Man Tang Huacai

Chapter 590 Betrayal of the Alliance
The oil lamp in the secret cell was as small as a bean.

As the branding iron emitted blue smoke as it burned the skin, the questioning voice rang out again.

"Where is Trisong Detsen?"

The person tied to the rack was a short-haired monk. When he looked up, it was Yixi Wangpo. He pursed his lips tightly, said nothing, and his eyes were as stubborn as a rock.

The interrogator, who had been through several nights in a row, yawned and said to himself, "Since the monk refuses to speak, we should just assume that Trisong Detsen is dead."

"We'll see you again tomorrow."

The sound faded away and the cellar gradually became quiet. Yixi Wangbo looked around, looking for a way to kill himself.

It was not until late at night that there was a sound outside. A slender figure in a black cloak walked in. When she stood in front of him, it was Na Lan Zhen.

"Princess? How did you get here?"

Nalanzhen looked tired and said, "I thought you and the Zanpu were both killed, but I found out that Maxiang's confidants have been secretly bringing people here. Tell me, is the Zanpu still alive? Where is he?"

"Zanpu should still be alive."

"In the end what happened?"

Yixi Wangpo said: "The princess and Basai Nang went on a diplomatic mission to the Tang Dynasty and brought back Zen Master Hui Zheng and his disciples. The assassination attempt on Ma Xiang failed. Zen Master Hui Zheng sensed that the Zamp was in danger and fled with him in advance. I stayed behind to protect the Zamp and set myself on fire, but I didn't expect to be captured by Ma Xiang's men."

After hearing this, Nalanzhen first murmured, "Was it Huizheng who rescued the Zamp?"

But she still felt something was wrong.

Since the incident, she had been searching for the Zamp with great difficulty. However, after Huizheng rescued the Zamp, he not only did not contact her, but seemed to be avoiding him.

After getting this clue, Nalanzhen sent Basenang to investigate the Zen monks. Not long after, Basenang asked someone to report to her that it was found that a group of Zen monks had gone to the territory of the Subi tribe, and this was also the direction in which the Tang court envoys returned.

"Did the Zamp follow the envoy and flee to the Tang court?" Nalanzhen guessed in her heart.

She couldn't help but think of Xue Bai again.

In the past, she hated him deeply, but she had to admit that he was tenacious and strong, which gave her a lot of strength and allowed her to emulate him. Over the years, she worked hard just to become like him.

Gradually, in her heart, Xue Bai became a calm and reliable ally, at least temporarily, so she was eager to form an alliance with him.

Nalan Zhen chased the Tang court envoys without stopping. She traveled through wind and rain, eating wind and drinking dew every day, and finally found out their movements.

At the shore of Dangre Lake, a herdsman told her that an envoy from the Tang court passed by here a few days ago, and a group of monks were among them.

Nalanzhen was overjoyed and galloped until her horse was exhausted. She had to stop and stay overnight in a Tantric Zen temple. When she went to stay, she always felt that the old monk looked at her in a strange way, so she kept an eye on him at night and stood up suddenly when she heard footsteps outside the door.

"Princess, I want to take you to see Basainang." The old monk outside the door said, "He was seriously injured and he is trying hard to tell you something."

Nalanzhen was also brave and followed the old monk without hesitation.

They arrived at a monk's room and pushed open the door, only to see Basenang lying there. The arrows in his body were still there. He had several wounds all over his body, which were covered with incense ash, which was sticky from the gushing blood. His face was pale and he was already dying.

"Basainang, who hurt you like this?"

"Finally the princess has arrived... It was the Tang court... that kidnapped the Zamp..."

Na Lanzhen stepped forward and asked, "What did you say?"

"It was the Tang envoy who told Ma Xiang the plan... and betrayed us..."

"How could that be? He has formed an alliance with us." Na Lanzhen shook her head and said, "They are not people who would betray their trust."

In her impression, Xue Bai and Yan Zhenqing were both upright people who advocated benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness.

Basainang murmured, "I didn't believe it at first. The Tang court considers itself a great power and has a good reputation... How could it do something like breaking the alliance... But they... are an enemy country!"

With a "puff" sound, blood gushed out of his mouth.

He had been holding on with his willpower, wanting to tell Na Lan Zhen the news, but now his will was gone and he could no longer hold on, and died on the spot.

Na Lanzhen sat on the ground dejectedly, in a daze for a long time.

Since Ma Xiang became regent, he has been waging war against the borders of the Tang Dynasty, successively occupying the Hexi and Longyou areas. He also invaded the Tang Dynasty during the autumn harvest every year, and even supported Dazha Lugong's troops to enter Chang'an.

Therefore, she thought that she and Xue Bai had a common enemy, and as long as Maxiang and Dazhalugong were eliminated, Tubo and the Tang Dynasty could live in peace.

She was too naive, and Xue Bai simply disdained her so-called sincerity and credibility.

There are only eternal interests between countries.

If weakening Tubo is beneficial to the Tang Dynasty, Xue Bai will do it without hesitation and to the best of his ability.

Now, letting Ma Xiang suppress his opponents with brutal means and forcibly seize the throne will best weaken Tubo. Xue Bai will do this. When Ma Xiang really controls the situation, Xue Bai will send Trisong Detsen back and stir up civil strife again.

As for personal relationships and positions, compared to these, they are nothing.

"Damn it."

"Damn it."

Some scenes that had been forgotten once again reappeared in Nalan Zhen's mind, the Tibetan soldiers who died in Nanzhao, and the details of her being captured and humiliated.

She cursed twice, tightly grasped the knife, and her eyes were filled with murderous intent. She had not lost yet, she wanted to rescue Trisong Detsen and come back to dominate Tubo.

By then, an extremely powerful Tibetan Kingdom would wantonly ravage the Tang court.

~~
Changan.

Three years after Shangyuan, Xue Bai changed the reign title to "Zhengxing", which means "to restore order and revive the Tang Dynasty".

The first year of Zhengxing, the Year of the Pig, was a year of peace. Last year, the two emperors passed away and Tubo invaded. After a temporary turmoil, state affairs gradually calmed down.

In the first year of Xue Bai's official reign, he set himself the goal of "not making mistakes", because he often asked himself, what is the difference between his ascension to the throne and Li Heng and Li Chu? Or what kind of changes can he bring to the Tang Dynasty? I think one is that he brought the craftsmanship and rules of later generations in his mind, which took a long time to establish the foundation; the other is to correct the problems of the Tang Dynasty itself. The two biggest problems are the separatist regimes and tax reform.

Xue Bai was able to accomplish all these during his reign and believed that the Tang Dynasty would become even stronger and more prosperous under his leadership. However, the resolution and formation of the vassal states and the tax system all depended on class contradictions, and any move would affect the foundation of the Tang Dynasty, so he could not act rashly.

He was willing to spend several years to stabilize people's livelihood, accumulate national strength, cultivate useful talents, and at the same time increase his personal authority, so that he could be at ease when it came time to carry out reforms in the future.

Therefore, in the first year of Zhengxing, Xue Bai was most concerned about creating a stable and peaceful external environment. Unlike Li Longji, he did not mobilize a large number of troops to attack Qinghai. Instead, after a war, he temporarily used diplomatic means to force Tubo to be unable to launch another war. After that, he waited for Feng Changqing to bring news from the four towns of Anxi.

After resolving the issues in the northwest, Xue Bai wanted to tour the country, clean up the bureaucracy, resolve conflicts at the local level, reform the tax system, and personally supervise to prevent good policies from turning into bad policies that harm the people.

He also asked the Jiangnan East Province to design a shipping office and build sea vessels, hoping that in the future the Tang Dynasty's ships would sail on the sea, bring back more productive grain, and also publicize the power of a great country.

These are all later stories. He needs to wait patiently for the calm days.

In addition, in the first year of Zhengxing, Qinglan and Li Tengkong gave birth to a son and a daughter respectively, which added a bit of festive atmosphere to the originally deserted palace.

The court officials naturally congratulated Xue Bai, but they also noticed that Xue Bai, who had always been known for his romanticism, did not have many concubines who were actually canonized.

In the end, it was Du Wulang who, with the instruction of Du Youlin, spoke a few words of reminder when he asked to see Xue Bai.

"Why don't you enthrone some more concubines and expand your family, so that we, the loyal ministers, can feel more at ease?" Du Wulang looked around and saw that there was no one in the hall, so he picked up the apple on the imperial table and started to eat it.

Xue Bai reviewed the memorial without looking up and said, "Okay, let's confer titles on Aunt and Aunt first."

"Ahem." Du Wulang choked while biting an apple and waved his hand, "Forget it, forget it. Even if the sisters agree, Grandpa will break their legs. It doesn't matter if other families make mistakes in seniority, but in our family, reputation is the most important thing."

Xue Bai said: "How about I confer the title of Grandmother Seventeen?"

"No, no." Du Wulang waved his hand and said, "She is from the same clan as you."

"Where's Yao Niang?"

"What a joke." Du Wulang responded hurriedly, "Also, Yao Niang's sisters don't need to say anything more. It's not okay. It's one thing for others to talk about it behind your back, but it's another thing when you put it on the table."

Xue Bai pondered for a moment and said, "To be honest, I've been seeing Ji Lanzi quite often lately, and I don't want to let her down."

"Are you serious?" Du Wulang smacked his head and said, "You two are passing it on privately, so I will pretend I don't know. However, this is also a person with the same surname, so it is not appropriate to confer the title publicly."

"You are not allowed to do this, and you are not allowed to do that. Why do you come here and say so much?"

"And there are Nian Nu and Xie A'man. Think about it again. Are there any other beauties you feel sorry for?"

Xue Bai was distracted by this.

He didn't really think about who he had let down, but just thought that there was actually a way to give a name to the people around him.

"By the way, have you heard about it?" Du Wulang suddenly asked, "What happened to Princess Hezheng."

"What's up with her?"

Only Du Wulang dared to say this to Xue Bai. He moved closer and spoke in a casual chat tone.

"Her engagement was broken off. Didn't Emperor Xuanzong choose a husband for her two years ago? A member of the Cui family, whose name seemed to be Cui Mei. The wedding was originally scheduled for the third year of Shangyuan, but there was a coup in the palace and you killed Prince Zhong. I heard that she had even put on her wedding veil, but the Cui family was afraid of being implicated and refused to marry her. Now she has become a laughing stock in Chang'an."

Du Wulang said this with great sigh.

Xue Bai didn't react much after hearing this, and said, "Why are you telling me this? Can I still force Cui Mei to marry him?"

"You can issue an edict to let Cui Mei know that you will not pursue Prince Zhong's female relatives."

"I don't worry about that."

Xue Bai closed the memorial in his hand, and faced Du Wulang with a more serious expression, saying: "I am meeting you today because of this memorial."

"what?"

Du Wulang first asked in a friendly tone, then his expression froze, and he said, "Listen, your servant." "When I recruited Tian Chengsi to surrender, I asked him to lead the surrendered soldiers from Fanyang to follow me in the northern expedition against Shi Siming. Do you think I did something wrong?"

"How could I know this?" Du Wulang scratched his head and muttered quietly, but when he really thought about it, he was able to answer, "The wives and children of the surrendered soldiers from Fanyang are all in their hometown. They are eager to return home and follow Your Majesty to the Northern Expedition. They should be brave. Staying in Guanzhong will cause trouble. Your Majesty's move is naturally correct."

Xue Bai threw the memorial in his hand to Du Wulang.

When Du Wulang opened it, he saw that the memorial was written by Yan Gaoqing. It only briefly mentioned the military settlement in Hebei and mainly talked about a series of impacts caused by the civil strife in the Uighurs.

After Yehu and Yidijian split, Yehu was driven to the Karluk tribe, and Yidijian sent troops south. His troops lingered on the border of the Tang Dynasty for a while and then began to rob the people on the border.

Yan Gaoqing was in charge of a region and was not good at marching and fighting. Fortunately, he had many brave generals under his command. Generals such as Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi, Hou Xiyi, and Liu Kenu led their troops to attack and defeated Yi Dijian's troops. Although the Fan Yang and Lulong armies had rebelled, the soldiers had always been tough in dealing with foreign enemies over the years and lived up to the reputation of the men of the Tang Dynasty.

This memorial was submitted by Yan Gaoqing to report his achievements and request rewards for the soldiers, such as appointing Tian Chengsi as the military commander of Fanyang.

He also stated in the memorial that at present, with foreign enemies invading the border, it is not appropriate to weaken the power of the Jiedushi for the time being, because Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian are now in charge of Fan Yang. If the power of a county is dispersed to various prefectures and counties, it will be difficult to coordinate to resist the enemy when foreign invaders come. Moreover, if the power of the Jiedushi is divided into four, he will not be able to suppress them.

Finally, Yan Gaoqing also asked the court whether it had received the report from Shuofang.

After reading it, Du Wulang rubbed his eyes and read it again.

Xue Bai asked: "Do you see the problem?"

"Your Majesty, do you suspect that Yan Gaoqing is greedy for power and wants to be the governor himself? That's why you don't support Your Majesty in weakening the power of Fanyang?"

Xue Bai said: "He is telling the truth, he is not trying to gain power."

Du Wulang asked: "What's the problem?"

"Do you think the problem in Fanyang lies with Yan Gaoqing or with Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi and other former Fanyang generals?"

Du Wulang thought about it for a while and felt that Yan Gaoqing's memorial seemed to indicate that he was unable to control Tian Chengsi and others.

Before, Xue Bai was personally stationed in Fan Yang and was able to suppress these arrogant and powerful generals. But now that the Uighurs have invaded the south and they have regained control of the military power, it will be difficult to ask them to hand it over.

Even if Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian, whom Xue Bai trusted, could hold the city, they would have to hold all the power in their hands. In the long run, they would just become the old generals of Fan Yang and would not be able to solve the problem fundamentally.

"Your Majesty, are you saying that the problem is not with these people, but with the power of the feudal lords?"

"Is there anything you can do?"

"I am the most stupid person. How can I discuss such important matters with Your Majesty?" Du Wulang said, "It's nothing more than... sending a military supervisor?"

Xue Bai shook his head, skipped over Fan Yang's question, and pointed to the last sentence in the memorial, saying, "Qin Yan Gao is reminding me."

Du Wulang looked over, was surprised for a moment, and asked: "Your Majesty, did you not receive the report from Shuofang?"

"Ah."

The current governor of Shuofang is Pugu Huai'en.

This man has always regarded himself as loyal, but after being angered by Li Heng and his son, he occupied several large cities in Shuofang and refused to hand over his military power. Before this, Xue Bai had been unable to take care of him, so he had to appease him and persuade him to surrender, and there was no major chaos.

However, in order to help Li Heng borrow troops from the Uighurs, Pugu Huai'en married his daughter to the Uighurs, and Yidi Jian was his son-in-law.

Now, they moved south to plunder the Tang Dynasty, not to harass the closer Shuofang area, but to go east directly to Fanyang and Pinglu. Pugu Huai'en did not report a single word to the court, which is very intriguing.

Perhaps Yidijian did not want to offend his father-in-law, so Pugu Huai'en knew nothing; perhaps the two sides had already contacted each other and reached a consensus, so Yidijian went to invade other parts of the Tang Dynasty, and Pugu Huai'en deliberately concealed it.

Yan Gaoqing said that the current situation was unstable and it was not suitable to weaken the power of Fanyang Jiezhen. Obviously, a large part of the reason was to guard against Pugu Huai'en.

Du Wulang was a little frightened and said, "Your Majesty, this is a big matter, you should consult the Prime Minister. I can't bear it."

"I asked you to come here because I want you to go see Pugu Huai'en on my behalf."

"what?"

When Du Wulang heard this, his face turned pale. He stammered and said, "In a place like Shuofang, with those arrogant and brave generals, I..."

"You are the person I trust the most and the one who best represents my sincerity. Tell him that I don't want to harbor suspicion against him. He is a frank man. I only ask him if I can trust him again."

~~
In the blink of an eye, the second half of the first year of Zhengxing had arrived.

Many merchants went south to purchase tea, Sichuan brocade and other goods and returned to Chang'an, waiting for the court to open up the Western Regions. Some waited for half a year, and some even waited for a year. However, although the court defeated the invasion of Tubo, it had no intention of raising troops to recover Hexi. The merchants talked about it and said that they were deceived by the young emperor.

Xue Bai was also a little anxious. The trade routes in the Western Regions were blocked, and Chang'an could only rely on the supply from the world. Only money came in but not out, which was like a pool of running water turning into stagnant water.

It was not until after the Mid-Autumn Festival that Yan Quanming suddenly asked for a meeting.

He usually submitted memorials to the emperor the day before the audience, but today was different. Xue Baisui had a premonition.

Therefore, as soon as Yan Quanming entered the hall, Xue Bai asked, "Has the messenger returned?"

"That's right! Li Qiwu and his men have returned, and they have brought an envoy from Maxiang. Your Majesty, do you want to see him now?" Yan Quanming was also very excited. He took two steps forward and said in a low voice, "It's done. Trisong Detsen is in the team."

Xue Bai let out a long sigh, and was not in a hurry to meet these people, but looked at the map. In this way, the chess game that was originally stuck could be revitalized. He could transfer part of the troops in Sichuan and Shu to Qinlong, and prepare to open up the Western Regions.

He could even just pretend to take back the cities in Hexi through negotiation. This would be the best outcome, and he could then transfer Guo Ziyi to Shuofang to suppress Pugu Huai'en.

The generals of Fan Yang and Ping Lu can also be replaced.

Of course, if we calm down and think about it, the prerequisite for the successful implementation of these plans is that the towns of Anxi and Beiting are still there, or in other words, they are still loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

If Anxi and Beiting had already surrendered to Tubo, recovering Hexi would become meaningless. The court would have hit a wall in the northwest, and the problems in Shuofang, Fanyang, and Pinglu would become more difficult.

~~
At the same time, Lingwu.

Feng Changqing once led his troops north from here, passing through Huihe to Anxi.

Nearly two years after they left, a small group of people finally returned from the north, riding on camels and arriving at the gate of Lingwu city in the wind and sand.

A Shuofang soldier came up and shouted, "Who are you?!"

The leader of that small group was a middle-aged man with rough skin and a weather-beaten face. He stared blankly at the Tang Dynasty flag waving on the top of the city wall for a long time.

He spread his hands, looked up at the sky, and let out a long breath.

"Tang Dynasty? Tang Dynasty!"

"We have finally completed the journey of ten thousand miles."

With these two sentences, the middle-aged man burst into tears.

He just stood there crying quietly, causing his companions behind him to sob. They had no more words, only turbid tears dripping on their worn feet.

The guard at the city gate was moved and asked, "Where are you from?"

"The Anxi and Beiting Protectorates have not surrendered yet!"

The middle-aged man did not immediately answer who he was, but pounded his chest hard and spoke in a sonorous and powerful voice.

"In recent years, Hexi has fallen, and there has been no news from Chang'an. The Tubo army has attacked repeatedly, but the Anxi army still held on!"

The soldiers guarding the city were stunned. They stared at the man in front of them and asked, "Are the four Anxi towns still there?"

"Still there!"

"The Beiting Protectorate is still there?"

"Still there!"

The middle-aged man answered, put his hands on the shoulders of the soldier guarding the city, and asked, "Where is Chang'an? Is Chang'an still there?"

"Changan...of course it's still there."

The middle-aged man then said, "I am Cao Lingzhong, a general under the command of General Yang Zhilie, the governor of Beiting. I have been ordered to return to the capital to report the situation in the Western Regions. Although we are isolated thousands of miles away, the flag of the Tang Dynasty has not fallen."

"Quick! Report to Marshal Yu Jie!"

The city gate opened, and the gatekeepers mounted their horses and galloped towards the Marshal's Mansion in the city.

The main hall of the Marshal's Mansion.

Du Wulang held a cup in both hands, and ripples were forming in the wine in the cup.

His hands were trembling slightly. Facing Pugu Huai'en, he sensed the danger and couldn't help feeling a little guilty.

"I am loyal to the court, but the court always doubts me!"

Du Wulang just conveyed the emperor's greetings, but Pugu Huai'en not only did not show any respect, he also waved his hand and spoke indignantly.

"I think it's understandable. Before in Jingyuan, I was very sincere to Prince Zhong, but he still doubted me. As for the current emperor, I even led an army to fight him. How can he trust me?!"

"That's not the case." Du Wulang said quickly, "Your Majesty sent me here because he trusts me. Think about it, General Jie, I am the person Your Majesty trusts the most. If I doubted you, how could I put myself in danger?"

Pugu Huai'en snorted lightly and disagreed.

They all knew very well that Du Wulang came here because of the civil strife among the Huihe people.

"If I tell you that I did have contact with Yidijian after the civil strife in Huihe, what will you think?" asked Pugu Huai'en.

Xue Bai was right, he was indeed a straightforward person.

But when Du Wulang saw how frank he was, his heart trembled violently, and cold sweat ran down his back. He thought to himself that if he told him all this, could he be planning to kill him to silence him?

(End of this chapter)