As the soldering iron burned green smoke on the skin, the questioning sounded again.
“Where is Trisong Detsen?”
The person who was tied to the torture rack was a short-haired monk. He raised his head and saw that it was Yeshi Wangpo. He pursed his lips tightly and said nothing, and his eyes were as stubborn as rocks.
His interrogator had stayed up for several nights. He yawned and said to himself: "The monk refused to speak. He just assumed that Trisong Detsen was dead."
"Let's try again tomorrow."
The sound faded away and the secret prison gradually became quiet. Yixi Wangbo looked around, looking for a way to die.
Until late at night, there was a sudden sound outside, and a slender figure wearing a black cloak walked in. In front of him, it was Na Lanzhen.
"Princess? How did you get here?"
Na Lanzhen looked tired and said, "I thought you and Zamp were both killed, but I found out that Ma Xiang's confidants have been secretly arresting people here. Tell me, is Zamp still alive? Where is he?"
"
"Zamp, he should still be alive."
"What happened?"
Yixi Wangbo said: "The princess and Basak Nang went to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy and brought back Zen Master Hui Zheng and his disciples. This time the assassination of Ma Xiang failed. Zen Master Hui Zheng sensed that Zan Pu was in danger and took him with him in advance.
Zamp escaped. To protect Zamp, I stayed behind and set myself on fire. Unexpectedly, I was captured by Ma Xiang's men."
After Nalanzhen heard this, she first murmured: "Was it Huizheng who rescued Zanpu?"
But she still felt vaguely that something was wrong.
Since the incident, she has been trying hard to find Zanpu, but after Huizheng rescued Zanpu, not only did he not contact her, but she seemed to be avoiding him.
After getting this clue, Nalanzhen sent Basai Nang to investigate the Zen monks. Not long after, Basai Nang asked someone to report to her, and found out that a group of Zen monks had gone to the territory of the Supi tribe one after another, and these were the envoys of the Tang Dynasty.
direction of return.
"Zampu followed the envoy and fled to Tangting?" Nalanzhen wondered in her heart.
She couldn't help but think of Xue Bai again.
She had hated him deeply in the past, but she had to admit that his tenacity and strength gave her a lot of strength and allowed her to imitate him. Over the years, she had worked hard to become like him.
Gradually, in her heart, Xue Bai became a steady and reliable ally, at least for the time being, so she eagerly wanted to form an alliance with him.
Nalanzhen chased in the direction of the envoys from the Tang Dynasty without stopping. She traveled through wind and rain, eating wind and drinking dew every day, and finally found out their movements.
At the edge of Dangra Lake, a herdsman told her that an envoy from the Tang Dynasty passed by here a few days ago, and he brought a group of monks with him.
Nalanzhen was overjoyed and galloped until her horse was exhausted, so she had to stop and stay in a tantric Zen monastery. When she stayed, she always felt that the old monk looked at her in the wrong way, so she kept a close eye on her during the night, waiting to hear what she wanted.
He stood up suddenly as he heard footsteps outside the door.
"Princess, the old monk wants to take you to see Basai Nang." The old monk outside the door said, "He was seriously injured, and he wants to tell you something."
Nalanzhen was also brave and followed the old monk without hesitation.
When he arrived at a monk's house, he opened the door and saw Basak Nang lying there with the arrows still on his body. He had several wounds all over his body. He was covered with incense ash and was mushy with the gushing blood.
His face was sallow and he was dying.
"Basai Nang, who hurt you like this?"
"After all, the princess...it was Tang Ting...who kidnapped Zampu..."
Na Lanzhen stepped forward and said, "What did you say?"
"It was the envoy from the Tang court who told Ma Xiang the plan... and betrayed us..."
"How could it be? He has formed an alliance with us." Na Lanzhen shook her head and said, "They are not treacherous people."
In her impression, Xue Bai and Yan Zhenqing were both upright and upright people who respected benevolence, justice, propriety, wisdom and trust.
Bassinang murmured: "I didn't believe it at first. Tang Ting regarded itself as a big country and was so proud...how could it betray an alliance...but they...are an enemy country!"
There was a "pop" sound, and blood poured out of his mouth.
He originally relied on his will to hold on and wanted to tell Nalanzhen the news, but now his anger was gone and he could no longer hold on and died on the spot.
Na Lanzhen sat slumped on the ground and was in a daze for a long time.
Since Ma Xiang became the regent, he has been launching military campaigns against the borders of the Tang Dynasty, and has successively occupied Hexi and Longyou areas. He also invaded the Tang Dynasty during the autumn harvest every year, and even supported Dazalu Gong's troops to march into Chang'an.
Therefore, she thought that she and Xue Bai had a common enemy, and as long as Ma Xiang and Dazalu Gong were eliminated, Tubo and Tang Dynasty could live in peace.
She was too naive, and Xue Bai simply ignored her so-called sincerity and credibility.
There are only eternal interests between countries.
It would be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty to weaken Tubo, so Xue Bai would do it without hesitation and do his best.
Now, letting Ma Xiang use brutal means to suppress the opponents and forcefully seize the throne will most weaken Tubo. That's what Xue Bai did. When Ma Xiang really takes control of the situation, Xue Bai will send Trisong Detsen back and start civil strife again.
.
As for personal friendships and positions, they are nothing compared to these.
"Damn."
"Damn."
Some scenes that had been forgotten reappeared in Nalanzhen's mind, the Tubo soldiers who died in Nanzhao, and the bits and pieces of her being captured and humiliated.
She cursed twice, clutching the knife tightly, with murderous intent in her eyes. She had not lost yet, she wanted to rescue Trisong Detsen and come back to dominate Tubo.
By then, an extremely powerful Tubo state will ravage the Tang court wantonly.
~~
Chang'an.
After the third year of Shangyuan Dynasty, Xue Bai changed the title of the reign to "Zhengxing", which means "bringing order to order and reviving the Tang Dynasty".
It was the first year of Zhengxing, the year of Jihai, and the year of the Pig. There were no major events in the world. Last year, the two saints died and Tubo invaded the country. After the temporary turmoil, the state affairs gradually calmed down.
In the first year when Xue Bai officially came to power, the goal he set for himself was to "make no mistakes" because he often asked himself, what is the difference between him and Li Heng and Li Chu when he ascended the throne and proclaimed emperor? In other words, what can he bring to the Tang Dynasty?
What kind of changes? I think one is the crafts and laws of later generations that he brought in his mind, which will take a long time to establish the foundation; the other is to correct the problems of the Tang Dynasty itself. There are two biggest problems, the separation of vassal towns and the tax system.
reform.
If he can accomplish these things during his reign, Xue Bai believes that the Tang Dynasty will become stronger and more prosperous in his own hands. However, the resolution and formation of the vassal towns and the tax system all depend on class conflicts. The foundation of the Tang Dynasty must be touched at any time, so he cannot be too hasty.
He is willing to spend several years first to stabilize people's livelihood, accumulate national strength, cultivate useful talents, and at the same time increase his personal authority, so that he can calm down and make reforms later.
Therefore, in the first year of Zhengxing, Xue Bai was most concerned about creating a stable and peaceful external environment. Unlike Li Longji, who conscripted troops to conquer Qinghai, he temporarily used diplomatic means to force Tibet to be unable to start another war after a war.
, and then waited for Feng Changqing to send news from the four towns of Anxi.
After solving the problem in the northwest, Xue Bai wanted to tour all over the world to clean up the officials, resolve conflicts from the local level, reform the tax system, and personally supervise to prevent good policies from being implemented but turning into bad things that harm the people.
politics.
He also asked Jiangnan Dongdao to design a shipping office and build sea-going ships, hoping that in the future the ships of the Tang Dynasty would sail on the sea, bring back more productive grains, and promote the majesty of the great country.
These are all things for later, and he needs to wait patiently on calm days.
In addition, in the first year of Zhengxing, Qing Lan and Li Tengkong gave birth to a son and a daughter, adding a bit of joy to the originally cold palace city.
The courtiers naturally congratulated Xue Bai, but they also noticed that Xue Bai, who had always been famous for his romantic style, had not actually canonized many concubines.
In the end, it was Du Wulang who got Du Youlin's instruction and gave a few reminders when he asked to see Xue Bai.
"Why don't you ennoble some more concubines and spread the branches, so that we ministers of Yuan Cong can feel more at ease?" Du Wulang looked around and saw that there was no one in the palace, so he picked up the apple on the imperial desk and started to chew it.
Xue Bai approved the memorial and without raising his head, said: "Okay, I will first consecrate the concubine and the concubine."
"Ahem." Du Wulang choked on the apple while chewing it, and waved his hand: "No, no, if the sisters agree, I will break their legs. It doesn't matter if they are in the wrong generation in other families, in our case
The most important thing about a family is its reputation.”
Xue Bai said: "How about I canonize the Seventeenth Mother?"
"No, no, no," Du Wulang waved his hand, "She is from the same clan as you."
"Where's Yao Niang?"
"Are you kidding me?" Du Wulang responded hurriedly, "Also, don't talk anymore about Yao Niang's sisters. If it doesn't work, it won't work. It's one thing for others to talk behind your back, but it's another thing if you put it on the table.
It’s the same thing.”
Xue Bai pondered and said: "To tell you the truth, I have met Ji Lanzi frequently recently, and I don't want to let her down."
"Are you serious?" Du Wulang slapped his head and said, "I pretend I don't know about your private exchanges, but this is also a person with the same surname, so it is inappropriate to be canonized openly."
"This is not allowed, and that is not allowed. Why are you talking so much?"
"And Nian Nu, Xie Aman, think about it again, what other beauties do you have that you can apologize to?"
Xue Bai became distracted by this.
He didn't really think about who he was sorry for, he just thought that there was actually a way to give a name to the people around him.
"By the way, have you heard about it?" Du Wulang suddenly said: "The matter of Princess Hezheng."
"What's wrong with her?"
Only Du Wulang dared to say this to Xue Bai. He came closer and started talking in a casual tone.
"She was annulled. Didn't Emperor Xuanzong choose a husband for her two years ago? Cui's descendant, it seems, was named Cui Mei. The wedding date was originally scheduled for the third year of Yuan Dynasty. However, there was a palace coup and you killed him.
Prince Zhong. I heard that she even wore her wedding clothes, but the Cui family was worried about being implicated and refused to marry her. Now she has become the laughing stock of Chang'an City."
Du Wulang said with great sadness.
Xue Bai didn't react much after hearing this, and said: "Why are you telling me this? Can I still force Cui Mei to marry him?"
"You can issue a decree to let Cui Mei know that you will not pursue the loyal female relatives of the king."
"Don't worry about that."
Xue Bai closed the memorial in his hand, looked a little more serious when facing Du Wulang, and said, "I see you today because of this memorial."
"What?"
Du Wulang first asked in the tone of a friend, then with a stern look on his face, he cupped his hands and said, "Listen, I."
"Back then, after I recruited Tian Chengsi to surrender, I asked him to lead Fan Yang to surrender and accompany me in the Northern Expedition Shi Siming. Do you think I did something wrong in this matter?"
"How do you know this?" Du Wulang scratched his head and muttered in a low voice, but after thinking about it seriously, he could still answer it, saying: "Fan Yang's wife and children are all in their hometown. They are returning home as fast as an arrow. They will follow your Majesty in the Northern Expedition. You should be brave.
, staying in Guanzhong will cause trouble, your Majesty's move is naturally correct."
Xue Bai threw the memorial in his hand to Du Wulang.
Du Wulang opened it and saw that the memorial was written by Yan Gaoqing. It only briefly mentioned the military settlement in Hebei, and mainly talked about a series of impacts caused by the civil strife in Huihe.
After Ye Hu and Yi Dijian split, Ye Hu was driven to Geluolu's tribe, while Yi Dijian sent troops south. His troops lingered at the border of the Tang Dynasty for a while, and then began to rob and kidnap the people on the border.
Yan Gaoqing was in charge and was not good at marching and fighting. Fortunately, his powerful generals such as Yun, Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi, Hou Xiyi, Liu Kenu and other generals led their troops to attack and defeated Yidijian's troops. Although Fan Yang and Lu Longjun rebelled
Yes, but in recent years, soldiers have always been tough in dealing with foreign enemies, and they have not lost the reputation of men of the Tang Dynasty.
This memorial letter was handed over by Yan Gaoqing to report his merits and ask for rewards for the soldiers, such as appointing Tian Chengsi as Fan Yang's military envoy.
He also said in the memorial that at present, foreign enemies are invading the country, and it is not appropriate to weaken the power of the Jiedushi for the time being, because Fan Yang is now Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian is in charge. If the power of a county is dispersed to various states and counties, it will be difficult for foreign invaders to come.
Coordinate the defense of the enemy, and if the power of the commander is divided into four, he will not be able to suppress it.
Finally, Yan Gaoqing asked the court if it had received Shuofang's report.
After Du Wulang read it, he rubbed his eyes and read it again.
Xue Bai asked: "Do you see the problem?"
"Could it be that your Majesty suspects that Yan Gaoqing is greedy for power and wants to be the governor of Jiedushi himself? That's why he doesn't support your majesty in weakening the power of Fanyang Jiezhen?"
Xue Bai said: "He is telling the truth, not to gain power."
Du Wulang said: "Then what's the problem?"
"Do you think Fan Yang's problem lies with Yan Gaoqing or with Tian Chengsi, Zhang Zhongzhi and other Fan Yang's old generals?"
Du Wulang then thought for a while and felt that Yan Gaoqing's memorial seemed to imply that Tian Chengsi and others could not be suppressed.
In the past, Xue Bai personally controlled Fan Yang and was able to suppress these arrogant and powerful generals. Now that Uighur has raided the south and they have regained military power, it will be difficult for them to hand it over.
Even if Yuan Luqian can guard Yan Gaoqing, whom Xue Bai trusts, he must hold all the power. If things go on like this, he will become an old general of Fan Yang and cannot fundamentally solve the problem.
"Your Majesty is saying that the problem is not with these people, but with the power of the vassal town?"
"Is there anything you can do?"
"I am the most stupid person. How can I discuss these important matters with His Majesty?" Du Wulang said, "It's nothing more than... sending out supervisory troops?"
Xue Bai shook his head and ignored Fan Yang's question for now, then pointed to the last sentence in the memorial and said, "Yan Gaoqing is reminding me."
Du Wulang looked at it, was surprised, and asked: "Did your Majesty not receive Shuofang's report?"
"Um."
Today's Shuofang Jiedushi is Pugu Huai'en.
This man has always regarded himself as loyal, but after being angered by Li Heng and his son, he occupied several large cities in Shuofang and refused to hand over his military power. Previously, Xue Bai had never cared about him, so he had to appease and surrender him, but there was no big deal.
trouble.
However, in order to help Li Heng borrow troops from Uighur, Pugu Huaien once married his daughter to Uighur, and moved to Jian to be his son-in-law.
Now, they moved to Jiannan to raid the Tang Dynasty, instead of invading the closer Shuofang area, but ran directly east to Fanyang and Pinglu. However, Pugu Huai'en did not report a word to the court, which is very intriguing.
Maybe Yidijian didn't want to offend his father-in-law, and Pugu Huai'en didn't know anything about it; maybe the two parties had already contacted each other and reached a consensus, so Yidijian went to invade other parts of the Tang Dynasty, and Pugu Huai'en deliberately concealed it and refused to retaliate.
Yan Gaoqing said that the current situation is not stable and is not suitable for weakening the power of Fanyangjie Town. Obviously, a large part of the reason is to guard against Pugu Huai'en.
Du Wulang was a little frightened and said: "Your Majesty, such a big matter should be discussed with the prime minister. I can't afford it."
"I came to you because I want you to go see Pugu Huai'en on my behalf."
"What?"
When Du Wulang heard this, his face turned pale, he pursed his lips and said, "In a place like Shuofang, those arrogant soldiers and generals, I..."
"You are the person I trust most and can best represent my sincerity. Tell him on my behalf that I don't want to be suspicious of him. He is a frank man. I just ask him if I can trust him again."
~~
In the blink of an eye, the second half of the first year of Zhengxing has arrived.
Many merchants went south to purchase tea, Shu brocade and other goods and returned them to Chang'an, waiting for the imperial court to open up the Western Regions. Some waited for half a year, and some even waited for a year. However, although the imperial court defeated the Tibetan invasion, it had not yet
The merchants discussed the idea of raising troops to regain Hexi, saying that they had been deceived by the young emperor.
Xue Bai was also a little anxious. The trade routes in the Western Regions were blocked, so Chang'an had to rely on supplies from all over the world. It could only go in but not go out, which was like a pool of living water that had become stagnant.
On this day after the Mid-Autumn Festival, Yan Quanming suddenly asked to see him.
He usually submitted the memorial the day before his audience, but today it was different from the normal situation. Xue Baisui had a thought in his mind and had a premonition.
Therefore, as soon as Yan Quanming entered the palace, Xue Bai asked: "But the envoy is back?"
"Exactly! Li Qiwu and others have returned and brought Ma Xiang's envoy. Do you want to see him now?" Yan Quanming was also very excited. He took two steps forward and said in a low voice: "It's done, Chisong Dezan.
Just in the queue.”
Xue Bai breathed a sigh of relief. He was not in a hurry to see these people, but looked at the map. In this way, the chess game that was originally stuck could be revitalized. He could mobilize some of the troops from Sichuan and Shu to Qinlong
, preparing to open up the Western Region.
He even just needs to show off and negotiate to get back the cities in Hexi. This is the best result. Then he can transfer Guo Ziyi to Shuofang and suppress Pugu Huaien.
You can also replace the generals of Fan Yang and Pinglu.
Of course, if you calm down and think about it, the prerequisite for these plans to be successfully realized is that Anxi and Beiting towns are still there, or they all still want to pay attention to the Tang Dynasty.
If Anxi and Beiting had surrendered to Tubo, it would be meaningless to recover Hexi. The imperial court would hit a wall in the northwest, and the problems of Shuofang, Fanyang, and Pinglu would become even more difficult.
~~
At the same time, Lingwu.
Feng Changqing once led his army northward from here, passing through Huihe to Anxi.
After they left for nearly two years, a small group of people finally came back from the north, riding camels in the wind and sand, and arrived at the gate of Lingwu City.
A soldier from Shuofang shouted and asked, "Who are you?!"
The small group was headed by a middle-aged man with rough skin and weathered face. He stared blankly at the flag of the Tang Dynasty waving on the top of the city for a long time.
He spread his hands, looked at the sky, and let out a long breath.
"Datang? Datang!"
"The journey back home has lasted more than 10,000 miles, and we have finally completed it."
Following these two sentences, the middle-aged man burst into tears.
He just stood there crying quietly, causing his companions behind him to sob. They had no more words, only muddy tears dripping on the worn feet.
The city gate defenders couldn't help but be moved and asked: "Where did you come from?"
"Anxi, the Beiting Protectorate has not surrendered yet!"
The middle-aged man did not immediately answer who he was, but beat his chest hard and spoke loudly.
"In the past few years, Hexi has fallen, and there is no news from Chang'an. The Tubo army has attacked repeatedly, but the Anxi army still held on!"
The city guard was stunned, looking at the man in front of him blankly, and said: "The Four Towns of Anxi are still there?"
"Still there!"
"Is the Beiting Protectorate still there?"
"Still there!"
The middle-aged man answered, putting his hands on the shoulders of the city guard, and asked: "Where is Chang'an? Is Chang'an still there?"
"Chang'an...of course is still there."
The middle-aged man then said: "The last general, Cao Lingzhong, was under the command of General Yang Zhilie after staying in Beiting. He was ordered to return to the capital and report the situation in the Western Regions. Although we are thousands of miles away, the flag of the Tang Dynasty has not fallen."
"Quick! Report to Jieshuai quickly!"
The city gate opened, and the gatekeepers got on their horses and galloped towards the Commander-in-Chief's Mansion in the middle of the city.
Jieshuai Mansion, main hall.
Du Wulang held a cup in both hands, and the wine in the cup was rippling.
His hands were trembling slightly. Facing Puguhuaien, he sensed the danger and felt a little guilty.
"I am loyal to the imperial court, but the imperial court always doubts me!"
After Du Wulang conveyed the emperor's greetings, Pugu Huai'en not only showed no respect, but also waved his hand and spoke angrily.
"It's understandable when I think about it. Previously in Jingyuan, I was very suspicious of King Zhong. Now today, I even raised an army to fight with him. How can he trust me?!"
"That's not the case." Du Wulang said quickly: "Your Majesty sent me here precisely because of trust. Commander Jie, think about it, I am the person your Majesty trusts most. If I doubt you, how can I put myself in danger?"
Pugu Huaien snorted lightly, not taking it seriously.
They knew very well that Du Wulang came here because of the civil strife in Huihe.
"If I say that after the civil strife in Huihe, I did have contact with Yidijian, how would you feel about it?" Pugu Huaien asked.
Xue Bai is right, he is indeed a straightforward person.
But when Du Wulang saw him being so frank, his heart trembled violently, and cold sweat ran down his back. He thought to himself that he was planning to kill him to silence him, right?