Chapter 263: Opening up the Western Regions

This day was too bizarre for Wang Xuance.

His eyes were very good, and of course he saw the questions floating by.

Why did Wang Xuance put a question mark? Wang Xuance angrily scolded the historian of the Tang Dynasty.

Combined with the previous text, Wang Xuance summarized an incredible fact in just a few sentences:

He left his name in history for his role in destroying the country.

Xiao Mazha was a little tired from sitting, but Wang Xuance couldn't help but straighten his spine.

Is it true? It should be true.

Otherwise, there is no way to explain why the imperial court would pay so much attention to a county magistrate who was far away in Rongzhou.

When he first arrived in Rongzhou, the Huangshui County Magistrate said that since he came here, he would first prepare to serve for five years.

In the end, preparations were made, but within half a year, the transfer order to return to Beijing came.

Thinking of the county magistrate's expression when he came and left, Wang Xuance felt a little ashamed for a moment.

And it seems that only this can explain why he is so popular.

But instead, the pressure doubled: he was Wang Xuance, yes, but he had no idea what happened to the Wang Xuance who Guangmu said had destroyed his country.

No wonder His Majesty talked so casually when we first met, talking about Japan in the east and the Western Regions in the west.

Now that he remembered that his head was so dizzy that he couldn't even remember what he answered clearly, Wang Xuance wanted to grab the ground with his head.

His messy mentality made him less curious about Old General Li Jing's ability to send the copybook into the light curtain.

After the light curtain ended, it was Li Shimin who felt the most difficult to calm down:

"Hexi is really a treasure land!"

Later generations said it was complicated, but Li Shimin understood it quite simply:

It has heavy mines, can raise horses, and has access to the Western Region. What more can you ask for from such a treasured land?

Although he did not know how the prefectures and counties were divided in later generations, Li Shimin remembered reading the detailed division of Hexi by the unsatisfactory descendants of the late Tang Dynasty in Zhang Yichao's chapter.

Among them are Ganzhou and Suzhou, which is enough to determine where Gansu is.

After all, we all belong to China, and it is quite common for place names to be inherited from ancient times.

"I am willing to clear the west of the river for Your Majesty!" Li 𪟝 took the lead in asking for battle.

This was not only for the Tang Dynasty, but also for his own name.

He is a famous general, not a Taoist!

Su Lie also refused to give in:

"Your Majesty's sword will point you to the point of death, and I will not give up even if I die!"

The two generals, who were about the same age as Li Shimin, were full of fighting spirit. Li Jing also handed over his hand. The meaning couldn't be simpler.

Li Shimin laughed: Even if he can't lead the expedition in person, how can he lose if he has three generals?

Qin Qiong looked at Yuchi Jingde, who was also watching the excitement, and felt a little regretful.

If he had a body as strong as Yuchi Jingde, he would definitely want to fight in the name of the goalkeeper.

It is natural to sit in the Western Region and guard the country.

But it's a pity... Qin Qiong coughed slightly and planned to talk to this old brother when he left the palace later.

You should ask General Medicine Master for advice on the art of war, and you should also read more about the intelligence of the Western Regions.

Thousands of miles across the Western Region, there is no shortage of places to make achievements. Now that I am not old, how can I live solely on His Majesty's honor and favor?

And he had to drag his frail body to visit this new imperial doctor.

I hope that as the medicine king said, he can lead the army on the battlefield and not lie on the bed for the rest of his life.

Li Shimin was always efficient in his work. Now that the light curtain was over, he waved to signal everyone to disperse.

At the end, I did not forget to say:

"Don't tell outsiders about the gathering of Hou Jun and Cheng Qian."

Then he seemed to remember the "Don't leak" in "Li Weigong's Questions" and quickly added:

"Neither can it be found in writing."

Even if an important minister or a prince just spreads some gossip, it may arouse the suspicion of the court.

Everyone naturally knew this, and they all looked at Li Jing and smiled, making the old general shake his head and leave first.

Wang Xuance was left inexplicably by Li Shimin.

Sitting on the pony, I watched Changsun Wuji turn his head three times with one step and reluctantly leave the Manna Hall.

Then he watched helplessly as a monk with a calm expression came out of the screen in the inner hall.

"Does Master Xuanzang have a decision?" Li Shimin asked.

The monk clasped his hands together and bowed:

"I am willing to clear up the Western Region for my Tang Dynasty."

He still had to travel... Li Shimin felt that he was not surprised at all.

Looking at the records of later generations and recalling the conversation over the past month, Xuanzang definitely did not lack perseverance.

"Wang Xuance, are you willing to accompany us?" Li Shimin turned around and asked.

Wang Xuance was startled, shook his head violently, and whispered:

"I still don't want to become a monk..."

Li Shimin laughed:

"I would like to mobilize eighteen fine guards to escort Master Xuanzang westward."

"Remember the customs of the Western Regions, observe the sentiments of thousands of tribes and nations, and return as soon as you reach Tianzhu."

"This trip is extremely dangerous, are you willing to go with me?"

Wang Xuance fell silent, feeling that his life experiences in the past three months were too crazy.

But all kinds of thoughts finally hit a result:

"I am also willing to do the same for the Tang Dynasty and Your Majesty, and follow the old deeds of Marquis Bo Wang to clear the Western Regions!"

…

Chengdu.

Kong Ming went to Dongchu and picked again and again.

Even if they all took out all the remaining sucrose, it wouldn't be too much, so there would be no need to spend a lot of money.

Bronze cauldrons and tripods are certainly not useful, nor are large pottery urns.

Kong Ming picked up a small copper pot, which was just the right size.

Then Kong Ming looked around and said with a smile:

"Are there any bamboo strips?"

There was no shortage of this in the kitchen, and someone immediately came to find it for Kong Ming.

Take all of these to the small courtyard in front of the government office, and hand the small copper pot to Pang Tong to ask him to find a way to put it away.

Kong Ming borrowed a small knife from his master, cut the bamboo strips into several sections, and then sharpened one end of each section.

So in this small courtyard, a small stove was built.

The small copper pot sat on it, and Liu Bei carefully put a few pieces of sugar cane in it.

In addition to what Zhang Fei brought, Zhao Yun, Liu Ba and Pang Tong also took a piece each.

He stretched his head to watch the sugar cane gradually melt, and then he saw Zhang Fei coming back from outside with an interested face.

He ran to Liu Bei like offering a treasure, and unfolded the front hem of his bag. Liu Bei saw the densely packed fruits:

"There are lychees? Yes, these plums are plump, and the green ones should be hawthorns?"

Zhao Yun nodded:

"I went to the nearby mountains to look for them. Hawthorns are ripe in September and are still sour now. Third brother insisted on bringing them back."

Zhang Fei hurriedly squeezed Zhao Yun and said:

"Brother, look, there are grapes! I wonder if they can be used to make rock sugar grapes, and I don’t know how good they taste."

"How can there be grapes..." Liu Bei didn't understand.

Grapes are quite difficult to grow in Yizhou. It seems that as Guangmu said, the north, or the Western Regions, is the most suitable.

Looking at Zhang Fei's winking expression, Liu Bei immediately understood:

"Wu..."

Just at this time, Kong Ming wiped the sweat from his forehead and cut the last bamboo stick.

"Yide, bring the fruits here quickly, we will string them together."

"Hey!" Zhang Fei hurriedly agreed, and carried the fruits to the military advisor with his front hem.

With the basin of water brought by Zhao Yun, several people washed and strung the fruits together.

On the other side, Pang Tong and Liu Ba also carefully rolled the strung fruits in a small copper pot, and then took them out and Mi Zhu and Zhang Song fanned them with fans to make them solidify quickly.

Liu Bei looked around and decided to squat beside the small copper pot, not thinking about other things for the time being, and quietly burned firewood.

The flame licked the small copper pot, stirring up bubbles of sugar syrup in the pot, and then Mi Zhu waved Kong Ming's feather fan vigorously, and the unique sweet fragrance of sugar syrup followed the breeze and left the yard.

The students of the Little Imperial College who had just taken a break followed the smell and crowded outside the gate of the small courtyard.

When Liu Bei looked up, he saw this scene and was immediately shocked.

An idea came to Liu Bei's mind, so he looked at Kong Ming and got an encouraging look from Kong Ming.

So Liu Bei waved happily towards the gate:

"Come on, one for each person, don't take more!"

Although the students couldn't wait, they still lined up to receive them one by one.

Zhang Fei had already skewered the fruits, so he came to let him light the fire and watch his elder brother distribute the candied haws.

Liu Bei recognized most of these students, and even if he couldn't name the rest, he could roughly tell where they lived, so the students liked this uncle Liu even more.

"I remember you, your name is Hu Du, right?"

Liu Bei picked up a bunch of grapes and handed it to Hu Du, praising him:

"The day before yesterday, I met your grandfather at the entrance of the West Lane. At that time, I told him that Hu Du would be a pillar of the Han Dynasty."

"Don't let me break my promise to your grandfather."

Hu Du held the bunch of food and looked at the governor of Yizhou who had just finished lighting the fire and was still winking at him, with mixed feelings in his heart.

In terms of the majesty of the superior, this uncle is not even as good as the governor of Langzhong he had seen, but he can make people believe.

After bowing respectfully, Hu Du also made up his mind in his heart.

Kong Ming had moved a chair and sat aside, watching a group of children being inspired by the simple words of the lord, with a smile on his face.

Pang Tong looked reluctant, because he saw that the candied haws that Mi Zizhong was drying on the side were only green hawthorns.

The look of reluctance was towards himself, because he still remembered that Zhao Yun had said that this thing was so sour, but he was always curious even if he didn't eat it.

Looking at his lord's childish style, Pang Tong thought of someone:

"When Emperor Guangwu was studying in Luoyang, he was accompanied by those noble families, maybe it was also like this."

Although according to Guangmu, those Nanyang big families supported Emperor Guangwu to start a rebellion and also had the intention of making a fortune.

But before that, Pang Tong believed that Emperor Guangwu must have relied on his charm to convince those noble families.

Kong Ming smiled slightly:

"It seems that Shi Yuan intends to leave his name in Yuntai."

For them, Emperor Guangwu's Yuntai Twenty-Eight Generals are also well-known.

Pang Tong seemed to be in high spirits:

"With our help, the lord's foundation will surely surpass Emperor Guangwu!"

Kong Ming believed it and said casually:

"What is Jiang Wei reading recently?"

"Six Strategies... What Jiang Wei?"

Pang Tong was not aware of it at the moment and turned away his eyes with a guilty conscience when he met Kong Ming's half-smile.

Kong Ming was still relaxed and even had time to shake his chair:

"Jiang Wei will be able to see the records of the light curtain sooner or later."

Pang Tong was silent. This was also a problem he was worried about. Jiang Wei would most likely go to Kong Ming at that time.

Kong Ming said leisurely:

"After Jiang Wei is well educated in the art of war, send him to me."

"My apprentice is still young, don't teach him too many strange ways."