With the passing of the Emperor Emeritus, the ongoing war had to be halted, and the deployed troops needed to be recalled.
Li Yuanji, who had been enduring another wave of headaches, suddenly became alert when he heard Wei Zheng’s words from outside the curtain. Not just him—the rustling of clothes and light coughs from outside seemed to indicate that all officials were quietly stepping back, leaving Minister Wei alone at the forefront.
The Emperor coughed a few times and responded somewhat ambiguously, “Minister Wei is overthinking. The imperial envoy carrying the tragic news to Li Jing’s army had already departed several days ago… As for the Xian Mausoleum, in my opinion, we cannot be too frugal…”
“Although the envoy has departed, when I inquired with the Bureau of Carriages yesterday, I learned that the messenger had just entered Xianyang,” Wei Zheng’s voice was cold. “The Imperial Stables regulations clearly state that those riding post horses should cover four stations per day, and those using relay stations should cover six stations, traveling no less than two hundred li daily. Is this envoy Your Majesty dispatched even covering twenty li per day?”
Li Yuanji almost burst out laughing. Under strict military law, no imperial messenger dared to deliberately delay when delivering orders to the front. The messenger’s unusually slow progress this time suggested that the Emperor had specifically instructed them to delay the delivery of the national mourning news to the expedition army as much as possible.
“May I ask Your Majesty, when the envoy reaches the Western Sea Route Commander, will they explicitly order the Duke of Dai to reorganize all units and return to the capital?” Wei Zheng’s tone grew more severe. “Or will they still use the shield of a general in the field may reject imperial orders and command Commander Li to act as he sees fit and continue fighting during the mourning period?”
“Since ancient times, there has been precedent for fighting while in mourning clothes, and there are countless examples of warfare during national mourning periods in previous dynasties. This isn’t my invention,” the Emperor’s voice was impatient. “Military matters are urgent and dangerous—the slightest delay could lead to disaster. Minister Wei, don’t be bound by outdated conventions and become a sinner for generations to come.”
Although Li Yuanji had many criticisms of the Emperor, he completely agreed with the imperial judgment on this matter. The Tang army’s campaign against the Tuyuhun had been planned for a long time, and tens of thousands of troops had been fighting abroad for months. How could they possibly withdraw just because of Emperor Emeritus’s passing, wasting all the human and material resources already invested… Just as he was thinking this, Wei Zheng’s opposing voice rang out:
“Last year’s end, the court issued an edict to attack the Tuyuhun, and various levies for grain storage, fort construction, and troop stationing had already disturbed the common people even before the formal edict was issued. The army has been beyond the frontier for nearly half a year, and we only hear of various barbarians defecting to the enemy, while our imperial forces are stuck in grassland swamps, advancing slowly, exhausting the people and depleting resources, with old troops achieving nothing! Now with national mourning, Your Majesty resides in darkness, yet instead of withdrawing troops to observe mourning properly, you intensify the situation by recruiting more soldiers and requisitioning more grain, further exploiting the common people! Take the case of Zhang from the Pei family estate in Xianyang, north of Wei River, who injured county officials—wasn’t this caused by forceful requisition, officials pushing people to rebellion…”
“Regarding Zhang’s case, haven’t we already sent investigators to re-examine it locally?” The Emperor’s impatience carried a hint of helplessness. “If the county officials and local authorities indeed acted unlawfully, Zhang’s resistance in protecting the people can be treated leniently according to the law. Minister Wei brings up this case in every memorial lately, going over it repeatedly—how many more times must we discuss it…”
“Zhang’s case is not an isolated incident!” Wei Zheng refused to back down. “Lu Ning, the military commander of Chenxiang Prefecture in Fufeng, was arrogant and tyrannical. Last month, when conscripting troops, he forcibly recruited able-bodied men, causing harm to the local communities. This led to a conflict with County Magistrate Liu Rengui. In a fit of anger, Liu gathered the prefecture officials and beat Lu Ning to death! Now Liu Rengui has come to the capital to surrender himself and is currently detained in the Court of Judicial Review prison. This case parallels Zhang’s case in Xianyang—both stemming from excessive conscription. Your Majesty, can you search your conscience without shame?”
Upon hearing “Zhang from the Pei family estate in Xianyang,” Li Yuanji was startled, silently wondering if it was that stubborn old Estate Manager Zhang who had gotten into trouble. When he heard that the Chenxiang County Magistrate had beaten the military commander to death, he forgot even his surprise, wondering if the military-civilian conflicts in the capital region had reached such a point—were they about to see another uprising with people singing “No More Deaths in the Eastern Campaign”… Meanwhile, Wei Zheng’s remonstration grew more intense:
“What’s worse, I hear that in the Three Qin and Shan regions, people fear conscription so much that the practice of self-mutilation has resurged. Even butchers and slaughterers are buying axes and knives, setting prices for chopping off hands and feet, agreeing not to exceed certain limits and not to inform others… When the common people suffer such misery that they would rather mutilate themselves to survive, how can this be considered a human realm? Your Majesty, when you first ascended to the throne, you swore before Heaven at the Southern Suburbs to comfort the people, cease warfare, and bring great peace. Now you exhaust the people to satisfy border ambitions—how can you speak of the benevolent governance of Yao and Shun?”
“Bang!” came a sound as the Emperor struck something, the noise making everyone’s hearts tremble. The Emperor angrily said:
“Minister Wei, why don’t you just say directly that I am a tyrant like Jie and Zhou? Wouldn’t that be simpler? Do you think I wage war for pleasure? Before Zhenguan, the Turks and Tuyuhun cavalry armies would raid southward every autumn, burning, killing, and plundering—the frontier people suffered unbearably. Why don’t you mention that? In the fourth year of Zhenguan, General Yaoshi won the battle at Yinshan, capturing Khagan Jieli and other barbarian chiefs who were brought to Chang’an. Since then, the northern border has been peaceful, allowing people to rest and recover, farming and herding, with even barbarian merchants traveling ten times more frequently than before! My edict to attack the Tuyuhun is because they still occupy the northwestern plateau, constantly raiding our border commanderies and travelers, blocking the Western Region routes. I repeatedly sent envoys to teach and advise, but Murong Fuyun remained obstinate and refused to obey! According to Minister Wei’s view, mobilizing troops for war makes me a tyrant—should an emperor just sit on his throne reciting sutras, and when barbarians attack, simply duck his head and curse a few times?”
“Regarding the Turkish border raids, we are well aware, and when Your Majesty dispatched heavenly troops to campaign in early Zhenguan, even though famine was widespread and people were displaced, we did not advise against it!” Wei Zheng retorted firmly. “The Tuyuhun occupy the northwestern plateau grasslands, far from the Central Plains. Even if they raid the borders, they only harm a few frontier prefectures and counties! Most residents in those areas are barbarians and wild people who don’t pay taxes or participate in corvée labor, making them truly insignificant to the court. Now we mobilize tens of thousands of troops from within the passes for campaigns, leaving the capital region’s counties empty of young men, with only the elderly, weak, women, and children to farm the fields—this is sacrificing the core to benefit the extremities, completely backward and extremely difficult to sustain!”
The Emperor emphasized the necessity of pacifying the frontiers, while the Prime Minister passionately argued for the importance of allowing the people to recuperate—though their dispute was fierce, both were repeating old arguments. Li Yuanji, listening dizzily, felt both sides had merit. Although he had originally hoped to achieve military glory on the battlefield, hearing Wei Zheng describe the people’s suffering also shocked him to the core.
Though raised in the deep palace without experience of poverty or struggle for survival, his birth mother had told him and his sibling’s stories of her own tragic experiences during the late Sui Dynasty’s chaos, repeating them so often his ears nearly grew calluses. Having heard such accounts, no matter how dissatisfied he might be with the current emperor and ministers, he would never wish to see such circumstances repeat.
“The people of China are the foundation of the realm, while the barbarians are merely branches and leaves. To disturb the foundation to enrich the branches and leaves, and then seek lasting peace—such a thing has never succeeded,” Wei Zheng continued relentlessly. “If we say Your Majesty’s attack on the Tuyuhun can barely be connected to the great enterprise of defending borders and comforting the people, then before this war is even concluded, with victory or defeat still unknown, Your Majesty has already begun secretly planning to eliminate Gaochang—”
What?
Li Yuanji shuddered, immediately thinking of the previous plan to marry his Seventeenth Sister and Chai Yaoli together to Gaochang for diplomatic relations. Outside the curtain, the Emperor also made a sound that temporarily silenced Wei Zheng.
“Minister Wei, where did you hear that I was planning to conquer Gaochang?” the Emperor’s tone was serious. “Are palace matters so easily leaked? As Prime Minister, are you so bold in speculating about your sovereign’s thoughts?”
“As your humble servant in the Chancellery, receiving Your Majesty’s heavy trust to review and cosign edicts, I naturally must examine each one carefully,” Wei Zheng responded coldly. “Since last autumn, edicts have been issued frequently. Though none mention warfare against Gaochang directly, upon careful reading, it’s not difficult to comprehend Your Majesty’s intentions. If I have speculated wrongly, I am willing to accept punishment. I only hope Your Majesty will declare to the world that you have no intention of waging war against Gaochang, gaining the people’s trust, and also reassuring the various states.”
This was a direct challenge to the Emperor: if I’ve guessed wrong, I’ll accept punishment—do you dare to explicitly state that you have no intention of going to war with Gaochang? As the matter touched him closely, Li Yuanji perked up his ears to hear the Emperor’s response, while outside the curtain all fell silent as a crow’s feather.