Chapter 74: The Storm Brought by Marrying Off a Daughter

  The aristocratic families have existed since humans entered society, formed by the families of those in power, and later developed into a special kind of organization. These aristocratic families play an indispensable role in the change of dynasties, and it's not an exaggeration to say that they are the manipulators hiding in the shadows! Every ruler wants to eliminate the existence of these aristocratic families, but they can't help themselves. Once they have this idea, they easily get overthrown by the joint efforts of these families!

  Just like royalty is a form of aristocracy, most of the officials below are also from aristocratic families. It can be said that the emperor is just a figurehead ruler pushed out by them!

  Those mythical and legendary masters, which one doesn't have the support of a noble family behind them, perhaps directly belongs to a certain noble family!

  Li Shimin's decision was opposed by all the ministers, and some even shouted that it was a move to perish the country! Because the Tang Dynasty had been established for more than 20 years, those who were originally lonely and few now have their own families forming new aristocratic embryos. Half of the masters are mobilized, and once they suffer losses, they cannot bear them!

  No one knows exactly how many people are in these aristocratic families! To know that the longest inherited family has a history of thousands of years, and there are also their members in the martial arts world, the imperial court, or among ordinary people, adding up to at least hundreds of thousands of people!

  In the past, emperors didn't dare to touch these aristocratic families, but now Li Shimin has Li Yuanba backing him up, this is all just a trivial matter! However, these aristocratic families still have their uses, such a vast territory needs someone to manage it after all. At most, they can be expelled from the Tang Dynasty and some territories will be allocated to them, each year a few important family members will be left behind as hostages, isn't this better? Out of sight, out of mind, after all, they are all people of the Tang Dynasty!

  In the end, these ministers and those aristocratic families compromised, there was no other way, Li Yuanba had already spoken out, anyone who disagreed would be killed!

  Li Yuanba is now very worried, not for anything else, these children have all grown up! Like Li Yilin who is already 19 years old, being urged by several women at home to the point of frustration! In Li Yuanba's opinion, getting married at 20 is the most suitable, but this clearly conflicts with this era!

  Nineteen-year-old girls are all considered old maids! When a person's thoughts are rejected by an era, they cannot survive. Li Yuanba's brute force can only compromise on this matter! When those matchmakers had been waiting in line for several years and couldn't bear it anymore, news finally came from the General's mansion that the General was going to marry off his daughter!

  At that time, the matchmakers from the upper house rushed in, making a big fuss! However, they were driven out by Li Yuanba again! Finally, a notice was posted on the wall in front of the gate, with the requirements for marrying off his daughter: anyone who comes to the mansion to propose must come in person, and the general wants to personally select! The requirements for the suitor are as follows: those with poor appearance are not allowed, those with wives or concubines are not allowed, those outside the age of 19 to 23 are not allowed! Special requirements, from now on, whoever gets chosen, is not allowed to have other wives or concubines! Those with ulterior motives will be punished by exterminating their clan! The above requirements do not apply only to princes and nobles, anyone who meets the above requirements can come to propose!

  Such a requirement for marrying off his daughter can be considered as setting an example for the times, and many people are excluded at once! Li Yuanba also allows his 18-year-old daughter to personally choose her husband, but if he doesn't meet his requirements, he won't allow his daughter to get married!

  "I'm eighteen now, Father. Others have their own children already!" Li Xingqiu eagerly expressed his desire to marry a wife to Li Yuanba.

  "Huh?! Get out! If you dare get married before the age of 20, I'll break your dog legs!" Li Yuanba said in a rage.

  "Hey, why are you so angry? The child is already so big, it's time to get married and have a grandchild for our family!" Wang Ting quickly tried to placate the angry Li Yuanba.

  Others also had this intention and came to persuade Li Yuanba!

  "This is non-negotiable! If you really like someone, you can go to their place and book them in advance. However, if the person you booked turns out to be ugly later on, you still have to marry them back. You're not allowed to despise them, or else I won't forgive you!" Li Yuanba also spoke out his own bottom line!

  "What does 'Cháng piān le' mean?" Aya asked curiously.

  "Hmm, you don't know? This kid's crush is probably just a girl around 13 years old! At this age, girls are still not fully developed, some will become prettier as they grow up, but others will become uglier! However, there are also cases where they didn't look good when they were young, but became prettier as they grew up. You guys should have seen such cases before!" Li Yuanba explained patiently.

  "Ah! Now that you mention it, I have seen it before! My cousin's daughter was pretty when she was young, but now her face is all deformed and pockmarked, it's scary to look at!" Wang Ting exclaimed loudly. The other women also chimed in with their own experiences.

  "That... how can I reserve the more beautiful ones? Most girls are married off at sixteen! Am I, the pitiful one, supposed to marry several ugly women?" Li Xing was struck dumb! This kid actually had so many reservation targets, several?!

  Li Yuanba and others heard the child's wailing, they looked at each other in dismay, not knowing what to say to comfort the child.

  Li Xing looked around and scratched his head, saying: "My sisters were very pretty when they were young! Now they haven't said anything about being ugly either? I won't really be that unlucky, will I?"

  Li Siyue suddenly jumped out, grabbed Li Xing's ear and spun him around 360 degrees, furiously saying: "Do you want us to be biased or not! It's been a long time since I've disciplined you, it seems like you're going to turn the sky upside down!"

  "Ah, Sister Siyue is bullying Brother Xing again! Not even a bit of ladylike demeanor...". The 14-year-old Li Qian next to her was glared at by Li Siyue and quickly swallowed his words. The usually outspoken Li Shun and Li Kun covered their ears and didn't dare speak, it seems that Li Siyue is a devil-like existence among the several brothers.

  Li Nian Ning hastily comforted several brothers and sisters, and Li Si Yue finally gave up scolding the tearfully pained Li Xing. With a flip of her hand, several strange little bugs lined up in an orderly formation on Li Si Yue's hand, arching their upper bodies as if waiting for Li Si Yue's command!

  "Hmph, if you don't behave yourselves, I'll let you experience the skills of these babies again!" Li Siyue looked at these several brothers with ill intentions!

  At once, Li Xing and the others hastily stopped talking, eight eyes met in a stare, and they all ran out with a loud noise. From then on, they resolutely kept a safe distance of five zhang from this devilish sister, it was too terrifying!

  "Alright! Simonth, you're their sister, don't be so fierce! In two days, you can personally choose your husbands, and when the time comes, I'll take a look. If it's suitable, we can get married together, and it will also let me rest easy!" Li Yuanba said with some reluctance, children grow up after all, and one day they will fly out of their parents' sight!

  "Or we won't get married and just accompany Father for the rest of his life, okay?" The third daughter comforted Li Yuanba with a childish tone, seeing that he was reluctant to let go.

  "Hehe, no need, after you girls get married I'll be at ease too! Just remember to come visit this old man often!" Li Yuanba stroked the children's heads, gently comforting them not to worry.

  "Hum! Dad is so young, looking like he's only around 20 years old, how can he say he's an old man?" Li Siyue and the others including Wang Ting couldn't help but look at Li Yuanba with a hint of envy.

  "Hehe! I guess this is how I'll look for the rest of my life! The years and worldly dust have carved out a face that makes me feel quite uncomfortable!" Li Yuanba said with a mix of self-admiration and a hint of regret.

  Eternal youth is also a kind of torment, although it makes people envy, but looking at the children growing up day by day, in a few decades, isn't this a visual pain!

  In the year 647, a large army composed of aristocratic families conquered the entire territory of Tianzhu, including some small surrounding countries, at a tremendous cost. This made Li Shimin realize once again the importance of Li Yuanba. Not even a powerful country like Russia had paid such a heavy price in lives lost, with a staggering casualty rate of 80% among the tens of thousands of elite troops, mostly legendary-level masters. This was indeed the most devastating loss since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. However, this also made those aristocratic families abandon any further thoughts of resistance. What does this prove? It proves that Li Yuanba is a truly deserving god, and if they dared to defy the rule of the Tang Dynasty, he would single-handedly annihilate their entire clan! Moreover, those who had resolutely followed Li Yuanba were already completely detached from the aristocratic families' mythological-level masters.

  Once they reach the legendary level, the so-called family is no longer important! They have transcended the bounds of mortals, and the more powerful the clan, the more they despise the intrigue and struggle for power! In the end, even without Li Yuanba's appearance, they would still leave the clan with their loved ones, this is just a matter of different paths not being able to coexist!

  During this time, Li Yuanba made many jokes while finding a son-in-law for his daughter, although it was normal for people of that era.