Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 397 Wang Xuance and His Indian Sorcerer (Part )
In the Liangyi Hall, Li Chengqian sat upright under the steps.

On both sides, the six prime ministers Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji, Chu Suiliang, Ma Zhou, Li Ji, and Yu Zhining stood respectively.

The eunuch Dou Zhijie stood before the palace gate and shouted to the outside, "Summon the Minister of the Honglu Temple, the Chief Envoy to India, Wang Xuance, and the Deputy Envoy, Jiang Shiren, to the audience."

The resounding voice extended from the Liangyi Hall to the Chengtian Gate.

Wang Xuance, wearing a crimson official robe and with an upright figure, walked step by step from Chengtian Gate to Liangyi Hall with his deputy envoy Jiang Shiren.

The two men kowtowed to Li Chengqian, who was sitting on a short couch, and said, "Your Highness, I pay my respects to the Crown Prince. May your Highness live long."

"Stand up." Li Chengqian nodded gently, then looked to the side.

Dou Zhijie stepped forward and announced, "Wang Xuance, the Minister of Rites, and his deputy, Jiang Shiren, were on a diplomatic mission to India. They encountered civil unrest there and led 3,000 cavalrymen, capturing the Nafu Emperor, Aluonashun, alive. They also beheaded over 3,000 people, drowned nearly 10,000, and captured 12,000 men and women, along with over 30,000 cattle and horses. They presented Aluonashun to the imperial palace and requested his tribute be offered to the imperial ancestral temple."

Li Chengqian smiled lightly. This time when Wang Xuance was sent to India, he still encountered the death of the Festival King of Northern India.

However, unlike his previous life, Wang Xuance did not go to Tubo for reinforcements this time. Instead, he returned and led the 3,000 cavalry led by Xi Junmai directly into Northern Tianzhu to put down the rebellion.

It’s good that Tubo is not involved.

……

Li Chengqian raised his head, looked at the two men and said, "You two beloved ministers have achieved such a remarkable feat. The court will surely reward you handsomely. I have already reported this to my father, the Emperor.

Soon, the Emperor will summon you two to Cuiwei Palace. After you have seen me, the rewards will be distributed."

"Thank you, Your Highness!" Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren bowed without hesitation, but they looked a little confused as they lowered their heads.

When they left last year, the Crown Prince was acting as regent and the Emperor went to Cuiwei Palace for recuperation. The same thing happened when they returned this year.

The only difference is that last year, the crown prince was governing the country in the Wude Hall, but this year, the crown prince's governing place has been changed to the Liangyi Hall.

Taiji Hall and Liangyi Hall were both places where the emperor summoned his ministers.

But now, it is the prince who sits here.

If they had not seen that all six prime ministers were present and that no major changes had occurred in the court, they would really have thought that the crown prince had placed His Majesty under house arrest and was sitting in the court himself.

After all, this kind of thing happened in the past.

However, at that time, it was the current Emperor himself who stripped Emperor Gaozu of his power.

When Li Chengqian said that the emperor would summon them soon, Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren were completely relieved.

"However, the emperor will probably offer Alona Shun and the King of Kucha as sacrifices to the gods at the 30th anniversary of the founding of the country. You two dear ministers may stand closer to each other at that time!" Li Chengqian said with a smile.

Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren immediately kowtowed with great joy and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Stand up and tell me the details. What happened?"

Seeing Li Chengqian's serious expression, Wang Xuance finally spoke: "When we arrived in India at the end of last year, King Harsha had already died."

"Was the person already dead when you arrived?" Li Chengqian frowned slightly.

"Yes!" Wang Xuance nodded and said, "It is said that King Harsha drowned during his morning bath in the Ganges. However, how could someone who bathed regularly drown so easily? I suspect he was murdered, and then there was Arahant's coup."

"Hmm!" Li Chengqian sighed and said, "Nine out of ten, the news that Harsha's daughter was going to marry into the Tang Dynasty has spread, and you are about to arrive in India with your troops, so Alona couldn't wait to take action."

"Yes!" Wang Xuance nodded and said, "Ashina Shun has occupied a large area of ​​the southern part of the Harsha Dynasty and is rapidly spreading to the north. We received a request for assistance from Princess Rajashree, the daughter of King Harsha, and therefore led our troops into India... After all, Princess Rajashree had already decided to marry into the Tang Dynasty."

Wang Xuance hesitated a little while speaking.

Although Princess Tianzhu has been decided to marry into the Tang Dynasty, it is still difficult to say how she will be dealt with.

Under normal circumstances, she should enter the palace and marry the emperor as a concubine.

But the emperor is in poor health now.

He himself was still recuperating in Cuiwei Palace, and he probably couldn't do anything about a princess from India who married into the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, it would be best if the princess married into the prince's palace...

"After receiving the message from the princess, I asked General Xi to send troops to the capital to have tea first... Although Alona Shun's troops are small, he has an elephant soldier at his command, and he can charge straight into the enemy formation and is unstoppable." Wang Xuance paused here and looked at Li Chengqian.

Li Chengqian raised his hand and said thoughtfully, "Although the elephant soldiers are fierce and brave, this is probably their weak point. My dear, haven't you defeated them now?"

Seeing Li Chengqian finally smile with ease, Wang Xuance bowed solemnly and said, "Your Highness is right. During my last diplomatic mission to India, I knew their powerful elephant soldiers, so I ordered people to collect strong bulls along the way. We imitated Tian Dan's 'Fire Bull Formation' and charged directly into the enemy's formation. Although the elephants were huge, they were very afraid of fire. When countless fire bulls charged, they immediately trampled each other, resulting in countless casualties."

"I didn't expect that you, my dear, would have the demeanor of a wise general in the army." Li Chengqian couldn't help laughing.

In his previous life, he thought that Wang Xuance was able to pacify India by borrowing the power of the Tibetans.

Now that I've heard the details, it seems that he is indeed a talented person.

"Afterwards, we stormed the capital, beheaded over 3,000 people, and drowned nearly 10,000 others. We also captured Alona Shun alive." Wang Xuance paused, then looked at Jiang Shiren and said, "The deputy envoy led his men into the city held by Alona Shun's wife. Five hundred and eighty cities, both near and far, surrendered. We captured 12,000 men and women, and over 30,000 cattle and horses. This terrified India."

"This is a great achievement." Li Chengqian looked at Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren and said with satisfaction, "The most important thing is that I have discovered two more great talents."

Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren both bowed their heads and said, "Your Highness, thank you for the compliment."

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "Although the Ministry of Personnel has already decided on your rewards, they will not be finalized until you have met with the Emperor. Therefore, before you meet with the Emperor, the affairs of the Honglu Temple must continue."

"Yes!" Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren looked serious.

"For the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, important figures from all over the world have arrived in Chang'an, some of whom are even rulers themselves. Therefore, I need you two, my dear ministers, to represent my father, the emperor, and I, along with the Honglu Temple, to receive them." Li Chengqian's eyes grew slightly colder, and he said softly, "It just so happens that you two, my dear ministers, have performed great deeds again, which can awe the people."

"Yes!" Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren bowed together.

They were envoys to the Honglu Temple, so they naturally understood that with the Crown Prince in power, the barbarians from all directions would be eager to make a move. They had just nearly destroyed an Indian state, and their prestige was high, so they could use it to intimidate the people.

"Alright." Li Chengqian looked relieved and waved his hand, saying, "Officials and titles require the Emperor's personal presence, but I can make the decision on bestowing silk, gold, and silver. You two, please go back and rest for a day, then return to the Honglu Temple for duty. After the ceremony, I'll let you two rest well."

It is already the end of April, and the ceremony will be on May 12th, less than half a month away.

"We obey your orders." Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren kowtowed again.

……

The two should have left immediately, but Wang Xuance looked a little hesitant.

Li Chengqian was slightly surprised: "Is there anything else, Lord Wang?"

"Yes!" Wang Xuance bowed, then raised his head cautiously. "May I ask, Your Highness, how do you plan to deal with the Tianzhu issue?"

"Are you talking about the 580 cities that surrendered?" Li Chengqian raised his eyes slightly, and his sharp eyes saw through Wang Xuance's thoughts at a glance.

"I understand." Wang Xuance smiled wryly and bowed, saying, "These cities must be returned to Tianzhu. I'm just a little reluctant."

Li Chengqian nodded and said, "I understand your feelings. After all, those cities were captured out of fear of the Tang army's might. Why should they be returned? But you must understand that this feeling is merely an illusion of greed. The reason those cities were willing to surrender is because you have the descendants of King Harshavardhana behind you. That's why they are willing to surrender."

Wang Xuance naturally understood that the reason those cities surrendered was because they knew that nothing would happen as long as they surrendered. Moreover, the person he surrendered to was a descendant of King Harsha, so he had no burden in his heart.

But if the Tang Dynasty had forcibly captured the city, then perhaps not so many cities would have surrendered, and perhaps they would have gathered troops to resist at the instigation of someone with ulterior motives.

Even if the Tang Dynasty wins, they will not accept it in their hearts and will have trouble in the future.

"It's unrealistic for the Tang Dynasty to occupy the city, not to mention that Tubo is secretly lurking." Li Chengqian shook his head and said, "If we dispatch troops once and achieve a complete victory, making the Western Regions famous and capturing a large amount of spoils, it's already a good deal. But if we are too greedy, the Tang Dynasty may be forever trapped in the quagmire of India."

"Your Highness's teachings are correct!" Wang Xuance's expression grew solemn as he kowtowed to Li Chengqian, saying, "Your Highness is wise."

"Of course, this matter cannot be resolved just like that." Li Chengqian looked up and said, "Although the 3,000 cavalrymen that Xi Jun bought have been withdrawn, the Tang Dynasty can establish embassies in the capital and other important cities and send envoys. At the same time, we must inform King Harsha that no Indians are allowed to enter the embassy premises, including the Indian king. Tang law will be enforced within the embassy premises, and the Tang Dynasty embassy will be guarded and protected."

After a brief pause, Li Chengqian continued, "The Tang Dynasty's ambassador to India may bring with him one hundred cavalrymen. At the same time, if King Harsha requests, the ambassador may recruit an additional two hundred cavalrymen to escort the delegation. However, there will only be two hundred. The Tang Dynasty's ambassador is prohibited from interfering in Indian politics. We cannot get too deeply involved."

India was too far away and King Harsha was young.

Although it may frighten the ministers for a while, people will inevitably be in turmoil afterwards, and the country may be destroyed at any time.

The Tang Dynasty can help India, but all investments must be recovered before they are made, so as to minimize sunk costs.

Although Li Chengqian did not explain it clearly, everyone in the hall understood.

"Thank you for your teachings, Your Highness." Wang Xuance bowed again.

Li Chengqian waved his hand and said, "It's not that I'm too cautious, it's simply that the Indians' fighting power is too weak. This time, the Tang Dynasty's 3,000 cavalrymen are marching through India, and I'm afraid the Tibetans will be tempted. Perhaps Songtsen has already sent people to India to investigate, and they're too close."

"Your Highness, do you want to warn Tubo?" Wang Xuance's face turned cold. He had made such great achievements, but the Tubo people wanted to take advantage of them.

"No need, it's not a bad thing." Li Chengqian raised his head and said, "When the Tang Dynasty and India have a friendly relationship in the future, we can allow Indian nobles to come to Chang'an to study, and Tang merchants can also go to India to do business... Of course, Tang people abroad cannot be bullied at will. If they really make a mistake, let the embassies in various places deal with it according to Tang law!"

"Huh?" Wang Xuance looked up in surprise. He didn't quite understand.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "India is a foreign country after all. The people of Tang Dynasty are unfamiliar with its laws, and many of them are due to different customs. If we punish Tang Dynasty merchants and civilians based on these laws, it would be a bit excessive, so we should leave a loophole... Let's make this matter clear with King Harsha in advance, and it would be best to write down the regulations."

"Yes!" Although Wang Xuance felt something was strange, he knew there was nothing wrong with what the prince said.

"Okay, go ahead, my dear." Li Chengqian raised his hand slightly.

Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren immediately bowed and retreated.

……

Looking at the backs of the two people, Li Chengqian's eyes became slightly solemn.

When Wang Xuance returned to Chang'an this time, he brought back a lot of things, among which was one thing that will be remembered forever by future generations.

A sorcerer, an Indian sorcerer.

A sorcerer who is said to be able to create medicine for longevity.

This kind of person was extremely attractive to the emperor who was at the end of his life.

The key is the medicine.

It could be good, it could be bad, it could be fatal.

Li Chengqian withdrew his thoughts and glanced lightly in the direction of Tianzhu.

Extraterritoriality, three hundred cavalrymen, concession.

The culture of the Tang Dynasty was extremely strong. As long as an embassy formed an area and all the people nearby were citizens of the Tang Dynasty, an invisible concession would take shape.

Even the last semi-colony.

India is too far away from the Tang Dynasty. At this moment, how to control and influence India to the greatest extent possible.

Concession was the best way Li Chengqian could think of.

Take it step by step.

If successful, the whole world will belong to the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)