Chapter 151: The January Diplomatic Incident

Seeing the other party begin to kneel on the ground and beg for mercy, Li Zhi's expression instantly turned gloomy. As the emperor, at this moment, he felt as if he were being played for a fool. Beside him, Wu Zetian also wore an unfriendly look.

Li Yuezhen turned her head back, offered a sweet smile, handed the imperial saber in her hand to a Qianniu Guard, and said, "There is no need for Your Majesties to be angry about this. Within various sects and traditions, there are always esoteric secrets unknown to outsiders. It is entirely natural!"

In this era, heritage and ancestral arts were still highly valued. Even the Emperor would not casually demand that someone surrender their family's secret techniques.

Hearing his daughter's explanation, Li Zhi's expression softened somewhat. "Today is the Lantern Festival, and I have no wish to shed blood! Get out!"

"Thank you, Emperor! Thank you, Empress! Thank you, Your Highnesses!" The man kowtowed repeatedly in deep gratitude before standing up with the intention of leaving.

"Wait!" Li Yuezhen suddenly spoke up.

The man, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, froze instantly at the sound. He stiffly turned his head back, forcing a smile that looked uglier than weeping. "Does Your Highness have any further instructions?"

Li Yuezhen took two steps forward. "As long as the development of your sect abides by the laws of our Great Tang, this princess will not interfere. However, you must never again use such illusions to deceive the common people of our Great Tang. Aside from sacrificial rituals, you are forbidden to display these tricks at will."

"Understood! This humble one will remember!" The man answered with a crisp bow, then hurried away, scrambling down the city wall without stopping.

Watching the man descend and lead his dejected disciples away, Li Hong suddenly broke into a wide grin, murmuring almost to himself, "To think I actually believed that was some kind of supernatural power. It turned out to be nothing more than an illusion... Cough, cough, cough..."

Pei Qingwan gently stroked his chest to soothe him while comforting, "Your Highness need not doubt yourself because of this. The Princess is well-versed in the Daoist arts, so it is entirely natural for her to see right through it..."

After coughing for a while and recovering his breath, Li Hong gently patted her hand. "Mm, I know."

On the contrary, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian exchanged a glance, their appreciation for their daughter deepening by another notch.

From a young age, this daughter's mindset had been vastly different from ordinary people. She was much better at observing the essence of a problem and finding ways to solve it, rather than turning to immortals and ghosts for answers.

While showing a lack of reverence for ghosts and deities might be considered rather rebellious in this era, it was a completely different story for the imperial family. If every problem could be resolved through practical means, the outcome would undoubtedly be far superior to pinning one's hopes on supernatural entities.

...

Once the Lantern Festival passed, the New Year celebrations had effectively come to an end. Yet even with the New Year concluded, based on past experience, matters during the first lunar month should not have been overly numerous.

This year, however, seemed somewhat different. Less than three days after the Lantern Festival, Li Zhi announced in the imperial court the establishment of the Bishan Protectorate General in Khotan, appointing the King of Khotan, Yuchi Fushanxiong, as its Protector-General.

The location was set two thousand li to the southwest of the Anxi Protectorate General, and it would also fall under the jurisdiction of the Anxi Protectorate General.

In this way, it was equivalent to expanding the territory of the Great Tang by a significant margin. Fortunately, there was no need to dispatch their own troops to garrison it; essentially, the region remained the territory of the King of Khotan, placed only nominally under the administration of the Great Tang.

Li Yuezhen surmised that Yuchi Fushanxiong's declaration of submission was likely prompted by seeing the Great Tang develop methods to increase crop yields. With soldiers guaranteed sufficient food, combat effectiveness would naturally rise to a higher level.

Naturally, once a method for increasing grain production was approved for nationwide promotion, it meant confidentiality was impossible; if other states wished to, they could easily replicate it.

In late January, both Kucha and Tibet successively dispatched delegations to the Great Tang. The sole difference was that Kucha was represented by its king in person, whereas Tibet had merely sent an envoy.

The King of Kucha was named Bai Suji. Upon first hearing this name, Li Yuezhen had experienced a deep sense of incongruity, wondering what relation he might have with Lady White.

The following day happened to be a court assembly. Li Yuezhen arrived early at the palace hall and caught sight of this bearded King of Kucha.

Initially, Li Yuezhen had assumed that since Kucha had been conquered by Tibet in the first year of the Xianheng era, his current plight ought to be rather miserable. However, after looking him up and down, she discovered that although his brows were deeply etched with worry, he himself did not appear to have suffered any abuse. It seemed Tibet had not yet completely subjugated Kucha.

The Tibetan envoy, Tu Hunmi, stood nearby. Even a full face of thick beard could not conceal the two high-altitude red patches on his cheeks.

Seeing Li Yuezhen approach, the ministers bowed in succession, while secretly harboring some doubts. Although this princess held the official rank of Assistant Minister of Revenue, she almost never attended court sessions. Why had she broken precedent by coming today?

The King of Kucha, Bai Suji, and the Tibetan envoy, Tu Hunmi, also joined in the bows.

"No need for formalities."

Li Yuezhen raised a hand, walked up to Bai Suji, and looked him up and down.

Stared at by an exceptionally pretty young girl, Bai Suji shifted his shoulders in mild discomfort and could not help asking, "Your Highness, is there something amiss with this humble king?"

Li Yuezhen shook her head slightly, took another step forward, looked directly into his eyes, and lowered her voice: "Odd plus even remains odd!"

The moment she finished speaking, she fixed her gaze intently on the Bai Suji before her, hoping to glean some reaction from his eyes. Yet his gaze held nothing save utter bewilderment.

After a few seconds of mutual silence, Bai Suji asked cautiously, "What does Your Highness mean? This humble king does not understand..."

"Never mind..."

Seeing his reaction, Li Yuezhen knew she had most likely overthought the matter. She waved a hand, turned around, and left.

Most people were unaware that she regularly listened in on court proceedings from the passageway, so it was best not to enter through the main gates.

When she reached the back door of the Xuanzheng Hall, Shangguan Wan'er was already waiting there.

"Where did Your Highness go?"

"Nothing much, just took a stroll around the front hall." Li Yuezhen stretched her arms lazily, her joints cracking with a series of loud pops that startled Shangguan Wan'er nearby.

Li Yuezhen's physique differed vastly from ordinary people. Even tightening her fists with slight force would trigger a round of popping sounds from her bones, offering no concealment of the formidable strength contained within her body.

After exchanging a few more words, two eunuchs came over to open the doors, and the two of them entered the passageway one after the other.

Once inside, Shangguan Wan'er sat down behind the desk and prepared to grind the ink. Suddenly, her hand trembled, and losing her grip on the ink stick, it dropped onto the desk with a soft clatter.

Li Yuezhen, who had been about to lean against the wall to rest, turned her head and saw her pressing a hand against her chest.

"What's wrong?" Li Yuezhen walked over with a hint of concern, supporting her by the shoulders.

Blushing slightly, Shangguan Wan'er shook her head. "It's nothing. My chest has just been feeling swollen and achey these past few days. Mother says it's a normal phenomenon..."

"Oh, it seems your turn has come too..." Li Yuezhen patted her shoulder with the air of one who had experienced it all. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it in a few days."

Seeing her expression, Shangguan Wan'er almost burst out laughing. "Your Highness seems to have gotten used to it quite well."

"It's fine. Shall I write the records for you today?"

"It's all right, Wan'er can manage." Shangguan Wan'er smiled, straightened her posture, and resumed grinding the ink.

Li Yuezhen did not press the matter further. According to accounts from Xiao He, her mother, and other women who had been through it, this kind of soreness, even for ordinary people, did not reach an unbearable level.

At that moment, the main front doors swung open, the officials filed in, and Li Zhi and his wife entered the passageway.

Li Yuezhen and Shangguan Wan'er bowed in silence. Li Zhi smiled and nodded, walking side by side with Wu Zetian to take their seats upon the elevated dais.

As Zhang Chengxin announced the commencement of the court session, the day's assembly officially began.

Although everyone knew what the main topic of the day would be, several ministers first reported a few uneventful news items. Only then was it formally announced that the King of Kucha, Bai Suji, was to enter the hall for an audience.

In the passageway, Li Yuezhen crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the wall, listening to the proceedings within the court chamber.

Since Bai Suji had arrived, it suggested that Tibet's control over Kucha was not proceeding as smoothly as desired.

Sure enough, during his congratulatory address to Li Zhi in the court, Bai Suji made numerous veiled and sarcastic remarks filled with innuendo against Tibet.

Li Yuezhen squatted down slightly, peering through the gap in the middle of the screen to find that the Tibetan envoy, Tu Hunmi, still maintained a completely expressionless facade, acting as though he heard nothing at all.

That made sense; those who served as diplomats were never simple characters.

After Bai Suji presented his tribute, it was the Tibetan envoy's turn to speak.

Tu Hunmi bowed with utmost respect and then announced in a ringing voice, "Reporting to the Emperor, my country of Tibet has always maintained friendly relations with the Great Tang..."

Hearing this opening line, Li Yuezhen could not help rolling her eyes. With border skirmishes breaking out every few days, such words were truly shameless.

After enduring a lengthy preamble of nonsense, Li Yuezhen finally grasped the envoy's intent. To put it bluntly, knowing that the Great Tang had weathered the drought, they no longer wished to fight, and furthermore desired to restore relations with Tuyuhun.

Leaning against the wall, Li Yuezhen shook her head slightly. Tuyuhun was already gone—what was left to restore?

Upon the Dragon Throne, Li Zhi was burning with indignation. "Since the Xianheng era, taking advantage of the Great Tang's disasters, you seized the Four Garrisons of Anxi and acted as hegemons in the Western Regions... And now you come seeking peace? Truly the ambitions of wolves!"

While Li Zhi rained curses down upon the court, Tu Hunmi remained unperturbed, listening respectfully from below. After all, as the old saying went, when nations were at war, messengers were not executed. Let Li Zhi rage as much as he pleased; once he finished scolding, Tu Hunmi would simply return and report back.

Behind the screen, Li Yuezhen pondered what methods should be employed in the future to subdue Tibet. After all, more than a thousand years later, the Tibetan people were still compatriots; the sooner unification was achieved, the sooner stability could be established.

Yet for the present, the idea of the Great Tang's forces marching up onto the plateau was utterly impossible. Thus, the simplest approach was to develop professional soldiers, station them there long-term, and wait until they had adapted to the altitude sickness before pacifying the region. Given time, Tibet would naturally be brought into the fold.

However, this method could not be implemented immediately, and it was an exceedingly time-consuming endeavor. It was a matter for another day.

Meanwhile, Tu Hunmi, listening to Li Zhi's tirade below, was lost in his own thoughts. Since the Heavenly Emperor of the Great Tang was already enraged to this degree, he should probably drop the request the Zanpo had instructed him to make—namely, asking for the hand of Princess Taiping in marriage. After all, before he had even uttered a word, the Emperor was already berating them to this extent. If he were to voice that demand now, there was a good chance he might lose his life right here today...

Even as a foreigner, a brief inquiry upon arriving in the Great Tang was enough to reveal just how deeply favored Princess Taiping was. Such a princess was not someone a state on less-than-friendly terms could hope to marry—to say nothing of the fact that the current relations between Tibet and the Great Tang could well be described as having reached freezing point.

...

In the blink of an eye, February arrived. According to past practice, the imperial couple should have attended the ceremony accompanied by Crown Prince Li Hong and Li Yuezhen. However, because Li Hong's illness had worsened somewhat, his parents could not bear to subject him to the arduous travel, and thus took only Li Yuezhen.

With the invention of the plow for princesses and the brand-new fertilizer formula, farming had transformed into a joyful and pleasant undertaking, allowing this year's Spring Ploughing Ceremony to proceed with exceptional smoothness.

Upon returning to the palace, Li Zhi remained in high spirits. "The new plow invented by Chen'er is truly extraordinary. Even now, I don't feel tired at all."

Li Yuezhen was brewing tea nearby. "It is a pity this child cannot build a self-powered plow; otherwise, it would have been even easier."

To be honest, when it came to introducing electricity in this era, although Li Yuezhen lacked absolute certainty, at least she had a direction to experiment with. The greatest obstacle lay in batteries—she lacked even a conceptual starting point for such a device and had no idea how to begin. Therefore, even if she were fortunate enough to invent a power generator, without a battery, it would still prove of little practical use.

As for internal combustion engines, they were entirely out of the question. Given her own capabilities and the productivity level of this era, building one was an absolute impossibility.

"A self-plowing plow?" Her mother turned around with a smile. "Chen'er certainly dares to dream."

Li Zhi merely chuckled and stroked his daughter's hair, clearly failing to take her remarks seriously.

Unfazed, Li Yuezhen stood up to assist with the tea-brewing. "This child was merely imagining it. What if I actually manage to build one someday?"

"Mm, imagining things is well enough," Li Zhi chuckled, stroking the beard on his chin. "Who knows, it might prove helpful in researching other novel devices."

Though the words sounded plainly like mere consolation, supporting a daughter's imaginative notions was, above all, a matter of great importance.

After partaking of the midday meal at the Yanying Hall, Li Yuezhen rose to take her leave. With no lessons scheduled for the children today, she intended to return to the Xiangxiang Hall to rest, while planning when to speak with her father again—urging him to invite the ministers to bring their children into the palace for a gathering, combining another matchmaking event with a promotional push for her roller skates.

Upon returning to the Xiangxiang Hall, Li Yuezhen sat down and suddenly thought of the matter of tea. She beckoned Fuli over: "Go to the Directorate for Palace Buildings and have another iron pot cast, then bring it into the ward and find someone to try stir-frying tea leaves..."

Gesturing animatedly, Li Yuezhen outlined the theoretical process roughly as she understood it, then added, "Tell them to experiment freely. As before, failure is of no consequence; if they succeed, this princess will bestow a heavy reward!"

"Understood!" Fuli bowed and accepted the order.

Though inwardly perplexed as to whether stir-fried tea leaves would still be fit for drinking, since the Princess had proposed it, he would naturally execute the task with unsparing effort.

With Fuli's departure, Li Yuezhen began calculating the current stock of bearings and the potential market price of a pair of roller skates...