On the 25th day of the ninth lunar month, the sky was overcast.
At the beginning of the si hour, Li Jingyun was sound asleep, hugging a pillow and wearing a set of pink sweaters. Eunuch Feng summoned up his courage and came to wake her up. "Princess, Princess, Miss Duan Jia has returned to Chang'an. She is now in the Taiji Hall. His Majesty has ordered you to go and have a look."
Li Jingyun showed no sign of waking up. Instead, she turned over and moved further away from Eunuch Feng.
Eunuch Feng sighed inwardly. His little princess had been busy with the sweater shop for so long. Finally, she had a couple of days of leisure to sleep in, but now she had to be urged to attend to state affairs.
Wasn't this the job of the Crown Prince?
"The Turks will arrive in Chang'an in a few days. It is said that they are bringing tens of thousands of cattle and sheep this time as betrothal gifts to ask for the hand of a princess in marriage."
"The Turks are coming?!"
Li Jingyun sat up straight all of a sudden, without even opening her eyes.
"That's right, Princess. Please wash up quickly. His Majesty is waiting for you in the Taiji Hall," said Eunuch Feng.
"What does he want me for? To discuss the purchase of sweaters?" Li Jingyun squinted her eyes, her mind in a complete mess.
Lately, as soon as she opened her eyes, it was all about the sweater business. And Eunuch Feng's opening remarks were always similar.
"Princess, wake up quickly. Your elder sister, Princess Suian, wants to order five hundred sweaters from you! She wants to buy them for everyone in her princess mansion!"
"Princess, come and take a look. Your elder brother, Prince Wu, Li Ke, wants to buy three thousand sweaters from you! He said he wants to sell them in the Hebei and Henan circuits!"
"Princess, princess!"
"It's not about sweaters, Princess. Please get up and you'll know when you go," said Eunuch Feng, helping Li Jingyun to get up. Immediately, someone brought hot water for her to wash up.
Li Jingyun yawned. Looking at herself in the mirror, she finally felt a bit more awake. "What on earth is going on? Who's back? Why does Father want me?"
"Miss Duan Jia from the Duke of Fan's family is back. She also brought back those Tibetan envoys she captured," said Eunuch Feng, lowering his head.
Finally, he had managed to wake up this little ancestor. Originally, when she lived with Princess Jinyang, it was always Princess Jinyang who woke her up. Now that Princess Jinyang had gone to accompany the Empress in the Lizheng Hall, she was the only one left in the Taihe Hall besides His Majesty.
"Duan Jia is back?"
Li Jingyun nodded. This was indeed a major event, involving the Turks, the Tibetans, and whether her elder sister would have to go far away for a political marriage.
After washing up and getting dressed, she rushed to the Taiji Hall in a hurry.
In the main hall, Li Shimin sat on the main seat with an unreadable expression. Li Chengqian sat on one side. The Duke of Fan, Duan Zhixuan, stood together with his daughter, Duan Jia. On the ground, seven strong men with distinctively non - Tang Dynasty attire and looks were kneeling. They were babbling in broken Mandarin of the Tang Dynasty, and no one knew what they were saying.
As soon as Li Jingyun entered, a handsome young eunuch pulled her to sit beside Li Chengqian.
"Since there are envoys from foreign countries here today, sit here with me for now," Li Chengqian whispered, picking up his younger sister and making her sit beside him.
"Okay."
Li Jingyun replied and leaned against her elder brother, sizing up the people in the hall.
Duan Jia stood there like a drawn precious sword. Father said that Third Aunt used to be a general. Would she have been like Duan Jia?
These Tibetans are so dark! Why are their cheeks so red? What kind of rouge are they using? The quality is so poor! Why do these big men put rouge on their faces?
While she was sizing up the Tibetans, they also looked at her. "Your Majesty, the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, may I ask who this beautiful young lady is? Why didn't she pay her respects to Your Majesty just now?"
"This is my youngest daughter. I've spoiled her so much that she has never liked to be restricted by vulgar etiquettes," said Li Shimin, his eyes full of doting as he looked at Li Jingyun.
"We pay our respects to the Princess of the Tang Dynasty. We are here on the orders of the Zanpu to visit the Tang Dynasty."
The Tibetans calmly performed a Tibetan salute, which looked rather out of place in Li Jingyun's eyes.
At this time, the new Zanpu of Tibet, Songtsen Gampo, had just ascended the throne not long ago. He had expanded the territory of Tibet to the entire Qinghai - Tibet Plateau. He had also stationed his troops near Songzhou on the border of the Tang Dynasty, which was also very close to the Turks. With the two forces joining hands, the border of the Tang Dynasty seemed to be in great danger.
The Turks' request to marry a princess might not be widely known, but Songtsen Gampo's marriage to Princess Wencheng was well - known to later generations. Princess Wencheng brought many crafts such as textile, silk reeling, brewing, and pottery - making to Tibet, which changed the Tibetans' lives in all aspects.
It is worth mentioning that Songtsen Gampo did not only have Princess Wencheng as his wife. He had also asked for the hand of Princess Bhrikuti from Nepal.
Li Jingyun was just about to tell them to rise when they stood up on their own.
However, Li Jingyun was curious. "Weren't you captured on your way back from the Turks? Why do you say you are here on a diplomatic mission to the Tang Dynasty?"
"We were originally on a mission to the Western Turks. Now we are on a mission to the Tang Dynasty. The Zanpu specifically instructed us to pay great attention to the etiquettes of the Tang Dynasty," Lu Dongzan said in a pedantic way, imitating the literati of the Tang Dynasty.
He deliberately glossed over the fact that more than a hundred of their elite soldiers had been defeated by the guards led by Duan Jia, a woman. Half of them had been killed, and dozens more had died on the way to Chang'an due to diseases and other reasons. In the end, only a dozen of them had arrived in Chang'an safely.
The strength of the Tang Dynasty could be seen from this incident.
"Your journey has been hard, Envoys. Please be seated. Duan Jia is brave and skilled in battle. Truly, a valiant father has a valiant daughter. Looking at your demeanor now, you are even better than your father when he was young," said Li Shimin with a smile.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty. I am not worthy of such praise," said Duan Jia.
She looked at Li Shimin expectantly. After he had said so much, it would be unreasonable if he didn't confer the title of general on her.
Duan Zhixuan had more complicated feelings. He knew exactly what his daughter was thinking. But Duan Jia was just a young girl. It was already quite extraordinary for her to practice with swords and spears on a regular basis. Now she even wanted to become a general.
A battle on the battlefield was not as simple as a sand - table exercise. When two armies faced each other, one could easily lose one's life.
How could he bear to watch his daughter enter the military, suffer hardships, and not know when she might lose her life?
Instead, Li Shimin looked at Li Jingyun. "Hongxuan, what do you think of Duan Jia?"
"She's excellent! She has severely humbled the Tibetans!" Li Jingyun clapped her hands and cheered, her voice loud and pleasant.
She was really good at echoing her father!
Lu Dongzan felt extremely uncomfortable hearing this. He almost lost his balance and fell to the ground.
The more than a hundred soldiers he had brought were all elite. He never expected them to be defeated by Duan Jia, a woman. Half of them had been killed, and dozens more had died on the way to Chang'an for various reasons. In the end, only a dozen of them had arrived in Chang'an safely.
This incident was a clear indication of the strength of the Tang Dynasty.
"How about having Duan Jia serve as the military commander of your princess mansion?"
Li Shimin had thought for a long time before coming up with this win - win solution. The military commander of a princess mansion was a real military official, and one would be addressed as a general when going out. And she would only work in the princess mansion, specifically to protect his daughter. She would not be involved in state affairs.
It suited Duan Jia's wishes, Duan Zhixuan's wishes, and his own wishes. Wasn't this great?
The military commander of a princess mansion was an official of the fifth rank. From a commoner, she had suddenly become an important official in the court.
Li Jingyun scratched her head. Having such a capable person serve as the military commander of her princess mansion was like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.