Of the Heshuo Three Towns, the Tang court's most deeply rooted threat, Youzhou and Chengde had already submitted. Seeing the tide turn against it, the last holdout, Weibo, had also begun considering allegiance.
Tian Yanzhang, the Military Governor of Weibo, memorialized the court, expressing his willingness to travel to Chang'an in person to pay homage to the two sovereigns, leaving his son Tian Yunzhi as acting governor of Weibo in his absence. The gesture appeared obedient, but concealed a calculation: he wanted to preserve the Tian family's hereditary rule over Weibo and remain the local emperor of that region.
Li Yuanying refused outright. Unless the court controlled appointments and dismissals in the military provinces, along with their finances, any declaration of loyalty was merely an empty scrap of paper, devoid of practical meaning.
When that scheme failed, the Tian family soon submitted another memorial, seeking a marriage for their son and begging the court to send a Princess to Weibo as his bride, thereby securing their family's position. The brother and sister rejected them again.
Li Baozhu demanded that Tian Yanzhang follow Chengde's example and send Tian Yunzhi to Chang'an as a hostage. The unmarried Princesses could inspect him themselves and see whether this young lord of Weibo caught their fancy.
The two sides went back and forth without reaching an agreement. But anyone with eyes could see that the unification of Hebei was the tide of the times, and the Tian family was already a bolt at the end of its flight.
Government grew cleaner by the day. The new ruler worked tirelessly to govern well and practiced frugality himself, leaving the remonstrating officials of the Censorate with nothing to criticize and feeling thoroughly lonely. Not until late autumn did they finally catch a flaw-the Grand Princess had ordered