Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 432 The sky won’t fall down

Chen Qingsi looked at the somewhat delusional King of Mosquito House and Nakatomi Daiki with both laughter and tears.

Under his own influence, the Tang Dynasty during this period was different from the Tang Dynasty in history, which appeared glorious on the surface but was internally unstable due to strategic missteps.

The Tang Dynasty, whose strategy was on the right track, was much more powerful than any other dynasty in the same period in history.

In history, Emperor Gaozong of Tang's Fengshan was unprecedented and unparalleled, but it was still far less than today.

During the era when Chen Qingsi existed, the Tang Dynasty perfectly inherited the power of the Zhenguan period, attacking from all directions with every move being deadly.

No country dares to have second thoughts anymore, and on the contrary feels proud of it.

It is an extremely honorable thing to be invited by His Majesty Li Zhi, the Emperor of the Celestial Empire. In order to be able to move up in the rankings, one has to rack one's brains.

As one of the Fengshan envoys, Chen Qingsi has been tempted in this regard many times in the past six months.

In order to enhance the country's status, many vassal envoys from all directions sent gifts in various forms.

Chen Qingsi didn't care much about the external things like gold, silver and treasures, but those ladies who were proficient in the unique skills of various countries and had the customs of various countries were really a big test, and he almost couldn't control himself...

The Japanese nation is now divided internally and threatened by conservative rebels. It has never been close to the Central Plains of China and has even dreamed of replacing the Central Plains and establishing a suzerain state system centered on the Japanese island.

With a country like this, Japan doesn't even have the qualifications to sit at the table, let alone kneel halfway up the mountain.

However, Japan's Iwami Silver Mine did have a great impact on the economy of the Tang Dynasty and still has certain utilization value.

Consider giving them a seat halfway up the mountain...

Thinking of this, Chen Qingsi said with a bit of embarrassment on his face, "This is not easy to deal with. You also know what the situation is in Japan. Japan and our Tang Dynasty used to get along quite well. There are still envoys and monks who stayed in Chang'an to study during the Zhenguan period."

"But how do you repay the court?"

"You launched an undeclared war, used despicable means to support the Baekje rebels, and even attempted a surprise attack on Ungjin. Your Majesty has no good feelings towards Japan at all."

Nakatomi Daiki was also very ashamed and said, "These are all caused by my second minister, Nakano-nii, and have nothing to do with the king. Grand Commander..." He bowed his head and kowtowed, saying sincerely, "Our loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor of the Celestial Empire can withstand the test of Amaterasu."

King Mosquito House, who had not dared to speak, also kowtowed and said, "The Japan of today is not the Japan of that time. The people of Japan feel the grace and power of the Celestial Empire. I hope that the Grand Commander can tell Your Majesty that our Japan has been subject to the Celestial Empire for generations..."

Chen Qingsi looked at the two people kneeling in front of him and sighed, "Well, I will tell His Majesty about your intentions and will also say a few good words for you. The specific outcome will depend on God's will."

He said it was difficult, but in fact Li Zhi didn't take Japan seriously at all.

If it weren't for the Iwami Ginzan, given Li Zhi's personality, he wouldn't even bother to even look at Japan.

Today, when all nations come to congratulate us, there is really nothing worth mentioning about Japan.

It doesn't deserve any special treatment at all. It should be thrown among many small countries and become one with the crowd.

With the arrival of the envoys from the Kingdom of Dashi in Luoyang, all the envoys from various countries registered with the Ministry of Rites had arrived.

Li Zhi also announced the date for the Fengshan ceremony.

October st.

A good day calculated by the Imperial Astronomical Observatory.

Yes, it was the Imperial Observatory that captured the Qilin.

East Palace, Zhanshi Mansion.

The date of Fengshan was passed on to Chang'an.

Li Jingxuan found Zhang Wenguan alone and said, "Mr. Zhang, the date for your Majesty's departure has been set, it will be October 1st."

Zhang Wenguan said: "Your Majesty, when you go to Mount Tai, many government affairs will be reported to the East Palace and handled by the Crown Prince. You and I shoulder heavy responsibilities, so we must pay more attention to it."

Li Zhi went to Luoyang and handed over the affairs of Chang'an to Crown Prince Li Hong for regent.

At this time, the Tang Dynasty's political institutions were divided into two locations, Chang'an and Luoyang.

The affairs of officials below the fourth rank in various places were handled by the Prince's Mansion in Chang'an, while the affairs of officials above the fourth rank were handled by Li Zhi in Luoyang.

When Li Zhi traveled east, all official duties below the third rank would be transferred to the Eastern Palace in Chang'an. Li Zhi only needed to control the overall situation on the road with the accompanying prime minister.

This was the first time that the Eastern Palace had to deal with such a major matter. It was a big test for the young Crown Prince Li Hong, and also for them in the Eastern Palace.

Li Hong was kind and benevolent, and was loved by everyone in the Eastern Palace.

As the top official under the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, Zhang Wenguan was under the greatest pressure and had made adequate preparations.

Li Jingxuan looked at his boss who had a serious face, and whispered: "There is another piece of news. It is said that Minister Chen is responsible for the safe journey of the entire team."

Zhang Wenguan shook his head slightly and sighed with emotion: "Chen Shangshu is a hero of the time. He is quick-witted and knows how to adapt to circumstances. It is appropriate for him to be in charge of this matter..."

Zhang Wenguan had mixed emotions towards Chen Qingsi.

Zhang Wenguan did not agree with Chen Qingsi's ideas.

Zhang Wenguan was the most orthodox disciple of Confucius and Mencius. It was not that Dong Zhongshu modified the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, but he was the most original Confucian school in the pre-Qin, Spring and Autumn and Warring States period.

Zhang Wenguan’s attitude towards the world is that of Mencius: “People are the most important, the country and the people are second, and the king is the least important.”

Only when there are people can we establish a country; only when there is a country can we have a ruler to govern the people.

The governance of a country should be based on the people's livelihood, not on conquests for the sake of the king's glory.

To stop the war, to defend the land that belongs to China, and to protect the people that belong to China is the way for an official to act.

The taxes paid by the people should be taken from the people and used for the people, rather than using the people's hard-earned money to conquer and expand territory.

Because of this belief, Zhang Wenguan became the leader of the temple to stop the war and truce. He hated a general who sought war, but Chen Qingsi was an exception.

When Chen Qingsi leads troops outside, he will take people's livelihood into consideration and pay attention to local livelihood.

For example, the three surrendered cities in the north saved the imperial court tens of thousands of soldiers every year. Another example is the northeastern economic zone of Baekje and Japan, and the great silver mine in the Iwami region, which also saved the imperial court a lot of military expenses.

Even the God of War Su Dingfang couldn't do this.

But how many people does Chen Qingsi have?

Zhang Wenguan regretted that as a leader of literati, he should have devoted all his energy to governing and ensuring the people's safety, but he went astray and used all his abilities in evil ways.

Li Jingxuan saw that Zhang Wenguan did not understand what he meant, so he emphasized his tone: "Mr. Zhang, the scale of this Fengshan ceremony is unprecedented. Even if Minister Chen has extraordinary ability, I am afraid it will be difficult for him to take care of everything. How about that?"

"Shut up!" Zhang Wenguan immediately stopped him, saying, "Fengshan is a major national event. Any omissions will affect the national system. Don't do it recklessly."

Li Jingxuan quickly bowed his head to admit his mistake and dared not say anything more.

Zhang Wenguan asked Li Jingxuan to leave. Li Jingxuan bowed and walked away until he disappeared from sight. Then he angrily threw his sleeves and walked away, whispering: "Mr. Zhang is good in everything, but he is a little pedantic. If he continues like this, it will be bad. Once the thieves Chen gain power, what will we have to do?"

Li Jingxuan respected Zhang Wenguan very much, but he did not approve of his methods.

Everyone knew that Li Zhi was in poor health. The purpose of cultivating Li Hong over the years was also very clear.

As a minister in the palace, Li Jingxuan was already hoping in his heart that the person above would die soon so that the ministers in the Eastern Palace could take advantage of the situation and rise to power.

But Chen Qingsi's existence obviously blocked their way to the Eastern Palace.

If Li Zhi wanted to entrust his son to someone, given the current situation in the court, Chen Qingsi would definitely be one of them.

Li Hong has a great liking for Chen Qingsi. Will Li Hong favor them or Chen Qingsi at that time?

This time, under the guidance of Empress Wu, Li Hong privately sought help from Chen Qingsi, which made Li Jingxuan feel uneasy.

Difficulty sleeping.

"Your Majesty attaches so much importance to Fengshan. If Chen Qingsi makes a mistake in this matter, wouldn't it be a good thing? Mr. Zhang is kind and virtuous, but he is not good at this matter, so let me do it."

"Everything... for the court, for the prince."

Li Jingxuan's steps became more and more firm.

The back garden of Ziwei Palace in Luoyang.

Wu Shun was furious, but he had to suppress his anger and said, "Your Highness, why don't you stand up and say something for me? That bitch dared to humiliate me. Next time I see him, I will tear his mouth apart."

Empress Wu glanced at her sister calmly and chuckled, "You did it yourself, so why don't you allow others to say anything about it?"

There was a big joke in the palace today.

The protagonists of the story are Lady Wushun of Korea and Irina, the wife of Grand Duke Religalia Gatti of Fulin.

There are essential differences between Western culture and Eastern culture.

Eastern culture is subtle. Even though the upper class is just as chaotic and dirty as the upper class, with the saying "dirty Tang and smelly Han", it is never mentioned openly and will even be concealed.

It is different in the West. Their culture is more open and matters concerning love can be discussed openly.

The higher the status of a person, the more proud he is of having many illegitimate children and mistresses.

There is no sense of shame for a woman who is someone else's mistress.

Wu Shun's situation is considered a mistress in Western culture.

Among the foreign delegations that came from afar this time, many of them brought their families with them, bringing their families to the East to experience the different exotic customs.

As the Queen Mother of the Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu naturally had to entertain the families of these envoys. She had held banquets many times to show the women of various countries the ways of hospitality and customs of the East.

There is no doubt that Empress Wu's abilities enabled her to perfectly fulfill her responsibilities as an empress.

Wu Shun also met a golden-haired noblewoman named Irina from the Kingdom of Fulin at the banquet.

The two of them got along well with each other, but they hated that they didn't know each other's language and could only communicate through an interpreter.

During the conversation, Wu Shun heard the word "MANICUS" many times.

This word means mistress in Latin. Irina knew that Wu Shun was Li Zhi's mistress, so when the two talked, Irina would use this word when mentioning Li Zhi.

The Kingdom of Fulin was the Eastern Roman Empire, also known as the Byzantine Empire. It was too far away from the Tang Dynasty. There were not many ministers in the court who knew Latin, only a few of them, and their level was very average.

As translators, they themselves cannot fully understand the meaning of the word "MANICUS", or they are too embarrassed to say it and automatically evade the question.

In order to cope with the language barrier, the Ministry of Rites, under the arrangement of Li Ji, Chen Qingsi and other Fengshan envoys, hired some merchants from Liangzhou and the Western Regions who understood each other's dialects.

Gradually, as translators were put in place, the meaning of "MANICUS" - mistress - became known to the public.

Then the news that Irina had called Wu Shun her mistress many times spread gradually. The key point was that Wu Shun responded very happily, and it became a joke and topic of conversation among people in Luoyang.

Wu Shun, with his explosive temper, could not stand such humiliation, and he started a quarrel with his good friend Irina early this morning.

Irina is a Nordic fierce woman, how could she be afraid of Wu Shun?
The two shrews didn't speak the same language, but they cursed at each other so hard that they almost came to blows.

Empress Wu's chuckle made Wu Shun lose his temper all of a sudden. After a long moment of embarrassment, he stammered, "I, I am helping Her Royal Highness the Empress to look after His Majesty! You are His Majesty's right-hand man now, helping him share the affairs of the court. I am helping you to look after those restless vixens..."

Empress Wu was too lazy to pay attention to her sister who was already under her control. She said to herself, "You guys' disturbance today has given me a warning. Maybe I should get sick. Regardless of whether it works or not, it's better to lick the mess."

On October 1st, the order to march eastward was officially issued.

It was also on this day that the unprecedented Fengshan team began to march towards Mount Tai.

Apart from other things, the carriages stretched for hundreds of miles. Li Zhi led the civil and military officials and the guards of honor, Empress Wu led the ladies of the court, and there were also envoys and chieftains from the Arabs, Fulin, Turks, Khotan, Persia, India, Japan, Silla, Baekje and other countries, as well as respected gentry and scholars...

Hundreds of thousands of people walked along the official road from west to east.

Chen Qingsi stood on a high place, looking at the endless team connected end to end, looking at the eagle soaring in the sky, and said: "I wish I could turn into an eagle, so high in the sky, and take in this magnificent scene that has been passed down through the ages."

But I was thinking, how great it would be if I had a drone to record the whole situation.

I don’t know if there will be such a grand occasion as today in the future.

This has never happened before in history. The scale of this Fengshan ceremony was so large that it became the last of its kind.

It’s not because the later generations are inferior to the previous generations, but because of a weird thing that lowered the standard of Fengshan, making the later generations embarrassed to come.

Chen Qingsi was filled with emotion, while Zhou Kui and Yin Ming beside him were sweating profusely due to anxiety.

"Mr. Chen, it's already this late, why are you still in the mood to express your feelings? Who knows, the villains in the dark may have already started to act."

Just two days before Li Zhi was about to leave, Yin Ming suddenly came to visit from Chang'an, saying that he had something important to discuss.

Yin Ming heard a rumor that someone wanted to create some trouble for the team going east to offer sacrifices to the gods.

Seeing this huge team stretching for hundreds of miles, I was completely numb.

How to find this?
How to prevent?
The team consisted of nearly 100,000 people, including princes and nobles, civil and military ministers, ladies of the gentry, and rich girls. It was an extremely difficult task to take care of their eating, drinking, defecating, urinating, and sleeping.

Now there are actually people lurking among them, looking for opportunities to cause trouble, this...

Zhou Kui and Yin Ming were like two little eunuchs, so anxious that they didn't know what to do.

Chen Qingsi stretched lazily and said, "The sky won't fall."

(End of this chapter)