Zhangsun and Chi’er walked side by side along the edge of Taiye Pool. In the distance was the spring-filled greenhouse. Yun Ye held a large stack of documents, craning his neck waiting for Zhangsun. These were all things that needed to be approved as soon as possible. Getting things done early, he still needed to go home and send Yun Shou to take up his post in Yuezhou. There was a pile of family matters at home. Spending all his time on official business was really not worthwhile.
Taiye Pool had already frozen solid. Who knew what was so interesting there? The two women wearing fur robes seemed very interested in the ice and snow, always circling around the pool. Yun Ye’s toes had already gone numb from the cold.
Finally, when Zhangsun turned around, he quickly said: “Your Majesty, here are many documents that require your review and approval.”
Zhangsun glanced at Yun Ye and smiled, saying to Chi’er: “Look, the world’s hustle and bustle is all for fame and profit. You’re for your doctrine of happiness, your elder brother is for the dignity of deities, His Majesty is for all the people under heaven. As for Yun Ye, he’s worried about his several subordinates.”
“This is also quite good. With whatever ability one has, one worries accordingly. If everyone in the world were like this, it wouldn’t be bad—each keeping to their duties, each minding their own business, muddling through life in a confused way is also fine. But in this world, there are always a few clear-minded people, a few people unwilling to live step by step. For instance, Gar Tongtsen is one such person.”
“Gunpowder relates to the Great Tang’s security—it’s the foundation of this country, a weapon of the state. Such a Tai’e sword cannot be held in others’ hands. Otherwise, the Great Tang would be alarmed three times a day. Gunpowder does not leave Great Tang territory—this is the court’s prohibition. Even His Majesty the Emperor of our dynasty cannot allow gunpowder to flow out without authorization. So your request for gunpowder, this palace truly finds difficult to grant.”
“As for having the garrison at Songzhou withdraw three hundred li, this is even more difficult to grant. Great Tang soldiers, unless defeated, will not withdraw from their defense zones. On this point, there’s almost no room for negotiation, because asking the soldiers there to retreat would be tantamount to asking them to commit suicide.”
“Yulong Snow Mountain can be discussed. Once His Majesty returns to the capital, we can give you a definite reply. Yaozhou and Rongzhou both belong to Jiannan East Circuit. Commissioner Li Daozong will also return to the capital in a month to report on his duties. At that time, there should be a comprehensive plan regarding Tibet. Therefore, you need to stay in Chang’an for two months.”
“This palace has already sent your requests to Jiucheng Palace three hundred li away by eight-hundred-li express. In just two days, there will be news. Since you’ve already come to Chang’an, don’t be anxious. Tour Chang’an’s customs and culture more. Presumably, you also need to visit many teachers from Yushan Academy. Having come down from the snowy plateau, properly recuperating your body would also be good.”
Chi’er smiled and bowed her thanks, saying to Zhangsun: “Whether or not we have the Great Tang’s support, the city in the sky must be built. Whether or not we have the Great Tang’s support, the Tibetan King needs to obtain real power and not become a puppet. This junior will now take her leave and quietly await His Majesty’s good news. There’s one point I must make clear to the Empress: only by sowing seeds in spring will there be a bountiful harvest in autumn. I have never heard of getting something for nothing in this world. Waiting by a tree stump for rabbits can happen once, but not twice.”
Zhangsun smiled in agreement, but displeasure had slowly surfaced on her face. Since the world’s assault on Tang, Li Er and Zhangsun generally no longer concealed their expressions, especially toward foreign envoys. The biggest reason was there was no need to.
Now what the border generals liked to hear most was that the Son of Heaven was angry. Once the Son of Heaven was angry, they would say this was the time when a humiliated lord meant death for his subjects. Then a large group of soldiers and generals would swarm into other people’s countries to burn, kill, and plunder. Then they would memorialize the Emperor saying they had already punished the disloyal territory, and finally would hopefully ask the Emperor if he wanted them to capture kings and kill generals! They had their blades all ready…
Once Chi’er left the imperial palace, Zhangsun immediately erupted like a volcano. With one slap, she knocked all the memorials from Yun Ye’s hands, pointed at Yun Ye’s nose, and began scolding.
“Why didn’t you mention such a major matter earlier? Tell me, have you and Han Zhe and this Pang Chi’er been colluding all along? Since you already had a plan in mind, why didn’t you memorialize from the start? Do you know what kind of crime this is?”
“These years, we’ve been lax in disciplining you. Your tail is already raised to the sky. You like to act on your own authority in everything. Don’t you know what consequences would result if such a seductive woman saw His Majesty?”
“Since you like acting on your own authority so much, then solve everything yourself and stop asking me for help!”
These weren’t the words of an empress scolding a minister. They sounded more like a mother reproaching her disobedient son with some angry words.
Li Tai didn’t know where he had run off to. Yun Ye looked for a long time but couldn’t find him. After Zhangsun vented her inexplicable anger, she didn’t listen to Yun Ye’s explanations and huffily returned to her Liangyi Hall.
Yun Ye picked up the memorials from the ground again and quickly followed into Liangyi Hall. He knew what the Empress was angry about. This scolding he received was quite unjust. What did the Emperor entering a garden of flowers in his old age have to do with him? The Li family was like this. Back then, at this age, Li Yuan was still giving Li Er younger siblings. This was tradition—who could reverse it?
The Tibetan matter wasn’t weighing on Zhangsun’s mind at all. If the Great Tang truly wanted to attack Tibet at any cost, with the current forces, it wasn’t impossible. As long as they attacked regardless of life and death, regardless of cost, having the army enter Lhasa wasn’t a problem. The problem was whether such a dilapidated small city as Lhasa was worth the Great Tang mobilizing troops on such a scale.
Tibet was originally a semi-agricultural, semi-nomadic people. Abandoning Lhasa and leading Tang troops around in circles on the snowy plateau would absolutely plunge the Great Tang army into a huge quagmire. When caught between advancing and retreating, that would be the empire’s disgrace.
When Zhangsun got angry, she would continuously drink tea. Watching her drink an entire pot of tea, only then did Yun Ye say quietly: “Your Majesty, this subject also didn’t know! Only after arriving in Yuezhou did I learn that Pang Chi’er had come out from Lhasa and had already reached Songzhou. This subject received an urgent military report and only then knew about this matter, so I waited at Motian Ridge.”
“My family retainer said these siblings have gone mad, doing things that have long surpassed normal people’s expectations. You also heard about that city in the sky—that’s literally piling up human lives. Being in pain themselves, they long even more for happiness. Pang Chi’er’s doctrine already has a hint of evil cult about it. Although all religions bestow great freedom and great happiness upon believers, I’ve never heard of doctrines as superficial as theirs.”
“The Tibetan plateau is easy to defend and hard to attack. Although our Great Tang has strong soldiers and horses, we cannot easily attack Tibet. First, the gains wouldn’t justify the losses. Second, under militaristic aggression, we would relax our supervision of this world, giving enemies hiding in the shadows opportunities to exploit.”
“So, Your Majesty, only the Tibetan people themselves can defeat the Tibetan people. The Tibetan people dwell in bitter cold lands with a sparse population. Add to that the extremely intense religious conflicts there and the endless tribal warfare—as long as we let them create chaos themselves, they’ll slowly kill off their own people. Think of the Three Kingdoms period—the Han population once dropped below three million. This is the terrifying aspect of civil war, because regardless of who wins or loses, those cut down and killed on the ground are all one’s own people.”
Hearing Yun Ye’s words, Zhangsun’s anger seemed to slowly subside. She said to Yun Ye: “These military and state affairs must ultimately be decided by His Majesty upon his return. During this period when His Majesty is not in Chang’an, we only need to guard Chang’an well and not let chaos break out. Jiucheng Palace isn’t far from Chang’an. Even if we report everything to His Majesty, have him decide, then transmit his edicts back for us to handle, there’s completely enough time. However, this woman cannot be seen by His Majesty.”
When saying this last sentence, Zhangsun was somewhat embarrassed and pretended to pick up the memorials Yun Ye had brought to review. After reading only two, she frowned and asked: “Why are these all Chengqian’s intentions?”
Yun Ye shrugged: “These are all documents the Chancellery brought for me to sign. Some I agreed to, some I refused. Otherwise, you would see even more.”
Zhangsun looked at the memorials and said slowly: “Qibi is one thing, but what virtue and ability does this Hezhi Changzhi have to enter the Qianniu Guard as a general? Chengqian’s considerations are truly thorough. This happens to be exactly at the limit of my approval authority—from the fifth rank! Is he trying to make me engage in favoritism?”
“Hezhi Changzhi is the son of the palace archery instructor Hezhi Chang. If you look at the attached family background, you’ll understand. However, this person can be counted as a good general. Serving as Qianniu General is more than sufficient, so this subject approved it.”
Zhangsun laughed and said: “You truly do not avoid recommending enemies! A master archer was forcibly tormented by you into becoming a bow and arrow. Although he’s now lingering in his final years, do you very much hope I’ll send him out of the palace? Aren’t you afraid of getting hit by a hidden arrow?”
Yun Ye chuckled and said: “The Yun family lent him our family’s bow and arrow to use for all these years. It’s time to take it back. Without that bow, Hezhi Chang probably has no way to shoot arrows, right?”
Zhangsun’s face darkened as she said: “Don’t be careless. In this world, there are many people with great wisdom and great perseverance. When cutting grass, don’t forget to remove the roots. Never mind. Since you recommended Hezhi Changzhi, then in these few days, let Hezhi Chang die of illness! When a person is dead versus alive, these are two different concepts.”
Li Tai emerged from somewhere, smiling as he walked to his mother’s side, biting into a huge pear. He leaned over to watch his mother review memorials, from time to time even helping with a suggestion or two.
After all the memorials were reviewed, Zhangsun patted the last memorial and said: “It seems you care even more about the ocean. This time, the two fleets are going in opposite directions. I wonder if they can achieve the original intentions. If we can thoroughly explore this world, this palace believes our Great Tang will have the right to divide the world. This is actually heavenly authority. Perhaps in some ways, we’re even more insane than Han Zhe and Pang Chi’er. I don’t know if this is fortune or misfortune.”
Yun Ye looked at those several huge screens in Liangyi Hall and said: “If heaven has ever said that the Great Tang is not permitted to divide the world, this subject would very much like to read that pronouncement.”