Chapter 137: Vast Distances, Old Hua’s Secret Report

Generally speaking, not many people in this era opposed singing barbarian tunes. As long as one did not act like Li Chengqian and treat the Crown Prince's Palace as the boundless skies of the northern frontier, it was fine. At least the term merchant was not as glaring. However, some top-tier families still deliberately preserved the Confucian teachings and culture of the Central Plains. Therefore, hearing Di Hao sing songs he could not understand, Di Renjie grew angry.

"My Lord Di, do not be angry. I was the one who asked them to sing. Yesterday, Xu Jingzong made another move, and I was feeling somewhat depressed, so I came over to have them sing a couple of tunes for me."

"Your Highness, this is only what they ought to do." Di Renjie said immediately. Wrong is wrong, but the Crown Prince often coming over to check on things was actually pleasing. He then asked, "What move did Grand Tutor Xu make?"

Li Wei recounted the matter.

Di Renjie thought for a moment and said, "His intentions are certainly not kind. The selection of the Crown Princess has been undecided for a long time. The Pei family is reserved and too proud to act, so he wants to use the daughter of the Wei family to muddy these waters. This is of no great consequence. Besides, the entry of the Wei family's daughter into the Crown Prince's Palace may not bring Your Highness much benefit, but it will certainly do no harm."

Knowing he would say this, Li Wei did not argue.

Di Renjie continued, "Your Highness, there is no need to be distracted by this matter. Even if it goes as he wishes, it will be months from now, and he may not live to see that day."

When the Crown Prince seeks to ascend, there are those who support him and those who step on him. Support is naturally welcomed, but who could step on someone as fiercely as Xu Jingzong? If this man had not been overly arrogant and left loopholes this time, a protracted struggle with him until he died of illness would have given anyone a headache.

Once Xu Jingzong falls, even if there are others with malicious intent, they will no longer be enough to do harm.

"But the song just now..."

"Lord Di, I also taught them to sing it. I heard some stories in the streets and also heard this tune. At the time, I found it beautiful and memorized it." Li Wei recounted his earlier conversation with the two women. Di Renjie, equally curious, looked at the map and said, "Truly, the territories are vast and boundless."

It was merely astonishment. The tolerance and openness of the Tang Dynasty were rare in Chinese history. Monk Xuanzang had traveled to Tianzhu, and envoys from Da Qin arrived; the people of the Tang were not frogs at the bottom of a well. Astonishment was certainly present. Anyone who saw a map of the greater part of the world, and even discovered that there were even broader lands to the north of the Tujue, would be astonished. Yet Di Renjie was not greedy for these lands. In fact, Li Wei had also considered whether, if he one day ascended the throne, he might send cavalry trampling across Europe to avenge the humiliations suffered by the Qing Dynasty in its final years.

Yet after a fleeting thought, he dismissed it. To gallop across Europe—aside from Da Shi and Da Qin, the rest of Europe probably consisted of petty principalities. Following north of the Aral Sea to bypass Da Shi and dispatching an elite force there would not be difficult. The difficulty lay in logistics and supply. Unless the soldiers kept it secret from the ministers and emulated Genghis Khan by sustaining warfare through warfare, it would be impossible. To state it openly would mean that even as emperor, dozens of ministers would dare to seize your dragon robe.

Yet what would be the purpose of conquering it? For instance, the Western Regions were conquered, but the people of the Tang were unwilling to relocate there. Consequently, troops had to be stationed there, yielding no material benefits, only the empty fame of submission from foreign tribes, while the state expended vast sums annually. What use would it be to conquer Europe, pillaging some goods? What is there in Europe nowadays even worth plundered? Could it be that seeing them backward, one would preemptively bring the breath of civilization there?

Therefore, Di Renjie felt no interest in this immense territory.

"Exactly. Earlier, I even entrusted someone to handle a matter for me."

"What matter?"

"Hearing some rumors in the marketplace, I wondered: back then, the Marquis of Bowang brought back not only great achievements and a wealth of crop, vegetable, and fruit seeds, but could these Western countries also possess even more crop, vegetable, and fruit seeds—some drought-resistant, some cold-resistant, some heat-resistant? These would not only enrich our Tang Dynasty's food sources but also increase crop yields and revenues for the common people. Not only that, countries like Da Shi and Da Qin have existed for a long time; surely they possess some civilizations and books. While they certainly fall short of our Tang Dynasty, there must be aspects where they surpass us. Even the entertaining music of Kucha can be adopted for our use. Furthermore, technical books and civilizations, such as Da Shi steel—the iron and steel smelting technology—if these technologies, books, and artisans were brought back to our Tang Dynasty, wouldn't our weapons be even sharper?"

"That is true..." It sounded wonderful, but Di Renjie was deep in thought. The Crown Prince had only mentioned the benefits; there would inevitably be drawbacks as well. Everything must be analyzed from two sides, and he was currently weighing the gains and losses.

Li Wei then spoke, "So I entrusted a Hu person of the Zhaowu Nine Clans to travel to the west and handle this matter."

As he spoke, he pointed at the map. His knowledge of Chinese history was somewhat hazy, let alone world history; he knew only the general outlines told by Hu Ying. His finger traced across the Congling Mountains, reached Persia, Da Shi, and the Eastern Roman Empire, stopped, and said, "He will at least reach this place, and may possibly go further west."

Even if he only reached the Eastern Roman Empire, the journey would take a very long time. However, Li Wei deliberately downplayed his status as a merchant. Moreover, if this journey succeeded, the court's rewards aside, the understanding of various Western countries would also create insights and conditions for Hu Ying to continue his commercial ventures in the future.

"This is no easy feat."

"Naturally. Not only that, if this journey succeeds, what will be brought back is not merely various crop seeds, culture, and technology, but also perspective. Although our Great Tang's civilization has been passed down from antiquity, standing proudly in the universe, if we isolate ourselves and refuse to progress—just like a person—humility brings benefit while arrogance brings loss. A race, a country, all operate the same way. Take singing, for instance; this is merely sung by the people of an uncivilized small state, but Lord Di, listen to how ethereal and pure it is—many of our Tang Dynasty's poems cannot even compare."

Leaving culture aside and speaking purely of the ethereal and clean nature of the music itself, Li Wei was not exaggerating.

"That may be so, but before the matter bears fruit, Your Highness must not let this leak, lest it once again provoke a war of words."

"Understood."

Seeing Li Wei depart, Di Hui suddenly smiled and said, "Father, watching the two of you talk made me think of two people."

"Who?"

"Emperor Taizong and Duke Zhengguo. I heard that once Emperor Taizong obtained a goshawk and was very fond of it, but when Duke Zhengguo came to remonstrate, fearing the Duke would lecture him, he hid it inside his robe. Duke Zhengguo deliberately spoke for a long time, and by the time he left, the goshawk had already died."

"Hehe, what a comparison," Di Renjie stroked his beard and laughed heartily. "Today, I shall spare you for singing barbarian tunes."

With great anticipation, he thought: let us endure for a while. In about ten more years, he would be just past fifty. As a warrior, that was the twilight of autumn, but as an official, it was the golden age.

The sun gradually sank westward. In July, it was still very hot, though mornings and evenings were beginning to grow gradually cooler, allowing people to catch a breath.

A swift horse galloped over and came to a halt outside Di Renjie's gate. The rider flipped down from the saddle, tying the horse to the large tree at the entrance. The sky had not yet darkened, and the Di family's gates were not yet tightly closed; Di Renjie had already seen him and walked out to greet him.

"Guan Fu, you've obtained news so quickly?" Di Renjie asked as he led the man into the study.

"Yes. But it wasn't found by us."

"Tell me about it."

"Your subordinate rode at top speed specifically to report this matter upon returning to the Eastern Capital."

"No need to rush. Have a cup of tea, catch your breath, and tell me slowly."

Having traveled in a rush, covering the distance to Luoyang in just a day and a half, he was covered in dust, and the sweat on his face had crystallized into salt frost. Of course, the harvest was immense; once this matter succeeded, the reward from the Crown Prince, and perhaps even the court, would grant them astonishing returns.

He took a sip of tea—or rather, he was truly thirsty, gulping it down in one breath—before sitting down to report in detail: "Assistant Administrator, we went to the Western Capital, successfully met Lieutenant Yang, and then took that maid, Shuer, to stake out Grand Tutor Xu's various properties."

This too was no easy task; one could not simply linger right at someone's front gate unless one wished to arouse suspicion. One had to remain at a distance, staking out the intersections along the mandatory routes while remaining inconspicuous. Even if the spot staked out was correct, they might not emerge on that particular day. Hence, Di Renjie had estimated it would take three months. As for Xu Jingzong saying the autumn harvest was approaching and giving them a chance to flee, that was hardly likely. Di Renjie held convenient authority; by then, he could submit a memorial, and checkpoints would inevitably heighten inspections, trapping these people in Chang'an, too afraid to stir.

Besides, as a strategist for the Crown Prince, it was hardly strange for him to submit a memorial upon seeing that the assassins of the Crown Prince had still not been captured after so long.

Guan Fu continued, "After staking out for several days, we did not see this group of people. But during this time, an incident occurred. Grand Tutor Xu's former concubine—has Lord Assistant ever heard of her?"

"I have." It was not that Di Renjie loved gossip, but because of the case, he had secretly investigated many matters concerning Xu Jingzong.

"Ever since this concubine, Madame Yu, had an illicit affair with his son, Grand Tutor Xu grew displeased with her. As she gradually reached middle age, melancholy filled her heart, causing her to age quickly and lose her looks before long. The Grand Tutor grew even more displeased. In fact, Madame Yu tried to salvage the relationship, but Grand Tutor Xu refused to reciprocate. That night, Grand Tutor Xu was discussing matters with two people, one of whom was the long-disappeared Liu Lu. Unaware of the situation and assuming he was reading, Madame Yu brewed a pot of tea, intending to ingratiate herself, but never imagined she would overhear a secret."

Madame Yu had missed the beginning; she only started listening from the point where Xu Jingzong intended to send the Wei family's daughter into the Crown Prince's Palace. It made her heart race with fright, especially upon hearing the words 'Zhongnan Mountain.' She was no fool—far from it. As the former personal maid of Xu Jingzong's wife and later his concubine, she possessed a fair share of worldly wisdom. She immediately connected the dots. The cold glint that flashed in Xu Jingzong's eyes as she was leaving told her that Xu Jingzong intended to silence her.

She wanted to report it, but considering Xu Jingzong's heaven-reaching influence, even if she reported it, Xu Jingzong might relocate the people before the authorities could search. In that case, she would be guilty of false accusation—the grave crime of a concubine falsely accusing her husband meant she would undoubtedly die.

After pondering for a long time, she finally thought of Yang Sijian. Yang Sijian was also a victim, and rumor had it that the Crown Prince was shielding the Yang family's daughter. Therefore, she secretly wrote a letter, reporting the situation fully and confidentially to Yang Sijian. She was not stupid; her actions were very covert. To stay alive, Xu Jingzong had to die, and for Xu Jingzong to die, these assassins had to be captured. After delivering the letter into Yang Sijian's hands, she had to return to the residence, now placing all her hopes on the possibility that before the case was fully investigated, Xu Jingzong would not temporarily make a move against her.

Everything she described was already within Di Renjie's calculations. Yet she had provided a favorable clue: every time Liu Lu came, he arrived from the west.

At this point, Guan Fu looked at Di Renjie with utmost reverence.

Throughout the entire realm, only their Lord Assistant could see through the truth behind the assassination case of the Crown Prince on Zhongnan Mountain.

Di Renjie had already taken out a map of Chang'an. The map was far more standardized than the world map Li Wei had casually sketched; it marked Xu Jingzong's various properties and manors. Farmland was scarce nowadays, and the court had rewarded Xu Jingzong with numerous tracts of land. Most were located outside the capital, but there were some in Chang'an as well—scattered, one piece here and another there, pieced together. In reality, land grants at this time were mostly pieced together in this manner, as it was impossible to gather the required acreage of a fief in a single block. Furthermore, there were lands that Xu Jingzong had purchased himself, making them even more fragmented.

To the west lay the Imperial City, and the wards south of the Imperial City were extremely bustling; even if Xu Jingzong had properties, he could not possibly conceal them there. Therefore, they could only be located in the rural manors outside the city. In fact, even before obtaining the clue, the focus had already been placed primarily on rural manors. To the west of the city, Xu Jingzong only owned two manors. In truth, the target was practically shouting out to be found!