Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 137

Seeing that the Tang army was about to launch another large-scale attack, Shi Chaoyi was terrified and didn't want to stay at the front line for even a day. He planned to order Li Huaixian to lead the army south to rescue Fanyang after arriving there, and he would simply stay in Fanyang.

So he led two thousand cavalrymen northward. But no sooner had he left than Tian Chengsi lured and killed Xue Zhongyi, annexed his troops, and then offered Shi Chaoyi's mother, wife, and children to the Tang camp…

Upon hearing the news, Qin Rui was furious! He thought to himself, if you, Tian Chengsi, could have protected Shi Chaoyi until the end of the war, I would have respected you as a man. But you just exposed my plot and then surrendered to Tang... Why didn't you discuss with me earlier about selling out Shi Chaoyi together?

"This traitor, I will never let him live under the same sky! One day I will cut off his head, slaughter his wife and children, and exterminate the entire Tian family!"

All we can do now is swear that "one day will come." As things stand, both Qin and Tian have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and have received generous treatment from Pugu Huai'en, the deputy commander of Hebei...

Chapter 8, Recruiting and Accepting Surrender

After accepting Tian Chengsi's surrender, the main force of the Tang army temporarily stayed in Xindu County, the capital of Jizhou, on the south bank of the Zhang River, for a brief reorganization.

Since crossing the Yellow River to the north, Li Ji had basically not fought any battles and was quite depressed. He guessed that either the matter of forbidding the troops from looting Luoyang had offended Pugu Huai'en, leading to his deliberate suppression, or the matter of assassinating Xu Shuji had made Pugu Huai'en feel that he had received a great favor from him, so he could transfer the credit to others at will.

—Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun returned to camp four days after sneaking off to Weizhou, and secretly reported to Li Ji: "The mission is accomplished."

Pugu Huai'en had given prior notice, allowing the two generals, Nan and Lei, to sneak into Xu Shuji's bedroom under cover of night. Upon seeing the two generals, Xu Shuji's face turned green, and he cried out, "I once saved Suiyang and have done you a favor! How dare you harm me?!"

Nan Jiyun grabbed Xu Shuji by the neck, turning his shouts into murmurs. Then Nan Jiyun sneered, "I went to Pengcheng to borrow troops from Doctor Xu, but he refused. Did you ever imagine this day would come? Because you refused to go to the rescue of Suiyang, countless loyal ministers and martyrs have lost their lives, waiting in the afterlife to meet you! If it weren't for Li Erlang kidnapping you, the siege of Suiyang wouldn't have been lifted. You never intended to do good, so how dare you speak of virtue?!"

Xu Shuji could only beg for mercy repeatedly. Lei Wanchun said impatiently, "Why bother talking to such a villain? Just kill him!" So the two generals used a white silk ribbon they had prepared beforehand to strangle Xu Shuji to death, and then hung him from the beam to fake his suicide.

To be honest, this job was done very poorly. If a seasoned official with years of experience in handling cases were to investigate, he would immediately know whether it was murder or suicide. Besides, even if Xu Shuji really did commit suicide out of fear of punishment, surely he would have left a single word behind? The key issue is that during the march, Li Ji had nowhere to find someone to imitate Xu Shuji's handwriting, fearing that he might make things worse by trying to explain it further…

But it doesn't matter. Since this matter has been approved by Pugu Huaien, it's easy to get away with it—at least the scene can be completely destroyed. Even if a detective from another time travels over, he will be helpless.

Nan Jiyun sighed, "It's a pity that we can neither cut off Xu Shuji's head to offer as a sacrifice to the dead, nor can we depict his terrified state before his death and preserve it for posterity... We felt so happy when we saw his expression at that time!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "You never know that one day there will be something called a 'camera'..."

He then quietly set up a private mourning hall in his tent, with memorial tablets for Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan in the center, flanked by Chen Ruo and other generals and officers of the Suiyang Army who had died in battle over the years, as well as a plaque inscribed "Spirits of the Suiyang Army Who Died Protecting the Nation." Li Ji led Nan Jiyun and other former Suiyang troops to pay their respects in turn.

To get back to the point, when the Tang army was temporarily stationed in Xindu, Li Baoyu, the military governor of Luze, suddenly came to their door.

Back in Heyang, Li Baoyu had followed Li Guangbi in defending against bandits, and Li Ji had met him several times. However, due to the vast difference in their status at the time, even though Li Ji was highly regarded by Li Guangbi and Pugu Huai'en, Li Baoyu had no intention of actively seeking a relationship with him. Now that their positions have become somewhat closer, both being commanders of their own armies, and with Li Ji practically a close confidant of Marshal Li Shi, it's only natural that Li Baoyu would visit him privately.

Li Ji still served Li Baoyu his simplified version of tea-making. But it was clear that Li Baoyu's mind was not on the tea, nor was he simply there to ingratiate himself or build rapport. After exchanging pleasantries, he asked Li Ji in a low voice, "Second Brother, what do you think of the Marshal's recent treatment of the surrendered generals?"

Zhang Xiancheng, Zhang Zhongzhi, Xue Song, Qin Rui, Tian Chengsi and other rebel military governors successively surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. Logically speaking, they should have handed over their land and troops, entered the Tang camp alone, and awaited their fate. Otherwise, if their surrender was feigned, and they found an opportunity to rebel again a few days later, what would we do if they stabbed us in the back?

However, Pugu Huaien seemed to have great trust in those traitorous generals, even allowing them to continue to control the territory and lead the army.

For example, Xue Song and Li Baoyu had already led their troops into Xue Song's camp to inspect the officers and soldiers, intending to reorganize them. Pugu Huaien then issued an order: "Li Baoyu, you go back to your own camp and let Xue Song continue to lead the troops."

The same applies to Xin Yunjing and Zhang Zhongzhi.

Li Baoyu and Xin Yunjing were furious and suspected that Pugu Huaien had ulterior motives and wanted to take the opportunity to win over those rebel generals and keep their troops so that they could be their helpers in the future—maybe that guy also wanted to rebel!

In the past few days, the two generals have been working together in their respective camps, planning to submit a joint memorial impeaching Pugu Huai'en, which naturally includes Li Ji. Xin Yunjing still has some concerns, saying, "Li Ji has a close relationship with Pugu and his son, and he will definitely not listen to me. What should we do if we report this to Pugu?"

Li Baoyu, however, said, “Li Erlang is a loyal minister, entrusted with high hopes by the Emperor and the Marshal. He will certainly not rebel with Pugu. Moreover, we are acting with integrity and have jointly impeached him. Why should we be afraid of Pugu finding out?” He patted his chest and went to find Li Ji.

When the matter was brought up, Li Ji was asked for his opinion. After a moment of contemplation, Li Ji slowly said, "Before the current emperor ascended the throne, there was an edict stating, 'Those who surrender or lead their followers to submit, from the rebel Shi Chaoyi downwards, shall be granted extraordinary rewards'..."

Li Baoyu shook his head: "How the court decides to proceed is its business, but now that they have surrendered, how can they not relinquish their military power? The deputy commander's arbitrary actions may lead to future trouble!"

He didn't dare mention that Pugu Huaien had rebellious intentions; after all, it was just speculation. He could tell others, but not Li Ji. He wasn't afraid that Li Ji would report to Pugu Huaien that Li Baoyu and Xin Yunjing wanted to impeach him, but he didn't want Li Ji to say that the generals wanted to impeach him for treason... that would really offend Pugu Huaien badly, and might even lead to false accusations and being implicated.

Li Ji smiled and said, "What I mean is that since the Emperor has issued this decree, it is most likely that the generals' impeachment of the deputy commander will not be permitted..."

Li Baoyu and Xin Yunjing tried to rally support, but received almost no response. Ultimately, the two generals had to jointly submit a memorial impeaching Pugu Huai'en, but that's another story. After Li Baoyu left, Li Ji brewed another pot of tea and savored it alone. His long conversation with Li Bi before leaving the capital resurfaced in his mind—

At that time, Li Bi had not yet moved to live next door to Li Ji, and naturally had not officially married. Since his younger brother was going on a long journey the next day, he begged Li Yu to let him leave the palace for one night so that he could talk with Li Ji by candlelight.

The conversation naturally started with Lai Zhen. Li Bi said, "Lai Dafu (Lai Zhen Jilu is the Imperial Censor) is a general of the state with great merit and outstanding achievements. Even if he disobeys orders in the slightest, we should not punish him severely, lest it hurt the feelings of the other generals. Changwei, when you arrive in Xiangyang, you must use your wisdom to take it over, and be careful not to use force."

Li Ji nodded and said, "I know—'Since the emperor has promised such a high official rank, I suppose Minister Lai will no longer make excuses and refuse to return to the capital... However, these military governors often hold onto their troops and act arrogantly. If they are not punished, I fear that a second or third Lai Zhen will emerge in the future. Where can the court find so many ministers and prime ministers to offer? We should wait until the rebellion is quelled before gradually eliminating them and returning all military power to the central government.'"

He boasted that this statement was absolutely "politically correct" and flawless, but Li Bi shook his head with a wry smile: "It cannot be edited out."

"Why?"

Li Bi countered, "Why do you think the state appoints so many military governors and defense envoys?"

"In order to unify local military and political power, we will do our utmost to quell the unrest."

"Then what caused the chaos?"

“The towns along the border are powerful and difficult to control.”

This was also Li Ji's consistent view: the An Lushan Rebellion was fundamentally a warlord rebellion because the country's main military forces were concentrated in the border towns, while the interior was weak, especially the Imperial Guards, which were particularly ineffective. It had nothing to do with Emperor Xuanzong's blind faith in non-Han generals—Li Guangbi, Pugu Huai'en, and Li Baoyu were all non-Han generals.

"Then why would the state concentrate its troops in border towns?"

"To defend against the Khitans and Xis in the east, to defend against the barbarian bandits in the west, to defend against the Nanzhao in the south, and..." Li Ji paused slightly before saying, "Even the Uyghurs cannot be completely trusted."

Li Bi nodded slowly, finally getting to the heart of the matter: "Even if the chaos in Guandong is quelled, the Khitan, Xi, Tubo, Nanzhao, and even the Uyghurs will still exist. How can we change course and abandon the heavy military presence along the border? The border towns cannot be weakened. And if heavy military presence is stationed along the border, how can the interior be left without troops as before? Not only must the Imperial Guard be strengthened, but the towns in Henan, Hebei, and even the Jianghuai region cannot be weakened either..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji fell silent.

In fact, he had more than a thousand years of experience than Li Bi on this issue, and his understanding was more insightful. He had discussed this topic in detail with Li Bi before.

In the early Tang Dynasty, the equal-field system was implemented, which led to the emergence of the Fubing system. This system involved twelve guards and local military prefectures managing the Fubing, in addition to the four Southern Guards protecting the central government. These Fubing were temporarily conscripted. In other words, only about 100,000 were professional or semi-professional soldiers, while the rest were conscripts—and even then, only for short periods.

These conscripts did not leave their jobs, served on schedule, and provided their own clothing, equipment, and horses—of course, the imperial court would also provide some—so the pressure on the national treasury was relatively small.

However, the equal-field system quickly collapsed. Years of war had left many of the upper-middle class impoverished and many of the lower class dead, resulting in a sparsely populated land area. This suffices to allow land to be allocated based on the number of adult males, essentially using land to collect taxes and military service obligations from the people. But once peace returned, the population grew rapidly, and land consolidation became rampant, leading to the bankruptcy of many self-cultivating farmers who were reduced to slavery by officials and private individuals. Thus, the wealthy owned vast tracts of land and could use various methods to circumvent or even evade military service, while the poor had nowhere to stand; how could they possibly bear the heavy burden of military service?

As a result, the Fubing system (a military system based on conscription) quickly collapsed.

However, a country cannot be without soldiers to defend against foreign invaders and quell internal turmoil. Thus, the "Changxing Jian'er" (a type of soldier) was born in response to the times and gradually became the main body of the army after the Kaiyuan era.

The so-called "Long March Warriors," also known as Long March Warriors or Military Defense Warriors, refers to volunteer soldiers, or mercenaries, who voluntarily enlisted, working part-time or fully off duty, and receiving a salary from the imperial court while performing combat missions. Roughly speaking, the cost for the state to support one warrior exceeded that of supporting five to ten conscripts.

Meanwhile, external threats grew increasingly severe. The Tibetans and Uyghurs rose to power, the Khitans and Xi formed alliances through marriage, and even the Nanzhao Kingdom unified the six Zhao kingdoms, dominating the southwest. As a result, many brave soldiers gathered on the frontier, gradually forming ten major border garrisons. However, the imperial court, after supporting these border garrisons, simply could not afford to maintain an army within its own borders. It was against this backdrop that the An Lushan Rebellion finally broke out.

As Li Mi said, in order to defend against foreign invaders, even if the rebellion in Guandong is quelled, the border towns cannot be abolished; and if the border towns are not abolished, but the military power of the various military governors and defenders in the interior is reduced, wouldn't that just restore the original state? Who knows if another An Lushan or another Shi Siming will emerge?

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh, "Could this situation, with warlords growing stronger and the court being held hostage, continue?"

Li Bi reminded him: "You've overlooked one problem. Nowadays, most of the soldiers in the country are brave men, accustomed to battle and combat, and dislike farming. If they are reduced in number, will they agree? It will surely cause trouble again..."

Li Ji said, "During the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, the number of soldiers was at least five times that of before; now, the number of soldiers is five times that of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras—where does the court get so much money to support the army?" They have been struggling for a long time. Even with Fifth Qi and Liu Yan robbing Peter to pay Paul, they still can't fill the hole. If the military garrisons are not abolished, all those in charge of finance will have to hang themselves from the southeast branch!

Li Bi sighed, "The only solution now is... for the court to stop interfering so much."

Seeing the questioning look in Li Ji's eyes, Li Bi said, "You came from Jin... so you naturally know about the Western Jin Dynasty. Back then, there were prefectures under the provinces..."

Li Ji interrupted him: "The prefecture of that time is the state of today."

"However, today's prefecture is directly under the jurisdiction of the imperial court!"

Li Bi then patiently explained, "The establishment of prefectures began in the Qin Dynasty and was continued in the Han Dynasty. At the beginning of the Han Dynasty, there were no more than thirty-six prefectures, but later forty-six more were added. As the territory expanded daily, the number of prefectures increased, so Emperor Wu of Han established various regional inspectors..."

When the thirteen departments were first established in the mid-Western Han Dynasty, their heads, except for the Commandant of the Capital Region, only had temporary supervisory power—the term "Inspector" meant an imperial censor who temporarily went out to investigate. However, during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, the title of Inspector was changed to Governor, gradually making them local administrative officials. The power of the Inspectors was slightly weakened in the early Eastern Han Dynasty, but by the end of the Han Dynasty, their power had increased even more, continuing into the Jin Dynasty.

"...During the Sui Dynasty, prefectures were abolished and replaced with provinces, or provinces were replaced with prefectures. Our Tang Dynasty followed this practice, which was actually the same as in the early Han Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, envoys were appointed to promote and dismiss officials in various circuits, similar to the provincial governors during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han. During the reign of Emperor Ruizong, it was proposed to establish twenty-four regional governorates under which all provinces were subordinate, but this was abandoned due to opposition from the officials. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong, fifteen regional inspectors were appointed, which were later changed to regional observers, and military governors were also appointed along the borders..."

Li Ji nodded and said, "I understand what you mean, brother. In short, the territory is expanding and the population is growing, so the two-tiered administrative system is no longer enough to manage it. Therefore, it must be changed to a three-tiered system."

Upon hearing this, Li Bi was slightly taken aback, then stroked his beard: "A two-tiered administrative system, a three-tiered administrative system... these terms are quite apt. Indeed, during the Zhenguan era, there were only three million households in the entire country, but by the Tianbao era, there were nine million—and if you include those who went into hiding or fled, it was no less than ten million..."

Li Ji shrugged: "Now it seems we'll have to back down again, won't we?"

"In the end, the Jiangnan region suffered less damage, and its population today is probably more than at the founding of the dynasty. If the court continues to directly govern the prefectures, it will be difficult to manage them."

Li Ji frowned slightly: "Does my brother mean to make the military governors of the various towns the current governors?"

Li Bi nodded: "The imperial court will no longer directly govern the prefectures. Their political affairs and finances will be managed by the respective inspectors and military governors. The towns within the territory will pay tribute on time, while the towns along the border will be supplied by imperial decree, which will help them communicate between the two regions."

Li Ji raised an eyebrow: "Brother, this isn't a three-tiered administrative system, it's a contract system... no, it's a feudal system!"

Chapter Nine, There's No Perfect Solution

The Zhou Dynasty implemented a system of enfeoffment, where the Zhou emperor was only responsible for governing the royal domain of a thousand li (approximately 500 kilometers), while the rest of the land was enfeoffed to the feudal lords, who were required to pay tribute on time. For feudal lords facing significant external pressure, the emperor would occasionally assist in allocating resources to help them overcome difficulties—or, in other words, allow them to exchange military action for revenue.

Li Mi had long harbored the idea of ​​a feudal system. Upon arriving at the imperial court in Ding'an, Emperor Suzong, concerned that generals like Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi held significant military power and were difficult to control, suggested that fiefdoms be established.

"Rewarding merit with official titles has two drawbacks: it leads to the failure of those without talent, and it makes those with power difficult to control. Therefore, meritorious officials who hold high office do not plan for the long term of their descendants, but only covet power for temporary gain, and will do anything for it. If An Lushan had a kingdom of a hundred li, he would have cherished it and passed it on to his descendants, and he would not have rebelled. The best course of action now is to wait until the country is at peace and then reward meritorious officials with titles and lands. Even a large country would only be two or three hundred li, comparable to a small prefecture today. How difficult would it be to control them? This would be a benefit for the country and for the officials for generations to come."

Li Ji was naturally vehemently opposed to this, and had engaged in several verbal battles with Li Bi, neither able to convince the other. Now that Li Bi had brought up this argument again, Li Ji questioned, "Does my brother want my Tang Dynasty to become like the Eastern Zhou Dynasty?"

"What's wrong with the two Zhou dynasties, which ruled for eight hundred years?"

"However, the feudal lords are at war every day, causing immense suffering and death. The world longs for peace and unity—but where is the peace?!"

"Was it the Zhou dynasty that declined first and then the feudal lords fought, or the feudal lords that fought and then the Zhou dynasty declined? During the reign of Emperor Wu Cheng, how could the feudal lords have dared to annex and seize territory for themselves? Moreover, at the beginning of the Zhou dynasty, the territory was only a thousand li of the royal domain. The two dukes of Zhou and Shao still regarded themselves as small states. If there were no feudal lords, Longyou, Jiaodong, Youji, Bashu, Wuyue, and even the whole of Chu would be barbarians forever!"

Li Ji was somewhat speechless, thinking to himself, "Brother, your words weren't this sharp last time we debated. Did you figure things out while hiding in the mountains, or did you learn to be a troll from me?"

Li Bi spread his palms out and pressed them down slightly, meaning let's not go off-topic and get back to the topic—"The accumulated problems did not happen overnight, and it is now impossible to return to the state at the beginning of the dynasty—even if the current emperor has the talent of Emperor Taizong, it will be useless unless he personally leads the imperial guards and fights another rebellion at the end of the Sui Dynasty!"

"I know you privately compare me to Zhuge Liang. Let's not say I'm inferior; even if I had Zhuge Liang's talent, given the chaos at the end of the Han Dynasty, I would never have been able to restore the dynasty, and could only maintain a precarious existence in a corner of the land. It was the times, the circumstances, that were beyond human control..."

Li Ji remained silent.

He knew he was a "keyboard warrior," whose greatest skill was simplifying complex social realities to offer unsolicited advice, believing he had grasped the magic formula for governing and saving the world. In reality, however, any pragmatic person in any era needs to grope in the dark, even taking many detours and making numerous compromises, before they can possibly guide reality onto their ideal path—and even then, success is rare, while failure is rampant…

His original plan for the Tang Dynasty's current situation was quite simple: as long as the emperor didn't lose his mind, and there were virtuous ministers in the court and good generals leading the troops, they could first quell the rebellion in Guandong, then at least strip the military power of the regional military governors in the interior, turn swords into plowshares, and send the soldiers back to farming. After accumulating wealth for a few years, they could largely solve the financial crisis, and then force the Tibetans back to the plateau in one fell swoop.

By then, even if we can't return to our former glory, we can at least enjoy peace for several decades or even a hundred years.

However, today, Li Bi laid all the problems bare before him—the border garrisons could not be withdrawn, nor could the inland garrisons; hundreds of thousands of soldiers were unwilling to return to farming; and the national treasury was unlikely to see any significant improvement… What good was being invincible if he could only defeat one opponent in the world? Wouldn't he end up like Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Western Chu?

Li "Keyboard Warrior," if you don't approve of my plan, what's your solution? Tell me.

"Are you really going to officially appoint all the military governors?"

Li Bi shook his head: "Who said we need real fiefdoms? It's just as you said, changing to a three-tiered administrative system, giving local authorities more power, so the court can ease its burdens and reorganize the Imperial Guards in preparation for unforeseen circumstances. If we can resolve the external threats, we can gradually weaken the border garrisons; if we can train a combat-ready Imperial Guard directly under the Emperor, we can gradually weaken the inland garrisons. These are not things that can be accomplished in ten or twenty years, and adjustments may be needed depending on the changing situation. But for now, it's not as simple as you, Changwei, imagine. You can't just quell the rebellion in Guandong and then take back even just the military power of the various military governors and defenders in the interior."

He paused for a moment, then continued, “Since the various military governors wield great power, there are bound to be those who disobey the king’s orders, such as Lai Zhen today, or even An Lushan and Shi Siming in the past. The court should mediate and make the various military governors check and balance each other. Even so, it is impossible to guarantee that there will be no chaos. This is precisely the time for you, Changwei, to use your military skills.”

Li Ji waved his hand: "We'll talk about the future later. But in your opinion, brother, is there any chance of victory in this eastern expedition?"

Li Bi nodded: "In my opinion, Luoyang can definitely be recovered. The country's army is now stronger than during the Zhide and Qianyuan eras, and Shi Chaoyi is not only inferior to An Lushan and his father, but also to An Qingxu. The people of Hebei are scattered, and the various military governors are practically independent. He only truly commands Henan..."

Li Ji expressed his agreement: "I think so too. However, Luoyang is easy to recapture, but Hebei is difficult to conquer. As your elder brother is in court, I hope you will advise the Emperor not to be impatient and to urge the generals at the front. Perhaps after the army recaptures Luoyang, it can temporarily be stationed in Wei and Xiang prefectures to exert its power, and wait until next year to seek an opportunity to launch a major offensive."

"Hebei is a vast and flat region with a large population. It is said that Shi's various military governors in Hebei, plus the military governor of Youzhou, have gathered no less than 200,000 troops! If we rush to attack, we may suffer another defeat like that of Xiangzhou, and the restoration of Luoyang will once again be in vain."

Li Bi smiled slightly: "No. The court can hardly supply more than 100,000 troops to stay on the front line for a long time; moreover, the barbarian bandits are approaching Longshang, and the Dangxiang and Nuci are causing trouble. Fengxiang and even Chang'an may be threatened at any time. Even if Hebei is pacified, the army will still need to reorganize for one or two years before it can defend the west. How can we expect Hebei to be pacified?"

"Then what plan does my brother have to secure Hebei, or even Youzhou and Jizhou, in this battle?"

Li Bi slowly said, "This is what I told you before. You should think about it carefully."

Li Ji guessed that Li Bi's intention was to massively recruit and accept rebels, allowing the rebel military governors of Hebei and even Youzhou to retain their old troops and territories, maintaining a semi-separatist stance, in exchange for their temporary non-opposition to the court. But—

"Brother, aren't you afraid that another Shi Siming will emerge?"

"Shi Siming surrendered and then rebelled again because he held the major town of Fanyang and also had influence in Hebei. Wherever his banners pointed, all the counties in Hebei submitted to him, making him like another An Lushan. The government army would naturally find it difficult to control him. If we allow the surrendered generals to divide Hebei and check each other, and the court then shows them favor, perhaps the chaos will not occur. Moreover, as mentioned before, the towns within the territory should not be abolished, not only to resist the border but also to monitor Hebei."

"Most importantly, the imperial court relies heavily on the southeast for its wealth, so military governors must be stationed along the canal to guard it. In the past, if it weren't for Zhang Xun's foresight in fiercely resisting Suiyang and ensuring that supplies were not lacking, the imperial court would probably have collapsed long ago."

Finally, he also advised Li Ji: "I know that Changwei is most concerned about the western affairs and regrets that he could go to the western barbarians as soon as the eastern chaos was quelled. But I suggest that now that Hebei is pacified, Changwei can take a town in the Central Plains as his military governor, slowly accumulate and train troops, and then listen to the court's summons to gather and drive out the western barbarians."

These past few days, whenever Li Ji had a spare moment, he would repeatedly ponder Li Mi's parting words. The more he thought about it, the more he felt as if there was a tangled mess before him, impossible to untangle. He thought to himself, "The situation might not be as difficult or even pessimistic as Li Mi described. As long as I have troops in my hands and grain in my granary, I can cut through this mess with a single sword stroke; what about the Hebei rebels, what about the Western Barbarians, what about the Nanzhao? I'll wipe them all out for you to see—Li Shi promised me 100,000 troops!"

But then consider Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi. Their direct troops might not even reach 100,000, yet they still faced suspicion from two emperors. One is currently sidelined in Chang'an, while the other will eventually return to join him. But even with these two in retirement, battles still need someone to lead them, so the period of being sidelined might grow longer… Could there be a place reserved for me in this situation?

I don't want to end up like Guo Ziyi!

If that's the case, the army can't be large enough, and financial power will still depend on the court... How arduous and frustrating would those battles be! How can this problem be solved? Should we really implement a feudal system, as Li Mi suggested?

In this era, it is often impossible to have both oneself and the country. Being a loyal minister may mean being sidelined or even being eliminated by the emperor on the pretext of being slandered. Being a powerful minister... given the Tang Dynasty's current strict bureaucratic system, and the fact that it is not yet over, it is probably even more difficult.

Well, let's take it one step at a time. First, let's quell the rebellion in Hebei. As Li Bi suggested, let's get a military governorship first.

Speaking of Pugu Huai'en's strategy towards the surrendered generals in Hebei, it coincided with Li Mi's—he came from Hedong to gather the generals in Shaanxi. Neither Li Mi nor Li Yu had spoken to him directly, nor could they have issued any secret edicts behind the generals' backs; it was mostly a decision made by themselves. Was his aim to quickly pacify Hebei, and even Youzhou and Jizhou, so that the country could gain a precious respite, or did he harbor some other ulterior motive?

"When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked." He should leave more potential enemies to prevent the court from discarding him after he has served his purpose.

Regardless, Li Yu certainly hoped the war in Guandong would end as soon as possible—because the court could no longer afford the supplies—and if Li Mi were to offer further advice, he would most likely approve of Pugu Huai'en's approach. Li Baoyu and his ilk were merely playing the villains, yet they couldn't harm Pugu Huai'en in the slightest.

It is said that Li Baoyu, Xin Yunjing and others were all from Hexi and had been stationed on the northern border for a long time. In a broad sense, they could also be considered generals of the Shuofang Army. So, did they really intend to impeach Pugu Huaien out of public interest, or did they want to overthrow the Pugu clan so that they could take control of the Shuofang Army themselves?

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The Tang army remained on the south bank of the Zhang River and did not advance north.

This was partly because the transport route was too long and supplies were gradually running out. Pugu Huaien ordered the surrendered generals in the vicinity to empty their treasuries to provide for the army's needs. On the other hand, the elite troops of Youzhou numbered nearly 100,000. If they were to defend their positions in the mountains, the government troops would certainly find it difficult to defeat them. It was better to wait for them to rush south and then launch a head-on attack.

It wasn't until after New Year's Day, entering the second year of Baoying, that Pugu Huai'en ordered the various tribes to cross the river one after another and enter the territory of Shen and Ying prefectures. But before they even reached Mozhou, good news arrived—Shi Chaoyi had already been beheaded.