The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 447: The Return of the Tang Army
After resting for half a month, the Tang army left the city of Talas, leaving behind a group of people from the Western Regions to garrison.

Afterwards, they continued to seize people and livestock along the way. The Tang army's team leaving the Pamirs was particularly large, with crowds of people all the way.

Di Renjie rode his horse and asked, "Are you going to Chang'an with us?"

Murong Shun said: "I am from the Tang Dynasty, of course I have to go to Chang'an."

Di Renjie urged the horse forward again.

Murong Shun sat on the ox cart with a smile on his face. He knew that Di Renjie would always pay attention to him, but so what?
He was reporting to Tian Khan, and the others had little to do with him.

The Tang army stopped and walked along the way, and Bai Fang erected stone tablets along the way. After he erected each stone tablet, he would carve the story of the Tang army here on the stone tablet.

When leaving Talas, the Tang army took away everything they could, including people and even children of the Hu people.

From now on, there will probably be no foreign enemies west of the Ili River for decades.

After erecting the stone tablet, Bai Fang mounted his horse again and continued to follow the Tang army with his monk soldiers.

The brothers Li Zhi and Li Shen also sat in an ox cart, but this ox cart was filled with gold and silver.

Li Jingheng, the deputy general of the Flying Tigers, rode his horse to the side, guarding Prince Jin and Prince Ji. Looking at the smiles on the two boys' faces, it seemed that after the Prince of Hejian, the Tang Dynasty's royal family generals would have a successor, just like my father.

Although Li Zhi was not brave enough in fighting and Prince Ji was not in the front army since the Battle of Suiye, he had at least been on the battlefield and killed the enemy.

In the battle against the Arabs, King Jin was so tired that he could not lift his shoulders several times.

Li Jingheng thought, even if he was not as good as his uncles back then, at least there were successors. If we don't care about their talents, they are also very good.

Who can care what will happen to future generations? As long as there is someone to carry on the legacy, the uncles in the royal family should be pleased.

When the army finally arrived at the city of Suiye, Cheng Yaojin looked at the young people returning with a smile.

These people are the best among the next generation of generals of the Tang Dynasty.

When Pei Yan was about to walk into Suiye City, he suddenly felt his shoulders sink. He turned around and saw the general's big face and a pair of big eyes like copper bells staring at him, which made him feel a little scared.

"General?"

Cheng Yaojin put on a kind smile again and said, "What a pity."

Pei Yan was puzzled and asked, "What a pity? I wonder what the general is regretting?"

Cheng Yaojin raised his head and said, "The old brothers in the army are all wondering what will happen to the younger generation of generals? You are all brave young men, but it's a pity that you are a civil official."

Pei Yan saluted and said, "Although I am a civil official, I can also fight in battle."

"If that's the case, why do you want to be included in the list of civil officials?"

"This..." Pei Yan hesitated and explained: "The boy is still serving in the Anxi Army. After returning..."

Noticing that the general's eyes widened a little more, Pei Yan said, "The boy will join the army."

"Okay!" Cheng Yaojin nodded and waved his hand, signaling him to go into the city to rest.

After taking two steps, Pei Yan arrived at the city gate and turned around again to salute General Cheng Yaojin.

In the Battle of Pamirs, General Cheng Yaojin commanded the battle from the rear with ease and composure.

Lou Shide did not receive a reply from the court, so he stepped forward and asked, "General!"

Cheng Yaojin pushed the man away and had no interest in him.

Cheng Chumo rode forward and said, "Old fellow, why do you have to embarrass Pei Yan?"

"I am doing this for the sake of my old brothers in the court."

"Old generals?"

"Yes." Cheng Yaojin stroked his beard and said, "Those old guys in the army asked me to find some good candidates."

The army entered Suiye City to rest, and then had to make a long journey to the Ili River. After tying up the livestock, the Tang army that had come all the way from Talas City took a rest.

Today's Suiye City has been rebuilt to face south and sit north. The city is square with two avenues forming a cross, crossing the city from north to south and east to west.

Even the houses here are modeled after those of the Tang Dynasty.

There are still many places under construction in Suiye City, and there are even craftsmen sent from the Anxi Protectorate to oversee the matter.

Di Renjie looked at the city of Suiye and said, "Prince Ji, this city is being built really fast."

Li Shen said: "There is no shortage of stones in Congling, but there is a shortage of big trees. Even though the style is similar to that of Chang'an, it is all built with stones."

Pei Xingjian strode over and said, "Why don't you let people come to Congling to plant trees?"

Li Shen explained: "It's hard to grow trees in Congling, but there are a lot of coniferous forests."

When the Tang army arrived at Suiye City, they received food supplies and brought many people with them, most of whom rested outside the city.

The Anxi Protectorate sent a lot of food, which piled up like a mountain, enough to feed the Tang army for several days and nights.

Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren have had good appetites lately, and he has been eating well since returning from India.

Rulaijie did not eat the food provided by the Tang people. He ate tsampa and said, "Tomorrow I will take the Tibetan children back."

Wang Xuance hesitated and asked, "Are you in such a hurry to go back?"

Ru Laijie said: "Yeah."

"You don't want to go to Chang'an, nor do you want to go to Anxi Protectorate?"

"I won't go." Rulaijie coughed twice, took another sip of milk tea to moisten his mouth, and said, "The Tang people have conquered the Pamir Mountains. The Khan will be very happy, and the Zamp will also be happy."

The two men picked up their wine bowls, clinked their tea bowls with each other's, raised their heads and drank the wine in one gulp. Jiang Shiren said, "When I return to Chang'an and settle down, we will come to Tubo to see you."

Rulaijie smiled and said, "My friends, I will wait for you on the snowy mountains of Tubo."

"We are good brothers who fought together. My Tibetan brother, you must not die of old age so early."

Ru Laijie laughed loudly, revealing a row of old teeth.

Before leaving the next day, Wang Xuance asked Lou Shide to write down the names of all the Tubo soldiers before seeing them off.

At the foot of the snow-capped mountains outside Suiye City, Wang Xuance, Jiang Shiren and Qibi Heli bid farewell to the old Tibetan man.

Ru Laijie looked at the Tibetan children who were heading home. He smiled and said, "I am back in Tibet. General Wang should also return to Chang'an. I will write a letter to General Wang who is far away in Chang'an."

Wang Xuance bowed and saluted.

Ru Laijie sat on the cow's back and said with a smile, "Farewell, Tang brothers."

After saying this, he asked the child to lead the cow and headed towards Tubo.

Seeing Jiang Shiren's reluctant look and red eyes, Wang Xuance said, "He will not go to Anxi Protectorate, nor will he go to Chang'an."

Jiang Shiren said, "I don't know if I can see him again when I go to Tubo again."

Qibi Heli said with a smile: "After all, he is a minister of Tubo, not a minister of Tian Khan."

Wang Xuance nodded, "Mr. Liang is right."

Qibi Heli said again: "Friends are like this, there will be a day of separation." Jiang Shiren asked: "Was Liang Gong sad to say goodbye to Tian Khan?"

Qibi Helilangsheng laughed and said, "Hahaha! The Tang Dynasty before was brilliant, and the Tang Dynasty now is brave and fearless."

Duke Liang witnessed the Battle of Pamirs. This is his evaluation of the current Tang Dynasty. The former Tang generals were all heroes of the world.

The Tang people today have inherited the glory of the past, and Qibi Heli has witnessed how brave and fearless the young people of Tang today are.

The heroes of that time have all grown old, and the young people of the Tang Dynasty bravely climbed up the plateau and killed the enemies in the severe cold.

Wang Xuance traveled thousands of miles from Tianzhu, through the mountains, to Pamir Mountains to provide assistance.

Such a feat should go down in history.

Since the Zhenguan period, the brave and fearless Tang people have been making their mark in the Pamir Mountains.

The young generals of the Tang Dynasty could also draw their swords and mount their horses, just like the heroes of the world back then, keep their promises and rush thousands of miles.

In Suiye City, people were cooking and after eating, they set out on their journey home again.

Li Shen was busy instructing the construction of Suiye City. On this day, Suiye City welcomed a group of guests.

These guests came from the small kingdom of Bolor south of the Pamir Mountains.

Cheng Yaojin, Lou Shide, Xue Rengui, Pei Xingjian and Wang Xuance looked at the envoy from the Kingdom of Xiaoboluo together.

The envoy was a minister of the Little Bolor Kingdom. He saluted first, then pointed to the children in colorful clothes behind him and said, "These are the children of our king and our children. I am the king's envoy, going to the Tang Dynasty to pay tribute to the Khan of Heaven."

Wang Xuance knew this minister. He was the minister beside the King of Xiaoboluo. It was he who suggested the king to borrow troops.

Cheng Yaojin asked: "What are you taking these children to do?"

The messenger bowed respectfully and said, "General, these children hope to go to Chang'an to study."

Cheng Yaojin asked again: "Which ones are the sons of King Xiaoboluo?"

The messenger pulled out three children, and the three children also bowed very respectfully.

Xue Rengui muttered quietly: "Why aren't the envoys from Dayuan and Ankang coming?"

Pei Xingjian snorted coldly: "They are thieves, so they naturally dare not come."

Cheng Yaojin asked: "Messenger, are these all the children of your king?"

The messenger replied: "Yes."

Pei Xingjian winked at Cheng Yaojin.

The old general immediately understood what he meant, so he walked aside and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"

Pei Xingjian whispered, "General, Xiaobolü is southwest of the Pamir Mountains and is close to Tubo."

"What do you mean?"

Pei Xingjian looked at the envoy behind him. The other party still had a polite smile. He lowered his voice again and said, "We went to the Pamir Mountains and saw the terrain there. There will definitely be wars in the Pamir Mountains in the future. Xiaoboluo is the main road connecting Tubo and Pamir Mountains. If we can get Xiaoboluo's support, maybe we can stabilize the situation in Pamir Mountains in the future."

Cheng Yaojin hesitated and asked, "Really?"

Pei Xingjian nodded heavily.

Cheng Yaojin was skeptical, then he cleared his throat and said to the messenger, "Okay, you will go to Chang'an with me."

The messenger saluted again with a smile.

It was still eight thousand miles to Chang'an. When the Tang army set out, they took away everything they could from Suiye City, loading ten carts full of five-color salt. The captured population increased to 70,000 people, and the huge team headed all the way to Lake Issyk-Kul.

Along the way, we could see the Tang army coming from the direction of Tianshan Mountains, and every day after walking a certain distance, we would see messengers from the Tang army coming and going to deliver messages.

There was no news on the transfer memorial that Lou Shide had sent to the court. He still wore his official uniform as an imperial censor and recorded what happened along the march.

There was still snow on Lake Issyk-Kul, telling the Tang army that it was still winter.

The Tang army rested by the Issyk-Kul Lake, replenished their drinking water, and cooked some meals.

Murong Shun played a xun, adding some flavor to the Tang people's rest.

Each person brought from the Pamir Mountains was given bread and dried meat to eat every day. After crossing the Ili River, these people would start working to boost the productivity of the Western Regions.

Looking back, the Pamirs are now very desolate. So desolate that there is no human habitation for thousands of miles to the west of Suiye City. The cities are also empty. Occasionally, there are a hundred or so Western Region defenders resting in the cities captured by the Tang army.

Perhaps within a few months, Tang officials will go to the Pamirs.

After walking for more than a month, the large group of people finally reached the Ili River. The escort convoy was as far as the eye could see.

The old general Zhang Shigui, with gray hair and beard, gave Cheng Yaojin a big hug by the Ili River and patted him on the back.

Tang Jun felt like he was back home, and everyone relaxed a lot.

In fact, the Tang army also had children in the Western Regions, children born to them and the Hu women.

The Queen of India was still sitting in the luxurious carriage, holding her son in her arms, looking at a large group of children by the river, with a smile on her face and tears in her eyes.

The army walked along the Karez back to the Anxi Protectorate. Wang Xuance described the appearance of Chang'an City, and the Queen of India listened quietly.

The child started to make some noise, so Wang Xuance took his son and said, "We in the Tang Dynasty are very open-minded and tolerant. If you go to Chang'an, you will know that it is a very prosperous place."

When everyone arrived at the Anxi Protectorate, the emperor's edict was also delivered here. This edict was to build the Anxi Grand Protectorate, expand the Chongwen Hall, build an official residence, and build a guard house.

The newly appointed Protector General of Anxi was Li Yiyan, and he was accompanied by Guo Daiju, an official from the Honglu Temple, and a general, Li Fengjie, who came from the court.

Cheng Yaojin knew Li Fengjie, the son of Li Daliang, so he asked, "Aren't you a student of Chongwenguan? Why are you in Anxi Protectorate?"

Li Fengjie replied in armor: "My father has a grandson. I will inherit my father's merits and serve in Anxi Protectorate."

Cheng Yaojin snorted coldly, "Your husband is tired of you and kicked you out?"

Li Fengjie was about to speak but stopped, so he could only say: "General Cheng is indeed..."

"My eyes are always sharp. I don't even need to ask what your old man is talking about."

Li Fengjie smiled bitterly and said, "In fact, I am a student of Chongwen Academy, a general and the director of Chongwen Academy in the Western Regions. I was ordered to build the Western Regions with Li Yiyan and Guo Daiju."

Cheng Yaojin didn't care why Li Fengjie came to the Western Regions, he insisted that it was because the old man in his family was unhappy with his young man.

It’s the same for every old man. Once they have grandchildren, they don’t want sons anymore. It’s the same in Li Daliang’s family.

Li Fengjie stepped forward and said, "Protector Pei, spare me a moment to talk."

"it is good."

The two previous and current protectorates have to take over matters.

Lou Shide wants to explain to Guo Daiju.

Liang Jianfang wanted to hand over the military command to Li Yiyan.

A group of soldiers returned home. In fact, many of the soldiers who had been stationed in the Western Regions for many years had already started families in the Western Regions. Now everyone can return to Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)