Chapter 353 Li Chengqian’s Temple Name
The fifth year of Yonghui came to an end quietly without anyone noticing, and it was already the sixth year of Yonghui.

The sixth year of Yonghui was a year of great significance. After all, this was the year when Li Chengqian decided to pass the throne to Li Xiang.

In fact, Li Chengqian had originally planned to make arrangements for Li Xiang during the New Year’s court meeting, but since the war with Tubo had started and the specific date had not been decided anyway, Li Chengqian planned to postpone it a little bit.

No matter what, we have to secure this great victory over Tubo. We can’t give away our great martial arts to others.

What? You said Xiang’er is my son?
Then Li Chengqian would laugh.

Yes, it is true that we are father and son, but brothers have to settle accounts clearly. Can’t I say that I have finally survived, developed a martial art, and then suddenly gave it to my son?

This is impossible! The throne can be passed down, but achievements cannot!

Besides, he will have plenty of martial arts to learn in the future. He is so young, and I certainly cannot let him win easily as soon as he ascends the throne. I must give the child some motivation anyway.

Li Chengqian began to think about his future temple name. According to his achievements, he felt that he must be named Gaozong at least. As for the posthumous title… he was definitely not worthy of the title of Wu, but he was also okay with the title of Wen. However, this posthumous title must be given 100% to his father, Li Shimin.

That’s probably Kang, which fits his character very well and also fits the tone of the Yonghui Year.

Kang is a beautiful posthumous title. In history, there was a King Kang of Zhou during the “Cheng Kang Reign”.

As for the temple name Gaozong, there is nothing weird about it these days.

At least Gaozong was not harmed by the two old nines, Li Zhi and Zhao Gou, so it can be considered a good temple name.

Not to mention anything else, there was an ancient king named Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty.

Wu Ding reigned for a total of fifty-nine years. Due to a locust plague in Xihua, Wu Ding led his ministers from Shangdu to Xihua to kill the locusts and understand the people’s sentiments. He died of illness in Xihua due to overwork.

During the reign of King Wu Ding of the Shang Dynasty, he launched a series of wars against the western and northern countries that invaded the Shang Dynasty. At the same time, he launched an expedition to the south, expanding the territory of the Shang Dynasty from the coast in the east to Longyou in the west, from the Jianghan area in the south to northern Hebei in the north, thus laying the foundation for the general territory of the Chinese nation.

In governing the country, Wu Ding selected talented people from the people, promoted benefits and eliminated disadvantages, made politics clear and the people prosperous, and brought the Shang Dynasty to its peak, which is known in history as “Wu Ding’s Restoration.”

The so-called “Fu Yue was promoted among the architects” meant that he was promoted by Wu Ding.

His wife also had a good reputation, she was the first female general in history, Fu Hao.

It was not until the twelfth month that Li Chengqian finally decided on his temple name and posthumous title in his mind. From then on, he would be Emperor Kang of Tang Gaozong.

It’s okay actually, it’s pretty good.

The posthumous title suddenly became strange and confusing, and it was still Li Zhi and Awu’s fault.

Not only did these two gatekeepers have sudden ideas regarding the reign title, changing it more frequently than posting on WeChat Moments, they even wanted to challenge the rules of posthumous titles.

Originally, Li Shimin’s posthumous title was “Wen”, which means “Wen” for the great saint of heaven and earth. But Li Zhi had a sudden idea and changed it to “The Great Saint of Civil and Military Affairs and the Great Filial Piety Emperor”.

It was from here that the posthumous title began to become worthless.

For example, in the past, when discussing history, there was generally no habit of referring to someone as a certain ancestor, but usually just calling him or her emperor.

For example, Liu Bang was always called Emperor Gaozu of Han; Liu Heng was always called Emperor Wen of Han, not Emperor Taizong of Han; and Liu Che was generally called Emperor Wu of Han, instead of Emperor Shizong of Han.

It was the same during the Three Kingdoms period, when everyone called Cao Pi Emperor Wen of Wei and Cao Rui Emperor Ming of Wei, but few called them Gaozu and Liezu.

This was even more so from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Sui Dynasty, with Emperor Wen of Song, Emperor Xiaowu of Wei, Emperor Wen of Sui, Emperor Yang of Sui… It was not until the Tang Dynasty that posthumous titles were gradually no longer used, and were replaced by XX Emperor, such as Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Emperor Taizong of Song, Emperor Renzong of Ming, and so on.

Of course, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang was an exception. He was called Emperor Minghuang of Tang during the Qing Dynasty in order to avoid the taboo of Kangxi Xuanye, so people called him Emperor Minghuang of Tang.

Therefore, the culprit for the corruption of posthumous titles is Li Zhi, and no one else.

Li Chengqian certainly felt that both Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Emperor Kangdi of Tang were capable and both were good.

He certainly couldn’t be posthumously named Emperor Yang like that useless Yang Guang. Li Chengqian had never committed such a crime.

So the question facing Li Chengqian now is how to tell Li Xiang about this matter.

He certainly couldn’t say it directly. He had to follow the example of Emperor Ming of Wei, Cao Rui, who openly arranged his temple name and posthumous title during his lifetime. It was recorded in history books and criticized by so many people in later generations. Li Chengqian felt a little embarrassed.

It’s a bit of that.

So there is no need to rush this matter, we need to consider it in the long term.

You see, Li Shimin didn’t take this matter to heart at all. He knew that if his descendants were not stupid, he would definitely be Emperor Taizong Wen.

Why?

Because all the second generation of awesome people have this configuration. For example, Emperor Taizong Wen of the Han Dynasty, right?
What’s the matter? Do you think that I, Li Shimin, am not worthy of the great man, or that I am not worthy of this Emperor Taizong?
For several days, Li Chengqian was in a bad mood while eating in Lizheng Hall, and it was obvious that “something was on my mind”.

“What’s wrong, big brother?” Li Zhi asked with concern, “I see that you are worried and depressed recently. Are you worried about the war in Tubo?”

Li Chengqian thought about it, and then suddenly felt a little ashamed.

Hey, look at what happened. He was so busy thinking about the temple name and posthumous title that he even forgot to worry about the war far away in Tubo.

But then he thought, why should I worry about it?

Li Qinling is a genuine Lushe person. He has worked hard in Tubo for so many years. Does he need to worry that this traitor will not be able to take over Tubo?
Besides, doesn’t Xue Rengui have 30,000 soldiers following him?
Must win!
“Yes.” Li Chengqian said, patting Li Zhi on the shoulder: “Alas, it’s almost winter, and I’m also worried about whether the soldiers on the front line are well fed and well clothed.”

“That’s right.” Li Zhi slurped a mouthful of noodles, “But aren’t they equipped with cotton-padded clothes? Don’t worry, big brother, there will be no problem.”

“Hey, young slave.” Li Chengqian suddenly said, “What do you think should be my temple name and posthumous title after I die?”

“Temple name?” Li Zhi thought for a moment and said to Li Chengqian, “Then you definitely don’t have to think about Taizong. You can’t compete with Aye for this. The same is true for Emperor Wen. Do you think you are the best?”

Li Chengqian opened his mouth and then closed it obediently.

Indeed, I don’t have that ability.

“As for Emperor Wu, have you quelled the chaos or are you mighty and wise?” Li Zhi asked with some complexity.

Li Chengqian didn’t even want to refute. The posthumous title of Wu actually gave him a title of Kaifeng, but he felt that he should leave something good for Li Xiang. “So,” Li Zhi spread his hands and said to Li Chengqian, “Brother, I think Emperor Gaozong Kang is actually quite good. You see, under your governance, our Tang Dynasty is not thriving, but at least the people… well, the people live and work in peace and contentment. You completely meet this requirement.”

You know what, these words touched Li Chengqian’s heart.

You are truly my dear brother!
No matter when, we have to rely on our own talents.

“It’s easy to win, so it’s easy to win.” Li Tai said sourly, “In front of us is Aye, a wise ruler who is hard to find in history, and behind us is Xiang’er, a son who is not much worse than Aye. Even if there is a pig in the middle, it may not be able to do worse than my brother.”

Normally, Li Chengqian would be furious at Li Tai’s words.

But he has figured it out now, and it’s no big deal to admit that he doesn’t have any great abilities.

You see, even though I am not good enough, I have a good father and a good son. If you don’t accept it, why don’t you bite me?

“Look, this Qingque is lame.” Li Chengqian pointed at Li Tai, showing a look of laughter and tears: “I think you are just jealous, jealous that I have a good son.”

“My son is not bad either.” Li Tai said, crossing his arms.

“Xin’er is indeed not bad. I think she is better than your father.” Li Chengqian said with a snort.

Because Li Tai lost weight successfully, he had another child through his efforts. His name was Li Lu, and he was born to his wife Yan Wan.

Li Xin’s position was indeed a bit awkward, but Li Xiang also talked about this matter with Li Tai, and he could rest assured that the throne would be passed on to Li Lu. As for Li Xin, he would be taken care of by him as his elder brother.

So under Li Xiang’s encouragement, Li Xin also became interested in expanding the territory and becoming a prince.

Li Xiang temporarily decided on two locations for him. One was to establish a country on the Indochina Peninsula in the south, and the other option was to go to India.

Under the guidance of Master Xuanzang’s “A Record of the Western Regions of the Great Tang Dynasty”, the Anxi Protectorate was sharpening its knives and ready to take action against India.

However, the war is currently underway against Tubo, and Li Ke on the other side is also resisting the invasion of the Arabs, so the Anxi Protectorate has not yet spared the time to deal with India.

But it will be soon. Now, on the Tibetan side, Li Qinling has made great progress towards the city of Lhasa; and on the Arab side, it is not too difficult for Li Ke to fight against them.

It is said that the Arabs were aggressive and the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia were defeated under their offensive, but the situation was different when they really fought against them.

Li Ke was originally a little worried about the intelligence from the Eastern Roman Empire and Persia, but after really fighting with the Arabs, he found that their strength was just so-so. Even if they were stronger than the Xueyantuo, their strength was still limited.

So he remembered the fairy tale called “The Little Pony Crossing the River” that Li Xiang told Li Wushuang when they were in Chang’an.

Li Ke felt that the Arabs were the river, he was the pony, and the Eastern Roman Empire was just a kitten. As for the drowned Persians, it must be the squirrel.

Later, after struggling in Persia, he finally understood that it was because of the corruption of Persia and the declining combat effectiveness of its army.

The soldiers he recruited locally in Persia were well fed and given enough land, and they were full of enthusiasm for fighting. As soon as the marching horn sounded, these local Persian soldiers would rush forward shouting.

Yes, Li Ke adopted the local military system and combined it with the actual situation in Persia.

In this way, Li Ke raised an army of 150,000 local soldiers. Even though he treated the Persians according to the Tang Dynasty’s treatment, he had not yet distributed one third of the Persian fields he occupied.

One can imagine how corrupt the life of the Persian nobles was.

The Persians naturally also supported Li Ke very much. In their view, the Tang army was their only protector.

Li Ke took advantage of this opportunity to establish academies in several major cities in Persia, and also arranged for scholars to spread Chinese culture in various places.

Not only did they want to take the land into their possession, but they also wanted to completely transform the local cultural customs into those of the Tang Dynasty.

It’s not that there were no people causing trouble. The common people were fine and would follow whoever gave them benefits. But the nobles were different. Their vested interests were divided up, and of course they were not content with the status quo. They organized a team of 50,000 people and launched a rebellion in Persia.

However, the rebellion was quickly put down as they had no mass base in the local area.

Originally, the common people lived a good life and had been allocated a lot of land; but when these nobles came back, they snatched the land back and insulted them in every possible way.

You said that if the Tang army had not come at the beginning, we would have just endured being beaten up a few times.

But now the Persian people have seen the good of the Tang Dynasty and have even experienced the benefits it brought personally.

There is definitely a big gap under such a comparison.

Anyone with a little bit of blood in their veins would simply not be able to accept it.

So with the help of this group of nobles, more and more Persians joined Li Ke’s team and began to resist these rebellious nobles in Persia.

The Arabs also took advantage of this opportunity to launch a fierce attack on the Persian territory of the Han Dynasty.

However, under the united resistance of the Persians, the Arabs’ attacks suffered serious setbacks time and time again.

Li Ke even led his troops to counterattack the former Persian territories occupied by the Arabs.

In the twelfth month of the fifth year of Yonghui, Li Ke finally recovered the entire Persia.

He withdrew from the fiefdom of the Han Kingdom and handed over the original Han Kingdom to the Anxi Protectorate. He himself occupied Persia and established a new Han Kingdom.

He decided on this matter after discussing it with his family. Li Shimin was quite happy. After all, his eldest son was so sensible, which really made the old father feel relieved.

After occupying the Persian homeland, Li Ke began a non-stop reform.

This reform was not only aimed at Persian culture, but also went deep into every aspect of Persia to make comprehensive changes.

After the decree was issued, Li Ke drafted a memorial and had it taken to Chang’an to report the recent events in detail.

Currently, messengers can return to Chang’an by land or sea.

However, the news of the steamship had not yet reached the Han Kingdom. Moreover, as to how the steamship performed in ocean voyages, we would have to wait until the fleet that set out for the Yin Kingdom returned to know the specific results.

(End of this chapter)