White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Compared to the court turmoil caused by Shi Zaide, Gao Xingzhou was more concerned about the personnel arrangements of the court.

In the second year of his reign, Li Congke made several adjustments with caution.

After the New Year, the most important thing is the job changes of the three people.

Fan Yanguang, the former Privy Councilor and Military Governor of Tianxiong Army, was appointed Grand Tutor and concurrently Chancellor, and served as Military Governor of Bianzhou.

Li Chongmei, the Prince of Zhenzhou Military Governor, concurrently the Governor of Henan, the Prefect of the Six Armies and Guards, and the Left and Right Street Envoy, was granted the title of Grand Commandant and Chancellor, and appointed Military Governor of Tianxiong Army, with the rest remaining unchanged.

Zhao Yanshou, the former military governor of Bianzhou, became the military governor of Xuzhou and concurrently the privy councilor.

Fan Yanguang's daughter married Li Chongmei, who then moved his garrison to Bianzhou, handing over Weibo to his son-in-law and giving him control of two important towns near the capital, Hebei and Henan. Zhao Yanshou was transferred back to the capital to serve as the Privy Councilor, which again demonstrated his trust and favor, making the whole process very smooth and natural.

Gao Xingzhou was quite pleased: Ah San, you've already adapted to standing from the emperor's perspective and handling problems prudently.

"It seems I should take action as soon as possible."

Fu Yanqing sent word that Dingbian City had been completed and Li Yichao had died from his old wounds, making it the perfect time to attack Xiazhou and quell the Dingnan Army.

However, there is still a formidable obstacle to overcome in front of Gao Xingzhou—Luzi Pass.

There are three routes from Yanzhou to Xiazhou:

Firstly: From Weiziyi in Fenglin County in the northeast, it connects with Suizhou in Yanchuan County and enters the eastern border of Xiazhou;

Secondly: From Jinming Town, one enters the border of the Tibetans, reaches Luzi Pass, and enters the southern border of Xia Prefecture;

Thirdly: From Wan'an Town in the northwest, through Yong'an City, out of Hongmen to Youzhou, it is the western border of Xiazhou.

Sui and Yin prefectures have already fallen to Gao Xingzhou. In fact, whether or not he takes on the tough nut of Luzi Pass is irrelevant; he can still reach Xia Prefecture by taking other routes. But as the saying goes, a general should consider defeat before victory, and thus he can win every battle.

If the attack on Xiazhou fails, whether a certain retreat route is blocked or open could determine whether the army can retreat safely or be completely wiped out.

Given Gao Xingzhou's calm and experienced military tactics, how could he allow such a vital location as Luziguan to fall into Li Yiyin's hands?

Luziguan Pass is flanked by two mountains, Dadun and Xiaodun, both over 500 zhang high.

The cliffs on the east and west sides stand like gates, forming a valley that stretches five or six miles deep. The entrance to the valley is narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time, but it suddenly widens in the middle, forming a gourd shape.

The pass is located on one side of the plateau, watching the passersby below with a menacing gaze. A very thin stream flows through the red sandstone riverbed, meandering and cascading.

The Dingnan Army always stationed a hundred men to guard this place. One man can hold the pass against ten thousand, and a hundred men can be as good as ten thousand soldiers.

However, morale is not something that can be calculated. The year before last, the imperial court sent 50,000 troops, but the defending troops fled at the mere sight of them. In the defeat last September and October, if Li Yichao had not personally led the remaining troops to defend the pass, this pass would have fallen into the hands of the allied forces long ago.

After the Battle of Sanchuankou, the troops at Luziguan were once reinforced to five hundred. More than half a year passed, Li Yichao was no longer alive, and Gao Xingzhou made no move. The area returned to a state where only a hundred or so soldiers remained.

For Li Yiyin, Hengshan, Qingjian, Dingbian and even Youzhou to the west, he had to deal with pressure from all directions. With more than half of his military strength lost, he was stretched thin, and every soldier was precious.

With the enemy forces exposed on all sides, holding onto a single pass was no longer an option; the noose around the necks of the Dingnan Army was gradually tightening.

……

On this day, Gao Huaide watched the officials in the government office busily writing on the whitewashed wall, rows of beautiful characters flowing from their pens and appearing prominently on the wall.

April 18th, Guiwei day.

The Imperial Censor Lu Sun and others presented 394 imperial edicts issued in the eleven years prior to the first year of the Qingtai era, which were deemed worthy of long-term implementation, and compiled them into thirty volumes.

The emperor issued an edict: If the newly compiled edicts are feasible, they shall be issued to the Censorate for promulgation; those not selected shall be sealed by their respective departments and shall not be used.

The contents of the edict show that Li Congke also wanted to reform the government and make a difference, but he was aware that he lacked the wisdom and ability to do so, so he intended to rely on the late emperor's decrees.

One of them is this one.

"In the intercalary fifth month of the second year of Changxing, an imperial edict was issued stating that the laws, regulations, and formats of the Six Codes, which govern all aspects of public affairs, have been clearly distinguished. However, due to a long period of neglect, they have become corrupt and disorderly. It is appropriate to order all departments in the capital to record their own affairs, compile them into scrolls, or write them on the wall in their offices. Officials of these departments should regularly review them for consultation purposes."

The Six Codes of the Great Tang Dynasty: Governance, Codes, Rites, Politics, Punishment, and Affairs.

The compilation of the Tang Six Codes, initiated in the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era and overseen by four generations of prime ministers over sixteen years, was finally completed. This 300,000-character code encapsulates the wisdom and essence of the prosperous era, pioneering the first administrative legal code.

Li Siyuan and Feng Dao, as ruler and minister, emphasized simplicity and feasibility in governance, making their decrees easy to understand. They stipulated that policies should either be made into scrolls or written directly on the wall.

Unfortunately, a group of bureaucrats at the time paid lip service to the policy but did not actually implement it strictly.

This time, Li Congke issued an edict ordering the Censorate to dispatch two inspectors to patrol the various departments and bureaus and report back. If any matters were not yet resolved, they were given five days to complete the copying. All prefectures and counties were also required to copy the relevant provisions of the Six Codes for official business, and these copies were to be displayed on the walls for officials to review regularly.

Copying 300,000 words in five days is quite challenging.

Therefore, this decree is not an unreasonable demand. Considering the complexities of the Tang Dynasty's Six Codes and laws, it was compiled into four volumes yesterday, and officials from the prefectures and counties were dispatched to copy them for future reference.

I should be able to write about 10,000 words.

Gao Huaide watched the official copy for a while, thinking that his father had led troops out a few days ago and wondered where he had gone. As the commander of the yamen, he had not given any hint about this operation.

The chirping of cicadas came from the big trees outside the government office, and summer had quietly arrived without anyone noticing.

In another month or two, the summer grain harvest will be ready.

……

On this day, the garrison at Luzi Pass saw several riders driving a flock of sheep toward them.

This place borders two states and has little water and grass, so ordinary herders would never come here. Moreover, the south side is Saimen, so it is obvious who the visitors are.

The lookout soldier asked a couple of questions, and the other party answered in Tangut language, confirming that they were indeed familiar residents from the border of Yanzhou.

"The soldiers have endured wind and rain, guarding the frontier day and night with great hardship. Commander Gao specially bought these sheep to reward everyone."

One captain, one deputy captain, one lieutenant, two squad leaders, and two deputy squad leaders—these seven men were the leaders of this hundred-man garrison. Upon receiving the report, they gathered together to discuss the matter.

"What does Gao Xingzhou mean by this?"

"Screw it, I've been so bored these days, if this meat is delivered to my door, I might as well eat it."

"You ate his flesh, how could you still draw your bow and bring yourself to do it?"

"One thing at a time. If he sends me meat, I'll eat it; if he sends troops, I'll fight them."

"Are you sure you can win? Don't let us all die here."

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent instantly.

"Send scouts first to see if there are any troops behind, then we'll make further plans."

The captain broke the silence: "We can't let our brothers die without knowing why."

The others had no objections. As the meeting adjourned, someone remarked, "I heard that our clan is doing quite well over with Gao Xingzhou."

During this period, Gao Xingzhou gathered refugees to reclaim wasteland and encouraged the people to resume farming. He also made great efforts to win over and entice the Dangxiang tribes, offering them the benefits of salt, tea, pottery, and iron in exchange. He also frequently invited powerful tribal chiefs to banquets to make friends.

All their efforts paid off. The Dangxiang tribes of Yan, Sui, and Yin prefectures, who had originally been allied with the Li family of Xia Prefecture, have now largely switched sides to Gao Xingzhou.

"Reporting to the Commander, the Zhangwu Army has already crossed the border, numbering over three thousand!"

Saimen is less than 20 li from Luzi. One can see the movements on the other side by climbing to a high place.

Several thousand people were deployed for patrols, forming a long, winding line as they approached. (Note 1)

"Gao Xingzhou first tried to persuade us with courtesy, then resorted to force, making it clear that if we did not surrender, he would send troops to attack us."

"Our forces are too weak to withstand the attack. It would be better to retreat to Xia Prefecture and send a message to the governor."

Li Yiyin had not yet been recognized by the court and could only refer to himself as the acting governor.

At this point, the aftereffects of Li Yichao's death became apparent, and some people disagreed with doing so.

"No. If the commander were still alive, it would be an option. But the regent is cruel by nature. If he were treated as a deserter in front of the enemy, wouldn't we die unjustly?"

A weak voice said, "Why don't we just lower the price?"

The expressions and reactions of the crowd were subtle, but no one directly accused the person who made the suggestion of being a traitor.

"Captain, those are over a hundred brothers' lives!"

"Stop talking!"

The captain raised his hand to stop his men from continuing, and glanced at them: "I know some of you have received favors from Gao Xingzhou. Further persuasion will be useless. Let's decide whether to fight or surrender by throwing beans."

He took out a handful of black beans and distributed one to each person; this was their daily food.

The method of throwing beans is a way of making decisions among the Tangut tribe. Seven people stand side by side in a row, with their hands behind their backs, so that no one can see each other's movements.

"Those who are willing to surrender, throw down the black beans in your hands; those who are willing to fight, hold them in your palms. Are you ready?"

"three!"

"two!"

"one!"

After the countdown ended, the constable waited a few more moments.

Let's all turn around together.

On the loess soil, five black beans lay out in a striking pattern.

Some sighed, some lamented, and no one knew who was persisting in the resistance, yet no one stepped forward to advocate for war.

"Let's go, prepare to surrender with the brothers."

The constable loosened his grip on the knife hilt. He took two steps back, and while no one was looking, he flicked his finger, sending a black bean flying down the cliff.

After Luzi Pass changed hands, Gao Xingzhou sent letters to various parties to discuss the use of troops in Xia Prefecture.

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Place Name Comparison

Luziguan: now Louguanliang, Tianciwan Town, Jingbian County, Yulin City, Shaanxi Province