In the court, there were no permanent enemies and no permanent friends. Yun Ye no longer tormented Zhangsun Chong much now, mainly because there was no need. Apart from displaying his own narrow-mindedness, it yielded no effect. Suppressing someone temporarily could be called establishing authority—everyone would understand this was a method of managing subordinates. Almost every superior would do this. Young people always needed some tempering. Only after grinding away their sharp edges could they be used smoothly.
A superior as young as Yun Ye was relatively rare. Originally, having such a young superior with nowhere left to be promoted would be a subordinate’s nightmare, but it wasn’t like that in the Ministry of War. The ministry’s bureau directors, adjutants, and vice ministers were forever rotating like a revolving lantern. The only one who never moved was Yun Ye, the Minister of War plus Grand Master for Splendid Happiness.
Even the Ministry of War’s tea room attendant had become so familiar with Yun Ye that he knew what temperature water he would want at any given time. Right now was exactly like that. The tea room attendant in blue clothes and small cap gently knocked on Yun Ye’s hall door. This year’s cold weather had arrived earlier than usual, so the four large doors of the hall were tightly closed.
Yun Ye sat by the stove, slowly savoring a scroll. Li Yifu was truly a talent. He could write the annalistic style in the manuscript of the “Book of Sui” with beautiful prose, especially this passage evaluating Emperor Yang of Sui, which was indeed quite fair.
“In the seventh month of the fourth year, the High Ancestor崩 passed away, and His Majesty ascended to the imperial throne at Renshou Palace. In the eleventh month on the day Jimao, he visited Luoyang. On the day Guichou, an edict stated: However, Luoyang has been an ancient capital since antiquity. Within the royal domain, it is where heaven and earth unite, where yin and yang harmonize. Controlled by the Three Rivers, fortified by the four strategic passes, with water and land routes connecting tribute and taxes equally. Thus the Han Ancestor said: I have traveled extensively throughout the realm, but I have only truly seen Luoyang.”
Regardless of how many sins Emperor Yang of Sui committed, this Grand Canal became a lifeline connecting north and south, with irreplaceable significance for national unification. Truly calculated, the greatest disaster leading to the Former Sui’s demise was not peasant uprisings. Small-time bandits like Wagang Stronghold, without the addition of ambitious heroes like Li Mi, ultimately couldn’t amount to much. Among the eighteen rebel kings and seventy-two bands of rebels, who knew how many were spokesmen for aristocratic clans.
After Wang Bo wrote “Song Against Dying Pointlessly in Liaodong,” he became obscure. When he encountered Zhang Xutuo, he was chased and scattered everywhere, finally dying at the hands of enemies. After that, countless aristocratic clans took the stage, such as the Guanlong Li family. They pacified Guanzhong in one week. To say that Li Er’s family hadn’t made extensive preparations beforehand—Yun Ye wouldn’t believe it even if beaten to death.
Habitually lifting the teapot lid, the tea room attendant filled the Minister’s pot with hot water and withdrew with a bow. Before leaving, he also carefully closed the door. The tea room attendant came from the Yun family, so naturally knew the Marquis was very sensitive to cold and was therefore extremely careful.
Yun Ye had just turned a page when he heard the door bang open. Cold wind swept in fallen leaves along with the person entering.
No need to look—the only person who could enter Yun Ye’s room like this was Li Tai. After recuperating for half a year, this fellow had become fat again. He wheezed through his nose, huffing and puffing as he wedged his massive posterior into a chair, grabbed Yun Ye’s teapot, took a satisfying sip, and said, “Hypatia wants to go west. Are you confident you can guarantee her safety?”
Yun Ye’s eyes didn’t leave his book as he spoke, “When we went to sea back then, I wasn’t the only one. Didn’t you go too? We brothers nearly got incinerated by a volcano. All sorts of strange things happen at sea. Who dares guarantee her safety? Can’t this woman settle down? She ran to His Majesty herself requesting to be chief scholar of the southbound fleet. Unfortunately, she has the qualifications, His Majesty agreed, and the matter is set in stone with no way to change it. Unless you have the ability to persuade her to give up, she’s definitely going to make this journey.”
Li Tai reached out and snatched the book from Yun Ye’s hands, slamming it heavily on the table, saying, “She wants to go home. Who can stop her? She also says she wants to leave some master copies of her learning in Egypt as repayment for the grace of generations of Hypatias. Right now she’s in a state of complete excitement. Whoever tries to persuade her, she curses at them. She’s already purchased many books throughout the Great Tang. Of course, she’s still somewhat lucid and knows she can’t touch Yushan Academy’s collection. Now she’s frantically reciting from memory.”
Yun Ye shook his head and said, “It’s useless. The research achievements of Yushan Academy over these years aren’t something one person can memorize. Even if she worked herself to death, she couldn’t write one-thousandth of it. Plus, she studies physics. In recent years, she’s been single-mindedly researching various forces. Later, seeing you were pitiful, she helped you research airplanes. Even if she takes these theoretical things to Egypt, no one will understand them.”
“Academic research requires numbers and a large core force. Quantitative change produces qualitative change. A single Hypatia in Egypt will only be treated as a madwoman. That country is currently at war. I heard Romans and Arabs are fighting in that area. Fortunately, the Great Tang’s naval power is invincible. As long as they guard against pirates in the Red Sea, they can travel unobstructed on the ocean. So you don’t need to worry she’ll stay in Egypt and not return. There’s no longer any soil for her survival there.”
Li Tai shook his head and said, “Hypatia won’t stay in Egypt. After many years of marriage, I still have that much confidence. I just don’t want Hui’er’s mother to have an accident at sea. In that case, life would be very dull.”
Yun Ye looked at Li Tai strangely and said, “This kind of talk emphasizing deep affection and righteousness—this is the first time I’ve heard it from a member of the imperial family. Right now, you really don’t resemble an imperial family member.”
Li Tai smiled bitterly and said, “I’m a prince, and Prince Wei of the first rank under royal titles at that. Ever since my father was Prince Qin, Prince Wei has been the most noble title. How do I not resemble the imperial family? Should imperial families all be heartless and disloyal people? Look at Xiao You and Xiao An—each guards one wife and lives their lives splendidly. Your sister Xiao Ya isn’t some peerless beauty, and when Xiao An fooled around with a singing girl for two days, he was thoroughly beaten by your chief disciple. Although that singing girl was brought into Prince Shu’s residence, only heaven knows whether that woman’s bones have already turned to mud.”
Yun Ye smiled and said, “Yun family women aren’t easy to marry. They should have been psychologically prepared long ago. Regretting now—it’s too late!” As he spoke, he pulled a massive sea chart from his desk and spread it on the table, saying to Li Tai, “Look, actually sailing west from the South China Sea is much safer than sailing east from the East China Sea. The South Sea trade routes have already reached Egypt at their farthest. Some people who don’t fear death have even sailed all the way to the ancestral land of the Kunlun slaves. The Kunlun slaves being sold now come from that area. However, they stopped at the Storm Sea and didn’t continue forward. I heard the sea surface there has strong winds and fierce waves. Many people say that’s already the edge of heaven.”
Speaking to this point, Yun Ye smiled mysteriously at Li Tai and said, “Actually, that’s an illusion. As long as they have the courage to cross that Storm Sea, they can reach the other side of the Kunlun slaves’ ancestral land. There’s an entirely new world there. Crossing the Storm Sea is the South Sea fleet’s greatest test. After passing that point, it will be calm.”
Li Tai slumped decadently in his chair and said, “So it’s very dangerous?”
“Of course it’s dangerous. If you can get Hypatia a diplomatic envoy title, she’ll have to remain in Egypt to deal with the Romans. With our Great Tang navy’s formidable military might, the Romans will definitely give Hypatia extremely high courtesy. Didn’t that Roman envoy come to the Great Tang last year, hoping to sandwich the Arabs from east and west? He still hasn’t left. We’ll just make a verbal promise. When Hypatia goes to Egypt, this fellow can be put to use, using his mouth to spread the Great Tang’s prosperity and power to those people. This way, as long as Hypatia crosses Egypt by land, she can wait on the other side of the continent for the South Sea fleet. In this way, your wife will have an eighty percent chance of returning alive.”
Li Tai nodded indifferently and said, “Promising the Romans to sandwich them isn’t a big deal. Giving Hypatia a state letter also isn’t anything significant. I’ll go settle this right away. I also need you to find some soldiers familiar with firearms to accompany Hypatia. Otherwise, I won’t be at ease. Those damned Egyptians actually wanted Hypatia to fight lions. By the way, doesn’t your Ministry of War have plans to campaign against Egypt? If so, you’d better start now. If we conquer Egypt, there’ll be no danger when Hypatia goes. That way, wherever she goes will be under Great Tang rule.”
Yun Ye rolled his eyes at Li Tai. There was no talking to this military ignoramus. Look how far Egypt is from the Great Tang. Even if the Emperor had a mental lapse and agreed to dispatch troops to attack, Yun Ye would strenuously oppose it. Exhausting the army with distant campaigns—that was the path to death!
Seeing the Ministry of War had no other business, Yun Ye left with Li Tai to pay respects to Zhangsun. The Empress had recently caught a slight cold and was somewhat unwell. They might as well visit her together.
When they saw Zhangsun at Liangyi Hall, she was sitting on the bed wrapped in blankets. In the past, Yun Ye couldn’t see Zhangsun’s inner palace. The palace had many protocols. Now, as Zhangsun’s age had advanced—she was already fifty-one—those rules had almost no binding force on the Empress anymore. That’s why Yun Ye could go straight to the inner palace without taboo.
Every time he saw Li Zhi lying in front of the Empress’s bed playing with a ball, Li Tai’s mood wouldn’t be good. Especially when he saw Zhangsun sitting on the bed, coughing lightly while intermittently accompanying Li Zhi in idle chatter—he really wanted to kick Li Zhi flying with one foot.
“If you don’t like seeing Xiao Zhi, then get out!” Having just answered Li Zhi’s boring question in a soft voice, Zhangsun turned viciously on Li Tai and Yun Ye.
It was exactly like this. Mothers always fiercely protected their weakest sons. Very often, a mother’s vitality depended on her children’s and grandchildren’s strength. If there were no concerns in her heart, she would die easily. If she had concerns in her heart, their life force would become surprisingly tenacious.