in her eyes.

Noticing Cai'er's intriguing eyes, Li Su took a sip of tea again and said with a smile: "You girl is old." I also have a lot of eyes, and I even went around in circles in front of my cousin, hurry up and say, did you want to talk about the merger of the four empires when you came to me this time? ”

I saw Cai'er laugh after hearing this. Pointing at Li Su, he sneered: "Cousin, you are really, you are also the queen of the Tang Dynasty now, but you are good." You even call me 'girl', if you let those old antiques in the Ministry of Rites know. It's sure to squirt your scolding blood! ”

Seeing Cai'er joking with herself, Li Su also shot back a few words. As a result, the cousins and sisters, who hadn't seen each other for many years, quarreled so much that they almost forgot about their business.

"Cousin, I think your idea of merging the four countries is a bit inappropriate, at least one place is too inconsiderate!" In the end, Cai'er went straight to the point.

"Oh? What's too little to think about? Li Su asked with some surprise.

I saw Cai'er pull a strand of hair hanging down behind her ears at this time, and then showed an intellectual smile and said: "Cousin, your idea of merging the four countries is very bold and very good, because this is indeed the most direct and effective way to solve the contradictions of the four countries, but you ignore a problem, that is, the national conditions of the four countries of Datang, Daqi, Tianzhu and the Mediterranean are different, for example, if the four countries are merged, cousin, you become the emperor of the new empire, there will naturally be no problems in Daqi, as for Datang, with your cousin's prestige in Datang, It should be possible to live in the town, but Tianzhu and the Mediterranean are different, where the third brother, the seventh brother and the eighth brother are beaten down with their henchmen, even if the third brother is willing to merge the four countries and hand over their throne, but will those of their subordinates agree? ”

After hearing Cai'er's words, Li Su was also stunned, he had put all his energy on persuading Li Zhi and a few of them, but he neglected this, Tianzhu and the Mediterranean were both Li Ke and Li Yun, Li Zhen personally led people to fight, although he helped a lot, but in fact, the impact on the two countries is limited, if Li Ke and they really hand over the throne, I am afraid that their domestic civil and military officials will not agree, and may even cause civil strife.

Thinking of this serious consequence, Li Su couldn't help but be silent, it seems that what he thought about before was too simple, and the consideration of the problem was also a little idealistic, the ultimate ideal of merging the four empires is no problem, the question is how to merge, and which way to merge?

Cai'er saw Li Su's contemplative expression, but at this time, she smiled and said, "Cousin, in fact, I have a not very mature idea, why don't you say it for your reference?" ”

Li Su, who was distressed, heard Cai'er's words, and said eagerly: "Say it quickly, Cai'er, your head is much better than my cousin and me, and even the ninth brother often praises you for being a good helper in handling government affairs!" ”

Hearing Li Su's compliment, Cai'er pursed her lips and smiled: "Actually, I think cousin, your idea of merging the four empires is very good, but there are some places that are obviously too anxious, and everything has to be done step by step, not to mention the merger of the four empires, which is a major event related to the whole world, so I think we can divide the merger of the four empires into three major steps!" ”

"What are the three major steps?" Li Su's eyes brightened when he heard this, and Cai'er was obviously thoughtful, which made him more confident in Cai'er's vision.

I saw Cai'er take a sip of tea gently, and then said with a relaxed smile: "The premise of merging the four empires is that the sixth brother must convince the eldest cousin and the seventh brother and the eighth brother, but even if you all agree to merge, this news must still be kept strictly secret, and the next step is to form a close alliance!" ”

"Alliance?" Li Su was a little surprised and puzzled when he heard this, although the alliance is good in name and can indeed solve some superficial contradictions, but all countries are still independent within the alliance, and the root of the contradictions is still there, and it is impossible to completely solve the problems between the four countries.

"Yes, it's the Alliance!" Cai'er said in an accentuated tone again, "Cousin, you are all from the same origin, and the country relies on the rule of the Han people, in essence, there is almost no big difference between the four empires, so it is natural to form a close alliance, and after the alliance is formed, some contradictions can be resolved through negotiations within the alliance, and the remaining few more acute contradictions, even if they cannot be completely resolved, can at least be alleviated!" ”

Hearing that Cai'er had a clear understanding of the alliance, Li Su finally put his mind at ease. Then I saw Cai'er and said: "And after the alliance is formed, the next step can be carried out, the countries in the alliance are still nominally independent, and the throne has not changed, so it will not cause a backlash from some people." However, after the alliance, the sixth brother can use the name of the alliance, plus the cooperation of the eldest cousin, to strengthen the unity of the four empires in all aspects, and prepare for the final step of merger after that! ”

Speaking of this, Cai'er paused for a moment, and then said: "After several or even more than ten years of alliance development, presumably with your cousin's ability, the pace between the four empires will be basically the same, and all countries will also agree with the ability of the alliance. ”

After listening to Cai'er's words, Li Su also pondered for a moment, and considered the idea she proposed, I have to say that Cai'er's idea is indeed more operable than his previous idea, and the most important thing is that the transition of the alliance in the middle is equivalent to giving a fairly long buffer period to the merger of the four countries, which not only gives each country a time to adapt, but also gives him more time to prepare.

But then Li Su thought of another question, and immediately looked up at the smiling Cai'er and said, "Cai'er, your plan is indeed very good, but why do I feel like something is missing?" ”

"What's missing, how come I don't know?" Cai'er's eyes deliberately widened, looking innocent.

Seeing that Cai'er was a mother, and she was still pretending to be stupid in front of herself like she did back then, Li Su couldn't help but be angry and funny, and pointed at her and said helplessly: "You little slippery head, according to your method, in the end, I and the third brother and the ninth brother jointly issued a merger statement, so who should be the emperor after the merger?" ”

Hearing Li Su point out his selfishness, Cai'er smiled cheekily: "The emperor of the empire naturally only has you cousin, after all, whether it is the eldest cousin or Jiulang, no one can compare with your cousin in talent." But I also don't approve of taking away the throne of the eldest cousin, after all, they have been emperors for so many years, if they lose the throne all of a sudden, they will inevitably lose their hearts, and those who are loyal to them will inevitably have a grudge, cousin, you will not be able to command them in the future. ”

When Cai'er said this, she secretly glanced at Li Su, and when she found that there was no angry expression on his face, she continued: "Therefore, I think that after the merger, I can make a special time and save the throne of the eldest cousin and Jiulang, nominally the same status as your cousin, but the real power is in the hands of your cousin, but after they die, the entire empire can only allow one emperor to exist!" (To be continued......)