The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 489: Homesick Tibetans
Suiye City is on the east side of the Pamir Mountains. It is the main road from the Tianshan Mountains to the Pamir Mountains, and it is also the only way from the Pamir Mountains to the Tianshan Mountains.

The Pamir Mountains have entered winter at this time of year. Standing in Suiye City and looking into the distance, the white snow is falling with the wind, and the glaciers that never melt all year round are buried by snowflakes.

There is a kind of apricot blossom in the Pamirs that blooms in March. On both sides of some river valleys, those apricot blossoms are a very beautiful sight.

However, the people of Tang Dynasty today cannot see this scenery. When they look up, they can only see the gray sky and the glaciers vaguely visible in the wind and snow.

Since the Tang emperor swept through the Tianshan Mountains, Tang troops had set foot here. They killed some people here, took away some people and livestock, and then left.

Later, the new emperor of the Tang Dynasty sent a large army to the Pamir Mountains again. In order to protect the Ili River, the army conquered the Pamir Mountains and captured four cities: Suiye, Ashibulai, Kulan, and Talas.

After that, the Tang army withdrew, and the four fortresses became deserted and no one was seen.

Some Hu people said that as long as you dig some soil near the city of Talas, you can dig out some bones. On the cold Pamir Plateau, some bones even still have some flesh and tendons on them.

If you find a skeleton lying on the ground in the wilderness, it must be the body of a cannibal.

The battle that year still lingers in the minds of the countries in the Pamir Mountains. One hundred thousand Arabs are buried in the Pamir Mountains, but the power of the Tang people still remains.

Even in the territory of the Black Caliphs, you cannot mention the city of Talas, otherwise you will be killed by the Caliphs.

And now the Tang people have come to Suiye City again.

In Suiye City, it is still quiet.

In the newly established official residence of Jingzhao Prefecture in Suiye City, Jingzhao Prefecture would review all reports from local governments in person. This was the Jingzhao Prefecture's code of conduct.

Although his official position is not high, Zhang Da'an has extensive experience at the grassroots level.

He served as a county magistrate and participated in the construction of various counties in Guanzhong. He also experienced the period of the fastest expansion of Chongwenguan. He also worked in Chongwenguan and went to Tubo to teach.

After finishing the work at hand, Zhang Da'an walked out of the Jingzhao Prefecture's official residence in Suiye City, thinking back to the past, and suddenly felt that the past ten years were very long.

A soldier came running over and said, "The food and grass in Suiye City is enough for the army to use for half a month."

Zhang Daan nodded, "It's still quite rich. Tell the soldiers in the army that food and grass from Tianshan will be delivered soon."

"Here."

After giving these instructions, Zhang Da'an came to the top of the city wall of Suiye City again.

The wind in Suiye City was biting cold at this time of year. Bai Fang sat by the fire and sniffed his stuffy nose. He said, "They always say that the Tang people always come to Congling during the coldest season. I don't know what the Tang people are planning."

Zhang Da'an sat down by the fire, picked up the clay pot on the fire, poured some hot water into it, and took a sip to warm his body.

Bai Fang wrapped himself in a blanket and said, "In fact, the Tang people never had any plans."

Zhang Da'an drank hot water. Bai Fang learned a lot of knowledge from Chongwenguan. In the past, Bai Fang read scriptures in the temples of Qiuci.

Although he doesn’t know what General Bai Fang was like in the past, Zhang Da’an’s biggest feeling during his two years of teaching is that the knowledge learned at Chongwenguan can change people.

This change stems from universal love, which makes people pay more attention to changes in themselves and the environment.

The most influential stories in Chongwenguan are the story of Tian Khan's eastern expedition, the story of Duke Zheng, or the story of Duke Ying Li Ji, who rode alone for thousands of miles to Chang'an to fulfill his promise.

Of course, these alone are not enough to change a person. There is also the spirit of Chongwenguan, which is based on people's livelihood. Compared with the outdated ideas of tribal herdsmen, the teachings of Chongwenguan pay more attention to the manifestation of individual power in the collective.

Secondly, this is to first learn to love yourself. In fact, you could have gotten better, but you just need to fight for it. After learning to love yourself, love everyone in the world and let more people learn to love themselves.

Zhang Da'an felt that he had read many books, and he couldn't remember whether Mohist universal love had such a concept.

In other words, this kind of universal love was digested and utilized by Chongwenguan in another form and used for its own benefit.

If we trace it back, it can only be classified as Mohism.

This is the influence in Tubo and the Western Regions. Looking at Guanzhong, it is another situation. The students of Chongwenguan will not argue about right or wrong with others, but will actively do practical things.

The knowledge taught in Chongwenguan is very simple, so simple that it only teaches people how to distinguish right from wrong.

After absorbing the spirit of Mr. Zheng, Chongwenguan is completing a brand new construction to make the knowledge and spirit of Chongwenguan more perfect.

Some people say that the Chongwenguan either made the emperor more centralized in power or essentially took the power of education away from the court.

It is better to listen to what he says and watch what he does.

The cow dung was still burning in the fire, and Bai Fang added a lot more.

Zhang Daan said: "You have to do military affairs by yourself. I will not help you anymore. It is against my duty."

Bai Fang picked up a baked naan from the fire, looked into the flames and said, "Teach me how to be a good general."

"Didn't Li Fengjie teach you?"

You could also hear the sound of the cold wind whistling in Suiye City. Some of the wind blew into the house through the cracks in the wall, causing the flames to shake slightly.

Bai Fang replied: "I want to ask General Pei, but he..."

Zhang Daan scratched his head and said, "What do you think of General Pei?"

Bai Fang said: "General Pei never taught me. He is a very smart person."

Zhang Da'an roughly understood that Pei Xingjian was a very smart man and naturally would not teach people about marching and fighting. Such things could not be taught casually, otherwise it would harm people.

"In fact, I don't know the art of war. I was just a civil servant when I was in the court." Zhang Da'an looked at the wall lazily, watching the wind and snow outside, and said, "Fortunately, there is no war now, otherwise I don't know what to do if the barbarians come to attack."

"Report!" Another person came quickly from the snow, handed over a parchment scroll and said, "Secret letter from the Kingdom of Little Bolor."

Zhang Daan opened the parchment scroll, took a look at it, and then tied it up again with a rope. He then put it into a bamboo tube, sealed it with wax, and stamped it with his seal before instructing, "Send it to Chang'an as soon as possible."

"Here."

The visitor left in a hurry.

Bai Fang sat cross-legged and said, "That's right, we are here to cultivate the land, not to fight."

Zhang Da'an nodded.

Bai Fang asked, "How to farm?"

Zhang Daan whispered, "The Sinong Temple is not responsible for allocating land. Allocating land is the business of the Anxi Protectorate. The Sinong Temple is only responsible for growing crops."

With such heavy snow and wind, the glacier is covered with thick snow, so it is impossible to plant crops at this time of year.

After waiting for two days, when Xue Ting stopped, Zhang Daan and Bai Fang left the city.

Everyone began to measure the land and plant crops here in the early spring of next year, so they had to start preparations during this winter.

Zhang Da'an did not say what was written in the secret letter sent from Xiaoboluo.

White did not ask any further questions.

Suiye City also became Suiye Town of the Tang Dynasty and one of the four towns of Anxi.

The Tang people also appeared in Qiuci and Yanqi. These were the Tang troops who were building the four Anxi towns in the Western Regions.

In the four towns surrounding Tianshan, each town had a team of soldiers, a Chongwen Hall, and a Jingzhao Prefecture. This was the transformation of the Western Regions by the Tang Dynasty, and it was also the ambition of the current Khan to build the Anxi Protectorate.

An ambitious emperor is bound to be advised by others. Some people advise the emperor to recuperate and build up the national strength, others advise the emperor to focus on civil governance and be more friendly with other countries, and still others advise the emperor to reduce taxes.

Mostly, it was these words. Li Chengqian often listened to their words and read their memorials, and even became numb to these words.

I am so numb that I don't feel annoyed even if I just take a look at it. It's like a daily routine. I read these memorials of advice every day, and I feel uncomfortable if I don't read them for a day.

After dealing with today's state affairs, Li Chengqian ordered: "Any court official who gives advice will be rewarded with a roll of paper and a bar of soap."

"Here."

Li Chengqian stood up, holding the tea bowl, looking at the heavy snow outside, took a sip of tea, and thought... responding to the advice with a positive attitude.

There was also a secret letter sent from Suiye City on the table. It was sent by someone arranged by Murong Shun. After the death of the King of Xiaoboluo, Xiaoboluo is now in chaos.

Murong Shun gave a lot of money to several forces within the group, allowing them to usurp the throne and seize power.

He was a Western Region merchant recognized by the Jingzhao Prefecture of the Tang Dynasty. No one dared to bully him, and all the money he paid must be recovered.

He distributed the money to several forces. Even a group of thieves could sign a contract with him.

In this way, as long as the force he gave money to could successfully usurp the throne and become the new King of Xiaoboluo, Murong Shun could buy a small country with debt.

Although the means were dishonorable, if the other party in the contract betrayed Murong Shun after obtaining the throne.

Then, the Tang army was very interested in sending troops to destroy the Little Bolor Kingdom and seek justice for Murong Shun.

With the support of the Tang people behind him, Murong Shun's investment is guaranteed, and he will make a profit no matter how he calculates it.

Moreover, he had a grudge against the Arabs, and Murong Shun wanted to take the troops of Xiaobolü to attack the Arabs.

Even if the population of Xiaoboluo was exhausted by then, he could still offer Xiaoboluo to the Tang Dynasty, so that the Tang Dynasty would complete the encirclement of Tubo.

This is also the reason for the recent war between Tubo and Xiaoboluo. Both Rulaijie and Qinling wanted to attack Xiaoboluo. No one is a fool and they all know the importance of geographical location.

The snow had not stopped yet, and Li Chengqian got on the carriage and traveled all the way to Chang'an City.

In a residence, there used to be many Tibetans, but now all of them are gone, leaving only a Tibetan prime minister and a Tibetan king.

The troops led by Li Daoyan surrounded the place, and even the nearby roofs were guarded by Tang soldiers. The entire street was cleared.

Li Chengqian got off the carriage and the door of the mansion opened inward.

The one who opened the door was Lu Dongzan, and the one sitting inside the courtyard was Songtsen Gampo.

Lu Dongzan bowed and said, "Heavenly Khan."

Li Chengqian walked into the courtyard, looked at it, and said, "I have read the report. They said that this place is very lively on weekdays, and many Tibetans gather here."

Songtsen Gampo sat on a chair with his legs covered with a blanket, exhaled a breath of hot air in the heavy snow, and said: "Qinling left and took everyone with him. They all miss home."

Li Chengqian stood in the snow with his hands in his pockets and asked, "Do the Zanpu and the Prime Minister miss home?"

Lu Dongzan stood in the back and still remembered the first time he met the emperor. At that time, the emperor was still the crown prince and was a very kind person.

Now that he has become the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he can mobilize thousands of troops and kill people with just a few words.

The emperor's power grew stronger and his edge became sharper.

Songtsen Gampo replied: "I have figured it out after staying in Chang'an for so many years."

Li Daoyan stood beside His Majesty, thinking about the words. Did he understand? Did Songtsen Gampo understand that Qinling would die if he didn't understand things?
The people of Tibet respect Songtsen Gampo, so Your Majesty needs him to be alive.

The Tibetans could disrespect their prime minister, Ludongtsen, and Qinling, but Songtsen Gampo was the pillar of their hearts.

Therefore, Your Majesty can be kind to Songtsen Gampo, or you can save Lu Dongzan's life. At least Your Majesty needs to do so.

But to others, His Majesty has never been a kind person.

Li Chengqian saw a scroll beside him, picked it up and flipped through it, "This is the latest book from Chongwenguan."

Songtsen Gampo coughed twice, frowned with some pain, and replied: "Every time Chongwenguan has a new book, I will read it, but the Dream of the Red Chamber still has no ending."

Li Chengqian was still flipping through the book. In fact, his uncle didn't know the ending of the Dream of the Red Chamber until he was buried.

My uncle had seen through it a long time ago. He didn't care about these things at all. He just let him go to the grave with a Dream of Red Mansions without an ending. It would be meaningless if it was revealed. If it was said wrong, it would not become a swan song. A swan song is priceless.

The old man had long been tired of the scenery of the human world and the old and repetitive cycle.

Li Chengqian put down the book, his uncle wanted to see a different view of the world.

It’s a pity that he didn’t see the whole picture. The Dream of the Red Chamber must have been boring and uninteresting to him.

My uncle’s own experiences and the things he has seen are much more exciting than The Dream of the Red Chamber.

Seeing that His Majesty didn't say anything, Songtsen Gampo tactfully didn't say anything more.

After a long silence, Li Chengqian asked, "How is your health lately?"

Songtsen Gampo coughed twice again and said, "I have caught a cold occasionally, but I am relatively well."

"Dr. Sun left me a book of medicine. I have sent it to the Imperial Medical Bureau. Perhaps I can find some prescriptions that can cure the disease from Dr. Sun's book of medicine."

"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty."

"Tell Qinling not to attack the Little Bolor Kingdom for the time being."

Songtsen Gampo said: "Okay."

Seeing that the other party agreed readily, Li Chengqian continued, "Write a letter and let him know."

Songtsen Gampo still nodded.

After a few brief words of greeting, His Majesty left.

Until the gate of the mansion was closed, the footsteps of the soldiers leaving were heard all around, and the Tang soldiers on the roofs around were gone.

Songtsen Gampo then said, "The Heavenly Khan is building the four towns of Anxi."

Lu Dongzan added: "The Heavenly Khan also wants to plot against the Little Bolor Kingdom."

"Will not."

Songtsen Gampo shook his head in denial.

As soon as the emperor left, officials from the Honglu Temple arrived, bringing a lot of meat, rice and flour, and a pot of vinegar.

Lu Dongzan bowed and thanked him.

(End of this chapter)