Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 413 The Virtuous Consort Advises the Emperor
The next morning, Yu Zhining went to the Lizheng Hall to meet Empress Wu and brought up the matter.

Wu Meiniang agreed to the request after hearing it.

After noon, Wu Meiniang heard that Li Zhi had woken up from his afternoon nap, so she ordered someone to invite Li Zhi over, set up a Go board, and said that she wanted to ask Li Zhi for advice on Go skills.

Li Zhi, who always liked to teach others, immediately began to instruct Wu Meiniang on her first-strike techniques.

Li Zhi learned Go when he was a student. Although he was terrible at it at the time, he at least learned the opening techniques used in later generations.

Later, after Li Zhi gradually developed an interest in Go, he began to study ancient Go scores and his Go skills gradually improved.

He discovered that the strength of ancient chess lay in the middle game, while the opening was loose and lacked pressure. The opening techniques that Li Zhi learned when he was studying were very advantageous against the ancients.

This is also why his chess skills improved so rapidly later on.

Li Zhi imparted his skills to Wu Meiniang without reservation, and Wu Meiniang listened attentively and focused on learning chess.

It wasn't until the middle of the game that Wu Meiniang changed the subject, asking about Li Zhi and Xu Jin's chess game at the princess's residence on Qixi Festival.

When Li Zhi heard her ask about it, he immediately became interested and laughed, "That day I did encounter a master, and I even lost a round to him. Fortunately, Consort Xian won, giving me a chance to get revenge. In the end, I finally defeated him and won first place."

In fact, among those who went that day were several officials who recognized Li Zhi. Seeing the emperor in disguise, they were all tactful and kept quiet.

Most of the participants in the Princess's Chess Tournament were young people; Li Zhi, in his thirties, was already considered old.

His chess skills are virtually unmatched among his peers, and Xu Jin even swept aside a group of female players, with the two advancing all the way to the next round.

In the final round, he encountered a scholar in his thirties.

The scholar was a student from Hebei who had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, but he was very fond of Go and was quite skilled at it.

He was already married and had brought his wife with him this time. He wanted to use the chess tournament at the princess's residence to spread his chess fame and thus enter the Hanlin Academy.

Li Zhi lost the first round to him, but fortunately Xu Jin won against his wife. In the second round, Li Zhi rallied his spirits, played steadily, and finally won back the match.

Wu Zetian asked, "Your Majesty, how did the scholar perform in the second round?"

Li Zhi glanced at her and said, "You're afraid he'll find out my identity, so you deliberately lost to me, aren't you? He played well, but I played better in the second game. I can tell whether he threw the game or not."

Wu Meiniang said, "Since that person is good at Go, why not recruit him into the Hanlin Academy so that he can play Go with His Majesty from time to time?"

Li Zhi was silent for a while, then said, "No, I will not only not recruit him into the Hanlin Academy, but I will also not play chess with the ministers in the future."

Wu Meiniang asked in surprise, "Why is that?"

Li Zhi slowly said, "When I left the palace this time, I found that there were many Go clubs in Chang'an. I found it strange. Consort Xian told me that it was because I like to play Go, and the ministers have started to practice Go hard in order to please me."

"The ministers all started playing Go, and those below who wanted to curry favor with them naturally followed suit. This led to a widespread popularity of Go in Chang'an."

"It is true that I like Go, but I do not want everyone to play Go. If that happens, who will study or practice martial arts? This trend must not be allowed to continue, so I will no longer play Go with my ministers."

After hearing this, Wu Meiniang remained silent.

She knew Xu Jin well; this virtuous concubine was just as intelligent as herself, and whenever she felt the emperor was behaving inappropriately, she would try to advise him.

The fact that Li Zhi encountered so many Go clubs during his trip was likely a deliberate arrangement by Xu Jin, who wanted to advise the emperor.

Even if Wu Zetian knew this trend was inappropriate, she would never spoil Li Zhi's mood by advising him against it.

Even if the advice is successful, over time the emperor may become unwilling to be close to those who frequently offer him advice; this is human nature.

Xu Jin knew this was the case, but she still advised against it, so Wu Meiniang always respected her from the bottom of her heart.

"Your Majesty is wise; I am ashamed," she whispered.

Li Zhi said, "What are you ashamed of? I am the one who should be ashamed."

Wu Zetian changed the subject, asking, "Your Majesty, how is the situation in Baekje lately?"

Li Zhi said, "The Buyeo nobles are launching a fierce counterattack, and Jin Yan's situation is not very good."

Wu Meiniang said, "Actually, as long as we can win back the hearts of the people, it doesn't matter whether the Mahan nobles or the Buyeo nobles win."

Li Zhi looked up at her and asked, "Do you have any suggestions?"

Wu Meiniang said, "At present, Baekje is in the midst of a civil war, and the people are suffering. Why not send an envoy to deliver a batch of grain to the Baekje people, so that they know that Your Majesty still remembers them?"

Li Zhi pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Sending him now would be appropriate."

Wu Meiniang continued, "The head of the delegation should ideally be a member of the royal family, so that the people of Baekje can better feel your benevolence."

Li Zhi looked at her and said, "Meiniang, you already have someone in your heart, don't you?"

Wu Zetian smiled and asked, "What does Your Majesty think of the Prince of Wu?"

"Ji'er?" Li Zhi hesitated, as Baekje was a dangerous place.

“King Wu is exceptionally intelligent, and he has been to Laizhou before, so he is familiar with maritime affairs. In my opinion, among the members of the royal family, he is the most suitable candidate!”

"If Your Majesty is worried about his safety, you can let him stay in Xiongjin Port, and then appoint Minzhi as the deputy envoy to go to Sibi City."

Li Zhi was taken aback and asked, "You want to appoint Minzhi as the deputy envoy?"

Wu Meiniang nodded and said, "That child has always wanted to join the Inner Guard, so I want him to go through some danger himself to learn a lesson and become more obedient."

Upon hearing this, Li Zhi revealed a thoughtful expression, thinking to himself, "Jade must be carved to become a useful object. In terms of nurturing the younger generation, Meiniang is more decisive than I am."

Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "Alright, then let Ji'er and Minzhi go. How much grain does the Empress think is appropriate to send?"

Wu Meiniang said, "Small favors breed nobility, while great favors breed resentment. Too many favors are not advisable; a thousand bushels of grain is enough. Just let them know that His Majesty cares about them."

Li Zhi nodded and said, "A small favor breeds nobility, a great favor breeds resentment! Very well, I will have the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Guard arrange this matter."

After leaving the Lizheng Hall, Li Zhi immediately issued an edict to the Ministry of Revenue, ordering them to prepare 1,000 shi of grain.

A few days later, the Ministry of Revenue reported that the grain had been prepared and had been dispatched from Hanjia Granary in Luoyang to Laizhou.

Li Zhi immediately summoned Wang Jishan to an audience, intending to discuss the specific details of the mission with him.

The Inner Guard is currently the most knowledgeable about the situation in Baekje, and it is safer for them to arrange the delegations than the Honglu Temple.

Before Wang Jishan arrived, a palace attendant reported that Cui Zhibian was requesting an audience and was waiting for orders outside Chengtian Gate.

Li Zhi was taken aback, wondering why he had returned. Could something have happened in Anxi again? He quickly summoned Cui Zhibian to an audience.

Wang Jishan has been quite busy lately. When the eunuchs went to the Inner Palace to convey the emperor's edict, he was not at the Inner Palace, but went to Pingkang Ward.

When his subordinates told him that the emperor had summoned him, he hurriedly went to Ganlu Hall. As he walked along the corridor, he suddenly saw a man walk out of the hall, who turned out to be Cui Zhibian, the deputy protector of Anxi.

Wang Jishan bowed to him and said, "Greetings, Protector Cui."

Cui Zhibian returned the greeting with clasped hands.

Wang Jishan asked, "Why did Protector Cui suddenly return to Chang'an? Has something happened in Anxi?"

Cui Zhibian said calmly, "If something had happened to Anxi, General Wang would probably have known by now. Please excuse me."

With a flick of his sleeve, he strode away.

Wang Jishan frowned upon seeing this.

He knew that his men were often arrogant and domineering when they were handling affairs in the local area, which caused many local officials to be hostile towards him.

Judging from Cui Zhibian's attitude, the Inner Guard must have done something in Anxi that displeased this Deputy Protector-General.

However, there was no other way, as the position of Inner Guard was too important and prone to conflict with local officials.

If we don't act more assertively, many things will be difficult to handle locally.

He would rather offend local officials than have a bunch of good-for-nothings under his command, making it impossible to answer to the emperor.

Wang Jishan arrived outside the palace, announced his arrival, and then entered the Ganlu Hall to pay his respects to Li Zhi.

Li Zhi beckoned to him, inviting him to the throne platform to speak, and explained the matter of sending an envoy to Baekje to provide grain aid. After listening, Wang Jishan bowed and said, "I believe this is feasible. Kim Yeon is currently in a precarious situation. If the court expresses its support for her, it will deter those who help the others and alleviate her predicament."

Li Zhi then said, “We will nominally aid Baekje, but we cannot be too honest. When the time comes, you will send the grain to Ungjin Port and have King Wu and Wu Minzhi release the grain near the port.”

“The Baekje people are foolish and easily swayed. Otherwise, if those Mahan nobles had stirred things up, they would have thought that the grain was given to them by the Mahan nobles, and we would have wasted our efforts.”

Wang Jishan cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is wise; I have no objection."

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "Alright, go and make the arrangements."

Wang Jishan hesitated for a moment, then, recalling Cui Zhibian whom he had just met, asked, "Your Majesty, are there any new arrangements for helping Tokharistan restore its kingdom?"

Li Zhi waved his hand and said, "There's no need to rush this matter. Let's wait and talk about it next year."

Wang Jishan felt a chill run down his spine.

Previously, the emperor hoped to take action as soon as possible while the Arabs were in turmoil. Why did he suddenly change his mind and want to wait until next year?

The biggest difference between him and other ministers was that even if he had doubts in his heart, he would never show them, let alone ask any more questions, and would immediately bow and take his leave.

Upon returning to the inner palace, he summoned Xue Niang and Peroz and explained the situation to them.
Xue Niang and Bilusi's expressions changed after hearing Wang Jishan's words.

Xue Niang lowered her head, her face pale, and remained silent.

Peroz, however, could no longer contain his anger.

"Wait again? General, how many years have I already waited?" he said angrily.

Berlusconi joined the Inner Palace before Golden Swallow.

However, Jin Yan had already become the governor of Xiongjin Port, while he, the Persian prince, could not even see a glimmer of hope for the restoration of his kingdom.

Such favoritism is disheartening.

Wang Jishan glanced at Peroz and reassured him, "General Peroz, I understand your feelings, but this is not something I can decide, and I have no choice but to accept it."

Peroz asked anxiously, "Who made that decision? Was it a minister from the outer court?"

Wang Jishan said, "It should be related to the Anxi Protectorate. Just now, Cui Zhibian, the Deputy Protector-General of Anxi, met with the Emperor. I think the Anxi Protectorate must have a new plan!"

Upon hearing this, Peroz's anger dissipated. Since the plan had changed, there was nothing more to say.

He feared that the sage would only focus on the east and forget about the west.

Wang Jishan said, "Although we haven't made any military moves yet, we should make some preparations for the restoration of Tokharistan. Come with me."

The two followed him out of the palace, rode their horses to Pingkangfang, and stopped outside a restaurant on North Street.

This restaurant is very special. It is not only decorated in a gorgeous style, but also combines the styles of the Central Plains and the Tang Dynasty. The area outside the restaurant is very lively, with customers coming and going.

Four large red lanterns hung outside the door. Under the right lantern, there was a wooden sign that read: "Reopening today, all guests can eat for free for one day!"

Xue Niang looked at the familiar restaurant and exclaimed in surprise, "Isn't this Mo Jia Xuan? How come it's reopened?"

Wang Jishan didn't speak, but waved to them, went around the main gate, and followed a narrow alley toward the back gate.

After entering the backyard through the back door, you arrive at a house.

Wang Jishan ordered the door to be closed before saying, "This restaurant will become the Inner Territory's new spy, with Peroz in charge and Xue Niang assisting."

"From now on, use this as a base to contact the Tocharians and Persians, infiltrate and subvert them, and obtain intelligence from both places. If you want to restore your kingdom, you can't just rely on the Tang Dynasty to help you; you must also take action yourself!"

Peroz took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said, "General, please rest assured, Peroz knows what is good and bad. As long as Your Majesty sincerely helps Persia restore its kingdom, Peroz will do his utmost."

Xue Niang curtsied and said softly, "I will obey any orders the General gives."

Wang Jishan's gaze swept over the two of them, lingering a little longer on Xue Niang, and he said, "That's good. I'll come find you again if there are any new developments." He then turned and left.

Wang Jishan left through the back door again, not wanting to attract attention. However, as soon as he returned to the street, he heard someone calling his name.

Turning around, I saw Wu Minzhi and Li Ji riding tall horses, surrounded by a group of followers.

If someone calls him, even someone he knows, Wang Jishan will pretend not to hear.

But these two were different. Wang Jishan was about to discuss the matter of his mission to Baekje with them, so he stopped to wait.

As the two drew closer, Wu Minzhi became more enthusiastic, saying, "General Wang, what brings you here? Are you also here for Mo Jiaxuan?"

Wang Jishan countered, "Are you here for Mo Jiaxuan?"

Wu Minzhi laughed and said, "That's right, we are regular customers of this shop. We heard that it reopened today, so we took leave to come and have a look."

Li Ji said, "General Wang, why don't we go inside and have a cup of tea? The tea room here is quite elegant."

Wang Jishan nodded and said, "Alright."

Mo Jiaxuan reopened today, but the shop was staffed by imperial guards, and there was no time to hire dancers. The wooden platform in the first-floor hall was empty, much to the disappointment of the usually amorous Duke Zhou.

The three went up to the second floor and entered a tea room.

The guards inside the building were all well-trained. They didn't show any unusual reaction when they saw Wang and the aftermath. The one serving tea was a guard dressed as a servant.

Wu Minzhi looked disgusted and said, "In the past, it was always Hu women who served tea. Now it's a man. It seems that this new boss is not a refined person."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a soft laugh came from outside the door.

Everyone turned to look, and saw Xue Niang, dressed in a charming and alluring gauze dress, walk in and say with a smile, "Young Master Wu is right to criticize me. I will invite some Hu women over in a few days to entertain our distinguished guests."

Wu Minzhi laughed and said, "Xue Niang, what are you doing here? Did you take over this shop?"

Xue Niang glanced at Wang Jishan and smiled, "Because of the matter with Wang Bu, this General Wang awarded all the gold that Wang Bu was carrying to me, and I then bought this restaurant."

Wu Minzhi laughed and said, "Well done, General Wang, I'd like to toast you."

Seeing that Xue Niang handled the situation appropriately and without revealing any flaws, Wang Jishan nodded secretly and drank a cup with Wu Minzhi.

Wu Minzhi poured him another cup of wine and said with a smile, "General Wang, has my aunt mentioned to you about my joining the Inner Guard?"

Wang Jishan was slightly taken aback and said, "I have not heard Her Majesty the Empress mention it."

Wu Minzhi was immediately troubled and said, "Auntie, you've been thinking about this for too long."

Wang Jishan said, "However, His Majesty has just issued an order, asking the two of you to complete a task."

Both of them asked, "What mission?"

Wang Jishan said, "His Majesty is preparing to have the Inner Guard arrange an envoy to go to Baekje, with the King of Wu as the chief envoy and the Duke of Zhou as the deputy envoy."

The two exchanged a glance, their faces beaming with ecstasy.

"Really?" Wu Minzhi was still a little skeptical and asked, "Did my aunt agree?"

Wang Jishan said, "Since His Majesty has issued the decree, he must have already discussed it with Her Majesty the Empress."

Wu Minzhi exclaimed happily, "Not bad, not bad."

Wang Jishan said, "I would like to ask the two of you to come to the Inner Guard tomorrow so that we can discuss the details of the mission in more detail."

The two readily agreed.

After leaving Mojiaxuan, Wu Minzhi rushed to the palace to inform Wu Meiniang of the matter. Only after learning that Wu Meiniang already knew did he feel relieved.

The next day, the three discussed the details of the mission with the inner guards, and Wang Jishan reported to Emperor Gaozong, who then issued an edict approving the mission.

In mid-July, the two men led a delegation composed of imperial guards and left Chang'an, heading towards Laizhou.

Among the entourage was a Sogdian man with a large beard, named An Lie.

(End of this chapter)