## Chapter Translation
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Li Yuanying had just arrived, and the people were naturally very curious about him. He took his entourage out, and some of the more quick-witted ones approached him to chat. Li Yuanying welcomed them all, agreeing to anything they asked him to do. They took him to find fun places and delicious food, and soon a crowd gathered around him.
Li Yuanying inspected the city and was very satisfied. Although it wasn’t very large, the people lived in peace and prosperity, and they all looked quite well-off. He just didn’t know if the people outside the city were also doing well. It was just a little quiet. On his way in, he saw a large lake on the west outskirts, and he decided to enclose the entire lake within the city of Tengzhou.
Although there was a small lake in the Prince’s Mansion, it looked quite pleasing to the eye, but it was ultimately too delicate. The scenery by the large lake was beautiful, and it would be fun to go swimming and boating. Some kind of water-based acrobatics would also be nice.
Li Yuanying was still thinking about expanding the outer city when the Prefect Cui came to him again. He said the welcome banquet was ready and formally invited Li Yuanying to attend.
Prefect Cui had mentioned this when Li Yuanying first arrived, and the time had been agreed upon beforehand. Li Yuanying readily agreed to attend the banquet.
Li Yuanying put on a mature and steady demeanor as he walked back with Prefect Cui. He chatted with the Prefect about the situation in Tengzhou, but soon his true nature came out: “I told you, I mentioned Prefect Cui to my royal brother this morning when I wrote him a letter.”
Prefect Cui had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, Li Yuanying continued: “I said that Prefect Cui’s physique is a bit like my fourth nephew, which reminded me of him. I wonder if he’s still in Goguryeo right now. It must be very cold in Goguryeo now! Prefect Cui, your fortunate physique, are you also cold-sensitive and hot-sensitive?”
Prefect Cui almost slipped.
Was he just a little round?
Did Li Yuanying have to write a letter to Emperor Li about this? He also had to say he looked like Wei Wang Li Tai! Wei Wang Li Tai, that was also one of the people who suffered because of Li Yuanying. Li Yuanying had gone head-to-head with Emperor Li’s most beloved son and actually won! It’s one thing to win, but this guy kept bringing him up to tease him!
Why did it matter if a fat man was cold-sensitive? He even wrote to Emperor Li about it!
This is fat shaming!
Prefect Cui couldn’t argue with Li Yuanying, so he could only try to maintain a smile: “This official is not cold-sensitive.”
Li Yuanying nodded and said: “I think so too. When people talk about being cold, don’t they say it’s biting cold? If you have more flesh, it’s not easy to freeze to the bone. So, having more flesh should mean being cold-resistant. It’s best to be cold-resistant. Then I’ll feel less guilty about my fourth nephew. After all, it’s really too hard to travel so far in such cold weather. He should be staying cozy in the Prince’s Mansion and enjoying himself.”
Li Yuanying thought about it. Even though he enjoyed going out, he wouldn’t be too happy about going north in the middle of winter. He had never really suffered hardship since he was a child, and Li Tai was the same.
Sigh, he hadn’t considered things carefully and had gotten his fourth nephew into a bit of a bind. He felt a little guilty.
…
Meanwhile, Li Tai arrived safely in Goguryeo.
Along the way, Li Tai had his share of hardships. It was always inconvenient to travel. Food, clothing, shelter, and transportation were all far less comfortable than in the Prince’s Mansion. Since his birth, Li Tai had enjoyed silk and fine food. Even when he was growing up in Qin/Wang Fu, he hadn’t suffered much.
In the past, Li Tai would have been furious, hating the heavens, the earth, his father, and his elder brother. Of course, he would have hated Li Yuanying most. But on this journey, Li Tai felt strangely calm. He could even actively chat with Ma Zhou about the local customs they saw along the way.
If Emperor Li had only sent him as an envoy, Li Tai would have thought his father was deliberately tormenting him. But Emperor Li also sent Ma Zhou, so Li Tai knew his father truly wanted them to complete this mission properly.
The Tang envoy arrived with a mandate and was not only allowed to travel freely within Goguryeo but also received the highest level of hospitality.
Li Tai observed with a cold eye and found that the Goguryeo people were pale and thin, their houses were low and cramped, and their fields were barren. He felt that Goguryeo had nothing to boast about. Everything was inferior to the Tang Dynasty. It wasn’t until he reached the Goguryeo capital that he felt it was at all presentable, barely comparable to a single county in the Tang Dynasty!
Such a weak and impoverished country! It was no wonder that it had a weak ruler and strong ministers, with the ministers controlling the military and political power. Yet, this little country still had the audacity to ally with Baekje to attack Silla, trying to swallow its neighbor!
In Li Tai’s eyes, it was like a family raising three domesticated animals, and two of them wanted to peck the other one to death. It was truly outrageous! Did the owner think they were dead?
Even though Li Tai thought that Goguryeo would be hard-pressed to gather enough money from Tang to pay for the Tang forces to attack them, even after decades, he didn’t think Goguryeo should refuse to pay. If they didn’t want to pay, they should just obey. Goguryeo, Silla, and Baekje should all stop fighting. They should focus on improving their education and developing their economy so that they could better lay eggs, or rather, pay tribute to Tang!
Although Li Tai was sent to his fief by Emperor Li, he didn’t have a particularly glorious position after losing the fight for the throne. But the pride he had developed since childhood remained. Even as an envoy entering the Goguryeo capital, he carried himself with great dignity.
His physique had become thinner in the past two years, and he didn’t look so prosperous anymore. Riding a horse was much easier for him. The Goguryeo people who were watching him felt that the Son of Heaven was indeed impressive, even more imposing than their own king!
Of course, he was still a bit less imposing than their Moliji.
Thinking of Yeon Gaesomun, the Moliji, many people instinctively shuddered. To capture Silla cities, Yeon Gaesomun had recruited many soldiers, and the people dared not resist. They could only obey his orders. In the eyes of many, what was the point of conquering more cities? They couldn’t cultivate more land or live in more houses. The war was hard on the soldiers, but it only built up the Moliji’s reputation!
If the Son of Heaven blamed them, it would be them, the people, who would suffer!
Li Tai didn’t know about the sadness in the hearts of the Goguryeo people, but he could still see that the people were not living well along the way. He exchanged a glance with Ma Zhou, dismounted, and walked towards the Goguryeo officials who had come out to greet them.
Li Tai soon saw Yeon Gaesomun, the Moliji, and the Goguryeo king he had installed.
The so-called Moliji was actually a position created by Yeon Gaesomun himself. It was above all the other military and civil ministers, firmly controlling the military and political power of Goguryeo, which was no different from establishing himself as king!
The Goguryeo king was obviously a puppet ruler. He looked weak and always looked to Yeon Gaesomun for his opinion before speaking.
Li Tai saw this and thought that Goguryeo was truly a barbaric place. The king was controlled by a minister. He had no dignity as a ruler at all. What was the point of being a ruler like that?
For the first time, Li Tai felt proud to be a Tang citizen. Emperor Li was often scolded by Wei Zheng and others, but that was because Emperor Li wanted to govern Tang well and wanted to be a wise ruler, not like the Goguryeo king, who was controlled by others!
Even facing Yeon Gaesomun, the Goguryeo general with his murderous aura, Li Tai proudly held his head high and showed no fear.
Ma Zhou was a little surprised by Li Tai’s performance. He thought Li Tai would complain about hardship along the way, but he didn’t. He thought Li Tai wouldn’t be serious about fulfilling the mission of this envoy, but he didn’t.
It had to be said that Li Tai was truly serious when he put his mind to it. He was the person everyone had praised back then.
Ma Zhou didn’t let his mind wander for too long and focused his attention on cooperating with Li Tai in dealing with the Goguryeo king and Yeon Gaesomun.
Soon, they delivered the official document to the Goguryeo king.
Both Li Tai and Ma Zhou sat up straight, their faces cold as they stared at the two men, king and minister, whose roles were reversed.
Ma Zhou noticed that Yeon Gaesomun’s hand was clenched tightly as he looked at the official document. He seemed to be trying to suppress his anger.
Li Tai also noticed, but he remained calm and said he would stay in the Goguryeo capital for a few days to give Yeon Gaesomun time to consider. If Yeon Gaesomun withdrew his troops from the Silla cities and wrote to the Tang Dynasty to plead guilty, then it wouldn’t be them coming to the Goguryeo capital next, but the Tang army!
Li Tai straightened his back and said: “On my journey here, I found that the people are hungry and have no clothes to cover their bodies. It’s clear they’re not living well. In my fief, the people live in peace and prosperity, with the elderly being taken care of and the young being cared for. If you can’t give your people a good life, you might as well be annexed by the Tang Dynasty and renamed Gaozhou! At that time, the Tang Dynasty will surely send troops to protect your people and send great scholars to educate them.” When he mentioned the Tang Dynasty, Li Tai had a proud expression, showing the majesty of a Tang prince.
Over the next few days, Li Tai and Ma Zhou really did enjoy the sights of the Goguryeo capital. They didn’t think they were in any danger from Yeon Gaesomun and the Goguryeo king. They didn’t even consider themselves to be threatening Goguryeo.
They, the Tang Dynasty, were coming to declare war openly and fairly. This was their last chance for Goguryeo. If they stubbornly refused to repent, how could they blame the Tang Dynasty for taking action?
When people feel they are on the side of justice, they have the confidence to do anything!
At this time, Dai Ting was still active in Goguryeo. After hearing the news that the Tang Dynasty had sent envoys to Goguryeo, Dai Ting immediately paid attention to the movements of the imperial envoy group. When he learned that Li Tai and Ma Zhou were the envoys, Dai Ting considered it for two days before quietly seeking an audience with Ma Zhou. He wanted to inquire about the court’s plans.
Although Dai Ting had learned from Li Yuanying’s message that Li Yuanying was going to be enfeoffed and that he had advised Emperor Li to wait until spring to start the war, he didn’t know if the court had actually followed Li Yuanying’s advice. At this moment, although he was separated from Tengzhou by only a sea, exchanging messages wasn’t so easy. So, Dai Ting decided to contact Ma Zhou directly.
Ma Zhou was a little surprised to see Dai Ting. Although Dai Ting wasn’t a prominent figure in the court, Ma Zhou had a deep impression of him. After all, when Hou Junji led troops to attack Gaochang, Li Yuanying had sent Dai Ting to Gaochang to pick up the scraps! Later, Li Yuanying sent Dai Ting to Tubo and he opened up two trade routes deep into Tubo.
He was a capable person!
What a pity, he was an eunuch.
Ma Zhou looked at Dai Ting, who sat calmly below him, and felt some regret in his heart.
Thinking of what Dai Ting had accomplished in the past, Ma Zhou perked up and asked Dai Ting what he was doing in Goguryeo.
Dai Ting wanted to get information from Ma Zhou and wouldn’t hide his intentions. He said, “Gaesomun killed his king and seized power, which is an act of treason. Everyone can punish him.” He gave a faint smile. “This lowly one is simply giving those who are loyal to their king a little help, so that they have a chance to avenge their loyal king or help their king restore order. I’m also just doing a little business on the side. I haven’t done anything.”
Ma Zhou looked at Dai Ting’s smiling face and couldn’t help but sigh: Thankfully, this person was born a man, otherwise, who knows what kind of havoc he would wreak!
On second thought, Ma Zhou felt that even if Dai Ting had been born a man, he wouldn’t have been safe. He wondered how Li Yuanying could tell Dai Ting’s true ability from his beautiful androgynous appearance!
Maybe it was because Li Yuanying wasn’t old enough to be attracted to beauty?
**Author’s note:**
I’ve maintained my daily writing schedule! I’m still alive!
[A message to readers: Times are changing, free websites are hard to maintain. Switching between books on mobile apps with multiple sources is the trend. The website administrator recommends this source-switching app. It has various voice tones for listening, source switching, and searching for books – it’s really convenient!](This is a message commonly seen at the end of chapters in Chinese web novels. It’s advertising an app for reading online novels.)
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