Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4932 Confused
"...But Lun Qinling is not a fool, how could he commit suicide? The only explanation is that the six tribes of Cang have secretly united with him and will jointly send troops to Luoshui City at the most critical moment. They can not only save Lun Qinling from death by attacking Wei, but also join forces to threaten Luoshui City..."

The reputation of "the best strategist in Tubo" has been on Lun Qinling for a long time, and this is almost a fact recognized by the entire Tubo. Therefore, Lun Qinling's reputation in recent years is even higher than that of his father Lu Dongzan, "the wisest man in Tubo."

Would such a man make a strategic mistake that would lead to his own death?
Impossible.

Su Liangsi agreed with this: "According to the report from our spies in Fuqi City, Lu Dongzan's eldest son Zan Xiruo has disappeared for a long time. No one knows his whereabouts. I think he must have sneaked into Tubo early, secretly contacted the six tribes of Nachang, and has already received a promise from the six tribes of Nachang."

Pei Xingjian sighed: "If this is true, the situation in Tubo will change dramatically, and our plan may not work."

He originally instigated Bolun Zan to assassinate Gongri Gongzan in the battle array of the three armies, which not only put Serugundun in a desperate situation and forced him to cooperate with the Tang Dynasty, but also caused Songtsen Gampo to lose his successor. The entire Tibetan high-level officials triggered a chain reaction and were about to fall into civil strife.

But if Lun Qinling and the six tribes of Nachang joined forces to force Songtsen Gampo to abdicate, it would be very likely that the Tibetan political situation, which was on the verge of falling apart, would be stabilized again... The so-called "Tibetan strategy" planned and promoted by the Tang Dynasty would end in vain and fail completely.

Su Liangsi hesitated for a moment and said, "But until now, I haven't seen the six tribes of Nacang rise up in response."

"So this is exactly what I am worried about. Do the six tribes of Cang want to wait until spring to take action? But if they wait until then, Songtsen Gampo will have already stabilized the crisis caused by Gongri Gongzan's death. Wouldn't the six tribes of Cang miss the opportunity? It would be fine if they were stupid and couldn't see the opportunity, but Zan Xiruo is still there. How could Zan Xiruo not see it?"

This is the crux of the problem. No matter how you look at it, the behavior of Qinling and the six tribes of Nacang is contradictory.

Really weird.

The guards outside the door came in: "Grand Protector, the imperial edict has arrived."

"Oh, prepare the incense table and receive the decree together."

"Here."

……

The content of the imperial edict was not complicated. It almost completely affirmed Pei Xingjian's treatment of Cheng Yaojin and An Yuanshou, but added a sentence at the end: "Initiate extensive cotton planting in the Western Regions and Hexi"...

"It seems that this white cotton is indeed a treasure. If the Taiwei and the Sino-Agricultural Temple had not come up with favorable arguments about its living habits, yield and uses, it would definitely not have been so widely planted. It's just that the name cotton... is more descriptive."

Baidiezi has been cultivated in the Western Regions for a long time, but it has never been cultivated on a large scale. The Gaochang Kingdom, which attaches the most importance to it, only cultivates it on wasteland outside the city. Although cotton wool has excellent warming effect, it is not taken seriously because it is difficult to grow seeds.

Su Liangsi said, "Before I left Chang'an, I heard that the craftsmen at the foundry had developed a seed-removing machine. You only need to put the mature cotton in it and rotate it to remove the cotton seeds, leaving clean cotton wool, which can be processed on a wool loom. The resulting cotton thread is tough and fine, and can be woven into very high-quality cotton cloth that is wear-resistant and warm."

Nowadays, the status of the Foundry is constantly improving, and it has become the birthplace and experimentation place of Tang Dynasty's "high-tech". Every time a new achievement comes out, it can change a certain industry. Confucian disciples who used to only read the books of sages are very interested in it and pay close attention to it.

After all, no matter how much you study, the ultimate goal is nothing more than "making money for the emperor". The ultimate pursuit is nothing more than promotion and benefiting the people. If new technology can truly improve the economy of a certain region, no one will object.

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "This is the unique skill of the Taiwei. All schools of thought throughout history have the concept of 'investigating things to gain knowledge', but only the Taiwei has carried it forward and brought benefit to the people. This alone is enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with the saints."

As an official who grew up around Fang Jun, he knows too well the power of "investigating things and seeking knowledge". If Confucian culture is the magic weapon for governing the world, then "investigating things and seeking knowledge" is the sharp sword for roaming the world!

When "investigating things and seeking knowledge" truly becomes a prominent discipline and is recognized by the whole country, the Tang Dynasty can use the strong ships and powerful guns built by "investigating things and seeking knowledge" to spread Confucian culture to all lands illuminated by the sun, make the teachings of Confucius and Mencius lead the world, and all foreign countries will regard the Tang Dynasty as their overlord.

Today, some people have called "investigating things to gain knowledge" "new learning", and all those who focus on the application of science and technology, headed by Fang Jun, are called "new school", to distinguish them from the "conservative school" who still "rule the world with one book of Analects"...

This is another situation of "new and old divergence" after the "different paths for civil and military officials".

*****
The heavy snow stopped for a day, and then began to fall again. Vehicles on the Ancient Silk Road were traveling cautiously, but the traffic was still endless, and trade was not suspended due to the approaching New Year.

In the Tang Dynasty, the Spring Festival was not the most important festival, but the Winter Solstice was.

Since the Zhou Dynasty, the winter solstice has been the beginning of the year, and the day with the longest shadow of the sun in the year has been chosen as the beginning of the new year. The name of the Spring Festival has existed since ancient times, but it was not until Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty reformed the calendar and formulated the "Taichu Calendar" that the first month of the first lunar month was set as the beginning of the year.

But in the folk, the Winter Solstice has been continued as an important festival. Even in the Tang Dynasty, the Winter Solstice holiday was longer than the Spring Festival. It was just that the government kept records and operations based on the Spring Festival as the beginning of the year, and the importance of the Spring Festival gradually increased...

Therefore, for businessmen, even during the Spring Festival, many of them did not return home to celebrate the New Year.

On the evening of New Year's Eve, An Yuanshou and his party arrived outside Guzang City.

Looking at the magnificent arrow towers and city walls in the distance, An Yuanshou stopped the team, took off his heavy cotton coat in the carriage, put on armor, tied his sword around his waist, told the team to go to the post station, and walked towards Guzang City alone in the heavy snow.

A group of his followers hurriedly tried to stop him: "Why are you going here, Marshal?"

An Yuanshou said in a deep voice: "My brother is trapped in Guzang, I want to rescue him, the wealth accumulated by my family for generations has been embezzled by villains, I want to take it back."

The attendants were terrified: "Marshal, please think twice. The contraband was found in the Marshal's treasury, which is the root cause of your punishment. If you go to ask for it again, wouldn't it be a rehash of the past? The consequences are unpredictable!"

"The Yin family broke their promise, which is shameless. They embezzled my family's wealth and framed my brother. If I can't get it back, how can I stand between heaven and earth? Moreover, the An family went to Guanzhong and was in poverty. If they have no money to rely on, how can they rebuild their family business? I have made up my mind, and you don't need to say more!"

"We are willing to follow the Marshal!"

An Yuanshou shook his head. "If I go alone, Cheng Yaojin will have to give me some respect. Even if I force my way into Yin's mansion, it's just a personal grudge. If you guys come with me, the situation will change drastically. Go to the post station and wait for me. I'll be back soon."

The followers looked at each other in bewilderment, not daring to stop him.

When he reached the city gate, An Yuanshou stopped and looked up at the city tower standing still in the snow, with a myriad of thoughts and mixed feelings in his mind.

This is the city where the An family has lived for hundreds of years. From now on, or for the rest of their lives, they will probably never have the chance to set foot again.

"Who is stopping here? Show your identity!"

Seeing that he was of great stature, with a sword on his waist and even wearing armor, several soldiers guarding the city stepped forward to stop him.

An Yuanshou stood still and said in a deep voice: "Duke Fanhe, General of the Right Guard, and An Yuanshou request to see Duke Lu. Please convey the message."

Several soldiers were shocked to find that it was the former Lord of Gu Zang. They hurriedly said, "Please wait for a moment, Lord. We will go and report right away!"

Then one of them rode back to the city on horseback to report, while the others stared at An Yuanshou with a covetous look.

After all, the two sides had just fought a great battle, they were enemies, not friends, so we couldn't be careless...

After an incense stick of time, the soldier returned on horseback: "General, please come into the city to meet me!"

An Yuanshou nodded slightly, walked leisurely, and entered Guzang City.

……

Although the snow was falling heavily, there were many people on the street. There were shops on both sides with various signs swaying in the wind and snow. There were rumblings of cars and horses, and people walking on the street. Hawkers were hawking their wares along the street. The aroma of food filled the snow, and the soothing scent of fireworks filled the air.

An Yuanshou walked leisurely, looking around, and suddenly found that although he was born and raised here, he seemed to have never seen such a scene before, let alone the feeling at the moment. This city that has stood in Hexi for hundreds and thousands of years does not seem to be all about war, fame and fortune...

"Eh? Isn't this the Marshal?"

"Is it the Marshal?"

As he was walking, some people working in shops and vendors on both sides of the road noticed An Yuanshou. At first they were surprised and murmured something, and then someone asked loudly.

An Yuanshou held the sword at his waist with one hand and strode forward with a reserved smile on his face, nodding slightly to the people who asked him questions on the street.

"What a handsome guy!"

"General, I heard that you are going to live in Guanzhong this time. Is it true or not?"

The smile on An Yuanshou's face froze for a moment, but he was relieved immediately. It had come to this point, so what was there to worry about in terms of face?
After being beaten up by others, are you still showing off your power to the people you once ruled?

With a smile, he replied, "I made a mistake before, but fortunately, His Majesty is magnanimous and not only did he not take it as a crime, but he also sympathized with An's hard work and contributions in defending Liangzhou, and allowed him to move to Guanzhong and live in the capital area. However, it will be difficult for me to have the opportunity to come back in the future."

Still need to embellish it...

A wine shop owner ran out of the shop, holding a wine jar and a wine bowl in his hands. He came close to An Yuanshou and blocked his way. He bowed first, then poured a bowl of wine and handed it to An Yuanshou: "Please drink this bowl of wine, Marshal. May you have a smooth journey to Chang'an and may you be a noble for generations!"

An Yuanshou was stunned, stopped, looked at the wine bowl in front of him, and suddenly his heart was touched and his eyes turned red.

(End of this chapter)