Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 224 The Emperor and Empress Return to the Palace and the Battle Begins
The wheels rolled over and crossed the bridge over the Wei River. In the distance, the eaves and pavilions of the Forbidden Garden could be vaguely seen.

It was not until this moment that Cheng Zhijie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This time, when he was escorting the emperor on tour, he was always nervous and no longer as steady as when he was escorting Emperor Taizong on tour.

Only then did he realize that he was really old. The passion in his heart had subsided with the passage of time.

He rode his horse to the imperial chariot and, through the curtain, said to the emperor inside: "Your Majesty, we have arrived in Chang'an."

There was no sound from inside the chariot.

Cheng Zhijie was stunned for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty?"

At this moment, a slender white hand lifted the carriage curtain. Empress Wu made a silencing gesture to Cheng Zhijie and whispered, "Your Majesty has fallen asleep."

Cheng Zhijie smiled and bowed.

This is not surprising. The emperor used to stay in the palace when he went on tour, but this time he stayed in the wild. With mosquitoes, rats and ants, and the uncomfortable environment, he must have not slept well.

Not to mention the emperor, he hasn't slept well recently.

The queen, on the other hand, still looked energetic and bright, which was a wonder.

Cheng Zhijie rode forward and gave orders to the messenger to slow down the pace of the troops so that the emperor could sleep a little longer.

It was already past noon and the sun was shining brightly.

The convoy drove slowly for more than an hour before finally entering the Forbidden Garden.

Li Zhi opened his eyes in a daze and found that he had fallen asleep unknowingly.

He just wanted to lie down and rest.

However, it was too comfortable with his head resting on Wu Meiniang's soft thighs, and the faint fragrance emanating from Empress Wu lingered in his nose, and he fell asleep unknowingly.

He sat up, pinched his brows, and asked, "Mei Niang, where are you?"

Wu Meiniang said, "We have returned to the Forbidden Garden. If Your Majesty has not rested well, please come to my palace and lie down for a while."

Li Zhi shook his groggy head and said, "No, I'm afraid I'll have a lot of things to deal with after I return to the palace."

Wu Meiniang stopped trying to persuade him. She always knew her limits and would never act like a gossip woman and talk useless nonsense in Li Zhi's ear.

The imperial carriage soon arrived at Xuanwu Gate. Li Zhi was tired of riding in the carriage, so he got off at Xuanwu Gate and walked to the harem with Wu Meiniang.

After arriving at Ganlu Palace, Wu Meiniang took her leave and returned to Lizheng Palace.

Li Zhi returned to his familiar bedroom, sat cross-legged on the couch, and instructed Wang Fusheng, "Send Gao Youdao and the others to see you."

When Li Zhi left Chang'an, he handed over all government affairs to the prime ministers of the two provinces.

Originally, after the prime ministers discussed it, the imperial edict needed Li Zhi's approval before it could be passed.

After Li Zhi left, this step was omitted and any edict approved by the prime ministers could be directly stamped.

However, Li Zhi did not completely delegate power to the prime minister.

Gao Youdao and others still had the right to read the imperial edicts sent by the two provinces, but they were only responsible for reading them and no longer marked them with red ink.

Originally, they read the edicts from the two provinces together. Those without problems were passed, and those with problems were marked and given to Li Zhi for decision.

Now they are only responsible for reading, and after reading it will be sent directly to the Secretariat for execution.

In other words, they were very clear about every memorial passed by the two provinces, which was equivalent to supervising the prime ministers.

After a while, Gao Youdao and the other four came to the bedroom and greeted together.

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "No need to be so polite. Do you still remember the mission I left for you before I left?"

Yuan Wanqing rushed to say, "Your Majesty, I have not dared to slack off in the slightest in the task you assigned me. I have written down all the imperial edicts that I feel are inappropriate." As he spoke, he took out a booklet.

Several other people also took out a booklet that recorded the policies they thought were inappropriate.

After Wang Fusheng took the booklets from several people, Li Zhi asked them to leave.

Li Zhi took a few booklets and flipped through them. After a while, he finished reading them all and felt relieved.

Although some policies are not to his liking, the impact is not significant and he can accept them.

After all, it is a policy that has been delegated to states and counties for implementation. As long as there are no major problems, he has no intention of changing it.

Changing orders every day can easily cause local chaos.

Li Zhi issued another decree, summoning Li Ji, Yu Zhining, Li Yifu and other ministers to meet him.

Half an hour later, all the ministers came to Ganlu Palace to wait for the emperor's orders. Li Zhixuan and others came to the court to inquire about Li Hong's recent performance as regent.

Yu Zhining smiled and said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is extremely intelligent. This is truly a blessing for the country. Your Majesty can rest assured."

Li Zhi said, "You don't have to say only good things about him. If he does something wrong, you should also point it out. That's for his own good."

Li Ji pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, I feel that the Crown Prince seems too impatient to familiarize himself with state affairs. After all, he is still a child and should be taught step by step."

Li Hong's personality is indeed good, but a little too good.

Because Li Zhi and Wu Meiniang had high expectations of him, he was eager to show himself and did not want to disappoint them.

Li Zhi sighed secretly. He had no choice. In order to establish Li Hong's authority as soon as possible, he could only start from a young age.

Fortunately, judging from the attitudes of the ministers, they were all very satisfied with Prince Li Hong.

When Li Hong grows up a little, Wu Meiniang will not be able to shake his position. Now she only hopes that Li Hong will be healthy and will not be infected with the disease again.

He asked some more questions about state affairs, then asked all the ministers to leave. He then issued an order for Li Hong to come and see him.

Li Hong had not arrived yet, but Princess Gao An arrived first. As soon as she entered the bedroom, she threw herself into Li Zhi's arms.

"Dad, why did you take so long? I missed you so much!"

Li Zhi touched her little face and said with a smile, "During the days when father was away, were you well behaved in the palace?"

Princess Gao An raised her little face and said, "Of course I'm well behaved. Aunt Zheng even said I've grown up!"

Li Zhi stared at her and smiled, "You've definitely grown up. Your eyebrows and eyes have become more open and more prominent."

At this time, the eunuch came to report that Li Hong was asking for a meeting outside the palace.

"Let the prince in." Soon, Li Hong entered the hall and saluted Li Zhi.

"The child pays homage to his father."

Princess Gao An also stood up from Li Zhi and bowed to him.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Hong'er, come and sit down." He pulled Li Hong and Princess Gao'an to sit on his left and right.

Li Hong seemed a little nervous, perhaps worried that Li Zhi would question him about his recent supervision of the country.

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Hong'er, you've been exhausted lately, haven't you?"

Li Hong hurriedly said, "I'm not tired."

Li Zhi patted his little head and said, "It's normal to be tired. Father is also very tired after going out. If you are tired, just rest. It's okay if things are not handled well. Don't worry too much."

Li Hong looked at Li Zhi and said, "Father, is it really okay?"

Li Zhi said gently, "Of course. Hong'er, don't push yourself too hard. With your father here, nothing serious will happen."

Li Hong nodded vigorously, stretched out his two small hands, and said with a smile: "Father, I have been practicing archery diligently recently, and my palms are stiff."

Li Zhi stretched out his hand and pinched it, and found some small calluses had actually appeared. He smiled and said, "Is archery training tiring?"

Li Hong shook his head: "It's not hard."

Li Zhi looked at his well-behaved appearance and felt a little distressed. He said, "Hong'er, have you been sleeping well recently?"

Li Hongdao said: "When I first left my mother, I often couldn't sleep, but now I sleep very well."

"How are you feeling? Do you feel unwell anywhere, or have chest tightness or cough?"

Li Hong smiled and said, "Father, I'm in good health."

Li Zhi nodded and was about to ask another question when he suddenly saw Wang Fusheng walk in, followed by Wang Jishan. Both of them had serious expressions.

"Hong'er, go meet your mother."

Li Hong stood up from the couch, bowed to Li Zhi, glanced at Princess Gao An again, and then left.

Li Zhi said, "Gao An, you should also go and pay your respects to your mother."

Princess Gao An said "Oh" and smiled, "Father, I'll take my leave now." She left the bedroom and chased after Li Hong.

"Has there been new news from Subi?" Li Zhi looked up at the two of them.

Wang Jishan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, the Tibetan army led by Qinling has already engaged the Subi tribe. Although the Subi tribe is at a disadvantage, they have not been defeated due to their strong defense in the mountains. Tubo has fallen into chaos."

Li Zhi's eyes flickered as he asked, "How's the situation with Xue Rengui?"

Wang Jishan said, "General Xue has assembled the Western Qiang tribes ahead of time and has sufficient food and fodder. He is now making final preparations for the battle."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "What about Su Dingfang? Has Su Bilan Ya arrived in Anxi?"

Wang Jishan said, "It's about time. Protector Su has also made preparations for the attack and is coordinating the details of the battle with General Xue."

Li Zhi turned his head and looked towards the southwest, then said slowly, "We have done everything we can. The remaining specific battles will be handed over to the generals. Your inner guards and the palace guards must also fully cooperate with them."

They both said in unison: "Yes!"

……

Songzhou Governor's Mansion, lobby.

Xue Rengui sat high up at the head of the table, his face sullen and silent.

On his left and right, fourteen people in different costumes sat in two rows.

These people were all leaders of the Western Qiang tribe, and some of them were governors or deputy governors of the Tang Dynasty's vassal states.

Li Bin and Murong Zhonglie sat in the first seats on the left and right, both of them looking unhappy.

It was clearly agreed that twenty-two tribes would join the Tang Dynasty in attacking Tubo, but in the end, only twelve of them came, except for Tuyuhun and Dongnu.

The task of contacting these small tribes fell on the shoulders of these two people.

Now that mistakes have been made, they are naturally angry.

At this time, a general strode in. It was Murong Xin, the first general of Tuyuhun.

"General Murong, what's the situation? When will they come?" Murong Zhonglie asked anxiously.

Murong Xin said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, Protector Xue, those tribes will not come. They have already defected to Tubo!"

Murong Zhonglie slammed the table and shouted angrily, "Damn it! These bastards clearly promised us before, but they dared to break their promise. I will never forgive them!"

Li Bin bowed to Xue Rengui and said, "Protector Xue, it's my incompetence that caused this to go wrong."

Xue Rengui waved his hand and said, "It's okay, they are just some fence-sitters, they can't affect the overall situation."

In fact, he knew the reason.

These tribes had been sending people to him a while ago to ask for benefits from sending troops, and some even hoped to give them some land after defeating Tubo.

Xue Rengui ignored them and guessed that they might turn against him.

He stood up and said loudly: "Everyone, my Tang Dynasty's strategy of sowing discord has been successful. Now that Tubo is in civil strife, this is a great opportunity to wipe out Tubo in one fell swoop!"

Murong Zhonglie shouted, "I also heard that Su Biru and Ye Ru, one of Qin Ling's men, had a fight."

Li Bin asked, "Xue Duhu, when shall we march?"

Xue Rengui said: "On the first day of July, all armies will gather in Bailan City, and then attack Tubo from the Baron River!"

Murong Zhonglie was slightly startled and said, "Protector Xue, Tubo has recently been strengthening its defenses on the north bank of the Barong River. Attacking from the Barong River is probably not easy. Why not take the Wuhai route?"

Xue Rengui said loudly: "The Six Kingdoms will also take the opportunity to attack Tubo. If we go in the direction of the Baron River, we will have a chance to join forces with them!"

When everyone heard that there were reinforcements, they were overjoyed and no longer questioned it.

They naturally didn't know that the real reason why Xue Rengui went to the Balong River was to contain the main force of Tubo in the southeast as much as possible, creating a better opportunity for Su Dingfang to launch a surprise attack.

As the leaders of various tribes return to their tribes and gather their troops, the fateful battle between the Tang Dynasty and Tubo is about to begin.

(End of this chapter)