The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 389: Xuanzang Returns
In recent years, Songtsen Gampo, who was far away in Tubo, was very quiet. Even after the Eastern Expedition and the Fengshan Ceremony, Songtsen Gampo was the first to send gifts and letters of congratulations.

Shangguan Yi walked forward and looked at the carts full of jewels, gold and silver.

This time, Songtsen Gampo sent an envoy so quickly to congratulate the new Tang emperor on his accession to the throne.

Shangguan Yi followed Xu Jingzong's footsteps, and they all came to the Honglu Temple.

After several rounds of questioning with the Tubo envoy, Xu Jingzong, who was in charge of the Ministry of Rites, learned the other party's purpose.

They did not come to ask His Majesty to pardon Lu Dongzan and Sangbuza, but simply to congratulate.

Half a month after the Lantern Festival, the new dynasty issued a general amnesty notice.

At today's morning court, Li Chengqian looked at the names on the amnesty list, one of which was Xuanzang.

According to the narration by the Minister of Justice Liu Dewei, this general amnesty only applies to people who have been sentenced for less than one month, mostly those who have been involved in fights or who have defied local authorities.

In the Taiji Hall, Li Chengqian finished reading the list of names to be pardoned and said, "I believe that when I pardon a person, I must ask the people of the world for their opinions. When I want to pardon someone, I must see if the victim of that year forgives me."

"My father always reminds me to listen to the voices of the people of the world. I will definitely listen and will continue to listen. I hope you will always remind me. I encourage you all."

The ministers bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

When the monarch and his ministers are of one mind, the power they can exert is enormous. No one present objects, so who else would object?

In addition to praise, when they also act according to His Majesty's instructions and listen to the voices of the people of the world, they will feel more confident and confident than ever before.

Not pardoning was a decision made by the people of the world, not the emperor’s own will.

There is no transaction or exchange of interests, only the opinions of people all over the world.

The court will be different in the future. Under the will of this new emperor who is good at centralizing power, the people in this court are also undergoing some changes.

This change may not be obvious, but it will become more obvious over time.

The general amnesty became a bridge of communication between the court and the subjects.

In every dynasty, whenever a new emperor ascended the throne, he would release prisoners after issuing a general amnesty. However, the number of prisoners released in this dynasty was extremely small.

It was May in the first year of Qianqing.

Pei Xingjian once again returned to the Anxi Protectorate. He came to Shazhou, walked into a cave, and met Xuanzang who was carving a Buddhist cave there.

Xuanzang is still very thin now, holding the chisel with a very focused look.

Pei Xingjian handed over a scroll of documents and said, "Xuanzang, you can go back now."

Hearing this, Xuanzang stopped the chisel in his hand and slowly turned to look at Protector Pei.

Seeing that the other party did not take the document, Pei Xingjian put it down and left quickly.

Xuanzang stretched out his skinny fingers, picked up the document, and confirmed the text on it, as well as the seal of the Ministry of Justice.

"We can go back now..." Xuanzang said foolishly, looking at the sunlight outside the cave.

Bai Fang had been freed from his shackles. He said, "I have also been pardoned. I killed those who deserved to be killed. The Heavenly Khan pardoned me."

Xuanzang stood in the sun, closed his eyes and chanted the Buddha's name devoutly.

Bai Fang continued, "The current Tian Khan is very strict."

Xuanzang whispered, "Have you seen him?"

Bai Fang shook his head. "I haven't seen him, but he is a very powerful Heavenly Khan. I heard from Pei Duhu that if you return to Chang'an, you might be killed by this Heavenly Khan."

Xuanzang walked down the cave.

When the wind blew, it raised a cloud of dust.

Bai Fang, wearing straw sandals, followed Xuanzang and advised: "Not many people in Chang'an are reciting scriptures now. There are not so many Buddhist disciples in Chang'an."

Xuanzang added: "Po Po died in Chang'an."

Bai Fang followed him to a stone house, which was Xuanzang's residence in Shazhou. He stood outside the house and said, "Don't go back."

Xuanzang packed his bags in silence.

Bai Fang frowned and said, "You are no match for that Heavenly Khan, and there are not many people in this world who can be the enemy of Heavenly Khan."

Xuanzang took out the scriptures one by one, pulled out a wooden cart from the pile of dry grass, and placed all the scriptures on the cart.

Bai Fang no longer paid attention to Xuanzang. He returned to the earthen city of Shazhou and ate mutton and drank wine with Pei Xingjian.

Bai Fang took a sip of wine, looked at the shackles hanging on the wooden rack, and said, "Protector Pei, he actually wanted to go back a long time ago. I saw that wooden cart, which is just enough to hold his scriptures. He never gave up on going back. He wanted to bring all the scriptures he brought from India back to Chang'an."

Pei Xingjian chewed mutton and nodded, forgetting Bai Fang's words as soon as he heard them.

Bai Fang said again: "Please ask Protector Pei to put the shackles on me."

"Your Majesty has pardoned you."

Pei Xingjian was still chewing mutton in his mouth.

"I'm afraid I'll kill Xuanzang."

Pei Xingjian glanced at him briefly, then continued to look at the memorial in his hand and said, "Wait until you kill Xuanzang before discussing this. Xuanzang is a Tang person. If you kill him, you won't have to wear shackles, but your head will fall to the ground."

Bai Fang took a sip of wine. The stimulation of the wine made him grin for a long time, and then he said: "I think it would be better for me to kill Xuanzang than for him to die at the hands of Tian Khan."

Pei Xingjian took out a dagger from the side and placed it on the table. "As you wish."

Bai Fang picked up the dagger and pulled it out of the holster. Under the light of the oil lamp, the blade was sharp.

Then he walked quickly out of the room with the dagger in hand.

The next day, at dawn, Pei Xingjian was arranging the city defense and military training of Shazhou with several generals.

Seeing Bai Fang coming back again, Pei Xingjian asked, "Kill him?"

He kept a straight face and didn't reply.

Pei Xingjian asked again: "Where is Xuanzang's head?"

White squatted on the ground and handed the dagger back.

Pei Xingjian put away his dagger.

Bai just said: "He walked away, I didn't catch up with him."

Pei Xingjian asked again, "Did you catch up with him but didn't kill him, or did you just not want to kill him?"

Bai Fang took a deep breath and closed his eyes and said, "I'm going to read a lot of books."

In the following days, Bai Fang locked himself in the Chongwenguan in Xizhou and read books every day.

Pei Xingjian later sent someone to inquire about the matter, and found out that Xuanzang had already reached the Hexi Corridor and was indeed still alive. Bai Fang chased Xuanzang all the way through the night, and he didn't know what Xuanzang had said to him. Later...the two said goodbye.

The name Bai Fang was given to him by Xuanzang.

Even though Bai Fang hated Xuanzang very much, now that Xuanzang had left, to him, he was like a child abandoned in the Western Regions.

Xuanzang was so determined when he returned to Guanzhong.

There is also the story of Xuanzang in the Western Regions, but Xuanzang’s life did not originally belong to the Western Regions.

Pei Xingjian finished writing the military report in his hand and asked the person outside the door to deliver it to the court.

Then he walked out of the government office and sat lazily on the recliner at the door, with a straw hat covering his face. He lay there very comfortably, humming a ballad and shaking his legs when he was relaxed.

Today, Xizhou City is so prosperous that people have almost forgotten that it used to be Gaochang City. The more prosperous it is, the richer Guanzhong is today.

Xuanzang sat on a donkey cart, carrying a cart full of Buddhist scriptures and arrived at Wuwei County in the Hexi Corridor.

This is a very large county town with a constant stream of merchants, including Turks, blue-eyed Kucha people, and even Persians.

Xuanzang pulled the donkey cart and walked through the city. He had no money and could only find a roof to rest under.

This way... this is how he walked to Tianzhu, and now his journey back to Chang'an will be smooth.

The powerful Tang Dynasty conquered a vast territory. When he arrived in Songzhou, he could feel how powerful and confident the Tang people were now.

In the Hexi Corridor, Xuanzang heard the story of the Heavenly Khan's eastern expedition, and also heard about how the current Heavenly Khan had cleared Hebei in the past.

Xuanzang also heard one thing: the current Tian Khan had ordered the Turks, Mobei, and Uighurs to capture Ashina Chebi.

It was a snowy night on the grassland. Ashina Chebi's tribe was besieged by the forces of Mobei, Turks and Uighurs.

The people on the grassland obeyed the order of the Heavenly Khan and attacked Ashina Chebi.

On a snowy night, Ashina Chebi died at the foot of the Altai Mountains. His body was divided into pieces and presented to the current Tian Khan.

The Heavenly Khan rewarded many tribes with tea, cotton cloth and money, so they loved the current Heavenly Khan.

This is the story Xuanzang heard.

After resting for two days in Wuwei County, Xuanzang left the Hexi Corridor and set out again for Chang'an.

Along the way, he met groups of merchants. In Longyou, he saw cartloads of honeycomb briquettes and the joy of people from all over the country who bought honeycomb briquettes.

A kind-hearted man gave Xuanzang a piece of coal and said, "You can use this to keep warm."

Xuanzang thanked him devoutly.

Later, Xuanzang saw workshops and school dormitories in Chencang County, and he saw many children studying.

Xuanzang made friends with a county magistrate of Chencang, whose name was Li Jingxuan.

Li Jingxuan accompanied Xuanzang in talking and said, "I am a student of the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture in Chang'an, but I would rather be a student of your majesty."

Li Jingxuan, wearing his official uniform, greeted the villagers passing by with a smile, and the villagers working in the fields also responded with a smile.

He explained: "I only came here to serve as the county magistrate after His Majesty ascended the throne this year. I followed the teacher all the time."

Xuanzang asked, "What is teaching in rural areas?"

Li Jingxuan stopped and looked at a group of children studying in the distance, and said, "Do you know how much money the court spends every year on supporting education?"

Xuanzang shook his head.

Li Jingxuan explained: "It has been many years...Now, Chongwenguan has arranged more than 3,000 teachers to teach in various parts of the Central Plains. The court spends a lot of money every year on this, and more and more children can read and write."

"In fact, it's not that no one in the court has suggested that a family can provide one person for labor service so that one child can enjoy the education, but this idea was rejected by the current emperor. Fortunately, it was rejected, otherwise, how many families in this world would be separated."

“Do you know Hebei?”

Xuanzang nodded.

Li Jingxuan asked again: "Do you know what Hebei is like now?"

Xuanzang shook his head again.

"There are many coal mines in Hebei now. Anyone who works in the coal mines can get paid. They settle down around the coal mines. From then on, they have to work, and with work they get money. They not only farm, but also work in the coal mines and get paid."

"Their children can study in the library near the coal mine, and their parents can live in peace through their labor, and their children can read books. One coal mine benefits thousands of families."

"I have seen them in Hebei. They need to wear masks when working in coal mines, but when they come out, they are all pitch black. When they wash off the coal dust and I see their smiling faces again, I think that is the most beautiful smile in the world."

"Now, where do you think the honeycomb coal in your hand came from?"

Xuanzang held the small piece of honeycomb coal in his hand without saying a word.

Li Jingxuan added: "Teaching in rural areas is a huge undertaking. It may take decades, one generation, or several generations to achieve this. However, the court has spared no expense and has maintained it to this day. Your Majesty has no complaints. The teachers who have dispersed to various parts of the Central Plains can teach again and continue to participate in the imperial examinations."

Xuanzang closed his eyes and chanted the Buddha's name devoutly. He said, "Your Majesty is a very powerful person."

Li Jingxuan smiled proudly and said, "When you go to Chang'an, the imperial examination should be underway. When I took the imperial examination, Chang'an was packed with people."

"I'm telling you, you may not think so, but the court has been insisting on supporting education for nearly ten years. Your Majesty back then is now the Emperor Emeritus."

Li Jingxuan paused, bowed towards Chang'an City, and said: "The former emperor fought in all directions all his life, and finally returned from the Eastern Expedition. He was enthroned at Mount Tai. There will always be people in this world who regard one thing as their life's achievement and work hard for it all their lives."

"Guo Luotuo also opened up thousands of karez in the Western Regions. We are so lucky to have witnessed such a feat. In this life, with such a role model, we must live up to our life in this world."

Xuanzang listened to a lot from Li Jingxuan. This was a man who took the retired emperor who went on the Eastern Expedition as a role model for his lifelong pursuit. He also wanted to follow the current Khan. He felt that he was an emperor worth following, a man who could do what he said and devote his entire life to one thing, and was worthy of his death.

Xuanzang set out again. Half a month later, he passed through Jingyang, where he heard about the imperial examination being held in Chang'an.

In June in Chang'an, the imperial city was extremely quiet.

Even Suzaku Street outside Suzaku Gate was quieter than usual.

Li Chengqian pushed the wheelchair to the palace wall, and sitting in the wheelchair was Duke Zheng.

From here you can see the grand occasion of the imperial examination, with thousands of students sitting in a row, writing the examination questions.

Duke Zheng just sat there quietly. He whispered, "It's a pity that I can't watch for much longer."

Li Chengqian held Duke Zheng's withered hand and sat beside him, watching Duke Zheng's breathing becoming increasingly weak, and asked, "Are you tired?"

Duke Zheng nodded slowly.

In the rear, Duke Zheng's family members were crying inconsolably.

Today, Lord Zheng, who was usually weak, suddenly said that he wanted to come and take a look at the imperial examination, and they were touched.

(End of this chapter)