Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5134 The scene of prosperous times
The snow on Qianquan Mountain melted and the trickles flowed into Suiye River. It was spring in Guanzhong and flowers were blooming, and oxen were plowing non-stop. Due to the tense situation in Hezhong, many Hu merchants chose to stay in Chang'an temporarily and wait for the war to end, making the already prosperous Chang'an even more overcrowded.

As the Tibetan delegation crossed the Xianyang Bridge, Lun Qinling, sitting on horseback, squinted his eyes and gazed at the majestic city rising from the distant horizon. The shock he felt in his heart was no less than when he first entered the Resa Temple and saw the life-size statue of Buddha.

Like a miracle.

Traveling along the way, passing through the territory of the Tang Dynasty, his previous cognition and what he saw before him confirmed each other, allowing him to see and feel a world completely different from Tubo.

Warm climate, fertile land, numerous rivers, majestic cities...

Farmers worked hard on the ridges of the fields, with oxen in front and plows behind. The flat fields were plowed piece by piece. Occasionally, officials wearing official uniforms but barefoot could be seen walking around, perhaps spreading new farming knowledge.

Children are generally not seen. At first, Lun Qinling was a little confused, but when passing by a village, he asked an official to take him to his village for a walk. Only then did he discover that among those low and dilapidated houses stood a tall and neat school. All the children in the village, both boys and girls, sat in the bright school, reading aloud.

Lun Qinling was a little confused. In this not-so-rich village, could every family afford to send their children to school? You know, in Tubo, the word "reading" was extremely sacred, and most of the nobles' children could only be described as "literate".

"Education" is a privilege that is almost equivalent to "redemption".

The official then puffed out his chest and told him that the entire Tang Dynasty was promoting free education...

Lun Qinling couldn't believe it. Although it was his first time stepping into the territory of the Tang Dynasty, he knew that the population of the Tang Dynasty was in the tens of millions. With such a huge population base, how could the country afford the huge expense of free education?
The four words "free education" had almost never appeared in Lun Qinling's mind. He didn't even dare to think about it. But the Tang Dynasty did it?

The official explained to him that the cost of "free education" was allocated from the emperor's private treasury, which was separated from the national treasury and belonged to the emperor's private property. Later, some poor and remote areas were donated by the "Cultural Revitalization Association" chaired by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei, forming a free education system for the entire Tang Dynasty...

This still shocked Lun Qinling.

How could the emperor have so much money? !

Is it a good thing for an emperor to have so much money?
For example, Songtsen Gampo, of course, had family property and some "gray income", but whether it was the emperor or the king, if they wanted to fill the treasury, they would either sell official positions or increase taxes. The increase in these incomes meant corruption in the government and the people's livelihood was in dire straits...

Along the way, there was an endless stream of merchants traveling from all over the place. These merchants traveled north and south, east and west, selling local specialties and goods to all parts of the world. However, there were no tax collectors or clerks collecting taxes when entering and leaving the city gates along the way. Later, I learned that the Tang Dynasty had undergone many commercial tax reforms, and now most commodities are only taxed twice, when purchased and sold, and all kinds of exorbitant taxes are strictly prohibited during transportation.

Lun Qinling is not only good at fighting wars, but also good at managing internal affairs. He clearly realizes that this tax policy will greatly promote the exchange of goods and make business unprecedentedly prosperous.

He naturally understood the principle of "no stability without agriculture, no wealth without commerce", but in Tubo, merchants traveling through Silu had to endure layers of exploitation. The caravans arriving at Lhasa City from Fuqi City often had to pay taxes equal to or even twice the value of the goods themselves. This resulted in the only merchants who could trade were large families and tribes.

When staying at an inn on the way, I often saw groups of students in long gowns. They sat under trees during the day and in the courtyard at night, drinking wine or tea, talking loudly, laughing freely, and each of them was so high-spirited.

After asking, I learned that the imperial court had recently issued an imperial decree that the imperial examination would be held next year, which is the fifth year of Renhe. These students were all registered in Jingzhao Prefecture. When they learned the news while studying abroad, they hurriedly returned home to prepare for the exam...

Lun Qinling was puzzled, didn’t the Tang Dynasty hold an imperial examination just last year?
A student told me that the Tang Dynasty is now implementing a new national policy. Anyone who wants to become an official must pass the imperial examination. Only those who pass the imperial examination are qualified to become officials. Otherwise, no matter how powerful the family is or how extensive the network of contacts is, one can only become a "clerk" and not an "official."

Lun Qinling sighed deeply, feeling that his outlook on life had been completely overturned.

He could hardly imagine that when every official in a country from top to bottom was selected through the imperial examination, and every one of them was proficient in poetry, song, astronomy, medicine and engineering, how powerful such a country would be?
Who in the world can do anything about it?
……

Pedestrians are hurrying on the road, and carriages and horses are rumbling. Students take advantage of the time when the grass is green and the birds are flying to go out of the city for fun. Farmers are rushing to plant their crops during the farming season. Merchants are running back and forth, selling their goods. It is a scene of prosperity and prosperity.

When they arrived outside the Jinguang Gate, Lun Qinling reined in his horse and stopped at the foot of the city. The moat beneath his feet was rumbling. He looked up at the towering city tower and looked left and right. There were majestic city walls that stretched as far as the eye could see. A heavy and powerful feeling came over him.

At this moment, even considering Qin Ling's arrogance and arrogance, only three words came to mind.

Chaotianque!
*****
Suiye City was thousands of miles away. Although everyone knew that a war involving hundreds of thousands of people was about to break out and the shadow of war would inevitably linger in Chang'an City, the joy was still somewhat diluted.

News came from the palace that Concubine Shen had given birth to a prince for His Majesty. This was naturally very good news for the royal family, which had a relatively small population. The prosperity of offspring meant the stability of the imperial power, which was what ordinary people most wanted to see.

When Lun Qinling moved into the Honglu Temple, he was greeted by a Shaoqing, who, judging from his appearance, was not a Han Chinese. His name was Diyun, a Turkic... Although he had never met this person before, they were mutually known.

Lun Qinling's eyes were sharp: "Mohe City was captured by Mishe and Buzhen, and Helu Khan fled far away. Why is the prince serving as an official in the Tang Dynasty?"

If he was hiding from the disaster in Chang'an, it would be understandable, but who could escape from the disaster and become the Shaoqing of the Honglu Temple?

Lun Qinling, who was familiar with the official positions in the Tang Dynasty, knew that this was already an official position below the fourth rank, a high-ranking official in the empire!

How can a mere Turk be qualified to hold such a position?
What's more, under the premise of "imperial examination is required to enter the government" in the Tang Dynasty, the appointment could only be made by the emperor himself!

Di Yun could have said some high-sounding words, such as "It is the greatest honor to be a Tang man" and "I am willing to die for the Tang Dynasty", but the two sides must have signed an alliance before, and it would be a bit too much to say such hypocritical words, so he clasped his fists in salute, smiled bitterly and said: "I am the fish on the chopping board, what can I do!"

Lun Qinling was shocked and instantly understood what was going on.

Helu, the guy who claimed to be the best hero of the Turks, actually surrendered to the Tang Dynasty secretly!

Considering the rumors that Mohe City was captured and Helu's army escaped alone...Lun Qinling's eyes widened: "Could your father have fled to the river?"

The fact that Di Yun could appear here and was a high-ranking official in the Honglu Temple meant that his status was the same as his own: a hostage in the Tang Dynasty!

Since there is a hostage in hand, the Tang Dynasty will certainly give its full support to Helu. How could it be defeated by the sudden rise of Mishe and Buzhen and even forced to flee?
It must be a huge trap!

Di Yun shook his head repeatedly: "I have been in Tang for a long time, and I don't know what happened to my father. I don't even know where he is now... Come, come, please follow me to my residence and stay there temporarily. The petition for an audience will be submitted soon, and you can just wait for the emperor to summon you."

He knew the other party's ability and did not dare to reveal a single word. Although his presence in Chang'an was already very telling, it was one thing for Qin Ling to guess and another for him to tell it on his own initiative...

Lun Qinling knew it very well and said no more.

……

The Honglu Temple is located inside the Zhuque Gate, and across from it across the Zhuque Street is the Taichang Temple. On the west side of the Honglu Temple and in the wide area east of the Hanguang Gate Street, there are many buildings under the Honglu Temple used to receive foreign envoys. These buildings are luxuriously decorated and have a beautiful environment. Lun Qinling was located here.

At night, Lun Qinling sat alone at the desk in front of the window, thinking about the current situation in the Western Regions.

Various signs indicate that Helu's so-called "escape" was a sleight of hand, or a self-torture tactic, and his real purpose was to infiltrate the Arabs... It is obvious what an army is trying to do by traveling thousands of miles to go undercover.

The contract that his father had reached with the Arabs was to send troops to Hexi and cut off the food supply of the Anxi army at a critical moment, but now it has naturally failed.

Without Ashina Helu's rebellion in the heart of the Western Regions, the Anxi Protectorate was unable to cope with the attacks from both ends. Moreover, without the danger of the Hexi Corridor's food route, all the Arab conspiracies were exposed, and they could only fight a head-on battle with the Tang army in the Western Regions.

The Tang army was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, and there were many hidden dangers within. Moreover, the Arabs had many soldiers and generals, and they were coming aggressively and determined to win...

But after much thought, Qin Ling still felt that the Tang army had a greater chance of winning, because there was a spy named Helu. Who knew when and where he would strike back at the Arabs?
After the Tang army won the battle, it would not only sweep through Hezhong with the momentum of the great victory, but would also turn back to eliminate the rebellions in the heartland, such as the Turks and Fuxi City.

Now it seems that being forced to serve as a hostage and completely surrender to the Tang Dynasty was actually a wise move.

It must be said that surrendering before the war begins and surrendering after the Tang army has won a great victory have absolutely different meanings...

Lun Qinling walked out of his residence holding a candle and came to the warehouse where valuables were kept. This time he brought almost all the valuable things in Fuxi City, just to make good friends and win people's hearts. The more gifts, the less blame.

Hearing that the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty had recently given birth to a prince, he had to choose a suitable gift, hoping to win the Emperor's favor...