To the western frontier for a political marriage alliance.
Li Yuangui opened his mouth, staring blankly at Wei Shufen slumped on the ground, doubting his own hearing.
Well, in recent dynasties, there had been many instances of political marriages with the barbarian tribes. Although most involved imperial princesses bestowed upon the tribes, there were cases where daughters of high-ranking ministers like Wei Shufen were sent as fake princesses... Even earlier, during the Han Dynasty, palace maids were sent for such alliances... But never had there been a woman who willingly volunteered for such a marriage.
The harsh winds and sands of the frontier, the felt tents, the raw meat and blood, the coarse food and drink... Such living conditions were unbearable enough. But the most humiliating part was the custom among the northwestern tribes where a Han princess would have to marry the son or younger brother after the death of her husband, often serving multiple khans in her lifetime, with children whose lineage was impossible to determine. In recent times, when a family was chosen for such an alliance, the parents and relatives would weep as if mourning a death, for the pain of separation was worse than death itself.
Yet Wei Shufen had personally petitioned the Son of Heaven, willing to serve as a political bride and marry far into the wilderness.
Li Yuangui couldn’t help but glance at Chai Yingluo kneeling opposite him. So this was what she had whispered to Wei Shufen in the courtyard—inciting her to do this... Clearly, he wasn’t the only one who thought so, as the Son of Heaven seated before the screen also spoke:
"You wish to volunteer for a political marriage to the western frontier? How strange. How would a young girl like you know that the court is deliberating candidates for such an alliance?"
The Emperor’s gaze also swept toward Chai Yingluo. The female Taoist remained solemn, eyes downcast, sitting rigidly with hands on her knees. She had been ordered by the Empress to escort Wei Shufen home. If it were discovered she had acted against orders and meddled in this, the consequences would be severe.
"This humble one is terrified... It was Prince Wu who informed me... that the court was discussing matters with the Tuyuhun and planning a political marriage..."
What!
Li Yuangui, unjustly accused, was momentarily stunned. He stared wide-eyed at Wei Shufen, who was lying on the ground trembling, her hair slightly disheveled without her veiled hat, looking pitiful and wretched.
He turned to Chai Yingluo again, but the female Taoist remained as still as ever.
"...Fourteenth Uncle, you are willing to help Wei Niangzi in this matter, aren’t you? Even if it means bearing some blame...?"
Her words from outside the hall suddenly echoed in Li Yuangui’s ears. In an instant, the young prince understood.
"This unworthy subject admits to having discussed the western frontier situation and the marriage alliance with Wei Niangzi and others," Li Yuangui bowed in apology to the Son of Heaven. "If there is blame for leaking secrets, Yuangui alone will bear it."
This is utterly unjust, the young prince lamented inwardly. He hadn’t even known the court was selecting a bride—how could he have leaked it to Wei Shufen?
Well... that wasn’t entirely true. Over the past couple of months, while moving about the palace, he had heard plenty about the Tang forces’ on-and-off conflicts with the Tuyuhun, the negotiations, the sudden hostilities, and then talks of marriage. As far as he knew, the Tuyuhun khan had sought a Tang princess for his crown prince, but the Emperor demanded the prince come to Chang'an with betrothal gifts. The khan, no fool, naturally refused, and the matter had stalled.
This was a matter of state and military importance—how could he have discussed it with an outsider like Wei Shufen? If a bride were to be chosen, Chai Yingluo, the Emperor’s granddaughter, would be a more likely candidate—or worse..."You youngsters!" The Son of Heaven snorted through his nose before turning toward the screen and raising his voice:
"Empress, what do you think of Miss Wei volunteering to marry into the vassal state?"
From behind the screen came a fit of coughing.
Li Yuangui and Chai Yingluo both tensely stared at the large screen. Wei Shufen's act was outright defiance—a declaration that she would rather be exiled beyond the borders than sent home for a forced marriage. It was a blatant affront to Empress Zhangsun's dignity. If the Empress flew into a rage and insisted on sending her home, it would be a perfectly natural reaction...
When the coughing subsided, the hoarse woman's voice behind the screen was filled with exhaustion and weariness:
"As Your Majesty decrees..."
Li Yuangui exhaled in relief. As long as the Empress relented, there was still room for negotiation. Wei Shufen, still prostrate on the floor, let out a choked sob before her head lolled and her body went limp—she had fainted.
The Emperor frowned. Chai Yingluo quickly rose to lift the unconscious girl from the floor, pressing her philtrum and patting her cheeks while addressing the Emperor: "Your Majesty need not worry. Miss Wei has been exposed to the cold for too long, and her distress caused her to faint. She will recover after a few days of warmth and rest. May I ask—where should she be taken?"
This was a veiled inquiry about whether Wei Shufen should still be sent home per the Empress's original order. The Emperor waved a hand in irritation. "Do as you please. Just take her away and tend to her."
Chai Yingluo acknowledged the order and, with the help of palace maids, half-carried Wei Shufen out of the hall. Li Yuangui wondered if he should also take his leave and follow them, but his elder brother, the Emperor, turned to him with a stern tone:
"Fourteenth Brother, you are already of age—how can you still treat matters of state as child's play? Have you no sense of what words should be heard and passed on, and what should never be discussed and gossiped about with women? While our celestial troops shed blood on the frontlines battling Tuyuhun, are you youngsters just idly chatting and laughing?"
The reprimand seemed somewhat unwarranted, but Li Yuangui could only repeatedly kowtow in apology. After a string of "I am utterly terrified and deserve ten thousand deaths," he seized the moment to revisit an old plea:
"This subject is willing to don mourning garb and join the campaign, charging into battle on the Western Sea Road to spill blood on the battlefield in atonement for this crime..."
If they could just crush that barbarian vassal state of Tuyuhun and annex it as a Tang prefecture, the entire discussion of marriage alliances would become moot, and the women around him would be safe—he thought his plan to solve the problem at its root was quite brilliant. Late last year, he had similarly knelt before the sovereign, begging to join the military campaign.
At that time, the Emperor and Empress had been determined to conceal the death of his birth mother, Consort Zhang, forbidding even him and his seventeenth sister from wearing mourning clothes. They had summoned him to offer comfort. It was also here in the Hall of Established Governance that Li Yuangui had brought up this request, only to be met with a derisive scoff from the Emperor:
"Fanciful nonsense. You really aren’t afraid of twisting your tongue, boy."
"Our Longxi Li clan is a military family—our men train in archery and horsemanship from childhood and go to war when grown. This subject is already sixteen, fortunate to have reached maturity..." He stole a glance at the Emperor's expression before mustering the courage to speak his mind: "When Your Majesty followed the Supreme Emperor in suppressing rebels across Hebei and Shanxi, laying the foundation of the imperial enterprise, you were of this same age. Though this subject dares not presume to compare himself to the Sacred Sovereign...""Enough of this nonsense. During the WuDe Era, I, as a prince, led troops into battle each time bearing the title of Grand Marshal of the Expedition. You also wish to command troops in war? Fine!" The Son of Heaven slammed the desk. "Shall I trouble the recently reinstated Duke Yaoshi to retire once more and yield his position as Grand Commander of the Expedition to a mere child like you? To lead six armies with over a hundred thousand soldiers across mountains and rivers to annihilate an entire nation—this is a mission I dare assign, but do you dare accept?"
"Your subject absolutely does not harbor such intentions!" Li Yuangui was genuinely startled—he had never dared entertain such thoughts. "Your subject knows full well his youth and inexperience, lacking proper training. I merely wish to serve as one of the Three Guards under Duke Yaoshi's command, bearing arms in attendance to learn, or to lead a small squad of soldiers as a unit commander, charging into battle and storming fortresses. Beyond this, I dare not aspire to anything else."
He believed his request was straightforward and justified. For young nobles of the Guanlong region, going to war was tradition. Since the first generation of the Tang dynasty's Duke Li Hu rose to prominence in Western Wei, every generation of their Longxi Li clan had seen men perish in battle by sixteen or seventeen. Even the Son of Heaven before him had fought alongside their father amidst thousands of troops at that age. Throughout the WuDe Era, during the eastern and western campaigns, he had always brought along younger brothers and cousins like Yuanji, Daozong, Daoxuan, and Daoyan.
Take the current Tuyuhun campaign, for instance. Among the six armies, the commanders of the Shanzhou Route Army, Li Daozong, and the Chishui Route Army, Li Daoyan, were both younger cousins who had fought their way up alongside the Son of Heaven. Both had already been enfeoffed as princes during the WuDe Era, yet they still served in Prince Qin's tent—attending to daily needs indoors and leading charges outdoors. No one found this improper. If Li Yuangui sought to emulate such worthy examples, why should he be denied?
"Very well, I won't obstruct your martial ambitions." The Son of Heaven chuckled. "Here's what you'll do: step outside, turn left, go to the Chancellery's Hall of State Affairs, and find Duke Li Yaoshi. Ask if he's willing to take you on as an Imperial Guard attendant—to have a prince of your stature patrol the camp at night with a clapper, tuck in his blankets, and empty his chamber pot. If Duke Yaoshi nods in agreement, I'll issue an edict allowing you to join his expedition against Tuyuhun."
Li Yuangui drew a sharp breath. Imagining the kindly, retiring old general in the Hall of State Affairs, he felt he lacked even the courage to approach him. Upon hearing such a "death-worthy" request from the Emperor's younger brother, Li Jing (Duke Yaoshi) would likely clutch his feet, claiming a sudden flare-up of his old ailment, pack up, and retire to his hometown.
"If you're too embarrassed to ask Yaoshi directly, I have another solution." The Emperor's expression grew more serious. "Do you think only green youths like you yearn for the glory of expanding borders and achieving merit on horseback?"
Ah... who else would want to join this campaign? Li Yuangui stared blankly, waiting for him to continue.
"Doesn't your second elder brother—the Tang dynasty's foremost general—have more right to campaign than you?" The Son of Heaven sighed dramatically, slapping the desk. "The moment the West Sea Route Army's strategy was decided, I declared my intention to lead the expedition personally. And what happened? The Chancellery's ministers lined up daily to remonstrate with their lives. Fang Xuanling quietly dragged the retired Duke Yaoshi out of seclusion to take the blame. Even the Empress advised that the Son of Heaven must not act lightly. You can't go to war, and neither can I! If you have the ability, persuade the entire court to endorse my personal command of the West Sea campaign, and I'll take you along as my Imperial Guard—how does that sound?"
"...Your Majesty, may I cry now? May I spit in your face...?""Young and reckless, you've only heard of the glory and prestige in Imperial Bulletins announcing victories and triumphant returns to court. You pampered children born in palaces and raised by women could never endure the hardships of sleeping on ice and snow, eating grass and drinking blood, let alone the constant peril of having your head hanging by a belt," the Son of Heaven admonished. "During the years of bitter founding wars, how many of our imperial relatives perished? The late fifth imperial son-in-law Zhao Ci-jing and Prince Dao-xuan of Huaiyang were both skilled in archery and horsemanship, far surpassing you in martial prowess. When fate struck, no rescue could save them. You clamor to go to war on impulse—have you considered the Supreme Emperor in Great Peace Palace?"
Li Yuangui suppressed his frustration but couldn't help muttering under his breath, "The Supreme Emperor has twenty-two sons... he won't miss one..."
"Nonsense! Get back and copy the Classic of Filial Piety twenty times! Serve the Supreme Emperor dutifully!"
That day's petition ended with him being sent back to Great Peace Palace to copy scriptures. Later, he heard through the grapevine that the Emperor had actually praised him to others: "Fourteenth Brother has remarkable talent and admirable ambition. What a pity he was born too late—had he been around during the WuDe Era to campaign with me, we might have forged another capable general." This kept Li Yuangui from completely abandoning hope.
Two months later, when he raised the topic again, the Emperor maintained the same stance:
"This matter is not open for discussion! Just a few years ago when you spoiled youngsters left the palace for your fiefdoms, you couldn't even withstand wind and rain on the journey. When Eighth Brother passed away abroad, the Supreme Emperor grieved, and I bore the blame for unfilialness—what greater offense could there be? And you want to go to war? When the battle drums sound and thousands charge, arrows will rain like storm—you'd die of fright alone!"
"This subject will personally petition the Supreme Emperor, making clear the campaign is solely my will—"
"Rubbish! Who'd believe you?" The Emperor sneered. "If petty minds want to spread rumors about discord among us brothers, would anyone care what a child like you says? Plainly speaking—what matters more? Fourteenth Young Master's lofty ambitions or my reputation for filial piety?"
...Your Majesty, after fratricide and patricide, you still care about filial reputation...
"However..." The Emperor suddenly changed demeanor, stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Fourteenth Brother, your eagerness to join the Tuyuhun campaign does show patriotic fervor. A young man's high aspirations shouldn't be discouraged..."
Seeing the Emperor's arched brows and phoenix eyes curve into a smile, Li Yuangui immediately tensed. His limited experience told him this expression never preceded anything good.
"The Princess Linfen case is temporarily concluded. I need to retrieve the Imperial Edict granting Wei Zheng discretionary powers, but..."
Cough cough cough cough...
The timely coughing from behind the screen interrupted as always. Waiting for his wife to finish, the Emperor cleared his throat:
"Fourteenth Brother, I have another task for you."
"This subject humbly awaits the Imperial Edict."
"Murong Fu-yun, the current Khan of Tuyuhun, has a legitimate grandson stranded in the Central Plains. This grandson is crucial to our military campaign against Tuyuhun—no trivial matter. I want you to find this grandson for me." The Son of Heaven spoke with utmost seriousness.
"This subject..." Li Yuangui hesitated. "May I know the details?"
"For details, Wuji has them. He'll brief you thoroughly later." The Emperor was already rolling up his sleeves to write. "The grandson might still be in Chang'an. You'll need to visit households, mobilize the Three Departments and Six Ministries, patrol the streets—no slacking. Report any findings directly to me in the palace."As he spoke, he swiftly wrote another passage on the yellow paper and handed it over directly. Li Yuangui hurriedly moved forward on his knees to receive it, giving it a quick glance. He caught sight of words like "Prince Wu" and "act with discretion," seemingly identical in phrasing to the Imperial Edict given to Wei Zheng a few days prior regarding the investigation of Princess Linfen's case.
An Imperial Edict for the Princess Linfen case...
The Empress insisted on closing the case, even using her illness as leverage. The Son of Heaven was unwilling to argue with her and had ostensibly agreed for the time being. The edict given to Wei Zheng was surely to be recalled, yet here he was, employing this duplicitous stratagem right in front of the Empress—writing a new Imperial Edict for Li Yuangui not far from her presence...
"Don’t take this new assignment lightly," the Emperor warned him. "Murong Fu-yun’s legitimate grandson has a complicated background and is a key figure in instigating infighting among the Tuyuhun Crown Prince and nobles, as well as facilitating our military advance. You have three months, Fourteenth Brother. If you can’t find this grandson, be prepared to impersonate him yourself and spend the rest of your days in Qinghai!"
#####This chapter’s annotation explains: "It was tradition for young nobles of the Guanlong families to go to battle. Since the first generation of the Tang dynasty’s Duke Li Hu rose to prominence in Western Wei, every generation of the Longxi Li clan had male members who died in battle by the age of sixteen or seventeen." For more details, visit the author’s Weibo. Search for the ID "Tang Dynasty Tour Guide Forest Deer" on Sina Weibo. Welcome to discuss.
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