Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Li Ji thought for a moment, then clapped his hands and said, "Brother, you have a brilliant plan—this is feasible."

Li Bi's idea was to draw elite troops from various garrisons—primarily from the central and western regions—to reinforce the Six Armies of the Northern Army. Then, a portion of these Six Armies would not be stationed in Chang'an, but rather dispersed to Guanzhong, Hezhong, and other areas to control strategic locations and oversee the troops of the regional military governors. This annual rotation, as long as the deployments were not too far, would keep expenditures within a barely tolerable range.

Li Ji offered two supplementary suggestions. First, “The Imperial Guards stationed in the outer garrisons must also participate in the annual autumn defense and the suppression of local bandits. We should not worry about losses and leave them idle. In the past, elite troops were forged in battle, not supported by the East and West Markets.”

Secondly, "The provisions and equipment of the Imperial Guards stationed outside the capital should be higher than those of the garrison troops, so that they may see the honor of protecting the emperor and be happy to serve him; however, the difference should not be too great, so as not to cause unnecessary discord or even hostility between the Imperial Guards and the garrison troops."

In conclusion, he said, "This plan is excellent, but we must find a capable person to implement it and proceed gradually to avoid provoking the other garrisons. Moreover, with the elite troops being transferred to the Northern Army, the responsibility for provisions and pay will also fall on the central government. Given the current reserves in the treasury, I'm afraid we can't implement it freely yet."

Li Shi immediately took paper and pen from the table and roughly wrote down what Li Ji had said. Afterwards, he said, "The sage wishes to do the second thing—divide the northern region..."

Li Ji couldn't help but smile slightly: "It seems that General Guo also heard about this matter, which is why he was finally forced to extend an olive branch to me..."

Li Shi asked, puzzled, "What is the story behind the olive branch?"

Li Ji quickly brushed it off: "That's not important. What's important is that Shuofang is a vast area with Han and Hu people living together. The situation is complicated and serious. Previously, we were only able to focus on defending against the Northern Barbarians, but now we also have to face the Western Barbarians. Moreover, if I want to lead the troops from Shuofang out of Huining Pass to recover Liangzhou and rescue Anxi and Beiting, I will definitely be too busy."

Li Shi nodded and said, "That is precisely why the Sage intends to cede the four prefectures of Xia, Sui, Yin, and Sheng, establish the Xia-Sui Military Governor, and also establish the Zhenwu Military Governor, concurrently serving as the Protector-General of Anbei and the Protector-General of Shanyu, and in charge of the three surrendered cities—Does Changwei think this is feasible?"

Li Ji hesitated for a moment: "It is feasible, but we should not be hasty... When we were stationed in Shuofang, the court did not distinguish between different regions, in order to reassure Lord Guo... Let me be settled in Lingzhou before we take action."

Li Shi smiled and said, "Changwei still has a large force stationed at Sanshoujiang City, so it's impossible to hastily divide up Shuofang at this time. I'm afraid that apart from Changwei, no one dares to go to the Hetao region now, in order to face the wrath of the Uyghur Khan." He then asked seriously, "So you really want to go to Sanshoujiang City?"

Li Ji first nodded, then shook his head: "Since I am stationed in Shuofang, I will definitely have to deal with the Uyghurs. It is only natural that I would make a trip to the Hetao region. However, the idea of ​​stationing heavy troops in Shoujiang City is, to be honest, a way to intimidate the Prime Minister—in any case, even if the Khan wants to launch a military invasion to the south, he will have to wait until autumn, when envoys travel back and forth to negotiate. There is no need to delay for so long..."

Li Shi said with a wry smile, "As long as the matter of the Uyghurs remains unresolved, I'm afraid even the Emperor cannot sleep soundly for a single day!"

Li Ji advised, “One should be bold in making decisions, but cautious in planning. If Your Majesty has any fear of difficulties regarding the Uyghurs, the regional military governors, or Lord Guo… then no matter how loyal your officials are, they will ultimately find it difficult to secure the country and resolve the crisis.” He paused, then asked in a low voice, “If the problem of Shuofang can be resolved, how does Your Majesty intend to deal with Lord Guo?”

Li Shi glanced at him: "Changwei, don't overthink it. The Emperor has always been magnanimous. How could he have any intention of harming you, Lord Ling? Even when Yuan Zai held power, the Emperor didn't question him because he appreciated his great achievements and hoped that he could remain a loyal subject to the Emperor. If Yuan Zai had been a little more restrained and had been more tolerant of Mr. Changyuan and Li Yanjian (Li Xian), he wouldn't have ended up like this. The Emperor is uneasy because Shuofang is powerful. Only when its power declines can this relationship between the two families last."

At this point, she sighed softly, "It's a pity that Changwei already has a wife..."

Li Ji hurriedly waved his hand: "I absolutely refuse to marry a princess—I would rather not!"

----------

The following day, an imperial edict finally arrived from the palace, stating that because the Hui envoys had acted arrogantly and violently, assaulting Tang officials, Li Ji, the military governor of Shuofang, was appointed as the envoy to the grasslands to discuss with Changshou Tianqin Khan and properly resolve the dispute. Therefore, all Hui envoys, including Chixin, were taken from the Wannian County prison and the Honglu Temple and escorted to Li Ji's military camp at Baqiao.

In other words, the imperial court can't handle this matter; it's all up to you, Li Ji—I only care about the final result.

At the same time, an imperial edict was issued urging Li Ji to leave the capital as soon as possible and head north to Lingzhou.

However, Li Ji deliberately delayed his departure, first hosting a grand banquet for his former officials from the Northern Army at Lü Miaozhen's house—primarily to win over Hun Jian—and then visiting his old friends and relatives in the capital one by one. The court, left with no other option, dismissed Wei Shaohua from his position as Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies and transferred him to the post of Deputy Military Commissioner of Qianzhou, while simultaneously reprimanding Li Gan, the Prefect of Jingzhao, and cutting his salary…

Five days after Li Shi's late-night visit, Li Ji finally left Chang'an with his family and staff in haste. His entourage had grown considerably since their departure, including Lu Geng, Yan Zhuang, Wei Tan, Li Fengguo, Lü Xiqian, and Wei Gao.

Yan Zhuang had previously persuaded Li Shi and Li Ji, ultimately leading to Li Ji's appointment as governor of the Western Regions. His primary objective wasn't to curry favor with the Crown Prince, but rather to join Li Ji's inner circle. He knew that given his past transgression, even the Crown Prince wouldn't dare recommend him to the central court easily. And if Li Shi were to ascend the throne… who knew how long that would take? By then, he'd likely be dead!

Only by leaving Chang'an and joining the ranks of military governors could he hope to steadily rise through the ranks by accumulating merits and sharing in battle achievements. Even if he never returned to the central court, he could still exchange his official robes for a red one in five to ten years—if he couldn't wear purple and crimson robes and have a grand funeral in the future, he wouldn't be able to die in peace!

Now that Li Shi had recommended him and that he had gained merit through persuasion, Li Ji could not refuse him outright and had no choice but to bring him under his wing and appoint him as a judge.

As for Wei Tan, the magistrate of Wannian, he was forced onto Li Ji's "pirate ship," which resulted not only in the dismissal of his own family's Minister of Ceremonies, Wei Shaohua, but also in the reprimand of his superior, the Prefect of Jingzhao, Li Gan. Could Wei Tan still remain in Chang'an? It's likely that as soon as Li Ji left, Prefect Li would dismiss him for a minor offense, and he might even be unable to secure a proper appointment...

Rather than doing that, it would be better to curry favor with Li Ji, voluntarily resign from the post of Wannian Magistrate, and join the Shuofang Army.

The other three, Li Fengguo, Lü Xiqian, and Wei Gao, were recommended to Li Ji by Li Shi.

Li Fengguo was a Uyghur, originally named Sheligezhan. He migrated south due to internal strife within his tribe and briefly served under Xin Yunjing, the military governor of Hedong. Later, Xin Yunjing became a subordinate of Li Shi. Lü Xiqian, on the other hand, was originally a retainer of Li Shi.

Wei Gao was born into the Wei clan of Jingzhao, specifically the Mei Cheng branch, and was the twenty-third son. At the age of eighteen, he became a mourner at the Jianling Mausoleum. The position of mourner was a custom since the Wei and Jin dynasties, where young men of the sixth rank or above were selected during national mourning periods to be taught etiquette and participate in funeral activities, thus gaining eligibility for official selection. In short, Wei Gao rose to prominence by carrying the coffin and singing dirges for Li Heng (Jianling being Li Heng's mausoleum).

He was later appointed as a military advisor in Huazhou, and then entered the Court of Imperial Sacrifices as a chief clerk, becoming an official under the Crown Prince. Li Shi observed that although he was young, he had great ambitions and was fond of discussing military affairs, so he recommended him to Li Ji's staff—"If you stay under my command, you will never get ahead!"

Li Ji's staff expanded rapidly. He also awaited news of Yang Yan and Han Hui's arrival—the court had essentially given their approval, and the Ministry of Personnel had registered them. Unless they themselves refused to join his staff, they would eventually reunite. Li Ji intended to ask Yang Yan to help manage Shuofang's finances, and even to appoint him as the Director of Finance, Salt Lake, or Water Transport Commissioner of the Six Cities; while if Han Hui returned to Chang'an, he could replace Lu Qi as the Shuofang Advisor.

In terms of practical ability, Han Hui is naturally far inferior to Lu Qi—it's true that someone with Lu Qi's talent is hard to find—fortunately, he had lived in the capital for a long time and knew many people in all walks of life. He could make friends with officials and gather information on a daily basis, so he should be able to handle the task.

In addition, Gao Ying recommended his cousin Gao Chongwen to Li Ji. Gao Chongwen had served in the army in Pinglu and was appointed as the garrison commander of Huaixi, but he was not favored by his superiors and had no hope of promotion.

Because of the repeated urging from the imperial court, Li Ji left in a hurry and was unable to build the Weibo Jinzou Academy upon arrival. He had no choice but to entrust the entire project to Lu Qi. He hoped that Lu Ziliang would first purchase a suitable house in the capital, then contact Yan Zhenqing for reimbursement. After the Weibo Jinzou Academy was finalized, the plaque of the Shuofang Jinzou Academy could be hung grandly in his own residence in Pingkangfang.

Cui Cuo was quite displeased and complained to Li Ji, "The Zhen Jinzouyuan uses public funds, but my family has been using the Jinzouyuan for so many years..." Li Ji could only reply to her, "We will gradually make up for the deficiencies after we take over the Shuofang Treasury. Don't be impatient."

(End of Volume 7, "The Sword Was Drawn and the Arm of the Proud One Was Severed")

Author's Note: Volume 7 is now finished. As usual, there will be a break tomorrow, and Volume 8 will begin serialization the day after tomorrow.

In addition, my old novel, "Life, the Divine Scepter," has been re-uploaded on this site. It represents my youth and can be considered one of the first works in the domestic fantasy genre. The beginning is a bit immature, but it gets much better after the first volume. I hope both new and old friends will visit and add it to their collections. Thank you.

Chapter 1, The Eagle Shooting on the Grasslands

In the vast, high sky, eagles soar.

With a "whoosh," an arrow, accompanied by a terrifying whistling sound, shot almost straight toward the eagle, which was over a hundred feet above the ground, like a powerful crossbow bolt. The eagle cried out in alarm, flapping its wings sharply to barely dodge the arrow...

Shot empty.

Li Ji glared angrily at the eagle as it gradually disappeared into the distance, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

Dunmohedagan, stroking his beard, laughed loudly, "General Li, you are confident in your unparalleled archery skills and your perfect aim. How are you this time?"

Li Ji said angrily, "That feathered beast dares to embarrass me! If it were a pigeon, I would have shot it down long ago..."

Dunmohedagan suppressed his smile and said seriously, “You don’t need to be too disappointed. On the grasslands, skilled archers are called ‘eagle shooters,’ and they have always been the chief’s personal guards—from the Turks to the Turgesh to our Uyghurs, it has always been the same. Shooting an eagle is different from shooting a person. It not only requires bow strength, eyesight, and accuracy, but also familiarity with the habits of eagles and the ability to predict their flight direction. Without the experience of missing ten times, it is impossible to master the skill of shooting down an eagle.”

Li Ji nodded and said, "The Khan is right. I have oversimplified this matter..." He then handed the powerful bow to the soldier beside him, turned his head and glanced at Chi Xin, who was kneeling beside him with a face ashen, and said, "In this round, the Khan has won. I accept my defeat."

Dunmoheda immediately ordered, "Push Chixin far away and kill him."

"Wait a minute," Li Ji suddenly realized, "Why did I pardon Chixin when I shot the eagle, but kill him when I missed... Shouldn't it be that the Khan would rather spare Chixin's life?"

Dunmohedagan shook his head: "He did something wrong, so of course he should be killed. Why should I spare him?" Then he glared at Chixin and asked angrily: "Do you know where you went wrong?"

Chi Xin bowed his head and said, "I shouldn't have acted so violently in Chang'an, injuring Tang officials and almost ruining our relationship... but it was all to save my Uyghur merchants, protect my Uyghurs... and also to save the Khan's face..."

Dunmoheda coldly interrupted him: "Making mistakes is not terrible, what is terrible is not knowing you are wrong—you are my Uyghur envoy, holding my flag, you can roam freely throughout the world, so what's wrong with killing a few Tang people? Do you think the Tang family would break the alliance between our two countries over such a trivial matter?"

"That……"

"Your biggest mistake was actually running into General Li!"

Chi Xin was speechless. Li Ji, however, smiled and said, "If you were to say that you bumped into me, it might actually be a merit for Chi Xin."

Dunmoheda glanced at him: "General Li seems to have great confidence in himself and the Shuofang Army."

Li Ji retorted sharply, "I am truly powerless to defeat the Khan, but I fear the Khan is also incapable of crossing the northern border to invade Chang'an. If the two sides fight, the one who will ultimately benefit is Tibet. So why bother?"

The two seemed to be speaking in cryptic language, but anyone with a modicum of intelligence could understand their meaning. Dunmohedagan meant that the envoy's tyranny and invasion of friendly nations wouldn't necessarily lead to a breakdown in relations between the two countries. On the contrary, the Uyghurs could use this opportunity to test the Tang court's attitude and thus gain greater benefits in diplomatic negotiations. Therefore, although Chixin's actions were not authorized by the Khan, they couldn't be considered wrong.

Chixin's mistake was that he ended up running into you, Li Ji, and was captured on the spot and taken back to the grasslands. Doesn't this damage the face of this Khan?

Li Ji replied that Chi Xin had done a good job in bumping into him—because he had probed the attitude of the person who was about to take charge of the Shuofang Legion, thus preventing the Uyghurs from misjudging the situation.

Don't assume that repeated acts of aggression and probing will necessarily benefit the Uyghurs. Over time, they will inevitably cross the Tang Dynasty's bottom line, and then, "a thousand-mile dike will be breached by an ant hole," and the alliance between the two sides will surely break down. With the Tang Dynasty's current strength, they indeed have no way to deal with the Uyghurs, but even you, Khan, aren't confident of defeating the Tang in one fell swoop and marching straight to Chang'an, are you? Thus, "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits," and Tibet gains the advantage for nothing.

Therefore, Chixin's timely probe and understanding of my attitude was actually a merit for the Uyghurs.

Dunmoheda waved his hand and reported back to Chixin—"Drag him far away and chop him up." Then he pulled Li Ji's hand: "There's no need to discuss this matter anymore—should this bet continue?"

Li Ji spread his left hand: "I have no more stakes..."

Dunmohedagan stared into his eyes: "General Li is deeply trusted by the Tang emperor and has commanded the powerful army of Shuofang. How can you say there are no stakes involved?"

Li Ji sighed softly, "This Shuofang may not be easy to govern!"

He hadn't had many interactions with this Khan of Longevity, but he had personally heard Dunmohedagan's vision for the future of the steppe peoples, and witnessed him effortlessly turn the tide, eliminating both the Yabghu prince and Yidijian, and smoothly ascending to the throne of Khan. From this, he understood that the other party was indeed a smart man, neither tempted by petty gains nor hindered by righteousness, far superior to Li Heng and his son, and even much more mature than Li Shi.

For intelligent people, there's no need to beat around the bush or say anything foolish; they can speak frankly.

Dunmohedagan, holding Li Ji's hand, returned to the tent and sat cross-legged opposite each other on a thick felt carpet that had been laid out beforehand. A servant brought milk wine, and the two drank from the same bowl. Then Dunmohedagan said, "It's not easy being the emperor of the Tang Dynasty..."

Li Ji chuckled inwardly—how come your words are exactly the same as what his son said?

"...When I was prime minister, I could do as I pleased, but as Khan, I am now bound hand and foot and cannot act freely. For example, when I led my troops through the three surrendered cities two years ago, if Yi Dijian were Khan, he might have ignored everything and continued to march on, plundering Hedong first; if he had gained something, I would have had a share; if he had suffered a setback, I could have gathered your chieftains and forced the Khan to provide compensation..."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Back then, the army was only in Shanzhou and was about to set off. The Hedong troops were also fierce and brave, but Shi Chaoyi was already a corpse with only a few breaths left and could hardly recover. If your army really marches south, it will suffer a heavy defeat. As for the Tang family, it will only delay the pacification of the chaos by a few years."

Dunmohedagan curled his lips slightly, then leaned closer to Li Ji and whispered, "I know that the Tang family has had a poor harvest in recent years, and there is famine everywhere. However, the grasslands have also suffered from repeated disasters, and many noble chieftains have complaints. The reason why I ordered Chixin and others to transport horses to Chang'an and demand high prices is to shut up those noble chieftains and strengthen the friendship between our two families."

Li Ji replied, "Just as I said, I fear that this would not be enough to solidify our friendship, but would instead weaken both of us, thus benefiting the barbarian bandits..."

“Then what can we do? Unless…” Dunmohedagan narrowed his eyes slightly, “Since Tibet has fallen into Hexi, Anxi and Beiting are probably hard to defend. It would be better to give them to our Uyghurs, so that the leaders of the various tribes can draw their bows and arrows and take their land themselves, which can appease their resentment.”

Li Ji shook his head repeatedly: "Anxi and Beiting are very important to our Tang Dynasty, and we must never give them to others. Moreover, since I am stationed in Shuofang in the north, my ambition is to recover Hexi and rescue Anxi and Beiting. Otherwise, are we going to use all 100,000 troops in Shuofang to defend against your family?"

Dunmoheda said, “Since the two families have made an alliance, why should we be on guard? If you are unwilling to give Anxi and Beiting, you might as well withdraw the three surrendered cities and give the Hetao region to our family.”

Li Ji still shook his head: "The Yellow River is harmful in every way, but beneficial only to the Hetao region. The Hetao region is not only rich in water and grass, but also suitable for farming. Rather than being ruined by the Uyghurs... it is better for our Tang Dynasty to have it."

He was eager to change the subject, so he glanced eastward and said, "If the Khan thinks that helping our Tang Dynasty to take over Hexi and save Anxi and Beiting will only bring some money and silk as a reward, but not an inch of land to give to the tribal leaders, why not lead the army eastward?" There are also the Khitan and Xi tribes to the east, who are also enemies of our Tang Dynasty. It would be better for the Uyghurs to go and fight them.

Dunmohedagan was somewhat uninterested: "The people in the forest are difficult to manage, and even if we get the land, we can't graze cattle and sheep there, so it's of no use."

"Then what if we go west?"

"Going west leads to Anxi and Beiting..."

Li Ji shook his head: "North of Anxi, past Jinshan, towards Duotanling, there are the Karluks. Their customs are similar to those of the Uyghurs. If we can get the people to control them and the land to use them, wouldn't that be good?"

Dunmohedagan said solemnly, "Don't try to fool me. The Karluks have already submitted to the Abbasids. Even when the Tang Dynasty was at its strongest, it could not defeat the Abbasids and was driven across the Pamir Mountains by them. Why should I, the Uyghurs, provoke such a powerful enemy?"

Li Ji gestured as he explained, “Our Tang capital is in Chang’an. It is two thousand li to the east to the sea and five thousand li to the west to the Pamir Mountains. That is the limit. Therefore, Gao Xianzhi led a detachment on a distant expedition, crossing the Pamir Mountains to attack the Abbasid Caliphate, but was defeated. It is not that our Tang is inferior to the Abbasid Caliphate.”

"At that time, the Abbasid Caliphate had just destroyed the Caliphate and was at the height of its power. Persia was also the stronghold of Abu Abbas, which enabled them to mobilize a large army to defend against our Tang. Now, however, they have moved their capital to Baghdad and killed the Persian governor Abu Muslim, weakening Persia's power and clearly indicating their intention to advance westward rather than confront our Tang in the east—the Abbasid Caliphate's repeated sending of envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute after the Battle of Talas is clear evidence of this. Does the Khan not remember the conflict between the Uyghurs and the Abbasids over the tributary system in the first year of the Qian Yuan era?"

Dunmohedagan turned to look back, and his prime minister, Hudibiqia, immediately leaned closer and whispered a few words in his ear. Dunmohedagan then nodded: "So you were referring to the incident nine years ago..."

Nine years ago, in the first year of the Qianyuan era of Emperor Suzong of Tang, the Uyghurs sent eighty envoys, including Duo Yihai Abo, and the Abbasid Caliphate sent six envoys, including Naowen, to Chang'an to pay homage to the Tang emperor. A dispute arose over the order of entry into the palace. In the end, the Tang court decided to open the east and west gates and have two interpreters lead the two envoys to pay homage at the same time, thus resolving the dispute.

Today, when Dunmohedagan recalled this matter and pondered the meaning of Li Ji's words, he couldn't help but exclaim, "I never imagined that General Li would be so concerned about the affairs of distant countries. My Uyghur envoys have also asked your important ministers many times, including the prime minister and the Minister of State Ceremonies, how big the Abbasid Caliphate is and how many soldiers it has, but no one could answer that."

Li Ji felt ashamed, realizing that all his knowledge actually came from later generations...

As he just said, encompassing the Western Regions was already the limit of the Central Plains dynasty's westward expansion, and there was no intention to continue expanding its territory. Gao Xianzhi crossed the Pamir Mountains to attack the Abbasid Caliphate because the Abbasid Caliphate had taken in the fugitive prince of Shiguo. He wanted to fight a war of punishment. Since the Abbasid Caliphate did not advance eastward and even sent envoys to pay tribute, no one in the court or the public took it seriously, and no one intended to study the actual situation of that distant country.

On the contrary, the Abbasids fought several battles with the Tibetans in the Indus River Valley, which made Ma Chongying suddenly wary.

The so-called Black Caliphate refers to the Abbasid Caliphate of the Arab Empire. Li Ji had some knowledge of its history in his previous life. Since he had calculated the approximate year corresponding to this life, he naturally knew the current state of the Abbasid Caliphate. That's why he spoke of Abu Abbas and Abu Muslim, which was definitely not the translation method commonly used in China at that time.

I believe that the clash between the two empires, separated by the Pamir Mountains, was merely a simple exchange and wouldn't have caused such a ripple effect that it disrupted the global situation.

Furthermore, even if what I said differs from the facts, given the level of transportation and communication these days, could you possibly tell the difference?

He then explained to Dunmohedagan, "The White Caliphate is five thousand miles away, on the shores of the Western Sea. They first marched east and destroyed Persia. The general Abu Abbas then used Persia as his base, murdered his ruler and usurped the throne, thus becoming the Black Caliphate. Since they hold the reins of power, it is natural for them to establish their capital in the former territory of the Caliphate—just as An Lushan wanted to move from Fanyang to Luoyang to declare himself emperor..."