Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 188

Hu Hao replied, "The garrison troops are all less than ten thousand, and they are a mix of Han and Hu people... As for the local troops, although there are tens of thousands, we dare not put them to use."

"How many more years can you hold on?"

Hu Hao shook his head: "This... I can't say for sure. Last year, the barbarian bandits invaded and were very fierce. More than 10,000 bandits from the east were heading towards Yizhou, but fortunately, the Uyghurs came to their aid and they retreated upon seeing them. More than 40,000 bandits came from the west, and Commander Guo fought a fierce battle with them between Qingling and Shuangqu, fighting fourteen battles and killing several thousand bandits, but also losing no less than a thousand of his own. They have come again this year, and I heard that they are coming from both the east and west to attack Khotan from both sides. I'm afraid Khotan will be difficult to defend."

"It's a pity that the two thousand soldiers stationed in Khotan are all doomed to perish... With Khotan fallen, Anxi will be left with only three garrisons, and its strength will be further diminished. No matter how bravely General Guo fights, he can only hold out for another two or three years. As for Beiting, the barbarian rebels will have Anxi as their base, and I'm afraid they won't be able to hold out for even a year..."

Li Ji said, "The Northern Court is still in a good position. We can ask the Uyghurs to send more reinforcements."

Hu Hao hesitated for a moment, then decided to tell the truth: "Actually, none of us Tang soldiers expect the Uyghurs to come to our rescue..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned and asked, "Why is that?"

"The Uyghur troops, without even engaging in direct combat with the barbarian bandits, have already lavishly demanded rewards and looted along the way, causing unbearable harassment to all the Hu tribes. I once heard Commander Li say that if the Uyghurs were to come a few more times like this, I fear our Tang generals would lose the hearts of the people of the Northern Court, causing the Hu tribes to flock to the south and develop the desire to expel us! However, Yumen Pass has already fallen into enemy hands and is far beyond our reach. Where can we escape to? The only option is to flee north into the Uyghur territory... This journey of thousands of miles has been arduous even for a mere messenger like myself, barely reaching Shuofang. How can we possibly traverse it with only a few thousand troops? I fear we might even be captured by the Uyghurs..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji stamped his foot and sighed. He then said, “In the past, Ban Dingyuan, with only thirty-six men, subdued Shanshan, recovered fifty-one kingdoms in the Western Regions, and drove away the Xiongnu… Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing, and others, with only tens of thousands of Han and Hu soldiers, attacked and captured Greater and Lesser Bolu, causing the barbarian bandits to cower and dare not look north… This shows that the Hu people of the Western Regions still have a certain fighting power. If they are willing to unite against the enemy, why should they fear the Tubo? Not to mention the Turgesh and the Karluks.”

"However, since our Tang Dynasty lost Gansu and Liangzhou, the people of the Western Regions are in chaos. The two towns can only rely on a few thousand Han soldiers and the long-time Hu soldiers to fight against the enemy. They lose a fort every month and a town every year. There is only consumption and no replenishment, thus they are trapped in this extremely difficult and dangerous situation... We must first recover Hexi and open up the Silk Road in order to win back the hearts of the people of the Western Regions and resolve the crisis of the two towns."

Hu Hao hurriedly asked, "When will the imperial court be able to send troops to recover Gansu and Liangzhou?"

Li Ji shook his head and said, "Difficult, difficult... The towns in Guanzhong now have no less than 100,000 troops, but they are short of money and food. They can only hold their ground and cannot go on a long expedition."

Hu Hao said sadly, "In that case, both towns are in danger."

Li Ji raised his eyebrows: "I hope that Guo and Li can hold out for another two or three years. I will train the Shuofang troops well. Even if we cannot completely open up the Silk Road, we will recover Liangzhou! In this way, it will be difficult for the barbarian bandits to launch an attack from the east, and their main force will be tied down in Hexi, Longyou, Anxi, and Beiting. Then we can catch our breath."

He immediately replied, "I will write a letter now and trouble Mr. Hu to report back to Generals Guo and Li."

Upon hearing this, Hu Hao's face immediately darkened, his eyebrows drooping downwards. He stammered, "This... this humble general still needs to go to Chang'an... I'm ordered to request aid from the imperial court, but I'm only passing through Shuofang..."

Li Ji understood. Hu Hao had received orders and traveled thousands of miles back to the Central Plains, most likely intending to escape danger as quickly as possible. I had seen his audacity before, so how could he dare to return to Anxi and Beiting? He could only wave his hand and say, "You should rest well in Lingzhou for a few days before going to Chang'an to meet the Emperor."

Turning his head, he summoned Ma Meng and asked, "You are quite familiar with the situation in the Uyghur region, fluent in the Hui language, and skilled at riding horses. Would you be willing to risk a trip to Tingzhou for me?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Meng hesitated—this would require a long detour, several thousand miles, traversing grasslands and deserts, often with hundreds of miles of uninhabited land, which was far too dangerous. Li Ji comforted him, saying, "You can set off again at the end of the year. By the time you reach Beiting, it will be spring, and most of the barbarian bandits will have retreated. Moreover, according to the envoy, the main force of the barbarian bandits has first taken Anxi, and Beiting is still peaceful. I will write another letter requesting the assistance and protection of the Uyghur troops. With your abilities, you will surely be able to travel safely."

Ma Meng was then forced to clasp his hands and bow, saying, "I will obey the commander's orders."

Li Ji wrote a very long letter, detailing the situation in the Central Plains and the state of affairs in the court and among the people, and reported it to Guo Xin and Li Yuanzhong. Of course, he added some exaggeration, making it seem as if the current situation, although not very good, was progressing rapidly towards a smooth path—to strengthen the two generals' resolve to defend.

He spent about half a month writing this letter—after all, Ma Meng wasn't in a hurry to set off—and even after returning to Mingsha City, he would train his troops during the day and reread it by candlelight at night, adding, subtracting, and revising it. Finally, after finishing it, he handed it to Yan Zhuang for polishing.

Yan Zhuang asked him, "Does the General truly care so much about Guo and Li? Is it really worth going through countless hardships for them?"

Li Ji said solemnly, "I am acting for the country, not for personal grudges. If the barbarian bandits gain control of the Western Regions, their power will be uncontrollable, and even Guanzhong will be extremely dangerous, let alone Shuofang?" He paused, then added, "Besides, Shuofang is barren; how can it compare to Gansu and Liangzhou?"

Chapter Ten, A Useless Army

Hu Hao arrived in Chang'an around the end of November, presenting a letter of appeal for help. However, the Tang emperor and his ministers could only look at each other in bewilderment, ultimately having no solution.

—If we don't open up Hexi first, how can we possibly rescue Anxi and Beiting? But Longyou is still in the hands of the barbarians. How difficult it will be to recover Hexi!

During his audience with the Emperor, Li Xian stated: "In recent years, there has been no alarm in the East, and all the garrisons are peaceful. If the weather in Huaihe River Basin and Liangzhe is favorable, next year's tax revenue can be expected to double. Furthermore, we should adopt Li Changyuan's old strategy of exchanging stale silk with the Western Qiang for cattle from the Tibetan bandits, gathering refugees, and stationing them in Guanzhong. This can alleviate the food shortage to some extent and stabilize rice prices in Chang'an. If we can achieve this in five years, and if the weather is favorable, we can accumulate enough grain for 100,000 troops for three years. Then we can talk about recovering Longyou and Hexi."

"However, we must not launch a pointless campaign that wastes our limited supplies. For example, this year we were given money and silk and ordered the Shuofang troops to march west to harass Liangzhou, but in reality, we gained not an inch of land. Although Li Shuofang claimed to have tied down tens of thousands of barbarian troops, the truth of his claim is unknown... Of course, Li Shuofang is a loyal minister and would not deceive Your Majesty—but after capturing Herong City, he withdrew and reported that he had sent out 4,000 troops and killed thousands of barbarian bandits. Therefore, the enemy he faced was at most 10,000. The claim of tens of thousands is merely information obtained from scouts and spies, and may not be accurate..."

In short, let's build up our strength slowly and train our troops gradually. Let's not rush into any counterattacks or diversionary battles.

The following year was the third year of the Dali era. Pei Mian was summoned to serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Secretariat and was reinstated as Prime Minister. Because Wu Qi was unable to control the prices in the capital, Han Huang was reassigned as the Vice Minister of Revenue and in charge of the finances of various circuits, along with Liu Yan.

Soon after, news arrived that a mutiny had broken out in Youzhou. Zhu Xicai, Zhu Ci, and Zhu Tao had conspired to kill the military governor Li Huaixian. Zhu Xicai then took office as the acting governor of Youzhou and submitted a memorial denouncing his former superior, Li Huaixian, saying that he was domineering, secretly plotting rebellion, and harboring disloyal intentions. He pointed out that the previous year, when Li Baozhong went to reinforce Tian Chengsi, it was Li Huaixian who instigated it!

The Tang court was pleased with this outcome, as Li Huaixian was indeed unruly and displayed a semi-separatist stance. As for whether Zhu Xicai would be even worse off after taking power... that would be a matter for later. Therefore, not only was the request approved, but several months later Zhu Xicai was also directly appointed as the military governor of Youzhou.

The Tang court was busy accumulating resources and unwilling to wage war again, thus wasting money and provisions. Therefore, it adopted a policy of appeasement towards the various garrisons outside the Great Wall—as long as they didn't openly raise the banner of rebellion, the court could pretend not to see what they did. Moreover, the world was not entirely peaceful on the surface. For example, Liang Chongqian, a barbarian from Lingnan, claimed to be the Grand Commander of the Ten Circuits of Pingnan and seized Rongzhou. Feng Chongdao of Panyu and Zhu Jishi, a rebel general from Guizhou, also captured more than ten prefectures. Wang Hong, the military commissioner of Rongguan, raised troops to besiege and suppress them, but could not quell the rebellion for several years. Fortunately, in such remote areas, the court naturally did not concern itself with the money, provisions, and supplies needed for military operations, allowing Wang Hong to collect them locally.

For several years, due to insufficient national funds, officials from all directions have successively submitted memorials offering suggestions and solutions. Previously, Li Ji and Yan Zhenqing had reported to the central government on the collection of additional taxes on land in Weibo. Li Yu then had the prime ministers evaluate the matter and finally decided to levy the "Green Seedlings Tax" in the first year of the Dali era. This tax was levied at 15 coins per mu of green seedlings during the summer tax season. If you did not cultivate the land and left it fallow, the tax would not be collected. This was to supplement the insufficient official salaries.

However, over 70% of the prefectures and counties in the empire were controlled by local military governors and regional military commanders, and half of these prefectures had not paid a single grain of rice or a single coin to the court for many years. Thus, the Green Sprouts Tax benefited only the regional military governors, offering very little benefit to the imperial treasury. Therefore, last year a new policy was introduced, addressing the long-standing neglect of the equal-field system and the difficulty in collecting taxes and corvée labor. The Jingzhao Prefecture was chosen as a pilot area to universally collect land and household taxes.

The new policy included: increasing the land tax in the capital to one dou of grain per mu for superior land and six sheng for inferior land, with even wasteland required to yield two sheng of grain; classifying households according to their financial strength into nine grades, with the highest-ranking households paying four thousand wen per year and the lowest-ranking households paying five hundred wen per year...

This policy doubled taxes, but only half actually reached the landlords. The gentry still found ways to shift the burden onto small farmers and even landless tenants, leading to widespread resentment and a surge in fleeing the country. This was partly the reason for Wu Qi's demotion—he was used as a scapegoat by the court. However, after Han Huang came to power, he not only failed to change the policy or lower the tax rate, but also implemented it further in Tongzhou and the other prefectures directly under the court's jurisdiction.

Because the money and grain collected were real, at least the officials in the capital wouldn't be in arrears with their salaries anymore; as for the instability or exile of the common people, they could simply instruct local officials to govern properly and pass the buck...

Moreover, this year the weather in Guanzhong is favorable, so it should be a bumper year. If we don't take this opportunity to collect more taxes, we won't be able to collect them even if we want to if there is a famine in the next two years.

Even with heavy taxes, the bulk of the money would still be used for the upcoming autumn harvest. Li Yu couldn't help but feel hesitant and pained – the Tibetans hadn't gathered a large army in Longshang to pressure Dazhen Pass for two years in a row. Would they come this year? Was it really necessary to gather tens of thousands of troops between Jing and Long again?

The troops stationed in the town were naturally paid for by the town's expenses—otherwise they would have to pay tribute to the imperial court. However, if the emperor ordered them to assist in the defense, the imperial court would have to grant them funds for the troop movement and also bear a portion of the grain and supplies, which would be extremely costly.

He then asked Guo Ziyi, but Guo Ziyi dared not guarantee that the Tibetan rebels would continue to focus their attacks on Anxi and Beiting this year and would not invade Guanzhong. He added that Tibetan spies were spread throughout the two capitals, making them impossible to capture, and the court was like a sieve; if their words were leaked, weakening the autumn defenses, the Tibetans might seize the opportunity to launch an attack!

Therefore, I suggested that Li Ji send an officer westward to inquire with the generals at the front—at least I won't take on this responsibility.

Therefore, Li Yu sent envoys to Fengxiang, Jingyuan, Huizhou, and Shuofang. Among them, the one ordered to go to Shuofang was Jia Zhi, the Vice Minister of War, who was escorted by Hun Jian, the general of the Shence Army, with a hundred cavalry.

Although Hun Jian was a non-Han Chinese, aside from slight differences in appearance compared to people from the Central Plains, his daily clothing and manners were entirely Tang Dynasty-influenced, even deliberately catering to the customs of the capital. Furthermore, after arriving in Chang'an, he sought out renowned teachers and studied classical texts, particularly enjoying the *Spring and Autumn Annals* and the *Book of Han*, thus winning the favor of Li Yu. In a sense, Li Yu trusted Hun Jian almost as much as he had trusted Li Ji in the past.

Most importantly, Li Ji was closer to his son Li Shi, while Hun Jian rarely associated with princes and ministers, making him seem more reliable than Li Ji.

Therefore, Hun Jian was specially ordered to escort Jia Zhi to Shuofang, which can be regarded as giving the young man a holiday so that he can go back to his hometown to visit his parents and relatives.

Jia Zhi naturally held this barbarian general in high regard, not belittling him despite his high rank as a high-ranking official. This was partly due to Hun Jian's own influence, but also because two consecutive emperors, in order to control the regional military governors and ensure their own safety, had placed great importance on the Northern Imperial Guards, often placing eunuchs in charge. Those spineless men, once they donned red robes, were not to be trifled with; and with so many Imperial Guard officers under their command, perhaps only the prime ministers dared to disregard them.

Jia Zhi, also known as Jia Youlin, came from a distinguished family. A scholar who had passed the imperial examinations during the Tianbao era, he rose through the ranks as a proofreader, a true example of a high-ranking official with a distinguished literary reputation. Therefore, along the way, he noticed Hun Jian's studious nature, especially his constant reading during rest periods. Taking advantage of this, he patiently offered guidance, quickly building a closer relationship between the two. Hun Jian seized the opportunity to ask him, "Has Master Jia ever been to Shuofang before?"

Jia Zhi smiled and said, "I once wanted to go, but I couldn't make it..." He paused and explained, "In the first year of the Zhide era, I was ordered by Emperor Xuanzong to accompany you gentlemen from Shu Road to Shuofang to present the national treasure and jade book to Emperor Suzong; however, I had only just arrived in Shunhua when I met the emperor, so I was unable to go further north."

He then ordered his servant to pull out a scroll of paper from his bundle—it contained poems, essays, and articles he had written over the years. Knowing he was over fifty and his days were numbered, he always carried it with him, repeatedly organizing and revising it so that it could be passed down to his children and grandchildren. Turning to one of the scrolls, he immediately pointed to it and said to Hun Jian, “I once wrote this poem, titled ‘Presented to Vice Minister Cui, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, on my way from Shu to Shuofang on Imperial Decree’…”

Although Hun Jian loved reading classics and history, he rarely dabbled in poetry. Upon seeing the topic, he was taken aback, thinking to himself, "What a long name..."

In fact, the "Left Chancellor Wei" mentioned in the title is Wei Jiansu, the "Minister of Literature Fang" is Fang Guan, and the "Vice Minister Cui" is Cui Huan. The three of them were ordered by Li Longji to accept the established facts and go north to confer the title of Emperor on Li Heng. They were followed by a large group of officials from various departments, including Jia Zhi, who had just become a drafter of imperial edicts.

Jia Zhi then handed the manuscript to Hun Jian and recited aloud: "The barbarians wreaked havoc in the Central Plains, and the imperial carriage suddenly made its southern tour. The gentry were captured by the barbarians, and fled in disarray amidst the dust and wind. The Duke of Bin upheld great integrity, disregarding his own safety in the face of danger. He stood before the white blade with fervor, his blood staining his handkerchief... Each of them served the king diligently, rushing to the imperial palace. It was not only Taigong Wang who met King Wen of Zhou in the past. Who would say that the talents of these three heroes were so extraordinary? Moved by this, I am comforted on my journey, and I will not sing of my hardships."

After listening intently, Hun Jian couldn't help but clap his hands and exclaim, "Magnificent...wonderful, Master Jia's poem!"

In truth, he didn't understand a word—he dreaded poems exceeding a hundred characters, let alone this lengthy piece; moreover, Jia Zhi spoke with a Luoyang accent, which was fine for everyday conversation, but when it came to reciting poetry, the purely Western-sounding Hunjian couldn't understand him at all. He only caught the words "white blade," "sword in hand," and "iron cavalry," and thought it must be related to the current situation and military affairs.

After listening to Jia Zhi's explanation for a while, Hun Jian seized an opportunity to quickly change the subject: "My hometown is in Shuofang. My Hun clan submitted to the Han court at the beginning of the Kaiyuan era and established a prefecture south of Lingzhou, named Gaolan, with the city named Mingsha. Therefore, I am most familiar with the customs and culture of Shuofang. That is why His Majesty sent me to escort Lord Jia north..."

He then gave Jia Zhi a detailed introduction to the geography and customs of Shuofang Town, which finally allowed him to dodge the topic of poetry, which was something he found difficult.

They followed roughly the same route that Emperor Sukjong Li Heng took when he traveled south from Lingwu, only in the opposite direction—after leaving the western gate of the capital, they traveled west along the main road to Fengxiang, then turned north, passing through Ding'an, Pengyuan, Shunhua… Shunhua was originally named Anhua, but Emperor Sukjong stayed there and ordered it to be renamed. It was the seat of Gyeongju (Shunhua County).

The road then gradually narrows. Following the Maling River northward, passing Wenchi County to Anlechuan, and continuing north, one reaches the east bank of the Yellow River, where the seat of Lingzhou Prefecture, Huile County, is located. Wenchi County is now within Lingzhou's territory, surrounded by several other tributary prefectures such as Zhulong and Anle. The scenery there is vastly different from that of Guanzhong; for hundreds of miles, arable land is scarce, replaced only by boundless grasslands and grazing cattle and sheep...

Moreover, there were no proper roads and even fewer post stations, so for several nights they had to stay in the tents of the Hu tribe. Fortunately, Hun Jian was from this region and was familiar with all the tribes. He went ahead to greet them, and the Hu people came out of their tents to welcome the envoys, offering them fine wine and lambs to entertain the group. Jia Zhi was old and had a weak stomach, so he often found the rich and fatty foods cloying after a few bites—and they were too salty, as Lingzhou was indeed a salt-producing region. Hun Jian, on the other hand, was in his element, and his spirits were exceptionally high.

He would often point at the cattle and sheep on the grassland with his riding whip, saying to Jia Zhi, "Judging from this, a certain tribe is more prosperous than before. Their livestock is almost double what it was when I followed my father to Longyou." Jia Zhi listened with perfunctory words, but inwardly he was displeased—was this still Tang territory? With the nomadic tribes growing stronger, wouldn't they one day rise up and turn against their master, becoming a thorn in the side of Tang?

Actually, before the An Lushan Rebellion, even a purely Central Plains scholar like Jia Zhi wouldn't necessarily have been so wary of the Hu people and tribes. On the contrary, Hu clothing and accessories were popular in the two capitals at that time, and the introduced Hu customs were even regarded as new fashions. Scholars often enjoyed drinking grape wine from the Western Regions, preferably accompanied by Hu girls singing, dancing, and playing music...

There was no way around it; the eight-year rebellion was led by people of the An and Shi families, who were all non-Han people. The non-Han soldiers followed them and once ravaged the two capitals, killing countless officials and civilians. After the government army recovered the capital, the Uyghur army came to burn and kill again. Later, the Qiang and Hu people in Longxi rebelled, and the Tubo (Tibetan) forces approached Fengxiang. This caused the Tang people to generally become suspicious and even hostile towards the non-Han people.

However, Hun Jian, who was beside him, was also a Hu person, so Jia Zhi had to suppress his displeasure as much as possible, at least not let it show. Considering that he was going to Shuofang, where Hun Shizhi, Bai Yuanguang, and a large group of Hu generals were waiting for him, he couldn't help but feel even more depressed.

After spending the night together, the next morning, Hun Jian ran over to ask Jia Zhi, "I just heard from the Hu people in the tribe that Commander Li is neither in Huile nor Lingwu, but has gone south to Gaolan Prefecture to train troops. So, is Master Jia still going to Lingzhou, or will he detour through Mingsha?"

Jia Zhi hesitated for a moment. He really didn't want to go to Gaolan, a tributary state, where all he could see were Hu people and cattle and sheep. But considering that Hun Jian's hometown was in Mingsha City, and that the emperor had sent him to escort him back, it was also to allow him to visit his family. So he asked, "Where is your father?"

"It is said that my father stayed behind to guard Lingzhou."

"Do you still have any relatives or friends in your hometown? Do you really want to return to Gaolan?"

He then made an excuse, saying, "The military governor of Shuofang was originally stationed in Huile and has not moved his post. As the imperial envoy, I should naturally proclaim the decree in Huile... However, if you wish to return to your hometown..."

Hun Jian understood Jia Zhi's meaning and quickly clasped his hands and bowed: "I came here to escort Lord Jia, how could I let personal matters interfere with public duty? Since Lord Jia said that he should deliver the imperial decree in Huile, we should proceed as originally planned and go to Huile County in Lingzhou. I will send someone ahead to Mingsha to convey my regards to Commander Li and ask him to return to Huile to welcome Lord Jia."

They continued north and arrived in Huile County, Lingzhou a few days later.

Chapter Eleven, Why Bother Guarding Against Autumn?

Most of the fertile lands and central counties of Lingzhou are located on the west bank of the Yellow River, except for Huile, the prefectural capital, which is on the east bank. Although it is also close to the Yellow River, due to the limitations of terrain and climate, agricultural production in the surrounding area is not developed, and animal husbandry is still the main industry.

This is because Lingzhou was originally a key border prefecture with a large garrison. Later, the Lingzhou Governor-General's Office and the Shuofang Military Governor's Office were established within the prefecture. The governor-general or the chief secretary of the Grand Governor-General (the Grand Governor-General was often a prince who held the position remotely, and the chief secretary was in charge of the affairs) often concurrently served as the prefect. The military governor also served as the prefect of the prefecture. Therefore, it was more convenient to set up the administrative center on the east bank of the river, which was more convenient for garrisoning and training troops, without harming the crops.

Jia Zhi arrived near Huile, spurred his horse to a high vantage point, and gazed upon the Yellow River. Its width rivaled that of the area near Luoyang, but its swift current and turbulent force were even greater. He thought to himself, "Thank goodness I've come to Huile, and thank goodness Li Ji only went to Mingsha City to train troops. If, like Emperor Suzong of the past, he had crossed the river to Lingwu… I wouldn't want to brave these raging waves! One wrong step and I'd be drowned in the muddy torrent…"

—Gaolan Prefecture covers a vast area, and its core city, Mingsha City, is actually located on the east bank of the Yellow River.

Upon arriving at the south gate of Huile County, Jia Zhi saw a civil and military official dressed in red and green robes already standing at the gate to greet him. Seeing this, Jia Zhi was somewhat displeased and asked, "Has Commander Li returned to Lingzhou?"

The leading red-robed civil official was an acquaintance, Yang Yan, who had been demoted because of Yuan Zai and then transferred to the Shuofang military headquarters. Yang Yan stepped forward and replied with his hands clasped, "Commander Li, Deputy Commander Hun, and the military supervisor are all waiting for Lord Jia in front of the government office."

In fact, Li Ji had received the news and had already rushed back to Huile from Mingsha City. This morning, upon hearing that the imperial envoy was about to arrive, he wanted to personally welcome him, but Yan Zhuang stopped him, saying, "The military commander is of noble status and governs a region. There is no need to go out of the city to welcome him." As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Hun Shizhi and the others beside him.

Actually, when Li Ji first donned the purple robe, in terms of official rank alone, he was roughly equal to Jia Zhi. Moreover, Jia Zhi, as an imperial envoy, was representing the emperor to deliver a decree, so Li Ji should have personally greeted him outside the city. However, Yan Zhuang's glance implied, "You have several other officials with the title of Prince of the County by your side; there's no need for you to lower yourself to greet Minister Jia—if you go out of the city, do you think they'll follow you or not?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned slightly and asked Hun Shizhi, "When the envoy came to Lingzhou to deliver the imperial edict, where did the deputy envoy greet him?" Hun Shizhi replied, "He was greeted respectfully in front of the main gate of the government office."

Li Ji understood that the authority of the imperial court had declined and the various towns were arrogant. Most of them did not take the imperial envoy seriously. In particular, Shuofang was a large town with a long history since the Tianbao era and had supported Emperor Suzong's ascension to the throne. The generals of Shuofang were all arrogant. If you don't send a prime minister, no one will be willing to go out of the city to welcome you.

As for Li Ji himself, he still hoped to elevate, or at least not suppress, the authority of the imperial court, so as to unite the people and gather the strength of various garrisons to fight against external threats. Frankly speaking, none of the garrisons within the pass could single-handedly resist the Tibetans. If it weren't for the imperial court's annual efforts to procure supplies and issue autumn defense orders, Dazhen Pass would likely have been breached long ago…

Therefore, he planned to go out of the city to personally welcome Jia Zhi. However, after further consideration, he realized that although he was in charge of Shuofang and relied on part of the court's authority, if he showed too much concern for the emperor's wishes in Chang'an, it might incite the contempt of those arrogant and fierce generals. Therefore, after careful consideration, he nodded and said, "Since this is the custom, we should follow it."

Therefore, he devised a moderate plan, ordering Yang Yan and other civil and military officials of the third rank and below to go to the city gate to greet them, while he and Hun Shizhi and other high-ranking officials in purple robes would wait for them in front of the government office.

Jia Zhi, seeing that Li Ji refused to come out of the city to greet him, was quite displeased, but dared not show it. So, led by Yang Yan and others, he entered Lingzhou City and rode his horse towards the military governor's office along the main road, which had been swept clean and closed to the public. Observing the city's condition along the way, he turned to Hun Jian, who was following behind, and asked, "How does Lingzhou City compare to your old residence?"

Hun Jian had followed his father, Hun Shizhi, to Longyou, and was later recommended to the Northern Army to guard Chang'an. He hadn't set foot in Lingzhou for nearly ten years. Comparing what he saw with his memories, he replied softly to Jia Zhi, "It seems there's not much difference..."

Jia Zhi couldn't help but frown and sigh, "How simple and desolate it is..."

Actually, Huile County in Lingzhou wasn't always like this. It was, after all, the seat of a military governor. From Niu Xianke, who took command of the military governorship in the 22nd year of the Kaiyuan era, to Wei Guangcheng, Wang Zhongsi, Zhang Qiqiu, An Sishun, Li Wei, Abusi, and others, everyone undertook large-scale construction projects within the city, building luxurious mansions, dredging ditches, and expanding roads, creating a rather prosperous scene. However, in the 14th year of the Tianbao era, after Guo Ziyi entered the town as the deputy military governor, he disapproved of the generals living in grand mansions and the numerous government offices and brothels, so he demolished all the buildings that exceeded the prescribed standards. Later, when An Lushan rebelled, many of the Shuofang army generals followed Guo Ziyi on his campaigns, leaving those left behind with neither the morale nor the financial resources to rebuild the city, leading to the gradual decline of Huile County.

Huile, in particular, flourished temporarily because it was the seat of the Shuofang military governor, but this was all a bubble. The majority of Lingzhou's population was concentrated in the west bank of the river, while Huile County in the east bank had a small population to begin with, mostly nomadic Hu people who followed the water and grass. After Shuofang was established as a town, a large number of soldiers camped around the city, and many officers and generals moved into the city. As a result, the demand for supplies and goods increased, and merchants from both the north and south flocked to the market, making the originally small county town instantly bustling.

However, Lingzhou was not located on a major transportation route, and apart from salt, it had no other special products. Moreover, one did not need to go to Huile City to buy salt. As a result, when the country was in chaos and most of the Shuofang army generals were transferred to the eastern battlefield, the market quickly became desolate. Therefore, when Li Heng fled to Shuofang, he was settled in the relatively prosperous Lingwu City on the west bank of the river, rather than the prefecture capital Huile, and eventually ascended the throne in Lingwu.

When Li Ji arrived in town, there was actually a chance to restore the old days of Hui Le, but he didn't stay long before he actually moved the town to Mingsha City...

Therefore, in Jia Zhi's eyes, this prestigious Lingzhou prefecture and the location of the Shuofang military governor's office were not even as good as most of the ordinary county towns in the area.

Yang Yan seized the opportunity to interject, "Shuofang is poor, and Commander Li and others do not like grand mansions. All the resources they have are used to support the army, so it is rather desolate... I am now devising a plan for Commander Li's finances, and I feel that it is a hundred times more difficult than in the capital. I am truly exhausted..." Difficult is certain, but a hundred times more difficult is not necessarily the case—after all, we only need to consider Shuofang, or even Lingzhou, and do not need to pay attention to the taxes of the whole country—if we do not take this opportunity to complain about our poverty, when will we?

Before long, they arrived at the Jiedushi's office and saw Li Ji leading a group of officials in purple robes, standing respectfully waiting. Among them was only one person in a red robe, but he stood next to Li Ji, above Hun Shizhi. Jia Zhi recognized him as Liu Huiguang, the military supervisor of Shuofang.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhi felt somewhat relieved. He quickly dismounted and greeted Li Ji and the others. He was then led into the main hall of the government office, where the imperial edict was read aloud. The edict granted Li Ji the title of Grand Master of the Palace and the title of Duke of Wuyuan.

Li Jigong accepted the imperial edict and shouted his gratitude, but in reality he was quite dissatisfied.

The title of Grand Master of the Palace (金紫光禄大夫) is the fourth rank of civil official, equivalent to the third rank. The Duke of Wuyuan Commandery (五原郡开国公) is a Duke, also a fourth rank of nobility, equivalent to the second rank. He thought to himself, "If they really want to reward me, why not give me a title like Grand Master of the Palace (开府仪同三司) or Grand Master of the Palace (特进)? I already have three Princes behind me, why not just grant me a Prince title instead of a Duke? And a Duke is supposed to have a fief of two thousand households, but no real fief. The imperial edict doesn't mention the fief at all, which means they don't intend to grant it at all..."

After the imperial edict was proclaimed, a banquet was naturally held to entertain the envoy. However, Jia Zhi said that the Emperor had a few more words for him to convey privately to Li Shuofang. Therefore, Li Ji first led him into a side room, where they sat opposite each other. Jia Zhi immediately asked, "May I ask how old you are, Envoy Li?"

Li Ji replied, "I am ashamed to say that I have wasted thirty springs."

Jia Zhi thought to himself, "If this is considered wasting your youth, then all of us have wasted our years!" He stroked his beard and sighed, "How young they are! When I was thirty, I had only passed the imperial examination and was a proofreader; Guo Fenyang was only a junior officer in the Left Guard at thirty..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji narrowed his eyes slightly: "Does the court consider me too young to assume a prominent position?"

Jia Zhi smiled and said, "Isn't the position that Li Jieshi is holding today a prestigious one?" He then nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, he is young and inexperienced. Even though the Emperor trusts him greatly and has high hopes for him, he would be seeking to be enfeoffed as a king and appointed as prime minister. This would likely cause controversy and may not be a good thing for Li Jieshi's future."

The implication is that, given your achievements and the emperor's trust, you had the opportunity to be granted a purple ribbon and gold seal, or even be enfeoffed as a prince, but unfortunately you are still too young.

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself: "Qin Ganluo became prime minister at the age of twelve; Wu Zhouyu began studying literature at seven, martial arts at nine, and became the naval commander-in-chief at thirteen, leading thousands of troops and holding military power over six prefectures and eighty-one states..." Well, those are all later crosstalk routines, purely folk tales, and shouldn't be taken seriously...

Hearing Jia Zhi continue, "Moreover, there has been no great merit recently, so it is not appropriate to reward him handsomely."

Li Ji thought to himself that this was a plausible reason. He immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "So, Lord Jia has come on a mission, perhaps the Emperor has some other instruction?" Since I have no merit to reward you with recently, yet the court has sent you on this trip to promote me slightly from the third rank by one or two grades, this must be a smokescreen. So, what is your real purpose in coming here?

Jia Zhi thought to himself that everyone in the court and among the people said Li Ji was a reckless man with little cunning, but now it seemed that he was actually quite astute. So he smiled slightly and got to the point: "The Emperor sent me to ask Governor Li whether it is still necessary to take precautions against the autumn harvest this year..."

Li Ji listened silently as Jia Zhi finished explaining Li Yu's thoughts. After a moment's thought, he replied, "As I predicted, the barbarian bandits will not attack Dazhen Pass this autumn. There is really no need to fortify it with heavy troops for autumn defense..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhi was secretly delighted and hurriedly asked, "What did you see that makes you say that?"

Unexpectedly, Li Ji did not answer his question, but suddenly changed the subject: "However, the barbarian bandits will most likely raise a large army to invade our Shuofang. The court must take precautions in advance!"

Jia Zhi was greatly alarmed upon hearing this: "Barbarian bandits have invaded Shuofang? What is the reason for this?!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Why is that? Let me think of a reason..." Because the real reason was inconvenient to tell Jia Zhi, and he did not want it to reach Li Yu's ears through Jia Zhi.

Last year, he led his troops west to Liangzhou, hoping to contain the Tibetan army. Little did he know that the Tibetans had anticipated this move and had set a trap, almost besieging Li Ji in the Changsong and Herongcheng area. Afterwards, he secretly sent spies to investigate and learned that the trap was not only set by Ma Chongying, but that Ma Chongying himself had led tens of thousands of elite troops to lie in ambush near Guzang—he had almost been caught by him!

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "That dog Ma Chongying thinks highly of me..." Undoubtedly, he had really hurt Ma Chongying in Longyou a few times before. Whether Ma Chongying saw him as a major threat to Tubo or just wanted to regain his lost face, he now regarded Shuofang, which was under Li Ji's control, as a thorn in his side and was determined to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Last year, Ma Chongying set a trap between Liang and Lan, perhaps only intending to annihilate the hastily advancing Shuofang army, without any overall plan for a long expedition. Therefore, he didn't pursue them further. So what will he do this autumn? He's unlikely to set another trap. Having failed the first time, he's naturally more vigilant; there's no reason for him to fall for it again. Therefore, there's a high probability that Ma Chongying will send a large force to invade Shuofang. Even if he can't destroy the main Shuofang army, he'll at least inflict a heavy blow, so that Shuofang will no longer dare to look at Hexi with a second glance!