“Fengbin! Fengbin! Listen to me, listen to me carefully!”
“Then speak! I’m not stopping you!”
Outside the guest chamber of Zixu Temple’s side court, Li Yuanji desperately pleaded while patting the wooden door panels. The tearful female voice responding from behind the tightly closed door left him stunned in place. His mouth hung open for a long while, unable to utter a single word, and he slowly knelt before the door.
What could he say? Being born a royal prince and the Emperor’s brother, he must repay the country with his service, and how could he think of family matters while the Xiongnu remained undefeated? After the recent chaos, the people’s strength was depleted, commoners, suffering from hunger and cold exhaustion, unable to withstand continuous warfare, and he couldn’t go against his conscience by following imperial wishes just for his marital happiness… Did he need to teach such things to Wei Zheng’s daughter?
Sobbing sounds came from behind the wooden door. Wei Shubin hadn’t reproached him with a single word; she had simply turned and left, face deathly pale, after hearing the results of his morning memorial at Wanchun Palace. In his desperation, Li Yuanji grabbed her arm, but she broke free and fled into the guest chamber, slamming the door shut behind her.
She had no reason nor inclination to blame him; she just needed to cry.
Li Yuanji heaved a long sigh, supporting himself with his hand on the ground. He too had just finished crying, right there in Wanchun Palace, in front of the Emperor, ministers, and various high officials.
Unlike Minister Wei Zheng, he couldn’t quote classics and compose elegant phrases to expound on the way of sages. All he could think of and speak of were the self-mutilated “lucky hand” stumps of the Wei River boatmen, the farm manager Zhang who worked himself to death supporting agricultural duties in the northern Wei estate, the vegetable garden left empty with only two old women watching the house, the thousand miles of wasteland with people showing signs of hunger all along the northwestern Long region, and that old woman from Qin Prefecture whom Yang Xinzhi had found to guide the way, her tears flowing without end…
“The Western Sea Route campaign is finished, your two sons will return soon.” Those words still rang in his ears. Would that old woman’s two sons now have to march even further into the more distant and dangerous Western Region frontier? Well, one family didn’t count for much, but hadn’t the Qin Prefecture Granary Director also said “This year’s grain is only enough because relief granaries provided aid to prevent starvation; if no one can farm next year there will be another great famine”? Qin Prefecture wasn’t even considered particularly poor and remote—other prefectures and counties were unimaginable.
“I know the common people are exhausted and can’t bear more levies,” the Emperor said with furrowed brows. “But aren’t those detained and enslaved displaced people in Gaochang also subjects of our Great Tang? As ruler of the realm, how can I sit idly by while my subjects cry out for rescue? The Gaochang King Qu Wentai is determined to rely on the Yebgu Khagan and oppose our Great Tang—this battle must be fought sooner or later! Better a short pain than a long one, better to fight early than late! If we miss this excellent opportunity and delay, when our army reorganizes to campaign again, the grain, animals, and labor supplies will cost two or three times more than now! If Gaochang has time to prepare and fortify their cities, how many more of our officers and soldiers will needlessly bleed and die? This doesn’t add up!”
Li Yuanji had no response—when it came to military calculations, there were few in the world who could argue and debate with Emperor Li Shimin. The one who stepped forward to receive this charge and counterattack was Minister Wei Zheng:
“Your servant risks death to speak frankly: Your Majesty as ruler of the realm should prioritize peace for the state and security for the common people. Deploying troops for battle, and planning attacks and defense, are the duties of generals, not the ruler’s concern! If the Ministry of War believes we should fight quickly and continuously, they can submit a memorial, and we servants will discuss and deliberate by imperial order, while Your Majesty considers the people’s strength and makes comprehensive decisions. Now Your Majesty is usurping the generals’ duties, taking a biased position—I fear the people’s hearts will not submit, and worse, this might invite civil unrest and disaster!”
Your stance is skewed—though Minister Wei’s words were elegant and respectful, his meaning was unsparing. You are the Emperor, not the Minister of War or Commander-in-Chief; you should consider how to govern the country, not how to fight wars!
Considering only warfare, naturally quick decisive battles were most efficient with minimal losses. But taking a broader view, looking at the scorched ruins after the great chaos, looking at the Li Tang dynasty not yet twenty years old, even Li Yuanji knew the truth: the common people might not survive this winter and next spring.
With victory over Tuyuhun achieved, the expedition army must return to court. Soldiers needed to return to their prefectures, go home to farm, and nurture the people’s strength. It would take three to five years, or even eight to ten years until the local granaries were filled with surplus grain again and another generation of young men had grown up willing to fight for merit before they could consider organizing the next foreign expedition.
“As for our Great Tang’s returning people detained by Qu Wentai,” Li Yuanji forced himself to collect his thoughts and offer strategy, “After your servant reaches Gaochang, I shall immediately investigate the true situation, make secret contacts, and gather evidence. Then, whether to confront the Qu family with reason in Gaochang’s royal court, report back to Chang’an for Your Majesty to send envoys with instructions demanding their return, or lead these tens of thousands of detained people to overthrow Qu’s rule, your servant will act according to circumstances.”
He could achieve something there, he thought. With Great Tang’s backing externally and merchant Hu like Kang Sumi providing people and money internally, he wasn’t afraid of hardship or death. He could certainly accomplish something in Gaochang, but…
“Looks like you want to be the prince consort of that Western Regions kingdom?” the Emperor mockingly rebuked his younger brother. “No wonder—I hear they have mixed Han and Hu populations there, and all the women are fair and beautiful. Quite the romantic fortune you have.”
Then Li Yuanji burst into tears right there in court.
Such undignified behavior was completely unexpected even to himself, so when that feeling of untold grievance and bitterness rushed into his nose and eyes, he had no power to suppress it, prostrating himself and weeping—
To be without shame before heaven, earth, sovereign, parents, state, and people, he had to betray the deep love of his life’s true beloved…
The Emperor closed his mouth, seeming to sigh as he watched his younger brother. Minister Fang Xuanling, Wei Zheng, Long Sun Wuji and other high officials could only silently watch the young prince crying inappropriately in court—truly an embarrassing scene that made him want to find a crack in the ground to crawl into when remembering it.
Two palace attendants were ordered to help the Prince of Wu out of Wanchun Palace, and the court session quickly dispersed. After his emotions stabilized, he left the palace himself and encountered Yang Xinzhi outside the gate. The tall guard pulled him aside and immediately said he had “heard troubling news and needed to quickly find Master Shangren at Zixu Temple.”
What troubling news? Earlier, before Li Yuanji entered the palace, he had sent Yang Xinzhi to the garrison to find Zhou Twelve and ask about the situation with the fake Tuyuhun prince. Yang Xinzhi hadn’t found Zhou Twelve himself but heard that the Emperor had summoned him a few days ago and was not pleased. Since Li Yuanji had entrusted this matter of the fake prince to his third sister’s husband Chai Shao, they should go to Duke Qiao’s mansion to ask for details.
“It’s past noon already, and Fourteenth Lord and Xinzhi woke so early at the postal station today, we haven’t eaten and our stomachs must be flat with hunger,” the human tower Yang complained. “Duke Chai’s mansion is too far—why don’t we go to Zixu Temple first to ask Master Shangren’s advice and get some lunch while we’re there…”
I knew it… Li Yuanji was full of anger and wanted to berate him, but on second thought realized he should indeed see Chai Yingluo. Not to ask about the fake prince, but to ask the Zixu Temple master to put in some good words for him with Wei Shubin.
Today in Wanchun Palace he had “requested before the throne” to proceed with the original plan of becoming Gaochang’s prince consort, refusing the opportunity to break the betrothal and marry Wei Shubin, and had done so in front of her father. Wei Zheng already disliked him and would certainly waste no time telling his wife and daughter when he returned home, extensively describing how heartless and ungrateful he was, thoroughly crushing his daughter’s foolish hopes before finding her a husband from one of the noble five surname or seven family clans… Only Chai Yingluo could help explain things for him now.