Chapter 1 Recalling the Heyday of the Kaiyuan Period

With a clack of the wake-up stick, the storyteller began to narrate. "Do you know about the Tang army's expedition to the land of disorder eighty years ago?

Legend has it that General Dongfang personally led the Longxi Shen Ce Army, a hundred thousand elite soldiers, into a chaotic battle, yet without a single casualty, they were defeated. You may have heard the legend that the Elven Prime Minister had a secret meeting with General Dongfang before the battle. However, the story is far more complicated than that.

Inside the Western Regions Protectorate's seat, Qiuci City, at the entrance of a tavern, a storyteller sat upright, surrounded by a crowd of spectators. Jiang Li sat in a corner, listening to this interesting story. He thought to himself, "The Grandmother's Wife is indeed quite resourceful."

At that time, the Tang Dynasty was at its peak, a time of peace and prosperity. For a time, the imperial palaces were opened to the sky, and people from all over the world came to pay their respects. Allying with the weak to resist the strong has always been common sense. Until forty years ago, when Asian nations formed an alliance, encircling and monopolizing the Tang Dynasty's borders, severing the Silk Road, and causing the Tang Dynasty's power to decline, the Western Regions frequently attacked. However, wary of the Tang Dynasty's strength, these adversaries refrained from overt military action.

Jiang Li'an remembered the past. She was a child born in the border army. She was still young at that time. Her father, a soldier in the border army, did not want her to grow up there, so he sent her and her mother back to Chang'an. However, they would be separated forever when they met again. Her father died heroically in the battle. Her mother could not accept the huge blow and followed him.

She is now the only one left in the once warm home, and she feels very bitter.

As he was thinking, he took out the letter that he had kept close to home. It was the last letter home, but it was never handed to his father.

Husband Jiang Huaijian:

Huai, are you all right? It's been over forty years since you left home to guard the border. I've sent you thousands of letters, but I wonder if you've received them.

Everyone says that time is the best medicine and can heal all the pain in the world, but it doesn't work for me.

I don't know why, but lately I often dream about my childhood. The more I dream about it, the more vague the memories become. It seems that everything is just my fantasy and has never really happened, including your existence.

I dare not face these feelings alone, afraid that I will blame you for them, and also worried that this is all just my imagination. I can't help but think more and more, maybe it's because I'm getting older.

The Tang Dynasty has been going from bad to worse. In the past, none of us dared to mention it, nor were we willing to believe it. But now, every common people living on this loess land should be able to see the decline of this once glorious dynasty.

Although Chang'an City was bustling with singing and dancing every day, and the East Market and West Market were bustling with people, everyone's eyes had lost their former brilliance, and all their expressions were like stage makeup, with crying and laughing all agreed upon in advance.

By the way, thanks to the influx of a large number of residents from other places, our pub has also overcome the difficulties.

Thanks to my husband's foresight, he recruited many chefs from all over the country. Now people from all over the country have moved to Chang'an, which just satisfies their appetite, and business has become prosperous again.

Everything is fine at home, don't worry.

Yesterday, I heard from my neighbors that the lilies in the suburbs of Chang'an were in full bloom, so I drove there to enjoy the flowers.

I still remember that the first time I met you was in the lily forest. It seems like more than twenty years have passed since then.

The flowers bloomed yesterday as beautifully and fragrantly as ever. They are the most precious fragrance in the world today, making me linger for a long time and unwilling to leave.

I think I am already very old, and all I can do is stop under the flowers and think about your face in my memory. This youthful and lively posture no longer belongs to me.

I’ll stop writing here.

I hope my thoughts can cross mountains and rivers, wade through wind and sand to reach you.

Waiting for your return

Wife's Book of Youth

Jiang Li'an's eyes filled with tears. She touched the silver she had earned from selling the tavern, and her determination to join the army became even stronger. Only by killing all the invading enemies could she comfort her heart.

Qi Yu was in great pain. Although his disciple was extremely talented, she was unstable in mind and only thought about avenging her parents. Even when learning swordsmanship, she became more and more extreme. She even reached the point where she would kill the enemy even if it meant injuring a thousand of them but losing eight hundred of her own. After several teachings, she would forget everything as soon as she turned around. Qi Yu simply let her go, let her travel around and calm down.

Without Jiang Li'an, the courtyard felt much quieter. Qi Yu was about to drink some tea when a gust of wind suddenly blew up. Qi Yu twitched his lips and asked without turning his head, "What brings you here?"

The person who came was none other than Di Qing, with the familiar mother-and-child sword still on his waist. Di Qing dusted himself off, walked over to Qi Yu, sat down in front of him, and said with a smile: "Master Qi, you haven't changed at all in all these years."

Qi Yu: ""

Di Qing continued, "Okay, enough of that. I'm here to apologize to you."

Qi Yu looked up at him and said nothing.

Di Qing coughed awkwardly twice and said, "It's my fault. I shouldn't have forced a disciple on you. It's just that I saw that she was very talented, and I felt sorry for her difficult background, so I brought her to you."

Qi Yu said: "Then why don't you adopt one yourself?"

Di Qing said, "I think the moment the little girl saw me, she burst into tears as if she had seen a man-eating monster. I had no other choice."

Qi Yu said helplessly: "Okay, I get it, you didn't come here just to talk about this, right?"

Di Qing said, "Not entirely. I heard that Shirley's three daughters are fighting fiercely to make their daughter the next emperor. I want to go back and take a look, so as to avoid family members from killing each other. I wanted to ask you, would you like to go back with me?"

After so many years, through the subtle influence of Qi Yu and Shangguan Qingxuan, Di Qing also regarded those people as his own family.

Qi Yu frowned: "The court here has been restless recently, and there is no guarantee that there will be any major actions. I will wait and see. If it does not involve any disorderly areas, I will go back."

When Di Qing saw that Qi Yu had made up his mind, he stopped inviting him, said goodbye, and disappeared into a wisp of mist.

Lu Rongshi was fed up with the open and secret struggles among his elders at home, so he waved his sleeves and went to Jiangnan, China.

She walked around and found that she didn't have enough money when she went out. When she reached halfway up the mountain, she got lost. When she was about to faint from hunger, she saw a figure in white falling from the sky.

That's how the two met.

"Master, I'm going down the mountain to gain experience, so I came to say goodbye." Lu Rongshi said with a very polite manner, bowing.

Shangguan Qingxuan stared into the distance in a trance and responded softly. Lu Rongshi had long been accustomed to his master gazing at the west in a trance every day, so he bowed deeply and went down the mountain.

Halfway up the mountain, Shangguan Qingxuan caught up with her. After a few jumps, she was behind her. She asked respectfully, "Master, is there anything you forgot to tell me?"

Shangguan Qingxuan took out a purse and stuffed it into Lu Rongshi's hand, saying, "Don't faint from hunger this time."

A warm feeling surged in Lu Rongshi's heart. He accepted it with a smile and said goodbye again.

On the way, she thought of her hometown, where relatives became enemies, lovers killed each other, and her three aunts were fighting fiercely for the next throne.

She believed that her mother, as the current emperor, would be able to maintain the balance and prevent a complete fallout. However, she could no longer bear this oppressive atmosphere and left the disorderly place.

Apart from her two mothers, she never felt any warmth at home.

When you come to Jiangnan, a stranger can help you without asking for anything in return.

How ironic.

In 3114 AD, the thirteenth emperor of the Tang Dynasty ascended the throne. Empress Wu Huai, with her strong hand and heart as firm as a rock, swept away the decadent atmosphere in the court and was determined to rebuild the peaceful and prosperous era at the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

Prime Minister Zhuge Zhan stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty has just ascended the throne, and power is dispersed. You should consolidate power and eliminate dissidents as soon as possible."

Wu Huai said with dignity, "No need for that. Anyone who disobeys the people's election will be executed!"

Zhuge Zhan replied, "If we do this, we might offend other big families."

Wu Huai said coldly, "I sit in this position today for the sake of the Tang Dynasty and the people. Even if I offend the ten great families, what's the harm?"

Zhuge Zhan stopped trying to persuade him and changed the subject, saying, "Your Majesty, the Central Asian nations are now forming an alliance once again, and they must be harboring ulterior motives. Your Majesty, do you remember the Battle of Yangguan Pass forty years ago, where half of our Tang Dynasty's elite troops were killed, leaving the city filled with gray-haired soldiers. If we want to prevent history from repeating itself, we must respond faster than the enemy."

Wu Huai said calmly, "My principle is no marriage alliance, no cession of territory, no compensation, no tribute. The men of the Tang Dynasty are still alive, so why should we sacrifice innocent women for peace?

I will personally lead the army to the Western Regions. I would rather die in battle and lose my country than surrender it!"

Zhuge Zhan said: "Yes!"

Today, the Tang Dynasty has long lost its heyday at the beginning of its founding. Forty years ago, more than a dozen Central Asian countries united to fight against the Tang Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty sent hundreds of thousands of troops to the Western Regions.

However, in ancient times, few soldiers returned from the wars. When they returned to the court, the number of soldiers was less than one-tenth of the number when they set out to fight.

This battle completely depleted the Tang Dynasty's national strength. Although it was a great victory at Yangguan, and the Central Asian states fell apart, it was a bitter victory. The country's national strength has never recovered to this day.

At the beginning of the year, the Central Asian countries once again formed an alliance and were eyeing the Western Regions covetously. The central court naturally anticipated the plans of the Central Asian countries. Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne, his attitude is tough, and he personally leads the army to fight. This is indeed a blessing for the Tang Dynasty.

Sixty years ago, Yangguan.

The enemy army was at the gates of the city. There were 800,000 enemy troops and 160,000 Tang troops. They launched the final battle at Yangguan. This battle would determine the ownership of the Western Regions.

"General, which is farther, Chang'an or the sun?"

"Nonsense, of course the sun is far away. I've only seen people coming from Chang'an, but never from the sun."

"Then why do I see the sun but not Chang'an?"

"Alas, Xiao Jiang, I know you have a home in Chang'an and a lovely little girl, but now, the bandits are here. For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, neither you nor I can retreat a single step!"

"promise!"

"Also, remember this: how can you not see Chang'an? Everywhere you look, you see Chang'an. You and I are all Chang'an!"

Ten years later, Yangguan was under siege for the tenth year.

"General Jiang, the enemy has sent a messenger asking us to surrender." A soldier presented a letter.

"Have you forgotten what the old general said? Surrender? What a joke. We can defend this city until we die!" After saying that, he threw the letter into the fire without even looking at it.

Over the course of ten years, the two armies engaged in few battles. Faced with stone walls more than ten meters high, the Central Asian states were helpless. The Tang army, occupying advantageous terrain, stubbornly defended Yangguan Pass. Veterans perished in battle, and new recruits took their place, enduring the ordeal for a full ten years.

Another ten years passed before reinforcements from the central government of the Tang Dynasty finally arrived.

A million-strong army marched westward out of Jiayu Pass and headed straight for Yang Pass.

"General Jiang, hold on, I'll go call a doctor!"

Jiang Huai grabbed the young soldier and said breathlessly, "No need. My new wounds and old ones have already made me unable to recover. Now that we are facing a powerful enemy, I will pass on the position of general to you. Remember, I would rather die in battle and lose my country than give it up! Also, please help me take this letter back home!"

Looking at the young general walking away, he murmured, "Alas, now I can't even remember the tune of Chang'an."

After he finished speaking, he died soon after. In the end, he did not live to see the day when the Tang army won, and he did not get to see with his own eyes the Tang army defeat the enemy and recover the Western Regions.

The author has something to say:

This article is the second work in the series, and the timeline is set seventy years after the first work.

This work will describe China in this fictional world.