"Big brother, you've worked so hard to get back from the northwest. We brothers admire you so much and really want to follow you on the battlefield to achieve great things. But unfortunately, my body can't support it. Thinking of the exhausting journey, we brothers really bring shame to the royal family."
At the gate of Prince Wei's mansion, Prince Wei's son Li Yu had already come to greet him.
This guy is Li Tai's eldest son, only a few months younger than Li Xiang, but he looks like a weak scholar. However, Li Xiang did not underestimate him. According to the information he got, this guy is not a simple person. Of course, his martial arts skills are definitely not good, but his brain is like a poisonous snake. Otherwise, how could he sit firmly on the position of the prince?
"Third brother, you are too modest. The battlefield today is different from before. If you really want to go to the battlefield to see it, I can recommend you as a staff general. You don't need to go to the front lines anyway, you just need to take care of some trivial matters in the barracks."
According to the age of their generation of brothers, Li Yu is the third oldest, and the eldest son of the Wu King Li family is the second oldest, so Li Xiang calls him that. In fact, he also wants to see what this guy really thinks. For members of the Li royal family, everyone wants to have military power in their hands. After all, from Xuanwu Gate to the present, only those who have military power in their hands can have a say in the court.
No matter whether you are the crown prince or a prince, as long as you don't have military power, it is really useless. Why is the crown prince so powerful in the court? It is because he has a good son who is a general of Tiance. If Li Xiang is not the crown prince's son, then even if the crown prince lives in the East Palace, I am afraid that not many people in the court will respect him. Instead, some people will want to remove the crown prince.
"Brother, you're joking. With your small stature, I'd better just stay and enjoy the wealth and glory. No one in the world can compare to ours. We have everything we need to eat and drink, and we even have stories of talented men and beautiful women. Why would I go to the battlefield?"
Li Yu's face showed the expression of a dandy. Li Xiang was well-informed and had seen many real dandies over the years. Your acting skills are still very poor. Are you thinking of using this trick to make him lose interest in you? Absolutely impossible. In fact, from the moment you were born, the brothers have been competitors.
Even in an ordinary family, if there is a family property to be divided, the relationship between cousins will not be good. After all, there is only one share of the family property. If it is divided into you, then I may get a lot less.
The two were talking and laughing, and the people around them were watching in amazement. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei were like water and fire, and both sides had already reached the point of sending assassins, but the relationship between the two young masters was really good. They talked about everything from their childhood to the romance of today, and it seemed as if the two had no dislike for each other at all. It was really puzzling.
Of course, the people around were dizzy, but the two people at the core were very sober. They both knew that the other party was acting, so we started to show off our acting skills. In the end, whoever had better acting skills would win in this battle without gunpowder.
After entering the front hall of the palace, I saw Prince Wei Li Tai. In addition, there were several other younger brothers. Prince Wei was also a good father of children. He already had five or six sons over ten years old. As for those in cradles, there were probably even more.
This is also related to the current trend. As long as a man has a relationship with the royal family, he will often take concubines. Take Li Tai, the King of Wei, for example. There are only five or six concubines listed in the royal family, but there are dozens of those who are not listed.
These are the ones whose names can be found. In Li Tai's fiefdom, there are even more young women. Some were given by his subordinates, some were bought by him, some were collected by his family's housekeeper, and some were born by his own servants. In short, the sources are varied. Now there is one more, that is, the prisoners of war sent back from the front line.
As Li Xiang won more and more victories overseas, these people also tasted the sweetness. Some beautiful female prisoners of war went directly into the hands of these top-level nobles.
"Everyone, go down. After meeting, you must know what to do. Follow your eldest brother's example. If anyone behaves recklessly again, beware of my punishment. We don't ask you to become successful, but no one can live a lazy life. You have a stake in the Tang Dynasty."
What Li Tai said was the truth. Now every household is grooming their offspring. Even illegitimate sons and daughters are taught well. If a dragon or phoenix really comes out, it will be useful to the whole family. Li Xiang is a very vivid example.
Many nobles have also realized that no matter how hard you work, if your offspring are useless, what is the point of your efforts? It's like you've made a wedding dress for others in vain, and in the end you can't even cry a sound.
"The kids know."
The young princes took their leave one after another, and Li Xiang just watched coldly from the side without saying a word. He didn't know what was going on in his second uncle's mind. If he were in an ordinary family, who would not recognize his cousin?
But the problem is that this is in the royal family, and every gentleman has dozens of wives. Even if one man has a child, can you recognize them all? If I hadn't told you, I'm afraid they would all be strangers on the street.
The Tang Dynasty Li family has many descendants, which is well-known in history. Not only are there many royal heirs, but there are also many branches.
There were only three people left in the room. King Wei Li Tai pointed to the seat next to him and told Li Xiang to sit down. There was no one else here and there were no sharp conflicts. There was no need for Li Xiang to act like the crown prince.
If they had to be ranked, then Li Xiang needed to sit in the main seat. Wei Wang Li Tai was also a legitimate son, but he was not the heir to the throne. He could only be said to be the heir behind. If there really was a position, Li Xiang was now the second in line of succession, much more honorable than these uncles. What's more, Li Xiang had made great military achievements outside, which these uncles could not compare to.
"Second uncle looks good."
Li Xiang took a sip of tea and said, based on the principle that the more you talk, the more mistakes you make, the less you talk, the fewer mistakes you make, and nothing is wrong, so as not to make the atmosphere awkward, but he would never try to find topics on his own to see what this guy was thinking.
