Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 219

Of course, Qingluan firmly controlled the kitchen... so she could open her own shop using her skills, which could be considered a specialty.

Li Ji stood there in a daze, while Nie Yinniang stood up and asked rather impolitely, "Does the Grand Commandant think that women are not fit to be generals?" Li Ji quickly smiled and said, "Absolutely not. I just remembered that when you were taken away by Xie Shi, you were just a child. Now you have grown up. I sigh at the passing of time." Then his expression turned serious and he said, "Please tell me about today's situation, General Nie."

The Huaixi rebels have been at Tongguan for more than half a month, with a force of about 30,000 men, while the Tongguan garrison is less than 7,000 men – 3,000 from Luo Yuanguang's Zhenguo Army, 2,000 from Nie Yinniang's Shaanxi-Guo remnants, and about 2,500 from Li Ziyi's five battalions of Shence Army who came from Chang'an to reinforce them.

Tongguan Pass has been relocated several times. The current pass was built in the second year of the Tian Shou era of the Wu Zhou dynasty. It is strategically located, nestled against high mountains to the south and bordered by the Yellow River to the north. Its imposing walls make it extremely difficult to attack head-on. When the Huaixi army first arrived, they pursued the defeated troops of Shaanxi and Guo, attempting to seize the city, but were thwarted by Luo Yuanguang. By the time Nie Yinniang entered the pass, and Li Ziyi led the Shence Army to its aid, Li Xilie had little chance left.

Li Xilie made two unsuccessful attempts in response: First, he sent troops north across the Yellow River, attempting to bypass Tongguan from Fenglingdu to its rear. However, Tongguan was not just a single pass, but a complete defensive system. To the east were twelve interconnected cities along the Jin Canal, and to the north, a series of passes formed a screen around Fenglingdu, known as "Fengling Pass." Li Xilie traveled west along the north bank of the Yellow River, but the roads were narrow and difficult to traverse, and he also had to be wary of flanking attacks from the defenders on the river. He dared not send out a large force, only a thousand or so mobile troops, which were simply incapable of breaking through.

Secondly, Li Xilie secretly ambushed skilled archers on the side of the forbidden moat, who took advantage of the chaos to fire arrows at the pass, wounding Luo Yuanguang. With Luo Yuanguang down, the Tang army's morale plummeted, and their command structure collapsed. Li Xilie seized the opportunity to launch a fierce attack. Only thanks to Nie Yinniang and Li Ziyi's timely takeover of command and relatively good teamwork were they able to barely repel the rebel army's attack that day, killing or beheading no fewer than three hundred. Afterwards, when Nie Yinniang surpassed Li Ziyi and took overall command of the pass, Li Xilie was completely at a loss.

Therefore, in the past few days, the rebels have temporarily retreated ten miles away, not daring to launch a frontal assault. Li Xilie has been stuck under the fortified walls for a long time, unable to make any progress, and his morale is gradually declining. It seems that he is waiting for reinforcements from Ziqing and Tianxiong armies to arrive.

Li Ji had passed through Tongguan many times before and was quite familiar with the surrounding geography. Without even needing to climb the pass himself, he understood the general situation based solely on Nie Yinniang's account, supplemented by Li Ziyi's words. He then smiled and said, "I have already reassured the Emperor that Tongguan will surely be defended, but the Emperor still doesn't believe me..."

He thought to himself that Li Yu didn't understand military affairs very well, and was probably frightened by An Lushan's defeat at Tongguan back then—while it was an exaggeration to say that Geshu Han had 200,000 troops under his command, there were definitely tens of thousands, but now there were less than 10,000, and he was afraid that Tongguan would not be able to hold out for long. But the problem was that Geshu Han's defeat at Tongguan was not due to his failure to defend the pass.

However, although Li Ji firmly believed that Tongguan could be held, continuing to hold it in this way might not be beneficial to the overall situation. Firstly, Zhu Ci's troops were surrounded by the Ziqing Army and the Tianxiong Army in Luoyang, cut off from communication, and it was unknown how long they could hold out. Once defeated, the rebel army could sweep through Henan, and then 100,000 troops would come to besiege Tongguan, making the outcome uncertain.

The key issue was that Guo Ziyi, leading the Hedong army, had to defend against the towns of Chengde and Youzhou, making it unlikely he would cross the Yellow River south to reinforce Tongguan. Meanwhile, the main force of the Northern Imperial Guards was also tasked with defending Chang'an and guarding against Liang Chongyi's northward advance. Li Yu dared not send further reinforcements to Tongguan. Although Li Yu ignored Li Ji's advice and sent envoys to Longyou, Hexi, and even Jiannan for help, the distances were too great, and it was uncertain when they would arrive.

Furthermore, most of the taxes levied on the Central Plains and the Northern Expedition came from the Jianghuai region. This rebellion in Huaixi would cut off the grain transport, meaning that if the war dragged on, not only would the troops coming to the aid of the emperor be without food, but even Chang'an itself might suffer from famine. In that case, with starving soldiers and a panicked court, would it still be possible to defend Tongguan Pass?

After discussing with the two generals, Li Ziyi was not too worried. He said, "If the Grand Commandant does not come, Tongguan will not be easy to defend. But since the Grand Commandant has come, we can immediately raise a large banner on the pass. Li Xilie will surely be afraid and retreat."

Li Ji smiled and said, "I am not familiar with that thief, so he may not be afraid of my name." After thinking for a moment, he ordered, "Do not raise my flag yet, wait two or three days."

Two days later, Zhu Xie Jinzhong led the Shatuo cavalry to Tongguan first, and then on the third day, Gao Chongwen also led 3,500 Zhenxi soldiers—temporarily leaving their ceremonial guards and tributes in Fengxiang—to rush to the rescue. Li Ji then ordered the Zhenxi soldiers to go up the city to help defend it, and at the same time officially displayed his own banner.

As expected, the Huaixi rebels were horrified when they saw them from afar—"Black-haired men, it's the Zhenxi Crow Soldiers! How did they get here from so far away?!" Li Ji hadn't had much contact with Li Xilie or Li Zhongchen, and was worried that the Huaixi soldiers wouldn't be afraid of his and Zhenxi's reputation. But he didn't expect that in recent years, the tales of how Li Ji and the Crow Soldiers fiercely resisted the barbarian bandits and recovered the Western Regions had been widely circulated. Lü Xiqian had already returned to the central government to take up a post, and Huang Zigang had succeeded him. This man's writing was clumsy, and he couldn't write legends at all, but he could barely manage to write folk tales. Not to mention Huaixi, even Guiguan and Lingnan had heard of his great name.

There was no other way; entertainment was scarce these days, and listening to storytelling was a common hobby for ordinary people, including soldiers.

Therefore, Li Xilie and other rebel generals felt that Li Ji could not have fled from the Western Regions so quickly and suspected a trap. However, their soldiers did not have a clear understanding of the geography and were filled with fear. Li Ji sent spies to investigate and, upon learning the situation, immediately opened the gates and charged out.

However, fearing a repeat of Geshu Han's mistake and the possibility of an ambush, he ordered the Shatuo cavalry to lead the way—even if they were all wiped out, he wouldn't necessarily feel the pain—while he himself led the Zhenxi troops ten miles behind. Unexpectedly, just as the morale of the Huaixi army was waning, Zhu Xie Jinzhong shouted, "The Zhenxi army has come to the aid of the king!" and launched a fierce charge, completely crushing Li Xilie's forces.

Li Ji pursued them relentlessly, covering three hundred li in two days and nights, and successfully recaptured Shanzhou. Nie Feng, who had previously fled to the Nanshan Mountains to hide and recuperate after his defeat, rushed out upon hearing the news to pay his respects. Li Ji then summoned Nie Yinniang to lead the remaining troops of the Shaanxi and Guo armies from Tongguan, placing them under Nie Feng's command. He ordered Nie Feng to gather the various forces, strengthen the city's defenses, and then continue eastward, feigning an attack and deploying troops along the Gu River.

People from Luoyang came to make contact, saying that Zhu Ci had fought dozens of battles, large and small, against the rebels and finally managed to slightly weaken their momentum. The key was that the Tianxiong Army was forced to retreat by Li Huaiguang's Weibo Army and, fearing instability in the rear, had already withdrawn. The Ziqing Pinglu Army was left to hold out alone.

Li Ji then ordered the Shatuo cavalry to bypass the enemy's south, while he led the main force to Luoyang to join forces with Zhu Ci, Ma Sui, Shang Kegu, Zhang Yanshang, and others. The Pinglu army was forced to lift the siege and retreat.

Zhu Ci personally came out of the city to see Li Ji, welcomed him into the city, and hosted a banquet in his honor. Li Ji said, "Let's not drink the wine yet. What are your plans for the next move?" As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Ma Sui.

Ma Xunmei looked ashamed...

To be honest, he bears the greatest responsibility for the current situation. After the victory against Li Lingyao of Bian Song, the court should have appointed a new military governor for Xuanwu, or even abolished the governorship altogether. However, because Li Zhongchen and Li Zhengji were both rough and hot-tempered military men with large armies, and Ma Sui, who was a civil official by origin and had a weaker personality, dared not confront them, the two families divided up the six prefectures of Bian, Cao, etc. right in front of him.

Li Yu had already issued an edict reprimanding Ma Sui, expressing deep disappointment—"Back then, you, along with Li Ji and Li Sheng, were all meritorious officials protecting the emperor, coming from the same Northern Army. How come those two were invincible in every battle, while you suffered such a crushing defeat?" He then ordered Ma Sui to serve under Zhu Ci, to suppress the Huaixi rebellion, and to atone for his crimes through meritorious service. However, Ma Sui was again defeated by a combined attack from Tian Yue and Li Zhengji…

Feeling ashamed and trembling, he saw Li Ji glancing at him sideways and quickly clasped his hands, saying, "This humble general will go to Heyang to recover the lost territory and cooperate with Li Weibo to attack Tian Yue."

Zhu Ci hurriedly said, "Since the Tianxiong Army has retreated, and with Li Weibo holding them back, they are not a threat for the time being. Xunmei can simply recapture Heyang and block their westward route; there is no need to pursue them too deeply. The main enemy in front is still Li Zhengji, but our army is exhausted from fighting for so long. We can only try to recover the capital region, strengthen our defenses, and await the imperial decree..."

The area surrounding Luoyang is the capital region, extending east to Zhongmu, and further east to Henan Province. Zhu Ci's idea is that he can't really make much progress; as long as the entire capital region is recovered, that's enough. He estimates that Li Xilie and Li Zheng have already suffered this defeat and dare not fight again. They will most likely write a letter to the court to apologize, and then this war can end.

Li Ji shook his head and said, "The loss of Bian and Cao prefectures, the unrest in Huaixi, and the disruption of the Grand Canal transport are major threats to the nation. Moreover, Zibo and Qingzhou were already major towns in the Guandong region, and now they also control five prefectures including Cao and Pu, making them powerful in the Central Plains. If we do not take advantage of this situation to defeat them, they will eventually be difficult to control!"

Just kidding. Li Zhengji already controlled the entire Shandong province, and now he's even extending his reach into Henan, controlling fifteen prefectures. He's the most powerful man in the land. How can we allow him to continue running rampant like this?

The two began to argue, and Zhu Ci finally lost his temper, slamming his fist on the table: "I am the Deputy Marshal of Henan. Now that the Grand Commandant has finished his business, please return to the capital!" Li Ji was also furious and slammed his fist on the table in response to Zhu Ci. It took Ma Sui, Zhang Yanshang, and others a lot of effort to calm them down.

After leaving the hall, Gao Chongwen said in a low voice, "The Yan traitor is rude. Please eliminate him for the Grand Commandant!"

Li Ji glanced at him: "If I had such an intention, I could have abducted him in the hall. Why would I wait for you?"

To be honest, Li Ji really wanted to stab Zhu Ci through the neck, but the problem was that Zhu Ci was just one man, a mere commoner, and killing him would be pointless. His goal was to pursue and kill the rebels in Huaixi and Ziqing while he was ahead, but would killing Zhu Ci guarantee him military power? After all, the other side was the deputy marshal of Henan, and Li Ji's command would be illegitimate—did they really think he was a powerful traitor? Even if Ma Sui, Shang Kegu, and others feared him and dared not disobey, the officers and soldiers would be suspicious. With his forces not being stronger than the enemy's, was there really any chance of victory in leading a feint?

Therefore, Li and Zhu each submitted memorials, explaining the advantages and disadvantages. One requested to continue the pursuit, while the other requested to withdraw the troops. Just a few days later, Li Xilie and Li Zhengji also sent envoys to Chang'an to apologize. Li Xilie expressed his willingness to return Bianzhou, while Li Zhengji shifted the blame to several staff members and offered tribute, hoping that the court would withdraw its order to launch the campaign.

Li Yu thought it would be good to stop the war, but Prince Qi Li Tan, Crown Prince Li Shi, and Minister of Personnel Yan Zhenqing repeatedly advised against it, saying that stopping the war would damage the face of the court and that the various garrisons would become even more arrogant and difficult to control. Li Ji's opinion was correct, and he should be allowed to replace Zhu Ci as the commander of the army.

Li Yu was caught in a dilemma, so he sent an imperial envoy north to consult Guo Ziyi's opinion. However, no sooner had the envoy left than news came that troops from various towns in Guanzhong had arrived near Chang'an to support the emperor, and soon after, Li Sheng from Longyou also returned.

The various towns in Guanzhong, initially hesitant and reluctant to act, intending to observe the situation further, panicked upon hearing of Li Ji's return to court. Bai Zhizhen, Wei Yuanfu, and others hastily dispatched troops, however small, to demonstrate their loyalty. As for Li Sheng, after receiving the imperial edict, he hastily mobilized three thousand elite cavalry from Longyou, marching day and night towards Chang'an, and indicated that seven thousand infantry would follow…

When Li Yu asked Li Sheng for his opinion, Li Liangqi replied without hesitation: "The court cannot allow a tiger to grow and cause future trouble. Now that the attack has been launched, Huaixi will surely be destroyed!"

Chapter Seven, Pacifying the Northeast

The vast majority of court officials requested that the war to quell the rebellion be continued.

Some officials were motivated by their long-cherished desire to consolidate centralized power—for example, Yan Zhenqing; some were motivated by fear of the Zhenxi Army; some by blind faith in Li Ji's military strength; and some were swayed by public opinion incited by the Zhenxi Jinzouyuan. There were suggestions to cease hostilities and make peace, but these were quickly drowned out by the criticism and condemnation from both the court and the public.

In the past, when faced with such situations, those who advocated prudence were mostly financial advisors—because the treasury was empty, how could we fight a war without money? I have racked my brains, robbing Peter to pay Paul, and finally managed to make the annual loopholes less noticeable, but you just have to stab me in the back. How can this be tolerated?

However, on the issue of quelling the Huaixi Rebellion, the two ministers unusually remained silent and did not express any clear opinions—which also shows that they were opposed to continuing or even expanding the war, but they just couldn't bring themselves to say it.

The person in charge of finances in Guanzhong was Yang Yan, the Vice Minister of Revenue, who had a close relationship with Li Ji. Li Ji had previously assisted Yang Yan under the command of Shuofang and was recommended by Yang Yan to return to the capital. It can be said that without Li Ji, even if Yang Yan had entered the central government, he would not have regained control of finances so quickly. Given this, how could Yang Yan oppose Li Ji's request to continue the campaign against Huaixi?

Li Shi and Lu Qi both held Yang Yan in low regard, often saying that his talent exceeded his virtue and that he was too self-serving. However, Yang Yan was not entirely without moral character; at least he was grateful and sentimental. For example, after returning to the central court, he frequently spoke well of Yuan Zai to Li Yu, hoping to recall him. Yang Yan's success can be attributed to three great benefactors: the first was Prince Qi, Li Tan; the second was Yuan Zai; and the third was Li Ji—how could he possibly trip up Li Ji at this crucial juncture?

Furthermore, the Guanzhong region was densely populated and had limited land, resulting in insufficient tax revenue. The An Lushan Rebellion, coupled with the need to defend against the barbarians during the autumn harvest, further exacerbated the financial woes of the officials in charge. Adding to the difficulty, the Jiannan West Circuit was controlled by Cui Ning, and the annual grain tribute from Shu was minimal, merely a formality. Thus, Liu Yan held the reins of finance in Guandong for over a decade—only once being ousted from the capital by Li Fuguo and Yuan Zai, a matter of factional strife, not due to any misconduct that disappointed the emperor or the court. In contrast, the finances in Guanzhong had changed hands several times, from Wu Qi to Han Huang and then to Yang Yan.

In recent years, Yang Yan's life has improved somewhat because Li Ji has opened up the Silk Road, and trade has flourished. The market tax revenue collected in Chang'an alone is more than five times what it was when he first took office. Against this backdrop, even if Yang Gongnan doesn't care about past relationships, he dares not offend Li Ji.

Yang Yan remained silent, as did Liu Yan. This was because Li Xilie controlled Bianzhou, and Li Zhengji had seized Cao and Pu prefectures, inevitably impacting the grain transport along the Yangtze and Huai rivers. Liu Shi'an had earned the trust of two emperors by supplying the two capitals with millions of bushels of grain, money, and silk annually from the Yangtze and Huai rivers; without Bianzhou and Cao prefectures, he would have no peace of mind.

Li Yu also planned to make a final peace effort, offering to pardon Li Xilie and others for their rebellion, but demanding that Li Xilie not only return Bianzhou, but also all eleven prefectures including Xu, Chen, Cai, and Ying in Huaixi to the court, ordering him to return to the capital for an audience and be transferred to another prefecture; as for Li Zhengji, he was to hand over the five newly captured prefectures including Cao and Pu; and as for Tian Yue, he was to return the Zhaoyi Army to the Xue family.

Yan Zhenqing submitted a memorial stating, "The envoys' journeys back and forth take more than a day. Your Majesty is lenient, but we must guard against those officials who are incorrigible and take the opportunity to delay. They should also raise more troops to resist the imperial army. We should order the various garrisons to advance and suppress them. We should wait until Li Zhengji and Tian Yue withdraw and seize the prefectures and counties, and Li Xilie comes to court before issuing an edict to withdraw the troops."

The court officials all agreed, leaving Li Yu with no choice but to recall Zhu Ci and appoint Li Ji as the Deputy Marshal of Henan, in command of the troops stationed in Luoyang, the three cities of Heyang, Shaanxi, Guo, Tongguan, Weibo, and Henghai, to advance eastward and expel Li Zhengji. At the same time, Li Yu also ordered Li Sheng to lead the troops of various towns in Guanzhong to attack Huaixi and suppress Li Xilie. Chen Shaoyou, the military governor of Huainan, and Li Mian, the military commissioner of Ezhou and Yuezhou (Wuchang Army), were also placed under his command.

To put it bluntly, the emperor was worried about entrusting too many troops to Li Ji...

After receiving the imperial edict, Li Ji immediately consolidated the troops under his command, using the Shatuo cavalry as the vanguard, and marched from Zhongmu to directly attack Bian and Cao. Li Zhengji led his army to resist, and the two sides engaged in a fierce battle in the Dayeze area within Yunzhou. The government army numbered 40,000, while the Pinglu army numbered 60,000. After twelve days of continuous fighting, Li Zhengji finally succumbed to defeat. Gao Chongwen killed the Pinglu general Wang Wenhui in battle, and Li Ziyi broke through the enemy lines to capture a general, taking Li Zhengji's son, Li Na, prisoner.

Li Zhengji, worried about his son's safety, was forced to send an envoy to persuade Li Ji: "Why is the Grand Commandant pressing us so hard? You are in the western border while I am in the eastern sea. Even if we gain territory, we cannot occupy it, and in terms of merit, we cannot be promoted further. What good will it do you to be pursued so urgently from a thousand miles away?"

Li Ji replied to the envoy with a smile: "How can sparrows know the ambitions of a swan? When I was in Weibo, I originally intended to completely pacify Hebei and Qilu. I released you all after the Western Garrison, but who would have thought that not only are you ungrateful, but you also dare to resist the royal army. If Li Zhengji surrenders himself, then so be it; otherwise, father and son will be publicly executed and left to live on straw! I will not withdraw my troops until Li Zhengji is captured!"

However, despite his strong words and desire to continue the fight, he couldn't make much progress... Firstly, his troops were limited, and secondly, his supplies were insufficient. Ultimately, the Tang court was not prepared with the resources to pacify Guandong in one fell swoop, especially large towns like Zibo, Qingzhou, and Pinglu. Thus, the two sides remained locked in a stalemate in the mountains of western Shandong, engaging in repeated maneuvers for several months.

Thus began the New Year's Day of the fourteenth year of the Dali era, when the Tang court finally ordered a cessation of hostilities.

On the one hand, Li Sheng on the southern front made good progress and, after a fierce attack in the snow for thirteen days, finally captured Ruyang City.

Huaixi is a large town, spanning both banks of the Huai River, and governs eleven prefectures and counties. However, Li Xilie's main force is in Huaibei, and he has set up his base in Ruyang, the capital of Caizhou. Caizhou was originally named Yuzhou, but it was changed to avoid the taboo of Li Yu's name.

In fact, the Huaixi army had already been completely defeated by Li Ji east of Tongguan. Li Xilie fled to Xuzhou and had only just gathered some remnants of his troops. Before he could even reorganize them, Li Sheng led eight thousand troops from Guanzhong on a rapid march. The generals all advised that our army was not yet assembled—there were still seven thousand infantrymen from Longyou who had not yet passed through Tongguan—and that it was not advisable to engage the enemy. However, Li Sheng waved his hand and said, "The Grand Commandant has already dealt a great blow to the enemy, and the rebels have lost all courage. Our army should take advantage of the situation and advance directly. If we delay and wait for them to establish a foothold, it will be more difficult to defeat them."

They then advanced rapidly, first defeating the Huaixi army near Changshe; Li Xilie fled south to Yancheng, but Li Sheng pursued relentlessly, winning three more battles and finally forcing Li Xilie back to Caizhou. Fearing that Li Xilie would escape south across the Huai River, Li Sheng first sent troops to outflank him, occupying Zhenyang County, while simultaneously ordering the Huainan and Ezhou troops to quickly move north and blockade the Huai River. Turning their attention to Ruyang, they scaled the city walls in the snow. Knowing he could not escape, Li Xilie ultimately killed his wife and children with his own hands, then set fire to his government office and died in the flames.

Prior to this, Guo Ziyi, seeing that Henan was secure, ordered the Hedong army to cross the Taihang Mountains, posing as a surprise attack on Chengde. Li Baochen panicked and petitioned the court, offering to punish the Tianxiong army in his honor. Thus, Tian Yue suffered repeated defeats under the combined attack of Li Huaiguang of Weibo and Li Baochen of Chengde, and finally fled alone to Youzhou, where he was lured and killed by Zhu Tao, who then presented his head to Chang'an.

With the Huaixi and Tianxiong military garrisons pacified, the imperial court's eastern expedition had achieved both material and social standing, leaving all the regional military governors in the land terrified. It was time to call it a day—especially since funds and provisions were running out and supplies would be exhausted. Thus, Liu Yan was the first to suggest this, followed by Yang Yan, and even ministers like Yan Zhenqing, who had strongly advocated for war, no longer obstructed the effort, and Li Zhengji's request for surrender was granted.

The condition was that the Pinglu Army be reduced to only six prefectures: Zi, Qing, Deng, Lai, Qi, and Mi. Li Na would remain in Chang'an as the Inspector of the Granary Department—essentially handing over a hostage.

When the imperial edict was issued to the Henan army, Li Ji was at a loss. Although he longed to annihilate Zibo and Qingzhou in one fell swoop, he knew that his army was already at its limit. If he were to attempt to advance further, it would be superfluous and would only lead to defeat. He couldn't help but sigh, "If my 100,000 Zhenxi Army were here, I would surely take Li Zhengji's head!"

Of course, this was just boasting. Although he had great confidence in the fighting power of his own troops, even if only half of the Zhenxi Army were to be sent all the way to Henan, the imperial court would not be able to afford it, let alone the Zhenxi Army itself!

He then relinquished his military command and returned in triumph to Guanzhong. By the time he returned to Chang'an, the Tang court had already redefined the jurisdiction and structure of the various military garrisons east of the pass—

In the Hebei region, the Tianxiong and Zhaoyi armies still govern the local area. Du Huangshang, the former deputy military governor of Weibo, was appointed as the military governor of the Tianxiong army, and Xue Ping, the son of Xue Song, was appointed as the military governor of the Zhaoyi army. As for Xue E, forget about him; he's a useless piece of trash and should stay in Chang'an and do nothing.

In the Henan region, the Xuanwu Army and Zhongwu Army were re-established—the Huaixi Garrison was thus reduced to only five prefectures: Shen, An, Guang, Huang, and Shou, all south of the Huai River—the prefectures of Yan, Yi, and Hai, which were separated from Pinglu, were then governed by the Yanhai Observation Commissioner. Subsequently, Jing Jiang was appointed as the Military Governor of the Xuanwu Army, Wang Rui as the Military Governor of the Zhongwu Army, and Gao Ying as the Observation Commissioner of the Yanhai Observation Commissioner.

Li Ji had never heard of Wang Rui before. After some inquiry, he discovered that Wang Rui was an old acquaintance—it turned out to be the same guy whose original name was Zhen Sui, who later changed it to Qin Rui! That guy had already been demoted to a mere prefectural magistrate, but somehow he managed to curry favor with Wang Jiahe, even becoming Wang Jiahe's father and changing his name to Wang Rui…

Li Ji thought to himself, "People who have no shame are truly invincible. The surname left by our ancestors and the name given by our fathers—we might feel a little ashamed to change it the first time, but this second time, we probably have no psychological burden at all."

Shang Kegu changed his name to Yu Zhide after becoming a disciple of Yu Chaoen, and An Yuanguang changed his name to Luo Yuanguang after becoming a disciple of Luo Fengxian. Becoming the adopted son of a eunuch seems to be quite popular among military generals with weak foundations in recent years. However, Li Yu, compared to his father, doesn't place much trust in eunuchs—though he can't completely abandon them—first he appointed Li Fuguo and then dismissed him, then he appointed Cheng Yuanzhen and then exiled him, and finally he appointed Yu Chaoen and then killed him… Now he favors Dong Xiu and Liu Zhongyi. I wonder how much longer Wang Jiahe can keep his footing…

Li Baochen promptly dispatched troops to serve, and Zhu Tao presented Tian Yue's head. As for Liang Chongyi of Shannan East Circuit, although there were rumors of him heading north to invade the capital, he seemed to have no actual action. In particular, upon hearing that Li Ji had returned east, he rushed to Chang'an to pay his respects, and before the emperor's audience, he first went to the Zhenxi Jinzouyuan to submit a letter... As a result, the court did not punish him for the time being, but only ordered the three towns to send their sons to Chang'an to enter officialdom through hereditary privilege, which was tantamount to handing over hostages.

The troops from all directions returned in triumph, and the imperial court bestowed great rewards upon them. Li Sheng was appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Chancellor, and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Xiping; Li Ziyi was promoted to General of the Left Guard; Generals Luo Yuanguang and Zhu Xie Jinzhong not only received rewards but were also granted the imperial surname—the former was renamed Li Yuanliang, and the latter was renamed Li Jinzhong.

Li Ji thought to himself, "It's fortunate that you, Zhu Xie Jinzhong, were granted the surname Li. This imperial surname can be passed down but not traced back to the past. Otherwise, if your grandfather's original name was Zhu Xie Fuguo, then the Tang Dynasty would have produced another Li Fuguo..."

Li Yu even gave Nie Yinniang a special audience and praised her highly. A few days later, he suddenly had the idea to send someone to propose marriage to Nie Feng, so that his grandson, Prince Li Song of Xuancheng (Li Shi's eldest son, who was eighteen years old), could marry Nie Yinniang as his concubine. Nie Feng was naturally overjoyed and readily agreed. Nie Yinniang was not very happy about it, but she dared not disobey.

However, the emperor and his ministers were both racking their brains over a problem: how should they reward Li Ji?

This time, the three generals went on an expedition—excluding Li Sheng—Zhu Ci suffered a defeat in Henan, and Guo Ziyi was unable to lead the Hedong army to truly cross the Taihang Mountains and enter Hebei, so their achievements were negligible and can be disregarded. Only Li Ji first defeated the Huaixi rebels outside Tongguan, then echoed Zhu Ci, stabilized the eastern capital Luoyang, recovered Zhengzhou, and then defeated the Pinglu army near Dayeze, capturing Li Zhengji's son Li Na alive... It's impossible to just give a few words of praise and call it a day.

But as Li Zhengji said, Li Ji "has no further merit to be promoted to." His current official title is Grand Commandant, ranking first among the Three Dukes. The next highest rank is the Three Masters, but the Three Masters and the Three Dukes are both of the first rank, only half a rank higher. Moreover, the Three Dukes are nominally "assisting the emperor in managing yin and yang, pacifying the country, and governing everything," while the Three Masters are "the emperor's teachers and role models, with no specific duties," merely honorary titles. So, would Li Ji be satisfied with just being promoted to the Three Masters? Besides, he is only forty years old. What if something happens to him in the future?

In terms of titles, Li Ji was already the Prince of Dunhuang, the pinnacle of a subject's power. Although princes were now commonplace and their titles weren't particularly valuable, he was not a member of the imperial family, so it was impossible for him to be granted the title of Prince. Moreover, he was already in a semi-separatist state in Zhenxi—although the amount of tribute he paid to the central court was increasing daily—if he were to be granted the title of Prince again, he would be no different from Nanzhao or Silla.

Some suggested bestowing upon Li Ji the title of "Tongpingzhangshi" (同平章事), appointing him as prime minister. However, on the one hand, Li Ji was unlikely to relinquish his post in Zhenxi and return to the capital to work in the Hall of State Affairs; on the other hand, the title of "Tongpingzhangshi" had become increasingly abused in recent years. Not only did Guo Ziyi and Zhu Ci, who were already in power, hold this title, but even Xue Song, a military governor of an outlying region, had received it, and now it was being bestowed upon Li Sheng as well…

Does "Tong Ping Zhang Shi" mean the same as the prime minister? That was true in the past, but not necessarily now.

As for his official position, Li Ji was the military governor of Zhenxi, and he would certainly not be willing to move to another region—for example, Fengxiang was Xijing and Chengdu was Nanjing, and the military governors of both regions held the title of "Yin," which was theoretically the most prestigious, but Li Ji would definitely not go. Moreover, the imperial court would never divide up any more prefectures and counties to benefit Zhenxi—unless Li Ji himself went west or south to open up new territory.

Unable to reach a decision, Li Yu could only hint to his senior officials—"One of you should privately inquire with Li Ji what he desires. As long as it's not too outrageous, I will grant it." The Grand Censor and Inspector of the Capital Region, Lu Qi, then said, "I was formerly an official under the Grand Commandant, and we share a bond of loyalty. I was just about to host a banquet for the Grand Commandant..."

Finish this testimonial

The book was completed before it reached two million words because I wasn't entirely satisfied with how I wrote it.

To be honest, when I first started writing, I intended to write a relatively light-hearted time-travel novel, focusing on the protagonist's leisurely life of eating, drinking, and having fun. Unfortunately, the timing wasn't ideal. At this point, having followed Li Bi to Guanzhong, the protagonist couldn't possibly have a relaxed life. Thus, starting from the rescue of Suiyang, the novel took a turn for the worse and ultimately slid down a path of bloodshed…

Moreover, the flaws in the first part regarding the slingshot also affected my mood to continue creating, causing some later plots to be rushed. To be honest, I knew that ancient bows and crossbows were powered by the arm, while today's slingshots are powered by the string. I don't know why I made a mistake in the design... and it was inconvenient to modify.

What I find most unsatisfactory is that this novel failed to truly depict the atmosphere of the era; the Tang Dynasty flavor wasn't strong enough. In fact, the Tang Dynasty has its own flavor, and the Song Dynasty has its own spirit; each era should have its own characteristics, and simply including a few names of people, places, and officials isn't enough. Therefore, I feel that since the story has already ended with the expulsion of the barbarians, dragging out the ending is pointless; it would be better to just finish it.

I'm still considering what type of novel I'll write next. I'll probably have to discuss it with my editor. For now, I'll focus on finishing up "Life - The Divine Scepter." This is a Western fantasy novel I co-wrote with some friends twenty years ago. To be honest, the beginning was a bit immature, but starting from the Ruanian War in the middle of the second volume, the writing became relatively polished, the content more profound, and the structure more rigorous. Even today, it's still worth reading. I hope readers will visit and support it, as this is just a compilation of an older work. That book was updated quite frequently, often with double updates, and even the single updates were long chapters of five thousand or even seven thousand words.

Finally, thank you to all my friends for your continued support and encouragement! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++