Council of Empress Wu Zeitan, Reported by Alexander Grzesiak

Yesterday, upon hearing of the news of an incoming Turkish Khan invasion, Council of Empress Wu Zeitan members quickly began working on a threefold response. Differing Buddhist and Confucian ideologies came to a head as members rushed to respond to this urgent crisis. 

Buddhist members headed the Incorporation of Buddhism in the Military directive, restructuring the Tang Dynasty’s military around Buddhist values. This directive would not explicitly prevent non-Buddhists from entering the military but instead encourage conversion to Buddhism. Crown Princess Wei, who sponsored this directive, told the IPC that “it just wants to create unity in the military.” Supporters hope the military would be more effective in battle if it centered around the same values.

Confucianists led the Preparing Fighting Back Directive, which would reinforce the northern border by building defenses and mobilizing 160,000 soldiers, more than enough to crush the Turkish invasion. Crown Prince Li Zhe would provide resources for soldiers. During the presentation of this directive, a sponsor stated that soldiers would recite Confucian values in the mornings. Sponsors do not expect this change to slow troop movement.

A third directive, the Directive for Correspondence With the Turks, focused on avoiding war with the Turkish Khans. It sought to improve diplomatic relations with the Turkish Khans by sending Tang representatives to negotiate. However, this directive did not prevent troops from being sent to the northern border. Supporters of this directive understand that the public image of the Empress would be at stake if war were to break out, hence the apprehension for battle.

After much deliberation, Confucian and Buddhist members of the Council of Empress Wu Zeitan passed all three directives. Once troops arrived at the northern border, fighting broke out between them and the Turkish Khan attackers. Being so outnumbered, the Turkish warriors suffered heavy casualties, losing 90,000 before retreating. The Tang dynasty reported 45,000 casualties of their 160,000-troop force. While Buddhists and Confucianists agreed on this crisis, tensions between the two expect to rise as concerns about Empress Wu Zeitan’s contested regime escalate.