Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 258 The First Female Governor
Tianzhu, Kusumu City.

The news of Lu Dongzan's failure had spread from the Tubo area to India.

The Tibetan high-ranking officials gathered in the palace to discuss the matter, and soon they fell into a fierce quarrel.

Xiruo, fully armored and brandishing his scimitar, sternly declared, "There's no need to say anything. I've endured enough. I'm going to lead my troops back to Tubo, and no one will stop me!"

Qin Ling said in a deep voice: "Brother, the warriors have no fighting spirit now. Leading them back is like hitting a rock with an egg!"

Xiruo said angrily, "So we're going to stay in this damn place forever? Even if I have to die, I want to die in Tibet!"

A faint voice suddenly said, "How about...we all submit to the Tang Dynasty?"

The one who spoke was the little Zamp, who was sitting on the throne, his buttocks twisting restlessly.

A murderous intent flashed in Xiruo's eyes. He strode forward, unsheathed his sword, and sternly shouted, "You useless bastard who only knows how to surrender! I'll kill you first!"

With a "clang" sound, another scimitar blocked his scimitar.

The one who blocked Xiruo was Lu Dongzan's third son Zanzheng. He held the knife with both hands, but still couldn't stop Xiruo's strange strength. He knelt on one knee and held Xiruo's knife tightly.

Little Zanpu was so scared that he hid behind a chair.

"Zan Zheng, get out of here and let me kill this little loser!"

Zheng Zan gritted his teeth and said, "Before my father left, he told me to protect Zamp and not allow anyone to hurt him!"

Xiruo grew even more enraged, roaring, "Father was killed by this brat. If it weren't for him, how could Subiru betray us? How could the country be torn apart? In the end, it forced my father to risk his life and be captured by the Tang people!"

Zheng Zan said, "I only know my father's orders, which I cannot disobey. Brother, if you want to kill the Zamp, why not kill me first?"

Xiruo said sternly, "Do you think I dare not?"

With a "clang" sound, another knife blocked Xiruo's blade. This time it was Qin Ling who made the move.

"Second brother, you want to go against me too, right?" Xiruo said angrily.

Qin Ling said, "If the Zamp dies, the people of Tubo will no longer support us. How can you attack Tubo again?"

Xiruo said, "Okay, as long as you come with me to attack Tubo, I will not kill him."

Qin Ling was silent for a moment, then said, "It is necessary to counterattack Tubo, but not now. We should first stabilize the territory of Tianzhu, and then find an opportunity to counterattack Tubo!"

Xiruo said anxiously, "What good is this damn place? What's the point of stabilizing it? We can't wait. Otherwise, the longer the Tang people occupy Tubo, the harder it will be to attack back!"

Qin Ling sighed, "I know this, but if we don't even have a stronghold and can't even maintain our army, how can we talk about counterattack?"

Zheng Zan said: "Brother, what the second brother said is correct. For now, we should stabilize our stronghold and have a place to stay. After the war between the Tang Dynasty and the Arabs, we will find an opportunity to counterattack!"

Xiruo said angrily, "You all say the same thing every time, using this or that excuse to passively avoid fighting, which only makes the situation worse and worse!"

Qin Ling said, "At least we still have a chance to fight back. If we had been reckless and fought head-on, we would have been wiped out long ago."

The young Zanpu whispered, "I think what Vice Prime Minister Qinling said makes sense."

"Shut up!" Xiruo glared at him.

A soldier suddenly rushed into the palace and said to Qin Ling, "Deputy Prime Minister, Wang Xuance is leading the Indian coalition forces from the south and is attacking Qunu City!"

Qin Ling said in a deep voice: "Brother, we must return to rescue immediately, otherwise we won't be able to stay in Tianzhu!"

Xiruo gritted his teeth and said, "I'll listen to you again. If the situation gets worse, I will lead my troops back to Tubo!"

……

Taiji Palace, Princess Courtyard.

In the inner room, Princess Wencheng was sitting on the couch, listening to Princess Xincheng telling some interesting stories about Chang'an City.

Princess Changshan sat aside, peeling oranges and passing them to Princess Wencheng and Princess Xincheng, but she did not eat any herself.

When Princess Wencheng saw her handing over another one, she quickly waved her hand and said, "Sister Changshan, eat it yourself. I don't need it."

Princess Xincheng smiled and said, "Don't be polite with my sister. She is not in good health and cannot eat oranges."

Princess Wencheng then took it, broke off a piece, put it in her mouth, and showed a happy expression.

She had lived in Tubo for a long time and had never been able to eat Tang Dynasty food, so she really wanted to eat this.

Princess Xincheng pinched her legs, stood up, and said, "I've been sitting for so long, my legs are a little sore. My two sisters, let's go out of the palace for a spring outing."

Princess Wencheng lowered her head and said, "No, I have to pack my luggage. Tomorrow I will bid farewell to Your Majesty and return to Tubo."

Princess Xincheng was shocked and said, "Your Tibetan husband is dead, why are you going back to Tibet? Stay in Chang'an. You are still young and can find another man!"

Princess Changshan hurriedly said, "Sister, please stop talking nonsense. Sister Wencheng is married to the King of Tubo. How can she remarry at will?"

Princess Xincheng curled her lips and said, "The Tubo Kingdom is gone, why do you still care about these things?"

Princess Changshan squeezed her wrist and whispered, "Don't be so reckless. She's different from us."

Princess Xincheng glanced at Princess Wencheng and saw that she was looking downcast. She quickly said, "I was just talking nonsense. Please don't mind it."

Princess Wencheng smiled and said, "It's alright. I've lived in Tubo longer than in Chang'an. The people there need me more, but Chang'an doesn't need a princess like me."

The two women felt sad when they heard her say this.

Princess Changshan was more mature after all. She knew that she had returned to Tubo to appease the Tubo people on Li Zhi's behalf, so she didn't try to persuade her. She said softly, "Tubo will also be part of the Tang Dynasty in the future. You can come back to Chang'an to see us anytime."

Princess Wencheng smiled slightly and said, "Okay, when Tubo no longer needs me, I will definitely return to Chang'an to see you."

That night, Princess Wencheng stayed in the Princess Courtyard. The next morning, she first went to pay her respects to Empress Wu, and then went to Ganlu Palace to bid farewell to the Emperor.

Li Zhi met her in the bedroom and asked her, "Princess, I still say the same thing. Whether you want to stay in Chang'an or go to Tubo, it is up to you to decide. I will not force you."

Princess Wencheng said, "I thank Your Majesty for your concern. I have made up my mind to go to Tibet so that the people can feel Your Majesty's benevolence and stop fighting the Tang." Li Zhi said, "Well, since you have made up your mind, I will not stop you. The former Tibetan area around Lhasa City has been designated as the Yalong Commandery, and you will serve as its first commander-in-chief."

Princess Wencheng was shocked: "Your Majesty, how can a mere woman like me serve as a governor?"

Li Zhi smiled and said, "Subi Lanya is also a woman, and I have appointed her as the governor of the Subi Governor's Office. Special circumstances require special treatment."

Princess Wencheng hesitated for a moment, then bowed and said, "I obey your order."

Li Zhi had already made arrangements for the Internal Affairs Office to escort Princess Wencheng back to Tubo.

Around 4 p.m., 500 soldiers from the Inner Guard escorted her out of the Xuanwu Gate, leaving Chang'an from the Forbidden Garden, detoured west, and headed towards Tubo.

Princess Wencheng's departure was very secretive, and most people in Chang'an City were unaware of it.

However, the envoys from the Arab Empire had been secretly keeping an eye on her.

Lu Dongzan's sudden disappearance had long attracted Ibn's attention.

This matter was of great importance, so he was not in a hurry to meet the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty. Instead, he secretly inquired about the situation, trying to find out whether Tubo and the Tang Dynasty had reached any agreement.

He came with two contracts this time.

The first one was to draw a boundary with the Tang Dynasty and divide Tubo.

This contract was extremely difficult to reach.

Judging from the current situation in the Tubo region, the situation is very unfavorable for the Arab Empire.

To the Tibetans, the Tang Dynasty was still their former overlord, but the Caliphate was different. It was just a bandit who took advantage of the situation to rob others.

There are also religious conflicts between the two sides.

The Tibetan territory occupied by the Arabs was only about one-third the size of the Tang Dynasty, but the fierceness of the Tibetans' resistance was even greater than that in the areas occupied by the Tang Dynasty.

Faced with the Tibetans' resistance, the Arabs adopted bloody suppression measures. It was not easy to quell the rebellion at the moment, and it was difficult to fight against the Tang army.

Judging from the performance of the Tang army in Tubo, if they attacked, the Arabs would most likely suffer a defeat.

Under this situation, the Arabs also guessed that the Tang Dynasty would not share the territory with them, so Yiben had a second contract.

Yi Ben had been in Chang'an for such a long time, but the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty still did not see him. It was obvious that he was not afraid of fighting with the Arabs at all.

Iben also thought it through. He had no hope of signing the first contract, so he had to try his best to sign the second contract.

Because time is not on the side of the Arabs.

However, how to get the Tang Dynasty emperor to see him remained a problem.

After pondering for a long time in the room, he instructed one of his subordinates, "Go and ask Wu Zhile to come to see me."

……

Ashina Mansion, inner hall.

Bu Zhen sat on a tiger-skin chair, holding a scimitar in his hand, his fingers slowly sliding across the blade.

"Uzile, you still dare to come see me?"

Wu Zhile stood at the bottom of the stairs and said in a low voice, "Prince Buzhen, I had no choice. We were defeated by the Nushipi tribe and had no choice but to flee westward and seek refuge with the Arabs."

Bu Zhen snorted and said, "So how are you doing now? Are the Arabs treating you well?"

Uzile was silent for a while, then whispered, "We have received guidance from God, and there is nothing to fear anymore."

Bu Zhen grinned and said, "Your words don't sound very sincere!"

A flash of pain flashed in Wuzhile's eyes, and he said, "No matter what, we have made our choice. There is no point in regretting it."

Bu Zhen patted the hilt of his knife and said, "That's quite true. So now there's nothing more for you and me to say."

Wu Zhile said in a deep voice: "I came here this time to make a deal with you."

Bu Zhen stuck the knife on a low table and said coldly, "If you want to persuade me to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, I will use your head to sharpen this new knife!"

Wu Zhile said slowly: "Don't worry, I'm not here to persuade you."

"Then what do you want from me?"

Wu Zhile said: "The Arabs are keen on missionary work and are only interested in people, not land. They have seen the strength of the Tang Dynasty and will no longer be its enemy!"

Bu Zhen snorted, "What do you want to say?"

Wu Zhile said in a deep voice: "I want to tell you that the Arabs don't want Tubo's land, they only want its people."

Bu Zhen frowned and asked, "People?"

Wu Zhile said: "Yes, the Arabs can withdraw their troops and not take any Tibetan territory, but I hope the Tang Dynasty will also agree to one condition."

"what?"

Wu Zhile said: "I hope that the Tang Dynasty will allow the Arabs to freely preach in the Tibetan area, and the Tang government will not hinder them in the slightest!"

Bu Zhen was surprised: "Is that the only condition?"

"Yes, please tell His Majesty the Khan that the Arabs are coming with sincerity. We hope the Khan will agree to the Arabs' small conditions so that the two countries can live in harmony!"

Bu Zhen pondered for a while and said, "Okay, I'll help convey this to His Majesty."

Wu Zhile bowed and said, "Goodbye." Then he turned and left.

(End of this chapter)