The Great Tang's King of Provisions

Chapter 42: The Enraged High-Ranking Officials of the Tang Dynasty

Watching Li Yuan guzzle that hodgepodge of tea, Li Xuanba rolled his eyes. Damn it! I’d completely forgotten about the Tang Dynasty’s most dreadful concoction—tea. In the Tang Dynasty, before Lu Yu—the “Tea Sage”—published his *Classic of Tea*, the early tea culture of the Tang Dynasty was long regarded by later generations as a culinary nightmare. That’s because it didn’t just consist of tea leaves ground into powder—it also included scallions, ginger, pepper, a pinch of salt, and occasionally red dates, orange peel, and mint. You can imagine the taste. “Bang! All of you, get out! No one is to come within 100 meters of the Taiyi Hall. Anyone who disobeys this order will be beheaded!” Li Xuanba set that “dark cuisine” down on the table, not even bothering to ask a maid to bring him another cup. He waved his hand at all the maids and eunuchs around him, driving them all out! Seeing the stern expression on Li Xuanba’s face, Li Yuan and Li Shimin’s smiles faded, and they looked at him with tension in their eyes. “My son, is there something important? Tell your old father about it.” “Third Brother, have you remembered something?” Noticing that all the maids and eunuchs had left, Li Xuanba, acting without regard for protocol, reached out with a large hand, pulled Li Yuan and Li Shimin close to him, leaned in, and whispered, “Father, Second Brother, in the Celestial Realm, I saw our Ancestor use the art of prophecy to view the entire history of our Great Tang Dynasty. The closest point to the present is just this one detail.” “My second brother’s accession date is August 9th of this year, not today, June 13th.” After saying this, Li Xuanba fell silent, watching Li Yuan and Li Shimin—who stood there wide-eyed—as he waited for them to come to their senses. Li Yuan, having experienced so much in his life, was the first to recover. He looked at Li Xuanba in astonishment and said, “The art of prophecy? To be able to see what lies ahead! I… Never mind, I won’t ask. I won’t ask.” Li Yuan had originally intended to ask about his own lifespan, but remembering Li Xuanba’s warning not to pry into matters carelessly, he quickly waved his hand and held his tongue. Li Shimin pondered for a moment, looking at Li Xuanba with a tense expression. “Third Brother, if I ascend the throne early, will it affect certain matters?” “It might, and it might not.” Li Xuanba furrowed his brow, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, and said in a frosty tone, “From what I’ve seen, at that time, Liang Shidu secretly informed Jieli of the succession of the Tang imperial throne, causing Jieli and Tuli to unite their forces—a total of 200,000 troops—to march south and attack Jingzhou, advancing all the way to Wugong.” “What! Boom! They reached Wugong!” Upon hearing Li Xuanba’s words, Li Yuan and Li Shimin were enraged. Li Shimin slammed the teacup in his hand onto the floor with a crash. Ignoring the shattered cup, he narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing repeatedly within them. If Jieli and Tuli had reached Wugong, that meant they had advanced right up to the outskirts of Chang’an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty. This signified that Chang’an was under threat—a matter that would bring shame upon the entire Tang Dynasty. “Exactly!” Li Xuanba replied, clenching his fists and glaring with tiger-like eyes as he said hatefully, “On the twenty-fourth day of the eighth month, the Turkic army attacked Gaoling. My second brother appointed General Weichi as Commander-in-Chief of the Jingzhou Circuit, and he engaged the Turkic forces at Jingyang. General Weichi captured Ashide Wumochu alive and killed over a thousand Turkic cavalrymen.” “Excellent! Well done! Jingde is truly a man of extraordinary valor!” Upon hearing of Wei Chi Jingde’s remarkable feat, Li Yuan and Li Shimin both shouted their approval in unison, but then fell silent, for they, too, realized that for an army of 200,000, the loss of just over a thousand Turkic cavalrymen was but a drop in the bucket. “On the 30th day of the eighth month, my second brother and Jieli signed the Wei River Alliance on the temporary bridge over the Wei River.” “Good job taking down the bandits!” “Damn those bandits!” “Thud! Crash!” Upon hearing the words “Treaty of the Wei River,” Li Yuan and Li Shimin, overcome with rage, kicked out with such force that the hardwood stools beside them shattered into pieces, scattering across the floor with a clatter. Li Yuan and Li Shimin didn’t even need Li Xuanba to explain in detail; just those four words—“Treaty of the Wei River”—were enough for them to imagine exactly what the situation must have been like. It signified the Tang Dynasty’s weakness—that they had been driven right to their doorstep and were forced to sign a so-called “peace” treaty. Li Yuan patted Li Shimin on the shoulder, fixed his gaze directly on Li Shimin’s eyes, and said with a grave expression and a serious tone, “Shimin! Since I have passed the imperial throne to you, and Xiaoyao has revealed the secrets of heaven, you must handle this matter properly. I have only one request: the ‘Pact of the Wei River’ must never appear in the annals of history. Can you do this?” Li Shimin pounded his right fist against his chest and said with a murderous glint in his eyes, “Rest assured, Father. Since I learned of this in advance, I will certainly see it through! I will not disappoint Xiaoyao’s sincere efforts!” “Guards! Summon immediately Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, Gao Shilian, Li Xiaogong, Wei Chi Gong, Li Jing, Cheng Yaojin, and Li Ji…” Li Shimin bellowed loudly toward the outside, rattling off a long list of names. Then, furrowing his brow, he hesitated for a moment before adding with a hint of reluctance, “Also summon Qin Qiong. Send someone to fetch him by carriage; he may proceed directly to the Taiji Hall.” Li Shimin had not originally intended to summon Qin Qiong again. After all, during the morning’s coronation ceremony, Qin Qiong—with his frail and ailing body—had already been struggling to keep up. Summoning him again late at night would only exhaust him further and might even worsen his condition. But at this critical moment, if he failed to summon this valiant general—who had fought by his side in campaigns across the country and borne countless wounds for his sake—he truly feared it would break the man’s spirit. Li Shimin’s summons was urgent, and Cheng Yaojin and the others arrived quickly. In the rush, upon seeing such a large gathering, their expressions grew tense. “We pay our respects to the Former Emperor, His Majesty, and the Prince of Tang.” Upon seeing Li Yuan and the other two, Cheng Yaojin and the others bowed in respect. Among them was Qin Qiong—also known as Qin Shubao—who leaned on a cane and had a sallow complexion. “Sit! Listen as I explain a few matters!” After the formalities, Li Shimin waved his hand, produced a topographical map of the Tang Dynasty’s military defenses, and—disregarding all imperial dignity—sat cross-legged on the ground, pointing at the map as he began his explanation. “Let’s wipe out the bandits!” “Those wolf cubs can never be completely eradicated!” “Kill!” Hearing Li Shimin’s account, Cheng Yaojin and the others roared with murderous fury, their eyes radiating a sharp, deadly intent as a faint blood-red mist began to rise from their bodies. Though not quite as intense as the mountains of corpses and seas of blood described by Li Xuanba, it still caused the temperature inside the Taiji Hall to drop instantly. Not a single one of them doubted Li Shimin’s words. From those five characters—“Prince of Tang, Li Xuanba”—that could not be written, they had already confirmed that Prince Li Xuanba was truly a divine being descended from heaven; from that moment on, they had come to deeply believe every word Li Xuanba spoke. “Your Majesty, grant this Cheng Yaojin three hundred thousand troops, and I will raze Khagan Jieli’s grasslands to the ground.” “Right! Your Majesty, give me, Wei Chi Gong, three hundred thousand troops, and I’ll go and slaughter that Tu Li Khan! I’ll use his head as a chamber pot!” At that moment, the hearts of Cheng Yaojin and the other generals were filled with rage toward Khagan Jieli and Khagan Tuli. They were so enraged they longed to fly straight to the vast grasslands, cut off the two men’s heads, and bring them back to use as chamber pots!