Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 105

How could I possibly compare to this Zou woman? Besides, she can cook and make soup for Li Ji, while what could I do if I entered this house? Guard against theft?

I do not want it!

The three sat side by side in silence, the atmosphere extremely awkward. After a while, Cui Qixian couldn't help but turn to Qingluan and smile, "Young lady, you don't need to pay attention to us, just go and do your work."

Qingluan replied, "My esteemed guests... I'm afraid you'll have to come back after the streets have quieted down. I'll go and prepare dinner for you two."

Chen Ruo hurriedly said, "No, no need, I... I have some cold cakes in my saddlebag right away..."

Cui Qi waved his hand dismissively: "Brother Chen, now that you've come to Chang'an and to Erlang's house, how can you expect to eat dry rations on your own? If Erlang finds out in the future, he'll probably blame you for not knowing how to treat guests." He then bowed to Qingluan: "I've heard that you make excellent soup dumplings, but I dare not ask for a gift."

Qingluan was secretly annoyed—even my skill in making soup dumplings knew that this woman was indeed closely related to my husband!

On the surface, he politely apologized, saying, "If you two had come earlier, it would have been better, but now we can only make vegetarian soup dumplings—the market is about to close, and I'm afraid we won't be able to buy any meat..."

"Vegetarian food is fine too. I am not Erlang, so I don't need to have meat at every meal."

Qingluan thought to herself, "Are you doing this on purpose? Every word you say revolves around my husband, as if you're extremely close to him... No, I'll explode if I stay any longer. I'd better leave quickly, out of sight, out of mind."

Anyway, whenever that "noble person" came at night, my husband would always ask me to avoid him and wouldn't let me greet that "noble person".

So he apologized and hurried away. Cui Qi and Chen Ruo almost simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief. Then Cui Qi leaned closer to Chen Ruo and asked in a low voice, "Regarding what you just said, I have a few more questions to ask you..."

At dusk, the cook brought two bowls of hot soup noodles, and the two ate them on the veranda. Afterwards, they waited until the quiet street drum sounded, but Qingluan refused to show herself again.

Finally, the door opened, and Cui Qi quickly called Chen Ruo to come down to the corridor, put on her shoes, and bow to greet her. Then Li Shi, leading two attendants, strode in.

Chen Ruo had already received instructions from Cui Qi. Seeing that the newcomer was not wearing purple but was dressed in plain clothes, his age and appearance matched what had been said. He immediately rushed forward, knelt down, and said, "This humble general Chen Ruo greets Your Highness the Prince!"

Li Shi lowered his head, glanced at Chen Ruo, then shifted his gaze to the distance, fixing it on Cui Qi. Cui Qi hurriedly stepped forward, knelt and bowed, saying, "This servant is a member of the family of Cui Gong, the military governor of Fengxiang. My name is Cui Qi. I greet Your Highness."

Chen Ruo, standing nearby, was a little confused. She thought to herself, "Isn't his name Cui Cuo? Why is he saying Cui Qi now? He's known by his courtesy name? And he calls himself 'this servant'... Oh my god, could he really be a eunuch?!"

Li Shi nodded: "I know you. My mother mentioned you in her letter." He then took the lantern from the man, shone it in front of Cui Qi, and ordered: "Raise your head."

Cui Qi slowly raised her head to face Li Shi—of course, her gaze was turned to the side, not daring to look directly at him. Li Shi looked closely at her face, and the corner of his mouth curled up slightly. He then said, "Cui Guangyuan, he is no longer the military governor of Fengxiang."

Cui Qi was surprised to hear this. Li Shi casually handed her the lantern: "Wait here." Then he patted Chen Ruo on the shoulder: "Get up and come talk to me in the room."

Entering the Li family study—actually just a separate room to the side of the main hall—Li Shi sat upright behind his desk, while Chen Ruo closed the door and stood with his hands clasped in attendance. Li Shi then asked him—"Start from the beginning, hmm, let's begin with Zhang Xun receiving the imperial edict and leading you all out of the Luoyang palace."

On that day, Zhang Xun received the order to abandon the Luoyang Palace, break through the encirclement, and retreat to Shanzhou. He couldn't help but look up to the sky and sigh, "The Eastern Capital has finally fallen! I originally wanted to die here with the palace, but I couldn't bear to see you all, the pillars of the nation, follow me to the underworld, which would damage the foundation of the country... So be it, so be it. I suppose the day the Eastern Capital is abandoned will also be the day of my death!"

He retreated to Luoyang Palace for nearly a year. Initially, he had more than 7,000 men under his command, but after a series of fierce battles, he now had less than 5,000 left. Fortunately, the old guard from Suiyang, such as Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, were all veterans who had been through many battles and were basically still alive.

So they devised a plan, pretending to rush towards Heyang to meet up with Li Guangbi, in order to lure Zhou Zhi to move his main force eastward, while in reality they secretly slipped out through Longguang Gate in the north and headed west.

After Zhou Zhi realized what was happening, he sent troops to pursue them, and the Tang army fought and retreated. It was originally planned that the Shaanxi-Guo army would advance to the Quemen area to provide support, but the enemy was too late in moving their troops. They eventually met them west of Mianchi, resulting in heavy losses for Zhang Xun's troops. In the end, only a little over two thousand men escaped.

Upon arriving in Shanxian, they encamped outside the city. Yu Chaoen sent someone to summon Zhang Xun to the city for a meeting, but Zhang Xun said, "My days are numbered, why should I bow down to eunuchs?" The long siege of Suiyang had already ruined his health—though he was still better off than Xu Yuan—and after the year-long battle at Luoyang Palace, including a grueling breakout fight of 300 li, he was nearly exhausted.

Upon arriving in Shanzhou, Zhang Xun refused to take his medicine and ate less and less each day. Finally, after only four days, he reached his deathbed...

Chapter Three: Finding Good Soldiers

When Chen Ruo spoke of Zhang Xun's death, she was overcome with grief and burst into tears. Even Li Shi, upon hearing this, couldn't help but feel saddened.

"Lord Zhang made great contributions to the country. In the past, it was thanks to Li Ji that reinforcements were brought in to relieve the siege of Suiyang. Unexpectedly, several years later, he still died defending the country..."

Perhaps influenced by Chen Ruo, he even started calling him "Master Zhang" instead of by his real name.

He then waved his hand and said, "Continue on. What happened after Master Zhang passed away?"

"We will naturally collect Zhang Gong's remains, set up a mourning hall, send someone into the city to inform Commander Wei and General Yu, and also go to Puzhou to report the death..."

—Zhang Xun was the second son, and he had an elder brother named Zhang Xiao, who served as the Imperial Censor and died during the Tianbao era. In addition, Zhang Xun's wife had also passed away, and several of his concubines were killed in Suiyang City... He had two sons, the elder named Ya Fu and the younger named Qu Ji, who did not serve as officials but stayed in their hometown of Puzhou to guard their mother's grave.

Meanwhile, upon receiving news of Zhang Xun's death in Shanxian County, Yu Chaoen immediately sent a formal report to the imperial court. At the same time, he instructed Wei Boyu to order the dispersal of Zhang Xun's former troops and their integration into the Shaanxi-Guo army. Generals Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun were furious upon hearing this.

On the one hand, their current status is that of the Eastern Capital Garrison Army, on par with, or even slightly higher than, the Shaanxi-Guo Army. Without an imperial edict from the Ministry of War, no one would be happy to be dispersed, merged, or eliminated. Even if Yu Chaoen is the Military Commissioner in charge of inspecting military formations and overseeing all the foreign armies, you can't just make such a big decision first and then report it later, can you?

On the other hand, if the Shaanxi-Guo army hadn't arrived late to provide support, they would have had the opportunity to evacuate most of their troops to Shanzhou. As a result, countless comrades fell before dawn, their bodies left to rot in the wilderness, without even a chance to be collected...

And now you want us to be incorporated into the Shaanxi-Guo Army? This is truly intolerable!

Therefore, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and other military officers discussed the matter and not only disobeyed orders, but also carried Zhang Xun's memorial tablet straight into Shanxian County to demand an explanation from Wei Boyu and Yu Chaoen. Of course, they also knew that the chances of success were slim, and even if Wei and Yu were forced to agree to their request for the time being, they would certainly settle scores later.

Therefore, Chen Ruo was sent to Chang'an by fast horse in advance to find Li Ji.

These military generals, having fought for a long time in the field, only recognized Zhang Xun. Apart from him, they basically didn't know any other powerful figures in the court who could be their backers. Only Li Ji, although not of high rank, was already famous throughout the land. Moreover, as a civil official in the Imperial Guard, he should have more connections... Nan Jiyun and others even fantasized that Li Ji, being in the palace, might often be able to meet the Emperor. If they could speak frankly to the Emperor, all their problems would surely be solved.

At this point in Chen Ruo's speech, Li Shi couldn't help but interject, asking, "Why not go and ask Xu Yuan for help?"

Chen Ruo stammered, "It was General Nan, General Lei, and others who discussed it and felt that Lord Xu should avoid suspicion..."

How should Zhang Xun's former troops be dealt with? According to Nan Jiyun and others, they certainly did not want to be merged into other garrison armies. So if they were to retain the designation of the Luoyang garrison or be under the jurisdiction of a certain prefecture, a commander would have to be parachuted in. Given the rank and experience of Nan, Lei, and others, it was impossible for them to command an army on their own.

Now that Zhang Xun is dead, who else among the core generals and soldiers who followed him from Suiyang could possibly submit to? Probably only Xu Yuan. So, hoping that Xu Yuan will lead the army in the future, yet also going to beg him to make this happen—Nan Jiyun and the others aren't stupid. Wouldn't this be putting Xu Yuan in a difficult position? Even the selfless would have their own agenda!

Li Shi quickly understood this as well and nodded slightly. But then he frowned and asked Chen Ruo, "You Yunnan, Lei, and the others are going to storm into Shancheng with Zhang Gong's memorial tablet to threaten Wei Boyu and Yu Chaoen? If this causes trouble, even I won't be able to save you!"

Chen Ruo waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "It doesn't have to be this bad, it doesn't have to be this bad." Then his face darkened, and he said, "Lord Zhang's dying wish was that we must not betray the court and ruin his reputation, otherwise we would not rest in peace in the afterlife, and would surely become vengeful ghosts to seek our lives..."

Li Shi sighed and said, "I hope you will not fail Zhang Gong's teachings..." After thinking for a moment, he asked, "Your wishes are twofold: first, to preserve the old system, and second, to obtain a capable general to lead you, is that right?"

Chen Ruo nodded, then added, "It would be best if it were Master Xu."

Li Shi shook his head: "Impossible."

Xu Yuan's health had already been ruined by his work in Suiyang. He had only shown slight improvement at the beginning of the year and was appointed Minister of the Imperial Guard, but then, worried about Zhang Xun and others, he prostrated himself and wept before the Hanyuan Hall, causing a scene. Not long after, he fell ill again. To be honest, Li Shi guessed that these two old partners and comrades-in-arms might not have been born in the same year, but died in the same year… How could you possibly let him leave the capital to lead troops?!

Li Shi couldn't help but stand up, put his hands behind his back, and pace around the room. But in truth, a raging fire burned ever brighter within him—

There is a great opportunity, a very good opportunity, to bring this world-renowned and highly capable army, including fierce generals like Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, whom even Li Ji praised highly, under our command!

Previously, my focus was solely on Chang'an, within the palace walls. I plotted that if my grandfather were to harbor ill intentions, or if Empress Zhang were to secretly plot the change of heir, I would follow in my great-grandfather's footsteps, unite the imperial guards, enter the palace to voice my grievances, secure the throne, and stabilize the nation. In doing so, I neglected the increasingly powerful external armies. Now, upon reflection, if generals like Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi did not approve of changing the heir, would the Emperor and Empress Zhang truly dare to harm my weak father?

It was Qi Wangshu who had foresight, knowing to seize some foreign troops beforehand.

If there were a loyal and capable foreign army stationed near the capital, it could support the affairs of the capital. If the plan failed, there would be a way to retreat, and there would be hope of making a comeback.

I'm determined to have the troops that Zhang Xun left behind!

—Speaking of which, that little girl Cui Qi is really clever. She even thought of sending a message to stir up my heart for talent. My mother often praises her in her letters and even said she wanted to match her with Li Ji... Just now, I saw that she is of average appearance, and Li Ji may not be willing, but such a clever girl is better off with Li Ji than with Cui Guangyuan.

Leaving that matter aside for now, well, we can have Xu Yuan and other officials who sympathize with Zhang Xun jointly submit a memorial to dispel Wei Boyu and Yu Chaoen's delusions, and retain this military organization for future use in the recapture of Luoyang. That's not difficult; the problem is, who should be sent to command him? He needs to be capable, prestigious, a loyal official who won't be easily swayed by Yu Chaoen's words, and someone I can control…

Of course, the best candidate is Li Ji, but unfortunately, Li Ji's taste is not good enough... So who else is there? There are quite a few people in the court who are loyal to the Crown Prince, but to find someone with strong backbone, who can stand firm on their position, and who can be controlled by me... There doesn't seem to be a direct candidate, so what about indirect ones? Who are my relatives and friends among those I already have in my grasp?

After pondering for a while, a sudden inspiration struck him, and he remembered someone. He immediately smirked and stopped his wandering.

----------

At this time, Li Ji had just finished suppressing bandits in Longzhou and, after meeting up with the Fuyan army, set off to return to Fengxiang Prefecture.

Looking at the Fuyan Army, who were full of pride, holding sharp blades, with enemy heads hanging from their waists, and whose pockets were full after looting the five forts of the Guo family, Li Ji was furious when he looked at the soldiers following behind him.

The task of searching and suppressing the fleeing Hu and rebel bandits was mainly assigned to the Fengxiang Army—the same weak, undisciplined, and poorly trained group that Weiren had led to the battlefield, nearly resulting in their spines being broken. Theoretically, they were soldiers after all, having received a few days' worth of imperial rations. While they might be timid facing five times their number of Hu, the risk of killing a few scattered escapees shouldn't be too high, and their heads could be reported for reward—shouldn't they be more enthusiastic? Unexpectedly, without even encountering the enemy, the march itself was incredibly slow, and deserters appeared even before they had ventured ten miles from the city…

Li Ji immediately spurred his horse and gave chase, shooting down the fleeing soldiers with a few arrows. He ordered his men to drag the corpses back, which finally intimidated the rest of the army. However, upon inquiring about the men afterward, he learned that they were from the same village, forced into this labor service by wealthy households. Furthermore, news had recently arrived that their hometown had been burned to the ground by the barbarian invaders…

Li Ji truly grieved for their misfortune, yet also resented their lack of resistance—if they truly cared about their families, then they should join me in killing the traitors, which would not only avenge their hometown but also bring peace to the region. Why are you running away?

After that, he stopped killing soldiers at will. Any deserters were caught and given a beating. He ate and slept with the soldiers every day, patiently admonishing them—"I know most of you don't want to be soldiers, and the army's food and pay have been insufficient in recent years, but this mission is ultimately to protect your hometown. In the past, because you were unfamiliar with military formations and disobeyed orders, you suffered a great defeat, allowing the barbarians to ravage Fengxiang, Qin, and Long. Were there no family members, relatives, or friends among the victims?"

You are not fighting for me, nor for the court, but for your own families and villages. It's nothing more than slaying some fleeing barbarians; what difficulty is there? Once the three prefectures are pacified and we return to Fengxiang Prefecture, I will plead for permission to allow you to return home in batches to visit your families…

It took a lot of effort and persuasion to train those five hundred men to look somewhat like soldiers. However, the difference was shocking. When they joined forces with the Fuyan army, the contrast was stark. Li Ji thought to himself, "Why are these soldiers of mine still eating the emperor's salary? I might as well just dismiss them and send them home."

He knew perfectly well where the difference lay. While there were issues of reorganization and training, the biggest difference between the two armies, Fuyan and Fengxiang, was that the former mostly recruited soldiers or veterans of the Long March, while the latter, at least those he led, were recruited soldiers.

The recruited soldiers were basically professional soldiers. The veterans of the Long March took five shifts of rest and could be considered semi-professional soldiers. The conscripted soldiers were just civilians who were just there to fulfill their military service obligations. How could their quality be compared? Although after the collapse of the Fubing system, even inland prefectures and counties that were not close to the front line often recruited soldiers, the few recruited soldiers in the Fengxiang Army were kept by Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun as guards. The ones who were willing to send out were all conscripted soldiers.

In times of relative peace and stability, there were numerous self-sufficient farmers who, during the off-season, could be trained and conscripted into the army; they were certainly capable of fighting. Those with some property, not lacking food and clothing, especially hoped to bring honor to their families and accumulate wealth through military merit, making them the backbone of the conscription force. However, since the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, land annexation had become increasingly severe. Wealthy households often paid or coerced tenant farmers into taking on labor duties, leaving the tenant farmers destitute, their families starving, and utterly disillusioned. How could they possibly have the will to fight? This problem was exacerbated by years of war, which severely damaged productivity.

The Tang Dynasty army gradually shifted from conscription to recruitment, which was a necessary measure. If you compare conscription with recruitment today, the difference is far greater than just a matter of distance!

The Shence Army and Shuofang Army that Li Ji previously led were basically all recruited soldiers or veterans of the Long March, so he hadn't given much thought to the quality of his soldiers—of course, even recruited soldiers weren't of high quality in those days; now, leading a group of exhausted recruits, he realized that being a general was not easy, and leading troops was even more difficult...

When will we be able to have our own army? To be able to select our own soldiers, develop our own training programs, and gradually train them into the strongest army in the land? I'm only a sixth-rank official, which is definitely not enough. I need to be at least a fifth-rank official—and I must be a civil official—to have a chance.

Is it only after that bastard emperor dies and Li Yu ascends the throne that he will be sent out to lead troops for a long time? The little guy Li Shi once promised that he would one day lead 100,000 troops to conquer the world. Of course, that promise can't be taken too seriously, but given the current situation, we can only place our hopes on Li Shi, right?

Counting on my fingers, Li Longji was probably not even thirty years old when he ascended the throne, while Li Heng was forty-five... If Li Shi was as fortunate as his great-grandfather, then he would have ten more years... By then, I would be in my early thirties and be able to govern a region, which would be quite reasonable.

The journey home was uneventful, so I couldn't help but let my mind wander. When I finally got back to Fengxiang Prefecture, I was shocked to hear that Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun had both been dismissed and had been summoned back to Chang'an!

Currently, the one who retains the guardian seal in Fengxiang Prefecture is Ban Hong.

Ban Hong was a man of distinguished seniority, a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era. He served under Xue Jingxian in pacifying Fengxiang Prefecture and recovering Fengtian and Yongshou counties, and was thus promoted to the rank of Fengxiang Magistrate, a fifth-rank official. When Cui Guangyuan took charge of Fengxiang, he transferred Ban Hong to the position of Chief Clerk and concurrently served as the Military Governor's Judge. Since Fengxiang Prefecture had no Junior Magistrate and the Military Governor of Fengxiang had no Deputy Governor, after Cui Guangyuan left, Ban Hong became the highest-ranking civil official in both the prefecture and the staff, and was appointed as the garrison commander.

Upon seeing Li Ji return, Ban Hong immediately grabbed his hand and pleaded, "Changwei, help me."

With the chaos just beginning to subside, the affairs of the government were numerous and complicated. But then Cui Guangyuan abruptly left, and most of his staff and subordinates were self-appointed, unlike Ban Hong, whose official position was also in Fengxiang. So they all followed him... Ban Hong was left alone. Even if he had the talents of Liang and Ping, one person couldn't be divided into several parts, could he? He was simply too busy to handle everything.

Li Ji had a good impression of his fellow townsman—regardless of his talent, he was at least a capable person—and finding it inconvenient to refuse, he immediately agreed. He took on all the military responsibilities, busy assigning garrison duties to the Fengxiang Army and setting up camps in Fuyan and Weiyuan, and soon found himself in a state of utter chaos.

Although the Fuyan army was very capable in battle, their discipline was extremely poor. In addition, after capturing the five forts and looting some money and silk, they frequently gathered to drink, patronize prostitutes, and often clashed with civilians over trivial matters. Li Ji warned Wu Chongfu many times, but the latter ignored him. In the end, he had no choice but to use a pretext to drive the Fuyan army out of the prefectural city and relocate them to the vicinity of Taihe Pass.

Fortunately, six days later, Li Ding, who succeeded as the Prefect of Fengxiang and Military Governor, finally arrived.

Chapter Four: The Peril of Fengxiang

Li Ding was not tall, but he had broad shoulders and a thick waist; he was basically long and narrow...

Li Ji had met many members of the Li Tang imperial family, both distant and close, and they were all handsome. He wondered what was wrong with Li Ding, and from which generation did the mutation begin...

Li Ding read out the imperial edict, granting permission for the Fuyan Army to return to its garrison and the Weiyuan Army to return to the capital, but leaving Li Ji behind. Li Ji was both puzzled and somewhat unwilling—after all, his home was still in Chang'an, and this trip had been far too long—so he asked, "Is this the will of the military governor, the court, or the emperor?"

Li Ding glanced at him: "The emperor and the court are one. You are the chief of the Imperial Guards. If the emperor did not approve, how could I have kept you here privately?"

His tone was rather cold, but that evening, Ban Hong wanted to hold a banquet to welcome Li Ding as per custom, but Li Ding declined and instead summoned Li Ji to his residence to meet him in his study.

Upon entering, Li Ji saw that Li Ding was not only unkempt and hatless, but also bare-socked, wearing only a wide-sleeved hemp shirt with the front open, exposing his chest and breasts... He frowned, about to turn away—"You're being so rude, are you deliberately trying to humiliate me?"—but Li Ding waved and smiled:

"Please don't be angry, Erlang. It's not that I meant to be disrespectful. It's just that I'm too fleshy and can't stand the heat. Erlang, there's no need to stand on ceremony. You can take off your official robes—it's alright to be a little less formal."

While speaking, he picked up a palm-leaf fan and fanned himself vigorously.

Li Ji thought to himself, "It's only early July, the Great Heat hasn't even arrived yet, is it really this hot?" After carefully observing Li Ding's expression for a while, and finding it genuine, he gave up the idea of ​​leaving. So he also took off his hat, his official uniform, and even his socks, tossing them aside.

Actually, he wasn't that hot, but—since you've already said so, why should I be polite? Just because you're a high-ranking official, does that mean you can be all dressed up while I have to pay my respects? Li Changwei isn't that kind of person!

Seeing this, Li Ding couldn't help but laugh loudly, "Li Erlang is indeed straightforward." He reached out and pushed the table in front of him aside, dragged Lang Kang's body forward a couple of times, and moved closer to Li Ji, who had just sat down.

Li Ji clasped his hands and asked, "I wonder what orders the General has summoned this humble official for?"

Li Ding smiled and said, "If you have any instructions, we will meet formally in the main hall. I invited you here tonight because I have a few words to say to you."

"This humble official respectfully listens to your instruction."

Li Ding shook his fan: "Second Brother, there's no need to be so polite. We're being too formal." He then pointed to his chest: "I am a friend of Li Zhenyi."

"Zhenyi" was Li Qiyun's courtesy name. Upon hearing this, Li Ji felt a little more at ease.

Then Li Ding said, “During the day, we are in the hall dealing with official business, so we must maintain a formal demeanor. Please don’t be offended, Erlang. Tonight, we will be in your private residence, where we can have a heart-to-heart talk. Erlang, Zhenyi has always said that you have great talent and should be sent out to lead troops to quell the bandits or to govern a region. It is not appropriate for you to stay in the palace for so long and cleanse that murky water…”

Li Ji frowned slightly: "So, the reason why the General left me in Fengxiang this time is because he listened to my uncle's wishes?"

Li Ding did not answer directly, but continued, "In our Tang Dynasty, senior generals are usually granted important positions in the Imperial Guards for their military achievements. I have never heard of anyone being promoted to a senior general simply for holding an important position in the Imperial Guards—does Erlang want to become Chen Xuanli?"

Chen Xuanli was originally an officer in the Imperial Guard's Thousand Cavalry. He gained favor by assisting Li Longji in launching the "Tanglong Coup" and eventually rose to the rank of Grand General of the Dragon Martial Army, commanding half of the Imperial Guard—though, of course, he couldn't fight. From the "Tanglong Coup" until the "Mawei Incident," Chen Xuanli served Li Longji for over forty years, maintaining his favor throughout. However, he never again led troops into battle...

So, though nominally a great general, he was really just a servant of the Li family, not much different in caliber from a great general like Gao Lishi. Li Ding asked Li Ji, "Do you also intend to waste your life like Chen Xuanli?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "When the palace was moved that day, Li Longji implied that he hoped I would become the next Chen Xuanli..." He pretended to ponder and didn't respond.

Li Ding continued, "Besides, you are currently in a civil post. Where in the Imperial Guard is there any path for advancement? Do you think you can suddenly become a general?"

The Tang Dynasty did not originally distinguish between civil and military officials. It was only from the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras that this changed. However, officials of the fifth rank and above were still required to be proficient in both civil and military affairs, as the saying goes, "to become a general or a prime minister." But Li Ji wanted to remain in the Imperial Guard forever. Unless he was transferred to a military post, it was impossible for him to rise directly from the sixth rank to the third rank as a general.

Furthermore, in contemporary opinion, the transition from civil to military service was gradually viewed with shame by scholars. During the reign of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, Xu Hong was appointed General of the Imperial Guards. When he was transferred back to a civil post, he told his congratulatory guests, "I am not pleased with the promotion, but rather with the military assignment." When Wei Cou was promoted from Grand Master of Works to General of the Right Guard, Emperor Li Longji had to explain to him, "According to imperial custom, the positions of General of the Guards and Ministers are held alternately. Recently, however, the importance of civil service has increased, leading to a disregard for this post. Your reputation and abilities are both excellent, so I am temporarily employing you to enhance this position. Please do not decline."

That's why Li Bi advised Li Ji to switch to a civil service position early on. And if the Li family hadn't been a prominent family and Li Bi still held some favor, Li Ji wouldn't have been able to transfer so easily.

Upon hearing Li Ding's reminder, Li Ji thought to himself that it was a common saying, but Li Shi and the others had placed me in the Imperial Guard in preparation for any unforeseen events. He estimated that I would not be able to get away before the unrest occurred or subsided on its own.

Being able to travel on business occasionally and fight in one or two battles is already considered quite good.

But even though the other party knew perfectly well what was going on, Li Ji couldn't say it aloud. He could only reply vaguely, "I will obey the court's orders..."

Li Ding smiled and asked, "I heard that you must have expended a lot of effort to bring the Imperial Guards to rescue Fengxiang this time, Second Brother?"

Li Ji gave an irrelevant answer: "The Imperial Guards have been guarding the capital for a long time and have not been involved in battle, so they are bound to become lax; moreover, Fengxiang is the western shield of the capital, and its unrest must be quelled as soon as possible."