From sunrise to sunset, they had traveled less than fifty li. This was the Camel City’s greatest weakness. To rescue Guo Xiaoke by traveling like this would require a full forty days.
The current situation had become very clear. The Western Region people, the Turks, and the Tubo people’s objective was to destroy the Great Tang. But in the first instance, they hadn’t gained any advantage. The Great Tang wasn’t merely defending either. Cheng Yaojin’s great army had already rapidly advanced to Dafeichuan, attacking cities and seizing fortifications along the way as swift as raging fire. At Jiuqu Ridge, they slew the Tubo Kalon Jin Zhu in battle. A great fire burned Shan City (Xining) to bare ground. Only after encountering epidemic disease did they have no choice but to withdraw the great army to the mountain pass, confronting Songtsen Gampo at Dafeichuan. Although Songtsen Gampo had repeatedly explained to Cheng Yaojin that the attack on Shazhou was carried out by great Tubo clans, that he himself had little control over the tribes of northern Tibet, and had dispatched envoys to the capital wanting to explain Tubo’s complex current situation.
Emperor Li Er’s understated single sentence closed all doors and windows to peace talks: “The Tubo people can initiate war, but wanting to stop the war requires my consent!”
Li Jing’s great army had already emerged from Yumen Pass. Constructing fortifications at Dushan Ridge, they had already dispatched scouts to Luanshi City, preparing to attack the Tubo vanguard forces in a pincer movement with Xu Jingzong from front and back.
Zhang Liang was madly conducting inhumane massacres along the coasts of Silla and Baekje. Wherever the naval marines went, both people and livestock were exterminated. At one point, they harassed Hanzhou City along the Han River. Queen Seondeok of Silla had no choice but to move her palace to Ungjin City. Even in such a critical situation, Queen Seondeok didn’t withdraw the troops currently engaged in great battle with Zhang Jian. She knew clearly that once this attack on Tang failed, what awaited her would be terrifying punishment indeed.
The most troublesome were the Shiwei and Mohe people. These savages covered entirely in animal skins, wielding stone axes, came howling out from the mountain forests. They fought with extreme ferocity. Years of dealing with harsh survival environments had forged iron-like physiques. Qibi struggled to cope with these elusive savages and had no choice but to repeatedly reconstruct new defensive lines.
In Li Er’s heart, it was as if a raging fire burned. Domestic construction had only progressed a small portion before he had no choice but to hastily shift the focus of his policies from civil affairs to military matters. It sounded very easy to say, but only he himself knew how great a loss the Great Tang had actually suffered.
Every time Li Er reviewed the Ministry of Finance’s reports, his fury intensified by one degree. Rivers, canals, roads, reservoirs, city fortifications, bridges—even the canal had all stopped construction. Large amounts of money were withdrawn from these places and flowed toward military manufacturing and the purchase of various military supplies. He had transferred thirty percent of the inner treasury’s wealth but still couldn’t satisfy military needs. Since ancient times, waging war meant fighting over money and grain. Only the Great Tang in this world could simultaneously supply combat operations on five fronts without having to impoverish the nation through exhaustive searches.
“Bonds?” Li Er finally discovered a different memorial among the large pile of troublesome memorials. Flipping to the first page to look at the signature, it bore Di Renjie’s name. He had very favorable impressions of this young man, which was why he had shown leniency to this youngster when handling the Daixian Ward fire incident.
“Now the whole world attacks Tang, beacon fires rise on all borders, and treasury supply has become increasingly difficult. Our Great Tang has reached the point where we need to make changes. Your subject believes this war is a life-or-death struggle that will certainly persist for a long time. For our Great Tang to achieve final victory, we must first ensure sufficient state funds. Now domestic construction projects have all stopped. The Ministry of Finance has reached the critical moment of eating next year’s grain. Your humble subject believes that among our Great Tang’s populace, there is private wealth. The court need only issue some bonds and can naturally weather these few years…”
Li Er pulled out a bank draft from the memorial. This bank draft had already been altered—the two characters for “bank draft” had been changed to the two characters for “national debt.” The wording “exchange for ten silver coins” had been changed to “exchange for twelve silver coins after three years.” Below was also added the purchaser’s identity and information.
Li Er continuously examined this so-called bond, finally setting it aside and sighing: “Has it come to the point where I must borrow money from my subjects to support the nation’s fortunes?”
Leaving the desk, Li Er once again gazed toward the beacon tower on Longshou Plateau. There was also warfare in the South Seas now, but it didn’t matter, did it? The Great Emperor was there. With it commanding the South Seas, why would the Dashi people still come to stir up trouble? Could it be that my Great Tang also obstructs you?
Until warfare ceased, the beacon smoke would not stop for a single day. This was the regulation in the legal codes, intended to remind the emperor never to forget that he was in the midst of peril.
“Your Majesty, Consort Yang requests that you go to the greenhouse to relax. The banana tree that Her Ladyship transplanted has actually bloomed this year. This is an auspicious omen. Consort Yang has specially prepared several dishes and wine in the greenhouse, requesting Your Majesty to share a cup with her.”
Duan Hong emerged from the side hall. With great difficulty seeing that the Emperor had become idle, he quickly came forward to report.
“Very well, I shall go there now. However, banana trees blooming is merely an ordinary matter, hardly worth calling auspicious. It’s been quite a while since I’ve gone there—drinking a cup of wine would be good. Go invite the Empress and Consort Yin to come together.”
Wherever the Emperor went, Duan Hong followed. Walking along Taiye Pool, enjoying the gentle cool breeze, seeing the green lotus leaves spread across the lotus pond with flower buds already emerging from the water, butterflies fluttering gracefully among the flowers—only then did Li Er discover that summer had unknowingly arrived.
He couldn’t help but stop his steps and say to Duan Hong: “State affairs are difficult. I have actually already missed so many beautiful things. Yuan Shoucheng sent a letter saying he has already found the land of immortals, seen snow dragons, seen spirits about to become human, seen divine might like a prison, and also seen legendary giant beasts. According to him, the Daoist school is already preparing to build a divine palace in Beiting to worship the Queen Mother of the West, wanting to cultivate there, hoping one day to attain the Dao and become immortal.”
“Hehe, what of attaining the Dao and becoming immortal? What of splendor covering the earth? Am I not still busy to the point of darkness, unaware of cold or heat? The outside world is so wonderful, yet I have no leisure to appreciate it. Duan Hong, in a few years, you too should go be carefree like Wu She. This imperial palace confining me alone is sufficient.”
Hearing the Emperor speak so miserably, Duan Hong shed tears alongside him, saying: “Your Majesty must never think this way. You still have loyal officers and soldiers fighting abroad, diligent ministers governing domestically. The ladies are all virtuous and accomplished. Your Majesty even more so encompasses all under heaven, with威名 spreading far. This slave is unwilling to leave Your Majesty’s side. Serving Your Majesty until heaven and earth grow old is this slave’s heartfelt wish.”
“Hahaha, it’s just talk. I saw the summer flowers in brilliant bloom and had a momentary feeling. Come, I’ll go see how Consort Yang managed to make the banana tree bloom—even the Yun family doesn’t have this skill!”
Li Er never seemed to lack ambitious aspirations. Although momentarily falling into low spirits, in an instant he transformed into an emperor dominating all under heaven. The troubles brought to him by the world attacking Tang were immediately cast far behind. He indeed hadn’t seen Consort Yang for quite some time. If today’s time permitted, staying overnight with her wouldn’t be bad. She was just idle and bored, which was why she fiddled with flowers and plants. When women became idle, they created idle matters. Li Er felt that giving her another child was also quite a good idea.
Xinyue finished organizing the household accounts and also received the steward from the merchant caravan returning from the Western Region. Hearing that the Western Region’s situation had greatly changed, she instead lacked the panic of before. She only became increasingly strict when enforcing family law. Since the male head of the household was campaigning abroad, Xinyue declined all visitors. Leading Lingdang, she busily attended to household affairs inside and out.
Summer harvest was about to begin. By the end of the fifth month, the wheat had already turned yellow, and the rice had also lowered its grain heads. Agricultural affairs in Guanzhong dared not be delayed. Once heavy rains struck, a year’s hard work would be destroyed in an instant. The corn the family had planted on the mountain land was now at the stage of turning green. There were always bears and wild boars coming to destroy the crops. The veteran soldiers had already caught over a dozen wild boars. How could these creatures still not learn their lesson? Today the steward from the fields came to report that another row of corn had been knocked down by wild boars.
Yun Shou had now taken the household guards to deal with wild boars again and wouldn’t return tonight. After Xinyue went to pay her respects to the old grandmother’s room, she again inspected the chambers of all the young ladies in the household. This was something she did every day. She beat Xiao Ya, then drove Li You away. The two of them with red faces drilling into the chamber together definitely hadn’t been doing anything good.
Two fools—couldn’t they even wait three months? When the time came, they could be hauled away in a large carriage to do whatever they wanted. If there was a pregnancy, Li You’s three years of hardship would have been suffered in vain.
Li You, who had been driven out by someone wielding a feather duster, laughed heartily while accepting Old Qian’s congratulations. Pointing to Xiao Ya’s embroidery tower, he said: “Don’t spread this around—it’s embarrassing. I was driven out by sister-in-law. I ran a bit slow and took two hits on the back. The things I brought, you wait until sister-in-law’s anger subsides and send them to Xiao Ya’s room. Just now I saw her beaten quite badly, but I didn’t dare stop it.”
Old Qian laughed heartily and said: “Your Highness’s wedding day is at most three months away. Madam is afraid that you young lovers being too affectionate will cause problems. The time is short—it’ll pass in the blink of an eye. As for the young lady’s needs, this old servant will naturally take care of them.”
Li You laughed heartily as he left the Yun family’s main gate, his mood extremely relaxed. Having elders who looked out for him was a good thing. Li You didn’t care about taking a few extra beatings—most of the time he asked for such beatings himself.
Looking at the sun, the time was still early. It seemed he wouldn’t be able to scrounge any food at the Yun household today. He had no choice but to lead his attendants on horseback to the academy. Tonight he planned to settle at the academy.
“Li You, your brother is stacking rocks for an artificial mountain while shedding tears and sweat. I don’t know if he’s building a sweat mountain or a tear mountain. When you say he’s crying, he actually won’t admit it. He insists it’s tears from sweat flowing into his eyes and stinging them.” Hypatia, carrying an armful of books, walked out of the classroom and spotted Li You looking around in all directions.
“Why?” Li You was greatly surprised. How could Li Zhi, who was as cunning as a fox, be so miserable?
“I heard that when he was enticing Master Li Gang to buy wool produced in the northern lands, something went wrong. The steward discovered it, and then Master Li Gang said he was a scoundrel and made him choose: either return the goat wool and get sheep wool back, or go stack rocks for the artificial mountain. As a result, your money-obsessed brother chose to stack rocks for the artificial mountain.”
“He’s that short of money, and you elder brothers don’t know to help him out a bit. Watching him suffer, don’t your hearts ache?”