Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

This really doesn't make sense. Li Ji reached out and rubbed his chin—ouch, that prickly chin. Right, I have a beard now—and couldn't think of any rebuttal for a moment. He could only say, "In short, I'm afraid this disaster is 'not in Zhuanyu, but within our own walls.' Perhaps someone in the court wants to harm you, brother. You must not be careless!"

He couldn't understand why anyone would deliberately try to assassinate Li Bi, a country scholar—even if they didn't intend to kill him on the spot, they would most likely want to capture him alive. It wasn't until Li Bi arrived in Ding'an and received exceptional treatment from the emperor and princes, who addressed him as "Master Changyuan" that he overturned his previous prejudices and had a completely new idea.

Regardless of Li Mi's abilities, his favor with the emperor inevitably aroused jealousy among some in the court. Therefore, sending someone to ambush him on his way to court is perhaps understandable. As the saying goes, "A new emperor, a new court." No matter how much the previous emperor valued Li Mi, he ultimately demoted him. And only then, when the new emperor ascended the throne, would he inevitably give important positions to Li Mi, a former official of the Eastern Palace who didn't get along with the previous emperor's key ministers. Given time, Li Mi would hold a prominent position. Would those old officials from the previous dynasty be happy about this? Would they willingly sideline a younger generation?

Even if they were both former members of the Eastern Palace, like Li Fuguo, they probably wouldn't be happy to see Li Bi come and compete with them for their jobs again—it is said that eunuchs in the Tang Dynasty could also wield real power, as evidenced by Gao Lishi, who served the retired emperor.

Therefore, it is highly likely that the assassins sabotaged him. Considering that the assassins did not intend to kill Li Bi on the spot, they probably just wanted to prevent Li Bi from meeting with the emperor, or at least imprison him for a period of time, postpone the meeting, and wait until all the spoils around the new emperor had been divided up.

If the assassins were sent by An Lushan or his subordinates, they could have simply killed Li Bi—after all, An Lushan and Li Bi had some personal grudge. And if he wanted to capture Li Bi alive and persuade him to surrender, he could have sent someone to Yingyang long ago. While not many people knew about Li Bi's seclusion in Yingyang, it wasn't a state secret, and it wouldn't have been difficult to find out.

Of course, it's also possible that some people are simply vindictive and have a dark and cruel nature; they might want to capture Li Bi and repeatedly humiliate him, even to the point of murder, just because of a poem...

Therefore, Li Ji reminded Li Bi that he should not be careless with his colleagues in the court—he was a historian and had seen too many similar cases—Li Bi neither refuted nor agreed, but looked at him with a strange look and slowly asked, "'Not in Zhuanyu, but within the walls of the palace'—did you like to quote classics so much when you were alive?"

Li Ji certainly wouldn't have spoken like that in his previous life, but he had a similar habit when speaking online. Firstly, typing is more troublesome than speaking, so quoting classical Chinese can reduce the number of words and save time; secondly... it seems that people who like literature and history often have this common problem, using it to show netizens: I am knowledgeable, you have to listen to me properly, don't think that there is a chuunibyou kid on the other side of the screen talking nonsense.

Although he was not familiar with the Tang Dynasty, it was still ancient times, and even his daily language was more literary than that of later generations. So Li Ji unconsciously started to interject many classic ancient sayings into his speech. For example, when he met Li Shi during the day, he didn't say "You can't judge a book by its cover" but instead said "Judging a person by their words, you will lose Zai Yu; judging a person by their appearance, you will lose Zi Yu."

Li Bi said, "Don't do that. It doesn't fit your current... my brother's persona, and it'll easily arouse suspicion." Li Ji outwardly agreed, but inwardly thought, "If anyone asks, I'll just say it was you, Li Bi, who taught me."

Taking the opportunity, Li Bi lightly glossed over the assassination attempt and returned to the conversation between the emperor and himself.

Li Heng has been in high spirits these days because at the beginning of this month, when he traveled south to Ding'an and passed through Shunhua County, he finally received the approval of the Chengdu authorities for his memorial. In other words, the retired emperor was forced to acknowledge the fait accompli and formally issued an edict to abdicate.

He then ordered the Left Chancellor Wei Jiansu, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Cui Huan, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Cui Yuan, and the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs Fang Guan, among others, to travel north with the imperial edict to confer the title of Emperor Li Heng upon him. They eventually met in Shunhua County, north of Pengyuan.

The Tang Dynasty employed a system of multiple chancellors, jointly governed by the heads of the three departments—the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat (Left Chancellor), and the Chancellor of the Imperial Secretariat (Right Chancellor)—along with other officials holding the title of "Co-Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery." Now that Right Chancellor Yang Guozhong has died, there are three others holding the title of "Co-Chancellor of the Secretariat and the Chancellery" besides Left Chancellor Wei Jiansu. The Emperor Emeritus has now appointed all four of these chancellors, demonstrating his sincere intention to abdicate.

—Since things have already come to this, do I still have a chance to regain the throne? I might as well go all the way and avoid incurring the wrath of my son, who is also the new emperor.

Although Li Heng had ascended the throne under the instigation of Pei Mian and others, he was actually quite hesitant—his father hadn't yet given his consent. Now, upon seeing the imperial edict, a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders, and he felt incredibly relieved. With Li Bi's arrival, he felt his throne was secure, the chaos was likely to be quelled, and the two capitals could soon be restored, allowing for a return to a prosperous era. Therefore, he treated Li Bi with even greater warmth and respect.

But it was a long-awaited reunion, and no one expected that this would put so much pressure on Li Bi's shoulders. As they talked until dusk, Li Heng said, "Changyuan, you have come from afar and must be tired and exhausted. You should go back and rest early—I have already arranged accommodations for you—as for state affairs, we can talk about them tomorrow."

Li Bi took his leave, and Li Fuguo saw him off at the bottom of the hall, taking the opportunity to boast, "According to the Emperor's wishes, you and your brothers have been arranged to live in a nearby courtyard. I've also sent four beautiful and obedient palace maids with you; you can use them as you please." Li Bi was displeased upon hearing this and vehemently declined.

Chapter Fourteen, The Feast of Roasted Pears

The emperor actually came to Li Bi's residence in person to invite him to dine together, and even... wanted to eat barbecue! Li Bi was greatly surprised and hurriedly got off the bed, grabbed Li Ji, and went out to greet him.

But by this time, the emperor and his entourage had already entered the courtyard. Several eunuchs, under Li Fuguo's orders, were selecting a spot to set up charcoal stoves and grills. The Li brothers came out of the house to pay their respects. Li Bi bowed deeply, but glancing sideways, he noticed that Li Ji was still standing there in a daze, so he quickly tugged at his trouser leg.

Li Ji had no choice but to kneel down on the ground.

Li Heng came over, extended his hands to help Li Bi up, and said, "Tonight is just like when we were in the Eastern Palace, friends gathered together, why perform such a grand ceremony?"

Li Bi said, "Even when I was in the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince was the ruler, and I was a subject. Although I am grateful for his kindness, I cannot abandon the proper etiquette. Moreover, Your Majesty has now ascended the throne as the Son of Heaven..." But Li Heng still forcibly pulled him up.

Li Heng then glanced sideways and asked, "Is this the younger cousin of the guard chief Yuan Zhi? What's his name?"

Li Ji immediately announced loudly, "This humble person...this humble person is Li Ji, courtesy name Changwei." He dared not mention the word "people," which stemmed from the memory of his original soul and was to avoid the taboo of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

According to etiquette, Li Bi should have answered on his behalf and introduced himself to the emperor, but Li Ji insisted on introducing himself first in order to leave a deeper impression on the emperor. If Li Bi had always answered on his behalf, he would have become invisible and the emperor would not have paid any attention to him.

Sure enough, Li Heng's first question was directed at Li Bi, but after hearing Li Ji's answer, his second question went straight to Li Ji himself—"Judging from your name, are you perhaps from Ji County?"

"Your Majesty is wise; the straw man was indeed born in Ji County."

With a smile, Li Heng slightly raised his left hand toward Li Ji and said, "Get up." Then he took Li Bi's hand and headed straight for the charcoal fire.

Li Ji thought to himself, "Why didn't they come to help me? What a difference in treatment!" He had no choice but to get up himself and follow behind Li Bi.

Only then was he able to observe the Tang Dynasty emperor—of course, he was looking down and peeking at him secretly—he saw that Li Heng was wearing a black gauze turban with drooping corners, a reddish-yellow robe embroidered with dragons, of medium height, with a round face, two upturned mustaches on his lips and a thick tuft of beard under his chin, all of which were neatly combed.

Judging from Li Heng's appearance, he was just a middle-aged man—over forty, not yet fifty. Li Ji thought to himself, "I thought Li Shi's grandfather would be an old man... Is it because both father and son married and had children early, in their teens, or does the royal family have some special preservation techniques that make them look so young?"

Li Heng did not come alone. When he greeted people outside, he said, "I have brought my brothers to dine with Changyuan." He brought three princes in total, whose attire was similar to that of Prince Jianning, Li Tan, and Prince Fengjie, Li Shi, whom he had met during the day—all wearing gold crowns, purple robes, gold belts, and black boots. Later, when Li Bi was questioned, it was learned that one of them was Prince Ying, Li Jiao; another was Prince Xin, Li Huang; and the third was Prince Yi, Li Zi.

Li Fuguo ordered people to place five small porcelain stools around the charcoal fire, with the emperor in the main seat, Li Bi in the guest seat, and the three princes sitting on either side.

Li Ji deliberately stood behind Li Bi, facing Li Heng directly, making himself very conspicuous. Sure enough, Li Heng saw him and immediately beckoned: "You are Changyuan's younger brother, not a servant, so you naturally have the right to sit down. You may come and sit next to him."

However, it's unclear whether the emperor hadn't given a clear order, so the servants dared not act on their own, or whether Li Fuguo was deliberately causing trouble. Li Ji waited for quite a while, but no one brought him a seat, so he could only squat down next to Li Bi, grumbling to himself. Li Bi, on the other hand, patted him on the shoulder, perhaps to comfort him, or perhaps to say—"You should know some manners and not speak or act recklessly!"

On the charcoal stove was a rather exquisite metal frame covered with an iron mesh, and next to it was an iron hook, just right for hanging a ceramic pot to heat wine. The eunuch served skewered pieces of meat, nothing more than beef, mutton, pork, and venison. Upon seeing this, Li Bi hurriedly clasped his hands and apologized, saying, "Your Majesty knows that I have been a vegetarian for many years and have not touched meat."

Li Heng smiled and said, "Of course I know. I specially prepared a few pears for Changyuan." The eunuch then handed several fragrant pears skewered on sticks to Li Bi. Before Li Bi could reach out to take them, Li Heng snatched them away and said, "Let me roast the pears for Changyuan."

Li Bi hurriedly waved his hand: "No, how could I dare to trouble Your Majesty!"

Li Heng ignored them and placed the two pears on the iron mesh to roast.

Helpless, Li Bi could only say that he would wait for His Majesty and His Highness to roast meat... Of course, Li Ji was not oblivious and quickly took over: "I will do it for you, brother."

"Li Bi can grill meat? Impossible! He never even touches the grill. If you burn it, none of us will get any. I'll do it. I used to eat at self-service barbecues all the time in my past life."

While roasting pears, Li Heng chatted idly, and Li Bi seized the opportunity to ask, "Did all three princes come from Lingwu to follow His Majesty?" He thought to himself, apart from Prince Ying, Li Jiao, who had some talent, the other two were just wastrel sons, practically useless. Why would the Emperor keep them by his side? He had brought Li Shi along, because of his favored status and being the eldest grandson, he was unwilling to be separated from him even for a moment, which was understandable…

Li Ji had been observing the expressions of everyone present with a sidelong glance. He noticed that when the emperor offered to roast pears for Li Bi, the three princes all showed a hint of jealousy; but after Li Bi asked that question, their expressions changed. Li Jiao then said, "I am ashamed, we all came from Chengdu and only recently paid our respects to Your Majesty in Shunhua..."

In fact, after the Mawei Post Station incident, the retired emperor only left behind the family of the then Crown Prince Li Heng.

All his other children and grandchildren were brought along to accompany him into Shu—even though they knew that covering the rear was a difficult task and that recovering Xijing was not feasible, Li Jiao and the others were unwilling to volunteer to stay and follow their third brother.

Li Jiao had been appointed beforehand as the Grand General of Shu Commandery and Military Governor of Jiannan—though this was a nominal position—and thus served as the Emperor's vanguard, arriving in Shu first. It is said that he governed Shu for two months, bringing peace and stability to the people, but was then slandered by Chancellor Cui Yuan and confined to his private residence. Subsequently, the Emperor abdicated and banished all his brothers to the north.

Originally, their father was the emperor, so it was only natural for them to follow him. But now that the emperor had become a prince, they didn't immediately follow, fearing that the prince might be displeased… Therefore, when Li Bi casually asked, all three princes looked ashamed. Li Bi knew he had asked the wrong question—during the daytime audience with the emperor, he hadn't even given prior notice—so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Why hasn't Prince Yong come?"

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In Li Mi's eyes, Prince Yong, Li Lin, was dashing, brave, and talented, far surpassing Li Jiao and his contemporaries. Among the princes of the court, only Prince Jianning, Li Tan, could be compared to him. More importantly, although Li Lin and Li Heng were half-brothers, they had a very good relationship—Li Lin lost his mother at a young age and was basically raised by his third brother, Li Heng, who often slept with his younger brother. So why didn't the Emperor bring Li Lin along when he brought several brothers to meet me tonight?

As Li Heng flipped through the pear in his hand, he casually replied, "Prince Yong has gone to Jingxiang."

Li Jiao and others explained that during the Emperor's journey to Shu, when he passed through Hanzhong Prefecture, he issued an edict, seemingly on someone's advice, ordering his sons to take charge of military governorships throughout the empire. The remonstrating official Gao Shi earnestly advised against this, but to no avail. As a result, Li Jiao and the others either took charge of Shu before being dismissed, or were too cowardly to go to their posts, and were ultimately all brought to Li Heng's side. Only Li Lin, who harbored great ambitions, obeyed the edict and immediately set off eastward with his royal guards.

His new position was "Military Governor of the four circuits of Shannan East Circuit, Lingnan Circuit, Qianzhong Circuit, and Jiangnan West Circuit, and Grand Commander of Jiangling Prefecture". He was ordered to be stationed in Jiangling to coordinate military affairs and mobilize troops to resist the rebels.

Li Huang said somewhat sourly, "The Supreme Emperor really favors Li Lin, giving him four military governorships in one go... while we only got one each."

Li Ji stood by, listening intently as he served the roasted meat to the emperor and the three princes. Although he himself was drooling and his stomach was rumbling, he dared not eat first.

Li Bi then advised, "Your Majesty, as Gao Jianyi said, the Emperor Emeritus's decision to assign his sons to command the military governorships of the realm was not a wise one, but rather risked fragmenting the state. Now that the Emperor Emeritus has abdicated, Your Majesty should naturally be in overall command of the military forces of the realm, and it is inappropriate to further delegate command to Prince Yong—you should quickly issue an edict appointing Prince Yong..."

Li Huang interjected, "Summon him to Ding'an as well. If he refuses, he must be plotting a rebellion!"

Li Heng glared at him coldly, then his expression softened slightly as he looked at Li Bi, as if to say, "Go on, you can continue."

Li Bi cupped his hands and said, “How dare I say that Prince Yong has any rebellious intentions? If Your Majesty recalls Prince Yong because of my words, it will only cause discord between brothers, and I would be suspected of sowing discord among my own flesh and blood. Now the Emperor Emeritus has ordered all the princes to come and assist Your Majesty, but the Emperor Emeritus is old and living in seclusion in Shu. How can he be without children and grandchildren to serve him? Prince Yong should be ordered to immediately relinquish his military power and return to Chengdu in the west to temporarily serve the Emperor Emeritus in Your Majesty’s place, so as to fulfill Your Majesty’s filial duty.”

Li Ji glanced at Li Bi discreetly, thinking to himself, "Well done, this is a good idea. He really has strategy in his mind; he's no ordinary scholar."

Li Heng nodded and said, "Changyuan's words are reasonable. Among my brothers, Prince Yong is the closest to me. He should naturally fulfill his filial duties before the Emperor Emeritus on my behalf. Tomorrow, I will have the Secretariat draft an edict."

As he spoke, he handed two roasted pears to Li Bi. Li Bi quickly bowed slightly, accepted them with both hands, and said, "I have a small appetite, these two pears are enough for me."

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Li Jiao cupped his hands and requested, "Your Majesty, please also cook a pear for your younger brother." Li Heng refused, saying, "You all have meat to eat, why do you need to eat pears? Changyuan not only eats vegetarian food, but also often abstains from grains. I was afraid that he would lose his spirit from hunger, so I personally cooked a pear and ordered him to eat it. You all have meat and that's enough, there's no need for me to persuade you."

Li Jiao smiled insincerely and said, "I don't want to eat pears. I was just testing Your Majesty's intentions. Why are you so biased? Otherwise, how about the three of us brothers share one pear?"

"He's a grown man with a long beard, yet he says this as if he's being coquettish." Li Ji couldn't help but laugh, and could only pretend to avoid the cooking fumes by turning his face to the side.

Li Heng still refused to agree and ordered Li Fuguo to bring other fruits to distribute among the princes—"Today, only Changyuan can eat these pears; none of you are qualified!"

Li Huang pursed his lips and said, "We are only requesting this because Your Majesty personally cooked the pears. What's the point of having other fruits?"

Li Zi quickly stepped in to smooth things over—"You two can fool around, but don't drag me into it—"Who among us wouldn't envy the Emperor's favor bestowed upon Master Changyuan? We request to compose a poem together to commemorate this event, so that it may become a beautiful story for all time."

Li Ji thought to himself, "That's good. This guy knows how to behave."

Upon hearing this, Li Heng became interested and pointed to Li Jiao, saying, "Prince Ying, please compose a couplet." Since Li Jiao was the eldest of the three princes, there had to be a ranking.

After a moment's thought, Li Jiao asked, "How old are you, sir? You look like a child."

Li Huangxiang

Chapter Fifteen, The Straw Man at the Banquet

Emperor Li Heng said he intended to appoint Li Bi as Right Chancellor, but Li Bi firmly refused. When Li Ji heard this, he was greatly surprised and stood there stunned.

Seeing his expression, Li Heng found it somewhat amusing and asked, "Could you persuade your brother to accept my appointment?"

Li Ji turned his head and glanced at Li Bi, only to see Li Bi slowly shaking his head and blinking his right eye slightly, as if conveying some message to him. Li Ji sighed and said, "How can I persuade my brother once he has made up his mind?" He paused for a moment, then turned to Li Heng, clasped his hands, and said, "Even His Majesty cannot sway his firm resolve. What can a straw man do?"

Li Heng showed a slight regret on his face, but then pointed at Li Ji and said, "By the way, you escorted your brother a thousand miles to see me. I heard that you even killed two assassins on Tanshan Mountain. That's quite an achievement—would you like to become an official?"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji's heart stirred slightly, but he only hesitated for a few seconds before replying, "I only wish to protect my brother's safety. In truth... I don't know many characters, nor can I wield a sword or spear. I only have strength in my arms. How can I be an official?"

Firstly, having only recently arrived in this world, I lack a clear understanding of the situation in the court and among the people—relying solely on Li Bi's account is too simplistic and requires a broader perspective—it's not advisable to enter the treacherous world of officialdom for the time being. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty is in decline, yet internal power struggles and infighting persist—Li Bi's assassination attempt reveals the undercurrents beneath the surface—whether or not to jump onto this precarious boat requires careful consideration.

Secondly, Li Bi, who was highly regarded by the emperor, was still a commoner, while his younger cousin had gone and obtained an official position. This was truly against morality and also a breach of faith with the original soul within the body—although that fellow had not shown up these days, he might still be alive! And once he became an official, would he have to leave Li Bi's side?

Li Mi's refusal to take office might truly be, as he himself claimed, stemming from a lack of ambition for officialdom and a single-minded pursuit of Taoism. However, it's also possible that he simply didn't want to get involved in the murky waters of officialdom for the time being. For a hermit in white robes to be appointed Right Chancellor so soon after ascending to the throne would inevitably arouse widespread suspicion from both the court and the public. How could he possibly accomplish anything under such circumstances, facing constant obstruction and sabotage from everyone?

Perhaps after some time, he will have demonstrated his talent not only to the emperor but also to the people of the world—if he truly possesses such talent—for example, by devising strategies for the emperor to successfully recapture the two capitals. If the emperor then bestows upon him the rank of first-grade official, Li Mi might accept. As long as he is associated with Li Mi, why fear not having an opportunity to become an official? Why rush things?

Based on the above considerations, Li Ji politely declined Li Heng's offer. However, he left a loophole in his reply, not saying he had no intention of becoming an official, but only that he felt his abilities were too shallow and he was unfit for office. Such humble words were just official rhetoric; who would take them seriously? Besides, if the emperor thought you were capable, then even if you weren't, you were still capable. He didn't believe that all officials in the Tang Dynasty were competent, and that there wasn't a single charlatan among them.

Li Ji's resignation seemed to be expected by Li Heng, so he smiled and said, "Those who have rendered meritorious service must be rewarded, and this must not be delayed. If you do not wish to serve as an official, you may express any other desires you have, and I will listen to them all."

Li Ji glanced at Li Bi again. On one hand, he genuinely wanted to know Li Bi's opinion; on the other hand, he wanted to show everyone present that he would temporarily follow his elder brother's lead—if Your Majesty truly values ​​Li Bi, this would surely leave a good impression on him as well. Li Bi narrowed his eyes slightly, as if to say: Think carefully before you speak, and don't make unreasonable demands!

Li Ji thought to himself, "Of course I know. Even though the emperor says things like 'I will listen to everything,' I can't take it seriously. For example, if I wanted to switch places with you and become the emperor, do you think he would slap me across the face?"

After a moment's thought, he replied, "The straw man is really hungry. If Your Majesty would allow him to eat some meat first, would that be alright?"

Upon hearing this, Li Heng and the three princes all burst into laughter. Li Bi, slightly embarrassed, explained, "My brother is a country bumpkin, uncouth and lacking in manners; I hope Your Majesty will forgive him. However, he is indeed different from me; he has a large appetite and has been cooking meat for Your Majesty and the princes for quite some time. He must have simply been unable to endure it any longer..."

Li Heng laughed and said, "I see that your younger brother is innocent and carefree, with the heart of a child." He then said to Li Ji, "I grant your wish. You don't need to cook meat for us anymore. Eat your fill first." He glanced at Li Fuguo and instructed him, "You help Li Ji cook the meat."