The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 400: Palace Celebration
New Year's Eve in the palace was more lively than in previous years. After reading the urgent report sent by Tubo, Li Chengqian put it aside calmly.

Looking at the banquet again, my father, mother, and grandfather were all in the celebratory atmosphere of New Year's Eve.

The hall and the area in front of the hall were full of people, and they were toasting to each other.

Among the positions of envoys from various countries, only the position of the Tibetan envoy was vacant. Songtsen Gampo, Lu Dongzan, and even the other Tibetan envoys did not come.

Just the lack of a team of messengers did not stop everyone from celebrating New Year's Eve.

Then he saw the eunuch hurried to his father's side and whispered a few words in a low voice.

Until his father's gaze fell on him, Li Chengqian was still watching the singing and dancing in the hall with a smile on his face, listening to the drums and music, and having fun with everyone.

If you walk out of the Taiji Hall now and stand on the Drum Tower on the palace wall and look over, the Chang'an City should now be full of lights, the emperor and the people are celebrating New Year's Eve together, and the curfew in Chang'an City has also been lifted.

Ashina She'er stood up from his seat, bowed with his tribesmen, and expressed his loyalty to the Heavenly Khan of the Tang Dynasty.

He was the first to step forward and the first to speak out.

Li Chengqian smiled and raised his glass to him, saying, "May the world be peaceful, and may our children be healthy and strong."

Ashina She'er held up his wine glass, stood in the hall and shouted with the tribesmen behind him.

This emotion was so touching that even Li Shimin had a smile on his face.

Next came the envoys from various countries, who congratulated the new emperor and the emperor emeritus of the Tang Dynasty and presented them with gifts.

Li Yuan smiled happily with pride on his face.

Until the banquet was over and midnight had passed, it was the second year of the Qianqing reign. The eunuch stood outside the hall and loudly read out the imperial edict, which was to reduce the market taxes of the Tang Dynasty in the future.

When Liu Rengui heard the decree, he bowed towards the Taiji Hall. This was the advice he had given to the emperor in the past to reduce the city taxes for families with meager incomes.

A year passed, and Liu Rengui once thought that the emperor had forgotten his advice and memorials, but when he heard the imperial decree again, Liu Rengui's eyes burst into tears on the spot.

As the sound of bells and drums reached the Taiji Hall, it announced the end of the first year of Qianqing, and the guests who came to celebrate dispersed.

Empress Dowager Changsun left the Taiji Hall with a group of female relatives.

Qinghe walked with Gaoyang holding a lantern. She looked at her sister Linchuan who was walking in front of her. This sister's numerology was the most outstanding among her brothers and sisters.

Qinghe quickened his pace and said, "Sister."

Lin Chuan walked along the way and asked, "What's wrong?"

Qinghe asked: "Why are there some questions that are endless?"

Linchuan smiled and said, "Sister Dongyang once said that if all the questions in this world had a clear answer, this world would not be so interesting."

After hearing his sister's words, Qinghe's face showed a hint of understanding.

In the Taiji Hall, when many court officials and envoys from various countries left, only the grandfather, grandson, father and son were left.

There were also palace maids and eunuchs cleaning up the Taiji Hall, which was a bit messy at the moment, and the sound of wine bowls and wine jugs colliding could be heard.

Li Chengqian stood in front of several boxes and picked up a huge pearl. This box of pearls was a gift from Jin Chunchu, the Shangzhuguo of Silla.

The pearls are as big as fists and feel heavy in the hand.

Looking back, I saw that grandpa had fallen asleep on his side next to the fireplace, with a smile still on his face.

The Tang Dynasty has gone through three generations of grandfathers and grandchildren, and now it is finally ushering in a prosperous era.

Li Shimin took a sip of wine and said, "I heard that Wang Xuance's Qinghai troops entered the Tubo territory?"

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "Yes."

"No wonder Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan didn't come to the banquet."

"Father, the Tubo Zanpu is seriously ill again and is still bedridden. Lu Dongzan has to take care of him, so it is expected that he will not come to the banquet."

Li Shimin suddenly smiled and said, "You have forgiven him?"

Li Chengqian put the pearls in his hand back into the box and said, "These pearls were obtained by Jin Chunqiu during his expedition against the Japanese. More will be sent to us in the future."

"I don't want to hear about him."

"Jin Chunqiu is indeed a nasty person. Don't worry, father. I will make arrangements for him."

Li Shimin asked again: "Is the Qinghai army entering Tubo to start a war with the Tubo people?"

Li Chengqian walked back into the candlelight, sat beside his father, and poured a bowl of warm tea. "Father, don't drink too much."

Li Shimin took the tea bowl, felt his son's intention, and relaxed his expression a little. He said, "You often say that Songtsen Gampo is a distinguished guest of the Tang Dynasty. Now that the distinguished guest is still in Chang'an, how can the Tang Dynasty take advantage of him? Now that you are the emperor, I can no longer control you."

"If you want to conquer Tubo, that's fine. But if it's really hard to deal with, or you're afraid of being criticized, have someone kill Songtsen Gampo and Lu Dongzan. I'll arrange this for you."

"Father, there's no need to be so anxious."

Li Chengqian picked up the memorial that was still on his desk and handed it to his father.

With doubt in his heart, Li Shimin picked up the memorial, opened it and read the contents, and finally his eyes focused on the words "suppress the rebellion."

Li Chengqian explained: "Songtsen Gampo is in Chang'an, so the Tang Dynasty cannot take advantage of the situation. Qinghai sent troops to quell the rebellion, to help Songtsen Gampo quell the chaos in Tubo and protect the herdsmen of Tubo."

Li Shimin saw some military strategies in the memorial and was very suspicious. He looked at his son who had remained calm at the banquet and asked, "How long have you been planning this?"

Li Chengqian refilled his father's tea and said, "It has been a while. In fact, they don't know how valuable the population is. They are trying hard to recover the population, but they are using conscription and corvée to kill the productivity of the population. This is wrong."

"My son's ambition is not big. I just want to help Songtsen Gampo correct his mistakes. After he came to the Tang Dynasty, he had many doubts and wanted me to help him answer them. But Tubo is not the Tang Dynasty after all. There is no environment like Guanzhong there."

"I am happy to help him solve his confusion. The Tang army could have avoided entering the Tubo territory, but now the people of Tubo are coming to ask for help. The Tang army cannot just sit back and watch. I am also the Heavenly Khan, so I must set an example for him."

Li Chengqian said with emotion: "Father is their Heavenly Khan, and now all the countries respect me as the Heavenly Khan. All the people in the world, including the Turks and Uighurs, are my subjects. My subjects are stupid and need to be educated. I cannot sit idly by and watch my subjects being harmed by others."

Under the light of the candle, the son calmly expressed his great ambitions. Li Shimin said slowly: "Mr. Ying is right, and your grandfather is also right."

Li Chengqian frowned slightly, somewhat puzzled.

Li Shimin stood up, looked at the darkness outside the palace, and said, "In fact, you are more centralized and more powerful than I am."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I am not your father. I can only move forward step by step on my own."

"You really don't need my help. I can arrange for someone to help you kill Songtsen Gampo?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "Songtsen Gampo is the spiritual pillar of the Tubo people. If anything happens to him, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty will be out of control."

After saying that, he asked the eunuchs to wake up grandpa and help him to rest.

The father and son stopped talking. Li Yuan was supported by the eunuchs, and he walked along the way, saying, "Fortunately, Guanyin left early. If she were still here, she would probably lose her temper again, discussing state affairs on such a festive occasion."

The father and son looked around in tacit understanding, and only felt relieved after confirming that there were no other palace maids present.

After midnight, the city of Chang'an was still brightly lit. Tonight, Chang'an was even more lively than in previous years.

The night wind was still blowing. Standing on the palace wall, my robe fluttered in the wind.

The father and son walked on the top of the city wall. Li Shimin, wearing a cloak, looked into the distance and said, "It has been a long time since Chang'an City has been so lively."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "More and more grain is being transported to Chang'an, but the population is growing faster and faster, and the price of grain is also higher."

"I heard that a lot of rice is grown in the hinterland of Tianshan Mountain."

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "That's true. Transporting it to Chang'an is just a drop in the bucket. Why bother? Chang'an's burden is not heavy. The grain in Shuzhong is enough to support Guanzhong, and the grain in Hebei and Liaodong is enough to support Luoyang. The current transportation line is planned in this way."

"Liaodong?"

"Well, Guo Luotuo went to Shuzhong, and people from Sinong Temple were sent to Liaodong to study crops."

As he was speaking, he noticed that his father was staring at the night view of Chang'an City in a trance, and he probably didn't hear a word of what he said before.

I just looked at the night view of Chang'an city and kept silent.

The next day, after a night of celebration in Chang'an, Zhuque Street was in a mess. The weather was still very cold, and Ashina Chebi was taken to Zhuque Street early to sweep the floor.

Empress Su and Concubine Ning were still asleep, and His Majesty had already had his meal before daybreak.

Li Chengqian was eating buns while reading the report sent from Jingyang.

The maid came hurriedly and reported: "Your Majesty, Madam..."

Seeing the palace maid hesitating, Li Chengqian asked, "Is my father back?"

"Ah."

"Did the emperor leave in anger after hearing that I asked Du Zhenglun to go to Jingyang to make paper?"

The maid bowed her head and said, "I have gone back now."

It was the first day of the new year, and the royal family's relatives had not yet come to congratulate.

Li Chengqian thought for a moment with his hands in his pockets, and then ordered: "From today on, if there are still princes from the royal family who want to congratulate, go to Beiyuan to see my father."

"Here."

After the hustle and bustle of New Year's Eve passed, the palace returned to peace.

On the first day of the first lunar month in the second year of the Qianqing reign, the emperor exempted the business taxes of poor families and handed over the power of market tax to Jingzhao Prefecture. The market tax of the Tang Dynasty gradually shifted towards the transaction of bulk goods, and the court and the public praised it.

At this time, if the emperor stood in front of the Suzaku Gate, tens of thousands of people from Chang'an would surely come to congratulate him.

Some people said that the emperor was very busy and was probably busy with state affairs during the New Year. There were officials on duty in the imperial city reviewing documents.

In fact, only people in the palace knew that the emperor was not busy and was fishing in Taiye Lake at this moment.

There were memorials piled up around His Majesty, but he had no intention of reading them and continued to fish quietly.

When the sun was high in the sky and it was noon, His Majesty still ignored the memorials.

Little Que'er came running over in new clothes and said, "Daddy, this is the new dress grandma gave me."

Li Chengqian took a look and said, "Yeah, it looks good."

"Oh, are there still so many state affairs to deal with on New Year's Day?"

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "I have exempted the poor families from taxes. There must be some court officials who want to advise them, and some are here to celebrate the New Year."

Because the weather was still cold, Xiao Que'er's cheeks were flushed. She picked up a memorial, looked at the contents, and said, "It is indeed a celebration for Daddy."

Seeing that these state affairs would hinder the father and daughter's mood for fishing, Li Chengqian ordered the eunuch beside him: "Send all of these to the residence of Duke Zhao."

"Here."

"Dad, is Tibet going to go to war with the Tang Dynasty?"

Li Chengqian said: "War is inevitable. In fact, this is not a war, it is just to quell the rebellion."

Little Que'er took the fishing rod handed to him by the palace maid and, imitating his father's example, put the fishing line into the river.

The father and daughter sat quietly by the Taiye Lake.

Not far from Taiye Lake, Su Wan and Ning'er watched this quiet scene with smiles on their faces.

On the third day after the urgent report was sent from Tubo, another urgent report was delivered to Chang'an City.

This time, the Tubo Prime Minister Lu Dongzan finally came to the palace to advise His Majesty.

Li Chengqian was looking at a part of the model that the Ministry of Works had just made. This was a model of Chang'an City. It was much more beautiful than his father's puzzle as it was three-dimensional.

"Your Majesty, Lu Dongzan is outside the palace gates asking for an audience."

Li Chengqian ordered: "Tell him to go to the Honglu Temple. Someone is waiting for him."

"Here."

In front of the palace gate, Lu Dongzan stood in the cold wind waiting for the Khan's order and listened to the instructions of the eunuch who came here.

Lu Dongzan bowed slightly towards the palace gate, then followed the eunuch to the Honglu Temple.

More and more Tibetan herdsmen moved to Qinghai, which was like opening a gap. Tibetans could no longer stop Tang officials and soldiers from entering Tibetans.

Lu Dongzan also received Sangbuza's letter. After several attempts to persuade the Tibetan minister, he was unable to stop the Tibetan troops.

Thinking that his son, who was thousands of miles away, was about to make a big mistake, Lu Dongzan wanted to go to Tubo several times, but before leaving, he still wanted to meet the Heavenly Khan.

In the Honglu Temple, the report received by the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong and the Minister of Honglu Temple Guo Zhengyi had a different version of the story. Wang Xuance had tried several times to persuade the Tibetan troops not to arrest the Tibetans who had moved to Qinghai, but after several unsuccessful persuasions, Wang Xuance finally led a large group of troops into the Tibetan territory.

The Tang army and Qinling's troops were scattered on the vast plateau. The two sides rode their horses and fought on the plateau for several days, but there was no result yet.

Generally speaking, the fighting did take place, but the war on the plateau was not like a siege. On the vast plateau, the troops of both sides were scattered and could not wipe out the other side in one fell swoop.

It would be difficult for Wang Xuance to find the enemy's army on the plateau, and the enemy might have been dispersed.

In addition to continuing to advance towards Lhasa City and all the way into the heartland of Tubo, by taking Lhasa City first, they can control a large number of Tubo’s livestock, and then they will have the capital to continue to maneuver. They can just stay entrenched in Lhasa City and respond to all changes with the same strategy.

(End of this chapter)