The Tang people were becoming numb. That former barbarian from the Western Regions, now a celestial being descended to earth, seemed to know everything. In the past six months, the Tang people had been numbed by this unprecedented influx of knowledge.
Lu Xuan never cared about the various opinions circulating outside. He simply shut himself in and racked his brains, hoping to squeeze out every useful idea from his mind.
To this end, he adopted dozens of homeless orphans and bought a separate courtyard to teach them. He educated them according to the educational principles of later generations, imparting to them everything he knew.
All of this continued until the end of another year was approaching. One day, while Lu Xuan was in class, he suddenly received an urgent notice from the palace.
"General Lu Xuan, the protector of the nation, must enter the palace for an audience immediately, without delay."
Lu Xuan accepted the decree, though he was already prepared. If nothing unexpected happened, that day should come.
Yes, Li Longji was no longer capable.
In fact, he had been in a deathly state for the past month. He had difficulty breathing and coughed up blood frequently. The ordeal and pain of that night had ultimately damaged the foundation of his body. Since then, he has never truly recovered.
The key point is that even though he escaped death that night, he still had to deal with a series of follow-up issues. What to do about the deaths of so many court officials? What to do about the involvement of so many imperial guards and members of the Lin faction? These were all problems he had to deal with despite his serious injuries.
After dealing with everything and managing to get things back on track, his health was beyond repair. He couldn't even sleep at night; the fear of death and the terror of that night tormented him constantly. The problem was so severe that he needed Lu Xuan to keep watch over him every now and then to get any sleep.
From that moment on, Lu Xuan knew that this day was fast approaching.
On his sickbed, Li Longji weakly waved away all the other ministers surrounding him, leaving only Lu Xuan behind.
"Captain Lu..." For some reason, he still called out Captain Lu's title when he opened his mouth. Perhaps this title gave him too much sense of security, and he subconsciously uttered it in his dying moments.
"Your Majesty, I am here."
"Okay, okay, okay, it's good that you're here, it's good that you're here..." Li Longji raised his hand, as if trying to grab something. But there was nothing there. Lu Xuan reached out to help him up. But as soon as he reached out, he found that Li Longji's hand had already fallen limply to his side.
Li Longji died. Perhaps he wanted to entrust his son to someone else in his final moments. But sadly, he didn't utter a single word before his life was extinguished.
With the emperor's passing, Chang'an was plunged into mourning. All celebrations were forcibly suspended, and this year's Lantern Festival was naturally canceled.
Li Heng ascended the throne without any controversy. Everything went almost exactly as Lu Xuan had planned. Except for Li Longji's rather early death.
In fact, Lu Xuan's plan was for him to hold out for another year or two, which would be ideal. By then, everything would be completely settled. He would then be able to focus wholeheartedly on improving people's livelihoods once Li Heng ascended to the throne. Unfortunately, Li Longji died prematurely, meaning Li Heng would need more time before he could concentrate on improving people's lives.
More importantly, once someone becomes emperor, their mindset changes, and it's uncertain whether they will continue with their previous plans. Lu Xuan vaguely felt that he might need to speed things up.
When a new emperor ascends the throne, he naturally needs to promote a group of his ministers. This group will undoubtedly become the emperor's faction.
As someone who had followed the Crown Prince before he gained power, Lu Xuan naturally deserved to be greatly rewarded.
It's quite interesting. After Lu Xuan saved the emperor and was awarded the position of Grand General Protector of the Nation, the Crown Prince noticeably distanced himself from him. Clearly, he had developed a certain degree of apprehension towards him. After all, Lu Xuan's rank as Grand General Protector of the Nation was already at the second rank, theoretically impossible to rise any higher.
The Tang Dynasty did have military officer positions of the first rank. For example, there was the title of General of the Cavalry, which was inherited from the Han Dynasty. However, this title was only temporarily held by the general commanding troops during national campaigns and would be revoked afterward. In reality, the third rank was the highest rank for military officers. Anything higher was either a nominal position or a temporary post during special periods.
The fact that Lu Xuan, a second-rank general, was able to retain his title of Protector of the Nation is an exception. It's due to the special blessing he received from repeatedly protecting the emperor. In peacetime, it would be almost impossible to be promoted any higher.
Lu Xuan was well aware of this, so he lived a secluded life, staying at home writing books. He almost never contacted any court officials.
After Lu Xuan recklessly spread all sorts of strange and even horrifying knowledge throughout the world, Li Heng's attitude towards him began to change again.
In a sense, Li Heng essentially acquiesced. Lu Xuan was probably some kind of literary genius descended from heaven. He had no desire for worldly power. This was exactly the kind of minister emperors liked best: capable yet without excessive ambition, and utterly loyal to the Tang Dynasty. Therefore, Lu Xuan received another round of honors.
Not only were he given various honorary titles, but he was also directly bestowed with a royal estate, covering thousands of acres. The amount of gold and silver jewels was countless. Most importantly, four charming and alluring courtesans were sent to his residence.
Xu Hezi was extremely dissatisfied with this, and together with the four beauties of the previous generation, they squeezed Lu Xuan so much that he could barely leave the house...
With the ascension of the new emperor, the Tang Dynasty entered a new era. An Lushan also felt that his career had entered a new era, but not a good one.
The reason is simple: Li Heng is different from Li Longji. Having spent so much time with Lu Xuan, he was inevitably influenced by him, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Li Heng disliked these non-Han generals. An Lushan's good days were over.
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Chapter 100: The Days of Singing and Dancing Are Not Far Away (Bonus Chapter for 2500 Average Subscriptions)
For some reason, Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) favored An Lushan immensely. Even though An Lushan suffered repeated defeats in his battles against the Khitans, Li Longji not only did not punish him, but instead lavishly rewarded and comforted him, constantly granting him more and more power. And the greater one's power, the harder it is to satisfy one's desires.
However, Li Heng was no longer going to tolerate An Lushan. Just a few days after ascending the throne, Li Heng issued an imperial edict ordering An Lushan to immediately hand over his tribute horses without delay.
These important border towns also needed to provide feedback to the imperial court. Warhorses were an important part of this. Because the Central Plains were not very suitable for raising horses, most of the good horses came from the border regions and from nomadic peoples.
An Lushan held the positions of military governor in three regions, located at a crucial border trading post on the grasslands. The quality and quantity of his warhorses far exceeded the reserves in the interior.
However, in recent years, this fellow had always used various excuses to evade payment. Li Longji didn't take it seriously and just laughed it off. However, Li Heng directly issued an imperial edict. This was a very serious warning. An Lushan immediately had a bad feeling.
Over the past six months, he had begun to notice something amiss. For example, small-scale raids and attacks on the grasslands had significantly decreased. Having been stationed on the frontier for many years, he knew perfectly well that these grassland tribes were simply starving.
Their raiding was like our workday—a necessary process. Successful raids brought food and slaves. Failed raids, however, still reduced the population and eased the burden on the tribe. But now, this frequency has noticeably decreased.
An Lushan investigated the matter carefully. Without the small tribes' exploitation, he couldn't constantly report his 'victories' to the court, which was of great significance to his career.
The investigation revealed a surprising change: the grassland trade had shifted from furs and beef/mutton to wool...
Wool? Wool blankets? Those are decent items. He has quite a few at home. But within the Tang Dynasty, they're not very popular. Aside from the exquisitely handcrafted luxury items from Persia, scented with various spices, ordinary wool blankets were looked down upon by the nobles of the Tang Dynasty, and unaffordable for the poor...
But now, countless caravans are transporting cartloads of grain, exchanging them for wool with the steppe people... Those tribes, now with food, though still wild and difficult to tame, have finally lost their interest in risking their lives. With enough to eat, who would want to fight the Tang army? An Lushan's troops were elite field warriors, with no shortage of cavalry; one wrong move and they could be wiped out.
In reality, An Lushan's profits from controlling the trade routes didn't decrease at all. But he just felt something was off. What would happen to the border regions if the barbarians on the grasslands started raising sheep and shearing their wool?
The plan to have sheep eat people will take a long time. But it's already starting to show results. However, to carry out this plan, enough food is needed.
Therefore, Lu Xuan realized he needed to improve the farming methods of the Tang Dynasty, increase crop yields, and find new crops.
So the problem returns to its origin. The focus must remain on improving people's livelihoods... Only when the Tang Dynasty itself becomes strong can various plans be implemented smoothly.
It is worth mentioning that throughout last year, Wang Zhongsi launched a comprehensive campaign against the Turks. After more than half a year, the Turkic people have completely collapsed. The Turks, who had plagued the Central Plains for generations, are now essentially history. The main enemies of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions have now become the Tibetans and the Uyghurs. Even the former Khitans have been weakened by the combined attacks of the Uyghurs and An Lushan.