Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 466: Hunting Tigers to Treat Diseases
As soon as Chen Qingsi left the palace, he asked someone to investigate who the handsome yet somewhat unbelievably young Taoist priest was.

As the ruler of the Tang Dynasty and the common lord of the Central Plains, the emperor's life was the least secretive.

Not to mention the eunuchs and palace maids who had nothing to do, those attendants squatting in the corners could record clearly the emperor's daily schedule and who he met.

With Chen Qingsi's current abilities, it was too easy for him to investigate the stranger who suddenly appeared next to Li Zhi.

There was nothing personal about this family, and Chen Qingsi was definitely not the only one who was curious. It was just that they did not have other thoughts like Chen Qingsi.

Chen Qingsi had just sat down in the Ministry of War's office when someone brought all the information about the young Taoist priest to his desk.

Chen Qingsi took the silk cloth handed to him and just took a look at it. A hint of enlightenment appeared in his eyes. It turned out to be him.

The silk cloth clearly states that Ming Jing, courtesy name Chong Yan, was from Yanshi, Luozhou...

Ming Chongyan, whose name is relatively unpopular, was a figure who influenced current affairs.

He was the fifth-generation grandson of Ming Shanbin, the chief academic officer of Liang State in the Southern Dynasties. He had a profound family background and entered Taoism at a young age, learning witchcraft, physiognomy and medicine. At a young age, he had profound attainments and was proficient in the three arts, making him famous in the area.

Ancient people were superstitious. Ming Chongyan relied on the three arts to not only serve as a doctor of remonstrance, but also as an imperial physician and royal alchemist. He was able to participate in state affairs, treat Li Zhi's illnesses, and solve problems for Empress Wu with the theory of ghosts and gods. He gained the trust of Li Zhi and Empress Wu and became very popular.

At the peak of his career, Li Zhi even wrote an inscription for his fifth-generation ancestor, the hermit Ming Shanbin, and inscribed it on stone himself to show his favor.

Ming Chongyan was suddenly killed by thieves at the height of his glory, and his death caused great turmoil.

Ming Chongyan and Li Xian were on bad terms. Ming Chongyan even told Empress Wu that "the crown prince is unfit to inherit the throne, and the Prince of Ying looks like Emperor Taizong." He also said that "the Prince of Xiang is the most noble." He praised Li Xian on the left and Li Dan on the right, and was thinking of ways to depose Li Xian.

Therefore, Empress Wu refused to believe that Ming Chongyan was killed by thieves, and she insisted without any reason that it was Crown Prince Li Xian who had ordered it. This also led to the official breakup between Li Xian and Empress Wu, who had already had a rift between them.

At this time, Li Zhi's illness was already very serious. He could not see at all and had to rely on Empress Wu for all his actions. This was also the time when Empress Wu had the greatest power as the empress. The following year, hundreds of armors were found in the stables of the Eastern Palace.

Li Xian was therefore deposed from the position of crown prince.

But in fact, Ming Chongyan’s death was most likely an accident.

Because the two people who investigated the cause of Ming Chongyan's death were named Di Renjie and Su Wuming.

In later popular TV series, Su Wuming was portrayed as Di Renjie's apprentice, but in fact, the two were colleagues and were both famous crime-solving experts at the time.

It’s just that Di Renjie is not only good at solving cases, but Su Wuming is also good at solving cases, so their fame is naturally very different.

But when Di Renjie was in the Dali Temple, the two were evenly matched.

The two experts who solved the case failed to find out that Li Xian was the culprit, but this still shows something.

Of course, if Li Xian has the ability to recruit these two people under his command, that’s another matter.

But if Li Xian really had this ability, he would not have been demoted or punished so easily by Empress Wu.

In short, the death of Ming Chongyan led to a complete break between Empress Wu and Li Xian, mother and son, and the Tang Dynasty moved towards another extreme world from then on.

Chen Qingsi calmed his mind and continued to look at the silk cloth in his hand. The information about Ming Chongyan's identity on it was the same as what he remembered, but his deeds were very different.

In history, Ming Chongyan was just like the supernatural scholar Song Lingwen. He followed the Fengshan team, was appreciated, and was appointed as the magistrate of Huangan County. It happened that the governor's daughter was seriously ill, and Ming Chongyan used secret prescriptions and special items to treat her, which aroused Li Zhi's interest. He was promoted to the literary official of the Prince of Ji's Palace, and thus entered the imperial court.

Now this person was noticed by Wu Minzhi and recommended to Crown Prince Li Hong.

Li Hong also had a sickly constitution, and after being treated by Ming Chongyan, he felt much better.

When Empress Wu heard about it, she introduced her to Li Zhi, and she came into the public eye.

Chen Qingsi looked at the silk cloth and analyzed logically that there was no problem at all with Ming Chongyan's promotion.

Wu Minzhi is now also a big shot in Chang'an. He is elegant and talented, and most of the younger generation depend on him.

Ming Chongyan was able to win the favor of Li Zhi and Empress Wu, which shows his ability is beyond doubt. In addition, both of them were rare handsome men in the world, so it is understandable that they admired each other.

Chen Qingsi suddenly had a strange look on his face and glanced in the direction of the imperial palace. He wondered if Li Zhi had a little green hair on his head?

There has always been a saying about Ming Chongyan that he was the white moonlight in Empress Wu's heart. Compared with Xue Huaiyi, Shen Nanliao, Zhang Yizhi, and Zhang Changzong's spiritual comfort, Ming Chongyan was the one that Empress Wu loved the most. That's why she broke up with her own son directly because of his death.

Of course, these are all unofficial histories.

But it is undeniable that Ming Chongyan was indeed handsome, and the eight words specially recorded in history books as "handsome appearance, extraordinary demeanor" are well deserved.

Judging solely from appearance, Wu Minzhi and Ming Chongyan can be said to be the leaders of this era.

There is no doubt that Ming Chongyan was Empress Wu's man in history.

Now that he has risen to prominence through the Wu family’s connections, he is most likely a member of the Wu family.

Is he the person behind the scenes?
This thought flashed through Chen Qingsi's mind, but he quickly rejected it. Ming Chongyan is now in his early twenties, at most twenty-five. How could he have such powerful thoughts, means, and strength?

There is probably someone behind him.

We need to check it carefully!
Chen Qingsi thought about it and walked to a basin of water. He put the silk cloth in his hand into the water and rubbed it.

The ink dissolves in water and the words on the silk disappear.

In this era, paper is still a high-end commodity. It is probably impossible to burn it after use like the ones shown on TV.

Silk cloth is the main writing material and can be washed and used repeatedly.
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Shanzhou, Anji Ambassador’s Palace.

Ambassador Anji was a position specially created by Li Zhi for Su Dingfang. At that time, the Jiedushi had just appeared and was far less powerful than in later generations, and it was not even an official position.

In the Tang Dynasty, the governor was the highest local military commander. During Li Zhi's reign, wars were constant. In order to allow frontline generals to act conveniently, some key local governors were granted the power of life and death by the "envoy". This was the case when Chen Qingsi was in Baekje.

This kind of official with the title of governor and "envoy with special powers" was called Jiedushi, but it was just a title and was not recognized by the court.

Ambassador Anji placed a commander on one of these military governors, who was in charge of all the armies and was fully responsible for supporting Tuyuhun and resisting Tubo.

"Commander!"

Wang Xiaojie looked tired, carrying a tiger weighing over 300 kilograms on his shoulder, and walked into the ambassador's residence with great vigor.

He was an old subordinate of Su Dingfang, and Su Dingfang was a friendly person who never put on airs, especially towards his brothers in the army.

Wang Xiaojie entered and exited the Anji Ambassador's Residence as if he were entering his own home.

Upon learning that Su Dingfang was reading in the hall, he shouted and walked in.

Before I even stepped into the hall, a wave of heat rushed out.

It is December now and it is snowing heavily in Shanzhou. The cold is biting, but the heat in the hall is rushing out.

This made Wang Xiaojie's eyes flash with worry. In his eyes, Su Dingfang was like a god, omnipotent.

Looking back to the past, when we were fighting against the Western Turks, it happened to snow heavily. In just a few hours, the snow was two feet deep.

All the generals were afraid to advance, but Su Dingfang insisted on his own way. He marched through the snow, traveled day and night, successfully defeated Helu, chased him to the Aral Sea, and captured him alive.

That invincible figure was engraved in Wang Xiaojie's mind, giving him blind confidence. As long as Su Dingfang was there, he could win in any difficult situation. There was no reason or logic, just because the man leading him was called Su Dingfang.

Wang Xiaojie's greatest wish was to follow Su Dingfang to the end, stay by his side, fight for him, and enjoy the best food and drink with him.

However, during this confrontation with Lun Qinling at Nalu Posthouse, Su Dingfang failed to sweep away his enemy as he had imagined. Instead, he caught a cold, which triggered his old rheumatism and caused him unbearable pain.

Wang Xiaojie heard that tiger bones can dispel wind, dredge meridians, strengthen tendons and bones, and can cure rheumatism, pain, and sore feet and knees. Fresh tiger bones are the best.

Without saying a word, Wang Xiaojie went deep into the Qilian Mountains to kill the tiger.

It was hard to find tigers in the winter, and it took Wang Xiaojie two full months to kill the tiger.

Wang Xiaojie had been away for two months and didn't know Su Dingfang's current situation, but from the heat waves coming from the hall, he knew that the situation was not good.

People who practice martial arts like them are mostly cold and heat resistant, and even in winter, they rarely use charcoal fire to avoid becoming dependent on it. After all, when they are really on the battlefield, it is common to walk on ice and lie in the snow. There are many soldiers eating ice and horses feeding on snow, so there is no need for charcoal fire.

When I stepped into the house, I saw Su Dingfang wearing a coat and sitting in front of the charcoal fire.

There are also braziers in the four corners of the room...

When Su Dingfang saw the tiger on Wang Xiaojie's back, he was touched and said, "You went to kill the big beast without even telling me."

Because Li Yuan's grandfather was named Li Hu, the word "hu" became a taboo word.

Hulao Pass became Wulao Pass, and the tiger was called a big insect.

However, the word "tiger" is too common, and most people do not avoid it, especially in the south of the Yangtze River, far away from the imperial court.

Just call it what you want to call it, there is no need to be so particular.

However, Su Dingfang and Wang Xiaojie both worked for the government, so they still had to be careful about taboos.

Wang Xiaojie threw the tiger on his back to the ground.

There was a loud "bang" and a lot of dust was raised.

"Marshal, how do you feel? Are you feeling better? This big insect was killed not long ago, so it is very fresh. We can use its bones as medicine to cure your illness."

Su Dingfang said: "It's okay, they are just old problems, they won't cause any trouble. They will be fine after the winter..."

Wang Xiaojie said, "Too much charcoal is bad for your health, Marshal, please be careful."

The chemical mechanism by which charcoal fire can cause poisoning was not clear at that time, but life experience taught them that too much charcoal fire can be harmful or even fatal.

Su Dingfang said, "The doors and windows are open. Well, don't just worry about my old bones. Take care of yourself and go back to have a good rest. Someone will take care of the bones of this big insect."

It is not easy to kill tigers in the deep mountains and forests in this climate.

One can imagine how much suffering Wang Xiaojie endured.

Su Dingfang also felt sorry for his beloved general.

Wang Xiaojie looked as if nothing had happened and left.

Su Dingfang watched Wang Xiaojie leave, a hint of smile flashing in his eyes.
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Tubo, Wuhai!
Lun Qinling personally trained the soldiers. The Tubo soldiers were surprisingly divided into several small units. Swordmen, spearmen, shieldmen, archers, crossbowmen, and cavalrymen coordinated with each other, moving back and forth on the huge parade ground, sometimes advancing, sometimes retreating, sometimes interweaving, and sometimes stopping. They coordinated with each other very tacitly...

Zan Po, who was beside Lun Qinling, was stunned and said, "Brother, this is amazing. These soldiers cooperate with each other and have a tacit understanding. Who can match them?"

Lun Qinling said with a tense face: "You underestimate everyone in the world. Compared with Li Jing's military formation, my military formation is still a little bit behind. I have studied it for many years, but I still can't figure out the key."

Lun Qinling realized one thing during his first battle with the Tang army: the combat effectiveness of the Tang soldiers was a level higher than that of their Tubo.

In terms of the bravery of the soldiers, the Tubo people should have the upper hand.

The Tibetans lived on a plateau with harsh living conditions, and all their soldiers were brave and good at fighting. The Tang army was certainly not inferior in martial arts, but with the blessing of the climate, they should be better.

It is true that the Tang army’s equipment is superior to theirs.

But their Tibetan equipment is not bad either. Their smelting technology combines the advantages of the East and the West, and can also withstand the damage of swords, spears, and halberds...

No matter from which perspective we analyze and consider, there is no reason for the Tibetan soldiers to be so suppressed by the Tang soldiers.

Through repeated recollections and searching for the source, Lun Qinling discovered the reason.

Military formation.

Perhaps in a one-on-one or two-on-two situation, the Tang army really does not have an advantage.

But as soon as the first squadron was deployed, the Tang army's advantage immediately became apparent.

The greater the number, the more so...

After learning from many sources, Lun Qinling learned that Li Jing had left a special training method for the Tang Dynasty...

The Tang army had many types of troops, including archers, crossbowmen, garrison troops, vanguard troops, cavalry, jumping troops, and special forces. In every battle, each team performed its duties and gave full play to its own characteristics and strengths.

"The Art of War" and "Wu Zi's Art of War" and other military strategies were commonplace in the Tang Dynasty, but the methods of training soldiers, the techniques of command and coordination, and the secrets of changing battle formations left by Li Jing were kept secret.

The Tang soldiers, who had undergone systematic training, were superior to all the military strategists and generals of that era in terms of overall tactical concepts.

Lun Qinling is indeed a rare general in Tubo in thousands of years. Through the battles with the Tang army, the deployment of Tang army's troops, and the changes in the military formation when Su Dingfang commanded, he actually comprehended a simplified version of Li Jing's military formation.

It was just a simplified version, but it had greatly benefited the Tubo soldiers and their combat effectiveness had soared.

"Brother, I want to learn."

Zanpo's eyes sparkled.

Lun Qinling also noticed his younger brother's talent in military affairs in the previous battle and said, "Brother, I will teach you."

While Lun Qinling was explaining the military formation to Zanpo, a horseman broke into the army.

The man came directly in front of Lun Qinling with the token in hand and said loudly: "The Great Lun has ordered that Marshal Ru return to the capital immediately without any delay."

Lun Qinling did not hesitate to receive the order. After handing over the military affairs to Zanpo, he led his personal guards and rode back to Lhasa at full speed.

(End of this chapter)