Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 381 Wang Zhongsi, the Loyal Descendant

After receiving the order, Zhang Dai got up and left.

At this time, Xingqing Palace was bustling with people coming and going, all busy preparing for the emperor's trip. Zhang Dai, being among them, couldn't help but secretly marvel at the allure of power.

To the emperor, the busy crowd at Xingqing Palace was probably like a swarm of ants. He only needed to pick up a grain of sugar and drop it on the ground, and these ants would swarm over it.

Zhang Dai felt a pang of self-mockery, but he dared not slack off. The reason was simple: the more he rushed to the front, the more he would reap the rewards.

After leaving the Hanlin Academy, he headed straight for the palace gate. Halfway there, he saw several people being led in by palace officials. Zhang Dai looked up and immediately stopped, standing to the left of the road to wait for them to pass first.

The people coming from the opposite direction were his uncle Zhang Ji and his brother-in-law, Prince Zhong. Prince Zhong was followed by several attendants, the closest of whom was a man in his twenties, tall and burly, probably nearly two meters tall, with a thick short beard under his chin. He looked powerful and not someone to be trifled with.

"This humble official greets Your Majesty and Uncle."

When the group approached, Zhang Dai bowed again and said, "Regardless of our private relationship, we must always be polite when we meet in public."

Zhang Ji simply nodded slightly, without making any further comment. The Prince of Zhong stopped and looked at him with interest, saying with a smile, "Young Master Zhang has not produced many new works in recent years. When you accompany the emperor on this trip, you must not hold back your talent when responding to the imperial edict! You must strive to write new poems to dispel the rumors circulating at the time that your talent has been buried by worldly concerns and that you have run out of ideas!"

In the fourteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, Zhang Dai first entered the world, and his various deeds and poetic creations were truly remarkable and amazing.

However, after entering officialdom, especially after accompanying the emperor to the west, he rarely produced any outstanding poems. Even when he did compose poems in response to imperial orders, they were often just mediocre and perfunctory works.

He was a prime example of someone who achieved early success and was naturally the object of much envy. The stark contrast in his behavior before and after naturally aroused suspicion and regret. At the same time, some malicious individuals spread rumors that he had lost his touch and was not as talented as he used to be.

Zhang Dai was navigating the treacherous waters of officialdom, so he naturally wouldn't care much about such a trivial matter. He wasn't simply a court poet; while literary talent was certainly a plus, its absence wasn't a serious problem. Besides, masterpieces could be produced naturally if needed.

Before he could answer the King of Zhong's question, Zhang Ji spoke up again, saying, "Your Majesty's advice should not be taken lightly! Born into this family, others will have expectations of you far beyond the ordinary. If your talents fail to meet their expectations, you will be looked down upon and your family will be disgraced."

“The king’s words are not idle talk. However, my family has a distinguished minister like my grandfather, who has made great contributions both inside and outside the court and is renowned throughout the country, as well as an outstanding member of the clan like my uncle. How could we allow mediocre descendants to disgrace our family?”

This guy is always quick to escalate things, which only makes it clear that he has no psychological advantage over Zhang Dai and can only resort to these stereotypical platitudes to save face.

No sooner had he finished speaking than the burly young man standing behind the Prince of Zhong suddenly spoke up: "I cannot agree with Zhang Xielu's words! All officials who receive a salary must have the ambition to serve their country. They should use their talents to the fullest and their strength to the fullest, so that the country and the nation may prosper!"
Zhang Xielu, in his youth, already enjoys immense prestige and has received numerous favors; how could he be content with mediocrity? Moreover, while his elders may have merit to be acknowledged, they have already bestowed upon him blessings and graces. We, having already benefited from these, should carry on their legacy and bravely forge ahead!

"Please forgive my poor eyesight, who are you?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai immediately looked at the other person and asked a question. He was not embarrassed or annoyed by the other person's rebuttal, but was slightly surprised after hearing these words.

The Tang Dynasty has enjoyed many years of peace, and a culture of hedonism has become increasingly prevalent, especially among the upper-class nobles who are more indulgent and lack the spirit of diligence and hands-on engagement. As for the sons of powerful officials, their situation is even more complicated.

This young man followed closely behind Prince Zhong, and he didn't look like an ordinary follower. For him to utter such words, even if they weren't earth-shattering, was still quite astonishing. At least Zhang Dai himself rarely heard those spoiled second-generation officials make such claims, and he was naturally quite surprised.

"This one is also a descendant of a loyal and virtuous man, named Wang Zhongsi. His father was Wang Xiangong, who fought bravely against the invading Tibetan bandits at Wujie Post Station in Longyou during the early years of the Kaiyuan era!"

With a proud expression, Prince Zhong introduced the young man's identity to Zhang Dai, showing that he was also proud of his friend: "Zhongsi and I have been close friends since childhood. He was away in another province for some time and has only just returned. That is why he missed the Weiwei's wedding last year, so Zhang Lang does not know him."

Although he had expected it, Zhang Dai couldn't help but feel a surge of surprise upon hearing the identity of Prince Zhong, Daoming, and Prince Zhongsi.

He had been in this world for quite some time and rarely felt overjoyed to meet an ancient person anymore, but Wang Zhongsi was different from others.

He was not only a high-ranking and meritorious general during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, but also an important and iconic figure in the development of military affairs during that period.

The Wang Zhongsi before him was tall and imposing, his words equally generous and powerful, truly matching Zhang Dai's image of this renowned general of the Tang Dynasty. However, the thought of Wang Zhongsi's future fate filled him with a sense of melancholy. He wondered what Wang Zhongsi's feelings would have been when he, in the face of such political infighting, reflected on his youthful aspirations.
Putting aside these distracting thoughts, Zhang Dai composed himself and bowed to Wang Zhongsi, saying, "So you are a descendant of a loyal and valiant man! Although I am not very knowledgeable, I have long heard of the illustrious name of Duke Xiang of Wang. I never expected to meet such a heroic descendant today, and even more so to receive such invaluable and profound teachings upon our first meeting. Young Master Wang's understanding is profound, his ambitions are lofty, and he is not arrogant because of his ancestors' achievements. He is truly admirable!"

It's a pity he's not good at making friends; the two guys around him are both clueless fools who become completely despondent when they're separated from their fathers!
Sincerity is the ultimate weapon. Wang Zhongsi had a deep friendship with Prince Zhong and his views on people and things were largely influenced by him, so he inevitably had some disapproval of Zhang Dai. The words he just said reflected his poor impression of Zhang Dai, and now, hearing the man's sincere praise of his father and son, he suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

"Zhang Lang, you flatter me. I only have a superficial understanding of the principles, and I have not yet put them into practice! The stories of our ancestors are certainly admirable, but not all the enemies on the borders died yesterday. In today's world, there are still those who can make meritorious contributions!"

He bowed to Zhang Dai again and replied with a sentence, his tone becoming much more polite.

If anyone else had made such a remark, Zhang Dai would have thought to himself that the young man was quite arrogant, but Wang Zhongsi's words were just right, so he smiled and said, "I should encourage Wang Lang!"

Seeing the two getting along so well, Prince Zhong and Zhang Ji were somewhat surprised. Zhang Ji, in particular, knew that his nephew was very arrogant and usually treated him with indifference, but he didn't expect him to be so polite to Wang Zhongsi.

"Then go ahead. Your duties are important, so don't slack off anymore. We also need to go to the palace to meet the Emperor, and we can't linger on the way!"

Zhang Ji waved his hand and then said to Zhang Dai.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai secretly sneered to himself, thinking that these words made it sound as if he really wanted to pay attention to them.

His gaze shifted, not wanting his uncle and Prince Zhong to be too comfortable, so he said with a smile, "Uncle, you should hurry up. There may be no imperial edict from the Emperor yet, and the Crown Prince is busy with affairs. He just gave instructions to us, the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but we are too busy to respond. Uncle, you should go quickly so you can attend to his business."

"What is it, Your Highness?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji and Prince Zhong both showed a hint of disapproval on their faces, clearly indicating that they did not place enough importance on the Crown Prince.

Zhang Dai was not surprised by Zhang Ji's attitude. The fact that the Loyal King acted similarly corroborated his suspicions about the relationships among the emperor's sons—that the bond between them was merely so-so.

The current emperor is too powerful, so much so that his sons have not engaged in any fierce struggle for the throne. What remains of the prosperous Tang Dynasty is only the emperor's repeated beatings of the crown prince.

However, the lack of competition does not mean that these people are harmonious. If they are not properly managed, the Yongwang Rebellion could break out! Historical records even deliberately emphasize that Yongwang's mother died early and he was raised by Zhongwang. However, he betrayed Zhongwang, who had already ascended the throne at the time.

King Zhong was a rather special one among the sage's sons. Firstly, he came from a good family, and secondly, he was older. Therefore, he was quite favored by the sage and treated differently from other sons. The most obvious point was that the selection of his royal advisors was superior to that of the other princes.

Wang Zhongsi needs no introduction. During the Tianbao era, renowned officials such as Huangfu Weiming and Wei Jian had close ties with him. Naturally, the Zhang family was also part of Wang Zhongsi's network of connections.

Such a staff and interpersonal relationships far surpass those of the current Crown Prince. It could even be said that Prince Zhong was chosen by the Emperor as a potential rival to the Crown Prince, and his subsequent succession to the throne seemed somewhat natural.

Whether there were any conflicts or disagreements between the Prince of Zhong and the Crown Prince in history has long been lost to record, but Zhang Dai didn't quite believe that this guy was a kind and honest person who was friendly to his brothers.

“I do not know what the Crown Prince is doing. I only see that Xue Shaoqing in the office is running around inside and outside the office on his orders. He is very anxious and even does not care about disturbing our office. I feel very uncomfortable about this. But now that Your Majesty and the others have arrived, I think they can help alleviate the problem. I think we can focus on our own affairs.”

Zhang Dai spoke again.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Ji immediately frowned and said in a deep voice, "What nonsense are you talking about! The King is not a subordinate of the Crown Prince, nor does he need to serve the Emperor. He has no need for you officials to arrange things!"

Upon hearing this, the Prince of Zhong's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. He was about the same age as Zhang Dai, but he was not as shrewd as Zhang Dai, who kept everything under wraps and never showed his emotions.

"I misspoke, please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai apologized, saying that there was no need to rush to apply the eye drops at this time, as there would be plenty of time and opportunities later.

(End of this chapter)