“The great torrent of worldly affairs surges mightily onward—those who follow it prosper, while those who resist it perish!”
“Commercial taxes now account for seventy percent of the Great Tang’s total revenue. This is the prevailing trend, and no matter how stubbornly Zhangsun Wuji persists, it will be to no avail. The state needs money for support, and officials need money to display their wealth. With Zhangsun Wuji swimming against the current, I’m afraid even his own allies won’t stand for it. Every household has merchants, and they’ve probably been quite dissatisfied with the profits their merchants have been paying all these years, haven’t they?”
“Chu Suiliang is also a talented individual—there’s no reason he can’t see through these matters. His Majesty the Emperor is sitting back waiting for the volcano to erupt. As a master of political maneuvering, His Majesty surely understands that only when a third party enters the fray can he navigate both sides with ease and expand his advantage to the fullest. While His Majesty currently holds absolute authority in the Great Tang, he’s deliberately downplaying his presence, hoping to discover patterns in future court changes from these subtle traces and thus control them.”
“Now the merchants have appeared, reaching out to His Majesty for power—or at least for the right to participate in formulating commercial laws. This time, He Shao will succeed. I’ve told him long ago that without bloodshed and sacrifice, trying to fight for rights is nothing but a pipe dream.”
“How His Majesty obtained his power, you and I both know clearly. How Zhangsun Wuji obtained his power, you and I also know. As for my power, I also seized it from mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Reaping without sowing simply won’t work—no one will generously hand over their power. I’m unwilling to do so either.”
Li Tai threw away the mutton bone in his hand and looked at the towering Motian Cliff before him, saying: “I don’t like disputes, so I simply came to Jinniu Road to meet you. My eldest brother can handle things himself. He’s also very interested in the merchants. This time, by pushing the merchants to reach for power, the benefits he’ll gain must be quite substantial. This is the first time in three years that he’s clearly supported any particular group.”
In a sun-facing mountain valley, Yun Ye and Li Tai sat facing each other before a charcoal fire, their bodies wrapped entirely in fur robes. Yun Ye placed the lamb leg over the fire to roast it, using a knife to slice off the outer layer of charred, golden skin, then contentedly put it in his mouth to chew.
“You’re in no hurry to return either. Wait until the dust settles before going back. Let’s go hunting in the Qinling Mountains. Now that we’re getting older, there isn’t much fun to be had—we can only shoot a couple of rabbits to vent our feelings.”
Yun Ye watched Li Tai fiddling with his top-grade imperial crossbow and sighed: “Your wife ran off, which has nothing to do with me. Besides, you don’t only have one wife—you have at least seven or eight more at home. Anyway, since you have nothing better to do, go find them. I plan to sleep well for two days at Motian Cliff. I’ve been in a bad mood lately and haven’t been able to sleep well. Now that I have the chance, sleeping like an idiot for three days straight is the proper thing to do. If you want to hunt, go by yourself—I’m not interested.”
After Yun Ye finished speaking, he tightened his fur robe and had his retainers prepare a tent. In this picturesque location, having a good sleep was one of life’s great pleasures. Chaotic Chang’an was completely unsuitable to return to right now—he’d be caught by Li Er and interrogated about this and that.
Li Tai shouted a couple of times, but seeing that Yun Ye had ducked into the tent without even looking back, he also felt quite bored. With a flick of his finger, his triple-shot crossbow bolts flew with a buzzing sound and embedded themselves in a pine tree, frightening the squirrel on the tree to leap and scurry onto another pine.
The noisy imperial court and the tranquil Motian Ridge formed two extremes.
Beyond Motian Ridge lay the road into Guanzhong—there was only one path here, the sole route connecting Sichuan and Guanzhong.
When the morning sunlight penetrated the cold mist and shone on the road, Yun Ye sat on a large roadside stone holding a book. The dew had already soaked the book in his hands until it was somewhat damp, and the ink on the cover had smudged and spread. It was a copy of “Han Feizi.” By the time the sound of caravan bells came from the mountains, Yun Ye’s fur robe was also covered with dewdrops. He had been standing here for nearly a full hour.
The bells on the horses’ necks rang unhurriedly, but Yun Ye’s heart became very fervent. When the person riding the lead horse at the front of the caravan raised their hood, a devastatingly beautiful face was revealed.
“O fairy maiden of the snow mountains, I greet the honorable Marquis. May your blessings flow endlessly like a great river!”
Yun Ye glanced at the book in his hand and said: “How did you become a Tibetan princess consort? That Han Zhe fellow really is unscrupulous—he actually married you off to a ten-year-old child?”
Hearing the commotion, Li Tai also poked his head out from the tent. After a glance, his eyes immediately lit up, and his appetite for gossip greatly increased. So this Yun Ye fellow wasn’t honest either—he was keeping such an absolutely beautiful mistress outside. As brothers, he absolutely had to appreciate her and see what his brother’s taste was like.
“Greetings to Prince Wei!” Before Li Tai could introduce himself, the beauty proactively bowed to him. In his shock, he discovered that this woman was indeed stunningly gorgeous—porcelain-white skin, features like a painting, plus an ethereal temperament. No wonder she could bewitch Yun Ye into forgetting the several wives he had at home.
“Haha, sister-in-law, there’s no need for such formality. We’re in the wilderness, and we’re all family here—no need for ceremony. All these years, this brother of mine has kept you outside, rarely able to see you—it’s really been hard on you. But now it’s good—since you’re going to Chang’an, that means you can enter the family household. Don’t worry, sister-in-law Xinyue is extremely kind and absolutely won’t let you suffer any grievance…”
Yun Ye and Chi’er looked at the loose-lipped Li Tai as if looking at an idiot. Only after he finally finished his nonsense did Yun Ye say: “This lady is a Tibetan princess consort, and also Han Zhe’s younger sister. You met her years ago.”
“A Tibetan princess consort? The Tibetan king Gungsong Gungtsen is only ten years old—where would such a grown wife come from? Don’t try to fool me. Even if you’ve taken a mistress, it’s not such a big deal. My brother is a heroic figure—being matched with this beauty is perfectly complementary.”
“She’s also a saint of the Divine Cult. Aren’t you afraid of being punished by the immortals for saying such things?” Yun Ye helplessly explained to Li Tai.
Chi’er stood there with a smile, her pretty face nestled in the bright red fox fur, appearing even more alluringly beautiful.
Li Tai inadvertently caught sight of the war horses behind Chi’er. He walked over and examined the gold-inlaid horse gear, then returned to Yun Ye’s side and said: “Is she really a Tibetan princess consort?”
“Indeed she is!”
“What does she want with you? Why has she appeared in Sichuan? Were you staying here just to wait for her?”
“That’s right. Songtsen Gampo is dead, and Gar Tongtsen now monopolizes all power. Some time ago, he even conquered Nepal and entered Tianzhu, earning the Tibetan people’s acclaim as the War God. If Gungsong Gungtsen doesn’t find some external allies, he’ll probably soon be killed by Gar Tongtsen. So what’s wrong with marrying such a great beauty as his wife?”
Li Tai awkwardly cupped his hands toward Pang Chi’er, then pulled Yun Ye aside and said: “It seems Han Zhe isn’t exactly a good person either, and his sister probably can’t be counted as a good person. Gungsong Gungtsen’s days must be very difficult. Your secretly receiving foreign vassals like this doesn’t seem to follow proper protocol either!”
“What have I done? I only need to secretly bring her into Chang’an and let her see His Majesty. As for engaging in conspiracies and schemes, you know I’m not very good at that. But your father and your uncle are absolute masters at it.”
“I knew that meritorious officials generally don’t have good endings. An emperor like my father is truly rare in history! I don’t care about your messy affairs, but what does the Great Tang want with Tibet’s snowy plateau? Our people can’t even go up there. My father and the others won’t do things without benefit, and right now my father is keeping a very tight grip on money and the military.”
“Come on, His Majesty dreams of killing Gar Tongtsen right now. No matter who holds power in Tibet, none are as fearsome as Gar Tongtsen in power. He’d love nothing more than to have someone else take over. Think about it—with Gar Tongtsen and Han Zhe killing people in Tibet until heads roll and smoke fills the air, who most wants to see such a scene?”
“Seems like it’s my father! But the Tibetan people have no reason not to see such a crisis, right? Would they easily let the Great Tang pick up the advantages?”
“When competing for power, who cares about Tibet’s survival? You’re not unaware that Han Zhe is a madman. Although he seems very intelligent and wise now, I’m telling you, that fellow is a madman—a madman to his very bones. If one day that fellow decides to kill all the Tibetan people, I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
Li Tai nodded happily and urged Yun Ye: “Then hurry up and negotiate. We’ll pack up and return to Chang’an immediately. Four hundred-some miles—riding fast horses, we can get back in three to five days.”
Yun Ye really had no way to deal with Li Tai’s childlike mentality. The fellow’s state of mind was exactly like this now. With his wife having run off to sea and facing danger at any moment, in order to live more easily, he simplified everything, not wanting to sink into endless contemplation.
He also hadn’t seen Pang Chi’er for many years. This woman seemed not to have changed much—the passage of time hadn’t made her face mature but rather increasingly captivating. Her attendants were all Tibetan people, and several colorfully dressed Tibetan maidservants took very thorough care of her. When those Tibetan men saw Pang Chi’er, their eyes revealed not the appreciation men show women, nor the respect shown to superiors, but rather they regarded this woman as a deity. Indeed, the title of Divine King Han Zhe had long been deeply rooted in the heart of every Tibetan person on the snowy plateau.
“How is Xiao Wu?”
Yun Ye and Pang Chi’er walked side by side on the mountain slope. When he suddenly heard her ask about Xiao Wu, he couldn’t help but smile bitterly and say: “You be careful. Xiao Wu’s temper is very bad now. You embarrassed her back then, and she’s held a grudge about it ever since. When you get to Chang’an, it’s better not to meet her. I’m worried she’ll hack you to death!”
Pang Chi’er smiled charmingly, arranged her long hair, and said to Yun Ye: “Living my life until now, what I remember most fondly are the two years I spent at the academy. My conflict with Xiao Wu was just a small friction from our youth. I’ve heard she’s long since become a mother now. I’d very much like to see if her child is as fierce and aggressive as she was.”
“Xiao Wu isn’t fierce and aggressive—she’s a very intelligent child. Having been tempered for many years now, she’s become even more composed. You and she are evenly matched opponents!”