Chapter 152: A Gift for Master

This diplomatic incident was actually quite simple, and could even be summarized in two sentences.

Tibetan Envoy: "Your Majesty, could we perhaps calm down and stop fighting?"

Emperor Li Zhi: "Calm down my foot! Now that I've finally gotten past the natural disasters and have enough grain, who's going to make peace with you? Let's keep going!"

Of course, that was just talk. After all, various frictions between the two sides had hardly ceased since the Xianheng era.

However, ever since Xue Rengui suffered defeat, no large-scale wars had broken out again.

Li Yuchen estimated that although this was Li Zhi's attitude for the year, it probably wouldn't immediately trigger another large-scale war.

Although the Tibetan envoy was met with a polite rebuff, the Great Tang's etiquette was fully observed, and he was bestowed with numerous gifts upon his departure, worth considerably more than what he had brought.

Li Zhi even sent him a batch of soap, proudly telling him that it was made by his favorite daughter, and so on.

As a shrewd emperor, he naturally could guess the Tibetan's purpose for coming here to a large extent, and his statement served as a warning: Don't you dare harbor any ideas about my daughter!

...

Although the Tibetans made Li Zhi very unhappy, by the end of February, his mood had improved considerably.

Liu Rengui led a large army to capture seven cities of Silla in succession. The allied forces of Silla and Mohe were no match for him and were beaten to the point of existential despair.

From past to present, a total of three battles had been fought, and all three were victories!

When the news reached Chang'an, it quickly spread throughout the country via newspapers, leading to nationwide celebrations.

These battles demonstrated the military might of the Great Tang, and the entire nation cheered with joy.

Li Zhi began burning incense and playing the qin in the Yanying Hall once again, his mood simply wonderful!

In the morning, after finishing her training and taking a bath, Li Yuchen came to pay her respects to her parents. As soon as she entered, she saw her father sitting behind the desk burning incense and playing the qin, while her mother danced along by his side.

Oddly enough, this was the first time Li Yuchen had ever seen her mother dance.

Although her movements seemed slightly stiff due to a long hiatus from dancing, the aura about her was even more stunning and glamorous than usual.

Although her mother was no longer young, she looked quite youthful due to meticulous upkeep.

Women who take good care of themselves can always hide their age remarkably well. Li Yuchen had witnessed the most exaggerated case with her own eyes—a sixty-year-old woman walking a fashion show in a bikini.

Though wrinkles at the corners of her eyes were clearly visible, her skin remained firm and elastic, barely distinguishable from a woman of just thirty.

If this couple were to take a photo right now and post it online, people would probably assume they were father and daughter.

Seeing Li Yuchen enter, Li Zhi, who was playing the qin, didn't speak, but merely smiled and nodded.

Li Yuchen smiled back, then obediently sat down to top up the tea kettle, joining them in watching her mother dance.

Though her movements were slightly stiff, they were still light overall, and compared to young beauties, she exuded an added touch of mature charm.

Watching her dance gracefully in the hall, Li Yuchen couldn't help thinking that although her mother was a formidable woman, her personality was actually quite quiet and refined.

She loved calligraphy and poetry, and was fairly skilled in music and dance, completely lacking the tomboyish style typical of aristocratic women of this era.

In television dramas she had watched in the past, her personality was always portrayed as excessively prominent and sharp-edged.

Especially in the many stories set during Emperor Taizong's reign, her character was always depicted as scheming and manipulative.

However, after coming to this era and reading the official histories, Li Yuchen discovered that all accounts of her during Taizong's reign had been completely erased.

Therefore, it could basically be concluded that later generations' stories about her during the Taizong era were entirely fabricated.

That was understandable, of course; since she was now Li Zhi's wife, the records from Taizong's era naturally had to be harmonized away.

...

Before long, the tune ended, and her mother's dance stopped as well.

Taking a slight breath, wiping the fine sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, she walked over to sit on the opposite side of the desk.

Li Yuchen tactfully presented a cup of hot tea that had cooled to just the right temperature, offering it respectfully with both hands: "Are you tired, Mother? Have some tea and rest."

Wu Zetian took it and took a small sip: "Now that your master is preparing to return triumphantly to the court, have you prepared a gift?"

"Mn, this child is planning to wear vine armor and have a proper sparring session with Master!" Li Yuchen nodded.

"Cough, cough, cough..." Li Zhi nearby suddenly started coughing at these words, then couldn't help grinning broadly: "Chen'er, that's quite a thought!"

To go looking for a sparring partner the moment her master returned—though she knew it was a joke, the mere thought of Liu Rengui's expression at that moment was bound to be hilarious.

...

Wu Zetian also covered her mouth and chuckled softly: "Don't joke around, and make sure you don't bully my Great Tang's meritorious subject into falling ill."

"Don't worry, Mother, I won't!" Li Yuchen replied while moving behind her to massage her body, which was slightly fatigued from dancing.

Li Zhi picked up his health balls once more: "Chen'er, now that this battle is won and Kim Yu-sin has sent envoys to surrender... what are your thoughts regarding Silla?"

Li Yuchen was quite accustomed to such questions, but instead of answering directly, she asked in return: "I wonder if Father still wishes to continue fighting?"

"This isn't a matter of whether we want to or not," Li Zhi smiled. "It's easy to annihilate them, but for our Great Tang, it truly consumes too much energy..."

"This child thinks we might as well stop here," Li Yuchen pondered. "Conquering Goguryeo took the blood, sweat, and tears of several generations of emperors; winning the hearts of the people is by no means a task of a single day. Therefore, for now, it's better to focus on ourselves..."

Hearing Li Yuchen's analysis, Li Zhi's eyes lit up. He spun the health balls in his hand incessantly, wearing an expression of deep admiration: "Go on."

"From this child's perspective, our Great Tang might as well withdraw and simply guard our new borders well," Li Yuchen replied.

It came down to the same point: the Great Tang currently had too small a population and too vast a territory, making it difficult to manage everything.

With the current strength of the Great Tang, annihilating Silla wouldn't actually be too difficult. But the crux was, what then after destroying them?

Such a distant place made even transmitting news extremely troublesome, let alone administration.

Li Zhi nodded and looked at his wife: "What does Meiniang think?"

"I agree with Chen'er's view. Now that Baekje is also somewhat chaotic, we might as well enfeoff them with the lands south of the Daedong River and recall the Tang troops..."

After careful consideration, Wu Zetian gave her answer. After all, there was still Tibet over there, which could start a war at any moment; they truly lacked the energy to keep fighting in the peninsula.

Hearing her reply, Li Zhi nodded: "Indeed..."

Li Yuchen thought that if she were in her father's position, she would likely agree with this suggestion.

Rather than expending greater energy and an unknown number of years fighting further over there, it was better to withdraw and let Baekje and Silla sort it out themselves.

After all, back then it was Baekje and Silla, and in the future it would be North and South Korea; the geopolitical landscape of that peninsula remained a mess for centuries to come.

Geography also dictated that for millennia afterward, the Great Tang and its successors would remain neighbors, needing to lend a helping hand from time to time.

Because their prosperity was shared, and their doom was shared.

Why was there a need to resist the neighboring conflicts in later eras? Because they were our neighbors; if they suffered misfortune and fell into chaos, our own household would know no peace!

...

In early March, Li Zhi issued an imperial edict taking the Daedong River as the boundary, enfeoffing the lands to the south to Silla, and withdrawing Tang forces from the Korean Peninsula. As for the affairs over there, let them deal with it themselves.

The Tang army returned triumphantly to the court. At the same time, Kim Beommin's title of King of Silla was restored, Kim Inmun was recalled, and he was re-enfeoffed as the Duke of Linhai.

The campaign came to a close, and once Liu Rengui's army returned to the capital and received their rewards, the matter would be truly concluded.

...

The news of the Tang army's victory greatly pleased Li Zhi. On the Shangsi Festival, he directly commanded all civil and military officials to bring their children into the palace to celebrate.

While the children played by the Taiye Pool, a banquet was held in the Linde Hall to celebrate.

Li Yuchen finally found an opportunity to promote her roller skates, bringing her third brother Li Xian and fourth brother Li Lun to play on the plaza outside Linde Hall.

Sure enough, a group of aristocratic youths who were pitching arrows into pots saw such a novel contraption and rushed over to curiously inquire about the roller skates.

Skating around, Li Yuchen explained to them: "You are all descendants of the Great Tang's meritorious subjects, but the manufacturing cost of this item is exorbitant. Even though this princess wishes to gift it to you all, it truly is..."

"How could we let Your Highness gift them for free?" Liu Huang was the first to step forward. "We ought to buy them ourselves. May I ask the cost of this item, Your Highness?"

"Hmm... forty strings of cash!" Li Yuchen nodded. "Of course, if ordered in bulk, thirty-five strings would also do..."

Upon hearing this, the young gallants thought that although the price was a bit steep, it wasn't entirely unaffordable.

Liu Huang raised his hand first: "I'll order a pair! Who else is joining?"

Hearing that Liu Huang had placed an order, the other playboys quickly followed suit. None of them lacked money, and losing face was simply out of the question!

Moreover, not just the young men, but many young women also found this gadget exceptionally interesting and eagerly placed orders as well.

In the span of a mere quarter of an hour, Li Yuchen had received nearly a hundred orders! She beamed with delight.

As for the money, there was no rush; they could pay once the items were manufactured.

She refused to believe anyone in the Great Tang would dare default on a debt owed to her!

Li Hong, due to a severe cough, did not join in the play. Instead, accompanied by Pei Qingwan on the second-floor terrace of Linde Hall, he drank wine and composed poetry with the courtiers alongside his parents.

...

Watching the large group of children playing joyfully by the Taiye Pool, the adults in Linde Hall all wore smiles.

Even Li Zhi felt that bringing such occasional liveliness to the Daming Palace was a good thing.

These aristocratic youths also discovered that playing together in a large group was far more interesting than merely going out on spring outings.

In the past, spring outings were basically gatherings of three or five close friends; large gatherings of a hundred people playing together were virtually unheard of.

Young people naturally let loose easily when gathered together. After chatting for a short while, someone suddenly suggested playing Cuju (ancient football).

The Daming Palace had ready-made balls and goals, so temporary teams were formed right in front of Linde Hall.

Since the space here wasn't as large as a football pitch, Li Yuchen suggested teams of five in a head-to-head match.

Li Yuchen teamed up with another young woman and three young men, while the opposing side consisted of four men and one woman.

The Cuju goals were much smaller than modern football goals, requiring a high degree of technical skill.

Before long, the two teams were locked in fierce competition.

Li Yuchen and the other young women had coiled up their hair, securing it with hairpins, looking ready for action.

A crowd gathered around, cheering for both teams, while Liu Huang started shouting directly: "Come, place your bets, place your bets..."

With Liu Rengui away from home, he was completely unrestrained, actually setting up a gambling pool right inside the imperial palace.

The other aristocratic youths eagerly pulled out money to place their bets.

The courtiers up on Linde Hall initially wore gloomy expressions, but upon seeing their peers' children doing the same, their expressions quickly shifted back to smiles.

Since everyone was doing it, no one had any room to mock anyone else.

Seeing this scene, Li Zhi couldn't help smiling, turned his head, and asked in a low voice, "Does Hong'er not want to go play?"

"Father, please don't joke—cough, cough..." Li Hong smiled and shook his head. "How could this child do such a thing—cough, cough, cough..."

Pei Qingwan gently patted his back while instructing a palace maid to bring a cup of tea.

Li Zhi nodded and said nothing more, simply turning his head back to watch Li Yuchen darting back and forth across the pitch below.

For some reason, while he had previously adored Li Hong's obedient demeanor, now he sometimes found himself wishing that, occasionally, he wouldn't be quite so obedient and possessed a bit more youthful vitality.

On the field, Li Yuchen sprinted ahead to the opposing goal, turned her head back, placed two fingers in her mouth, and let out a whistle.

Her teammate cleverly kicked the ball high into the air. Seeing the opposing members moving in from both sides to intercept, Li Yuchen grinned with utter confidence and leaped powerfully into mid-air.

Executing a bicycle kick mid-air, she accurately drove the ball into the opponent's goal, braced one hand on the ground, and landed steadily after a backflip.

"Splendid!!" Liu Huang was the first to shout out in applause.

The surrounding spectators burst into applause. Being a princess of noble birth, displaying such exceptional physical prowess naturally warranted cheers.

The people of Tang valued martial valor, and many genuinely admired the skills demonstrated by the princess.

...

This year's Shangsi Festival was even more lively than the last. After Li Yuchen stepped off the field, many others took turns to play.

Liu Huang, acting as the bookmaker, made a tidy profit. It was a pity Li Yuchen hadn't bought in, otherwise she could have taken a cut of the profits as well.

Before long, April arrived, and many aristocratic youths still reminisced about how much fun they'd had that day.

However, Li Yuchen had no time to entertain them; she was recently busy preparing gifts for her master Liu Rengui upon his return.

Gazing at the rudimentary iron distillation apparatus before her, hoping for success, she officially commenced her experiment.

That's right, the gift she prepared for Master Liu Rengui was grain alcohol!

Since grain yields had now increased, she could naturally consider this undertaking.

Clear, transparent liquor with a powerful kick had yet to appear in this era, making it destined to become a massive source of wealth once introduced.

The only issue was that this technique was difficult to keep confidential; she would have to discuss it with her father later and have the imperial court temporarily exercise control over it.