Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 525: Seeing Through Fire
The Chen clan won the battle without a doubt, and the leader of the Nan clan lost his head without knowing why.

After the Nan family was defeated, many nobles and gentry who had followed him almost simultaneously expressed their willingness to submit to the Chen family and follow their lead.

Chen led the allied forces and marched straight into the capital, Lhasa, and successfully occupied it.

Chen Qingsi got the news at the first opportunity.

Looking at what was happening on his hands, he smiled and said, "This Chen Fangpu is quite cruel!"

The news of the destruction of the Nanan clan's front line spread to the rear. The remnants of the Nanan clan stationed in Luosu were unable to resist. They allowed their soldiers to plunder Luosu's money and sacred objects, and led the "Little Zamp" to Nepal.

This was normal, but what was abnormal was that after the remnants of the Nan clan fled, another group came. Their methods were even more ruthless, and they directly broke into the Potala Palace and looted and killed all of Mangsong Mangzan's concubines.

The blame was directly put on the head of the Nan family, but Chen Qingsi knew exactly what happened.

Wang Xiaojie, the Tibetan king, was able to hide the truth from most people because the two men looked too similar.

Secondly, Mangsong Mangzan was a puppet. He did not meet many foreign ministers, and there were only a few he was close to. Even if he had bribed his confidants in private, the information was transmitted through intermediaries and letters, and they rarely met in private.

Not many people really know about Mangsong Mangtsen, the Tibetan king. Most of them just watch him from afar during the sacrifices...

But the concubines of Mangsong Mangtsen were different. They really understood the strengths and weaknesses of their king, and even some of his shameful habits.

Wang Xiaojie has his meticulous side, but he is essentially a rough man. If he is not careful, something might slip out, which would be bad.

Mangsongmangzan’s concubines were not commoners without background, but direct descendants of the aristocracy.

Hence, this ambush and frame-up took place.

Chimalo did not take it seriously. The class struggle in Tubo was much more brutal, and it was just a matter of winners and losers.

"You guessed it right again, sir. After Chen Fangpu took control of Lhasa and allowed Wang Xiaojie to live in the Potala Palace, he began to reward meritorious officials. He did not dare to keep people in Lhasa, but instead divided them up and cut Tubo into several pieces, splitting it directly."

When Chima Luo said this, he gnashed his teeth, as if he wanted to cut Chen Fang Pu into eight pieces and chew them up...

Chimalo had learned something during his years in Chang'an. He knew that Chen Fangpu's move was a step backward in history and would plunge the entire Tubo into strife and turmoil.

Chen Qingsi didn't take it seriously when he heard that. In fact, it wasn't that he guessed right again, but that Tubo now had too few options to play and only had a few choices.

Just arrange according to those options and make sure one of them comes in handy.

The formation of a country requires the efforts of several generations and is not something that can be easily achieved.

Just like the Chinese nation, which went through nearly a thousand years of development during the Xia, Shang, and Spring and Autumn periods before achieving the unified progress and development during the Qin Dynasty.

Although Tubo did cross the river by feeling its way through China and did avoid many detours, something like foundation is not something that can be easily acquired.

Why was it that in just a few decades, China was able to emerge from the ignorance of the late Qing Dynasty and the impact of Western culture during the Republic of China?
It is because China has the deepest cultural heritage that it can not only introduce and absorb advanced culture from others, but also ensure that its own roots are not eroded.

The rapid rise of Tubo was nothing more than forcing things to grow. Its foundation was not solid. In history, Tubo, even after several generations of management by Songtsen Gampo, Mangsong Mangtsen, Trisongdetsen, Trisongdetsen, and Trisongdetsen, had only stepped into the threshold of feudalism.

After the Tubo rebellion, it never formed a decent country again.

Now, after Chen Qingsi's targeting, after the death of Galdongzan, who was able to suppress many nobles, his successor did not have someone who could stabilize the situation, which directly led to the overall degeneration of Tubo's system and its return to the slave era.

The major powers have their own private armies, just like independent tribes that only care about their own interests and have lost the concept of a country.

Regardless of whether Chen Fang Pu is divided or not, the result will be the same.

At present, it seems that many powerful people have chosen to submit to Chen and follow his lead, but the extent to which they follow his lead is a matter of opinion.

If he really keeps these heroes in Luosi, will he still be able to sleep?
Now, in a one-on-one fight, perhaps no one can match the Chen family, but in a one-on-two or even one-on-three fight, they will be powerless. If there really is a multi-powerful alliance, the Chen family will definitely lose.

The best option is to divide the territory, move all the people away from their places, and let them fight for the territory themselves.

Seeing that Chen Qingsi did not take the matter seriously, Chima Luo asked in a gentle voice, "What should we do next? Niyang Ruoyan is also among those to be enfeoffed. He was originally in charge of the barbarians in the south, but now he has been given a piece of fertile land from the Nan clan. Should he return to his fiefdom or stay in Luosi to wait for orders? If necessary, we must act quickly. Chen Fangpu is suspicious, and if Niyang Ruoyan stays too long, he may become suspicious."

"No problem!" Chen Qingsi said, "Let him pretend to retreat. Five days later, Luosi will be in chaos. Then let Ni Yangruoyan send troops to help wipe out the Chen family."

Chima Luo stared at Chen Qingsi in astonishment and asked, "You have plans too?"

Chen Qingsi said mysteriously: "There are many more. With Tubo's current condition, even if he closes his eyes to command, he can still achieve full success."

He was actually bragging.

But he did have a hidden chess piece that he had never moved. The leader of the Gacha clan, Gacha Lugong, was an ambitious speculator.

The Mei Lu family was suppressed and excluded, and was deliberately manipulated by Chen Qingsi, so they had no choice but to surrender.

However, after learning that Mangsong Mangtsen had been attacked, Gacharogong took the initiative to send people to find Chen Qingsi, offering to be the vanguard and lead the Tang army to the plateau directly to the Potala Palace in Lhasa.

Chen Qingsi was somewhat moved at that time. This was a great achievement of destroying a country and expanding territory, enough to go down in history.

You must know that up to now, no Chinese Han general has conquered Tubo and put the snowy plateau under his feet.

But Chen Qingsi suppressed this honor. It was easy to conquer Tubo, but it was extremely difficult to govern it.

Annan in the Ming Dynasty is an example. Even the wise and capable Zhu Di was stuck in the quagmire of war.

Chen Qingsi did not agree to advance, but he also took in Jiazhalu Gong as his hidden chess piece.

This is the right time to use him, and he needs an ambitious person to help Wang Xiaojie balance Chima Luo and Niyang Ruoyan...

Even though he had taken over someone else's body, Chen Qingsi still maintained the attitude of treating public matters with public ones and private matters with private ones.

The younger brother can surrender, but he himself cannot.

Chen Qingsi was bragging, but Chimalo believed it.

Because of his admiration for the strong, Chimalo believed in every word Chen Qingsi said.

Five days later, another coup d'état took place in Tubo.

Gazalukgong, who was the first to support Chen, unexpectedly raised the banner of clearing the court of evil officials and suddenly turned around and attacked Luoxie.

After Chen Fangpu divided the land into different states, he began to place his own people in the upper and lower courts of Lhasa in order to control Lhasa.

The entire Chen clan was in a state of carnival as a winner. At this time, they were the most relaxed, allowing Jiazha Lugong to directly kill his way to the Potala Palace and control Wang Xiaojie.

Upon hearing the news, Chen Fangpu was so angry that he sent troops to surround the Potala Palace.

Ni Yang Ruoyan appeared again and stabbed Chen from behind...

The Chen family was attacked from both sides and was powerless to recover. Chen Fangpu even died on the battlefield.

Jiazha Lugong wielded the butcher knife and wiped out all members of the Chen family.

Finally, Gyacharukon and Niyang Ruoyan joined forces with Wang Xiaojie, the fake king, to issue a proclamation to all directions.

Naturally, no one responded.

It is not a good thing that Jiazha Lugong and Niyang Ruoyan work together to eliminate Chen family.

Whether it was the Nan clan supporting the Little Zamp or the Chen clan supporting Mangsong Mangzan, it made sense in terms of etiquette and law, at least it was convincing enough...

However, Jiazha Lugong and Niyang Ruoyan seized power through military coup, just like the Xuanwu Gate Incident. No matter how outstanding Emperor Taizong Li Shimin was, he did set a precedent for military coup in the Tang Dynasty. He was not the first person to seize power through military coup, but he was undoubtedly the most successful one.

Gacharogong and Nyang Ruoyan are now achieving this effect. You can join hands to seize power and dominate.

Why can't we unite and overthrow you two?

Why should we listen to you? Who do you think you are?

As a result, the two people's manifesto did not achieve any effect, but instead made the originally slightly calm atmosphere even worse.

Various forces are connecting with each other and trying to follow suit to maximize their own interests.

Just when the atmosphere was reaching its climax, Wang Xiaojie, the Tibetan king, followed the example of the Chinese emperor and issued an edict of repentance, enumerating his sins and saying that he should not have violated the alliance made between the great Songtsen Gampo and the Celestial Empire... It was more than 5,000 words long.

Of course, the most crucial sentence is the last one, which is sincere and heartfelt. He is willing to go to the Tang court in person to apologize, to calm the fighting, and to prevent the people of the two countries from suffering from the war anymore.

There is no doubt that Song Lingwen, this extraordinary scholar, has very good writing skills.

Faced with the Tibetan king's surrender, Chen Qingsi, the strongest Tibetan radical in the Tang court, softened his stance towards Tibet for the first time and agreed to allow the Tibetan envoy to bring the edict of guilt and letter of apology to Chang'an to meet the emperor.

At the same time, Chen Qingsi also sent envoys to Lhasa for brief political exchanges.

The sky that was about to rain and storm suddenly became clear.

Chen Qingsi accepted the letter from Tubo. Although it did not confirm the relationship between the two countries, it also showed that both sides had the intention to reach a consensus...

Once Tubo officially becomes a vassal state of the Tang court, the following sentence will come into effect: All foreigners, whether internal or external, who dare to raise an army will be killed.

The relationship was only slightly eased, and the scoundrels in Tubo didn't even dare to breathe.

East Palace.

Li Hong lay on the bed and let Ming Chongyan give him acupuncture on his back.

Wu Minzhi was watching from the side, but when he saw Ming Chongyan's stern eyes and sweat all over, he couldn't help feeling ashamed. He thought he was too prejudiced against him, which was really wrong.

Ming Chongyan went to such lengths to give Li Hong acupuncture and save him that he took so much time and effort on his body that Wu Minzhi was deeply moved.

But just when Ming Chongyan was about to drop the last needle, he suddenly heard a shout: "Stop."

Ming Chongyan stood there in a daze as a burly middle-aged man strode in.

Li Hong looked back and said with a smile, "It's Divine Doctor Liu! Didn't I hear that you went back to the mountain to serve the Divine Doctor? Why are you here in the East Palace? I understand. It must be that I was ill and the Divine Doctor was too tired to fulfill his filial duty. It's really my fault."

Li Hong is as kind as ever.

Doctor Liu’s real name is Liu Shenwei. He is the most favored disciple of the Medicine King Sun Simiao and has inherited most of his master’s medical skills.

Sun Simiao's medical skills were so advanced and his reputation was so great, and Li Zhi himself was ill, so he repeatedly invited Sun Simiao to the court, and even forced him to take the position of Counselor and keep him in Chang'an.

Sun Simiao also understood that Li Zhi was different from Li Shimin. Li Shimin wanted to save face, so if you really didn't want to stay, Li Shimin would not embarrass a famous doctor out of consideration for his feelings and to show his magnanimity. But for Li Zhi, if you really didn't want to stay, it would arouse his rebellious psychology and force you to stay. He didn't care whether his reputation would be damaged.

Sun Simiao settled for the next best option and recommended his apprentice Liu Shenwei to join the Imperial Medical Bureau. He also told Li Zhi that he was too old to travel around the world and planned to live in seclusion in Mount Wutai in Huayuan to concentrate on writing medical books.

Only then did Li Zhi let Sun Simiao leave.

Sun Simiao lived in seclusion in Mount Wutai within the capital. He fell ill half a year ago. Liu Shenwei requested to resign to fulfill his filial duty and his request was approved.

I didn't expect to appear here...

Liu Shenwei saluted Li Hong first, then looked at Ming Chongyan, whose face was as pale as paper, and said, "Where are you going to stab with that needle?"

Ming Chongyan calmed himself down, clasped his hands and said, "It is the Jueyinshu point."

Liu Shenwei shook his head and said, "I don't think so. It should be the Du Yu point."

Ming Chongyan frowned and said, "You must have seen it wrong! This Jueyinshu point is one and a half inches below the spinous process of the fourth thoracic vertebra on the back. And the Dushu point is one and a half inches below the spinous process of the sixth thoracic vertebra on the back. They are only two thoracic spinous processes apart. How can you see it so clearly when you are outside the house?"

Li Hong also said at this time: "Dr. Ming's acupuncture skills are very advanced, so he should not have made a mistake in identifying the acupoints."

Liu Shenwei pursed his lips. As a doctor, he was obviously not good at dealing with such situations. But he thought for a moment and bowed, "Don't blame me, Your Majesty. I am here on your orders. If you have any questions, please report to Your Majesty."

As he said this, he asked someone to take Ming Chongyan to see Li Zhi.

Li Zhi sat high up at the table, his eyes as fierce as a sword, while Ming Chongyan knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

Liu Shenwei reported the situation to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi didn't know much about medicine, so he asked, "What's the difference between inserting a silver needle into the Jueyinshu point and the Dushu point?"

Liu Shenwei said: "Jueyinshu acupoint belongs to the foot-sun bladder meridian, and is the back-shu acupoint of the pericardium. It mainly treats tachycardia, arrhythmia, angina pectoris, rib pain and other symptoms. Acupuncture here can relieve the prince's symptoms. Dushu acupoint also belongs to the foot-sun bladder meridian, and is mainly used to treat abdominal pain, bowel sounds, angina pectoris and qi reversal. If acupuncture is performed here, it can indeed relieve his heart pain symptoms, but the prince is weak, and this needle also takes into account the effect of ventilation, which will cause the vital energy to be lost for no reason. Therefore, it is not fatal, but it will also hurt the body. If it is used too many times, it will also be a threat to his life."

Ming Chongyan cried out loudly, saying, "Liu Shenwei framed him."

Liu Shenwei ignored the shouting and said word by word: "Your Majesty, I am in the dark and cannot see clearly, but curing illnesses and saving lives affects the whole body, and acupuncture points are of utmost importance. I will never make a mistake."

(End of this chapter)