Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 403 Rumors
According to Chen Qingsi's most ideal plan, naturally he would wait until both Yuannan, Yuannanjian and Yuannanchan were hurt, or when either party could no longer support it and asked Datang for help, then he would lead his troops and destroy Goguryeo in one fell swoop. This expedition to Baekje came to a successful conclusion.

To soothe Baekje, make peace with the capital, and then destroy Goguryeo, it can be called perfect.

But the situation in Beijing was not optimistic. In the years since he left, because of Li Zhi's physical problems, Empress Wu rose as history did.

At this time, no one realized what Empress Wu's rise would bring to the Tang Dynasty.

Although the incident of Si Chen made most civil and military personnel in the DPRK very angry, many Founder officials spoke out against it in protest.

But in the face of Li Zhi's strength, the officials who objected did not find any point, nor did they really take it seriously.

After all, Li Zhi also had his own reasons. A real old fox in officialdom would not want to go too deep into the matter of giving up crown prince or prime minister.

Most of them expressed their unsupportive attitude, but they did not really risk their own futures to protest, which had no impact on Empress Wu.

She is still getting more and more favored, and her control over the temple administration is getting deeper and deeper.

If Empress Wu really succeeds in the matter of ennobling Zen, it will not be far from the end of the same dynasty for the emperor and empress.

By that time, by the time civil and military officials realized the magnitude of the situation, it was already too late.

The current Empress Wu is just a pawn of Li Zhi, but after being enshrined, Empress Wu will have political capital and will be promoted to Li Zhi's political ally and become his arm in controlling the situation of the court.

At that time, Queen Wu could not move.

The chess pieces can be discarded at any time and at any time, but how can the arms be discarded so easily?
If you want to suppress Empress Wu and avoid history repeating itself, now is the best time.

He must go back...

Although it will make this trip so imperfect, is it a blessing in disguise?

At least I can go back and see my wife and son earlier.

Chen Qingsi comforted herself by thinking, No.

The more Chen Qingsi thought about it, the more she felt that it would be a shame to go back now. What a great opportunity to make a name for herself?

It is inevitable to go back, but we still have to gain something.

Chen Qingsi was thinking secretly.

Liu Rengui saw that Chen Qingsi was so absorbed in his thoughts that he thought he had some plans, so he did not interrupt his thoughts and thought about how to govern Baekje in the future.

Liu Rengui had excellent political vision. How could he not see that Chen Qingsi was interested in cultivating himself as his successor?
He didn't intend to change Chen Qingsi's overall arrangement, but he didn't want to blindly follow it. He had his own ideas on details and put himself first.

Got it!

Chen Qingsi's eyes suddenly lit up when she thought of Li Zhi's evil and petty character, which could be exploited.

He asked Liu Rengui to go down and do his own business, and then wrote a memorial himself, once again explaining the situation in Goguryeo in detail. In the memorial, he wrote down his judgment on Goguryeo one by one.

The memorial reached Luoyang and reached Li Zhi.

After seeing the memorial that caused Xiao Qiang's trouble, Goguryeo knew that all this was Chen Qingsi's plan...

Thinking about a series of things that happened after Chen Qingsi left Baekje, including pacifying Baekje, frightening Silla, destroying Japan, and causing chaos in Goguryeo. In just two years, the Northeast was completely settled.

Li Zhi once again felt the talent displayed by Chen Qingsi and was secretly shocked.

Closing the memorial in his hand, Li Zhi thought to himself: "I don't know when Yuan Nan and Yuan Nan Jian and Yuan Nan will be able to tell the winner."

In the memorial, Chen Qingsi had a prediction of the situation in Goguryeo.

One of Yuan Nan's relationship with Yuan Nan Jian or Yuan Nan will eventually lose, and the losing party will inevitably ask the court for help.

I'm just asking for help, don't accept it. There is allowed to be one Silla in the east of the sea, but no more Goguryeo.

Silla alone cannot make trouble, but if Goguryeo is added together, they will be a great danger to the Tang Dynasty.

Goguryeo must be destroyed and cannot be allowed to appear as a vassal state.

When one of them loses all hope, he will naturally put down his body and beg for peace.

At that time, the time will come to destroy Goguryeo.

In just two months, Li Zhi indeed received a request for help from Goguryeo.

It was Yuan Boy who asked for help.

Yuan Nan's ability is true in Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanchan, but he has no money in his hands and no food in his treasury. The territory he controlled was located near Liaodong, which was almost a barren land that was invaded by the Tang army. Except for strong mountain cities, the economic environment had almost retreated to the Stone Age.

No matter how bad Yuonnamjian and Yuonnamchuang were, they still owned the two most fertile grain-producing areas in Goguryeo, and their internal resources could be recycled.

The two sides fought for more than ten times. Although Yuan Nan relied on his talents to win more and lost less, in the face of continuous support from Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nansan, he ultimately failed and retreated to his stronghold.

The strongholds and cities controlled by Yuan Nanshi were built to prevent the Tang army from attacking and were heavily fortified. Among them were Anshi City, which Li Shimin had been intimidated by in the past.

Yuan Nanjian and Yuan Nanchan could not do anything to take these cities, and the two sides once again fell into a stalemate.

It already lacked the economy and suffered a defeat.

Yuan Nanshan could only choose to seek help from the Tang court, hoping that the Tang Dynasty would send troops to help him regain control of Goguryeo and ensure that Goguryeo would become a dependent state of the Tang Dynasty for generations to come.

In fact, even if Chen Qingsi didn't mention it, Li Zhi would not agree to this request.

Goguryeo was the country he wanted to destroy the most, and he would never be stupid enough to give Goguryeo a chance at this opportunity.

This time, Li Zhi ignored the envoy sent by Mr. Yuan at all. Not to mention meeting in person, even the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Rites did not make arrangements. He just arranged for a posthouse out of the magnanimity of the country, and he had no worries about food and accommodation.

However, when he learned that Goguryeo really arranged for envoys to ask for help, Li Zhi couldn't help but said: "Kong Ming and Jing Lue are nothing more than this."

Luoyang, White Horse Temple.

A group of high-spirited young men were playing in the temple.

The group stopped in front of the white horse in White Horse Temple and commented.

The erudite young man told the history of White Horse Temple.

"This White Horse Temple is not an ordinary Buddhist temple. It is the first government-run Buddhist temple after Buddhism spread to the east. It is also the source and ancestral home of Chinese Buddhism. The scene we see is not as luxurious as in the past. It is only after the late Northern Wei Dynasty that During the "Yongxi Rebellion", Luoyang was burned down, and the White Horse Temple was not spared. The former Emperor Wen Yang firmly believed in Buddhism, and local officials made certain repairs, so that we can see Buddhist temples from all over the world every year during the Buddha Bathing Festival. Believers come here to worship, including monks from other countries..."

The boy's name is Li Sichong, and his father is Li Jingxuan. He is an official of You Suji and a school inspector, Prince You Zhonghu.

As the leader of the southern ancestral family of the Li family in Zhao County, he came from a Tsinghua University and was extremely talented and knowledgeable.

The history of White Horse Temple can be easily understood.

Most of the people accompanying him were officials' children, including Dou Huaizhen, the son of Taichang Bo, Liu Yicong, the son of Liu Shenli, a great craftsman, and Zhang Ruosi, the son of the censor Zhang Renyi. Because of Chen Qingsi's relationship, Li Zhi did not issue an edict prohibiting marriage, and did not give the five surnames and Qiwang a chance to specially invite their names, which was far less out of reach than later generations. But it is still praised by the world, and many people applaud.

The group entered the temple, visited the eminent monks in the temple, and sat down next to the life-release pool in the Qiyun Pagoda courtyard to enjoy the scenery.

With the spread of Tang Dynasty style, reciting poems and making music has become a fashion.

Compared with the previous palace style poems, the simplicity and popularity of the prosperous Tang style has been recognized by all literati in the world with Chen Qingsi's achievements.

This is true even in Eastern and Western Beijing, where palace-style poetry is most popular. The prosperous Tang style has successfully won the favor of a large number of scholars with its simple and casual style. It has long been a custom to talk about state affairs and recite poems and write poems when they get together.

However, the physical studies of the Tang Dynasty were simple, but it was extremely difficult to master them.

There are not many excellent works that can be truly passed down, and most of them are written by Luo Binwang, Wang Bo, Yang Jiong and others.

A few people obviously didn't have that inspiration, so they composed praiseworthy verses and complimented each other a few times.

Dou Huaizhen sighed: "Mr. Chen's departure to Baekje has greatly disgraced our Central Plains literary world. I don't know if Mr. Chen will publish any good works while he is far away in Baekje."

Dou Huaizhen is a well-known "Chen fan". Whenever she talks about poetry, she will express a few words of emotion, and everyone has long been used to it.

At this point, Zhang Ruosi said: "Brother Dou, it's better not to say this much these days."

Dou Huaizhen felt a little scared and asked, "Why do you say that?"

Zhang Ruosi whispered: "I heard that Governor Chen acted in some unreasonable oversteps in Baekje."

As soon as he said these words, the eyes of everyone around him fell on him.

Zhang Ruosi really enjoyed this feeling and felt quite contented.

Li Sichong frowned and said, "No way. I heard that Mr. Chen did an excellent job in Baekje. It can be said that the people support him and respect him as the reincarnation of Shariputra."

Shariputra is one of the ten disciples of Buddha and is known for his wisdom.

This was something the Japanese people especially boasted about in order to praise Chen Qingsi's stinky feet. Chen Qingsi didn't like it. He preferred the reincarnation of Wenquxing to the reincarnation of Shariputra.

However, Buddhism is prevalent in the Haidong Peninsula, and most people think that only Shariputra has been reincarnated.

This was originally just flattery, and Chen Qingsi couldn't explain her rejection, so she had the attitude of stopping rumors only for the wise, and then most people thought so.

Zhang Ruosi whispered: "Baekje is alone overseas. Governor Chen is so popular that the administrative power is concentrated in him alone. He appoints rewards and punishments alone, and the court cannot interfere. How is this different from an uncrowned king? It is said that Governor Chen When he was in Japan, just like the emperor of Japan, the kings and princesses of Japan all knelt before him. He made many decisions in the east, which was beyond the authority of his ministers. "

When Dou Huaizhen heard this, her face changed slightly and she actually stopped talking.

Any Chen fans are just pretending. He just saw that Chen Qingsi has risen to great heights and will definitely become an important figure in the Tang Dynasty in the future. He is just investing in advance to make a name for himself.

Now when he heard that Chen Qingsi might have objections, he immediately stopped talking.

On the contrary, Li Sichong's eyes were a bit deep and he asked: "No way, Mr. Chen has such a good official reputation, how can he do such a thing."

Zhang Ruosi said: "I don't know, I'm just hearing about it. Just talking about official reputation, how was Wang Mang back then?"

Li Sichong remained silent.

Needless to say, Wang Mang's official reputation was that before he rebelled, he was a great sage comparable to Zhou Gongdan. He shed his blood for the country and the people...

The results of it?
Chen Qingsi's overseas arrogance was originally circulated in a small area and was a niche topic. But as it spread to the ears of the five surnames, it suddenly exploded in Gyeonggi and Shangluo.

Chang'an was fine, and Chen Qingsi had a lot of connections, but Luoyang was where the Guandong gentry gathered, and all kinds of rumors were spread in a well-organized way, as if they had seen it with their own eyes.

Luoyang, Chen Zhai.

Li Zhi drove back to Luoyang, Tokyo, accompanied by a large number of civil and military officials.

Various officials were given favors and mansions. Although Chen Qingsi was in Baekje, he also received such an honor. Chen Qingsi's family also followed the imperial driver from Chang'an to Luoyang.

Qianyan followed Xiao Miaochen's message angrily, almost jumping up and down with anger.

"My husband is the governor of Baekje for the country, and he has been separated from his wife for many years. It is really hateful that they slander him like this,"

Xiao Miaochen just smiled lightly and said: "The beauty in the forest will be destroyed by the wind. The greater your achievements, the more panic you will make others, and then you will make bad remarks. Don't be angry or impatient. The more this happens, the more we must stabilize ourselves. Don’t cause trouble to Mr. Lang.”

She looked at the time and said, "We must not let Jingjing know about this, as it will delay his education."

He said lightly: "Madam, you are really calm."

Xiao Miaochen said: "What is this? The next party will be the real test..."

As Chen Qingsi's status rose, Xiao Miaochen's status also rose.

She is also a well-known figure in the circle of married women, especially her relationship with Lu Congbi, the eldest princess of Xincheng and the wife of Yan State. She is also favored by Empress Wu, so she is a man of great influence.

At such a young age, she is already among the most prestigious women, how can she not be hated by others?

There are various legitimate reasons for men's jealousy, but there is no legitimate reason for women's jealousy.

Even Chen Qingsi's talent and arrogance, or Xiao Miaochen's youth and beauty can become reasons for jealousy.

Xiao Miaochen has experienced many intrigues in this circle of women over the years.

She had been taught in this area originally, and now she had experienced the test of actual combat. Her demeanor was graceful and noble, and she was not moved by it at all.

Soon, Xiao Miaochen received a banquet from Queen Wu.

Xiao Miaochen was dressed in gorgeous clothes and attended the appointment calmly.

The reason for the banquet was to enjoy flowers, and it was held in Yutang Courtyard of Luoyang Palace.

The so-called Yutang refers to magnolia and begonia, and Yutang means wealth and wealth. It is natural to enjoy the begonia flowers now in autumn.

Xiao Miaochen ignored the different looks around her and glanced around, but did not see the figures of the New City Princess and Mrs. Yan. She vaguely understood in her heart that this banquet was probably the Hongmen Banquet.

At this moment, Empress Wu has not arrived, and the surrounding women are either gathering together to chat, or admiring the flowers individually, and commenting on Begonia, which is known as the fairy among flowers.

Xiao Miaochen didn't pay attention to anyone and just watched the flowers in the courtyard.

"Mrs. Xiao!"

Xiao Miaochen heard someone calling her and looked towards the place where the sound came from, only to see a charming and gorgeous woman approaching. She was the charming Korean lady.

The Korean lady who is suspected of having an affair with the emperor.

(End of this chapter)