Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Comparatively speaking, Li Ji still prefers tall and slender young women who are a little bit plump... the key is that they have to have breasts!

However, liking someone isn't just about their appearance or physique. Li Ji's feelings for Cui Qi gradually evolved from pleasing to the eye to appreciation, and then to love, after several encounters. Only when the night was deep and no one was around, recalling Cui Qi's voice and smile—of course, he couldn't think about it when he was holding Qingluan, nor dared to—he asked himself honestly, perhaps it was when he angrily left the Tang camp in Heyang, his spirits plummeting to rock bottom, that he felt comforted by Cui Qi's presence, and that's how he overcame the last hurdle in his heart.

The development of a relationship often requires a certain opportunity.

Li Ji once swore an oath that he would marry Cui Qi—what, you say, that our statuses are not a good match? Then I'll go and beg Cui Guangyuan to take you in as my adopted daughter, won't that solve the problem? Although these words were not spoken without thinking, upon reflection, they may not have been entirely well thought out.

The key issue is that Cui Guangyuan comes from a prestigious family—the Cui of Boling is even more prestigious than the Li of Zhao County, and Cui Guangyuan's third branch is considered the main branch of the Boling Cui, while Li Ji's Liaodong branch is a separate lineage of the Li of Zhao County—and Cui Guangyuan holds a second-rank official position. How could Li Ji possibly climb up to him? While Cui Guangyuan had previously expressed interest in befriending him, Li Ji figured that if he approached him and asked to betroth Cui Guangyuan, there was a chance Cui Guangyuan might agree. But how could Cui Guangyuan possibly agree to take in a goddaughter and then marry her to him, making him a son-in-law of the Boling Cui family?!

Putting aside the matter of a marriage alliance, godparents are not someone to be casually recognized. Taking a maid as an adopted daughter would certainly damage the reputation of a prestigious family. Even if Cui Guangyuan were willing, his sons would definitely object.

Oh dear, this is really difficult. Why won't you become my concubine, little girl?

However, on the other hand, "Even if she were a servant or even the wife of a beggar, she would not be a minor star to a high-ranking official." If it weren't for this insistence, Li Ji wouldn't have appreciated Cui Qi so much, and thus wouldn't have fallen in love with her.

Li Ji longed to see Cui Qi again, to discuss with her whether they could take a roundabout approach to achieve their goal. He suggested that she come to his house as a concubine first, and then he could make her his wife after some time. Although taking a concubine as a wife violated the law, there were various ways to circumvent it—for example, he could ask someone of lower status to adopt her as their daughter, even if it was Kang Laohu. However, he could not find a way to see her.

Cui Qi is, after all, a maid of the Cui family. You can't just barge in and say, "I want to see your maid..." Besides, since Cui Guangyuan has been sent to Jingzhou and Xiangyang, as Cui Qi said, the person in charge of the household now is the third young master, Cui Ju. Li Ji has no connection with that guy, and Cui Ju has been studying hard but hasn't been appointed to an official position. He can't find any connections in the officialdom to ask for help or introductions... What reason do you have to visit him?

Li Ji even considered climbing over the wall. But climbing over such a grand mansion during the day was definitely out of the question, and there was a curfew at night… Forget the whole "poor scholar meets noble lady in the back garden" nonsense; in such a large household, even if you climbed over the wall, you'd need to be able to find a maidservant. Besides, that maidservant might not even be in the mansion; she might have been sent out on some secret mission…

Therefore, all we can do is hope that Cui Guangyuan will return to Chang'an as soon as possible.

However, given Li Ji's status, even if Cui Guangyuan returned to Chang'an to express his gratitude and planned to pack up before heading to Fengxiang, it would be inconvenient for him to visit him in person. He could only send a name card and wait for the other party to summon him.

He was hoping that Cui Qi would come to invite him again in men's clothing, but after waiting for two days, it was Kang Lao Hu's subordinates who finally came to the door. On the one hand, they brought wine (money), and on the other hand, they informed him: "I heard that Erlang is on a day off tomorrow, so the head of the family has prepared a banquet in the West Market and earnestly invites Erlang to attend."

The next day, Li Ji went to the West Market in high spirits and entered the restaurant where Kang Qian had treated him the previous two times. However, Cui Guangyuan was not present at the banquet. In addition to Kang Qian, only Yan Zhuang was there.

After a few words of small talk and a few drinks, Kang Qian excused himself from the table, and Li Ji then inquired about Cui Guangyuan. Yan Zhuang replied, "What urgent matter brings you here to present your visiting card? But Lord Cui is too busy to see you..."

Li Ji frowned: "Is Lord Cui still so busy during his transfer?"

Yan Zhuang smiled and said, "Lord Cui had an audience with the Emperor yesterday and left the capital to take up his post today. He may have already left Jin Guang Gate by now... He is not in a hurry, but he has to travel quickly."

It turned out that no sooner had Cui Guangyuan left Jingxiang than the court ordered Shi Hui to take over as the military governor of Shannan East Circuit. However, as soon as Shi Hui entered Xiangzhou, he was coerced into rebellion by the local generals Zhang Weijin and Cao Jie. When Shi Hui refused, he was killed.

Previously, Cui Guangyuan had been scheming everywhere, hoping to be appointed as a military governor and gain control of military and political power. He finally got the opportunity and excitedly arrived in Dengzhou, only to be terrified by Kang Chuyuan's tens of thousands of rebel troops and dared not advance an inch. He spent several months in Shannan East Circuit, deeply feeling that the Chu people were fierce and difficult to govern… Therefore, he feared that Li Heng would issue an edict saying: "You, Cui Qing, quelled the Jingxiang rebellion quite well before; why don't you skip Fengxiang and go to Xiangyang instead?"

Having received news of the renewed unrest in Jingzhou and Xiangyang, Cui Guangyuan hastily left the capital to avoid this calamity. He had even planned his escape route: if he received another imperial decree en route, he would recommend Wei Lun to succeed him as the military governor of Shannan East Circuit—"Last time the rebellion was quelled, it was mainly Wei Lun who fought well; actually, my contribution was not that great..."

Li Ji was speechless upon hearing Yan Zhuang's words.

In his memory, Cui Guangyuan should be quite capable, not only skilled at nurturing extraordinary individuals from the martial arts world, but also having instigated internal strife within the rebel army in Chang'an and taken the opportunity to escape the city to seek refuge with Li Heng in Lingwu. He never expected the guy to be so cowardly, turning tail and running at the first sign of trouble… His scheming and flattery skills are maxed out, but his troop deployment is lacking; surely he should at least have the ambition to take on responsibilities?

Could it be that the defeat at Weizhou in the past completely extinguished his last bit of courage?

While she herself was currently completely devoted to Cui Qi and even harbored the delusion that Cui Guangyuan would adopt her as his daughter… in terms of future father-in-law, Cui Guangyuan was worlds apart from Yang Wan! It was said that love was merely a matter between two people, without needing to consider their families, but in this era, marriage was ultimately a matter of great importance, involving both families and requiring utmost consideration…

Li Ji was still lamenting Cui Guangyuan's incompetence when Yan Zhuang asked again, "What important matter do you have to report to Lord Cui?" He stammered and couldn't speak.

Because he didn't actually want to see Cui Guangyuan, but only hoped to use Cui Guangyuan to get to know Cui Qi again, using sweet words to try and make the young girl understand his feelings more clearly, so that she would be willing to temporarily enter the family as a concubine. But he couldn't say this to Yan Zhuang. After all, Yan Zhuang was just a crony of Cui Guangyuan, not his family or clansman. He could help relay matters related to the court, and even help Cui Guangyuan make decisions, but he certainly couldn't interfere in the private affairs of the Cui family!

He could only offer a perfunctory reply, then seized the opportunity to change the subject, asking Yan Zhuang: "Now, Minister Li is defending against the bandits in Henan, and Prince Qi is guarding against the barbarians in Longyou. Carriages and horses are constantly being transported. However, the granaries in the Central Plains are gradually emptying, and the people of Western Shu and Eastern Wu are separated by thousands of miles. The people are suffering from hunger on the road, and the soldiers are still starving... Lord Yan, you are in charge of finances, do you have any good solutions to save the world?"

Yan Zhuang smiled bitterly and said, "I am merely temporarily carrying the purse for the Emperor. How can I be in charge of finances? Besides, the Emperor always sends eunuchs to supervise the granaries and government offices. I have virtually no say in the matter. The national finances should be handled by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Transport."

Li Ji asked, "Now that the fifth one has been dismissed, the Emperor has summoned Liu Yan to serve as Vice Minister of Revenue. I wonder what good strategies he may have?"

A few days ago, he learned that the unfamiliar civil official who had reprimanded him and Liu Xixian inside Mingfeng Gate was none other than Liu Yan, also known as Liu Shi'an, who had just been transferred back to the capital from his post as Prefect of Henan to serve as Vice Minister of Revenue, concurrently serving as Censor-in-Chief, and in charge of the three mints of finance, minting, and salt and iron, thus taking charge of the national treasury.

Liu Yan was originally the governor of Longzhou, and later transferred to be the governor of Huazhou. After the defeat at Xiangzhou, Cui Yuan, the garrison commander of Dongjing (Kaifeng), and Su Zhen, the prefect of Henan, abandoned their cities upon hearing the news and fled south to Xiang and Deng. They were severely reprimanded by the court, with Cui Yuan stripped of his rank and title, and Su Zhen demoted to the position of chief secretary of the Prince of Ji's court, and stripped of his silver-blue rank. Zhang Xun was then appointed to temporarily support the garrison commander of Dongjing, and Liu Yan was appointed the prefect of Henan.

Previously, Liu Yan assisted Zhang Xun in relocating officials and people from Luoyang to various places, and then changed the administrative center to Changshui County. After Wu Qi left office, the court repeatedly discussed and sought a capable person to take over the financial affairs, and finally chose Liu Yan.

Liu Yan arrived in Chang'an in February and was subsequently summoned to the palace several times to report to Li Heng on his overall plan for fiscal and tax issues. However, on his first visit to the inner court, he saw two officials, one in a green robe and the other in a red robe, fighting inside the Mingfeng Gate, next to the Jinwu Guard Hall…

Chapter 43, Weeping at the Palace Gate

Li Ji had often heard Li Shi mention Liu Yan (Liu Shi'an) before, saying he was a man of great talent and strategic mind. Therefore, during the banquet, he changed the subject and inquired about Liu Yan's background in detail. Yan Zhuang replied, "I know Liu Shi'an. He was hailed as a child prodigy at the age of seven, and his name was known throughout the capital. I even met him once before. But now, with this mess, I'm afraid he can't handle it..."

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh softly: "If the country's finances were sufficient, an army of 100,000 could be assembled in an instant, and annihilating Shi Siming would not be difficult. Even if we can only maintain the status quo, we must first abolish Wu Qi's monetary system, otherwise it will greatly harm the people's livelihood and have endless negative consequences..."

He hit the nail on the head. Liu Yan reorganized the national finances and gradually reformed them. The first policy he introduced was to change the currency system.

Liu Yan did not touch the Qian Yuan Zhong Bao, but he increased the value of the Kai Yuan coins, which were generally worth ten times the value of the Zhong Bao – and prices had indeed increased tenfold compared to the peak of the Kai Yuan era. As for the Zhong Lun coins, their value was reduced from one to fifty to one to thirty.

This is also a form of currency devaluation, but it can somewhat curb illegal counterfeiting and slow down the rate of price increases. Given the general shortage of goods, it is virtually impossible for Liu Yan, no matter how capable, to lower or even stabilize prices.

Meanwhile, Shi Siming minted large coins within his jurisdiction, each worth a hundred coins, causing prices in Hebei and Youyan regions to skyrocket, even more so than within the Tang Dynasty itself. Upon hearing this, Li Ji couldn't help but sigh: "You're all just competing to see who's worse off; it's the common people who suffer!" Fortunately, he had never held much hope for Shi Siming's governing abilities anyway.

Judging from this, the rebels' food and supplies are not enough. How long can they maintain an army of nearly 100,000 in the Henan region? Perhaps if the weather is good this year, and supplies are more plentiful in the autumn, the Tang army will be able to launch a full-scale counterattack.

Thinking of Zhang Xun, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun and others suffering in the Luoyang Palace, wondering if they could even last another six months, while I am in Chang'an, not exactly living a life of luxury, but going to Pingkangfang for drinks every few days... even if it's official business, I still feel ashamed.

----------

In early May, Li Ji fell seriously ill. Qingluan invited a doctor to her home to treat him, who diagnosed it as an epidemic and prescribed a remedy.

To be honest, Li Ji didn't really believe in traditional Chinese medicine these days... It must be admitted that as a traditional empirical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine is definitely much better than that of Europe and Arabia at the same time, but unfortunately there is no national-level teaching and certification—after all, even monks and Taoist priests need to take an ordination certificate—who knows if the doctor they invited is reliable or not.

But there was nothing else to do. After all, this "epidemic" was not a common cold that one could overcome simply by being physically strong and having a strong immune system. One couldn't just ignore the illness and refuse to take any medicine. Forced to grit his teeth and drink the herbal decoction for half a month, his condition gradually improved.

During the medication period, according to the doctor's orders, his diet had to be light, and he often ate vegetables cooked in meat broth, porridge, or noodles. Li Ji felt that life was boring... But when his illness improved slightly, Qingluan gradually added some meat to his diet, or learned a few new dishes from the neighbors and served them to him, but he still had no appetite.

Qingluan grew anxious and kept asking Li Ji, "What does my lord want to eat? I don't care how much it costs, I'll go to the market and buy it for you..." Li Ji was somewhat moved—look, Qingluan, who is so good at managing the household, even a little stingy, doesn't care about the price for my appetite and health; at the same time, he thought to himself, "I want to eat Sichuan lychees, North American durians, American chili peppers, Heilongjiang salmon... Even a tycoon like Kang Laohu wouldn't be able to get any of that!"

Occasionally, I'd casually reply, "I want to eat stir-fried dishes."

Qingluan asked in surprise, "What kind of stir-fried dish is this? What season is it available?"

Li Ji frowned: "Is there no stir-fry in Chang'an?"

Looking back on my time travel, I've never actually seen stir-frying. The Tang people had a wide variety of cooking methods, including stewing, boiling, steaming, roasting, braising, frying, slicing, deep-frying, pickling, and so on—more than a dozen in total. But there was no stir-frying method at all—that doesn't make sense.

Li Ji once borrowed a remarkable book from Li Qijun, namely *Qimin Yaoshu*, written by Jia Sixie, an agronomist of the Northern Wei Dynasty. The book not only summarized a wealth of agricultural and pastoral knowledge but also covered food processing, brewing, storage, and even cooking techniques. Li Ji recalled that the book mentioned two dishes: "Stir-fried Chicken Eggs" and "Fried Duck," both requiring stir-frying—you see, stir-frying had already been invented long ago!

Unless the meaning of the text differs between ancient and modern times, the "stir-fry" that Jia Sixie refers to is not the same as the "stir-fry" that Li Ji understands. However, the former clearly states that the food is "stir-fried with sesame oil, which is very fragrant and delicious," and the latter also says that it is "stir-fried until very cooked, then served with minced pepper and ginger." If it is not "stir-frying" that involves heating oil in a pan and turning the food to cook it, what else could it be?

It doesn't make sense that stir-frying existed two hundred years ago, but has been lost two hundred years later.

Intrigued, Li Ji immediately launched a detailed investigation into the matter. He first inquired with acquaintances from different regions, as well as with Lü Miaozhen and others, asking if they knew about this cooking method. All who heard him were clueless, until finally, only Kang Laohu provided a clue—

"Is it a technique that cooks food in oil, but uses less oil than frying? I think someone in my family's business network has mentioned this method, but I can't remember exactly where it came from..."

Stir-frying is a unique cooking method in China—at least in the China Li Ji came from before—but due to limitations in related technologies, it wasn't passed down continuously from the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Li Ji analyzed that there are three main factors that led to the development of stir-frying: first, a stove with strong and stable heat; second, the technology of extracting vegetable oil; and third, a concave iron wok.

The earthen stove used by Li Ji in his Chang'an residence was quite advanced for its time—compared to his hometown of Ji County, Yingyang, and Longyou, its heat output was generally sufficient. Vegetable oil—mainly sesame oil and rapeseed oil—was also widely available; the prevailing cooking methods at the time mostly involved using animal fat for frying vegetables and vegetable oil for frying meat. As for concave iron pots, they were not uncommon, although most had legs, which did not meet Li Ji's requirements—technically, there was certainly no problem with that.

So why isn't stir-frying a common cooking method? Or rather, why isn't stir-frying a widespread practice?

Perhaps it's related to the fact that the Tang people, especially those in the Central Plains region centered around the two capitals, preferred to eat fish and vegetables raw...

To be honest, Li Ji really didn't care for the fish sashimi that the Tang people talked about so much, because inland areas only had river fish, and eating freshwater fish and shrimp raw was too easy to get infected with parasites—people at the time had probably forgotten how Chen Yuanlong died.

So Li Ji went to the market to find a blacksmith who sold pots, wanting to make a footless iron pot with two handles. A wok was easy to solve, and a wooden one would do. He went from the East Market to the West Market, but unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

—It was Huang Tiexuan, the Cantonese barbarian known as "Old Huang," who was skilled in weapon crafting at the crossbow workshop. He was the one who had crafted my pair of "Azure Lotus Four-Sided Maces."

Li Ji asked Lao Huang, "You are a master craftsman of weapons, why are you also casting pots?"

Old Huang smiled bitterly and said, "With the meager salary in the government office and the high price of rice in Chang'an, how can we possibly eat our fill? I have a disciple who makes cooking utensils, so I give him some pointers in my spare time, or help him sell them to earn a few coins for expenses. Erlang, please help me cover this up and don't spread it around, lest we be punished by our superiors."

Li Ji smiled and said, "I'm going to make a pot. If it's done well, I'll naturally cover for you—don't worry, you'll get your money back."

They described the pot's shape and quality in general and agreed on a price of one hundred coins. Sure enough, three days later, Old Huang personally delivered a pot to Li Ji's door. Li Ji took it and examined it closely. Good heavens, it wasn't an ordinary iron pot! By the standards of that era, it could be considered a "steel pot"...

Old Huang said, "I used the finest iron from the government and repeatedly forged it. Second Brother, please take a look and see if it's suitable."

Li Ji asked in astonishment, "I asked you to make a pot, but you made me a steel helmet instead!"

Old Huang laughed and said, "Since Erlang needs it, and might even take it to the battlefield, how can it not be made of fine iron? Originally, soldiers' helmets could be used for cooking during marches, and were originally part of the same system as pots and cauldrons..."

Li Ji couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly: "Luckily you didn't gild it, inlay silver, paint it, or add phoenix wings..."

Old Huang replied solemnly, "If I make a pot for Erlang to use as a helmet, then it's the price of a pot; if I make a helmet for Erlang to use as a pot, then it's the price of a helmet!"

Li Ji, not wanting to take advantage of Lao Huang, offered two hundred coins as a reward. Although Qing Luan felt the pinch—good heavens, two hundred coins for an iron pot that's only two feet in diameter! My family will starve sooner or later—she dared not stop him.

Li Ji then personally cooked for himself, starting with the simplest dish: frying four eggs in rapeseed oil, sprinkling them with chopped scallions, and eating them with three bowls of rice until he was stuffed. After eating his fill, he rubbed his belly, jumped up, and laughed loudly, "Alright, my illness is cured!"

Once he recovered from his illness, he naturally had to return to work. The next morning, he went to the palace and spent the morning reviewing official documents. Normally, his daily work wasn't too demanding, but after accumulating for more than half a month, there were several stacks of them, which made his eyes dizzy just looking at them. Fortunately, Ma Sui could help him with most of the documents, and he only left the ones that required the Chief Secretary's signature to Li Ji.

During the lunch break, a soldier served the official meal: two meat dishes, two vegetable dishes, four dishes and a soup, plus three sesame cakes. Just as he finished eating, he heard a commotion outside. Li Ji put down his chopsticks, stood up, and curiously went out to see what was happening. He saw many guards craning their necks, gazing towards the direction of Hanyuan Hall. Li Ji walked over, and about half an arrow's distance away, he saw a dozen or so officials surrounding a purple-robed civil official in front of the steps of Hanyuan Hall, bowing and trying to persuade him. The official, however, knelt on the ground, pounding his fists, and wailing loudly.

Given Li Ji's status, this was the most he could do; it wasn't appropriate for him to go closer to watch the commotion. Fortunately, Ma Sui quickly found out the truth and ran over to tell him, "It's Commandant Xu..."

Li Ji was taken aback upon hearing this and hurriedly asked, "What brings Lord Xu to kneel before the palace gates and weep?"

Ma Sui sighed, "Naturally, it's for Physician Zhang, who is in the palace in Luoyang..."

The so-called "Xu Weiwei" refers to Xu Yuan (Xu Lingwei), who was then serving as the Minister of the Imperial Guard. He had previously defended Suiyang with Zhang Xun. Although the siege was lifted, Xu Yuan's health deteriorated, and he was forced to take a sinecure and reside in Chang'an to recuperate. It wasn't until the end of last year, when his health improved and his spirits were somewhat restored, that he was reinstated as the Minister of the Imperial Guard, a third-rank official.

Li Ji inquired in detail about the reasons and learned that not long ago, while he was still ill, an urgent messenger had rushed from the Luoyang palace to plead for reinforcements from the court. According to Zhang Xun's memorial, Shi Siming had ordered Zhou Zhi to repeatedly attack the palace, but he had defended it firmly and seized opportunities to counterattack, repeatedly thwarting the enemy's advance and beheading no fewer than a thousand. However, unfortunately, the army's food supplies were limited and about to run out... Therefore, he did not request reinforcements, but only the supply of provisions.

The prime ministers discussed that the task of supplying grain to Luoyang had already been entrusted to the military governor of Shaanxi and Guo. Now that Lai Zhen had been transferred to the position of military governor, observer, and administrator of ten prefectures in Shannan East Circuit, Wei Boyu was the one shouldering the heavy responsibility of Shaanxi and Guo. So they decided to continue urging Wei Boyu.

Seeing that the court was still stalling and refusing to give a definite answer, the envoy went to visit his former superior, Xu Yuan. Xu Yuan then reported that the prefectures of Chen, Shan, and Guo also had no surplus grain, and that Zhang Xun of Chen had repeatedly sent envoys to Shan Prefecture to urge for grain, but was obstructed by Yu Chaoen…

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was filled with rage and gritted his teeth, cursing loudly, "That dog Yu Chaoen, who disregards the state and betrays the emperor's favor, I will surely kill him one day!"

Ma Sui quickly reached out to cover Li Ji's mouth: "Changwei, be careful what you say!" Then he lowered his voice and said: "Actually, we can't blame Yu Junrong entirely. He has no surplus grain, and even if he did, it would be difficult to supply Luoyang. Shi will definitely send heavy troops to guard the western pass. How can it be easy to get through?"

This was indeed a plausible reason, so Xu Yuan repeatedly petitioned the court, but the Council of State Affairs could not come up with any solutions. Xu Yuan then gathered some friends from the court to discuss the matter, saying, "I know nothing of military affairs, but I know that an army without food will inevitably descend into chaos, and even if it doesn't, it will lack fighting strength. I truly cannot bear to see the events of Suiyang of the past repeat themselves in Luoyang today—therefore, I wish to rescue General Zhang. Do any of you gentlemen have any good strategies to advise me?"

Someone said, "The current Luoyang palace is no longer worth defending; we should ask Doctor Zhang to abandon it and retreat..."

When Zhang Xun first proposed defending Luoyang, he elaborated on his reasons in his memorial to the throne: First, since Shi Siming could not completely capture Luoyang, he would not dare to divide his troops to plunder in the Henan region, giving Li Guangbi in Heyang and Lai Zhen in Shanzhou time to stabilize the situation and build defenses. Second, with the palace in hand, Luoyang would not be completely lost, thus not greatly damaging the prestige of the court, and preventing a decline in public morale and morale.

There was actually a third reason, which Zhang Xun only briefly mentioned to Li Ji: If Luoyang were to fall, it would be a huge political setback. The emperor might become impatient and force Li Guangbi to launch a counterattack before the time was right—just like the emperor in the past who forced Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing to recover Luoyang and forced Geshu Han to leave Tongguan. This would probably lead to a complete collapse of the overall situation!

Li Ji's reaction at the time: Hmm, that kind of foolish move, that bastard emperor could indeed do it... In a sense, he and his father are indeed cut from the same cloth, brothers in misfortune.

Chapter 44, The Collapse of Hanyuan Hall

Last autumn, Shi Siming launched a major invasion of Henan, and Luoyang was indefensible. In order to give Li Guangbi, Lai Zhen and other generals enough time to set up defenses and to maintain the prestige of the court, Zhang Xun led his troops to retreat into the Luoyang palace. It has been almost ten months since then.

However, times have changed, and the current situation is quite different from that of half a year ago. Therefore, Xu Yuan gathered his friends to discuss the matter. Among them, a few who had some knowledge of military strategy and tactics advised him: "Now, Minister Li has established a firm foothold in Heyang and has the strength to advance eastward to Huaizhou..."

— Li Guangbi attacked Huaizhou in February of this year. Shi Siming went to its aid upon hearing the news but was defeated on the Qin River, and the Tang army beheaded 3,000. Then in March, Li Guangbi again defeated An Taiqing's troops under the city of Huaizhou, and then defeated Shi Siming at Xizhu in Heyang, beheading more than 1,000 more.

"...In Shanzhou, Wei Yuan (Wei Boyu) also fought against several thousand at Jiangzi Slope with only a few hundred men, forcing Li Guiren to retreat. Thus, the northern and western routes are now secure. The only concern is the southern route..."

"However, with Minister Li guarding Heyang, the bandit Shi dares not launch a large-scale southward offensive to invade the Jianghuai region. The Luoyang Palace, as a key outpost to contain the bandits, is no longer of much use. This is unlike when Lord Xu and Doctor Zhang were in Suiyang. To protect the Jianghuai region, Suiyang could not be lost, for if it were lost, the southern taxes and tributes would be cut off, and the country would be on the verge of collapse. Now, it is of no use to hold Luoyang Palace. It would be better to tell Doctor Zhang to break the siege and return west before the food supplies run out."