The construction of the Academy’s walls has never ceased—pouring concrete, to be precise. If there’s one place in the Great Tang that never lacks cement, it’s undoubtedly Yushan Academy. It has its own cement kiln, its own brick kiln, its own coal mine, its own porcelain workshop, its own printing house, its own farmland, its own wharf, and even its own fleet of ships. As for camels, horses, cattle, and sheep—it lacks none of them. The Emperor has decreed that Yushan belongs to the Academy’s estate.
The army has already begun stationing itself at Yushan. The forces defending Yushan are equivalent to those guarding an imperial palace, rotating every two years. The commanding officer is personally appointed by the imperial family. The only ones who can command them are the Academy Director and the Mountain Chancellor—meaning only the Emperor as Director and Li Gang as Mountain Chancellor can make these soldiers of the Sixteen Guards bow their heads. Orders from someone like Yun Ye, a mere Vice Director, need not even be acknowledged by common soldiers.
From a distance, the Academy’s walls look no different from the Great Wall, winding and twisting as they coil through the mountain ridges. In the past, harmful beasts like wild boars would run down the mountain to ravage the farmers’ corn and potatoes, but now they’ve become extinct. The Academy’s back gate only opens during the pandas’ mating season each year, allowing those pandas who’ve grown plump and round from eating at the Academy to exit through that gate and find the skinny, bony pandas in the mountains to mate with. The students jokingly call this gate the Magpie Bridge Gate.
Xu Jingzong and Yun Ye rode horses along the city wall on their inspection. Riding was necessary—walking the thirty-li circumference of the wall would exhaust anyone to death. Every hundred meters or less along the wall, which was over one zhang wide, stood an arrow tower with garrison soldiers on watch.
The cold wind in the mountain valley didn’t take long to thoroughly chill the two men, forcing them to duck into an arrow tower to escape the cold. The arrow tower wasn’t large, and once packed with people, there was no room for Wang Cai to enter. Liu Jinbao drove all the soldiers out and brought Wang Cai in. Xu Jingzong sighed and said, “Marquis Yun, you really need to change this habit of valuing horses over people. Many are already criticizing you for it.”
“Who says Wang Cai is a horse? Wang Cai is my brother—outside the home it’s like this, and inside the home too. If you don’t believe me, go to the Yun Family and open the account books of household allowances. You’ll find that my Wang Cai has always been receiving his regular stipend. Let whoever wants to talk, talk—I have no intention of changing.”
Yun Ye removed his cloak and draped it over Wang Cai’s back, then pulled out a handful of beans and placed them in his palm for Wang Cai to eat slowly.
This year there had been little snow. Aside from one snowfall at the start of winter, there had only been hints of snow until now. The farmers of the Yun Family were already making preparations to store water, building many cement pools, just waiting for a heavy snowfall to fill them all at once. No matter what, this year’s great drought could no longer be avoided.
After warming themselves by the fire for a while, the inspection had to continue. The path ahead was no longer suitable for riding—it was all steps, so the two had to proceed on foot. Xu Jingzong patted the concrete walls and remarked with emotion, “Marquis Yun, our Academy’s walls are probably even more solid than the Imperial City’s. Legend has it that when Helian Bobo built Tongwan City, he used giant hammers to strike the ground—if they penetrated one inch, the craftsmen were executed; if they didn’t penetrate one inch, the soldiers were executed. That was to establish a foundation that would last ten thousand generations. Why are you making the Academy’s walls as impregnable as a fortress?”
“Also to establish a foundation that will last ten thousand generations. Old Xu, it’s only because we two are here that I’ll say this—my only hope is that even when dynasties change, the Academy will still stand firm. This is my small selfish wish.”
Xu Jingzong nodded and said, “There has never been a dynasty that lasted forever, but it’s quite possible for an academy to survive for a long time. Since you harbor such thoughts, building it solidly is not without reason.”
Walking to the Magpie Bridge Gate, Xu Jingzong looked at the back mountain and pointed to several places emitting smoke, saying, “Those key locations have already been taken under His Majesty’s jurisdiction. I’ve only seen large numbers of troops entering, and the consumption of cement, bricks, stones, and timber is astonishing. Could it be that His Majesty intends to build a fortress in the back mountain?”
“Old Xu, don’t look too closely. I know what’s happening there, but I can’t tell you. Once I tell you, it won’t be good for you. Knowing too many secrets brings no benefit.”
Spending time with Xu Jingzong, you’d come to know that he was actually quite a decent friend—apart from his fondness for taking small advantages and betraying friends. Being with him always gave you a feeling like bathing in a spring breeze. Whether drinking or conversing, being with him was never wrong. Every glance, every gesture of his would give you a hint: spill everything in your heart, and I’ll keep it secret for you.
Xiao Dong had ultimately married his second son. The young couple had been sent by Xu Jingzong to their old home in Hangzhou’s new city. His purpose was clear—he planned to secure a retreat for the entire family in Jiangnan. Along the way, relying on the Yun Family’s influence in Lingnan, he wanted to see if he could develop toward the southwest. Marrying Xiao Dong was meant to avoid provoking the Yun Family’s opposition.
Yun Ye discovered that for some reason, he couldn’t get along with good people, but could quickly become one with treacherous officials. Sometimes there was even a feeling of perfect harmony. Could it be that he was naturally suited to be a scoundrel?
Standing at the windy pass was clearly not suitable for the tastes of these two treacherous types. On such a day when evening snow seemed imminent, not drinking a couple of cups and scheming against a few people didn’t match their identities. So they decisively ended the inspection work and returned the same way. An hour later, they were back at the Academy. Before they could start drinking, they were grabbed by Master Li Gang to attend the Academy’s general meeting.
The large room was packed with people. Yun Ye was surprised to see Hypatia and Xiao Wu present. Not only them—Li Chengqian was also sitting in the back. Seeing his grave expression, one knew that a major incident had occurred.
Sure enough, as soon as Yun Ye and Xu Jingzong sat down, they heard earth-shattering news: Loulan City had disappeared. Overnight, the people had left and the city was empty. The Emperor was asking the Academy for its opinion on Loulan’s disappearance.
Master Jin Zhu was the most authoritative presence in this field. He hesitated for a moment, then first bowed to the Crown Prince and asked, “Your Highness, to ask why Loulan disappeared, this old official must first ask: are our Great Tang’s troops in Loulan?”
Li Chengqian didn’t understand why Master Jin Zhu would ask such a thing, but Yun Ye understood very clearly. Prosperous cities becoming ghost towns overnight had happened a few times before—for instance, Gaochang, or the capitals of the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu. These cities all had one sign before they disappeared: the Great Tang’s armies happened to be passing through those places and happened to discover empty cities. The generals would report back that there wasn’t a single person in the city, and then in the Hetao region, large numbers of pastoral and agricultural slaves would appear.
To determine why Loulan City had no people, one had to exclude the biggest scourge of the Western Regions—the Great Tang army—as a factor. Otherwise, it would be a huge joke. The generals in the Western Regions were very bold. Killing a minor king of one of the Thirty-Six States of the Western Regions was like killing a chicken. Anyway, at the great triennial court audience, those kings’ faces were always different.
The Han people’s fondness for killing those petty state rulers was a tradition. It had been done since Ban Chao’s time, culminating in Fu Jiezi assassinating the King of Loulan. Each person was praised by the historical records, so those generals would kill a few kings when they had nothing else to do, wanting to see if they’d be recorded in the history books.
Don’t be fooled by how those generals, when they returned to Chang’an, all had kind faces and gentle expressions. When they greeted farmers, they would bow in return, each one as amiable as could be. But once they passed through the Jade Gate, they would peel off their good-person faces, stuff them in their pockets, and put on bandit faces, burning, killing, and plundering—committing almost every evil imaginable. The Turks, the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, and the Huihe people truly had no way to survive, which is why they decided to leave their homeland and go west on conquest, to fight for a way out for themselves and their people.
Having understood the situation, Li Chengqian felt somewhat embarrassed. He bowed to Master Jin Zhu and said, “Please rest assured, Master. I guarantee that Loulan’s strange affair is not the handiwork of our dynasty’s great army. The one who reported this situation was a merchant. When they were returning from Dashi and passed through Loulan, they originally wanted to stop there to rest and reorganize. However, after entering the city, they discovered that not a single person remained. In many people’s homes, everything was neat and orderly. Some households seemed to be in the middle of a meal—the bowls and dishes were still on the table, but the people were gone.”
“The ancient city of Loulan was once a paradise where people lived and multiplied. It was founded almost simultaneously with the Great Han Dynasty. It extended from near Yangguan in the east to Niya City in the west, from the Altyn Mountains in the south to Hami in the north. Beside it lay the vast misty Salt Marsh, and clear rivers flowed around its gates. People sailed boats to fish on the blue waves, hunted in the dense poplar forests, bathing in nature’s blessings. Moreover, it was the vital strategic pass for the Great Tang’s route to Dashi and the Far West.”
“For it to disappear overnight, this old official believes there are only a few possible reasons. The first would be that it was conquered by the Great Tang’s army. Since Your Highness says this possibility doesn’t exist, then only plague and religious factors remain.”
“Xuanzang wrote in his book that the Kingdom of Loulan devoutly practiced Buddhism, belonging to the Hinayana sect, so the religious explanation can also make sense. However, this old official believes the most likely possibility is lack of water. According to Li Daoyuan’s ‘Commentary on the Water Classic,’ after the Eastern Han Dynasty, because the Zhubin River in the middle reaches of the Tarim River changed course, Loulan faced severe water shortages. Suo Le from Dunhuang led a thousand soldiers to Loulan and summoned three thousand soldiers from the three kingdoms of Shanshan, Yanqi, and Kucha. Working day and night, they cut across the Zhubin River to divert water into Loulan, alleviating Loulan’s water shortage crisis. However, after that, despite the Loulan people’s maximum efforts and attempts to dredge the river channels, this old official believes that Loulan was ultimately abandoned due to the water supply being cut off.”
“However, all of this is speculation and requires on-site investigation. If His Majesty wishes to determine the truth, this old official is willing to take students on a journey to Loulan to see for ourselves. If accidental factors caused Loulan’s disappearance, we can devise countermeasures early.”
Li Chengqian nodded and said, “What you say makes sense, Master. Loulan’s disappearance must be thoroughly investigated. If it was the military’s doing, they absolutely cannot be forgiven this time. If it was a natural disaster, we need to know the cause. This prince has come here under His Majesty’s command to authorize the Academy to organize an expedition beyond the passes to investigate thoroughly. This matter must not be taken lightly. The Left Martial Guard will dispatch protective forces to see exactly what caused this outcome that angers both heaven and man.”