Bianjing. Winter had begun to loosen its grip.
Lately, the palace attendants felt that the Emperor was becoming harder and harder to read.
First, he had solemnly ordered an utterly ordinary stone table from the imperial garden to be moved into a heated chamber. Then he assigned the Imperial Guards to watch over it day and night.
The attendants were baffled.
Hiring a stonemason to make such a thing would cost only a few hundred cash. Did His Majesty truly believe someone would steal it?
Well. Perhaps someone really would.
Less than half a month after the guards were posted, a palace maid and two attendants fell into wells around the hall in separate incidents. All were ruled accidents, yet anyone who lived long enough inside the palace knew better than to feel at ease.
Rumors spread quietly. The three had supposedly tried to sneak in and smash the stone table with an axe, only to meet disaster.
True or false, no one could say. But from that day on, attendants detoured whenever they passed this side hall.
Today, however, they could not help paying attention.
How could they not?
The Emperor had just entered the hall. Soon after, Zhao Pu, newly reinstated as Chancellor, hurried in as well. Not long later, the Emperor's own younger brother, Zhao Guangyi, Prefect of Kaifeng, also entered.
Worse still, when the Emperor went in earlier, he had brought several quick witted young eunuchs with him. The other attendants were deeply concerned for their fate.
If another accident occurred, they might all be sent out of the palace to haul water for daily use.
Zhao Kuangyin himself was not thinking about any of this. These eunuchs had been carefully selected on Zhao Pu's advice. Their backgrounds were clean, their character reliable, and most importantly, all were skilled with fine brushwork.
They had been summoned for one reason only, to copy what appeared on the light screen.
Yet staring at the stone table, barely three feet across, Zhao Kuangyin hesitated. How was he supposed to let them see the screen clearly and still have room to draw?
By the time Zhao Pu and Zhao Guangyi arrived, he still had no solution. Fortunately, he soon no longer needed to worry.
A gentle glow spread across the surface of the stone table. A single line of text appeared, leaving all three men momentarily at a loss.
"User privileges upgrading. Upgrade complete. Effective after restart. Restarting."
As the words slowly faded, the glow dimmed as well, making Zhao Kuangyin frown in concern.
Then, suddenly, a beam of light burst forth again. It rose from the stone table and shot straight toward the ceiling.
Everyone followed it with their eyes.
The roof of the hall seemed to vanish, as if an immortal had brutally torn open the clouds above. From that opening, the familiar voice they had heard before descended once more.
Only then did the three finally relax.
This arrangement made things much easier for the eunuchs to draw. The only problem was that they had to crane their necks upward, which quickly became uncomfortable. Perhaps a soft couch would help. Zhao Kuangyin made a mental note.
Zhao Pu, meanwhile, stared at the enlarged light screen. Two lines of text drifted across it, stirring his curiosity.
After the previous session ended, the Emperor had spoken at length about the screen, explaining that it might reveal knowledge of future ages. As for these floating words, Zhao Pu understood that they likely came from people whose names would be recorded in history.
Yet whenever he asked what exactly had been said in past exchanges, the Emperor was always vague, which left Zhao Pu deeply dissatisfied.
That was why he had suggested selecting eunuchs to record every word and copy every image. Only then would nothing be lost.
Now, seeing two names that normally existed only in historical texts conversing across time, Zhao Pu felt a restless excitement stir within him.
…
Tang dynasty, Chang'an, Ganlu Hall.
The last appearance of the light screen had been on the third day of the first month. After a three month interval, it appeared again on the third day of the fourth month.
With the arrival of April, the climate became fully pleasant. Inside and outside Chang'an, activity increased.
Mathematics had been separated from the National Academy and established as its own bureau. Though there had been criticism at court and beyond, the combined push of the Emperor and the chancellors, along with the distraction of war in Liangzhou, allowed the reform to proceed relatively smoothly.
At the end of the third month, Li Shimin formally issued an edict listing the crimes of Tuyuhun. Li Jing, already stationed in Liangzhou, was ordered to launch the campaign, capture the khan, and bring him to Chang'an for judgment. The decree caused a significant stir.
The citizens of Chang'an, who had already witnessed the presentation of Jieli as a captive, were not satisfied. They felt that dragging the Tuyuhun khan back would make a perfect pair. After all, His Majesty had said it himself. If Tuyuhun kept raiding the borders, they deserved to be strung up and beaten.
Officials at court were more pessimistic.
Whether it was the Han dynasty wars against the Xiongnu or the Duke of Dai's surprise strike against Jieli, history showed that victory against the steppe peoples required one thing only, a direct strike at the enemy's command tent.
But where did the Tuyuhun royal tent even open toward? Did the Duke of Dai know?
If Tuyuhun could not be defeated swiftly, supply lines would be strained. The recently stabilized Hexi region might fall into turmoil again. Why not proceed more cautiously?
What puzzled the censors was that this time, the chancellors stood firmly with the Emperor. Even Wei Zheng, Director of the Imperial Secretariat and usually the loudest dissenting voice, fell silent.
The censors argued for a while, then quieted down. The army had already marched. The edict had been issued. Once the bow was drawn, there was no turning back.
With this settled, Qin Qiong and Yuchi Jingde found themselves occupied again. Using frontline reports, they attempted to simulate the evolving battlefield in preparation for personally leading troops in the future.
As for the Wa envoy delegation, Mitarai no Tsuchi remained remarkably patient. As the Son of Heaven had suggested, he planned to remain in Chang'an until the seventh month, waiting for the Tuyuhun khan to be presented as a captive. Only then would he return east.
That way, the Wa King would clearly understand two things necessary to advance their prior plan.
First, Tang was terrifyingly strong. If it said it would destroy you, it would.
Second, Tang had no interest in the Eastern Sea. The destruction of Tuyuhun was merely to allow full focus on the Western Regions.
As for whether Tang could defeat Tuyuhun quickly, Mitarai no Tsuchi perhaps had even more confidence than Li Jing himself.
How could Tang possibly lose?
Once April arrived in earnest, Li Shimin, after private discussion with Du Ruhui and Fang Xuanling, decided to invite his Empress to watch the light screen with him.
On a grand level, she was the Empress of Tang, mother of the realm, capable of personally instructing the Crown Prince. On a personal level, whenever Li Shimin spoke with his Guanyin Consort about the future ages revealed by the screen, the curiosity in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Besides, several generals were away at war. The chairs in Ganlu Hall were empty anyway.
Thus, on the third day of the fourth month, Empress Zhangsun arrived at Ganlu Hall once more.
Reading the words drifting across the screen, Li Shimin let out a bitter smile.
"Rather than coming early, the Empress has arrived at just the right moment."
Empress Zhangsun smiled softly without comment, her heart filled with curiosity.
The young lady of the Wu family was talented and likable, but no matter how she imagined it, she could not picture her ascending the throne and commanding the realm as His Majesty did.
As more words drifted across the screen, Li Shimin stepped forward without hesitation and picked up the brush, writing his reply.
He did not forget to boast a little to his Empress.
"I told you. I am very familiar with Zhuge, the Marquis of Wu."