Chapter 291: An Urgent Crisis

Losing Li Bi but gaining Abus’s Tongluo army was something Li Qing’an had not anticipated. By agreeing to let Abus’s Tongluo tribe go to Beiting, he had only focused on their elite cavalry, without thoroughly considering the political consequences that would arise from their departure. To some extent, his decision was hasty, but it was too late to regret it; he could only wait and see what would happen.

That night, Li Qing’an did not return to Chang’an but rested directly in the military camp.

Early the next morning, an imperial official came to find Li Qing’an and ordered him to go to the palace immediately. Emperor Li Longji wanted to discuss the campaign against Tubo with him.

When Li Qing’an’s carriage and a hundred bodyguards reached Mingde Gate, they were unable to proceed. Thousands of refugees fleeing disasters had blocked the gate, their cries echoing everywhere. Emaciated elders, ragged women and children, and men sighing in despair—all with pleading eyes that broke one’s heart. At that moment, one of Li Qing’an’s guards rushed to the window and reported, “General, these are refugees from Jinzhou and Jiangzhou in Hedong. Last year, there was a severe drought there, leaving no harvest. Now, with no food to sustain them, they can no longer survive.”

“Go and see! Who is in charge of the gate? Why aren’t they allowed in?”

The guard rushed off. Li Qing’an gazed solemnly at these people who had no proper clothing or food. He recalled his inspection of disaster-stricken areas in Henan Road the year before last—fields filled with starving people. While natural disasters played a role, human-made issues were even worse. Endless land annexations had stripped Tang farmers of their land, making them extremely vulnerable to disasters. At the slightest hardship, they were forced to leave their homes and become displaced. This was precisely why Li Longji agreed to relocate people from Hedong to Anxi—the situation was too serious; the farmers could no longer survive.

In the distance, he faintly saw officials from Jingzhao and soldiers from the Jinyiwei driving away the refugees, beating them with sticks as if herding ducks, dispersing groups of people trying to enter the city. Many were beaten bloody, and dozens of youths were knocked to the ground. They got up and rushed toward the city gate, hoping that once inside, they would have a chance to survive. Their eyes were filled with longing and desperation, but the Jinyiwei’s sticks mercilessly shattered their hopes. Several youths, covered in blood, were dragged out screaming and thrown into the moat. At the gate, an officer and a Jinyiwei general rode on horseback, directing soldiers and officials to drive away the refugees.

Li Qing’an knew that general of the Jinwu Guard—his name was Xu Fangzheng. He had once been a colonel in the Qianniu Guard and had now been promoted to general. But he didn’t recognize the other high-ranking official, who seemed to be at least the deputy governor of Jingzhao.

After a while, his personal guards rushed over to report, “General, at the city gate is the new governor of Jingzhao, Xianyu Zhongtong. He says he won’t allow the disaster victims to enter the city and drive up food prices.”

“So it’s him!”

Li Qing’an grew slightly angry. Xianyu Zhongtong had only taken office as governor of Jingzhao the previous afternoon. With thousands of disaster victims seeking food inside the city, would he really resort to using force to drive them away? If a riot broke out, could he bear the responsibility?

Li Qing’an got off his horse and mounted another. Seeing that he seemed to be a high-ranking official, the disaster victims gathered around him. Hundreds of elders, women, and children knelt on the ground, pleading, “Sir, please let us enter the city! We have nothing left to eat; we can’t survive any longer.”

Seeing many children among the victims, all thin and emaciated with eyes filled with hunger and despair, Li Qing’an felt pity. He turned to his guards and said, “Distribute the dry food bags to the children.”

The soldiers untied the dry food bags from their horses and distributed them to the children. Seeing Li Qing’an’s kindness, the refugees became even more emotional. Hearing from the soldiers that he was the great general of the Anxi Military Region, hope for survival flared in their hearts. No one tried to storm the city gates anymore. People of all ages gathered around him, describing their hardships. Cries and sobs filled the air. An elderly man closest to Li Qing’an wept and said, “If there were even a slightest chance of survival, we wouldn’t have come to Chang’an to beg for food. It hasn’t rained for four months. Over the winter, the bark from the trees in Jinzhou was almost completely stripped off, and the newly grown wild vegetables were also exhausted. Entire villages and towns have fled—some to Taiyuan Prefecture, but most to Guanzhong. We really can’t survive anymore. Please, General, speak to the emperor and ask for grain relief so that we can have a chance to live!”

“General, please!” the refugees pleaded.

At that moment, Xianyu Zhongtong, the governor of Jingzhao, noticed someone stepping in. Seeing the military standard on the carriage, he immediately guessed it was Li Qing’an who had arrived. Xianyu Zhongtong had once been the governor of Jiannan Military Region but was replaced by Gao Xianzhi after suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of the Nanzhao-Tibetan alliance. He was demoted to the governor of Zizhou, but with Yang Guozhong’s intervention, he was restored to power and appointed as the deputy governor of Jingzhao. Yesterday, he was further promoted to governor of Jingzhao.

Like all members of the Yang faction, Xianyu Zhongtong was also filled with concern and vigilance toward Li Qing’an. If the refugee crisis at the city gates was not handled properly, Li Qing’an might use it as an excuse to impeach him before the emperor, threatening his newly acquired position once again. Xianyu Zhongtong quickly whispered a few words to General Xu Fangzheng of the Jinwu Guard. Xu Fangzheng immediately ordered his soldiers not to use force. Xianyu Zhongtong stepped forward urgently and shouted, “General, please listen to me for a moment.” “Speak,” Li Qing’an replied coldly. Xianyu Zhongtong was at a loss—there were over a thousand refugees between them. How could they talk? Seeing Li Qing’an’s indifferent attitude, he forced himself to say, “General, the emperor has decreed that the victims from Hedong may only seek food in Shanzhou and Henan Prefecture and are not allowed to enter the capital. As the governor of Jingzhao, I must follow the emperor’s orders and cannot allow them into the city. Please forgive me, General!” “So, according to Lord Xianyu, these refugees should just starve outside Chang’an, or be driven out of Jingzhao’s jurisdiction—nothing to do with you anymore, right?” Xianyu Zhongtong sighed and said, “I understand what you mean, General. I will set up soup kitchens outside the city to relieve the disaster. But have you considered that this is only the first batch of refugees? More will arrive later. If I allow them into the city, what about those who come after? If I let them all enter for food, I can’t take that responsibility. I’m sure you won’t either. So I beg you not to interfere in my duties as governor of Jingzhao.” Li Qing’an sneered and said, “I wouldn’t dare interfere in Lord Xianyu’s administrative affairs. But relocating three hundred thousand people from Hedong, Henan, and Guanzhong to Anxi is also an imperial decree. Who knows if these refugees might not be the ones who will be relocated to Anxi in the future? Lord Xianyu, if they are indeed those to be sent to Anxi, then it becomes my concern, and I must intervene. You were once the military governor of Jiannan—you should know the consequences of interfering in military affairs. Think for yourself!” Seeing Li Qing’an’s aggressive attitude, Xianyu Zhongtong was extremely troubled. He certainly couldn’t allow these refugees into the city, but he had no choice. He bowed to Li Qing’an and said, “Then please give me a solution to this problem. If it’s reasonable, I will definitely follow it!”

In fact, this was exactly what Li Qing’an wanted. He knew that allowing refugees to enter the city would trigger riots, and he was even more aware that deciding whether to permit them to enter was within Xian Yu Zhongtong’s authority. If he went too far, it would be an overstep of power. Seeing that Xian Yu Zhongtong had shown a cooperative attitude, he said, “Since Lord Xian says he will set up porridge stalls to relieve the disaster, let me see his concrete measures. I don’t want us to see only sticks and drives, but no porridge pots or tents. If Lord Xian can take care of these matters first, then who among these refugees would go into the city to beg? Does Lord Xian think this suggestion is reasonable?”
Xian Yu Zhongtong had just taken office and still didn’t know how much grain and tents he could mobilize. Moreover, since the refugees had arrived suddenly, he hadn’t had time to arrange relief measures yet. Now that Li Qing’an was clearly trying to interfere, he could only order his subordinates, “Go quickly and inform the two counties of Wannian and Chang’an. Say it’s my order—tell them to set up porridge stalls outside the city right away to relieve the disaster.”
After giving the orders, he bowed to the refugees and said, “Dear fellow villagers, I’ve arranged for porridge to be provided outside the city. Please wait patiently; food will arrive soon.”
Cheers erupted outside Mingde Gate. Thousands of refugees kowtowed to Li Qing’an in gratitude. In their eyes, it was Li Qing’an who had solved their most urgent problem of hunger, not that official on horseback!
Li Qing’an smiled and clasped his hands in greeting, saying, “Dear fellow villagers, the imperial court plans to relocate three hundred thousand people from the Central Plains to Anxi. I can assure you that there will be land allocated to each family there, with no less than thirty mu per household. As long as everyone works hard, there will be no famine. The whole family will have enough food and clothing, children can study for free, and the elderly will receive grain provided by the government. No one will encroach on your land. I welcome you all to settle in Anxi.”
Thousands of refugees burst into another deafening wave of cheers. Although Li Qing’an hadn’t provided them with the urgently needed porridge and tents, he had given them something even more precious—hope.
Amidst the excited applause of the people, a hundred bodyguards protected the carriage as it slowly entered Mingde Gate.
……
In the council hall of the Imperial Study in Xingqing Palace, Li Longji was discussing the deployment of troops against Tubo with Ge Shu Han and several prime ministers. This was an emergency meeting called because Li Longji had misremembered the time for meeting the envoy from the Abbasid Caliphate. He arrived at Datong Hall an hour early only to learn that the meeting wouldn’t start until an hour later. As an emperor, Li Longji naturally wouldn’t admit he had made a mistake, so he convened this emergency council meeting.

Li Linfu did not attend due to health reasons. Yang Guozhong, Zhang Yun, Chen Xilie, Wei Jiansu, Yang Shenjin, Wang Gong who had just been promoted to prime minister, and the new crown prince Li Yu attended the meeting. Another key figure in this campaign, the Anxi military governor Li Qingan, had already been sent for and should arrive soon. Before discussing military matters in detail, Li Longji was concerned about whether the court’s grain reserves would be sufficient to support the campaign. According to Ge Shu Han’s plan, 150,000 troops from Hexi and Longyou would be deployed in this campaign. Additionally, Li Qingan promised to send 50,000 troops from Anxi to support the forces in Longyou, bringing the total to 200,000 troops. The original plan was to start the campaign in late October, but due to Li Qingan’s objections and the harsh climate in the plateau, the start date was moved up to July, with the campaign expected to last about three months. This would require 1 million dan of grain, of which 700,000 dan would be sent to Longyou and 300,000 dan to Anxi. Considering losses during transportation, the court would need to raise at least 1.2 million dan of grain, along with large amounts of military supplies such as pay, weapons, tents, and fodder. Li Qingan also requested 50,000 dan of tea, as the Anxi troops relied on cattle and sheep for food when their grain supplies ran low, and tea was urgently needed. By then, Li Qingan had arrived as well. He stood quietly in the ranks, listening to the opinions of the various high officials. As the head of the Imperial Treasury, Yang Guozhong was in charge of the granaries storing grain and was explaining the preparations for grain supply. “Your Majesty, I carefully checked the grain reserves in the imperial granaries and major granaries in Guanzhong yesterday afternoon. In total, there is 600,000 dan of grain. Considering that large numbers of disaster victims from Hedong will flood into Guanzhong in spring, at most 400,000 dan can be allocated.” “Minister Yang, where will these 500,000 dan come from?” Ge Shu Han couldn’t help but interrupt Yang Guozhong, shouting angrily, “I’ve already set 1 million dan as the minimum requirement. You don’t understand the situation in the Tubo plateau—the roads are treacherous, and physical strain is extreme. If bad weather occurs, the campaign may even be delayed further. Without sufficient grain, hundreds of thousands of troops will suffer from hunger. If the entire army collapses due to a lack of food, the Tubo forces will advance unchecked. Not only will Hedong and Huangchuan be lost, but the Tubo forces will also invade Longyou. Then who will protect your vast wealth, Minister Yang?”

These past few days, Geshu Han had been filled with anger. Yesterday’s court meeting yielded nothing for him—neither the title of prince nor even any ordinary rewards. Last year, he had won a series of battles, yet Li Longji seemed to turn a blind eye, leaving Geshu Han deeply frustrated. It wasn’t until last night that his advisor Gao Shi learned the truth from an official in the Ministry of War: his military reports on Tubo had been rewritten by Linghu Fei, then the right vice minister of the Ministry of War. Although the content was decent, all of Gao Shi’s elaborate descriptions and carefully crafted scenes of battle were gone—phrases like “Generals die in hundreds of battles, while soldiers are willing to sacrifice their lives” were absent, replaced only by dry statistics such as the number of deaths, injuries, and enemies killed. Moreover, the exaggerated accounts of heavy Tang army losses, crafted by Gao Shi using vivid language, were presented in a more realistic light. As a result, his reports lost their impact, and Li Longji naturally lost interest. In the end, Li Qing’an and Gao Xianzhi reaped all the rewards, while Geshu Han became a forgotten figure, in extreme embarrassment.

This incident filled Geshu Han with utter hatred toward Linghu Fei, and by extension, he also hated Yang Guozhong. He even believed that Linghu Fei didn’t have the courage to act on his own and must have been acting under Yang Guozhong’s orders. All of Yang Guozhong’s actions were aimed at suppressing Geshu Han. Although Li Qing’an received generous rewards, he was far away from the Central Plains and had little influence over the court. Gao Xianzhi’s Jiannan region was small and lacked resources. The only frontier officials who could truly influence the court were An Lushan in Fanyang and himself in Longyou. By suppressing Geshu Han, it was equivalent to elevating An Lushan. Geshu Han understood Yang Guozhong’s tactics.

Geshu Han was someone who couldn’t hold back his emotions and had a fiery temper. When Yang Guozhong said there would be at most four hundred thousand bushels of grain, his anger erupted instantly, and he accused Yang Guozhong of having estates in Longzhou. The atmosphere in the court became extremely awkward, and Li Longji’s expression darkened. He was displeased with Yang Guozhong’s attempt to dampen his enthusiasm. Just a few days earlier, Yang Guozhong had told him that grain could be transported from Jianghuai via the Yangtze River, but now he refused to mention it again, claiming only that there was insufficient grain in Guanzhong. At the same time, he was also upset that Geshu Han had lost his composure and lashed out in public, with obvious personal emotions in his outburst. Li Longji remained silent, and the court fell into silence.

At that moment, Zhang Yun coughed and stepped forward to say, “Your Majesty, what Secretary Yang said is true. I can testify that every word he said is accurate. There are 610,000 dan of grain in the 32 official granaries across Guanzhong, including another 200,000 dan of salary grain still owed to court officials. Thus, the situation is even more severe. However, it is not impossible to resolve. Please listen to me, Your Majesty.”
It was still the veteran officials who could make a difference in critical times. Li Longji’s expression softened slightly, and he said, “Minister Zhang, please speak.”
Zhang Yun glanced at everyone and smiled, saying, “The key lies in the timing of this campaign. If General Geshu sets the campaign for March or April, the court indeed won’t have enough time to prepare. But since it’s set for July, with several months left for combat, I believe we should have sufficient grain to support the campaign. We can take into account the maturity of summer grain in various regions and how it might alleviate the disasters in Hedong. That way, we’ll have enough grain to sustain the campaign.”
Zhang Yun’s moderate argument seemed reasonable and flawless, but upon closer examination, it turned out to be rather empty. Summer grain usually ripens in June, but it takes time to collect taxes and transport the grain to Chang’an. How much more time is needed to transport it west of Chiling from Chang’an? Based on past experience, it would take at least until the end of the year, and delivering it to the military camps in August or September is completely unrealistic. Even if the grain from Guanzhong and Longyou could save time, how much tax could the court collect from those regions?
Without historical records or specific data as a basis, Zhang Yun’s words were nothing but empty promises. Yet Li Qingan noticed a subtle point: in this black-and-white issue, Zhang Yun didn’t take a middle path but instead spoke up for Yang Guozhong. Could it be that Zhang Yun already intended to ally with Yang Guozhong?
“Grandfather, your grandson has something to say!”
Li Yu’s words interrupted everyone’s thoughts. Everyone turned to look at him. Li Longji’s eyes sparkled with joy as he nodded approvingly and said, “My grandson, speak freely.”

Li Yu slowly stepped forward and bowed slightly to the various high officials, saying, “Last October, during the harvest, I traveled throughout Guanzhong. Most of the fields had bountiful yields—three dan of rice per mu. But how much of this fertile land actually paid taxes? From my investigations, it’s only about two or three-tenths. The same is true in Longyou. Calculating this, the court can collect at most 500,000 dan in taxes from the lands in Guanzhong and Longyou. Last year, the Ministry of Revenue recorded 540,000 dan, and that was still in a year of good harvests. This year, the amount will only decrease, not increase. Everyone should understand why. So, why should we send grain?”
Although Li Yu didn’t mention land consolidation at all, what he was referring to was still the severe land issue. Silence fell once again in the court. In fact, everyone was well aware of Zhang Jun’s suggestion—it was merely a pretext. With insufficient taxes from land, they could only raise funds through other means such as additional taxes, fraud, and household taxes, buying grain from wealthy families to supply the army, while also bearing increasingly heavy military expenses. As more people fled their homes, the Tang Dynasty’s financial situation became increasingly strained, with annual revenues falling short of expenditures.
Everyone knew that with the Tang Dynasty’s current strength, it was impossible to support a large-scale campaign. But Li Longji wanted to wage this campaign, and no ministers dared to oppose him. Thus, Zhang Jun proposed using future resources to cover current shortages. Yet Li Yu, the imperial grandson, bluntly exposed this deception.
“What is your opinion, imperial grandson?” Li Longji asked patiently.
“Grandfather, my opinion is that there is indeed grain in Guanzhong, but it’s all in the hands of the powerful nobles. We need to find a way to get them to release their grain.”