The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 303 Xuanzang's Return

Outside the hall, Dongyang was still arguing with his grandfather. Since he started recuperating from his illness, his grandfather could drink less and less. It was also because his health was getting worse and worse. The older he got, the worse his body functions were.

Drinking more would put a greater burden on the body. After Dongyang's persuasion, Grandpa decided to quit drinking again, at least until the beginning of next spring.

If my father had tried to persuade my grandfather, he would never have compromised.

Dongyang went to persuade his grandfather, which was more effective.

While the Queen Mother was talking to Ning'er, Li Chengqian sat down in front of his father, put some tea leaves and tangerine peel into a bowl, and made a bowl of tea.

Li Shimin looked at his son's tea bowl and asked, "What are you doing..."

"Dried tangerine peel, father, do you want to put some in too?"

Li Shimin put tea leaves into the tea bowl and shook his head, saying, "I don't like any other taste in tea."

Li Chengqian looked at the amount of tea and said, "Father is middle-aged, and his tea tastes stronger and stronger."

"Alas..." Li Shimin sighed and said slowly: "I don't know why, but it tastes bland if I don't brew enough."

The father and son picked up the tea bowls, took a sip of tea, then put the bowls down at the same time, looking at the two children sitting in the strollers in silence.

Sitting under the eaves of Chongwen Hall, the eunuch beside him was still putting wood into the stove.

Li Shimin added: "Among the envoys who came to the court this year, the envoys from the Mohe said that they burned coal for heating."

Mohe was a tribal country, a small tribe living north of Goguryeo. Their people liked to use pheasant tails as hair accessories, also known as chicken feathers.

Li Chengqian said: "Burning coal will produce black smoke, and using it for a long time will make you sick."

Li Shimin sat upright and said, "But coal stone can burn longer."

Li Chengqian still shook his head and said, "Father, can't you find an excuse to march east? Even if you want to find an excuse for the expedition, looking for beauties is more convincing than digging coal."

"Um……"

Li Shimin pondered for a while again, as if recalling the past, and said unhappily: "It seems that Mr. Wen passed away too early."

Li Chengqian asked again: "How is the Silla envoy?"

Li Shimin asked back: "You should know more about Sifang Pavilion than I do."

"I heard that the Queen of Silla wrote a love letter to your father?"

"Love letter? That's a letter from the imperial court!" Li Shimin said with a straight face.

"Ha ha……"

Hearing his son's contemptuous laughter, Li Shimin continued, "What are you laughing at?"

Li Chengqian sighed, "If it was just a letter from the state, why would my mother tear up the letter from Silla?"

This year has not yet passed, and the Silla envoys who came to the Tang Dynasty were the most unusual. I don’t know if it was due to the customs of Silla, but the letter from the Queen of Silla to the Heavenly Khan was very emotional and corny. The content of the letter was full of her yearning and expectation for the Heavenly Khan.

It is truly admirable that a queen can be so shameless.

Perhaps the Queen of Silla might suddenly die before she could even meet the Khan she longed for.

The Silla envoys are now in the Sifang Pavilion. Together with the envoys from various countries, they are studying in the Western Pavilion and are under the supervision of the Ministry of Rites and the Honglu Temple.

"I also heard that you have been getting more and more stingy in giving gifts to envoys from various countries recently."

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Father, the court has a lot of expenses every New Year, so we should save as much as possible. Besides, some things are worthless in Chang'an, but when they are taken to countries thousands of miles away, they are very valuable, so it's not a loss for them."

Li Chengqian went on to explain: "I sent paper to the Uighur envoy. The Uighurs do not know how to use paper, but this does not mean that paper has no value. If you only see the value of things in terms of their immediate practical value, then you are short-sighted. Their short-sightedness has nothing to do with me."

"Just like they think paper is not good, it has to do with what they use the paper for, not the value of the paper."

Li Shimin stroked his forehead and felt a little dizzy again.

Li Chengqian added: "Our paper is used to record knowledge and spread knowledge. The value of paper is very high, but they find paper too hard to use when using the toilet. This does not mean that paper has no value."

Now Li Shimin finally understood a little bit, and nodded slowly, saying: "From now on, the conversations between you and me as father and son don't need to be like the conversations between the emperor and the government."

"I have been too busy lately, and I am sorry to make you laugh."

"It's also my fault for giving you too much authority."

"Father, you are joking."

Li Shimin took out a scroll of letters from his sleeve and handed it over, saying, "This is a secret letter from Songzhou."

Li Chengqian took the secret letter, but the wax seal was gone. It seemed that his father had opened it and read it. He opened the yellowed paper and looked at the handwriting on it. It was about the story of Prince Qi Li You.

"They let You'er farm in Qinghai."

"This kind of thing can be handled by Father."

Li Shimin put the secret letter into the furnace and burned it. He took out a small jar, opened it and sprinkled out some crystal salt grains, saying, "This is the salt lake they found in the heart of Qinghai. They discovered this kind of salt."

Li Chengqian smiled and nodded. There were some things that didn't need to be said, and his father would arrange people to do them.

When the Tang army conquered the entire Qinghai province, it was only a matter of time before they discovered the salt lake, even if Songtsen Gampo had hidden it.

"Congratulations, father, for discovering a salt lake."

Li Shimin was puzzled and said, "This matter was discovered by your Chongwenguan people, who informed Niu Jinda and then sent the news to me."

"Really?" Li Chengqian touched his nose in dismay, and then said, "The Chongwenguan has done a great job. How will the emperor reward us?"

"Chongwenguan is under your jurisdiction. It is your business and has nothing to do with me."

Li Chengqian whispered: "For the sake of the salt lake, Songtsen Gampo will fight to the death with the Tang army."

"I know that when Niu Jinda sent the letter, he sent troops to garrison the Salt Lake."

Tubo was a very wealthy place, so wealthy that they had salt lakes, cattle, sheep, horses, snow-capped mountains and water sources.

Therefore, Lu Dongzan's statement that Tubo was very poor was unfair.

If Tubo had remained at peace with the world, relying on the snow-capped mountains and pastures to survive and accumulating strength over decades, they might have become even more powerful.

But things in the world are always complicated. In this world, there is a Songtsen Gampo and also a Heavenly Khan.

Moreover, after the defeat in the Battle of Songzhou, General Niu Jinda has been trying to get his subordinates to adapt to the climate of Tibet. The plateau is not invincible. Even if a small number of elite troops enter the plateau, they can be killed by surprise.

Everyone in the East Palace was gathering around Xiao Yutu and Xiao Lingque and it was very lively.

The emperor and his son seemed a little neglected, so they went to Taiye Lake to fish with their fishing rods.

Li Shimin walked on the snow and came to the edge of Taiye Lake. He looked in the distance in the direction of Longshouyuan and said, "Lizhi and the others haven't gone to Beiyuan yet?" Beiyuan is the name of the house in Longshouyuan now. Li Lizhi named it Beiyuan.

The simpler the name, the more it reflects how much my sister values ​​the place. Beiyuan will become the starting point of her career.

The fawns are growing very fast and are now half the height of a person. They are walking on the ice, looking up at the father and son by the Taiye Lake.

Another little deer came to the emperor and bumped him with its antlers.

The eunuchs did not dare to disturb such auspicious beasts.

Li Shimin put the fishing line into the ice hole dug by his son and asked, "Has Xuanzang written to you recently?"

"I have not had much contact with Xuanzang, and I don't know him."

"Doesn't he send you letters every year?"

"Really?" Li Chengqian thought hesitantly. Xuanzang indeed wrote once a year, and either in early spring or in winter.

Nowadays, it is rumored that although the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace and Xuanzang had never met, they became pen pals from far away places.

"Maybe I never wrote back to him, so Xuanzang felt that it was boring and stopped writing to me."

Li Shimin smiled and said nothing.

Li Chengqian tightened his cloak, held the fishing rod and observed the fishing line carefully.

Soon, a eunuch hurried to the Taiye Lake, holding a roll of cloth in his hand, and said, "Your Highness, there is a letter from Xuanzang."

Li Chengqian looked at his father in surprise again, took the letter, opened it and read the contents.

There are some things that my father must know faster than me. Maybe he can even tell me the contents of this letter. By asking this question on purpose, he must have known that Xuanzang's letter was on the way. Maybe he knew it when the letter entered the pass.

Li Shimin said, "Xuanzang insisted on writing to you every year, but you never replied to his letters. This is not the demeanor of a prince."

Li Chengqian read the contents of the letter and found out that Xuanzang in India had also heard about the great battle in Tianshan.

The news that the powerful Tang Dynasty had conquered the Tianshan Mountains was not only known to the Tang people. Tubo, Persia and even the Arabs might have heard of it.

In this era when wars were still mainly fought with cold weapons, the Tang Dynasty flattened the Tianshan Mountains. How could they not know about such a huge movement?

Not to mention Xuanzang who was far away in India. Xuanzang was a Tang person, and as he was treated with courtesy by the King of India, he would naturally inform Xuanzang of the news.

Li Shimin asked, "What did he say in the letter?"

Li Chengqian replied: "Xuanzang said that the king of Tianzhu hopes that he can stay in Tianzhu. Not only did he give him a high position, but he also sent him beautiful women. He used all means and even began to threaten him so that he could not leave Tianzhu."

"Hehehe... didn't they treat Xuanzang as a guest of honor?"

"The Tang Dynasty was too powerful. They kept Xuanzang to guard against possible conflicts in the future. If Xuanzang became a minister under the throne of the Indian king, the Tang Dynasty could establish diplomatic relations with India."

Li Chengqian continued to read the letter. "Xuanzang also said that he congratulated us on our great victory in Tianshan. He has decided to return to Tang. Even if the king of Tianzhu kills him, he will have his body brought back to Tang. If everything goes well, he will be on his way back when he sees this letter."

Li Shimin sighed: "It was easy for Xuanzang to go to India, but it was difficult to come back."

"I think it's not difficult. Xuanzang's journey home will probably be much smoother. If he passes through Nepal, he can go all the way to Tibet. Once he enters Tibet and reaches Qinghai, he will be in the territory of the Tang Dynasty."

"Cheng Qian, you think too simply. Wouldn't the King of India block the main road to Tubo? Even if Xuanzang arrived in Tubo, would Songtsen Gampo easily hand him back to the Tang Dynasty?"

Looking at the hearts of people of that era from the perspective of the emperor, the emperor himself, is indeed a different feeling. It was not easy for Xuanzang to go to India, and it was even more difficult to come back.

At first, the King of India treated Xuanzang like an honored guest and the whole country celebrated. Now that the King of India knows that Xuanzang is determined to return, he may turn against him and imprison him.

This is the successful Xuanzang. He has become a hot commodity and everyone wants to control him and fight for him.

Matters between countries have never been simple but complicated, not to mention the current situation between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo.

If Songtsen Gampo exchanged Xuanzang for Lu Dongzan, Li Chengqian felt that all the civil and military officials in the court would definitely refuse the request to exchange hostages.

Songtsen Gampo did not know his own weight and dared to exchange hostages with the Tang Dynasty. What strength did he have to dare to make such a claim?

I could hear the sound of my father chewing a walnut. He peeled a walnut, fed some of the kernels to the deer beside him, and then ate some himself.

The prince put the silk cloth with words written on it aside.

When the emperor and the prince read Xuanzang's letter, they didn't care and let a gust of wind blow the piece of cloth onto the snow. Then another gust of wind blew it away.

The snow that had just melted froze into ice again at night. When a eunuch picked up the silk cloth again, it had been frozen hard and the words on it were blurred. Only wet ink marks were left, and one could vaguely see where the words had once been left on it.

During the winter, the Secretariat was still busy and Jingzhao Prefecture was also arranging production matters in various counties.

Li Lizhi brought Dongyang and two disciples to Beiyuan. Xue Wuniang, who was guarding the door, bowed and saluted, watching Her Royal Highness the Princess walk into the villa, then stood up again and continued to look around vigilantly.

The four women walked all the way to a large house in the center of Beiyuan. When they opened the door, they saw several tables and bookshelves.

Li Lizhi sat in the upper seat, took out an abacus and ordered, "Bring the output value of each county this year."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu quickly ran to the bookshelf and took out several files.

"Have the files on the production surplus of each county compiled by Jingzhao Prefecture been delivered?"

Hearing this, Xiaohui also took out a file from the book.

They sat in the house and started today's work. They had to make comments on the production in each county for the coming year. While understanding the production matters in each county, Li Lizhi was also putting theoretical knowledge into practice in production again and again.

As night fell, Li Lizhi, Dongyang, and two disciples walked out of Beiyuan and returned under the escort of Xue Wuniang.

When they arrived at Taiye Lake, they asked Xue Wuniang to send Xiaowu and Xiaohui home, while Li Lizhi and Dongyang went to the Eastern Palace.

Under the quiet night sky, the wind grew stronger, and Li Lizhi noticed a fire in the waterside pavilion in the distance.

Several deer came forward, and Dongyang bent down and stroked the deer's head, saying, "Is it my royal brother who is still fishing?"

The two sisters walked to the water pavilion and saw their father, brother, and little Sizi inside.

Dongyang walked quickly into the water pavilion, sat next to Xiao Sizi, and reached out to the stove to keep warm.

Mingda took out some dried dates and just as she handed them over, she saw a deer quickly bite the dates from her hand, then walked aside and chewed them outside the water pavilion.

Mingda glared at it angrily.

Li Lizhi smiled and said, "It's okay, we'll have dinner when we get back to the East Palace."

Dongyang said, "How come Father has the leisure to go fishing today?"

"The Ministry of Works hasn't finished my puzzle yet. I've been free these days, so I came here to fish with your brother."

(End of this chapter)