The eunuch who was taking notes nearby was also very frightened. Although these people had no power in the court, they often recorded imperial edicts for Li Shimin and had some understanding of politics. Killing the guard of a foreign official was a serious matter. To put it more seriously, it might be a prelude to war.
"Left Grand General Hou Junji has mishandled matters and acted recklessly. He is demoted to the second rank and retained. His eldest son, Hou Zuo, is of no use to the Ministry of Revenue and is transferred to serve in the front of the Liangzhou Army."
Li Xiang was not surprised by this imperial edict, because he had already obtained evidence that Hou Junji instigated the prince to rebel. Even if the punishment was more severe, it would be a very normal thing. It was just that Hou Junji himself did not know it and still regarded himself as the left general of the court.
"The Crown Prince's concubine, Liu, has been instrumental in raising Li Xiang and has been promoted to the rank of Third Rank Liang Di, assisting in the management of the Eastern Palace."
Li Xiang was a little surprised when he heard the imperial edict. His mother had just been promoted from the ninth rank to the fifth rank, and now she was directly promoted to the third rank. You know, this is the highest position for the prince's concubine, especially assisting the crown princess in managing the Eastern Palace. This is almost the crown prince's deputy concubine, one step away from the crown princess.
If this imperial edict had been issued at any other time, people might not have thought too much about it. However, since Hou Junji and his son had just been punished, the imperial edict was issued immediately, which meant that the position of the Crown Princess was not stable either. Whether it was the ministers in the court or the people of the world, they all understood the future of the Hou family.
"Grandfather, Hou Junji has deep roots in the army. If we induce him to rebel..."
Li Xiang had just finished speaking when he immediately shut up. Suddenly, he realized that the Emperor's successive moves were intended to force Hou Junji into rebellion. If he didn't make any moves, the Emperor would surely make something more powerful.
Hou Junji had already been dissatisfied with the emperor, otherwise he would not have instigated Li Chengqian to rebel. How could Li Shimin keep such a person? However, if he was punished for such a small matter, the people of the world might be dissatisfied. After all, he was also a meritorious official of the Tang Dynasty.
Therefore, the emperor began to clip his wings and force him to rebel, and then he would catch him in one fell swoop, and no one in the world would have any complaints.
Li Xiang felt deeply at this moment that although he came from the modern era a thousand years later, when it comes to strategy, there is still a big gap between him and the old emperor in front of him. At the same time, he also put away his contempt and decided not to underestimate the heroes of this era in the future.
"Go back and have a good rest. Change the dressings on time these few days. When you have nothing to do, come to the palace and chat with me more."
Li Shimin had a look of determination just now, but when he looked at Li Xiang, there was more kindness in his eyes. After all, he was facing his grandson. Even the most ruthless emperor was just an ordinary grandfather at this moment.
When Li Xiang walked out of the hall, Wang De followed him from the side.
"Does the chief steward have anything to say?"
Although Li Xiang didn't know what Wang De had said before, he could guess it. If Wang De hadn't mentioned his injury, how would Li Shimin know? Wang De had already made the intention to approach him. This person was extremely important, so Li Xiang naturally wouldn't push him away.
"Your Highness, please wait. These are Miss Mengling and Miss Mengqin, the Empress's maids. They have been living alone in the palace since her departure. His Majesty has specially ordered this old servant to bring these two here. They will serve Your Highness from now on. The remaining eight maids are all from the Empress's palace, and Your Highness will take them back with you."
After hearing this, Li Xiang frowned and looked back in the direction of the emperor. He hadn't said a word just now and now he directly arranged ten maids.
Li Xiang had learned about the situation in the Tang Dynasty's harem from books. Other dynasties had 3,000 beauties in the harem, but the Tang Dynasty far exceeded this number. The number was relatively restrained during the reign of Li Shimin, but it still exceeded 3,000. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the number exceeded 10,000.
So for Li Shimin, it was not a big deal to give out ten maids casually, not to mention that they were from Li Xiang’s grandmother’s palace and were originally intended for these princes.
Li Shimin knew that the palace maids around Li Xiang were arranged by the Crown Princess. Of course, as an emperor, it was not easy for him to interfere with the people in his son and grandson's rooms, so he could only give them to others.
According to the current rules of the Tang Dynasty, no matter how much you loved the woman you found before, when the emperor or empress bestows you with someone from the palace, then this person is the most honorable, and everyone else has to rank behind this person.
"Greetings, Your Highness."
The two girls, Mengling and Mengqin, bowed gently to Li Xiang and saluted. The eight little girls behind them also followed suit. After all, they were trained in the Queen's palace and knew more about etiquette than ordinary girls. As for their looks, they were worthy of the words "so beautiful that fish sink to the bottom of the water and geese fall to the ground."
"In that case, thank you, Master General."
As he was speaking, a piece of jade was in Wang De's hand. Wang De just touched it lightly without even looking at it, and he knew that it was a piece of top-quality jade, worth at least thirty strings of cash.
After all, he is a wealthy man. He can give the emperor 100,000 strings of cash a year without blinking an eye, and reward servants like us with 30 strings of cash at a time. Anyway, every time I see His Highness, he never has empty hands.
"Your Highness, what are you talking about? The families of these girls are all working as farmers on the imperial farm. I have taken their indentures. Your Highness only needs to send someone to the Ye Ting Bureau (the government office that managed palace maids and servants during the Tang Dynasty) to handle the handover formalities, and these people will be in your hands."
In order to ensure that the palace maids were obedient, usually the entire family would be sent to the palace as slaves. So when a servant was given, the entire family would also be given. Of course, there were times when a single palace maid was given, and if you wanted to use her with confidence, you had to get all the family members of this palace maid. Although it was a little troublesome, the palace maid would never have any second thoughts. After all, the entire family was under your control. Once something happened, it would not be just you who would lose your head, but your entire family.
When Li Xiang brought his men back to the East Palace, Li Chengqian felt a pang of sadness when he saw the two palace maids. These two palace maids were trained by his mother since they were young. Originally, one was to be given to Li Chengqian and the other to Li Tai, but unexpectedly, both of them belonged to Li Xiang.
Although Li Chengqian was jealous, this was a gift given to Li Xiang by the Emperor. If he had any other thoughts, the Emperor would probably not forgive him. Moreover, Li Xiang's mother had just been promoted to the rank of Third Rank Liang Di. No matter what the reason, he couldn't have anything to do with other women at this time...