Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5269 The New Year is Approaching
Lu Dongzan nodded, indicating that he understood.

Ultimately, the Tang army's purpose in this battle was to "deter" the Abbasid Caliphate. As long as they could instill unparalleled fear in the Abbasid Caliphate and prevent it from ever again daring to lightly threaten the Tang Dynasty with weapons, the Tang Dynasty's objective would have been achieved.

Meanwhile, the Tang Dynasty is now accumulating strength across the country to expand overseas, having already extended the maritime trade routes established since the Han Dynasty into the "Maritime Silk Road." Leveraging the advantages of convenient, fast, and high-capacity shipping, as well as extremely low costs, it is continuously plundering wealth to support the promotion of new policies within the country.

They no longer care about land territory; they only need to build strong fences and defend the borders as solid as a rock.

The saying goes, "To repel external aggression, one must first secure internal stability." The current national policy of the Tang Dynasty is to do everything in its power to govern the country and properly maintain the infrastructure that has been ravaged by rebel kings since the end of the Sui Dynasty. The stability of the country and the improvement of its national strength are inseparable from the maintenance and construction of infrastructure.

Thinking of this, Lu Dongzan took a sip of wine, shook his head, and sighed softly.

Once upon a time, he and the Zanpu (Tibetan king) also formulated such a national policy, hoping to acquire the Tang Dynasty's more advanced technologies in iron smelting, medicine, and agriculture through intermarriage with the Tang Dynasty, carry out large-scale reforms within Tibet, promote the country's strength to a new level, and thus have the strength to rival or even surpass the Tang Dynasty.

Then, they would sit high on the plateau, overlooking the Central Plains, waiting for an opportunity to strike when the Central Plains were in turmoil, at which point they would swarm out, swoop down, and vie for supremacy in the Central Plains.

Unexpectedly, plans can't keep up with changes.

First, Fang Jun blocked the proposal to marry a princess of the Tang Dynasty. His words, "No marriage alliances, no tributes, no ceding of territory, the emperor guards the country's gates, and the monarch dies for the state," boosted the morale of the entire Tang army and morally blackmailed the emperor and ministers in the court.

People in the Tang Dynasty valued their reputation above all else, both in life and after death. Who would dare to bear the eternal infamy of being "colluding with foreign powers" or "groveling"?

It wasn't just that the marriage proposal failed that time; as long as people remember this saying, no one will dare to engage in marriage alliances with non-Han ethnic groups as the Han and Sui dynasties did.

Then, through a "counter-espionage" tactic, the Zanpu (Tibetan king) was forced to realize the enormous threat posed by his position as the Grand Tutor of Tibet and the Gar tribe behind him. In order to stabilize his royal power, he did not hesitate to expel his comrades-in-arms of many years from Lhasa, and even drove the Gar tribe to the former territory of Tuyuhun, serving as a strategic buffer between Tibet and the Tang Dynasty...

Then came the war between the Gar tribe and Lhasa.

The Tang dynasty initially agreed to provide substantial aid to the Gar tribe, which led to the rapid outbreak of war. However, when the war was raging, the Tang dynasty broke the agreement and stopped providing aid, leaving the Gar tribe without the strength to continue and forcing them to negotiate peace with the Zanpu (Khanpu).

However, how can a nominal peace treaty mend the enmity between the two sides caused by the war?
Not to mention that even the king's only son died in battle, and the murderer was none other than his own son, Gar Tongtsen...

Thus, Tibet missed its best opportunity for development and could only struggle to survive on the plateau.

The outcome was almost predictable: the Tang Dynasty would sweep away the surrounding threats, reorganize its army, train its soldiers, and then swiftly storm the plateau, capture Lhasa, and destroy Tibet.

He touted himself as "the greatest sage of Tibet," yet he suffered a complete defeat at the national strategic level.

Over the years, the Tang Dynasty has steadily and surely taken steady steps in dividing imperial power, weakening powerful clans, reforming the imperial examination system, developing firearms, and expanding overseas. It has not only demonstrated foresight that sees through the world, but also rigorous and firm execution, which has propelled the Tang Dynasty to an unparalleled position of hegemony.

The Abbasid Caliphate used to be comparable to the Tang Dynasty due to its vast territory, large population, and brave warriors, but what about now?

A detachment of the Anxi army surged forward with unstoppable momentum, sweeping across the land and seemingly on its way to the heart of the Abbasid Caliphate...

At this moment, Gar Tongtsen was filled with mixed emotions. He was certain that his decision to submit to the Tang Dynasty was incredibly wise, but as a Tibetan, he was also frustrated and remorseful that his country was declining and would never see a day of revival.

Snowflakes were falling heavily outside the window, and Lu Dongzan's gaze was somewhat unfocused.

Can he, his son, and his clansmen truly become true Tang people?
*****
As the year drew to a close, Chang'an was also greeted by a heavy snowfall. The pure white snow covered the city gates and the green tiles of the houses, and the whole city was covered in silver. Pedestrians hurried along the clean streets, and carriages rumbled. The shops in the East and West Markets hung red lanterns, and the festive atmosphere was very strong.

Whether it was the fierce war in the snowy winter of the Western Regions or the tense situation in the Kingdom of Linyi, it all seemed to be far removed from the mortal world. Only joyful songs and laughter and peace and prosperity remained in Chang'an.

One after another, carriages loaded with goods and gift lists were delivered to the mansion. Inside the main hall, Fang Jun, dressed in a round-necked casual robe and wearing a turban, leisurely drank tea. Princess Gaoyang and Xiao Shuer were sorting out the gift lists, recording the received gifts and drafting the gift lists for future gifts.

The exchange of gifts is a long-standing and fine tradition in China. People may not see each other for a year, but exchanging a gift during festivals, regardless of its value, can maintain the relationship for a long time.

Especially for high-ranking officials and nobles like the Fang family, the gifts given during welcoming and sending off guests are absolutely not to be taken lightly. If any family is left out, it could be a serious matter that offends someone...

Kim Seung-man sat to the side, whispering to her sister who had come to visit. Although they had now submitted to the Tang Dynasty and abdicated the throne of Silla, many old relatives and friends were still in Silla, and they had to send them a gift at the end of the year.

Xiao Shuer put down her brush, stretched, and showed off her still incredibly beautiful figure. Her pretty face was full of fatigue, and her tone was slightly helpless: "In the past, Meiniang handled all these things. I just watched from the side and thought it was very easy. Now that I've done it myself, I realize how difficult it is."

Receiving gifts is fine, but giving gifts requires a lot of consideration.

For example, if someone sends you a New Year's gift, you must return the gift. However, you can't simply rewrite the gift list and send it back in full, because that can easily cause misunderstandings—that you are returning what I gave you because you look down on my gift, or that you don't like me and intend to cut off all ties.
Therefore, it is necessary to carefully examine the other party's gift list, estimate its value, and then select a gift of slightly higher value from one's own storeroom to return the favor... Not only must one understand the closeness of the relationship between the two parties, but one must also take into account the difference in status between them so as to treat them differently and not generalize. Furthermore, one must have a thorough understanding of one's own storeroom.

It's definitely a painstaking and laborious task.

Princess Gaoyang was also somewhat annoyed. She slammed a gift list on the table and said with dissatisfaction, "That girl ran off to Luoyang to find some peace and quiet. She runs a business and is fawned over by countless people. We can't just drag her back to compile the gift list for us, can we?"

Xiao Shuer blinked: "But you're the one in charge of the household, shouldn't you be the one doing these things? Why are you dragging me along?"

Princess Gaoyang retorted angrily, "You still know that I am the mistress and you are the concubine? Other people's concubines are crying and begging to get involved in such important matters, but you are hiding and unwilling to do it. You are utterly stupid!"

For wealthy and powerful families, welcoming and sending off guests and exchanging social obligations demonstrated the family's status, and not just anyone could participate in these matters. Ordinary concubines had absolutely no right to participate in such things.

Xiao Shu'er curled her lip, unconvinced, and said, "Other people's concubines are only trying to improve their status through these things because they are too lowly. I'm not mistreated at home, so I'll just be a good concubine. Why bother fighting and causing unrest in the household?"

She now lives a wonderful life, spending her free time playing the piano, painting, reading, and drinking tea. There are no problems like the wife bullying the concubines at home, so she is very content and at peace with her current situation.

Her inability to conceive a son was causing her great anxiety, so her greatest hope was to seize every opportunity to pester her husband for pleasure, hoping to conceive again and give birth to a son as soon as possible...

Seeing that the wife and concubine were about to quarrel, the Jin sisters kept looking over. Fang Jun coughed lightly to show his status as the head of the family and changed the subject, asking, "Have the New Year's gifts from Meiniang's side been sent back?"

As a concubine of the Fang family, Wu Meiniang naturally did not need to send gifts to the family. However, since she was in charge of the business in Luoyang, which aristocratic family involved in maritime trade would not try to curry favor with her? Many people not only sent her gifts, but also sent gifts to the Fang family through Wu Meiniang because they could not usually curry favor with them.

"Ah!"

Princess Gaoyang sneered: "Grand Commandant Fang is indeed a busy man of high status. He doesn't care about any of the affairs at home and acts as a hands-off manager. He doesn't even know much about the New Year's gifts at home."

He made a sarcastic remark, then continued in a mocking tone: "Meiniang has sent back all the New Year's gifts. You didn't see the spectacle! One large cart after another, loaded with gifts from Luoyang, practically filled the street in front of the gate. Countless neighbors came to watch the spectacle. She's truly riding high now, full of pride and self-satisfaction. I don't care if you dote on your concubines, but there should be a limit, right? Who in the world lets their concubines go out to govern a region and manage the household? That's going too far!"

Everyone in her family knew that although Wu Meiniang was a woman, she was no less capable than any man and had great ambitions to make a name for herself. In the past, she participated in various decision-making matters at home, and now that she was in charge of Luoyang and running a business, she was able to fully display her talents.

He abandoned his son at home and ignored him, focusing only on wielding power and stirring up trouble in Luoyang, displaying a rather "happy here, forgetting all about home" attitude.

Gao Yang, Xiao Shu'er, and even Jin Shengman were not ambitious people. In the past, these matters that Wu Meiniang could easily handle had now fallen on their shoulders, causing them great distress and annoyance. Naturally, their words were full of resentment and dissatisfaction.

Fang Jun had a bad feeling. Why was the focus of attention suddenly shifting to him?
He quickly put down his teacup and stood up: "Has the gift list for the Prince of Han's residence been prepared? I'll have the steward load the gifts onto the cart and send them over right away. After all, they are close relatives, and it wouldn't be appropriate to send them late."

Seeing that the conversation immediately changed when Wu Meiniang was mentioned, Princess Gaoyang rolled her eyes and handed a gift list to Fang Jun.

She knew her husband doted on her, so she wouldn't say anything offensive that could cause a rift in their relationship...