Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

However, no matter how much he grumbled inwardly, he dared not disobey the order and thus hastily led three hundred soldiers westward. Mang Re had only been gone for two days when Wei Gao arrived. At this time, the army stationed at Ye Mao Chuan had only a little over a thousand soldiers. Upon hearing the news, the general hurriedly fortified the city and sent fast horses to report to Longyou and Luoxie at the same time.

Basically, by the time the urgent report reached Shang Jiexi's desk in Xiangwu City, Wei Gao's thousand men were already half-starved and had barely managed to return to Dadouba Valley. Fortunately, Li Ji, anticipating the perilous journey, had already ordered men to meet them at the valley entrance, thus rescuing Wei Gao and bringing him to safety. Wei Gao then went to apologize to Li Ji—but that's another story—

Little did he know that his furthest reach was Menggu, and that he had caused such a commotion that a large Tibetan army was thrown into chaos. This expedition had only encountered a dozen or so Tibetan cavalry, and he had shot down five or six with arrows—a truly fruitless effort. Therefore, he had to adopt a respectful attitude and beg the Grand Commandant's forgiveness. Of course, Li Ji offered kind words of comfort and did not blame him.

When Shang Jiexi received news of the Tang army's encounter with Menggu, he was greatly alarmed, thinking that Li Ji must have led his troops south after capturing Ganzhou to harass him from the flank! If only he had known, he wouldn't have let Mangre rush to Suzhou... He hurriedly dispatched troops back to reinforce the area. However, ten days later, Lhasa issued an order to withdraw the troops.

Firstly, the news of the enemy's attack on Menggu reached Lhasa, causing widespread alarm. Secondly, Piluoge of Nanzhao, having heard of the Tubo's major defeat in Longyou and Hexi last year, launched an attack this autumn, advancing up the Lancang River and capturing the border city of Yuji. The remaining officials all said that the campaign had been unsuccessful; although Weizhou had been captured, Qinzhou could not be recovered for a long time, and the Tang and Zhao armies had even invaded our territory—one in the northeast and the other in the southwest, two thousand miles apart, making rescue difficult. How could we not quickly withdraw our main force and switch to a defensive posture?

Shang Jiexi had no choice but to order a retreat. The Tang army pursued them from behind and recovered all the lost territory—the border was pushed back to the Tao River line once again.

The Tibetan army, numbering 150,000, suffered a defeat and was forced to withdraw from the battlefield, resulting in low morale. Many Qiang and Hu tribes who had been loyal to the Tibetans deserted, and even the genuine Tibetan soldiers lost no fewer than 5,000 men – not counting the losses in Ganzhou and Yuji City. Shang Jiexi returned to Lhasa, fearing the Zanpu's wrath, and indeed placed all the blame on Qilibuzang and Mangre. Trisong Detsen, considering Qilibuzang's severe injuries, did not punish him severely, only stripping him of all his titles; as for Mangre, he was demoted to Deputy Military Governor of Guazhou, ordered to defend Suzhou and atone for his crimes through meritorious service.

Shang Jiexi was not punished. In fact, Trisong Detsen was mature beyond his years. After reviewing the battle with his generals, he knew who was right and who was wrong. However, firstly, Shang Jiexi had been elected with a high number of votes and still held considerable power in the council of state. Secondly, given his advanced age and status, it was not convenient to replace him with someone else in a short time, lest it cause political instability. Therefore, he only summoned Shang Jiexi and reprimanded him a few times. The rod was raised high, but in the end, it fell gently.

When asked about his future plans, Shang Jiexi replied helplessly, "The Tang army is growing stronger every day, and it is probably difficult to recover Longyou. The only option is to temporarily adopt a defensive posture and quickly attack Anxi and Beiting, hoping to strengthen our national power after that and then compete with the Tang again." He suggested continuing to negotiate with the Tang family and demanding that the Tao River be used as the boundary, which was actually a way to lull the other side into a false sense of security.

However, Nanzhao must be severely punished, otherwise it would be insufficient to uphold the authority of the Zanpu! But the army has just returned, and it is not advisable to move again; we can only hope for next year…

Thus, the war between the Tang Dynasty and Tibet in Longyou temporarily ceased, allowing both sides to calm down, lick their wounds, and regroup. However, the war on the northern front continued. On one hand, Tibet still plotted to seize Anxi and Beiting, and even dreamed of taking over the entire Western Regions. On the other hand, Li Ji in Hexi was also eager to open up the Silk Road and rescue his comrades, Guo Xin, Li Yuanzhong, and others who were stranded abroad.

Li Ji had borrowed money from wealthy merchants like Yu Ling, agreeing to repay the principal and interest in five years. If he could successfully drive out the Tibetans and restore the Four Garrisons of Anxi, even if the Silk Road was temporarily blocked, the merchants would still have hope, and land prices in Liangzhou would surely rise. However, if he saw no light at the end of the tunnel after five years, the contracts he had issued would become worthless. He could certainly find various excuses, or even directly break off relations and refuse redemption, but not only would his credit be completely bankrupt, but he would also never be able to borrow a single coin or a foot of silk from Liangzhou again. With the Tibetan bandits eyeing his territory, how could he possibly maintain his position?

Therefore, he temporarily withdrew from Liangzhou and instead launched a large-scale recruitment and military buildup in Zhangye. He incorporated all the anti-Tibetan forces he had previously contacted within the prefecture, but they numbered only a little over a thousand... There was no other way; the Tang population in the prefecture was simply too small. Therefore, he had to send Yin Shen and Chang Heng to infiltrate Suzhou again to incite a Tang uprising, while simultaneously sending his advisors, including Gao Ying, back to their hometowns to recruit so-called chivalrous individuals willing to make merit in the western frontier and gain fame...

Chapter 43, A Sick Soldier

Wang Changling's poem "Frontier Ballad" reads: "Cicadas chirp in the empty mulberry grove, on the Xiao Pass road in August. Leaving the frontier and entering it again, everywhere is yellow reeds and grass. Travelers from You and Bing have all grown old with dust and sand. Do not emulate the chivalrous youths, boasting of their fine purple horses."

Back in the early Han Dynasty, the main force that repeatedly defeated the Xiongnu relied on the sons of good families from the six commanderies of Guanzhong, much like the so-called "wandering knights" of the Tang Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty prospered, the livelihoods of people in the heartland improved to some extent, and with the consolidation of land, a large class of wealthy farmers and small landowners emerged. This class could exploit the poor, but it was difficult to extract more wealth from them. However, they were blocked from rising to the ranks of the powerful and wealthy, making it difficult to join the ranks of large landowners. They could not compete with those from families that had been officials for generations in terms of studying the classics and composing poems. If they wanted to revitalize their family fortune, the only way was to join the army.

As a result, this social class was fond of martial arts—the so-called "poor scholar, rich warrior"—and they also possessed a certain economic foundation. They often acted swiftly and decisively in their localities, breaking the law with their martial arts, and even roaming through various prefectures, disrupting order, hence the term "wandering knights." The Tang court thus recruited these unstable elements into the army to resist foreign invaders.

On the one hand, frequent wars after the Kaiyuan era led to the intention of exporting contradictions; on the other hand, the Tang army crossed the Gobi Desert to the north, the shifting sands to the west, and conquered the Western Sea to the south. On multiple fronts, with tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops, they were able to fight hard and win, which was also due to the strength of these wandering knights.

While the so-called "valiant warriors" were mostly proletarians who had lost their land, had no means of making a living, and had no choice but to fight on the battlefield, these proletarians had no resources and were not easy to gain merit and promotion, which inevitably greatly reduced their motivation to fight. Only the wandering knights of various prefectures had the financial resources to equip themselves with excellent weapons and the connections to pave the way for promotion. In terms of both combat effectiveness and fighting will, they were the backbone of the Tang army.

Just like the "good families of the six commanderies" in the Former Han Dynasty, the common people at the bottom just wanted to survive, and the high-ranking officials hoped to live comfortably. Only the middle class had the motivation to strive for advancement, thus becoming the most reliable and convenient source of soldiers for the rulers.

When Li Ji first trained the new army in Mingsha City, it was to avoid infiltrating too many seasoned veterans who had served in the military for generations. For example, generals like Yang Shigu and Li Ziyi from Weibo, although experienced, often shirked responsibilities and dared to incite their superiors if they were dissatisfied. The recruits were mostly from poor families of both Han and non-Han people, with a larger number of non-Han people such as the Hun clan. This naturally put a lot of pressure on military supplies and logistics.

Therefore, he wanted to recruit wandering knights and absorb the sons of military officers from various garrisons who had lost their chance for advancement due to the temporary peace in the Central Plains, to bolster the Hexi army. The advantages of these men were their eagerness for merit, their drive, some tactical skills, and their ability to provide their own weapons, saving the garrison commander considerable initial investment; their disadvantages were a lack of organization and discipline, and an excessive sense of individual heroism…

The problem is that in those days, new recruits from all walks of life were not likely to be obedient enough, and they were not the naturally organized and disciplined working class of the future... Since they all had to be organized and trained on the spot, the wandering knights and the sons of military officers did not have any major shortcomings.

During the prosperous Tang Dynasty, there was another unique type of wandering knight-errant. They came from official families and were relatively well-educated, but were unwilling, or felt inadequate, to succeed in the highly competitive imperial examination system. So they also roamed the land, some even joining the army. Many of the staff members of the former military governors' offices were of this type. For example, Gao Shi and Gao Fu first tried to serve under Li Yi, the military governor of Shuofang, and Zhang Shougui, the military governor of Youzhou, but were unsuccessful, and were forced to return to Chang'an to take the imperial examination.

Li Bai, too, possessed a chivalrous spirit. In his youth, he traveled far and wide, taking in the magnificent landscapes and writing countless masterpieces. Although he had no intention of joining the army, he never took the exams either, hoping that powerful figures would hear of his literary reputation and recommend him to the court, thus securing him a high-ranking official position.

As it turns out, Gao Shi's path was potentially viable, but Li Bai's path was absolutely not. Among the cultural figures or semi-cultural figures who voluntarily joined the army, starting as staff members rather than generals, the one who ultimately reached the top was Feng Changqing, who held full authority over the Anxi and Beiting garrisons and was appointed Imperial Censor.

Li Ji lacked cultured men under his command. Du Huangshang and Gao Ying were people he had personally invited from among the selected scholars, visiting them three times. There were no one like Feng Changqing who came to him voluntarily. Therefore, he ordered Gao Ying and others to return to the Central Plains to spread their reputation everywhere, inciting others that military merits in Hexi were easily attainable, hoping to recruit some similar talents.

However, before Gao Ying and his group could see any results, Lu Lun unexpectedly arrived from Guzang.

Cui Cuo had already informed Li Ji of Lu Lun's arrival in Liangzhou by writing a letter, enclosing the six "Frontier Ballads" along with the news. Li Ji indeed quite liked them—especially the one with the line "The forest is dark, the grass rustles in the wind." Therefore, upon hearing that Lu Lun was coming from Guzang, he hurriedly tidied his clothes and personally went out of the government office to greet him.

But to be honest, no matter how well Lu Lun's poems are written, even if they are comparable to Li Bai, they are not of much use to Li Ji now—otherwise he would have already found a way to fool Du Fu—what he seeks is a talent for governing the country and managing the world, or a brilliant person who is proficient in finance and planning, and whether Lu Lun has any potential in this regard is still unknown.

Li Ji personally welcomed Lu Lun, mainly with the intention of "spending a thousand gold pieces to buy a horse's bones"—after all, Lu Lun was the first scholar to take the initiative to come and serve him!

As for Lu Lun, although he had no worries about food and clothing in Guzang City, he was still uneasy because he had not yet met Grand Commandant Li and had not been able to finalize his duties and salary. Although everyone said that the Grand Commandant was afraid of his wife—which was not uncommon in the Tang Dynasty—and favored his "inner secretary," he believed that with the recommendation of those two, he would most likely not decline. But what if he did? Therefore, upon hearing that Li Ji was temporarily staying in Ganzhou and might not return to Liangzhou this winter, he earnestly requested Cui Cuo to send a team of soldiers to escort him to Zhangye to meet Li Ji.

To Lu Lun's surprise, Grand Commandant Li came out of his office to greet him. Overjoyed, Lu Lun quickly bowed in greeting. After being led into the main hall and exchanging a few words, Li Ji asked, "Your poems have the style of Wang Shaobo (Wang Changling), which I greatly admire. It's a pity there are so few of them. Do you have any other excellent works that you would be willing to display?"

Lu Lun thought to himself that there were only those six poems. As for the poems he wrote in the capital for social occasions, even his wife wouldn't approve of them, let alone the Grand Commandant. It wasn't that he thought highly of Grand Commandant Li's literary appreciation, but he felt that those sentimental writings about the wind and moon couldn't possibly match the spirit of a general like Li. So he racked his brains for a while before saying, "On my way from Chang'an to Liangzhou, I did acquire a new poem, which I humbly present to you."

So he struck a pose and recited in a low voice: "Traveling often brings illness, staying without food, returning home after ten thousand miles but not yet reaching my hometown. With disheveled hair, I lament beneath the ancient city, unable to bear the autumn air seeping into my wounds."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji frowned and asked, "Where did you see this, sir, and obtain this inspiration?"

Lu Lun's poem describes a soldier discharged from the army due to injury. He is thousands of miles from home, longing to return, but illness prevents him from traveling further. He plans to find a place to stay, but alas, his provisions and travel expenses are almost exhausted. He huddles beneath the ancient city walls, lamenting his fate. The autumn wind blows, deepening his pain, making it unbearable…

So Li Ji quickly asked Lu Lun, "Where did you meet this person and write this poem? It wasn't in my Hexi Town, was it?"

Lu Lun said, "This is what I saw in Jingyuan when I went north. It is said to be my hometown, but it is actually in Huaizhou."

The journey from Jingyuan back to Huaizhou was less than a thousand li, so the so-called "returning home after ten thousand li" was just an exaggeration. But for someone who was injured and penniless, it was still a difficult journey with no end in sight.

Li Ji couldn't help but sigh, then bowed to Lu Lun and said, "I deeply admire your compassion and empathy, sir. I will heed your warning and ensure that such tragedies never happen again in Hexi."

The previous six "Frontier Ballads" were alright; while they were quite uplifting, they didn't necessarily possess a high level of artistic merit. This poem, "Encountering a Sick Soldier," however, is different. It laments the enemy's suffering from hunger, cold, exhaustion, illness, and injury, subtly criticizing the court and various garrisons for their generous support of the army, yet failing to provide adequate care. Once the soldiers are no longer needed, they are discarded like weeds. Indeed, it is a superior work in both literary and ideological terms. Furthermore, Li Ji believed that although Lu Lun encountered "sick soldiers" from another garrison, his recitation of this poem today was a reminder to himself not to belittle his soldiers. Even if they could share food and clothing on the battlefield, once they retreat due to injury and can no longer support themselves, until there is no way to survive, will the soldiers, seeing this prospect, still have the will to fight to the death for you?

Li Ji believed that someone who could understand the hardships of the common people must have a benevolent heart. Regardless of his abilities, Mr. Lu's thoughts and character were commendable—which inspired him to consider using him for great purposes.

But in truth, Lu Lun hadn't thought that much about it. He simply wrote this old poem because it was somewhat relevant to military affairs, and that's why he put it out to appease Li Ji...

Li Ji's impression of Lu Lun improved subtly, and he immediately composed himself and asked respectfully, "Sir, instead of sitting comfortably in Guzang, you have come to Zhangye, which is still recovering. I suppose you have something to teach me."

Lu Lun replied with his hands clasped, "I am ashamed to say that although I have grand ambitions, I have never served in the army, nor have I held any official position to govern a region. My occasional thoughts may not be suitable for your use..."

"Please speak plainly, sir. I am all ears."

Lu Lun naturally had some explanation in mind, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to meet Li Ji. So, he boldly said, "Previously in Guzang, I saw merchants from the Central Plains continuously supplying goods to Xixia. They said that the Grand Commandant used the markets and shops of Liangzhou as collateral to borrow from them. With these supplies, we could strengthen our army, drive out the barbarian bandits, and completely recover Hexi. However, apart from Liangzhou, the prefectures of Hexi were originally poor and lacked abundant resources. In addition, with the continuous war and disasters, even if we recover them, we cannot immediately return the profits to the merchants..."

"What you say is true, sir. Do you have any brilliant ideas to teach me?"

"When Lun was in Guzang, he requested to review the old records. He learned that at the height of the Tianbao era, Ganzhou had no more than 6,000 households, Suzhou had 2,000, Shazhou had 4,000, and Guazhou had less than 500. It is likely that after the invasion and ravages by the barbarian tribes, the number of households would be even smaller, perhaps not even comparable to a county in the Central Plains. Therefore, if the Grand Commandant wants to ensure sufficient food and supplies for the army, the only way is to increase the number of households and encourage them to engage in agriculture. This is the only feasible approach."

The Hexi region has a sparse population, which is related to the land. There is only so much arable land, and it is impossible to support a large population! Of course, this only refers to the Han people who are registered as citizens. As for the Qiang and Hu people, the vast grasslands are still able to support a considerable number of them—the further west you go, the more there are.

But Lu Lun was right. Li Ji was indeed short of manpower. If there were more people, even without farmland to settle them, they could be incorporated into the army to at least garrison some less important but still necessary areas, thus freeing up the main force to focus on defending against the barbarians. So he asked Lu Lun, "I also want to recruit some refugees from Guanzhong, but none of the towns are willing to release them..." He was joking, of course. Other towns were also short of manpower, especially Guanzhong. After the war, there was more land than people. If refugees were found in the mountains, they could be allocated land immediately. Why would they need to come to your desolate Hexi?

Lu Lun smiled and said, "Why doesn't the Grand Commandant seek further south?"

"What you mean, sir..."

"Grand Commandant Wen and Commander Cui of Xichuan are related by marriage. Why not ask them to provide some people? You should know that during the An Lushan Rebellion, most of the refugees in Guanzhong fled to Sichuan. Those who could not return numbered no less than ten thousand households."

Li Ji frowned: "I am related to them, but would they be willing to provide me with people?"

"The native people are unwilling to give them up, and even if they were, they wouldn't want to migrate north. If Commander Cui were to send people to Hexi, they would mostly be tenants, villagers, or even bandits and prisoners. However, once they arrive in Hexi, they would be under the control of the Grand Commandant. With careful screening, they could be of some benefit. Now the Grand Commandant has acquired Liang and Gan provinces and is also in contact with the Uyghurs. Everything is scarce, except for horses. Shu is rich, but it lacks good horses. We can exchange horses for people. I believe Commander Cui will not refuse."

Li Ji stroked his beard, lost in thought and remaining silent. He felt that Lu Lun was too bookish, all talk and no action, and that his proposed strategies were basically not feasible.

First of all, even if I accept all comers, regardless of whether they are cats or dogs, thieves or prisoners, just to increase the population of Hexi, Xichuan still has to be able to provide the necessary resources and transport them. Even if Cui Ning's policies are harsh, how many criminals can Sichuan possibly have? As for the refugees who fled from Guanzhong, firstly, if they haven't committed any crimes, there's no reason to bring them to guard the border; secondly, those coming from Sichuan to Hexi must pass through Guanzhong and Longxi, and for various reasons—mostly lacking travel expenses—they couldn't return home. If they passed by their hometowns, would they still be willing to continue north?

As for the issue of exchanging horses for riders, that's even more absurd. While it's true that Sichuan lacks fine steeds, it also lacks terrain suitable for cavalry to roam freely. For traversing mountainous terrain, the locally produced, smaller Sichuan horses are more suitable. Furthermore, horses from Guanzhong are extremely susceptible to heat; transporting them to the humid and hot Sichuan region would easily lead to disease, significantly increasing maintenance costs—it's simply not worthwhile.

Even if Cui Ning were to use his influence to buy some warhorses, it would only be for himself and his generals to ride and show off their power; a thousand horses would be the maximum!

Although somewhat disappointed, Li Ji also found some new inspiration from Lu Lun's unreliable advice.

Therefore, it was finally decided to hire Lu Lun as secretary to assist in drafting daily official documents and memorials. The chief secretary of Hexi Town was originally Lü Xiqian, who was brought from Shuofang. However, in recent years, that guy had become addicted to writing legends and transcribing stories, and instead often delegated serious documents to his subordinates. He also promised to seek an eighth-rank official salary for him.

After Lu Lun left, Li Ji called Bao Zitian and said, "Could you make a trip to Chengdu for me? Select three hundred fine horses and transport them to Xichuan to present to the military governor Cui Ning..."

Chapter 44, The Distant Flow of the River West

Following the agreed-upon rules, Yu Ling selected ten members of his family and sent them to Guzang. After Li Ji examined them, he accepted six of them into his staff, including Bao Zitian, whom he had often dealt with since the Wei Bo era.

In addition, Li Ji had two other candidates in mind. One was Jian Dao, originally from Yingzhou, who had been engaged in business in Hengzhou for many years after being recruited by Yu Ling. He was said to have Xi ethnic ancestry, though the veracity was unknown. He could indeed speak a Dongfan language, though no one could testify to this, and it was unclear whether it was Khitan or Xi. Because of his honesty and diligence, Yu Ling married him to a woman from his own clan, thus introducing him into the family—after all, Jian Dao was an orphan, and it was said that all his relatives had died.

Another was Cao Zhilin from Tanzhou, whose courtesy name was Xiangjiao. He had studied for a few years and was quite literate. He even claimed to have studied archery and was skilled in shooting. He was also a distant relative of Yu Ling. Because of his family's poverty, he could not take the imperial examinations and was forced to follow Yu Ling to Henan at a young age to work as an accountant.

Li Ji had promised at the beginning of the year that if they fought another battle, he would promote half of the six Yu family members to the seventh or eighth rank, thus rewarding these three for their achievements—all of whom were relatives by marriage. On the contrary, Li Ji did not think much of the other three who were actually surnamed Yu.

Meanwhile, Jian Dao and Cao Zhilin remained in Liangzhou to handle financial and commercial matters, while Bao Zitian was summoned by Li Ji, who had brought him to Ganzhou, and asked to send three hundred fine horses to Chengdu as a gift to Cui Ning.

Lu Lun suggested that Li Ji trade people with Cui Ning for fine horses. This idea was unreliable, but it made Li Ji realize that Shu was rich, and if a trade route could be opened between Hexi and Xichuan, it would definitely benefit him. Moreover, if Cui Ning could launch an offensive in Xichuan to contain the barbarian army, it would also benefit his own battles in Hexi.

Therefore, the first step is to further strengthen the relationship between the two families. Three hundred fine horses will be selected and presented to Cui Ning—I believe Cui Ning will not dare to refuse a reciprocation. At the same time, I will instruct Bao Zitian to thoroughly investigate the products of Xichuan and assess the feasibility of trade. Although the journey is long, we can also bring in a town in Guanzhong to serve as a transit point.

As Lu Lun said, Li Ji had acquired Gansu and Liangzhou, so there was no shortage of warhorses. The Hexi Garrison originally commanded 73,000 soldiers and had 19,400 horses, which could provide more than 30% cavalry, making it second to none among the garrisons. Moreover, these 19,400 were only the registered warhorses; the officers had kept and released countless more privately. Although the past warhorse farms had been destroyed by the barbarians, there were many Qiang and Hu people in the territory, so they could both levy horses from them and allow them to graze and breed the horses.

It can be said that the most valuable product of Hexi is its fine horses, which can be supplied to Guanzhong and generate huge profits. Previously, when Liangzhou was not yet secured and Ganzhou was still unclaimed, and the horse administration was only just beginning to be organized, Li Ji dared not engage in large-scale trading. Now, however, he could begin to act. However, Yu Ling had already given the order, saying he wanted horses from your town, and would buy as many as you offered, so Li Ji couldn't refuse him.

Therefore, it was considered that Yu Ling or his family members under his command could sell fine horses to Guanzhong, then purchase goods from Guanzhong and transport them to Shu, exchanging Shu goods for Guanzhong goods, and then transporting Guanzhong goods to Liangzhou… Although Shu had also experienced many wars, it had never been ravaged by the An Lushan Rebellion, and its wealth was second only to Jianghuai. Li Ji was sometimes envious of Cui Ning. If it weren't for issues like expelling the barbarians and recovering the Western Regions, and simply focusing on building a strong foundation and living a life of luxury, Xichuan would be far superior to Hexi!

After Baozi Tian left, Li Ji summoned Lü Xiqian again and said, "Please write a memorial for me."

Although Lü Xiqian often delegated formal official documents to his subordinates, Li Ji would still order him to draft important memorials personally. This was because Lü Xiqian had been in the capital for a long time and was quite familiar with the court's situation. No other secretary could match him in how to impress the emperor and the authorities with his memorials—including the newly appointed Lu Lun, there were a total of seven secretaries, all of whom were poor scholars who had never held office. Secondly, Lü Xiqian was Li Shi's personal confidant, so his drafted memorials were more likely to receive Li Shi's secret assistance.

Li Ji's memorial was simple: he lamented poverty, saying that Hexi was barren and especially lacking in manpower, which was not only unfavorable for a prolonged defense but also hindered the reorganization of the army for continued warfare. He hoped that the court could exile a group of prisoners to distant lands and that the original exiles should not be sent to the malarial and malaria-ridden areas of Lingnan and Jiannan, but instead be sent to Hexi.

The Tang Code stipulated that exile was second only to the death penalty, and it was divided into three levels: two thousand li, two thousand five hundred li, and three thousand li. The places of exile mainly included four major regions: Qianzhong, Lingnan, Jiannan, and Qixi. Qixi was the Western Regions, but now it was isolated by foreign bandits, so only three places of exile remained.

Li Ji requested that the criminals be exiled to Hexi, and most of them were willing—because Zhangye and Chang'an were only about two thousand li apart, and it was only the lowest level of exile, not even the second-highest—and it wouldn't be troublesome for the court. The key was that, according to the law, after arriving at their place of exile, the criminals had to serve a year of hard labor before being allowed to settle down, and they were forbidden from returning to the Central Plains for life. Once Li Ji obtained these people, he only needed to screen them. The most vicious ones would be sent to build cities, and they would probably die of exhaustion within a year; those who were not too wicked—for example, those who had committed manslaughter—would be used for civilian settlements; and those who were relatively brave could be made to serve in the army to atone for their crimes.

This inspiration came from Lu Lun's suggestion, which was much more reliable than requesting Sichuan to supply prisoners.

----------

Li Ji's request was quickly approved; the court had no objection to exiling him to Hexi. Thus, Li Ziyi was forced to embark on the journey to Guzang…

After the Battle of Hengshui, Li Ziyi, nicknamed "Fifth Red Flag Officer," hurriedly crossed the Zhang River, but dared not flee to Xindu like his comrade, nor return to Wushun Army. He could only seize a horse, split up, and head west, sneaking through the territory of Zhaoyi Army and escaping into Hedong Road. However, at that time, the country was in chaos, and Wushun Army was quickly annexed by Weibo. Qin Rui was put in a prison cart and sent to Chang'an. No one investigated in detail the culprit who had clamored to flee before the battle that day. Otherwise, if a warrant had been issued for his arrest, he probably wouldn't have gone very far.

On the road, he was sometimes hungry and sometimes full. He was even forced to become a thief to steal some travel money. After passing through Hedong Road, he entered Jingji Road and searched everywhere for a town to raise a flag and recruit soldiers so that he could join his ranks. Because he had spent half his life as a soldier, apart from getting paid and risking his life, he really had no skills and no way to make a living.

—A thief might be acceptable if pushed to the limit, but ultimately it shouldn't be a lifelong profession or even a career.

Nearly a year later, he finally got the chance to rejoin the army—under Liu Qia, the military commissioner of Shangzhou. In the fourth year of the Dali era, Liu Qia, due to a feud with Yin Zhongqing, the defense commissioner of Jinshang, launched an attack and killed him. The court was furious and immediately mobilized part of the Northern Army and ordered Liang Chongyi, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit, to send troops to jointly annihilate Liu Qia.

As for who was right and who was wrong, and the cause and effect, Li Ziyi was just a lowly squad leader at the time, so naturally he had no way of knowing—he was simply following orders from his superiors, attacking whomever he was told to attack. After Liu Qia's defeat and death, his troops scattered, and more than two thousand people were taken prisoner by the Shannan East Circuit Army and taken to Xiangyang; Li Ziyi was also wounded and captured, and fortunately or unfortunately, he fell into the hands of the Imperial Guards.

Shence Army captured over a thousand enemy soldiers under Hao Tingyu's command and ordered the execution of all the common soldiers, leaving only Li Ziyi and over sixty other officers and soldiers of various ranks to be escorted to Chang'an as prisoners. Li Yu believed that these rebel troops should be executed, but Chancellor Li Qiyun and Cui Youfu argued that they were merely collaborators and should not be sentenced to death—according to the law, they should be exiled.

Originally, they were to be exiled to Guizhou and handed over to the Guizhou Military Governor for disposal. However, Li Ji's memorial arrived just in time, so Li Qijun gave face to his nephew and ordered a team of imperial guards to escort the prisoners to Guzang—including Li Ziyi and other captured soldiers from Shangzhou, totaling more than two hundred people.

Upon hearing this news, Li Ziyi was terrified—he had originally betrayed Li Ji of Weibo. If he went to Liangzhou and ran into an acquaintance who exposed his identity, would he have any chance of survival? So he looked for an opportunity along the way and tried to escape several times.

However, the Imperial Guards were very strict in their supervision, because their superior, Lieutenant Huo (Huo Xianming), had instructed them: "Be careful on the road. If even one person escapes, I will not look good in front of the Grand Commandant, and you will be punished according to military law!" Thus, Li Ziyi could never find a suitable opportunity until he passed through Xiaoguan. Only then, taking advantage of the opportunity to relieve himself, did he dart into the bushes...

He was immediately caught up by the Imperial Guards on horseback, bound hand and foot, dragged back, and given a severe beating. After the beating, the Imperial Guard commander comforted him, saying, "You deserve to die, but although you are exiled, you will eventually live. Would you rather die than serve hard labor? It will only be a year, just endure it. If you dare to escape again, you will be executed without mercy. Think it over carefully."

Given Li Ziyi's previous offense, the soldiers kept a tighter watch on him, leaving him no chance to escape. He could only console himself: after so many years, Li Ji might not even recognize him anymore. Apart from a few trusted guards, most of his men were from Shuofang and Liangzhou, and few of them had ever dealt with him in Weibo. So as long as he was careful, he wouldn't expose his whereabouts.

Why is my life so miserable? I possess immense strength and superb martial arts skills, yet not only can I not achieve glory on the battlefield, nor secure a good future for my family, but I face constant setbacks and have even become an exile… Just as that general said, if I run again, I'll surely face execution. Surviving the defeat at Shangzhou is already a stroke of luck; I'd better keep a low profile and live as long as I can…

Actually, living like this is worse than being dead, but I just can't bring myself to die!

After traveling for more than a day, they finally arrived at Guzang City, where they were greeted by officials and soldiers from Hexi. They checked the names against the official documents and records. Li Ziyi was not using his real name. He had changed his name when he escaped from Weibo and joined the Wushun Army. When he defected from the Wushun Army, he naturally changed it to a third name. They then temporarily imprisoned the more than two hundred people in the hay storage area and told them that the judge would come tomorrow to assign them labor. Today would be their last meal, and they would be given a full meal.

The so-called "full meal" consisted of nothing more than two coarse black wheat cakes and a bowl of vegetable soup devoid of any oil. Li Ziyi mingled among the crowd, tossing and turning all night, unable to fall asleep. The next day, the military governor's office indeed sent someone, who was addressed as "Judge Luo".