Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 480 Shameless

Chen Qingsi looked at the five words "Su Dingfang's last writing" and his mind went blank.

There is no doubt that Su Dingfang was the military pillar of the Tang Dynasty during that era.

His existence is irreplaceable to the Tang Dynasty.

Although new generation generals such as Xue Rengui, Cheng Wuting, Heichi Changzhi, Li Jinxing and Tang Xiujing began to emerge, they were far from replacing Su Dingfang.

Historically, Li Zhi's military achievements began to decline after Su Dingfang's death.

It was only with the help of Xue Rengui, Cheng Wuting, Heichi Changzhi and others that the situation was held and stabilized.

Until the Wu Zhou period, it fell off a cliff...

Then came the reign of Li Longji, the last glory of the prosperous Tang Dynasty...

Although history has changed drastically because of himself and will not follow the old path of history, Su Dingfang's death was still fatal to the Tang Dynasty.

Although he suppressed Tubo, he attracted a more powerful opponent... the Arabs at their peak.

When Chen Qingsi learned that Su Dingfang had forced Lun Qinling to death, he thought for a moment that having an old man in the country was like having a treasure.

With such powerful teammates, what's the point of a mere Arab?

Who would have thought that I would receive such tragic news.

Chen Qingsi took the letter in disbelief, his hands trembling a little, and a thought came to his mind: Was it because of me that Su Dingfang passed away?
He opened the letter and saw the formal opening words: "I hope you are well, sir..."

The handwriting is not beautiful, but rather a bit awkward. I think he wrote it himself.

Sure enough, the next sentence revealed it...

"They are all clerks. I haven't done this job for more than ten years. It's more tiring than fighting in a war. Forget it. I am just a rough man. I can't compare with a great scholar like you. If I nitpick on words, it will offend you. Please bear with me."

"I was born in a time of great turmoil. When I was young, I followed my father to protect the village. We have been fighting for sixty years. I have suffered countless wounds and old illnesses. After I turned seventy, I often felt powerless. My children and grandchildren often advised me to retire and return home to enjoy my old age."

"How can Su be willing to linger on on a sickbed just to live a few more years, even though he has been a hero all his life?"

"Even if I die, I will be like a lone wolf, not burdening anyone, and fighting to the last moment."

"I haven't read much, but I really like the words of General Fubo Ma Yuan: 'A man should die in the frontier, wrapped in a horsehide and buried. Why should he lie in bed and be in the hands of women?'"

"If you get this letter, I think Su has got what he wanted."

"As you said, the father and son of Tubo, Gar Dongzan and Lun Qinling, are the great enemies of our dynasty. The world may not realize this, but I have had many contacts with them in Shanzhou, and I know them well. One is a famous prime minister, and the other is a great general. They are the great trouble of our dynasty. If we don't get rid of them, disaster will surely come."

"I beg your pardon. I have concealed my illness. Before you planned this, I had already felt tired and unwell. The doctor said that if I could rest and recuperate, I could live for three to five years. However, this is not my wish. I am lucky to be able to use my crippled body to eliminate dangers for the country."

"It's just that it will inevitably make you feel guilty and blame yourself..."

"I am writing this letter in the hope that you will understand that all of Su's decisions are independent and have nothing to do with you. It is Mr. Xie's plan that gave Su this opportunity to achieve what he wanted."

After reading the letter, Chen Qingsi's eyes turned red. Su Dingfang was obviously worried that he would feel guilty and blame himself, so he left this letter...

Chen Qingsi felt sad for a while, and suddenly realized something.

Su Dingfang died of illness?
When did you pass away?

Why is there no news from the capital?

Now everything in the capital was as usual, and he was in a good mood because the Tang army defeated the Tubo and forced Lun Qinling to commit suicide. He had not heard the news of Su Dingfang's death at all.

How could the death of a general of Su Dingfang's level be treated so lightly?

Has the message not yet been conveyed?

"Where is the messenger?"

Chen Qingsi asked.

Jiang Chen said: "He has already left. After delivering the letter, he left."

Chen Qingsi didn't say much. Perhaps it was because Su Dingfang had passed away not long ago and the news had not yet been conveyed.

Chen Qingsi's originally very good mood changed drastically and he was depressed for two days.

When Chen Qingsi's subordinates in the Ministry of War saw their superior acting like this, they all remained silent. When they reported their work to him, they were extremely cautious for fear of upsetting him.

Even the closest relatives Xiao Miaochen, Jingjing and Li Hongqing noticed that something was wrong.

Chen Qingsi is a man of great sophistication. He seldom brings his work emotions into his home.

That day, after Chen Qingsi finished dealing with the affairs of the Ministry of War, he rode on Guanjun and headed straight to the Ministry of Rites.

His expression became increasingly ugly. Two days had passed, and Chang'an remained the same. There was no news from anyone in the capital.

This makes absolutely no sense…

He had already received Su Dingfang's last letter. The fact that the letter had been delivered to him was enough to prove that Su Dingfang had passed away.

Even if the person delivering the letter was faster than the one announcing the death, there wouldn't be no news at this time.

Chen Qingsi thought of a possibility and went to the Ministry of Rites in person.

Funeral matters are also the responsibility of the Ministry of Rites. However, the imperial court generally does not take care of the funerals of officials. However, when an official of a certain level passes away, the imperial court will notify the official as soon as possible, and the official will be given certain rewards based on his or her contributions. The imperial court will even pay for the funeral, and some individuals will also receive special treatment.

If the future Xu Jingzong died of illness, Li Zhi would specially send ministers to mourn for him.

After the death of a border general of Su Dingfang's level, the matter would definitely be reported to the Ministry of Rites.

Chen Qingsi came to the Ministry of Rites angrily.

The Minister of Rites was named Lu Chengqing. He was not familiar with Chen Qingsi and instead had considerable conflicts with him.

Li Zhi adopted an attitude of division and suppression towards the Guandong gentry, and Lu Chengqing was the target he tried to win over.

Lu Chengqing's political ideas are conservative, and he is not on the same track as Chen Qingsi's reform and open-minded ideas.

Chen Qingsi did not look for him, but found Gao Zhizhou of the Qingliu Party.

Gao Zhizhou was the Minister of Rites, but he was not in charge of the funeral, nor even internal affairs. Instead, he was responsible for handling diplomatic issues.

He didn't know the answers to any of the questions asked by Chen Qingsi.

However, as the second-in-command of the Ministry of Rites, Gao Zhizhou had the right to investigate further, and he directly asked someone to call Mo Zongzhao, the Deputy Director of the Ministry of Shrines.

"Meet Minister Chen and Minister Gao!"

Mo Zongzhao was a little nervous. The position of Yuwenlang of the Ministry of Shrines was not small, but it was far inferior to Chen Qingsi and Gao Zhizhou.

Gao Zhizhou asked, "Have you received any funeral reports from Shanzhou recently?"

When his superior asked, Mo Zongzhao did not dare to hide it and said, "Yes, Lord Su Xing died of illness in Shibao City."

Stone Castle?
Chen Qingsi immediately noticed the problem. What did this mean?
This means that Su Dingfang died of illness on the way back to Shanzhou.

What time is it now?
The military merit books of the front lines have been sent to the Ministry of War, and the statistics of merits and post-war rewards have been sorted out.

If Zhang Wenguan hadn't gotten in the way, the two sides would have argued back and forth and the matter would have been settled.

Chen Qingsi clenched his fists in anger and said, "Do you remember when Su Xinggong died of illness?"

Mo Zongzhao glanced at Chen Qingsi, then at Gao Zhizhou. Gao Zhizhou said, "It's okay, just say it directly."

Mo Zongzhao crossed his thumbs and bowed, saying respectfully, "It's March 6th."

Chen Qingsi was so angry that he laughed out loud.

March 6th, now it is March 28th.

Twenty-two days.

It was obvious that someone suppressed the news of Su Dingfang's death.

Gao Zhizhou frowned and asked, "What's going on? Why didn't you report to the gentlemen the death of Lord Su Xing?"

"Reply to the Minister!" Mo Zongzhao said, "How can such a thing not be reported? But Prime Minister Zhang gave an instruction that such a thing does not need to be reported. Su Xinggong has made contributions to the country, and the Ministry of Shrines can send officials to Shanzhou to assist the descendants of the Su family in handling funeral matters. The Ministry of Shrines has already sent people to Shanzhou, but they have not returned yet."

Chen Qingsi understood that it was obviously Zhang Wenguan's doing.

Zhang Wenguan valued governance over military affairs. In order to suppress the warmongering spirit in the court, he skimped on rewards for the soldiers and suppressed the achievements of the civil servants who assisted in the war.

Su Dingfang died of illness on the front line. He was worried that Su Dingfang's death would arouse the martial spirit in the country, so he deliberately suppressed it and handled it in a low-key manner.

Zhang Wenguan is now the left prime minister in the temple. No one else can do this except him.

"Okay, I understand!"

Chen Qingsi figured it all out and waved his hand to let Mo Zongzhao go.

After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, Chen Qingsi thought about what Zhang Wenguan had done after he became prime minister.

There is no denying that his administrative methods were beneficial to the Tang Dynasty.

But his prejudice against Wu was extreme.

Since he became prime minister, he has been suppressing the martial spirit, and it has become increasingly excessive.

Chen Qingsi thought that it would be beneficial to the people, so as long as it was not excessive, he gave in a few steps.

The suppression of civil servants’ achievements the day before yesterday was a bit over the line.

Chen Qingsi had no intention of breaking up with him, he just tried to ruin the matter.

Now we have learned that Zhang Wenguan even wanted to suppress such matters as Su Dingfang's death, trying to make a big thing into a small one.

It's really too much.

Even clay figures have tempers!
Chen Qingsi stood up suddenly and said to Gao Zhizhou with a smile: "Zhizhou, thank you for what you did today!"

Chen Qingsi was angry, but he would not vent it indiscriminately, especially to his own people. Even if he was really upset and looked unhappy, he would not take it out on his subordinates.

Zhizhou is the name of Gao Zhizhou.

Gao Zhizhou asked: "How should we deal with this matter, sir?"

Chen Qingsi asked, "What else can we do? Are we going to beat him up?"

Gao Zhi thought about it on Monday and it made sense, so he stopped asking any more questions.

The Secretariat!
Zhang Wenguan, Shangshu You Pushe Le Yanwei, and a group of officials walked out of the Shangshu Province's official office.

This Shangshu Province was originally Zhang Wenguan's hometown. He was born into the Qinghe Zhang family. During the Zhenguan period, he passed the imperial examination and was appointed as a military officer of Bingzhou. He was highly regarded by the Chief Clerk Li Ji and was transferred to the capital to serve in the Shangshu Province. However, because he and his brother Zhang Wencong, who was then the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, were serving in the Shangshu Province at the same time, it was not in accordance with the system, so he was demoted to be the magistrate of Yunyang County. Not long after, he was transferred to the capital to serve in the Eastern Palace.

This time he was appointed prime minister and promoted to Shangshu Zuo Pushe, like a dragon entering the sea, integrating the two brothers' connections in Chang'an. In addition, Li Zhi relied on Zhang Wenguan to govern officials, and he himself had excellent political skills and accomplished many great things. He was in the limelight and unparalleled for the time.

Zhang Wenguan was chatting and laughing with a colleague from the Column. Just as they were about to say goodbye to each other, a man on horseback approached. It was Chen Qingsi.

When Zhang Wenguan and his companions saw that it was Chen Qingsi, they all frowned slightly.

Some come with ill intentions.

Zhang Wenguan and Le Yanwei were both prime ministers, and Chen Qingsi riding his horse directly up to them was an act of rudeness.

Chen Qingsi dismounted and bowed politely, "Greetings, Left Prime Minister and Right Prime Minister."

He also signaled to many officials of the Secretariat.

Zhang Wenguan and Le Yanwei were both experienced officials, and they did their best to save face, so they returned the greeting and called out, "Minister Chen."

The same is true for many officials behind the two men.

Chen Qingsi looked at Zhang Wenguan with burning eyes and said, "I have a few questions for Mr. Zhang."

Zhang Wenguan compared himself to Wei Zheng and Ma Zhou, and was not afraid of Chen Qingsi, a popular figure, and asked, "May I ask, Minister Chen?"

Chen Qingsi asked, "Does Zhang Xianggong have a grudge against Su Xinggong?"

As soon as he said this, everyone in the Secretariat knew that Chen Qingsi was speaking up for Su Dingfang.

Not many people knew about Su Dingfang's affairs, but many people in the Secretariat had heard of it to some extent, and knew about it.

However, their superior, the prime minister of the time, wanted to suppress the matter, so they dared not say anything.

Zhang Wenguan said: "No grudge!"

"Is that a complaint?"

"No complaints!"

Chen Qingsi questioned, "Since there is no hatred or resentment, why do you want to suppress the news of his death? Su Xinggong fought for the Tang Dynasty all his life, captured three kings, and destroyed three kingdoms. Who can match his great achievements? Why do you want to suppress the news of his death?"

Zhang Wenguan said, "It's for the sake of the Tang Dynasty. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, the external wars have hardly stopped. Now the treasury is empty and people's livelihood is declining. It is time to seek stability and governance. It is true that Su Xinggong has made great contributions to the country, but now the court is seeking people's livelihood and the peace of the world, not seeking wars and making enemies everywhere."

"Lord Su Xing is undoubtedly a great warrior, but he was stationed in Shanzhou and failed to subdue Tubo. Instead, Tubo marched northward year after year. He fought three wars in three years and spent countless money. It is still unclear whether he has made any contributions or demerits."

"I have done this for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and have put an end to the warlike spirit. I have no regrets. Lord Su Xing has been wronged, but the court will compensate him in the future."

Zhang Wenguan is a man of great righteousness.

"Good!" Chen Qingsi gave Zhang Wenguan a thumbs up and praised him, "You are noble and great. You just hide other people's names casually. Today, I, Chen Qingsi, will put my words here. If you, Zhang Wenguan, do not report your death to the court after a hundred years, I will respect you as a man. But if you report your death to the court, please ask for a good posthumous title. I will go to your grave to offer sacrifices, and give you a couplet on the left, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, and a couplet on the right, filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, faith, courtesy, righteousness, and honesty, and burn them for you!"

He said as he mounted his horse and rode away.

Leaving behind a group of people disheveled in the wind.

It wasn't that Chen Qingsi was frightened, but that he simply didn't understand.

Couplets were not popular at that time, so most people didn't realize what it meant at first.

Until someone whispered: "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, what do you mean? What do you mean by filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, faith, propriety, justice, integrity? It shouldn't be filial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, faith, propriety, justice, integrity, shame, but the word shame is missing."

For a moment, there was silence.

Little shame, shameless.

Zhang Wenguan was so angry that his face turned pale. As a scholar, who doesn't want to be remembered in history? Even if the posthumous title is just one or two words, it is what they want all their lives.

Chen Qingsi called him shameless in public and wanted to burn it for him after his death, which was more difficult for him to accept than digging up his ancestral grave.

Le Yanwei and his group looked at each other, not daring to say a word.

(End of this chapter)