Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 170 The Two Saints in the Palace
After entering February, the grassland has become lush and green, the grass and trees are sprouting, and all things are reviving.

Here, the world seems infinitely vast, allowing people to deeply feel their own insignificance.

Xue Rengui galloped on his horse, galloping along the north bank of the Orkhon River.

This place is only a hundred miles away from the headquarters of the Uighur tribe, and only about eighty miles away from the Yanran Protectorate of the Tang Dynasty.

This is the most fertile grassland in Mobei.

There is no city here. Even the seat of the Yanran Protectorate, Shanyutai, is just a fortress with garrisons.

The Tang Dynasty had only 20,000 troops stationed in the Yanran Protectorate, which was not a large number.

The main reason is that this place is too far away from Chang'an, logistical supply is very difficult, and it is difficult to station too many troops.

Xue Rengui, accompanied by hundreds of personal soldiers, galloped eastward for more than two hours before finally seeing a basin surrounded by sandstone areas.

"Protector Xue, it was in that area that our brothers discovered the black stone." said a general behind Xue Rengui.

Xue Rengui shouted, "Go and take a look."

The group galloped on horseback and soon arrived at the basin.

Xue Rengui dismounted and came to a high ground. After looking around, he said to another official in his thirties beside him:

"Mr. Zhang, how do you usually search for coal mines?"

The official's name was Zhang Jing, and he was originally a military officer in Yunzhou, Hedong.

Because he was efficient in searching for coal mines in Hedong and found two coal mines, he was highly valued by Du Zhenglun and promoted to the position of Yuwenlang in the Ministry of Revenue.

In fact, Zhang Jing didn't understand these things at first, but after receiving orders from the Ministry of Revenue, he actively learned knowledge related to coal from others.

There is a lot of coal in Hedong. In Yunzhou area, it is used as a medicinal material by local people and is named Wujinshi.

Zhang Jing learned from some traveling doctors how to find the black gold stone and soon developed his own method.

Zhang Jing said, "Report to the Protector General, although the black gold stone is hidden underground, there is a part exposed outside, which is called the black seedling. If we find the black seedling, there must be coal mines underneath."

Xue Rengui gave an order and ordered everyone to start looking for the Black Miao.

This time, he was sent to Yanran Protectorate by Li Zhi, not only to intimidate the Tiele people, but also to search for coal mines.

As long as it was something the emperor personally instructed him to do, he would carry it out meticulously. Less than half a month after arriving at the Yanran Protectorate, he led people to look for coal mines.

The Yanran Protectorate was very large, with a total of six military governorates and seven vassal states, and its geographical scope was larger than that of the Anxi Protectorate.

Xue Rengui originally thought it would be difficult to find, but after asking around, he found out that some soldiers had found a black stone nearby, so he brought people to look for it.

More than an hour later, a personal guard from the north called out, "General Xue, there's a black stone over here. Come over and take a look. Is it the Black Miao?"

Xue Rengui immediately ran towards the direction of the personal guard.

Two hundred miles away from Xue Rengui was the Uighur camp.

Runpo was obsessed with the prosperity of Chang'an City and lingered there, and did not return to the grassland.

Bili Du returned to the Uighur camp two days earlier than Xue Rengui.

The decree issued by Li Zhi has been passed on to the nine Tiele tribes.

He asked the nine Tiele tribes to help find coal mines, and said that once the coal mines were mined, it would also benefit all the tribes.

After all, Li Zhi did not understand the characteristics of the grassland people.

In their view, mining is something only slaves do. When the Rouran people made the Turks dig iron ore, they were treating them as slaves.

After the Turks became powerful, the Tiele people became slaves of the Turks and were also required to mine various minerals.

Therefore, the Tiele people joined forces with the Tang people to deal with the Turks.

Now the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty even asked them to mine, obviously treating them as slaves.

They had originally intended to rebel against the Tang Dynasty, and now after receiving this decree, they could no longer endure it.

The chiefs of various tribes came to Huihe one after another, looking for Bilidu, hoping that he would lead them to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

Unexpectedly, after Bi Li Du went to Chang'an, he seemed to have changed completely. He said that the time was not ripe and rejected the requests of the chiefs.

One day, Bilidu was hunting on the grassland with Lynx and a dozen followers when he suddenly saw dust flying in front of him and hundreds of riders rushing towards him, surrounding him.

The lynx behind the Li Du Ma seemed frightened and ran away.

Bi Lidu's expression remained unchanged as he watched the six Tiele chieftains, who were leading the group, approach on horseback. He said calmly, "What do you want to do?"

A chieftain rode his horse a few steps forward and shouted, "Prince Bili, you're just like Runpo. After going to Chang'an, you were bewitched by the Tang people and became a cowardly slave. You can no longer lead us!"

Bi Li Du stared at him and said, "Fu Kun, do you want to replace me as the chief?"

Fu Kun snorted, "I used to support you, but after you went to Chang'an, you're no longer the Prince Bili you once were. You're full of fear of the Tang people. How can you lead us?"

Bi Li Du sighed, "That's because you don't understand the current situation."

Another chief said loudly: "Then tell us what the current situation is like?"

Bi Li Du said: "The Tang Dynasty is planning to attack Tubo. Only when the two countries fight will we have a chance to grow stronger."

Fu Kun snorted, "You say this because you're afraid of the Tang Dynasty, don't you?"

Bi Li Du shook his head and said, "You stupid yak, you will never see the eagle's perspective. No matter how much I tell you, it will be useless."

Fu Kun drew his scimitar and shouted, "A brave yak can kill a snow leopard, but a cowardly eagle will only starve to death. Warriors of all races, follow me to kill Bilidu, divide up the water and grass of the Uighurs, and then together we will attack Shanyutai and kill Xue Rengui!"

Bi Li Du suddenly burst into laughter.

Fu Kun said angrily, "What are you laughing at?"

Bi Li Du sneered, "Fu Kun, you think you can kill Xue Rengui? You just said you were a brave yak, do you dare to fight me?"

Fu Kun's face turned pale but he didn't say a word.

Bi Li Du grinned and said, "I don't use any weapons, only my bare hands. Do you dare to challenge me?"

Having said that, if Fu Kun disagrees, he will be despised by the people around him.

This is a grassland where the strong are respected, and only warriors are respected!
Fu Kun said nothing, pointed his scimitar at the sky, squeezed his horse's belly, and rushed towards Bili Du.

When the two horses met, Bi Li Du leaned back to avoid a knife attack, then jumped up like lightning and pounced towards Fu Kun.

Both of them fell off their horses and rolled on the ground.

After a long while, Bilidu stood up, and Fukun under his feet had become a corpse.

When the other five chiefs saw Fu Kun being killed, their faces changed and they exchanged glances with each other, not knowing whether to support Bilidu again or kill him.

A chieftain forced a smile and said, "Prince Bili, we were bewitched by Fu Kun, so..."

Bi Li Du looked at everyone and said calmly, "I want to borrow something from you."

The chief was stunned and asked, "What?" Bi Lidu grinned and said, "I need your heads to appease the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty."

The chief drew his scimitar and shouted angrily, "Warriors, follow me..."

Before he could finish his words, the earth suddenly shook and a cloud of dust rose in the distance.

Everyone looked up and saw thousands of cavalrymen running towards them from a distance. They were the Uighur army.

A lynx ran behind the cavalry, as if flying over the grass.

……

With a "splash", a round and slender leg stretched out of the water, as crystal clear as ivory, and its five toes were as white, tender and smooth as peeled onions.

Wu Meiniang reached out and gently rubbed her thighs. She was taking a bath.

Wu Meiniang took a bath every day, sometimes in the morning, sometimes in the evening, and each time different flower petals were sprinkled in the bathtub.

So even if she doesn't use rouge or powder, she always has a faint fragrance on her body.

It's just past the hour of Mao and it's still dark.

Wu Meiniang sometimes woke up very early. She was naturally more energetic than the average person, and she didn't want to close her eyes again once she woke up.

The bath took more than an hour, and she didn't get up and put on her clothes until she heard Li Hong reading outside.

The eunuchs from Ganlu Palace came with the news that the emperor would come in the morning for breakfast.

Wu Meiniang immediately ordered someone to serve her food, sat in front of the dressing table, and began to put on makeup carefully.

When the ceremony was halfway through, another eunuch came to deliver a message saying that the emperor wanted to meet with ministers and would not come.

This was a common occurrence, so Wu Meiniang wasn't angry. She casually asked, "Which minister came to the palace to see the emperor so early in the morning?"

The eunuch said, "It's Minister Xiao of the Ministry of War."

Wu Meiniang frowned. Whenever she heard the word "Xiao", she would feel uncomfortable.

"Do you know what it is?" she asked casually.

The eunuch said, "I don't know."

Wu Meiniang stopped talking, and the eunuch tactfully left.

The mother and her three sons started to have breakfast. Li Xian was already able to eat some adult food, but Li Xian still needed to drink milk.

After the meal, Li Hong went to Chongwenguan to study, and Li Xian and Li Xian were also taken away.

Wu Meiniang glanced at Zhang Dahai.

Zhang Duohai immediately understood what she meant, and quickly left Lizheng Hall and went to Ganlu Hall to inquire about the news.

Wu Meiniang could ignore other ministers who met with the emperor early in the morning, but she was naturally wary of the Xiao family and was always worried that Concubine Xiao Shufei was secretly planning to return to the palace.

More than half an hour later, Zhang Duohai came back with a smile on his face.

"Your Highness, don't worry. It was General Xue from the Yanran Protectorate who sent someone with the news."

Wu Meiniang was practicing sketching at her desk. Without even looking up, she asked, "Oh, what news has the Duke of Pingyang sent?"

Zhang Duohai took a few steps closer and said with a smile, "General Xue has discovered a coal mine. I heard it's very large, larger than the several coal mines in Bingzhou."

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "He is indeed capable in doing things."

Zhang Duohai continued, "Also, the rebellion of the Nine Tiele Clans was put down by Runpo's nephew. The six leaders of the rebellion were killed and their heads presented to the Yanran Protectorate. His Majesty was very pleased and, at the suggestion of Minister Xiao, conferred the title of baron on that Hu man."

Wu Meiniang said: "It seems that the Huihe people are still loyal to our Tang Dynasty."

Zhang Duohai laughed and said, "She is quite loyal. All the chiefs from other countries have left Chang'an, and only Runpo remains in our Chang'an."

Wu Meiniang shook her head and said, "This man is not a qualified leader. His nephew has quelled the rebellion and his prestige within the clan has greatly increased. Isn't he worried?"

Zhang Duohai smiled and said, "Your Highness, have you forgotten? His Majesty has issued an edict that any change of leader in the Jimi Prefecture must be approved by the Tang Dynasty. You cannot appoint or report on your own."

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "That's true."

In the morning, Wu Meiniang went to the Yeting Palace for an inspection.

This was her usual practice when she became queen.

She would release the palace maids with outstanding performance and transfer them to Taiji Palace to motivate them to work more actively.

Among the palace maids released this time, there was an old maid in her sixties, who was actually a palace maid of the former Sui Dynasty and had served Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu.

Wu Meiniang knew that Li Zhi liked history, and she didn't know if he would talk to her about Emperor Wen of Sui one day.

She then asked the old palace maid about Emperor Wen of Sui and Empress Dugu.

After asking, Wu Meiniang became more interested in Empress Dugu.

This queen had a strong desire for power and actively participated in state affairs. She was also fertile and gave birth to ten children for Emperor Wen of Sui, five sons and five daughters.

After listening to this, Wu Meiniang even felt a little envious of Empress Dugu.

Because Emperor Wen of Sui favored Empress Dugu for more than 40 years, there were only a few low-ranking concubines in the harem, and none of them were favored.

But when she thought of Empress Changsun, she felt that she was still pretty good, after all, Emperor Taizong had more than thirty women.

The old palace attendant laughed and said, "Empress Wenxian, like you, Your Highness, managed the harem in perfect order. At that time, everyone in the palace referred to her and Emperor Wen as 'the two saints.'"

When Wu Meiniang heard the title of "Second Saint", a light flashed in her eyes and she smiled and said, "I can't compare to that Queen Wenxian."

The old palace servant observed his expression and smiled, saying, "What are you saying? In my opinion, Empress Wenxian is far less magnanimous than you. In this harem, everyone who doesn't respect you also regards you as a saint."

Wu Meiniang's face darkened and she scolded him, "Don't mention this again."

The old palace servant was frightened and knelt on the ground, kowtowed and begged for mercy.

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and said, "Forget it, you can leave now."

Zhang Dahai waved his hand, asking the others to leave, and whispered to Wu Meiniang, "Your Highness, the title of Second Saint is very good. Why don't you like it?"

Wu Meiniang glanced at him and said calmly, "Then I ask you, what will His Majesty's reaction be when he hears this?"

Zhang Dahai thought for a moment and said, "He should probably ask the reason."

Wu Mei Niang asked, "If Your Majesty knew that the title of the Second Saint came from Empress Wenxian, would you think that I wanted to imitate Empress Wenxian and interfere in government affairs?"

Zhang Duohai's face changed drastically, and he slapped himself twice in a hurry, saying, "I spoke too much."

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and said, "Back off."

After Zhang Duohai left, Wu Meiniang stared into the void, lost in thought.

She suddenly felt a little aggrieved. Why did Emperor Wen of Sui allow Empress Wenxian to interfere in state affairs, while Li Zhi was so wary of her?
(End of this chapter)