Early Tang Dynasty: forge ahead

Chapter 529: Another Minister of the Tang Dynasty

Wuhai City.

Chen Qingsi was far away on the plateau and had no idea what was happening in Chang'an. The first thing he waited for was Li Zhi's conferring of the title to Wang Xiaojie, the Tibetan king. The Emperor of the Tang Dynasty personally issued an edict to confer the Tibetan king Mangsong Mangtsen as the Prince of Xihai County.

The person who announced the decree was Chen Qingsi's old friend, Minister of Rites Gao Zhizhou, who was also a core figure of the Qingliu faction.

"Zhi Zhou, is everything okay in Chang'an?"

Upon learning that the person who delivered the imperial edict was Gao Zhizhou, Chen Qingsi went to greet him in person.

Gao Zhizhou bowed and said, "Everything is fine. I even went to Chen's house specially this time and brought letters from the two ladies and the young master. I will give them to you later..."

Chen Qingsi was slightly embarrassed when he heard that there was a letter from home, and hurriedly said: "Zhi Zhou understands me. Come on, you have worked hard on the way. Let's go to the city to rest first. The climate of this plateau cannot be ignored."

That night, Chen Qingsi had a late-night talk with Gao Zhizhou, telling him about the situation in Chang'an during the time he was away.

Gao Zhizhou was a core member of the Qingliu faction and had some understanding of the situation in the court. He immediately told Chen Qingsi about the affairs of the court in detail.

The first important thing Gao Zhizhou talked about was about Prime Minister Zhang Wenguan.

"Mr. Zhang has been banished from the imperial court by His Majesty."

There was some sadness in his words when he said this.

In fact, most people in the Qingliu faction did not dislike Zhang Wenguan. If Zhang Wenguan had not insisted on having his own way and making trouble with Chen Qingsi, the Qingliu faction would not have confronted the princelings headed by Zhang Wenguan.

Li Zhi's administration had some serious problems. At this point in the Tang Dynasty's development, the government was filled with the second and third generations of the founding nobles, or their relatives and friends, and there were many old hands in various departments and institutions. This was inevitable in any dynasty, especially since Li Zhi himself was not of high moral character, and the administration was far worse than that of the Zhenguan period.

The faction of Qingliu welcomed the fact that Zhang Wenguan was able to rectify the administration of officials.

Moreover, Zhang Wenguan did rectify the phenomenon of lazy and inefficient government affairs in the government…

Chen Qingsi shook his head and said, "It's not surprising. No need to think about it. It must be because I refused to go to war with the Arab Empire and offended His Majesty."

Gao Zhizhou nodded silently. It was obviously for this reason. He said with a little regret: "Prime Minister Zhang calculated in detail the cost of going to war with the Arab Empire and the food, fodder, money, silk and labor that the court had spent since the war was launched. He repeatedly advised Your Majesty that if the money was used for the people, it would create a prosperous era far beyond that of Emperors Wen and Jing."

Chen Qingsi mocked: "The fantasies of corrupt scholars! Pinning your hopes for a better life on the kindness of your enemies..."

Zhang Wenguan only thought about how to make the Chinese people live a good life, but he never thought that the peace of the Tang Dynasty was not something that fell from the sky, but was earned by the lives of countless Tang soldiers. It was fought little by little by generals such as Li Jing, Li Ji, Su Dingfang, Cheng Mingzhen, and Qibi Heli.

It is good to make every effort to develop people's livelihood, but if there is no support from military force, it will be a piece of fat meat that everyone can take a bite of.

The things that impressed Chen Qingsi the most were the Qing Dynasty and the American Indians...

The Qing Dynasty was complacent and self-contained. Who did it offend? They were driven away by the strong ships and the gates were blasted open, and then they became the target of plunder by invaders from all sides...

As for the American continent, it was even more unfair, as a group of robbers and beasts almost wiped out the entire nation.

If you don't have the ability to protect yourself, no matter how rich you are, you will just be meat in other people's mouths.

Zhang Wenguan felt that using the military pay and supplies from the war with the Arab Empire to develop people's livelihood would benefit the world.

This is not false...

But did he really think that if the Tang Dynasty did not fight this war, the Arab Empire would give up the war?
If we really give up the Western Regions that we have obtained with great difficulty for the sake of the people's livelihood around the Central Plains, what will the surrounding vassal states think?
Will they feel that the Tang Dynasty is benevolent, admire its benevolence, and continue to submit to it?
whimsical.

They just think that the Tang Dynasty is in decline and they want to get a piece of the pie.

What will happen if everyone attacks us at that time?

The Tang Dynasty has reached this size and it cannot retreat in many cases.

Chen Qingsi was not unaware that the current Tang Dynasty needed recuperation and if it were not for the threat from the Arab Empire, Chen Qingsi's initial strategic goal would have been to recuperate. However, the Arab Empire's focus suddenly shifted eastward, and the court had no choice but to adapt to the circumstances, change its national policy, and choose to confront it.

Zhang Wenguan completely ignored all these factors. Instead, he thought that people like Chen Qingsi and Su Dingfang were just trying to gain military merit and leave an excuse to be remembered for generations.

This is also the reason why the two of them have never been able to communicate.

Chen Qingsi initially thought that he could get along peacefully with Zhang Wenguan, and even if they couldn't become friends, they wouldn't become enemies. But Zhang Wenguan didn't think so, and he didn't want to be a pushover, so their relationship became increasingly strained.

It's not surprising to hear that he was demoted at this moment.

Li Zhi was a strong ruler with tough means. When dealing with some dirty things, he disguised himself as a white lotus, but he was not vague about such important matters. He could promote you, Zhang Wenguan, for the sake of official administration, or he could demote you for another matter.

Throughout the reign of Emperor Li Zhi, there has never been a prime minister with real power except Zhangsun Wuji, which is a clear example.

Although Gao Zhizhou felt a little sad, he still stood on Chen Qingsi's side.

The Qingliu faction often interacted with each other and exchanged ideas.

When they were discussing their views on world affairs, Chen Qingsi's advanced ideas were inevitably instilled into them, and they were more or less influenced. They were more receptive to Chen Qingsi's approach of cultivating politics internally and military preparations externally.

Of course, all this is just empty talk.

To borrow a phrase to describe it, as long as Li Zhi was in power, the Tang Dynasty would not allow any powerful figures to appear.

Chen Qingsi had also been in charge of military affairs. Strategically, he led the Tang Dynasty on the right track and made outstanding contributions. Politically, apart from the imperial examinations, he only made some contributions when Baekje was in power. He designed the golden trade route in the east of the sea, but there were no other achievements. This is the reason.

Because of the continuous wars during Li Zhi's reign, despite the governance of many famous officials, people's livelihood was still somewhat poor. He improved his military preparations externally, but his internal politics were indeed lacking.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that Zhang Wenguan had the confidence that it was all just a dream after all.

Chen Qingsi asked, "Zhang Wenguan has been demoted, how is the prince doing?"

Chen Qingsi still has a very good impression of Prince Li Hong and has high expectations for him.

After all, one temple cannot accommodate two strong people, and Li Hong is kind and benevolent, just like Liu Chan.

Hearing Li Hong, Gao Zhizhou sighed: "The prince is not feeling well. When I came, he was lying in bed. He wanted to ask your majesty for mercy for Prime Minister Zhang. But your majesty would not allow it..."

Chen Qingsi also had a headache. Li Hong’s short life was indeed a big problem.

Chen Qingsi asked again: "Who is the leader of the group in the East Palace now? Dai Zhide? Or Xiao Dezhao?"

Gao Zhizhou said: "Neither. Dai Zhide was appointed as the ambassador of land and water transportation, responsible for the preparation and dispatch of grain and grass, and is not in Chang'an. Xiao Dezhao resigned and returned home due to some reasons. Now the person in charge of all affairs of the Eastern Palace is Li Jingxuan."

Li Jingxuan?
Chen Qingsi curled his lips with a hint of disdain and said, "Just him?"

Chen Qingsi still has some regard for Zhang Wenguan, because he is a man who really gets things done.

And Li Jingxuan is the kind of fool who is good at internal fighting but not good at external fighting.

He was in power and would not tolerate any dissenting opinions. He regarded anyone who opposed him as an enemy.

Historically, he held on to Liu Rengui because he refuted his opinions.

Regardless of whether it made sense or not, Li Jingxuan would oppose any suggestion made by Liu Rengui, regardless of whether it was good or bad. He also had a high opinion of himself and felt that Liu Rengui's military achievements in Baekje were nothing special. He thought that Liu Rengui's military achievements in Baekje were just that good, and that he could use the power of thunder to hit rotten wood, and that he could even tie a dog to the position of the commander-in-chief.

The calm Liu Rengui was so angry that he lost his mind and recommended Li Jingxuan to fight against Tubo, as if he wanted Li Jingxuan to experience the cruelty of the battlefield, that is, if you are capable, then you should do it.

As a result, they encountered Lun Qinling. If it were not for Heichi Changzhi's help, the 180,000-strong army would have been almost wiped out.

Gao Zhizhou also disliked Li Jingxuan and complained about him.

Chen Qingsi already understood the general situation.

With Li Zhi in Chang'an, and as long as he is still in good health, there is indeed no one who can cause trouble.

"I just don't know how their investigation into Li Yifu's matter is going?"

Chen Qingsi thought secretly in his heart.

Gao Zhizhou said: "I am carrying out the imperial order and will go into the mountains tomorrow to announce the imperial decree to confer the title of Tibetan Zamp. But I don't know what the situation is like in Lhasa? You have made great contributions to subduing Tibet and allowing the court to focus on dealing with the Arabs... You must not let the overall situation be ruined because of my mistakes."

Chen Qingsi thought for a moment and said, "Don't worry. When you go to Lhasa, just know that you are an envoy of the Celestial Empire, and the Tibetan king is a minister of His Majesty. You are representing His Majesty to convey His Majesty's will, so just act majestically."

Gao Zhizhou was a little dumbfounded when he heard this.

Chen Qingsi smiled secretly. The fact that the Tibetan king was Wang Xiaojie was such a secret, so he could not tell him.

As soon as the decree of enthronement arrived in Lhasa, a peaceful scene prevailed throughout Tubo.

Before Chen Qingsi accepted the letter from Tubo, various Tubo forces were wary and did not dare to act rashly, but they were also secretly gathering strength.

After all, the Tang court's attitude towards Tubo had been made clear in the previous diplomatic exchanges, and it was a situation of life and death.

They lost so badly this time, will the Tang court still have dealings with them?
Most Tibetan nobles were not optimistic about this peace talk, and were waiting for the news that the Tang court refused to have friendly exchanges, and then they would raise an army to support the king...

What he waited for was the imperial edict to confer the title of Xihai County King...

The arrival of the imperial edict meant that Tubo officially became a vassal state under the protection of the Tang Dynasty, and the Tubo nobles with ulterior motives were also castrated.

They were already scared of Chen Qingsi's killing spree, so they mobilized the entire country to move south, but ended up in this situation.

I don't have the courage to fight the Tang army again...

Wang Xiaojie held a grand ceremony in the Potala Palace to receive the imperial edict from the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. He knelt respectfully in front of Gao Zhizhou with a respectful and pious attitude. Gao Zhizhou felt that the Tibetan king in front of him was more pious than himself in terms of his attitude towards the imperial edict.

"this……?"

Mr. Chen, you are truly an amazing person!

He thought that Chen Qingsi had completely defeated Tubo.

On the other side, Niyang Ruoyan, one of the few loyal ministers of Tubo, shed tears secretly when he saw his king like this.

For the sake of Tubo, the Zamp was wronged!

Niyang Ruoyan clenched his fists and thought to himself: The Zamp is kneeling for Tubo. I should repay such a benevolent ruler with my death.

Wang Xiaojie received the imperial edict and was overjoyed. He was now a subject of the Tang Dynasty again.

(End of this chapter)