The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 253 The Tibetan Envoy Comes Again
The city of Chang'an was shrouded in dark clouds and it was about to rain. Fang Xuanling hurried to the residence of the Duke of Weiguo.

Li Jing said: "Princess Dongyang has checked my health and I am doing fine now. You don't need to worry about me."

Fang Xuanling looked around, sat down and said, "I just sat down and Lord Li Wei wants to drive me away."

"I heard that the prince was troubled by Fan Yang's matter?"

Fang Xuanling handed over a roll of names and said, "These things are not difficult for him."

Li Weigong took the list and looked at it carefully, then asked, "Who dares to underestimate your disciples, Fang Xuanling?"

"This kid believes that treating the symptoms but not the root cause is not a cure. He doesn't care about the current discussions. He didn't say anything except that he wants to investigate the matter thoroughly."

Li Jing flipped through the list and asked, "Is this the list of the Hundred Riders?"

"That's right. Your Majesty asked me to bring it to Duke Wei for review."

After reading it, Li Jing handed the list back and said, "Niu Jinda guards Songzhou, and Liang Jianfang guards Tuyuhun?"

"Exactly."

"Please ask Prime Minister Fang to inform His Majesty that if necessary, the pharmacist can go to Tuyuhun again."

Fang Xuanling was all smiles, "There are enough generals in the court, and one Tubo is not enough to alarm the pharmacist."

Li Jing also laughed.

In Chang'an City, Xue Rengui went to the Western Regions again. In the past six months since he returned to Chang'an, Pei Xingjian has been with General Su Dingfang. When he has nothing to do, he drinks in the tavern in front of Jingzhao Prefecture.

When I heard that Zhang Da'an was promoted to Jingzhao Prefecture and appointed as the Secretary, I wanted to congratulate him, but then I heard that he had gone to Luoyang.

"I knew you would come here to drink."

Hearing the voice, I looked up and saw a young man in his early twenties.

He is Wang Xuance, a good friend I have made these days.

Pei Xingjian said, "Grape wine, five cents a dou."

Wang Xuance doesn't look like a soldier. He is thin and looks more like a weak scholar. Although he is a few years older, his face looks more childish.

He rubbed his hands and sat down, saying, "Five cents for a dou of wine? The grape wine from Chang'an is not worth much anymore."

The shopkeeper of the wine shop complained: "This year's harvest is good. The people in Sino-Agriculture Temple said that the grape harvest will be good again."

Pei Xingjian glanced at the disappointed shopkeeper and whispered, "The grape wine will be valuable if sold in Luoyang. He made a lot of money."

Wang Xuance smiled awkwardly and said, "Then I will ask Brother Pei for another bowl of wine."

Pei Xingjian said indifferently: "Just drink, why bother talking about this."

"It's still better to keep the promise."

"It's just a sip of wine. It won't make someone poor."

Pei Xingjian said this, he had figured out that Wang Xuance was just a freeloader.

I don't know if his family is poor or what, but his daily expenses are always tight. Anyway, he works under the General of the Central Army and they have a good relationship.

With the money from the last Western Expedition, Pei Xingjian would not be short of money in the short term, and it would be enough for him to be self-sufficient.

Wang Xuance took a sip of wine and ate a piece of cake. He raised his head and said, "Hey! It seems that Tubo wants to attack us."

Pei Xingjian sneered and said, "They are courting their own death."

Wang Xuance said with emotion: "I really envy you. You followed General Hou Junji to conquer Gaochang. I have so many military strategies in my mind, but I have nowhere to display them."

During the last expedition to Gaochang, Pei Xingjian witnessed how deep the water in the Tang army was. Each of them was hiding very deeply.

If Wang Wendu had not met General Su Dingfang, no one would have thought that he had once joined General Li Jing in the expedition against Jie Li.

Later, after listening to the explanation of the General of the Central Army, I learned that Wang Wendu had an ability: he could remember anyone's face at a photographic level. If you died in the army, he would identify the bodies one by one, record their place of origin, and pay money to the comrades who died in the battle.

The General of the Central Army also said that we should be thankful that there are people like Wang Wendu in the army, otherwise when your entire team is wiped out, no one will pick up your body, and no one will know who you are.

Only Wang Wendu would travel thousands of miles, pulling a cart to pull out the dead soldiers one by one and record them.

With previous experience, Pei Xingjian did not dare to underestimate anyone in the army. Even the experience told by a small soldier might be incomparable to his own.

After drinking the wine and eating the cake, Wang Xuance yawned lazily and said, "I feel sleepy after eating and drinking."

Having long been accustomed to his erratic behavior, Pei Xingjian nodded to signal him that he could leave.

Wang Xuance, who had just eaten for free, felt a little embarrassed. After all, he had eaten so many meals with Shouyue and thought that this guy would chase him away, but he never refused.

After clearing his throat, Wang Xuance leaned in and whispered, "Do you want to go with the army?"

Pei Xingjian looked around and asked, "Do you have any news?"

"The Tibetan envoys are coming to Chang'an, and we are going to fight."

"how do you know?"

"I know a few Hu people and often go to drink with them."

Pei Xingjian held his forehead. This Wang Xuance seemed to be able to take advantage of any opportunity and would not be hungry no matter where he was. Then he thought about it again and felt that something was wrong. He asked, "Since the Tibetan envoy is coming, why is there no news from the army?"

At this point, a messenger passed by on a fast horse on Suzaku Street. He shouted, "Urgent report, the Tibetan envoy is coming!"

Wang Xuance said casually: "Isn't it here?"

Pei Xingjian looked at the confident Wang Xuance and found this man incredible.

The urgent report was sent to the imperial city, and the officials from the Honglu Temple hurriedly ran into the Ministry of Rites.

Li Baiyao, who was talking to a clerk nearby, asked, "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry?"

"The Tibetan envoy is here!"

"Huh?" Several minor clerks nearby were all surprised and suspicious.

All the events of the past appeared in his memory, as if it was just yesterday. Li Baiyao punched the table hard, and a fighting spirit rose in his eyes.

Whether the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace was in a good mood or a bad mood, he would go to Taiye Lake to fish.

When Li Chengqian was fishing, Xiao Sizi sat beside him, holding a branch and writing with Dongyang.

The seven-year-old Mingda was just old enough to learn to read. Her father and mother did not arrange a teacher for her, so her brothers and sisters in the Eastern Palace were her best teachers.

Another thunder was heard in the distant sky, startling several deer by the pond, and a group of ducks in the pond, who stretched their necks to look around.

The rain started to fall, and Mingda and Dongyang went into the waterside pavilion to take shelter from the rain.

The eunuch waited on the side, pouring hot tea for the two princesses.

A few deer also hid in Li Shuixie to avoid the rain, and it became a little crowded here.

Mingda sat on the deer's back, holding a book in his hand and flipping through it with boredom.

Li Chengqian wondered how his uncle would arrange the matter if it was him. He would probably kill many people.

"How is Taoist Li these days?"

Mingda lay on the deer's back again, holding the deer's neck with one hand and holding a scroll in the other, saying, "Master Li has had some sudden enlightenment recently. He made a new compass to verify a truth."

"What's the point?"

"They said they wanted to prove whether it was the ground beneath our feet that was rotating or the moon and the sun."

Dongyang asked suspiciously: "How can this be proved?"

Mingda said: "Sister, you don't know either. Taoist Li has his own way."

Li Chengqian caught a fish and had the eunuchs kill it and roast it nearby. A eunuch came in a hurry in the rain and reported: "Your Highness, the Ministry of Rites sent a message saying that the Tibetan envoy has arrived and will arrive in the next two days."

"Got it, go and get out of the rain."

"Here."

I thought my brother would be in a hurry to go back, but I saw him still fishing leisurely. Maybe the arrival of the Tubo envoy was not a big deal.

Since the ninth year of Zhenguan, when several peace talks between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo broke down, the Tubo envoys came to Chang'an again.

The envoy this time was again Sambuza. Li Chengqian remembered very clearly that Sambuza said he grew up by the Zangbo River.

The heavy rain continued for three days without stopping. There was a lot of rain in Guanzhong this year, which caused considerable trouble for the construction of the silt dam.

Despite having so many things on its mind, the Tang Dynasty now has to face the troubles before it.

The day when the Tubo envoys arrived in Chang'an was mid-April.

Sambuza asked to see the Khan.

That morning, Li Chengqian was unable to do morning exercises due to the rain. He looked at the rain all over the sky and sighed, and had to go to court.

Ning'er was combing Mingda's hair. Lizhi specially reserved a room for Mingda so that she could live in the Eastern Palace for a long time in the future and could be taken care of by her brothers and sisters in the Eastern Palace.

"Your Highness's hair is so fine and soft." Ning'er combed her long hair skillfully.

"Master Li said that once Mingda recovers from his illness, his hair will be black and shiny again." She said obediently.

All of Donggong’s brothers and sisters grew up under her care, so it wouldn’t hurt for her to have another little princess.

After breakfast, Li Chengqian took the bamboo umbrella handed to him by Xiaofu and walked out of the East Palace to attend court.

Today in the Taiji Hall, the ministers were in a bit of a mess due to the rain.

Everyone was discussing the news about the arrival of the Tibetan envoys.

Li Chengqian came to his seat, stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting for the morning court to begin.

The Minister of Rites Li Baiyao and the Tibetan envoy Sangbuza were already standing outside the palace.

As the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty walked into the Taiji Hall, today's morning court session began.

Nothing else was discussed in the court, but the Tibetan envoy was directly summoned.

Sambhota's full name is Thonmi Sambhota. He is one of the seven wise ministers under Songtsen Gampo. He is considered a civil official, second only to Lu Dongzan.

He devoted himself to completing the Tibetan writing and laws.

Tibet, which did not yet have a complete written language, was not enough of a threat to the Tang people.

But there happened to be two capable people, Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan.

The Tang Dynasty had a feud with Tubo for hundreds of years in its history. In fact, the feud between the two countries began during the Wude period since the Tang Dynasty was established.

Li Chengqian stood at the front row of the court with his eyes closed.

Sambuza walked into the Taiji Hall. He glanced at the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, but seeing that the Crown Prince had his eyes closed and ignored him, Sambuza had no choice but to lower his head tactfully, salute, and say in a loud voice: "Foreign minister Sambuza pays respects to His Majesty the Heavenly Khan."

The hall was very quiet, and Sambuza's words could still be heard echoing inside.

Li Shimin's expression was calm and he did not say a word.

The newly appointed Minister of War Duan Zan stood out from the court and shouted, "What does it mean that Tubo has deployed 200,000 troops on the Habu River?"

Sambuza bowed to the Khan and said, "Zamp ordered me to meet with the Khan to ask for the princess of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Shimin's mouth twitched, he smiled coldly and said nothing.

There were also many disdainful laughs in the class.

Hearing the sneers, Sambuza remained calm and looked at the prince who was sitting at the front of the court, still with his eyes closed and his hands folded in his pockets.

He said loudly: "If the Heavenly Khan does not agree to our Zamp's request for the princess, the Tibetan army of 200,000 will go straight to Songzhou."

As soon as he finished speaking, the ridicule in the hall stopped and it became quiet again.

The emperor still sat upright without saying a word, and the prince also said nothing with his eyes closed.

Cheng Yaojin shouted: "You are so brave!"

The general's voice was so deafening that one could vaguely feel his eardrums vibrating. Li Chengqian frowned slightly but still kept his eyes closed.

Yuchi Gong said, "Come here! Drag this fellow out, chop him up and feed him to the dogs!"

Li Ji said: "Bring the knife, chop him up now!"

There was an uproar in the court.

Seeing Cheng Yaojin was about to take action, Qin Qiong hurriedly stopped him and said, "This is the main hall, this is the main hall..."

Zhang Sun Wuji also stopped Yuchi Gong and Li Ji, and said to them, "He is an envoy. The two countries are about to go to war. How can we kill the envoy?"

"Don't stop me!" Cheng Yaojin stared at Sangbuza with his eyes wide open, and said, "I'll chop you off first, and I'll go to Tubo and tear off the heads of Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan."

The court was in an uproar because of the words of the Tibetan envoy. If looks could kill, this Tibetan envoy would have died many times in this hall, and in various ways.

Li Shimin suddenly stood up.

All the ministers immediately bowed and stood up, paying their respects.

The emperor's gaze stayed on Sambuza for a moment, then he turned and left.

After his father left, Li Chengqian opened his eyes and said in a clear voice: "Adjourn the court, and all departments should go to the Secretariat to report political affairs to me."

"Here."

The ministers saluted.

Seeing that the military generals were about to take action, Zhangsun Wuji and several civil officials stopped them.

When all the ministers left in twos and threes, Li Chengqian passed by the Tibetan envoy.

Sambuza, who was still standing there, turned to look at the prince and saluted, saying, "Your Highness, our Zamp admires your talent very much."

Li Chengqian paused and raised his head and asked, "Really?"

"Zanpu is always thinking about getting drunk with the Tang prince."

"That day will come. The messenger does not need to be too anxious."

Sambuza added: "If Tian Khan can marry the princess to our Zamp, Tubo will be able to make peace with the Tang Dynasty."

"Hahaha..." Li Chengqian laughed and said, "I heard that the Tibetan king liked our Central Plains history books. Did he think of himself as the Chanyu?"

Sambuza bowed and said, "Zamp is not the Chanyu."

Li Chengqian walked out of the Taiji Hall. The rain had stopped, but the ground was still wet.

Sambuza also walked outside the hall. He stood behind the prince and asked again, "Doesn't the Tang Dynasty want to repair it?"

"Are you threatening me?"

"Foreign ministers don't dare."

"Well, you can stay in Chang'an. Don't think about going back now. Just live here and enjoy the good food and drink."

Sambuza bowed and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian took a step forward, walked down the steps of the Taiji Hall, and walked step by step on the wet ground.

(End of this chapter)