The Great Tang General

Poets have always had the habit of recording their own poems.

It is a pity for the world that many of Li Bai's poems were sung when he was drunk and were not recorded.

When I woke up, I couldn't remember it anymore.

Sometimes I am careless and lose some manuscripts.

There are even some poems that Li Bai no longer remembered, and they were collected and passed down by friends and literati from all over the world.

Even so, the remaining text can prove his legendary life.

When Li Xuan visited Li Bai again, Li Bai asked Li Boqin to give his own manuscript to Li Xuan.

"I am now like a lone boat on the vast ocean, going to a place where no one can see me. This is the evidence of Li Bai's legacy in the world, and I hand it over to the Supreme Being. It's a pity that Li Bai's poems are not complete. How can a person be perfect in this world?"

Li Bai was lying on his sickbed, pointing at the several volumes of books in Li Boqin's hands and said.

He felt that his soul was swaying like a candle in the wind, flickering and could go out at any time.

Before he died, he was able to meet and drink with Li Xuan, the person he admired most, and dance with his favorite sword. He died without regrets.

The feeling between Li Bai and Li Xuan is very strange. Although they have only met once, he has always been paying attention to Li Xuan's news.

Perhaps Li Xuan brought too many surprises.

Li Bai, who lived in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, had progressive ideals of "it is never too late to save the people" and "talking and laughing to bring peace to the people", and he struggled all his life to realize this ideal.

He didn't finish it, but Li Xuan did.

This time gave Li Bai too many aspirations.

As early as last year, Li Bai had fallen seriously ill.

After he got through it, the person he wanted to see most was Li Xuan.

But in the end he failed to go to Chang'an, the place that made him sad.

"Don't worry too much, Taibai. If you take good care of your condition, you will recover."

Li Xuan held Li Bai's skinny hand and comforted him.

Not only is Li Bai's poetry collection being reorganized now, but Li Xuan will also collect other poetry collections about Li Bai from all over the world in the future.

Revise the "Collection of Li Bai's Poems" as completely as possible, which is the cultural treasure of the Chinese nation.

As long as the Chinese nation dominates the world, Li Bai's name will be known to everyone, just like "Shakespeare" in later generations.

"I am not afraid of death..."

Li Bai forced a laugh and said weakly that he knew his own body well.

Sooner or later this day comes, and he accepts this fate.

"If one day, Taibai returns to Taibai Star, I will help you take care of your wife, Boqin."

Seeing that Li Bai was relaxed, Li Xuan no longer worried about him.

Li Bai now lives in poverty and relies entirely on support from the county government.

A great writer of his generation should not have ended like this.

Once copyright awareness is established, "Collection of Li Bai's Poems" can make Li Bai wealthy in a short period of time.

Li Boqin was still young, and as the son of Li Bai, he was quite knowledgeable.

Li Xuan would allow him to enter the officialdom through his family background, starting from the position of Wei Cheng.

How far one can go depends entirely on Li Boqin's ability.

"Very...good!"

Li Bai smiled, no longer having any worries.

Zong, who was standing next to her, also had tears in her eyes.

Before he was fifty, Li Bai had regrettable love and failed marriage.

When he was in his forties, he met Zong, who gave Li Bai the final comfort in his life.

Zong had heard of Li Bai a long time ago.

That unbridled romance touched the girl's heart.

Although there was a thirty-year age difference between them, Zong was extremely obsessed with Li Bai.

I am not born, but I am old.

They toured Liang Garden together and saw the deep red, emerald green, and brilliant purples and reds in the garden.

They went to Mount Lu together and asked Li Tengkong about the immortality.

They went boating together, watching the Yangtze River rushing by, never to return.

In Xuancheng, they wrote poems together on rice paper.

They came to Jinling together again, looking for the historical relics of the Six Dynasties and seeing the past of the Southern Dynasties.

Less than ten years after they met, Li Bai and Zong's life was extremely fulfilling.

Li Bai also briefly enjoyed a second spring in his life.

Now, seeing Li Bai’s face full of pain, Zong felt heartbroken.

I just regret that I can’t help Li Bai bear it.

Although Li Bai was very optimistic and faced death calmly, Zong could not bear such a farewell.

Li Bai also felt that he had let down the Zong family.

Zong's prime years were wasted on him.

If I had known it would be so heartbreaking, why didn’t we meet in the first place?
This is a fake work attributed to Li Bai by later generations, but it can represent Li Bai's state of mind.

If he had known this would be the outcome, he would rather not have met the Zong family.

In this era, romance, flowers, snow and the moon are also considered elegant.

During his travels, Li Bai lingered in brothels and wine shops many times, and he could be considered a romantic person.

But at this moment, Li Bai had endless emotions.

This emotion also accompanied Li Bai's unfulfilled ambitions for many years.

He wanted to stand up again and truly serve his country.

Even if he was like Wang Changling, who served as a county magistrate for seven or eight years.

As he thought about it, Li Bai lay on his bed and sang the "Song of Death" word by word:
The great roc flies to vibrate the eight descendants, but the sky is unable to destroy it.

The remaining wind stirs the world for thousands of years, and I travel to Fusang with my left sleeve hanging.

Later generations will pass this on, who will shed tears when Zhongni dies?
Li Bai used all his strength to utter the last line of the poem.

He still wants to be Dapeng!

When his energy was at its lowest, he wrote this "Deathbed Poem" with Li Bai's unique style.

Just like the poems he wrote when he was young, "One day the great roc soars up with the wind and reaches up to 90,000 miles."

Li Bai compared himself to the great roc.

Du Fu compared himself to a phoenix.

The meaning of life is completely different. Although the body is old, the heart is as great as the roc.

Li Xuan's heart skipped a beat, this poem still appeared.

This is Li Bai's deathbed poem, which is like his epitaph.

The roc spread its wings and flew but broke in mid-air.

Without any modification.

Hao lamented the sadness of his unfulfilled ambitions in life, revealing his immense attachment to life and deep regret for not being able to make full use of his talents.

Even though he was unwilling to admit it, Li Xuan understood that Li Bai was already in his twilight years and could die at any time.

The attendant wrote down Li Bai's "Deathbed Poem". Li Xuan leaned over and whispered something in Li Bai's ear, then patted Li Boqin on the shoulder and left temporarily.

Before leaving, Li Xuan instructed the imperial physician to do his best to take care of Li Bai's health.

Now, every time Li Bai said one more word, his chest heaved violently, as if he was using all his strength.

He stopped disturbing Li Bai and left the courtyard carrying Li Bai's manuscript.

On the same day, Li Xuan handed Li Bai's manuscript to the officials of the Secretariat who were accompanying him on the southern tour, and asked them to start compiling the "Collection of Li Bai's Poems". At the same time, he published a message in the "Tang Monthly" to collect the poetry collections left by Li Bai among the people.

Preserve the Complete Works of Li Bai as complete as possible.

February 19th, the seventh year of Qianyuan.

When Li Xuan went to Jurong County for inspection, the Jinyiwei rode at full speed and brought news from Jinling City.

Li Bai was ill, secretly drank a sip of wine, and died suddenly...

The mountains and rivers are solemn, heaven and earth are mourning, and the grass and trees are shaking.

The spring days are no longer bright, and the cold rain is coming...

Sorrow seemed to be brewing in every inch of the air, and endless sadness enveloped Li Xuan.

In this era, Li Bai's death is just the death of a great poet.

In Li Xuan's heart, Li Bai is a part of Chinese culture. With Li Xuan's help in collecting Li Bai's poems, his poems will be more popular.

After Li Xuan finished his inspection of Jurong County, he immediately rushed back to Jinling County.

Wang Yuanxin, the magistrate of Jinling, has decided to use the county's finances to give Li Bai a grand funeral.

After all, Li Bai left hundreds of poems in Jinling.

In an era that encouraged industry and commerce, Li Bai was the most prominent figure among the literati in Jinling.

Especially in the past two years, many people arrived in Jinling because of Li Bai, making Jinling more prosperous.

Compared to Li Xuan who is out of reach, Li Bai is closer to some literati and scholars.

"I am sorry for your loss!"

Li Xuan arrived at Li Bai's courtyard in plain clothes and comforted Li Bai's wife, Zong.

"Taibai is honored to receive the tribute from the Supreme. This common woman pays tribute to the Supreme."

Zong thanked Li Xuan with tears in her eyes.

Even the prime minister could not allow the emperor to offer sacrifices in person.

But Li Xuan was just commemorating a friend.

Zong was the granddaughter of Zong Chuke, the prime minister of Wu Zhou, but Zong Chuke was killed by Li Longji during the Tanglong coup.

This meant that the Zong family was doomed to never become rich.

"When your father passed away, I was away and could not come back. There will always be a time to ride on the wind and waves and set sail to cross the vast ocean. Does your father have any last words?"

Li Xuan then asked Li Bai's only son, Li Boqin.

"My father has no unfulfilled wishes. He only hopes that Jian can be buried under Zhongshan Mountain and sleep with his head resting on the green mountains."

Li Boqin bowed to Li Xuan and answered.

"It is a beautiful place, suitable for eternal rest."

Simple burial is also in line with Li Bai's character.

Li Xuan followed Li Bai's last wish and chose the foot of Zhongshan Mountain as the location for Li Bai's tomb.

Li Boqin would mourn for Li Bai for three years.

In the future, Zong will choose to stay in Jinling and miss Li Bai in this city that Li Bai loves most.

Li Xuan personally wrote the epitaph for Li Bai and engraved Li Bai's "Deathbed Poem" at the end of the epitaph.

Choose a burial place in the valley of Zhongshan.

Li Xuan attended Li Bai's funeral, and many officials followed suit. All the literati in Jinling paid tribute to Li Bai.

After Li Bai's death, although Li Xuan got over his grief, he was reluctant to leave Jinling City.

On March 15th, Li Xuan officially ordered to change Danyang County to Jinling County.

Jiangning County was renamed as the county seat of Jinling County.

Jiangning City is still called Jinling City.

A township at the foot of Zhongshan Mountain was renamed Taibai Town to commemorate Li Bai who is buried in Zhongshan Mountain.

On March 20th, Li Xuan summoned the literati of Jinling County to discuss current affairs with them and let them speak frankly about the shortcomings of current government policies.

The court will take their suggestions seriously.

At first, these literati did not dare to speak directly, but only praised Li Xuan's wisdom and bravery.

It was not until he saw Li Xuan's generosity that he spoke out boldly.

Li Xuan kept some small problems in mind.

The biggest problem was that the scholars felt that their future was bleak. They studied hard, but only one out of a hundred were selected for the imperial examinations, and most of them had no future.

There is endless sorrow and suffering in the process of studying the classics for a lifetime.

Li Xuan suggested that these intellectuals who had no idea about their future should go to school, become journalists, study medicine, join the army as clerks, or go to rural schools to teach children. The treatment in rural schools is not bad now, enough to support a family.

Another option is to take part in other jobs such as banks and printing houses; qualified intellectuals can also try to do business.

However, Li Xuan also knew that an official position would never be able to satisfy every literati.

Being an official is not an easy job.

But Li Xuan had decided to continue expanding the imperial examinations to allow "juren" to be qualified to become officials.

To allow more talented people to emerge in the imperial examinations and to reduce the space for those who enter the officialdom through family connections.

In a prosperous country, a country with an imperial examination system, the fewer people who enter officialdom through family connections, the better, until it disappears.

Because the children of officials are more likely to pass the imperial examinations and become Jinshi under the influence of their parents.

Li Xuan talked with the literati as if he was chatting with friends.

Finally, Li Xuan also wrote a poem.

Wild grass and flowers beside the Suzaku Bridge, the sunset at the entrance of Wuyi Alley is slanting.

In the old days, Wang Xietang flew into the homes of ordinary people.

Wealth and splendor cannot last forever. Those once powerful officials and nobles have become a thing of the past like a passing cloud.

At the same time, as long as you work hard and dare to climb, you can become a new nobility.

The phoenix flying on the paulownia tree is noble.

But are sparrows that perch on dead wood necessarily lowly?

A sparrow flies across thousands of mountains and rivers, and eventually it will land on a paulownia tree.

Li Xuan hoped that poor families could produce noble sons, and this became a common practice.

The literati and scholars were inspired by Li Xuan's poems, and they were determined to make the "swallows in the hall" that once lived in the royal palaces of the nobility fly to their own homes.

At the end of March, Li Xuan paid tribute to Li Bai again and asked Wang Yuanxin to take care of Li Bai's widow and son.

When Li Boqin's mourning period is over, Li Xuan will summon him to Chang'an.

On the next day, Li Xuan bid farewell to Pei Lingxi, Jiang Yueyao and other wives and daughters, and asked them to take a dragon boat back to Chang'an via the Grand Canal system.

Because Li Xuan was going to travel by land and continue southward. The conditions were harsh and the journey was tiring, so it was not convenient to bring Pei Lingxi and others with him.

Pei Lingxi understood and told Li Xuan to be careful. They would wait for Li Xuan to come back in Chang'an.

After Pei Lingxi and Jiang Yueyao's fleet left, Li Xuan, supported by thousands of Tiance Guards and a group of officials, rode on horseback and entered Jinling County.

Jinling was also a super large county, even more prosperous than Jinling County.

Because the southern part of Jinling is close to Taihu Lake, it is a real land of fish and rice.

In mid-April, Li Xuan left Jinling County and arrived in Wu County.

Li Xuan watched an exhibition of Wu embroidery in Suzhou City, the capital of Wu County. The exquisite embroidery was so lifelike that it took his breath away.

He then went to the north of Wujun, inspected the Taihu Army and rewarded the troops.

He deliberately followed Songjiang River to the seaside at the end.

This is a small fishing village.

In the current Tang Dynasty, inland river transportation is a hundred times stronger than sea transportation.

It will take some time for this small fishing village to develop.

Li Xuan went to the southern part of Wu County (now Jiaxing), where the land was flat and fertile. He told the governor of Wu County an exaggerated proverb: "When Suzhou and Lake Tai are prosperous, the whole world is prosperous."

He placed high hopes on Jinling, Wujun and Wuxing counties around Taihu Lake.

The three counties have a combined population of two million, plus thousands of miles of fertile land.

Once rice is further improved, it will definitely become a granary.

In late May, Li Xuan left Wujun.

Enter Qiantang Province from Hangzhou Bay.

The governor of Qiantang was Wei Zhi, who accompanied Li Xuan on his inspection.

After arriving in Qiantang, Li Xuan planned to revisit the old place.

The pirate Wu Lingguang was pacified in Qiantang Province.

Li Xuan first inspected Yuhang County and found no major problems.

Then go south to Kuaiji County.

In late June, when the weather was at its hottest, Li Xuan arrived in Linhai County.

The folks here have been waiting for Li Xuan for twenty years.

Li Xuan arrived in Linhai again, filled with emotion.

Twenty years ago, there were still many people in the world who had received Li Xuan's kindness.

When they learned that Li Xuan was coming, they burst into tears and came out to greet her with the best things in their homes...

(End of this chapter)