Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 40

Just after Li Longji killed three sons in one day, and when Fang Chongyong was innocently imprisoned to "experience life", another major event happened in the court.

Last year (the 24th year of Kaiyuan), Tubo's ambitions expanded and they actually attacked Belu (the Ladakh region in eastern Kashmir) from the west in an attempt to cut off the Silk Road.

This is one of the key nodes of the Silk Road, guarding the transportation artery between the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and the western and northwestern regions of the Tibetan Plateau.

The Bolu area itself is a high mountain, and its products are not worth fighting for between Tang and Tubo, but it is a key section of the Silk Road.If Bolu is completely controlled by Tubo, the four towns of Anxi will be exposed to Tubo's soldiers!
After being beaten, Bolu would naturally send an envoy to Datang to ask for help.

Datang had to come forward to solve this problem, because if Tubo was allowed to mess around, the next step would be to compete with Tubo for the four towns of Anxi.The complete severance of the Silk Road is an intolerable and unacceptable thing for Datang!
Given that peace has been maintained with Tubo for many years, the two sides live in peace.So Li Longji simply sent an envoy to Tibet to order them to stop their troops.

However, the domestic political environment of Tubo has changed, and it has also changed its foreign policy, turning from conservative to offensive. It did not obey the imperial edict at all and brazenly attacked the Bolu Kingdom.

Li Longji was extremely angry, but in view of the domestic situation, he forbears it for the time being.

It is worth mentioning that although Tubo has a strong national power, its foreign policy and foreign exploration model are very stupid and clumsy. It often does things that cost 100 yuan but only earn [-] yuan.

It is very good at destroying the interests of other countries, but it is not very concerned about maximizing its own interests.Often switch between the state of beating people without thinking and being beaten without thinking.

To put it simply, Tubo's own strong strength has not been effectively transformed into channels for strengthening itself.The level of its foreign policy application is far inferior to that of the Turks.

Recently, Sun Ji, the aide of Cui Xiyi, the governor of Hexi Province, came to the court to report that Cui Xiyi had made peace with the Tibetan border general Qilixu and killed Baiju as an alliance, so that the Tang state and Tubo withdrew their garrison in the area bordering Hexi. The fort formed a demilitarized situation in the border areas.

Therefore, Sun Jie proposed to the court that he could take advantage of this opportunity to send troops from Hexi (Liangzhou) to attack Tubo and avenge his previous humiliation!
Although this cannot directly recapture Bolu, it can greatly restrain the Tibetan military power and reduce the military pressure on the four towns of Anxi.

This matter was just brought to the court for discussion, and then the courtiers from all walks of life quarreled again.Represented by the opinions of Right Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling and Left Prime Minister Li Linfu, the courtiers were also divided into two distinct factions.

Zhang Jiuling believes that the current expenditure of the imperial court has reached a terrifying level, especially the scale of bureaucrats and officials in the Chang'an area, which is unprecedented!
Two years ago (that is, the 21st year of Kaiyuan), the imperial court, under the auspices of Li Linfu, made relevant statistics in this regard:
The number of officials in Chang'an reached 680, and other subordinate officials reached 410.Moreover, because of family background and imperial examination selection, there are still many people who have official qualifications but have not yet been conferred.

These people, together with the royal family, officials' children, as well as various servants, providers, etc., formed a huge group that was separated from agricultural production and needed support.

Conservative estimates, at least 20 people!
Now that four years have passed, the number of officials has only increased!

With so many people, a large amount of central finance is consumed every year, and a large amount of grain, grass and materials shipped to Chang'an are consumed, which has almost brought the central finance to the brink of collapse.

At this time, someone actually proposed to fight against Tibet. What did they think?

Where's the money?Who will come out?

Whoever insists on sending troops to fight Tubo now, first stand up and confront the old man for [-] rounds before talking!
But Li Linfu's opinion is more direct: If Tubo is not attacked, the road from the Tang Dynasty to the Western Regions will be cut off.This road is broken, and the imperial court can't even collect the business taxes and tariffs of the Hu merchants. The loss is more than trillions?
Those caravans traveling to and from the Western Regions in Chang'an City, the dazzling array of goods from the Western Regions in the Western Market, and related tax revenues, which are huge in amount and minimally wasted, will all disappear!

No one can afford this loss.

Anyway, the current situation of the people's livelihood in Chang'an and the situation of the imperial government raising officials and soldiers are the same thing. There have been no troubles in the past few years, and there is no possibility of any changes in the short term.

Wars don't wait until you get everything ready!
Instead of thinking about "throttling expenditure", it is better to think of a way in "open source".

The Tibetan general Kilixu was superstitious about the contract oath. Isn't this the time to take the enemy by surprise?If we don’t send troops now, how long will it take?
As for honesty and trustworthiness, it also depends on the situation.In the eyes of my Tang Dynasty, barbarians like Tubo are no different from livestock.

People can talk about honesty and trustworthiness with each other, but what morality can be said between people and livestock?

To sum it up in one sentence: Just rush and win, and you can say anything if you win.

Li Linfu's suggestion has been widely supported by the ruling and opposition parties, but there are very few people who support Zhang Jiuling, only a few officials from the Zhongshu Province who were born in the imperial examination.

In fact, if you think about it, you will understand what is going on.

Because regardless of whether there is a war or not, according to Zhang Jiuling's thinking, the establishment of Beijing officials must be cut, and at the same time, the salary and benefits must be cut, and a lot of hidden benefits must also be cut.

If the parents don't let the children eat enough, the children will complain, not to mention those Beijing officials who are already pampered in Chang'an?
Sure enough, Li Longji followed Sun Huo's suggestion and sent an eunuch named Zhao Huicong as the supervisor of the army, and returned to Liangzhou with him, urging Cui Xiyi to use troops against Tubo.

It must be unexpected and no news should leak out!
As for things like killing three sons in one day, Li Longji had long since left them behind.The war machine is about to start, and there are undercurrents surging inside and outside the court, and letters are frequently exchanged between Hexi and Chang'an.

The clouds of war were gathering on the border between Tang Dynasty and Tubo. The situation became tense again, just like ten years ago.

……

"Didn't you say that you can go out in just one day? It's been three days, why are you still here?"

Yan Zhuang looked at Fang Chongyong with a mocking face and asked.

“People stumble, horses stumble, there are always accidents in life.

The person I'm waiting for hasn't come yet, and the environment of Dali Temple is good, so I just want to stay here for a few more days..."

Fang Chongyong said with a sneer.

How glorious it was for him to pretend to be in front of Yan Zhuang before, but now it is miserable to be slapped in the face.

What's wrong with it?
Fang Chongyong always felt that the progress of killing three sons in one day should not be what it is now, and the Dali Temple should not be closed all the time if he wants to close people!

Dali Temple is an institution for reviewing cases across the country, but it is also a place where important criminals are temporarily detained.

Temporary and critical, these two are key words!

In other words, for many officials with political problems, their first stop may be to live in Dali Temple for a few days. Maybe after the emperor changes his mind, he can directly take them out of Dali Temple and restore them to their original posts!

If he is sentenced, he will be transferred from Dali Temple, and those who deserve to be punished will be given punishment, and those who deserve death will be sentenced to death.

Moreover, the conditions of the Dali Temple Prison were better than those in the prisons of the Tang Dynasty. The guards were stricter and more disciplined, and there was less interference from the outside. A jailed person who had been convicted of a crime would not be easily detained by the jailer. Things like poisoning happen.

Let alone let prisoners die of illness in prison!

Which link is wrong?
Fang Chongyong fell into deep thought, and he didn't care that he also smelled bad now, and he didn't look much better than Yan Zhuang.

At this moment, the prison door was opened, and Gao Lishi, wearing a yellow palace uniform, walked in with his hands behind his back, looking at Fang Chongyong thoughtfully.

"Let's go, the saint is welcome."

Gao Lishi said softly, his tone calm and indifferent.

Those who serve the emperor like them have developed a professional habit of not showing their emotions or anger.Sometimes a cold tone doesn't mean a cold mood, it's just getting used to it.

"The elder came a little late."

Fang Chongyong stood up, flexed his muscles and said with a smile: "I thought I could go out in a day."

"If you keep talking too much, I'm afraid you'll be locked up for a year. Why don't you leave?"

Gao Lishi scolded with a smile.

"Let's go, let's go."

Fang Chongyong followed Gao Lishi, and then slowly walked out of the Dali Temple Prison with Yan Zhuang's shocked eyes.

"Why are there so many differences between people?"

Yan Zhuang looked at Fang Chongyong's leaving figure and couldn't help but lament.

Fang Chongyong could not hear the helplessness and sorrow in Yan Zhuang's heart at this moment. He followed Gao Lishi on the oxcart, and then came to Xingqing Palace. Two beautiful ladies gave him a bath for an hour, and then put on his clothes again. Comfortable brocade robe.

This dress is cut and sewed with white silk, and its material comes from the wenling tribute paid by Henan Province (which governs Luoyang, now Luoyang, Henan Province), and is very expensive.

The clothes are embroidered with a pattern called "hunting Wenjin".

Among them are people riding and shooting, galloping animals, flying auspicious birds, and dotted trees and flowers, all concentrated in the round group of flowers.

The outside of the tuanhua is dotted with bead-shaped patterns, with clear layers and compact structure.

This kind of pattern, collectively called "Lianzhutuanwen", was a popular decorative pattern among the nobles at this time.

After learning this information from these two young ladies, Fang Chongyong no longer dared to ask how much this dress cost and how much labor it would cost.

All in all, the affairs of the nobility cannot be measured by money in many cases. Quality is what they pursue!
What shocked Fang Chongyong even more was that he didn't need to dress himself, there were two beautiful ladies to help him!When he was bored, he asked these two beautiful ladies, how many people like them are there in the palace?

The answer was: "Maybe more than [-]."

So Fang Chongyong thought, with a collection of thousands of favors, maybe this sentence is not some exaggerated rhetorical technique, but a true description of the palace's extravagance.

Under the guidance of these two beautiful ladies, Fang Chongyong walked into the main building of Xingqing Palace and saw a middle-aged man wearing a dark blue round-neck robe chatting with Gao Lishi. The two were talking and laughing. look like.

Needless to say, this is Li Longji.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but sigh in his heart, the emperor Li Longji was so controversial that it was difficult to explain in words.

"Meet the saint."

Fang Chongyong bowed to Li Longji and saluted.

"How do you know that I am the Son of Heaven?"

Li Longji put down the music score in his hand, looked at Fang Chongyong and asked.

"If he is not a saint, who can chat with General Gao here, who else can be?"

Fang Chongyong said cautiously.

"Don't be cautious. If I wanted to chop off your head, I would have done it long ago. Tell me why you want to bury Li Ying and the others. Or do you have no idea who your father is?"

Li Longji asked resentfully.

"Returning to the saint, I just think that the dead should be buried in peace. The prince who was deposed and given to death is also the face of the royal family. The face of the royal family is the face of a saint."

Fang Chongyong continued to salute and said.

"Forget it, I think you are young and ignorant, so I will let this matter go, and I will not pursue it anymore. But the few scholars who took the exam with you, I have decided to let them fail the imperial examination this year. Hired!"

Li Longji waved his hand and said.

This is what he really thinks.Fang Chongyong is a half-grown child and the son of a close confidant of Qian Di. If he causes trouble, it can be forgiven if it does not cause bad effects.

But Zhang Xun and others, who are already adults and are still scholars participating in the scientific examination, actually participated in the nonsense.Children are ignorant, so are you also ignorant?
Just removing these people from the imperial examination list as a punishment is already for Fang Youde's face.

"Thank you saint for your grace."

Fang Chongyong continued to bow and salute with a very humble attitude.

"In a few days, go to the Imperial College to study. It's boring to be idle all day, and it's easy to cause trouble."

Li Longji said calmly.

Eh?
"Guozijian?"

Fang Chongyong was taken aback for a moment, he hadn't figured out what this place was for, but it sounded familiar.

"At your age, if you don't study, what else do you want to do? What can you do?"

Li Longji looked at Fang Chongyong with a puzzled expression and asked.

In the Tang Dynasty, not every official could be taught by a famous teacher from his family.However, it is rare for Fang Youde to ignore his son directly, and most of the children of officials and eunuchs also have to mix up their qualifications in the Imperial College.

Food, lodging and school uniforms are provided there!

Guozijian is located in the west of Wubenfang in Chang'an. This square reaches the imperial city in the north and Xingdaofang in the west. It is 350 steps wide from north to south and 450 steps long from east to west (one step is about 1.65 meters).

Guozijian covers an area of ​​half a square. In addition to Guozijian, there are also Jinzuo Yuan, Fang Xuanling's Xiantian Temple and many official residences in the square.

Apart from Miyagi, where the central office is located, this is the place where officials gather most in Chang'an City.

I originally wanted to ask "Can I not go?", but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Gao Lishi calmly nodding towards him. Fang Chongyong had no choice but to clasp his hands and salute: "Thank you, saint, for your grace. But there is something, please forgive me, saint." .”

"Just say it."

Li Longji is in a good mood. Publicizing this matter will be of great benefit to making up for his broken personality.

"On the way back to Chang'an, I met a small official from Youzhou named Yan Zhuang, who was dispatched to Lingnan. He said that he was wronged by my father. Now that the imperial court is in the midst of employing people, it is better to assign him to Hexibian town as a subordinate. Officer, it can be regarded as the best use of people.

If they were dispatched to Lingnan, they would die, so why bother? "

Fang Chongyong did not forget Yan Zhuang and tried to find a way to intercede on his behalf.

"Lishi, please help with this trivial matter. Take him home and walk through the back door of Xingqing Palace."

Li Longji looked relaxed and pointed at Fang Chongyong and said to Gao Lishi.

As for whether the whole thing was legal from beginning to end, he had no interest in it.

In the Tang Dynasty, no matter how great the law was, it was no bigger than a sage, so why bother talking about those nonsense?
(End of this chapter)