Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 43

It was only later that they learned that the person the two were referring to was not "Cui Qi" but "Cui Qi," who came from the prestigious Boling Cui clan—indeed, he was a relative of Cui Guangyuan—and was currently serving as the Censor-in-Chief and Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue.

Several years ago, when the rebel army captured Chang'an, Cui Qi was serving as the magistrate of Fengxian County and was forced to open the city gates and join the rebels. When Chang'an fell into chaos, Cui Guangyuan fled west. Upon hearing this, Cui Qi knew that the rebels' power would not last long, so he burned the Yan state's official documents, recruited righteous troops, and rose up in rebellion. At that time, Xue Jingxian had not yet marched east to recapture Fengxian, so the rebel army attacked, and Cui Qi suffered a major defeat. He had no choice but to abandon the city and flee to Lingwu, where he was subsequently given an important position by Li Heng.

After the recapture of Chang'an, Li Heng appointed Cui Qi as the Master of Ceremonies, in charge of arranging the Emperor's return to the capital. Cui Qi then took it upon himself to bring all the officials who had fallen into the hands of the rebels to the Hanyuan Hall, where they were made to kowtow and plead guilty, bareheaded and barefoot. After the recapture of Dongjing, hundreds of people, including Chen Xilie, were brought to Chang'an, and he carried out the same plan again.

Furthermore, Cui Qi submitted a memorial requesting that all officials who had once joined the rebels, regardless of rank, be executed.

Therefore, the two civil officials cursed, one of them saying: "When the former marshal entered Luoyang, he clearly ordered that everyone be pardoned. Chen Gong did not flee with An Qingxu, which in itself shows his attitude. He was forced by circumstances and did not sincerely follow the rebels. At most, he will not be employed again. How can he be sentenced to death?"

Another person said, "Lord Liang has already submitted a memorial refuting Cui Qi's words and will divide those who surrendered to the rebels into six categories for punishment. Since that's the case, why do you still curse every day and refuse to stop?"

Li Xian, the Grand Secretary and Duke of Liang, opposed Cui Qi's opinion, arguing: "When the rebels captured the two capitals, the Emperor made a southern tour, and people fled to save their lives. These people are all Your Majesty's relatives or descendants of meritorious officials. To execute them all for treason would be contrary to the principle of benevolence and leniency. Moreover, Hebei is not yet pacified, and many officials have fallen into the hands of the rebels. If we are lenient, we can open a path for them to reform; if we execute them all, we will only strengthen their loyalty to the rebels..." In the end, he persuaded Li Heng to deal with them separately. Li Qijun, the Palace Attendant Censor, was appointed as the judge to handle the case. According to the law, the eighteen people with the most serious crimes were executed, the next most serious were punished with one hundred strokes of the cane, and those with the next few crimes were either exiled or demoted.

"However, Lord Chen could not escape death in the end, and Lord Daxi was beheaded on a lone willow. Although the order was determined by Judge Li, wasn't the root cause the evil deeds of Cui Qi?!"

When the first dish was served, Li Ji finally understood the gist of the matter—though he couldn't immediately place the specific names. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself: "Different stances, different motives..."

Cui Qi's thoughts are easy to understand. He had once surrendered to the rebels, a stain that could probably never be erased. Therefore, he had to severely punish those among his peers who had not followed him or Cui Guangyuan in actively surrendering, preferably killing them all, in order to demonstrate his loyalty to the king and to use the blood of those people to cover up the filth on his body.

Li Xian said, "Many officials have fallen into the hands of the traitors. If we are lenient towards them, we can open up a path for them to start anew; if we execute them all, we will only strengthen their loyalty to the traitors." This statement makes a lot of sense. However, when it comes to other officials who oppose Cui Qi's proposals, such as the two low-ranking civil officials next door, their words may not be entirely out of public interest.

Chen (Chen Xilie) was a prime minister who was eventually given death by imperial decree; Da Xi (Da Xixun) was the Minister of Personnel and also presided over the imperial examinations—it seems that the two guys next door were his students—and was eventually beheaded. The officials in office felt a sense of shared sorrow over this.

Because no one could guarantee that if they fell into the hands of the rebels, they wouldn't be cowardly enough to surrender to the enemy in order to survive. In the end, most people couldn't become Zhang Xun, let alone Yan Gaoqing. It was supposed to be a temporary measure, but they would still be killed upon their return. Even if they reached a high position of the third rank, they still couldn't escape death... Cui Qi, you are truly ruthless! You are trying to destroy the foundation of us scholars!

"How can such a cruel person be allowed to remain as Censor-in-Chief? We must jointly impeach him and remove him from office!"

Since it had nothing to do with Cui Qi, Li Ji listened for a while and roughly understood the inside story, so he stopped paying attention to it. Moreover, the food and drinks had been served one after another. They looked quite ordinary, consisting of a plate of steamed pork dipped in bean sauce, half a roasted chicken with golden skin, a dish of tender gourd with two slices of dried bamboo shoots, and indeed two meat dishes and one vegetable dish.

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself, "Prices are really high in the capital. Elsewhere, these dishes would cost at most fifty coins, but here they cost me a hundred..."

The waiter didn't serve the main course first, but brought over a bottle of wine and said to Li Ji with a fawning smile, "This is our shop's treasured Fuping Shidongchun wine. If you want to taste it, you'll have to pay extra."

"How much?"

"Twenty coins a bowl."

Li Ji immediately glared at him: "How can you sell it by the bowl?!" Although Shi Dongchun was a fine wine, not everyone could afford to drink it, but he had heard that a bottle of this size would cost at most fifty coins. Now you dare to sell it by the bowl and even take the opportunity to raise the price. Isn't that a bit too greedy?

The shopkeeper hurriedly explained, "Xi'an has only recently been restored, and good wine is not easy to come by. It is only because our shop still has some in its cellar that you can get some. If you go to other shops, they will only have some newly brewed village wine. Even if you have a hundred or a thousand coins, you probably won't be able to get a sip of fine wine."

Li Ji had no choice, and his mouth was indeed dry, so he waved his hand and said, "Pour me a bowl first so I can try it."

The waiter removed the cork, and a strong aroma of wine immediately wafted out. A gasp of surprise came from the next room. Li Ji picked up the wine bowl, swirled it slightly to check the color, and then brought it to his lips, taking a small sip.

The sound of the curtain being lifted was heard, followed by the reproachful voice of a green-robed civil official from the next shop: "Since the shop has such fine wine, why didn't you bring some for us...?"

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ji slammed the wine bowl down on the table with a loud bang and shouted angrily, "This wine isn't genuine!"

The shopkeeper immediately became agitated: "Sir, don't talk nonsense. How could our wine not be genuine?"

Li Ji glanced at him sideways and asked coldly, "Do you think I've never eaten real Shi Dong Chun?"

He remembered his first time drinking wine after transmigrating to this world. It was at the temporary residence in Ding'an, where Li Heng, along with three princes including Li Jiao and Li Huang, came to entertain Li Bi with roasted pears. The wine served then was this so-called "Fuping Shidongchun," which tasted somewhat similar to what he had just drunk, but its quality in terms of sweetness, sourness, and body was vastly different. Surely the royal family wouldn't drink fake wine? Then the wine here must be fake.

Moreover, upon hearing the neighbor's question, he immediately understood what was going on. It was precisely because the wine was not genuine that he dared not offer it to the officials in office. Only by dressing as a commoner, perhaps appearing travel-worn and having come from afar, could the shopkeeper bring out the fake wine in an attempt to deceive them.

It's fine if your wine is bad, but it's going too far to cheat people with fake wine; it's fine if you cheat everyone, but you deliberately bypassed those two civil officials and came to cheat me alone—that's just unacceptable!

The shopkeeper still insisted, "Sir, you are joking. This is genuine Fuping Shidongchun liquor, absolutely no fakes. Could it be that the liquor you ate before was counterfeit?"

Li Ji became enraged and immediately splashed most of the remaining wine from the bowl onto the waiter's face: "Call your master here to talk!"

The waiter hurriedly retreated, but ultimately couldn't avoid it. He wiped his face, raised his eyebrows, and glared angrily: "Sir, are you here just to cause trouble? If you don't like my Shi Dong Chun, you don't have to eat it. No one is forcing you. However, whether you ate that bowl or spilled it, it will be on your tab!"

Li Ji slammed his hand on the table: "You cheat people with fake wine and still dare to ask for money? I won't give you a single penny, what can you do about it? Quickly call your master out to talk!"

The shopkeeper snorted and first apologized to the official who had asked the question: "Please sit down, sir. We will not disturb your enjoyment." Then he called out loudly: "Come on, seize this troublemaker and hand him over to the thugs!"

A man who had been dozing in the corner jumped up at the sound. Li Ji glanced at him and saw that the man was quite tall, with broad shoulders and a thick back. His sleeves were rolled up high, revealing his muscular arms—he looked like a guard or thug in the shop. Then the man rushed forward and put his hand on Li Ji's shoulder.

Li Jihun didn't care. He immediately slumped his shoulder slightly to dissipate the force, then reached out with his right hand and, with lightning speed, grabbed the man's neck. With a flick of his wrist, he slammed the man's head, as big as a bamboo basket, onto the table. With a "crack," one of the table legs split open, followed by the man's pig-like screams.

The shopkeeper panicked and tried to flee with the wine bottle in his hand, shouting, "Go find the scoundrels! Go find the scoundrels!" Li Ji didn't want to deal with the scoundrels either—after all, even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake, especially since he was hungry—but he was consumed by anger and refused to let the matter rest. He shouted back, "Go! Go! Watch me kill this scoundrel!"

With a "whoosh," the curtain was pulled back shut, and the green-robed civil official who had come out to ask questions retreated back into his own room.

In the midst of the chaos, a clattering sound was heard on the stairs, and then a person looking down asked, "What's all this commotion about?"

The shop assistant looked up, quickly bowed deeply, and said, "Sixth Master, a thief is causing trouble in our shop, and has unintentionally disturbed you..."

Li Ji looked in the direction the man was speaking and saw a scholar in white robes, probably in his twenties, with sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a short beard; he was quite handsome. He asked, "Are you the owner of this shop? How dare you cheat your customers with fake wine?!"

Liu Lang frowned: "Is that so?" He lifted his clothes, hurried down the stairs, and came to Li Ji. The shopkeeper repeatedly explained that this was indeed the shop's treasured Fuping Shi Dong Chun tea, how could it be fake? Liu Lang picked up the bowl from the table, turned it to the side and handed it to him: "Pour it over, I'll eat."

Helpless, the waiter poured out half a bowl of wine, which Liu Lang drank in one gulp. He then smacked his lips, savoring the taste, before smiling broadly at Li Ji: "You're mistaken, sir. Although this wine is a bit aged, it is indeed Shi Dong Chun..."

Just as Li Ji was about to retort, Liu Lang turned to the shopkeeper, his expression instantly changing, and shouted, "However, why was it diluted with 30% water?!"

The shop assistant looked flustered: "I...I knew it...I didn't know..."

In truth, he knew perfectly well what was going on; otherwise, he would have definitely tried to sell the wine to the two civil officials next door as well. When Li Ji said the wine was fake, not Shi Dong Chun, the shopkeeper still had some grounds to argue—who said that just because it's been stored for a long time and diluted with water, it's not genuine Shi Dong Chun? Even if the case went all the way to the capital prefecture, they wouldn't be entirely in the wrong. However, when Liu Lang tasted it in one gulp and even discerned how much water had been added, he dared not be stubborn anymore and could only claim ignorance.

Liu Lang threw the wine bowl at the waiter—though not with much force—and yelled, “You must have stolen some and then diluted it with water to deceive the customers—get out of here!”

He then turned around and bowed to Li Ji, saying, "I am not the owner of this place, but I have a past relationship with the owner. What happened just now was indeed the shop's fault, and I apologize to you on behalf of the shop owner. Please release this person first. I... I have some really good wine upstairs and would like to host a few drinks for you to express my apologies—please grant me permission."

As he spoke, he bowed deeply to the ground.

When Li Ji first arrived in Chang'an, he was alone and hungry. He didn't want to make a big fuss. Seeing that the other party was very polite and sincere, he went with the flow and let go of the big man.

The burly man covered his head and scurried away. The sixth man immediately bowed again and introduced himself, saying, "I am Li Ji of Zhao County. May I ask your name, sir…?"

Li Ji couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed: "I...I'm also called Li Ji...Zhao County..."

Chapter 41, Chaos Has Begun

Zhao County has now reverted to its old name, Zhao Prefecture, but this so-called old name dates back to the Northern Qi Dynasty at the earliest. During the Qin Dynasty, the area was divided between Julu County and Hengshan County. During the Han Dynasty, it was Changshan County (the name was changed from Hengshan to Changshan to avoid the taboo of Emperor Wen of Han, Liu Heng). From the Jian'an period at the end of the Han Dynasty until now, it was mostly called either Zhao State or Zhao County.

Therefore, the Li family of the East, one of the five surnames and seven prominent families, is usually referred to as the "Li family of Zhao County" or the "Li family of Pingji" when it comes to their ancestral home – because their ancestral home is Pingji County, the seat of Zhao County.

Of course, as a powerful and influential family that had existed for hundreds of years, it was bound to have a large population and many branches, which led to the migration of its descendants. Therefore, after entering the Tang Dynasty, the family was divided into six branches, including the Pingji branch of the Southern Ancestor, the Eastern Ancestor, and the Western Ancestor, as well as the Liaodong branch, the Jiangxia branch, and the Hanzhong branch.

In fact, only the Pingji branch is the true Zhao County Li clan. Although claiming the ancestor as Zhao general and Lord Wu'an Li Mu may not be reliable, they can at least trace their lineage back to Li Kai, the Minister of Agriculture and Imperial Censor of the Western Jin Dynasty. The other three branches gradually attached themselves to the clan during the chaos of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and were not officially recognized until the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, Emperor Gaozong of Tang explicitly stated in his edict banning marriage that it concerned “the descendants of Li Kai and others from Zhao County, Jin”, which is why Li Bi said it had nothing to do with them… “We are from the Liaodong branch.”

In that case, it's not surprising that people from different family lines happen to have the same name.

The scholar Li Ji, whose courtesy name was Guayan, was of impeccable lineage, hailing from the Western Ancestral Branch, whose ancestral home was Zanhuang County, which bordered Pingji. As for the transmigrated Li Ji, Li Changwei, he belonged to the Liaodong Branch, claiming that his ancestor was Li Qi, the younger brother of Li Mu, who settled in Zhongshan. Later, his descendants moved to Xiangping. In fact, the one whose lineage can be verified is Li Gen, the Grand Secretary of the Later Yan.

The two exchanged names and were both surprised—what a coincidence! They shared the same surname, the same given name, and were not much different in age. When they talked about their ages, Li Guayan was four years older than Li Changwei, so he was called "Sixth Brother," while Li Guayan called Li Changwei "Thirteenth Brother."

Of course, without a proper search and comparison of the family genealogy, it is impossible to determine whether they are of the same generation. Perhaps, if we trace their lineage back to Li Mu and Li Qi, they are actually grandfather and grandson.

Li Guayan then invited Li Ji upstairs, adding, "There is an elder upstairs."

This "elder" was actually Li Qiyun, the Palace Attendant Censor mentioned by the two civil officials next door. His courtesy name was Zhenyi, and he was Li Guayan's cousin. Li Ji had heard of him before. He was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) and had served as a judge in the staff of Feng Changqing, the military governor of Anxi. After Li Heng ascended the throne in Lingwu, he selected 7,000 soldiers and returned to the capital to serve the emperor, thus gaining important positions.

In fact, Li Qijun was not very old, only a few years older than Li Bi, not yet forty. He had a round face and a sparse beard. In terms of appearance, he looked like a nouveau riche from the countryside. However, his expression was extremely solemn, and his eyes were bright and piercing, which made people feel intimidated. This was probably the official authority that he had gradually developed from leading troops for many years and now serving as a "Deputy Commander".

However, he was quite polite to Li Ji, and asked as soon as they met, "Are you perhaps Li Changyuan's cousin?"

When Li Qijun led his troops to reinforce the capital, Li Bi had just entered the commander's office and devoted himself to military affairs, no longer interfering in politics. Li Qijun, on the other hand, relinquished his military power in the blink of an eye and was transferred to the position of Palace Attendant Censor. Therefore, the two never really interacted. However, Li Bi was already famous and shared the same surname, so he had heard of Li Ji's name.

Li Guayan then asked, "Since you know there is someone with the same surname and name as your nephew, why haven't you mentioned him, Uncle?"

Upon hearing this, Li Qijun was taken aback: "He shares the same name as you? I thought it was a different character..." If I had known earlier that it was the same character as yours, I would have definitely told you about it, even if it was just a funny story.

Li Qiyun knew very little about Li Ji, only that he had once followed Li Tan in a night chase of a rebel general, capturing Tian Qianzhen alive on the battlefield. As for protecting Li Tan and rescuing Consort Shen, because these matters involved the imperial family, their stories circulated quietly among eunuchs and the imperial guards; officials outside the capital were unlikely to know unless they specifically inquired. The escape of the women from Chang'an and Luoyang was attributed to the brothers Li Chu and Li Tan, and few knew that Li Ji was also involved…

So after the formalities were completed and everyone was seated, Li Qiyun only asked Li Ji about Li Bi's situation, and sighed, "Why does Changyuan only care about such illusory things and refuse to stay in the court? Now Li Fuguo and Cui Yuan are colluding inside and outside the court, forming a faction to mislead the country and deceive the emperor. If Changyuan were here, things would not have come to this!"

Li Ji was starving, and seeing the table full of fine wine and delicacies, though they were leftovers, they weren't cold either, and his mouth was watering. So he asked Li Qiyun, "I escorted my elder brother to live in seclusion in the south for several months, and I know nothing about the affairs of the court. I humbly request your guidance, Uncle." He continued, "Go on, I'm eating and listening, I don't have a mouth to respond to you right now."

In just a few short months, the political situation has changed quite a bit. The most important event was that Li Heng summoned Li Chu and Li Tan back to Xijing and appointed his second son, Prince Zhao Li Xi, as the Grand Marshal of the Army, but only as a figurehead, with Deputy Grand Marshal Guo Ziyi acting in his place. However, Li Heng then appointed Palace Attendant Li Fuguo as concurrently Minister of the Imperial Stud and Military Advisor to the Grand Marshal's Office...

This was tantamount to placing a eunuch as military supervisor next to Guo Ziyi. Fortunately, Li Fuguo himself remained in Xijing, but he simply sent another eunuch to the army to act as his eyes and ears.

Furthermore, after obtaining Li Heng's permission, Li Fuguo established a secret service agency called "Chashitingzi" to investigate the activities of officials and gather information on public affairs. However, Prime Minister Cui Yuan, who had risen to power by clinging to Li Fuguo's coattails, dared not oppose him in any way. This resulted in Li Fuguo wielding immense power, handling state affairs daily at the Yintai Gate, carrying the palace seal, and frequently issuing edicts in the emperor's name. Conversely, if Li Heng himself issued an edict, Li Fuguo had to sign it first before the prime ministers dared to obey…

Hearing Li Qiyun say this, Li Ji, though still waving his hands and chewing his teeth, couldn't help but feel a surge of resentment: If only I had known that day in the main hall, I would have strangled that spineless bastard! Now that guy wields so much power, he can easily isolate himself from the outside world. If he decides to kill me, I won't even be able to storm the hall again to threaten Li Heng! I can't let him know I'm back... I need to at least make contact with Li Chu first before I can let the news slip.

Li Qiyun spoke of Li Fuguo with gritted teeth, his hatred seething to the bone, yet he was powerless to do anything about it. That's why he said, "If Li Bi were still alive, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this..." But Li Ji, listening, felt that even if Li Bi were still in court, given his kind nature and his reluctance to directly offend the emperor, he probably wouldn't be able to stop Li Fuguo from usurping power. Because Li Fuguo wasn't fighting alone; now, a terrifying "iron triangle" had formed around him.

The iron triangle consists of the powerful eunuch Li Fuguo, the prime minister Cui Yuan, and the empress... Last month, Li Heng officially issued an edict to confer the title of empress upon Consort Zhang. Back in the imperial court, Consort Zhang had colluded with Li Fuguo in the plot to frame Li Tan; they were already in cahoots.

So tell me, with an empress, a powerful eunuch, and a prime minister joining forces, could Li Bi, all alone, possibly stand against them? Li Ji couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Brother, you really ran away just in time... But while you saved your own life, you put the country, the nation, and the common people in danger."

Li Qiyun did not hide anything from Li Ji about how to deal with the situation—Li Ji guessed that the main purpose was to take this opportunity to remind his true nephew, Li Guayan, that the officials were secretly colluding and planned to submit a memorial to the Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace, requesting that Li Chu be appointed as the crown prince as soon as possible.

Clearly, they wanted to inflate the Crown Prince's prestige in order to counter Li Fuguo and others.

Li Ji thought to himself that this crown prince was probably a hopeless case and couldn't be helped... Besides, you should just report to the Daming Palace and be done with it, why bother the Xingqing Palace?

The main palace complex within Chang'an was divided into three parts: the Taiji Palace in the west, the Daming Palace in the east, and the Xingqing Palace in the south. Originally, when the city was first built, only the Taiji Palace, located in the very center of the north and adjacent to the imperial city where the officials' offices were situated, was the rightful residence of the emperor. However, the Taiji Palace was situated in a low-lying area, making it extremely humid during the summer. Therefore, to show his filial piety towards his father-in-law—perhaps to make up for what he had done to his father—Emperor Taizong of Tang built the Daming Palace on Longshou Plain outside the northeastern city walls.

However, before the Daming Palace was completed, Emperor Li Yuan passed away, and the project was halted. When Emperor Gaozong ascended the throne, he suffered from "wind rheumatism" and found living in the Taiji Palace extremely painful. Therefore, the construction of the Daming Palace resumed, and upon completion, the emperor moved there directly. From Emperor Gaozong onwards, most Tang emperors used the Daming Palace as their official residence, while the Taiji Palace was simply left vacant and unused.

Therefore, since Li Heng had already ascended the throne and returned to the capital, he should naturally reside in the Daming Palace. Li Qiyun said that submitting a memorial to the Daming Palace was to offer advice to Emperor Li Heng.

Inside Chunming Gate, north of the street, lies Longqing Ward, once the residence of Li Longji (Emperor Xuanzong of Tang) when he was a prince. After Li Longji ascended the throne, he first changed Longqing Ward to Xingqing Ward to avoid using his name, and then forcibly relocated the other families in the ward, converting the entire ward into Xingqing Palace. In the later years of his reign, he lived with Yang Guifei in Xingqing Palace, which replaced Daming Palace as the actual center of power for the Tang Dynasty.

After the war, the emperor moved to Sichuan. When Li Longji returned, it was inconvenient for him to live with his son in the Daming Palace, so he simply moved back to the Xingqing Palace. After all, he was the former emperor who had ruled the country for more than forty years. Although he had retired, his influence remained—and he had brought back many officials from Sichuan and forced them into the court. Therefore, the ministers wanted to go to the Xingqing Palace to petition the emperor on the matter of establishing a crown prince.

Li Ji thought to himself, "This is really just making trouble out of nothing..." Li Heng had ascended the throne without an imperial edict, and the retired emperor must be furious—otherwise, he wouldn't have instigated Li Lin to cause trouble. As for Li Heng himself, although he constantly told Li Bi about his filial piety, how guilty he felt, and how much he missed the retired emperor while he was in exile, if he were truly a filial son, he wouldn't need to say so much nonsense. The suspicion between this father and son was no less than that between Li Heng and Li Tan. If they wanted political stability, they should have gradually removed the retired emperor from the sight of the officials, instead of trying to bring him back into the limelight.

Aren't you deliberately stirring up trouble? Heaven knows what terrible consequences this will cause.

But these words were best left unsaid to Li Qijun; even if he uttered them aloud, Li Qijun might not listen. The main reason was that the officials were quite disappointed with Li Heng's heavy reliance on Li Fuguo, feeling that he was not as good as his father. At least his father, although he trusted Gao Lishi, did not have Gao Lishi draft imperial edicts on his behalf, right? And there was no point in him ruining Lady Lu's reputation for no reason.

A persona will eventually crumble, but there's no need to let it fall apart in front of people like Li Qijun.

Li Qiyun recounted matters of the court, and Li Guayan would occasionally interject—though his courtesy name was "Guayan" (meaning "silent"), he was actually quite talkative—thus, Li Ji learned quite a bit of gossip. For example, Xijing was no longer Chang'an; Li Heng, missing the days when he was in Fengxiang, elevated Fengxiang to a prefecture and designated it Xijing, while Chang'an was renamed Zhongjing. Furthermore, he changed Shujun to Chengdu Prefecture and designated it Nanjing.

Secondly, Li Chu was no longer the King of Chu; in February, he was reassigned as the King of Cheng. Li Heng's other sons also all changed their titles from two characters to one character. For example, Li Xi, the King of Nanyang, became the King of Zhao; Li Tan, the King of Jianning, became the King of Qi; Li Jin, the King of Xincheng, became the King of Peng; and Li Xian, the King of Yingchuan, became the King of Yan, and so on.

After the recapture of the two capitals, Li Heng bestowed titles and honors upon his subjects, including a number of dukes. For example, Pei Mian was made Duke of Ji, Guo Ziyi Duke of Dai, Pugu Huai'en Duke of Feng, Li Guangbi Duke of Ji, Wang Sili Duke of Huo, Lu Jiong Duke of Qi, Cui Yuan Duke of Zhao, Cui Guangyuan Duke of Ye, Li Guangjin Duke of Fanyang, Zhang Hao Duke of Nanyang, Zhang Xun Duke of Yuancheng, and so on. Even more outrageous, Li Fuguo was granted the title of Duke of Cheng…

Among the ministers, Li Qiyun and others originally placed the most hope in Zhang Hao, but because he repeatedly advised Li Heng not to pardon Shi Siming and to be wary of Xu Shuji, he was ostracized by the eunuchs, who slandered him before the emperor. At the beginning of this month, Zhang Hao was dismissed from his post as minister and sent to Jingzhou to serve as the chief secretary of the Grand General's Office.

Li Ji thought to himself, "This country is truly beyond saving!"

Finally, having eaten and drunk his fill, he finally interjected, asking about Li Guayan's situation. It turned out that Li Guayan, determined to pass the imperial examinations, had disregarded the fact that his hometown was still under rebel control and fled east to Chang'an to seek refuge with Li Qiyun. Unfortunately, the journey was long and arduous, causing him to miss this year's spring examinations.

However, according to Li Qiyun, Li Guayan's abilities were not yet sufficient to pass the imperial examination, so it would be better for him to stay in Chang'an with him for a few more years and then take the exam. Li Ji guessed that Li Qiyun felt that his power was still too weak to provide much assistance to his nephew, so he told him to be patient.

Li Guayan turned around and asked about Li Ji's situation. Li Ji explained that he currently held a seventh-rank military post without any real power, and that Li Bi hoped he could transfer to a civil service position. He then asked Li Qiyun for his opinion. Li Qiyun asked, "Does Changwei not aspire to take the imperial examinations?"

Li Ji smiled wryly and said, "My knowledge is too shallow to dare to hope for more."

Li Qijun glanced at him in surprise, thinking to himself, "Li Bi is such a learned man, and you are his cousin. It is said that you have been by his side for several years. Hasn't he learned anything from him?" Upon further reflection, he realized that Li Bi, despite his outstanding talent, had not taken the imperial examinations and was considered a self-taught scholar. Therefore, it was understandable that he could not teach his cousin well.

If Li Ji were also a member of the Pingji clan, Li Qiyun might have immediately declared, "Why don't you stay with me? I'll teach you." After all, I'm going to teach the taciturn; whether I have one sheep or two, it's all the same. However, the Liaodong branch is ultimately quite distant, and they might not even be related by blood. I don't need to be so eager to teach, so I said, "Changyuan is right, you must switch to a civil service position!"

Chapter 42, Clear Streams and Muddy Streams

The civil service officials in the Tang Dynasty can be divided into three categories: one category of "important and important positions", another category of "important but not important positions", and the third category of "important but not important positions".

The term "清" (qing) refers to a "clear stream," meaning a position that requires mental and physical effort but not necessarily physical labor—because "those who labor with their minds govern others, while those who labor with their bodies are governed by others." The term "要" (yao) refers to whether the daily tasks are tedious or important, and whether the position is crucial.

For example, in the early years of the Wude era, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Li Yuan, wanted to appoint Li Suli to a "respectable and important official position." The relevant departments initially proposed appointing him as the Registrar of Yongzhou, but Li Yuan said, "This position is important but not respectable." That is to say, although the position was important, it didn't qualify him as a member of the "pure and honest" faction. They then proposed appointing him as a Secretary, but Li Yuan said, "This position is respectable but unnecessary." Although it was a respectable position, it was a sinecure and wouldn't allow Li Suli to utilize his talents. Finally, they proposed appointing him as a Censor, and Li Yuan was satisfied, saying, "This position is both respectable and important."

Li Qijun used himself as an example. The position of Palace Attendant Censor was a prestigious and important official post. Being a prestigious official meant a promising future, and being important meant being able to actually do things, not just sitting in the office all day drinking strong tea and reading newspapers. Otherwise, would someone who had led thousands of troops be willing to take on such a lowly seventh-rank position?

However, not just anyone can become a high-ranking official. Currently, only those who have passed the imperial examination can hope to obtain a high-ranking official position, or at least be considered "high-ranking but not high-ranking." Even those who have passed the imperial examinations or the policy examinations (officials who offer advice to the emperor to obtain an official position; Li Mi can be considered a sliver of this category) can mostly only obtain the position but not the official one.

As for military positions, scholars disdain them. Of course, some civil officials do lead troops, or some switch to military positions midway through their careers, but these are mostly mid- to high-ranking officials.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji suddenly understood. He thought to himself, "No wonder Li Bi didn't seem very happy when Li Heng bestowed upon me a military honorary title. No wonder, although it's an honorary title, I have no real position or salary, yet I've been forced to lead fifty soldiers for many months. I guess, as Li Bi's cousin, Li Chu and the others also consider me a scholar, and how can a scholar take on a low-ranking military post?"

The officialdom is truly a mess...

Li Qiyun gave Li Ji a detailed explanation of the old customs and unspoken rules of officialdom, and then said that Changwei's rank of military officer was really too low-class... The best way is to abandon all of this and start over.

Of course, as you said, Changwei, you lack literary talent and are instead accustomed to wielding swords and spears, hoping to fight on the battlefield and achieve merit. But remember this: you must never expect to start as a low-ranking military officer and climb the ranks step by step. Don't be fooled by Pugu Huai'en being granted the title of Duke; that's an exceptional case among exceptional cases, and he will be confined to the military for his entire life. He will have no influence over the court, nor will he be able to squeeze into the circle of scholars.

"If one wishes to join the army as a scholar, there is only one way..."

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After bidding farewell to Li Qiyun and his nephew Li Guayan, Li Ji left the East Market and, following Li Qiyun's directions, headed north all the way to the residence of the Sixteen Princes.

He found out that Li Chu and Li Tan, the brothers, were indeed still living in the Sixteen Princes' Residence.