Chapter 308: Bannerless Riders

Lin Yiguo?

Gao Yang thought for a long time before recalling that the Prince of Yue indeed mentioned this country during Empress Changsun's birthday banquet.

But at that time everyone's attention was on the jade bead the Prince of Yue presented, and no one paid much heed to where it came from.

"What does Lin Yiguo have that's worth your such concern, jade bead?"

"Do I seem that superficial in your eyes?" Chen Yan said with a dark face, "What is a jade bead, anyway?"

"Lin Yiguo has a type of rice called Champa rice; it can mature in a little over three months, is extremely drought‑tolerant, and in the warm southern climate can be harvested two, even three times a year."

"If we seize this Champa rice, the Tang Dynasty's grain output would increase dramatically; who knows how many more people it could feed. Tell me, can I not care about that?"

Gao Yang said gravely, "If, as you say, Champa rice truly cannot be abandoned."

"Then why do you still think of taking it by force?"

"My father emperor is the Heavenly Khan; he orders them to send it over and offers some benefits. Would Lin Yiguo dare refuse?"

Chen Yan snorted lightly, "The words are as you say, but there are many twists and turns. Not to mention Lin Yiguo is far away, an unknown distance from the Tang, and they might feign compliance or even claim they have none."

"I never place the initiative in others' hands; that's why I asked your father emperor for eight hundred men."

"Why not just march in and seize the grain seeds directly?"

Gao Yang pondered, "Might eight hundred men be a bit few?"

"Then perhaps you could ask for more, make it fifteen hundred?"

"Lin Yiguo may be small, but it is still a country."

"No need, eight hundred is enough," Chen Yan chuckled, "In fact, I originally only needed about five hundred from your father emperor, because the Negotiation Office of Weinan County can at most expand its troops by five hundred; that's the best pretext."

"I didn't expect your father emperor, under the name of your princess residence, to give me an extra three hundred."

"Didn't I tell you last time?"

"I will achieve great results with these eight hundred men."

Chen Yan's plan is to have these eight hundred operate covertly; the Tang will not record them in any register, and from the day they agree, they will be dead to the Tang.

After leaving the Tang, they will no longer be Tang troops; everything they do will be unrelated to the Tang.

Chen Yan will forge their armor and weapons without any Tang coloration.

It is equivalent to a force sent out to do the dirty, arduous work.

That is precisely why Chen Yan treats them so favorably.

One must understand that, under a feudal dynasty, offering such terms is essentially breeding suicide soldiers.

"Alright, as long as you have a plan."

Seeing this, Chen Yan's stance remained firm, and Gao Yang ceased further persuasion.

In official matters, she never intervenes; whatever Chen Yan does, she supports.

The couple chatted a while longer until Qing'er came to report that someone from the palace had arrived, and only then did they leave.

"Huh, Lord Wushe, why is it you again?"

Outside, Chen Yan instantly spotted Wushe, the chief eunuch.

He teased, "Given your position, why are you always doing this work?"

"Lord Bo is joking; precisely because it is you, the servant comes."

Wushe replied, "If it were someone else, and they sent a servant, the servant would still not come."

Because Gao Yang was present, Wushe referred to himself as a servant.

"Fine then." Chen Yan saw Wushe's entourage was sizable—over a dozen eunuchs and many palace maids—so it wasn't easy to be casual.

He dutifully accepted the edict according to protocol.

Wushe read out the decree, rattling off a long string of flowery, formal language.

After listening for a while, the gist boiled down to a single sentence.

It praised Chen Yan, noted that Princess Changle is still unmarried, and proposed bestowing a marriage upon the two of them, or something of that sort.

When the procedures were finished, Chen Yan took the imperial edict and led Wushe aside.

"Lord Wushe, I have a letter here; please deliver it to His Majesty yourself and do not forward it to anyone else."

Chen Yan took the pre‑prepared letter from his bosom and handed it to Wushe, earnestly entrusting him.

Seeing his solemn expression, Wushe solemnly accepted, "Lord Bo, rest assured, I will certainly hand the letter to His Majesty myself."

"Very well." Chen Yan reached into his pocket for several gold cakes, ignored Wushe's objections, and forced them into his hand.

After a brief tug, Wushe finally, albeit reluctantly, took them.

With matters settled, Wushe naturally could not linger and led the palace entourage away in a grand procession.

"......"

Chang'an, Liangyi Hall.

Wushe hurried back to the palace, his heart racing, and handed the now-warmed letter in his arms to Li Shimin, who was reviewing memorials.

"Your Majesty, this is a letter the Marquis of Weinan asked the servant to deliver to you personally."

"When the Marquis of Weinan gave the letter to the servant, his expression was solemn, and he earnestly instructed the servant to hand it to you personally, without passing it to anyone else."

"Oh?" Li Shimin heard this and immediately realized the letter's contents must be important.

He quickly took the letter from Wushe, opened it, and began reading it word by word.

The more he read, the more his expression grew grave.

When he finished, he set the letter down, pondered for a moment, and waved his hand, ordering Wushe to withdraw.

He paced back and forth in the hall for a while, let out a long sigh, exited Liangyi Hall, and went to Lizheng Hall.

"Guanyin Maid, take a look at this."

Li Shimin took out the letter and handed it to his wife to examine.

This matter is not a small one; he cannot easily convene the ministers for discussion, so he has to let the most trusted Empress Changsun take a look.

"His Majesty, this..."

Empress Changsun, after seeing it, was indeed startled.

"Zi An, are you really going to forge heavy cavalry?"

"More than that!" Li Shimin snorted coldly, "They are a group of heavy cavalry cultivated by the method of training death soldiers; I dare not imagine how much combat power these eight hundred could exert."

It should be known that back then Li Shimin broke a hundred‑thousand‑strong army with three thousand five hundred men; the troops he used were the Tang Dynasty's most elite three thousand five hundred heavy cavalry, called the Xuanjia Army.

Eight hundred men sounds few, but if they are heavy cavalry, that is a completely different concept.

"His Majesty, Zi An sent the letter over and invited you to Weinan County to see these eight hundred; isn't the meaning obvious?"

Empress Changsun said with a smile, "You should be pleased; someone has specially forged a heavy cavalry for you—where else could you find such a good thing?"

Li Shimin, upon hearing this and pondering carefully, thought it indeed made sense.

Chen Yan wants these eight hundred, isn't it to go out and engage in robbery and plunder?

The things seized back, aren't they for the Tang Dynasty, for the Tang people?

And Chen Yan has also said that he only needs the authority to mobilize; this army is loyal to Li Shimin, loyal to the Tang Dynasty.

Thinking that way, Li Shimin suddenly felt he had given too little before.

Three thousand… maybe that's not impossible either?

He took the letter back from Empress Changsun's hand, read it again, and finally stared blankly at the name Chen Yan gave this army.

"Wujing Cavalry..."

"It implies a force without banners, suggesting they are a power that exists no publicly, has no designation, and is unacknowledged?"

"Tang Dynasty Wujing Cavalry, sigh~"

"......."