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墨書 Inktalez
The saying goes that good news seldom travels far while bad news spreads like wildfire. The Xu Zhen was stripped of her titles as Left Vanguard General and Champion General, retaining only the title of State Minister. This news spread quickly, and within a few days, it had reached the entire city of Chang'an.
It proved true that the higher one climbs, the harder one falls. However, what puzzled many was that things did not unfold as the Xu Zhen had expected; no one interpreted her resignation as a sign of weakness. The rumors about her offering poisoned oranges abruptly ceased, as if with her resignation, everything had been neatly resolved.
Upon returning to her residence, the Xu Zhen closed her doors to visitors and only interacted with close acquaintances. Li Jing, having retired due to a foot ailment, was a rare source of tranquility for her. When she visited him, he did not blame her for Xu Zhenzhi's actions but instead comforted her, appreciating her character. Although she could not navigate the treachery of court politics, the Xu Zhen was undeniably a formidable soldier.
In contrast, Li Jue had a different attitude. He was somewhat disappointed in the Xu Zhen and could not help but admonish her sternly. The Xu Zhen merely smiled and agreed with him, leaving Li Jue at a loss for words, ultimately pretending to be angry and kicking her out.
Once fallen from grace, she found herself neglected and her residence deserted. Those who once sought to curry favor with the military elite no longer bothered to visit Xu Manor, avoiding it as if it were cursed. Yet Yan Lide, Ginger Sage, and Li Chunfeng took the initiative to visit her, which genuinely warmed the Xu Zhen's heart.
Zhou Cang and others were also relieved of their posts. Fortunately, Xue Rengui, Xie Anting, Qin Guang, and Xue Dayi remained in the military; if they too had stepped forward, Sovereign might have genuinely suspected the Xu Zhen of plotting rebellion.
To thoroughly eliminate the influence of the Xu Zhen, the Divine Fire Camp's Brothers were disbanded and reassigned under other generals, leaving only experienced personnel capable of managing Zhenwu General to train newcomers.
Enjoying this newfound peace, the Xu Zhen sought guidance on internal strength and military strategy at Li Jing's residence and went to Li Jue's home for further teachings. She continued collaborating with Yan Lide and others on new weaponry.
In the evenings, she practiced partner yoga and Seven Sacred Blade Secret Techniques with Caesar. After nearly two years of training, the Xu Zhen had mastered Seven Sacred Blade Secret Techniques. As his close disciple, Zuo An received all her insights on partner yoga, while Caesar passed on another part to Gem so they could practice diligently.
This young man lacked focus; what should have been serious Yoga Techniques often resulted in blushing and heart-racing sounds echoing through the residence late at night when practiced by these young people.
Zhang Suling was not particularly young either; she had been taught by Caesar while taking care of both him and the Xu Zhen's daily needs. To them, Zhang Suling was no outsider. One beautiful evening, she finally joined in their training sessions.
While the Xu Zhen enjoyed her freedom, debates raged in court. Since her resignation, Li Jue felt disheartened and requested leave from Sovereign to return home due to health issues.
Sovereign himself was also unwell and understood the pain of illness; thus he allowed Li Jue to go home for recuperation.
At that very moment, Turkic Chabi Khan established a camp at the northern foothills of Golden Mountain after defeating remnants of Xue Yantuo’s forces. He gathered an army of thirty thousand men and frequently invaded Tang Territory.
There was still no countermeasure in place when the Western Zhao barbarian leader Zhao Mo led over ten thousand troops to harass the border residents of the Tang Dynasty. The Ministry of War was in a flurry, and just then, a military report arrived.
It stated that after the death of the Kucha Kingdom's king, his brother He Li Bu Shi Bi ascended to the throne and gradually forgot the etiquette of a vassal state. Not only did he fail to pay tribute, but he also invaded neighboring countries!
The Sovereign ordered the Ministry of War to coordinate and dispatch troops to suppress and conquer, but the Divine Fire Camp's Brothers suffered heavy casualties in the battle against Goguryeo. Now, their organization was in disarray, and those controlling the Zhenwu General were mostly newcomers, which hindered the artillery's effectiveness.
The Zhenwu General had long become a secret weapon for the Tang Army's victories; however, without the foundation of the Divine Fire Camp, its power could not be maximized. As a result, the Tang Army faced consecutive setbacks, causing unrest among the civil officials!
The Sovereign had no choice but to send Commander of the Kunqiu Military, Left Guardian General Asena Sher, Deputy Chief Steward Right Guard General Qibi Helix, and Anxi Protectorate Guo Xiaoke to lead a joint campaign against Kucha in regions such as Tiele, Turkic, Tuguhun, and during the Tuguhun.
Since the Battle of Tugu Hun, the Tang Army had achieved victory in every battle. However, shortly after Xu Zhen had resigned, such defeats occurred that made one wonder if all the victories over the past two years were due to Xu Zhen.
The quality of the Tang Army was already high, bolstered by an excellent training system from the Imperial Guards. With Xu Zhen's Zhenwu General and Jingzhe Thunder at their disposal, they naturally swept through enemy leaders.
However, Xu Zhen controlled the core technology of Jingzhe Thunder, while Zhenwu General required coordination from Divine Fire Camp. Many military generals voiced their grievances as they witnessed their Comrades suffer casualties and began to reminisce about Xu Zhen and her Divine Fire Camp.
The civil officials remained obstinate despite suffering several minor defeats. Although troop losses were not significant, for the usually victorious Tang Dynasty Heroic Army, the impact on morale was unimaginable.
At this point, some began to propose reinstating Xu Zhen. Li Shimin became furious and thundered in court: "Are you saying that without Xu Zhen, there is no one left in my Tang Army? When she was just a minor Wuhou in town, our Tang Dynasty pacified Turkic forces and swept across all lands without tasting defeat!"
With no further words from many civil and military officials, Li Shimin returned to his palace feeling dejected. What he said was indeed true; before Xu Zhen emerged on the scene, the Tang Army rarely faced defeat. However, now with Tiger Generals aging or injured or deceased—figures like Xue Wanche and Niu Jinda had become generals of various guards—while potential newcomers like Xue Rengui were still being cultivated. The transition between old and new was concerning.
Feeling heavy-hearted, Li Shimin summoned Martial Talent for comfort. Martial Talent was clever and amiable; his words offered solace. The Sovereign inadvertently revealed his intention to employ Xu Zhenzhi. Little did he know that Martial Talent would relay this news to Li Zhi the next day.
Li Zhi conspired with Murong Hanzhu and bribed eunuchs close to the Sovereign to slander Xu Zhen. They claimed she boasted about being favored by officials who wished for her reinstatement in court and declared that only she could ensure victory for Tang Dynasty.
Li Shimin, plagued by illness and believing these slanders, dispatched Xu Zhen with over a hundred people to escort Wang Xuance on a diplomatic mission to India.
This journey is long and arduous, and it will take at least a year and a half to return. Clearly, this is meant to send the Xu Zhen away!
When Li Zhi and others saw the Sovereign's decision, they were filled with joy. Now that the Sovereign has entrusted the administration to him, without the Xu Zhen in the military, he can easily place his own trusted individuals within the ranks. By the time the Xu Zhen returns, it is likely that the influence of the Eastern Palace will have thoroughly infiltrated the army!
Wang Xuance was originally an unknown individual from Luoyang, hailing from the same hometown as Xuanzang Master. He had served as the magistrate of Rongzhou Huangshui County before being promoted to Court Gentleman.
In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan Era, an envoy from Makada in northern India came to Tang. Wang Xuance went to India as a Deputy Envoy to respond, and after several years, he finally had the opportunity to serve again as a full envoy to India.
India is full of wonders and unique people, and with Xuanzang Master's previous journey there, Tang people are quite curious about Indian culture. However, due to the long distance and arduous journey, Wang Xuance as a full envoy could not attract much attention.
With the Xu Zhen accompanying him as a protective general, it truly seemed laughable.
However, after some inquiries among court officials, it was learned that not only was the Xu Zhen not disappointed, but she was also very pleased. When Wang Xuance visited Xu Manor, he was actually received and stayed for a banquet!
Zhou Cang and others did not understand their Lord's intentions, but since their Lord was going on a mission to India, they certainly wanted to follow. Not only that, even Old Man Mo Ya insisted on going out to experience the world of Buddha.
Thus, Zhou Cang and Zhang Jiunian from the Red Armored Fourteen Guards, along with Zuo An and Gem, as well as Caesar Cliff and Zhang Suling—several close associates—were all incorporated into the Xu Zhen's guard team.
At this time, Wang Xuance was serving as Chief of Staff for the Crown Prince's right guard. He reported the situation of visiting Xu Manor to the Crown Prince. Li Zhi was puzzled; however, with the Xu Zhen in such a weakened position, he felt reassured.
But Murong Hanzhu was not at ease and ordered Jiang Shiren to serve as a deputy general for the Xu Zhen, working alongside Wang Xuance to keep her in check or seize opportunities to undermine her so that she would never return to Central Plains!
Wang Xuance was greatly alarmed. Although the Xu Zhen was merely a protective general in an envoy group with just over thirty people under her command—while most of her guards were led by Jiang Shiren—she still held an official title as State Minister and was granted nobility as Duke of Liucheng. Wang Xuance and Jiang Shiren could hardly compare to even a toe of the Xu Zhen!
Li Mingda heard that Brother Xu was going on a mission to India and hurriedly ran to see him in the Inner Palace. She knew that Sovereign despised court ladies discussing politics; thus, she ultimately did not plead for the Xu Zhen but gritted her teeth and ran to Xu Manor instead, hoping that the Xu Zhen would stay.
The Xu Zhen instinctively reached out to touch Li Mingda's hair but then realized that Li Mingda had grown tall enough to reach her ears; she had become a stunning young lady. Her hand awkwardly halted in mid-air.
Li Mingda, however, was unconcerned. She held the hand of Xu Zhen to her face and sincerely urged her to stay, as she had already inquired about India, which was a very distant place!
Xu Zhen, on the other hand, had made up her mind to temporarily leave the Tang Dynasty and did not want to be embroiled in court struggles any longer. Moreover, if the Historical Records were accurate, then Wang Xuance's journey would be earth-shattering!
Looking at the tearful Li Mingda and recalling their experiences over the past two or three years, Xu Zhen couldn't help but feel emotional. She gently kissed Li Mingda on the forehead and softly said, "Sister, wait for your brother to come back!"
It is said that the atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty was open-minded; however, this was only relatively speaking. Even in the Tang Dynasty, lightly kissing a sister on the forehead was not much different from a private engagement. Li Mingda's face turned red and her heart raced, yet she had no time to feel shy. She didn't know where her courage came from as she stood on tiptoe and kissed Xu Zhen on the lips.
She had always been waiting to grow up, waiting for Xu Zhen to no longer see her as a little girl or younger sister. Now that they were about to part ways, Xu Zhen finally accepted Li Mingda. How could she not be happy?
However, she was well aware of how difficult and long the journey westward would be. This separation left her uncertain of when they would meet again. If she did not reveal her true feelings now, when would she?
As the sunset slanted down, it cast long shadows of the two figures that lingered without parting for a long time.
In March of the twenty-first year of Zhenguan, the delegation led by Wang Xuance officially left Chang'an and embarked on the long journey westward.
At the same time, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty summoned Li Jue back to formally discuss the specifics of launching a second military campaign against Goguryeo!
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