Chapter 37: The Wind Rises at the Edge of the Green Duckweed

Just after Li Longji killed three sons in a single day, and while Fang Chongyong was unjustly imprisoned to "experience life," another major event broke out at court.

Last year (the 24th year of the Kaiyuan era), Tufan's ambitions swelled, and it even struck westward at Bolü (the Ladakh region of eastern Kashmir), attempting to cut off the Silk Road.

This place guards the vital passage between the Indian subcontinent, Central Asia, and the western and northwestern regions of the Qinghai‑Tibet Plateau, making it a key node of the Silk Road.

The Bolü region itself is rugged mountains with resources not worth fighting over for Great Tang or Tufan, yet it forms a crucial stretch of the Silk Road. If Tufan fully controls Bolü, the Four Western Towns would be exposed to Tufan's military thrust!

Having been beaten, Bolü naturally sends envoys to Great Tang to plead for aid.

Great Tang has no choice but to step in, because if Tufan is allowed to run amok, the next step would be a contest with Tufan for the Four Western Towns. A complete severing of the Silk Road is intolerable and unacceptable for Great Tang!

Since Great Tang had maintained years of peace with Tufan, both sides were at ease. Thus Li Longji merely dispatched envoys to Tufan, ordering it to cease hostilities.

But Tufan's internal politics had already shifted, altering its foreign policy from defensive to aggressive; it outright ignored the imperial edict and brazenly invaded Bolü.

Li Longji was furious to the extreme, yet, given the domestic situation, he temporarily restrained himself.

It is worth noting that although Tufan is powerful, its foreign policy and exploratory methods are absurdly clumsy, often undertaking ventures that cost a hundred coins for only ten coins of return.

It excels at undermining other nations' interests, yet cares little about maximizing its own gains, frequently oscillating between mindlessly attacking others and mindlessly being attacked.

In short, Tufan's formidable strength has not been effectively channeled into its own growth; its diplomatic skill lags far behind that of the Turks.

Recently, Sun Hui, an attendant of Hexi Jiedushi Cui Xiyi, presented a memorial to court, accusing Cui Xiyi of colluding with Tufan border general Qi Li Xu Gou and forging an alliance with Bai Ju, leading the Tang to withdraw its frontier forts in the Hexi border area, creating a demilitarized zone.

Therefore, Sun Hui advised the court to seize the opportunity, launch troops from Hexi (Liangzhou), attack Tufan, and avenge past humiliation!

Although this would not directly retake Bolü, it could greatly check Tufan's forces and ease the military pressure on the Four Western Towns.

The matter was just brought to the throne for discussion, and the ministers immediately erupted into a quarrel. Represented by Right Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling and Left Prime Minister Li Linfu, the officials split into two sharply opposed factions.

Zhang Jiuling argued that the court's expenditures have reached terrifying levels, especially the bureaucracy and clerks in the Chang'an area, unprecedented in history!

Two years ago (the 21st year of Kaiyuan), under Li Linfu's supervision, the court conducted relevant statistics on this matter:

The number of officials in Chang'an reached 17,686, with subordinate officials totaling 57,416. Moreover, due to nepotism and imperial examinations, many possessed official qualifications but had not yet been appointed.

These individuals, together with royal family members, officials' children, and various servants and dependents, formed a massive group detached from agricultural production yet requiring sustenance.

Conservatively estimated, at least two hundred thousand people!

Four years have passed, and the number of officials has only increased!

With so many, each year a huge portion of the central treasury is consumed, along with massive grain and supplies shipped to Chang'an, pushing the treasury to the brink of collapse.

At this moment, someone actually suggested attacking Tufan—what were they thinking?

Where's the money? Who will provide it?

Whoever insists on sending troops against Tufan now, step forward and argue with me for five hundred rounds first!

Li Linfu's view was even more straightforward: if we don't fight Tufan, Great Tang's route to the Western Regions will be severed. With that road cut, the court can't collect trade and customs taxes from the Hu merchants, resulting in losses far exceeding a trillion.

All the caravans traveling to the Western Regions within Chang'an, the dazzling array of Western goods in the western market, and the huge yet low‑loss tax revenues tied to them would all vanish!

No one can bear such a loss.

Anyway, the current livelihood in Chang'an and the court's support of officials and soldiers remain as they are; decades have passed without major unrest, and no short‑term change seems possible.

War will not wait for you to have everything prepared before it erupts!

Instead of focusing on "cutting expenses," it's better to devise ways to "increase revenue."

Tufan border general Qi Li Xu Gou clings to contractual oaths—doesn't that present the perfect moment to strike unprepared? If we don't dispatch troops now, when will we?

As for honesty and trustworthiness, it depends on the situation. Those barbarian outsiders like Tufan, in Great Tang's eyes, are no different from livestock.

Between humans we can speak of honesty and trust, but between humans and livestock what moral ground is there?

In short: just charge forward; if we win, everything else will be easy.

Li Linfu's proposal garnered widespread support throughout court and bureaucracy, while only a handful backed Zhang Jiuling—just a few officials from the Secretariat who rose through the imperial examinations.

Thinking about it, the situation becomes clear.

Because whether we go to war or not, according to Zhang Jiuling's line of thought, we must drastically cut the staffing of capital officials, slash salaries and benefits, and also reduce many hidden perks.

If parents deny their children enough food, the children will complain; imagine the capital officials already living in luxury in Chang'an.

Sure enough, Li Longji heeded Sun Hui's counsel, sending a eunuch named Zhao Huicong as supervising commander, and together they returned to Liangzhou to urge Cui Xiyi to mobilize against Tufan.

It must be a surprise; no leaks are allowed!

As for the "killing three sons in a day" episode, Li Longji had long cast it aside. The war machine is about to be activated, and both inside and outside the court currents swirl, with letters constantly exchanged between Hexi and Chang'an.

War clouds now loom over the Tang‑Tufan border, and the situation has become tense again, just as it was ten years ago.

……

"Didn't you say we could be out in a day? It's been three days already; why are you still here?"

Yan Zhuang looked at Fang Chongyong with a mocking smile and asked.

"People stumble, horses slip, life is full of accidents.

Our people haven't arrived yet; the Dali Temple's environment is pleasant, so I thought I'd stay here a few more days…"

Fang Chongyong scoffed.

Before, he strutted in front of Yan Zhuang with great swagger; now being slapped in the face is just as miserable.

What exactly is wrong here?

Fang Chongyong always felt that the progress of the "killing three sons in a day" shouldn't be like this; imprisoning people shouldn't always be at the Dali Temple!

The Dali Temple is an institution that reviews cases from across the realm, but it also serves as a temporary detention place for major offenders.

Temporary, major offender—both are key terms!

In other words, many officials with political issues might first be sent to the Dali Temple for a few days; perhaps after the emperor changes his mind, they could be released and reinstated to their posts.

If sentenced, they would be transferred from the Dali Temple—exiled where appropriate, granted death where appropriate.

Moreover, the Dali Temple prison conditions were relatively good among Tang prisons; the guards were stricter and more orderly, with fewer external interferences, preventing a detainee from being casually poisoned by a jailer.

It also wouldn't let prisoners die of illness in prison!

Which link went wrong?

Fang Chongyong fell into deep thought, not even noticing that he himself now smelled foul, and he didn't look much better than Yanzhuang.

Just then, the prison door opened, and Gao Lishi, wearing yellow palace robes, walked in with his hands behind his back, looking at Fang Chongyong with a meaningful gaze.

"Let's go, the Sage summons you."

Gao Lishi said softly, his tone calm and indifferent.

Those who serve the emperor at his side have already cultivated a professional habit of not showing joy or anger on their faces. Sometimes a cold tone does not mean a cold mood; it's just habit.

"You elders sure are a bit late arriving."

Fang Chongyong stood up, stretched his limbs, and laughed, "I originally thought I could get out in a day."

"If you keep talking back, you might be locked up for a year—still not leaving?"

Gao Lishi laughed and scolded.

"All right, let's go, let's go."

Fang Chongyong followed behind Gao Lishi, and then, under Yanzhuang's astonished gaze, slowly walked out of the Dali Temple Prison's cell.

"Why is the difference between people so great?"

Yanzhuang watched Fang Chongyong's retreating back and couldn't help sighing.

Fang Chongyong couldn't hear Yanzhuang's helplessness and bitterness at that moment; he followed Gao Lishi onto an ox cart, then arrived at Xingqing Palace, where two pretty maids bathed him for an hour and then changed him into a comfortable silk robe.

This robe was cut and sewn from white silk, its material being the tribute silk from Henan Prefecture (governing Luoyang, today's Luoyang in Henan), and it was not cheap.

The robe was embroidered with a pattern called "hunting brocade."

It featured figures of archers, running beasts, flying auspicious birds, and interspersed trees and flowers, all gathered within a round medallion.

Outside the medallion, bead‑shaped patterns were dotted, distinct in layers and tightly structured.

Such patterns are collectively known as "linked‑pearl round medallion" designs, the fashionable ornament of the nobility at the time.

Having learned this from the two maids, Fang Chongyong dared not ask how much the robe cost or how much labor it required.

In short, noble affairs often cannot be measured by money; it's all about pretentiousness that they pursue!

What shocked Fang Chongyong even more was that he didn't need to dress himself—two pretty maids helped him dress! When bored, he asked those two maids how many more people like them remained in the palace.

The reply was: "Perhaps over ten thousand."

Thus Fang Chongyong thought, gathering myriad favors upon oneself—perhaps that saying is not an exaggerated rhetorical device but a true depiction of court extravagance.

Guided by the two pretty maids, Fang Chongyong entered the Qinzhengwubenlou of Xingqing Palace and saw a middle‑aged man in a dark‑blue round‑collared robe chatting leisurely with Gao Lishi, the two smiling and talking.

Needless to say, this man was Li Longji.

Fang Chongyong couldn't help but marvel: Emperor Li Longji is so controversial that words fail to capture it.

"I have seen the Sage."

Fang Chongyong bowed to Li Longji and said,

"How do you know I am the Son of Heaven?"

Li Longji lowered the sheet music in his hand, looked at Fang Chongyong, and asked.

"Who else could be chatting leisurely here with General Gao, if not the Sage?"

Fang Chongyong said cautiously,

"No need to be formal—if I wanted to behead you, I'd have done it already. Speak: why did you bury Li Ying and the others? Or do you simply not know what status your father held?"

Li Longji asked, full of resentment.

"Your Majesty, I merely thought the dead should be laid to rest. Deposed or forced‑to‑die princes are still the face of the imperial house, and the imperial house's face is the Sage's face."

Fang Chongyong continued his bow and said,

"Forget it, considering your youthful ignorance, I'll let this matter drop and won't pursue it further. However, those examinees who caused trouble with you, I have decided to let them fail this year's imperial exams; no matter how talented, they won't be hired this year!"

Li Longji waved his hand and said,

This is his true opinion. Fang Chongyong is a half‑grown child, moreover the son of a confidant of the prince's residence; if he stirs up trouble without causing serious harm, he can be forgiven.

Yet Zhang Xun and the others are already adults, yet they are examinees taking the civil‑service tests, and they still joined in the mischief. Children don't understand—do you not understand either?

Simply striking these people from the examination roster as punishment is already done out of respect for Fang Youde's face.

"Thank you, Sage, for your grace."

Fang Chongyong continued to bow, his attitude very humble.

"In a few days, go to the Imperial Academy to study. Idling all day invites trouble."

Li Longji said calmly.

"Eh?"

"The Imperial Academy?"

Fang Chongyong blinked, still not grasping what this place was for, only feeling that the name sounded familiar.

"At your age, not studying, what else do you want to do, and what are you capable of?"

Li Longji looked at Fang Chongyong with a puzzled expression and asked.

In the Tang dynasty, not every official could have a private tutor hired by his family; however, Fang Youde's outright neglect of his son is rare, and most offspring of official families usually also spend some time at the Imperial Academy to gain credentials.

There they provide food, lodging, and even uniforms!

The Imperial Academy lies in the western part of Wuben Fang in Chang'an; this ward borders the Imperial City to the north and neighbors Xingdao Fang to the west, spanning 350 paces north‑south and 450 paces east‑west (one pace ≈ 1.65 meters).

The Imperial Academy occupies half a ward's area; besides the Academy, the ward contains the Office of Petitions, the former residence of Fang Xuanling converted into the Primordial Heaven Observatory, and many officials' dwellings.

Apart from the palace city where central offices are located, this place is the most densely populated area for officials within Chang'an.

Originally I wanted to ask, "Can I skip going?" but seeing Gao Lishi give a subtle nod without a word, Fang Chongyong could only press his palms together and bow, saying, "Thank you, Sage, for your grace. However, there is a matter; I beg the Sage's indulgence."

"Just speak plainly."

Li Longji was in high spirits; publicizing this would greatly help mend his tarnished image.

"On my way back to Chang'an, I met a minor official from Youzhou named Yanzhuang, who had been exiled to Lingnan. He claimed my father had wronged him. Now the court is in need of talent; why not assign him to a post at the Hexi border garrison? That would also be making full use of his abilities."

If exiled to Lingnan, I fear I'd lose my life—what's the point of that?

Fang Chongyong hadn't forgotten Yan Zhuang, and was thinking of a way to intercede for him.

"Attendant, this is a small matter—please handle it. Take him home, go out the rear gate of Xingqing Palace."

Li Longji smiled relaxedly, pointing at Fang Chongyong as he spoke to Gao Lishi.

As for whether the whole affair was legal from start to finish, he didn't bother to ask at all.

In the Great Tang, no matter how great the law, it cannot surpass the sage—why bother saying all that nonsense?