The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 471 Hedong Pei

Xue Wanbei replied: "I will arrange people to protect the Tibetan king right away."

After Li Chengqian returned to Liangyi Hall, Xue Wanbei really did so. The Tibetan king was ill, and the Tang army surrounded the Tibetan residence to protect the Tibetan king who was recuperating.

Xue Wanbei was personally waiting at the door of Songtsen Gampo's house. Today, by chance, Zhang Wenzhong, a medical officer from the Imperial Medical Bureau, came to visit him.

Seeing the general standing at the door, Zhang Wen Zhong saluted politely.

Xue Wanbei did not let the medical officer in immediately, but asked: "Will Songtsen Gampo die of illness?"

This question made Zhang Wenzhong hesitate. He lifted the medicine box hanging on his shoulder and whispered, "Why did General Xue..."

Xue Wanbei also whispered: "The court and your majesty do not want Songtsen Gampo to die of illness."

Zhang Wenzhong nodded and said, "Of course."

"If Songtsen Gampo really died of illness, he couldn't die here, and the Tibetans couldn't know about his death."

"What do you mean, General?"

Xue Wanbei took two steps to one side and opened the door, and patted the scabbard of the sword at his waist as he walked.

Zhang Wenzhong understood and bowed, saying, "I am a doctor. Doctors can only save lives. If there is any change in the condition, I will inform the general and your majesty truthfully."

Xue Wanbei nodded and signaled that people could go in.

After Zhang Wenzhong walked into the courtyard, Xue Wanbei lingered outside the door. After another half an hour, he came out again.

"How's his health?"

Zhang Wenzhong stood still and said, "He is recovering well. He will be fully recovered in two or three days. However, Zamp is prone to illness. He may get sick again this winter."

Xue Wanbei felt a little disappointed. Songtsen Gampo's life was tougher than he had imagined.

Zhang Wenzhong bowed and said goodbye.

In the courtyard, Songtsen Gampo had just drunk a bowl of medicine.

Lu Dongzan stared at the closed door in the courtyard and whispered, "As soon as the Zamp fell ill, the Tang army surrounded us."

Songtsen Gampo suppressed the angry prime minister, put his hand on his shoulder and said, "The Khan will not let me die."

Lu Dongzan said in a deep voice: "The hearts of people in the Central Plains are the most complicated."

Songtsen Gampo suddenly smiled, and the Tibetan prime minister also began to read Dream of the Red Chamber. Unfortunately, Dream of the Red Chamber is still a book without an ending, and the fate of various characters in the book also came to an abrupt end.

When Qinling also came back, Songtsen Gampo continued, "I'm afraid that the Heavenly Khan felt that I was too dangerous when I was seriously ill, and was worried that Rulaijie would send someone to assassinate me again. It's reasonable for the Tang people to be on guard against something that has already happened."

Lu Dongzan was breathing heavily and clenched one hand into a fist.

While in Chang'an, Songtsen Gampo was still the king of Tubo, and also a friend of the Heavenly Khan and a distinguished guest of Chang'an.

It's not just because they are in Chang'an. Isn't there any unrest among the people of Tubo?
Some people were thinking about establishing another king. Songtsen Gampo not only had to get along with the Tang people, but also had to write letters between Tubo and the Tang Dynasty in Chang'an, using this method to maintain the internal situation in Tubo.

But in recent letters, Sambuza has said again and again that the Tang people are now putting the Tibetan nobles under greater and greater pressure, and that the Tibetans have been divided into several factions within Tibet.

Some of these forces still supported themselves as the king, and these people were the Tibetan ministers who were in league with Sambhota.

There are also some people who want to re-establish the Zamp. These people are also willing to rely on the Tang Dynasty, but they act more radically, led by Ru Laijie.

Others were Tibetan nobles who did not want to allow Chongwenguan and Duhufu to expand, which had threatened their pastures. They also wanted to win over Tibetan ministers from both the radical and stability-maintaining factions, hoping that they could counter Chongwenguan and Duhufu, and even launch another Songzhou battle.

All of this was caused by disputes among the various forces within Tubo.

Songtsen Gampo felt tired every time he read these letters. If he were the Khan, how would he deal with the situation in Tubo?

After much deliberation, Songtsen Gampo wrote a letter and instructed: "Give it to the Tang army outside and have them deliver it to the Heavenly Khan."

Inside the palace, Li Chengqian was looking through the reports from the Censorate in recent days. There were three chessboards on the table. When he had nothing to do, he would read the reports and play chess with his children.

There is a chessboard in front of each of the three children, Xiao Yutu, Xiao Lingque and Xiao Mengji, and they all hold the white chess pieces.

His Majesty is the one holding the black chess pieces. His Majesty can read memorials while playing chess with three children at the same time.

In fact, Xiao Yutu’s chess skills were not bad, but when facing his father, he felt like he was facing a formidable enemy. He could occasionally beat his grandfather, but he could not beat his father.

There was a rumor in the palace that my father had never lost a game of chess, whether it was against Prime Minister Fang, Old Grandpa, or Duke Wei, or it could be said that he had never lost at all.

Xiao Que'er is also very good at chess.

Little Mengji is only eight years old and has just learned it not long ago.

The youngest prince, Li Miao, whose nickname is Cong'er, which means "steed", is still learning to hold chopsticks.

Although the court was on holiday, the Censorate could still report on matters.

Li Chengqian looked at the memorial for a moment, heard three bells ringing in succession, then put the memorial down slightly, glanced at the chessboard and quickly made a move. The chess pieces on all three chessboards were moved very quickly, and then he continued to look at the memorial with a smile on his face.

All three children looked distressed. They were either scratching their heads or sitting cross-legged with their chins supported by their hands, looking at the situation on the chessboard with serious expressions.

This is your Majesty's talent, being able to do two things at once, even playing chess with three children at the same time.

It was very quiet in the Liangyi Hall, so quiet that the palace maids had to walk lightly for fear of disturbing such a heartwarming scene.

After Xiao Yutu moved the chess piece accordingly, he rang his bell, and then he helped his two sisters to analyze the chess game together.

The three children began to join forces to deal with their father.

Li Chengqian still sat as steady as a mountain, flipping through the memorials.

After three more bells rang, Li Chengqian quickly moved each chess piece on the chessboard and continued to look at the memorial.

Su Wan, who was standing by, couldn't help but smile and almost laughed out loud.

Ning'er also shook her head. Playing chess with His Majesty was the most painful thing in the world. No matter whether it was one's own child, father, or grandfather, His Majesty would never hold back and would never let you down. He would beat you until you were humiliated.

Li Chengqian saw the memorial submitted by Liu Rengui of Jingzhao Prefecture. Zhang Jianzhi was still using Zheng Gong's Quotations to teach the officials. These officials were almost reciting Zheng Gong's Quotations aloud every day until they could recite them by heart.

Zhang Jianzhi's method was clever. The court did not restrict the spread of Zheng Gong's remarks, and all the villages and counties were already filled with Zheng Gong's remarks.

Not to mention that this behavior is exactly what Xu Jingzong wants, and it is also exactly what the current court wants.

There were three children talking around me, discussing the chess game.

Li Chengqian raised his head slightly and saw that it had started snowing outside the palace again. There wasn't much snow this year, but it was exceptionally cold.

Three more bells rang, and Li Chengqian made a move on each chessboard. All three chess games were simultaneously checked by the white chess pieces.

And they all use the same method.

Xiao Meng pouted in grievance.

Little Yutu was still scratching the back of his head.

The eunuch walked into the hall, saluted and said, "Your Majesty, this is the letter from the Tibetan king." Li Chengqian also finished reading the rumor memorial from the Censorate and took the letter from Songtsen Gampo and read it carefully.

To the Khan, Songtsen Gampo told the current situation of Tubo without reservation and asked how to deal with the situation in Tubo.

After the three children left, Ning'er packed up the chessboard and said, "Your Majesty, the children are all very aggrieved."

"Being wronged in front of me is nothing. The grievances now are good for them."

"Doesn't your majesty always say that young people should be frivolous?"

“That’s because they are sensible.”

Ning Er smiled gently again, poured a bowl of hot tea for her husband, and asked, "Is there something wrong with Tubo again?"

"Yes." After reading the letter, Li Chengqian handed it back to the eunuch beside him and instructed, "Tell him that I will not interfere in Tibetan affairs without reason."

"Here."

After giving the order, Li Chengqian frowned, took a sip of tea and said, "Do you think I am a nosy person?"

Ning Er stacked the three chessboards together and had them moved away, then said, "Your Majesty is not someone who likes to meddle in other people's affairs."

"So, Zamp has misunderstood me."

Ning'er said, "Your Majesty feels that the Tibetan king has not shown enough sincerity. Although your Majesty is a friend of the king, the relationship between your Majesty of the Tang Dynasty and the Tibetan king is a relationship between two countries. You need to be careful with your words and deeds. The court officials will understand your Majesty's painstaking efforts."

Li Chengqian laughed and said, "In your opinion, it was Songtsen Gampo who lost his sense of proportion."

Wasn't it Your Majesty who first made Songtsen Gampo lose his composure? If you surrounded his residence, anyone else would have lost their composure.

The children were having a snowball fight in front of the hall while Li Chengqian was drinking tea quietly.

When the court takes a break, it feels like time is passing very slowly and the weather is getting colder.

There were still busy officials in the imperial city. Pei Yan walked quickly in the imperial city. There were still scattered officials on duty in various departments of the court. This year it was his turn to guard the Ministry of War.

Walking into the official residence of the Ministry of War, Pei Yan looked through recent files.

Hearing the sound of footsteps on the snow outside, Pei Yan looked up and asked, "Why are you here?"

Zhang Jianzhi said, "The court is on holiday, and the King of Jin asked us to go have a drink."

Pei Yan looked at him sitting upright and said, "No."

"Just think of it as you giving me advice, thank you for your help."

"I didn't help you."

Zhang Jianzhi looked up and wanted to sigh, Pei Laohei's words were really colder than the snow in this winter.

"It's fine if you don't want to go. Di Renjie and General Pei are here anyway. I won't force you to go."

Pei Yan shook his head and said, "I have to stay here and not go."

Zhang Jianzhi let out a breath of hot air, looked at him for a second, and simply sat down as well.

"Why? I have already said I can't go, what do you want?"

"If you don't go, I won't go either."

Pei Yan pushed the heater slightly towards him and said calmly, "Help yourself."

Sitting under the same roof with Pei Yan was indeed a very boring thing. Zhang Jianzhi sat for a while and half-lying down for a while.

Pei Yan kept flipping through the book.

Unable to bear the silence here, Zhang Jianzhi said, "I have something to ask you."

"You said."

"Are you really not from the same clan as Pei Xingjian?"

Pei Yan shook his head and said, "No, although General Pei and I are both from the Hedong Pei family, we are not from the same branch. My father, Pei Datong, was the commander of the Luojiao Prefecture and served under Duke Ying. General Pei is from a military family and is very distant from my branch. Our ancestors are not the same person."

Zhang Jianzhi frowned and said, "It's so complicated."

Pei Yan added: "All noble families are complicated, not to mention the Pei family which has long since fallen apart. It is Zheng Gong's wife, Pei, whom I should call grandma. My kinship with General Pei is not even as close as that with Wei Shuyu and the others."

After saying this, Pei Yan looked up and saw that Zhang Jianzhi had fallen asleep at some point.

After a while, the sound of rising and falling snoring could be heard.

Pei Yan continued to be busy with his own affairs. He wanted to look through the military registers of the Ministry of War and find out who the generals of the various local Zhechoufu were. In the past, the Ministry of War was very busy and he had no time to look at it. He would make a good supplement when he had free time. He did not want to miss this opportunity because of Prince Jin's banquet.

Tomorrow, he will not be on duty at the Ministry of War. Pei Yan took his cloak and put it on Zhang Jianzhi, and then continued to look at the files.

"Have you heard? Songtsen Gampo asked Your Majesty to take charge of the overall situation of Tubo, but Your Majesty refused."

"Really? When did it happen?"

"It was spread by the guards who were guarding the Tibetans' residence. I heard that Lu Dongzan was still complaining about this matter. They didn't know about it originally, and only spread it after Your Majesty refused."

"Such a good opportunity, why did Your Majesty refuse it?"

There were whispering voices coming from outside the door, so Pei Yan simply closed the door, leaving just enough space for air to flow in, thus shutting out the sound.

When he turned around, he saw Zhang Jianzhi, who had been sleeping, sitting up.

In fact, Zhang Jianzhi was a very talented person. If it weren't for his confused appearance, with a little flexibility, his talent would not be inferior to his own.

In other words, Zhang Jianzhi was very talented, he just didn't realize it and no one taught him properly.

But it is different for himself. Pei Yan feels that he has been taught by the famous teachers of Hedong Pei family since he was a child, which is why he has the knowledge he has today.

Pei Xingjian was not a prominent figure in the Hedong Pei family. After his father and son died in the battle, Pei Xingjian was the only heir. Instead, Pei Xingjian relied on his own imperial examination to enter the officialdom, and after serving in the army, he became the general of the Leading Army Guard.

Furthermore, Pei Yan felt that Di Renjie's talent was the most outstanding and the most powerful among his peers.

After hearing from Zhang Jianzhi that Di Renjie was also at the banquet hosted by Prince of Jin, he wanted to go to the banquet, but remembering his father's teachings, he refused. He did not want to get too close to Prince of Jin or Prince of Ji. After all, they were members of the royal family of Li Tang, while he was an official in the court.

My father served as a captain in the Zhechoufu, and I also worked in the Ministry of War. But after arriving in Chang'an, my father never gave me any care.

Even over the years, he has never come to visit me, his son, except for letters from home. My father still loves my younger brother more.

Compared to the decline of Pei Xingjian's lineage, Pei Yan still has a younger brother. Thinking about these things, he sat down again.

"Tell me, what should I teach those people in the future?"

Zhang Jianzhi suddenly asked another question.

Pei Yan replied: "After being warned, we should set an example and be fearless like Duke Zheng."

(End of this chapter)