Chapter 138: Li Zhi Wants to Beat Silla

Li Yuchen took off her Daoist robe, thought for a moment, and still decided to change into a plain black ordinary gown to visit Yan Liben's residence.

Being a princess, she naturally could not wear white, so she opted for black to express her mourning.

Her carriage stopped outside Yan Liben's gate. Upon seeing Li Yuchen alight, the guards on duty immediately ran back to inform the household that someone from the palace had arrived.

Another guard hurriedly bowed and respectfully invited Li Yuchen inside.

When she reached the courtyard, Yan Liben's family members, dressed in traditional mourning attire of coarse hemp, came out to greet her.

"Please dispense with the formalities, everyone!" Li Yuchen raised a hand. "My coming here today is to represent the Emperor and the Empress in offering incense and paying my respects."

After offering the incense, Li Yuchen lowered her head in silent mourning for a few moments, then turned to leave.

The other officials who had come to pay their respects turned and bowed to her from a distance. Li Yuchen slightly nodded in return before departing.

Upon returning to the palace by carriage, Li Yuchen did not head straight to the Anfuan Palace, but instead diverted to the newspaper office.

Princess Yiyang and Shangguan Wan'er were already inside, organizing the manuscripts for the upcoming issue.

Shangguan Wan'er looked up. "Your Highness, with Lord Yan's passing, should we..."

"Mmm." Li Yuchen nodded. "Show it to me once you've finished organizing."

Without another word, she sat down and continued writing *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

That evening, back at the Anfuan Palace, Fu Lai came over to report, "Your Highness, the candidates for running the newspaper stands have been found."

"Any problems?" Li Yuchen looked up and asked.

Fu Lai nodded. "Rest assured, Your Highness. Two of them are widows who usually make a living by doing needlework for others. The other is a retired garrison soldier who is now elderly, childless, and living in relative poverty."

Hearing this, Li Yuchen nodded. "Very well, arrange it just like that."

***

On the first day of the eleventh month, the second issue of the *Datang Daily* was officially put on sale.

Since newspaper stands had already been established within the three city markets, the children no longer needed to go there, but instead peddled the papers along the streets in other areas.

Perhaps because they had gained experience from the last time, the sales of the newspaper this time were noticeably much higher.

Even some illiterate people stated they wanted to buy a copy and take it back to have the literate young man next door read it aloud to them.

Meanwhile, in teahouses and wine taverns, quite a few people held the newspaper in their hands, letting out sighs of regret upon seeing the news of Yan Liben's death.

The emergence of the newspaper undoubtedly sent a signal to the common people that anyone could discuss state affairs.

Therefore, people discussing such matters with one another on the main streets was no longer considered a big deal.

A thing like the newspaper could never have been published without the Emperor's permission.

In the evening, the sales figures came out, showing about a ten percent increase compared to the previous time.

Li Yuchen felt this volume should be about right; after all, with the literacy rate being so low, the figures certainly wouldn't skyrocket.

It seemed another shop selling paper needed to be opened in the South Market. In a few years, that should help raise the literacy rate to some extent.

Seeing that it was already the eleventh month, with only two months left before the New Year, the various departments throughout the palace began to grow somewhat busy.

Under Li Yuchen's guidance, Princess Yiyang, now the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and Shangguan Wan'er, the chief writer and editor, already understood how newspaper articles should be written, so she no longer needed to keep a constant watch here every day.

The blast furnace experiments over at Mount Mang were still ongoing. The good news was that it did indeed raise the yield rate of high-quality steel quite a bit; the bad news was that it was merely "quite a bit" and not yet reaching a startling scale.

Li Yuchen didn't mind. This at least proved the direction was correct, and the next step was a matter of slow refinement and improvement.

The production of soap and glassware outside the city did not require her personal attention either, as Lai Cao reported to Fu Lai regularly.

As long as she checked the accounts occasionally to ensure there were no problems, she didn't need to do everything herself.

Recently, aside from going to the Gate Guard garrison every few days to practice combat training with Geng Yunqiang, Li Yuchen continued her old habit of visiting her master, Liu Rengui, every few days to practice military strategy on the sand table.

With her understanding of many heavy weapons of this era, more weapon pieces representing siege towers and bed-crossbows had been added to the sand table.

If there was one thing Li Yuchen found slightly amusing, it was that the frequency of Liu Rengui joining her for combat training was decreasing.

Originally coming every five or six days, by the end of the eleventh month, he suggested that once every half-month would be better.

However, by early December, he claimed that since the Gate Guards were already training with her daily, meeting the master once a month would suffice.

Knowing his advanced age made strenuous exercise truly unsuitable for him, Li Yuchen didn't say anything further, simply nodding obediently in agreement.

***

As a result of the major breakthroughs Li Yuchen had achieved in grain yields over the past two years, Li Zhi's mind began to stir with active ambitions once more.

On the sixth day of the twelfth month, the day of Great Cold.

Li Zhi summoned a group of ministers to the Renshou Palace to discuss the matter of striking Silla.

Unexpectedly, he also summoned Li Yuchen, using the reasoning that as Liu Rengui's disciple, she ought to listen in as well. Moreover, the princess had been clever since childhood and might just come up with some good ideas.

With the Emperor himself saying so, the ministers naturally could not raise any objections, so after paying their respects, they obediently took their seats.

Seeing that Zhang Chengxin had not entered, Li Yuchen lit the small stove and began to brew tea.

Qibi Heli, sitting closest to her, immediately reached out to stop her. "Hey? How can Your Highness's precious hands perform such rough work? Leave it to this old man!"

"You old rascal, you'd better sit down obediently and not ruin His Majesty's fine tea!" Pei Xingjian laughed.

Liu Rengui nearby was just about to raise his hand to help when Li Yuchen smiled and stopped him. "Master, please take a seat as well. Although I am a princess, I am also a junior, so it is no trouble at all."

Seeing this scene, the imperial couple merely smiled with a faint trace of pride, saying nothing more.

Their daughter's gesture could also be said to represent the Emperor in showing humility toward capable and virtuous people.

With his proud smile unmasked, Li Zhi leaned back in his chair, twirling the health balls in his hand, and initiated the topic. "Ever since the Zhenguan era, Silla has repeatedly suffered joint attacks by Baekje and Goguryeo. Whenever they sought help from our Great Tang, we invariably dispatched troops to aid them. Yet now that Baekje and Goguryeo have been destroyed, Silla's ambitions have swelled, and they repeatedly violate our Great Tang's borders!"

"In previous years, disasters were continuous, and officials advised me that it was inappropriate to resort to weapons, which I agreed to. But now that our Great Tang's grain production has increased, I feel the time is nearly ripe!"

Li Zhi's expression was extremely solemn, and by the end, he was practically grinding his teeth.

And it was understandable. Over the years, as the Great Tang destroyed Goguryeo, Silla not only sent troops to reinforce them but also occupied the former territories of Baekje at the same time.

Furthermore, they extensively sheltered people from Goguryeo who had fled to Silla, among whom was Ansun, who had led a rebellion with a following in previous years.

Li Zhi was furious. I have been repeatedly helping you since the Zhenguan era, yet in the end, you turn around and make trouble for me!

Li Yuchen could understand her father's anger. Having read quite a few books over the years, she had a general understanding of the history of that period.

To put it simply, shortly after Emperor Taizong ascended the throne, Queen Seondeok of Silla sought Li Er's help because she was being jointly attacked by Baekje and Goguryeo. "Goguryeo and Baekje are blocking me and won't let me pay tribute to you. What do you suggest we do about it?"

At that time, Li Er was also getting headaches. After all, when he first ascended the throne, the Great Tang was practically a mess, waiting to be rebuilt from ruins, and he lacked the energy to fight wars.

Not to mention that the period was already rife with public grievance because of Emperor Yang of Sui's actions, with someone even writing a poem for the occasion entitled *Song of Seeing People Off to Die in Liaodong*.

Even so, Li Er still sent an envoy to express strong condemnation toward Goguryeo!

However, as soon as the envoy left, they continued to attack Silla. Silla continued to ask for help, and Li Er continued to send envoys to condemn them.

The three parties kept playing this endless game, with Queen Seondeok pleading for Li Er's help for two years, and Li Er sending envoys to condemn for two years.

As the political situation of the Great Tang stabilized, Silla truly latched onto the Great Tang's coattails and stabilized as well.

Later, Queen Jindeok of Silla ascended the throne and continued to cling to her father Li Zhi's coattails, even writing a poem.

The general meaning was that the Great Tang was awesome, while implicitly casting aspersions on certain barbarians who deserved divine retribution.

Her father had been quite happy at the time to grant them official recognition, never expecting that after such a short time, they would swell to this extent.

Speaking of which, the envoy sent by Silla in the first year of Yonghui was none other than the current King of Silla, Kim Bupmin.

Seeing her father's gnashing of teeth, Li Yuchen judged that the time was right, so she quickly poured the tea soup and respectfully placed it before him. "Father, have some tea."

"Mmm!"

Seeing the cute smile on his daughter's face, Li Zhi also revealed a smile.

Slightly rolling the health balls in his hand, he turned his head and said, "Now that the grain problem has been resolved, there are no other worries behind us. I intend to send troops to subjugate Silla. What are your views, my ministers?"

Qibi Heli gave a casual wave of his hand. "If Your Majesty wants to fight, then we fight. This subject requests to lead troops!"

Liu Rengui and the others also felt that fighting now was feasible, since there were no major issues within the Great Tang anyway.

Thus, they all bowed and requested to join the battle.

Seeing these generals all expressing their readiness to fight, Li Zhi nodded with great satisfaction. "Then..."

At this point, he suddenly stopped talking, turned his head, and looked at Li Yuchen. "Taiping, whom do you think should be sent to battle?"

"Huh?"

Li Yuchen was stunned. Why are you asking me out of the blue? I'm your daughter, not your acting executive emperor!

Still, recovering quickly, she grinned. "If you ask this child, she naturally feels that Master going on the expedition is most fitting! And by the way, this child could follow along to take a look!"

To be honest, she really wanted to go and take a look.

Safety didn't need to be worried about. In fact, a commander like Liu Rengui generally did not personally charge into battle; most of the time, he would observe the tactical situation from the rear and issue commands at any moment.

Therefore, just staying by her Master's side to observe a battlefield would suffice.

Her Master had said before that ten years of bitter training could not compare to experiencing a single battlefield. Even if one wasn't personally killing the enemy, simply standing nearby and watching was a baptism of the spirit.

However, as soon as the words left her mouth, she heard her father and her Master give a simultaneous refusal: "No!"

Empress Wu had originally intended to speak as well, but just as she opened her mouth, the two of them had already blurted it out.

"Why?" Li Yuchen asked, somewhat puzzled.

Liu Rengui replied, "Her Highness is still young at present, and the journey of a military expedition is long, rugged..."

Li Zhi beside him also nodded. "That's right. Although you've practiced martial arts since childhood, the time for you to go out and kill enemies on the battlefield has not yet come. If you truly have the heart, when you grow up in the future, I will have someone forge a fine set of armor for you first."

*Good grief, I didn't want to kill enemies on the battlefield! I'm a princess after all; hacking people to death doesn't require my personal touch, does it?*

*I just wanted to go and watch, not fight myself.*

"I..."

Li Yuchen was about to explain when she saw her mother glaring at her with wide eyes. It looked as if her mother would pounce and beat her to death the moment she dared to utter another word of nonsense.

Seeing her mother's expression, Li Yuchen closed her open mouth, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and obediently continued pouring tea for her father.

Although her daughter's request was rejected, Li Zhi still nodded. "I also feel that Lord Liu is experienced and truly the best candidate for this mission!"

As the Emperor finished speaking, Liu Rengui stood up and accepted the order.

At the same time, he thought to himself: *Finally, I can get out for a while. This battle had better last a long time—I'd rather be on the battlefield than keep acting as a sparring partner for my disciple!*

***

After the meeting concluded, her father didn't bother keeping them for a meal, simply dismissing them and telling Master Liu Rengui to prepare and dispatch the troops after the New Year.

At noon, the imperial couple kept their daughter behind to dine with them and also summoned Crown Prince Li Hong.

While eating, they mentioned their plan to strike Silla to Li Hong and asked for his opinion.

Li Hong indicated that he would listen entirely to his father; if his father said to fight, then they would fight.

This made Li Zhi shake his head continuously, and Li Yuchen inwardly shook her head as well. Listening to your father is a good thing, but as Crown Prince, shouldn't you express some of your own views on an occasion like this?

Even if you say something wrong, it doesn't matter; the Emperor can teach you. Otherwise, when you become emperor in the future, I'm afraid no one will be able to teach you these things...

Li Zhi turned his head again to ask his wife for her opinion.

Empress Wu pondered for a moment. "I recall that Kim Bupmin's younger brother holds an office here in the capital, doesn't he? If we install him as the King of Silla and send him back home concurrently with dispatching the troops..."

Li Yuchen, sitting opposite, was slightly startled, and the mutton she was stuffing into her mouth paused mid-way.

*Good grief, this move is ruthless! I must say, Mother truly lives up to being the reigning palace-intrigue champion. No wonder later generations' evaluations of her always include words like vicious and ruthless. I have to admit, this move is indeed sinister.*

Sending troops to fight on one hand, while sending his younger brother back to seize power on the other.

Regardless of whether it succeeded or not, it would at least massively distract Kim Bupmin's attention. By then, caught between internal troubles and external invasions, he would be beaten so badly even his own mother wouldn't recognize him!

Still, looking at it another way, this was indeed a brilliant strategy.

Hearing this, Li Zhi nodded and looked at Crown Prince Li Hong. "How does Hong'er view this strategy?"

"Mother's wisdom is vast; this child falls far short!" Li Hong replied respectfully.

Li Zhi smiled. "You ah, you still need to study and observe more in the future..."

"This child will bear Father's teachings in mind! Cough... Yuchen, why did you kick me?"

"Huh?" Li Yuchen looked completely blank. "Did Elder Brother see wrong? How could I kick Elder Brother?"

Seeing his sister's innocent expression, Li Hong frowned in confusion. Could it really not have been her?

The imperial couple nearby, however, cast a look of appreciation toward their daughter.