The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 538: Tibet and the Tang Dynasty
The father and son lay on bamboo lounge chairs, facing the blue sky. When they got tired, they sat up slightly and looked at the clear water of Kunming Lake.

Kunming Lake was built during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. At that time, it was the largest man-made lake in Guanzhong. Now, after several expansions, the area of ​​Kunming Lake has increased by more than ten hectares, the water level is more sufficient, and it is more pleasing to the eye.

After the renovation, Kunming Lake has become larger and has a larger water storage capacity. It plays the role of a reservoir and supplies water to the surrounding villages and counties.

Li Shimin asked, "Hasn't anyone told you to cover the Kunming Lake? Aren't you worried that the water will dry up?"

Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "People still need to develop the habit of storing water and saving water. The water in the Kunming Lake Reservoir is not to be wasted. It is to be prepared for future emergencies and for safety."

As he was speaking, a eunuch came running over and reported: "Your Majesty, the Prince of Hejian said that he would go to the army today and wanted to ask Your Majesty if you can let the Emperor go to the army as well..."

Li Chengqian said: "Father is very busy and has no time."

The eunuch looked over and saw the retired emperor sitting leisurely by the pool, enjoying the cool breeze. He was even eating a grape.

The eunuch looked at the retired emperor again, and then at His Majesty who was drinking iced sour plum soup. After he understood, he bowed solemnly and left. Then he walked to the back and instructed the younger eunuch: "Did you see? Your Majesty and the retired emperor are so busy, so you won't go to the army to watch the training."

The young eunuch glanced at the scenery by the Kunming Lake from afar, then quickly left to report.

Since the emperor has been getting older, he has more and more white hair. He has aged particularly fast in the past ten years.

It seems that in just these ten years, my black hair has turned into white.

I still remember that when the emperor went on the Eastern Expedition, he didn't have any white hair yet, just more than ten strands, and looked like he had aged twenty years.

The 61-year-old Li Shimin sat beside his son and asked again: "Is the Arab Empire far away?"

Li Chengqian said, "It's far. I heard from Wang Xuance that it takes more than 20,000 miles to go there, and it takes a year to go back and forth."

Li Shimin had no idea about the current territory of the Tang Dynasty. Most of his concepts and impressions were from the early Sui Dynasty.

Li Shimin knew the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains, where the Pamir Mountains were, and even the northern desert and Goguryeo, but he did not know where the Arabs were.

"You said that if Qingque was in Chang'an, his students from the Literature Institute should draw a map of the Arab Empire for me."

Li Chengqian said: "I arranged it last year. In two or three years, someone will deliver the map."

Li Shimin sighed, "Wait another three or two years? If I were ten years younger, I would go to Congling to see it myself."

Li Chengqian took the iced sour plum soup brought by the eunuch and poured another bowl for his father.

"I still remember you said that you wanted to see rivers flowing across the Central Plains and herds of working horses. Have you seen them now?"

Looking at his father's smiling face, Li Chengqian said, "Let's go and have a look in a few years."

Looking into the distance, Li Chengqian saw his mother playing with the children again. Now his mother also had white hair.

However, recently, the Queen Mother always looks at her children with a smile on her face.

Li Shimin sat up slightly and said unhappily, "Why? Can't we catch fish in Kunming Lake?"

The five eunuchs holding the fishing rods were clearly trembling with fear, and they became even more nervous. One of them bravely explained, "Your Majesty, the water in Kunming Lake is too deep to fish."

I don't know where this eunuch got the courage to explain.

Li Chengqian glanced at Old Yang beside him, and the elderly eunuch Yang nodded, and he knew what to do.

In fact, the job of fishing for the emperor is rare. If you catch more fish, you can keep fishing for the emperor for fun.

The eunuch who fails to catch any fish will be replaced.

Now the eunuch who made the explanation will be replaced tomorrow and someone else will come to fish for the emperor.

The Emperor Retired and the Empress Dowager are getting older, and His Majesty has to spend more and more time with the two elders. Sometimes His Majesty will spend the whole day with the Emperor Retired.

When Your Majesty was accompanying the Emperor, most of the affairs of the court were left to the Crown Prince to handle.

This prince, in terms of ability, is a bit mediocre.

Perhaps it is because the current emperor is too powerful, in the eyes of many court officials, this prince is more like a normal person.

Nowadays, the emperor will not control the crown prince too much. Now is the crown prince's busiest period. The knowledge that the child needs to learn is several times that of ordinary people of the same age.

Gradually the sun was setting in the west. Li Shimin didn't know how he fell asleep. When he woke up, he was covered with a blanket and his son was gone. He looked at his wife who was mending clothes for the child and asked in a low voice, "Are all the children gone?"

Empress Dowager Changsun nodded and said, "Yes, we will go back after noon."

When the emperor sat up, he needed someone to support his lower back. This was an old injury he suffered from years of riding and fighting. He frowned, sat up, and then slowly stood up.

In the setting sun, the surface of Kunming Lake was reflected red.

Li Shimin had his hands behind his back, but his posture was not hunched over, and he still stood upright, walking with his hands behind his back.

Empress Dowager Zhangsun walked aside, her steps slower than before, and said slowly: "The children have grown up, and they don't need you and me anymore."

Looking at his white-haired wife, Li Shimin held her hand and said, "That's enough."

Empress Dowager Zhangsun said, "Yes, future things will be handled by future generations, and we can only watch once or twice more."

In the setting sun, the two old men did not get on the carriage, but continued walking until they walked down the embankment of Kunming Lake and came to a house.

The retired emperor and the empress dowager probably needed to rest, and it was not until nightfall that the two elders got on the carriage and left under the escort of the imperial guards.

In August of the twelfth year of the Qianqing reign, the scorching heat in Guanzhong had not yet subsided, and Li Chengqian personally came to Weibei to inspect the karez.

The karez built at that time connected to the Longshou Canal in Weibei, forming an underground river surrounding the north of Chang'an City.

Walking in the tunnel of the karez, Li Chengqian suddenly stopped.

Yinggong Li Ji, who was following behind, also stopped and explained, "Your Majesty, this exit is Weibei Hospital."

"Come with me and take a look."

"Here."

Li Chengqian stepped on the stone steps and walked towards the exit step by step. The Li Tang still had wonders. The greatest wonder of the Li Tang was in the Western Regions, where there were karez that were winding and twisting for tens of thousands of miles.

Even court officials talked about using the karez to build the Western Regions and the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains. These things sounded a bit like a large-scale development in the West.

However, Li Chengqian rejected many plans because geographical factors and climatic conditions determined that large-scale cities could not be developed in the Western Regions. Moreover, most of the population in the Western Regions was concentrated in a small area, so any strategy that could not be adapted to local conditions would not be adopted.

In fact, the Tang Dynasty did not have the resources and manpower to develop the west. The current tight situation would take a long time to develop. Although Guanzhong had a large population, the population in other parts of the Central Plains was still sparse.

Luoyang and Guanzhong have too many people. On average, even if the population is spread out over the land of the Tang Dynasty, the population is still not enough. A clerk came quickly and handed over a scroll with a somewhat terrified look. He bowed his head while saluting and said loudly, "Your Majesty, this is the article of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Li Chengqian took the scroll, read its contents, and continued walking.

After taking two steps, Li Chengqian stopped and said, "Mr. Ying, the prince said he wants to merge with Tubo."

"I, the old minister, also think that it is time."

Li Chengqian said: "Let Xu Jingzong take charge of this matter."

Duke Ying nodded and said, "Your Majesty is wise, and Xu Jingzong is the best at this."

"Lu Dongzan is old, Songtsen Gampo has been ill in Chang'an for a long time, and Sambhota is also old and has lived in Sifang Pavilion for a long time. Looking at the people who can take charge of the overall situation in Tubo, the only ones who can take charge of the overall situation should be Songtsen Gampo's children."

"Your Majesty, it is rumored that Songtsen Gampo's son has been ill for many years."

Li Chengqian added: "If his son can take the initiative to hand over Tibet to the Tang Dynasty, and let the Tang Dynasty govern Tibet from then on, this will also be a good story."

Duke Ying smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this is certainly a good story."

Li Chengqian walked to the door of Weibei Hospital and nodded with a smile.

Lord Ying added: "I think Xu Jingzong can accomplish this."

"Since Lord Ying strongly recommends it, then this matter will be handed over to Xu Jingzong."

While His Majesty was speaking, someone was taking notes in the back, and someone had already gone to pass the message to Xu Jingzong.

Recently, Li Chengqian has been handling state affairs in a lavish manner, leaving most of the government affairs to court officials and rarely paying attention to minor details.

This time I came to visit the Weibei Hospital. The current Weibei Hospital looks more like a village. There is a doctor in every room, and the back row of rooms is where the patients live.

The hospital is built in an orderly manner and the roads are very clean.

Zhang Wenzhong, the director of the Imperial Medical Bureau, ran over quickly and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty."

"As for curing illnesses and saving lives, it's up to you. Are you doing well these days?"

Zhang Wenzhong saluted and said, "Recently, the hospital is developing a convenient trauma medicine."

"I remember that Dr. Sun had already made annotations on this kind of medicinal material."

"Exactly."

Li Chengqian walked around the hospital and when he left, he asked the court to give the hospital more money for its construction.

In fact, since Princess Dongyang wanted to build this hospital, she had no worries about money. People in Chang'an all knew that Princess Dongyang was a disciple of the old immortal Sun Simiao.

Therefore, when Princess Dongyang wanted to build a hospital, the powerful families in Chang'an City rushed to give money to the princess.

This was also because during the years when Princess Dongyang followed Sun Simiao to study medicine, she treated the families of various powerful families and cured many people. Therefore, when they heard that Princess Dongyang was going to open a hospital, the powerful classes in Chang'an City all contributed.

The emperor's words reached Xu Jingzong's ears.

Only after receiving the official decree did the Minister of Rites Xu Jingzong begin to make arrangements.

Zhang Jianzhi and Pei Yan were walking in the imperial city. Outside, Pei Yan said that Zhang Jianzhi's current achievements had nothing to do with him.

But in the eyes of discerning people, Zhang Jianzhi's achievements were achieved under the guidance of Pei Yan.

Just then, Zhang Jianzhi ran into Guo Daiju who was hurriedly entering the Ministry of Rites. He asked curiously, "Did Guo Daiju also go to the Western Regions?"

Pei Yan nodded and said, "I came back with General Pei Xingjian."

The two men stayed there for a moment, and saw Guo Daiju hurried out the door with documents. At noon, Zhang Jianzhi heard the news again. It turned out that Guo Daiju had gone to Tubo as an envoy.

It seems that the emperor is still going to take action against Tubo, and even Songtsen Gampo cannot influence the outcome.

This is the reality. The emperor will not ignore his neighbors next door.

Upon hearing that His Majesty had sent an envoy to Tubo, Songtsen Gampo asked to see the emperor overnight.

At night, the current emperor was taking a walk in the imperial city and seemed to be in a good mood.

Since the Zhenguan period, this imperial city has not changed and still maintains its original appearance.

The only difference is that Chengtian Gate was built a little higher, Zhuque Gate was a little wider, and the road was smoother.

Songtsen Gampo was invited into the imperial city and met the emperor walking in the moonlight.

Li Chengqian looked at the starry sky with his hands in his pockets and said, "Zanpu came to see me at night. Are you missing home?"

Songtsen Gampo bowed and said, "Tian Khan, did you really send an envoy to Tubo?"

"Well, I will send an envoy to take a look at the appearance of your Tubo and the people of Tubo. Someone will record the appearance of Tubo and send it to me."

Songtsen Gampo's white hair was a little disheveled. He said, "I am alone in Chang'an. The Heavenly Khan does not need to hide anything from me."

Li Chengqian breathed the night air. Compared to the scorching heat during the day, the air at night was fresher.

Summer nights are always beautiful, and the starry sky in summer is the brightest of the four seasons.

The night sky is like a piece of paper. The paper is black, and there are shining stars on the paper.

"Guo Daiju did go to Tubo to record the situation. He did not go to Tubo to kill people and had no other purpose." Li Chengqian put his hands in his pockets, looked up at the sky, and said, "After Guo Daiju recorded everything, he would inform the court of the current situation in Tubo. Before getting a clear picture of Tubo's situation and doing enough investigation, the court would not try to seize Tubo."

Li Chengqian added: "When everything is ready, I hope that the people of Tubo can also become Tang people."

Songtsen Gampo seemed calm. He said, "It has been so many years. Your Majesty could have done this a long time ago."

"Well, the civil and military officials in the court have seen that Tubo has been planning this for a long time. They have advised me more than once, saying that the hearts of the Tubo people have long been on the same side with the Tang Dynasty. More and more Tubo people want to become friends with the Tang people, and more and more Tubo people want to become brothers with the Tang people."

"More and more Tibetan parents are sending their children to Tang schools. Tibetan children sing the same songs, speak the same language, and listen to the same stories as Tang children."

Li Chengqian raised his hand and placed it on Songtsen Gampo's shoulder. "Songtsen Gampo, people's hearts are like this. Do you mean to turn a blind eye to the Tubo people's hearts and become enemies of the Tang Dynasty? Going against the will of the Tubo and Tang people, and the peace that people yearn for, but exercising the power of the rulers, is this right?"

Songtsen Gampo's expression remained calm. It would not be excessive for this king to fight to the death with His Majesty. Even the guards beside him were ready to knock Songtsen Gampo to the ground at any time.

But he just stood beside His Majesty, very calm.

(End of this chapter)