The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 516 Liu Rengui's Order
In the past, emperors would build magnificent buildings and palaces. Today, emperors would build large cities that can accommodate tens of thousands of people, and this is still going on.

It took Lou Shide half a month to travel from Chang'an City to the Hexi Corridor.

Also coming along were Luo Binwang, Yang Jiong, and a group of young students.

Hearing that Luo Binwang was a student of Li Yifu, Lou Shide admitted that he had no friendship with Li Yifu, but he still took care of Luo Binwang to some extent.

Yang Jiong said: "When I was a child, I heard that in order to recover the Hexi Corridor, General Li Jing led his troops to attack Tuyuhun, and then the four counties of the Hexi Corridor were rebuilt."

Hearing this, Lou Shide felt a little emotional again. He didn't expect that Li Weigong's deeds have now become stories told by children.

Luo Binwang led the horse and said, "After leaving the Hexi Corridor, I will go to Tubo."

Yang Jiong said: "You can go to the Western Regions with me to teach."

Luo Binwang explained: "There are enough people in the Western Regions. I would rather go to Tibet."

Yao Chong said: "Prince Bin is right. There are already enough people going to the Western Regions. I will also go to Tubo."

Su Weidao originally wanted to go to the Western Regions, but after careful consideration, he decided to go to Tibet before leaving Chang'an.

Not all of them were going to teach. Yang Jiong was going to teach, while Yao Chong and himself were going to join the army in Tubo. Su Weidao smiled and bowed, saying, "I heard that there is still wine from Chang'an here. Why don't we get drunk here? We won't be able to drink it after we leave the border."

The crowd entered the bustling Wuwei County.

When Xuanzang saw this group of people coming from Chang'an City, he just took a closer look and left with a group of children.

Lou Shide, who was staying in the post house in the city, then remembered that he had seen the monk at the city gate. The monk seemed to be with a group of children.

For this reason, Lou Shide asked the shop owners here.

The shopkeeper replied, "Are you talking about the monk?"

Lou Shide nodded and said, "That's right."

The shopkeeper recalled for a moment, wiping the table for the customer with a cloth in his hand, and said, "That monk came to the Hexi Corridor four or five years ago. I heard that he is teaching at Chongwen Hall. If you want to ask about him, you can go to Chongwen Hall in the city. That monk is considered a teacher of Chongwen Hall. Recently, the rumors are that he is a good teacher and teaches the knowledge of Chongwen Hall."

Lou Shide said: "It's just a casual question."

The shopkeeper then retreated.

In April of the eleventh year of Qianqing, Lou Shide left Wuwei County with a group of young people.

There were already people waiting outside the city to meet them. Li Anqi, who came from the Tibetan Protectorate, came with his troops, holding a list and reading out names one by one.

The people whose names were called stood up one after another.

Li Anqi, the governor of the Tibetan Protectorate, called out, "Lord Luo Bin."

"Luo Binwang, a student from Chongwenguan, is here!"

Li Anqi rode on his horse and pointed at the dozen young men and said, "All of you will follow me to Tibet."

Then he ordered the soldiers around him: "Give each of them a war horse."

Without waiting for these young people to prepare, Li Anqi left in a hurry.

Luo Binwang hurriedly jumped onto his horse, without even saying goodbye to Yang Jiong, and hurried to catch up with Li Anqi.

Another soldier shouted, "No one will take care of you in Tibet. Bring your own dry food and go to Tibet. No one should complain. If you want to go back, go back now."

Su Weidao pulled the horse's reins, trying to make the horse behave itself.

Go back? How can they go back? Even if they go back now, Chongwenguan will not want them anymore.

If you want to enter officialdom in the future, you must pass this hurdle.

Su Weidao rode on the horse and waved his whip, saying, "Go!"

The whip cracked loudly and the warhorse rushed forward.

This was done deliberately by Li Anqi. He did not give these students time to prepare when they met. He let them enter Tubo individually or in groups of three or five. In short, the Tubo Protectorate would not take too much care of them. As long as they left the Hexi Corridor, they would have to walk the rest of the way on their own.

Out of kindness, Li Anqi was willing to give each of them a war horse, otherwise he would not even give them a war horse.

Lou Shide also led his men to the Western Regions. Seeing that there was no one to support him and no way to retreat, Luo Binwang headed towards the Tibetan territory.

More than a dozen young people stumbled all the way towards Tubo.

Soon, everyone could no longer see Li Anqi's team. On the vast grassland, there was only the sound of the wind blowing, and there was no sign of other people.

Luo Binwang rode up on his horse and asked, "Where is Li Duhu?"

Su Weidao was good at horse riding and was always at the front of the team. After the people behind caught up, they realized that they had lost him too.

"Our horses are not strong enough. This was deliberately arranged by Li Duhu to throw us off."

Yao Chong frowned and asked, "What do you mean?"

"Protector Li did this on purpose. In order to get rid of us, he gave us the less powerful horses."

Luo Binwang said: "Is the Protector General worried that we are walking too fast and missing the beautiful scenery of Tubo?"

Everyone suddenly laughed again. The young men were full of vigor and vitality, and they relaxed after just a few words. These young people were fearless.

Su Weidao pointed to the distance and said, "Twenty miles ahead is Qinghai Road. Let's rest for a day and make plans after we get there."

If you want to go to Tubo, you have to cross the Qinghai Road, which is thousands of miles away.

Su Weidao dismounted and saw a river beach in front of him. He was shocked to realize that if the journey to Tubo would take ten days, his dry food would only be enough for three days even if he ate sparingly.

Another student of the same age rode up on horseback and said, "There is a run-down house in front. We can stay there temporarily."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they didn't have to spend the night outside.

The Tang army left many legends in Qinghai. In the past, General Li Jing conquered Fu Yun and killed so many people that the blood flowed like a river. Later, he intercepted Fu Yun who was fleeing at the important road of Wuhai.

These children lived in this dilapidated house. Su Weidao suspected that this house was left by the Tang people from Guanzhong because he found a dead persimmon tree here.

There are also some pottery jars whose outer walls are very uniform and the fragments are very thin, which is obviously the craftsmanship of Guanzhong.

Su Weidao discovered some rice grains scattered on the ground, and he was convinced that this was probably the area used to transport grain in the past. When Tian Khan swept across the Tianshan Mountains, he transported grain from Qinghai to Qiuci.

However, there is no war between the north and south of Tianshan today. After the construction of Anxi Protectorate was completed, the grain transportation route here was abandoned.

Su Weidao calculated his own food rations and said to Yao Chong, who was sitting by the fire to keep warm, "We need to hurry today. It would be best if we could reach Zhechongfu in Qinghai Road before dark."

Yao Chong asked: "Why?"

Su Weidao: "We are running out of dry food."

"It's only been one day..."

Yao Chong was about to speak loudly when Su Weidao held him down.

After thinking about it again, Yao Chong calmed down. He nodded and said, "I ate too much without realizing it." Su Weidao looked at the others who had already gone to bed. Everyone present was going to Tubo for the first time and had no idea what to do.

We must have a good rest tonight, so we must not disturb them. The dry food that was originally for three to five days is only enough for two days for this group of gluttonous teenagers.

Therefore, it is necessary to find the Tang army’s Zhechoufu in Qinghai Road as soon as possible.

The next day, at dawn, Su Weidao woke everyone up and they headed towards Qinghai Road.

This place is more than twenty miles away from Qinghai Road. If we don't stop along the way, we will definitely reach Qinghai Road before dark.

I heard that there are many Tang people living in Qinghai Province now.

Along the way, there were a few people who stopped to look at the scenery. Su Weidao did not let Yao Chong persuade them. He could only hurry on his way silently, keeping a distance from those who stayed to look at the scenery.

After walking for more than ten miles, it was already past noon and Su Weidao didn't know whether his route was correct.

Luo Binwang said: "I know a little about astrology. If it's night, I will definitely be able to find the direction."

Su Weidao looked at the four or five people left behind him and said, "Let's continue on our journey."

"Aren't we waiting for the people behind us?"

someone asked.

Su Weidao didn't even turn around and said, "They will be cold and hungry tonight."

After saying this, they rode fast towards Qinghai Road. Finally, at dusk, they saw people, tents, and even three or five Tang soldiers on patrol.

Only then did they realize that if they really went out for fun and delayed their journey, they would probably suffer from the cold and hunger.

They traveled non-stop all the way and finally reached the border of Qinghai Road.

Li Anqi was here. He seemed to have arrived a day earlier than the others. Luo Binwang drank Tibetan milk tea and breathed a sigh of relief.

Su Weidao, Yao Chong and the rest of the people had no complaints about Li Anqi's arrangements. They were already starving and were stuffing food into their mouths.

Seeing that everyone had eaten their fill, Li Anqi asked, "How many are left?"

"Go back to the Protector General." Yao Chong burped first and said, "I'm falling behind."

"Falling behind?"

"Go back to the Protector General." Luo Bin Wang said, "If we follow them to play, I'm afraid we won't be able to get here today."

Li Anqi had a stern face and said in a deep voice: "You are here to work in the Protectorate, who allowed you to go out for fun?"

Several people lowered their heads and dared not say a word.

Seeing that it was already night outside, Li Anqi gave an order to a deputy general beside him, and the deputy general left quickly.

Li Anqi no longer paid attention to the remaining people and left the tent.

This Li Duhu seemed very busy. He kept talking to someone outside the tent. One could vaguely hear place names such as Xiaoboluo, Tianzhu, Potala Palace... in his conversation.

Su Weidao said to himself, "Has the situation in Congling become so serious?"

Luo Binwang was still drinking milk tea, feeling the warm milk tea entering his throat, and his internal organs also became warm.

Now that they have reached Qinghai Road, the rest of the journey will be much smoother. Everyone can follow Li Anqi to Lhasa. As for those who have been left behind, the Tibetan Protectorate has sent people to look for them.

Luo Binwang felt that the rules outside were very strict. If he did not follow the rules, he would harm others and himself.

In mid-April of the eleventh year of the Qianqing reign, in Xizhou City, the sound of drums was due to the Tang army training their soldiers, and the flying dust outside the city was due to the Tang army riding their horses.

The charming Hu Ji would walk through the city gate and wink at the Tang army.

When the wind blew, it raised a cloud of yellow sand, making the pedestrians look a little more embarrassed.

Liu Rengui rode a camel out of Xizhou City and headed towards a poplar forest in the west. Outside the forest, he met Lou Shide who came from Chang'an City.

"Lou Shide, the Supervisory Censor of the Censorate, greets the prefect."

Liu Rengui got off the camel, bowed slightly, and asked, "How is Chang'an?"

"Anything is fine." After saying that, Lou Shide took out a document from his bag, "This is a document from the court."

The wind was very strong today. Lou Shide spoke loudly and some sand flew into his mouth when he opened it.

Liu Rengui confirmed the document, looked at the team behind him, and said, "Enter Xizhou City first."

Lou Shide responded loudly and led his troops to continue moving towards the front army.

Along the way, Lou Shide took advantage of the moment when the wind stopped and said, "I came to the Western Regions for another matter."

Liu Renguidao: "Please speak."

"I want to take the prince back."

Another gust of wind blew, and the sand was so strong that people had to cover their faces. Fortunately, this place was not far from Xizhou City. When they arrived in the city, Lou Shide took off his boots and patted the soles of his shoes to pour out the sand in his boots. While pouring out the sand, he looked around with a bitter face and said, "I knew the roads here were difficult to walk on when I came to Xizhou before. After so many years, why are the roads to Xizhou still so difficult to walk on?"

Li Feng, the governor of Anxi Protectorate, said: "It's good to have a road."

Lou Shide asked again: "Protector Li, when will we leave Suiye City?"

Li Fengjie looked to the west and said, "Wait until this year's wind season is over."

After saying that, Li Fengjie looked at Liu Rengui again. He didn't know whether he would go to Suiye City together. This battle in Congling would definitely be earth-shattering.

In the first year since Liu Rengui came to Xizhou City and took office as the prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture, he quickly abolished the original Production and Construction Guard House. The Production Guard House in the Western Region was demolished and became the Jingzhao Prefecture built by the Tang Dynasty, which was directly managed by officials sent from Chang'an.

Li Fengjie also felt that his power was not as great as Liu Rengui's. The bumper cotton harvest in the past two years was indeed due to his contribution, and everyone in Xizhou City was convinced of this prefect.

Now, Liu Rengui was sitting in his office, looking at the documents that Lou Shide brought from Chang'an.

Li Fengjie helped Lou Shide up, patted him on the back and said, "You have come from afar, and I have prepared food and accommodation for you. How about you take a rest first?"

"I wanted to go to Suiye City earlier."

"It is the windy season in the Western Regions, so it is not easy to travel far. I hope that Censor Lou will stay for a while longer."

Lou Shide had no choice but to stay here for the time being.

Just as he said, it is now the windy season in the Western Region. In the next few days, the wind and sand will become stronger day by day. When it is worse, the sandstorm will cover the sky.

Most people hid in Xizhou City, and those from the Western Regions outside hid in the karez. When a sandstorm stopped, it was said that there were a few more mounds, or one less poplar forest.

When the sun was shining brightly again, drum sounds were heard in Xizhou City. Tang officers and soldiers gathered at the call of the drums and began to maintain order in the city.

Li Fengjie said to Lou Shide: "Well, what Liu Fuyin values ​​most in the Western Regions is order."

(End of this chapter)