Since these people wanted to return, then let them return. In any case, their princely titles and such would certainly be gone. In Chang’an they might at most get to live peaceful days.
The tragedy of the Sixteen Princes was actually determined by Great Tang’s extremely selfish Western Regions policy. As early as twenty years ago, Great Tang still implemented a loose-rein policy toward the Western Regions tribes. As long as the Western Regions barbarians didn’t enter Great Tang on a large scale, that was considered acceptable. But later, Great Tang’s officials discovered that what Great Tang needed most now was population. Otherwise, the large amount of newly occupied land simply couldn’t be governed. Relying solely on Han people from Great Tang’s homeland couldn’t fill this enormous territory.
So someone proposed domestication and dilution. As long as people from the densely populated Western Regions were sent into Guanzhong, scattered and distributed into various prefectures, the final result would be that these barbarians would be minorities wherever they were.
Great Tang was a strict clan-based society. Lone barbarians, no matter where they were, could only live obediently and properly. This discovery delighted officials in Lingnan and the Two Lakes regions. They began slowly accepting those barbarians from distant places, granting them household registration.
Gradually the Western Regions population became sparse. Kucha, Khotan, and many other city-states had gradually been covered by wind and sand. The only better place was Gaochang where the Beiting Protectorate was located. A magnificent temple appeared there, making the people there never want to leave the majestic Kunlun snow mountains.
If this continued, all that would remain in the Western Regions would be the Sixteen Princes and their children and servants…
Yushan Academy had also encountered this awkwardness. A blond, blue-eyed barbarian, speaking fluent Guanzhong dialect and holding his Sanyuan County household registration, demanded to participate in the academy’s grand examination. This greatly troubled the Ministry of Rites, because the court had already promulgated a decree in the sixth year of Zhenguan: “Uyghur tribes in the capital shall each wear their own clothing and shall not imitate Han people.”
The academy’s educational philosophy was that as long as one was a Tang person, there would be teaching without discrimination. That is to say, as long as you were a Tang person, whether beggar or prostitute, you could apply to Yushan Academy. But the academy also had a strict prohibition: “The wisdom of Yushan belongs to Great Tang and shall not be transmitted abroad!”
So, the barbarian holding household registration had already proven he was a Tang person, but his unusual appearance destined him not to be Han. This wracked the brains of the Ministry of Rites and the academy. Finally, Master Li Gang made the decisive statement: “This person holds Great Tang household registration, thus he is a Tang person. The foundation of education lies in cultivating people. Accepting our Han-Tang rites and dress, receiving the sage’s teachings—this makes one a Tang person.”
With this determination, these past few years the academy had quite a few bearded, blue-eyed barbarians. Among them, the earliest, Tu Midu, was already serving as staff officer of the Hanhai Protectorate. The Ministry of Revenue also had many barbarian students filling positions like registrar. Eventually, even Li Er’s Qianniu Guard had barbarian figures.
Li Er was extremely proud. In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, he abolished all barbarian-Han policies. In his view, Great Tang was the “sunshine zone” in the hearts of righteous people and men of purpose from all countries of the world. Outstanding talents from various nations risked their lives to run to the Tang Empire. Foreign diplomatic envoys from countries around the world, after seeing the Tang Empire’s extreme prosperity and civilization, found their own countries in their hearts no different from uncivilized “primitive forests,” so they didn’t want to return and tried every means to stay.
They neither worried that Tang people going abroad would forget their roots and ancestors, nor worried that foreigners entering would usurp the host’s role. This point alone demonstrated the Zhenguan Dynasty’s supreme confidence, deeply believing their country was the most civilized and prosperous land in the world, not worried about being submerged by foreign culture.
Li Er’s policy was extremely successful. Today’s Great Tang Chang’an was a capital of ten thousand nations. People of all hair colors could find their own place in this great city.
Regarding the matter of the Sixteen Princes, Zhangsun had no authority to decide. She reported it to the Emperor, but the Emperor kicked this ball to the Grand Master of Imperial Clan Affairs. When Yun Ye went to the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs to receive orders, the news he got made his very teeth ache with cold.
“The Sixteen Princes shall return to their fiefs and share the fate of their domains. They shall not leave without authorization!”
Yun Ye held the memorial looking at Li Xiu, Li Shentong’s eldest son. He was now the Grand Master of the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs. After hesitating for a long time, he said to Li Xiu: “Junior shouldn’t speak too much, but helplessly, the Sixteen Princes have already abandoned their Western Regions fiefs. Returning now, their subjects have already scattered—how can they support their families? Moreover, the group includes many elderly and weak. Regardless of whether their actions followed proper procedure, they’re all our relatives. There’s no need to force them all onto a dead-end road, right? Rather than driving them all back to the Western Regions, better to execute them all in Lanzhou. Junior thinks that would be easier. Why must things be done so absolutely?”
Li Xiu looked at Yun Ye coldly and said, “You’re also imperial clan. You understand the principle of dynastic rule. Since they initially wanted to establish themselves independently and expand territory, as clansmen we equipped them with weapons and manpower. Now, completely defeated, they want to return and enjoy ready-made benefits. Little do they know, every inch of Great Tang’s territory was gained through bloody battle. The Li family won’t raise fools who only know to beg. If the imperial clan wants to flourish eternally, it must constantly prune branches and trim leaves. If my descendants prove worthless in future, this old man won’t show mercy either. If you dare plead again, family law won’t be lenient!”
Yun Ye had been disciplined at the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs more than once or twice. Thinking of those monsters there, better not offend them. But such a document really couldn’t be issued. Once stamped with the Ministry of War seal, the Sixteen Princes would immediately be sent back to the Western Regions by the army. In the desolate, uninhabited fiefs with only the imperial clan present, these fellows who neither labored nor understood farming would probably be starved to death alive. Yun Ye almost didn’t dare imagine such a tragic scene.
Holding the order, he went to find Zhangsun. Zhangsun reclined on a soft couch, eating cherries. Eating this in the dead of winter could only mean Yang Fei’s greenhouse had new produce.
Zhangsun spat out a cherry pit and glanced at the yellow-papered document in Yun Ye’s hand, asking casually, “Has the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs already reached a judgment?”
“The Sixteen Princes shall return to their fiefs and share the fate of their domains. They shall not leave without authorization!” Yun Ye repeated the document’s content to Zhangsun.
“The inner palace also erupted. Many consorts knelt in Liangyi Hall refusing to rise. What kind of conduct is this? Liangyi Hall constantly has officials in audience. A group of consorts kneeling there is unseemly. Just now I ordered eunuchs and palace maids to carry them all back. How to handle this, the court has its own laws. When can consorts interfere in government?”
Zhangsun was deflecting, just not saying what to do. It seemed her disgust for the Sixteen Princes went to her very bones. Seeing Yun Ye remain silent and not leave, she finally sighed: “You’re just soft-hearted. I want to see whether your Yun family will prune branches and trim leaves when the time comes. A tree that’s too luxuriantly branched and leafy isn’t good either. One must prune away some withered branches and dead leaves. Otherwise the tree will grow crooked or have no chance to advance further.”
“The Sixteen Princes plus attendants—over eight thousand people. I can’t harden my heart that much either. But to overturn the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs’ judgment requires His Majesty, as clan chief, to speak. I think we’ll do this—you send the document to Jiucheng Palace. Consider it giving the Sixteen Princes another chance. As for success or failure, it depends on how His Majesty decides.”
Yun Ye smiled. Indeed, this was the Zhangsun in his heart. Though appearing to extremely follow rules, the tenderness and kindness belonging to women had never ceased.
Since the Empress ordered the document sent to Jiucheng Palace, the Empress was actually already pleading for the Sixteen Princes. If still unsuccessful, the Emperor would personally send the document to Longyou to be executed personally by the Left Militant Guard. However, Yun Ye thought the Sixteen Princes could probably return to Chang’an. Though scolding by Li Er was unavoidable, no matter what, it was better than being sent to the Western Regions to starve to death.
After returning to the Ministry of War, Yun Ye dispatched the document by eight-hundred-li express. It should reach the Emperor’s hands by evening. When he sat alone in the main hall pondering the entire course of events, Yun Ye suddenly discovered he’d overlooked one person—this person was He Shao, who’d made a huge fortune in the Western Regions!
The Sixteen Princes had hardly any subjects left under them—how did this fellow maintain large-scale petroleum extraction and manufacturing? Li Yuangui’s wife was from the Wei clan. There was no reason Wei Shuyu, serving as East Pavilion Censor, would say nothing. The entire Western Regions situation suddenly became confusing before Yun Ye. What exactly was the condition there?
Merchants had money and people. Princes had troops but had to watch merchants’ faces? Unless merchants could become powerful enough that princes dared not offend them. Yun Ye smiled bitterly. That bastard He Shao was truly daring. Actually joining with Han Zhe and Xi Tong, he’d forcibly driven away the Sixteen Princes. Did he really think the Western Regions was their world?
The Anxi Protectorate, Beiting Protectorate, plus the Hanhai Protectorate—these border armies had also reached the time to stir. As long as Xue Rengui sent troops from Kucha, Xi Tong could only retreat, running as far as possible. Xue Rengui wasn’t Yun Ye who could show leniency to his subordinates. Xue Rengui, encountering bandits, always swiftly annihilated them.
Only now did Yun Ye understand that the merchants’ actions this time had such far-reaching significance. Not only seeking their own interests in the court, they also planned to establish their own local power in the distant Western Regions. Who did they think they were? Who would allow separatist tendencies to appear in Great Tang? Feng Ang establishing his own kingdom in Taiwan—even Li Er had to forcefully mix in several handfuls of sand. You bunch of merchants thought officials in the court were too simple!
Yun Ye thought merchants seeking power was fine, but wanting to possess territory they could actually control—this wouldn’t do. The day merchants became incomparably powerful, the Western Regions would become a source of chaos. This wasn’t permitted, even if the actual operator was He Shao. In the distant West, there was a city called Venice—a city-state formed by merchants, once incomparably powerful. They could even build a glorious city on water. Yun Ye didn’t doubt that Great Tang’s merchants, countless times more powerful than them, could definitely establish a glorious city-state in the desert too.
As Yun Ye finished writing his memorial, he seemed to see He Shao’s heartbroken wailing! This was also good. One person couldn’t grasp everything in their hands—that way easily bred ambition.