Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Li Ji thought to himself, "I'd be a fool to believe you! Even if you trust me now and have no suspicions, what will happen when I reach a position equal to Pugu Huai'en, or even approach the level of Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi? Will you still let me hold a large army in the field? If you don't consider human feelings in politics, then don't lie through your teeth."

On the surface, however, he appeared deeply grateful, crossing his arms and bowing profoundly: "Your Majesty, my loyalty is as clear as day and night, how could I dare to doubt you..."

Li Yu reached out and patted Li Ji on the shoulder: "I am not lying to you. Minister Guo is old. In the past, when he came to pay his respects, although I wanted to show him my closeness, I had nothing to say. But I hope that when I am old in the future, my guards will also be able to wear purple robes and gold belts, be granted the title of king, have their portraits painted in the Lingyan Pavilion, and have their sons and sons-in-law all ranked in high positions, and come to the palace to chat with me."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Wow, the emperor's quite frank, implying he's already destined for a cold shoulder." Should I admire his willingness to speak the truth, or despise his lack of leadership skills and tendency to spout nonsense?

Suddenly, Li Yu asked again, "Do you know why I summoned you to the palace so urgently tonight to inquire about the affairs of Hedong?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji's heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly bowed his head, saying, "Your Majesty, I truly do not know. Please enlighten me."

"It was He Zheng who said that he wanted to summon Pugu and his son to court. If it weren't for Minister Guo, then only you, Li Changwei, would have been able to do it."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Princess, I haven't offended you! Fenzhou isn't exactly a den of dragons and tigers, but persuading the Pugu father and son is an incredibly difficult task. Guo Ziyi would have been the best choice, so why me? Just because I have some personal connections with those two? There are plenty of civil and military officials who have connections with them. Besides, to be honest, I've already developed a grudge against them while I was in Luoyang..."

To be honest, Li Ji had already been somewhat prepared for this situation when Li Yu summoned him alone to accompany him to the Taiye Pond. Unless Li Yu immediately inquired about the affairs of Hebei, dismissing everyone else meant he was being instructed to take charge. Now, the Pugu father and son were already on the edge of a precipice; if no one pulled them back, they would surely plunge down and die without a burial, potentially ruining the hard-won stability of the situation. The father and son were unjust, and Li Ji could not be unjust either; even for Zhang Liangong's sake, he was unwilling to stand by and watch the spectacle.

The key question is whether Guo Ziyi will be detained by Pugu and his son if he arrives in Fenzhou, and used as a banner for an uprising. Li Ji is not sure about this either...

Therefore, it is best to keep this matter under one's own control. If things still don't work out after all efforts, then so be it; but if others mess things up and the world—at least Hedong—is thrown into chaos again, affecting the war against Tibet, Li Ji will never be at ease.

Unexpectedly, it was Princess Hezheng who advised Li Yu to send him to Hedong… Li Ji originally thought that if Li Yu hadn't made his own plan and adopted his minister's advice, it would have been one of the other three present. Li Shi and Li Bi's recommendation of him was mostly out of public interest rather than goodwill—if given a choice between the country and Li Ji, Li Bi might hesitate, but Li Shi would definitely choose the country, because it might fall into his hands in the future… If it was Cheng Yuanzhen's recommendation, then whether there was a hidden conspiracy was something he needed to think about carefully.

Li Ji has no conflict with Cheng Yuanzhen for the time being, and they used to get along well, but... he naturally distrusts eunuchs, especially those in power.

However, the idea of ​​having Princess Hezheng come up with it was somewhat unexpected.

Seeing that Li Ji seemed to be hesitating and did not agree immediately, Li Yu couldn't help but ask, "Well, are you willing to go to Fenzhou to summon Pugu and his son back to court for me?"

Li Ji crossed his hands and retorted, "Since I came from Weibo, the secret edict and the message relayed by Yan Sima both state that Your Majesty will be stationed in the capital, commanding the imperial guards to protect you. With a major battle against the barbarian rebels imminent, what will become of the capital if you go to Hedong at this time?"

Li Yu replied, “I summoned you back to court because I fear the war with the Western Barbarians is so close at hand. If anything goes wrong, Chang’an will be alarmed and the people will be uneasy… I am worried about the people of Chang’an, not about my own safety. However, if chaos breaks out in Hedong at the same time, we will be caught in a pincer movement with the Western Barbarians, making the situation even more perilous. Therefore, I had no choice but to appoint you. I have decided to appoint Shi’er as the commander-in-chief within the pass and Guo Situ as the deputy commander-in-chief to assist him. Besides him, who else in the Imperial Guards can be used? Tell me.”

Li Ji thought to himself, "If you are really willing to employ Guo Ziyi, then there won't be much of a problem." He continued, "Hun Jian is the eldest son of Hun Shi. Although he is young, he has been on the battlefield for a long time. My comrades from my time in Longyou all praise his abilities. Your Majesty can give him a try."

Li Yu nodded, then asked for the third time, "In that case, would you be willing to go to Hedong?"

Li Ji thought for a moment and replied, "Since it is the princess's recommendation and Your Majesty's order, how dare I disobey? I only ask Your Majesty to grant me two requests..."

"You said."

"Firstly, Minister Guo is, after all, the former commander of Shuofang and the benefactor of Pugu and his son. We can ask Minister Guo to write a letter to comfort Pugu and his son, which I will take to Fenzhou."

"Your words are reasonable. I will immediately issue the edict to the Minister of Works. What is the second one?"

"Your Majesty, please appoint a trustworthy general to rush north to Lingwu and serve as the acting military governor of Shuofang."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu frowned: "I was just about to comfort and persuade Pugu and his son. If I were to suddenly appoint another general as the acting governor of Shuofang, wouldn't they become even more suspicious?"

Li Ji smiled bitterly and said, "This is a matter of no choice. Although the princess recommended me and His Majesty entrusted me with an important task, I am of meager virtue and shallow knowledge, and I fear that I will fail in my duty. If things fail and my father and I betray each other, if we remain in Hedong, we can still order the various garrisons to suppress us; but if we cross the river to the west and return to Shuofang, colluding with the Western Qiang or even the Tubo, then we will be uncontrollable. All things are accomplished if we are prepared, and fail if we are not prepared."

Li Yu nodded slowly: "Enough. Man proposes, God disposes. Do your best, and I will not force you to succeed or fail... Hun Shizhi is a former general of Shuofang. Order him to return to Lingwu immediately..."

After leaving the palace, Li Ji returned home. Cui Cuo had already prepared food and wine, but noticed that her husband seemed rather absent-minded, even eating a bowl less than usual. She couldn't help but wonder. So, after clearing away the leftovers, she leaned closer and whispered her question to him.

Li Ji did not hide anything from her and explained the whole story. Cui Cuo said, "The affairs of the world are complicated and cannot be decided by one person alone. Why do all the heavy responsibilities fall on your shoulders, my lord? You were summoned to fight the bandits, you were tasked with suppressing the bandits in Shi, you were tasked with pacifying Hebei, and now you are being summoned back to defend against the western barbarian bandits. When chaos breaks out in Hedong, you are asked to go there again... Isn't the imperial family being a bit too demanding? Are all the officials in the court, except for you, just clay figures, and is there really no one else who can be used?"

Li Ji said with a wry smile, "There are many capable people, but alas, even the sage dares not trust them..."

The key issue is that since Li Yu was made crown prince, he has been confined to the Eastern Palace for many years, with almost no contact with court officials. Over time, even his former advisors during the reigns of Prince Guangping, Prince Chu, and Prince Cheng, such as Chang Gun and Cui Youfu, have gradually become estranged from him. Therefore, the only people Li Yu can trust now are those who stood by his side during the palace coup—Cheng Yuanzhen, Li Ji, Li Sheng, and Ma Sui.

—Leaving aside Li Fuguo, it's hard to say whether Li Yu used him or he used Li Yu during that palace coup…

Therefore, after Li Yu ascended the throne, Li Ji became like a brick—moved wherever needed. In fact, in terms of seniority and even ability, summoning Lai Zhen and garrisoning Weibo might not have been entirely impossible without Li Ji, but given the trust placed in him, the heavy responsibility fell entirely on his shoulders. The same applies to ordering him to persuade the Pugu father and son.

Cui Cuo reminded Li Ji: "If you place too much trust in someone, you must guard against jealousy; if you achieve too much merit, you must prevent your master from becoming suspicious."

Li Ji nodded and said, “Don’t worry, I understand. Actually, I have no other wish than to personally lead a strong army to drive out the barbarian bandits. After all, when I was in Longyou, I saw so many comrades and civilians die at the hands of the barbarian bandits, and my heart is not at peace. After the barbarians are pacified, I will honestly return to Chang’an and live a peaceful life like Minister Guo, waiting for my death.”

Cui Cuo sneered, "We'll have to see if Minister Guo gets a good death in the end!"

He then asked, "Summoning Pugu and his son this time will not be easy... Would you like me to accompany you, sir?"

Li Ji waved his hand: "No need. It is indeed not easy to do, and I have no plan in mind for the time being. I can only take it one step at a time... But considering our past friendship, the father and son should not harm me or detain me—I can still get a sense of what those two scoundrels are thinking."

Cui Cuo pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "I saw someone in the Shuofang army, do you remember him, sir?"

Chapter Thirty-Two: Reunion with Yunlin

In July of the second year of the Baoying era, an imperial edict was issued to change the era name to Guangde.

Li Ji only stayed in Chang'an for one night. The next day, carrying the imperial edict and Guo Ziyi's letter of advice to Pugu and his son, he hurriedly left the city and headed north to Hedong.

The journey took more than a day, and they finally arrived at Xicheng, the seat of Fenzhou. Instead of going to find Pugu Huaien, he disguised himself and stayed at an inn, ordering Yuan Jing'an to secretly invite Li Baozhen, the Prefect of Fenzhou, to meet him.

Li Baozhen's original name was An Taixuan, a descendant of An Xinggui, a Sogdian meritorious official in the early Tang Dynasty. In the second year of the Zhide era, his elder brother An Chongzhang submitted a memorial stating that he was ashamed to share the same surname as An Lushan and requested to change his name. Emperor Li Heng then bestowed upon him the imperial surname and changed his name to Li Baoyu—and An Taixuan was subsequently renamed Li Baozhen.

The An brothers were not part of the Shuofang Army system, and Li Baozhen was a former official of Hedong. Li Bi felt that Li Baozhen might be trustworthy and unlikely to have much dealings with the Pugu father and son, and he told Li Ji his judgment. To be honest, the statements of Xin Yunjing, Luo Fengxian, and the Pugu father and son were all contradictory and unreliable. Therefore, Li Ji wanted to find Li Baozhen first to inquire about the details.

Li Baozhen, dressed in plain clothes, visited and had a private conversation with Li Ji that afternoon. According to him, the conflict between Pugu and his son and Xin Yunjing was deep. Currently, the Shuofang Army was stationed in key passes around Taiyuan, threatening the prefectural government. Xin Yunjing was hiding in the city and dared not show his face at all. He believed that if the court could clearly state Xin Yunjing's crimes, Pugu and his son would surely release their troops.

To this, Li Ji smiled wryly and said, "It's difficult."

Xin Yunjing was also a great contributor to the suppression of the An Lushan Rebellion. Moreover, when Deng Jingshan was killed, the generals pleaded to support Xin Yunjing as their leader, which shows that he had a high reputation and deep roots in Hedong. The court really could not punish him lightly. What crime was he charged with? Was it because he refused to open the gates to let the Uyghur army into the city, or because he impeached Pugu Huaien? These were not serious crimes.

Ultimately, Xin Yunjing did not explicitly state in his memorial that Pugu and his son were plotting a rebellion—it was Luo Fengxian, who was terrified and hurriedly fled back to Chang'an, who insisted that the rebellion was real—so it was not considered a false accusation and he did not have to be punished.

Li Yu hoped to resolve the dispute peacefully, neither severely punishing Xin Yunjing because of Pugu Huai'en's accusation, nor severely punishing Pugu and his son because of Xin Yunjing's accusation—the former might incite a rebellion in the Shuofang army, and the latter might destabilize the Hedong army. If Li Yu were willing to punish one side of the conflict to appease the other, he could first take down Luo Fengxian, but Luo Fengxian was a close ally of Cheng Yuanzhen…

Therefore, Li Baozhen said, "If Luo Fengxian and Xin Yunjing are not punished, I'm afraid Pugu will never be able to let it go." After a pause, he added, "In fact, the Shuofang army hates Luo Fengxian even more."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Of course that's true. All the military governors have always disliked the eunuch supervisors, especially since this one is from another family. He's always had a good relationship with my commander, but suddenly he's turned on me. No one could tolerate that."

He asked Li Baozhen, "Does the Shuofang Army intend to attack Taiyuan?"

Li Baozhen shook his head and said, "No, not really. They just repeatedly besieged the city and demanded that Xin Yunjing come out to apologize. As far as I know, Pugu Huai'en is only concerned about saving face. He restrained his generals from attacking Taiyuan, as if he was waiting for something..."

Li Ji nodded slightly, thinking to himself that he wanted to first gauge the court's attitude and find a suitable way to back down.

"However, there were two main people who were clamoring to attack Taiyuan and capture and kill Xin Yunjing."

"Which two people are they?"

"One is Pugu Yang, and the other is Fan Zhicheng."

Li Ji thought to himself, "I only knew of Pugu Yang, that's a politically clueless and extremely impulsive scoundrel!" "And who is Fan Zhicheng?"

Fan Zhicheng was the deputy general of the Shuofang Army, effectively commanding the personal guards—which shows how much Pugu Huaien trusted him. It is said that he complained to Pugu Huaien many times, saying that if the court did not severely punish Luo Fengxian and Xin Yunjing, it would be letting down the Pugu family, which had made many military achievements, and the Shuofang Army soldiers who had helped Emperor Suzong ascend the throne.

After saying this, Li Baozhen leaned closer and lowered his voice to ask Li Ji, "Recently, there have been rumors in the army that Minister Guo has been driven to a serious illness by Cheng Yuanzhen and Yu Chaoen and will soon die—is this true?"

Li Ji immediately took out Guo Ziyi's letter from his pocket and handed it to Li Baozhen: "Take a look, is this really the handwriting of someone who is seriously ill and unable to get out of bed?"

Persuading the Pugu father and son was a matter of great importance, and Guo Ziyi could not possibly not write it himself—naturally, the words were mostly polished by his staff—although the old Minister was already seventy years old, he was still very healthy, and his calligraphy was so powerful that it seemed he could live for another five or six years.

Li Baozhen was not familiar with Guo Ziyi's handwriting, but he believed that Pugu and his son would definitely recognize it, and that the letter could not be forged. After reading the letter quickly, he handed it back to Li Ji, who took the opportunity to ask, "Could you perhaps spread the word among the Shuofang army about the Minister of Works' personal advice to Pugu and his son, so as to reassure the soldiers?"

Li Baozhen patted his chest and said, "This is easy; leave it to me. But I wonder when Commander Li will go to see Pugu Huai'en?"

Li Ji smiled bitterly and said, "I'm afraid that by now, the armies inside the pass have already engaged in battle with the vanguard of the barbarian bandits... The situation in Hedong is unsettled and Shuofang is unstable, causing widespread panic and which is not conducive to the war. How can I dare to delay? I need to rest for a while before meeting another person. I will go to meet Pugu tomorrow morning."

Who else would he need to see? It was someone Cui Cuo had reminded him of before his departure: Yun Lin was in the Shuofang army, serving as an important member of Pugu Huai'en's military staff.

Yunlin, courtesy name Tiangai, was skilled in swordsmanship and claimed to have studied magic in the Kunlun Mountains. He had previously served under Li Fuguo, who sent him, along with Jia Huai and Yu Xiuhe, to accompany Li Ji to Luoyang to rescue Consort Shen, secretly ordering them to assassinate Li Ji en route. However, Li Ji, with the help of Pugu Huaien's Shuofang troops, captured the three alive and drowned Yu Xiuhe in the Ba River. After the recapture of Luoyang, Jia Huai stayed with Li Ji and then went with him to Longyou. A letter recently arrived that he had been incorporated into the Fengxiang army; Yunlin, on the other hand, joined the Shuofang army and followed Pugu Huaien.

During the previous battles of Heyang and the second recapture of Luoyang, Li Ji either served under Pugu Huai'en or fought alongside him. He had also met Yun Lin several times and knew that he was a key member of Pugu Huai'en's army. This key position was a low-ranking staff post with no actual duties, entirely at the command of the commander-in-chief—considered a trusted confidant. Jia Huai had held this position in the Longyou military headquarters. Crucially, Yun Lin had no skills other than swordsmanship, and his so-called "magic" was of little use in the face of a large army. Therefore, Pugu Huai'en treated him as a bodyguard.

Yunlin felt inadequate about his position but was powerless to change it, especially ashamed to face Li Ji. Therefore, when they met before, they would only exchange a bow and a few words, without any deep connection. Li Ji was familiar with most of the Shuofang generals—except for the newly promoted deputy general Fan Zhicheng—but unsure of their intentions, he didn't want to make contact beforehand. Only Yunlin, being an old acquaintance yet lacking real power, held a relatively more detached position, allowing him to probe further.

Most importantly, since he was dissatisfied with the status quo and had no hope for the future, Li Ji had an opportunity to take advantage of him.

Therefore, Li Ji ordered Yuan Jing'an to secretly summon Yun Lin. Upon meeting him, Yun Lin asked, "I heard that Jia Huai was already a deputy general in the Fengxiang army, with the rank of seventh grade. How are you doing now?"

Yunlin sighed, "I've only been promoted to the eighth rank... This place is not where I can make a name for myself..."

Li Ji asked him, "I am currently stationed in Weibo, and my staff is short of capable people. I am willing to offer you a seventh-rank official position as my advisor. Are you interested?"

Upon hearing this, Yunlin was overjoyed—the seventh rank was a hurdle, and if one could attain it, there would be room for further advancement—but he was also quick-witted, and immediately bowed and said, "I am deeply grateful for General Li's kindness, may I ask what you wish to do?"

Li Ji smiled slightly and asked, "There's no need to elaborate on recent events. But what did you see and hear while you were in the Shuofang army, by Commander Pugu's side? Could you please tell me?"

Yunlin hesitated for a moment, but finally gritted his teeth and answered, "The Pugu father and son are plotting a rebellion!"

----------

Li Ji arrived at the Fenzhou government office early the next morning—Pugu Huai'en, having occupied Fenzhou, had unceremoniously taken over the main hall of the government office, while squeezing the prefect and his deputy, Li Baozhen, into the side courtyard—he had registered to see them, but had not yet stated his purpose.

When Pugu Huai'en heard the news, he was deeply puzzled—wasn't Li Ji in Weibo? Why did he come to Fenzhou?

He had not received any news of Li Ji's return to Chang'an. Admittedly, the military governors of each region had spies in the capital to keep abreast of the court's movements and respond accordingly—for example, if the emperor intended to launch an expedition, he would usually send a letter to the nearby military governors to solicit their opinions, and receiving such news in advance would allow him to consider how to respond in a way that would please the emperor—but they basically only kept an eye on the Hall of State Affairs and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and would not think of monitoring Li Ji's residence.

On the one hand, having too many people would easily reveal their whereabouts; on the other hand, there simply aren't enough people to handle it. Some local officials have already submitted memorials requesting the restoration of the envoys to the court and the residences of the prefects, but the court has yet to give a clear answer.

The so-called "Imperial Assembler" was similar to the "Reporting to the Emperor" in the Han Dynasty, referring to officials dispatched annually by local governments to the capital to report on their administration and finances. In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era, an imperial edict ordered the construction of over three hundred residences for these Imperial Assemblers in the capital's outlying areas. This ensured that as long as these residences existed, even outside of the reporting period, someone would be needed to manage them, making it convenient to openly and legitimately plant spies. Unfortunately, these residences began to fall into disuse during the Yongchun era of Emperor Gaozong, and by the Shenlong era, they had all been sold off. After the An Lushan Rebellion, even the Imperial Assembler system was discontinued.

Returning to the story, Pugu Huai'en couldn't understand why Li Ji would travel all the way from Weibo to Fenzhou. His trusted deputy, Fan Zhicheng, guessed, "Could it be that he's here to persuade the General on behalf of the court?" Pugu Huai'en nodded, "That's not necessarily true." He was about to go out of his office to greet him when Fan Zhicheng hurriedly said, "General, please be careful. Li Ji went to Xiangyang before, and the court summoned him back to the capital... Now he's come to Fenzhou again, wanting to persuade you..."

The implication is that Lai Zhen believed Li Ji's words, returned to the court to take up his post, and that's what led to his downfall. Can you really trust such a stranger?

Pugu Huai'en waved his hand and said, "We do not yet know their intentions, so there is no need to worry unnecessarily."

Fan Zhicheng advised, "Li Ji is only a fourth-rank official, while the military governor is the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. Why bother to go out and greet him? Just summon him to see us. Besides, this man has always been arrogant and reckless. The military governor cannot be completely unprepared."

Pugu Huai'en agreed that he should not go out to greet Li Ji because of his status; as for guarding against Li Ji—he glanced at Fan Zhicheng: "How should we guard against him? If we line up our guards in front of the hall, as Tian Chengsi did for my son, people will look down on us and think that I am afraid of Li Ji—I am not a surrendered general like Tian! If you protect me, can you resist Li Ji?"

Fan Zhicheng smiled wryly, not daring to accept the order—Li Ji didn't recognize him, but he did recognize Li Ji and had personally witnessed Li Ji fighting on the battlefield, whether wielding a spear or a mace. He knew he was no match for him. After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "We can summon Yun Yaoji."

Pugu Huai'en nodded and then ordered Zhang Weiyue, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to welcome Li Ji into the main hall. He sat in the center, with Yunlin and Fan Zhicheng on either side.

Li Ji strode in, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Lord Pugu, how have you been?"

Although Pugu Huai'en, relying on his higher rank, did not personally greet Li Ji, it was inappropriate for him to remain seated any longer since Li Ji had arrived. He immediately stood up to return the greeting and ordered seats to be prepared for Li Ji. Then, he went straight to the point and asked, "Why has Changwei come to Fenzhou instead of being stationed in Weibo?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "If Lord Pugu doesn't return to Lingwu, isn't he temporarily staying in Fenzhou?"

Pugu Huai'en's face darkened: "Did Ze Changwei come here to help me or to help Xin Yunjing?"

Li Ji shook his head: "I came alone, why would I ask for your help?"

"Is this to resolve the conflict between me and Xin Yunjing?" Pugu Huai'en said coldly. "This enmity is irreconcilable. It's either me or him; no one can resolve it!"

Li Ji feigned surprise: "I thought Lord Pugu was a magnanimous person..."

"I've always been petty and vindictive!"

Li Ji spread his hands: "Strange indeed, that's hard to explain. Pugu Gong said he had an irreconcilable hatred for Xin Yunjing. Could it be that he killed your relatives and friends? Pugu Gong once told me that more than forty members of his family died in service to the king..."