The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 424 Reunion

In front of the Kumu City in Tianzhu, when the wind blows, some dust will be blown up, and there are mottled marks on the city wall, which are left after the war.

In front of the city gate, Jiang Shiren wiped his tears and said, "Seeing you coming, the soldiers feel relieved."

Liu Hongye patted him on the shoulder and said, "I was originally in charge of teaching in Tubo. General Cui from Qinghai heard about your story and asked us to come here."

When Ru Laijie heard the Tang official in front of him mention Qinghai Road so naturally, he felt that many years had passed in a daze as if Qinghai was now a prefecture of the Tang Dynasty.

If you think about it carefully, Qinghai Road has been in the hands of the Tang Dynasty for seven years.

This Tang army that had penetrated deep into India was no longer an isolated force. Upon learning that the court attached great importance to the achievements made by the soldiers and had sent people to manage the situation, the soldiers in the city were excited.

As soon as the people from Chongwenguan entered Qunu City, they began to ask various questions.

To the extent that, the Indian princess's eyes always looked strange.

Liu Hongye asked, "When does General Wang plan to go back?"

Wang Xuance looked back at his pregnant wife who was standing in front of the palace.

Liu Hongye smiled knowingly and said, "It's okay. We won't interfere in the general's family affairs. You can go back anytime."

Hearing this, Wang Xuance said, "Shouldn't I be ordered to return to Chang'an to report on my duties now?"

"It should be like this. In fact, there are many people like General Wang in Songzhou and Tubo. In order to make things convenient for the soldiers, the court will be much more relaxed when it comes to family matters."

Wang Xuance clasped his fists to express his gratitude.

Liu Hongye looked around.

Wang Xuance asked, "Is the army relaxing its recruitment now?"

Seeing that the other party still looked anxious, Liu Hongye frowned and said, "There is such a rumor."

Wang Xuance looked solemn.
"General Wang, are you confused?"

"It's okay, maybe I'm worrying too much."

"After that, another two thousand soldiers will arrive at Qunu City to replace the soldiers. The court hopes that the soldiers can return home at any time even when they are on an expedition."

Wang Xuance smiled and nodded. This kind of steadiness is what is most needed when going out on a campaign.

"This is your majesty's proposition, and it is also the education and governance that your majesty values ​​most. However, some people in the court said that the Tang Dynasty may never again have large-scale wars."

Wang Xuance remained silent and said nothing. Only Jiang Shiren had seen the Arabs.

After just one meeting, he still feels resentful about it and has been asking people to collect news about the Arabs. Rumors have been coming to him intermittently these days, making him worried. The Tang Dynasty still has a big enemy, and this enemy is very powerful.

Liu Hongye was a very capable man. On the first day he arrived in Qunu City, he took over all matters here and selected a larger house as the location of Chongwenguan.

Just as he asked the people from Chongwenguan to bring the files into the room, he saw an old Tibetan man walking towards them.

Liu Hongye bowed and said, "I have heard of the Tibetan wise man a long time ago. Is he the old gentleman?"

Rulaijie looked up at the room that was to be set up as Chongwen Hall, and he sat down and said, "You Tang people have more and more powerful wise men."

This was a very confident young man. Rulaijie had a deeper impression of him and asked, "Why don't you go to the palace of Tianzhu?"

"The Tianzhu Palace must be preserved."

Rulaijie added: "The land of Tianzhu that you Tang people conquered naturally belongs to you."

Liu Hongye also sat down and said, "If Tibet becomes part of the Tang Dynasty in the future, we will also keep the Potala Palace, unless the Indians are willing to demolish their palace. But everything here was built by the Indians with their own hands. They shed blood and sweat here, so everything here should also belong to them."

Hearing this, Ru Laijie was silent for a moment. This young man was different from Wang Xuance. When talking to this student from Chongwenguan, his words sounded precise and his purpose was clearer.

"They shed blood and sweat here..." Rulaijie murmured in a low voice, looking into the distance, and said: "The knowledge of Chongwenguan is really amazing."

"We will preserve the palace of Tianzhu. This is also part of our duty."

"Will you Tang people also set up workshops when governing India?"

Liu Hongye shook his head and said, "First, we need to understand this place, and then make arrangements based on local conditions. Based on our experience over the years, Tianzhu can grow a lot of food, and we can cultivate it vigorously. This is a huge granary, so why should we open a workshop? Isn't this putting the cart before the horse?"

"We need food and fodder, and we need a very large granary. Officials from the Honglu Temple and Sinong Temple will come later."

Rulaijie said: "There are not many people left. They have all been killed."

"We can recruit or purchase manpower. We can use the output of grain as a condition to allow people from various countries to come and work. We will provide them with fixed meals and accommodation every day, and we will pay them with grain after a year. As long as there are fields here, manpower is not a problem."

Ru Laijie kept nodding his head, and his expression was different from when he faced Wang Xuance before. The abilities displayed by the students of Chongwenguan were really intimidating.

He asked: "Will the Khan of Heaven reward Tubo children this time when we come to India?"

"Yes, they will get the Tibetan pastures, and you can also move the people and livestock here to Tibet, even if you leave an empty Tianzhu behind."

Rulaijie asked suspiciously, "Really?"

Liu Hongye smiled and nodded, and then said: "Even the children of Tubo can go to Chang'an to study and learn the knowledge of our Chongwenguan."

“What kind of knowledge is there in Chongwenguan?”

“With what I learned, I can become the kind of people we are.”

“Hahaha…” Rulaijie laughed out loud. He stroked his beard and asked, “What kind of person is the Khan today?”

Liu Hongye replied: "I have never met Tian Khan, but I think Tian Khan should be a well-versed person. This is my opinion and has nothing to do with others."

Rulaijie shook his head and stood up, saying, "My child, you are wrong. What your Tian Khan wants to do is as high as an eagle on a snowy mountain. The heart of Tian Khan is like the wind and snow in the world that covers the sky and the sun."

The old man walked away step by step, and said: "The eagle flies very high..."

Half a month after Liu Hongye came to Tianzhu Qunu City, the first batch of one thousand soldiers to replace the guard arrived.

Chongwenguan took over the governance here and began a curfew in Qunu City.

Li Yibiao was a doctor of the Ministry of Rites in the court, and he needed to go back to report on his work.

Wang Xuance stayed in Tianzhu temporarily. He wanted to wait for the princess to give birth to the child, and then return to Chang'an in one or two years, and bring the princess with him. With the promise of Chongwenguan, even if the princess went to Chang'an, she would still be a member of the royal family of Tianzhu when she returned to Tianzhu in the future, and the princess's child would also be a member of the royal family of Tianzhu, and even more so a member of the Tang Dynasty.

Jiang Shiren could have gone back, but he decided to stay here. He rode his horse to the territory of East India several times, wanting to capture a few Arabs and find out the truth.

In the end, only Li Yibiao helped everyone write family letters or memorials. He packed his bags and said goodbye to Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren. He led three hundred soldiers all the way eastward.

In the middle of October in the third year of Qianqing’s reign, west of the Hexi Corridor.

Li Zhi and Li Shen rode horses to a village. This was their first time to travel to the Western Regions.

Escorting Prince Jin and Prince Ji all the way here were the old Duke of Liang, Qibi Heli, and Cheng Chumo and Li Jingheng from the current Flying Tigers in the army.

Except for the Duke of Laoliang, Qibi Heli, all the others were members of the Flying Tigers.

After Your Majesty ascended the throne, the Eastern Palace Right Guard was no longer the same as it used to be. Like the Northern Yamen Imperial Guards, the Flying Tigers also became an independent imperial guard outside of the various ministries and guards.

No one knows how strong this imperial army is. People only know that it was the Prince of Hejian who trained this team in the beginning. Later, the Flying Tigers rarely showed up in public. Even now that Li Zhi and Li Shen are going to the Western Regions, Li Jingheng will not say directly that he is a member of the Flying Tigers.

Another purpose of coming out this time was to keep an eye on Cheng Chumo. Li Jingheng rode his horse beside Prince Jin and Prince Ji, and looked at Cheng Chumo behind him. It was because this man named Cheng married his sister, and before he left, his sister gave birth to a son for him.

The group walked quietly, with the old Duke of Liang, Qibi Heli, walking in front. He explained as he walked, "This was originally the territory of Tuyuhun. Tuyuhun has been destroyed for many years. The current His Majesty has re-divided this place into states, two prefectures and six states, divided into Gan, Liang, Gua, Sha, Hui, and Su. Three of the states belong to Longyou Road, and the remaining three belong to Xiliang Prefecture."

Li Zhi listened to these words and looked around. In front of a village, he saw a stone statue of a man from the Western Regions. He didn't know where the legendary Bai Fang was.

Li Shen looked towards a forest in the distance and said, "Brother, there are also many grapes planted here."

Qibi Heli said with a smile: "The grapes here are not well grown, the grapes from Gaochang are better."

Li Zhi dismounted, walked up to the Western Regions man with the stone statue, and asked, "My friend?"

The man raised his head, his blue eyes noticed the newcomer, and he saluted and said, "Are you a friend of Chang'an?"

Li Zhi nodded and said, "That's right."

Li Shen said: "Excuse me, do you know that there is a monk from the Western Regions named Bai Fang who is here to welcome us?"

"I am Bai Fang. I am not a monk. I am now a student at Chongwen Hall. I am also a friend of Pei Duhu. I am also the first Westerner to be the chief clerk of Chongwen Hall in the Western Regions."

Hearing this, Li Zhi and Li Shen were stunned again. This guy had many identities, but it was not a big deal. It was just that they were in the Western Regions for the first time and did not know the local customs and practices there.

Bai Fang brushed off the dust on his body and saluted, "I have been waiting for many days. I am honored to meet the King of Jin, the King of Ji, and all the generals."

Seeing that the other party was very polite, Li Zhi looked at the several stone statues he had polished.

Bai Fang said: "I am waiting here, with nothing to do. They say carving stone statues can calm one's mind. Although I am no longer a disciple of Buddha, the monks are carving Buddha statues in the caves, and I am carving people here. I have always felt that people are more important than Buddha."

"I love people, and I love being a person. My name is Bai Fang, a name given to me by Xuanzang, but I don't want to be someone like Xuanzang."

Li Zhi looked at the small stone statue and listened to Bai Fang's mumbling, frowning slightly. Originally, the two of them came to look for Zhang Jianzhi and Di Renjie, and heard that the two were in the Anxi Protectorate.

Li Shen asked: "Who are these people you are carving?"

Bai Fang explained: "These are the Sogdians."

"Sogdians?"

"Your Highness, these are merchants from the Western Regions. They travel in groups, carrying bags on their backs, through the oases and deserts. They like to wear tall hats, and most of their backs are bent because they need to carry heavy goods for a long distance."

Li Shen asked, "Aren't they sitting on camels?"

Bai Fang smiled and said, "The knowledge of Chongwenguan has always made us put ourselves in other people's shoes. Your Highnesses have always been in the Central Plains. In fact, only a small number of Hu merchants go to Chang'an or the Hexi Corridor. Even those who go to the Hexi Corridor are the richest Hu merchants."

"But they rarely use their wealth for construction. Most people carry their wealth with them. Wherever they go, their wealth goes. This is one of the reasons why the people in the Western Regions are always poor."

"But it's different now. Today, the Western Regions have the Chongwen Academy, Jianshewei Mansion, and people from Sinong Temple. There are more Tang people..."

Li Zhi hoped that Shen Di would stop asking questions, because if he asked a question, the white player would mutter to himself endlessly.

He stopped talking, probably because his mouth was dry, so he picked up the water bag and poured some cold water into his mouth.

Li Shen asked, "Is it far from here to Anxi Protectorate?"

"Not far, about five days' journey if everything goes well." Bai Fang added, "In the past, the road to the Western Regions was even more difficult to travel. In the past, if you left this area and wanted to go further west, you had to go around places where bandits were active. It was common to take a month to travel from here to Gaochang."

"After the Tang Dynasty built the Protectorate here..."

He started mumbling again. Li Zhi stroked his forehead in pain, but due to his upbringing he couldn't interrupt him.

Li Shen finally realized something and his smile became much stiffer.

Until Qibi Heli cleared his throat.

Bai Fang then stopped talking and asked, "Your Highnesses, are we leaving now?"

Li Zhi nodded and mounted his horse.

Led by Bai Fang, the group headed west.

Bai Fang said that the road to the Western Regions is not difficult to travel now, but when people really left Shazhou, they felt that the road was really difficult to travel.

Several people changed to camels and listened to Bai Fang telling stories and legends about the Western Regions along the way.

Here, we bake naan with sand and eat it. This is Bai Fang’s skill. He can always find water and shelter from the wind.

Just as everyone was resting in the poplar forest, they suddenly heard a shout, "Your Highness Prince Jin! Your Highness Prince Ji!"

The shouting was so loud that Li Zhi thought he had misheard for a moment. He turned his head and smiled with joy.

Di Renjie ran forward quickly, embraced the two people in front of him, and said with a happy smile: "I heard that Prince Jin and Prince Ji were coming, and I thought it was a joke. Are you really coming?"

Li Shen laughed the happiest.

Li Zhi said proudly, "Of course I will keep my word."

(End of this chapter)