Chapter Sixty: The Tibetan Envoys Arrive!

The moon set in the west as the golden sun rose in the east—a new day had begun!

At the first quarter of the Chen hour, three strikes of the imperial whip echoed through the air. Within the Xingqing Palace, drums and trumpets sounded in unison, their resonance piercing the very heavens. Surrounded by thousands of eunuchs, palace maids, and the Longwu Imperial Guards, Emperor Li Longji ascended his dragon carriage and arrived at the Xingqing Hall, where he took his seat upon the throne.

The Emperor of the Great Tang sat regally, crowned in his Tongtian crown, draped in bright yellow dragon robes, and cinched with a thirteen-link white jade belt. Looking down from his lofty position, he appeared as majestic and imposing as the Heavenly Emperor himself descended to the mortal realm.

The Grand Eunuch, Gao Lishi, and the General of the Longwu Guard, Chen Xuanli, stood faithfully at his left and right, never leaving his side. Crown Prince Li Heng stood by the imperial steps, more than ten feet away from the throne, his gaze lowered and his expression mute, like a wooden statue, possessing almost no presence at all.

...

At the second quarter of the Chen hour, led by the Right Chancellor, Li Linfu, and the Left Chancellor, Li Shizhi, more than three hundred imperial relatives and civil and military officials filed into the Xingqing Hall in orderly formation.

Li Zhao, merely a Chengfeng Lang—a minor official of the eighth rank—would normally have had no qualification to attend such a grand court assembly. However, the Emperor had bestowed special grace upon him, permitting him to attend and follow at the very end of the procession of officials.

"We, your subjects, wish Your Majesty ten thousand years, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years!"

Upon entering the hall, the officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, shouting their salutations. Afterward, they stood up and began to jump and hop about in a manner that looked like a chaotic dance of demons.

What was happening? Had they all collectively lost their minds?

Not at all. This was a unique ritual of the Great Tang court known as the "Baiwu" (dance of homage), a way of showing respect to the Emperor through dance. Following the local customs, Li Zhao also hopped about clumsily behind the others until the ceremony concluded and everyone returned to their designated places.

Next came the main event of the grand assembly.

"By imperial decree, summon the Tibetan envoy, Zhasangbu, and his retinue to audience!"

...

Amidst the calls of the young eunuchs, several Tibetans wearing long coats entered the hall. The leader, a man of about forty, was stout with a round face, high cheekbones, and long, narrow eyes. His face bore the distinct flush of the high plateau—this was the Tibetan envoy, Zhasangbu. He was followed by three attendants, each holding a black wooden box, though the contents remained hidden.

Reaching the center of the hall, the four men performed a respectful salute by striking their fists against their chests and kneeling on one knee. "The Tibetan tribute envoy, Zhasangbu, pays respects to the Emperor of the Great Tang and wishes Your Majesty health and eternal longevity!"

"Dismiss the formalities. Rise."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Li Longji sat upon his throne. He appeared to be smiling and gentle, but in his heart, he was quite displeased, even indignant. The four Tibetans had not knelt on both knees but only on one, signifying a lack of complete submission. Furthermore, the address was improper.

One had to know that when the Emperors of the Great Tang summoned foreign envoys, the title they most longed to hear was not "Emperor" or "Your Majesty," but a far more resounding one: "Heavenly Khagan."

In the fourth year of the Zhenguan era, the Great Tang’s hundred thousand iron cavalry marched north, annihilating the Eastern Turkic Khaganate in a single battle, taking over a hundred thousand heads, and capturing the Jieli Khagan. For a time, the rulers of the four frontiers were shaken and rushed to court, acknowledging the Taizong Emperor as the sovereign of all under heaven and bestowing upon him the title: Heavenly Khagan.

The Emperor sat facing south,
Gathering the hordes of the barbarians,
All praised him as the Divine Son of Heaven,
A glory never before attained in history,
Offering the title of Heavenly Khagan,
To cover our imperial capital!

In those days, whether it was the monarchs or envoys of Tibet, Tuyuhun, Xueyantuo, Nanzhao, or Fusang, they would kneel on both knees a hundred paces outside the hall and crawl inside bit by bit to demonstrate their absolute submission. Some envoys, to show their loyalty, would even perform the ritual of "holding the feet and sniffing the boots," a gesture of supreme worship, as if adoring a deity.

Since the time of the Taizong Emperor, the successors—Gaozong, Empress Wu Zetian, Zhongzong, and Ruizong—had inherited the title of Heavenly Khagan, but they had not truly gained the genuine recognition of the foreign rulers. The envoys sent to court had grown increasingly impudent. This was one of the key reasons why Li Longji had resolved to exhaust the nation's strength to wage war against the Turks.

"Just watch," Li Longji swore to himself. "I will be like the Taizong Emperor. I will be a true Heavenly Khagan, and I will make the rulers of the four frontiers crawl on their knees in submission, singing praises of my wisdom and greatness."

"Noble envoy, having traveled from afar, do you have any state matters to report?"

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this subject has come to Chang'an on the orders of our Great Tsanpo to present Your Majesty with three treasures, as a sign of the neighborly friendship between our two nations."

"Oh? And what are these treasures?"

"The first treasure is a horse of rare quality, known as the Red Lightning Fire Dragon Steed. It is currently in the open space outside the palace; I invite Your Majesty to step out and observe it."

"Very well, I shall see it!"

Li Longji stood up and, surrounded by his officials, exited the Xingqing Hall.

Not far from the hall lay an open field, eighty paces long and forty paces wide, enclosed by walls over eight feet high. Outside, there were rows of seats capable of holding over a thousand people—this was where the royal family played polo. In the center of the field sat a massive flatbed cart carrying a square iron cage, fifteen feet on each side, constructed with bars as thick as spear shafts—clearly a custom-made vessel.

"Neigh—!"

Inside the iron cage was the Red Lightning Fire Dragon Steed. It stood ten feet long from head to tail and nearly eight feet high from hoof to crest. Its entire coat was a fiery red, like burning charcoal, without a single stray hair. From a distance, it looked like a raging, burning flame. The horse was restless, repeatedly kicking the iron bars with its hooves, deforming the thick metal. Its thunderous neighing sounded like the roar of a dragon or a tiger.

"What a horse, truly a magnificent horse! I have lived over seventy years and have never seen such a divine steed. Today has been a real eye-opener."

"Such a dragon steed is rare in the world. Even the Red Hare ridden by Lu Bu, the greatest warrior of the Three Kingdoms, could likely be no better than this, right?"

The officials praised the horse incessantly. Even Li Longji nodded repeatedly; among the thousands of imperial horses in his stables, not one could compare to this. Yet, the Tang court felt a sense of doubt. Tibet was located in a cold, high-altitude region, and the horses produced there were typically short, stout, and thick-maned—built for endurance and cold. This Red Lightning Fire Dragon Steed, however, was tall, sleek, and lustrous; it did not look like a Tibetan horse at all, but rather like a breed from the Western Regions.

"Zhasangbu!"

"This subject is here!"

"This horse is extraordinarily divine. Could it be a Celestial Horse of the Western Regions?"

"Ha! Your Majesty has a keen eye. This horse is indeed related to the Celestial Horse, but it is not of the same breed. To be more precise, it is a cut above even the finest Celestial Horse!"

"What? A cut above the Celestial Horse?"

Li Longji and his officials were shocked. Throughout history, the most precious of all horses were the Celestial Horses—fast, enduring, and fierce. They were the dream of every warrior. These horses originated from Dayuan and the surrounding regions. What breed could possibly surpass them? Turkic horses, Wusun, Tibetan, Dali, or Khitan horses—none could compare. This puzzle could only be solved by Zhasangbu.

"Ha! With Your Majesty's wisdom, you must know the origins of the Celestial Horse, do you not?"

"I naturally do!" Li Longji nodded. As the Emperor of the Great Tang, he was well-read. The *Book of Han: Records of the Western Regions* stated that in Dayuan, there was a sacred mountain inhabited by wild horses that galloped like the wind and were fierce enough to fight tigers and leopards. The locals called them "Heavenly Horses." Because they were too fast to be caught, the locals devised a method: during the summer, they would release fine mares at the foot of the sacred mountain to mate with the wild stallions. The resulting offspring were the famous Celestial Horses, also known as "Sons of the Heavenly Horse."

If there was a horse superior to the Celestial Horse, it could only be the wild horses of the sacred mountain itself. Li Longji’s eyes widened, his breath quickening. "Envoy Zhasangbu, could this Red Lightning Fire Dragon Steed be one of those legendary Heavenly Horses?"

"Ha! Your Majesty has guessed correctly. This is indeed a pure-blooded, rare Heavenly Horse—the true king of all horses!"

"Ah..." The crowd gasped in shock, crushing forward to catch a glimpse of the horse in the cage, as if it were a priceless treasure. And indeed, it was—a treasure a hundred times more valuable than any luminous pearl, emerald, or cat's-eye gem!

Yet, amidst their awe, a question lingered in the minds of the Tang officials: The Heavenly Horses were scarce and fast as the wind, nearly impossible to capture. How exactly had the Tibetans managed to seize this one?