The campaign against Goguryeo in autumn and winter was incredibly expensive. Spring and summer were no better. It was the time when people were busy in the fields, and large-scale military operations would disrupt food supply. Every season had its own disadvantages, and all of them cost money.
The best way to save money was not to fight at all. However, Goguryeo repeatedly challenged the Tang Dynasty’s authority, like a pesky fly on a bull’s tail. You couldn’t say it was a serious threat, but it was certainly annoying. How could the Tang Dynasty be considered the center of the world if they didn’t subdue Goguryeo?
Emperor Li still didn’t want to give up. He continued to argue with Wei Zheng and others.
Li Yuanying, Prince Tang, waited and waited for the emperor’s decree to assign him a fiefdom. He finally went to Emperor Li with a plan. He argued that Goguryeo was so weak that they would be terrified if the Tang Dynasty suddenly launched a massive attack. He suggested sending another royal envoy to Goguryeo to issue an edict and give them another chance to mend their ways.
Last time, the third prince led the envoy. This time, it should be the fourth prince, Li Tai. He should tell Goguryeo that if they didn’t behave, the Tang Dynasty would attack them next year, no sooner, no later. They had occupied forty cities of Silla, so they must return eighty. Forty cities would be returned to Silla, and the remaining forty would be kept by the Tang Dynasty. It was neither too much nor too little, just enough for them to experience the pain of losing forty cities. The Tang Dynasty would also calculate the total military expenses and demand Goguryeo to pay them back, not a penny less. If they couldn’t afford it, they could pay in installments.
Li Yuanying was eager to go to his fiefdom, so he inflated the military budget with all kinds of expenses. When Emperor Li saw it, he was astonished. This scoundrel was shameless! He even included the losses caused by the lack of manpower in the fields. Why didn’t he include the potential income from selling a pig raised by the missing farmer?
Li Yuanying felt he was in the right. These were all losses caused by the campaign against Goguryeo, so they should be compensated by Goguryeo. If the Tang Dynasty was going to fight, they should demand compensation! It wasn’t enough to just surrender. They had to pay back every penny!
Li Yuanying said, “I heard from Lao Li that Goguryeo is shameless. They surrender easily, without any backbone, and then go back to their bad ways. We must make things clear to them, let them know the price of defeat, and fight a clear-cut war!”
Emperor Li thought that Li Yuanying was the most shameless person in the world, yet he was justifying his own behavior by accusing Goguryeo of being shameless! He accepted Li Yuanying’s memo and told him to go back first, as he needed to discuss the matter with others.
After Li Yuanying left, Emperor Li had Wei Zheng and the others summoned to show them Li Yuanying’s memo.
To ensure the matter of conquering Goguryeo was resolved quickly, Li Yuanying had been working hard. He had been spending days gathering information and making calculations with his friends. Although some of the expenses seemed quite outrageous, upon closer examination, they seemed to be something Goguryeo should pay.
If the Tang Dynasty demanded such a large sum of money and so many cities without reason, people would point fingers. But if they sent an envoy first to give Goguryeo a choice, allowing them to decide whether or not to obey, and making clear the consequences of defying the Tang Dynasty’s orders, then wouldn’t it be perfectly legitimate? They would have chosen their own fate!
Wei Zheng stared at Li Yuanying’s detailed and well-supported “military budget” with a wooden face. He thought Li Yuanying understood the harm of war quite well. Why didn’t he use this knowledge to dissuade Emperor Li from fighting, but instead to persuade him to fight next year? What a scoundrel!
After discussing the matter, the emperor and his ministers all felt that Li Yuanying’s suggestion to lay down the rules beforehand was a good one. If they were going to fight, they shouldn’t fight for nothing. At least, the Tang Dynasty shouldn’t suffer any losses. Since it was Goguryeo’s fault, Goguryeo should pay the price!
As for those forty cities, the Tang Dynasty would naturally send people to help them manage them. If Goguryeo behaved well, the Tang Dynasty might consider returning them. If they didn’t, then they would be kept.
However, when it came to the selection of the envoy, Changsun Wuji and others felt that Li Tai was not suitable. Li Tai was the son of Emperor Li and Empress Changsun. Sending him on this mission would not be a good idea. What if Goguryeo suddenly attacked Li Tai?
Although Emperor Li had confined Li Tai to his fiefdom and prevented him from returning to the capital, if something happened to him, those who failed to stop Emperor Li from choosing him as envoy might be blamed by the emperor.
Changsun Wuji suggested, “I think the person who came up with this idea is the most suitable.”
Wei Zheng’s lips moved, but he said nothing. He couldn’t oppose this. If he did, he would be confirming Li Yuanying’s intention to trap Li Tai. He knew Li Yuanying had no such intention. After all, if Emperor Li really asked Li Yuanying to go to Goguryeo, Li Yuanying would be overjoyed!
Emperor Li looked around and saw that no one contradicted Changsun Wuji’s words. He felt that his younger brother had no influence in the court, and even his wife’s grandfather, Wei Zheng, always looked stern and angry. He made a decision: “Let Qingque be the chief envoy and Ma Zhou be the deputy envoy. They will set off for Goguryeo on a chosen date.”
The decision was made, and Emperor Li instructed Cen Wenben and Chu Suiliang to draft a state letter. It would be based on Li Yuanying’s memo, but the language should be more elegant and the tone more tactful. In short, it should sound polite but still be essentially shameless.
The expressions on Cen Wenben and Chu Suiliang’s faces were indescribable.
In any case, the tug-of-war in the court finally came to an end. Li Yuanying learned from Wei Zheng that Changsun Wuji had once suggested he go to Goguryeo, so he ran to Emperor Li in frustration to ask why he didn’t agree. He should have nominated himself!
Emperor Li raised an eyebrow. “Are you still daring to go to Goguryeo?” If anyone leaked the source of this idea, Li Yuanying wouldn’t be able to come back. Goguryeo might think that they were going to be defeated by the Tang Dynasty anyway, so they might as well kill him first.
Li Yuanying said, “Why not? They wouldn’t have been attacked by the Tang Dynasty if they hadn’t done bad things first. My brother said ourselves that the Tang Dynasty is a righteous force! I’ll just settle accounts with them. How dare they attack me? Don’t they know who my brother is?”
Emperor Li was pleased with his words. Of course, he still had to give him a good scolding. He looked at Li Yuanying and said, “Forget about the mission to Goguryeo.”
Li Yuanying was so good at saying outrageous things that Emperor Li didn’t trust him to travel far. He was afraid that he might be killed if he wasn’t careful. After all, not everyone was unaware of his ideas. At least, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling knew, and they didn’t seem to like Li Yuanying very much.
Li Yuanying knew that the mission was out of the question, so he wasn’t disappointed when Emperor Li said so. He then secretly brought up the matter of his fiefdom.
Ever since Li Yuanying returned from Taiyuan, he had found a way to bring up the topic of his fiefdom, no matter what the subject was. Emperor Li heard his brazen request, but remained silent. He didn’t say yes, but he didn’t say no either. He just told him to go back.
After some time, Li Yuanying received grapes and Actinidia chinensis (苌楚) from Huxian. He had taught people how to grow the grapes, and some of them had already borne fruit, while others were still growing. They were all well cared for, and someone had sent them to him so he could have a taste.
Someone had also sent him watermelons when they were in season, but he had been in Taiyuan at the time and hadn’t been able to eat them.
As for Actinidia chinensis, it was a wild fruit from Zhongnan Mountain. Later, people discovered it was very tasty and began to claim it as their own. The system told him that this was actually kiwifruit, which was very nutritious. Eating it in season was good for the body. Li Yuanying had it cut up for him to try. It was sweet and sour, and quite tasty. He then took some to show Liu Baolin.
The weather had been hot recently, and Liu Baolin had made Actinidia chinensis ice cream for him, following the recipe for cherry ice cream. He poured some maltose syrup and fresh sheep’s milk over the cut fruit, then put it in the ice to freeze. He took a bite and found the texture and taste were much better than eating it fresh. He had some brought to Li Yuanying to enjoy.
Li Yuanying ate the Actinidia chinensis ice cream Liu Baolin had made for him, feeling happy and content. Life was good.
At this time, Li Tai returned to Chang’an.
This was Li Tai’s first return to Chang’an since he was sent to his fiefdom. He had been carrying a grudge all the way back, wanting to confront Li Yuanying and ask him: What exactly do you want from me? I won’t call you Yu Shu anymore, I’ll call you my ancestor!
But when he arrived in Chang’an, his anger disappeared.
If his father hadn’t wanted him to go, nothing Li Yuanying said would have mattered. Ultimately, it was his father’s decision. Whether it was good or bad, high or low, it was all up to his father’s decree. There was no point in holding a grudge against Li Yuanying. As for his father, he couldn’t hate him either.
Li Tai obediently accepted the decree, obediently made preparations, and had minimal contact with anyone except for necessary events. Emperor Li hadn’t seen his son in over two years, and he thought he had become thinner and more depressed. He felt some pain, so he kept Li Tai to talk for a while. However, the closeness between father and son had disappeared.
Li Chengqian was worried when he heard that Li Tai had returned. When he learned that Li Tai had been kept by Emperor Li, his worry increased. He was afraid that Emperor Li might be swayed by Li Tai’s pleas and elevate him again. He had seen this happen too many times before and couldn’t help but worry.
Just when Li Chengqian was feeling restless, Helan Chushi came to see him and said that Hou Junji wanted to meet him.
Li Chengqian had no dealings with Hou Junji, but Helan Chushi was his close associate and Hou Junji’s son-in-law. After some thought, he told Helan Chushi to bring Hou Junji to the Eastern Palace.
Hou Junji came to pledge his allegiance to Li Chengqian. He had been idle and wanted to explore the path of the Eastern Palace. Although he was among the illustrious figures of the Lingyan Pavilion, he was now just a powerless and wealthy idle person, a life he couldn’t bear.
Hou Junji raised his hands to Li Chengqian and said, “Your Highness, see these hands, are they still useful? If Your Highness needs them, they are at your disposal!”
Li Chengqian was startled. He calmed himself down and comforted Hou Junji, saying that the Tang Dynasty would be conquering Goguryeo next year, and these hands would surely be needed.
Hou Junji was disappointed when Li Chengqian only mentioned the Tang Dynasty, not anything else. If he didn’t have a chance himself, why would he come to pledge his allegiance to Li Chengqian? When he followed Emperor Li to conquer the world, Li Chengqian was still a young boy, and he wasn’t much better now!
He thought that the Eastern Palace didn’t have any useful generals in the army, and as long as he showed his intention to pledge allegiance, Li Chengqian would be overjoyed. However, Li Chengqian didn’t even make a gesture of trying to win him over.
Hou Junji felt awkward about pressing the matter further. He then brought up another matter, remembering Li Tai’s return to the capital: “I hear that King Wei has returned to the capital but has not come to pay his respects to Your Highness. He is truly disrespectful to his elder brother!”
Li Chengqian said, “Qingque has returned to the capital this time for an important mission. Since he has already seen the emperor, there is no need to visit separately.”
Hou Junji hinted, “This ‘important mission’ was requested by Prince Tang on his behalf.”
Hou Junji couldn’t understand Li Yuanying, but ever since Li Yuanying had come to the prison to persuade him to confess, he had paid more attention to him. After observing him for several years, Hou Junji found that whether it was intentional or sheer luck, Li Yuanying’s actions, although seemingly random, always cleverly stayed within safe boundaries.
Since he couldn’t pledge his allegiance to the Eastern Palace, Hou Junji wanted to plant a seed of doubt in Li Chengqian’s mind, making him wary of Li Yuanying, the strange fellow.
This kid was always ingratiating himself with everyone, and he seemed to be playing games with everything, yet Emperor Li spoiled him, and Li Chengqian was close to him. It was truly annoying!
Li Chengqian politely sent Hou Junji away. He thought about Hou Junji’s final mention of Li Yuanying, and his heart felt strangely reassured.
Yes, Li Yuanying had suggested this. He wouldn’t harm him, so what was he worried about? Besides, Qingque wasn’t the same Qingque he used to be. Even if he still had ambitions for the Eastern Palace, no one would bet on him anymore.
Li Chengqian suddenly felt enlightened. He diligently learned how to handle government affairs alongside Emperor Li and was able to put on a good show of being a good brother and uncle, inquiring about the well-being of his nephews. He even asked Li Tai if he had hired a good tutor. If he hadn’t, he could assign someone from the Hongwen Academy. Yu Shu had said that a good teacher was crucial, and choosing the right person to educate his nephews was very important.
Li Tai was thoroughly disgusted by Li Chengqian’s performance as a good brother and uncle. He just wanted to leave on his mission!
Was he learning from Li Yuanying?
How come they were all suddenly so concerned about his son?
Emperor Li was pleased with this development. He felt that Chengqian finally had the demeanor of an elder brother. Even if there were some disagreements between them, they didn’t need to be passed down to the next generation. He would have the children spend time together, so the relationship between the two families would naturally return to normal, a kind of harmonious perfection.
Emperor Li, in his joy, finally drafted the decree to assign Li Yuanying a fiefdom.
However, as soon as the decree arrived at the Ministry of Secretariat, Fang Xuanling and others were furious. They went to see Emperor Li together to voice their opposition!
**Author’s Note:**
Hou Junji: Your Highness, it was Prince Tang who suggested that Li Tai return!
The nephew: Yes, it was Yu Shu who suggested it. So I’m not worried anymore.
Hou Junji: ?????
Early update!
So diligent!
Someone wants to sabotage my full attendance streak! Impossible! Full attendance won’t fall easily!
Someone said that it would end when he went to his fiefdom! Why would it end just because he went to his fiefdom! Impossible! The little prince is only fourteen years old! He hasn’t even been to many places, why would it end? Does it really seem like it’s about to end? Qaq Sweet Spring was scared, I need everyone to pour nutrient solution to calm her down! (喂)
Note: Hou Junji did say to Chengqian, “This is a good hand, we must use him,” and then the two of them conspired to rebel. What interesting things people in the ancient times wrote down. For example, when Emperor Sui Yang fled, he looked at himself in the mirror and lamented with great pain, “This fine head of mine, I wonder who will chop it off in the future!” (大好头颅,谁当斫之? ) Such sadness mixed with a touch of narcissistic silliness! (不)
Previous Chapter | TOC |