Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 184

Li Ji retorted sharply, "I am truly powerless to defeat the Khan, but I fear the Khan is also incapable of crossing the northern border to invade Chang'an. If the two sides fight, the one who will ultimately benefit is Tibet. So why bother?"

The two seemed to be speaking in cryptic language, but anyone with a modicum of intelligence could understand their meaning. Dunmohedagan meant that the envoy's tyranny and invasion of friendly nations wouldn't necessarily lead to a breakdown in relations between the two countries. On the contrary, the Uyghurs could use this opportunity to test the Tang court's attitude and thus gain greater benefits in diplomatic negotiations. Therefore, although Chixin's actions were not authorized by the Khan, they couldn't be considered wrong.

Chixin's mistake was that he ended up running into you, Li Ji, and was captured on the spot and taken back to the grasslands. Doesn't this damage the face of this Khan?

Li Ji replied that Chi Xin had done a good job in bumping into him—because he had probed the attitude of the person who was about to take charge of the Shuofang Legion, thus preventing the Uyghurs from misjudging the situation.

Don't assume that repeated acts of aggression and probing will necessarily benefit the Uyghurs. Over time, they will inevitably cross the Tang Dynasty's bottom line, and then, "a thousand-mile dike will be breached by an ant hole," and the alliance between the two sides will surely break down. With the Tang Dynasty's current strength, they indeed have no way to deal with the Uyghurs, but even you, Khan, aren't confident of defeating the Tang in one fell swoop and marching straight to Chang'an, are you? Thus, "when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits," and Tibet gains the advantage for nothing.

Therefore, Chixin's timely probe and understanding of my attitude was actually a merit for the Uyghurs.

Dunmoheda waved his hand and reported back to Chixin—"Drag him far away and chop him up." Then he pulled Li Ji's hand: "There's no need to discuss this matter anymore—should this bet continue?"

Li Ji spread his left hand: "I have no more stakes..."

Dunmohedagan stared into his eyes: "General Li is deeply trusted by the Tang emperor and has commanded the powerful army of Shuofang. How can you say there are no stakes involved?"

Li Ji sighed softly, "This Shuofang may not be easy to govern!"

He hadn't had many interactions with this Khan of Longevity, but he had personally heard Dunmohedagan's vision for the future of the steppe peoples, and witnessed him effortlessly turn the tide, eliminating both the Yabghu prince and Yidijian, and smoothly ascending to the throne of Khan. From this, he understood that the other party was indeed a smart man, neither tempted by petty gains nor hindered by righteousness, far superior to Li Heng and his son, and even much more mature than Li Shi.

For intelligent people, there's no need to beat around the bush or say anything foolish; they can speak frankly.

Dunmohedagan, holding Li Ji's hand, returned to the tent and sat cross-legged opposite each other on a thick felt carpet that had been laid out beforehand. A servant brought milk wine, and the two drank from the same bowl. Then Dunmohedagan said, "It's not easy being the emperor of the Tang Dynasty..."

Li Ji chuckled inwardly—how come your words are exactly the same as what his son said?

"...When I was prime minister, I could do as I pleased, but as Khan, I am now bound hand and foot and cannot act freely. For example, when I led my troops through the three surrendered cities two years ago, if Yi Dijian were Khan, he might have ignored everything and continued to march on, plundering Hedong first; if he had gained something, I would have had a share; if he had suffered a setback, I could have gathered your chieftains and forced the Khan to provide compensation..."

Li Ji laughed and said, "Back then, the army was only in Shanzhou and was about to set off. The Hedong troops were also fierce and brave, but Shi Chaoyi was already a corpse with only a few breaths left and could hardly recover. If your army really marches south, it will suffer a heavy defeat. As for the Tang family, it will only delay the pacification of the chaos by a few years."

Dunmohedagan curled his lips slightly, then leaned closer to Li Ji and whispered, "I know that the Tang family has had a poor harvest in recent years, and there is famine everywhere. However, the grasslands have also suffered from repeated disasters, and many noble chieftains have complaints. The reason why I ordered Chixin and others to transport horses to Chang'an and demand high prices is to shut up those noble chieftains and strengthen the friendship between our two families."

Li Ji replied, "Just as I said, I fear that this would not be enough to solidify our friendship, but would instead weaken both of us, thus benefiting the barbarian bandits..."

“Then what can we do? Unless…” Dunmohedagan narrowed his eyes slightly, “Since Tibet has fallen into Hexi, Anxi and Beiting are probably hard to defend. It would be better to give them to our Uyghurs, so that the leaders of the various tribes can draw their bows and arrows and take their land themselves, which can appease their resentment.”

Li Ji shook his head repeatedly: "Anxi and Beiting are very important to our Tang Dynasty, and we must never give them to others. Moreover, since I am stationed in Shuofang in the north, my ambition is to recover Hexi and rescue Anxi and Beiting. Otherwise, are we going to use all 100,000 troops in Shuofang to defend against your family?"

Dunmoheda said, “Since the two families have made an alliance, why should we be on guard? If you are unwilling to give Anxi and Beiting, you might as well withdraw the three surrendered cities and give the Hetao region to our family.”

Li Ji still shook his head: "The Yellow River is harmful in every way, but beneficial only to the Hetao region. The Hetao region is not only rich in water and grass, but also suitable for farming. Rather than being ruined by the Uyghurs... it is better for our Tang Dynasty to have it."

He was eager to change the subject, so he glanced eastward and said, "If the Khan thinks that helping our Tang Dynasty to take over Hexi and save Anxi and Beiting will only bring some money and silk as a reward, but not an inch of land to give to the tribal leaders, why not lead the army eastward?" There are also the Khitan and Xi tribes to the east, who are also enemies of our Tang Dynasty. It would be better for the Uyghurs to go and fight them.

Dunmohedagan was somewhat uninterested: "The people in the forest are difficult to manage, and even if we get the land, we can't graze cattle and sheep there, so it's of no use."

"Then what if we go west?"

"Going west leads to Anxi and Beiting..."

Li Ji shook his head: "North of Anxi, past Jinshan, towards Duotanling, there are the Karluks. Their customs are similar to those of the Uyghurs. If we can get the people to control them and the land to use them, wouldn't that be good?"

Dunmohedagan said solemnly, "Don't try to fool me. The Karluks have already submitted to the Abbasids. Even when the Tang Dynasty was at its strongest, it could not defeat the Abbasids and was driven across the Pamir Mountains by them. Why should I, the Uyghurs, provoke such a powerful enemy?"

Li Ji gestured as he explained, “Our Tang capital is in Chang’an. It is two thousand li to the east to the sea and five thousand li to the west to the Pamir Mountains. That is the limit. Therefore, Gao Xianzhi led a detachment on a distant expedition, crossing the Pamir Mountains to attack the Abbasid Caliphate, but was defeated. It is not that our Tang is inferior to the Abbasid Caliphate.”

"At that time, the Abbasid Caliphate had just destroyed the Caliphate and was at the height of its power. Persia was also the stronghold of Abu Abbas, which enabled them to mobilize a large army to defend against our Tang. Now, however, they have moved their capital to Baghdad and killed the Persian governor Abu Muslim, weakening Persia's power and clearly indicating their intention to advance westward rather than confront our Tang in the east—the Abbasid Caliphate's repeated sending of envoys to Chang'an to pay tribute after the Battle of Talas is clear evidence of this. Does the Khan not remember the conflict between the Uyghurs and the Abbasids over the tributary system in the first year of the Qian Yuan era?"

Dunmohedagan turned to look back, and his prime minister, Hudibiqia, immediately leaned closer and whispered a few words in his ear. Dunmohedagan then nodded: "So you were referring to the incident nine years ago..."

Nine years ago, in the first year of the Qianyuan era of Emperor Suzong of Tang, the Uyghurs sent eighty envoys, including Duo Yihai Abo, and the Abbasid Caliphate sent six envoys, including Naowen, to Chang'an to pay homage to the Tang emperor. A dispute arose over the order of entry into the palace. In the end, the Tang court decided to open the east and west gates and have two interpreters lead the two envoys to pay homage at the same time, thus resolving the dispute.

Today, when Dunmohedagan recalled this matter and pondered the meaning of Li Ji's words, he couldn't help but exclaim, "I never imagined that General Li would be so concerned about the affairs of distant countries. My Uyghur envoys have also asked your important ministers many times, including the prime minister and the Minister of State Ceremonies, how big the Abbasid Caliphate is and how many soldiers it has, but no one could answer that."

Li Ji felt ashamed, realizing that all his knowledge actually came from later generations...

As he just said, encompassing the Western Regions was already the limit of the Central Plains dynasty's westward expansion, and there was no intention to continue expanding its territory. Gao Xianzhi crossed the Pamir Mountains to attack the Abbasid Caliphate because the Abbasid Caliphate had taken in the fugitive prince of Shiguo. He wanted to fight a war of punishment. Since the Abbasid Caliphate did not advance eastward and even sent envoys to pay tribute, no one in the court or the public took it seriously, and no one intended to study the actual situation of that distant country.

On the contrary, the Abbasids fought several battles with the Tibetans in the Indus River Valley, which made Ma Chongying suddenly wary.

The so-called Black Caliphate refers to the Abbasid Caliphate of the Arab Empire. Li Ji had some knowledge of its history in his previous life. Since he had calculated the approximate year corresponding to this life, he naturally knew the current state of the Abbasid Caliphate. That's why he spoke of Abu Abbas and Abu Muslim, which was definitely not the translation method commonly used in China at that time.

I believe that the clash between the two empires, separated by the Pamir Mountains, was merely a simple exchange and wouldn't have caused such a ripple effect that it disrupted the global situation.

Furthermore, even if what I said differs from the facts, given the level of transportation and communication these days, could you possibly tell the difference?

He then explained to Dunmohedagan, "The White Caliphate is five thousand miles away, on the shores of the Western Sea. They first marched east and destroyed Persia. The general Abu Abbas then used Persia as his base, murdered his ruler and usurped the throne, thus becoming the Black Caliphate. Since they hold the reins of power, it is natural for them to establish their capital in the former territory of the Caliphate—just as An Lushan wanted to move from Fanyang to Luoyang to declare himself emperor..."

—This analogy is only used when dealing with the Uyghurs.

"At that time, our Tang emperor was still alive, and the armies of Shuofang, Longyou, and Jiannan were still capable of serving. Therefore, the rebel An dared not enter Chang'an. His stay in Luoyang was merely temporary. If he were to truly destroy the Tang, he would surely transfer a large number of troops to the two capitals, leaving his hometown of Fanyang relatively undefended. The same applies to the Abbasid Caliphate. Moreover, there is a concern that Abu Muslim, the Persian governor—who is comparable to Shi Siming—might cause trouble. So, Persia would be left vulnerable, and the surrounding Karluk and Tocharian tribes would also become disloyal. If the Khan were to attack them, he would surely be able to seize vast grasslands and pastures."

"Our Tang army cannot possibly reach beyond ten thousand miles; your tribe is nomadic and can move its headquarters at any time, so there is no need for such a worry. Moreover, if the advance goes smoothly, Persia is a vast and fertile land with a large population, including many wealthy merchants. If the Uyghurs seize it, they will surely prosper—does the Khan not have such intentions?"

Dunmohedagan asked directly, "How big is the Abbasid Caliphate? How does it compare to the Tang Dynasty? How many soldiers does it have?"

Li Ji dared not reduce the amount too much, so he said, "The land is similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, but the territory is mostly Gobi and desert. The land that can be cultivated and pastored is less than half that of the Tang Dynasty, and the population is probably also half. As for the number of soldiers, Khan, you can calculate it yourself."

Dunmoheda chuckled dryly, "In that case, you can be considered a great power. Moreover, you've only been established for a short time and your power is at its peak. Are you trying to lure me into taking on a tough challenge?"

Li Ji replied, "If it weren't a great power, it would have been destroyed by another country long ago. How could the Uyghurs have even come close? Aren't the Uyghurs a great power?"

He wasn't genuinely encouraging the Uyghurs to advance westward, because, to his knowledge, no nomadic people had ever marched from Northeast Asia all the way to Central Asia or even West Asia. At most, they were crippled by the Central Plains dynasties, forced to migrate westward, intermarried with Central Asian tribes, and then revived after a dozen or so generations, eventually dominating West Asia. 5

However, Dunmohedagan immediately demanded Anxi, Beiting, and then the Hetao Plain. Li Ji hoped to broaden the other party's horizons by making a grand promise in the west, thereby diverting their attention somewhat—don't always focus on my Tang land!

I don’t know if Dunmohedagan has fallen for the trap, but he waved his hand and said, “Too far, too far, let’s talk about it later. Let’s talk about Hexi, Anxi and Beiting first. If those places are in your hands, that’s fine, but if they are occupied by the Tibetans, I won’t be able to sleep soundly, let alone go west to attack the Abbasids.”

"Furthermore, if the Tang family refuses to hand over Anxi and Beiting to the Uyghurs, but demands that the Uyghurs send troops to assist them, then the reward must be carefully calculated..."

Chapter Two: A Messy Tangle

Li Ji was sent as an envoy to the Uyghurs, not merely to escort the Uyghur envoys, including Chixin, to be handed over to the Khan of Changshou Tianqin—he dared not kill them himself, as that would be too disrespectful to the Khan—but also to set the tone for future relations between the Tang and Uyghur families.

Li Ji hoped that the two families could continue their amicable relationship, with the Tang family exchanging silk and other valuables for fine horses from the Uyghurs, and for Uyghur soldiers to assist in resisting and counterattacking the Tibetans. Both sides should treat each other with sincerity, and stop resorting to those petty tricks of deliberately acting aggressively and crossing the line.

Dunmohedagan stated first that Chixin and others' rampage in Chang'an was not at his behest—of course, he had not issued any orders to strictly prohibit it either… So since they had inadvertently kicked a hornet's nest, Li Ji, he would simply tell them to restrain themselves in the future.

The Uyghurs were a loosely structured nomadic steppe kingdom, so they understood the current situation in the Tang Dynasty, where numerous regional military governors each commanded significant armies. They didn't see this as a sign of the decline of the Central Plains dynasty—"It's always been like this here; shouldn't this be the norm?" So, if a particular Uyghur tribe became powerful and clashed with its allies, could the Khan's personal prestige alone guarantee victory? Unless their side was completely unreasonable, they would likely have to fight first.

It might even drag many other tribes, or even most of the Uyghurs, into the war...

The Tang Dynasty faced a similar situation. The Shuofang army was strong and superior to the Tang forces to the north. If Li Ji, in his anger, insisted on fighting the Uyghurs, the Tang emperor likely wouldn't be able to stop him. Just as Li Ji said, if the two countries fought, it would only benefit the Tibetans, which would be a huge loss.

Moreover, as Li Ji had predicted, the Tang and the Uyghurs could still coexist, but if the Uyghurs were to fight the Tibetans, they could graze on the land and use the people, and it would be difficult to find a suitable opportunity to cease hostilities... Furthermore, the Tibetans were already quite powerful, and if they were to gain control of Anxi and Beiting, they might very well send troops to pursue them to the grasslands and deserts!

So let's each take a step back. I will order my subordinates to restrain themselves and not to offend the Tang people easily. In return, you should offer more benefits in terms of trade and military rewards.

Li Ji appointed Liu Ji as his representative, with Li Fengguo (Sheligezhan), originally a Uyghur, as his assistant. They negotiated with the two Uyghur prime ministers, Hudi Biga and Meilu, for two whole days, and finally settled on a price of 25 bolts of silk per horse, with a limit of 8,000 horses to be traded each year, with 30% going to Shuofang and 70% to Chang'an.

Shuofang agreed to bypass the imperial court and annually supply the Uyghurs with 500 swords, 50 suits of armor, and 300 catties of pig iron, in exchange for cattle, sheep, and furs. Li Ji also proposed that if the Uyghurs were to send troops to reinforce them in the future to attack the Tibetan bandits, the Uyghurs should not directly ask the Tang court for payment, but should instead have Shuofang garrison submit a petition on their behalf.

On one hand, Li Heng and his son never managed the household finances and were oblivious to the cost of living. They often emptied the treasury to supply the Uyghurs, engaging in far too many unprofitable ventures, which even made Li Ji feel sorry for them. On the other hand, Shuofang was constantly soliciting rewards and bestowing gifts, providing ample opportunities to embezzle and pocket the money...

In conclusion, the final outcome was relatively favorable for the Tang family—at least much cheaper than the casual rewards bestowed by Li Heng and his son—mainly because Li Ji had set a bottom line and refused to concede too much, while the Uyghurs, in fact, didn't have such a big appetite to begin with…

If they hadn't already been spoiled by Li Heng and his son, they might have been able to accept being stabbed in the back again.

----------

Li Ji left Chang'an and traveled north to Shuofang. He only stayed in Lingzhou for five days before continuing his journey, escorting Chi Xin and others to the Uyghurs to meet Changshou Tianqin Khan.

He left Lu Geng, Gao Ying, and other staff members in Lingzhou with the aim of having Lu Geng take the lead in sorting out the personnel issues in Shuofang Town in the early stages.

During the journey, regardless of day or night, they basically talked with Lu Geng, first inquiring about the situation in Shuofang, and most importantly: who were the powerful figures there, and what were their relationships with each other?

According to Lu Geng, there are currently five main factions within the Shuofang army.

First was Hun Shizhi, the acting military governor, who came from the Hun tribe of the Tiele people in Gaolan Prefecture. He had once been transferred to Longyou, but later returned to Shuofang to serve as acting military governor in order to counter Pugu Huaien. However, although Hun Shizhi held a prestigious position—there was no official military governorship, or when the military governorship was held remotely, he considered himself the head of the town—his skills outside of battle were not very good, and few people were willing to submit to him. He was basically in a state of semi-powerlessness.

Secondly, there was Lu Sigong, a native of Sanyuan County, Jingzhao Prefecture. His original name was Lu Jianke. Because of his outstanding achievements in governing the county, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang compared him to Lu Gong, a virtuous official of the Han Dynasty, and bestowed upon him the name "Sigong." Originally a civil official, he was specially promoted to acting military governor by Du Hongjian after Emperor Suzong returned to the capital. Many of the generals were dissatisfied, especially Sun Shouliang, who held considerable military power and was arrogant and unrestrained. Therefore, Lu Sigong feigned illness, lured Sun Shouliang to the capital, and beheaded him on the spot, shocking the entire army.

However, Lu Sigong was not in Lingzhou City at this time. In the second year of Yongtai, he was appointed as the Acting Minister of Justice and in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Justice, thus becoming a senior figure in the court and the right-hand man of Prime Minister Du Hongjian. Although he was not in Shuofang, his faction still existed and its power should not be underestimated—the representative of him in the town was the general Wen Ruya.

Third was Chang Qianguang, the Commander of the Capital Garrison. He was a descendant of Chang He, a famous general in the early years of the dynasty, and the leader of the young and promising faction in Shuofang. He had a high prestige among the middle and lower-ranking military officers and could command a large following.

Fourth was Bai Yuanguang, the vanguard commander and garrison commander of Dingyuan City. A Turk, he had followed Guo Ziyi and Li Chu (Li Yu) in the recapture of the two capitals. When entering Chang'an, he led troops to clear the palace and annihilate the remaining rebels, sustaining several wounds in the process. Upon hearing of this, Emperor Suzong of Tang, Li Heng, personally applied medicine to his wounds, thus greatly enhancing his reputation. Bai Yuanguang himself had no political ambitions and was not keen on forming factions or vying for power, but he controlled the most elite troops of Dingyuan City in Shuofang, wielding considerable influence and directly affecting more than 30% of the Shuofang army.

The last faction had no single leader. Its participants shared the common characteristic of having been deeply trusted by Li Guangbi during his time as commander, which aroused suspicion from former generals who had always sided with Guo Ziyi, forcing them to band together for mutual support. Its main members included: Li Guochen (bestowed the surname An by the Sogdians), Hou Zhongzhuang from Weizhou, and Chen Lizhen from Fanyang.

Back then, Li Guangbi stayed in Xuzhou and refused to return to the capital. The Tang court was naturally helpless against him. Finally, Li Guangbi took his own life. So they dismantled his army and incorporated many brave generals into the Northern Army system, including Han Youhuan and Hao Tingyu. Chen Lizhen was Hao Tingyu's son-in-law.

In addition, Li Huaiguang, the former military governor of Luze and now the deputy military governor of Heyang Sancheng, and Bai Xiaode, the military governor of Anxi and Beiting, both came from Shuofang and still retained a certain prestige and popularity in their respective towns.

After listening to Lu Geng's detailed account, Li Ji felt extremely troubled. He immediately slapped his saddle on his horse and complained, "Why doesn't the Emperor grant me any rank or salary, but instead wants me to lead these high-ranking generals?!"

Although he was promoted to Acting Minister of Rites before leaving the capital, officially entering the ranks of the third grade and entitled to wear a purple robe, the problem was that within Shuofang Town, let alone officers and clerks in red robes, there were plenty of generals in purple robes! The root cause lay in Li Heng's reign and Li Yu's initial ascension to the throne, when he indiscriminately bestowed titles and rewards, such as granting Hun Shizhi the title of Prince of Ningshuo, Bai Yuanguang the title of Prince of Nanyang, and Li Guochen the title of Prince of Linchuan...

A bunch of princes are waiting there. How can I just run around and boss them around? Why doesn't the emperor grant me some kind of title like Prince of the County to show off my power?

Next, negotiations were necessary. The aim was to gain the approval of Lu Geng, Guo Ziyi's plenipotentiary representative, regarding the steps and extent of seizing military power, as well as the resettlement of the former generals of Shuofang. Li Ji spoke frankly: "My ambition lies in recovering Hexi and Longyou, and rescuing Anxi and Beiting. I have no intention of remaining in Shuofang for long..."

Such a huge mess, when will it ever be cleaned up? I can't wait! Besides, Shuofang Town is sparsely populated, with underdeveloped production, scarce resources, and extremely complicated affairs. We have to rely on the imperial court for money and grain. I don't have Guo Ziyi's prestige, and more importantly, I was born at the wrong time—ten years too late—I really dare not hope to make Shuofang Town my family's base.

Li Ji was genuinely regretting abandoning Weibo, which was now completely self-sufficient...

Therefore, he discussed with Lu Geng that he hoped to gain complete control of 40-50% of the military power in Shuofang, and recruit some new soldiers to join the 2,000 men he had brought from Hebei, forming a strong army of 40,000 to 50,000 men. Then they would march west to conquer Hexi or Longyou. Under these circumstances, how should they treat and settle the former generals of Shuofang? Could Jin advise him?

Lu Geng smiled and said, "Hun Shi is old. I've heard that his son, Hun Jian, is quite familiar with the military commander. Therefore, the military commander can make good use of the Hun family..."

Those who were sent by Li Guangbi faced exclusion after returning to their posts and couldn't help but harbor resentment. You can take advantage of this opportunity to take them all in. As for Wen Ruya and Bai Yuanguang, you probably can't control them. As for Chang Qianguang... well, that depends on the commander's methods.

They then decided to send Wen Ruya to lead the Zhenwu Army, first dispatching this faction of troops to a distant location. Then, they would successively transfer Bai Yuanguang's allied generals to the three surrendered cities to weaken their power.

—The Shuofang Jiedushi's forces are currently mainly divided into seven branches: the first is the Jinglue Army in Lingzhou City, which has more than 20,000 soldiers and 3,000 horses, accounting for 30% of the total; the second is the Feng'an Army; the third is Dingyuan City; the fourth is the Zhenwu Army; and in addition, there are three surrendered cities, each with a strength of six to nine thousand soldiers.

The selection and deployment of personnel, and more importantly, the negotiation with relevant factions, will be temporarily handled by Lu Geng—because he represents Guo Ziyi, and no one dares to contradict him; while Gao Ying assists Lu Geng, he will first inspect the treasury, review the files, and gain a thorough understanding of the situation within the town. As for Li Ji, he needs to make a trip to the Uyghurs first.

By the time they successfully returned to Lingzhou from the Uyghurs, it was already early May.

Lingzhou is located west of the Yellow River and east of the Helan Mountains. The mountains and rivers run in a north-southeast and south-southwest direction, with a distance of less than a hundred li between them. When Li Ji returned, he was greatly surprised by the scenery along the way—he had known it was a good place, but he hadn't expected it to be so prosperous in these times!

To be honest, if the Shuofang military governor only governed Lingzhou, not to mention that the money and grain would be sufficient to support him, just by increasing the population, he would be no less capable than the prefectures and counties within the pass!

As early as the Han Dynasty, canals were dug in this area to divert water from the Yellow River to irrigate farmland. These canals were added to throughout history. During the Tang Dynasty, Empress Wu Zetian opened the Tanglai Canal, which started at Xiashi (later known as Qingtongxia) in the south and passed north past Dingyuan City. This network of canals created fertile land, and with ample sunshine, agricultural production flourished. Even in areas unsuitable for farming, numerous natural lakes provided abundant aquatic resources, making them ideal for fishing and animal husbandry.

This region, from north to south, includes Dingyuan City, Huaiyuan, Anjing, Lingwu, and Huile (Lingzhou) counties, with Mingsha City of Gaolan Prefecture as its southern boundary. It is the most fertile land in the entire Lingzhou, and even within Shuofang Town. Unfortunately, the population is too small. A cursory check of the household register last time showed only a little over 50,000 people—and that's an old record from the Tianbao era. Heaven knows how many are left after repeated conscriptions and military campaigns.

However, population figures cannot be judged solely by official records. This was something Li Mi had told him before—the Tang Dynasty reached its peak during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, with nine million registered households and a population exceeding eighty million. But this was also a period of significant disruption to land policies, leading to a surge in unregistered households. Li Mi roughly estimated that before the An Lushan Rebellion, the total population of the Tang Dynasty may have exceeded ten million. After the rebellion, the number of households plummeted to 1.5 million, and the population fell to less than twenty million. In reality, many more had gone into hiding or fled, perhaps even matching the number of registered households…

Furthermore, the Tang Dynasty had a large number of tributary prefectures in its border regions, which were used to settle surrendered non-Han people. These non-Han people were basically not registered in the national household register, and their numbers were difficult to count.

Within Lingzhou, there was Gaolan Prefecture, or more precisely, Eastern Gaolan Prefecture, used to settle the Hun tribe of the Tiele people. Western Gaolan Prefecture was established in the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era by the Ashide Tejian tribe of the Turks, located north of the Hetao region, and was later moved to Liangzhou after the Yonghui era. Based on what Li Ji saw when he passed through Mingsha City, the population was roughly 30% Han and 70% Hu, so there should have been at least five or six thousand people.

Throughout his journey to and from the Uyghur Khaganate, he constantly pondered the same question: should he continue to remain stationed in Lingzhou? The Guo family's power there was too great, and the relationships between officials, the military, and the people were deeply entrenched. Even with Lu Geng's assistance, it would likely remain a tangled mess, impossible to untangle. Ultimately, Lu Rangjin was primarily Guo Ziyi's representative; at most, he could be expected to treat the former generals and himself fairly, but it was impossible to expect him to truly consider Guo Ziyi's interests.

Upon returning to Lingzhou, Hun Shizhi led his generals out of the city to welcome Li Ji, and invited him into the main hall of the government office for a banquet. At the banquet, Li Ji boasted extensively about how he had negotiated with the Uyghur Khan, ultimately persuading the Khan to execute the tyrannical Uyghur envoys, including Chixin, and to submit a letter of apology to the court—in reality, Dunmohedagan had only agreed to "explain"—and how he himself had gained considerable benefits.

Li Fengguo, having received prior instruction from Li Ji, also chimed in as a Uyghur, making it sound as if the Uyghurs revered Li Ji as much as Guo Ziyi—not daring to surpass the old general, since everyone present was one of the old general's former subordinates.

Li Ji's actions can be considered a form of "using force to enhance his own importance." He originally disliked such behavior, but when the time came, he couldn't help but resort to this tactic himself. Otherwise, how could he deter the arrogant and fierce soldiers of Shuofang?

After the banquet, Li Ji deliberately kept Hun Shizhi behind and dismissed everyone else, asking him directly, "When the Deputy Envoy (since the military governor has taken up a post, there is no need for the position of acting governor, and Hun Shizhi is now the Deputy Military Governor) retires in the future, do you intend to return to your hometown and take up the post of prefect?"

Chapter Three: The Legend of Qianniang

During the Tang Dynasty, surrendered Hu tribes were settled on the border or moved inland. Many were given tributary prefectures, which were actually several townships or one or two counties, and were allowed to govern themselves. Their chieftains naturally obtained the title of prefectural governor.

Hun Shi's origins lie in the Hun tribe of Gaolan Prefecture. With his status and position, it would be easy for him to become the chieftain and governor of the prefecture. Therefore, Li Ji asked, "You are now a high-ranking official, holding the titles of Grand Master of the Palace, Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and Prince of Ning Shuo. When you grow old and plan to retire, will you return to Mingsha City to seize the chieftainship?"

Hun Shi said, "I am willing to die on the battlefield, wrapped in a horse's hide. Why should I retire? Even though my son is now a general in the Northern Army and is deeply trusted by the emperor, there is no need for him to seek the position of chieftain again."

As he spoke, he smiled slightly: "I'm not boasting, but my son's future prospects are likely to be much brighter than mine. He'll be enfeoffed as a king or prime minister, so why should he return to his hometown to be the head of a county?" — Although he was called the governor of a prefecture, he was really only in charge of one county.

"My father and I may not be as noble as phoenixes and hawks, but you, General, should not be like an owl that covets a rotten rat."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Great. You can quote classical allusions with ease. You and your son are completely Sinicized and have almost no foreign influence left—especially since you are called 'Shizhi,' and your son has changed his foreign name 'Rijin.'"

He then revealed his intention: "So, if I want to take Mingsha, the Vice Envoy won't stop me, right?"

Upon hearing this, Hun Shizhi was slightly startled: "Could it be that the military governor intends to change Gaolan into a county? This matter requires the approval of the imperial court, and..."

Li Ji shook his head and smiled, "The Vice Envoy misunderstands. Although your father and son have indeed shed their barbarian customs and resemble Tang people of all generations, there are still many nomads in and around Mingsha City. How can we hastily register them as households? My intention is simply to move the military governor's office to Mingsha..."

Hun Shi stroked his beard, pondered for a long time, and slowly said, "Is the General worried about Bai Yuanguang?"

—Bai Yuanguang commands the Dingyuan City Army, which is located two hundred li north of Lingzhou. Light cavalry can reach it in a day and a night at full speed. The Dingyuan City Army has a quota of seven thousand soldiers and three thousand warhorses, making it the most elite force in Shuofang at present.

Li Ji smiled and said, "If I were afraid of Bai Yuanguang, why would I have come to Shuofang?" For the dignified military governor of Shuofang to fear the vanguard commander and the garrison commander of Dingyuan City under his command—that would be a joke!

"The reason why Lu Rangjin was transferred to the Three Surrender Cities was not because he was afraid of Bai Yuanguang, but because it was inconvenient to do so."

Li Ji planned to leave Lingzhou for a simple reason: Lingzhou had long been the seat of the Shuofang military governor, deeply imprinted with the Guo family's influence. Various factions within the region colluded with local authorities to control the people, making it difficult to eradicate them completely and firmly grasp control. So what could he do? Li Ji was well-versed in history and knew that throughout history, a common tactic for dealing with this situation was to relocate the capital.