Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 160

Because the previous theft of tribute from Weibo was the work of these two generals.

Zhou Zhiguang ran rampant in Tongzhou and Huazhou, behaving more like a bandit gang than a high-ranking official. He frequently ordered his soldiers to impersonate bandits and rob traveling merchants. He even dared to rob tribute and grain transported from Guandong to Chang'an; many scholars were forced to detour through Tongzhou to the east, and Zhou Zhiguang ordered Li Hanhui, the garrison commander of Tongzhou, to ambush and arrest them along the way, executing them all.

—If you dare pass by my place without leaving any valuables, you've gone too far!

Why was he so reckless? First, the capital was so close, and he held military power, so he believed the court wouldn't dare to attack easily. Second, Zhou Zhiguang had pocketed all the revenue from the two prefectures and refused to share it with the soldiers. So what were the soldiers supposed to do if they wanted food or clothes? Go out and rob them! Leave half for me, and you can divide the rest among yourselves.

Even his thousand personal guards were insufficient to meet the required tribute, making them the main force for looting.

The day before yesterday, when news arrived that tribute from Weibo had arrived in China, Zhou Zhiguang ordered Yao Huai and Li Yanjun to intercept it. The two generals were somewhat hesitant and advised, "Li Weibo is a favorite general of the emperor and is known as the 'Key Hero.' He is extremely brave and fierce. If we intercept his tribute, what will happen if he questions us about it later? Besides, the report says that the tribute from Weibo is not much, just a little purple herbs and silk. It would be better to let it pass."

Unexpectedly, Zhou Zhiguang glared at him and shouted, "What is there to fear about Li Ji? I am as strong as ten thousand men, and both of you can draw a seven-stone bow. Even if Li Ji comes to fight, three against one, we will surely take his dog's life! Besides, Weibo is a thousand miles away. Does he really dare to bring his troops to attack us?"

“Last year, Cui Yuan passed through Hua. Out of respect for his service as a minister of three reigns, I only allowed him to keep half of the tribute. Can Li Ji compare to Cui Yuan? Everyone says that Hebei produces fine silk. Although it is only a few dozen cartloads, if we seize it, it will be enough for four or five hundred soldiers to change into new clothes. If you refuse to go, I will assign you to another unit. For the next three years, you will not be allowed to ask me for silk again!”

Left with no other option, the two generals led three hundred soldiers, disguised as thieves, and robbed all of Weibo's tribute. A little over a month later, news arrived that Li Ji had personally escorted the tribute into the pass. The two generals immediately went to Zhou Zhiguang for advice: "What should we do if Li Weibo questions the commander and demands the return of the previous tribute?"

Zhou Zhiguang curled his lip: "If they still dare to demand the previous tribute, we will not send any more tribute this time. Since they are sending tribute again, and even personally escorting it, it is clear that they dare not provoke us!"

"Then is our calamity not a calamity?"

Zhou Zhiguang glared at him: "If you want to rob me, go ahead! But if any of your troops are lost, I will not let you off the hook!"

Yao Huai and Li Yanjun thought to themselves, "You made quite a fuss, but you still backed down in the end... It's best not to try and steal it. Li Jiyong's name is known throughout the land, so you might not be afraid—but you'd have to bring your two young masters along—we're probably no match for him..."

Just as they were about to leave, Zhou Zhiguang stopped the two generals and asked, "How is the construction of my family ancestral hall progressing?"

It turned out that Zhou Zhiguang was very pleased with himself and planned to build a shrine for himself in Zheng County so that his soldiers would worship him during festivals and strengthen their loyalty to him. He estimated that this would be more effective and cheaper than paying the full amount of food and pay or giving generous rewards.

The two generals hurriedly said, "We've heard that the imperial court has already sent an envoy to promote the military commander. It would be inappropriate to build a shrine to him at this juncture..."

Zhou Zhiguang scoffed, "What's wrong with that? Even if the imperial envoy sees me, would he dare to go to Chang'an to file a complaint against me? I've killed more than one eunuch!" He ordered that the work be completed before the Dragon Boat Festival.

The following morning, as expected, the imperial envoy Yu Yuanxian arrived with an imperial edict appointing Zhou Zhiguang as Inspector of the Left Vice Minister—this was Princess Hezheng's scheme to lull Zhou Zhiguang into a false sense of security, hoping that he would dare to lead his troops westward during the autumn defense season, making him easier to capture. However, upon receiving the edict, Zhou Zhiguang did not express his gratitude but instead cursed, saying, "I have rendered great service to the nation and the world, why am I not appointed as a Chancellor but as a Vice Minister? Moreover, Tong and Hua are too small to fully utilize my talents. If I were given the five prefectures of Shan, Guo, Shang, Fu, and Fang, then the court would truly appreciate my abilities!"

He then enumerated the faults of the court officials, scolding more than twenty people from Yuan Zai down—excluding Yu Chaoen—and finally said harshly, "Only Zhou Zhiguang can hold the emperor hostage to command the princes!" Yu Yuanxian dared not retort and retreated trembling.

No sooner had Yu Yuanxian left than Yao Huai arrived with a letter, saying that Li Ji had arrived outside Zheng County but was not entering the city. He had also sent a letter requesting that the military commander come out of the city to meet him. Zhou Zhiguang ordered Judge Shao Ben to open the letter and read it aloud. The content was quite polite, and it did not mention the robbery of the tribute the day before. It only said that since he was passing through Zheng County, he should enter the city to pay his respects, but there were many bandits in Huazhou, and he was afraid that the tribute might be lost. He hoped that Commander Zhou could come out of the city to meet him.

Zhou Zhiguang couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Li Ji is afraid of me!" He then waved his hand: "Let him go, why bother meeting him?"

As Yao Huai emerged from the main hall, Li Yanjun caught him and asked, "How did it go?" Yao Huai then recounted the gist of Li Ji's letter. Li Yanjun gasped in shock: "Then Master Qingyuan's divination is as if I were seeing it with my own eyes, and his prediction must be true—we are in grave danger!"

Yao Huai said, "If it weren't for Mr. Qingyuan's advice back then, even Master Yu would have been harmed by Li Weibo. Why don't we recommend him to the military commander and ask him to avert disaster for him?"

Li Yanjun shook his head: "The commander has just gained power, and he doesn't even respect angels. He dares to scold the prime minister. He certainly won't listen to what Mr. Qingyuan said... It would be better to go and ask Mr. Qingyuan to help us avert disaster."

So they went together to see the master Qingyuan, who was also Chang Heng, a wandering sorcerer under Li Ji.

Some time ago, Chang Heng traveled to various towns in Hebei to gather intelligence. Now that Li Ji had returned to Chang'an, he ordered Yin Shen to summon him back and have him sneak into Huazhou beforehand. This was Chang Heng's first time traveling such a long distance with Li Ji to Weibo. Previously, he had only lingered in Guanzhong, doing various clandestine tasks for Cui Guangyuan. He also frequently traveled between Tongzhou and Huazhou, having established suitable lodgings and familiar relationships there. Therefore, soon after arriving in Huazhou, he learned the truth about the theft of Weibo's tribute.

Upon hearing that Li Ji had returned west, Yao Huai and Li Yanjun feared they would be in trouble—if Li Weibo insisted that the military commander hand over the culprit who had robbed the tribute, given the military commander's usual nature, he might very well betray them—just as they were at a loss, Chang Heng seized the opportunity to visit them and divine their fortune.

First, he laid out offerings and burned paper money, then vaguely quoted a few lines from the I Ching before finally saying to the two men: "Li Weibo is a beloved general of the Emperor, shouldering heavy responsibilities. He is by nature arrogant, always repaying kindness and avenging wrongs. His arrival in Hua is indeed your calamity. Let's see what he does after he arrives in Zheng. If he sternly questions Commander Zhou, you may still escape disaster; if he refuses to mention the past, you are in grave danger!"

Yao and Li couldn't understand why Li Ji was so tough, but they were fine; he acted like nothing was wrong, while they were in trouble.

Chang Heng smiled enigmatically and explained, "Commander Zhou believed that his stronghold at Tong and Hua, a crucial point between East and West, rendered the court powerless, hence his reckless actions. However, Li Weibo is known as a 'key knight-errant.' A true knight-errant is not afraid to use force to disrupt the law, seeking only to exact revenge. If he fails to avenge a wrong, his reputation will be ruined. Therefore, not long after the tribute was seized, he personally escorted the tribute to the West, surely to avenge Commander Zhou. But how? There are two methods—"

"Firstly, he sternly rebuked Commander Zhou, ordering him to hand over the previous tribute and punish the culprits—could it be the two rulers? Commander Zhou certainly didn't care about the lives of the two rulers, but if he obeyed, it would be a sign of weakness. How could he possibly do that?"

The two nodded repeatedly: "Zhou Shuai is most likely unwilling to obey orders."

Chang Heng nodded: "Therefore, the more Li Weibo pressures him, the more unwilling Commander Zhou is to submit. He will not be able to force the previous tribute, nor will he allow the punishment of the criminals. Commander Zhou will do his best to ensure the safety of the two rulers. However, if Li Weibo acts as if nothing has happened, does not mention that the previous tribute was a robbery, and even treats Commander Zhou with courtesy, then he will surely lull Commander Zhou into a false sense of security and find an opportunity to search for and kill the two rulers."

How did he kill us?

"Commander Zhou is staying in the city. Do you two also stay within the city? Once you leave the city, you will surely be captured. Even if we pretend that the thieves killed you, what can Commander Zhou do? He is stationed far away in Weibo and is returning to Chang'an in the west. He will not dare to bring his fine horses and strong troops, nor will he dare to fight against Tong Hua. However, he is known for his bravery and strength. Capturing and killing you on horseback would be as easy as turning his hand."

Yao and Li grew increasingly panicked as they listened, yet they also found the gentleman's words rather convoluted—"Then, sir, what do you think Li Weibao will do?"

Chang Heng smiled and said, "I don't know Li Weibo, so how would I know what he would do? But judging from the divination, the two lords are in real danger. So he might use deceitful words to deceive Commander Zhou, and wait until the tribute arrives in the capital before ambushing and killing the two lords."

"Then I'll stay in the city for the next few days..."

Chang Heng laughed and said, "If he intended to harm you, how could he have escaped? If he were to enter Zheng in disguise and kill you two, could you possibly stand up to him? Could you possibly make Commander Zhou close all the gates of Zheng County for months on end, preventing anyone from entering or leaving?" Having said this, he knew that the two men would not believe him, so he stood up, turned around and left, saying, "That's all I have to say. Whether it's a blessing or a curse, there's no need to seek it or not. You two should take care of yourselves."

As Qingyuan had predicted, Li Ji didn't mention the previous robbery of the tribute. Instead, he humbly requested Zhou Zhiguang to come out of the city for a meeting. Zhou Zhiguang naturally refused. He knew Li Ji was brave and feared it would be a bad encounter, that the fellow might have ambushed him—"I can't possibly send out all the city's troops, can I? Besides, troop movements always involve rewards, that would be too wasteful." Yao Huai and Li Yanjun panicked and hurriedly went to look for Chang Heng, only to hear that Qingyuan had already left the city.

However, as if he had anticipated that the two would come, Chang Heng left a small note for Yao and Li, on which was written: "Man is eaten by tigers, and becomes their accomplice, serving as their guide; to kill a tiger, one must first eliminate the accomplice, but if the tiger dies, the accomplice will disappear on its own."

The two men were completely baffled and grabbed a down-on-his-luck scholar for an explanation. The scholar looked at them from all angles for a long time before finally translating it into plain language. He then said, "It says that to kill a tiger, one must first eliminate its accomplice, yet it also says that the tiger can die before its accomplice. It's truly difficult to understand..."

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Li Ji stayed outside Zheng County for a day, but Zhou Zhiguang did not come out of the city to meet him, so he continued his journey and soon arrived in Chang'an, where he presented tribute. Lu Qi had already informed Li Shi, so Li Shi, as before, secretly entered Li Ji's private residence at night—oh, now it was the Weibo Jinzouyuan—and the two discussed matters in secret for a long time.

The first topic of discussion was the Tianxiong Army. Li Ji did not mention that the soldiers had been training for a long time but had not been able to fight, which might have made their morale arrogant and difficult to control. He only said that although Tian Chengsi had recruited many soldiers, he had few elite troops, which was the perfect time to launch a campaign. If they waited until his financial situation improved and he was able to train his soldiers more, it would be difficult to succeed.

Furthermore, the surrendered vassal states of Yan and Zhao currently show no intention of forming an alliance. If this situation drags on for too long, it's hard to say what the future holds...

Li Shi said, "I will report your concerns to the Emperor when the opportunity arises. However, I also hope you will spend more time training the troops and discuss it again after autumn. If we achieve great success in defending against the barbarians this autumn, it can be a model for several years. Only then will the court have the mind to wage war elsewhere."

Li Ji smiled and asked, "So, do you intend to attack Zhou Zhiguang first, or Liang Chongyi?"

Li Shi smiled wryly, "Although Liang Chongyi is arrogant, he is no less so than the imperial retainer, and he is not a serious threat. As for Zhou Zhiguang, Minister Guo has repeatedly petitioned the Emperor to launch a major crackdown, but the Emperor has refused..."

Li Ji asked him, "Leaving aside the sage, how does Your Highness view Zhou Zhiguang?"

Li Shi's eyebrows furrowed, and he said hatefully, "If I were to take power, I would kill Zhou Zhiguang first!" He then said, "You are in Hebei, which is far away, so you may not know the details of that fellow's evil deeds. Let me tell you about them first..."

Li Ji waited quietly for Li Shi to finish speaking before offering his opinion: "Leaving aside Zhou Zhiguang's many misdeeds, the other day he dared to let his soldiers become bandits and rob my Weibo's tribute. This is intolerable! If he is not severely punished, how can I save face? I am not like Cui Youyu (Cui Yuan), an old man who only seeks peace and whose face is of no use. If I lose my authority, how can I fight against rebels and pacify Hebei for the court?"

"Furthermore, if we do not attack Zhou Zhiguang, I fear Liang Chongyi will follow suit; Xin Yunjing of Hedong previously falsely accused Pugu and his son, and when Pugu came to court, he did not return, which also suggests he may harbor ulterior motives. In that case, the East will be isolated, and the court's decrees will not be able to reach Tong and Hua, and then Guandong and even Jianghuai will become a separate country! Has the sage not considered this?"

Li Shi replied, "In the end, they are too close, and the sage is somewhat hesitant to act rashly..."

Li Ji retorted, "What kind of weapon does the sage fear? The divine weapon is in his hand. That thieving rat Zhou Zhiguang is merely hovering at his feet, pretending to pounce. I, Li, have come here with a decree and one or two thousand soldiers, which can guarantee the capture of Zhou Zhiguang alive and his presentation as a prisoner to the emperor!"

Upon hearing this, Li Shi's spirits lifted, and he hurriedly asked, "What brilliant plan does the Chief Guard have that you could tell me?"

Li Ji said, "Of course I can tell Your Highness, but—Your Highness must not tell the Emperor."

"Why?"

“Your Highness’s every move is likely under the surveillance of Yu Chaoen, who is Zhou Zhiguang’s recommender and most likely does not want the Emperor to punish Zhou Zhiguang. To put it another way, if I have a grudge against Yu Chaoen, then he will definitely obstruct any plans I offer. Moreover…”

He paused slightly at this point, then said, "I apologize if my words are disrespectful, Your Highness—even between father and son, ruler and subject, there is no guarantee of absolute trust."

If you weren't the Crown Prince, it wouldn't matter. Your family's emperor and crown prince have a long history of mutual suspicion. The more you submit memorials, the more the emperor will likely be wary, wondering if you're trying to take advantage of the situation to expand the power of the Eastern Palace. That would make it easier for Yu Chaoen to take advantage of the situation.

"I have heard that since my brother's passing, the Emperor's most trusted confidante is Princess Hezheng. Your Highness might as well inform the Princess first and earnestly request that she find an opportunity to speak to the Emperor on his behalf..."

After discussing the matter at length, Li Shi went to see Princess Hezheng the next day. Princess Hezheng then went to the palace again to see Li Yu. After dismissing her maids and eunuchs, the princess said directly to Li Yu, "Zhou Zhiguang has robbed Li Ji of his previous tribute. Li Ji is furious and has volunteered to punish Zhou Zhiguang."

Li Yu was taken aback upon hearing this, then said with displeasure, "Li Ji is causing trouble again... I didn't expect him to have such a volatile temper."

Princess Hezheng said, “What Li Ji said makes sense. He is a general in an outer town, commanding a large army, and relies on the court’s prestige and his personal power. If Zhou Zhiguang harms the country and is not punished, the court’s prestige will be damaged, the tribute from Weibo will be stolen and not recovered, and Li Ji’s power will be weakened. I’m afraid he will find it difficult to control the arrogant and fierce generals in Hebei. Moreover, what he said makes Zhou Zhiguang easy to get rid of.”

Li Yu frowned and asked, "How can you say that the 30,000 to 40,000 elite troops of Tonghua are easy to eliminate?"

Princess Hezheng said, "Zhou Zhiguang keeps all the tribute and taxes for himself, yet he lets his soldiers become bandits to pay for their own expenses. His generals and soldiers will certainly not support him. But if the court issues an edict that only punishes the ringleaders and not those who are coerced, then there will surely be those who respond. We can take advantage of the chaos to attack him. Zhou Zhiguang is nothing but a commoner. Moreover, Li Ji also said..."

"What else did he say?"

"Anyone who relies solely on strength and fails to gain popular support is nothing but a paper tiger."

"A paper tiger..." Li Yu curled his lip. "That's easy for you to say. Does Li Ji really think he can lead tens of thousands of Weibo troops to Tonghua to attack Zhou Zhiguang?"

Princess Hezheng shook her head: "Li Ji has requested one or two thousand imperial guards, which will not cost the country any money, and can help Your Majesty quell the Tonghua rebellion."

Li Yu flicked his sleeve: "National affairs are not child's play—order Li Ji to return to his post immediately. If he is reluctant to part with those tributes, I will return them to him."

Upon hearing this, Princess Hezheng immediately bowed deeply. Li Yu was taken aback and hurriedly reached out to help her up—"What are you doing? You're pregnant! You must take care of yourself!"

Princess Hezheng said, “Among the military governors of the realm, there are many as arrogant as Zhou Zhiguang, but few as loyal as Li Ji. Now, a loyal minister has volunteered to punish the rebels, but Your Majesty has refused. This diminishes the spirit of loyalty and strengthens the power of treacherous officials. Your Majesty firmly believes this is unacceptable. If Zhou Zhiguang is not punished, other governors will surely follow suit. Even if Li Ji has the courage of ten thousand men and tens of thousands of troops, it will be difficult for Your Majesty to subdue him. Moreover, if Li Ji returns disappointed and only seeks to protect his own position and salary, instead of wholeheartedly serving Your Majesty, wouldn't Your Majesty be cutting off your own arm?”

"Your Majesty often tells my sister that most of the generals in the various garrisons are untrustworthy, but only those like Li Ji, who came from the Imperial Guard, are truly loyal to Your Majesty and can be used by the court. If Li Ji cannot be consistently regarded as a role model for the generals of the Imperial Guard, then even the Imperial Guard itself may not be trustworthy. Who else can Your Majesty trust? As for my sister, she is not worth mentioning. She only wishes that the ancestral state and Your Majesty's imperial enterprise will last for thousands of years and never decline!"

"I humbly request Your Majesty to heed my sister's words and grant Li Ji's request to give it a try."

Li Yu sighed deeply, "How could I not want to get rid of Zhou Zhiguang? I fear he would cause trouble and ruin the grand plan for autumn defense... Since my virtuous sister is willing to vouch for Li Ji, I will trust him one more time..."

Chapter Six, The Decisive Power

Through the preliminary investigations by Yin Shen, Chang Heng, and others, Li Ji had a clear understanding of the inner workings of Tonghua—an army that spends its days posing as thieves to rob others, what secrets could you expect them to keep? He was confident that he could orchestrate a plan from the center, act decisively, and remove this malignant tumor in one fell swoop.

He also devised three strategies: the best strategy was to invite Zhou Zhiguang to a meeting when passing through Zheng, and then find an excuse to capture and kill him before the banquet—although somewhat risky, it was the most decisive and suited Li Ji's temperament; the middle strategy was to enter Chang'an to obtain an imperial edict for conquest and to be assigned a contingent of imperial guards for him to lead in attacking Huazhou; the worst strategy was that if the court refused to issue an edict and naturally would not assign troops, then he would lead a thousand soldiers disguised as laborers under his command to act alone.

Acting alone is not impossible, but it lacks a legitimate reason and justification. How to explain it to the court afterwards might be a bit troublesome. Most importantly, after returning to Weibo, he would probably be unable to escape a severe scolding from Yan Zhenqing.

The old gentleman might even take the initiative to impeach himself!

Li Ji was not afraid of being impeached. In this weak court, even someone as wicked as Zhou Zhiguang dared not question him, let alone someone with past merits who was far away.

What I fear is that when Li Bi returns to court, I will be scolded again...

Fortunately, Princess Hezheng was quite reliable. After receiving his personal letter and Li Shi's plea, she immediately agreed to advise Li Yu. Li Ji couldn't help but feel grateful to Princess Xiao—formerly Princess Ning—for without her mediation, how would he have had the opportunity to meet Princess Hezheng? Moreover, Princess Hezheng's willingness to speak up for Li Ji was likely largely due to his past kindness in escorting Princess Xiao from the Uyghur Khaganate back to the court.

Moreover, Li Ji had protected Li Yu during the palace coup, which meant he had saved Princess Hezheng's own brother and sister. Women generally value family ties more than men—especially in the Li family.

Therefore, at Princess Hezheng's suggestion, the matter was not formally approved by the Secretariat and the Chancellery, and no official edict was issued. Instead, Li Yu personally wrote an imperial decree, secretly dispatching two thousand elite troops from the Baoying Army to attack Zhou Zhiguang.

However, Li Yu was somewhat displeased by Li Ji's repeated meddling. Furthermore, considering that Li Ji was originally the military governor of Weibo, ordering a military governor a thousand miles away to lead the imperial guards against another military governor was ultimately against the established system. Therefore, he ordered Guo Ziyi, the Grand Minister of Works and Chancellor, to be appointed commander—Li Ji was essentially helping out temporarily.

Guo Ziyi repeatedly pleaded to relinquish his position as Deputy Marshal of Guanzhong, but Li Yu refused. Well then, the military affairs of Guanzhong should be your responsibility.

After receiving the secret edict, Guo Ziyi first pretended to host a banquet for Li Ji, then summoned him to his residence to discuss the issue of sending troops in detail. Li Ji laid out his plan in its entirety, and the old minister pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "If it can be done as Changwei said, then this matter will be easy; otherwise, I'm afraid it will take more effort—I don't know if two thousand soldiers will be enough."

Li Ji hurriedly said, "The laborers I brought to deliver tribute are actually elite soldiers from Weizhou. Combined with the Imperial Guard, they number three thousand men, all of whom are valiant and fierce. How could Zhou Zhiguang possibly resist them? Moreover, they have no external support—Do not worry, Your Excellency."

Overall, Zhou Zhiguang was a fool, and his thinking was still at the level of a low-ranking military officer or even a bandit. He thought that with 20,000 to 30,000 troops under his command, he could invade Chang'an at any time and threaten the central government, and that the court would be powerless against him. He failed to realize that although the Tang Dynasty was declining, it still maintained considerable control over most of its territory. If it were to gather the troops from various garrisons... no, just the Imperial Guard and the troops from the Guanzhong garrisons alone, it would number no less than 100,000. How could it possibly fear a mere Tonghua?

If it weren't for facing the formidable enemy of Tibet, and if Li Yu and his ministers hadn't been habitually weak, they would have launched a campaign against Zhou Zhiguang long ago, following Guo Ziyi's advice.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiguang was all alone, with virtually no outside support—to the east was Huangfu Wen, the military governor of Shaanxi and Guo, with whom he had a long-standing feud, and Zhou Zhiguang had even killed Zhang Zhibin, the military supervisor of Shaanxi and Guo; to the north was Du Mian, the military governor of Fufang, with whom he had a deep-seated hatred; to the south was Liang Chongyi, the acting military governor of Shannan East Circuit, who might have had some common ground with Zhou Zhiguang, but unfortunately, Zhou Zhiguang never considered joining forces with him…

Therefore, after listening to Li Ji's analysis, Guo Ziyi nodded and said, "I hope so." After a pause, he asked, "The Baoying Army is a former subordinate of the Changwei Army. What kind of general do you think can be used?"

“Hun Jian is acceptable.”

Guo Ziyi nodded, then slapped his thigh: "Good, I have wanted to get rid of that villain for a long time, and it is fortunate that Princess Hezheng persuaded the Emperor. Let's do it now. As the Emperor commands, capture Zhou Zhiguang alive and demote him to the position of governor of a border prefecture."

What did Li Ji think? This bastard is so despicable, Li Yu, you still won't kill him? Are you keeping him alive for the New Year?!

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Zhou Zhiguang remained oblivious to the situation. His trusted lieutenants, Yao Huai and Li Yanjun, however, vaguely sensed the approaching crisis, but were too intimidated by Zhou Zhiguang's power to speak out.

Li Yanjun was on duty that day when Yao Huai summoned him and whispered, "Mr. Qingyuan has returned to Zheng County." Li Yanjun was overjoyed: "We will visit him immediately to learn from him." Yao Huai said, "Come along, come along. I have already prepared a generous gift. Remember to give me half of it, and you can return it to me tomorrow."

There was a Taoist temple north of Zheng County called "Zongxuan Temple." Chang Heng would stay there whenever he came to Huazhou. So Yao and Li changed into their robes and, carrying gold, pearls, and money—all stolen—went to visit the temple. A Taoist priest led them to a quiet room and said, "Master Qingyuan is receiving guests. Please wait a moment in the corridor."

But Yao and Li couldn't wait any longer, so they called out loudly through the sliding door to request an audience. Chang Heng's voice came from inside: "Since you two are here, please don't stand on ceremony, come in and sit down."

The two generals were overjoyed and hurriedly opened the door and stepped inside. They saw Chang Heng sitting opposite another person across a table. They assumed he was also a customer seeking divination and paid him no mind. They simply bowed to Chang Heng and said, "Sir, you left a message the other day. We are foolish and do not understand its profound meaning. We humbly request you to enlighten us—we will reward you handsomely."

Chang Heng waved his hand and said, "Please sit down."

The two had just sat down when the person opposite Chang Heng turned around, looked him up and down, and then smiled slightly, saying, "Do you two recognize me?"

Yao and Li were completely bewildered, but seeing that although the man was young and dressed in a scholar's robe, he exuded an air of authority without being angry, so he couldn't be an ordinary person, they bowed and asked, "May I ask your esteemed name?"

The man curled his lip slightly and said bluntly, "I am Li Ji, the military governor of Weibo appointed by the court."

Upon hearing this, Yao and Li were terrified and instinctively jumped up—not to fight, but to escape. But then Li Ji pulled out a heavy, dark iron mace from somewhere and slammed it onto the table. With a loud thud, the solid wood table shook three times, looking as if it were about to fall apart…

"If you believe you can withstand my mace, then you may try to escape. If you cannot, then you should sit down."

The two generals were terrified and immediately prostrated themselves on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, saying, "We have offended Commander Li, please be magnanimous and spare our lives!"

Li Yanjun continued, "This humble general... has a seventy-year-old mother to support and an infant in swaddling clothes to raise. If Commander Li kills me, it is as if he has killed my entire family. Even gods and Buddhas have the virtue of compassion..." Yao Huai interrupted his colleague's nonsense and shouted, "How dare we offend Commander Li? We were ordered to do this by the Emperor—it was Commander Zhou who instructed us to plunder the tribute from Weibo. Commander Li, please investigate!"

Li Ji sneered: "If it weren't for Mr. Qingyuan speaking up for you, saying that you were acting under Zhou Zhiguang's orders and not your own intentions, who would have the patience to talk to you?" As he spoke, he produced a mace from who-knows-where and slammed it heavily on the wooden floor—"I was going to take you two down with one blow each!"

The two men repeatedly kowtowed and begged for mercy. Li Ji and Chang Heng exchanged a glance and nodded slightly. Chang Heng then said to them in a kind manner, "My message has already made things very clear. By now, have you two still not understood? Zhou Tonghua is a man-eating tiger. If you two are his accomplices, then the only way is to kill the tiger, and the accomplices will disperse on their own. Or do you still want to be the tiger's vanguard and test Commander Li's iron mace first?"

The reason why Generals Yao and Li were trembling was twofold: firstly, they had long heard of Li Ji's reputation for bravery—to be honest, among the lower and middle-ranking officers, the rumors about him were far more exaggerated than those among the upper ranks; secondly, since they had come to see Master Qingyuan to inquire about methods to ward off disasters, they had not brought any long weapons, each only carrying a small sword at their waist, and then they were frightened when Li Ji pulled out two huge iron maces...

The two generals, having spent a long time in the army, could roughly estimate the weight of ordinary weapons with just a glance. Li Ji's pair of maces, each weighing at least fifteen jin (approximately 7.5 catties), would be too heavy to withstand, let alone a shield sword, even a regular horizontal sword would struggle to block them!

Moreover, the room was cramped, and they habitually closed the door after entering...

Of course, Li Ji couldn't have sneaked into Zheng County alone. Even if the door wasn't closed, there would definitely be obstacles on the outer corridor.

They probably couldn't win if they fought, and they probably couldn't escape either. So what could they do besides kowtow and beg for their lives? After all, although the two generals were veterans of fierce battles, they had been impersonating bandits and robbing people for the past two years, and gradually became cowards who bullied the weak and feared the strong.