Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 523: Difficult to reconcile inside and outside
After giving his instructions, Zhang Dai went straight into Changxingfang and arrived at the gate of the Prince of Xin'an's residence. He didn't even have time to present his name card again, and he said urgently to the servants of the Prince's residence who came to greet him, "Quickly inform the Prince that Zhang Dai has come to visit and has something urgent to tell him!"

The doorman was also Zhang Dai's servant. Seeing Zhang Dai's serious expression, he didn't bother to question him anymore. He quickly turned around and led Zhang Dai to sit down in the front hall. Then he said, "Please wait here for a moment, Zhang Lang. I will go and inform the master immediately."

At this time, there were still many people in the front hall of the Prince's residence who had come to visit and were waiting to be summoned. Some of them knew Zhang Dai and went forward to greet him and chat after he entered the hall.

Zhang Dai had no time to exchange pleasantries with these idle people. He gave them a perfunctory reply and kept his eyes fixed on the outside of the hall. Soon, Li Xian, the son of Prince Xin'an, appeared at the door, and Zhang Dai immediately went up to him.

“My father left home early this morning to visit an old friend. Before he left, he told me that he would return in the afternoon. Sixth Brother, you may come with me into the main hall to wait for a while.”

Li Xian walked towards Zhang Dai, speaking with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai was somewhat disappointed. He then waved his hand, signaling Li Xian to follow him to a secluded spot in the outer hall. Only then did he speak softly, "I have official duties to attend to and cannot wait here for His Majesty to return home. I will tell Qi Lang about this matter and ask him to properly convey it to His Majesty."

"What's so important?"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian's expression turned serious. He then led Zhang Dai to a secluded spot and said, "Sixth Brother, please speak. I will relay everything you say to Father without missing a single word!"

Li Xian was far more reliable than his younger brother Li Xia, so Zhang Dai trusted him and immediately said, "Today, Censor Wang Duan Gong presented a memorial, mentioning the recent gossip among the common people..."

"Who dares to make such a wicked statement? It's outrageous! Wang Duan Gong's opinion is the only fair one. These two celestial maidens live deep within their celestial abode and have no presence before mortals. How can they be pressured by such trivial matters!"

Upon hearing this, Li Xian couldn't help but speak out angrily.

Zhang Dai had neither the time nor the need to explain further to Li Xian. He simply said quickly, "Today, I have been ordered by Prime Minister Pei to go to the Erxianyuan Taoist Temple to deliver a message. I fear that the two immortals will be uneasy upon hearing this, and since King Xin'an is a benevolent elder of the clan, if I go and comfort them, I believe it will put their minds at ease. After Your Majesty returns to your residence, Qi Lang, please tell him everything. If Your Majesty has nothing else to do, please go to the Erxianyuan Taoist Temple to request an audience as soon as possible!"

"This, this, I'll immediately arrange for my family to go find Father. Is it really that important?"

Li Xian was not very clear about his father's current predicament, nor could he understand why Zhang Dai would specifically come to inform his father and ask him to come over quickly when the two princesses were being harassed.

"Whether it is important or not, Your Majesty will make your own judgment. Farewell!"

After saying this, Zhang Dai immediately turned and walked out of the palace. After exiting the gate, he mounted his horse and led his entourage directly out of the ward toward the Taoist temple of the two princesses.

Seeing Zhang Dai rushing around in a hurry, and even taking a detour to his house to inform him, Li Xian dared not delay. He immediately raised his hand and summoned his servants, saying, "Go quickly to General Liu... well, better to prepare the horses. I'll go find him myself!"

The family members would waste time and effort traveling back and forth, while the friend his father was visiting lived in a ward on the west side of the imperial city, near the residences of the two princesses. He could go there in person to report to him, which would save some time.

After leaving Changxingfang, Zhang Dai headed straight for Fuxingfang on the west side of the imperial city. He could have directly reached his destination by exiting the imperial city through Anfumen, but in order to inform Prince Xin'an, he went south out of the imperial city and took a long detour before returning, covering an extra twenty li.

However, this detour wasn't without its rewards. The unexpected encounter with Li Linfu and his group allowed him to inadvertently learn a great deal of information. Li Linfu's plan to personally go to Bianzhou was certainly a surprise to Zhang Dai, and Wu Wenshen's eagerness to offer him money left Zhang Dai speechless.

Thinking of Wu Wenshen's extravagant actions since entering the capital, and now he has taken out a huge sum of 300,000 strings of cash, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh that robbing and plundering along the Hexi Corridor was really profitable. Wu Wenshen had accumulated such a huge fortune in just over ten years.

But this guy was just a bandit. The real villains were the Tibetans, who had been moving freely in and out of the Hexi Corridor for years and had plundered the wealth that the people of Hexi had worked so hard to accumulate!

Therefore, it is necessary to carefully reconcile and balance internal affairs and external affairs; it is wrong to focus too much on either aspect.

While frequent border campaigns were undoubtedly costly and exhausting for the people, inevitably leading to a predicament of militarism, appeasement and tolerance alone could not bring peace. In particular, the Tang Dynasty was surrounded by vicious wolves and beasts, while its own territory was rich and prosperous, making it the best target for those barbarian tribes to plunder. If the Tang Dynasty did not invest enough in military equipment, it would undoubtedly become a fat sheep in the eyes of these barbarian tribes.

The conflict between Yuwen Rong and Prince Xin'an was partly due to irreconcilable differences in military and political matters. In particular, each held firm to their own principles, and neither was willing to yield, leaving them with no choice but to confront each other head-on.

In fact, this task should have been handled by Prime Minister Xiao Song. As a representative figure who had served both as a general and a prime minister, Xiao Song naturally had a certain ability to coordinate. However, Yuwen Rong was too strong-willed and impulsive. He was eager to start his own business before Xiao Song could intervene, which gave bystanders the opportunity to fan the flames.

Therefore, no matter how shrewd and capable Yuwen Rong was, he was ultimately just a technically minded person, lacking any political acumen. Politics is not about petty scheming, but about integrating and coordinating personnel resources to guide affairs in the right direction.

Previously, Yuwen Rong at least had Yuan Qianyao above him to keep an eye on him, but now Yuan Qianyao has also been placed in the Eastern Capital and neglected, so there is less and less anyone who can provide him with the right advice, and he probably won't listen to other people's advice, which is why he has taken this series of actions.

Zhang Dai pondered and sighed to himself, and the group rode into Fuxingfang. Although Princess Jinxian was older than Princess Yuzhen, Zhang Dai decided to go to Yuzhen Taoist Temple to deliver the message first.

Compared to Princess Yuzhen, Princess Jinxian was much more low-key and rarely interacted with outsiders. Zhang Dai had only met her a few times, all at grand ceremonies, where they had no conversation and little friendship.

Moreover, he hadn't come today to deliver any good news. He was worried that Princess Jinxian might take her anger out on him, so it would be better to go and report to Princess Yuzhen, with whom he had some acquaintance, first.

The area in front of Princess Yuzhen's Taoist temple was bustling with activity. As soon as Zhang Dai entered the neighborhood, he saw a large number of people gathered on the main street in front of the temple. Some of them were riding horses or donkeys, while others were simply standing in front of the temple. Some of them were talking loudly, while others were singing and reciting poetry. The scene was very lively.

It was late August, the start of the annual imperial examinations, and local examinations were being held one after another, naturally drawing scholars from all over the country to the capital. Princess Yuzhen's Taoist temple had always been a popular gathering place for these scholars.

"It's Zhang Dai and Zhang Zongzhi who have arrived!"

As soon as Zhang Dai entered the neighborhood, the scholars gathered there quickly spotted him and couldn't help but shout with delight, surging towards him in droves.

Seeing this, Zhang Dai had no choice but to rein in his horse, dismount, and hand the reins to his attendants. He then walked slowly forward, bowing in response to the shouts and greetings from the crowd.

"Zhang Liulang has come here today, also to visit the Jade Maiden Immortal? We have long heard of his deeds in the past, when he sought patronage from the Immortal Maiden, was able to participate in the preliminary examination, and ultimately won first place. We wonder what wonderful words Zhang Liulang has to offer the Immortal Maiden today? Are we fortunate enough to hear them?"

Zhang Dai was undoubtedly a top figure in the eyes of these scholars. Now that they had finally met him in person, they naturally surrounded him and excitedly asked him a series of questions.

Zhang Dai was treated as if he were being greeted by fans at the airport. He needed the support of Lai Zhen and others to barely make his way through the crowd. When asked questions by the crowd, he simply waved his hand and said with a smile, "I have official business to attend to today's visit to the Immortal Maiden, not a personal interview. Please give this busy disciple a break for now. There will be a time in the future to appreciate the brilliance of all of you. I also wish you all success in your imperial examinations and that your names will be known throughout the capital!"

After a noisy and chaotic struggle, he finally managed to squeeze into the gate of the Yuzhen Taoist Temple. Even with the guards around him, his official robes bore several hand and footprint marks, showing that although everyone was verbally enthusiastic, they were all somewhat displeased with his rapid promotion. He had passed the imperial examination in the fifteenth year of the Kaiyuan era, and now, just two years later, he had already risen to the seventh rank, which was truly enough to make him a target of hatred.

Many people had already gathered on the street outside the Taoist temple, and there were quite a few inside as well. Fortunately, most of those allowed into the temple maintained their dignity to some extent. Although they were somewhat surprised to see Zhang Dai, they did not rush over to touch him as enthusiastically as they would outside. They simply bowed and nodded from a distance.

Only then was Zhang Dai led into the Taoist temple by the female Taoist priest, and was able to ascend the hall to pay his respects to Princess Yuzhen.

"My humble temple is honored to have such a distinguished visitor today. What brings Zhang Dai here? You can count how many days it has been since he last came here. If it weren't for the scholars mentioning him so often lately, I would have completely forgotten that such a person even existed!"

When Princess Yuzhen saw Zhang Dai hurrying into the hall, she immediately pointed at him and laughed and scolded him.

She enjoyed socializing with scholars and intellectuals, and Zhang Dai was the most famous scholar she had ever recommended. Now that talented people gathered at the Taoist temple, they inevitably inquired about Zhang Dai frequently. Zhang Dai's prolonged absence from her visit naturally caused her some slight resentment.

Zhang Dai knew that Princess Yuzhen enjoyed organizing literary gatherings, but he had no time to deal with such trivial matters. Upon hearing Princess Yuzhen's complaints, he stepped forward, bowed, and said with a wry smile, "How could I not wish to spend my days wandering in the fairy maiden's residence? I only fear that my vulgarity will taint the purity of this place. Today I have come to pay my respects on the orders of Magistrate Pei of the Censorate, to present an official letter."

As he spoke, he took out the letter and presented it with both hands, which was then handed over to Princess Yuzhen by a female Taoist priest.

After Princess Yuzhen opened the letter and glanced at it, the gentle smile on her face vanished instantly, replaced by a frosty expression. She slammed her hand on the table and angrily exclaimed, "Who dares to spout such heretical theories? Do they think my sister and I are just powerless, reclusive hermits? Zhang Dai, do you know who it is? Tell me quickly, and I will not let this scoundrel get away with this!"

(End of this chapter)