Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 158

The three major forces supporting the Tang Dynasty today are the inner court, the outer court, and the various military governors. To be honest, the emperors of the first two are easy to control. At least replacing their leaders is something that can be done with a little thought, without causing a major disaster. Only the military governors are the ones that Li Yu dares not touch easily. He had only executed Lai Zhen before, which caused the military governors to become disloyal. But Lai Zhen was not yet the leader of the military governors. Would Li Yu dare to kill Guo Ziyi, Li Guangbi, or Pugu Huai'en?

Therefore, in order to restrain the various military governorships, it was necessary to cultivate a strong central government. However, the military governorships were far away while the central government was close. If the Council of State Affairs became too powerful, although it would not threaten the emperor's throne, it could seize the emperor's power. Therefore, it was necessary to strengthen the inner court—including both the eunuch group and Hanlin scholars such as Li Bi. In this way, the three forces checked and balanced each other, maintaining a certain balance of power, so that the emperor could sleep soundly.

The key issue is that after the An Lushan Rebellion, the imperial family's prestige plummeted, and Li Yu himself was not a strong ruler. If it had been Emperor Taizong or Emperor Xuanzong in the early years, there would have been no need to erect a tripod; naturally, all directions would have paid homage to the emperor in the palace.

Then, returning to the point, the ministers that Emperor Suzong Li Heng left to his son, Miao Jinqing, Pei Mian, and Pei Zunqing, were all mediocre; Xiao Hua was driven out by Li Fuguo and died of illness in Xiazhou; Li Xian was old and no longer had the heroic spirit of his youth; Liu Yan, although appointed as prime minister, was only responsible for financial matters and had no time for anything else... Regardless of whether Yuan Zai was loyal or treacherous, whether he did good or bad, at least he was able to keep the huge court running normally. If Yuan Zai were dismissed suddenly, the outer court would be weak, and the tripod of the three would not be able to stand firm.

Li Shi once recommended Li Bi and Zhang Hao to his father, both of whom were capable of becoming prime ministers. However, Yuan Zai plotted against them, sending Li Bi to the inner court and preventing Zhang Hao from returning to Luoyang. As for Cui Youfu and Li Qiyun, whom Li Yu himself wanted to use, they were not yet qualified enough to become prime ministers.

Li Ji sighed, "This emperor is quite pathetic. A crippled emperor, no matter how talented or determined he is, will find it difficult to reverse the situation in a short time. Besides, Li Yu himself is weak and lacks strategic thinking..."

As a result, Yuan Zai abused his power, and Li Bi was forced to flee to Nanzhao. Li Ji hated Yuan Zai to the core, but currently, being stationed in a distant region, he was powerless to intervene. He could only gaze towards Jiannan and silently pray to Heaven for his brother. He then recited Li Bai's famous poem:

"Alas! How perilous and high! The road to Shu is harder than ascending to the heavens..."

(End of Volume 6, "Jade Tent and Tooth Banners Lead to the Upstream")

Chapter One: Submitting a Memorial to Investigate the Evil

In the spring of the first year of the Yongtai era of the Tang Dynasty, the two capitals held separate examinations to select officials. Yang Wan, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, was in charge of the examinations in Chang'an, while Jia Zhi, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, was in charge of the examinations in Luoyang. They agreed to report to the palace on the same day and present the list of candidates to Emperor Li Yu for his review.

Li Yu unfolded the document and glanced at it. Twenty-eight people had passed the imperial examinations in both capitals. Huangfu Che topped the list in Chang'an, while Xiao Gou topped the list in Luoyang, followed by Xu Shen, Lu Qian, and others… He scanned the list quickly, then suddenly noticed one name that looked quite familiar—

He frowned slightly, then leaned forward and asked Yang Wan, "The eleventh place winner in the Chang'an division is actually named Li Ji?"

Yang Wan, holding his scepter, replied, "It is common for people to share the same name. This Li Ji is a nephew of Li Zhenyi (Li Qiyun), a native of Zanhuang County, Zhao Prefecture, whose courtesy name is 'Quiet'..."

"So, he's from the same clan as Li Changwei?"

Yang Wan nodded and said, "That's right. However, Li Changwei comes from the Liaodong branch, while Li Guayan comes from the Xizu branch. They have been living separately for a long time and did not know each other before, so they unexpectedly used the same name."

"Shall we get to know each other now?"

"Naturally, after Li Changwei followed Li Hanlin (Li Bi) to the capital, he recognized Li Zhenyi and continued the genealogy. Li Guayan also followed Zhenyi to Chang'an, studying hard to prepare for the examination. As far as I know, the two of them had quite a bit of contact."

Li Yu laughed and said, "Li Changwei is now a high-ranking official and the military governor of Weibo. It would be inappropriate for a newly appointed scholar to share the same name as him. Perhaps I should bestow upon this Li Guayan a different name..." But after thinking about it, he ultimately decided against it—he was too lazy to search through the genealogies of the various branches of the Zhao County Li clan. If there were another person with the same name, he would be ridiculed for being unlearned. Besides, if he suddenly issued an edict bestowing a name, he feared that his ministers might misunderstand that he intended to promote Li Guayan out of turn.

With a flourish of his pen, he approved the list and announced it that very day. He then returned to his inner chambers and was on his way to Chengxiang Palace to meet Consort Dugu when, as his palanquin reached the Taiye Pond, he suddenly saw a noblewoman with a large pregnant belly bowing to greet him from the roadside.

Li Yu hurriedly ordered the carriage to stop, leaped down, and reached out to help her: "Since you are pregnant, why do you keep coming to the palace? Be careful not to harm the fetus, or Prince Consort Liu will blame me."

The pregnant noblewoman was none other than Princess Hezheng, Li Yu's most beloved younger sister. Princess Hezheng smiled and said to her brother, "This isn't my first pregnancy, why should I stay home and rest? Your Majesty doesn't know that a woman's first pregnancy is like walking through the gates of hell, half-dead and half-alive, and the second pregnancy is like three deaths and seven lives... As for my sister, this is her fourth pregnancy, and she is fine."

“Your Majesty need not worry about Liu Tan. How can he possibly control my sister? I am worried that Your Majesty is lonely. Since returning from the country after her face was shaved, my elder sister from Xiao Kingdom has been living in seclusion and chanting Buddhist scriptures. She is unwilling to be close to Your Majesty anymore. Consort Shen has also moved away from the Crown Prince. Therefore, only my sister can come to the palace from time to time to talk to Your Majesty and perhaps relieve your worries.”

Li Yu thought to himself, "I'm not alone in the palace; why do you all dislike Dugu? Do you treat her like she doesn't exist?"

However, when they met, Dugu was only all tender and affectionate, talking about everyday matters. Since it was still early, it would be better to discuss matters of state with her younger sister—at least she would have something to say, unlike Dugu who had no interest in politics and was even less knowledgeable, only knowing how to hum and haw.

He then smiled and said, “In that case, sister, please accompany me for a walk by the pond—it is springtime, and all the flowers are in full bloom, which can soothe the mind.” He paused, then sighed, “It is a pity that I have not been to Luoyang for a long time and cannot admire the peonies of Luoyang again.”

The brother and sister walked side by side, chatting for a few moments. Suddenly, Li Yu remembered something: "I just learned that the list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations in both capitals has been submitted. I was quite surprised when I read it..."

Princess Hezheng asked in surprise, "It's just a list of successful candidates in the imperial examinations. What could possibly surprise the Emperor?"

"It's because of the eleventh place winner in the Chang'an branch, who is an acquaintance of mine and my sister's..."

Upon hearing the story of the two Li Jis sharing the same name, Princess Hezheng couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh: "I've never heard Li Changwei mention this before. It's surprising that there's someone with the same name within the same clan. But I wonder how this Li Ji compares to the other one?"

Li Yu clapped his hands in sudden realization: "Yes, I should ask for Li Ji's examination paper to see." He then smiled and said: "If he is also a pillar of the country, it would be a wonderful story if two Li Jis, one civil and one military, stood side by side in the court to assist me."

Princess Hezheng reminded him, "Your Majesty, even Li Ji is a civil official!"

Li Yu laughed and said, "If we compare him to Pugu Huai'en, he is indeed a civil official—that old man Pugu has been getting fatter and fatter since he returned to Chang'an, and he still refuses to die—but Li Ji's literary talent is probably not even as good as Guo Situ's, is it?"

"I believe that Li Changwei is not lacking in literary talent; he simply does not wish to write in the style of classical Chinese prose. Moreover, he once wrote a poem..."

"'Hoeing the fields at noon,' I know it. The tone is indeed not low, it comes from the heart, and it sympathizes with the suffering of the peasants. However, the words are plain and do not conform to the rules of poetry. It can hardly be called literary."

Princess Hezheng laughed and said, "Why is 'The bright moonlight before my bed' considered a masterpiece, while 'Hoeing the fields at noon' is considered lacking in literary merit? Their wording and style are quite similar."

Li Yu frowned and thought about it carefully, but in the end he still shook his head: "Different, different."

Princess Hezheng did not intend to continue discussing literature with her elder brother, and took the opportunity to change the subject: "Speaking of Li Ji, I can't help but miss Mr. Changyuan, but I wonder where he is now... Has he entered Taihe City and met Geluofeng?"

Li Yu looked up at the sky and slowly said, "Yan Wu died last month. Some generals suggested that Guo Yingyi succeed him, while others suggested that Wang Chongjun succeed him. Mr. Changyuan has just passed away and has reconciled with him..."

Yan Wu, the military governor of Jiannan Xichuan, died at the beginning of the year at the young age of forty. When the news came, Li Yu was deeply saddened. Yan Wu had just launched a counterattack against the Tubo last autumn and captured Danggou City and Yanchuan City. The court and the public had high hopes for him, but who would have thought that he would die in his prime.

Since the An Lushan Rebellion, especially after Bai Xiaode gained the support of the soldiers and took command of the Zhenxi and Beiting military camps, the court often could not make decisions on the selection of military governors for the various towns and had to listen to the opinions of the generals. As a result, Du Ji, the military commander, and other generals Guo Yinggan and Guo Jialin jointly submitted a memorial requesting that Guo Yinggan's elder brother, Guo Yingyi, be appointed to guard Xichuan; while Cui Gan, a confidant of Yan Wu and the governor of Hanzhou, recommended the general Wang Chongjun. It is said that the two factions almost came to blows.

Fortunately, Li Bi was on a mission to Nanzhao and happened to pass through the area. He took the opportunity to offer condolences for Yan Wu's passing, offering kind words of comfort and mediating between the two sides, thus preventing an unnecessary conflict. Ultimately, the court appointed Guo Yingyi to go south to continue Yan Wu's work, guarding Xichuan against the Tubo (Tibetan) forces.

Li Yu thus estimated that Li Bi had probably only passed Jiaozhou at this moment—the further south one goes, the more difficult the road becomes—and was still a long way from Nanzhao.

He lamented, "I deeply regret that I granted Mr. Changyuan's request to go on a mission to Nanzhao. He is thin and only ate a little meat because I forced him. Now that he has left Chang'an, I fear he will revert to his old ways, continuing his vegetarian diet, or even abstaining from grains. I don't know if I will be able to see him go, or if I will ever see him return..."

Princess Hezheng comforted him, saying, "Mr. Changyuan is a divine being. Although he has been a vegetarian for many years, he is still very healthy. He will surely return to the capital safely. Your Majesty need not worry."

Li Yu shook his head: "If he were a god, he would not fear mountains and rivers, but alas, I have turned him into a mortal..."

A quick glance revealed a middle-aged eunuch standing with his hands clasped in the distance. Li Yu initially paid no attention, but after a few breaths, he glanced over again and saw that the eunuch not only didn't leave but seemed to have moved even closer. So he beckoned, "Your Majesty, come closer—do you have something to report?"

He thought to himself, “When I speak with Princess Hezheng, I never avoid discussing state affairs. Why are you so timid and hesitant to step forward?”

Upon hearing the summons, Wang Jiahe hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his hands in respect, and said, "Greetings, Your Majesty, greetings, Princess." Then he pulled out a scroll of paper from his bosom and said, "Your Majesty, Lu Qi, the military governor of Weibo, has a document from his post to present to you."

Li Ji curled his lip: "'Blue-faced devil' is bothering me again. I don't want to see his ugly face." He didn't take the memorial, but turned to Princess Hezheng and asked: "'Acting Envoy' and such may be confused with the acting military governor. It would be best to order him to change his name—what do you think would be a good name, sister?"

Princess Hezheng glanced at Wang Jiahe and replied first, "Your Majesty, I believe that since the military governor is in charge of submitting memorials, he should be called the Memorial Official and his residence should be designated as the Memorial Court." Then she reminded him, "Since a memorial has come from Weibo, it must be an urgent matter. Your Majesty should read it immediately."

Judging from Li Yu's expression, he seemed rather impatient. He glanced sideways at Wang Jiahe and asked, "Since it's an official document from Weibo, why wasn't it presented to the Council of State Affairs first?"

Wang Jiahe hesitated for a moment, as if gathering his courage, before answering succinctly, "I fear I will be obstructed by Prime Minister Yuan."

Li Yu frowned: "Then there's no need for you to present it on my behalf..."

Wang Jiahe's answer was very direct: "I'm afraid it will be obstructed by Master Yu."

Li Yu hadn't dismissed Yu Chaoen in the past to restrain Cheng Yuanzhen, but after Cheng Yuanzhen left office, to prevent Yu Chaoen from becoming too powerful, he began to support Wang Jiahe. Wang Jiahe was well aware of this, and therefore did not hide his open and covert struggle with Yu Chaoen—the emperor was afraid that they wouldn't fight each other but instead form factions.

Incidentally, Cheng Yuanzhen was already dead by this time. Last year, Li Yu stripped him of all his posts and sent him back to his hometown—Sanyuan, Jingzhao. But Cheng Yuanzhen was unwilling to live out his days in this way, so he disguised himself as a woman and secretly entered Chang'an, staying at the home of Chen Jingquan, the Minister of Agriculture, plotting his reinstatement. This plot was discovered by Yu Chaoen, who instigated an imperial censor to impeach him. As a result, Chen Jingquan was demoted to the position of magistrate of Xinxing, and Yu Chaoen was exiled to Zhenzhou.

When he arrived in Jiangling, he was killed by assassins—one account says it was done by his enemies, another says it was sent by Yu Chaoen.

Li Yu finally received the memorial from Weibo Town. After unfolding it and glancing at it, he couldn't help but furrow his brows, his eyes revealing resentment—"Shameless thief, what audacity!"

Princess Hezheng was taken aback upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Whom is Your Majesty referring to?" It shouldn't be Li Ji, right?

Li Yu casually handed the memorial to Princess Hezheng: "You may read it yourself."

Princess Hezheng took the memorial with both hands, read it quickly, and then breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the memorial submitted by Li Ji through the acting governor Lu Qi was an impeachment of Tian Chengsi, the military governor of Tianxiong Army, accusing him of harboring rebellious intentions and already showing signs of plotting rebellion.

One of the charges against Tian Chengsi was that he exploited the people in the four prefectures of Ji, Ying, Cang, and Di by imposing heavy taxes and seizing the profits from government salt.

—In the early Tang Dynasty, the system of salt monopoly was largely followed from the Sui Dynasty, with a relaxed salt policy, lacking both a monopoly and a separate tax. It wasn't until the An Lushan Rebellion broke out and the central government faced financial difficulties that Emperor Suzong (Li Heng) approved Wu Qi's "Salt Monopoly Law." This law established salt officials in all salt-producing areas and separated salt producers from the registered households, calling them "Pavilion Households." These households were exempted from corvée labor, allowing them to focus solely on salt production. The government was responsible for the unified purchase, transportation, and sale of salt, prohibiting private sales. Later, Liu Yan came to power and reformed the salt monopoly law, but the basic principles remained unchanged.

The second charge against Tian Chengsi was that he recruited former officials of the An Lushan Rebellion, and based on the size of the population, he ordered the elderly and weak to farm and the able-bodied to join the army. Within just two years, he had amassed an army of seventy to eighty thousand. He also selected seven thousand strong and robust men to serve as his personal guards…

"Yabing" is the same as "Yabing": when a general goes on an expedition, he commands a large banner, and the soldiers guarding the banner are called Yabing; when a military governor establishes a garrison, he sets up an office, and the soldiers protecting the office are called Yabing—in essence, they all mean the same thing, referring to the personal guards of the commander-in-chief. But under normal circumstances, generals and envoys would have at most several hundred or a thousand Yabing, but Tian Chengsi selected and trained seven thousand, which was definitely not just for his own defense.

The third charge is that Tian Chengsi secretly set up a shrine for An Lushan and his son Shi Siming, calling them the "Four Saints," and would often personally go there to worship...

No wonder Li Yu was furious when he read the memorial.

In fact, even though they were thousands of miles apart, the court had heard to some extent about Tian Chengsi's arrogance and domineering behavior, and Li Yu was not only aware of it today. For example, the matter of heavy taxes and oppression of the people had only recently subsided. Not only was the court's finances strained, but many military governors were also struggling to obtain enough food for the next day. So, wasn't it normal to create new pretexts to levy more taxes on top of the existing rent, labor service, and tax system? Not to mention Tian Chengsi, Li Ji in Weibo also levied additional "autumn grain reserves" and "military funds," only he wasn't as ruthless as others.

As for the salt monopoly law, it not only plundered the wealth of the people but also encroached on local authority. As a result, many towns and counties exploited loopholes in the policy to try to embezzle salt. The most common method was to bribe salt officials and falsely report the town's salt needs, purchasing large quantities at low prices and then reselling them.

Even Weibo did the same thing, but Weibo only produced a small amount of salt, which was not enough to meet the needs of the two prefectures. Therefore, Li Ji bribed and sought to purchase salt from the salt officials in Hedong.

In comparison, Tian Chengsi's methods were more forceful, directly sidelining the salt officials of Cang and Di prefectures and completely controlling the salt trade in the hands of the military governors. However, the imperial court had no demands on the various military governors of Hebei and did not require tribute—occasionally offering a small amount of local specialties to prove their obedience to the emperor was sufficient—and of course, no additional funds were provided. Therefore, Liu Yan was powerless to stop Tian Chengsi from controlling the profits from sea salt, and the court simply tolerated it.

The same applied to the recruitment of soldiers. Although the court issued quotas for each garrison, it was merely a piece of paper, and almost no one obeyed. Among them, Tian Chengsi recruited the most soldiers, and his army expanded the fastest. The court issued several edicts to reprimand him, but he ignored them. This was not the first time Li Yu had seen a memorial impeaching Tian on this matter; it was commonplace and he was not surprised.

Therefore, what could truly provoke Li Yu was the third accusation by Li Ji, which stated that Tian Chengsi had built a shrine for An and Shi father and son—holy crap, this was a huge matter, and it was intolerable!

However, after reading it, Princess Hezheng couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Now I know why Lu Qi is afraid that the Prime Minister and Lord Yu will obstruct this memorial, and that it must be presented directly to the Emperor through the King's carriage... Today is definitely not a good time to launch a punitive expedition!"

Chapter Two: Endless Hidden Dangers

For the Tang court, An Lushan, Shi Siming, and their three sons were the greatest traitors and villains since the founding of the dynasty. They were not pardoned, but their names were recorded in the "Biographies of Traitors," and they would never be able to redeem themselves. Yet Tian Chengsi dared to build a shrine for them in private and even went to worship in person. It is no exaggeration to say that his rebellious nature was obvious.

Therefore, if the impeachment memorial from Weibo were to be submitted through proper channels, either to the Council of State Affairs or the Inner Palace Secretariat, it would involve many people, and the news would inevitably leak out, leading to widespread public outcry and urging the court to issue an edict to punish the emperor. But at that time, where would the Tang court find the capacity to launch another major war in the Guandong region?

If the court does not attack, its prestige will surely suffer—people are practically ready to fight you, and you're still a coward? Who will respect such a dynasty? This could even lead to more people following suit. On the other hand, if the court does attack, the timing is unfavorable, the circumstances are not right, and the strength is insufficient, so it will most likely suffer setbacks. If the imperial army is defeated, the outcome could be even worse…

Therefore, if this memorial were submitted to the Council of State Affairs, Yuan Zai would likely have suppressed it directly. If it were submitted to the Inner Palace Secretariat, Yu Chaoen would have been even more audacious enough to burn it—pretending we never heard of it, so as not to put the emperor in an awkward position. Only then was Lu Qi forced to go through Wang Jiahe to present this impeachment directly to the emperor.

Princess Hezheng then reminded Li Yu of this, and Li Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Li Ji is too impatient, why did he have to submit this report at this time..."

If you want to expose Tian Chengsi's true colors so that I am not misled by those inside and outside the palace, you can do so through other means, such as privately writing a letter to Crown Prince Li Shi and asking him to come to the palace to remind me. Submitting a formal impeachment through the acting envoy is like making sure others know, which, in a sense, is tantamount to coercing the court to order a punitive expedition—Lu Qi, having been in the capital for a long time, is more sensible and knows how to utilize the emperor's power.

Princess Hezheng pondered for a moment, then said to her brother, "Li Changwei may appear rough, but he is actually quite shrewd. Since he has submitted this impeachment, perhaps he has a plan to quell the Tianxiong Army?"

Li Yu shook his head: "What kind of plan is this? When Master Changyuan passed away, he also mentioned to me that although Weibo has shown some improvement, its troops are still insufficient and its weapons are not sharp enough. It is not advisable to send troops there. Li Ji said that Xue Song is trustworthy and Qin Rui is usable, but if Tian Chengsi colludes with Youzhou and Chengde, I'm afraid that the war will continue for years to come..."

"What if the imperial court sends reinforcements?"

"It's just a matter of mobilizing the Hedong army to tie down Chengde and Lulong. The Henan armies, such as Pinglu, can cross the Yellow River to the north to provide reinforcements. However, the grain and fodder of each town are insufficient, and they will have to rely on the imperial court for supplies. But how can the imperial court afford to supply them? Since it is said that Tian Chengsi has recruited nearly 100,000 soldiers, it will be impossible to succeed without an army of 100,000. If we want to settle things quickly, we may need 200,000 troops..."

At this point, Li Yu couldn't help but sigh: "Just each autumn, with over 100,000 troops from Guanzhong and various towns guarding Dazhen Pass and Longshan Pass against the barbarians, money and provisions are already stretched thin. How could we dare to launch an attack on Guandong? Now Liu Yan has dredged the Bian River, saying that after autumn, 400,000 bushels of grain can be transported from the Jianghuai region to stabilize grain prices in the capital. The additional money and silk can be stored. I originally intended to accumulate in this way for several years, and then, as Mr. Changyuan suggested, recruit refugees in Guanzhong to reclaim more wasteland, so that we would be free from the threat of barbarian invasions, and then seek an opportunity to pacify Hebei..."

Princess Hezheng suggested, "There must be a reason why Li Changwei submitted his memorial at this time. Your Majesty could issue an edict... no, order the Crown Prince to write a letter to inquire about the matter. As for the Tianxiong Army, the supervising officer could be replaced, and the shrines of the four traitors could be demolished. In this way, the court can save face."

Li Yu nodded slowly: "What my sister says is very true; she is truly my Zhang Liang." He then turned to Wang Jiahe and asked, "Who do you think is suitable to oversee the Tianxiong Army?" The Tianxiong Army's supervisor was originally Yu Chaoen's man, but for such an important matter, he hadn't uttered a single word in his report; he was clearly incompetent. Li Yu's meaning was that from now on, the responsibility would fall to eunuchs from Wang Jiahe's faction. Who do you recommend?

Wang Jiahe thought for a moment and replied, "Sun Zhigu is acceptable."

Li Yu said, "If you can get Tian Chengsi to destroy the licentious shrine, that will be a great achievement—and you will also have a contribution."

Wang Jiahe bowed and accepted the order, then boldly said, "This servant believes that the princess's plan for everyone is very appropriate. Hebei is ultimately a long and arduous place, so if the immediate troubles are not eliminated, how can we address the long-term problems? Li Weibo is indeed a bit too hasty."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu frowned again: "Yu Chaoen is despicable!"

Wang Jiahe was actually subtly trying to sow discord between Yu Chaoen and others—you've messed things up, don't think that a simple apology will be enough. I'll remind the Sage from time to time of your mistakes.

After Li Huairang committed suicide, the position of military governor of Tonghua was vacant. Just then, Li Yu dismissed Cheng Yuanzhen and appointed Yu Chaoen. He asked Yu Chaoen, "During the reign of the late emperor, you were often away from home and stationed in Jingdong. You should be quite familiar with the personnel in Tonghua and Huazhou. Who do you think is suitable for this important position?" Yu Chaoen immediately recommended his confidant Zhou Zhiguang.

So he first appointed Zhou Zhiguang as the prefect of Huazhou, and soon after promoted him to military governor of Tonghua. When the news spread, everyone was dissatisfied—it was said that Li Ji, the military governor of Weibo, said, "When we were pacifying Hebei, Zhou Zhiguang was only the deputy general of Tonghua and had no military achievements. Now he has suddenly become the military governor of a town—he has been promoted faster than me!" For this reason, Li Yu specially asked Li Shi to write a letter to comfort Li Ji, telling him not to "lament the accumulation of firewood."

They had high hopes for Zhou Zhiguang, but who would have thought that once that fellow ascended to the position of military governor and seized control of the military power in eastern Beijing, he immediately revealed his true colors. He had a long-standing feud with Du Mian, the military governor of Fufang, and taking advantage of the fact that Du Mian was residing in Fangzhou while his family remained in Fuzhou, he sent troops to commit banditry, murdering Zhang Lin, the prefect of Fuzhou, burying all eighty-one members of Du's family alive, and burning down more than three thousand houses in Fuzhou!

The imperial court sent envoys to question Zhou Zhiguang, who vehemently denied everything; when summoned to court, he resolutely refused. Subsequently, Zhang Zhibin, the military supervisor of Shaanxi and Guo, went to court to report on matters. En route, he passed through Huazhou and accused the Tonghua army of being undisciplined and plundering the people. Zhou Zhiguang immediately beheaded him and ate his flesh. Pang Chong, the former prefect of Guozhou and concurrently the Censor-in-Chief, was also killed while in mourning. Cui Yuan, the military governor of Huainan, came to the capital to pay homage, bringing a million taels of tribute; Zhou Zhiguang forcibly kept half of it…

It is said that Zhou Zhiguang once boasted: "I am 180 li away from Chang'an. I will sleep with my head to the east and will not dare to stretch my feet at night, for fear of breaking down the walls of Chang'an!"

Because his jurisdiction was too close to Chang'an, and the Tonghua army of thirty to forty thousand men were all elite troops, Li Yu could not bring himself to attack Zhou Zhiguang. Having such a dangerous illness among his trusted men was far too perilous; if the medicine was administered too aggressively, he might be finished! He naturally questioned Yu Chaoen, who knelt and wept bitterly, embracing his legs and apologizing, saying, "This servant never expected Zhou Zhiguang to be such an ingrate! Now that his power is established, even this servant cannot control him..."

Li Yu wasn't stupid. He understood that it was impossible to completely sever ties between Yu and Zhou. If he were to attack Zhou Zhiguang, Yu Chaoen might interfere, and if he dealt with Yu Chaoen, Zhou Zhiguang might immediately raise the banner of rebellion. Therefore, he had no choice but to be patient and wait for an opportunity to plan his move slowly.

Princess Hezheng's suggestion was: "This autumn, when defending against the barbarians, mobilize a large number of troops from Guanzhong and see if Zhou Zhiguang comes. If he does, we can seize the opportunity to capture him; if he doesn't come, after the barbarian bandits retreat, we can gather troops at Ba Shang under the pretext of presenting prisoners and wipe them out in one fell swoop." Li Yu agreed.

Now that Wang Jiahe has brought up this matter again, ostensibly to blame Li Ji for being too hasty, saying that the court still has internal problems and has no time to deal with the Tianxiong Army, but in reality, he wants to stab Yu Chaoen in the back again.

The thought of Zhou Zhiguang only fueled Li Yu's anger, and he stamped his foot, saying, "Li Ji was too hasty..."

----------

Why was Li Ji so eager to denounce Tian Chengsi's treachery and persuade the court to issue an edict to punish him? It was because he gradually realized that his policies were flawed and could only be implemented temporarily, not in the long run.

He used his military power to suppress the powerful landlords in the state and seize land on a large scale. While he quickly stabilized the situation in Weibo and was expected to restore production within two or three years, he also left a major hidden danger—his generals and soldiers became increasingly arrogant and gradually became too powerful to control.

In fact, Yan Zhenqing had previously advised him, saying, "The military governor generously supports his soldiers, making them know only of the military governor and not of the court. They are all petty men, ignorant of the teachings of the sages and the meaning of loyalty and integrity. They only attach themselves to the government because of favors. Once the favors fade, they will surely rebel again—just as the saying goes, 'If you are close to them, they will be disrespectful; if you are far away, they will resent you.' Now, with the land of two prefectures, we have recruited 30,000 elite soldiers, and 80% of the annual income is used for military expenses. How can this last? Moreover, even the military governor finds it insufficient. What will happen if there is a famine? If the court replaces him with another military governor, how will he be able to govern?"

With a slightly better supply of money and provisions, Li Ji increased his investment in the garrison troops, especially the Weizhou defense forces. To ensure they could drill every other day and quickly improve their organization and training, their daily food and clothing were exceptionally plentiful, even making Yan Zhenqing envious. According to the old man, in his thirty years as an official, including nearly ten years leading troops in local garrisons, he had never seen local troops so well-fed and warmly clothed. Perhaps only the imperial guards in the capital enjoyed such abundant provisions.

According to the early Tang Dynasty system, soldiers were allotted one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain and one bolt of silk per month. However, this was a fixed amount during a period of low prices. Before the Tianbao era, a dou (a unit of dry measure) of grain cost no more than twenty qian (a unit of currency), and sometimes as little as five qian. A single piece of cloth cost no more than one or two hundred wen (another unit of currency), and a bolt of fine silk cost no more than a thousand wen. After the An Lushan Rebellion, productivity was severely damaged, resources were scarce, and prices soared. Coupled with the surge in the number of soldiers, no unit could provide the full amount. Generally, if there was enough money and grain, more money and grain would be provided; if there was enough silk and cloth, more silk and cloth would be provided. Ordinary soldiers receiving 70% of the allowance was considered generous—including the imperial guards in the capital for a period of time.

Of course, each military town has many guards, and these guards can often receive the full amount of grain and silk. However, it can be seen from the fact that, except for Tian Chengsi, most of the guards in the towns are less than a thousand, so very few can provide enough money and grain for more soldiers.

Li Ji's soul ultimately came from a future era of abundant resources, and he deeply understood that only when soldiers were well-fed could they have the strength to endure hardship and prolonged battles. He had always wanted to try to train an unparalleled army using sufficient carbohydrates and protein. Now that he was in charge of the affairs of a town, apart from needing to argue with Yan Zhenqing a few times, he could handle everything himself and naturally intended to put this idea into practice.

The ideal was lofty, but reality was harsh… Let alone surpassing his contemporaries, even if he were to fully fund the 30,000 troops according to regulations, the current financial resources of Weibo Town wouldn't be enough. Therefore, Li Ji could only prioritize the defense troops, ensuring they were well-fed and regularly provided with meat—he even established several pig and chicken farms specifically for the auxiliary troops to manage—but even this, in Yan Zhenqing's view, was an unprecedented level of generosity, and the soldiers' physical strength could only guarantee one drill every other day…

As a result, 80% of the town's fiscal expenditure went to supporting the army. Yan Zhenqing repeatedly advised against this, saying it was not a long-term solution. If you don't feed the soldiers, they will still have ambitions, perhaps thinking of merit and reward, and rejoicing in battle; but if you increase their supplies now, it will be difficult to lower them again, and the soldiers will surely riot. But what if there's a famine? Or what if you transfer to another place in a few years, and the successor handles the situation?

Of course, what Yan Zhenqing valued more was that Li Ji's deep-rooted loyalty to the soldiers meant that the Weibo troops knew only their commander and not the imperial court, which would inevitably lead to disaster in the long run. Did you really intend to stay in Weibo forever? Did you really intend for your son to succeed you after your father's death? Wouldn't that be tantamount to secession? There was no precedent for this, and this precedent should not be set by Weibo.

Li Ji certainly didn't intend to garrison Weibo for his entire life; he was still dreaming of going west to fight the Tubo. Initially, he didn't pay much attention to Yan Zhenqing's advice—if you don't feed your soldiers well, how can you expect them to fight to the death for you in exchange for a reward after the battle? That's absurd! Besides, Hebei has many strong men; if I can't provide them with ample nutrition so that their physical strength far surpasses that of other towns, it's unlikely I can defeat a large enemy force with a small one.

Although he sought to form alliances and gradually eliminate the surrendered vassal states of Yan and Zhao, he also had to prepare for the most perilous situation of several garrisons joining forces. It was said that Tian Chengsi had exhausted all resources, recruiting 70,000 to 80,000 men, while Lulong and Chengde also had 50,000 victorious troops. Weibo, however, only had 30,000 soldiers. In terms of a defensive force with any real fighting capability, including the troops from Bozhou, there were less than 20,000. Unless he could outmatch the enemy in physical strength and skill, this battle was unwinnable…

But gradually, Li Ji began to worry. He despised the landowners while valuing the soldiers, and the soldiers' growing arrogance threatened to become uncontrollable. He remembered how the armies had earnestly tried to persuade Guo Ziyi to stay when he left Hedong, and how Zhang Yongji had nearly turned against Li Guangbi when he entered Luoyang; he remembered the mutiny in Jiangzhou that killed Li Guozhen, and the mutiny in Yicheng that killed Li Feiyuanli; he remembered how, when he first arrived in the town, the old guard dared to gather and threaten him…