Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

They followed roughly the same route that Emperor Sukjong Li Heng took when he traveled south from Lingwu, only in the opposite direction—after leaving the western gate of the capital, they traveled west along the main road to Fengxiang, then turned north, passing through Ding'an, Pengyuan, Shunhua… Shunhua was originally named Anhua, but Emperor Sukjong stayed there and ordered it to be renamed. It was the seat of Gyeongju (Shunhua County).

The road then gradually narrows. Following the Maling River northward, passing Wenchi County to Anlechuan, and continuing north, one reaches the east bank of the Yellow River, where the seat of Lingzhou Prefecture, Huile County, is located. Wenchi County is now within Lingzhou's territory, surrounded by several other tributary prefectures such as Zhulong and Anle. The scenery there is vastly different from that of Guanzhong; for hundreds of miles, arable land is scarce, replaced only by boundless grasslands and grazing cattle and sheep...

Moreover, there were no proper roads and even fewer post stations, so for several nights they had to stay in the tents of the Hu tribe. Fortunately, Hun Jian was from this region and was familiar with all the tribes. He went ahead to greet them, and the Hu people came out of their tents to welcome the envoys, offering them fine wine and lambs to entertain the group. Jia Zhi was old and had a weak stomach, so he often found the rich and fatty foods cloying after a few bites—and they were too salty, as Lingzhou was indeed a salt-producing region. Hun Jian, on the other hand, was in his element, and his spirits were exceptionally high.

He would often point at the cattle and sheep on the grassland with his riding whip, saying to Jia Zhi, "Judging from this, a certain tribe is more prosperous than before. Their livestock is almost double what it was when I followed my father to Longyou." Jia Zhi listened with perfunctory words, but inwardly he was displeased—was this still Tang territory? With the nomadic tribes growing stronger, wouldn't they one day rise up and turn against their master, becoming a thorn in the side of Tang?

Actually, before the An Lushan Rebellion, even a purely Central Plains scholar like Jia Zhi wouldn't necessarily have been so wary of the Hu people and tribes. On the contrary, Hu clothing and accessories were popular in the two capitals at that time, and the introduced Hu customs were even regarded as new fashions. Scholars often enjoyed drinking grape wine from the Western Regions, preferably accompanied by Hu girls singing, dancing, and playing music...

There was no way around it; the eight-year rebellion was led by people of the An and Shi families, who were all non-Han people. The non-Han soldiers followed them and once ravaged the two capitals, killing countless officials and civilians. After the government army recovered the capital, the Uyghur army came to burn and kill again. Later, the Qiang and Hu people in Longxi rebelled, and the Tubo (Tibetan) forces approached Fengxiang. This caused the Tang people to generally become suspicious and even hostile towards the non-Han people.

However, Hun Jian, who was beside him, was also a Hu person, so Jia Zhi had to suppress his displeasure as much as possible, at least not let it show. Considering that he was going to Shuofang, where Hun Shizhi, Bai Yuanguang, and a large group of Hu generals were waiting for him, he couldn't help but feel even more depressed.

After spending the night together, the next morning, Hun Jian ran over to ask Jia Zhi, "I just heard from the Hu people in the tribe that Commander Li is neither in Huile nor Lingwu, but has gone south to Gaolan Prefecture to train troops. So, is Master Jia still going to Lingzhou, or will he detour through Mingsha?"

Jia Zhi hesitated for a moment. He really didn't want to go to Gaolan, a tributary state, where all he could see were Hu people and cattle and sheep. But considering that Hun Jian's hometown was in Mingsha City, and that the emperor had sent him to escort him back, it was also to allow him to visit his family. So he asked, "Where is your father?"

"It is said that my father stayed behind to guard Lingzhou."

"Do you still have any relatives or friends in your hometown? Do you really want to return to Gaolan?"

He then made an excuse, saying, "The military governor of Shuofang was originally stationed in Huile and has not moved his post. As the imperial envoy, I should naturally proclaim the decree in Huile... However, if you wish to return to your hometown..."

Hun Jian understood Jia Zhi's meaning and quickly clasped his hands and bowed: "I came here to escort Lord Jia, how could I let personal matters interfere with public duty? Since Lord Jia said that he should deliver the imperial decree in Huile, we should proceed as originally planned and go to Huile County in Lingzhou. I will send someone ahead to Mingsha to convey my regards to Commander Li and ask him to return to Huile to welcome Lord Jia."

They continued north and arrived in Huile County, Lingzhou a few days later.

Chapter Eleven, Why Bother Guarding Against Autumn?

Most of the fertile lands and central counties of Lingzhou are located on the west bank of the Yellow River, except for Huile, the prefectural capital, which is on the east bank. Although it is also close to the Yellow River, due to the limitations of terrain and climate, agricultural production in the surrounding area is not developed, and animal husbandry is still the main industry.

This is because Lingzhou was originally a key border prefecture with a large garrison. Later, the Lingzhou Governor-General's Office and the Shuofang Military Governor's Office were established within the prefecture. The governor-general or the chief secretary of the Grand Governor-General (the Grand Governor-General was often a prince who held the position remotely, and the chief secretary was in charge of the affairs) often concurrently served as the prefect. The military governor also served as the prefect of the prefecture. Therefore, it was more convenient to set up the administrative center on the east bank of the river, which was more convenient for garrisoning and training troops, without harming the crops.

Jia Zhi arrived near Huile, spurred his horse to a high vantage point, and gazed upon the Yellow River. Its width rivaled that of the area near Luoyang, but its swift current and turbulent force were even greater. He thought to himself, "Thank goodness I've come to Huile, and thank goodness Li Ji only went to Mingsha City to train troops. If, like Emperor Suzong of the past, he had crossed the river to Lingwu… I wouldn't want to brave these raging waves! One wrong step and I'd be drowned in the muddy torrent…"

—Gaolan Prefecture covers a vast area, and its core city, Mingsha City, is actually located on the east bank of the Yellow River.

Upon arriving at the south gate of Huile County, Jia Zhi saw a civil and military official dressed in red and green robes already standing at the gate to greet him. Seeing this, Jia Zhi was somewhat displeased and asked, "Has Commander Li returned to Lingzhou?"

The leading red-robed civil official was an acquaintance, Yang Yan, who had been demoted because of Yuan Zai and then transferred to the Shuofang military headquarters. Yang Yan stepped forward and replied with his hands clasped, "Commander Li, Deputy Commander Hun, and the military supervisor are all waiting for Lord Jia in front of the government office."

In fact, Li Ji had received the news and had already rushed back to Huile from Mingsha City. This morning, upon hearing that the imperial envoy was about to arrive, he wanted to personally welcome him, but Yan Zhuang stopped him, saying, "The military commander is of noble status and governs a region. There is no need to go out of the city to welcome him." As he spoke, he glanced sideways at Hun Shizhi and the others beside him.

Actually, when Li Ji first donned the purple robe, in terms of official rank alone, he was roughly equal to Jia Zhi. Moreover, Jia Zhi, as an imperial envoy, was representing the emperor to deliver a decree, so Li Ji should have personally greeted him outside the city. However, Yan Zhuang's glance implied, "You have several other officials with the title of Prince of the County by your side; there's no need for you to lower yourself to greet Minister Jia—if you go out of the city, do you think they'll follow you or not?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned slightly and asked Hun Shizhi, "When the envoy came to Lingzhou to deliver the imperial edict, where did the deputy envoy greet him?" Hun Shizhi replied, "He was greeted respectfully in front of the main gate of the government office."

Li Ji understood that the authority of the imperial court had declined and the various towns were arrogant. Most of them did not take the imperial envoy seriously. In particular, Shuofang was a large town with a long history since the Tianbao era and had supported Emperor Suzong's ascension to the throne. The generals of Shuofang were all arrogant. If you don't send a prime minister, no one will be willing to go out of the city to welcome you.

As for Li Ji himself, he still hoped to elevate, or at least not suppress, the authority of the imperial court, so as to unite the people and gather the strength of various garrisons to fight against external threats. Frankly speaking, none of the garrisons within the pass could single-handedly resist the Tibetans. If it weren't for the imperial court's annual efforts to procure supplies and issue autumn defense orders, Dazhen Pass would likely have been breached long ago…

Therefore, he planned to go out of the city to personally welcome Jia Zhi. However, after further consideration, he realized that although he was in charge of Shuofang and relied on part of the court's authority, if he showed too much concern for the emperor's wishes in Chang'an, it might incite the contempt of those arrogant and fierce generals. Therefore, after careful consideration, he nodded and said, "Since this is the custom, we should follow it."

Therefore, he devised a moderate plan, ordering Yang Yan and other civil and military officials of the third rank and below to go to the city gate to greet them, while he and Hun Shizhi and other high-ranking officials in purple robes would wait for them in front of the government office.

Jia Zhi, seeing that Li Ji refused to come out of the city to greet him, was quite displeased, but dared not show it. So, led by Yang Yan and others, he entered Lingzhou City and rode his horse towards the military governor's office along the main road, which had been swept clean and closed to the public. Observing the city's condition along the way, he turned to Hun Jian, who was following behind, and asked, "How does Lingzhou City compare to your old residence?"

Hun Jian had followed his father, Hun Shizhi, to Longyou, and was later recommended to the Northern Army to guard Chang'an. He hadn't set foot in Lingzhou for nearly ten years. Comparing what he saw with his memories, he replied softly to Jia Zhi, "It seems there's not much difference..."

Jia Zhi couldn't help but frown and sigh, "How simple and desolate it is..."

Actually, Huile County in Lingzhou wasn't always like this. It was, after all, the seat of a military governor. From Niu Xianke, who took command of the military governorship in the 22nd year of the Kaiyuan era, to Wei Guangcheng, Wang Zhongsi, Zhang Qiqiu, An Sishun, Li Wei, Abusi, and others, everyone undertook large-scale construction projects within the city, building luxurious mansions, dredging ditches, and expanding roads, creating a rather prosperous scene. However, in the 14th year of the Tianbao era, after Guo Ziyi entered the town as the deputy military governor, he disapproved of the generals living in grand mansions and the numerous government offices and brothels, so he demolished all the buildings that exceeded the prescribed standards. Later, when An Lushan rebelled, many of the Shuofang army generals followed Guo Ziyi on his campaigns, leaving those left behind with neither the morale nor the financial resources to rebuild the city, leading to the gradual decline of Huile County.

Huile, in particular, flourished temporarily because it was the seat of the Shuofang military governor, but this was all a bubble. The majority of Lingzhou's population was concentrated in the west bank of the river, while Huile County in the east bank had a small population to begin with, mostly nomadic Hu people who followed the water and grass. After Shuofang was established as a town, a large number of soldiers camped around the city, and many officers and generals moved into the city. As a result, the demand for supplies and goods increased, and merchants from both the north and south flocked to the market, making the originally small county town instantly bustling.

However, Lingzhou was not located on a major transportation route, and apart from salt, it had no other special products. Moreover, one did not need to go to Huile City to buy salt. As a result, when the country was in chaos and most of the Shuofang army generals were transferred to the eastern battlefield, the market quickly became desolate. Therefore, when Li Heng fled to Shuofang, he was settled in the relatively prosperous Lingwu City on the west bank of the river, rather than the prefecture capital Huile, and eventually ascended the throne in Lingwu.

When Li Ji arrived in town, there was actually a chance to restore the old days of Hui Le, but he didn't stay long before he actually moved the town to Mingsha City...

Therefore, in Jia Zhi's eyes, this prestigious Lingzhou prefecture and the location of the Shuofang military governor's office were not even as good as most of the ordinary county towns in the area.

Yang Yan seized the opportunity to interject, "Shuofang is poor, and Commander Li and others do not like grand mansions. All the resources they have are used to support the army, so it is rather desolate... I am now devising a plan for Commander Li's finances, and I feel that it is a hundred times more difficult than in the capital. I am truly exhausted..." Difficult is certain, but a hundred times more difficult is not necessarily the case—after all, we only need to consider Shuofang, or even Lingzhou, and do not need to pay attention to the taxes of the whole country—if we do not take this opportunity to complain about our poverty, when will we?

Before long, they arrived at the Jiedushi's office and saw Li Ji leading a group of officials in purple robes, standing respectfully waiting. Among them was only one person in a red robe, but he stood next to Li Ji, above Hun Shizhi. Jia Zhi recognized him as Liu Huiguang, the military supervisor of Shuofang.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhi felt somewhat relieved. He quickly dismounted and greeted Li Ji and the others. He was then led into the main hall of the government office, where the imperial edict was read aloud. The edict granted Li Ji the title of Grand Master of the Palace and the title of Duke of Wuyuan.

Li Jigong accepted the imperial edict and shouted his gratitude, but in reality he was quite dissatisfied.

The title of Grand Master of the Palace (金紫光禄大夫) is the fourth rank of civil official, equivalent to the third rank. The Duke of Wuyuan Commandery (五原郡开国公) is a Duke, also a fourth rank of nobility, equivalent to the second rank. He thought to himself, "If they really want to reward me, why not give me a title like Grand Master of the Palace (开府仪同三司) or Grand Master of the Palace (特进)? I already have three Princes behind me, why not just grant me a Prince title instead of a Duke? And a Duke is supposed to have a fief of two thousand households, but no real fief. The imperial edict doesn't mention the fief at all, which means they don't intend to grant it at all..."

After the imperial edict was proclaimed, a banquet was naturally held to entertain the envoy. However, Jia Zhi said that the Emperor had a few more words for him to convey privately to Li Shuofang. Therefore, Li Ji first led him into a side room, where they sat opposite each other. Jia Zhi immediately asked, "May I ask how old you are, Envoy Li?"

Li Ji replied, "I am ashamed to say that I have wasted thirty springs."

Jia Zhi thought to himself, "If this is considered wasting your youth, then all of us have wasted our years!" He stroked his beard and sighed, "How young they are! When I was thirty, I had only passed the imperial examination and was a proofreader; Guo Fenyang was only a junior officer in the Left Guard at thirty..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji narrowed his eyes slightly: "Does the court consider me too young to assume a prominent position?"

Jia Zhi smiled and said, "Isn't the position that Li Jieshi is holding today a prestigious one?" He then nodded slightly and said, "Indeed, he is young and inexperienced. Even though the Emperor trusts him greatly and has high hopes for him, he would be seeking to be enfeoffed as a king and appointed as prime minister. This would likely cause controversy and may not be a good thing for Li Jieshi's future."

The implication is that, given your achievements and the emperor's trust, you had the opportunity to be granted a purple ribbon and gold seal, or even be enfeoffed as a prince, but unfortunately you are still too young.

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself: "Qin Ganluo became prime minister at the age of twelve; Wu Zhouyu began studying literature at seven, martial arts at nine, and became the naval commander-in-chief at thirteen, leading thousands of troops and holding military power over six prefectures and eighty-one states..." Well, those are all later crosstalk routines, purely folk tales, and shouldn't be taken seriously...

Hearing Jia Zhi continue, "Moreover, there has been no great merit recently, so it is not appropriate to reward him handsomely."

Li Ji thought to himself that this was a plausible reason. He immediately cupped his hands in greeting: "So, Lord Jia has come on a mission, perhaps the Emperor has some other instruction?" Since I have no merit to reward you with recently, yet the court has sent you on this trip to promote me slightly from the third rank by one or two grades, this must be a smokescreen. So, what is your real purpose in coming here?

Jia Zhi thought to himself that everyone in the court and among the people said Li Ji was a reckless man with little cunning, but now it seemed that he was actually quite astute. So he smiled slightly and got to the point: "The Emperor sent me to ask Governor Li whether it is still necessary to take precautions against the autumn harvest this year..."

Li Ji listened silently as Jia Zhi finished explaining Li Yu's thoughts. After a moment's thought, he replied, "As I predicted, the barbarian bandits will not attack Dazhen Pass this autumn. There is really no need to fortify it with heavy troops for autumn defense..."

Upon hearing this, Jia Zhi was secretly delighted and hurriedly asked, "What did you see that makes you say that?"

Unexpectedly, Li Ji did not answer his question, but suddenly changed the subject: "However, the barbarian bandits will most likely raise a large army to invade our Shuofang. The court must take precautions in advance!"

Jia Zhi was greatly alarmed upon hearing this: "Barbarian bandits have invaded Shuofang? What is the reason for this?!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Why is that? Let me think of a reason..." Because the real reason was inconvenient to tell Jia Zhi, and he did not want it to reach Li Yu's ears through Jia Zhi.

Last year, he led his troops west to Liangzhou, hoping to contain the Tibetan army. Little did he know that the Tibetans had anticipated this move and had set a trap, almost besieging Li Ji in the Changsong and Herongcheng area. Afterwards, he secretly sent spies to investigate and learned that the trap was not only set by Ma Chongying, but that Ma Chongying himself had led tens of thousands of elite troops to lie in ambush near Guzang—he had almost been caught by him!

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "That dog Ma Chongying thinks highly of me..." Undoubtedly, he had really hurt Ma Chongying in Longyou a few times before. Whether Ma Chongying saw him as a major threat to Tubo or just wanted to regain his lost face, he now regarded Shuofang, which was under Li Ji's control, as a thorn in his side and was determined to get rid of him as soon as possible.

Last year, Ma Chongying set a trap between Liang and Lan, perhaps only intending to annihilate the hastily advancing Shuofang army, without any overall plan for a long expedition. Therefore, he didn't pursue them further. So what will he do this autumn? He's unlikely to set another trap. Having failed the first time, he's naturally more vigilant; there's no reason for him to fall for it again. Therefore, there's a high probability that Ma Chongying will send a large force to invade Shuofang. Even if he can't destroy the main Shuofang army, he'll at least inflict a heavy blow, so that Shuofang will no longer dare to look at Hexi with a second glance!

However, this is ultimately just a guess and intuition, and even if I told people, they might not believe me.

There are various methods to eliminate or at least imprison a formidable enemy general, including espionage, assassination, military coercion, and economic blockade. However, changing the established strategy and personally leading a large army to attack head-on would be the most costly and likely result in more losses than gains, even if victorious. Logically speaking, as the Grand Master of Tibet and the ruler of the country, Ma Chongying would not need to resort to such a poor strategy.

The problem is that Li Ji felt that if he were in Tibet, he would most likely have defied all opposition and fought this battle. If he won, he could finally put his mind at ease...

But how could he explain this to Jia Zhi, and Li Yu behind him? Especially as a general in an outer garrison, if the enemy were too wary—mainly their only wary force—it would easily cause the emperor's worry… Fortunately, he was quick-witted enough, and feigning a serious expression, he softened his tone slightly, giving himself ample time to think—

"The barbarian bandits' ambitions lie in the Western Regions. Therefore, they first seized Longyou, Liangzhou, and Gansu, Guazhou, and Shazhou to cut off our supply lines. For several years, we have only adopted a defensive posture, daring not to cross Longyou even a step, so the barbarian bandits have not paid much attention to our Tang Dynasty. Last year, His Majesty intended to send the Shuofang Army out of Xinquan to garrison and harass Liangzhou, thus hindering the barbarian bandits' westward advance. Although this did not come to fruition, the news must have leaked, giving them time to prepare..."

"Therefore, last year I led several thousand troops west to capture Herong City. At the same time, the rebel armies of Liang and Lan launched a simultaneous attack from the north and south. Fortunately, I saw the opportunity early and not only escaped successfully but also killed several thousand of their troops. The rebels then knew that our Tang Dynasty was revitalized and intended to recover Hexi and Longyou. Ma Chongying would definitely lead a large army east to eliminate future troubles. Only in this way can we consolidate the defense of Liang and Lan and devote all our efforts to the Western Regions."

"Previously, the barbarian bandits colluded with the Western Qiang and nearly captured Fengxiang. Now, the Qiang rebellion is gradually quelled, and the Dangxiang and Tuyuhun are also being forced to relocate to the area between Qing and Xia. In addition, every autumn, our Tang Dynasty sends a large army to Dazhen Pass, so they dare not attack lightly. Therefore, if we want to weaken the Tang army's strength and intimidate its soldiers, the only way is to advance eastward from Feng'an and attack Shuofang..."

Chapter Twelve, The Sage's Stinginess

Jia Zhi hurriedly returned to Chang'an and presented Li Ji's words to the emperor. Upon hearing this, Li Yu frowned deeply and remained so for a long time.

So he summoned Guo Ziyi to discuss the matter, saying, "The generals of Fengxiang and Jingyuan all say they cannot predict where the barbarian army will advance this autumn, and that the defense of Dazhen Pass cannot be abandoned and the autumn defense plan cannot be abandoned. Only Li Ji of Shuofang has a different opinion from them..."

After listening to Li Yu's retelling, Guo Ziyi pondered for a moment. Li Yu glanced at him sideways and said, seemingly intentionally, seemingly unintentionally, "I didn't expect the barbarian bandits to be so wary of Li Ji."

Guo Ziyi raised his head, glanced at the emperor, and replied calmly, "I have heard that when Li Ji was in Longyou, he was just a minor officer, yet he once led his cavalry to pursue Ma Chongying relentlessly and almost captured him outside Linfan City. He even said he wanted to erect a 'stele for killing Ma'... It is understandable that Ma Chongying was jealous of him because of this."

— Li Yu said “fear”, but Guo Ziyi acted as if nothing had happened and twisted it into “jealousy”.

Li Yu laughed and said, "Oh, is that so? If we can defeat the barbarians and kill Ma Chongying in the future, I will allow Li Ji to erect this stele on the border." Then his expression turned serious: "What does my father-in-law think of Li Ji's view?"

Guo Ziyi slowly replied, "What you say is not unreasonable. Because every year during the autumn defense, I station a large army in Longshang, and the barbarian bandits have long dared not invade. Perhaps they will try another route and first target Shuofang. However, if we go out of Guzang South Mountain, eastward to Xinquan garrison, it is about 300 li, then another 200 li to Xing'an Army, and then another 300 li to Mingsha City, the route is mostly desert and Gobi, sparsely populated, with little water and grass, making it difficult for a large army to travel. Therefore, if the barbarian bandits launch a full-scale attack, their speed will be slowed down, and our Tang can gather troops from various garrisons to defend against them."

"Therefore, I believe that the barbarian rebels may send tens of thousands of elite cavalry, concealing their banners and heading east, in an attempt to launch a surprise attack on Shuofang. However, since Li Shuofang has already foreseen this, they will have no opportunity to exploit. Moreover, I have heard that Li Shuofang is currently training his troops in Mingsha City, which is located in Gaolan Prefecture. There are also Anle and Zhulong Prefectures nearby. If an emergency occurs, he can gather the barbarian tribes and quickly amass tens of thousands of cavalry. Even if we cannot defeat them in battle, it will not be difficult to force them to retreat on their own..."

Li Yu interjected, "But Li Ji's meaning is clearly that Shuofang has surplus troops but insufficient provisions, and hopes the court will grant them a reward. However, if money and provisions are supplied to Shuofang, can the autumn defense work be abandoned?"

Guo Ziyi slowly shook his head and said, "We cannot abandon the autumn defense, but as Li Ji said, the barbarian bandits may not come, or if they do, their main force will head north to Shuofang, while they will mostly be used to contain the enemy in Longxi. This way, we can reduce their troops slightly, leaving only one or two to guard Dazhen Pass. Moreover, if the barbarian bandits have no intention of invading Longxi, they may take the opportunity to attack, and they will not be able to recover the lost territory. This will also reduce the pressure on Shuofang and allow us to plunder people and supplies."

"What if Li Ji's prediction is wrong, and the barbarian bandits have actually invaded Longxi? What should we do then?"

Guo Ziyi said, "Shuofang has a fixed quota of 5,000 cavalry. I have recently heard that it is gradually recovering. Moreover, there are many Hu tribes in the town. In my opinion, if there is no danger in Shuofang, I will order Li Ji to lead elite cavalry south to rescue it. This will ensure that Fengxiang will not fall."

Li Yu nodded slightly, but then quickly turned his face away to avoid Guo Ziyi seeing through his thoughts—to let Li Ji lead the cavalry into the pass? What kind of delusional idea did you have, old man? Or are you planning to pave the way for my increasingly arrogant eldest son? I might as well have just settled Li Ji in Jingyuan and Fengxiang in the first place!

Guo Ziyi paused for a moment, then continued, “Military tactics are unpredictable, just as water has no constant course. The barbarian bandits may head towards the north or invade Longyou; it is truly difficult to predict. In my opinion, heading east towards the north is advantageous, but who knows if Ma Chongying and his ilk will miscalculate and cause an unexpected disaster? I know Your Majesty is worried, but I fear that a miscalculation in the imperial court could lead to a great calamity.”

"However, we guard against the autumn attack every year, but the enemy never comes. This is because the enemy uses tens of thousands of garrison troops in Liang and Lan to control our 100,000 elite troops in Guanzhong, wearing down our army's morale and depleting our Tang's resources. The enemy has control over our advance and retreat strategies. Why not change course and feign an offensive, either attacking Longyou or taking Liangzhou, thus keeping them busy and allowing our troops in Guanzhong and Shuofang to control the enemy's entire army?"

"However, what I am truly worried about is not Shuofang, nor Dazhen Pass, but rather the possibility that the rebels might enter Huining Pass and attack Huizhou. While this route would not pose a great threat to me, it would make it difficult for our army to coordinate between the north and south, and neither Guanzhong nor Shuofang would dare to send out troops lightly. Therefore, I suggest that if the rebels attack Shuofang this autumn, we should grant them full authority to Li Shuofang and order him to retreat, while the Guanzhong army should move out of Dazhen Pass to contain them; if they attack Dazhen Pass, we should order the Shuofang army to move south to assist in the defense of Huining Pass, and transfer the Anxi and Beiting military camps south to secure the defense of Jingyuan and Fengxiang—what does Your Majesty think?"

Li Yu nodded slightly – Hmm, having the Shuofang Army only march south to Huizhou to assist in defense is something worth considering.

After Guo Ziyi took his leave, Li Yu summoned Prince Zheng, Li Miao, from behind the screen and asked him, "What do you think of Lord Guo's words?"

Li Miao hurriedly clasped his hands and bowed: "Your Excellency is a renowned general of the world and a pillar of our Tang Dynasty. I am young and unfamiliar with military affairs, so how dare I criticize Your Excellency's words?"

Li Yu frowned: "You are the Grand Marshal of the Army and the Army, but you have never been on the battlefield and lack experience. You should still think about this and listen to the generals' words. Speak freely, even if it is just childish nonsense, I will not blame you."

Li Miao thought for a moment before replying, “Every autumn, we send troops from Jingyuan, Fengxiang, Binning, Fufang, and even Tongguan, numbering over 100,000. This leaves the Dazhen Pass empty, meant for autumn defense, yet the barbarian bandits do not come. This wastes countless amounts of money and grain, making it difficult for the court to accumulate reserves. Therefore, I earnestly hope that Li Shuofang and Lord Guo's words are correct. If only one or two garrisons of troops from Guanzhong are dispatched to attack Longyou, and the money and grain originally intended for one or two garrisons for autumn defense are transported north to Shuofang to help them defend against the barbarians, then if this goes smoothly, the court can save two or three tenths of its resources…”

Li Yu nodded and said, "That's what I think too..." Then he sighed and said, "In the end, the granaries are empty and the money and grain are scarce, so it is difficult to come up with a perfect plan! As for financial matters, there is no improvement. As for military affairs, we can only consult General Guo. I'm afraid that even a wise man like him can make a mistake."

Li Miao hesitated slightly, as if he wanted to say something. Li Yu glanced at him: "Speak boldly, when have I ever blamed you for your words?"

Li Miao then said, “Your Majesty knows that you miss Mr. Changyuan very much… However, even if you entrust him with an important post in Zhejiang, it is not convenient for him to return to the capital to resume his post as prime minister. Moreover, the current position of the Chancellor and the Secretariat is somewhat… This makes Your Majesty very worried. This is truly the fault of the prime minister.”

Li Yu couldn't help but clench his right fist and slam it against the edge of the bed: "It's not as good as when Yuan Zai was alive..." Then he looked at Li Miao: "Then who do you think is suitable to be prime minister?"

"The prime minister's orders are solely up to Your Majesty's discretion; this is not something your subject dares to comment on."

----------

A few days later, an imperial edict was issued, exempting Liu Yan from attending meetings at the Secretariat and Chancellery on the grounds that he was unable to attend due to his responsibility of managing finances in Guandong—in any case, he rarely went there even once every ten days anyway—and by assigning Wang Jin to oversee affairs in Luoyang, it was tantamount to removing Wang Xiaqing from his position as prime minister.

The two people who were promoted to prime minister in the Council of State Affairs were: first, Pei Mian, a veteran official who served three emperors, who was transferred back from Luoyang to replace Wang Jin; and second, Yang Wan, the vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, who was promoted to vice minister of the Chancellery and concurrently served as prime minister.

Li Yu then summoned the prime ministers to discuss the autumn defense plan for this year. Li Xian, Pei Mian, and Du Hongjian all advocated that it would be better to follow the practice of previous years.

Even if Shuofang is attacked, or even if Li Ji suffers a defeat, it is still more than a thousand li away from Chang'an. If Guo Ziyi and Li Ji's predictions are wrong and the barbarian rebels breach Dazhen Pass, then Fengxiang and Chang'an will be in grave danger. When the responsibility is investigated, those two can easily absolve themselves—because it was just a suggestion—while we prime ministers will certainly be implicated!