Chapter 24: Ups and Downs (II)

Seeing Yang Xuan’s displeased expression, Li Kuo smiled and said, “It seems, Lord Yang, that you don’t quite believe these two are merchants.”
Yang Xuan raised his jade cup, took a sip of wine, and said, “They act in a showy and capricious manner—there’s not a hint of a merchant’s demeanor at all. I’m sure General Li has also noticed this, but he just doesn’t want to say it outright.”
Li Kuo’s thoughts were revealed by Yang Xuan’s words, so he stopped hiding them. “Indeed, I’ve realized they’re certainly not merchants, but they probably aren’t bad people either.”
“That’s not certain!”
Yang Zhao placed his cup firmly on the table and frowned. “The west is not peaceful these days. If scoundrels take advantage of the situation to cause chaos, the consequences could be unimaginable. Rumors can kill faster than knives.”
Seeing the tense atmosphere, Yang Xuan smiled lightly and said, “Let’s not talk about these things. Actually, I invited General Li here today at my father’s request.”
Li Kuo’s heart sank—Yang Xuan was indeed sent by Yang Zhao!
“I see. I wonder if the Imperial Censor-in-Chief has any important matters to assign to me?”
Yang Zhao was really strange. He clearly had the chance to tell him in person but chose to go through his son instead.
“It’s not really anything important. My father heard that General Li has moved to a new residence, right here in Qinren Fang. From now on, we’ll be neighbors. That’s why my father specifically asked me to invite you to a banquet as a token of our goodwill.”
“I’m humbled by the kindness of the Imperial Censor-in-Chief; I dare not accept it.”
Li Kuo politely bowed in response.
“Ahem, General Li, having been stationed at the border, you probably aren’t very familiar with the court’s affairs. Let me introduce you to some people.”
Yang Xuan then changed the subject and stood up.
“This is Cui Shu, an Imperial Censor. Lord Cui is one of the most outstanding members of the Cui family from Boling.”
Yang Xuan stepped beside Cui Shu and nodded slightly.
“Greetings, Lord Cui!”
Li Kuo nodded at Cui Shu as a greeting.
“And this is Pei Bei, a scholar from the Imperial Academy. Lord Pei is extremely learned and knowledgeable, a rare Confucian talent in our Tang Dynasty.”
Taking a few steps forward, Yang Xuan patted a middle-aged man’s shoulder and introduced him.
“Greetings, Doctor Pei!”
“As for this one, he’s Dong Ye, a court official. He’s known for his stubbornness in the Central Secretariat. It took me quite a lot of effort to get him to come.”
Yang Xuan stepped beside a man in his fifties wearing a brocade robe and joked.
“Oh, it’s Lord Dong. Pleased to meet you!”
Li Kuo didn’t dare be overconfident and quickly bowed in greeting.

“Ah, meeting like this at least gets us all acquainted; from now on, we can consider ourselves friends. Sit, everyone, sit.” Yang Xuan pointed to the cushions beside them and spoke eloquently. Li Kuo lifted his robe and knelt down, waiting patiently for Yang Xuan to continue. “Why are you all standing there? Eat, eat!” After saying that, Yang Xuan smiled, picked up a piece of roasted deer meat, and put it in his mouth. Seeing Yang Xuan start eating first, the others also began to pick up food and start feasting heartily. “It’s truly delightful to be gathered around this table, enjoying this banquet together!” Yang Xuan glanced at everyone and praised them with a clap. “The officialdom of the Tang Dynasty is nothing but a table where people devour each other—those who eat others will eventually be eaten in return. If we don’t eat others, they’ll eat us.” Yang Xuan downed a cup of fine wine and looked at Li Kuo with a hint of helplessness. “Lord Yang, if you have something to say, just say it plainly. Though I’m not very talented, I can still understand the logic behind it.” Li Kuo, tired of beating around the bush, spoke directly. “Good, General Li is indeed straightforward!” Yang Xuan laughed heartily. “I’ve heard that General Gao Xiuyan often has ‘heroes’ and ‘righteous men’ visiting his residence in Chang’an lately. It’s not really strange—after all, many border generals in our Tang Dynasty like to associate with such men. But these so-called heroes don’t look like ordinary people from the Central Plains at all.” Li Kuo thought for a moment before slowly asking, “What do you mean by this, Lord Yang?” “Hahaha, General Li is quite interesting. If I’m not mistaken, you and General Gao aren’t on good terms, are you? Don’t you want to know the true identities of these heroes who frequent General Gao’s place?” Yang Xuan wasn’t in a hurry at all and continued to tease Li Kuo. “Lord Yang, as a man, can you stop being so evasive?” Zhang Yanji, unable to stand it any longer, interjected. “Young Master Zhang, please let me explain slowly.” Yang Xuan stroked his beard and sighed. “My informants have recently noticed Tibetans entering General Gao Xiuyan’s residence, so I suspect General Gao might be involved with the Tibetans.” “What? Tibetans entering General Gao Xiuyan’s residence?” Zhou Wucui was shocked and exclaimed. “That’s right! Last year, the Luo Shu Jue incident caused quite a stir in Chang’an. Many ignorant people were deceived by cults and exploited by villains. Thanks to the success of the battles in Hehuang, the Jingzhao Prefecture managed to suppress this evil trend. But it seems that not long after, these Tibetans reappeared in the Western Capital.” Yang Xuan raised his voice, his expression stern.

“Yes, last year General Li was not in Chang’an, so he wasn’t aware of the chaos at the time. The Jingzhao Prefecture received orders from the emperor to arrest three thousand people if necessary rather than let one escape. At the height of the crisis, even a curfew was imposed during the Lantern Festival, and the prisons in Jingzhao Prefecture were overcrowded.”
Cui Shu nodded and took over the conversation.
“Yet these demon monks are quite strange. It seems they had wind of the situation and left Chang’an long before the prefecture imposed a full lockdown and searched the city. Those who were captured turned out to be worthless scum—none of them were important.”
Dong Ye sighed and added.
Hearing this, Li Kuo felt a mix of emotions. Joining the army beyond the Great Wall was merely a cover; he was actually tasked by the emperor to investigate the Luo Shu Jue along the way. Unfortunately, fate played a trick on him as he encountered the Tibetans advancing rapidly toward Guanlong. He was then urgently called back by Geshu Han to serve as a pawn in the Battle of Hehuang, where he played a role of his own.
In such urgent circumstances, Geshu Han’s actions weren’t wrong. After witnessing the brutality of the Tibetans, the young man’s fighting spirit was fully ignited, and he grew into a true man alongside his comrades in the Tongwu Camp.
Loss may bring fortune. Although he missed the perfect opportunity to investigate the Luo Shu Jue, the battles tempered him, making him stronger.
When he returned to Chang’an later, he heard about what had happened. With the Tibetans’ defeat in the Battle of Hehuang, the much-talked-about Luo Shu Jue issue gradually subsided in the Tang Dynasty.
But if what Yang Xuan said was true, could these long-disappeared Tibetan demon monks reappear recently? Could Gao Xiuyan really be connected to the Tibetans?
One question after another weighed heavily on his mind.