Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

As a result, Uyghur delegations and caravans frequently came to Chang'an. These Hu people were not well-versed in etiquette, and they took advantage of the fact that the Tang people needed their help to often engage in forced buying and selling, which was quite outrageous. Lu Qi also mentioned such matters in an official document sent to Weibo, which greatly angered Li Ji.

But he never expected to witness this scene so soon after returning to Chang'an, especially since these Uyghurs dared to break prisoners! This was utterly outrageous! Did they really think the Tang Dynasty was without its men?!

He immediately demanded an explanation, to which the Uyghur leader replied, "What prisoner rescue? I am a Uyghur envoy. My subordinate was unjustly detained in Wannian County, so I went to rescue him. I am on my way back to the Court of State Ceremonial to appeal to the Tang Emperor and punish the magistrate of Wannian. Seeing that you are wearing a purple robe but look unfamiliar, I suppose you are some prince or grandson of the emperor. This is none of your business, so get out of the way immediately." He glanced sideways at Yuan Jing'an and said, "Your men have offended me; bind them as well and take them to the Court of State Ceremonial!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Are you blind? As a Uyghur, how can you not recognize me!"

Seeing several Uyghurs draw their swords to rescue their companion who was being held down by Yuan Jing'an, he immediately shouted, "Take them all down and hand them over to the Wannian County Court!"

This isn't the future, and there's no such thing as "diplomatic immunity." Even if Wannian County unjustly arrested the Uyghur delegation members, you shouldn't have gone there yourself to seize them. Riding horses in the streets, disregarding the safety of my Tang people—just that alone is enough for me to tolerate. I've captured them all, and I'll personally go to the Wannian County government office to get a clear answer.

Despite facing a dozen or so strong Uyghur riders, Li Ji was not afraid of them at all—you should know that the soldiers around me are different from the soldiers of other military districts; they have all been on the battlefield and seen blood!

At the commander's order, a dozen soldiers immediately drew their swords and surrounded the enemy from both sides.

The Uyghur leader was filled with rage, his eyes blazing with fury. He roared, "Who dares?! Even your Tang Emperor wouldn't dare offend my Uyghur envoy! If you offend me, I will report back to the Khan, and 100,000 cavalry will march south in an instant, crushing Chang'an, killing the old and young, and taking all their children!"

Upon hearing the words "all children taken away," Li Ji was enraged and immediately spurred his horse, ready to charge at the enemy. However, a clear voice suddenly rang out behind him: "My lord, wait!"

He could tell it was his wife speaking up... Li Ji turned his head slightly and saw Cui Cuo lift the carriage curtain, hand out a flag, and give it to a soldier.

The banner was unfurled, with a black background and an extremely abstract eagle painted on it... or maybe a sparrow or a crow? In any case, you could barely make out the shape of a bird.

When the Uyghurs saw this banner, they were all astonished: "Who are you, and how did you obtain this banner?!"

Li Ji felt ashamed. He had such a thing at home, but he had completely forgotten about it. He guessed that even Cui Cuo might not have thought of this if he hadn't packed his bags to come west.

He immediately sneered at the leader, "This was bestowed by the Khan himself, who appointed me as Tutunfa—how can you not bow before this flag?"

The Uyghurs exchanged bewildered glances, and their leader gritted his teeth: "Who knows if it's true or false? Even if Tutun were to spread his word, it might not be able to affect me!"

Tutunfa was the fifth rank of nobility among the Uyghurs, and also an official title, which could be translated into Chinese as "supervisory official". However, just like the censors in the Tang Dynasty who were in charge of supervision, there were also different types of censors, such as Attendant Censor, Palace Attendant Censor, and Supervising Censor, each with different duties. Therefore, without an actual appointment, Tutunfa was just an empty title and could not really supervise the dispatched missions.

However, Li Ji resolutely shouted, "I am heading north to Shuofang, near the grasslands and deserts. Whether this flag is real or fake, I will take you all to ask the Khan! What rank do you hold that you dare to offend me, Tutunfa? Why don't you dismount, kneel down, and apologize? What are you waiting for?!"

The structure of the Hu tribes was simple, and the hierarchical system was not as strict as that of the Central Plains dynasties. However, they often placed greater emphasis on the hierarchy, and subordinates were sometimes almost like servants to their superiors. Since Zetu Tunfa was ranked fifth in nobility, he was already among the high-ranking officials. Li Ji did not believe that the leader of the delegation opposite him was of a higher rank than himself—at this age, if he were a high-ranking Uyghur from the military headquarters, he would have met him most likely during his two trips to the Hui region.

If you were a high-ranking official from another tribe, this is a Tu-tunfa bestowed upon you by the Khan himself. You wouldn't dare to act arrogantly in front of me, would you? Besides, it's impossible for all your companions and subordinates to be high-ranking officials, would they?

In fact, Li Ji's understanding of Uyghur customs, folkways, and official ranks was quite limited. However, in his previous life, he had specialized in studying ancient history and knew that most nomadic peoples were still subject to slavery, and it was common for higher-ranking people to beat, scold, or even kill lower-ranking people. He figured the Uyghurs were no exception and couldn't be too advanced.

He hadn't expected that what truly alarmed the other side was the phrase "heading north to Shuofang." The Uyghur leader frowned and glared, "Could it be... that you are the newly appointed military governor of Shuofang, Li Ji?"

Since he was sent as an envoy to Chang'an, he naturally bore the heavy responsibility of gathering intelligence on the inner workings of the Tang Dynasty. In particular, he couldn't possibly be indifferent to the transfer of officials in Shuofang, a region close to the Uyghurs and which had originally intended to defend against them. The imperial edict ordering Li Ji to transfer from Weibo to Shuofang had barely been issued when he received the news in the Court of State Ceremonies.

At first glance, Li Ji didn't seem old, yet he wore a purple robe and was surrounded by many guards, so I assumed he was some prince or grandson of the emperor... If he were a high-ranking official, I'd probably seen most of them before. Only princes and grandsons of the emperor would be confined to the Sixteen Princes' Residence or the Hundred Grandsons' Residence, rarely venturing out into the streets, hence the unfamiliar face. It wasn't until I heard phrases like "heading north to Shuofang" that I finally connected him to Li Ji.

However, the fact that Dunmohedagan bestowed the title of Tutunfa upon Li Ji was not widely publicized; he had never heard of it before. But judging by common sense, Li Ji had twice visited the Khan's camp, and was said to be quite favored by the current Khan, and also had a close relationship with General Dide. Therefore, it wasn't entirely impossible that the Khan, in a moment of pleasure, would bestow upon him the banner of Tutunfa…

"I am Li Ji, why aren't you dismounting?!"

Forced into a corner, the Uyghur chieftain dismounted, but refused to kneel. Instead, he raised his fist to his chest and bowed, saying, "I was unaware before and offended Tutunfa. I hope you will forgive me. However..." He stiffened his neck and stared at Li Ji: "Are you speaking to me as Tutunfa or as a Tang official?"

What's the difference?

“If you speak as a Tang official, you are the military governor of Shuofang, and the affairs of Chang'an are none of your concern; but if you speak as a Uyghur, Tutunfa, how could you possibly side with outsiders and stop us for the sake of the Tang people?”

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was so angry that he laughed: "As a Tang official, how could I possibly shirk my duty when I see violent criminals robbing prisoners? As a Uyghur Tu-tunfa, my people are committing atrocities in the Celestial Empire and maliciously damaging the friendship between our two countries, so naturally I must also arrest and question them!"

The chieftain, with his neck stiff, said, "I'm afraid that if you capture me, it will damage the friendship between our two families—and if you anger the Khan, he will surely send troops south!"

Li Ji sneered, "Would the Khan break the alliance between our two families for a bird like you? You overestimate yourself."

"I have an envoy's flag, which is as if the Khan himself were here. Even Tutunfa cannot control me!"

Where is the envoy's flag?

The other party was speechless for a moment.

Not to mention that Li Ji almost forgot about the flag of Tutunfa, even if it was a banner issued by the Tang court, it was impossible to carry it with him at all times - the banner should be kept in the government office and only brought out when going out on official business or going to war - so the Uyghur leader, who lived in the Honglu Temple, did not think of bringing out the flag when he went to Wannian County to rescue his people.

Actually, given the current relationship between the Tang and the Uyghurs, and the fact that the court often turns a blind eye to Uyghurs breaking the law and causing trouble in the capital, if he were to actually go to Wannian County carrying a Uyghur envoy's flag, the magistrate would surely be terrified and would probably obediently hand over the criminals. The problem is that this Uyghur leader is used to being flattered and has never really looked down on the Tang people. Moreover, he also has the intention of hurting someone to vent his anger. Therefore, he rode off on horseback with a sword, but did not display his envoy's flag.

In the short time they were talking, most of the people had scattered, with only a few bold idlers still huddled in the corners, watching from afar. But the officials from Wannian County who were chasing the Uyghurs had caught up, all on foot, none of them on horseback, carrying only some sticks, iron rulers, and ropes, trembling with fear, blocking their retreat.

They didn't dare charge forward, because the Uyghurs were all armed with sharp weapons. While Li Ji's personal guards weren't afraid, these officials didn't dare to confront them directly. Even if they pretended to block their path, they figured if the Uyghurs spurred their horses and charged back, they would instinctively scatter to the left and right, making way…

It wasn't until Li Ji revealed the banner of the Uyghur Tutunfa that the Uyghurs followed their leader and were forced to dismount and pay their respects—though none of them dared to kneel—that the officials of Wannian County mustered their courage and dared to take a couple of steps forward.

Just as Li Ji was demanding to know where the envoy's flag was, and the Uyghur chief was unable to answer, Wannian Ling finally appeared—one hand on his turban, the other lifting his red robe, sweating profusely and panting heavily, he came running. The officials whispered to him for a moment, and he immediately straightened his clothes, clasped his hands in greeting to Li Ji from afar, and said loudly, "Wannian Ling Wei Tan greets Minister Li."

— Li Ji's titles of Shuofang Observer and Jiedushi were merely temporary appointments, not official titles. His formal official position was still Inspector of the Ministry of Rites, which is why Wei Tan called him that.

The two men were flanked by a dozen or so Uyghurs, about twenty paces apart. Li Ji was forced to raise his voice and ask, "These people claim to be Uyghur envoys. Why is Commander Wei pursuing them so relentlessly?"

Wei Tan hurriedly said, "Minister, please allow me to explain, it was originally because..."

To put it simply!

"A Uyghur killed someone in broad daylight in the East Market. The people arrested him, but before he could be interrogated, he was detained in my Wannian County. However, he was abducted by these people, who also injured the prison guards. We really didn't know that they were Uyghur envoys..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Okay, he's quite eloquent and loud; I can hear him clearly from a distance." He then glanced at the Uyghur leader and asked again, "Now that we know he is an envoy of the Uyghurs, what will Commander Wei do with him?"

The Uyghur chieftain turned around and glared fiercely at Wei Tan. Wei Tan involuntarily took two steps back and hid behind a burly constable... He then reported in one breath, "Even Uyghur envoys cannot wantonly kill and kidnap prisoners in this county... As I am in charge of the capital, I will not mistreat widows and orphans nor flatter the powerful. Unless the Prefectural Court of the Capital or the Court of State Ceremonies comes to arrest them, they should still be detained and interrogated..."

Li Ji nodded slightly, thinking to himself that this Wan Nianling was not only quick-witted but also quite opinionated. He then looked at the Uyghur leader and coldly ordered, "Since there's no envoy flag, we have no choice but to take him down!"

The soldiers were about to step forward when they suddenly heard someone shout, "Minister Li, wait! The Uyghur envoy's banner will arrive soon. Please wait a moment, Minister Li!"

Li Ji frowned and turned to look. He saw an official in purple robes hurriedly riding up on horseback. The official dismounted and bowed to Li Ji, saying, "The friendship between our two countries is of great importance. Minister Li, please do not be rash and offend the Uyghur envoy!"

Author's note: I'm back!

Chapter 43, Resentful Repentance

The purple-robed official who hurriedly rode up was someone Li Ji had met once before. He immediately dismounted and greeted him with courtesy: "Secretary Wei, how have you been?"

This man was named Wei Shaohua, a member of the prestigious Wei clan of Jingzhao. He had served as a drafter in the Imperial Secretariat and was ordered to serve as the chief secretary under Li Shi when Li Shi was appointed Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces to conquer Shi Chaoyi. This is how he became acquainted with Li Ji. However, the position of drafter in the Imperial Secretariat was powerful but lowly, only a fifth-rank official. Theoretically, he shouldn't be wearing a purple robe, so this must be a promotion. Li Ji didn't know the specific promotion and dared not address him rashly, so he temporarily referred to him as "Chief Secretary Wei" based on his previous position.

He thought to himself that if in my timeline, in the future, all officials could be addressed as "Sir," it would be much more convenient... In this era, "Sir" is just a respectful term for elders.

Wei Shaohua replied, "I am now in charge of the Court of State Ceremonial..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "No wonder. So he's become the Minister of Ceremonies, which is why he rushed over to get involved in this matter."

"What advice does Li Honglu have?"

Wei Shaohua pointed at the Uyghur leader: "This man is not an imposter, but a Uyghur envoy, whose honorable name is 'Chixin'..." Li Ji thought to himself that it was probably a transliteration, not his real name. "Please, Minister Li, step aside and allow me to escort him back to the Honglu Temple."

Li Ji glanced sideways at Chi Xin and saw that the man puffed out his chest even more, and turned his mouth to one side, revealing an arrogant expression.

"Does Wei Honglu know that this man went to rob the Wannian County prison and even injured a prison guard?"

Wei Shaohua smiled somewhat awkwardly: "This... I've only just heard about it." He then said seriously: "I will investigate this matter myself after I return to the Court of State Ceremonial. There is no need for Minister Li to handle it."

Li Ji sneered, "If the investigation confirms the truth, I wonder how Wei Honglu intends to deal with it?"

"This... I have no authority to decide this matter; I can only report it to His Majesty..."

“Since you have no authority to handle this, why bother going back to the Court of State Ceremonies to inquire?” Li Ji pointed his whip at Wei Tan in the distance. “The security of Wannian County should be handled by the magistrate of Wannian. I am now helping the magistrate of Wannian capture that scoundrel, so there is no need for Wei Honglu to overstep his bounds.”

Wei Shaohua cried out urgently, "No, absolutely not..." He then gave Li Ji a series of meaningful glances. Li Ji, seemingly oblivious, simply waved his hand, ordering his guards to step forward. Wei Shaohua immediately darted between Li Ji and Chi Xin, spreading his hands: "Minister Li, please calm your anger. This matter concerns the friendship between the Tang and Hui families; you must not act rashly!"

Li Ji said in a deep voice, “Our Tang Dynasty has its own laws. Those who violate them should be handed over to the magistrate for judgment. How dare the Court of State Ceremonies interfere? If you say that our two families are on friendly terms, is it the way friends treat each other to kill someone in the marketplace, then kidnap a prisoner and injure a jailer? You should know that the Uyghurs were originally subjects of our Tang Dynasty, or at best, friendly nations. Does Lord Wei think that the lives of Uyghurs are more precious than the lives of Tang people?!”

Wei Shaohua said, "The lives of envoys are certainly more precious than those of merchants and common people."

Before the words were even finished, Wei Tan called out from afar, "The investigation into the Uyghur who committed the murder in the East Market has confirmed that he was not under the command of the envoy, but merely a foreign merchant..."

Wei Shaohua immediately shouted, "Shut up!"

He then turned to Li Ji and said, "The Court of State Ceremonial is in charge of matters concerning guests. The Emperor has also ordered me to treat the Uyghur envoys with great hospitality. Since this matter involves the envoys, the Court of State Ceremonial cannot ignore it!"

“Alright, then arrest them and hand them over to the Wan Nian Ling for swift trial. Wei Honglu and I will go and observe the proceedings.”

Wei Shaohua could no longer contain himself: "Minister Li, this matter has nothing to do with you, why be so aggressive? If this damages the friendship between our two families..."

Li Ji was even more furious than him, and immediately shouted: "I cannot stand seeing the barbarians running rampant on my Tang land, disregarding my Tang laws and trampling on my Tang people as if they were nothing! Since I am paid by the court, I will certainly eliminate this injustice for the court. If it damages the friendship between our two countries, I will go north to apologize to the Uyghur Khan!"

As he spoke, he shoved Wei Shaohua without any politeness, causing him to stumble six or seven steps to the side and nearly fall. Then, Li Ji went straight for Chi Xin and pointed at the tall Tu Tunfa flag with his other hand: "Will you worship or not?"

Chi Xin still stubbornly insisted, "So what if we don't bow?"

Li Ji immediately reached out and pressed down on his shoulder. Chi Xin hadn't expected him to resort to violence so suddenly, and before he could dodge, he felt a tremendous force pressing down on his left shoulder, causing his knees to tremble violently, and he involuntarily knelt down…

Upon seeing this, the remaining Uyghurs all drew their swords and rushed to their aid. Li Ji shouted, "Seize them all! Anyone who resists will be killed without mercy!"

Upon receiving the order, the soldiers immediately charged forward, swords drawn. At this moment, Yuan Jing'an had already ordered his men to bind the Uyghurs pinned to the ground, freeing himself. He then drew his sword and leaped forward. Seeing this, the Uyghurs couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive—was this really a case of killing people?

Li Ji firmly pinned Chi Xin down with one hand. Chi Xin knelt on the ground, trying to draw his sword, but Li Ji exerted force again, sending him sprawling face-first to the ground. Li Ji raised his leg and stepped on Chi Xin's waist, coldly saying, "Order your men to lay down their weapons and surrender, or I will kill them all, including you!"

Since entering Tang territory, Chi Xin had been greeted with smiles and unwavering respect by both local officials and central government officials. His arrogance grew daily, but he never expected to suffer such a great loss today. He had initially intended to confront Li Ji—even if it was Tutunfa, it had no place in his jurisdiction; even if the case reached the Khan, he might not be the only one punished—but he was quickly pushed to the ground, realizing that Li Ji might truly intend to kill him…

Countless thoughts flashed through my mind—such as "A wise man doesn't suffer a loss in front of him" and "Where there's life, there's hope." Of course, these weren't the actual sayings, but rather Uyghur proverbs. A sudden fear gripped me, and I was forced to shout at the top of my lungs, "Disarm! Disarm first!" I shouted a couple of sentences in Tang language, then switched back to Uyghur.

Upon hearing this, the Uyghurs had no choice but to drop their weapons—three of them were already wounded, and two of Li Ji's personal guards were also injured, but fortunately, none of them were in vital areas.

Li Ji glared at the county magistrates: "What are you all standing there for? Come here and face the law!"

The officials were all terrified and retreated instead of advancing. Wei Tan had to follow behind and kick them before they finally cautiously went over and tied up the Uyghurs one by one—including Chi Xin, who was under Li Ji's feet.

Wei Tan was really going all out. To be honest, although the magistrate of the capital was of noble rank, a fifth-rank official, and could wear a red robe, the Wannian County under his jurisdiction was full of high-ranking officials and powerful families, none of whom he could afford to offend... In recent years, the Uyghurs had also been added to the mix, so he lived in constant fear, lest he accidentally kick a hornet's nest and be in trouble.

This time, he genuinely didn't know it involved a Uyghur envoy; he thought it was just an ordinary Uyghur merchant—which was indeed the case—and since he had been arrested for murder and brought to the city by the people, he was immediately detained. Later, a dozen or so Uyghur riders stormed into the government office, injuring people and attempting to break into the prison. As the magistrate of Wannian, Wei Tan couldn't simply turn a blind eye, could he? While the perpetrators were committing the crime, he might have dared to temporarily evade them, but now that they had escaped, he would certainly have to give chase.

Then the Uyghurs were cornered by Li Ji. His subordinates said that Li Ji seemed to be displaying some Uyghur banner, causing fear among the Uyghurs. Only then did he dare to boldly declare that he would never flatter the powerful and would handle the case impartially. When Li Ji's soldiers actually started fighting the Uyghurs, and blood was drawn, Wei Tan felt his legs cramp and his crotch become somewhat wet… Everyone said that regional warlords were arrogant, and it was indeed true. If he didn't obey Li Ji's orders and didn't give him a way out, would Li Ji order his soldiers to rush over and kill him?

I can't afford to offend any of the Uyghur envoys, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, or the military governor of Shuofang! The problem is, if I offend the Uyghur envoys, at most I'll be chased through the market and have my horse taken away, just like Shao Shuo, the magistrate of Chang'an a few months ago; if I offend the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, at most I'll be impeached afterward; but if I offend the military governor of Shuofang, I might even lose my life!

Alright, alright, we're in a bind, let's just focus on the present and do whatever Li Shuai says.

Seeing that the Uyghurs had been wounded and captured, Wei Shaohua was truly enraged. He lunged forward and grabbed Li Ji's sleeve, shouting, "You, you come with me to the palace to see the Emperor!"

Li Ji slowly turned his head to the side, staring at Wei Shaohua without uttering a word. Wei Shaohua saw that Li Ji's eyes were bright and seemed to be burning with flames, and he couldn't help but feel a chill, involuntarily letting go of his hand.

Just then, another rider galloped up, holding a flag and shouting, "The envoy's flag is here!"

The man, a minor official from the Court of State Ceremonial, was ordered by Wei Shaohua to retrieve the Uyghur envoy's flag to settle the dispute. Upon dismounting and seeing the scene, he froze, unsure whether to advance or retreat. Wei Shaohua, grasping at a straw, hurriedly called out, "Bring the flag! Bring the flag for Minister Li to inspect!"

The junior official approached nervously, bowing deeply and presenting the envoy's flag with both hands. Unexpectedly, Li Ji took it with one hand, and without unfolding it, gripped the other end and snapped it in two with a "crack" at his knee!

Wei Shaohua was so shocked that his face turned pale: "Li, Li... how dare you..." Seeing this, Chi Xin's eyes widened in fury.

Li Ji said in a deep voice, "It's fake."

"For example, how can it be fake?"