No one could have imagined that the outcome would have such a dramatic quality. After bringing Chi’er into the imperial palace, the one who received her was surprisingly Empress Zhangsun.
Li Tai smiled like a lapdog accompanying his mother. A man nearly forty years old—heaven knows how he could sit on the carpet beside his mother, clinging to her chair and grinning foolishly at others.
When discussing major military and state affairs, shouldn’t the Emperor be the one to appear?
“His Majesty has gone to Jiucheng Palace, planning to personally supervise the execution of the Commercial Laws. So, whatever matters there are, tell this palace!” Zhangsun looked at Chi’er with cold light shooting from her eyes.
Yun Ye absolutely didn’t believe that in such a vast imperial palace, they couldn’t find a quiet place to deliberate on the Commercial Laws. Even if He Shao and others were participating, if it was inconvenient at the palace, there were plenty of places on Yushan. Not to mention there was also the Nine-Turn Corridor at Qujiang with countless palace halls. Did they really have to run near Luoyang to discuss it?
He dared not say it. The current Zhangsun was no longer as cautious and careful as before in her actions, but had truly become the mistress of this country. Even if there were places where she overstepped, no one would stand up to criticize her. After all, in the court, there were no longer upright ministers like Wei Zheng and Wang Gui. The Emperor’s wariness had also been slowly melted by so many years of shared life and death.
“Tibet and the Great Tang are neighboring countries separated by a narrow strip of water, with friendly neighborly relations. If the Tibetan King is in difficulty, the Great Tang naturally will not sit idly by. But on this visit, does the Princess Consort have a state letter and golden册?”
Zhangsun’s words were thoroughly diplomatic rhetoric. Pang Chi’er smiled radiantly, pulled out a state letter from her sleeve, and handed it to the attending eunuch. Only after Zhangsun saw the state letter did the cold expression on her face slowly subside. She descended from the high vermillion steps, took Chi’er’s hand, and said: “A few years ago, you were still an innocent young lady at the academy. In just a few short years, how did you become a Tibetan princess consort? Alas, this palace has longed for the legends of Baishi Palace but has had no opportunity to see it. Does that white stone palace truly exist? If one crashes into the stone, will they really not suffer head injuries and bloodshed?”
Yun Ye very much wanted to interject, but was forced to close his mouth by Zhangsun’s chainsaw-like gaze. Right now, the only person who could give Yun Ye dirty looks anytime, anywhere was Zhangsun. This meant shut up. From the very beginning, she first stood on the phoenix throne overlooking the world with the dignity of an empress. Seeing Chi’er, who originally had equal status with her, she didn’t even rise to greet her—this was intending to give Chi’er a show of authority. Later, after seeing the state letter, she immediately put herself in the position of an elder, sighing and lamenting. What business was it of hers that Chi’er married a ten-year-old little boy?
Li Tai pulled Yun Ye out of the Liangyi Hall with a smile. After coming outside, Yun Ye immediately grabbed Li Tai by the neck and demanded: “Why did His Majesty go to Jiucheng Palace? Why didn’t I know? Why am I discussing major military and state affairs with the Empress? What exactly did you tell the Empress? Why is her reaction so strong?”
“No one can command my father. Going to Jiucheng Palace was my father’s own idea. He believes that only by being at Jiucheng Palace can he balance the three capitals. This time in formulating the Commercial Laws, the state attaches great importance to it. My imperial father also wants to establish a set of laws that are as reasonable as possible. Once established this time, for at least fifty years, they cannot be altered. In the future, regulations can only be slowly added.”
“I heard that merchants not only demanded changes to the Commercial Laws, but even want to add into the code the provision that merchant property is protected by imperial authority and cannot be arbitrarily encroached upon by anyone. For this, they didn’t hesitate to use enormous funds to smooth things over from top to bottom. From the imperial family to the nobility, almost no one was left out. So the clamor in the court is very heavy, and my imperial father had no choice but to respond carefully.”
“As for the Tibetan princess consort coming to the Great Tang, I reported it to my father. Father said to just have Mother receive her, and he himself brought a large entourage directly to Jiucheng Palace.”
Yun Ye released Li Tai and said irritably: “You definitely didn’t tell His Majesty about Chi’er and their plan to deal with Gar Tongtsen. If you had, at minimum your uncle should be receiving Chi’er, not the Empress.”
Li Tai pulled Yun Ye far away to the frozen Taiye Pool and said: “My father now really likes beauties. I don’t know why, but in any case, he likes them a lot. He especially likes the wives and daughters of enemy leaders. Look at the rear palace—I don’t even know how many there are. I’m too embarrassed to tell you that Xie Li’s wife looks like that, yet my father was still enthusiastically unwilling to pass her up. Not to mention a woman like Pang Chi’er. In this world, men who can’t be seduced by this woman—I think it’s just us two brothers left.”
“Nonsense! Xie Li’s wife was Princess Yicheng, who was long ago burned to ashes by Li Jing on the grasslands. I saw it with my own eyes. How could Xie Li’s wife have been brought into His Majesty’s rear palace… You mean Xie Li’s other wives?”
Li Tai helplessly shrugged his shoulders. This fellow was increasingly fond of this gesture lately.
“You don’t need to feel bad either. Actually, having my mother discuss this matter is much better than having my father discuss it. From our Great Tang’s position, if Pang Chi’er and her group win, naturally we’ll be pleased. If they lose, since it was two women who discussed it, even if our Great Tang wants to deny it, it’s much more convenient. As for Tibet, our Great Tang doesn’t have many ways to deal with it. The army can’t charge up there, hard tactics can’t be used, so many times we can only use conciliatory measures. We can’t provoke them too much. Otherwise, today they raid your Songzhou, tomorrow they harass Hexi, the day after they appear in the desert—isn’t that annoying? If my imperial father appeared, there would be nothing to discuss. Gar Tongtsen would definitely go mad.”
Yun Ye looked at Li Tai for a long time without speaking. Finally, he suddenly asked: “The Chang’an regent His Majesty left behind wouldn’t be you, would it? Only if it’s you would His Majesty not notify me.”
Li Tai smiled bitterly: “I’m the regent, you’re the assistant administrator, but ultimately the one whose word counts is my mother. Whether you want to deploy troops or change city defenses, the seals are all with my mother. So right now, the person whose word counts most in Chang’an City is my mother. Whatever you want to do, you just need to convince my mother. What a great opportunity!”
Hearing Li Tai’s words, Yun Ye was also very pleased. Now he could truly walk sideways through Chang’an City. Zhangsun Wuji had been sent by the Emperor to Jiucheng Palace, having to work in the middle of the main road, which was very arduous. In Chang’an City now, if he stamped his foot, the entire city would jump three times. Not seizing such a good opportunity would make him a complete fool.
“What are you going to do?” Seeing Yun Ye about to stride out of the palace, Li Tai quickly called out.
“Prepare documents! Now that I hold great power, if I don’t use it, it’ll expire. For minor officials below the fifth rank, if I don’t appoint a few more, your uncle will laugh at me for not knowing how to seize opportunities when he returns. The Crown Prince will also blame me. If your father doesn’t curse me in his heart for being an idiot when he returns, that would be the strange thing.”
Sure enough, when Yun Ye arrived at the War Ministry’s great hall, Li Yifu was standing at the door holding a thick stack of documents. Seeing Yun Ye return, he smiled as if he’d eaten magpie droppings, calling out from afar: “Sir, sir! These documents must be signed quickly! If it gets too late, there will be complications! Master Xu is also drafting a list—it should be ready soon.”
Yun Ye didn’t reply. He pushed open the War Ministry’s great hall door, walked inside, pulled out a scroll from the sea of documents, stamped it with the War Ministry’s seal, then had Li Yifu quickly send the document to the Secretariat for review. This was Xu Jingzong’s job. Then it would go from Xu Jingzong to the Chancellery for Su Weidao to stamp, and finally be presented to Zhangsun for inspection.
Opening Li Yifu’s memorial, Yun Ye’s brow immediately furrowed. Ranked in first position was actually a foreign general named Hezhi Changzhi. Seeing this person, Yun Ye thought of Hezhi Chang whom he had sent to the imperial palace. He hadn’t expected that Hezhi Changzhi would still stubbornly appear on the appointment document for Great Tang officials. Li Chengqian seemed to trust this person very much—he was even willing to give him the position of General of the Qianniu Guard.
Since he was placed in first position, this was someone Yun Ye couldn’t refuse. Frowning, he signed and stamped. Li Chengqian wasn’t unaware of the old grudge between him and Hezhi Chang. That fellow had already become like a half-robot—that recurve bow with pulleys had already grown onto him. As his son, he must be brooding over Yun Ye, this great enemy who had cut off his father’s arm and then modified his father. Since even that fellow was being given important posts, it could only mean Li Chengqian was also playing balance, beginning to look at Yun Ye from an emperor’s perspective.
The second was Qibi. The fertile pastures below Yinshan had all been allocated to his tribe, except for the Yun Family’s small patch of pasture. Just this favor alone was enough to make Qibi grateful for several lifetimes.
In fact, Qibi had also repaid the Li family with sufficient loyalty. In history, the person who did this was Li Zhi, so Qibi deliberately left a branch of his tribe in Guanzhong, vowing to guard Li Zhi’s mausoleum. That’s why the Qianling Mausoleum has been preserved until now and still hasn’t been excavated.
It looked like Li Chengqian’s tomb wouldn’t be plundered either. Yun Ye thought this in his heart as he stamped the seal on the document. Li Chengqian still hadn’t changed much—he very much liked to employ generals from foreign tribes. Seeing the memorial about the Ashina family, Yun Ye didn’t even think and pushed it aside. This family was related to the Turks, and they were most fond of rebellion, so they couldn’t be employed.
Li Yifu, who hurried back from Xu Jingzong’s place, saw that Yun Ye didn’t agree to employ the Ashina family and asked quietly: “Sir, we all thought you wouldn’t agree to Hezhi Changzhi’s appointment, but you appointed him. He should be your natural enemy. The Ashina family is now in a panic like homeless dogs. Such people should be the easiest to command. Why do you refuse instead?”
Yun Ye looked up at Li Yifu and said: “There’s no problem using dogs. Even if they bite their master, it doesn’t matter. Just whip them harshly a few times and they’ll acknowledge your authority, because they’re dogs.”
“But wolves are different. No matter how obedient they appear, how loyal and brave, the blood flowing in their veins is still wolf blood. When you’re strong, they’ll submit meekly. But when you’re weak, their retaliation will be the most ferocious.”
“Hezhi Changzhi is a dog. Ashina Duguzhai is a wolf. The two cannot be spoken of in the same breath. I can tolerate the existence of enemies, but I absolutely will not tolerate hungry wolves lurking in dark corners waiting for their opportunity.”