The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 502: Tang People and Western Region People
Di Renjie asked back: "Did he win?"

Pei Xingjian turned over, mounted his horse, and exhaled a breath of alcohol. "I heard that they defeated the Arabs, but they also lost a lot of soldiers and horses."

"Murong Shun was a very powerful businessman. He bought so many soldiers and horses to enter the Kingdom of Xiaoboluo, but those soldiers died for money. Murong Shun became the king of Xiaoboluo. Murong Shun only spent money, and those who died in the battle lost their lives. The soldiers who died in the Kingdom of Xiaoboluo, including their bodies, all belonged to Murong Shun."

This was indeed a very profitable deal. According to the legend of Pamirs, although the rebel army accepted Murong Shun's money to fight, in the end all of them died in the battle. Their wealth remained in the Little Bolor Kingdom and became Murong Shun's wealth.

Not only that, Murong Shun also got a small country, which was located in a strategic place northwest of Tubo, southwest of Pamir Mountains and northeast of India.

At the beginning, Murong Shun was just a wealthy businessman.

Now Murong Shun not only has money, but also territory and his own army.

Pei Xingjian asked, "Do you still think he will be detrimental to the Tang army?"

Di Renjie hesitated and said, "I always feel that Murong Shun is not a simple person."

"Of course he is not simple. He is a well-known businessman in the Western Regions. His reputation is so high that even the former rulers of the Western Regions have to respect him."

Di Renjie shook his head and said, "I'm not talking about his reputation."

Pei Xingjian said: "His ability is not simple either."

In the Western Regions, good and evil are not so clearly distinguished. Even though Murong Shun used such means to steal the country, he was still supported by many people in the Western Regions. This shows that... in the future Western Regions, the teaching of etiquette and law will always be the top priority.

Of course, Di Renjie could blame all this on the fact that Pei Xingjian had been in the Western Regions for too long.

As the two were talking, a man from the Western Regions rode up on a fast horse and bowed to report, "General Pei, the food and fodder have arrived."

Pei Xingjian looked behind him and saw a team slowly approaching in the wind and snow.

The person walking in the front was riding on a cow's back, singing the ballads of the Tianshan Mountains loudly, and his melodious singing echoed by the lake.

The animals pulling the food and fodder included cows, horses, and donkeys, with children sitting on the carts as they moved along.

This team is composed of people from the Western Regions, with no Tang people. This is the situation in the Western Regions today, and there is no need for Tang people to watch over it. People from the Western Regions are very willing to help the Tang army.

A child standing on an ox cart saw Pei Xingjian and Di Renjie, pointed at them and shouted.

As the children's shouts died down, the team moved a little faster.

When we got closer, we found that this group of people were covered with a lot of snow. The snow had become their outer clothes. The snow only fell off when they got off the ox cart.

Each wooden cart is covered with a thick layer of snow. If you look from a distance, it looks like a wooden cart carved out of snowmen and snow.

Pei Xingjian said loudly: "There is a cave here that can shelter us from the wind and snow."

Seeing that the wind and snow were getting stronger, Di Renjie looked around again and then walked into the cave together.

Pei Xingjian lit a fire in the cave. The warm firelight illuminated the children's cheeks and brightened their eyes.

Pei Xingjian took out a piece of naan and roasted it by the fire. Seeing the timid looks of the children, he said, "Take out all your clothes and food and roast them here to keep warm."

The leader of the grain transport was a typical Westerner. He said in Guanzhong dialect: "Thank you, General."

Pei Xingjian added: "It's okay, no need to thank me."

Di Renjie stayed at the entrance of the cave for a moment, but a gust of trade wind blew by, and the snow outside became heavier, and it looked like a snow curtain was spread in front of the cave.

From the cave came the laughter of children and the mooing of cows.

Di Renjie turned around and saw a group of Western children eating cakes by the fire.

Several fires were lit in the cave, and everyone wrapped themselves in outer clothes and closed their eyes to rest.

Several children huddled together, sleeping under a cloak.

Pei Xingjian sat by the fire, listening to everyone's breathing, and took out a book and started reading.

Di Renjie asked, "How long have you been reading this book?"

Pei Xingjian said, "This was sent by Wang Xuance."

Di Renjie still had no interest, and said, "Brother Pei, there will probably be no war this winter."

Pei Xingjian shook his head and said, "No."

In the warm cave, the accumulated snow was melting. The snow that drifted in turned into water and slowly flowed towards the cave entrance. When it approached the cave entrance, it encountered the cold wind and turned into ice again.

Di Renjie took a drowsy nap for a while, and when he woke up again, the group of more than ten people were still sleeping soundly.

Hearing the sound of pages turning, Di Renjie turned around and saw Pei Xingjian still reading a military book.

Pei Xingjian picked up the toasted naan from the fire and ate the crispy naan while saying, "In the past, the Tang people and the people of the Western Regions were hostile. At that time, my family followed General Hou Junji and General Zhang Shigui to conquer Gaochang."

Di Renjie nodded and said, "I have heard of that battle. I was still young at that time and I only heard these things from my elders."

Pei Xingjian whispered, "That was my first time killing an enemy. I held the Damo Dao and resisted the cavalry's charge. It was actually very simple. I just held the Damo Dao in my hand, turned my body, and chopped everything with the Dao in my hand."

"Back then, the Tang people fought with the people of the Western Regions, but now..." Pei Xingjian looked at the sleeping children and said, "Now the Tang people and the people of the Western Regions can live in peace, and they can even be with the Tang army without worries."

Di Renjie also picked up a naan and ate it.

The people from the Western Regions who were accustomed to the climate here seemed to be hibernating. They slept for a long time before waking up, and when they woke up, the heavy snow outside had stopped.

It seemed that they could feel the change in the wind and woke up the moment the snow stopped.

Di Renjie walked to the cave entrance and found the snow outside was knee-deep.

A cow walked slowly over. It looked at the snow outside, exhaled some hot air from its nostrils, and turned its head to look at Di Renjie.

Di Renjie led the cow back to the cave and said, "It has stopped snowing outside, but it will be difficult to walk because the snow is very deep."

The Western Region child said, "Take off the wheels and you can drag it along."

Pei Xingjian patted the child on the back of his head and asked with a smile, "Who taught you that?"

"I learned it from Chongwenguan."

"Very good, you can become a great general in the future."

With the affirmation of the Tang general, the child's eyes burst into admiration.

Pei Xingjian looked at the group of children in front of him and said, "If Bai Fang can lead an army to fight, you can do it too!"

The children cheered loudly, took the wheels off the wooden cart and put them on the cart. Then they left the cave and headed towards the camp in the distance.

With just a few words, Pei Xingjian won the hearts of the people and made the people of the Western Regions take the initiative to work for him.

The cold wind after the snow was biting, and the team was not moving fast. The sunlight was very weak in the blue sky, and it was so cold that it made people want to shiver.

The journey was supposed to take a whole day, but we finally reached our destination, a camp by Lake Issyk-Kul, in the cold and windy night.

Pei Xingjian trembled as he got off the ox cart and asked the soldiers to unload the food and grass. Then a group of children from the Western Regions entered the camp and played with another group of children from the Western Regions.

This mountain range faces Lake Issyk-Kul and is a valley sheltered from the wind. Di Renjie felt much warmer when he entered the camp.

Living in this camp are people from the Tang Dynasty and the Western Regions.

The two sides seemed to be of equal number, living together, eating meat, talking, or drinking tea together.

In this atmosphere, Di Renjie laughed unconsciously. People will always be infected by better emotions.

Bai Fang said loudly: "Di Shuling!"

Di Renjie, who was serving as the Secretary of Jingzhao Prefecture in the Western Regions, stepped forward quickly and saluted the Western Regions general with a smile.

Bai Fang was a little drunk. He said, "That Liu Rengui is too difficult to deal with."

Di Renjie smiled and said, "He has always been difficult to deal with. According to rumors in the court and the public, he is the most difficult to deal with."

"So he is like this in Guanzhong as well?"

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Of course."

Bai Fang nodded again, "Then I will make friends with him. He is my good friend."

If Liu Rengui behaves one way in Guanzhong and another way in the Western Regions, Bai Fang will be angry.

Liu Rengui was a strict official who was consistent in his behavior in public and in private, so he could become Bai Fang's friend. In fact, this general from the Western Regions did not have many friends.

Di Renjie looked at the fire and whispered, "I'm afraid you will be disappointed."

Bai Fang said: "We Westerners are the best at making friends."

Di Renjie said with a dull look: "Liu Rengui, he is not easy to make friends with."

"Why?"

"I grew up in Jingzhao Prefecture." Di Renjie had some nostalgia in his eyes, and he continued, "Since Liu Rengui took office in Jingzhao Prefecture, he has either been arresting people or offending people. To him, so-called friends...are an obstacle to his integrity. If he has to be partial to his friends, he would rather not have friends."

Bai Fang frowned and thought.

Di Renjie slapped him on the back and said with a smile, "You have seen Xuanzang who was obsessed with his mind, and you have also seen the brave Brother Pei and Brother Xue. You should also meet people like Liu Rengui. If you want to stay in Chang'an City in the future, you will see more plots and calculations. You will feel that they have three hearts. Others can think of what you can think of, and they can also think of things you can't think of."

Bai Fang stared at the fire in front of him in a daze. He did not doubt Di Renjie's words at all, and there was no need to doubt it. If it were not for this, the Tang Dynasty would not have been so powerful.

The Western Regions was just a road opened up by the Tang people, and in the court of the Tang Dynasty, the court officials were all extremely scheming people.

Di Renjie advised: "If you can stay in the Western Regions in the future, then stay here as much as possible. It's okay if you want to go to Chang'an occasionally, but if you want to live in Chang'an for a long time, it's best to do like Liu Rengui and put away your nature of making friends everywhere."

It seemed that Bai Fang was intimidated. Di Renjie took a skewer of roasted lamb with satisfaction and ate while walking away.

"Di Shuling, the general has summoned you."

After hearing the soldier's report, Di Renjie nodded and walked towards the big tent.

There were a thousand soldiers in this team, including four hundred Tang troops and six hundred people from the Western Regions.

The four hundred Tang troops are led by General Liang Jianfang, and the six hundred Western Region soldiers are under the command of Bai Fang. These are the only troops here.

At the beginning of autumn this year, troops were being mobilized from all over the Western Regions, and they have not stopped until now.

Today, the entire Western Regions looks like a bow with a fully drawn string, pointing deep into the Pamir Mountains and ready to be launched. If the power of this bow is strong enough, it can pass through the Pamir Mountains and point directly at the Arabs.

Pei Xingjian often said that there would be a war between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs sooner or later.

Di Renjie returned to the camp and just sat down when he heard General Liang Jianfang complaining. Most of his words were about the construction of Guzang City in the Hexi Corridor.

Guzang City has been an important town in the Hexi Corridor since the Han Dynasty. From a geographical point of view, it was once a key place in the northwest. The court had to start repairs and had to mobilize the manpower of Xizhou.

Pei Xingjian was a little confused as he listened to the general's words. Guzang City was clearly thousands of miles away from the Tianshan Mountains, so how could it be related to the Anxi Army?

Liang Jianfang chewed the mutton and said, "Keep your promise."

"The end will be here."

"Have all the food and fodder been delivered to the rear?"

"Well, it's been delivered."

Liang Jianfang slammed the table and said, "Damn it! They can still spend the winter in Suiye City, but grandpa is freezing here by the lake."

When Pei Xingjian thought about the fact that this army consisted of only Liang Jianfang, himself, and Di Renjie, he had to start persuading them.

"General, if there is any change in Suiye City, we must rush to help. We have military orders and must not move lightly." Seeing Liang Jianfang's face flushed with anger, Pei Xingjian said again: "When winter is over, I will give Cheng Chumo a good scolding."

"Well, we have to beat him up." Liang Jianfang gritted his teeth and said, "This Cheng Chumo, relying on his father and Niu Jinda, is getting more and more arrogant!"

"Here! Let's vent the General's anger."

When Liang Jianfang fell asleep due to drunkenness, Pei Xingjian and Di Renjie walked out of the tent. It was late at night and the camp had become much quieter.

Di Renjie walked in the camp with his hands behind his back, looking at the situation there.

Many tents were covered with snow, and some had even become igloos, with only a small exit outside the big tent, which was covered with a thick piece of cowhide.

Di Renjie said: "I'm afraid I'll have to squeeze in with Bai Fang tonight..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the group of children from the Western Regions surrounded him. Di Renjie recognized them. They were the group of children who had hidden from the snow and transported food together in the cave.

Pei Xingjian said, "Huaiying, they said they have tents for us to stay in."

Di Renjie felt relieved when he thought that he didn't have to endure Bai Fang's thunderous shouts.

The group of children were arguing. One of them, wearing a pointed hat, had a red nose from the cold. He hunched his neck in the cold wind and said as he walked, "The Tang people live in houses, not tents."

"When the Tang people arrived in the Western Regions, they also lived in tents."

“The Tang people live in wooden houses.”

"The houses of the Tang people are made of gold."

Pei Xingjian couldn't stop laughing when listening to the children's words. He picked one up and said, "You must go to Chang'an in the future."

The child nodded, "I must go to Chang'an City!"

Di Renjie said: "It's not easy to travel ten thousand miles."

The child with the pointed hat added, "When I grow up, I will ride a camel to Chang'an."

(End of this chapter)