Inside Bianliang City, Zhao Kuangyin's mood was deeply conflicted.
When it came to Zhuge Wuhou, although he lived in the late Han, his reputation still carried fierce momentum, and it was clear that later generations praised him greatly.
As for Tang Taizong, there was no need to even mention him. He raised troops at seventeen, pacified the realm at twenty-four, ascended the throne at twenty-nine. Such prestige was rare in all of antiquity.
Because of this, Zhao Kuangyin usually did not like to speak much. He did not want to invite embarrassment.
Zhuge Wuhou had explained to him why the Song split north and south. Tang Taizong had used parallel prose to casually mock the affairs of Emperor Zhenzong. The teasing intent had been obvious at a glance.
That was also why Zhao Kuangyin later became even more reluctant to speak.
But now, those things could be set aside for the moment.
The doubts in his heart were too great, and by instinct, Zhao Kuangyin felt that if he could obtain that "replay" function, many of his questions might finally be answered.
After making up his mind, there was nothing more to say.
Only the form of address caused him a bit of hesitation.
After all, Tang and Song were too close in time. Addressing by posthumous titles felt strange. After choosing back and forth, he finally decided to use the title of the General Tiance.
He raised a finger as a pen and wrote on the stone table. The words formed and drifted onto the light screen.
This action made Zhao Pu's face light up with joy, while Zhao Guangyi stared blankly, not knowing what he was thinking.
Fortunately, Zhuge Wuhou and Tang Taizong were both open with their knowledge.
Very soon, two lines of text floated up, clear and unmistakable.
[Li Shimin: Use sacrificial offerings to present gifts to the later age. Naturally, your doubts will be resolved.
Zhuge Liang: That giant sphere is the land beneath our feet. It is called Earth. If you wish to know more, you may refer to the piece "From Strong Clans to Aristocratic Families to Great Lineages, the Common People Let You Keep Face." As for the meaning of payment, it likely means gifting various items to the later age in return. The Song emperor may try it himself.]
It was very much in line with their respective styles.
For a moment, Zhao Kuangyin almost saw before him a decisive emperor who could not be bothered to say much, and a gentle, approachable minister who bent himself in tireless service.
Almost unconsciously, a sigh arose in his heart.
How he regretted not being able to serve alongside Wuhou.
Regret aside, the meaning was clear.
He also remembered that this rest interval was not long, which meant there was no time to go rummaging through the treasury for rare treasures.
So the Song emperor jumped up directly from his reclining couch and pointed to a box on the nearby desk.
"Bring it here."
The eunuch hurriedly presented it.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Kuangyin removed the jade axe from his waist and placed it inside the box. Then he casually stuffed in the slingshot that was also hanging at his waist.
But that still did not feel like enough.
So Zhao Kuangyin turned his head, his gaze skipping over Zhao Pu and locking directly onto Zhao Guangyi.
Zhao Guangyi, who had been staring blankly, snapped back to attention. He blinked and immediately understood, hurriedly waving his hands.
"These two items were bestowed by elder brother. They should already be…"
Before he could finish, Zhao Kuangyin stepped forward and, without ceremony, examined his younger brother briefly. He reached out and pulled the flower hairpin from Zhao Guangyi's head, tossing it into the box. Then he gave him another look and hooked a finger, yanking the jade pendant from Zhao Guangyi's waist as well.
Zhao Guangyi dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out. He muttered, "Earlier, the things presented did not seem particularly precious…"
Zhao Kuangyin ignored him completely.
He carefully sealed the box and placed it on the stone table. Following Tang Taizong's words about sacrificial offerings, he cupped his hands. He was still turning over what kind of offering words to say when he looked up and saw that the box had already disappeared.
That should count as successful "payment."
With that matter done, Zhao Kuangyin listened to his brother complaining on the side and let out a faint sigh.
"My descendants were incapable, greedy for pleasure, causing flaws in the imperial enterprise. The clan and consorts all suffered calamity. Even if much wealth is given, it cannot make up for the shame of Jingkang. But perhaps it can…"
But perhaps it can what.
Even Zhao Kuangyin himself could not say.
Could it make later generations mock Song a little less. Obviously not.
Could it make later generations speak more detailed secrets of Song. True or false would be hard to judge. The meaning also seemed limited.
For a moment, Zhao Kuangyin felt strangely despondent.
Out of habit, he reached for the jade axe to rub it in his hands, only to grasp empty air.
A trace of regret rose in his heart, but it was quickly dispersed.
Because when he looked up, he saw that the light screen was filled with lively conversation.
[Li Shimin: Is Wuhou in good health. Last month Li Jing sent victory reports from Qinghai. He has already greatly defeated Tuyuhun and captured their leader Fuyun. Soon he will escort the captives to Chang'an to report merit.
Li Shimin: This battle, the power of gunpowder weapons was astonishing. Tang troops suffered no losses while completely shattering enemy morale. It can be called dominant. The day Wuhou breaks Cao's forces will surely not be far.
Zhuge Liang: I am now only thirty-two, in my prime. I thank Your Majesty Li Erfeng for your concern. Xuande Gong has now secured Chang'an and allowed the people to recover. Next year, we can dispatch elite troops in large numbers toward Ye, Luo, and Xu to relieve the pressure on Jingzhou.
Li Shimin: Why not take the Hedong route, circle through Jinyang, and form an encirclement in Hebei.
Liu Bei: The Tiance General's insight is excellent.
Yan Lide: Wuhou is well. The Directorate of Works is attempting to produce bamboo paper, but much is unsatisfactory. Are there key points you can teach us.
Zhuge Liang: The bamboo paper made in Chengdu is usable. The essentials are simple. Use tender bamboo.
Zhuge Liang: Does the young minister Yan have a method of distillation to teach me.
…]
The conversation on the light screen could be described as harmonious.
Military matters were touched on briefly and then set aside. What followed were famous names from history flashing one after another.
Zhuge Wuhou discussed engineering and painting techniques with the Yan brothers of the Zhenguan era.
Fa Zheng consulted Zhangsun Wuji about the essentials of Tang law.
Pang Tong discussed the differences between the Imperial Academy and the National University with Fang and Du.
Even Tang Taizong, who was sparing with words when answering Zhao Kuangyin, showed a much warmer, more familiar tone when speaking with Wuhou.
Although it was understandable, Zhao Kuangyin still felt a touch of envy.
"I can remain calm when seeing later generations' scenes that look like the immortal realm."
Zhao Pu gave a bitter smile.
"But seeing ancient famous ministers exchanging knowledge so freely, I instead feel as though I am dreaming."
He turned to Zhao Kuangyin.
"Your Majesty, could it be that I already fell ill and died on the road to Heyang, and all of this is but a dream."
Zhao Kuangyin gave a wry smile.
It was not only Zhao Pu who felt this way. He felt the same.
Perhaps his earlier reluctance to speak was also because deep down, he found all of this too dreamlike.
Fortunately, this harmonious exchange lasted only a short while.
As the light screen brightened again, the flowing text disappeared.
This time, the screen did not show text or images, but transformed again into a vertical rectangle. This made Zhao Kuangyin feel somewhat unaccustomed.
…
In Han Chang'an, Liu Bei and the others were not unfamiliar with this.
They had already seen this kind of thing called a vlog once before, and that experience had not been particularly pleasant.
So this time…
["Hello hello, friends. The illiterate one is here to wish all the uncles and aunts a late Happy New Year.
This time, after going home for the New Year, the uploader hurried back out again.
On one hand, it was for New Year field research and filming more footage. On the other hand, it was because I could not stop thinking about another treasure.
As for which treasure, just look at the nature reserve sign behind me and you can probably guess.
Ta-da. Of course, for the New Year, we had to come see the darling of our channel.
Come on, Xuande. Say hello to your big brothers, big sisters, uncles, aunts, grandpas, and grandmas."]
Liu Bei's face instantly turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
Looking at the adorable little white bear on the screen, Kongming and the others naturally recognized it. After all, this was personally captured by Yide and sent to later generations.
But that name, Xuande…
An indescribable sense of joyful awkwardness filled the general's residence.
Liu Bei felt even more helpless.
Good thing Yide is not here.
Liu Bei had already lost count of how many times he had thought that today.
But he could swear to Taiyi that this time was absolutely the most sincere.
Still, looking at the little beast on the screen, far from mountain conflicts and now eating whenever it wanted, Liu Bei could not bring himself to feel truly annoyed.
In the end, he could only mutter through clenched teeth.
"That white… giant panda is eating quite well."
"If my lord dislikes it, next time I can write a letter and advise them to rename it Kongming."
Pang Tong suggested gleefully.
"No need."
Liu Bei almost reflexively objected.
This only made the cheerful atmosphere in the hall even stronger.
…
In the Ganlu Hall, the Zhenguan officials all raised their brows as they looked at the white bear on the screen, then at their composed emperor.
Du Ruhui directly complained.
"Your Majesty has omitted quite a bit when telling us about later generations."
Li Shimin stroked his beard and laughed loudly.
"This matter is of little importance. There was no need to mention it."
After all, when he had heard later generations describe the preciousness of this creature, he had only half understood it himself.
The only thing he fully understood was that Wu Zetian had once used this creature to send to the Wa people to curry favor.
On this point, Li Shimin had already made up his mind that he would absolutely never do such a thing.
Giving a treasured Chinese beast to a tiny barbarian state would be pure waste.
Empress Zhangsun looked at the adorable "Xuande," her smile never fading. Seeing her husband's calm expression, she turned and covered her mouth as she teased.
"Your Majesty, if Xuande is here, then where is Shimin."
Li Shimin immediately turned his head.
"There is no such thing."
The Zhenguan officials all smiled.
Even someone as bold as Du Ruhui thought to himself.
Even if there were, given that uploader's style, he would probably be called Erfeng.
As for the empress's question, although it was slightly forward, this was not court, and the emperor and empress had always been harmonious. Naturally, none of the old ministers would spoil the mood.
Only Wei Zheng, blowing his beard and glaring, was held back by Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui together.
["Let's watch Xuande eat bamboo for a bit, and then I'll give everyone a simple update.
The big boss's gifts arrived as promised. But maybe because it was the New Year, this batch was quite down to earth.
The heaviest item was a sack of wheat. The note said it was Guanzhong household wheat."]
Liu Bei smiled faintly.
This had been sent on his decision.
Now that Guanzhong was stable, the fame of Liu Huangshu did not actually play such a major role.
That title was far less important than those old soldiers who were strictly ordered not to harass the people, and who busily repaired walls, built houses, and dredged canals.
The greatest trump card for stabilizing Guanzhong was precisely this wheat sent to later generations.
Land to farm, higher yield per mu, light taxes, and no Cao-style enslavement of the people.
These were the true reasons Guanzhong could be stabilized.
["The most interesting gift was a bag of green salt, placed in a box labeled Qinghai Salt.
This box of lake salt was kept by the uploader for my parents to use. The feedback was very good. Many thanks."]
A smile appeared on Li Shimin's face as well.
As Li Jing escorted Fuyun closer and closer to Chang'an, more detailed memorials about the battle arrived.
Among the advance merit items Li Yaoshi had sent, the most distinctive was a small bag of green salt.
Li Shimin understood the Turks well and inferred that Tuyuhun was similar. Tribal leaders controlled life and death through salt. For the nomads, salt was also a symbol of authority. Taking it as a trophy was perfectly reasonable.
So he had not hesitated much and simply passed it on to later generations.
Hearing that it was kept for family use even gave Li Shimin a bit of satisfaction.
He also felt a slight regret.
If he had known earlier that the uploader would be celebrating the New Year, he would have prepared something like New Year money.
Well, he could make it up later.
["But seeing both grain and green salt, I thought this time the big boss was going vegetarian.
But then the small bonus box was incredible. Four high-level craft items.
A jade axe, a slingshot, a flower hairpin, and a jade pendant.
The most beautiful is naturally the hairpin. This is clearly Song-style.
Tang and Song hairpins are similar, but a subtle difference is that in the Song, men also had the custom of wearing flowers. So Tang hairpins are often hollowed, gilded, and heavily decorated. Song hairpins are more often capped cones for easy unisex use.
The Northern Song court even held hairpin banquets. Eunuchs would pick flowers in the imperial garden, and the Song emperor would award different flowers based on closeness and merit, placing them on officials' heads.
Dream Pool Essays records the story of the Four Chancellors wearing flowers. Records of Eastern Capital Splendor also records Northern Song noble youths wearing flowers to show off, causing women to crowd to watch, even lowering their brows and secretly admiring them.
As for the jade pendant, no need to say more. Song jade is easy to recognize. Whether in material, carving technique, or the richness of patterns, it represents a peak of ancient jade art. The Ming had even better craftsmanship, but culturally leaned toward restraint, emphasizing grand form over complex workmanship.
As for the slingshot and jade axe, this reminds me of a certain emperor who was reportedly hacked to death.
Since the big boss is hinting so hard, if we do not talk about Candle Shadow and Axe Sound next episode, it would be hard to get around it, right.
As for these two items, not much to say. The slingshot is a full downgrade from bows. Because you pinch the pellet, compared to drawing a bow with the whole hand, it is weaker in power. Also, pellet versus arrowhead, the lethality is obvious.
The axe is similar. From the Tang onward, long-axe troops appeared sporadically. Most of the time, it was only a special weapon against heavy armor. It is a top-tier tool, a first-rate ritual item, a second-rate toy, and a third-rate mass army weapon.
That's about it.
Also, these crafts were very popular with a friend of mine. He bought them at a high price and exchanged them for Xuande's food supply. Basically, it can cover Xuande's entire life. Solving retirement before even growing up. The uploader is honestly very jealous.
That's it for this episode. In the new year, I wish all viewers harmony and success. See you next time."]
Inside the Bianliang Palace, Zhao Kuangyin felt a strange jolt when he heard "an emperor hacked to death."
Then he felt he was overthinking it.
After all, Song had not yet unified the realm. The chaotic age could still be said to be ongoing.
In such circumstances, even emperors' lives were cheap. Being hacked to death was not exactly rare.
"A hacked-to-death emperor. Which unlucky bastard was that."
Zhao Guangyi muttered.
When those words entered Zhao Kuangyin's ears, for some reason, they stirred an inexplicable sense of irritation in his heart.