Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 218

From this point onward, over the course of more than four hundred years, Buddhist believers, admiring the work of the Venerable Lezun, also came to Mingsha Mountain to carve caves and Buddha statues. Because the majority of the people in the Hexi Corridor and the Western Regions were Buddhists, these Buddha statues were worshipped and offered sacrifices, and most were preserved intact—even during the Tibetan occupation, they were not destroyed, as many Tibetan soldiers were also Buddhists. By the time Li Ji arrived in this era, there were over a thousand Buddha statues of various sizes on Mingsha Mountain, commonly known as the "Cave of a Thousand Buddhas."

Believers from all over Hexi and the Western Regions often traveled thousands of miles to Mingsha Mountain to worship the Thousand Buddhas. Even after the Tubo withdrew from Shazhou, Ma Chongying wrote a letter to Li Ji, asking him not to stop the Tubo believers who went to worship the Buddha... Dunhuang gradually prospered as a result.

Of course, the most important thing was the opening up of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road from Hexi to the Western Regions mainly consisted of three routes: the Southern Route, the Northern Route, and the New Northern Route. The Southern and Northern Routes both passed through Dunhuang. One route exited through the ancient Yumen Pass to the northwest, heading north along the Tulun Desert, while the other exited through Yangguan Pass to the west, heading south along the Tulun Desert. The opening of the New Northern Route was due to two reasons: firstly, the Tulun Desert gradually expanded, making travel in the surrounding areas increasingly difficult; secondly, after the rise of the Tibetan Empire, it repeatedly crossed the Altun Mountains northward to compete with the Tang Dynasty for control of the Western Regions. Merchants and travelers, seeking safety, preferred to take the extra hundreds or thousands of miles to the north.

However, ever since Li Ji took charge of Dunhuang and thoroughly recovered the Western Regions, many merchants have become bolder and continue to travel through Dunhuang to Anxi—after all, it is much closer, and time is money—Dunhuang's status as a node on the Silk Road has become increasingly important. Although the city has only about 10,000 residents, the number of people coming and going often exceeds 30,000 and is still growing.

Although Li Ji was forced to relinquish Liangzhou, he still managed to collect taxes handsomely by expanding markets and trade through the two major transportation hubs of Dunhuang and Gaochang, one in the south and one in the north. However, the entire Western Regions, including the western part of the old Hexi Town under his jurisdiction, was ultimately sparsely populated, with mostly deserts and Gobi, and relatively lacking in various products.

Many areas were suitable for farming and animal husbandry, and also produced well salt, but the production was barely enough for local use and insufficient for export. The only special products were gold and jade. Gold was produced in the area north of Tingzhou, which later became the Junggar Basin; the Jinshan Mountains to the north were even richer, originally belonging to the Karluks, but now belonging to the Uyghurs. Li Ji had spoken with the Khan of the Longevity Kingdom and sent people to mine the gold, with the proceeds to be split 50/50; the town of Khotan produced mutton-fat jade, commonly known as "Kunshan jade".

However, the Western Regions had limited production of minerals such as copper and iron, which were of utmost importance during those times, and most of these had to be purchased from abroad, which negatively impacted Li Ji's military buildup and business operations. As for silk and porcelain, which constituted the largest portion of China's exports—and perhaps tea in the future—the Western Regions did not produce them, and Dunhuang and Gaochang were far less important as distribution markets than Guzang in Liangzhou.

Therefore, it was impossible for Li Ji to replicate his previous work of building large-scale water-powered looms in Weibo—moreover, most rivers in the Western Regions have very slow flow rates, and many are seasonal, so water-powered machinery is not needed.

Therefore, while encouraging land reclamation and small-scale family wool textile industries, Li Ji could only focus his main energy and investment on transit trade. To facilitate trade, he even minted his own coins to communicate with Western merchants—most Western merchants did not accept copper coins, and what they imported was not copper coins either. Li Ji collected a large number of gold and silver coins of different purities and shapes, so he simply followed the example of Western countries and minted gold and silver coins for circulation.

Gold and silver are good; Western merchants recognize them, and Tang merchants don't reject them either—it's just that most Tang merchants don't treat them as currency, but only as precious metals that can, to some extent, replace currency in circulation.

The technology for minting coins had always been controlled by the state, and Li Ji might not have been able to steal it. Furthermore, since gold and silver are both soft, he adopted Western forging methods instead of traditional Chinese casting. All the coins, whether gold or silver, were perfectly round without holes but with rims, one side engraved with the characters "镇西" (Zhenxi). Their weight was the same as the Kaiyuan Tongbao, two zhu and four lei, with ten coins making one liang. Thus, one gold coin was roughly equivalent to five hundred copper coins, and one silver coin to one hundred copper coins.

This way, they could also give an explanation to the imperial court—this isn't money, how can something without a hole be called money? These are just some gold and silver sheets that Zhenxi made for convenient storage and use. What powerful or wealthy family is allowed to melt down gold, silver, and other precious metals into ingots or sheets? Anyway, ordinary people can't afford them, and it won't interfere with the country's monetary policy.

Merchants who come and go, especially those with large transactions, are happy to use it.

Today, Li Ji set off to return to the capital. Passing through the streets of Dunhuang, he casually asked Du Huan to inquire of the Arab envoy: "What do you think of this city? There's no need for flattery, just answer honestly."

Du Huan translated: "The envoy said that this is a rather magnificent military fortress, but it is far from being a commercial city. The four famous cities of Khorasan, whether it be Merv, Barkh, Yeli, or Nishabu, are all ten times more prosperous than Dunhuang, not to mention the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "The envoy is telling the truth, but once he sees Guzang, he may no longer praise Mulu so highly. Once he sees Chang'an and Luoyang, Baghdad will also have to admit defeat."

After traveling west from Dunhuang for more than a day, they arrived at Jiayuguan. Because Dong Xiu was by their side and had the imperial edict in hand, the guards dared not stop them and opened the gate to let them pass. Half a day after Li Ji entered the pass, Gao Chongwen, accompanied by the Arab envoy, also passed through; half a day later, Zhu Xiejinzhong led the Shatuo troops through again... The generals at the pass saw that the situation was not good and hurriedly sent a fast horse back to report to Guzang.

At this time, the military governor of Hexi was Ma Lin. He had previously rendered meritorious service in defending Jingyuan against the barbarians on several occasions. In the tenth year of the Dali era, he entered the court and hinted that he wanted to become prime minister. Li Yu appointed Ma Lin as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel. He also enfeoffed him as the Prince of Fufeng, but did not keep him for the New Year. Instead, he sent him to Guzang to guard the city.

Li Ji and Ma Lin had a past friendship, and Guzang was a crucial thoroughfare connecting east and west, so naturally he wanted to enter the city to meet him. However, when he arrived at the west gate of Guzang, he saw a red-robed official leading a hundred officials standing with their hands clasped in front of them; it was none other than Duan Xiushi, the deputy military governor of Hexi. Li Ji then asked, "Where is Ma Fufeng?" He thought to himself, "You are indeed more senior and older than me, but I am now one of the Three Dukes; surely you wouldn't send only a deputy to greet me?"

Duan Xiushi said sadly, "The Prince of Fufeng passed away from illness a month ago..."

When Ma Lin passed away, his coffin was returned to his hometown of Fufeng (Fengxiang), and the deputy envoy Duan Xiushi was appointed as the acting governor of Hexi Town. Duan Xiushi had met Li Ji several times when he was the prefect of Yuanzhou, so he invited him into his office and held a banquet to welcome the Grand Commandant. Taking advantage of the opportunity, he boldly asked in a low voice, "The imperial court has summoned the Grand Commandant to an audience, but I have not heard of him requesting assistance from the western region. Why has the Grand Commandant brought so many troops eastward?"

Li Ji smiled enigmatically: "Only five hundred soldiers accompany you. Do you think that's too many, Lord Duan?"

Duan Xiushi said solemnly, “This humble official is not ignorant of military matters. The fact that the Grand Commandant’s men are either laborers or soldiers cannot be hidden from my eyes. Moreover, the Zhenxi Army and Shatuo cavalry, who claimed to be escorting the Abbasid envoys, numbering no less than three thousand, are only a short distance behind the Grand Commandant—don’t say it’s purely a coincidence…”

Li Ji smiled and said, "The Abbasid Caliphate just happened to send an envoy at this time, and Zhu Xie Jinzhong was about to pay homage to the emperor, so I accompanied him. Isn't this a coincidence?" Then his expression turned serious and he said, "I am in the western border and do not know much about the central court. I do not know how the war against Huaixi is going."

Duan Xiushi frowned: "I just heard that the war is going badly..."

Zhu Ci led troops from the capital region, Tongguan, and Heyang to attack Li Xilie in Huaixi. Upon receiving the news, Li Xilie preemptively launched an attack, capturing Bianzhou in the north and threatening Luoyang. At the same time, he sought help from allies such as Li Zhengji of Ziqing. In order to appease Li Zhengji, the court not only recognized his rule over the five prefectures of Cao, Pu, Xu, Yan, and Yun, but also appointed him as Right Vice Minister and granted him the title of Prince of Raoyang. However, Li Zhengji still secretly sent troops eastward, blocking the troops in the three cities of Heyang.

Zhu Ci fought against the rebels near Guancheng but suffered a defeat. He retreated to Xingyang, fortifying it with deep trenches and high walls, intending to hold it for a long time. Unexpectedly, Li Xilie suddenly turned south and attacked Ruzhou. Zhu Ci sent his generals Tang Hanchen and Gao Bingzhe with 10,000 men to its rescue, but before they arrived, Ruzhou had already fallen, and the governor Li Yuanping surrendered to the rebels. Luoyang was terrified, and scholars fled to Heyang, Xiaoshan, Mianchi, and other places. Zhang Yanshang, the garrison commander of Luoyang, raised troops to defend the city, and the rebels could not capture it…

Duan Xiushi then analyzed the intelligence he had obtained with Li Ji in detail. Zhu Ci's unsuccessful campaign was mainly due to three reasons: First, the Tang Dynasty had previously only defended against the three towns of Hebei, and thus adopted the strategy of Li Mi and Li Ji, which involved a semi-encirclement and blockade from north to south and from west to east, using the three cities of Hedong and Heyang, Zhaoyi Army, Weibo, and Henghai Army; however, it had not been as vigilant in places such as Huaixi and Xuanwu Army.

The main reason was that Li Zhongchen and Tian Shenggong differed from the three towns of Hebei; they were more submissive, and the court even hoped they could monitor Zibo, Qingzhou, and Pinglu. However, after Tian Shenggong's death, his brother Tian Shenyu succeeded him, but less than three years later, Tian Shenyu also died, triggering Li Lingyao's rebellion. Subsequently, Li Xilie seized the opportunity to expel Li Zhongchen…

Therefore, the rebellion in Huaixi was somewhat unexpected, and the order to suppress it was issued too hastily. Before the various pieces were in place, the enemy had already checkmated them.

Secondly, the troops east of Tongguan were also affected by the demobilization, resulting in unstable morale and a decline in combat effectiveness. Thirdly, Zhu Ci had never led troops or fought battles in the Henan region before, and his sudden arrival inevitably made it difficult for him to control the army, leading to setbacks.

However, Duan Xiushi believed that the setbacks suffered by the government troops were only temporary. As long as Luoyang and Xingyang were held, they could quickly stabilize their position, redeploy their forces, and force Li Xilie back to Huaixi.

Li Ji asked him, "What if Li Xilie bypasses Luoyang, continues deeper into the region, colludes with Liang Chongyi, and goes to Tongguan?"

Duan Xiushi shook his head: "Then Zhu Sikong is enough to cut off their escape route, which is tantamount to courting their own destruction."

Li Ji disagreed, saying, "If Li Xilie were all alone, he would surely act as you say. But now Li Zhengji is behind him, and Tian Yue and Liang Chongyi are on his flanks. The Henan government troops must be on guard everywhere, more than capable of holding their ground but unable to advance. How can we hastily cut off their retreat? Moreover, if the enemy forces approach Tongguan, the court only needs to show the slightest sign of fatigue, or perhaps seek peace..." Given Li Yu's nature, it was quite possible—"The various garrisons will no longer stand idly by, but will want to follow suit and take advantage of the situation. What should we do then?"

Upon hearing this, Duan Xiushi was speechless for a long time.

Li Ji smiled and said, "Does Lord Duan think I brought a lot of soldiers? Perhaps after I return to Chang'an, I will have to borrow troops from Hexi—can the Hexi army even fight?"

Duan Xiushi thought for a moment and replied, "Hexi has lost its commander and its troops are in disarray. I can only send three thousand elite soldiers to assist the Grand Commandant. However, the Grand Commandant can request an imperial decree to mobilize troops from Guanzhong. If we wait for Hexi's aid, it will be too late to help us in our immediate predicament."

Li Ji laughed and said casually, "I once guarded Hexi, so I trust the soldiers there more."

He continued south from Guzang, passing through Lanzhou and Weizhou towards Guanzhong. Just after passing Fuqiang, another imperial envoy arrived, urging him to speed up his journey—it was Liu Zhongyi, another trusted eunuch of Li Yu. Li Ji had previously assisted Liu Zhongyi on several occasions, so he inquired about the suppression of the rebellion. Liu Zhongyi smiled bitterly and said, "Zhu Sikong has been defeated, and the rebels are now at their strongest..."

As Li Ji had predicted, Li Xilie's attack on Luoyang proved difficult. Unwilling to remain besiege the fortified city for long, he concluded that Zhang Yanshang was incapable of fighting outside the city and thus continued his westward advance, directly threatening Tongguan. Zhu Ci led his army south to pursue him, but suddenly news arrived that alarm had been raised at Heyin…

— Encouraged by Li Xilie's successive victories and rapid advance, the allied towns each sent troops to assist him. Li Zhengji and Tian Yue marched westward along the river to support the Huaixi army.

Li Huaiguang led the Weibo army to fight against Tian Yue. The outcome was still unknown, but Ma Sui, the military governor of the three cities of Heyang, was defeated by the vanguard of Tian Yue and Li Zhengji and was forced to retreat to Luoyang with Zhu Ci...

Liu Zhongyi said that the rebels had raised the banner of "purging the emperor's inner circle," demanding severe punishment for Cui Youfu, who advocated for troop reduction, and also for Li Qiyun... In fact, Li Qiyun was implicated and had expressed his opposition to the troop adjustment. However, the current prime minister, Qiao Lin, was deaf and blind, old and senile, while Chang Gun was overly cautious and lacked initiative, and was completely ignorant of military affairs. Therefore, the various garrisons believed that as long as Li Qiyun and Cui Youfu were eliminated, the court would accept their various conditions.

Li Yu was indeed terrified and was forced to dismiss the two prime ministers, replacing them with Guan Bo and Zhang Yi. He then sent an envoy eastward, ordering Li Xilie to withdraw his troops. Li Xilie insisted that Li Qiyun and Cui Youfu had slandered the emperor and disrupted the court, and deserved to be beheaded! Or, to take a step back, he wouldn't mind being hanged.

Although Li Yu was timid, he was also soft-hearted. Dismissing the two prime ministers was a minor matter; he could simply recall them in a few years. But the idea of ​​taking their heads was something he couldn't bring himself to do—especially since Cui Youfu was a former official from his time as a prince, and the two had a very good relationship. Having no other options, he could only send someone to Hezhong to plead with Guo Ziyi to come south and help defend Tongguan, while simultaneously dispatching Liu Zhongyi to suppress Li Ji.

Li Ji thought to himself, "It's a good thing you didn't kill the two prime ministers. If you had killed Li Qiyun because of the threat of the traitor, I would have raised my flag on the spot and rebelled against you, the old emperor!"

Realizing the urgency of the situation, he had no choice but to temporarily abandon the extra troops he had brought, leading only five hundred elite cavalrymen to travel day and night back to Chang'an. Sure enough, Li Shi volunteered to come out of the city to greet him, and even took Li Ji's hand, whispering, "Why did you only bring so few soldiers, Changwei?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "I was afraid that the emperor would be flustered and harm the loyal and good people, so I rushed back—and some people followed behind."

Li Shi nodded, then leaned even closer and lowered his voice: "This time, the various towns in Guandong have rebelled. I suspect there is someone in the court who is cooperating with them—could it be the Prince of Qi's uncle?!"

Chapter 5, The Strange Man of Tongguan

Li Shi suspected that Li Tan was secretly colluding with the rebels. Upon hearing this, Li Ji was greatly surprised and hurriedly asked, "How could this be? Does Your Highness have any evidence?"

Li Shi said that before the campaign against Huaixi, Li Yu appointed Guo Ziyi as the deputy marshal of Hebei and Zhu Ci as the deputy marshal of Henan. According to custom, another prince should have been appointed as marshal, even if it was just a nominal position in Chang'an. The original marshal of the army was Prince Zheng, Li Miao, but he had passed away. His sons, the third son Li Xia (actually the fourth, but the third son Li Si was adopted by Emperor Suzong, so all the brothers were moved up in rank), the fourth son Li Shu, the fifth son Li Yu, and the sixth son Li Lian, all had mothers of low status and were not favored; they were all still only princes and not qualified. The seventh son, Prince Han, Li Hui, was qualified, but he was too young…

In fact, Li Yu had indeed hinted at appointing Li Hui as the Grand Marshal of the Armed Forces, but doing so would have posed a greater threat to the throne, just as it had to Li Miao in the past. Li Shi ordered Lu Qi to secretly collude with court officials and repeatedly submit memorials, finally forcing Li Yu to abandon the idea.

Then Prince Qi, Li Tan, stepped forward, saying that he had experience in leading troops and could share the burden for his elder brother, the emperor. He even planned to lead an imperial guard out of Chang'an to garrison Tongguan in preparation for any eventuality.

Li Yu ultimately refused, but Li Shi couldn't help but pay attention to his uncle, the Prince of Qi, again. He secretly sent someone to spy on him and saw a secret letter coming from outside. Suspecting it was a spy from Li Xilie who came to contact Li Tan...

Li Ji waved his hand: "It is only natural for the King of Qi to be restless after a period of stillness. Why would he harbor any rebellious intentions? What good would it do him?"

Li Shi said in a low voice, "The enemy is pressing on Tongguan, and the emperor is alarmed and has the intention to hunt in the west. If the Prince of Qi takes advantage of the chaos and flees into the rebel army, he may be able to get what he wants."

The implication was that Li Tan wanted to use the rebels' momentum to ascend the throne and usurp the throne! But Li Ji didn't care about that—he thought it was unlikely—he just asked in astonishment, "The sage wants to hunt in the west? Is it Fengxiang or Shu?" He thought to himself, "At the slightest hint of trouble, the emperor is already planning to flee. That's just like your father and grandfather."

Li Shi replied, "Don't worry, Chief Guard, Yan Qingchen and others have already advised against it."

As soon as Li Yu hinted at his intentions, the court officials submitted memorials one after another, offering their earnest advice. Yan Zhenqing, the Minister of Personnel, was particularly vehement, directly comparing the emperor to his grandfather. He said that when Tongguan Pass fell and the imperial guards were scattered and unusable, Emperor Xuanzong had to flee. Now, Tongguan Pass was still being held, and there were still tens of thousands of troops in the Northern Army. How could he abandon his subjects and ancestral temples? He not only submitted memorials to persuade the emperor but also rebuked him in court, almost spitting on the emperor's face.

Li Yu could only explain, "I had no such intention. You've all misunderstood. I was planning to send the Crown Prince... no, the Prince of Han, westward to gather troops from Fengxiang, Longyou, and other places to provide reinforcements." Yan Zhenqing retorted, "Don't be ridiculous. I'd believe you if you said you were sending the Crown Prince or the Prince of Qi to gather troops, but how old is the Prince of Han?"

Li Ji couldn't understand: "The troops of several towns in Guanzhong, and the 30,000 imperial guards in the Northern Army, are they not enough? Why would the Emperor be afraid?"

At this time, the various towns in Guanzhong—Jingyuan under Bai Zhizhen, Binning under Hou Xiyi, Fufang under Bai Xiaode, and Fengxiang under Wei Yuanfu—all fabricated excuses to refuse to proceed immediately upon receiving the imperial edict. In reality, due to years of fighting against the barbarians, the troops in Guanzhong had gradually been transferred westward to Longyou. Binning and Fufang indeed lacked elite troops, while Jingyuan and Fengxiang claimed that the reduction of troops had caused the soldiers to become increasingly restless, and that if they were to be sent out to fight at this time, they would inevitably desert halfway.

Li Ji guessed that those people all intended to stand by and watch—if the court was forced by Li Xilie and others to overturn the previously set troop quotas, wouldn't we also be able to benefit from it?

As for the Northern Imperial Guards, because Chen Shaoyou, the defense commissioner of Shangdu, reported that Liang Chongyi intended to invade the capital, a contingent of Baoying troops and Weiyuan troops were dispatched to assist in the defense of Shangzhou; in addition, a contingent of Shence troops was sent to guard Tongguan, so there are now less than 20,000 troops in Chang'an.

Li Ji comforted Li Shi: "Chang'an is a mighty city, and the people all turn to our Tang Dynasty, so 20,000 imperial guards are enough to defend it." Li Shi nodded: "I also tried to comfort Your Majesty in the same way, but Your Majesty... only longs for the arrival of Chang'an's guards day and night."

Li Ji immediately went to the Daming Palace to pay his respects to Li Yu. Upon meeting him, he knelt down and shouted "Long live the Emperor!" saying, "Your subject has come to congratulate Your Majesty!"

Li Yu, like a drowning man grasping at a straw, was about to ask Li Ji how to deal with the current crisis—even if Li Ji's return might support Li Shi, he couldn't care less now—but to his surprise, Li Ji uttered a congratulatory remark, leaving him utterly bewildered: "The country is in grave danger, what do you mean by that?"

Li Ji said solemnly, “The various garrisons in Guandong are truly a festering wound, and will surely be destroyed in an emergency. Previously, the country was busy expelling the barbarians and had no power to attack them, so it could only keep them at arm's length. However, now that we have made peace with the barbarians, they will surely plot against Guandong. If they pretend to be obedient and bide their time, waiting for the future, it will be inconvenient to attack them. Now that all the garrisons have rebelled at the same time, it is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the might of the emperor and punish them. Even if we cannot kill them, we will make them never dare to look the central court in the eye again. If the combined forces of the garrisons cannot coerce the court, then they will never be a threat again.”

Li Yu frowned and said, "Your words seem to make sense, but—"Now Li Xilie is besieging Tongguan, Tian Yue and Li Zhengji are surrounding Luoyang, and Liang Chongyi may be about to attack the capital; Zhu Ci is unable to repel the enemy, and Minister Guo has just submitted a memorial. I fear that Li Baochen and Zhu Tao will cross the Taihang Mountains to the west and threaten Hedong... How should we break this deadlock?"

Li Ji smiled slightly, his tone becoming more relaxed: "How was the situation in the fifteenth year of the Tianbao era compared to today? If Yang Guozhong hadn't forced Geshu Han to leave Tongguan, An Lushan would have already planned to retreat to Fanyang. How could Emperor Xuanzong have fled west... the Western Hunt? Now, although the various garrisons in Guandong have formed an alliance, they have no leader and each goes its own way. The government troops only need to establish a foothold and they can surely defeat them one by one. Tongguan is a strategic pass, and I heard that the Northern Army has been dispatched to defend it. Unlike Geshu Han, who only led tens of thousands of defeated and demoralized soldiers, they can surely hold it and wait for the situation to change."

“Liang Chongyi is a reckless man and not worth worrying about. Even if the troops in Guanzhong are unwilling to come to our aid, there are still the elite troops under Li Liangqi in Longyou who have fought a hundred battles against the barbarians. When I came here, I passed through Hexi, and Duan Xiushi was also willing to send troops to defend the emperor. I believe that Li Xilie will retreat within three months, or he will die! Your Majesty has nothing to worry about.”

Perhaps it was his confidence that infected Li Yu, for the emperor finally calmed down and then thought to help Li Ji up, saying, “I knew that even if the ministers and generals cannot be relied upon, I still have you, Li Changwei, standing guard at the gate to protect me. With Changwei in the capital, I feel at ease. If the rebels break through Tongguan and approach Chang’an, I will appoint Changwei to take charge of the Northern Army and be in charge of defense.”

Li Ji thought to himself, "What? You're only going to hand over the Northern Imperial Guards to me when the rebels reach the city walls? Your paranoia is a bit too much... Hmm, actually you mean you want me to lead the Imperial Guards and make sure you break through the encirclement, right?"

Then he smiled and said, "The rebels are still far away. I request to go to Tongguan first to observe the situation so that I can formulate a strategy to defend against the rebels for Your Majesty."

Li Ji did not linger in Chang'an. He left the capital that very night, leading his personal guards toward Tongguan. At the same time, he sent someone to inform the troops behind him that Gao Chongwen should arrange for the Arab envoy to stay temporarily in Fengxiang—so that he would not see the panicked Chang'an—and then lead his troops to Tongguan to join him.

As for Zhu Xie Jinzhong, why don't you come along too? First kill the traitors and make meritorious contributions, then go to the capital to pay homage to the emperor. Wouldn't that be better?

Upon arriving at Tongguan, a unit of the Shence Imperial Guard opened the gates to greet them. The general at the front had a large tattoo on the side of his forehead, resembling the shape of a crow. Li Ji naturally recognized him; wasn't this Li Ziyi, whom Lao Jing had abducted years ago?

He nodded to Li Ziyi in greeting, then asked, "Who is in charge of Tongguan now?"

Tongguan was originally under the jurisdiction of the Tonghua Military Governor (also known as the Guanxi Military Governor). The last military governor was Zhou Zhiguang, who was stabbed through the heart by Li Ji. The court then abolished the Tonghua Garrison, but considering that Tongguan still needed to be defended, the position of Tongguan Defense Commander was established, with 8,000 troops under his command, known as the "Zhenguo Army".

At this time, the commander of the Zhenguo Army was Shang Kegu—originally a surrendered general from the An Lushan Rebellion, he was among the first batch of foreign generals absorbed into the Northern Army system, and had changed his name to Yu Zhide because he had aligned himself with Yu Chaoen. After Yu Chaoen's death, Shang Kegu changed his allegiance and hurriedly curryed favor with Wang Jiahe, thus retaining his position and being granted the important post of guarding Tongguan.

However, Zhu Ci's campaign against Huaixi also mobilized some of the Tongguan garrison. Shang Kegu, long out of practice and eager for glory, volunteered to go, but he too is now besieged in Luoyang, the eastern capital. He originally appointed his deputy, Luo Yuanguang, to oversee the defense of Tongguan, but Li Ji had heard before leaving Chang'an that Luo Yuanguang had just suffered a severe injury and was unable to manage affairs…

Luo Yuanguang was a Sogdian who had migrated to the interior. Originally surnamed An, he later joined the Northern Imperial Guard and became the adopted son of Luo Fengxian, a eunuch favored by Emperor Li Yu, changing his name to Luo Yuanguang. He was originally a renowned and valiant general of the Tang Dynasty, but on the battlefield, swords and spears are indiscriminate; in a moment of carelessness, he was shot in the chest and nearly met his end with the eunuch. If Li Ji hadn't requested to come to Tongguan to inspect the battle situation, Emperor Li Yu had intended to send another general to take charge.

Therefore, as soon as Li Ji arrived, he asked, "Now that Luo Yuanguang is injured, whose advice should we follow for the defense of Tongguan? You, Li Ziyi, are a general of the Shence Army. I heard that you have been promoted to the position of Commander of the Five Camps. Could it be you, kid?"

To everyone's surprise, this seemingly simple question caused Li Ziyi to quickly lower his head and stammer, "It's the Nie family..."

Who was Li Ji thinking? Nie Feng?

Nie Feng was originally a general in the Weibo army. When Yan Zhenqing was transferred to the position of military governor of Fengxiang, he requested to follow him and thus accompanied him westward. However, Nie Feng was not actually able to enter Tongguan Pass; he was detained in Shanzhou by Li Bi. At that time, Li Bi was serving as the military governor of Shaanxi and Guo, and had no generals under his command. Therefore, when he hosted a banquet for Yan Zhenqing, he made a request, and Yan Zhenqing recommended Nie Feng.

The current military governor of Shaanxi and Guo is Li Guoqing. Li Xilie bypassed Luoyang and advanced rapidly. Li Guoqing could not stop him and led his remaining troops to flee into Tongguan. However, Li Guoqing was ultimately a scholar and did not dare to stay in Tongguan. He went directly back to Chang'an to apologize. The main general of the Shaanxi and Guo troops was probably Nie Feng. Li Ji was naturally concerned about the whereabouts of his old subordinates and often sent people to inquire.

Li Ji rode into Tongguan, with Li Ziyi following behind. Li Ji casually asked, "You are the Commander of the Five Camps of the Shence Army, why are you subordinate to someone like me?"

Li Ziyi blushed: "This humble general can't beat him..."

Li Ji thought to himself, "No way. From what I know, Nie Feng is meticulous and honest, and he is indeed a capable person. But when it comes to martial arts skills, he can't possibly be better than you—his only advantage is that he is a few years younger than you."

He couldn't help but laugh and ask, "Could it be that Nie Feng has some extraordinary encounter that allows him to defeat you, the Fifth Brother of the Red Flag?"

Li Ziyi rushed a few steps and darted to the side of Li Ji's mount, bowing deeply: "Grand Commandant, you misunderstand. I was not referring to Nie Feng, but to a woman from the Nie family... Nie Feng's daughter. She did indeed have a remarkable encounter..."

Li Ji was still in surprise when suddenly a rider galloped towards him, reined in his horse, and the rider, clad in gleaming armor, nimbly dismounted, knelt on one knee, and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect: "I am Nie Yinniang, and I apologize for being late in welcoming the Grand Commandant!"

Li Ji raised his whip: "Raise your head."

He scrutinized the woman closely. She was in the prime of her youth, not a stunning beauty, but her features were quite delicate, and she possessed a certain heroic spirit. He vaguely remembered that Nie Feng had a daughter who was taken away by Xie Ziran in the second year of Yongtai to learn hidden weapons and the art of lightness. She seemed to be only six years old at the time, so now... she was probably around twenty.

"Are you a disciple of Master Xie Ziran?"

"Exactly."

When will they be released back into their own territory?

"The sixth year of the Dali era."

It was later said that Nie Yinniang was taken away for more than five years, finally completing her apprenticeship at the age of twelve and returning home. She then moved with Nie Feng to Guozhou. Originally trained in light-body techniques and hidden weapon skills, she was free-spirited, restless, and often sneaked out to wander. Nie Feng sent his men to search for and even capture her, but no one could defeat this young woman. Moreover, Nie Yinniang also learned archery and horsemanship from the officers, demonstrating remarkable skill in both. Within just a few years, even her father, Nie Feng, was no match for her…

Nie Feng wanted to find a husband for his daughter, but Nie Yinniang looked down on scholars who were too weak to even kill a chicken, and no one in the army could beat her... So things were delayed, and she was already twenty years old and still unmarried.

Not long ago, the Huaixi rebels attacked Shanzhou. Nie Feng wanted to defend the city, but Li Guoqing fled first out of fear, so he was forced to abandon Shanzhou and personally covered the rear. He was caught in the chaos of the army and his fate is unknown. The defeated soldiers of Shanzhou and Guozhou fled into Tongguan. Everyone admired Nie Yinniang's abilities and was grateful for Nie Feng's past help, so they supported her as their leader.

Previously, when Luo Yuanguang was still lively and energetic, he initially didn't believe a woman could command troops. However, Nie Yinniang pressured him with her words, forcing him to mount a horse and fight, which surprisingly ended in a draw. Luo Yuanguang thus developed feelings for her and wanted to seduce her. Nie Yinniang replied, "You have a wife, and I have a husband." Luo Yuanguang said, "I can divorce my wife and marry you, how about that?" Nie Yinniang replied, "I won't leave the tall grass, nor will I worry about the wind and rain."

Luo Yuanguang was puzzled, so he asked the scribe under his command. The answer he received was: "This is an excerpt from Du Zimei's poem 'Autumn Rain Lament,' which reads, 'The old man does not go out into the tall weeds, while the young child runs carefree through wind and rain.' Is she comparing herself to 'Zhizi' and referring to the general as 'the old man'?"

Luo Yuanguang thought to himself, "What? You think I'm old? I'm not even fifty yet! Besides, what kind of 'child' are you? Twenty years old is already considered an old woman!"

Afterwards, Luo Yuanguang was seriously injured and unable to manage affairs. All the generals requested to take over military command. The most popular candidates were Li Ziyi and Nie Yinniang. They had to have a contest to determine who was better. In the end, Li Ziyi was defeated.

Chapter Six, The Old Crow of the West Town

Women in the Tang Dynasty were known for their fierceness, likely due to their relatively high social status.

Many traditional scholars disapproved of this, believing it was a result of being influenced by foreign customs. However, the oppression and confinement of women in the Northern Dynasties was quite severe, as evidenced by the requirement to wear a veil to cover the entire body when going out. How could a society or country where women were completely covered up have a high status?

Firstly, Tang Dynasty laws were, to some extent, "retro" and inherited the Han system, allowing women to inherit family property, even take charge of households and be granted titles, and marriage restrictions were relatively relaxed. Secondly, before the An Lushan Rebellion, the overall social atmosphere was very open and magnanimous, and the social status of women, especially noblewomen, was improved to some extent. Therefore, the veil became shorter and shorter, eventually becoming a veiled hat. Then, during the Tianbao era, the veiled hat did not even cover the ears, and women often went out dressed in men's clothing.

In the early Tang Dynasty, Princess Pingyang raised troops to assist her father, and she and her husband Chai Shao each established their own military headquarters. Later, when Empress Wu Zetian ruled, she appointed female officials, with Shangguan Wan'er, the "Inner Attendant," in charge of drafting imperial edicts for many years. Subsequently, Princess Anle, Princess Taiping, and others, regardless of their personal morality, were all considered strong women. Empress Wei of Emperor Zhongzong and Empress Zhang of Emperor Suzong also interfered in politics.

Take Princess Hezheng, the younger sister of Li Yu, whom Li Ji was familiar with, for example. She often entered the palace to discuss political affairs with her brother, and even military strategies for defending against the barbarians. This was something that was rarely seen in previous dynasties.

Thus, it was common for Tang Dynasty officials and scholars to be afraid of their wives. Fang Xuanling's wife "preferred to die of jealousy," Ruan Song's wife "drew her sword at the banquet," Yang Hongwu feared his wife "for fear of future troubles," and Pei Tan was ridiculed for "being afraid of his wife is a good thing"... So, it is said that Li Taiwei of the time was also afraid of his wife, Cui. In the end, Li Taiwei had a concubine, and Cui did not draw her sword and come out of the hall. That was really not a big deal. It was not considered a joke in the central government and the western region.

However, Li Ji also discovered that after the An Lushan Rebellion, with the sharp decline of the Tang Dynasty's ruling power, social customs gradually became more conservative and introverted. This was reflected in women's clothing, with the upper edge of their bodices rising higher and the veils hanging longer and longer. He spent several years in Zhenxi, but due to the mixed Han and non-Han population, he did not feel the difference deeply. Once he returned to Chang'an, the contrast became very clear.

The fact that a female general could emerge in this era gave Li Ji a jolt of excitement—this was more like it! There are talented women out there; how could they be confined to the kitchen? For example, when I was in Dunhuang, I often consulted Cui Cuo and Hong Xian on military and political affairs, which proved to be of great help.