Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

The establishment of the Shuofang Military Governor was originally intended to "defend against the Northern Barbarians," and it wasn't until the fall of Liangzhou that they could directly confront the Tubo (Tibetan) forces. This military governorship was established in the ninth year of the Kaiyuan era, but in the third year of the Tianbao era, the Uyghurs defeated Basimi, essentially unifying the grasslands and deserts. Soon after, the Huai Ren Khan sent envoys to pay homage, and the Tang-Uyghur alliance was initially formed. From then until the Tubo captured Longyou and invaded Liangzhou, the Shuofang Military Governorship remained in place. Everyone knew it was there to guard against the Uyghurs.

Does that mean that once two countries become friendly, they can withdraw from important border towns and leave only a few patrolling soldiers? Unless one is a complete political idiot, no one would dare to suggest such a thing.

Therefore, Li Ji said that the court appointed him as the military governor of Shuofang, firstly to guard against the Uyghurs, and secondly to the Tubo. He said, "If you think I am not competent, I humbly request that I be transferred to another post. I am quite fond of Fengxiang, where I can serve as the prefect."

The appointment of Li Ji as the military governor of Shuofang was originally decided by Li Yu himself, and the two prime ministers had no right to change it on their own... Helpless, Li Xian had no choice but to request: "Then you should write down the plan you just presented regarding the matter of the emperor's return and present it to the emperor."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Of course, I will go back and write a report now—what I just said concerns matters of great importance to the military and the state. I implore you two gentlemen to carefully instruct your subordinates not to leak it out. If the Hui people find out about it, my plan will fail, and I fear that the two families will become enemies, endangering the Tang dynasty. In that case, the person who leaked the secret should be executed along with their entire clan!"

Both ministers said that was natural and that there was no need for Li Jun to remind them.

But Li Ji immediately raised his eyebrows and made another request: "In that case, if the envoys Chixin and others are temporarily detained in Wannian County, those left behind must not step out of the Honglu Temple again. If they are allowed to do so, it would be tantamount to treason and aiding the enemy! As for Wei Shaohua and Li Gan (then the Prefect of Jingzhao), I suspect they have been bribed by Chixin to act as spies for the Uyghurs. Please monitor them as well to prevent them from leaking secrets. If I have not yet gone north, but the Khan goes south first, or sends an envoy directly to Chang'an to question me, it must be because Wei Shaohua is secretly colluding with the Hu!"

It seemed like he was shirking responsibility, but in reality, he was pinning Wei Shaohua down with his life—if my plan fails, someone must have leaked it; and if someone leaked it but we can't find the culprit, then it must be Wei Shaohua who did it, and we'll definitely kill his whole family!

Li and Du were speechless and could only offer bitter smiles.

Li Ji had frightened the Emperor and the Crown Prince yesterday, and today he had intimidated the Prime Minister. He left the central court in a smug manner. His advisors, Lu Qi and Gao Ying, were waiting at the Mingfeng Gate. Seeing the general leave the palace, they hurriedly surrounded him, repeatedly asking, "How did it go?"

Li Ji spread his hands: "These days, prime ministers are all incompetent..."

If they think my words are inappropriate, then they should debate them in court, or, relying on the prime minister's authority, order me to be thrown out. If they are convinced by me, then they should present my words to the emperor on my behalf, or directly lead me to the emperor's presence. Instead, they remain noncommittal, merely giving perfunctory answers, and telling me to quickly write a memorial. Clearly, they are indecisive and dare not make a decision, so they are simply passing the buck to the palace.

Du Hongjian's true character can be seen from his indulgence of Cui Gan; as for Li Xian, he used to have a reputation for integrity, but now it seems he's nothing special. I seem to recall someone saying that Li Yanjian has risen and fallen several times, his sharpness has faded, his edges have smoothed, and he's become no different from a common, mediocre official.

With this group of bureaucrats controlling the Secretariat and the Chancellery, the state of the nation is predictable—they're not even as good as Yuan Zai, at least he dared to make decisions.

Li Ji then spoke with his advisors, recounting in detail what he had said to the prime ministers. Lu Qi was alarmed: "It was one thing for the military governor to impeach Wei Honglu, but how did it also implicate Li Jingzhao?"

Li Ji sneered: "If it weren't for Li Gan's indulgence, how dare the Uyghurs run rampant in the markets of Chang'an?!"

These are all public security cases, which should be handled by Wannian and Chang'an counties. However, because the case involves Uyghur envoys, the officials of the two counties are of low rank and lack the authority to handle the situation. Therefore, the Jingzhao Prefecture and the Court of State Ceremonial should negotiate a solution. So, Li Gan, if you had any guts, would things have escalated to this point? If I don't bite you, who else should I bite?!

Gao Ying clapped his hands and said, "Although the general's plan is a bit too simple, it is reasonable. I will draft a memorial for the general and submit it directly to the Secretariat."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Thank you for your trouble, Gongchu. In the current situation, you need not hold back in the slightest. Just do and say whatever I say, and please do not hesitate like yesterday, fearing that you might make a mistake."

Gao Ying smiled and cupped his hands: "I understand the General's intentions and instructions from last night. Now that the matter has been settled, we are like two armies arrayed in perfect formation. We must fight on with all our might and fight to the death. We must not have the slightest thought of retreating. This time, if we don't tear a hole in the sky, we will not see the General's ability and the might of our Tang Dynasty!"

Li Ji still trusted Gao Ying. Yesterday, he drafted the initial impeachment memorial, but because he was not clear about his own thoughts, he was inevitably somewhat constrained. Later, he explained his specific ideas and plans to Gao Ying in detail. In short, retreat would not bring peace, and weakness would only make enemies. Gao Ying understood this very quickly. This morning, he submitted the impeachment memorial against Wei Shaohua to the Council of State Affairs. The words were extremely vicious and harsh, which greatly exceeded Li Ji's expectations.

Ultimately, Gao Gongchu was a tough guy with a bad temper, and Li Ji's actions of "reflecting on himself and admitting his mistake, even if there are thousands of people, I will go" and his confrontation with the two major government offices of the Court of State Ceremonies and the Capital Prefecture were exactly in line with his temperament.

The group returned to the Jinzouyuan together. Gao Ying drafted a memorial, which Li Ji reviewed and found to be correct. He then ordered it to be presented directly to the Zhengshitang (Hall of State Affairs). Lu Qi also suggested that he make another trip to speak with His Highness the Crown Prince, and Li Ji agreed. The morning passed quickly, and as the sun reached its zenith, after lunch, Li Ji packed up, mounted his horse in front, and Cui Cuo followed in a carriage, heading straight for Yanfufang—the Xichuan Jinzouyuan was located within Yanfufang, adjacent to the Yuzhi Temple.

Pingkang Ward was located in the north-central part of Wannian County, while Yanfu Ward was in the south-central part of Chang'an County. The distance between them was not very close. With flags leading the way and a large entourage following behind, they finally arrived after nearly half an hour. At that time, the main gate of the Xichuan Jinzouyuan was wide open. A green-robed official stood solemnly in front of the gate with his hands in his sleeves. Upon seeing Li Ji and his party from afar, he hurried over and asked with his hands clasped, "Are you the virtuous couple, Commander Li of Shuofang?"

Li Ji nodded: "I am indeed Li Ji, and my wife is in the carriage..."

The official bowed deeply and said, "General Li, please follow me."

Seeing this, Li Ji was quite displeased—Cui Gan, you are so rude!

We are both military governors of the same town, of equal rank—in fact, I am slightly higher than you by a hair's breadth—so since you are hosting this banquet today, and I am the guest, I should personally go out to greet you. I was planning to wait for this minor official to turn back and call you out, so why do you expect me to come in with you while you wait inside? Are you looking down on me or something?!

He gave a cold laugh and questioned, "Does Commander Cui have a leg ailment?"

The official hurriedly took two steps closer and bowed again: "This humble official is Cui Mi, and Cui Gan is my elder brother..."

Cui Gan had three brothers. He was the eldest, followed by Cui Kuan and Cui Shen. All of them were ordered to stay in Chengdu. This time, when they went to the capital, they brought their fourth brother, Cui Mi, with them. Li Ji knew about this. Cui Cuo had also mentioned that this Brother Mi—Cui Gan had joined the clan to curry favor with Cui Guangyuan, forcibly squeezing into the third branch of the Boling Cui clan. In the genealogy, he was ranked seventh by age, but his brothers were not included—was quite talented in literature. He served as the seventh brother's secretary, and many of my previous correspondence was also written by Brother Mi.

So, although Cui Mi was not of high rank and only wore a green robe, he was still Cui Gan's brother. So, it was theoretically justifiable for him to send his own brother out to greet the guest. However, Li Ji was still indignant. "Is it so hard for you to come to the door to greet me?"

Before anything could happen, Cui Mi lowered his voice and said, “My elder brother has urgent business to attend to in the palace to see the Emperor, so he sent me here to greet General Li and his wife. There is a reason for this, and I would not dare to neglect our distinguished guests. This is not the place to talk. I humbly request that General Li come with me into the courtyard so that I may apologize on behalf of my elder brother.”

Li Ji wondered what this meant. He was invited to a banquet, but the host had run away first? But seeing Cui Mi's sincere expression and repeated bowing, he didn't seem to be deliberately trying to embarrass him. Since he was already there, he didn't want to leave without understanding the reason. So he didn't dismount, but with a stern face, he cracked his whip and said, "Lead the way."

Once all the carriages and horses had entered the Xichuan Jinzouyuan and the gates were closed, Li Ji dismounted and immediately asked Cui Mi, "What important matter does your brother have that compels him to enter the palace to meet the Emperor at this moment?"

Cui Mi looked around, dismissed the bystanders, and then whispered, "This matter cannot be kept from Commander Li—there is trouble again in Shu!"

Cui Gan was preparing food and drink at the Jinzouyuan, waiting for Li Ji and his wife to arrive, when he was suddenly struck by alarming news—Yang Zilin, the governor of Luzhou, had personally led several thousand elite troops in a surprise attack on Chengdu. Cui Kuan, who was left to defend the city, was caught off guard and was defeated, fleeing to Shu County…

When Cui Gan attacked Chengdu and drove out Guo Yingyi, Bai Zhenjie, the military commander of Qiongzhou, Yang Zilin, the military commander of Luzhou, and Li Changkui, the military commander of Jianzhou, raised troops to support Zhang Xiancheng's government forces in attacking Cui Gan. After Zhang Xiancheng was defeated, Du Hongjian reconciled with Cui Gan, and the court ordered Bai, Yang, and Li to each take up the post of prefect of their respective prefectures and return to their prefectures.

While in Chengdu, Cui Gan presented tribute to the emperor and lavishly bribed Du Hongjian. He also worked to win over former Shu generals like Bai and Yang, hoping to turn enemies into friends. He believed his power base was secure, so he confidently left his brother Cui Kuan to guard the city while he followed Du Hongjian back to the capital for an audience. However, Yang Zilin, harboring treacherous intentions, outwardly complied but inwardly waited for an opportunity. Taking advantage of Cui Gan's absence, Yang Zilin launched an attack from Luzhou, marching hundreds of miles in a single battle and storming into Chengdu…

Cui Gan was shocked upon receiving the news. He hurriedly ordered his brother Cui Mi to greet Li Ji and his wife on his behalf, while he himself rushed into the palace to see the emperor. He was afraid that if he was a step too late, Li Yu would get the news first and might try to use Yang Zilin to uproot his family from Shu. Even if it might offend Li Ji, he didn't care!

Of course, it would be best not to offend Li Ji... That's why I told Cui Mi that you and Li Shuai and his wife can speak the truth, but you must first welcome them into the Jinzouyuan, and the news must not be leaked.

After listening to Cui Mi's detailed explanation, Li Ji finally felt relieved—it was understandable. If it were me, upon hearing of any trouble in Shuofang or Weibo, would I not be busy dealing with it, instead of rushing to eat at the Cui family's banquet? So he cupped his hands and said, "In that case, I shall take my leave for now, and wait for another time..."

Cui Mi grabbed Li Ji's sleeve and said, "Please don't be like that—my elder brother went to the palace to meet the Emperor, hoping that the court would issue a decree to punish Yang Zilin and allow him to return to Sichuan immediately to quell the rebellion; however, the battle is a thousand miles away, and Chengdu has already fallen, so even if he returns, it won't be in a hurry for a day or two. I implore Commander Li to rest a little longer and wait for news from my brother." He waved his hand and said, "The banquet has been prepared. This humble official should first offer a toast to the virtuous couple and apologize on behalf of my brother."

Li Ji turned to look at the carriage—Cui Cuo hadn't gotten out, but since his conversation with Cui Mi had been right next to the carriage, he was sure she couldn't have missed it—the curtain was lifted, and Hong Xian helped Cui Cuo down. Clearly, his wife intended to wait for Cui Gan there, as Cui Mi had requested.

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself: You really care about your seventh brother... He had no choice but to comply and follow Cui Mi up to the hall. After the host and guests took their seats, Cui Mi then toasted the couple with a cup of wine as an apology.

Cui Mi was not only a man of great literary talent, but also quite eloquent. He spoke fluently about the customs and situation in Sichuan, and Li Ji, though unable to meet the main character, did not find it boring.

It wasn't until late afternoon, when the sun was setting, that someone announced, "The General has returned from the palace." Li Ji and his wife immediately stood up, craning their necks to look. They saw a red-robed official, left hand on his belt, right hand lifting his robe, trotting quickly to the front of the hall. He immediately kicked off his boots, leaped forward, and without entering the hall, knelt and prostrated himself on the veranda: "I failed to properly welcome our distinguished guest; it is my fault. I humbly beg your gracious forgiveness..."

Cui Cuo hurriedly raised his hands, offering a perfunctory helping hand: "Is it Seventh Brother in person? Why such a grand gesture between relatives?"

Chapter 50, Referring to Comrades

Cui Gan was born in the eleventh year of the Kaiyuan era. He was in his early forties this year, more than a full twelve years older than Li Ji.

Li Ji stared intently and saw that this Sichuan general was tall on top and short on the bottom, with broad shoulders and a rather thin waist, resembling an inverted triangle... He had a yellow face, a square face, and a long beard, and his expression was dignified without being angry.

Cui Gan was originally from a distant branch of the Cui clan of Boling. His ancestors moved to Weizhou—he was practically a fellow townsman of Li Ji—his family had been Confucian scholars for generations, but he preferred the ways of the School of Diplomacy. As a young man, he left his parents and went to Shu to join Xianyu Zhongtong's army, starting as a common soldier...

This is also one of the reasons why Li Ji sympathized with Cui Gan. After all, in these days, generals were either scholars who had changed their professions or from military families. It was truly rare for someone to become a general by relying solely on personal efforts and fighting on the battlefield for decades without any foundation. Of course, if Cui Gan had not been surnamed Cui and had been a complete commoner, he probably wouldn't have had many opportunities for promotion.

After exchanging greetings and taking their seats, Li Ji immediately asked, "Your brother has briefly mentioned the affairs of Shu, but I wonder if Commander Cui's visit to the palace went smoothly?"

Cui Gan replied, "Thanks to Commander Li and the Emperor's great virtue, I have been granted permission to return to Xichuan immediately to attack Yang Zilin. Moreover..." Unable to hide his joy, he said in one breath, "Commander Li, there is no need to be formal. Since we are relatives, you can call me by my name. However, I am no longer called Cui Gan. The Emperor has just bestowed upon me the name Cui Ning."

Li Ji immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "Congratulations, Commander Cui... The Sage bestowed this name upon you in the hope that you can bring peace to the Shu region. He truly has high hopes for you."

However, I was also wondering to myself, your brothers are named Cui Kuan, Cui Shen, and Cui Mi, all of which have the radical for "roof" (宀), but your name has the radical for "sun" (日). Is it possible that Li Yu has some kind of obsessive-compulsive disorder that made him change your name to "Cui Ning"?

Then Cui Gan... no, Cui Ning turned around and instructed his younger brother Cui Mi: "I intend to leave the capital tomorrow, or at the latest the day after tomorrow, and rush back to Shu. You may go and make preparations immediately." Cui Mi bowed and took his leave.

In fact, Cui Ning was telling Li Ji: "Let my brother handle all the preparations for leaving Beijing. I will do my best to be a good host and stay here to entertain you both."

This marked the official start of the banquet. Fine wines and delicacies were served in a continuous stream. Li Ji, upon seeing this, secretly envied: It seems that this Cui fellow is quite wealthy!

With Lu Qi remaining in the capital, Li Ji could easily uncover most of the court officials' dealings if they so desired. He had already questioned Lu Ziliang in detail last night about Cui Gan's activities since arriving in the capital; basically, he had been sending gifts everywhere, amounting to no less than 300,000 strings of cash—Sichuan was originally a wealthy region, especially the area around Chengdu; who knew just how much this Cui fellow had amassed…

From Cui Ning's perspective, this was an unavoidable situation. However, Li Ji hoped that he could use more money and resources to recruit and train soldiers in order to resist the invasion of the Western Barbarians and protect the southwest, this major granary.

He then inquired about the situation in Xichuan. According to Cui Ning, Xichuan in Jiannan had a population of nearly three million, half of whom lived in Chengdu Prefecture and nearby prefectures such as Peng, Shu, Han, and Mei. The main direction of the Tubo invasions over the years was the Xishan area, three or four hundred miles northwest of Chengdu.

The Xishan region is home to eight Qiang tribes, commonly known as the "Eight Kingdoms of Xishan," such as Gelin, Baigou, and Nanshui. If their hearts and strength could be won over and their power gained, they could serve as a shield for Sichuan. However, if they were annexed by the Tubo, the Chengdu Plain would have no natural defenses to rely on. Therefore, the Jiedushi of Jiannan often stationed a large number of troops in Xishan. Cui Ning himself rose to power as the military commander of Xishan.

"At the beginning of the Zhide era, Jiannan was divided into East and West Sichuan. When Lord Yan (Yan Wu) was alive, he believed that the two Sichuan were one entity and that their authority should be unified. He petitioned the emperor and the plan was approved. I was then ordered to lead troops to the Western Mountains to expand our territory by a hundred li, temporarily relieving the threat from the Western Barbarians. Unfortunately, Lord Yan died young, and the court divided Jiannan twice more, and appointed Guo Yingyi to guard the Western Sichuan... Well, let's not dwell on the past. Now I am in the Western Sichuan, which strengthens the defense of the Western Mountains, but I regret that I do not have a good general..."

Cui Ning meant that when he was under Yan Wu's command, he was stationed in Xishan and could protect the barbarian bandits from invading. Now that Yan Wu is gone and he has taken control of Chengdu, he can no longer stay on the front line. However, he no longer has a capable general like himself who can be relied upon.

"The main force of the barbarian rebels is now heading north, plotting to seize Anxi and Beiting. As for Xishan, they can only secretly send envoys to persuade the eight kingdoms. I, in Shu, only seek peace and tranquility, pacify the people and store grain, hoping that in a few years, when our army is strong enough, we can once again press Xishan. Then the eight kingdoms will not dare to rebel, and Jiannan can be guaranteed peace. If the court intends to use troops in the north to recover Longyou and Liangzhou, we can also take the Qiang tribes to send troops to Dengyuan to contain a part of the barbarian rebel forces..."

At this point, he slapped his thigh in resentment: "That Yang Zilin is causing trouble again!"

Li Ji asked him, "How many soldiers does Xichuan actually have?"

Cui Ning said, "Ma Shao's forces are mostly infantry. I can control about 30,000 men, of which 15,000 are in Xishan, and the rest are scattered in various prefectures. Only a few thousand remain in Chengdu Prefecture, which is why Yang the bandit took advantage of the situation to invade..."

"Brother Cui, are you confident in pacifying Shu?" As the conversation between the two became more lively, Li Ji simply followed his wife's lead and called Cui Ning "brother".

Cui Ning patted his chest: "I consider Yang Zilin nothing more than a chicken or a dog. But once he returns to Shu, I can wipe him out in less than half a year!" He paused, then added: "We must quell the rebellion before autumn, otherwise the barbarian bandits will take the opportunity to invade. If they annex Xishan, not only will Yang Zilin become a traitor, but I will also become a national traitor..."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Since Brother Cui is willing to defend our territory and resist foreign invaders, then we can be considered comrades."

"Comrade" was still a new word at this time, but Cui Ning could understand it by recognizing the words and meanings. He immediately raised his glass and said with a smile, "It is my honor to be comrade with Commander Li!" Li Ji accepted the toast from him, smiled and said, "Since we are relatives and comrades, there is no need to be formal. Since I regard Brother Cui as my elder brother, then Brother Cui should regard me as his younger brother."

The two men found themselves increasingly congenial, both veterans of countless battles. They recounted their past exploits and engaged in in-depth discussions. Before they knew it, night had fallen, and they had drunk their fill. They then agreed to gather their strength for a few years and launch a simultaneous attack on the northern and southern barbarians, determined to exhaust the likes of Ma Chongying and render them powerless to resist.

As they were talking, Cui Ning suddenly remembered something, so he ordered his men to bring a document and handed it to Li Ji with both hands. Li Ji took it and looked at it, and lo and behold, it was the ownership contract for Ya Xuan Tea House...

"Brother Cui, what do you mean by this?"

Cui Ning said solemnly, "I have been pardoned by the court for my past crimes and given the position of governor of Xichuan. How could I forget your kindness, my virtuous brother? This small amount of money is nothing but a token of my respect... We are relatives and comrades, so why should we run a teahouse together to maintain our relationship?" There is no need for any financial entanglements; we value our feelings.

Li Ji naturally declined, but Cui Ning said, "Shu is rich, while Shuofang is poor. My brother will need money and goods everywhere he goes to Shuofang. If you have any spare money, I should provide it. Besides, this property... originally belonged to your father-in-law and should be passed on to my sister. My brother, please do not refuse."

Li Ji pretended to decline, but when he couldn't refuse, he accepted it and casually handed it to Cui Cuo, who was standing next to him, to put away. Cui Ning then steered the conversation to Shuofang: "Shuofang is a vast place with many mixed Hu people. Their generals are arrogant and their soldiers are fierce, so they may not be easy to control. My brother, you must be careful on your journey."

"I was just about to ask Brother Cui for advice on matters concerning Shuofang. Do you have any insights to share with me?"

Cui Ning shook his head: "I grew up in the southwest, how would I know about things in the northwest? But judging from common sense, if you want to take charge of the north, there is one person you must visit..."

----------

The following afternoon, the Cui brothers took their leave of the capital and rushed to Shu to quell the rebellion. Li Ji, as planned, visited Li Qiyun and Yang Wan in the morning—as expected, he was unable to meet them, only leaving his name card—and then went to the Prince of Fenyang's residence in Qinrenfang in the afternoon to request an audience with Guo Ziyi.

Cui Ning told him last night that if he wanted to take control of Shuofang, there was one person he couldn't bypass, and that was naturally Guo Ziyi. Guo Ziyi was someone who sat on the sidelines; although he held the title of "Chancellor of the Secretariat," he certainly didn't need to clock in at the Secretariat. He spent most of his time sitting idly in his own residence, so theoretically he should be able to meet him in person.

Guo Ziyi's relationship with Li Ji was not deep—not even as deep as that with the deceased Li Guangbi—but given Li Ji's rank and position, and his impending departure to govern Shuofang, he could not refuse to see him. Thus, he ordered his eldest son, Guo Yao, the Minister of the Imperial Guard and Duke of Taiyuan, to personally greet him at the gate. The old general himself did not come out, but unlike Cui Ning, who held a banquet but did not personally greet him, Li Ji could not possibly harbor any resentment.

Upon entering the hall to meet, Li Ji performed the courtesies due to a son and nephew. Guo Ziyi then summoned all his brothers, sons, and sons-in-law to greet Li Ji. The large crowd nearly filled the spacious main hall. Seeing this, Li Ji couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone says that Your Excellency has six sons and five sons-in-law, and a bed full of official tablets. If I could acquire even half of that inheritance, I could die in peace!"

In fact, Guo Ziyi had a total of eight sons and eight daughters. However, his two youngest sons, Guo Shu and Guo Ying, were still very young, and even his sixth son, Guo Ai, was only sixteen years old, yet he had already married Princess Shengping, daughter of Li Yu, and been appointed as a驸马都尉 (Imperial Son-in-Law). Perhaps in a few more years, he would have eight sons and eight sons-in-law filling his bed…

Guo Ziyi waved his hand humbly and said, "My son-in-law's fame and achievements are all his own doing..." He glanced at Guo Ai, and thought, "Okay, only you, Sixth Brother, are not one of them." He continued, "Although I bear the responsibility of the General-in-Chief and hold the rank of a high-ranking official, I have failed to quell the rebellion in Hebei and have failed to drive the barbarian bandits back to the plains. I have spent half my life in a hurry and have accomplished nothing. I am truly ashamed."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji blurted out, "Does Your Excellency still harbor some resentment about abandoning Luoyang and returning to the capital that day?"

The Tang Dynasty had two major enemies: the Western Barbarians and the An Lushan Rebellion. The Western Barbarians were at the height of their power, and the general who ultimately pacified Hebei and Youzhou and annihilated Shi Chaoyi was neither Guo Ziyi nor Li Guangbi, but Pugu Huai'en. After the defeat at Xiangzhou, Guo Ziyi led the Shuofang Army to retreat to Luoyang, but because of Yu Chao'en's slander, he was recalled to the capital and began his long period of being sidelined. As a result, his subordinate Pugu Huai'en was able to achieve the complete success in suppressing the rebellion. It would be impossible for him not to feel any resentment.

No matter how rebellious or usurping the throne, the pseudo-Yan was still a state, having captured two capitals and nearly overthrown the Tang dynasty, causing eight years of continuous warfare in the Central Plains. Its contribution to the destruction of a state was immense, unmatched by any other campaign. So, someone with prestige and power, capable of seizing this achievement and securing a place in history, was sidelined due to the emperor's suspicion. Li Ji thought to himself, "If I were in that situation, I certainly wouldn't tolerate it!"

However, given their limited acquaintance, even though Guo Ziyi still harbored resentment, he wouldn't openly reveal it to Li Ji. His earlier statement, "I was unable to quell the rebellion in Hebei, nor could I drive the barbarian bandits back to the plains; I've wasted half my life, accomplishing nothing," was merely a display of humility. Unexpectedly, Li Ji seized upon this flaw in his words, bluntly asking, "I didn't expect that you, old general, still harbor resentment about being forced to return to court?"

One was a thoughtless remark, the other a deliberate question—the latter, while speaking, also secretly glanced around and saw that the expressions of Guo's sons-in-law had all changed, some were alarmed, some were angry, some had a slight bitter look, and some simply turned their heads away—a thousand people, a thousand faces, each different.

After scanning the area, he looked at Guo Ziyi again. The old general remained calm and composed, and simply smiled: "General Li, please don't make fun of me. Such elaborate and scathing arguments are the responsibility of the censor. You are a seasoned warrior, so there's no need for you to harbor such thoughts."

First, I warn you that you're nitpicking and deliberately finding fault, and I will never admit it. Then I persuade you that we are both military commanders, so there's no need for us to trip each other up.

Li Ji thought to himself that the old man was indeed shrewd. Although he had misspoke, his subsequent words were watertight. However, the old man was clearly unhappy because he had deliberately teased him. Just now he had been calling him by his courtesy name, but this time he coldly changed it to "General Li".

He bowed and said, "I have spoken inappropriately, please forgive me, Your Excellency. I have been ordered to guard the northern frontier, and all those under my command are your old friends. Therefore, I dare not fail to come to your residence to respectfully seek your guidance. However... it is truly inappropriate for me to become too close to Your Excellency."

Guo Ziyi curled his lip: "General Li's words are quite intriguing—why is it not advisable for him to be close to me?"