Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Princess Hezheng was taken aback upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "Whom is Your Majesty referring to?" It shouldn't be Li Ji, right?

Li Yu casually handed the memorial to Princess Hezheng: "You may read it yourself."

Princess Hezheng took the memorial with both hands, read it quickly, and then breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the memorial submitted by Li Ji through the acting governor Lu Qi was an impeachment of Tian Chengsi, the military governor of Tianxiong Army, accusing him of harboring rebellious intentions and already showing signs of plotting rebellion.

One of the charges against Tian Chengsi was that he exploited the people in the four prefectures of Ji, Ying, Cang, and Di by imposing heavy taxes and seizing the profits from government salt.

—In the early Tang Dynasty, the system of salt monopoly was largely followed from the Sui Dynasty, with a relaxed salt policy, lacking both a monopoly and a separate tax. It wasn't until the An Lushan Rebellion broke out and the central government faced financial difficulties that Emperor Suzong (Li Heng) approved Wu Qi's "Salt Monopoly Law." This law established salt officials in all salt-producing areas and separated salt producers from the registered households, calling them "Pavilion Households." These households were exempted from corvée labor, allowing them to focus solely on salt production. The government was responsible for the unified purchase, transportation, and sale of salt, prohibiting private sales. Later, Liu Yan came to power and reformed the salt monopoly law, but the basic principles remained unchanged.

The second charge against Tian Chengsi was that he recruited former officials of the An Lushan Rebellion, and based on the size of the population, he ordered the elderly and weak to farm and the able-bodied to join the army. Within just two years, he had amassed an army of seventy to eighty thousand. He also selected seven thousand strong and robust men to serve as his personal guards…

"Yabing" is the same as "Yabing": when a general goes on an expedition, he commands a large banner, and the soldiers guarding the banner are called Yabing; when a military governor establishes a garrison, he sets up an office, and the soldiers protecting the office are called Yabing—in essence, they all mean the same thing, referring to the personal guards of the commander-in-chief. But under normal circumstances, generals and envoys would have at most several hundred or a thousand Yabing, but Tian Chengsi selected and trained seven thousand, which was definitely not just for his own defense.

The third charge is that Tian Chengsi secretly set up a shrine for An Lushan and his son Shi Siming, calling them the "Four Saints," and would often personally go there to worship...

No wonder Li Yu was furious when he read the memorial.

In fact, even though they were thousands of miles apart, the court had heard to some extent about Tian Chengsi's arrogance and domineering behavior, and Li Yu was not only aware of it today. For example, the matter of heavy taxes and oppression of the people had only recently subsided. Not only was the court's finances strained, but many military governors were also struggling to obtain enough food for the next day. So, wasn't it normal to create new pretexts to levy more taxes on top of the existing rent, labor service, and tax system? Not to mention Tian Chengsi, Li Ji in Weibo also levied additional "autumn grain reserves" and "military funds," only he wasn't as ruthless as others.

As for the salt monopoly law, it not only plundered the wealth of the people but also encroached on local authority. As a result, many towns and counties exploited loopholes in the policy to try to embezzle salt. The most common method was to bribe salt officials and falsely report the town's salt needs, purchasing large quantities at low prices and then reselling them.

Even Weibo did the same thing, but Weibo only produced a small amount of salt, which was not enough to meet the needs of the two prefectures. Therefore, Li Ji bribed and sought to purchase salt from the salt officials in Hedong.

In comparison, Tian Chengsi's methods were more forceful, directly sidelining the salt officials of Cang and Di prefectures and completely controlling the salt trade in the hands of the military governors. However, the imperial court had no demands on the various military governors of Hebei and did not require tribute—occasionally offering a small amount of local specialties to prove their obedience to the emperor was sufficient—and of course, no additional funds were provided. Therefore, Liu Yan was powerless to stop Tian Chengsi from controlling the profits from sea salt, and the court simply tolerated it.

The same applied to the recruitment of soldiers. Although the court issued quotas for each garrison, it was merely a piece of paper, and almost no one obeyed. Among them, Tian Chengsi recruited the most soldiers, and his army expanded the fastest. The court issued several edicts to reprimand him, but he ignored them. This was not the first time Li Yu had seen a memorial impeaching Tian on this matter; it was commonplace and he was not surprised.

Therefore, what could truly provoke Li Yu was the third accusation by Li Ji, which stated that Tian Chengsi had built a shrine for An and Shi father and son—holy crap, this was a huge matter, and it was intolerable!

However, after reading it, Princess Hezheng couldn't help but smile bitterly and said, "Now I know why Lu Qi is afraid that the Prime Minister and Lord Yu will obstruct this memorial, and that it must be presented directly to the Emperor through the King's carriage... Today is definitely not a good time to launch a punitive expedition!"

Chapter Two: Endless Hidden Dangers

For the Tang court, An Lushan, Shi Siming, and their three sons were the greatest traitors and villains since the founding of the dynasty. They were not pardoned, but their names were recorded in the "Biographies of Traitors," and they would never be able to redeem themselves. Yet Tian Chengsi dared to build a shrine for them in private and even went to worship in person. It is no exaggeration to say that his rebellious nature was obvious.

Therefore, if the impeachment memorial from Weibo were to be submitted through proper channels, either to the Council of State Affairs or the Inner Palace Secretariat, it would involve many people, and the news would inevitably leak out, leading to widespread public outcry and urging the court to issue an edict to punish the emperor. But at that time, where would the Tang court find the capacity to launch another major war in the Guandong region?

If the court does not attack, its prestige will surely suffer—people are practically ready to fight you, and you're still a coward? Who will respect such a dynasty? This could even lead to more people following suit. On the other hand, if the court does attack, the timing is unfavorable, the circumstances are not right, and the strength is insufficient, so it will most likely suffer setbacks. If the imperial army is defeated, the outcome could be even worse…

Therefore, if this memorial were submitted to the Council of State Affairs, Yuan Zai would likely have suppressed it directly. If it were submitted to the Inner Palace Secretariat, Yu Chaoen would have been even more audacious enough to burn it—pretending we never heard of it, so as not to put the emperor in an awkward position. Only then was Lu Qi forced to go through Wang Jiahe to present this impeachment directly to the emperor.

Princess Hezheng then reminded Li Yu of this, and Li Yu couldn't help but sigh, "Li Ji is too impatient, why did he have to submit this report at this time..."

If you want to expose Tian Chengsi's true colors so that I am not misled by those inside and outside the palace, you can do so through other means, such as privately writing a letter to Crown Prince Li Shi and asking him to come to the palace to remind me. Submitting a formal impeachment through the acting envoy is like making sure others know, which, in a sense, is tantamount to coercing the court to order a punitive expedition—Lu Qi, having been in the capital for a long time, is more sensible and knows how to utilize the emperor's power.

Princess Hezheng pondered for a moment, then said to her brother, "Li Changwei may appear rough, but he is actually quite shrewd. Since he has submitted this impeachment, perhaps he has a plan to quell the Tianxiong Army?"

Li Yu shook his head: "What kind of plan is this? When Master Changyuan passed away, he also mentioned to me that although Weibo has shown some improvement, its troops are still insufficient and its weapons are not sharp enough. It is not advisable to send troops there. Li Ji said that Xue Song is trustworthy and Qin Rui is usable, but if Tian Chengsi colludes with Youzhou and Chengde, I'm afraid that the war will continue for years to come..."

"What if the imperial court sends reinforcements?"

"It's just a matter of mobilizing the Hedong army to tie down Chengde and Lulong. The Henan armies, such as Pinglu, can cross the Yellow River to the north to provide reinforcements. However, the grain and fodder of each town are insufficient, and they will have to rely on the imperial court for supplies. But how can the imperial court afford to supply them? Since it is said that Tian Chengsi has recruited nearly 100,000 soldiers, it will be impossible to succeed without an army of 100,000. If we want to settle things quickly, we may need 200,000 troops..."

At this point, Li Yu couldn't help but sigh: "Just each autumn, with over 100,000 troops from Guanzhong and various towns guarding Dazhen Pass and Longshan Pass against the barbarians, money and provisions are already stretched thin. How could we dare to launch an attack on Guandong? Now Liu Yan has dredged the Bian River, saying that after autumn, 400,000 bushels of grain can be transported from the Jianghuai region to stabilize grain prices in the capital. The additional money and silk can be stored. I originally intended to accumulate in this way for several years, and then, as Mr. Changyuan suggested, recruit refugees in Guanzhong to reclaim more wasteland, so that we would be free from the threat of barbarian invasions, and then seek an opportunity to pacify Hebei..."

Princess Hezheng suggested, "There must be a reason why Li Changwei submitted his memorial at this time. Your Majesty could issue an edict... no, order the Crown Prince to write a letter to inquire about the matter. As for the Tianxiong Army, the supervising officer could be replaced, and the shrines of the four traitors could be demolished. In this way, the court can save face."

Li Yu nodded slowly: "What my sister says is very true; she is truly my Zhang Liang." He then turned to Wang Jiahe and asked, "Who do you think is suitable to oversee the Tianxiong Army?" The Tianxiong Army's supervisor was originally Yu Chaoen's man, but for such an important matter, he hadn't uttered a single word in his report; he was clearly incompetent. Li Yu's meaning was that from now on, the responsibility would fall to eunuchs from Wang Jiahe's faction. Who do you recommend?

Wang Jiahe thought for a moment and replied, "Sun Zhigu is acceptable."

Li Yu said, "If you can get Tian Chengsi to destroy the licentious shrine, that will be a great achievement—and you will also have a contribution."

Wang Jiahe bowed and accepted the order, then boldly said, "This servant believes that the princess's plan for everyone is very appropriate. Hebei is ultimately a long and arduous place, so if the immediate troubles are not eliminated, how can we address the long-term problems? Li Weibo is indeed a bit too hasty."

Upon hearing this, Li Yu frowned again: "Yu Chaoen is despicable!"

Wang Jiahe was actually subtly trying to sow discord between Yu Chaoen and others—you've messed things up, don't think that a simple apology will be enough. I'll remind the Sage from time to time of your mistakes.

After Li Huairang committed suicide, the position of military governor of Tonghua was vacant. Just then, Li Yu dismissed Cheng Yuanzhen and appointed Yu Chaoen. He asked Yu Chaoen, "During the reign of the late emperor, you were often away from home and stationed in Jingdong. You should be quite familiar with the personnel in Tonghua and Huazhou. Who do you think is suitable for this important position?" Yu Chaoen immediately recommended his confidant Zhou Zhiguang.

So he first appointed Zhou Zhiguang as the prefect of Huazhou, and soon after promoted him to military governor of Tonghua. When the news spread, everyone was dissatisfied—it was said that Li Ji, the military governor of Weibo, said, "When we were pacifying Hebei, Zhou Zhiguang was only the deputy general of Tonghua and had no military achievements. Now he has suddenly become the military governor of a town—he has been promoted faster than me!" For this reason, Li Yu specially asked Li Shi to write a letter to comfort Li Ji, telling him not to "lament the accumulation of firewood."

They had high hopes for Zhou Zhiguang, but who would have thought that once that fellow ascended to the position of military governor and seized control of the military power in eastern Beijing, he immediately revealed his true colors. He had a long-standing feud with Du Mian, the military governor of Fufang, and taking advantage of the fact that Du Mian was residing in Fangzhou while his family remained in Fuzhou, he sent troops to commit banditry, murdering Zhang Lin, the prefect of Fuzhou, burying all eighty-one members of Du's family alive, and burning down more than three thousand houses in Fuzhou!

The imperial court sent envoys to question Zhou Zhiguang, who vehemently denied everything; when summoned to court, he resolutely refused. Subsequently, Zhang Zhibin, the military supervisor of Shaanxi and Guo, went to court to report on matters. En route, he passed through Huazhou and accused the Tonghua army of being undisciplined and plundering the people. Zhou Zhiguang immediately beheaded him and ate his flesh. Pang Chong, the former prefect of Guozhou and concurrently the Censor-in-Chief, was also killed while in mourning. Cui Yuan, the military governor of Huainan, came to the capital to pay homage, bringing a million taels of tribute; Zhou Zhiguang forcibly kept half of it…

It is said that Zhou Zhiguang once boasted: "I am 180 li away from Chang'an. I will sleep with my head to the east and will not dare to stretch my feet at night, for fear of breaking down the walls of Chang'an!"

Because his jurisdiction was too close to Chang'an, and the Tonghua army of thirty to forty thousand men were all elite troops, Li Yu could not bring himself to attack Zhou Zhiguang. Having such a dangerous illness among his trusted men was far too perilous; if the medicine was administered too aggressively, he might be finished! He naturally questioned Yu Chaoen, who knelt and wept bitterly, embracing his legs and apologizing, saying, "This servant never expected Zhou Zhiguang to be such an ingrate! Now that his power is established, even this servant cannot control him..."

Li Yu wasn't stupid. He understood that it was impossible to completely sever ties between Yu and Zhou. If he were to attack Zhou Zhiguang, Yu Chaoen might interfere, and if he dealt with Yu Chaoen, Zhou Zhiguang might immediately raise the banner of rebellion. Therefore, he had no choice but to be patient and wait for an opportunity to plan his move slowly.

Princess Hezheng's suggestion was: "This autumn, when defending against the barbarians, mobilize a large number of troops from Guanzhong and see if Zhou Zhiguang comes. If he does, we can seize the opportunity to capture him; if he doesn't come, after the barbarian bandits retreat, we can gather troops at Ba Shang under the pretext of presenting prisoners and wipe them out in one fell swoop." Li Yu agreed.

Now that Wang Jiahe has brought up this matter again, ostensibly to blame Li Ji for being too hasty, saying that the court still has internal problems and has no time to deal with the Tianxiong Army, but in reality, he wants to stab Yu Chaoen in the back again.

The thought of Zhou Zhiguang only fueled Li Yu's anger, and he stamped his foot, saying, "Li Ji was too hasty..."

----------

Why was Li Ji so eager to denounce Tian Chengsi's treachery and persuade the court to issue an edict to punish him? It was because he gradually realized that his policies were flawed and could only be implemented temporarily, not in the long run.

He used his military power to suppress the powerful landlords in the state and seize land on a large scale. While he quickly stabilized the situation in Weibo and was expected to restore production within two or three years, he also left a major hidden danger—his generals and soldiers became increasingly arrogant and gradually became too powerful to control.

In fact, Yan Zhenqing had previously advised him, saying, "The military governor generously supports his soldiers, making them know only of the military governor and not of the court. They are all petty men, ignorant of the teachings of the sages and the meaning of loyalty and integrity. They only attach themselves to the government because of favors. Once the favors fade, they will surely rebel again—just as the saying goes, 'If you are close to them, they will be disrespectful; if you are far away, they will resent you.' Now, with the land of two prefectures, we have recruited 30,000 elite soldiers, and 80% of the annual income is used for military expenses. How can this last? Moreover, even the military governor finds it insufficient. What will happen if there is a famine? If the court replaces him with another military governor, how will he be able to govern?"

With a slightly better supply of money and provisions, Li Ji increased his investment in the garrison troops, especially the Weizhou defense forces. To ensure they could drill every other day and quickly improve their organization and training, their daily food and clothing were exceptionally plentiful, even making Yan Zhenqing envious. According to the old man, in his thirty years as an official, including nearly ten years leading troops in local garrisons, he had never seen local troops so well-fed and warmly clothed. Perhaps only the imperial guards in the capital enjoyed such abundant provisions.

According to the early Tang Dynasty system, soldiers were allotted one shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain and one bolt of silk per month. However, this was a fixed amount during a period of low prices. Before the Tianbao era, a dou (a unit of dry measure) of grain cost no more than twenty qian (a unit of currency), and sometimes as little as five qian. A single piece of cloth cost no more than one or two hundred wen (another unit of currency), and a bolt of fine silk cost no more than a thousand wen. After the An Lushan Rebellion, productivity was severely damaged, resources were scarce, and prices soared. Coupled with the surge in the number of soldiers, no unit could provide the full amount. Generally, if there was enough money and grain, more money and grain would be provided; if there was enough silk and cloth, more silk and cloth would be provided. Ordinary soldiers receiving 70% of the allowance was considered generous—including the imperial guards in the capital for a period of time.

Of course, each military town has many guards, and these guards can often receive the full amount of grain and silk. However, it can be seen from the fact that, except for Tian Chengsi, most of the guards in the towns are less than a thousand, so very few can provide enough money and grain for more soldiers.

Li Ji's soul ultimately came from a future era of abundant resources, and he deeply understood that only when soldiers were well-fed could they have the strength to endure hardship and prolonged battles. He had always wanted to try to train an unparalleled army using sufficient carbohydrates and protein. Now that he was in charge of the affairs of a town, apart from needing to argue with Yan Zhenqing a few times, he could handle everything himself and naturally intended to put this idea into practice.

The ideal was lofty, but reality was harsh… Let alone surpassing his contemporaries, even if he were to fully fund the 30,000 troops according to regulations, the current financial resources of Weibo Town wouldn't be enough. Therefore, Li Ji could only prioritize the defense troops, ensuring they were well-fed and regularly provided with meat—he even established several pig and chicken farms specifically for the auxiliary troops to manage—but even this, in Yan Zhenqing's view, was an unprecedented level of generosity, and the soldiers' physical strength could only guarantee one drill every other day…

As a result, 80% of the town's fiscal expenditure went to supporting the army. Yan Zhenqing repeatedly advised against this, saying it was not a long-term solution. If you don't feed the soldiers, they will still have ambitions, perhaps thinking of merit and reward, and rejoicing in battle; but if you increase their supplies now, it will be difficult to lower them again, and the soldiers will surely riot. But what if there's a famine? Or what if you transfer to another place in a few years, and the successor handles the situation?

Of course, what Yan Zhenqing valued more was that Li Ji's deep-rooted loyalty to the soldiers meant that the Weibo troops knew only their commander and not the imperial court, which would inevitably lead to disaster in the long run. Did you really intend to stay in Weibo forever? Did you really intend for your son to succeed you after your father's death? Wouldn't that be tantamount to secession? There was no precedent for this, and this precedent should not be set by Weibo.

Li Ji certainly didn't intend to garrison Weibo for his entire life; he was still dreaming of going west to fight the Tubo. Initially, he didn't pay much attention to Yan Zhenqing's advice—if you don't feed your soldiers well, how can you expect them to fight to the death for you in exchange for a reward after the battle? That's absurd! Besides, Hebei has many strong men; if I can't provide them with ample nutrition so that their physical strength far surpasses that of other towns, it's unlikely I can defeat a large enemy force with a small one.

Although he sought to form alliances and gradually eliminate the surrendered vassal states of Yan and Zhao, he also had to prepare for the most perilous situation of several garrisons joining forces. It was said that Tian Chengsi had exhausted all resources, recruiting 70,000 to 80,000 men, while Lulong and Chengde also had 50,000 victorious troops. Weibo, however, only had 30,000 soldiers. In terms of a defensive force with any real fighting capability, including the troops from Bozhou, there were less than 20,000. Unless he could outmatch the enemy in physical strength and skill, this battle was unwinnable…

But gradually, Li Ji began to worry. He despised the landowners while valuing the soldiers, and the soldiers' growing arrogance threatened to become uncontrollable. He remembered how the armies had earnestly tried to persuade Guo Ziyi to stay when he left Hedong, and how Zhang Yongji had nearly turned against Li Guangbi when he entered Luoyang; he remembered the mutiny in Jiangzhou that killed Li Guozhen, and the mutiny in Yicheng that killed Li Feiyuanli; he remembered how, when he first arrived in the town, the old guard dared to gather and threaten him…

In particular, Yin Shen was sent to investigate the situation in the surrounding towns, and it was found that the arrogant and unruly soldiers, and the subordinates' domineering attitude, were gradually taking shape.

Not long ago this year, a major event served as a wake-up call for Li Ji – Hou Xiyi, the military governor of Pinglu and Ziqing, was expelled.

Hou Xiyi was originally a subordinate general of Pinglu (the Pinglu Army was originally located in the Northeast). After An Lushan's rebellion, he attacked and killed the military governor Xu Guidao and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. He fought in Youyan for a hundred battles, but eventually could not hold his ground. He led more than 20,000 soldiers and civilians south and captured Qingzhou. He was then appointed by the Tang court as the military governor of Pinglu and Ziqing. After the An Lushan Rebellion ended, Hou Xiyi's official title was military governor of Pinglu Army, observer of Ziqing, Qidi, Denglai, and other places, and envoy to escort the Silla and Bohai tribes. He also served as the prefect of Qingzhou, and was appointed as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Grand Pillar of State, and enfeoffed as the Prince of Huaiyang. He controlled six prefectures and had an army of 100,000.

However, after the situation stabilized, Hou Xiyi began to act recklessly. He not only neglected his duties, spending his days hunting, but also became a devout Buddhist, misappropriating military funds to build Buddhist temples, which aroused widespread discontent among his soldiers. Not long ago, Hou Xiyi went on another trip, spending the night outside the city with a shaman, and was refused entry by the soldiers. The Pinglu army rallied Hou Xiyi's brother-in-law, Li Huaiyu, to lead the army, forcing Hou Xiyi to flee to Chang'an in disgrace, where he too was relegated to a life of obscurity…

Li Ji pondered to himself that if his policies remained unchanged, and as long as he didn't treat his soldiers as harshly as Hou Xiyi, he could settle in Weibo for five or six years, or even ten, without much trouble, and wouldn't follow in Hou Xiyi's footsteps. But with his soldiers' appetites growing ever larger, what about ten years from now? Or, as Yan Zhenqing said, what if he left and someone else took his place?

He was originally tasked with stabilizing Hebei for the imperial court, and he didn't want to just walk away and leave behind a mess, causing the people of Hebei to suffer twice over.

Therefore, they hoped to launch a campaign to subdue the surrendered vassal states in Hebei as soon as possible, in order to find an opportunity to reverse the established policy...

Chapter Three: Preemptive Strike

Li Ji's temporary plan to address the growing arrogance of his soldiers was to quickly bring them to the battlefield. He did not need to completely annihilate the surrendered vassals of Yan and Zhao; as long as he pacified one town—for example, Tian Chengsi—and expanded his own territory, he would have enough land and money to reduce the number of troops.

If I were to dominate Hebei, and not fear the combined forces of any two garrisons, there would be no need to maintain so many troops. If I were to completely swallow up the Tianxiong Army, would I still need to support the 70,000 or 80,000 men left behind by Tian Chengsi? In this way, the soldiers in Hebei could gradually return to farming, which would reduce the burden on both the court and the local areas. As the number of troops gradually decreased, they would be less likely to cause any major trouble.

Although many of his soldiers were unwilling to return to farming, he could have slowly released them like a frog in boiling water. Unlike now, he not only dared not release them, but was also forced to plan to continue recruiting soldiers... Moreover, if the situation in Hebei stabilized, this generation of lumpenproletarians might be beyond cure, at least the next generation would not abandon farming to join the army.

Li Ji was particularly dizzy by Tian Chengsi's recent speed of recruiting soldiers, fearing that if he did not stop him in time, the fellow would become even more powerful and difficult to control.

To be honest, the four prefectures under the Tianxiong Army's control, in terms of arable land and population, were only slightly better than Li Ji's Wei and Bo prefectures. Originally, Li Ji thought he could only support 30,000 soldiers, and Tian Chengsi could raise 50,000 at most. Who would have thought that in just two years, that number would almost double... Where did that guy get so much money and grain?

I reckon it's because, firstly, they monopolized the salt resources of Cang and Di prefectures, and secondly, the Tianxiong Army's stipends were originally inferior to those of Weibo—Li Ji probably fully supported 20,000 garrison troops, while Tian Chengsi only fully supported 7,000 yamen soldiers. But even if many soldiers couldn't get enough to eat and wear, 70,000 to 80,000 was still a terrifying number. If they were to defend the city, even half of their elite troops might not be able to take it easily.

If we wait a few more years, that guy might have 100,000 men under his command!

Another factor is that Li Ji has been doing well in diplomacy recently. It's believed that if Tian Chengsi is attacked, Xue Song and Qin Rui would be happy to provide assistance. Li Baochen, due to his good relationship with Xue Song, might even remain neutral. The only concern is Li Huaixian of Youzhou. Ultimately, he is too far away and separated by the Tianxiong Army, making it difficult for Li Ji to reach him directly. If an attack is launched now, Li Ji would at most face a combined force of the Tianxiong and Lulong armies, totaling only 120,000 to 130,000 men. If this continues for a few years, the situation will be much more uncertain.

Because Tian Chengsi had many schemes up his sleeve. He seemed to want to form alliances with Wu Shun, Lu Long, and Cheng De to plot against the Zhaoyi Army, and he also seemed to want to form alliances with Lu Long and Cheng De to lull himself and the Zhaoyi Army into complacency in order to seize Qin Rui's foundation. Li Ji didn't really trust these surrendered generals, including Xue Song. They had formed alliances and divisions based on circumstances, without any shame or morality. So, if the situation changed in a few years—for example, if the court suffered several more defeats on the western front and its prestige declined—it was really hard to say whether they would turn against him.

To take an extreme view, if Chang'an were to fall again and the emperor were to be exiled, the surrendered vassal states might join forces to plot against Weibo—first, they would drive this outcast Li Ji out of Hebei.

Therefore, Li Jicai hoped to take advantage of Tian Chengsi's unstable foundation and launch a military campaign to attack him as soon as possible.

Qin Rui shared the same thought: after all, Wu Shun's army was the weakest in Hebei, and he feared that he would be the first force to be wiped out. As a result, he not only assisted Li Ji in secretly monitoring the movements of Tianxiong's army, but also secretly instigated Tian Chengsi to build a shrine for An and Shi, father and son.

—Tian Chengsi had this intention, but because he had only recently returned to Tang, he did not dare to put it into practice. Qin Rui specially sent Guo Mo to persuade him, suggesting that our two families jointly pay homage to the "Four Saints", but since a licentious shrine had already been erected within the territory of Tianxiong Army, Qin Rui instead found various excuses to delay the matter.

Li Ji naturally couldn't reveal too much about the inside story in his memorial—the court was like a sieve, leaking from all sides—he only impeached Tian Chengsi for building a licentious shrine, hoping to incite public opinion and force the court to send troops to punish him. Who would have thought that the impeachment memorial would disappear without a trace, and he finally received a secret letter from Li Shi.

That day, Li Ji had just returned from training his soldiers at the drill ground. Feeling confident in his morale and the soldiers' stamina, he was quite pleased with himself. Upon reaching the governor's office, before he could dismount, a sudden whistle rang out, and a gray shadow whistled past, brushing against his turban. Caught off guard, Li Ji was startled and stumbled slightly.

Fortunately, the horse he was riding was a fine steed from the Northwest, which seemed more composed than its master and did not kick out on the spot.

If it were anything else, it wouldn't be a big deal. Even if a hidden arrow hit his turban, Li Ji, who was used to all sorts of things, wouldn't be too surprised. The problem was that when he saw the gray figure, he had a premonition—damn, is something bad about to happen again?!

Because that gray shadow was actually a plump pigeon...

Li Ji's fall and subsequent transmigration were all because of a pigeon. The body he was inhabited by was also due to a pigeon, and he had developed an almost instinctive fear of pigeons. He thought to himself, "This won't do! I have to overcome this fear. Maybe I should catch a few pigeons and roast them?" Back in Ding'an, when he was in the imperial court, he roasted what might have been Li Fuguo's homing pigeons, and at that time he felt extremely relieved, even experiencing a sense of satisfaction, like he had finally gotten his revenge…

He then asked those around him, "Where did these pigeons come from?"

The attendants replied, "It seems they went towards the Military Supervisor's Residence, or perhaps it's where Military Supervisor Jiao is staying."

Jiao Xiwang was appointed as the military supervisor of Weibo. After arriving in Yuancheng with Li Ji, he proved to be as Cheng Yuanzhen had predicted: relatively easy to manage and not fond of seeking favors—he rarely solicited bribes and did not interfere much in military or political affairs. However, as the military supervisor, he could not neglect his duties. He would occasionally write reports on the situation in Weibo and submit them to the court. However, he would usually ask Li Ji to review the reports first to see if there were any improprieties.

Of course, whether there were any secret reports submitted without Li Ji's knowledge was anyone's guess. Li Ji himself didn't have many secrets to share, and given the value of intelligence resources, he didn't intend to use them on this military supervisor for the time being.

Jiao Xiwang kept carrier pigeons to communicate with the imperial court—of course, they couldn't fly as far as Chang'an; they usually had to transit through Luoyang—Li Ji had heard of this before, but hadn't paid much attention. Only today, when a carrier pigeon arrived, did he get a direct experience of it. He wondered if the pigeon's arrival meant the court had something to inform Jiao Xiwang of. Shortly after returning to his office, Jiao Xiwang proactively came to him, handing him a letter from Li Shi, and openly admitting that it had just been brought over by the carrier pigeon.

Li Ji unfolded the letter and read it. Sure enough, Li Shi first explained that the court was not yet able to wage war in Hebei and hoped to wait until this autumn to see how the war against the barbarians went. Then he asked Li Ji if he could win if he were ordered to attack Tian Chengsi, and which towns would be needed to assist him. Most importantly, he asked Li Ji to estimate the amount of money and grain needed.

Li Ji's original plan was to only mobilize the armies of Weibo and Wu Shun, and to hope that Zhaoyi and Ziqing would provide some financial and logistical support—quality over quantity, there was really no need to mobilize more than 100,000 troops to attack Tian Chengsi. If the war went smoothly, internal strife might occur within the Tianxiong Army, and Tian Chengsi might bow down and apologize. At that time, I would first divide Cang and Di prefectures with Qin Rui; if the war did not go smoothly, then I would ask the court to send more troops from Zhaoyi, Ziqing, and even Chengde and Xuanwu.

The key issue is that, regardless of rank or prestige, Li Ji can only control Qin Rui. Generals like Xue Song, Li Baochen, and Hou Xiyi (who is now deceased) might not be willing to obey his commands—and he, in turn, wouldn't listen to them. Therefore, the allied forces of the various garrisons would lack a commander, each acting independently, and the more people there were, the more chaotic things would become. Unless the court is willing to send Guo Ziyi to Hebei to oversee the entire situation—which Li Yu would likely not agree to.

So he summoned Du Huangshang and Gao Ying, showed them Li Shi's letter, and discussed with them how to reply. Du and Gao, however, did not approve of sending troops north this year, advising, "The garrison's provisions and manpower are still insufficient. While it would be good to strike at the key points and advance rapidly, if the war is delayed, it may be difficult to fulfill the commander's wishes. Besides, is Qin Rui a trustworthy person?"

Although the two men had gathered considerable information about Li Ji after joining the staff and admired his bravery, they ultimately lacked experience in leading troops in battle. They felt that fighting against overwhelming odds was too dangerous—besides, Tian Chengsi was a valiant general under An Lushan and Shi Siming, and could not be underestimated. However, they could not directly confront Li Ji and could only use the excuse of insufficient funds and supplies, making a prolonged battle unwise.

Li Ji explained to them, “I have been ordering Yin Shen to investigate the situation of Tianxiong Army for more than a day. Although they have seventy or eighty thousand men, apart from seven thousand yamen soldiers, the soldiers are not well fed and clothed and have little will to fight. I will attack them with fifteen thousand Weizhou garrison troops. This is because the many overpower the few, not because the few attack the many. The key is that Tian Chengsi’s rebellious intentions are obvious. If we do not launch a campaign against him in time, it will damage the prestige of the court. Moreover, if we delay for too long, we will inevitably worry about raising a tiger.”

Then, half-jokingly, he said, "There is no need for a long war to conquer the four prefectures. As long as we can blunt their advance and force Tian Chengsi to destroy the licentious shrine, return the salt administration, and bow his head to apologize, we will have succeeded."