Tibet

Li Ye hurried to a temporary marching tent outside the city. He unexpectedly saw Master Padmasambhava in the tent. What were he talking about with Gao Xianzhi?

Li Ye was overjoyed and hurriedly came forward to greet him. Gao Xianzhi smiled and said: "Master brought me news that a coup broke out in the Shi Kingdom and Shi Kun has been imprisoned by his brother Shi Che."

Li Ye sneered and said, "He deserves the wrath of heaven and man!"

"Just now, the master wanted you to lead the army to take over Shi Guo, and I agreed."

Gao Xianzhi patted Li Ye's arm again, "Let's go outside and talk!"

The two came outside the tent. Gao Xianzhi sighed and said: "In the sixth year of Tianbao, I attacked Xiaobolu for the first time. It was with the help of Master Padmasambhava that I was able to successfully reach Xiaobolu. I owe him a favor. He Today I came to put forward the conditions, and I had no choice but to agree.”

"Has Shuai Gao known him before?"

Gao Xianzhi hesitated, then nodded, "More than ten years ago, Wang Zhongsi and I accompanied Feilong to Da Ci'en Temple to meet him. Feilong was in awe of him."

"Has the commander asked him for advice?" Li Ye asked again.

Gao Xianzhi sighed: "Wang Zhongsi and I both asked him for advice. He gave each of us eight words, which has troubled me for more than ten years."

Of course Gao Xianzhi would not tell Li Ye which eight characters it was, and Li Ye was not going to ask, but it seemed that Master Padmasambhava was right, which was why Gao Xianzhi was so respectful to him and gave him face. The so-called debt of favor was just an excuse.

"What does the commander need from me?"

"You lead two thousand troops to Shi Kingdom and do two things for me. First, escort Shi Kun and his son back to Suiye; second, send Shi Kun's silver treasury to Suiye. This is what Liansheng and I are doing. A compromise reached by the master.”

Li Ye bowed and said: "I humbly obey my orders!"

Gao Xianzhi patted his arm and said, "You can set off after taking a rest. I'll see you in Suiye!"

After saying that, Gao Xianzhi rode into the city.

Li Ye walked back to the tent, and Master Padmasambhava clasped his hands together and saluted, "General Li, we meet again!"

Li Ye smiled slightly and said, "Master, has the coalition been formed?"

Master Padmasambhava nodded, "The Tocharian countries have formed a 10,000-strong coalition, they have captured Infantry Division City and completely wiped out the remaining Tocharian army. The commander-in-chief promised me not to go to Tocharian and As a condition, the 10,000 coalition troops will obey the command of the commander-in-chief."

"Is it similar to the conditions in Shiguo?"

"General Li is wise. Money is an external possession. Shi Guo should give up money and buy peace!"

Historically, Gao Xianzhi sent troops to plunder and massacre the Shi Kingdom. In panic, the Sogdian countries asked Dashi for help, which gave Dashi's army an excuse to send troops, and finally the Talos War broke out.

Now history has changed a little. There was only plundering but no massacre for Shi Kingdom. But for Dashi, the Battle of Bakhna took place. No matter whether there is an excuse or not, they will definitely send troops.

"Is there any news from Dashi?"

Master Padmasambhava nodded, "After the Battle of Bakhna, the Muslims went to Baghdad and requested that troops be sent to destroy Bakhna and the Sogdian kingdoms. I heard that Abbas did not agree."

"Why?"

"Because Dashi is attacking Egypt with all its strength, and the Khorasan army has also been transferred. I estimate that Dashi's army will start an eastward expansion war in the second half of the year."

After pondering for a while, Li Ye asked again: "Why did the master suggest that King Murdo give me the Caliphate Jewel?"

Master Padmasambhava smiled slightly and said: "You have helped me and Bukhan so much, and I must repay you. The Caliphate Stone is destined to you."

"But I returned the gold box to the Saints in Broken Leaf?"

Master Padmasambhava said calmly: "You put the gem in your heart, which shows that it is destined to you. I bid farewell!"

Li Ye screamed inwardly, didn't he just put the gem in his heart now?

Seeing that Master Padmasambhava was about to leave, he quickly asked: "What eight words did Master give to Gao Shuai back then?"

Master Padmasambhava walked out of the big tent and heard him leave a sentence from a distance, "You should know that you will prosper when you encounter peace, and you will perish when you encounter peace."

He drifted away. Li Ye chased him out of the tent and saw that Master Padmasambhava had already boarded the boat and the boat sailed into the Pearl River.

At dawn, Li Ye led two thousand cavalry across the pontoon bridge and rushed to Tuozhi City, the capital of King Shi.

Tuozhi City is located in the Fergan Basin, which is today's Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. It is not too far from Juzhanti. Li Ye led two thousand troops and walked for three days before entering the territory of Shiguo.

That morning, Li Ye led his army to Tuozhi City, and the new king Chebishi led his officials to apologize.

Li Ye said calmly: "Shi Guo has taken the wrong path before. This is Shi Guo's misfortune. I hope that His Majesty the King can reverse the previous wrong path and not make the same mistake again!"

"Kundu Shi did not hesitate to lead the wolf into the house for his own ambition, and almost plunged the Shi country into eternal disaster. We sincerely beg the Tang Dynasty for forgiveness!"

Li Ye nodded, "Let's talk about it after we get to the city!"

He led two thousand troops into Tuozhi City and arrived at the palace. There was a military camp next to the palace, and two thousand troops were stationed in the camp.

Chebishi immediately ordered the officials to kill the sheep and buy wine to reward the Tang army who came from afar.

Li Ye came to the palace with a hundred of his men. The two parties sat down in the main hall. Li Ye said frankly and honestly: "The first thing I did when I came to Shiguo was to take back the treasure book. This is the order of the Emperor of Tang Dynasty. Please take it back." give it to me!"

Chebishi knew the importance of the treasure album, so he immediately asked a palace maid to get the box containing the treasure album. Li Ye opened the box and saw two silk scrolls inside, just as Mingsong told him.

"Have you recorded a copy?"

Chebishi said quickly: "The civilian rolls did contain copies, which allowed Shi Guo to have papermaking, textile and other technologies. The military rolls also had copies before, but I have ordered all copies to be destroyed."

"What technologies have civilian rolls learned?"

"There are only three items, papermaking, textiles and silver smelting. There are no others. The silk and porcelain we want are not recorded on them. I guarantee in the name of the king that there are only these three items."

Li Ye said calmly: "I want to warn you that this is a top secret in the Tang Dynasty Palace. I will not pursue the three things I learned from the civilian records. But if you still have it in private, once it is discovered, it will be destroyed." The country’s disaster, don’t blame me for not predicting it.”

"Guaranteed nothing remains!"

Chebishi hesitated for a moment, then said uneasily: "But Kundushi gave Da Shi a copy of the military volume before."

"What?"

Li Ye's eyes widened, he slammed the table, and said angrily: "He can't atone for his heinous crime even if he dies a hundred times!"

Chebishi and the officials were so frightened that they all knelt down, "Shi Guo is guilty!"

Li Ye was extremely angry. What he was most worried about finally happened. The secret of gunpowder was leaked. What should he do now?

At this moment, the palace maid responsible for keeping the treasure book said tremblingly: "Actually, it was not completely revealed. The most important secret, the Kundu Stone, was not given to Dashi. Abu Muslim left in disappointment."

This sentence sparked another glimmer of hope in Li Ye's heart. He pulled the palace maid over and asked urgently: "What is the most important thing?"

The palace maid was so frightened that her face turned pale, "Report to the general, I remember it was gunpowder!"

Li Ye breathed a long sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from his forehead, waved his hands and said: "What I'm worried about is the secret of gunpowder. Get up!"

Everyone looked at each other. They had never heard of any gunpowder, and there was no record of it in the treasure book!

Seeing their confused faces, Li Ye opened the treasure book and took a closer look. Sure enough, he found no record of gunpowder, but there were traces of cutting. The contents of the treasure book should have been hidden.

He asked the palace maid again: "Where did he hide the gunpowder part?"

"I don't know, I can't read, let alone the writing of the Tang Dynasty."

Li Ye believed the palace maid's words. It was precisely because she was illiterate that Kundu Shi made her responsible for keeping the treasure book.

"Then what else do you know?"

"Reporting back to the general, when Kundu Shi was copying the copy, I was holding a lamp and grinding the ink for him. He told me that Dashi was not trustworthy. He was worried that Dashi would burn bridges, so he planned to give them to Dashi after Dashi fully fulfilled his promise. Gunpowder Secret.”

Li Ye took a few steps with his hands behind his back and asked again: "How many people know the secret of gunpowder?"

The palace maid knelt down and begged: "I can tell the general, but please don't kill me!"

"You can't read, I won't kill you!"

The palace maid whispered: "Kundushi kept the gunpowder very secret. He was afraid that someone would leak it. He didn't even tell the queen and prince. Only his three confidants each knew part of it and specially prepared the medicine for him. They didn't even have a copy. "

Li Ye said coldly to the palace maid: "You swear to the great god Ahura Mazda that every word you say is true and you have not concealed or deceived me!"