Volume 1 Princess Taiping Grows Up Chapter 30: Defeat
When summer arrives, the air is filled with a feeling of dryness and heat.
Recently, her brothers haven't come to play with her anymore. Basically, she only plays with her two sisters and Shangguan Wan'er every day.
The two princesses also liked this little girl very much. Besides, they had experienced the life of servants in the Yunting Palace, so they did not put on airs at all.
Li Yuechen’s greatest joy every day is to lie on the floor with her arms and legs spread, closing her eyes and savoring the taste of ice cream.
Don’t even think about making ice cream in this era, and shaved ice is impossible, because there is not much ice stored in the royal ice cellar to withstand daily consumption.
The peaches were ripe, so Li Yuechen asked Li Zhi for more than ten pounds of peaches. After returning, they asked Xiaohe and the others to peel the peaches, remove the cores, and then soak them in sugar water.
He found some porcelain jars, put the peaches soaked in sugar water into them, plugged the jars with wooden stoppers, and then took them to the Shangshi Bureau, found a big pot and started steaming them.
Li Yuechen squatted on the stove, wiping the sweat from his forehead while observing the fire.
Feeling that it was almost ready, he quickly directed the eunuch next to him to bring out the sealing wax.
"Eunuch Fu, move these jars into the hall, out of the sun."
“Yes!”
Watching these canned foods being put away, Li Yuechen prayed in his heart that it would work, so that he could eat fruits in other seasons as well.
Especially Li Zhi, he will definitely be able to eat lychees without any effort by then.
Fu Lai and others have become accustomed to the princess's strange ideas, and they do whatever she says and does without any question.
However, Shangguan Wan'er kept asking questions, but Li Yuechen pretended to be mysterious and didn't tell her anything, which made the little girl feel disappointed for a while.
It was scorching hot in June, and the heat was unbearable. Li Yuechen took out her folding fan and fanned herself with it when she had nothing to do.
After taking a bath every night, they would go to the Taiye Lake to enjoy the cool air. Even Li Zhi and his wife and many palace maids would come here to sit for a while every night.
Li Yuechen sat next to Li Zhi and his wife, chatting with them, while thinking about letting the summer pass quickly.
Now Li Yuechen wears a long silk skirt every day, hanging down from her chest. Even with a translucent gauze dress on her upper body, she still feels unbearably hot.
If she hadn't taken into account the serious ethical issues of the time, she would have wanted to wear short shorts and suspenders.
We finally made it to July, but the weather was still hot.
After finishing his morning practice, Li Yuechen was about to take a shower and change clothes, but suddenly he saw the sky darken.
Thinking it was going to rain, Li Yuechen ran out quickly, intending to cool down.
However, when he arrived outside the temple and looked up, there was not a single cloud in the sky!
Instead, a small round black spot has appeared on the bright sun!
eclipse?
Li Yuechen was stunned, and then he realized that something bad was going to happen!
There has been a severe drought this year, and a solar eclipse at this time would have made the superstitious ancients think that something big was going to happen.
"Your Highness, the sun is eclipsed by the heavenly dog. Don't stand outside the palace!" Fulai ran over and wanted to pull her back.
"Let's go to Yanying Palace!" Li Yuechen waved his hand and trotted out.
Unfortunately, wearing clogs on my feet was very inconvenient, so when I ran I looked like a crazy penguin, which was extremely funny.
"Your Highness! Your Highness!"
Fulai called out continuously, looked up helplessly, gritted his teeth and ran out.
While running, I prayed in my heart: God, please don’t eat my soul!
When we arrived at the Yanying Palace, we saw Li Zhi and Wu Zetian standing at the entrance of the hall, looking at the sky with worried expressions.
Likewise, neither of them dared to step out of the hall.
Seeing Li Yuechen coming over, Li Zhi looked worried: "Chen'er! Come in quickly! How can you run outside during an eclipse?"
Wu Zetian, who was standing next to him, had an even gloomier expression on her face: "Fulai! What crime should you be punished for taking the princess out for a walk at this time?"
Li Yuechen came into the hall: "Father and mother, don't blame him, I was the one who wanted to come here!"
"Why do you come here at this time?" Li Zhi also lectured with a stern face.
"I heard that there would be a solar eclipse, so I came here to protect my parents." Li Yuechen replied.
She did not give them a scientific explanation of the principles behind a solar eclipse, mainly because it was difficult to explain to the ancients.
In this era, there is actually a theory similar to the Hun Tian theory that "people live on a ball", but this theory is not currently mainstream.
When it comes to things that cannot be explained clearly, people of this era are more accustomed to using theories of ghosts and gods to explain them.
Hearing her say this, Li Zhi and Wu Zetian both looked relieved.
However, Li Zhi still taught him a lesson: "Even so, you shouldn't run around at this time!"
"Yes, I remember it!" Li Yuechen replied with a salute.
Then Li Zhi sighed: "Mei Niang, prepare the pen, ink, paper and inkstone. I should take the blame for what happened..."
Li Yuechen felt helpless when he heard this. As an emperor, don't you know the impact of issuing an edict of repentance?
It is true that if the emperor did something wrong, it would be a wise act for him to have the courage to admit his mistake, but it is also a taboo to take the blame when it is not your fault, right?
Originally, the severe drought this year had nothing to do with you, but now that this edict of blaming yourself has been issued, it has become your fault!
"Grandpa, there is no need to blame yourself. This is not the emperor's fault." Li Yuechen stopped him.
"Oh?" Li Zhi turned his head, "Why do you say that, Chen'er?"
Li Yuechen was stunned. What excuse should he make to make Li Zhi believe him?
After thinking for a while, he stammered to explain: "This...I had a dream last night and saw the goddess Nuwa...This was...caused by the war between the ancient witches and demons. It's not Grandpa's fault."
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian looked at each other, both of them feeling a little bit incredible.
Li Yuechen also took the risk and said directly: "If you don't believe me, just wait a moment and you will know. The sun will definitely be bright again within a moment after it disappears!"
In fact, one moment is too long. As far as Li Yuechen knows, during a total solar eclipse, the time when the sun is completely covered does not exceed ten minutes.
After all, celestial bodies are moving all the time and everywhere, and it is impossible for them to stop. Talking about the moment is already leaving yourself some way out.
Wu Zetian nodded: "It's only a moment, Your Majesty, why don't you wait a little longer."
"Okay, let's wait!" Li Zhi nodded. It didn't matter if he waited a little longer.
Li Yuechen felt helpless as the dark spots on the sun grew larger and larger.
To be honest, she really didn't want to get involved in this kind of thing, but if Li Zhi really issued an edict of repentance, who knew what would happen next?
He was already in poor health, and if this incident caused his condition to worsen, his good days might be over.
Li Yuechen doesn't know much about medicine, but he has learned a lot about Li Zhi's condition over the years.
When his eyes become ill, it's as if he's blind, just like in TV dramas where a tumor compresses the optic nerve or there's some cardiovascular disease.
Even more than a thousand years later, this would still be an extremely troublesome disease, let alone in this era, it is simply a terminal illness.
So the only thing Li Yuechen could do was to try her best to keep Li Zhi in a good mood.
I have heard a lot of stories before about people recovering from cancer because of a good mood. In this era of limited technology, we can only hope in the magic of the human body.
Perhaps he was a little bored waiting, Li Zhi suddenly asked: "Chen'er, what is this wild land you just mentioned?"
"It's the fairyland." Li Yuechen thought that since he had nothing to do anyway, he might as well tell a story to kill time.
So I recalled the fantasy novels I had read in my previous life and began to tell the story, briefly explaining the story of the war between the wizards and liches.
Li Zhi and Wu Zetian, who were originally skeptical about her words, became more convinced after listening to her story.
Because the things she talked about were logically clear, as if they were vividly described.
This kind of coherent thing is hard to make up on the spot.
As she spoke, time passed quickly and the sun had turned into a golden halo hanging in the sky.
However, just as Li Yuechen said, not long after, the spot began to move again and the sky began to gradually brighten.
Li Zhi looked up, smiled and nodded: "It is true!"
This made Li Yuechen feel a little cute.
The ancients were not stupid, but because of their limited knowledge, they were easily superstitious about some things.
But this does not mean that they have low IQ. After all, they are still limited by their cognition.
It's like a magic trick. It seems magical when you don't know the secret, but once you know the secret behind it, you will instantly feel like a fool for not being able to think of such a simple thing.
The sun gradually revealed its true face. Li Zhi lowered his head and said, "Chen'er, tell me the truth. Were the various gods and ghosts in Journey to the West also told to you by Nuwa in your dream?"
"Uh... yes!" Li Yuechen nodded and admitted it. It was a good idea to think so, so as to save the trouble of explaining.
Li Zhi touched her head and said, "Chen'er is truly a lucky star from heaven!"
Li Yuechen said nothing about this, but just smiled and pretended to be silly and cute.
Since the solar eclipse has passed, I won't stay here any longer. I'll leave the rest of the things to them.
It's nothing more than arguing with the ministers or something like that. At this time, literati generally like to use this kind of thing to restrain the emperor's behavior, and the Censorate will probably also stand up and make a few symbolic remarks.
Li Yuechen was too lazy to watch them quarreling, so she ran back to Chengxiang Palace to lie down and cool off.
Instead of watching a group of men joking and quarreling with each other in the court, it is better to go back and think about whether hand-cranked human-powered electric fans are feasible in this era.
After witnessing the superb craftsmanship of carpenters of this era, Li Yuechen felt that they should be able to make fan blades.
The only troublesome thing is the gears. Not only are wooden gears easy to break, but they are also difficult to make neatly.
Of course the most critical point is that if you use manual power to crank it, your arm will be broken, right?
…
Time passed peacefully until the end of July. It was said that the emperor and his ministers had a symbolic quarrel in the court, but ultimately no self-criticism edict was issued.
This result made Li Zhi very happy. When the emperor was happy, the entire palace would be happy.
Li Yuechen has been very happy during this period.
The only bad thing is that Mrs. Rongguo’s illness is getting worse and worse, even to the point where she can’t get out of bed.
Li Yuechen, who used to visit every few days, now goes to see him almost every afternoon.
She could sense that it was time for the old man to go.
Because Wu Zetian had to review memorials, she couldn't visit every day, so she told Li Yuechen and the children to visit more often when they had nothing to do.
Except for Crown Prince Li Hong, the other brothers came to visit whenever they had nothing to do.
At the beginning of August, Mrs. Rongguo closed her eyes. Before leaving, she held Li Yuechen's little hand and said sorry to her.
Li Yuechen never got angry with her and helped as much as possible at the funeral.
The death of the queen's mother was no small matter, so Li Zhi specially stopped attending court for one day to express his mourning.
On the day of the funeral, Wu Zetian's eyes were a little swollen, as if she had been crying, but after kowtowing, she went back to review memorials the next day.
Mrs. Rongguo was buried with great ceremony. Li Yuechen was in a low mood and his movements were a little deformed when he was practicing martial arts in the morning.
Shangguan Wan'er, who was reading at the table next to her, put down her brush, walked over and cautiously advised, "Your Highness, why don't you practice today?"
"Yeah." Li Yuechen nodded, and did not continue practicing. Instead, he walked to the steps in the shade of the backyard and sat down.
Zheng looked at her back, turned around and nodded to Shangguan Wan'er: "You don't have to study today, go and accompany His Highness."
"Yes!" Shangguan Wan'er agreed and came to stand beside Li Yuechen.
"Please sit down." Li Yuechen waved his hand and asked her to sit next to him without saying anything else.
Shangguan Wan'er didn't know how to comfort her, so she didn't say anything. She just sat with her on the steps in silence.
After waking up the next day, Li Yuechen adjusted his mood and returned to his usual self with a smile on his face again.
After all, I have an adult soul, and I do a good job in regulating my emotions.
Seeing that her movements in practicing martial arts today were not deformed, Shangguan Wan'er smiled happily, and became much more active when studying with her mother.
After finishing his training, it was not yet noon and Li Yuechen was not too hungry.
I heard that the court session has not ended yet, so I suddenly decided to go and see if the censor was scolding the emperor again.
As a result, as soon as he slipped into the side door of Xuanzheng Hall, he saw Li Zhi suddenly stand up from the dragon throne.
"Defeat?!"
When this word came out, Li Yuechen, who had just slipped in, was also a little confused.
What happened? Lost? Did the Tang Dynasty still lose wars?
After listening carefully to the report below, Li Yuechen finally understood the whole story.
Simply put, Xue Rengui's plan was going smoothly. He fought very well in the early stages and achieved a good victory.
So they took advantage of the victory and captured Wuhai City.
However, Deputy General Guo Daifeng disobeyed orders , violated military orders, and led the follow-up troops without authorization.
As a result, Tubo seized the opportunity and surrounded them with an army of 200,000, and all their food and supplies were lost!
Now Xue Rengui was forced to retreat to Dayechuan, while Tubo had gathered an army of 400,000 to force the Tang army into a decisive battle.
Although we don’t know the result yet, we know it’s impossible to win.
Now the Tang army has no food or supplies, and the enemy has more than three times as many people as its own, not to mention a series of problems such as altitude sickness that have to be considered.
Even though Li Yuechen knew nothing about military affairs, he knew that in this situation, unless they occupied some natural barrier that was easy to defend but difficult to attack, it would be impossible for them to win!
Looking at Li Zhi, who was sitting on the dragon throne with his teeth gnashed with anger, she couldn't help but start to worry.
