Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 103

Wu Chongfu then realized, "That's right." But then his lips curled down, "However, our cavalry is already exhausted and I'm afraid they are unable to travel any further..."

Li Ji said, "Find some stray Hu horses and quickly assemble a cavalry force to come with me to rescue Li Sheng." He then bowed to Wu Chongfu and said, "We will borrow Guo's banner for now."

He had just looked out from the city wall and estimated that the number of troops from the northern barbarian camp that had come to intercept Li Sheng was no less than 10,000 or 20,000. Now, most of the Tang army was exhausted, and he would be lucky to gather 200 cavalry. With just 200 cavalry, he could barely protect himself, let alone rescue Li Sheng.

If he rushed ahead too quickly and the news of the camp's collapse didn't reach the northern Hu army, who still had the will to fight, wouldn't that be tantamount to throwing his life away? That's why he asked Wu Chongfu to borrow Guo Yin's banner.

Actually, I wanted to borrow his head, but firstly, I was afraid Wu Chongfu would cherish it and be reluctant to give it up, and secondly—among a vast army, a flag is more conspicuous.

Not long after, Li Ji, holding Guo Yin's banner, led more than a hundred cavalrymen northward in haste, breaking through the Hu camp to find Li Sheng's luring troops.

If any barbarian infantrymen were to block the road, they would be shot with arrows or spears and sent to their deaths. However, if barbarian cavalry were to be encountered, as long as they did not go mad and charge at him head-on, they would be allowed to pass. Instead, a few arrows would be shot at the back of the horse to drive them into the ranks of those who were about to engage in battle.

Li Ji was quite anxious. Based on his earlier estimation of the direction and speed of both sides' advance from the city wall, he guessed that Li Sheng had most likely already engaged the Hu barbarians. Although the city's soldiers were supposedly selected as elite troops, it was really just a case of choosing the best from the worst, and their quality was questionable. Moreover, they had only been trained for three days; what could they possibly have learned? With the general level of knowledge in those days, at most they could only remember their commander's name and recognize Li Sheng's banner.

Honestly, even if it were Li Ji, leading such a force against an enemy army several times larger than himself, he wouldn't have much confidence—unless one of the generals or even the commander-in-chief of the enemy forces were oblivious to their own mortality and ran out to fight him one-on-one, only to be killed by him.

He only hoped that Li Sheng's troops would not be completely wiped out, and that some of them would escape; if that was not possible, then Li Sheng himself had to survive! Although this general had been immersed in the corrupting influence of the Imperial Guard for several years, it seemed that his ambition had not been completely worn away, and he was a useful talent. It would be a real pity if he were to perish here.

However, as it turned out, Li Ji had seriously underestimated Li Sheng.

Previously, Li Sheng spent a day selecting soldiers from the city's garrison. The main criteria were not fighting spirit or exceptional bravery, but rather archery skills. After three days of training, he secretly sent local soldiers familiar with the geography out of the city to pre-select a battlefield for the enemy—a farm more than twenty miles northwest of Fengxiang Prefecture.

The Wei River plain was developed early, crisscrossed by paths, with vast tracts of fertile land, naturally dotted with numerous villages and noble estates. When the barbarian bandits raided, burning, killing, and looting wherever they went, most villages and estates were left empty. The people were either abducted or fled to the city or distant places upon hearing the news. Deserted villages were everywhere, fields were mostly scorched earth, and houses were largely ruins…

However, the manors of nobles are ultimately different from ordinary farmhouses. The main buildings are relatively sturdy and surrounded by walls for protection against theft. They are not even made of pure rammed earth, but also mixed with bricks and stones. The barbarians did not have siege weapons and could not completely flatten these buildings and walls, which gave Li Sheng a sufficient means of defense.

After leaving the city, Li Sheng hurried northwest, entering a pre-selected estate. He ordered his soldiers to lie in ambush behind walls, inside houses, and on rooftops. The Hu barbarians launched a massive pursuit, and just as they approached the estate, a hail of arrows rained down…

—Wei Ren opened the armory wide, and Li Sheng neither picked out armor nor took a sword, but only took most of the powerful bows and crossbows, as well as a large number of arrows.

If they were on the open plains with no support, the Tang army would likely collapse after a single charge by the barbarians. However, using the farm as fortifications and relying solely on arrows caused the barbarians considerable trouble. Although the barbarian soldiers quickly broke through the first line of defense due to incomplete walls, Li Sheng, positioned on the roof of the main building of the farm, directed the troops inside the walls to retreat into the buildings in advance, minimizing casualties.

What followed was essentially street fighting. Because the roads were narrow, the numerical advantage of the random mobs couldn't be utilized, and they could only enter the village in small teams. Initially, they wanted to take the command center directly, but they encountered endless arrows from both flanks in the narrow passages, suffering heavy losses. They were then forced to search house by house, making progress extremely slow.

Of course, it also lies in the fact that Luanhu had neither the determination to fight to the death to seize the village nor the urgency to defeat the enemy as soon as possible. Most people thought that as long as they could hold this government army here and prevent them from raiding their own base, that would be enough. Why bother to charge and fight fiercely and increase casualties?

It wasn't until Li Ji arrived carrying Guo Yin's banner, and news of the main camp's collapse reached the area, that the chaotic barbarians were terrified and scattered almost immediately. Only then did Li Sheng lead his soldiers out of the village to join Li Ji.

According to the count, only a little over a hundred of the two thousand Tang soldiers were killed or wounded, while more than two hundred Hu people inside and outside the village were killed by arrows.

Li Ji couldn't help but exclaim, "Liang Qi truly possesses the talent of a great general! It's a pity he's relegated to the Imperial Guard..."

Unable to pursue the fleeing enemy, they could only first clear the battlefield, cut off the heads of the barbarian hordes, and collect the remains of their fallen comrades. Li Ji noticed that many Tang soldiers' corpses had five copper coins strung together, labeled with their names, which he presented to Li Sheng. He inquired about the reason for this. Li Sheng smiled and said, "To strengthen the morale of my soldiers, I divided the ten thousand coins awarded by Lord Cui into two thousand portions, five coins for each person..."

Five coins wasn't much. In Chang'an, Li Ji could buy a few white cakes—the kind without sesame seeds—from a street vendor for five coins. Even in other places, it would only be enough for one person's food expenses for less than two days. However, Li Sheng promised that this five coins was just an advance payment and a record. After the victory, he would ask Cui Gong and Wei Shufang for a reward, and then use these five coins to receive the reward. If he died in battle, he would repay his family a hundredfold.

After finishing speaking, Li Sheng leaned close to Li Ji and pleaded in a low voice, "I have already promised the reward, and after accounting for the losses, it is nearly 50,000. The reward for the survivors is at least another 50,000... I hope that Chief Secretary can inform Lord Cui on my behalf and help to get it back."

Li Ji nodded, but his mind was racing: Cui Guangyuan, why didn't you give Li Sheng more? If it were six coins per person…

----------

They won a decisive battle outside Fengxiang City, taking Guo Yin's head and killing more than a dozen other Hu chieftains and officials. But Guo Yun escaped, even though he was hit by an arrow from Li Sheng and was seriously injured. No one knows why he was so lucky.

As for the mutinous soldiers, they captured over 800 heads and more than 3,000 prisoners, much to the delight of Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun. However, Li Ji said, "The mutinous barbarians are scattered far and wide, and they are unable to escape back to their strongholds. Most of them will likely continue to roam between Qin and Long, causing trouble for the people. We should go far out to hunt them down and eliminate them completely. Moreover, Guo Yun has most likely fled back to Wubao, and we should also wipe him out completely."

So the next morning, Wu Chongfu led half of the Fuyan army to take Wubao, while Li Ji, Li Sheng, and several generals under Wei Lun each led five hundred soldiers, and went out in multiple directions to pursue and kill the fleeing Hu.

On the first day, they didn't go far, but thoroughly searched the villages and fields near Fengxiang County. Sure enough, they found several groups of unruly barbarians, as well as a band of Tang bandits under Guo Yin's command. These guys were naturally still in shock and had no will to fight. The government troops only killed a few of them before they all knelt down and surrendered. In the end, Li Ji alone captured more than three hundred people, bound their hands, tied them together with ropes, and returned to the prefectural city.

As dusk fell, just outside the west gate, Li Ji saw several groups of Tang soldiers escorting hundreds of prisoners, digging a pit. Looking around, Li Ji couldn't help but wonder—the corpses on the battlefield had been cleaned up and buried before dark yesterday, so why were they still digging pits?

He ordered his soldiers to halt, then rode over to inquire, only to discover that the person commanding these Tang soldiers was an acquaintance—

This was none other than Ban Hong, the judge of the Fengxiang military governor.

Li Ji dismounted, bowed, and asked Ban Hong, "Brother, what are you doing here?"

Because they were practically from the same hometown and had a long-standing friendship, they were exceptionally close, and thus began to address each other as brothers.

Ban Hongyi tugged at Li Ji's sleeve, pulled him aside, and leaned closer to whisper, "Lord Cui has ordered that all the prisoners be buried alive."

Li Ji was startled upon hearing this. He then turned to look at the scrambling men, who were still oblivious and being forced by whips to dig their own graves. He felt somewhat saddened... Yes, these guys all deserved to die, but it wasn't on the battlefield. A massacre of hundreds or thousands of people was truly unbearable.

So he turned back and said to Ban Hong in a low voice, "Brother, killing prisoners is an ominous sign."

Ban Hong smiled bitterly, "I have also advised Lord Cui that this is not the way of a benevolent person. However, these barbarian bandits cannot be released, nor can they be kept; it would be a waste of money and provisions. It is also impossible to escort all several thousand of them to the capital. So the only option is..."

Li Ji thought for a moment, then cupped his hands and pleaded, "I hope you will postpone this matter, brother, and let me try to persuade Lord Cui again."

Li Ji simply handed over all the newly captured prisoners to Ban Hong after noting their numbers. He then led his troops back to the city and hurriedly went to visit Cui Guangyuan.

Upon meeting, the first question asked was, "How many bandits have you captured?"

Cui Guangyuan was in a good mood, stroking his beard and laughing, "We just counted, and there are already 3,408 people. If we search the surrounding villages for a few more days, there will probably be even more."

Li Ji then asked, "So, of the more than three thousand men, does Lord Cui intend to bury them all alive? Knowing that killing prisoners is an ominous sign..."

Cui Guangyuan waved his hand: "Only three thousand or so, and they are useless. Why not kill them? As for whether it is auspicious or not, let them decide for themselves. Even Heaven cannot blame me."

When Li Ji arrived, he had already prepared his words, and said, "Those people have their own ways of courting death, but killing thousands in a single day is ultimately inappropriate. This time, Guo Yin has gathered various Hu tribes, plundered Fengxiang, Qin, and Long, harmed countless people, and trampled countless fields. The newly pacified lands of the capital region have once again become desolate. The court may reduce or exempt this year's taxes and corvée labor, but I wonder what will happen next year. Does Lord Cui have a plan?"

Upon hearing this, Cui Guangyuan frowned slightly: "What advice does the Commander have?"

"Why not temporarily spare those prisoners of war from the death penalty and have them perform hard labor under the supervision of soldiers, to repair roads and canals in Shanzhou..."

"If this is the case this year, what about next year?"

“Next spring, we will take over the unclaimed land and make it government property, so that they can be used as people… to settle them in rural areas—so that they can cultivate and weave to atone for their sins. Wouldn’t that be better?”

"Human settlement?" Cui Guangyuan stroked his beard and pondered for a moment. "It is not a bad idea, but... most of them are barbarian bandits, and there are few Tang people. I'm afraid they only know how to herd livestock and don't know how to farm."

Cui Guangyuan quite agreed with the idea of ​​using those rebels as forced laborers to repair the fields, villages, roads, and irrigation works they had destroyed. Before the great chaos, many areas were densely populated with insufficient land for cultivation—the biggest factor being severe land consolidation—but after the series of disturbances that had seen the rebels reach as far as Qizhou (Fengxiang Prefecture), even the areas between Qin, Long, and Fengxiang had become more sparsely populated. Insufficient population meant low grain production, which in turn emptied the imperial treasury, making it difficult to support the war in Guandong.

Although Cui Guangyuan was not very knowledgeable about warfare and was old and timid, he was quite capable of governing local areas and coordinating civil affairs. When he first arrived in Fengxiang, he had thought about how to develop production and increase tax revenue in order to gain the praise of the court and the emperor; however, encouraging agriculture was too slow, and repairing roads and farmland irrigation facilities, or reclaiming wasteland, did not have enough manpower available.

Ultimately, the local area had already exceeded its quota for military service and corvée labor in order to support the war effort. If they wanted to recruit more people, they wouldn't be able to afford the expenses, and the people wouldn't agree either. If it really got to the point where the people resented it and entire villages and towns fled to avoid service, then his time as an official would be over.

So Li Ji reminded us today: "We've just captured several thousand people. Instead of killing them, why not use them? They're all barbarians and prisoners of war. We can use them as forced laborers, just enough to keep them alive, and then use them to the death."

Cui Guangyuan thought this was good, but it couldn't last. This year, if they used these guys to their fullest extent, they could repair the various facilities they had damaged, and even build some new ones, but it was impossible to have so much work to do every year. So what about next year? As a result, Li Ji suggested: Settle down in a village.

Chapter 52, Luring the Tiger Away from the Mountain

"Ren Tun" is also known as "Min Tun". The people in the tun were like serfs. Although their labor productivity was not high, they were easier to control than the registered common people. Apart from the food for sustenance and the grain for planting, all the harvest could be taken by the government. Cui Guangyuan initially thought it was a good idea, but after thinking about it again, he realized it wouldn't work. Most of the prisoners were barbarians who only knew how to herd sheep. How could they know how to farm?

Li Ji smiled and said, "Is farming difficult? Under the whip, nothing is difficult."

He leaned closer and poured out his thoughts to Cui Guangyuan, saying, "During the time of the Zhou Dynasty, there were many Hu people in the Central Plains. There was the Yiqu in Longxi, the Bai Di in Hexi, the Hu Shi in Hedong, the Loufan in Shuofang, and the Xianyu in Hebei. Even the Quanrong were near the Zhou Dynasty, and the Rong of Yangju, Quangao, and Yiluo were south of Chengzhou. Where are they now?"

"When the various barbarian tribes enter China, they should follow the Chinese government, become registered citizens, and change their fishing, hunting, and animal husbandry practices to agriculture, so that they can gradually assimilate into China. But now, barbarian bandits are invading and the Dangxiang and others are migrating eastward. The court does not allow them to live among the Tang people and gradually adopt Tang customs. Instead, it divides them into districts and sets up prefectures, still letting the chieftains govern them. This will inevitably lead to chaos—the mistakes of the Western Jin Dynasty can serve as a warning."

"Lord Cui might as well take this turmoil as an opportunity to petition the court to gradually abolish the various Hu prefectures within the territory, so that they can learn to farm, which can bring peace for generations to come. This is just my humble opinion, offered to Lord Cui."

Cui Guangyuan listened quietly, and couldn't help but look at Li Ji with new respect. It wasn't that Li Ji's thoughts were particularly profound or unexpected, but rather that: Loufan, Xianyu, and Quanrong were one thing, but what about "Yangju, Quangao, and Yiluo Rong"? Were there any of those barbarian tribes?

I vaguely recall a passage in the *Zuo Zhuan* from a certain year during the reign of Duke Xi of Lu, where it mentions that various Rong tribes "jointly attacked the capital, entered the royal city, burned the east gate, and Prince Dai summoned them." However, I had always interpreted it as referring to the "Yang, Ju, Quan, Gao, Yi, and Luo Rong tribes," thinking there were six tribes in total. Could Li Ji have been taught by Li Mi? Hmm, then his interpretation is most likely correct…

This little guy has certainly read a lot of books!

However, this approach to current affairs is perhaps too simplistic. Who wouldn't want to assimilate the barbarians into the Han Chinese culture, and integrate the nomadic tribes into the Tang dynasty's registered populace? The problem is, this isn't something that can be accomplished overnight; it requires a long and painstaking process. But the powerful figures in the court often prefer to avoid trouble; and local officials, at most, serve three terms. Would they really put in the hard work only to pass the credit to their successors? What a waste!

Moreover, the court's decision to retain these nomadic tribes likely stemmed from another consideration: after driving out the Tibetans in the west, the Tanguts, Tuyuhun, and other former territories were restored. These vast grasslands were unsuitable for cultivation, so it was better to relocate those nomadic tribes back to their former lands, serving as a buffer between the Tang and Tibetans...

However, upon further reflection, if he followed Li Ji's suggestion and submitted a memorial to the court, it would actually be beneficial to him. No one would take it seriously, much less order him to implement such a policy; it would just be empty talk to show his foresight and willingness to offer advice to the court. Hmm, writing a few words, making his presence known, and perhaps even cultivating goodwill towards the emperor and certain powerful figures, wouldn't be a bad idea.

He smiled and said, "What Changwei said makes sense. However, this plan involves a wide range of issues. Let me plan it carefully before I make a suggestion to the court."

Li Ji had not previously paid attention to the issue of the Hu tribes in Longxi. It was only after this rebellion that he personally came to suppress the uprising that he began to gather information and conduct in-depth analysis. He felt that the Tang Dynasty's policy was very similar to the old strategies of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Cao Cao divided the Southern Xiongnu into five tribes and relocated the Ba and other tribes to the Central Plains, originally intending to expand the population lost due to war and gradually assimilate them. Unfortunately, this plan was not completed before the "War of the Eight Princes" occurred, leading to the uprising of various Hu tribes and widespread chaos...

The Tang Dynasty was no different. When those nomadic tribes first migrated into the interior, the court may have had the intention of civilizing and indoctrinating them. However, they quickly became complacent and indifferent to power, only seeking to maintain the status quo, and no one was willing to put any effort into the nomadic tribes. Then An Lushan rebelled, and the Longxi region was also affected. As a result, a minor official raised his arms and shouted, and was able to gather nearly 100,000 rebellious nomads!

Longshang is not far from Chang'an. This malignant tumor in our midst really must be removed, otherwise it will cause trouble in the future, or even big trouble!

He had been harboring a lot of thoughts, intending to find an opportunity to correspond with Li Bi and discuss them in detail... However, he estimated that Li Bi was determined to retire and would not pay attention to him. Perhaps he would only have something to say when they met again in the future. As a result, he was in a bad mood and eager to confide in someone. So he took this opportunity to tell Cui Guangyuan a little about it.

He certainly didn't expect Cui Guangyuan to take his words seriously and plan accordingly, especially since most of the Hu tribes were located in the northern prefectures of Jing and Ning, which were not under Cui Guangyuan's jurisdiction. Therefore, he stopped there and changed the subject, bringing up the matter of rewarding the troops.

Upon hearing Li Ji relay Li Sheng's request, Cui Guangyuan frowned and said, "As Li Sheng said, the reward for this battle alone will be no less than 100,000 coins—adding to what I previously allocated, it will be 110,000—but the Fengxiang treasury is not well-stocked, how can we possibly come up with that amount?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "If you skip a few big meals, you might have the money." Just as he was about to invite him again, Cui Guangyuan waved his hand and said, "Changwei, Weiyuan and Fuyan are both guest troops who came to rescue Fengxiang, so we must reward and reward them. Li Sheng's troops are local soldiers from Fengxiang, Qin, and Long. Wei can take care of them and appease them. You don't need to interfere in this matter."

Li Ji said with a bitter face, "But Li Sheng has already promised the soldiers, and I have already agreed to Li Sheng's request..."

Cui Guangyuan laughed and said, "Li Sheng is a general of the Weiyuan Army. He can simply return to the capital. Do you think the local soldiers can chase him all the way to Chang'an to demand payment?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "By doing this, you've not only slapped Li Sheng in the face, but you've also damaged the court's prestige. Those soldiers might not hold Li Sheng entirely responsible—especially since he's returned to Chang'an and can't be found—but they're very likely convinced the court has wronged them. You're still in Fengxiang, aren't you afraid of inciting a mutiny? Or do you think two thousand men are nothing, nothing to worry about? It's precisely this kind of bureaucratic thinking that's making the country so chaotic!"

Your indulgence of Guo Yin led to chaos among the various Hu tribes and threatened Fengxiang. This was actually just a different manifestation of the same thinking, resulting in equally serious consequences!

However, given his status, he couldn't press Cui Guangyuan, so he could only ask in return, "Then how does Lord Cui intend to reward my Weiyuan Army?"

Cui Guangyuan said, "How about 100,000 coins?" A hundred coins for each of the thousand Weiyuan soldiers would indeed be a generous reward.

Li Ji clasped his hands and said, "Please, Lord Cui, do not mention this matter, but bestow 100,000 coins upon Li Sheng. As for Wei Yuan, he has not done much hardship; a little food and drink will suffice." He bowed deeply and said, "Please, please, Lord Cui, understand my situation and grant my request."

Cui Guangyuan hesitated for a moment, then asked in return, "Does Changwei really value Li Sheng that much?"

He didn't consider personal integrity or court prestige at all; he only thought that Li Ji wanted to take the opportunity to win over Li Sheng.

Li Ji did not argue, but followed the other party's lead and said, "Li Sheng is indeed a great general. The world is in chaos and I predict that he will live up to his name and become a great talent."

Cui Guangyuan said, "Alright, since you're asking me so earnestly, I can't refuse." He then lowered his voice and said, "I hope Changwei will reciprocate in kind..."

“If Lord Cui gives any instructions, Li Ji will obey them at will.”

“Changwei, this rebellion in Fengxiang was truly unexpected. Although it has been quelled, I fear the court will punish me… Therefore, you must put in a good word for me before the Prince of Fengjie.”

Li Ji hurriedly promised: "I will immediately write a letter and send it to the Prince, praising Lord Cui's hard work in managing the prefecture—Lord Cui has only been in Fengxiang for a few months, and the rebellion has already broken out. This is certainly not Lord Cui's fault, but the fault of his predecessor..."

I said that, but in my heart I wanted to slap myself—have I become a master of whitewashing now?

So he took his leave and stepped out of the main hall, only then realizing, oh dear, he forgot to mention Cui Qi to Cui Guangyuan…

However, Cui Guangyuan had just agreed to my request not to kill the thousands of prisoners and would reward the two thousand guards who followed Li Sheng out of the city to lure the enemy. In particular, he even implied that he was doing me a great favor because of me... So at this time, it was not convenient to make any more requests to him.

Well, I'm not going back to Chang'an tomorrow anyway, so I'll wait a few days and find another opportunity to discuss it with him.

The next day, they went out of the city again to search for the escaped Hu. Cui Guangyuan ordered that the prisoners be spared the death penalty for the time being. Except for the thirty or so people of higher rank who were presented to the emperor, and the hundred or so people who were really unruly or seriously wounded who were executed, the rest were handed over to Ban Hong and forced to do hard labor - first of all, to repair the damaged defensive fortifications outside Fengxiang City.

Li Ji went as far as Fengxiang Prefecture, entering Longzhou, and captured more than 400 escaped Hu and remaining bandits along the way. A few days later, news came that the Fuyan army had successfully captured Wubao and razed it to the ground—unfortunately, they still failed to capture Guo Yun.

I don't know if that guy died from his injuries while fleeing, or was killed by fleeing Hu, or if he knew he couldn't defend his base and simply fled elsewhere without ever thinking of going home...

Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun jointly reported their victory to the court, claiming that they had defeated more than 100,000 rebels and beheaded 5,000. They then erected a mound of heads outside Fengxiang Prefecture to warn the villains and intimidate those near and far—meaning, "I won't send all my heads to the capital, and the court doesn't need to count them."

As for the prisoners, the number doubled, claiming to be six or seven thousand. Their leader was beheaded, and the rest were forced into hard labor.

At the same time, Cui Guangyuan secretly sent a generous gift to Li Fuguo. In addition, after Li Ji's letter arrived, Li Shi's faction also spoke well of him. As a result, the court recognized the reported figures and officially recorded them in the archives.

However, Emperor Li Heng, concerned about the affairs of the state, forced himself to remain ill and went to the Yanying Hall to summon the prime minister. He ordered Li Fuguo to stand in attendance and said, "Fengxiang is the gateway to the capital, right under our noses. We must not allow any more trouble to occur. Cui Guangyuan is good at managing people but not good at leading troops. He should not be placed there again. In addition, Wei Lun has lost his army before and should be recalled as well."

The prime ministers glanced sideways at Li Fuguo, who nodded slightly, as if to say: This is the Emperor's will, and there is no room for argument. Then all the prime ministers raised their tablets to their chests and said in unison, "We respectfully accept His Majesty's decree."

"Then who should succeed as the military governor of Fengxiang? He must be a man who is skilled in both civil and military affairs—please give me your suggestions."

Everyone thought that Guo Ziyi was the best candidate to guard Fengxiang. However, the emperor specifically stated that he wanted "a person who is skilled in both civil and military affairs," implying that Guo Ziyi was not among the candidates...

The old Chamberlain Miao Jinqing exchanged glances with Li Fuguo again, then raised his tablet and said, "I believe that Li Ding, the Right General of the Imperial Guard and Duke of Baoding, is suitable for the position."

After considering for a moment, Li Heng slowly nodded: "Perhaps—let us summon Li Ding to court."

Li Ding was a distant relative of the Li Tang imperial family. He had served as a prefect and led troops in battle, but because he had once followed the retired emperor to Sichuan, he was sidelined and relegated to the sinecure of Right General of the Imperial Guard in the capital. Now, most of the high-ranking officials with military experience were sent to the provinces, and the capital was short of capable people, so he was finally brought back into the fold.

Li Ding went to see Li Heng, who asked him if he was confident in defending Fengxiang. Li Ding replied, "I have heard that the troops in Fengxiang are numerous and weak. When Cui Guangyuan went to garrison the area, he was unable to reorganize them, which led to the defeat at Weilun. Moreover, this autumn, the barbarian bandits will likely invade Longxi and Shu again. If they launch a large-scale attack from Longxi, I do not know if the Prince of Qi can defend against them..."

Li Heng shook his head: "You don't need to concern yourself with the affairs of Longyou."

Li Ding hurriedly lowered his head and said, "I fear that the King of Qi will be unable to defend Longyou, allowing the enemy's sharp edge to approach Qin and Longyou. Therefore, I have two requests, and I hope Your Majesty will grant them."

"You said."

"My first request is that the troops of Shannan West Circuit be sent to provide some support to Fengxiang in case of any unforeseen circumstances. My second request is that, as I am new to the area and unfamiliar with both the people and the land, I need a valiant general to assist in reorganizing the troops. I earnestly request that Li Ji be temporarily stationed in Fengxiang to serve under my command."

Li Heng frowned: "Li Ji was originally the Chief Clerk of the Imperial Guards..."

Li Ding reported: "Li Ji is the bravest general in the army and once defeated the barbarians in Longyou. With him in charge of Longyou, even if the barbarian bandits capture Shanzhou, they will not dare to go deep. I dare not keep Your Majesty's beloved general for long. I only request that he be employed until next spring, and then he can return to the palace after the barbarian invasion has subsided this year. Your Majesty, please grant my request."

Li Heng then waved his hand and said, "Very well, as you have suggested."

Li Ding took his leave, and Zhu Guanghui quickly came forward: "This servant will see the General out of the palace." Then she leaned closer and whispered, "How was it?"

Li Ding replied in a low voice, "Your Majesty is quite reluctant to part with Li Ji. I have repeatedly pleaded with you to allow him to stay in Fengxiang until next spring. After next spring, the Empress will need to devise another plan."

Zhu Guanghui cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, General. The Empress will surely repay you in kind."