Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

The generals, led by Li Shi and Guo Ziyi, received rewards. Although Guo Ziyi did not participate in the service and remained largely sidelined in Chang'an, he was still considered the newly appointed "Deputy Marshal of Hebei," and Pugu Huai'en and others were his protégés. As for Li Guangbi, he did not return to the capital. After sending Tian Shenggong, Hou Xiyi, and others north, he led a large army to eastern Zhejiang to quell the rebellion of Yuan Huang.

Yuan Huang was from Taizhou. He gathered people to start a rebellion. Because the southeast region was supplying the war effort in Hebei and the taxes were heavy, people flocked to his banner. It is said that there were no fewer than 200,000 people.

This is likely the last battle commanded by Grand Commandant Li. Minister Guo has long had a vacant seat placed beside him, waiting for the right person to take the position...

After the court session, Li Ji took his leave. Before he even left the palace gate, a minor official ran up to convey Li Mi's message: "I will leave the palace tonight and await Your Majesty at my new residence. Your Majesty may bring your wife and children to meet me."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Of course! The first family banquet after returning home will naturally be with my brother—and I'll also ask about the court's plans for me."

Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, Han Hui, and others of lower status were not allowed to participate in the Xuanzheng Hall court assembly. Li Ji had already instructed Yin Shen to lead them to his home to rest—Han Hui's father, Han Zhongqing, was a secretary and had his own residence in Chang'an, so they bid farewell to their colleagues and went their separate ways. After Li Ji left the palace, he hurriedly returned home, only to find the gates of his residence wide open, with Cui Cuo and his men waiting at the inner gate for a long time. The family reunion was naturally filled with joy, and he saw Qingluan carrying a small child following behind Cui Cuo…

Li Ji rushed over to see, and there, nestled in the swaddling clothes, was a round, rosy face with a tiny nose and mouth, its eyes narrowed to slits, seemingly fast asleep. Li Ji couldn't help but joke, "I'm a fierce general, how come I have a daughter with a face like a raccoon…"

Cui Cuo glared at him: "It's clear that you must have looked like a raccoon dog when you were little!"

Li Ji laughed heartily, "When it comes to leaping and bounding like a cat, I'm no match for you." Only after the words left his mouth did he realize, "Wait a minute, this girl is Qingluan's daughter; I shouldn't be joking with Cui Cuo like that..." He quickly opened his arms, asking somewhat nervously, "Can I hold her?"

Qingluan hurriedly placed Li Bi into Li Ji's arms, but at the last moment, Li Ji hesitated, afraid that his clumsy hands would wake the baby. So he only reached out his index finger to poke the delicate pink face, but Li Bi instinctively tilted his head, opened his little mouth, and immediately bit his father's finger.

Li Ji panicked and hurriedly asked, "She...she's sucking...could it be that she hasn't eaten enough?"

Qingluan's face fell, and she quickly apologized, "It's because I don't have enough breast milk. Although I've hired several wet nurses, Bi'er always refuses to drink their milk..."

Cui Cuo interjected, "It's also my fault for not taking good care of her; I could only cook some rice porridge to feed her."

Li Ji shook his head: "Rice porridge has no nutritional value... We can try squeezing out some cow's milk or goat's milk, boiling it, and letting it cool to a warm temperature to see if she'll eat it."

That evening, he led Cui Cuo, and had Qingluan carry Li Bi, to Li Bi's residence. The two families were neighbors, and Li Bi even had a gate built in the wall so that they could come and go freely without having to go through the streets. The key point was that he often stayed in the palace and needed Cui Cuo's help to take care of his new bride.

Although Li Bi did not know Cui Cuo's true origins, he knew that she had lived in Chang'an for a long time and was familiar with the place and its people, while Lu Shi had just moved here from her hometown of Huazhou.

Author's Note: We are once again seeking extras. Interested readers can leave their name, place of origin, and general background in the book review section.

Chapter Eleven, Commander of Weibo

Li Ji, accompanied by his wife and concubines, went to pay their respects to Li Bi. Bi's wife, Lady Lu, was already waiting for them inside the courtyard gate. Li Ji greeted her and then suddenly remembered—oh right, his sister-in-law had a cousin, Lu Qi, who had served in Pugu Huai'en's army; Li Shi had mentioned him to me before. However, they did not meet Lu Qi, nicknamed "Blue-Faced Devil," on this trip. It was said that he had resigned due to illness and returned home to recuperate, thus missing a great opportunity for advancement.

It wasn't until dusk that Li Bi finally broke free of his confinement and returned home. The brothers feasted, needless to say. After the banquet, Li Ji sent his wife and children home, while he stayed overnight at Li Bi's house—he still had many things to say to Li Bi.

When asked about Lai Tian, ​​Li Mi said, "I have advised the Emperor that it is acceptable to dismiss him from office, but there is no need to persecute him to death. However, the Emperor will not listen. Then he asked what the army thought about this."

Li Ji said with a wry smile, "It is obvious that all the troops are resentful. If this causes the generals to become disloyal, it is far worse than letting Lai Zhen go unpunished."

When asked about Yu Chaoen, Li Bi said, "Yu Chaoen always requested to be transferred to a post outside the capital and to serve as a military supervisor again, but Cheng Yuanzhen always blocked him."

"Won't Cheng Yuanzhen become the second Li Fuguo?"

Li Bi shook his head: "Not necessarily. Li Fuguo used to wield power, and all the ministers avoided him, but now Cheng Yuanzhen can't control Yuan Zai..."

Li Ji asked in a low voice, "Does His Majesty intend for me to be a check on the Council of State Affairs? His recent promotion of Liu Yan may also be intended to create a counterbalance between him and Yuan Zai. I wonder if this attempt at balancing things out will actually be effective?"

Li Bi smiled bitterly, “Years of war have greatly diminished the prestige of the court, and the emperor’s prestige… is far from what it was in the past when Emperor Xuanzong could make decisions on all ministers and military governors with a single word. The emperor is helpless.” He paused, then continued, “Fortunately, the chaos in the east has been quelled. If we can accumulate strength for a few years, and then expel the western barbarians and pacify the Qiang, the emperor’s prestige will gradually increase, and we will no longer need to rack our brains to balance the central court.”

Li Ji thought to himself that the emperor's prestige was too high, and he could act recklessly, which was not necessarily a good thing. It would be better to let him just wield the baton and be busy coordinating various forces—but I don't want one of them to be a spineless eunuch.

When asked about the situation in the west, Li Mi explained: "With Hun Shi's defeat, half of Longyou has been lost, and Liangzhou and Hexi are almost isolated. Therefore, His Majesty earnestly hopes that the chaos in Guandong will be quelled and the Shuofang army will return to its posts, so that the barbarian bandits will not dare to look north for the time being. Now, an imperial edict has been issued appointing Li Yuanzhong to lead the northwestern border region and Guo Xin to lead the four garrisons of Anxi..."

Li Ji nodded: "These two are both loyal and brave generals, and have long served in the western frontier defending against the barbarians. Their assignments are quite appropriate."

"Du Hongjian was appointed as the Military Governor of Hexi, the Inspector of Liangzhou, and the Governor of Liangzhou..."

Du Hongjian was originally the military governor of Shuofang Army. He was the first to encourage Li Heng to take the throne in Lingwu. Li Ji did not know Du Hongjian's abilities, but judging from his resume alone, this arrangement was reasonable.

"The position of Military Governor and Prefect of Fengxiang was filled by Gao Sheng..."

Li Ji knew this guy well, and immediately shouted, "What does Gao Sheng know?!"

Li Bi waved his hand and said, "Changwei, politics is full of troubles and entanglements, how can it be entirely as you wish?" He paused for a moment before saying, "But it doesn't matter, Hun Shizhi will be the deputy envoy, in charge of military affairs."

Li Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hun Shi's sending his son to the court... can also be seen as sending a hostage..."

"That Hun Rijin?"

"The sage thought that the name Hu was inelegant, so he now bestowed upon him the name Hunjian. He instructed the general of Weiyuan Army, Changwei, that if he had any spare time, he should go and see him and inquire about the Western affairs in detail."

"Holy crap... Hun Jian has taken command of the Weiyuan Army? What about Li Sheng?"

"Li Sheng has been appointed to govern Binning; Ma Sui has also been appointed as the Chief Clerk of Fufang Army in a few days," Li Bi smiled. "The Emperor naturally trusts you officers and generals who came from the Northern Army and made contributions during the Zhang Empress Rebellion. You are not the only one; you will all be of great use in the future. Perhaps Hun Shi sent his son to the capital because he saw this shortcut through Zhongnan Mountain?"

Li Ji nodded: "Providing imperial guard officers and soldiers with grace and gradually releasing them to replace those foreign military commanders is indeed a brilliant strategy to consolidate the foundation and weaken the branches."

The three major towns guarding the northwest of Beijing and defending against the Tibetans and various Qiang tribes were Fengxiang, Binning, and Fufang Danyan. Therefore, Li Ji was most concerned about the selection of personnel for these three towns—"Who will be the commander of Fufang?"

"With Guo Situ still holding the title and Du Mian as his deputy, and now that Ma Xunmei has left, he should be able to fully utilize his abilities."

"So how did the imperial court arrange things in Hebei?"

Li Bi's expression darkened slightly: "I know you do not agree with Pugu Huaien's suggestion to place surrendered generals in key positions, allowing them to lead their armies and govern their people, but... the court is eager to quell the unrest in Guandong, and has no choice but to resort to this inferior policy. Hopefully, having been influenced by the king's rule, they can repent and no longer be a threat to the Central Plains."

He then asked Li Ji, "Have you ever seen them? What are your impressions?"

Li Ji replied, "I haven't met Generals Li Baochen, Li Huaixian, and Qin Rui. I've only met Xue Song and Tian Chengsi." He then looked up and thought for a moment, "Xue Song looks honest and kind; he hardly seems like a descendant of Xue Pingyang..."

Because the legendary Prince of Pingyang, Xue Li, was a god of war who "pacified the Tianshan Mountains with three arrows." Logically speaking, since he was his grandson and had once been a bandit, he should have the appearance of a fierce general and be arrogant and domineering. However, Xue Song had an ordinary appearance and seemed like a kind and honest elder, with no trace of ferocity on him.

"Tian Chengsi came to surrender in dire straits, but harbored treacherous intentions. When Pugu Yang went to accept his surrender, Chengsi claimed to be ill and refused to come out. Pugu Yang rode straight in, intending to capture him, but found him surrounded by assassins. Soon after, Chengsi bribed Pugu Yang and his son with a large sum of money, and was thus spared..."

At this point, Li Ji stamped his foot: "Even if we allow them to continue guarding Hebei, we should first summon them to court, take the opportunity to observe their intentions, and admonish them to repent!"

Li Bi shook his head: "In that case, I fear the chaos in Hebei will reignite. Perhaps by keeping them at bay for the time being, we can maintain peace for a few years and give the country a chance to breathe."

Li Ji finally asked, "Brother, does the court intend to send me to guard the two prefectures of Wei and Bo?"

----------

On his first night back in the capital, Li Ji slept in the same bed as Li Bi. Then, starting the next day, he naturally visited relatives and friends everywhere, such as Li Laopeng, Li Guayan, Yang Wan, and so on, including the eunuchs Dou Wenchang and Huo Xianming, with whom he had always had a good relationship.

Dou and Huo, along with Zhang Shangjin, whom Li Ji was not familiar with, effectively commanded the three Northern Army's Imperial Guards: Baoying, Weiyuan, and Shence. Li Yu gave them a new title: "Lieutenant General of the Guards." Li Ji was naturally unhappy about this and planned to find an opportunity to speak with Li Bi again, asking him to advise Li Yu against allowing eunuchs to command troops.

The position of "military supervisor" is disgusting enough, but to let a spineless coward lead troops? To be honest, if Yu Chaoen weren't a eunuch, he might barely be qualified to be the commander of an imperial guard. In Li Ji's opinion, the other eunuchs are far inferior to Yu Chaoen!

Ultimately, how could a fierce general be raised in the palace?

According to Dou and Huo, Li Yu planned to gradually incorporate some of the troops returning from the front lines into the Northern Imperial Guard to bolster the defenses of the palace, Chang'an, and even the surrounding areas. His initial targets included Xing Junya's and Yang Huiyuan's troops in Pinglu Town, Hao Tingyu's and Hou Zhongzhuang's troops in Shuofang Town, and the troops of the surrendered general Shang Kegu, among others.

Afterwards, Li Ji also visited his old friend Ma Sui—as for Li Sheng, he had already left the capital to take up his post as the deputy military governor of Binning, so they had no chance to meet—and asked Ma Sui to help introduce Hun Jian Hun Rijin, who had just been appointed as the military governor of Baoying Army.

Hun Jian was three years older than Li Ji, and their height and the thickness of their beards were similar... However, Li Ji had a baby face, while Hun Jian had a square face, making him look much more imposing and intimidating than Li Ji. Hun Jian had long heard of Li Ji's name—back in Longyou, the generals often compared him to Li Ji—and had quite a competitive spirit. But now that Li Ji held a fourth-rank civil post, far surpassing him, and was also his former superior in the Baoying Army, Hun Jian dared not harbor any intention of competing and remained extremely respectful.

Before I went to the capital, my father gave me these instructions: Chang'an is not like the borderlands. It's under the emperor's nose, a city full of noblemen. Not only will they not look up to warriors, but they will certainly look down on us Hu people—the Hun clan originally came from the Tiele tribe—you must keep a low profile and not be as unruly as you were in the army. After serving as a guard in front of the emperor for a few years and gaining his favor, you will be released and your future will be limitless.

Li Ji inquired in detail about the current situation in Longyou from Hun Jian, who answered all his questions without reservation. He said that the barbarian bandits would invade almost every autumn, and their military strength was not necessarily increasing. However, the Longyou army had almost no external support and no time to rest and recuperate. The number of veteran soldiers was dwindling, and they could only retreat step by step...

"The barbarian bandits plundered and killed people wherever they went. Half of the people of Longyou fled, and the other half were captured by the bandits. Some were forced into slavery, and others were buried in ditches..." At this point, even a burly man as tall as an iron tower couldn't help but have tears in his eyes.

Li Ji clenched his fist tightly: "The chaos in the east has just been quelled, but the country still needs several years to rebuild. Once we have sufficient military and financial resources, I will lead my troops eastward to join you in killing the barbarian traitors. I swear I will not be human if I do not drive those barbarians back to the plateau!"

Hunjian shouted, "Merely driving them away is not enough! I want to kill them all at Lhasa, capture the Zanpu alive, and prolong the life of the saint!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Your ambition is quite lofty, but unfortunately unrealistic..." Just then, Ma Sui chimed in, "When you kill the barbarians, don't forget me." Li Ji nodded firmly, "Of course I won't abandon Xunmei, and Liangqi too—we'll go with you!"

The day after meeting Hun Jian, the court finally issued an edict, promoting Li Ji to the rank of Vice Minister of War, Military Governor of Weibo and Prefect of Weizhou, in recognition of his merit in suppressing the rebellion, and granting him control of the two prefectures of Wei and Bo in Hebei.

That night, the two brothers talked, and Li Bi explained in detail to Li Ji the importance of Weibo Town, especially Weizhou.

"Our Tang Dynasty's various prefectures are divided into eight grades: prefecture, auxiliary prefecture, majestic prefecture, prominent prefecture, close prefecture, upper prefecture, middle prefecture, and lower prefecture. The prefectures are naturally located in the capital region. In addition to Jingzhao and Henan, there are Taiyuan Prefecture, Hezhong Prefecture, and Fengxiang Prefecture. The auxiliary prefectures are the wings of the Western Capital, namely Tong, Hua, Qi, and Pu prefectures."

"As for Xiong Prefecture, it is the shield of the Eastern Capital, and includes Shan, Huai, Zheng, Bian, Jiang, and Wei Prefecture, where you will soon take up your post."

Li Ji was a little confused on the spot: "But Weizhou is really far from the Eastern Capital, and there are even more..." He counted on his fingers - "Huaizhou, Weizhou and Xiangzhou."

Li Mi smiled: "Because when our dynasty was established, it actually originated from Guanzhong, sweeping eastward across the land, and at that time Hebei was our greatest enemy..." Li Ji nodded, indicating he understood—he had read this history. Dou Jiande of Hebei had pacified the entire old Jizhou in just six years, proclaiming himself King of Xia, with an army of hundreds of thousands. Speaking of which, Dou Jiande was truly unlucky; he personally led his troops to rescue Wang Shichong, only to be defeated by Li Shimin in a single battle and taken prisoner, then executed in Chang'an. Hebei was completely pacified...

Li Bi continued, “Although Weizhou is 750 li from Luoyang, it is the most important in Hebei and also the most important in Henan, because it can block Zhao. If we do not take Wei first, we cannot plot against Zhao, and if we do not plot against Zhao, we cannot take Yan. Therefore, Wei is truly the throat of Hebei and holds the lives of Yan and Zhao in its hands! Moreover, Wei’s population is the largest among all the prefectures in Hebei.”

According to statistics from the 29th year of the Kaiyuan era, there were more than 8.41 million households and a population of 48 million nationwide. Among them, Weizhou in Hebei Province ranked first with 149,000 households and 608,000 people. Of the other Hebei provinces, only Cangzhou, Beizhou, and Jizhou had 110,000 households, Xiangzhou had more than 100,000, and the rest had less than 100,000.

For example, Bozhou, which Li Ji was also in charge of, had only 51,000 households and 470,000 people according to the statistics of the 29th year of Kaiyuan, which was far less than that of Weizhou.

Li Bi had a good memory, but he probably only managed to recall these numbers after briefly checking the archives. Li Ji quickly calculated that the two prefectures under his jurisdiction must have 200,000 households, a population of one million. If five households each contributed a soldier, raising 40,000 to 50,000 people wouldn't be a problem—but he wondered how many would remain after so many wars.

However, Li Bi reminded him: "The troops you are leading when you go to Weibo are no longer for military service..."

The conscription system is no longer viable. At most, soldiers are temporarily recruited to supplement the regular army, helping to transport supplies or perform manual labor. There are a large number of "long-distance soldiers" in the Hebei region, who are professional, semi-professional, or even mercenaries, and cannot be measured by population size.

"The court hopes that after Changwei takes control of Weibo, he can train more than 50,000 strong troops within two or three years, so that he can control Yan and Zhao in the north; and if there is trouble in the west, half of them can be sent to the front line to defend against the barbarians."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned: "Traveling all the way from Hebei to Fengxiang and even Longyou? Where did this grain come from? Did the imperial court provide it?"

Li Bi shook his head: "The court does not require tribute from the towns in Hebei, but only hopes that they will strictly guard the borders and appease the people. The same applies to Weibo. The two prefectures do not need to pay taxes, but all military supplies and expenses incurred during the campaign must be paid by Changwei himself."

Seeing Li Ji's troubled expression, Li Bi comforted him: "Of course, if there is a famine or natural disaster or war, the court will not stand idly by. But you know, the great chaos has just subsided, all sides are devastated, and military expenditures are enormous. The court really can't spare much money. I hope you will try your best not to ask the court for money, otherwise you may not be able to hold this position as the military governor of Weibo for long."

"Then perhaps I could select some officers and soldiers from my old troops in Shannan East Circuit to go there?"

Li Bi nodded: "The government is newly established and naturally cannot rely entirely on the local area. You need to employ trustworthy people around you—but not too many. I know you covet Zhang Xun's old subordinates from Suiyang, but if you take too many, it will not look good for Li Qijun..."

Chapter Twelve, The Servants of the Li Family

Li Shi returned to Chang'an in triumph and resigned as the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces. As a result, the officials submitted memorials requesting the formal establishment of a Crown Prince. Li Yu, under duress, agreed to wait until the autumn harvest to make a decision—to postpone it for half a year.

Li Ji went to see Li Shi and they had a private conversation. Li Shi said that he could not become the crown prince for the time being, probably because Consort Dugu had slandered him in front of the emperor! Fortunately, her own son was still young and could not threaten his position. On the contrary, Prince Zheng, Li Miao, born to Consort Cui, was his greatest enemy.

Li Ji, about to be transferred to a post outside the capital, did not intend to get involved in the matter of choosing an heir. He simply stated, "My child, I have faith in you, and I will definitely support you!" He then immediately requested of Li Shi, "I am about to be stationed in Hebei, and concurrently serve as the governor of Weizhou... However, I have never served as a governor before, and I feel deeply troubled. In the last eastern expedition to quell the rebellion, my subordinates were short of civil officials. Could Your Highness recommend a few talented individuals?"

Han Hui came to say goodbye a couple of days ago. He originally joined the shogunate to gain seniority and prestige, and had no intention of staying in the army for long. In particular, his father somehow got the news that there might be a special examination for military personnel this autumn...

The primary means of selecting officials in the Tang Dynasty was the imperial examination. However, even if one passed the examination, one was not immediately appointed to an official position. One had to wait for selection and undergo several more assessments by the Ministry of Personnel. During this waiting period, the age of the candidate could vary greatly, and some candidates spent nearly ten years in obscurity, never receiving a formal appointment. Therefore, many newly appointed officials would first serve under the governors of prefectures or military governors to build their reputation before seeking a recommendation.

In fact, Han Hui did not fall into this category, because he never passed the imperial examination at all. The key reasons were that his writing style was simple and unadorned, which made it difficult to meet the examiners' standards, and he was not good at poetry. He only managed to obtain a ninth-rank official position by joining Li Qijun's staff in Shangzhou. Later, due to Li Ji's recommendation and merits, he was promoted to the eighth rank.

But there was another opportunity for advancement, perhaps even more important for scholars: the "Imperial Examination," where the emperor personally set the questions to select talented individuals. The Imperial Examination was not held regularly, and passing it depended on luck. However, it generally placed more emphasis on current affairs than on literary talent. Therefore, Han Zhongqing felt that this was a good opportunity for his son, and that he might be able to make a leap over the dragon gate.

The key is that if you pass the imperial examination, you will be appointed to an official position immediately, without having to wait for the Ministry of Personnel to be considered for a position and sit on the sidelines.

Therefore, Han Hui came to bid farewell to Li Ji, saying that he would use the next six months to study hard in preparation for the imperial examinations—but this was just a rumor, and the commander must not spread it.

Forced relationships are never sweet, especially since Han Hui was borrowed from Li Qijun. Li Ji couldn't refuse to release him—the relationship between an envoy and his staff was one of mutual respect, where the envoy stayed if they got along and left if they didn't, and there was no reason to force him. However, this left Li Ji with only Yin Shen as a capable civil servant, and Yin Shen had other ambitions and couldn't be used as a proper civil servant... In desperation, he could only go and beg Li Shi for help.

Li Shi spread his hands and said, "I'm also short of money. Besides, at this critical juncture, it's really inconvenient for me to send people into your staff." After thinking for a moment, he said, "The imperial examinations are about to begin, and there's no need for Changwei to set off immediately. Why don't we wait a few days until the results are announced, and then see if there are any useful talents to hire?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji suddenly realized—how could I have forgotten about this!