Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 164

Li Bi quickly declined, saying, "There is no place for me in the Hall of State Affairs."

Li Yu waved his hand and said, "With Wang Jin and Du Hongjian away, Liu Yan is already overwhelmed with half of the financial and economic affairs and cannot share my burdens in both military and political matters. Pei Zhangfu (Pei Mian) is too old... The Prime Minister alone is holding the overall situation together. How can it be said that there is no place for you, sir?"

Li Bi thought to himself, "It's because Yuan Zai is here that I don't have a position... Even when I'm in the inner court, he always tries to find a way to kick me out. If I were to enter the Council of State Affairs, wouldn't he hate me to death?" But he couldn't say this outright, so he could only decline, saying, "I was originally a commoner from the mountains. It is already beyond my ability to be promoted by Your Majesty to a high-ranking position. How could I dare to hope to become prime minister?"

Li Yu smiled slightly: "But what I command, who says is 'unreasonable'? If you find the State Affairs Hall too cramped and leaky, making it inconvenient to stretch your legs, I can clean it up for you."

Upon hearing this, Li Bi was taken aback, thinking to himself: Something terrible is about to happen...

This is indeed a major event. Since Yu Chaoen was killed, the power of the inner court has been waning day by day, while the power of the outer court has been growing, and the prime minister wields great power. This has greatly displeased Li Yu. However, with three generations of powerful eunuchs before him, he dares not place all the power of the inner court on the shoulders of one or two people again. Therefore, if he cannot restore the balance by revitalizing the inner court, then the only option is to weaken the outer court.

Yuan Zai had served as chancellor for many years, and Li Yu hoped to maintain a good relationship with him until the end. The problem was that Yuan Zai was too ambitious, always clinging to power and turning the Council of State Affairs into his personal fiefdom. He even submitted a memorial requesting that the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War approve all appointments of civil and military officials below the sixth rank without verification. At the time, Li Yu reluctantly agreed to counter the influence of Yu Chaoen; however, Yu Chaoen was soon removed from office, leaving Li Yu filled with regret—"I agreed too quickly; if only I had delayed a bit longer..."

After Yu Chaoen's execution, Yuan Zai became even more arrogant and autocratic. He even planned to demote Wu Qi—because he was a follower of Yu Chaoen—and appoint himself as the Director of the Revenue Department, but Li Yu stopped him. Regarding the autumn defense, Yuan Zai and Wang Jin jointly submitted a memorial requesting that Hezhong be designated as the central capital, with 50,000 troops stationed there. The emperor would travel there every autumn and return to Chang'an in the spring to avoid the Tibetan army's advance. Li Yu initially thought this was a good idea, but fearing that the ministers might criticize the emperor for being cowardly and wanting to flee, he temporarily shelved it. Unexpectedly, Yuan Zai, confident that his memorial would be approved, ordered the construction of palaces and his own private residence in Hezhong ahead of time. Li Yu was furious and refused to approve it.

In short, Yuan Zai's actions, one after another, challenged the emperor's bottom line. If the three-legged cauldron cast by Li Yu remained stable, he would have had to accept it for the sake of the "big picture." The problem was that the inner court's leg was shorter than expected. Instead of obediently requesting to reduce its power, the outer court wanted to lengthen it. Could Li Yu tolerate that?

I was initially worried that dismissing Yuan Zai would leave me without anyone to take charge, but now Li Bi is back. To be honest, the initial enthusiasm of Li Yu for appointing Li Bi has worn off, and there's no need to keep him in the palace all the time—didn't I manage to get by during his year-long absence? I even got rid of Zhou Zhiguang and Yu Chaoen—it's better to place him in the Hall of State Affairs and re-establish the proper relationship between ruler and subject. From now on, I can call him "Prime Minister Li" instead of always addressing him as "Sir."

Therefore, in May of that year, Li Yu personally went to Yanying Hall and ordered Wu Cou (the younger brother of Empress Zhangjing and Li Yu's maternal uncle) to arrest Yuan Zai and imprison him in the Hall of State Affairs. He then ordered Liu Yan, the Minister of Revenue, Li Han, the Grand Censor, Yang Wan, the Vice Minister of Rites, and others to conduct a joint trial. In the end, Yuan Zai was demoted to the position of Prefect of Feizhou.

The search of Yuan Zai's residence yielded valuables worth over a million strings of cash—including eight hundred shi of pepper alone!

In addition, more than twenty of Yuan Zai's cronies were also demoted and sent out of the capital to take up posts elsewhere—including two acquaintances of Li Ji, one being Yang Yan, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue, and the other being Han Hui, a court attendant.

With this, the Council of State Affairs was finally cleared out, and a position became available. Li Mi was then forcibly appointed as chancellor—as Left Vice Minister and concurrently Chancellor. Li Xian was also reinstated as chancellor at the same time. As for Zhang Hao, whom Li Ji had mentioned to him long ago and whom Li Shi had recommended many times, he unfortunately had died of illness the previous year while serving as the Inspector of Jiangnan West Circuit.

Everyone went to Li Bi's residence to congratulate him, but Li Bi kept the gates closed and refused to see anyone. It wasn't until Li Shi arrived that he was forced to open the gates and let him in. Li Shi then brought in the congratulatory invitations from all the officials and said to Li Bi, "It is customary for officials to congratulate one on becoming prime minister. Sir... why does Prime Minister Li have to keep people at arm's length?" He casually flipped through the invitations and realized, "Hey, where is so-and-so's invitation?"

Upon returning to his residence, Li Shi summoned the man for questioning. The man was Chang Gun, a native of Wen County and the newly appointed Hanlin Academician. Li Shi had always held this man in high regard, regarding him as his own Zhang Liang. Chang Gun said to Li Shi, "I believe that Li Changyuan's position as prime minister will not last long, therefore I will not offer my congratulations."

Why do you say this?

“Li Weibo is commanding a large army, while his brother is serving as prime minister. If he receives support from both inside and outside the court, how can the emperor not be wary? Everyone in the court knows that the emperor treats Li Changyuan well. If he cannot appoint him as prime minister, he might be criticized for being like Lord Ye who loved dragons but was terrified. That is why Yuan Zai was dismissed and Li Bi was appointed instead. However, he will surely be sent to the outside world in two years at most.”

Li Ji's request to attack Tianxiong Army is currently a secret; Chang Gun may not know about it, or even if he does, he wouldn't dare mention it. Li Shi, however, thought to himself: "Oh, it seems Father intends to approve Li Ji's impeachment and appoint Changyuan as Prime Minister to win Li Ji over, hoping he'll fight the Hebei battle well? Whether we win or lose, I'm afraid that once the battle is over, Changyuan won't be able to stay in the Council of State anymore… Father's intentions are quite cunning!"

He hurriedly instructed Chang Gun: "Do not tell anyone else what you have said."

Chang Gun smiled and said, "I know." He paused for a moment, then added, "I was just about to go to the residences of the two imperial brothers to offer my congratulations."

Li Yu's two maternal uncles—Wu Xu, the Right General of the Golden Guard, and Wu Cou, the Left General of the Golden Guard—were also promoted. The former was appointed Minister of Ceremonies, and the latter was appointed Prefect of the Capital. This seems to indicate that after the emperor slightly suppressed the power of the eunuchs and changed the prime minister's team, he began to place his hopes on his maternal relatives...

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With the political situation changing so rapidly, Lu Qi naturally sent someone to Weibo immediately to deliver the intelligence. Li Ji was delighted after reading it, and his opinion of Li Yu improved slightly.

Ultimately, this emperor still has a chance to recover, quite different from his father. Yuan Zai was dismissed, and Li Mi became prime minister, which could hopefully improve the administration. Regardless of their abilities, at least Li Mi was not as power-hungry and greedy as Yuan Zai, and he was also good at uniting his colleagues. If the court could stand up straight, I would feel much more at ease working in the outposts.

Li Ji had great faith in Li Mi's abilities. While not a genius for all time, at least in his own era, no one in the bureaucratic class could rival Li Mi in terms of vision and wisdom. Of course, Li Mi also had many shortcomings. For example, his political leanings towards Huang-Lao philosophy led him to be good at maintaining the status quo but lacking in ambition and drive. Furthermore, in matters of national finance, Li Mi was not only inferior to Liu Yan and Yang Yan, but perhaps even less capable than Wu Qi. In terms of integrity and discipline, he was not as good as Yang Wan; in terms of uprightness and incorruptibility, he was not as good as Li Qiyun and Cui Youfu…

However, as prime minister, Li Bi could unite all the talented individuals from the aforementioned fields to his side, ensuring the stability of the court and the smooth flow of government affairs, unlike Yuan Zai, who sat alone in the Hall of State Affairs and needed lackeys rather than colleagues.

Furthermore, Li Ji also sensed something unusual in Lu Qi's report—since Li Bi had successfully returned to the court and been appointed prime minister, although the court had not yet made a big fuss about it, Nanzhao probably already intended to abandon its allies and submit to Tang; with Nanzhao as a constraint, the Tibetan offensive against Longxi and the Hexi Corridor would definitely weaken and slow down, allowing the Tang court to free up its resources to take the opportunity to resolve the Hebei issue...

Having already submitted his impeachment memorial, if Li Yu still refused to issue a formal order to punish Tian Chengsi, Li Bi, having already returned to the capital, would certainly have to discuss it with him; and Li Bi, knowing the emperor's intentions, would not fail to send a private letter to remind him—most likely, directly pointing out the oversights in his plan.

Therefore, it seems that within two or three months at most, an edict for conquest will be issued!

Therefore, Li Ji summoned several trusted generals and staff to review the military preparations and deployments. Although he had submitted a memorial last year hoping to lead troops on a northern expedition, and related work had already begun, war preparations were never 100% perfect, given the changing situation. It was best to consult with others, identify and address any shortcomings, to avoid unnecessary losses when the time came.

The main force of the Weizhou army was under the command of Lei Wanchun, the military commander. According to him, his thirty battalions of garrison troops were ready to be deployed to the battlefield at any time. "With sufficient supplies for the commander, everyone is happy to fight for him; with excellent training, we are not afraid even if we are twice as many as the enemy!"

Li Ji thought to himself that it was fortunate he hadn't called Yan Sima along, otherwise, with that line "Everyone is happy to fight for the general," Yan Sima would have spat all over his face on the spot...

Chapter Thirteen: Pre-War Preparations

In mid-July, Li Ji and Qin Rui secretly met in Jieshang.

Although ostensibly a clandestine meeting, each side brought several hundred soldiers for protection, making them much more relaxed than their unexpected encounter in Dezhou. Li Ji informed Qin Rui that the imperial court anticipated issuing an edict this autumn to punish Tian Chengsi, and hoped that his lord would prepare in advance.

"The key to military strategy lies in catching the enemy off guard. If we wait for the imperial court to issue a formal edict, Tian Chengsi will surely be prepared. In that case, it would be disadvantageous for us to send troops from afar against an already fortified formation. If our two families plan ahead and act immediately upon receiving the edict, we will surely achieve a great victory in the first battle, and capture many prisoners as well."

Qin Rui agreed with Li Ji's view, but at the same time doubted whether the court truly had enough resolve to punish the Tianxiong Army—"If I prepare troops, but the imperial edict does not arrive, wouldn't it be all for nothing? Our Wushun Army is really short of money and provisions, and cannot afford to waste them..."

Li Ji was quite familiar with the situation in De and Bei prefectures, and understood that Qin Rui was not making excuses; the other party was genuinely short of funds. These two prefectures, if placed elsewhere, would be considered upper-middle-class prefectures with abundant land and numerous households, but in Hebei they were relatively barren, and like Weibo, lacked any particularly noteworthy resources. Furthermore, Qin Rui's governance was essentially laissez-faire; he could neither curb land annexation nor confiscate the property of wealthy households, leaving the annual revenue from taxes and provisions stretched thin.

Therefore, although the other side hoped to fight a battle and seize some spoils to fill their pockets, they were also afraid of making preparations in advance. In case the court did not issue an edict to launch a punitive expedition, they would waste their already scarce money and food resources for nothing—preparations also cost money.

Li Ji thought for a moment and then asked, "General Qin told me, if we were to attack the Tian family, how many troops would you be able to send?"

Qin Rui asked him, "Do you want to send out the elite, or the entire force?"

"If there are only a few elite soldiers, how many are there in total?"

Qin Rui smiled wryly and said, "To be honest, if we're talking about elite troops, fully equipped with armor and weapons, and soldiers with fighting spirit who won't back down after a slight setback, Wu Shun's army only numbers four or five thousand. If we disregard the old and weak and send them out in droves, we could get more than twenty thousand men."

Li Ji knew that Wu Shun's army should have a total strength of over 30,000, but he had to leave troops to garrison each city and protect the homes of his troops. "My Weibo army is heading north, and we have to pass through Qin Rui's territory. Is it possible that he wouldn't leave troops to garrison us?" So, the number of over 20,000 was indeed accurate and not a deception.

However, an army lacking clothing, manpower, and training might not be effective on the front lines; it was better to leave it in the rear to push carts and transport supplies. Therefore, Li Ji suggested, "Four or five thousand soldiers are too few. I hope Commander Qin will select and train more, bringing the total to seven thousand. I will lend Commander Qin fourteen thousand bolts of silk in advance as funds for the expedition..."

—The bad habit of "setting up troops for military expeditions" has been around for who knows when it started. I guess it started when the main body of local armies changed from conscripts to able-bodied soldiers, and it has become a pervasive practice.

Fourteen thousand bolts of silk were no small sum for Wu Shun's army, worth more than ten thousand strings of cash at the time, enough to cover the monthly rations of seven thousand soldiers; but for Weibo, it was just a drop in the bucket. Although it was called a "pre-loan," even if it was never returned, Li Ji would not necessarily feel much pain.

Because all kinds of silk fabrics in the warehouses of Weibo Town are now silted up.

The story begins with Li Ji bringing in Lao Huang, a renowned craftsman from the state. Lao Huang originally came from the Crossbow Workshop of the Military Equipment Bureau. Although the workshop was called "Crossbow Workshop," it was actually responsible for manufacturing all kinds of weapons. The Armor Workshop, which also belonged to the Military Equipment Bureau, was only responsible for the preparation of raw materials for weapons such as armor, sinew, horn, and silk rope. Therefore, as one of the top craftsmen in the workshop, Lao Huang was not a pure blacksmith; his skills were quite broad.

Especially in those days when there were no factories or assembly lines, but only small, self-sufficient public and private workshops, a master craftsman had to excel in everything from selecting raw materials to maintaining finished products. Taking ironware as an example, Lao Huang could select ore, forge, design, and manufacture it, and he also had some knowledge of warehousing. He could supply all the necessary materials from the iron ore to the finished product being stored in the warehouse.

Otherwise, Li Ji wouldn't have entrusted such a large workshop to him if he were merely a technician in one area.

Initially, iron ingots were imported from Zhaoyi Army, but the quality was inconsistent and difficult to meet Lao Huang's expectations. Subsequently, at Lao Huang's urging, Li Ji sent Bao Zitian directly to the iron mine outside Ye County to purchase ore with Xue Song's permission—selling resources naturally yielded less profit than selling products, but it was less troublesome, and Xue Song didn't care.

Immediately, on the outskirts of Guixiang, water from the Yongji Canal was diverted—but it couldn't be built directly beside the canal, as that would easily disrupt water traffic—to construct four enormous smelting furnaces for ore screening and iron smelting. Li Ji originally thought that the water diversion was only for ore selection, but after personally inspecting the site, he discovered that Old Huang was also using water-powered blast furnaces to raise the furnace temperature—which made sense, considering that water-powered blast furnaces seemed to have existed as early as the Han Dynasty, and were said to have been invented by Du Shi, the governor of Nanyang.

This gave Li Ji a new idea. He searched extensively in the town for carpenters skilled in making looms, asking them to try linking the water pump with the loom to invent a water-powered spinning wheel. After repeated experiments and failures, fortunately, the promise of a generous reward eventually led to his success. At the beginning of last year, he finally managed to create one.

Using water power to drive machinery instead of human power, one machine can do the work of five.

So next to the weapons workshop, a weaving workshop was built, with thirty looms, later increased to two hundred. Skilled weavers were forced to work there, and large-scale production began. To be honest, these water-powered looms were still very primitive and could not be made as finely as by hand. They could not produce high-quality products, and they could not weave patterns. The traditional textiles of Weizhou were mainly patterned silk, brocade, plain silk, and silk fabrics, while the official workshop could only produce the latter two.

But that was enough. On that day, as Li Ji watched the waterwheels rolling and dozens of looms working at once, he couldn't help but feel a glimmer of gold before his eyes—this was all money! With enough money, an army of 50,000 would be easy to assemble!

Unfortunately, the ideal was lofty, but the reality was harsh. Guanfang not only soon encountered a shortage of raw materials, but also had a very narrow market for its products. The former was easy to solve: temporarily purchase silk from other places and encourage people to plant mulberry trees and raise silkworms. The latter, however, was not something that could be reversed overnight.

Because of limited market demand, even the cheapest silk fabrics were not affordable for ordinary people, and the annual demand from middle-class and above households was unlikely to increase rapidly in the short term. Crucially, with the chaos just receding and everything needing rebuilding, Weizhou, though strategically located at the Yongji Canal, lacked a developed commercial sector. This resulted in products being produced but difficult to sell. Furthermore, if the sales distance exceeded 500 li (approximately 250 kilometers), the price advantage disappeared…

Well, the textile industry in Jiangnan mainly produces cotton and hemp. If Weizhou silk could be sold to places thousands of miles away, there might be some profit. Unfortunately, smooth trade routes cannot be established in a short time. If the textiles could be transshipped through Yuling and sold to the west of the Pamir Mountains, the profit could be doubled or even more. However, Tibet has already captured Liangzhou, cutting off the Silk Road...

In particular, just three months after the textile workshop opened, Yan Zhenqing came knocking on their door to berate them—"Why would a general like you want to seize the profits of a petty person?!"

In those days, it was common for men to farm and women to weave. The textiles produced in Weizhou were originally mostly made by the women of small farming families. Now, with the government producing in large quantities and the market becoming saturated, local prices naturally fell. For many farming families, this was nothing short of a bolt from the blue...

Yan Zhenqing meticulously explained the pros and cons to Li Ji, but Li Ji was helpless and could only say, "Having spent so much manpower and resources to produce it, how can we abandon it so easily?" In the end, he promised that all the products from the official workshop would be stored in the warehouse for export and would no longer be sold locally or even in the surrounding prefectures; moreover, the scale would be temporarily limited and no more looms would be added.

The latter is even more helpless, because there are very few male workers who can weave these days. It is estimated that seven or eight out of ten of them in the entire Weizhou have entered the government workshops. As for female workers, unless they are about to starve to death, who would be willing to let the women in their families go out to find a job?

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself, "This small-scale farming economy is really fragile. It can easily disrupt the ecological balance..."

As a result, the Weizhou treasury had just enough money and grain, but the stored textiles were around 600,000 bolts a year. If all of them were used for military purposes, they could support 30,000 soldiers. Textiles cannot be eaten, but if they were only used to make clothes and pay wages, they could easily support 60,000 to 70,000 soldiers.

Therefore, Li Ji knew that Wu Shunjun's army had limited financial resources. In order to strengthen Qin Rui's determination to conquer Tian Chengsi and to persuade the other party to make preparations in advance, he planned to provide some military supplies to the other party. However, in terms of money and grain, he really could not come up with much. He only had silk. "My warehouse is almost full. I'll just lend you 14,000."

"The imperial court will not starve its soldiers. Since the imperial edict for conquest has been issued, it will surely transfer money and provisions from other garrisons to Hebei. At that time... or after the war, General Qin can slowly return the money and provisions to me." Listen carefully, return the money and provisions, I don't want silk.

Qin Rui had no idea that Li Ji was so cunning. He knew that Weizhou was famous for its plain silk, but he hadn't found out the annual production or how much was stored in the warehouses. He immediately showed gratitude: "Thank you for your help, Commander Li. In that case, I will make preparations after I return to Guizhou."

To be honest, if we lose the war, I definitely won't pay you back; even if we win, we'll each get what we want, so why would you care about these 10,000 bolts of silk?

They then planned a marching route, using the Yongji Canal to transport grain. The Weibo army first marched north along the canal, arriving at the outskirts of Qinghe, where they joined forces with Wu Shun's army. Then they marched straight north to take Xindu!

Xindu was the capital of Jizhou, and Tianxiong Army was originally named Jizhou Town, indicating that its heartland was in Jizhou. However, perhaps due to concerns about the lack of natural defenses on the vast plains and the proximity of Xindu to other towns, Tian Chengsi established the military governor's office in Wuqiang County to the northeast, separated from Xindu by the Zhang River.

If the government troops can take advantage of the enemy's unpreparedness and march straight down to Xindu, approaching the south bank of the Zhang River, then the battle will be half won; if they can successfully cross the Zhang River and force their way to the walls of Wuqiang, the chances of victory will be seventy percent.

In addition, a flank attack was planned—Nan Jiyun from Bozhou would lead troops north to Liting, join forces with the Dezhou army, and continue north along the Yongji Canal to attack Cangzhou, thus cutting off Tian Chengsi's arm.

The key is that Cangzhou and Dizhou have the benefits of fish and salt, which both Li Ji and Qin Rui have long coveted. If we seize them first, no matter how the war ends, the court will not be able to make us give them back, right? Or perhaps we can give them back, but in exchange for an equivalent amount of benefits.

However, with the troops split into two routes, the forces in Ji Province might be insufficient. But I reckon the court wouldn't just order our two garrisons to launch a northern expedition; at least the Zhaoyi Army of fifty or sixty thousand men can't just stand by and watch. As long as we win the initial battle and capture Xindu, we won't have to worry about Tian Chengsi's large-scale counterattack, and we can expect the Zhaoyi Army to come to our aid.

With business concluded, as is customary, a banquet was naturally held for a hearty feast. During the banquet, Qin Rui could no longer contain himself, and using the guise of alcohol to cover his face, he said to Li Ji, "We've known each other for eight or nine years now, haven't we? Commander Li, do you know that your wife and I are also old acquaintances? It was she who saved my life on Tanshan Mountain that day—I wonder if your wife is well? After this battle, I will personally visit her to express my gratitude..."

Li Ji glanced at Qin Rui and thought to himself, "It's been so many years, and you still remember me?"

In these times, the separation between men and women wasn't overly strict. Given the apparent closeness between Qin and Li, and the fact that Qin Rui and Cui Cuo were old acquaintances, if Qin Rui were to actually visit Yuancheng, Li Ji should have his wife come out to greet the guest. However, emotionally speaking, Li Ji was keenly unwilling for the two to meet again, and if they did, Cui Cuo might very well launch a flying sword at Qin Rui...

Feeling a surge of dislike, she interrupted Qin Rui's rambling and asked, "Has Commander Qin ever married? And whose daughter is she?"

Qin Rui smiled and replied, "I did have a wife, but she was just a country woman who passed away long ago—I mentioned this to Commander Li when we first met, have you forgotten?" Li Ji thought to himself, that was about the previous soul, so many years have passed, how could I possibly remember? Qin Rui continued, "In recent years, I haven't remarried." Then he sighed, "A good woman is hard to find."

Li Ji thought to himself, "No matter how empty your own chambers are, you can't be thinking about other men's wives!" He pretended to persuade him, "General Qin is already over thirty, how can he be without a wife? Should I send a message to my elder brother to find a lady from a prestigious family to arrange a good marriage for General Qin?"

Qin Rui did not answer, but sighed and said, "Mr. Yu Changyuan... Oh, what Commander Li just said means that your brother has become a prime minister, so he should be called Prime Minister Li now. It has been several years since we last met, and I have no chance to see Prime Minister Li again."

“If you wish to return to the capital for an audience, you will be able to reunite with my elder brother.”

"Let's discuss this after the war..." Qin Rui thought to himself, "I'm not like you. I can't just swagger back to the capital to see the emperor. What if the court keeps me here and doesn't send me back?"

After the breakup, Li Ji returned directly to Yuancheng. He had barely entered the military governor's office when Yan Zhenqing rushed over to announce: "The imperial court has appointed the deputy military governor, who will arrive in Weibo soon."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was somewhat taken aback. There was no deputy military governor in Weibo, and his only assistant was the military commander Yan Zhenqing. Why was he suddenly appointed as deputy military governor? Was this man sent to guard Weibo during the campaign? – Most likely not, Yan Zhenqing was enough – or was it to divide his military power? Was his brother worried about his manpower shortage, or was the emperor afraid he might harbor disloyal thoughts?

He hurriedly asked, "Who has been appointed as the deputy envoy by imperial decree?"

Yan Zhenqing replied, "It is indeed Tian Qianzhen, the Left Guard General."

Chapter Fourteen, Hero of the World

Tian Qianzhen was ordered to come to Weibo to pay his respects to Li Ji, but he felt extremely awkward about it...

Because he was initially taken prisoner by Li Ji after being thrown from his horse, and had no choice but to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

For the next six or seven years, Tian Qianzhen held only a nominal title, sitting on the sidelines in Chang'an. Although he schemed and sought connections everywhere, hoping to regain military power, the court never used him. In fact, there were many generals who had surrendered to An Lushan and Shi Xiangshan. Even if they couldn't lead their troops to surrender like Tian Chengsi, Li Baochen, and Zhang Xiancheng, they could still be regional commanders. People like Gao Tinghui and Yu Wenjing all rose to become important generals in their respective regions. It was just that Tian Qianzhen couldn't get ahead.

The key issue lies in the fact that Tian Qianzhen was too capable. He was both a scholar and a warrior, and possessed both wisdom and courage. This was extremely rare in the An Lushan camp, which was mainly composed of generals who did not follow the teachings of the barbarians. Moreover, he was a vanguard general who had followed An Lushan in the rebellion from the very beginning. It was already fortunate that the Tang court did not kill him. Who would dare to actually employ him again?

He had thought his career was hopeless and that he could only stay in Chang'an, living on his salary and waiting to die. But unexpectedly, not long after Li Bi became prime minister, he was suddenly summoned to the Hall of State Affairs and asked about the affairs of Hebei.

The Tian family of Beiping was a powerful clan that dominated the region. For generations, they had practiced martial arts and served in the military. Tian Shouyi once served as the deputy protector-general of Andong. After the Andong Protectorate was abolished, its northeastern part was occupied by the Bohai Kingdom, and its southwestern part was incorporated into the Lulong Army. A dozen or so members of the Tian family served as subordinate officers in the Lulong Army and were highly valued by An Lushan.

The current military governor of Tianxiong Army, Tian Chengsi, is the son of Tian Shouyi, while Tian Qianzhen is Tian Shouyi's cousin. According to seniority, Tian Chengsi should address him as "uncle"...

In the past, Tian Qianzhen followed An Lushan south and eventually became the Prefect of Jingzhao, guarding Chang'an. He was later captured by Li Ji during his escape after the Tang army recaptured Chang'an. Li Bi had long heard of Tian Qianzhen's reputation and intended to have him succeed Tian Chengsi as the military governor of Tianxiong Army, so he summoned him for questioning.

Li Mi did not believe that the Tianxiong Army could be wiped out in a single battle, especially since the Yan and Zhao tribes would inevitably suffer from the loss of their alliance and might even band together to oppose the court. Therefore, his plan was to severely damage the Tian family, at least by reducing their territory and reducing their troops. If the opportunity allowed, he would simply appoint Tian Qianzhen as the military governor of the Tianxiong Army.

Because Tian Qianzhen had been away from Yan and Zhao for a long time and had no children or grandchildren, he was all alone and easier for the court to control; unlike Tian Chengsi, whose subordinates were mostly former generals and officials from the pseudo-Yan era, and who also had a large group of brothers and sons...

Li Bi then briefly revealed his plans to Tian Qianzhen, who immediately knelt down, kowtowing and addressing him as "Your Excellency," swearing an oath to heaven and earth that if he were to gain control of a region, he would be loyal to the Emperor, respectfully obey imperial orders, pay tribute annually, and come to court every year. Li Bi smiled slightly and said, "Your nephew in Hebei is indeed arrogant, and the Emperor intends to send troops to punish him—only after your nephew is gone can you have your position. I wonder if you would be willing to go to Weibo first, to assist Li Ji, and work together to achieve success?"

Upon hearing this, Tian Qianzhen's heart skipped a beat. He was somewhat afraid of Li Ji, not because Li Ji had chased him and captured him alive that night, but because in just a few years, that little guy had accomplished so much, earning such a great reputation and fortune... If he were just a fierce general, he would be easy to get along with; but this man was likely cunning and might not be able to tolerate him.

For the sake of his own future—he was still not fifty years old and did not want to retire so soon—Tian Qianzhen finally gritted his teeth and agreed, but asked Li Bi to help write a letter for him to deliver to Li Ji in order to resolve past grievances.

Tian Qianzhen seemed to be overthinking things. When Li Ji heard that he was coming, he personally went to the gate of the Jiedushi's office to greet him. He even held Tian Qianzhen's hand and reminisced about the past - "Do you still remember the scene when I knocked you off your horse?"

Tian Qianzhen could only smile wryly and quickly produced Li Bi's letter.

Upon first hearing Tian Qianzhen's name, Li Ji roughly understood the court's intentions: to use the Tian family against the Tian family. However, who knew if the two Tian families might secretly collude and ruin the grand plan of conquest? The court must have offered Tian Qianzhen some benefits that he couldn't refuse. What exactly were they?

After reading Li Bi's letter, Li Ji finally understood the situation and couldn't help but think to himself, "Brother, aren't you being a bit too cautious... You're really good at maintaining the status quo but not good at expanding. When you want to remove a malignant tumor, how can you not take risks? If you can get rid of Tian Chengsi, why do you need to put Tian Qianzhen in the position?"

Before leaving his post, he had discussed the overall situation of the country, especially the situation in the Yan and Zhao regions, with Li Bi in detail. Li Bi believed that none of the garrisons should be abolished, otherwise the people of Hebei would be disloyal, the court would be unable to exert its influence, and chaos would surely break out; the best course of action was to gradually weaken the power of the garrisons and quietly transform the governors and military governors into national-level administrative regions, making them difficult for the court to control.

Therefore, including Weibo, the Hebei region currently has a total of five garrisons, which Li Mi considers too few. It would be safer if the territory were divided equally among six or seven garrisons. If, as Li Ji intends, the Tian clan is completely wiped out and the Tianxiong Army is disbanded, then in such a remote area surrounded by other garrisons, it's impossible for the court to directly govern the four prefectures of Ji, Ying, Cang, and Di. Wouldn't that ultimately benefit the surrounding garrisons? Five garrisons are already insufficient, let alone four? This is not a long-term solution.

Li Mi also hinted at this point in his letter, implying that even incorporating the four prefectures into Weibo would not be a good strategy—it's not that I don't trust you, but you can't stay in Weibo forever, can you? What if you replace them with someone else?

Li Ji thought to himself, "You just don't trust me. You're worried that if I hold six prefectures and dominate Hebei, I'll naturally develop the desire to challenge the imperial court." Thinking about it carefully, it's not impossible, especially if I didn't aspire to defend against the Tibetans in the west...

But I'm not just going to leave after defeating Tian Chengsi. At least I can use this as a pretext to destroy Guo and eliminate Qin Rui... At that time, the court can divide the eight provinces, including Weibo, however it wants and appoint whoever it wants as commander. Why do they have to send another person with the surname Tian, ​​as if the Tianxiong Army is the property of the Tian family?

I was somewhat skeptical. As I read on, Li Mi indeed reminded me that the emperor had already approved the expedition and that the edict would be officially issued in a few days, so I could start preparing in advance.

Li Ji thought to himself, "I've already started preparations." It's only 300 li from Yuancheng to the border of Jizhou. Even if it's a snail's pace, it should take about ten days to get there. Li Ji had already ordered people to build warehouses between Qiankou and Guantao, along the Yongji Canal, to store all kinds of food and supplies. The army could march out of the border to fight at any time.

So he summoned his staff, Yan Zhenqing, Tian Qianzhen and others to discuss the strategy for advancing the army. In fact, he already had a plan in mind, which was the one he had discussed with Qin Rui. He laid it out first and asked everyone to discuss its advantages and disadvantages. Tian Qianzhen said: "If the general wants to take Xindu directly, it will be separated from it by the Nanzhang River and the old canal. If Tian Chengsi sets up his troops along the river, it will not be easy to pass."

Li Ji smiled and said, "I have already discussed and agreed with Qin Jiedu of Wushun Army. We have made all the necessary preparations in advance. We are just waiting for the imperial edict to be issued so that we can immediately advance our troops and enter Jizhou territory with lightning speed. Tian Chengsi may not have time to respond. By the time our army reaches Qinghe, Wushun Army should have already built a pontoon bridge on the Nanzhang River, which will allow us to cross directly. As for the Gudu River, it is shallow and easy to cross."

Tian Qianzhen nodded first, then said, "I am new here and do not know the situation in the town. Hebei is mostly plains with few mountains, forests and ditches, which is a place where cavalry can roam freely. I wonder how many warhorses are in the town? Xindu is a big city. Even if Tian Chengsi is unprepared, he usually has several thousand troops stationed there. It is not easy to take it quickly. I wonder if there are any preparations for siege weapons?"