Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 445 Humiliation
The thirteenth day of the first month of the first year of Qianfeng.

The Tang Dynasty and the Arab Empire, the only two major military powers in the entire world, signed an alliance.

Li Zhi also formally received the envoys from the Arab Empire at his headquarters.

"Your Majesty is blessed by the Heavenly God. He will surely shine like the rising sun, illuminating all directions. I wish Your Majesty a long life..."

The person who said this was Schmidt ibn al-As. He spoke in Chinese, and each word he pronounced was difficult to pronounce, but very clear, and it was obvious that he had put a lot of effort into it.

And the person who said this obviously has some understanding of Chinese culture.

The supreme god of China has a development history. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, he was called Shangdi, the Emperor of Heaven. Of course, he had nothing to do with the Jehovah in the West.

The Qin Dynasty worshipped Taiyi and respected Donghuang Taiyi as the most respected, but during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, Haotian God stood up.

After that, people sometimes respected Donghuang Taiyi, sometimes respected Haotian God, and some even integrated Haotian God and Donghuang Taiyi into one person.

In the Tang Dynasty, the only God revered was Haotian. The Arab believers in the West, who regarded Allah as the only true God, could say such words, which was enough to prove that when you are strong enough, even a religious country like the Arab Empire would honestly respect your beliefs.

Chen Qingsi looked up and down at the Arab envoy in front of him...

The delegation consisted of more than ten people, led by a middle-aged man with a high nose and a white turban. He chattered in a completely incomprehensible language.

He only knew how to say a few words of blessing, and after that he went back to speaking his native language obediently.

Li Zhi was already used to it. Not to mention foreign envoys, even when meeting officials from Lingnan, he had to be accompanied by an interpreter.

Chen Qingsi suddenly found that someone was looking at him. It was an elderly man with wrinkles all over his face. He was thin and a little hunched, with a white cloth wrapped around his head. He didn't look very eye-catching, but his eyes were deep and experienced, which left a deep impression on him.

"He must be Chen Qingsi!"

Amr ibn al-As, the once most dazzling general of the Arab Empire and now a wise man, muttered to himself.

Naturally, Chen Qingsi's fame did not spread to the Arab world.

But Amur was very familiar with Chen Qingsi for a simple reason.

Amur had an in-depth conversation with Galdongzan of Tubo.

After breaking with the Tang Dynasty, Tubo deepened its exchanges with the Arab Empire.

The hostility of the Arab Empire towards the Tang Dynasty was also exaggerated by the Tibetans.

Amur respected Galdongzan's talents very much and admired him.

When the two were talking about the Tang Dynasty, Galdongzan asked him to pay attention to Chen Qingsi of the Tang Dynasty, an extremely young but extremely terrifying opponent.

They, Tubo, are now completely trapped, all because of this man.

Amur became interested in Chen Qingsi at that time.

Just as Chen Qingsi analyzed, the current Tang Dynasty is too strong, so strong that the Arab Empire dare not ignore it.

With such a powerful existence at its side, the Arab Empire no longer dared to expand outward.

What if, when they were expanding in all directions, the Tang Dynasty marched straight in and attacked their capital?

The capital of the White Caliphate was Damascus, not far from the Western Regions.

Just as Su Dingfang was able to reach the Aral Sea in one go, he could also reach Damascus in the same way.

Although the Arab Empire had no intention of becoming an enemy of the Turkic Dynasty, it had to be prepared for war.

Chen Qingsi will also be an enemy of their Arab Empire.

Amur still remembers asking a question at that time: "What are the characteristics of the man named Chen Qingsi? If we meet him in the East this time, we still don't know who will be my opponent."

At that time, Gal Dongzan said, "I have never seen him either, but I have a trick. Whenever there is an important occasion, the youngest person must be him."

Looking at Chen Qingsi, who was less than 30 years old, and thinking about the rumors he had heard about him along the way, he couldn't help but think to himself: "He is indeed a formidable opponent."

What is scary is not Chen Qingsi’s ability, but his age.

The Tang Dynasty is truly terrifying.

Amur's eyes were determined. The more terrifying it was, the more he had to face it.

There is no room for two tigers in one mountain.

This is an eternal truth.

Avoiding will not solve the problem.

There will inevitably be a war between the two countries.

Chen Qingsi walked out of the camp and let out a long sigh. A battle with the Arabs was inevitable, but it was obvious that neither side was willing to have a head-on conflict due to their own reasons.

There will be no war for at least two or three years, or even three to five years.

They have enough time to shift their grand strategy eastwards...

Chen Qingsi walked leisurely, his thoughts turned to his own personal affairs, and he didn't know what was going on with Zhou Kui.

Zhang's House, Suzhou.

"Boom boom boom!"

There was a loud knock on the door!

A decadent middle-aged man kicked the door and cursed angrily.

With those two words, he greeted all eighteen generations of the Zhang family's ancestors.

The Zhang family of Wu County was a well-known figure in Jiangnan. The fact that their ancestors for eighteen generations were cursed in this way immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Some people who knew the middle-aged man were discussing him in low voices nearby.

"Isn't this Li Dejian?"

"What is he doing?"

"Scold the young master of the Zhang family? Aren't they close friends regardless of age?"

"How did it get to this point?"

More and more people gathered and pointed at Li Dejian who was kicking the door.

Zhang Ling in the house also cursed in a very corrupt manner: "Ignore him. How can a weak dog like him kick down the door of my Zhang family? If he has the guts, he can keep kicking. I treat him as my brother, but he slanders and laughs at me behind my back. If I don't teach him a lesson, does he really think he is a big shot?"

"He is just a criminal. When Lord Wei was alive, I was afraid of him. Now that Lord Wei is gone, am I still afraid of him?"

"My young master wanted to marry his daughter, which showed that he respected him, but he actually despised a criminal and the daughter of a criminal. Does he really think of himself as a noble duke or county lady?"

There was something abnormally crazy about Zhang Ling's expression, and his face was even a little ferocious.

Obviously, this is the result of taking drugs.

Zhang Ling, the grandson of the Zhang family of Wujun, was once a phoenix on the branch.

But now I have become a free-range chicken on the ground...

The Zhang family of Wujun was also considered a top figure in Jiangnan. Although with the decline of Jiangnan, the Zhang family also encountered a period of transition, after all, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse.

As the grandson of the Zhang family, he has ended up in this situation today because he offended Chen Qingsi.

The Xiao family was implicated because of Concubine Xiao Shufei's affairs, and in order to let Xiao Miaochen avoid disaster, they were eager to marry her off.

Zhang Ling didn't dare to marry her for fear of being implicated and affecting his career, but he was reluctant to let his beloved beauty be taken away by Chen Qingsi, a man from a poor commoner family, so he sent out a "killer".

In the end, the "killer" was killed.

The Xiao family sent people to question the Zhang family. Under pressure from the Xiao family, the Zhang family gave punishment and explanation, but they avoided Chen Qingsi's presence throughout the process.

What is the status of the Zhang family in Wujun?
Why should I explain to Chen Qingsi?

Who could have thought that a commoner who was so poor that he had to till his own land could rise to such a high position and achieve what he has today.

The most important thing is that this matter was leaked by someone unknown.

For some reason, the Zhang family was caught in a situation where they were surrounded by enemies on all sides.

Chen Qingsi was already a leader of literati and a leader in the scholarly world. His Tang Dynasty style was popular throughout the world. He wrote the "Three Character Classic" for elementary students, the "On Teachers" for encouraging learning, and many popular poems.

Jiangnan is a very embarrassing place. During the Jin Dynasty, the northern gentry migrated south, pushing the literary style of remote Jiangnan to its peak, and the Wei and Jin style came into being.

But with the unification of the country, Jiangnan inevitably declined.

Whether it is the Guanlong family or the Guandong gentry, not many of them look upon the scholars from the south of the Yangtze River with respect.

Chen Qingsi, who was born in Jiangnan, became the leader of the literati and the pride of the entire Jiangnan region...

Zhang Ling actually sent assassins to kill Chen Qingsi?
That was all thanks to Chen Qingsi's magnanimity and not taking it to heart.

Given Chen Qingsi's current status, suppressing the declining Zhang family is as easy as crushing an ant.

In short, ever since the news spread that Zhang Ling sent people to assassinate Chen Qingsi, the Zhang family of Wujun has been disliked by the scholars in the south of the Yangtze River.

Zhang Ling, in particular, became an abandoned child of the Zhang family.

Zhang Ling was speechless and could only follow the example of the famous scholars of Wei and Jin Dynasties, making friends with a group of unsuccessful people, drinking, chatting and taking Wu Shi San.

Because of this, Zhang Ling got to know the frustrated Li Dejian, and they often got together to take medicine, talk frankly with each other, and take off their clothes and walk quickly.

Zhang Ling originally had a good marriage plan, with a lady from the famous Lu family in Wu County.

The two of them were already of marriageable age, but Zhang Ling's mother died unexpectedly, so they delayed the marriage for three years in order to observe mourning.

Three years later, what Zhang Ling did was inexplicably leaked, and that was when Chen Qingsi was rising in power.

The Lu family sensed something was wrong and rejected the marriage proposal on the grounds of Zhang Ling's character.

As a result, Zhang Ling found it difficult to find a good partner.

Ladies from wealthy families looked down on Zhang Ling, and Zhang Ling also looked down on ladies from average status.

Until one day, when he was traveling with Li Dejian, he met Li Hongqing and became interested in her.

Although Li Dejian was a sinner, he was the descendant of Li Jing, the military god of the Tang Dynasty. It was not a disgrace to marry her, and Li Hongqing's appearance was indeed not inferior to the white lotus in his heart.

So he found an opportunity to talk about this matter with Li Dejian.

Li Dejian was still clear-headed. Although he was worried about his daughter's marriage, he did not want to marry her to Zhang Ling, a man with no future at all, so he politely declined.

Zhang Ling was angry, but he couldn't show it, so he could only hold it in.

Just yesterday, Zhang Ling heard Li Dejian's mocking words towards him, saying that he was a toad wanting to eat swan flesh and asking why he didn't just pee and look in the mirror.

Zhang Ling was furious when he heard this. Although he was down and out, he was still a scholar. How dare you, a criminal, humiliate him like this? He immediately had the already out-of-control Li Dejian thrown into the pigpen.

Li Dejian could not bear such an insult, and in a rage he went to Zhang's house in Wujun and kicked the door to provoke trouble.

"My dear, the master has heard what happened and asked you to deal with the matter quickly and not embarrass the Zhang family again."

Zhang Ling opened his mouth, but didn't dare to say anything more.

His father was supposed to be the next head of the Zhang family, but because of him being a burden, the head was replaced by the eldest son of the second wife.

Their eldest son, the direct descendant, was driven out of the ancestral home and moved here.

Zhang Ling also felt a little regretful. He was indeed young and frivolous at the time, but who would have thought that Chen Qingsi would be able to soar to the sky? He waved his hand and said, "Have someone drive him away. If he makes trouble again, take him directly to the government office and report to the authorities."

Soon there was no sound outside Zhang's house.

Li Dejian was also a good man who was skilled in archery and horse riding in his past, but his health was damaged by taking Wu Shi San over the years. He was attacked by several servants and was unable to resist and was taken away.

"Put down Mr. Li!"

With a shout, a burly man from the martial arts world rushed out and beat the servant to a pulp with just three punches and two kicks.

The man from the martial arts world helped up the somewhat embarrassed Li Dejian.

Li Dejian looked at the smiling strong man and asked hesitantly, "Who is the strong man?"

The Jianghu man laughed and said, "I am a commoner, I don't know my name, I have received a favor from the Red Lady, I don't care about her ability and knowledge."

Li Dejian felt a little ashamed and confused. He never thought that he would be saved by the person he despised the most.

The Jianghu man was very enthusiastic and said, "I will take Mr. Li home!"

Li Dejian shook his head, rejected the other party's kindness, and staggered back home.

Li Dejian's home was big, but also very deserted.

Li Dejian had always been a criminal and had no income, but his younger brother, Li Dejiang, who inherited the title of Duke of Wei, would send him a large amount of money and goods every year, so that he could live a carefree life.

Originally, the relationship between the brothers was good, but as time passed, Li Dejian gradually became unbalanced, and his self-abandonment also caused Li Dejiang's dissatisfaction, so he controlled his spending.

Li Dejian once took Wu Shi San, took off his clothes and ran, which cost him a lot of money. Gradually, he sold everything that needed to be sold and dismissed his servants and maids.

The huge house was deserted.

Sitting alone in the lobby, Li Dejian looked at all this desolate scene, laughed at himself, and couldn't help crying as he laughed.

I was thrown into the pigpen and humiliated...

How to face my father in the afterlife?
Maybe... even if nothing happened today, I would be speechless in front of my father.

Dad!

Li Dejian thought of his great father in his memory and the humiliation he suffered today, and burst into tears.

Listening to the heart-wrenching cry, Zhou Kui in the dark was scratching his head anxiously, thinking to himself: I won’t make things worse, and I hope he can’t bear the blow and end his life.

Since Chen Qingsi learned about Li Dejian's recent situation, he began to have ideas.

It is very easy to rescue Li Dejian because he is close to Li Chengqian. This crime was very serious back then but is insignificant now.

As long as one uses some connections, one can obtain amnesty for Li Dejian through Fengshan.

It is easy to pardon Li Dejian, but it is difficult to save him.

After years of self-abandonment, Li Dejian had long lost his former charm and lived like a walking corpse.

Chen Qingsi knew that if nothing happened, given Li Dejian's current situation, he might not appreciate his kindness.

What's more, his daughter was asked to be humble and submissive.

So Chen Qingsi asked his confidant Zhou Kui to come to Suzhou in advance to see the situation.

Zhou Kui heard in Suzhou that Zhang Ling had assassinated Chen Qingsi. He was already angry, and when he learned that Zhang Ling coveted his mistress, he immediately decided to lure him into a trap.

When they got together to take Wu Shi San, Zhou Kui put some hallucinogenic drugs in their drinks.

Then he led Li Dejian to a remote place and Zhang Ling to a nearby place.

He imitated Li Dejian's words and humiliated Zhang Ling again.

Li Dejian was unconscious, and Zhang Ling himself was also dizzy. He became furious and stripped Li Dejian naked and threw him into the pigpen.

Zhou Kui really didn't expect Zhang Ling to be so ruthless, so he could only bite the bullet and follow the plan.

(End of this chapter)