Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 144

But then I thought, if these guys had land at home, at least they would have relatives to return to, then it would be fine. Otherwise, if they were sent back, they would most likely be doomed... How could I bear to do that? I had to find a way for them to survive.

Unfortunately, there wasn't time to consider it carefully, so for now I had no choice but to agree to their request and accept everything... However, I couldn't lose face as the military governor; I absolutely couldn't let anyone think that I was forced to agree to the representatives' conditions because I was worried about inciting unrest. So Li Ji glared fiercely at Li Ziyi and shouted sternly, "I am here to guard Weibo by imperial decree, and I need elite troops and strong generals, not old, weak, and disabled soldiers!"

Li Ziyi retorted, "If the commander refuses to agree..."

Li Ji suddenly stood up, holding his scabbard horizontally across Li Ji's shoulder: "If you don't agree, what will you do?!"

Nie Feng quickly crawled forward on his knees, raised his hands, and pretended to put his arms around Li Ji's arms—of course, he didn't dare, it was just a pretense—and pleaded, "Li Ziyi is clumsy with words and did not mean to offend the commander. I hope the commander will be magnanimous and forgive him. The old and weak can serve as watchmen, warehouse clerks, or sweep the courtyard for the commander. Please give them a way out."

Li Ji glanced at Nie Feng and thought to himself that he was doing a good job of helping them out—"I can give them a meal, but I can never share the same salary as the regular army."

Yang Shigu immediately shouted, "I will obey the commander's orders!"

In reality, neither the Tang army nor the puppet Yan army could treat their soldiers equally. Even if they were of the same rank, there would always be a hierarchy—would a military commander's personal guard receive the same treatment as other soldiers? Soldiers who broke through enemy lines would receive different rewards than those who garrisoned cities. In short, as long as you're willing to keep them all, that's fine.

Li Ji then slowly sheathed his long sword and said in a deep voice, "In that case, I will grant your request for now. I will order the flags to be raised and the soldiers to be counted. However, the able-bodied and the old and weak must be divided into separate camps—you can come with me into the city to discuss the specifics."

Author's note: I have some quirks. Ever since I started writing "Han Wei Wen Kui", I've been unaccustomed to creating NPCs with no background. I either dig out their names from the depths of old documents or ask readers to sign up for the role, unless it's a very minor character who only appears once—in which case I simply don't name them.

However, searching through ancient books to find suitable candidates is incredibly time-consuming and energy-draining—but it does increase my knowledge considerably. For example, some readers might guess that Du Huangshang and Gao Ying were influenced by "The Great Tang Official Records," but that's not actually the case. I only found their names in the second year of the Baoying era by recently purchasing and reviewing "The Records of Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty."

Incidentally, Zheng Yin and Zheng Wenming were indeed among the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) in the sixth year of the Dali era!

To get back to the main point, the protagonist will be active in the Hebei region for a considerable period afterward. However, due to the fragmented state of the three towns in Hebei during the original historical period, information about Hebei scholars and military commanders is extremely scarce and fragmented, making it very difficult to find. Therefore, I earnestly request that readers once again enthusiastically sign up to play minor roles by posting in the comments section. Don't worry, I will take good care of you all…

Chapter Twenty-One: Li Ji Enters Wei

Li Ji originally planned to lure all those dozens of representatives into the city and then eliminate them.

The saying goes, "A snake cannot move without a head." Even if he agreed to take in those ten thousand old soldiers, he did not want to hand them over to Li Ziyi, Yang Shigu, and others to command. They can coerce me with their troops today, but who knows what they might do if they have weapons and positions in the future!

But Li Ziyi, without a care in the world, was ready to follow. Yang Shigu, however, was cunning and continued to kneel and beg, saying, "General, you are not familiar with these old soldiers. We can assist in the recruitment. We hope that you will first grant us a title."

First, we need to get a military position; second, it's too dangerous to go into the city with you now, it's better to wait until we've established a camp first...

Li Ji had no choice but to temporarily restore the ranks of these representatives in the Yan army, such as deputy general, deputy general, or minor officer, etc. Of course, they were not appointed as generals without real positions. Even Nie Feng, who helped maintain order, had the word "general" removed from his rank.

Xuan ordered Yin Shen to lead several personal guards out of the crowd and raise a recruitment flag in the west of the city. He then ordered Li Ziyi, Yang Shigu, and others: "Since you are soldiers, you should abide by military law. Line up and wait for inspection—anyone who is in disarray..." He glanced at Nie Feng—"What should be done with them?"

Nie Feng crossed his arms and replied, "Military law: anyone who breaks ranks will be executed!"

Li Ji picked up the sword with one hand, sheath still attached, and held it horizontally in front of Nie Feng, saying loudly, "This is a precious sword bestowed by the emperor. I entrust it to you to uphold military law!" He had also noticed that Nie Feng not only had considerable prestige in the old army, but was also familiar with most of the representatives, and could be of some use.

Nie Feng hurriedly bowed his head, raised his hands high, and respectfully accepted the horizontal sword—it was indeed a treasured sword bestowed by the emperor, originally wielded by Li Xi, but knocked to the ground by Li Ji in the Flying Dragon Stable. Li Yu picked it up and personally handed it to Li Ji.

Li Ziyi still had something to say: "We are starving and hope that the commander will have mercy and provide us with food."

Li Ji glared at him: "Do you think I'm carrying thousands of bushels of rice? If you won't let me into the city, then we'll both starve to death here!"

—This Li Ziyi is the most unruly; we must teach him a lesson when we get the chance!

With the order given and flags raised, the former soldiers of Weizhou finally parted to make way—and they all hurried to line up—Li Ji then signaled the ships behind to dock, gathered his men on the pier, and slowly made their way towards the city gate. Jiao Xiwang followed closely behind Li Ji, trembling, and asked in a low voice, "Should we order the soldiers to draw their weapons in case of unforeseen circumstances?"

Li Ji smiled and shook his head: "If we brandish our blades, it will not only show our fear, but it will also easily lead to chaos."

He knew those old soldiers wouldn't trust him. If he showed the slightest fear or displayed obvious hostility, even if they didn't fight on the spot, they would definitely block him at the dock, demanding that he be registered, given weapons, established as a camp leader, and even provided with food before releasing him. Because by then, he would be somewhat organized and ready to launch an attack at any time, so he wouldn't have to worry about Li Ji going back on his word.

Actually, Li Ji had come from a thousand miles away and had brought enough food and provisions to distribute to his old soldiers, but he absolutely refused to do so! He insisted that he had no food here and had to go into the city to check the treasury.

He believed that these old soldiers could still hold out—otherwise they would have already launched an attack on the city—so once he entered the city and took control of the treasury, he could, to some extent, control the lifeline of the old soldiers.

Fortunately, among the old soldiers, there are currently no mid- to high-ranking officers or generals—the higher the rank of the general, the more soldiers will recognize him and be willing to join his ranks. This would allow him to potentially gather thousands or even tens of thousands of men, instead of the current near-disorganized mob, and thus have the strength to challenge Li Ji. Frankly, if Li Ji is not assertive enough, and if he doesn't maintain a degree of flexibility within that assertiveness, and if he truly angers those old soldiers, and if there is a respected former general in command, he might very well oust the new commander and seize power.

Fortunately, Xue Song didn't seem to get involved, otherwise things would have been even worse.

Because there weren't enough veteran generals to hold the fort, those old soldiers were willing to obey Li Ji's orders with trepidation, rushing to line up and register, gambling that the new commander had no ill intentions and wouldn't go back on his word.

Meanwhile, Feng Yan, atop the city wall, had received a prior message from Nie Feng that the men outside meant no harm, only earnestly requesting the new commander's acceptance of their service. He instructed Nie Feng to guide the leader to the dock to pay respects to the new commander—and also to quickly leave the city. But how could Feng Yan dare leave the city at this critical juncture? He thought to himself, "If anything happens to the new commander, I will be guilty of a grave offense; if the city falls, I will be sentenced to death! It's best to keep the city gates tightly closed..."

He waited on the west city wall, anxiously watching the situation at the dock. He finally waited until Li Ji led his troops to the city, then ordered his soldiers to be on high alert, and led the prefectural officials to open the city gates to welcome them.

Li Ji smiled at him: "The city is closed during the day, and swords and spears are raised. Is the infiltrator welcoming me or guarding against me?"

Feng Yan hurriedly bowed deeply: "I dare not, I only fear that chaos will break out outside the city. This is to guard against thieves, how could I dare not respect Commander Li?"

Li Ji waved his hand: "There are no thieves, just some old soldiers who asked me to take them in. Qianzhi, there's no need to be alarmed. Just order the four city gates to be opened to reassure the people."

Feng Yan, courtesy name Qianzhi, was a native of Su County, Bohai. In the fifteenth year of the Tianbao era, he passed the imperial examination as a student of the Imperial Academy and later joined the staff of Pugu Huaien. When the troops retreated, he was left behind to temporarily serve as the Prefect of Weizhou. Therefore, Li Ji had met him several times and knew him.

The newly appointed military governor and supervisor should have had a grand ceremony upon entering the city, but given the current situation outside the city and the many problems that urgently needed to be resolved, everything had to be simplified. Li Ji first asked Feng Yan how much grain was left in the treasury. Feng Yan presented the account book, and Li Ji opened it and saw—not bad, there were nearly 100,000 bushels of grain, 3,000 bolts of silk, and 7,000 pieces of cloth.

"But is it a real number?"

Feng Yan said with a wry smile, "The exact number is accurate, but most of the grain is old, and about 30% of it is probably moldy; as for the silk and cloth, nearly half of it is unusable..."

Li Ji didn't have time to investigate why this was happening. He simply turned to Du Huangshang and Gao Ying and asked, "The masses outside the city are begging for alms. Can we give them some silk and grain?"

He respected the two newly appointed scholars who had passed the imperial examinations. Whenever there was something to discuss on the way, he would consult with Du and Gao. Just now at the dock, to prevent any accidents, he did not let the two of them disembark. He had to make a decision on his own when facing those representatives of the old soldiers. That would have been fine. But now that they had entered the city, he would have to consult the two of them before taking any action.

Gao Ying said, “It is only natural for the newly appointed military commander to reward his officers and soldiers to stabilize morale. However, they have a history of coercion. If we reward them, it would be a sign of weakness on the part of Commander Li. Besides, what about the soldiers guarding the city if we reward them?”

Du Huangshang said, "The treasury is not very full now, so it is not appropriate to distribute it widely. We can give some food and grain, and as for silk and cloth, we can promise to make new clothes for them."

Li Ji nodded and then ordered: "Please have Qianzhi take one hundred bushels of grain and vegetables from the treasury and go out of the city to cook porridge for them—only those registered in the camp are allowed to eat." He also ordered Nan Jiyun to lead a troop of soldiers out of the city to assist Yin Shen and Nie Feng in maintaining order.

Then I summoned Baozi Tian, ​​whom Yu Ling had recommended to him—"Wei Bo is indeed short of grain. You must go to Huai River to purchase some for me—at least five thousand bushels to tide me over." As for the price, I will take a thousand bolts of fine silk from the treasury, and settle the rest with gold.

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Shortly before Li Ji entered Weizhou, Qin Rui, the defense commissioner of Dezhou and Beizhou, also received the news and summoned his advisors Guo Mo and Xu Yu to discuss countermeasures.

Xu Yu, courtesy name Jichang, was the son of Xu Shuji. When Shi Chaoyi was defeated and fled Luoyang, Xu Yu led a separate army and did not accompany his father. As a result, Xu Shuji was captured en route, while Xu Yu successfully escaped to Hebei. In fact, he participated in the Luqiao Post Station Incident and was thus taken as a confidant by Shi Chaoyi. Xu Shuji was able to avoid losing his head like Zhou Zhi because of his son.

In essence, Xu Yu bore some responsibility for Zhou Zhi's death, but Qin Rui and Guo Mo only used Zhou Zhi's name temporarily to meet the needs of the situation; neither of them ever harbored any intention to avenge their "former master." Therefore, when Xu Yu came to Qin Rui in dire straits, Qin Rui took him in without any reservations. Since it was inconvenient to reveal his true identity as an inside agent, Qin Rui completely abandoned that idea. From the perspective of surrendered generals of the An Lushan Rebellion, banding together for mutual support was an inevitable outcome.

Xu Yu came to see Qin Rui dressed in mourning clothes. He had already heard the news of his father's murder, but he couldn't possibly connect it to Li Ji. He didn't quite believe his father had hanged himself, or that he hadn't left a single word, suspecting that Pugu Huai'en had done something to it. However, since he had no way of finding out the truth, and understood that the victor is king and the loser is villain, it was only natural that he couldn't resent the Tang court for this—the Emperor's pardon allowed him to openly enter and leave the Debei Defense Commissioner's office, instead of being bound and escorted to Chang'an by Qin Rui, so he should be grateful for the Emperor's grace.

Moreover, to be honest, Xu Yu's reliance on Shi Chaoyi was mainly for self-preservation. Xu Yu was born into the Tang Dynasty and was not a confidant of An Lushan or Shi Siming. Deep down, he still preferred to continue serving as a Tang subject.

Previously, the Tang court had enfeoffed all the prefectures in Hebei to surrendered generals, but left Wei and Bo prefectures vacant. It was easy to guess that this was to accommodate people trusted by the emperor. Qin Rui then sent Guo Mo to inquire about the situation. The "Divine Machine Guard" had not been re-established because, including Jingjing'er who had come to join them, the number of Jianghu people under Guo Mo's command was less than a fraction of what it used to be, only six or seven people. The rest had either died in battle or fled without a trace. Around the time Li Ji left Chang'an, accurate information was delivered to Qinghe City.

Qin Rui's feelings were quite complicated when he heard that Li Ji would be in charge of guarding Weibo. He was of higher birth than Li Ji, and in terms of ability, he considered himself superior to Li Ji—at least before Li Ji's spirit was possessed, when the two fought, Qin Rui had a slight advantage due to his more combat experience—however, after several years, he finally managed to establish himself, but was only appointed as the defense commissioner of two prefectures, while Li Ji jumped over his head and became the military governor of two prefectures.

The predecessor of the Jiedushi was the Dudu, who was also a commander holding an imperial insignia. His full title was Jiedu Jinglue Zhenshou Shi (Military Governor-General). Although the Fangyu Shi (Defense Commissioner) also governed the military affairs of one or several prefectures, he did not have an imperial insignia and his status was originally below that of the Jiedushi. Moreover, since the Tianbao era, Jiedushi often concurrently served as the local Guancha Shi (Observation and Dispatch Commissioner), which gradually became the norm. Nowadays, Guancha Shi does not necessarily concurrently serve as Jiedushi, but Jiedushi must also be Guancha Shi, holding both military and political power.

Qin Rui harbored no ill will towards Li Ji and had for a considerable period regarded him as a younger brother. But now that this younger brother had directly challenged him, it was impossible for him not to feel uneasy. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if Li Ji, now in charge of Weibo, would bring Cui Qi along as well? His beloved woman seemed to be right next door; would he have a chance to see her again…?

Back when the two provinces of Wei and Bo were vacant, Xu Yu had advised Qin Rui to try to take over—if the court had appointed the wrong person, you must take the initiative to defend yourself and seize the two provinces.

"Although Bei is a large prefecture, it is not as good as Wei, and Bei and De are not as good as Wei and Bo, and it is far inferior to Zhaoyi and Chengde. Even Ji and Cang are slightly inferior. To put it bluntly, of the four towns in Hebei, defense is the weakest, and the situation is very precarious. In particular, Wei Prefecture was originally under the control of Xue Song. If he wanted to take Wei, it would be a piece of cake. But if the Zhaoyi army also took over Wei and Bo, it would be like inserting a sharp blade into the heart of the defense. I'm afraid it would be difficult to secure the city..."

However, Guo Mo opposed Xu Yu's view, insisting that regarding Weibo, they should only send people to secretly observe its movements and prepare for contingencies, and that they absolutely should not take action at present—"If I do not act, Xue Song may not dare to act either; if I covet Weizhou, Xue Song can use this as an excuse to seize Wei and attack me..."

Because Guo Mo had joined Qin Rui relatively early and was well aware of the animosity between Qin Rui and Tian Chengsi, he suggested that Qin Rui ally with Xue Song of the Zhaoyi Army in the west, take Ji and Ying in the north, or attack Cang and Di in the east. In particular, Xue Song and Li Baochen had been stationed in Hebei for a long time, Li Huaixian had been stationed in Youzhou for a long time, and Qin Rui had been in charge of Bei and De for more than a year. Only Tian Chengsi was a semi-outsider—he had previously been under the control of the pseudo-Yan, which was in Henan—therefore, there was an opportunity for the four families to unite and plot against the Tian family.

Therefore, firstly, it is essential to cultivate a good relationship with Xue Song and avoid interfering in the affairs of Weizhou. Since Xue Song and Li Baochen have a good relationship, it is also possible to establish good relations with Chengde Town through the Zhaoyi Army. Secondly, it is crucial to win over Li Huaixian and try to sow discord between Youzhou and Tian Chengsi.

However, before that, there is a major matter to be done. It is advisable to feign compliance with Tian Chengsi. It was Tian Chengsi who first sent someone to make contact, hoping to jointly submit a memorial with Qin Rui to seek the imperial insignia, that is, to request the position of military governor.

—If you always hold the title of Defense Commissioner or Chief Defense Commissioner, you'll be a head shorter than other towns. Whether it's governing or using troops, it will be hindered in many ways, which is too inconvenient.

Now that Li Ji has been appointed military governor of Weibo, Qin Rui asked his two advisors about it and revealed that he had met Li Ji several times before and they had a fairly good relationship. Guo Mo said that this was perfect—"We should send envoys to establish friendly relations. If Li Ji can pacify Weibo, he can be a support for our northward advance; if he cannot pacify Weibo and the two provinces fall into chaos, we can try to take it over under the guise of providing aid."

If Li Ji is willing to ask my family for help, and you send troops to Weibo, even Xue Song will have nothing to say.

Qin Rui agreed with Guo Mo's opinion and planned to send Xu Yu to Weizhou to see Li Ji. However, Xu Yu's face turned green on the spot. Although he did not know that Li Ji was the mastermind behind his father's murder, Xu Yu had witnessed Li Ji holding Xu Shuji hostage in Pengcheng. The scene that day made him shudder when he thought about it.

However, unwilling to expose his shortcomings, he made an excuse to decline, saying, "Recently, tens of thousands of scattered soldiers from Weizhou have been wandering around various villages. We have just recruited them for defense, so it is inconvenient for them to leave immediately... Moreover, if Li Ji causes trouble after entering Wei, as Mr. Guo said, if he is hindered by the scattered soldiers, he will not be able to establish a foothold in Weizhou. It would be better to wait a while, find out the situation in Weibo, and then send an envoy."

Qin Rui smiled and said, "Wei Bo is nothing, not even a battlefield of ten thousand troops. I don't believe Li Changwei can't enter. Well, as Ji Chang said, let's wait a few days and talk about it again."

Chapter Twenty-Two: The Defense Forces of Weibo

Weizhou, at least under the city of Guixiang, has temporarily stabilized, but Li Ji feels that he doesn't have enough talented people under his command—this time it's a problem with military officers.

Of the generals he brought from the West, only Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun were capable of holding important positions. The hundred or so veteran soldiers from Suiyang were all of low rank, only fit to be brigade or platoon leaders, and not suitable for immediate promotion. Unfortunately, all the mid- to high-ranking officers of the old Weizhou army had followed Xue Song, leaving behind only lower-ranking officers, including Nie Feng, Li Ziyi, and Yang Shigu.

Originally, I intended to wait until the situation stabilized a bit, find an opportunity to capture all those representatives in one fell swoop, and at least deal with half of them—especially that unruly Li Ziyi—but unfortunately, I didn't have enough officers, so I had to hold my nose and let them live for now, to see how they fared.

Moreover, Du Huangshang advised Li Ji that it was best to remain calm and not punish the old generals for the time being. It would be better to wait until he had firmly established himself and gained some prestige in Weibo before deciding whether to take action based on the situation.

Li Ji thought to himself, "What a pity! My reputation is not well-known in Hebei." This was mainly because Pugu Huai'en was selfish and used his own Shuofang army and Uyghur soldiers as the main force in almost every battle in Hebei. Li Ji was almost always just a bystander and failed to intimidate the Yan soldiers.

On the day the city walls were erected to recruit soldiers, a total of 12,004 former soldiers were recruited. As the news spread, more and more people came to join, eventually bringing the total to around 21,000. Following Li Ji's instructions, Yin Shen and others divided these former soldiers into four classes: the first class consisted of elite soldiers, numbering over 10,000; the second class consisted of soldiers who did not meet the recruitment requirements in terms of physique, strength, or physical ability, numbering around 5,000; the third class consisted of veterans over 40 years old, numbering around 2,000; and the fourth class consisted of young soldiers under 16 years old, numbering a little over 3,000.

Then, the original 10,000 soldiers in Guixiang City were also selected and divided into camps.

Li Ji selected three hundred men from the elite troops to serve as his personal guards—the selection criteria were not fighting ability, but whether they were honest and loyal—and appointed Yuan Jing'an as his deputy to lead them.

Lei Wanchun was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, leading 15,000 elite soldiers; the remaining 8,000 weak soldiers were temporarily led by the veteran soldiers, divided into 16 battalions, with Li Ziyi, Yang Shigu and others serving as deputy generals, battalion commanders and deputy commanders; the old soldiers were handed over to Feng Yan to handle miscellaneous tasks such as guarding the city and various government offices; and the 4,000 young soldiers were handed over to Nie Feng, who was promoted to general.

In fact, Li Ji valued those young soldiers quite a bit. Apart from a few who were truly lacking in talent, the rest, after a few years of good food, had the potential to grow into elite soldiers. Children, in particular, were basically blank slates, easy to mold and easier to win over. It was just a pity that he lacked capable generals and could only temporarily trust Nie Feng.

However, he also instructed Yin Shen to have someone keep a close eye on Nie Feng. Based on Nie Feng's performance at the dock that day, Li Ji had a rather favorable impression of him. His only concern was that Nie Feng was a pawn planted by Xue Song, or that Nie Feng might be more inclined towards his former master, Xue Song, than himself…

As for Nan Jiyun, he was also appointed as the Commander of the Army and sent to take control of Bozhou and train the troops there—it is said that there were six or seven thousand troops.

With the military affairs temporarily concluded, the focus shifts to civil administration. After all, Li Ji holds the positions of Inspector General of two prefectures and Prefect of Wei Prefecture. While Bo Prefecture can be temporarily set aside, the political situation in Wei Prefecture must be thoroughly investigated first.

Although Feng Yan appeared cowardly and lacking in responsibility based on Li Ji's initial performance upon arrival, he did possess some talent in civil administration. During his months of service in Wei, he accomplished some practical tasks, rather than simply lounging in the city waiting for his superiors. At least based on Feng Yan's reports and the investigations conducted by Yin Shen's spies, Li Ji quickly gained a relatively clear understanding of the situation in each county.

Land consolidation was severe in Weizhou, with over 70% of the population lacking their own land and forced to rely on wealthy households as tenants. This was the main reason why tens of thousands of Weizhou natives preferred to risk joining the army rather than return to their hometowns to farm. Furthermore, these wealthy households took advantage of the changes in government to seize fertile land, accounting for more than 80% of the cultivated land in the state.

Fortunately, seizing someone else's land isn't simply a matter of driving the original owner into bankruptcy; it also requires registration with the government and approval. In this regard, Feng Yan did something good: he withheld all applications for changing land ownership after he took office, claiming he would review them after the superior official arrived.

Now he said to Li Ji: "The problem of the court's poverty lies in the annexation of land. The rich own vast tracts of land and evade taxes and corvée labor, while the poor have nowhere to stand and are scattered and displaced. As a result, the treasury is empty and the government's orders cannot be implemented. Therefore, I believe that this trend should be stopped first, and then the people can live in peace."

Li Ji thought to himself, "You do have some insight, but if that's the case, why not just reject those applications directly instead of passing the buck to me? You're still too timid and lack the courage."

He had intended to crack down hard on this unhealthy trend, even going so far as to punish the local tyrants and redistribute land, but Feng Yan reminded him: "Most of the wealthy families in the prefecture are entangled with the officers and soldiers of the Zhaoyi Army, making them difficult to separate..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji felt a slight toothache.

Xue Song has been in charge of Weizhou for many years. Even if his generals and officials didn't seize land, the gentry and wealthy families would surely flock to him for protection. But now, those generals and officials have all followed Xue Song to join the Zhaoyi Army... If Li Ji didn't intend to cultivate a good relationship with Xue Song, he could easily take drastic measures. But now, the transportation lines are in Xue Song's hands, making him hesitant and unable to act decisively...

So he consulted his advisors, and Gao Ying replied directly: "We should determine the ownership of the land based on the account books from before the rebellion in the fourteenth year of Tianbao. All changes and alterations made when the puppet Yan regime occupied Hebei should not be acknowledged by Commander Li. This is the matter of principle, and even Commander Xue cannot question it!"

Before agreeing to join the staff, Gao Gongchu had mentioned beforehand that "my nature is too rigid," which Li Ji didn't take seriously at the time—how rigid could such a gentle and refined young man be, no matter how strong his character? However, after several conversations on the road, Li Ji discovered that while Gao Ying wasn't exactly fiery, he habitually sought the simplest and most direct methods, and once he accepted a point, he insisted on arguing until a winner was determined, completely oblivious to the subtleties of his superiors. It was only because Li Ji was a bit of a "keyboard warrior" in his previous life, enjoying verbal sparring, that he could have been retained by a more clumsy and tongue-tied military governor.

Compared to Gao Ying, Du Huangshang, whose nasolabial folds were much deeper and traditionally interpreted as indicating a strong, ruthless nature, was actually much gentler and more resilient. He was also skilled in the art of language and never argued with anyone—thus proving that physiognomy is entirely illusory. Upon hearing Gao Ying's words, Du Huangshang subtly expressed his disagreement:

"Gong Chu is right. However, since the emperor has pardoned those who followed the rebels, it is not appropriate to investigate the tampering of land by officials and gentry. Moreover, even if we wanted to investigate, most of the land registers from before the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era have been lost. How could we obtain them?"

Gao Ying was fond of criticizing people, but he still respected Du Huangshang quite a bit—although they were both successful candidates in the imperial examinations, Gao Ying ranked higher than Du Huangshang—so he cupped his hands and asked, "Brother Zunsu, what good strategies do you have?"

Most Confucian believers tend to look backward, believing that morality has declined and the present is inferior to the past. They think that if ancient systems could be restored, all problems could be solved. In a sense, this isn't entirely unreasonable; it just depends on how many years you're willing to regress. Nowadays, any discerning person understands that the biggest social problem is land annexation, leading to a decline in the living standards of ordinary people and making it difficult for the court to collect sufficient taxes. Therefore, if the situation of sparsely populated land in the early Tang Dynasty could be restored, and the equal-field system reissued, both the regional military governors and the entire country would be saved.

However, Du Huangshang clearly understood that ideals and reality were two different things. While it was good to be persistent in pursuing ideals, changing reality could not be achieved overnight, otherwise it would inevitably lead to chaos. Besides, his interests ultimately sided with the landlord class, and he could not fundamentally harm the interests of the landlords and gentry.

The situation in Weibo Town was unique, but the serious problem of land annexation was a nationwide issue, not just limited to Hebei. Thus, during his journey eastward, Du Huangshang had been constantly considering this problem—land is the foundation of governance; if the foundation is solid, the branches and leaves can flourish—and he already had a general strategy in place.

He suggested that all applications for changes in land ownership after the surrender to Tang be suppressed for the time being, and that officials from the provincial or prefectural governments be sent to remeasure the land and verify the information. At the same time, he asked Li Ji to write a letter to Xue Song explaining the situation and seeking his understanding—since most of the wealthy households in the prefecture had connections with the officers and soldiers of the Zhaoyi Army, it would be inappropriate to carry out the crackdown without prior notice, as it would damage the relationship between the two sides.

Then, they would first target those without powerful backers, or those whom Xue Song indicated they didn't need to concern themselves with. The acquired land wouldn't need to be returned to its original owners—besides, many of the original owners couldn't be found—but would all be confiscated by the government, which would then lease the land to those without land to cultivate. The next step was to threaten and coerce the remaining wealthy households into contributing military funds to the military governor's office, in exchange for a series of inexpensive but beneficial honorary titles. If they refused, their excess land would be confiscated, thus providing a legitimate reason for their actions.

First, try to control 30% of the cultivated land within the prefecture or its military governors, and arrange for displaced people to cultivate it—we can also try civilian and military settlements—then utilize soldiers to repair water conservancy facilities and increase the yield per mu of government-owned land. After a year or two, when the treasury is relatively full and we can be self-sufficient in grain, then we can designate the remaining large households one by one and forcibly buy their land.

Who says only wealthy families can annex the land of ordinary people? The government is even more adept at this; it just depends on whether the time is right and whether they are willing to take drastic measures. Especially after a year or two, either the interests of Zhaoyi Army and Weibo will be completely tied together, or the army will be well-fed and strong, and they will no longer fear Xue Song, so they will no longer need to hold back in doing many things.

Another strategy is to temporarily register the acquired land under the name of the military governor, rather than as government property, which might actually reduce resistance...

Gao Ying's assessment was, "Isn't this too slow?" He didn't seem inclined to completely contradict Du Huangshang. Li Ji stroked his beard and pondered, also deciding that he could temporarily adopt Du Huangshang's suggestion and take a step or two to see the results. Therefore, he ordered Gao Ying to draft a letter to Xue Song and entrusted Du Huangshang with the task of managing the land, with Liu Ji and Luo Yiping assisting him.

Li Ji's soul comes from the future, possessing broad knowledge and ample theoretical understanding, but his practical abilities... well, let's just say they're questionable. Regarding military affairs, he's been learning by trial and error since his early days secretly observing troop training in Fengtian, gradually figuring things out—the Pugu father and son, Guo Xin, Li Yuanzhong, and even the old master Jing Jiangxiao were all his teachers—but as for governance, he's never actually done it. Since that's the case, he might as well delegate everything to Du Huangshang for now, focusing only on major policies and strategies.

As it turned out, the subordinates Li Ji recruited were all capable. Liu Ji and Luo Yiping, having both served as minor officials, were fine, but Du Huangshang and Gao Ying, the two newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), theoretically lacked practical experience. However, they were meticulous and methodical in their work, and for the time being, there were no major mistakes. This was probably due to their family background—Du Huangshang's father, Du Wanjian, served as the Registrar of the Jingzhao Prefecture, and Gao Ying's father, Gao Boxiang, had served as the Magistrate of Haozhi, both being frontline officials close to the people.

If someone comes from a family of censors or Hanlin scholars, they would probably need to practice; it would be impossible for them to master it so quickly.

Li Ji still focused his main efforts on military affairs. He personally inspected the various camps, adopting a humble attitude and repeatedly talking with officers and even soldiers to obtain firsthand intelligence. Ten days after entering Wei, he held a military drill in Wang Mang's city. During the drill, Li Ji pretended to be itching for a fight, picked up a spear, mounted his horse, and fought Lei Wanchun for dozens of rounds, leaving the Wei soldiers dazzled and speechless. He then took up his bow and tested his shooting skills—using the powerful bow given to him by Pugu Huai'en—hitting the target ten times out of ten from a hundred paces away.

He did this so that the soldiers could recognize his own face and also to demonstrate his military prowess—military strategies and command abilities are only visible in battle, but martial skills are immediately apparent—to strengthen the soldiers' confidence in his loyalty.

After this military exercise, he gained a clear understanding of the basic conditions of each camp and realized that Wang Mang's city was indefensible. Therefore, he finally decided to set up the military governor's office in Yuancheng, and station thirty elite battalions (five hundred men per battalion) to be stationed in Yuancheng, Guixiang, and north of Guantao City to defend against De and Bei, west of Weixian City and north of Dunqiu City to defend against Xiang and Ming, and south of Linhuang City to monitor the Yellow River waterway, thus roughly constructing a defense system.

During the military drills, the former generals of Weizhou displayed their skills. Li Ji observed them and found that there were quite a few who were capable fighters. It was no exaggeration to say that Hebei produced elite troops and strong generals. If the puppet Yan state had not been incompetent in governing and managing the people, and had not been plagued by internal strife and patricide, it might not have collapsed.

The veteran generals were dissatisfied with only being able to command weak troops. When Li Ji went deep into the military camp, they either expressed their concerns subtly or directly offered their services, believing that if they did not receive a promotion for too long, chaos would surely ensue. Therefore, after the military exercise, Li Ji quickly promoted Li Ziyi and Yang Shigu to the rank of 10th-rank general, assigning them to command elite troops, each leading a battalion.

To be honest, he didn't like these two generals. Initially, he only thought Li Ziyi was arrogant and unruly, but later he gradually realized that the boy was just stubborn and relatively rough, not as cunning as Yang Shigu, who was more shrewd and needed to be guarded against. After all, Li Ziyi had once tried to coerce him, and he also had prestige among the old soldiers. The reason he promoted the two was twofold: first, they were indeed skilled in archery and horsemanship, making it inconvenient to suppress them forcefully; second, it was to divide the representatives of the old soldiers and to have Lei Wanchun and others monitor the two closely.

Their thoughts were very secretive, and even Yang Shigu couldn't see through them. After being promoted, Yang and Li knelt down and kowtowed, thanking the commander repeatedly and vowing to serve him to the death—of course, it was just something they said casually, and Li Ji only overheard it.

To facilitate management, the thirty elite battalions led by Lei Wanchun were designated "Weizhou Garrison Officers," the fifteen battalions led by Nan Jiyun were designated "Bozhou Garrison Officers" (abbreviated as "Defense Army"), the sixteen battalions of weaker soldiers were called "Weizhou Assistant Defense Officers" (abbreviated as Assistant Army), and the eight battalions of youth soldiers led by Nie Feng were designated "Weibo Town Rear Service Officers" (abbreviated as Service Army). The Assistant Army was stationed in Wang Mang City and east of Wei County; the Service Army was stationed outside Yuan City—Li Ji wanted to personally train those half-grown children.