The tea soup in the black cup showed a greenish white color. This was Lu Yu's tea. Xue Bai picked it up and took a sip.
Li Jilan glanced secretly, wanting to hear what Xue Bai said about the tea. After all, it was her who scooped up the Zhongling water. But Xue Bai didn't say anything after he put down the tea cup. She couldn't help but worry that he was
It's not that I'm unhappy.
After a while, a box of tea leaves was brought out.
Xue Bai has tinkered with many novel things so far. Since he brought out the tea today, everyone couldn't help but look forward to it, thinking that it would be a tea cake with a unique shape.
However, when the box was opened, there were only loose dark brown tea leaves inside, which looked really unflattering.
"Let's take a look."
Xue Bai first looked at Lu Yu and motioned for him to come forward.
Although Xue Bai didn't say it just now, he still very much recognized Lu Yu's tea art. Nowadays, the folk method of making tea is the same as making spicy soup. The tea leaves are boiled with onions, ginger, dates, orange peels, dogwood, mint and other things.
, although tea is also made among the rich and powerful, the taste is very bitter. Lu Yu's level is indeed much higher than ordinary people, and he already has the aroma of tea.
"Your Highness."
"Your tea is different from others. What's the difference?"
"Your Highness, the student's tea is roasted." Lu Yu replied: "Roast it slowly over low heat. Turn it frequently to make it cool evenly. Bake it until the tea cake is in the shape of a toad's back. Wrap it while it's hot to prevent the aroma from being lost.
.”
"What do you think of the tea I brought?"
Lu Yu picked up the tea leaves, smelled them, and said, "It's not roasted."
He looked thoughtful, thought for a long time, and finally said: "Your Highness, this tea, could it be... fried?"
"good."
Xue Bai was not used to drinking the tea soup of Tang Dynasty. He had tried brewing it several times, but drinking a cup of tea seemed not as simple as soaking it in boiling water.
He didn't have the time to study these things before, but now that he is at ease, he remembers that stir-frying is needed to brew the good taste. He picked the tea leaves several times and tried it several times, and gradually figured out the specific steps of stir-frying, including the temperature of the pot and the required tea leaves.
Several processes and so on.
Lu Yu touched the tea leaves and muttered to himself: "If you don't fry them dry enough, I'm afraid they will be ground into powder."
"This is soaked."
Xue Bai then stood up and went to make a pot of tea himself.
Lu Yu felt his aura and thought he was good at making tea. He couldn't help but stare with wide eyes. He also took off the strap he used to wrap his hands and was about to hand it over, worried that Xue Bai's sleeves would sweep down the various tea utensils.
.
Xue Bai picked up the wooden box with one hand, walked to the desk, calmly grabbed a handful of tea leaves, and poured it into the pot.
It is said to be a pot, but it is actually called a "cooked pot". It is one of Lu Yu's twenty-four tea utensils and is used to hold hot water.
Lu Yu couldn't help but be surprised. What was even more puzzling was Xue Bai's action of grabbing the tea with his hands. He thought to himself: "Is it to increase the saltiness of the tea? Then add salt? Put the tea leaves in the cooking bowl, and after a while the hot water will return.
Where to install it?”
With countless questions floating in his mind, Lu Yu watched Xue Bai's movements more intently to see which tea set he would use next.
Xue Bai looked around, picked up a tea towel from the complicated tea set, wrapped it around the handle of the boiling bowl, and poured the boiling water into the cooking bowl.
"alright."
"What?"
Xue Bai turned around and said, "The tea is ready."
Everyone was stunned for a moment, but Li Chenghong quickly reacted and praised: "Your Highness makes tea, the flow is flowing, it is pleasing to the eye, wonderful, wonderful!"
Li Qiwu couldn't help but feel resentful when he glanced at Li Chenghong, thinking that since he was so good at flattering others, it was no wonder he got the job.
Lu Yu felt Xue Bai's trampling on the tea ceremony, and stepped forward in despair, looking at the tea soup in the cooked bowl.
The fried tea leaves have spread out and sunk to the bottom, and the tea soup is green, which is really not good-looking.
"Serve it for everyone to try," Xue Bai said.
Lu Yu was about to refuse when he suddenly sniffed and smelled the aroma of tea.
He focused his gaze, filled a small ladle with tea and poured it into a tea cup. He closed his eyes and smelled it, took a long breath, threw away all the distracting thoughts in his heart, and took a sip calmly.
"how?"
Lu Yu opened his eyes and did not rush to answer, but felt the sweetness of the tea. Gradually, a different light appeared in his eyes, and he said in surprise: "It's so fragrant and refreshing!"
As expected, Xue Bai said: "That's not bad."
When the tea was tasted by everyone, everyone couldn't help but marvel at how such a simple brewing method can produce such a taste.
Lu Yu and Jiao Ran, these two extremely outstanding young people were simply overshadowed by Xue Bai, and they were still in the fields they were best at.
This seemed to add a lot of trouble to Li Jilan.
She admired him for being able to do everything, and being able to amaze the world with every move he made, but she was also not sure whether he was jealous of her by doing what he did today, so she kept guessing in her heart.
Over there, Xue Bai had already called Li Chenghong and asked: "How about this tea?"
"So, when the Tibetan envoys come, let's entertain them with this."
"Here."
After saying that, Xue Bai looked at Li Xian, the two smiled at each other and nodded.
In this small tea leaf, Xue Bai's big plan is actually hidden.
~~
A few days later, in the southwest corner of the imperial city, there was the Honglu Guest House.
Lu Yu sat behind the desk, boiling tea with his graceful movements, and presented it to the Tibetan envoy.
The Tibetan envoy's name was Basai Nang. He was tall, tall and thick, with a dark complexion and full beard.
His movements were quite elegant, and he could also speak Chinese. He took the tea cup from Lu Yu's hand with both hands. He took a sip and let out a comfortable sigh.
"Tea is really a good thing. We love to eat meat all year round. If we eat too much, we will get tired. This tea soup is very good at relieving tiredness."
Li Chenghong, the envoy of the Tang Dynasty, was the king of the county. Hearing this, he just smiled lightly and nodded to show his appreciation, looking very reserved.
Lu Yu poured another glass for Basai Nang and said, "If the envoy likes it, he can bring more back this time."
"Okay." Bassinang pointed to the table with a smile and said, "It's just that these utensils are too complicated. If I return to Tubo, I'm afraid I won't be able to make such good tea."
"I still have some brewed tea here. The envoy can also try it."
Lu Yu said, turned around, took out a box, and started making tea.
Although he looks ugly, his movements are much more graceful than Xue Bai's. The elegance of his gestures can always make people mistakenly think that he is a handsome man.
Soon, the tea was brewed. This time, all the Tibetan soldiers and servants who came with the envoys were given a bowl to taste.
This is because Xue Bai has different positionings for the two types of tea. Sencha has a complicated process and looks high-class, and is mainly for the aristocracy; tea making process is simple, and is mainly for ordinary people.
Although the Tubo people have been drinking tea for a long time to relieve their tiredness, it is impossible for everyone to drink the boiled tea soup. But if they can like the taste of the brewed tea and use it as a daily drink, the amount of tea trade will naturally be large.
increase.
Sure enough, after drinking this bowl of tea, no one found it bitter, but felt very relieved and comfortable.
Basai Nang also liked the fragrant tea and asked to buy more and take it back to Tubo this time.
As for the large-scale tea trade between the two countries, that is something to be discussed after the peace talks.
Li Chenghong brought Lu Yu with him to entertain the Tibetan envoys for this purpose. They followed the prince's order and had to take this opportunity to increase Tibet's demand for tea.
After drinking tea, Basainang wanted to bring the topic to the matter of marrying the princess of Tang Dynasty. However, Li Chenghong talked about him. Soon, another person behind him spoke, Jiao Ran.
Jiao Ran had a beautiful appearance and extraordinary conversational skills. Soon, he had a great conversation with Basak Nang and brought the topic to Buddhism.
Culture and education in Tubo were not prosperous. It should be said that they were very poor. There were very few literate people in Tubo, not to mention medicine, astronomy, geography, arithmetic and other knowledge.
Ignorance will lead to awe, awe of heaven, earth, nature, and ghosts and gods. Although Basainang is a Tubo noble, he also has a deep awe of Buddhism in his heart. On the other hand, he also knows that if Tubo wants culture and education to flourish, it is impossible
Relying on scholars, only monks who have done good deeds and accumulated virtues can spread culture and education, heal patients, translate books, and provide relief to the people in Tubo.
On the other hand, over a long period of time, the power of the Bonbo wizards has expanded, gradually weakening Zanpu's power. From weddings and funerals, farming and herding, to military alliances, Zanpu's succession to the throne, burial and construction of the mausoleum capital
To interfere, therefore, starting from Songtsen Gampo, Buddhism was supported by the Tubo royal family.
Today, Trisong Detsen, the Tibetan leader, is sixteen years old, but the government is controlled by powerful officials, who believe in Bonbo religion. It is Trisong Detsen's natural position to introduce Buddhism to fight against powerful officials.
Basainang was a confidant of Trisong Detsen. One of the purposes of his mission to the Tang Dynasty was to win the support of the Tang Dynasty through marriage and increase Trisong Detsen's prestige.
Naturally, he did not object to talking about Buddhism with Jiaoran. On the contrary, the more they talked, the deeper they got. Many doubts about the world and life were enlightened and enlightened.
The two also made an appointment to go to Changxing Temple tomorrow to visit Zen Master Hui Zheng, who is the most profound Buddhist in the Tang Dynasty today.
~~
Zen Master Hui Zheng is seventy-six years old this year.
He studied Buddhism since he was a child, was proficient in Buddhist scriptures, became one of Huineng's disciples, and obtained the Heart Seal. After practicing for more than forty years, his reputation became higher and higher.
It is said that a thief broke into the temple and put a knife on Huizheng's neck to coerce him. Huizheng sat still and chanted sutras. Finally, the thief cried bitterly and knelt on the ground to confess his sins in his life.
When Li Longji was in power, he also heard of his name and welcomed him to Chang'an.
On that day, two people were sitting opposite the old monk. One was a layman. He was dressed plainly and looked calm. He was meditating with his eyes closed. It was Wang Wei.
The other was a young man who couldn't sit still no matter how hard he sat. He sometimes crossed his legs and then stretched his legs out. It was Du Wulang.
"Principal Mojie also asked Princess Yuzhen to ask. Does Your Highness have any bad intentions? I just checked the real estate and population of temples all over the world, and there are people who spread rumors that he wants to destroy the Buddha. He is really judging the heart of a gentleman with the heart of a villain."
Although Du Wulang said this, he also raised his head and looked at the temple hall, sighed in admiration, and said: "But shouldn't I talk about the fields of your temple? There are so many tenants and slaves, oh, there is a loan business. You can’t do it anymore.”
Hui Zheng is neither happy nor sad, saying: "If you encounter many misfortunes, all kinds of troubles, and unlucky things that disturb you, worry, and are not what you want, you should accept it willingly, without causing any doubts or regrets, and retreat to good deeds."
"I can't understand what the Master told me," Du Wulang said, "Your Highness ordered me to come here in the hope that the Master can promote Buddhism to the Tibetan envoys."
Combined with what he said before, this probably means that Huizheng will make up for his mistakes.
Naturally, Hui Zheng couldn't refuse. Since his temple was being targeted, even if he didn't consider it for himself, he had to consider it for his disciples and grandchildren.
Seeing that he understood, Du Wulang nodded and continued to explain.
"The Tibetan people's belief in Buddhism is different from our belief in Buddhism. We have Taoism and Confucianism, and the so-called "Zi Buyu" has strange powers and chaos. The stories you told before were all about converting robbers and the like. This is not enough. Tubo wants a more powerful Buddha... "
"Amitabha, a poor monk never lies."
Du Wulang said: "I don't care, you have to convince the Tibetan envoy."
Hui Zheng usually discusses Buddhism with Wang Wei, and his words are concise and concise, with profound meaning. The question and answer are like two green mountains facing each other. The wise will understand themselves, and the blind will blind themselves.
But after receiving Du Wulang's explanation this day, he couldn't help but sigh.
He could actually understand the purpose of the current crown prince, but he was a Zen sect, and what the Tubo people needed and believed in more was actually the Tantric Buddhism.
The two are actually quite different.
"Just give it a try." Hui Zheng murmured.
The next day.
Jiaoran slowly walked into the main hall with Basai Nang. On the way, he whispered about the deeds of Zen Master Hui Zheng.
"On his way to Beijing, the Zen master once encountered a fire dragon spitting poisonous flames from its mouth. He calmly chanted sutras, and the fire dragon shrank into a lizard and converted to Buddhism."
"So powerful?!"
Bassinang was greatly surprised.
What is very different from when you preached in the Tang Dynasty is that when you preach in Tubo, you must have spells and magical powers that are superior to those of the Bonbo wizards, and then the profound Buddhist Dharma.
"When I arrived in Datang, I felt itchy all over my body. Could you please ask the Zen Master to find out what the cause was?"
"please."
Basai Nang finally entered the palace and saw the majestic Hui Zheng. Before he could speak, Hui Zheng suddenly opened his eyes, like a vajra's angry eyes.
"What an evil spirit, dares to possess people?!"
After scolding, Hui Zheng stood up, recited scriptures and walked around the Basai bag calmly for several times. Then he picked up a willow branch, dipped water in the small porcelain bottle, and sprinkled it on the Basai bag.
On the bag.
After that, he continued to chant sutras. After a long time, Hui Zheng said: "The evil ghost has taken refuge."
He sat back on the futon, looking enigmatic.
Basai Nang suddenly felt that his body seemed to be less itchy, and then he realized that he had encountered an evil spirit on the way to the mission, but was surrendered by Master Hui Zheng. He couldn't help but admire him greatly, and wanted to worship under Hui Zheng's disciples on the spot.
Become his disciple.
Hui Zheng opened his eyes, but his eyes were filled with compassion.
He knew that the next step would be a difficult beginning. In the future, he would no longer discuss the mysteries of heaven and earth with people like Wang Wei who understood Buddhism deeply, but would have to use various magic spells to eliminate people's fear of the unknown and establish their foundation.
Belief.
This time, he will compete with more sects for influence over Tubo on behalf of Zen Buddhism.
~~
Wubenfang, Yanzhai.
This is the new house that Yan Zhenqing moved to after becoming Prime Minister. It occupies a small area and is very close to the imperial city and Daming Palace.
In the evening, there was a knock on the door. The concierge opened the door and saw a foreign woman wearing a robe standing there.
"Is Master Yan here? An old friend wants to see you."
This woman has a strong Tubo accent, but her Chinese is fairly standard.
Soon, she was invited into the front yard, and after waiting for a while, Yan Zhenqing arrived.
"Master Yan."
"Nalanzhen?" Yan Zhenqing was a little surprised and said, "Why are you here?"
Nalanzhen then stood up and bowed, saying: "I came to join the alliance sincerely."
Yan Zhenqing stroked his beard and said, "Isn't it that the envoy is here to make an alliance?"
"Basai Nang's identity makes him ineligible to negotiate truly important decisions with the Tang Dynasty." Nalanzhen said: "But I can."
"Sit down and talk."
In comparison, Nalanzhen is much more anxious than Yan Zhenqing.
She had dealt with Xue Bai, and even worshiped Xue Bai as her master after being captured, so she knew what a terrible person her master was. For such a person to be in charge of the Tang Dynasty, his rise was inevitable and rapid.
On the other hand, Tubo seems to be more powerful than the Tang Dynasty now, but her brother is still young and is held hostage by powerful ministers. The war against the Tang Dynasty was won, and the credit does not go to the royal family. In the future, it will be retaliated by the Tang Dynasty, but all the consequences will be attributed to the royal family.
If you lose the fight, it will still affect the royal family’s prestige, which is uneconomical no matter how you look at it.
"Dazalugong didn't want to negotiate a peace. He just wanted to paralyze the Tang Dynasty and use alienation tactics to get rid of the generals of the Tang Dynasty. But Zanpu really wanted to negotiate a peace, so he sent Basai Nang. Dazalu Gong didn't do it.
Basainang took it all seriously and did not think that he could promote peace negotiations between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty. So, I am here, and I can negotiate the terms with the Tang Dynasty on behalf of Zampu."
Yan Zhenqing didn't have much reaction after hearing such important news. Instead, he said: "How can I believe your sincerity?"
"We want to kill the minister in charge, Ma Xiang."
Nalanzhen didn't hesitate and directly revealed their brother and sister's plan.
"Killing Ma Xiang, Zanpu can take charge of the government, but Dazalu Gong is leading the troops outside. We are afraid that he will rebel, so we need the support of the Tang Dynasty. In exchange, we can return the city we have occupied in the past two years. In addition,
Zanpu needs to marry the Princess of Tang Dynasty, and the two countries will form an alliance and no longer go to war."
Yan Zhenqing shook his head and said: "If marriage is not possible, the court will not agree."
Nalanzhen said: "If the Tang Dynasty is not willing to marry Zanpu, he will marry Cai Bang's daughter as the princess. The Cai Bang family is very powerful. By then, the Tubo royal family will not have the power to get close to the Tang Dynasty."
Her little thoughts couldn't be hidden from Yan Zhenqing.
Obviously, it was not Tubo Zampu Trisong Dezan who was eager to marry the Tang princess, but Nalanzhen. She did not want the influence of Tibetan relatives to become more powerful, and hoped to attract another force to muddy the water. In this way, she, a grown-up,
The princess can take power through Zampu's pro-government.
Yan Zhenqing obviously knows how to negotiate better than Na Lanzhen, is calm and calm, and is not in a hurry to give out answers.
He observed her and found that the water in her water bag was actually tea. He could tell because there were some broken tea leaves when she drank it, and she chewed it a little.
"how?"
After a while, Na Lanzhen asked.
Yan Zhenqing asked: "Does Tubo Zanpu have the authority to order a ceasefire and order Dazalu Gong to return the occupied city?"
"The alliance was proposed by Dazalu Gong. He didn't expect that we could actually achieve the alliance. When Zanpu gave the order, he was caught off guard and had no choice but to agree."
The two talked for a while, and Yan Zhenqing said that he had no control over the matter and needed to report it to the court before discussing.
After sending Na Lanzhen away, he went to the palace overnight to ask for an audience.
~~
In Shaoyang Courtyard, when Xue Bai heard that Yan Zhenqing asked for an audience, he knew that something big was going on and immediately ordered someone to open the palace door.
It was very troublesome to open the palace door. By the time Yan Zhenqing entered the palace, it was already quite late at night.
After talking about Nalanzhen's involvement in the mission and her proposal, Yan Zhenqing then put forward his opinion.
"I think this proposal is feasible."
Xue Bai shook his head and said, "No."
He paced, walked to the map, and said: "Tubo is the most powerful enemy around the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty may be able to have good relations with other tribes and small states, but conflicts with it are inevitable. The Tibetan people will go back and forth.
There is no credibility in making peace during war. If you make peace, you will lose the prestige of the court and will easily fall into passivity."
Yan Zhenqing understood immediately when he heard it. What he was saying was that the Tubo people liked to deceive peace. They would often negotiate peace today and invade the next day. But this time, Xue Bai also wanted to make peace.
"Although Trisong Detsen is young, this series of methods cannot be underestimated. What is the benefit of helping him get rid of powerful officials? What we should do is the opposite, paralyze him with peace talks and drive a wedge between him and Zada
Lu Gong, let Tubo fight among itself."
This is to treat others in their own way. What Zhadarugong wanted for peace talks was to paralyze the Tang Dynasty and cause internal strife in the Tang Dynasty.
"Although we cannot get married, we can negotiate for peace. To show our sincerity, we can trade silk, tea, and monks with Tibet. The Tibetans can exchange cattle, sheep, and horses..."
The idea is simple.
Use trade to initially show the sincerity of the Tang Dynasty. You can also send a large number of monks to help Trisong Detsen prosper Buddhism and increase the power of Buddhist ministers. You can even promise to contain Dazalu Gong at the border and give Trisong Detsen the opportunity to get rid of the regent minister.
confidence.
However, once Trisong Detsen took action, the Tang Dynasty would encourage and even support Dazalu Gong to raise troops and incite civil strife in Tubo.
As for how to infiltrate Tubo, Xue Bai had specially prepared two key things, one was tea and the other was Buddhism.
The envoys and spies of the Tang Dynasty will follow the business travelers, bring tea that can relieve fatigue, and monks with extraordinary status, and enter Tubo, Hexi, and the Western Regions to contact immigrants and wait for the opportunity of civil strife in Tubo to regain the lost territory.
He would not place his hope on Dazalu Gong to take the initiative to return the lost territory.
Even if the city can be returned, the population, cattle, sheep, and property will not be returned.
In the diplomatic relations between the two countries, interests come first. As for the little friendship with Na Lanzhen, of course it is nothing. What's the harm in deceiving her once?
~~
A few days later, Basai Nang, who had been given the Buddhist name "Xilian", led the delegation on the road back to Tibet.
Unfortunately, he did not ask for Zanpu to marry a princess of the Tang Dynasty, so he could not formally confirm the alliance. However, he still got the Tang Dynasty to express its willingness to live in peace. The court gave him a large amount of tea as a reward and sent many people.
Monks entered Tubo to treat illnesses, save people, and promote Buddhism.
Zen Master Hui Zheng also accompanied him with his disciples, preparing to go to Tubo.
Before leaving, Zen Master Huizheng looked back at the majestic Chang'an City, and said something meaningful to Wang Wei, who had come to see him off.
"What Your Highness thinks, the poor monk knows all. If Buddhism cares about the suffering of the people and encourages people to do good, the light of the Buddha will shine universally. But if we monks forget the teachings of the Buddha and pursue the material desires of the world, we will fall into the abyss."