Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 228 The Imperial Concubine Falls Ill
Li Zhi galloped on his horse across the grassland of Feilongyuan.

The horse under his crotch was presented by Pei Xingjian. It was named "Shizicong". It had a slender body, a thick neck, and was quite intelligent.

Li Zhi only needs to relax the strength of his thigh and it will slow down immediately, and vice versa.

Because of the biting cold wind, Li Zhi did not ride too fast.

After running around the grass field, I worked up a sweat, changed my clothes in the locker room, and strolled slowly in the forbidden garden.

The Internal Affairs Office has confirmed the news that the Arab Empire has indeed invaded Tubo, and their preparations are more thorough than imagined, with a total of 100,000 troops assembled.

The Arabs forcibly dispatched 50,000 people from their vassal states, including the Great Bolor and the Small Bolor, to serve as a vanguard. It was this vanguard army that was defeated by Qin Ling.

However, the Arabs still had a main force of 50,000 cavalry, part of which were the five Tuluks of the Turkic people who had surrendered to them.

The intervention of the Arabs had both good and bad sides for Li Zhi.

The good thing is that the Arabs also cooperated in the attack, and the possibility of the Tubo being destroyed increased a bit, which could eliminate Li Zhi's worries.

The bad news is that the plans you have made for more than a year will also be affected.

The route of the Arabs' attack was just north of Su Dingfang. If they really broke into the heart of Tubo, they would probably collide with Su Dingfang, and the surprise attack plan would be ruined.

At present, Tubo has divided its main force into two parts.

After dealing with Subiru, a main force led by Lu Dongzan had already set up a defense circle outside the city of Lhasa to resist the attacks of the Tang army and Liuzhao.

Lu Dongzan personally stayed in Nagqu City to resist the attack of the Tang-Qiang coalition forces.

The Tibetans were determined to defend the city. After Xue Rengui led his troops to attack for three days, they failed to break through the city. He simply stationed outside the city and stopped attacking.

The Six Zhao coalition forces were also blocked outside the city of Nichi by Lu Dongzan's eldest son Xiruo, and the situation temporarily fell into a stalemate.

On the other hand, Qinling led another main force of Tubo to garrison in the north of Lhasa City to defend against the attack of the Arabs.

The news from that side was rather delayed, and it was not known for the time being whether Qin Ling had engaged in a battle with the main force of the Arabs.

In the current situation, Li Zhi must make a decision.

Or they could follow the original plan and let Xue Rengui continue to contain the enemy, with Su Dingfang's surprise attack force as the core.

Or change the plan and let Xue Rengui not hold back and fight with all his might, trying to defeat Lu Dongzan's defending troops.

Li Zhi had already conveyed an order to Cheng Wuting, asking him to contact Su Dingfang.

He will make the final decision after understanding the situation of Su Dingfang's troops.

In any case, we can't be impatient right now and need to wait for the situation to change.

In this attack on Tubo, Li Zhi made full use of the power of his younger brothers.

Xue Rengui's main force of the Tang army had only 30,000 people, including 30,000 from Tuyuhun, 10,000 each from Dongnu, Dangxiang, and Bailang Qiang. Including other small tribes, the total number was only over 100,000.

Longyou Road and Jiannan Road only need to be responsible for the supply of 30,000 Tang troops. The logistical pressure is not too great, and this protracted war can be fought.

Thinking of this, Li Zhi's mind became clear and he walked back to the harem.

After returning to Ganlu Palace, I saw three people standing outside the bedroom. They were Li Xiao, Li Yong and Li Lian, and all three of them had a ball on their heads.

These three boys took advantage of Li Zhi's absence to be late for school every day and skipped their homework, so Li Zhi decided to punish them severely.

The three of them liked to play Cuju, so Li Zhi forbad them from playing football for three months. Every time they attended Cuju class, they had to stand in Ganlu Hall with the Cuju on their heads as punishment.

Today happened to be their last time standing in the corner as punishment, and the three of them looked at Li Zhi with pitiful expressions.

Li Zhi stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Erlang, as the elder brother, you should set a good example and teach your two younger brothers to be good, instead of being led astray by them!"

Li Xiao whispered, "I'll remember this, kid."

Li Zhi continued, "Sanlang, haven't you always respected Xue Rengui? He always carried out my orders very well. How do you do it?"

Li Yong said anxiously, "Father, I won't dare to do it again." As he spoke, the ball fell down. He quickly picked it up and put it on his head again.

Li Zhi finally looked at Li Lian, only to see that his eyes were red and tears were in the corners of his eyes, making him look the most pitiful.

Li Zhi was already very familiar with this boy's temperament. He knew that he was best at pretending to be pitiful. He was not moved at all. He said with a sullen face, "Silang, you have been very intelligent since childhood, but you have to use your intelligence in the right place, otherwise it will only hurt you."

Li Lian choked up and said, "I know I was wrong."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Remember this lesson. If anyone dares to commit a crime again, I will not show mercy!"

The three of them bowed respectfully and left with the ball.

Li Zhi sighed deeply.

At this moment, he finally realized the difficulty of educating children, especially these princes. If they were not taught well, they would only cause harm to the local area in the future.

He returned to the room, sat down on the couch, and instructed Wang Fusheng, "Go and fetch all the memorials from the outer hall."

Because of the cold weather, he recently preferred to deal with memorials in the warm bedroom.

Wang Fusheng did not move, but whispered a reminder: "Your Majesty, news just came from Xunfeng Palace that the Imperial Concubine has fallen ill."

Li Zhi was slightly startled. "Is the illness serious?" Wang Fusheng said, "Divine Doctor Sun has already gone to see him. He just caught a cold, nothing serious."

Li Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, immediately stood up and headed towards Xunfeng Palace.

When I came outside the hall, I heard a voice coming from the house.

"Auntie, please take your medicine." It was the voice of Princess Gao An.

"Gao An is so well behaved. He is becoming more and more like the lady." Concubine Zheng's voice of praise rang out.

When Li Zhi arrived at Tongmen, he saw Princess Gao'an kneeling in front of the couch, serving Concubine Zheng medicine.

Concubine Zheng quickly noticed Li Zhi's arrival, sat up straight, and was about to greet Li Zhi.

Li Zhi walked over quickly, held her shoulders, and said with a smile: "We are all patients, just lie down and forget about etiquette."

Concubine Zheng replied yes.

"Father, have you come to visit my aunt?" Princess Gao An smiled sweetly at him.

Li Zhi touched her little face and said, "Gao An has grown up and can take care of others."

Princess Gao An said proudly, "I'm already nine years old."

This little guy was indeed much more mature. He said goodbye to Li Zhi, giggled, and ran out, actually knowing to leave some space for the two of them to be alone.

Li Zhi said to Concubine Zheng, "You were fine, how come you suddenly caught a cold?"

Concubine Zheng smiled and said, "I am weak and easily catch a cold after the beginning of winter. Yesterday I went to visit Sister Xu's palace and came back with a sore throat. Your Majesty, please don't worry."

Li Zhi knew that she had contracted an illness in the past, and he felt even more distressed for her. He held her in his arms and said, "From now on, after the beginning of winter, you must ride in a sedan chair when you go out. You must take good care of yourself."

Concubine Zheng buried her head in Li Zhi's arms, and for some unknown reason, she suddenly burst into tears.

Li Zhi gently stroked her back and said, "I just asked you to ride in the sedan chair. Why are you crying all of a sudden?"

Concubine Zheng choked up and said, "That's not what I did."

Li Zhi said: "Don't cry, tell me what happened."

Concubine Zheng raised her tearful face and sobbed, "Your Majesty, will you be leaving Chang'an frequently in two years to tour the land?"

Li Zhi sighed, "Yes, this was Dr. Sun's suggestion to cure my headache."

Concubine Zheng choked up and said, "Will it be difficult for me to see you again in the future?"

Li Zhi was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "How could that be? If you are willing, I can take you with me."

Concubine Zheng was surprised and asked, "Really?"

Li Zhi laughed and said, "Of course it's true. Didn't I bring the Queen with me this time?"

Concubine Zheng lowered her head and said, "I thought you were only bringing Her Majesty the Queen, and not us."

Li Zhi smiled and said, "You are all my women, so of course I will take you all with me."

Concubine Zheng burst into laughter and said, "Your Majesty, I have recently composed a new song. May I play it for you?"

Li Zhi patted her shoulder and said, "Take good care of yourself. When you are well again, I will listen to your music again."

After comforting Concubine Zheng, Li Zhi returned to Ganlu Palace to handle today's government affairs.

Recently, the land system has been promoted in most prefectures and counties. Just as Lu Chengqing and others expected, after its promotion within the Great Wall, the acceptance rate in other prefectures and counties has also increased a lot, and even the Jiangnan region has progressed smoothly.

After learning from Liu's lesson, Li Zhi asked the Ministry of Revenue to be more strict when stamping land deeds to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation.

Now the only two places left are Hebei and Lingnan. According to Liu Rengui's memorial, the expansion of Zhechoufu has produced positive effects in Hebei.

The people of Hebei were very enthusiastic about joining the army. By mid-August, the staffing of the eighty Zhechoufu was full, and Hebei had an additional 80,000 troops.

Liu Rengui has transferred part of his troops to Yingzhou for garrison, and is also training this new army.

Everything is proceeding step by step. After the land system is fully implemented, it will be time to gradually implement reforms to the tax and military systems.

At this time, Wang Jishan suddenly walked in.

Li Zhi saw him enter the room and immediately asked, "Lord Wang, do you have any military intelligence from the front line?"

Wang Jishan bowed and said, "Your Majesty, this is not military intelligence from the front lines, but rather that there are a few more Arab spies in Chang'an."

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "A spy from the Tang Dynasty? When did he come to Chang'an?"

Wang Jishan said, "In the past few days, they have been pretending to be a Western Region merchant caravan."

Li Zhi said in a deep voice, "Then we should find out their purpose as soon as possible. Since they have marched into Tubo, they may start a war with us at any time. We should treat them as Tubo spies."

Wang Jishan said solemnly: "Yes!"

(End of this chapter)