Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Li Ji thought to himself, "You really have considerable strength. None of the opponents I've faced before could compare to you. Judging from the feeling in my hand, if you insist on finishing this slap, I doubt even both of my hands could stop you..."

Nan Jiyun laughed and said, "How about it? Didn't I tell you I'm a good friend who can make you kneel down?"

Lei Wanchun glanced at him sideways: "It's not just me—have you bowed yet?"

Upon hearing this, Nan Jiyun immediately grabbed Li Ji's arm and pulled him up, then, like Lei Wanchun, kowtowed. Chen Ruo naturally followed suit. As for the other generals, those from Suiyang need not be mentioned, but even the newly promoted ones, seeing that Generals Nan and Lei had both bowed, felt embarrassed to stand still. They immediately knelt down one after another, surrounding Li Ji and bowing in a circle.

Li Ji hurriedly tried to kneel down to return the greeting, but Lei Wanchun jumped up, grabbed him, and forced him to accept the three bows from the crowd—in the main street of the South Market, everyone turned their heads, wondering what had happened...

The two men in the middle (the other being Cui Qi, who was trying to hide but had nowhere to retreat) didn't look very old. Could they be high-ranking officials traveling incognito? Someone whispered, "They're probably from the imperial family. Didn't you see that the short guy doesn't have a single hair on his lip? He's probably a eunuch!"

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Chapter Twenty: The Crisis of the Eastern Capital

After everyone bowed in greeting, they put their arms around each other's shoulders and rushed up to the second floor of the tavern, shouting and celebrating with a feast.

Nan Jiyun asked first, "Is Changwei's visit to Luoyang on official or private business?"

Not wanting to reveal his mission, Li Ji casually replied, "It's a private matter; I've come to visit relatives."

Nan Jiyun said, "Private matters are fine..." He immediately picked up his wine cup and said, "I toast Changwei, and I'll drink more."

He had barely put down his wine cup when Lei Wanchun picked it up again: "I also toast you, Li Erlang, firstly for the kindness of Suiyang, secondly for your defense of the barbarians in Longyou, and thirdly for meeting you today—three cups of wine, let's drink to our hearts' content!"

Cui Qi, standing to the side, kicked Li Ji, who hurriedly said, "My alcohol tolerance is limited, I'm afraid I can't drink much." He then picked up his cup and said, "I heard that today is General Lei's birthday, so we should first offer our respects to the old man."

Lei Wanchun laughed and said, "What General Lei? Just call me Old Lei. Birthdays come every year, but heroes are rare. Just treat me as Erlang."

The group toasted and drank, the atmosphere quite lively. Li Ji took the opportunity to inquire about the defenses of Henan, and Nan Jiyun sighed, "The situation is not very encouraging... Originally, Marshal Guo was doing a good job, but I don't know why the Emperor replaced him with Minister Li, and it almost caused a military coup..."

Last month, an imperial envoy arrived in Luoyang to summon Guo Ziyi back. Upon hearing the news, the various armies clamored and surrounded the envoy, demanding that he return to report to the emperor and that Guo Ziyi be detained. Knowing that he could not escape, Guo Ziyi deceived his subordinates, saying, "I am going to see the imperial envoy off; I will not leave now." But he immediately rode away on horseback, heading west to Chang'an.

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was very dissatisfied with Guo Ziyi—"You're only thinking about how to avoid disobeying the imperial edict and arousing suspicion in the court, completely neglecting the feelings of the soldiers! Even if they absolutely had to leave, you could have gently persuaded them, explaining the greater good before they left. Just lying and running away like this only demoralizes your subordinates. If everyone resents the court, how can Li Guangbi quickly win over the hearts of the people and solidify the defenses when he arrives?"

It seems that in Guo Ziyi's mind, the emperor was more important than the country, and his own reputation and favor were more important than the morale of the army...

As expected, upon hearing of this, Li Guangbi dared not openly come to Luoyang to assume command. He was forced to lead five hundred elite cavalry from Hedong to sneak into the city under cover of night and take over the defenses. He then summoned Zhang Yongji, the commander of the Shuofang Left Wing Army stationed in Heyang, for a meeting. Zhang Yongji was furious and said, "My Shuofang army is not a rebel army. Why did you sneak in at night and arouse such suspicion?!" He then gathered his generals and planned to lead his elite troops into Luoyang, drive out Li Guangbi, and welcome Guo Ziyi back.

Fortunately, the military commander Pugu Huai'en and the right strategist Kang Yuanbao advised him, saying, "Are you trying to kill Lord Guo? Lord Guo's family has over a hundred members; what have they done to wrong you?" Only then did Zhang Yongji give up.

Immediately, Li Guangbi personally led several thousand cavalry eastward out of Sishui. Zhang Yongji came to pay his respects alone, but Li Guangbi reprimanded him for ignoring the summons and delaying the appointed time. He was executed on the spot, and his subordinate general Xin Jinggao was appointed to lead his troops.

Then Pugu Huai'en arrived, and Li Guangbi sat down to talk with him. But before they could exchange more than a few words, a report came: "Five hundred cavalry from the Western Barbarians and Tuyuhun have arrived!" Li Guangbi was greatly alarmed.

Pugu Huai'en went out of the tent to inform the approaching army, pretending to scold them: "I told you not to come, how dare you disobey my order?!" Li Guangbi quickly smoothed things over from the side: "The soldiers followed their general, which is not a crime, and there is no need to punish them." He then ordered that they be given generously grazing cattle and wine as a reward.

When Li Ji heard Nan Jiyun say this, he really didn't know whether to cry or laugh...

It's clear that Li Guangbi was always strict in his military discipline, and he took advantage of this by first killing Zhang Yongji to intimidate the various armies in Henan, led by the Shuofang Army, and to establish his own authority. It's likely that the Minister of Works, Li, also knew that changing generals on the eve of battle would undermine morale, and with Shi Siming's imminent invasion and time running out, this was the only drastic measure he could use to quickly seize military power and improve defenses.

However, no one knew whether killing Zhang Yongji would be enough for Li Sikong, or whether he would stop there. Would the other generals be so desperate as to risk their lives to meet him in the commander's tent? Pugu Huai'en then staged a coup, completely crushing Li Guangbi's arrogance.

In this way, Li Guangbi's plan to intimidate the army completely failed. Could he still control the Shuofang Army? How could such a distrustful army fight a tough battle and resist Shi Siming's attack?

This small sign reveals a larger truth: Henan is doomed!

He turned to Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun and asked, "What did Doctor Zhang say? Can Luoyang be defended?"

Lei Wanchun patted his chest and declared, "We were able to hold out in Suiyang for over a year, so how could we not hold out in the vast city of Luoyang? But as long as we are here, we will not allow a single soldier of the rebels to set foot in the Eastern Capital!"

Nan Jiyun patted him on the shoulder and scolded, "The guards have seen battles and killed enemies, Lao Lei, why do you have to talk nonsense to deceive him?" Lei Wanchun glared at him and said, "How is it nonsense? If even we don't have the confidence to defend the city, what about the soldiers? What about the people?!"

Nan Jiyun ignored him and turned to Li Ji, explaining, "It's too early to say whether Luoyang can be defended. If Minister Li can hold off the enemy on the river, or at worst retreat to Hua and Bian, then Luoyang will be safe. But if Minister Li cannot hold it and the enemy breaks into the area between Gongxian and Sishui, then..."

He paused, then continued, "Luoyang is a vast city, several times larger than Suiyang, and it is precisely because of its size that it is so difficult to defend. Especially the direction leading into the imperial garden, which is actually unwalled..."

Luoyang was roughly a rectangle, slightly narrower from east to west and slightly wider from north to south, with the Luo River flowing through its center. The palace area was located in the northwest of the city. As a capital, the city walls were quite high and steep. However, these walls did not completely enclose the city. To the west of Luoyang, south of the Luo River, in the three wards of Guangli, Chunhe, and Tongji, and north of the West Market, lay the imperial gardens, known as "Ruyuan," which were surrounded only by some fences...

That's why Nan Jiyun said that Luoyang was difficult to defend, and even if the capital were enclosed within the city walls, the difficulty of defending it still couldn't compare to that of Suiyang. You see, the larger the city, the more soldiers are needed to defend it—of course, the enemy also needs a sufficient number of troops to besiege it—and with more soldiers, plus a larger population of civilians, the difficulty of command would increase significantly.

"Furthermore, the troops of Zheng and Cai suffered a defeat at Xiangzhou, and their morale is low. They cannot be compared with the troops of Yongqiu and Suiyang in those years..."

Since several of those present were generals from the Zheng and Cai armies, Nan Jiyun quickly added to reassure them, "Of course, it is not your fault."

Li Ji pondered for a moment, then asked again, "How are the provisions?"

All the generals present shook their heads and smiled bitterly.

Li Ji thought to himself, "That little rascal Li Shi is really sharp. He knows that Luoyang is in imminent danger, so he quickly sent me out to pick up his mother. How come Li Heng can't see something so obvious? Why does he still want to change commanders at this critical juncture?"

Seeing the atmosphere at the banquet becoming somewhat somber, Lei Wanchun suddenly shouted, "The bandits haven't even arrived yet, why are you already so worried? With this kind of mentality, even a city that can be defended won't stand a chance!" He then picked up his wine cup, drank it all in one gulp, and showed the bottom of the cup to everyone: "We will simply follow the doctor's orders. If the doctor says to leave, we will go with him; if the doctor says to defend, we will pour out our blood and sweat here! Back in Suiyang, we should have died. Living this much longer is all a bonus. What regrets could we possibly have?!"

Nan Jiyun smiled and slapped the table: "Old Lei is right. It's rare to have a good time to get drunk today. From today onwards, we must strictly abide by the doctor's orders and not touch a drop of alcohol. In that case, you all should drink to your hearts' content and not leave until you're drunk!"

For some reason, he glanced sideways and remembered Cui Qi: "Brother Cui, you haven't drunk much. Come, let me toast you."

Cui Qi looked troubled and turned to glare at Li Ji. Li Ji quickly stepped in to cover for her, saying, "Look at Brother Cui's lips, they're smooth and hairless, which shows he's still young and can't drink much. Let's drink while he eats some vegetables."

Nan Jiyun laughed and said, "So what if I'm young? I was not even ten years old when I was already used to sneaking into the ancestral hall to steal the sacrificial wine." He insisted on offering it to Cui Qi.

Just as Li Ji was feeling troubled, he suddenly heard a cough outside the door—for some reason, the sound wasn't loud, but when a group of soldiers heard it, the noise and commotion instantly stopped.

Lei Wanchun jumped up and shouted, "Has the doctor arrived?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was startled—could it be Zhang Xun? Who brought him here?

However, when a general under one's command celebrates his birthday with a gathering, it is only reasonable for the commander to come and show his concern, even if he does not formally attend the banquet.

The curtain was slightly lifted, and a deep, somewhat muffled voice sounded from the outer room: "Please move aside, Li Erlang. I will be waiting in the next room."

Li Ji quickly stood up, straightened his clothes, and looked around at everyone present. Nan Jiyun nodded and said, "Go and speak with the doctor. We will wait for your return here."

After leaving the elegant room, we went into the next room, which was much smaller than the birthday party venue. Upon entering, we saw an old man, dressed in plain clothes and with his hair unkempt, sitting by the window.

The old man had a large frame, but was extremely thin. He had a long face covered with wrinkles and a sparse beard. The most striking feature was his sunken mouth. He looked to be about fifty or sixty years old, but his mouth made him seem to be over seventy.

This must be Zhang Xun, the doctor who fought off the bandits in Suiyang City, his teeth clenched in pain. Li Ji quickly lifted his robe and was about to kneel down to pay his respects.

In fact, neither Zhang Xun nor he were wearing official robes, so there was no need for a grand ceremony of worship. However, Li Ji had always admired this Doctor Zhang, and in addition, he respected Nan Jiyun. How could he possibly be disrespectful or abrupt to someone who was so devoted to Nan Jiyun?

However, the old man raised his hand and gestured for Li Ji not to bow, saying somewhat indistinctly, "I am Zhang Xun, and I have come to see Li Erlang. I am busy with official duties and do not have much time, so please do not bow, Erlang, and sit down."

If he had simply said there was no need to bow, Li Ji would certainly not have listened; but he specifically pointed out that he had little free time and that they should not waste time on formalities. Thus, Li Ji had no choice but to comply, and hurriedly turned to the side, bent his knees, clasped his hands, and bowed, saying, "Li Ji greets the Grand Master."

Zhang Xun smiled and said, "Erlang is my benefactor, as well as the benefactor of the soldiers and civilians of Suiyang. I should be the one paying respects to Erlang..." Before Li Ji could humbly say that he dared not, he asked bluntly, "Erlang, did you come here because of that person in Chongyin Temple?"

Li Ji clasped his hands and bowed his head, replying, "Indeed. I have been ordered to do this, and I have no choice but to ask him to move. If this were to shake the morale of the troops within the city..."

Zhang Xun interrupted him, saying, "It's alright. Even if you hadn't come, I was just about to ask that person to leave anyway."

Li Ji frowned: "Does the doctor believe that Luoyang is no longer defensible, or is there no intention to defend it?"

Zhang Xun replied, "I discussed this matter with Li Sikong the other day... To be honest, Erlang, Shi Siming is about to arrive!"

Because the defenses of Luoyang and its surrounding areas were not yet fully in place, and to avoid alarming the troops, Zhang Xun, Li Guangbi, and others concealed information about the battles at the front to a certain extent—at least military commanders of Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun's rank could not possibly know.

It turned out that Shi Siming had long ago ordered the prefects of each prefecture to each lead 3,000 troops to follow him south, totaling 70,000 to 80,000 troops. They were divided into four routes and crossed the Yellow River at the four ferry crossings of Liyang, Puyang, Baigao, and Huliang, and entered Henan Province.

The immediate threats were Puyang and Huazhou, followed by Bianzhou; if Bianzhou fell, the rebels could pass through Zhengzhou and advance directly into Henan Prefecture. The area between Xingyang and Sishui was originally a formidable natural barrier, but with the Yellow River changing its course several times, the terrain has become more complex, and after years of fierce fighting, there's little left to defend. Therefore, the eastern gateway to Luoyang truly lies in the three prefectures of Puyang, Huazhou, and Bianzhou.

Li Ji interjected, "I wonder who the commanders of the three prefectures are?"

Zhang Xun smiled wryly: "The prefect of Puzhou is Dong Qin, and the military governor of Bianhua is Xu Shuji."

Li Ji couldn't help but click his tongue—he didn't know much about Dong Qin, but he had dealt with Xu Shuji before and had absolutely no good feelings towards him. He always felt that with Xu Shuji's self-preservationist and jealous nature, he would never be able to fight any tough battles against the rebels.

Zhang Xun said, "Minister Li has ordered Xu Shuji to defend Bianzhou for fifteen days until reinforcements arrive, but I fear he may not be able to hold out for more than fifteen days. When I inquired with Minister Li, he said that Luoyang might not be able to be defended, and he wants me to lead the officials and people out of the city to avoid the enemy..."

Li Guangbi, fearing Luoyang could not be defended, suggested abandoning it temporarily and leaving the city empty. However, Li Guangbi stationed his main force in Heyang to connect with Ze and Lu prefectures to the north, thus containing the rebel army and preventing them from advancing further west. Judge Wei Sun advised, "How can we not defend the capital, the capital?" Li Guangbi replied, "If we defend Luoyang, we will need to deploy troops at Sishui, E'ling, and Longmen. Where will I get so many soldiers? You are the military judge; how can you not understand the essentials of military strategy?"

Zhang Xun agreed with Li Guangbi's views, but he also believed that Luoyang, the eastern capital, was of paramount political importance due to its central location. Losing it would inevitably cause unrest in the provinces of Henan, hindering the subsequent war. Furthermore, he worried that Henan would be embroiled in a protracted battle with the rebels. If Luoyang remained in their hands, it would at least provide some reassurance to the court; but if it fell, would the pressure from both the court and the people fall entirely on Li Guangbi, forcing him to launch a hasty counterattack before the time was ripe?

Wasn't this the same reason why Geshu Han lost when he defended Tongguan?

Zhang Xun spoke tactfully, but Li Ji instinctively thought: You're not worried about the pressure from the court and the public, but rather that Li Heng might get anxious and make the same foolish move his father made back then, right? That's very possible!

Zhang Xun continued, "After I tell you all this, you can inform that person and urge him to leave quickly..."

"What are the doctor's plans?"

Zhang Xun said, "Officials and commoners should naturally leave the city to avoid being harmed by the rebels. As for me, I cannot leave..."

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Chapter Twenty-One: The Will to Die Has Begun

Li Ji had important matters to attend to, so he didn't dare drink too much. He just ate meat like crazy, filling himself up completely. That way, even if he could only eat vegetarian food in the evening, he could make up for it with the fat he had at noon.

After bidding farewell to Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and others, he and Cui Qi led their horses straight to Chongyin Temple. Shortly after delivering Li Shi's letter, they were summoned to the temple to meet Consort Shen.

Upon seeing her, Li Ji noticed that Consort Shen looked even more haggard than when she was in the Luoyang Imperial Palace… Li Ji thought to himself, "It's a good thing you didn't return to Chang'an. If Li Yu had seen your current appearance, would he have written a letter of divorce on the spot…?"

In fact, he didn't have any ill feelings towards Li Yu. Compared to his father Li Heng, Li Ji felt that Li Yu's current performance meant he would be a moderate ruler if he became emperor. At least he wouldn't be as benevolent on the surface but suspicious on the inside as Li Heng. Of course, it's hard to say. Even Li Bi misjudged Li Heng.

However, Li Ji's temporary affirmation of Li Yu's character doesn't mean he sees everything about Li Yu as virtuous. Influenced by Li Shi, he felt that Li Yu might be a good son, but certainly not a good husband. In fact, one could say that in matters of the heart, he was a complete scumbag!

For a man, being attracted to beauty and having an affair is quite normal in this world, but you can't just abandon the woman you were once deeply in love with and completely ignore her. Even if you're afraid to bring Consort Shen back to Chang'an for the sake of domestic harmony, or for fear of trouble at home during a crucial moment in your political life, you should at least place her in a safer and more secure location. Li Shi could think of that, so why couldn't you?

Li Ji suppressed his inner grievances and earnestly requested Consort Shen to move to Shanxian. Consort Shen, however, retorted, "While I am in the temple, I only know how to chant scriptures and worship Buddha, and I do not concern myself with worldly affairs—is the war really that urgent? Is Luoyang about to fall again?"

Li Ji replied, "Shi Siming has launched a large-scale attack, but the government troops are demoralized and short of supplies due to the defeat at Xiangzhou. Furthermore, the Emperor... Minister Li is also worried that Luoyang is difficult to defend, and has ordered Physician Zhang to relocate all officials and civilians outside the city for safety. Therefore, Your Highness should also set off as soon as possible..."

Consort Shen asked, "Is Doctor Zhang also going to abandon the city and flee?"

Li Ji replied, "I was just summoned by Physician Zhang, and he said that everyone else can leave Luoyang, but he alone cannot..."

Firstly, Zhang Xun hoped to preserve Luoyang, even if only a portion of it, thereby gaining more strategic flexibility and avoiding significant damage to the court's prestige. Secondly, Li Ji had advised Li Shi to use various channels to influence the court and appoint Zhang Xun as the acting governor of Luoyang, precisely because he was a renowned general who defended the city, and the court and the public placed high hopes on him.

But what kind of situation is it if a famous general who was supposed to defend the city doesn't even bother to defend it and just runs away? How can Zhang Xun ever hold his head up again?

Consort Shen gently shook her head and said, "If Doctor Zhang doesn't leave, I won't leave either. As long as I'm in the city, I can encourage the soldiers and strengthen their resolve to defend the city."

Li Ji hurriedly said, "Your Highness, you mustn't! Haven't you seen the women in Suiyang City?"

Upon hearing this, Consort Shen's expression changed drastically, and she rebuked, "I never expected such words to come from the mouth of a guard!"

Li Ji sighed softly, "These words are not what I wished to say. It was actually Physician Zhang who asked me to convey this to Your Highness..."

When Zhang Xun was defending Suiyang City, his food supplies were exhausted and his soldiers were hungry. Fearing that they would be unable to defend against the enemy, he offered up his own concubines so that the soldiers and civilians could share them. Since the general had set such a precedent, others followed suit, and most of the women in Suiyang City ended up as food for others.

This is cruel and inhumane, but considering the reality of running out of food and the rebels' history of rape and plunder, once the city falls, those women will likely suffer a fate worse than death if they fall into the rebels' hands. It's like during a famine, when some people resort to cannibalism; those who can't stomach it are saints, but those who grit their teeth and eat it, those who are well-fed and carefree, have no right to criticize them, right? Perhaps only keyboard warriors would tirelessly delve into the moral issues involved.

The problem actually lies in the system; it has nothing to do with morality!