Chapter 667: Lord and Subject

Zhang Xianyu returned to Liangzhou once more. He was very familiar with this city, for most of his youthful years had been spent in Liangzhou.

As for Pei Yuan, however, he was somewhat unfamiliar; in fact, before this, Zhang Xianyu had never even met Pei Yuan.

It was Pei's eldest daughter whom Zhang Xianyu knew somewhat, for they had studied together in the school hall within the Yongxun Palace.

A peal of silvery laughter drifted over. The newcomer wore men's attire with a soft cap on her head and rode a spirited white horse, looking dashing and heroic, full of the air of the High Tang.

Zhang Xianyu recognized at a glance who it was: none other than Pei Yuan's eldest daughter, the eldest young lady of the Pei family.

"Little Chubby, you've grown so tall? And not so chubby anymore—finally you've got a bit of a manly air about you."

Zhang Xianyu closed his eyes in dismay. "Little Chubby" was not a term from this era, and its appearance here was all thanks to her father, the Shaoming Son of Heaven.

Ever since Zhang Zhao had called Zhang Xianyu "Little Chubby," the term had practically become his nickname.

The eldest young lady of the Pei family then looked Zhang Xianyu up and down once more, until Xue Guizhong, the Administrative Assistant of the Chengtian Liangzhou Prefecture behind her, gave a dry cough, at which point she stepped back with a slight show of embarrassment.

There was a reason she looked at him this way, because the eldest young lady of the Pei family knew what Zhang Xianyu had come for.

Zhang Zhao, of course, would not actually let a green youth like Zhang Xianyu go propose marriage himself; he had long since sent Shen Zhihai, the Surveillance Commissioner of Hexi Province, to speak with Pei Yuan.

Shen Zhihai came from the Yangfei Valley tribe of the Six Valley Tribes of Liangzhou, and was a descendant of a Longyou Han general whose family genealogy could be produced.

Although the Shen family had not produced many great talents—his son Shen Nianban was merely a prefect of one prefecture—

the Shen and Zhao families, as Han clans within the Six Valley Tribes, had always been key figures in Zhang Zhao's unification of the Six Valley Tribes of Liang and Lan, enjoyed outstanding prestige in Hexi, and were Pei Yuan's most capable assistants in governing the greater Hexi region centered on the Chengtian Liangzhou Prefecture.

It was most appropriate for Shen Zhihai, the head of the Shen family, to go propose the marriage to Pei Yuan.

And Pei Yuan's education of his children was thoroughly in the style of the Great Tang; combined with the geographic position and local customs of the Chengtian Liangzhou Prefecture, this had shaped the eldest young lady of the Pei family into a bold, spirited woman who dared to love and hate, yielding nothing to men.

When setting out to welcome Zhang Xianyu, Pei Yuan had already told his eldest daughter of the matter, which was why she now examined Zhang Xianyu with the eyes of one appraising a future husband.

The result pleased her greatly. Zhang Xianyu's mother, Ayiguli, though not much favored, was so only because of health problems, not because she was unattractive; on the contrary, she was a quite beautiful young Uyghur woman.

Zhang Zhao could not be called handsome, but he was at least of average appearance, which guaranteed that Zhang Xianyu could not be too ugly.

Moreover, Zhang Xianyu had gradually grown into his features over the years, his body becoming increasingly sturdy, losing the chubbiness of childhood—naturally this could satisfy the eldest young lady of the Pei family.

Yet Zhang Xianyu still felt a small pang of disappointment in his heart. The eldest young lady of the Pei family was full of heroic spirit, but her looks could only be called passable.

This was inevitable. The eldest young lady was a daughter Pei Yuan had had in the days before he rose to prominence, when he was faring extremely poorly and naturally could not find a beauty for a wife; thus the eldest young lady of the Pei family could not be expected to have many striking features.

The only thing that could be called fortunate was that she had not inherited Pei Yuan's pair of long, narrow, uncanny eyes, which would otherwise have ruined the one praiseworthy quality—her heroic bearing.

But Zhang Xianyu did not take this to heart. Even if the eldest young lady of the Pei family had been merely passable in looks, or even as ugly as Momu or Wuyan, it would not have mattered.

So long as she was Pei Yuan's daughter and possessed even three-tenths of the ability of Momu or Wuyan, that would be enough to overshadow any flaw in appearance.

"Your servant, Xue Guizhong, Administrative Assistant of the Chengtian Liangzhou Prefecture and Troop Supervisor of Liangzhou Prefecture, greets the Second Young Lord!"

Those of the Eastward Return faction from New Kucha generally did not fare very well in the Zhang-Zhou realm.

After all, they had spent years hiding and fleeing; though they had tried their best to maintain their people's education, its level could not be very high, and with the constant threat to survival, their martial strength was somewhat lacking as well.

So although the name of "Anxi Army descendants plus Eastward Return faction" sounded impressive, they had produced no famous ministers or great generals—only a great many mid- and low-ranking civil and military officials like Xue Guizhong.

Zhang Xianyu could banter with the eldest young lady of the Pei family, but he dared not put on airs with Xue Guizhong. He hurried forward two steps and caught Xue Guizhong, who was about to bow all the way to the ground.

"Third Uncle, you mustn't do this. If I accepted this bow from you, the Sage would break your nephew's legs when I got back."

This one sentence made Xue Guizhong beam with delight. Grasping Zhang Xianyu's arm, he said with a smile:

"The Second Young Lord has truly grown up! Please follow your servant into the city; the Commandery Duke is waiting for you within."

Zhang Xianyu's arrival set everyone in Liangzhou Prefecture into motion.

For everyone knew that the Sage was about to go to Dunhuang to escort the coffin of the Great King and Commandery Duke Cao Yijin back to his homeland, and they all assumed Zhang Xianyu had come as an advance party.

Thus there were all manner of banquets, flattery, displays of family strength, and even offers to send daughters to his door.

Pei Yuan pretended not to see any of it, nor did he stop it—until Zhang Xianyu directly had Little Black Bear Zhang Liechao block visitors at the gate, refusing to see anyone and accepting no gifts, after which Pei Yuan decided to have a proper talk with Zhang Xianyu.

For this proved that Zhang Xianyu was a prince with self-awareness; otherwise, given Zhang Xianyu's awkward, neither-high-nor-low position, if he had no clear sense of his own standing, trouble could easily arise.

His daughter, the eldest young lady of the Pei family, was quite happy. Four years after her mother's death, her father Pei Yuan had remarried a principal wife.

This stepmother came from the Yin clan of Shazhou and was a first cousin, within the five mourning grades, of Duke of Cai Yin Zhengqi (Yin Yaozi).

At the same time, the grandmother of the Shaoming Son of Heaven was none other than her stepmother Lady Yin's own paternal grand-aunt.

With such standing, although the stepmother had no real conflict with her, she still somewhat looked down on her as the daughter of a country woman.

The eldest young lady of the Pei family appeared full of heroic spirit on the surface, but in truth it was to mask the unease within.

Yet recently her stepmother's attitude toward her had suddenly turned a full one hundred and eighty degrees. Needless to say, the only reason was that she was about to become the Sage's daughter-in-law.

So before Zhang Xianyu had even arrived, the eldest young lady of the Pei family had already been hovering around Pei Yuan constantly, and had even, for the first time ever, put on a ruqun dress, applied flower-petal forehead decorations, and dabbed rouge on her cheeks.

Pei Yuan looked at his graceful, slender daughter and laughed silently for a moment.

"A grown daughter cannot be kept at home! She's met him only a few times, and already her soul is lost!"

The eldest young lady of the Pei family was briefly shy, then her expression returned to normal. Looking at Pei Yuan, she asked, "Is Father not happy for your daughter? Why do you seem somewhat troubled instead?"

Pei Yuan was silent for a moment. Between him and Sage Zhang, one could say their minds were in accord, for the two were of the same kind. He, Pei Yuan, could be called both a founding loyalist minister and the first Central Plains literatus to throw in his lot with Zhang Zhao.

In Zhang Zhao's march into the Central Plains, he had rendered distinguished service, but these many years stationed on the frontier, he had lacked face-to-face communication with the Emperor.

Moreover, though he was a founding follower, he belonged neither to the Founding Follower faction nor to the Eastward Return faction, and could hardly be counted among the Liang-Lan Six Valley faction either; at the same time, the civil and military officials of the Central Plains did not regard him, Pei Yuan, as a man of the Central Plains, but rather as a dragon-following meritorious official who had come from Liangzhou.

This had resulted in Pei Yuan, despite his high position and great authority, becoming an isolated minister, with an extreme lack of channels of communication between him and Zhang Zhao.

Distance can produce fondness, but it can also produce estrangement.

And yet Pei Yuan's garrison duties in Liangzhou allowed him no room for hesitation or excessive deliberation. Only by putting on a tough stance could he suppress the dragon-following meritorious officials and imperial relatives spread throughout Hexi, and thereby complete the task Zhang Zhao had given him of building up the greater Hexi.

Over the years, there had been no shortage of people, openly or covertly, bringing accusations against Pei Yuan to Zhang Zhao. Although Zhang Zhao had suppressed them all, heaven only knew how long the Emperor's limitless trust in him could last.

Pei Yuan also knew what Zhang Zhao wanted him to do, and knew even better how dangerous the matter was.

If the Sage could not withstand the pressure from the Buddhist establishment and all sides, he, Pei Yuan, might well have to stake the lives of his entire family.

Its degree of peril could be said to be only slightly less than that of Chao Cuo in history, who reduced the vassal states for Emperor Jing of Han.

At this moment, Pei Yuan had even begun to entertain the thought of resigning and returning home to avoid disaster, yet in his heart he truly could not bear it, and also felt he would be failing the Emperor's trust.

It could be said that even now, he still hesitated.

Zhang Xianyu arrived very quickly. He and Lady Pei, the two young people, exchanged a glance, and sweet smiles appeared on both their faces.

Pei Yuan saw this, and his heart grew even more sour. He coughed heavily once, Lady Pei immediately vanished from sight, and Zhang Xianyu hastily called out "Uncle" and hurried to bow to Pei Yuan first.

Their conversation had no third party present. Zhang Xianyu was somewhat unfamiliar with Pei Yuan, while Pei Yuan was still weighing whether it was worth placing such a heavy bet on an unfavored imperial son with no backing, so the atmosphere was a bit awkward.

It was not until they turned to the future that their conversation took on something of the tone of father-in-law and son-in-law.

"Young lord, you intend to go to Talas in the days to come?" Pei Yuan asked in a low voice.

For him, living right there in Hexi, he did not regard Transoxiana as a dead-end at the edge of the world the way the people of the Central Plains did. It was far, true, but distance had its advantages.

Others all thought Zhang Xianyu's status was extraordinarily noble, but Pei Yuan did not see it that way.

The Sage was in the prime of life, and even while constantly at war he already had six sons and nine daughters. Once the realm was unified, who knew whether he might not end up with fifty children, like Emperor Shunzong of the Great Tang.

If Zhang Xianyu, with no real backing, remained in the central lands, it was hard to say how high a position he could attain.

But going to Transoxiana would be different. Under a Xia lord ruling Yi subjects, even the king of a great state with a million people could be made, and his own daughter had the ability to become a queen.

Zhang Xianyu, of course, had no idea that Pei Yuan had already thought through so much in his mind. He answered in a low voice.

"A Xia lord over Yi subjects is Your Excellency's long-cherished wish. I came from Transoxiana, and to return to Transoxiana to open new territory for our Great Zhou is only right and proper."

Pei Yuan nodded calmly. "That being so, you should marry a daughter of the Guo family of Suyab, or marry the granddaughter of your half maternal grandfather, Li Guoshou."

Zhang Xianyu looked at Pei Yuan, raised his wine cup to offer a toast, and only after the two had drunk a cup together did he speak: "A Xia lord over Yi subjects — who is lord and who is subject must be made perfectly clear.

The Guo family of Suyab have already converted to the faith of Daqin. Those willing to return east have already returned east. Whether those who remain can still be counted as noble descendants of Yan and Huang depends on how they conduct themselves. They can be allies, but not a foundation to rely on.

As for my maternal grandfather and uncles, they still do not understand the times. I can only hope your nephew can save them from the wrong path they have taken."

A moment earlier, when Pei Yuan told him to marry a daughter of the Guo family, Zhang Xianyu had seen what seemed to be a figure stirring behind the screen, and his heart had suddenly become clear.

Pei Yuan was also surprised that someone of Zhang Xianyu's age could have such an understanding of the situation in Transoxiana.

"But if you do not rely on the Guo family of Suyab and the Li family of Talas, how will you establish yourself in Transoxiana?" Pei Yuan posed the question that interested him most.

Facing Pei Yuan, Zhang Xianyu very deftly formed several dharma seals, and as he formed the seals, he chanted the Supreme Heaven Scripture of Deliverance and the Explanation of the Primal Source.

When the chanting was done, Zhang Xianyu said with a solemn expression: "Mountains and rivers are foreign lands; none of the myriad things can be relied upon. Only the Six Dharma Sect can serve as a support.

I carry the bloodline of Supreme Heaven. Can I not serve as a Dharma King for one term?"

Pei Yuan now looked squarely at the young man before him. Living in Hexi, he naturally knew the power of the Six Dharma Sect, but he still shook his head.

"The Six Dharma Sect is not all-powerful, and it runs counter to our Huaxia orthodox tradition. To rely entirely on the Six Dharma Sect would not be a Xia lord over Yi subjects — it would be turning Xia into Yi."

"The Duke of Baijun and the Count of Jiaocheng are now in the grasslands, putting order to things for the Sage. The spread of the Six Dharma Sect in the grasslands, through the tireless and selfless labors of dozens of great worthies of my Zhang family, is already near complete.

The Sage intends to establish twelve myriarchies in the grasslands. If one of the myriarchies — the Naiman, the Yinli, or another — could be obtained to accompany the westward march, then the Six Dharma Sect could indeed be all-powerful."

Pei Yuan had to admit that the Shaoming Son of Heaven, Sage Zhang, was truly an odd man. Before this, no emperor of a Central Plains dynasty had ever nearly finished integrating the grasslands while the Central Plains themselves were still not unified.

And it was actually quite useful, because to take Transoxiana and even Persia, relying on Han people alone was simply impossible; one had to rely on the armed nomads of the grasslands.

Now Sage Zhang, using the Six Dharma Sect as the bond, the twelve myriarchies as the framework, and the good life in Transoxiana and even Persia as the lure, truly possessed the ability to drive both the north and south of the great desert.

After thinking it over, Pei Yuan cautioned: "If that is so, one thing is still lacking — the aid of a Han power — before a Xia lord over Yi subjects can be achieved."

Zhang Xianyu rose upon hearing this, and bowed to Pei Yuan all the way to the ground. "That Han power — is it not precisely to be found in you, elder brother?"

"Ee-ya!" Someone let out a soft exclamation, and immediately Lady Pei came straight out from behind the screen, her eyes shining with hope as she looked at Pei Yuan.

Elder brother? You might as well just call him father-in-law.

Pei Yuan rose to his feet. He had spent his whole life scheming against others, but this time he had finally been schemed against by a boy.

In just three or four days since arriving, the boy had stolen away his daughter's soul — and of course, with one small vision of the future, he had also stirred waves in Pei Yuan's heart.

The greatest regret of his life was that he had not been able to reach Shazhou back then and follow Zhang Zhao westward to win glory in foreign lands. Now Zhang Xianyu had, indirectly, given him a chance to fill that regret.

"Talas is too small. I shall write a memorial at once, and seek for you, young lord, the land of Dayuan."

Dayuan was Tashkent, adjacent to Ningyuan (the Fergana Basin) controlled by Khotan. It had both support and wealth, enough to establish a great state.

Zhang Xianyu was overjoyed and immediately bent to bow. Pei Yuan did not stop him, but accepted the bow directly. From that moment on, their relationship as father-in-law and son-in-law was settled.

After the bow, Zhang Xianyu drew a letter from his bosom. "This is a letter from the Sage to you, elder brother."

Pei Yuan hastily received it with both hands and raised it above his head, and only then opened it. After reading just a few lines, he froze, and looking at Zhang Xianyu, said: "What virtue or ability does my unworthy son possess, that he should be worthy of Princess Changle?"

Originally, Princess Changle, Zhang Qinan, the eldest legitimate daughter of Zhang Zhao and Cao Yanxi, was to be matched with the eldest legitimate grandson of Li Shengtian, but now neither family had raised the matter again.

Because although Zhang Zhao called Cao Yuanxing "Aunt," the two were in fact blood-related cousins, whereas Zhang Zhao and Li Shengtian had no blood relation at all.

If one did not reckon through Zhang Zhao's legitimate mother, the Compassionate Empress Dowager, but instead through Cao Yuanxing, then Li Shengtian's eldest son, Li Congde, was not Zhang Zhao's cousin at all, but Zhang Zhao's cousin-nephew — and a blood-related cousin-nephew at that.

Then Li Shengtian's grandson would be Zhang Zhao's grand-nephew.

Marrying a daughter to a grand-nephew, though separated by several degrees of relation, was not a great problem in Hexi and Anxi, but now that Zhang Zhao had become the supreme ruler of all under heaven and raised the banner of Confucianism, it was highly inappropriate.

Zhang Zhao had proposed a solution: have Khotan send a prince not born of Cao Yuanxing for the marriage alliance. But Cao Yuanxing rejected it outright.

She would rather forgo a marriage alliance with the imperial family than allow any of the six princes of Khotan not born of her to marry the Emperor's eldest legitimate daughter.

Both Zhang Xianyu and Pei Yuan knew of this matter. In recent years, the marriage of Princess Changle had drawn the attention of all under heaven.

Li Jing, the ruler of the Southern Tang, had submitted memorials more than ten times in succession, sent gifts worth nearly a hundred thousand strings of cash, and bribed everyone who could put in a word, all to seek Princess Changle, Zhang Zhao's eldest legitimate daughter, for his eldest son, Li Hongji.

Zhang Xianyu said nothing, because he knew that at this moment he did not need to speak.

Sure enough, Pei Yuan read on. Sage Zhang recalled the little moments between the two of them, said frankly that he had wronged Pei Yuan by leaving him so long on the desolate frontier.

But the realm was not yet settled, and he could only hardship his trusted and vital minister. In the end he promised that when the day came to paint the portraits of meritorious officials, Pei Yuan would certainly be in the foremost rank.

"The Sage's grace is higher than heaven. Pei Yuying can never repay it in this life. I only wish that in life after life, I may forever follow the Sage!"

Pei Yuan wept bitterly, and facing the direction of Chang'an, performed three kneelings and nine kowtows, prostrating himself on the ground.

The tool-man for destroying Buddhism has finally come online.

At almost the same time, in the palace of the Meng Shu kingdom, a bloody upheaval had just come to an end.

Meng Chang, using the pretext of summoning the Vice Director of the Secretariat, Chief Minister, and Military Governor of Wuxin Circuit in Suizhou, Zhang Ye, to consult on military affairs, recalled Zhang Ye and his son Zhang Jizhao to Chengdu Prefecture for an imperial audience.

The Zhang father and son, unaware it was a ruse, returned carelessly to Chengdu Prefecture. The moment they entered the palace, Meng Chang ordered the palace warriors to cut them down with random blades.

Afterwards, Meng Chang ordered the veteran general Shi Jun to lead the Left Kuangsheng Capital of the imperial guard to Suizhou and slaughter all the partisans of Zhang Ye and his son.

Before Zhou Shu had even begun to fight, Meng Chang first killed several thousand people by ruthless means, displaying a decisiveness utterly unlike what he would show more than a decade later.

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