Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Chapter Fifteen, A Bizarre Case

Before long, a jailer brought Kang Lian, covered in filth and trembling, to his father's cell. Seeing his father's pitiful state, Kang Lian rushed over, grabbed the cell pillar, and burst into tears. The jailer whispered to Li Ji, "We know Kang Lian is a dissolute scoundrel and must know nothing, so we haven't tortured him much."

Li Ji thought to himself, "The fact that they deliberately added the words 'exerted effort' means they still went too far..."

Then, the father and son embraced and wept bitterly. At the same time, Kang Qian seemed to whisper something in Kang Lian's ear. Then he beckoned to Li Ji: "Second Brother, please come here." Li Ji took two steps forward, and Kang Qian ordered Kang Lian to kowtow to Li Ji.

Li Ji hurriedly reached out to help him up, but Kang Qian said, "Second Brother, don't help him up. From now on, he will be your servant... But this child is spoiled and pampered. He can't lift a finger or carry a load. He has no talent in literature or martial arts. Instead, we'll have to trouble you to take care of him."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Since I've promised you, I will certainly not fail in my duty." Actually, even without Kang Qian mentioning it, he knew that although Kang Lian liked to dress like a scholar, he was actually just a street urchin with no ability to survive independently. His claim of being his slave was really an invitation for him to take care of Kang Lian, essentially carrying a heavy burden. However, they were still acquaintances, and in this life-or-death situation, he was entrusted with the care of Kang Lian's orphan. Could he really bear to refuse?

If I refuse, not only will the Kang family be exterminated, but Old Hu will also grit his teeth and refuse to tell the truth, and may even be beaten to death in the end... Since I have decided to relieve his suffering, how can I refuse his last request?

Having agreed, Li Ji, given his personality, would absolutely not go back on his word.

After Kang Qian had his son kowtow to Li Ji, he said, "Second Brother, you may leave now, and Lian'er, you may also leave. There is no need to see me on my deathbed." Li Ji glanced sideways at the clerk, who lowered his voice and said, "Second Brother, keep Kang Lian at home and do not let him go, otherwise you will be setting me up."

Li Ji understood what he meant—if Kang Qian still refused to confess after sending away his young son, they would definitely bring Kang Lian back.

Now we know what the old man is so protective of. You just love your youngest son, right? You refused to save any of the three older ones, and only begged Li Ji to take your youngest son away. If you break your promise, we will use your youngest son as leverage—we'll beat him to death in front of you first, and then deal with you. Even if we still don't get the Kang family's wealth in the end, killing your whole family will at least be some kind of explanation to the higher-ups.

Li Ji had no intention of letting Kang Lian go. Firstly, the boy was destitute and probably couldn't survive. Secondly... while he was in the Dali Temple, there was nothing he could do. But once he entered my household, you wouldn't be able to take him back without a valid reason! If you really pushed me too far, I'd dare to lead the Yingwu Army to surround the Dali Temple! As for you, and even those behind you, you might not dare to risk provoking a mutiny by the Northern Imperial Guards.

So he took Kang Lian home, ordered the servants to boil water for him to bathe and change him into clean clothes, and then asked Qingluan to prepare some food for him. Fortunately, Kang Lian, having listened to his father's advice and instructions, although he always had a gloomy face and occasionally shed tears, did not do anything excessive like threatening to die.

Li Ji patted his shoulder: "Your father and brother may be blessed with good fortune and still be able to find a glimmer of hope. Even if they don't, you must pull yourself together—a real man cannot spend his whole life hiding under the wings of his family."

Kang Lian lowered his head and said in a trembling voice, "I understand... Second... Young Master, rest assured, I will be your servant from now on. Although I have no skills, I will never cause you any trouble..."

Qingluan was puzzled but dared not ask directly. She waited until Kang Lian was settled in before approaching Li Ji and questioning him in a low voice. Li Ji replied, "Old Hu is probably doomed, so he entrusted his young son to me. To outsiders, just say he is a servant, but to inside... do not mistreat him, treat him as my nephew."

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The outcome of Kang Qian's case was unexpected by everyone.

The Kang family, father and son, were of low status and could not escape punishment. They were soon executed for secretly colluding with Shi Chaoyi, and their property was confiscated. However, no one knew how much of it actually went into the official treasury or what percentage of their property it represented. It was probably just some houses, shops and other real estate.

Kang Lian, however, was not implicated. His name was not recorded in the case file, and no one came looking for him afterward, as if he had never existed. Li Ji used his connections to register Kang Lian in the household register, making him a servant he had bought—indentures of sale are not difficult to forge, and with a little maneuvering, the Jingzhao Prefecture wouldn't even bother to check.

Furthermore, this case involved Yan Zhuang, the Minister of Agriculture. He was arrested and sent to the provincial capital for rigorous interrogation—of course, torture was not an option—and the final verdict was that he was dismissed from his post and exiled to a remote prefecture.

But things suddenly became completely bizarre at this point. First, Li Heng personally issued a pardon, demoting Yan Zhuang by one degree and exiling him to the position of magistrate of Nanjiang County in Shu. Li Heng's reasoning was that Yan Zhuang had made great contributions to the court when he defected, and it was impossible for him to have any secret dealings with the rebels. He was probably fooled by Kang Youwei, so he should not be convicted of treason.

Not only that, Li Heng also allowed Yan Zhuang to enter the palace to express his gratitude in person.

After leaving the palace, Yan Zhuang immediately packed his bags and left Chang'an without saying goodbye to any acquaintances—including Li Ji—to take up his post in Shu. However, rumors circulated that he had uttered these words before his departure: "Those who harm me, I will surely avenge!"

The very next day, Liu Yan was arrested. After three days of interrogation, he was demoted to the position of Prefect of Tongzhou and ordered to leave the capital within a specified period.

Liu Shi'an's crime was "being arrogant and resentful of his superiors, and leaking secrets of the palace." It is said that because he was in charge of major financial matters, he was summoned to the palace many times for audiences. Logically, he should have kept silent about the emperor's private conversations with him, not uttering a single word. Liu Yan and Yan Zhuang both managed finances, and their daily interactions were inevitable. Gradually, the two grew closer, becoming friends, if not intimate confidants. It is said that during banquets and conversations, Liu Yan, after a few drinks, would proactively mention to Yan Zhuang: "On such and such a day, the Emperor summoned me and said this to me..."

When Yan Zhuang was convicted, Liu Yan was in charge of the trial. He immediately ordered Yan's residence to be sealed off and thoroughly searched. This was standard practice in officialdom, and everyone understood—it was to distance themselves from suspicion in a timely manner.

However, this angered Yan Zhuang, who, upon entering the palace to express his gratitude, complained to Li Heng about Liu Yan's misdeeds. Li Heng, upon hearing this, was naturally furious and ordered a thorough investigation of Liu Yan—whether he uncovered anything or obtained concrete evidence is unclear. But if the emperor disliked or even hated a minister, could he possibly remain in a high-ranking central position?

When Liu Yan first investigated Yan Zhuang, he probably never imagined that he would also be implicated; and Yan Zhuang's words before his departure—"Those who harm me, I will surely avenge"—were thus resolved.

Of course, this was the general opinion of the court and the public, but Li Ji always felt that something was wrong, and there was more to it than met the eye... Especially after Liu Yan left the capital for three days, he actually received "grape wine" sent from the West Market.

Li Ji naturally wanted to know who had sent it—judging by the weight, it was definitely money inside, but wasn't the Kang family already ruined?—they only said they were acting on orders from their master. Although the tavern had changed owners, business continued as before, and some old practices should continue to be followed.

When asked who the current master was, the other party gave a name that Li Ji had never heard of before... Further inquiries revealed little about their background.

This shows what?

Firstly, Kang Qian did keep his promise and handed over his hidden family wealth—otherwise, the Dali Temple would have sent someone to find Kang Lian. And someone who only received some real estate might not have had the means to continue offering money to himself.

Secondly, Kang Qian used the pretext of sending wine to send 20,000 coins every month, which was to allow him to bribe the Imperial Guards. Such an important matter could not have been Lao Hu's own idea, nor could it have been solely due to Yan Zhuang's instructions—Li Shi must have been behind it! However, even after the Kang family was destroyed and Yan Zhuang was demoted, the tribute money continued to be sent. This shows that most of the Kang family's property still fell into the hands of the Crown Prince's faction.

What exactly did they do? Could it be that the mastermind behind interrogating Kang Qian was not the Empress's faction, but the Crown Prince's faction? Were they afraid that after Kang Qian's death, this fortune would fall into the hands of others, so they were in a hurry to interrogate him?

But if that's the case, why did Kang Qian grit his teeth and refuse to tell the truth? Wouldn't it have been enough to just tell him that the Minister of Agriculture sent them to ask? Or perhaps some kind of proof of communication between them just happened to fall into Liu Yan's hands... which is why Yan Zhuang finally turned on Liu Yan so fiercely?

It seemed reasonable, but Li Ji still felt full of doubts and couldn't figure it out—the key was Li Shi's statement that "Xiang Bo's sword dance was aimed at Liu Hou," which he really couldn't understand.

Li Ji didn't intend to ask Li Shi in person. Firstly, it would make him look foolish, and secondly... since the other party had written these eight characters, it meant that he didn't want to say it explicitly, but rather wanted Li Ji to guess it himself.

The little guy's got too big for his britches now, trying to pull this trick on me. Just wait and see how I get my revenge!

Half a month after Liu Yan's demotion, on the first day of the eleventh month (the first month of the lunar calendar), the festival was celebrated early, marking the beginning of the "second year of the emperor's reign." Sometime later that month, Li Ji had just left the Yingwu Army headquarters when, passing the Mingfeng Gate, he saw a purple-robed official being led by a eunuch from the direction of the central court, preparing to leave the palace. Li Ji saw from afar that the man was tall and thin, with a gaunt appearance, but unfortunately, he had a pair of drooping eyebrows that marred his features, making him appear rather gloomy. Normally, someone with such distinctive features would be unforgettable after just one meeting, but Li Ji had absolutely no recollection of him and did not recognize him at all.

Upon returning to his office, he casually asked Ma Sui, "I just saw a high-ranking official in a purple robe with gold fish decorations, leaving after taking his leave of the emperor, but I don't recognize him—who have come to the capital to assume official posts or report on their duties recently?"

He'd been trying to decipher the riddle Li Shi had left behind these past few days, and it was true that he wasn't very well-informed. But that didn't matter; he could just ask someone with inside information.

Ma Sui countered, "Is he a tall man with drooping eyebrows?"

"Exactly."

Ma Sui nodded: "Then it must be Minister Yuan."

Li Ji suddenly realized: "So it was him."

Yuan Zai, also known as Yuan Gongfu, was a renowned minister of his time, famous for his financial acumen, whom Li Shi had mentioned before. Two years earlier, Li Shi had told Li Ji that he believed there were only three ministers capable of managing the finances of a region or even the entire country: Wu Qi, Liu Yan, and Yuan Zai.

Li Ji then reminded him, "Yang Gongnan, a subordinate of the King of Qi, should not be underestimated either."

It is said that Yuan Zai was not a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), but rather entered officialdom because of his mastery of Daoist teachings, which caught the eye of the retired emperor. He was selected through a policy essay. He rose through the ranks based on his merits, and after the recapture of the two capitals, he served as the Director of the Ministry of Revenue and concurrently as the Transport Commissioner of Jianghuai, succeeding Liu Yan in charge of the finances of the southeast. Now that Liu Yan had left office, Yuan Zai naturally took over again, entering the court as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Director of the Ministry of Revenue, and concurrently the Transport Commissioner of various circuits.

To be honest, although Liu Yan's takeover of finances didn't significantly improve the overall situation, at least he didn't follow the inevitable path of bankruptcy that Wu Qi had taken. Li Ji felt that, given the repeated defeats on both the eastern and western fronts and the frequent famines in Guanzhong, this was already quite an achievement, proving that he was indeed capable—at least better than Wu Qi. Now that Liu Yan was gone, who else could shoulder this heavy responsibility? Li Ji instinctively thought of Yuan Zai, but wondered how Yuan Gongfu compared to Liu Shi'an.

Li Ji knew that Yuan Zai had been summoned to the capital, but he did not expect him to arrive so quickly. Logically speaking, even if one travels from Jiangnan to the west by train, it would be impossible to reach the capital so soon. The only possibility is that Yuan Zai was already on his way to the capital to report on his duties.

Li Ji was about to ask Ma Sui if he knew when Yuan Zai arrived in the capital, and whether this was his first audience with the Emperor, when Ma Xunmei leaned closer, lowered his voice, and said with a smile, "I just heard an interesting story about Minister Yuan."

"What's the matter?"

"Minister Li's wife originally shared the same surname as Minister Yuan, and now they are even related by blood."

"Minister Li" was none other than Li Fuguo, a eunuch who had wives and concubines. Such a situation, a facade, wasn't unusual in those days. Li Ji's neighbor was a young woman named Xiao Xing, a palace maid named Sun Changkai. Furthermore, Li Ji already knew that Li Fuguo's "official wife" was surnamed Yuan and was from Guanzhong. Perhaps she really was related to Yuan Zai, whose ancestral home was Fengxiang, five hundred years ago.

It was common for officials to forge alliances through marriage or clan ties; since Li Fuguo was older and held a higher position, it wasn't necessarily shameful for Yuan Zai to approach him and discuss kinship with his wife. However, the problem was that Li Fuguo was ultimately a eunuch, traditionally despised by scholars. Even though most court officials were now aligned with him, and were only seeking kinship with his wife out of fear of his power, it was still a source of ridicule. It seems that this Yuan Gongfu, at least in terms of integrity, was far inferior to Liu Yan.

However, upon further reflection, even Prime Minister Li Kui directly addressed Li Fuguo as "Fifth Father," so Yuan Zai's behavior pales in comparison.

Li Ji, like Ma Sui, responded with a smile. After such a long period of contact, he had figured it out: Ma Xunmei might have indeed followed Li Fuguo's path, but he was by no means a close confidant of the old eunuch. In fact, he often made sarcastic remarks about the old eunuch in private.

But suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck him, and Li Ji's smile froze instantly; he was completely stunned.

Because he finally understood the true meaning of Li Shi's "Xiang Bo's sword dance was aimed at Liu Hou"!

Chapter Sixteen, Good and Evil

The saying "Xiang Zhuang's sword dance was aimed at Liu Bang" compares Empress Zhang to Xiang Yu and Crown Prince Li Yu or Li Shi to Liu Bang.

In fact, the saying "Xiang Bo's sword dance was aimed at Liu Hou" did not change anything for his core camp.

The key point is that neither Xiang Bo nor Zhang Liang were actually Liu Bang's close associates, but rather allies. Zhang Liang was focused on restoring the Han state and was the prime minister of the King of Han, not a subordinate of Liu Bang.

Therefore, when Xiang Bo brandished his sword at Zhang Liang, he was essentially telling Liu Bang to make a quick decision: only one of the two advisors could remain—did he want Liu Bang to continue serving as Xiang Yu's spy, or did he want Zhang Liang to offer advice and strategies? Ultimately, Liu Bang chose to abandon Zhang Liang…

Because political struggles are similar to criminal cases, unless it is a crime of passion, someone will inevitably profit from it. Therefore, as long as the person who benefits the most afterward is identified, the mastermind behind the murder will not be far away.

The final outcome of the Kang Qian case, and also the one with the greatest impact on the court, was not Yan Zhuang's demotion, but Liu Yan's removal from office. This made it difficult to clear Yuan Zai, who succeeded Liu Yan in managing the state's finances, of suspicion. However, Yuan Zai had previously been an official outside the capital and was stationed in a remote area, so he could not possibly have had the power to influence the court. Therefore, Li Ji had never considered this possibility.

However, the fact that Yuan Zai had formed a clan alliance with Li Fuguo's wife indicates that he hoped to become the old eunuch's crony, or that he was already the old eunuch's crony! Behind Yuan Gongfu stood Li Fuguo, and the old eunuch was fully capable and adept at using all sorts of intrigues to deal with those who refused to side with him.

Although Li Fuguo now wields immense power both inside and outside the court, his position is ultimately not at the pinnacle of a minister's authority—Li Heng resolutely refused to allow him to enter the Council of State Affairs—he is still subject to the constraints of the prime ministers, and even the ministers and vice ministers of various departments, and cannot be allowed to act arbitrarily in all matters.

Even when Cao Cao became Chancellor, wasn't there Kong Rong standing by and making sarcastic remarks? Although all Kong Rong could do was make sarcastic remarks…

Among the prime ministers now, only Xiao Hua is unwilling to kneel before Li Fuguo. Li Ji has heard rumors that the old eunuch has repeatedly instructed censors to impeach Xiao Hua, but Xiao Hua is senior and cautious, so he has not yet been able to shake him.

Among the ministers and vice ministers, Liu Yan and Li Fuguo were the most estranged. Liu Shi'an controlled the national treasury, wielding absolute power, and thus had every right to keep his distance from the old eunuch; but if the old eunuch could not indirectly control financial affairs, his power would be missing a crucial piece. Li Ji had also heard something about Li Fuguo's resentment towards Liu Yan.

So, taking advantage of the Kang family case, the old eunuch, perhaps by taking advantage of or directly instructing Yan Zhuang, pulled Liu Yan off the stage and replaced him with his own cronies, including his wife's relative, Yuan Zai...

Thinking about it this way, Li Shi's eight words make sense. "Xiang Bo" refers to Li Fuguo, who is currently secretly colluding with the Crown Prince's faction and helping each other. "Liu Hou" refers to Liu Yan, who should be inclined towards Li Yu—at least there is no record of him having any connection with the Empress's faction—and continuing to control the country's finances is beneficial to the Crown Prince's faction but detrimental to Li Fuguo.

Therefore, Li Fuguo could continue to use the alliance as leverage to force Li Yu and his son to abandon Liu Yan. So what role did Li Shi play in this matter? Did he really remain neutral and observe from the sidelines as he told himself, or...? Yan Zhuang's fierce attack on Liu Yan was certainly out of hatred for Liu Yan's confiscation of his property, but it is more likely that he directly reached some kind of deal with Li Fuguo.

Thinking further, could it be that Li Shi made some promise to Yan Zhuang, ordering him to assist Li Fuguo?

The more Li Ji thought about it, the more it made sense, but at the same time, he felt increasingly cold all over—he really wasn't used to, and wasn't suited to, getting involved in the murky waters of political struggle. If Yan Zhuang were an outsider, given that cunning fellow, he probably would have seen through it immediately, but he was slow to realize it, and even with Li Shi's reminder, it would still be a month or two before he understood the situation.

After finishing his shift that day, Li Ji wrote a note and instructed the old gatekeeper to pass it on to Li Shi, which read: "The fox borrows the tiger's power; in the future, it may also harm the tiger."

Li Fuguo has been appointed Minister of War. Although he has not yet been able to truly intervene in military affairs—his control over military power is not as good as Yu Chaoen's for the time being—there are already signs that his ambition is fully revealed. Now, through Yuan Zai, he has also seized control of the financial power. If the military, political and financial powers are truly unified, will Li Shi and the others still be able to control him in the future?

I originally wanted to write about "raising a tiger to cause trouble", but what kind of "tiger" is that old eunuch? He's just a cunning fox who uses imperial power to manipulate the country!

After receiving the note, Li Shi came to see Li Ji that very evening. He explained to Li Ji, "The situation is pressing, and Li Fuguo took the opportunity to make a request. Even knowing the endless troubles that might follow, I have no choice but to grant it for now—Changwei, you have no idea how heavy the burden is on my shoulders."

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh: "Internal and external troubles never cease, and yet the sage... Li Fuguo is also a scoundrel. He wants to seize financial power, but doesn't he know that if he uses the wrong people, the great edifice will collapse? When the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? He also wants to seize military power, but now the soldiers are becoming arrogant and the generals are becoming unruly. With that old eunuch's two tricks, how can he control them?"

Although he was in the capital, he was generally aware of the changes happening in the provinces. He deeply felt that after years of turmoil and conquest, the habits of Tang Dynasty officials, especially the army, were gradually showing some serious and undesirable signs. He pointed these out to Li Shi one by one.

“The military governors and regional prefects are sometimes unworthy of their positions, and their generals and soldiers rely on their power to bully them; or they are able to win the hearts of the people, and thus develop the ambition to establish their own independent regimes…”

As for examples, just look at the Jianghuai region.

The Jianghuai region was originally an important granary of the Tang Dynasty. For several years, grain was transported thousands of miles to supply the war needs of Henan and Guanzhong. In fact, three consecutive finance ministers of the country were promoted from the position of transport commissioner of Jianghuai – first Wu Qi, then Liu Yan, and the third Yuan Zai.

However, starting from the first year of the Shangyuan era, a rebellion broke out in this region, which led to the disruption of grain transport to the north. The capital's granaries were empty and food supplies were exhausted, and prices of all goods soared. It can be said that this was directly affected by the Jianghuai Rebellion.

The rebellion was initiated by Liu Zhan, the deputy military governor of Huaixi.

In fact, Liu Zhan was forced into rebellion. It is said that he was strong-willed and arrogant, which made him disliked by the military governor Wang Zhongsheng. Through the supervising eunuch Xing Yan'en, Wang Zhongsheng reported to Li Heng that there was a prophecy that "holding a golden knife, he rises in the east," and that Liu Zhan's "name fulfills the prophecy, so please eliminate him to avoid future troubles."

—Who knows? There are millions of people with the surname Liu in the world. Even if the prophecy really came true, why should it be Liu Zhan?

Furthermore, Xing Yan'en offered a terrible suggestion, saying, "I fear Liu Zhan might cause trouble, so we should eliminate him by plan. It would be better to remove him as the Jianghuai Military Governor and replace Li Huan with him. Once he has laid down his troops and gone to his post, we can capture him on the way." So Li Heng issued an edict appointing Liu Zhan as the Military Governor of the three circuits of Huainan East, Jiangnan West, and Zhejiang West.

But Liu Zhan wasn't stupid. He thought to himself, "I have no outstanding achievements, nor am I a member of the imperial family or a favorite of the emperor. How could such a prestigious title be bestowed upon me without any reason?" So he asked Xing Yan'en, who came to deliver the imperial decree, "In order to show that the court has no other intentions, can I have the seal of the commander-in-chief first?"

Fearing his plot would be exposed, Xing Yan'en actually handed over the seal to him... So Liu Zhan, holding the seal, led 7,000 troops south to Guangling. Of course, Li Huan wouldn't let things go and relinquish the position of commander-in-chief, so he joined forces with Deng Jingshan, the military governor of Huainan East Circuit, to resist.

This is what Li Ji meant by "being able to win the hearts of the people, thus giving rise to the ambition of separatism." It is hard to believe that Liu Zhan's seven thousand soldiers were all misled into believing that the righteous cause was on their side and that the court supported them. In fact, this army could already be considered Liu Zhan's private army.

Thus, the private ownership of the army was not limited to the three northeastern towns, but gradually spread to other parts of the empire.

To return to the point, Liu Zhan was a skilled military commander who quickly defeated Deng Jingshan. Li Huan fled in disarray, entrusting military command to Deputy Commander Li Zangyong before his departure. However, despite his ambition, Li Zangyong lacked capable generals and strong troops, ultimately managing only two thousand remnants to meet the enemy. Consequently, he suffered repeated defeats, not only retreating across the Yangtze River but also remaining in Hangzhou...

Li Huan panicked and requested that Tian Shenggong, the military commander of Pinglu who was still fighting the rebels in Shandong, come south to help, promising him "gold, silk, women, and children from Huainan as bribes." Tian Shenggong was originally a surrendered general who had broken away from the court's control and had been independently leading his own battlefront for a long time, so his army was naturally a private army. Thus, the two private armies clashed, looting and plundering along the way, leaving the Jianghuai region empty of all its taxes and levies—yet the court did not punish Tian Shenggong afterwards.