Chapter 390: The Best Strategy Is to Disrupt Plans

Early the next morning, Li Qing’an arrived at the Anxi Government Hall. The Government Hall referred to a complex of large buildings, corresponding to the six ministries of the imperial court. It included six departments for civil affairs, household affairs, rites, military affairs, criminal affairs, and public works, as well as nine offices such as those for finance, prisons, military equipment, agriculture, coinage, culture, ethnic affairs, and crafts. Additionally, there were the Censorate and the Internal Affairs Bureau, forming a complete administrative and supervisory system. With over 200 officials at various levels, the highest military and political official was, of course, the military governor Li Qing’an. However, the highest administrative official was Wang Changling, the chief secretary of the military governor’s office. There were also Cen Shen, the judge in charge of audits, along with two assistant clerks and two sub-judges to assist Wang Changling and the judges.

Li Qing’an’s office, located next to the Government Hall, was called the Diligence Court. It had originally been a fully enclosed courtyard with strict security, but adjustments were made a few months ago—a straight and wide road was built leading directly to the Government Hall. Previously, it took at least fifteen minutes to exchange documents between the two places, but now it could be done in just the time it took to drink a cup of tea.

News of Li Qing’an’s return had already spread. Early in the morning, a dozen officials and soldiers from the Diligence Court were busy cleaning the rooms. Unlike the officials in the Government Hall, who were part of the formal local government structure and, in principle, appointed by the imperial Ministry of Personnel—though this was mostly a formality—the officials of the Diligence Court were extracurricular staff, essentially Li Qing’an’s personal aides, paid out of his own funds. Most of these aides were well-educated scholars responsible for organizing documents and drafting various orders for Li Qing’an, somewhat similar to the imperial Hanlin scholars. Among them, Yan Zhuang was the chief aide.

When Li Qing’an entered his room, which had been cleaned until it was bright and spotless, his aides had already begun their day’s work. Two high-ranking officials from the Government Hall, Wang Changling and Cen Shen, had been waiting for him outside for some time.

“Salute, General!” The two bowed as they saw Li Qing’an enter.

“It’s been a while since we last met. It seems Wang Changling has gained a bit of weight! Are you quite idle these days?” Li Qing’an joked affectionately with them. Wang Changling laughed and said, “It’s the General who has become darker and thinner. I heard it’s very hot in Xinde, with scorching sun.”

At that moment, Cen Shen noticed Liu Yan following behind Li Qing’an and was slightly surprised. He found him somewhat familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.

“General, who is this…”

“Let me introduce them to you!”

Li Qing’an quickly pulled Liu Yan over and introduced them, saying, “This is my new staff member, Liu Yan. Liu Shian from Caozhou, who was formerly the head of the Xishi Changping Office. He has resigned from his position and come to Anxi to join me.”
“You must be the renowned strategist Liu Yan!”
Cen Shen suddenly recognized him. Known as the greatest strategist in the Taifu Temple, Liu Yan smiled warmly upon seeing that Cen Shen had recognized him. “It is indeed me.”
Li Qing’an smiled and introduced the other two, saying, “These two have followed me for many years. One is Wang Changling, the chief secretary of the military governor’s office, nicknamed ‘Wang the Stubborn Ox’. He is an excellent poet—surely you’ve heard of him!”
Liu Yan showed great respect, saying, “So you are Master Yuhu. I’ve long heard of your fame since my youth. It’s a great honor to meet you today.”
Wang Changling, impressed by his sincere words, also smiled and said, “I seem to have heard of Lord Liu’s name as well. In the 14th year of the Kaiyuan era, when the late emperor went to Mount Tai, there was an eight-year-old prodigy who composed a poem and was appointed as a clerk in the Secretariat. Could it be you?”
Liu Yan waved his hand shyly and laughed, saying, “I was young and reckless. Please forgive me, senior.”
At that moment, Liu Yan suddenly recognized Cen Shen and exclaimed in surprise, “So it’s Brother Cen! We’ve met before!”
“That’s right! At the grand banquet at Chengtian Gate in the 5th year of the Tianbao era, didn’t we sit at the same table? Later, we went to Qujiang to drink and compose poems. You couldn’t write one, so you got drunk and pretended to leave because of it. I still remember that.”
The two reminisced about events from seven years ago, feeling as if they had met an old friend in a foreign land. They were so excited that they hugged each other and laughed heartily.
Seeing that everyone knew each other, Li Qing’an chuckled and said, “So it turns out we’re all old acquaintances. That’s perfect.”
He then said to Wang and Cen, “Liu Yan is temporarily serving as my staff member, responsible for planning financial matters for Anxi. Next month, he will be appointed as the head of the finance department and also as the envoy in charge of trade in Anxi.”
Liu Yan was deeply moved by Li Qing’an’s trust in him and quickly bowed deeply, saying, “Thank you, General, for your trust. Liu Yan will do his utmost to serve Anxi.”
Li Qing’an nodded and said to Wang and Cen, “You two go to the meeting room and wait for me. I’ll take care of Mr. Liu and will be there soon.”
“Please follow me, sir.”
Li Qing’an led Liu Yan to the next room. It was a large room used as a document office, with five or six staff members sorting through documents. After glancing around, he didn’t see Yan Zhuang, so he asked, “Where is Mr. Yan?”
One of the staff members stood up and bowed, saying, “Reporting to the General, Mr. Yan has gone to Helei City to inspect the military provisions and will return this afternoon.”

When Li Qing’an saw that it was Yan Kai, a staff member of Prince Qing, who had answered him, he was taken aback. Yan Kai quickly stepped forward to greet him and said in a low voice, “General, I left Prince Qing a year ago and have been teaching in Suiye, living in poverty. By chance, I met Mr. Yan on the street, and he arranged for me to work here.”

Li Qing’an remembered the first time he met Yan Kai in Yangzhou—Yan Kai had been full of ambition back then, but now he was in a lowly position as a clerk, sorting documents. The stark contrast filled Li Qing’an with emotion, so he nodded and said, “Alright! Stay by my side. When the opportunity arises, I’ll assign you a position to allow you to utilize your talents.”

Yan Kai was overjoyed. He had endured being a lowly clerk here just to wait for the chance to meet Li Qing’an. Although Li Qing’an hadn’t explicitly asked him to be a strategist, he had acknowledged his abilities, giving him a chance to rise. He quickly bowed deeply and said, “I am willing to serve the General.”

Li Qing’an comforted him a few more words before turning to Liu Yan and saying, “I wanted to introduce you to my strategist, Yan Zhuang, but he’s out. Let’s talk about it this afternoon. Please sit here for now.”

Li Qing’an found an empty seat for him and ordered someone to bring various financial reports from Anxi—a thick stack—and also writing supplies. “Take your time to look through them. If you need anything, just come to me. I’m next door; there’s no need to be formal.”

Liu Yan bowed and said, “General, go ahead and attend to your duties. I’ll take care of myself.”

Li Qing’an gave a few more instructions to the others before returning to the meeting room. By then, Duan Xiushi had arrived as well. Duan Xiushi served as the deputy governor of Anxi and the governor of Suiye Province, with jurisdiction extending to the Yibopai Sea Forts in the north. He was now one of Li Qing’an’s closest confidants and the third most important figure in the Anxi military.

When they saw Li Qing’an enter, the three of them stood up. Li Qing’an waved his hand and smiled, “No need to be formal. Be relaxed.”

They all sat down again. His personal guards brought tea and closed the door. Then Wang Changling said with a smile, “General, before we start the formal meeting, I’d like to present a reform plan first.”

Duan Xiushi and Cen Shen exchanged glances, both looking worried. Wang Changling always talked about reforms, and the officials in the government hall were already tired of his constant proposals. They wondered what new scheme he had in mind today. Li Qing’an smiled and said, “When I introduced you to Liu Yan just now, I should have called you ‘Reform King.’ Go ahead, tell us—what old laws do you want to change?”

“You two, stop frowning. I just said it casually; it’s not really about reforms.”

Wang Changling glared at Duan Xiushi and Cen Shen before saying to Li Qing’an, “It’s not about reforming laws, but about building roads.”
“Building roads!”
Li Qing’an was very interested and smiled, “Tell me more—what kind of roads?”
“Actually, this isn’t something that came to me suddenly. A few years ago, merchants and military officials both proposed building two straight roads starting from Suiye—one leading to Beiting City and the other to Kucha. This would greatly reduce travel time between these places and closely connect Beiting, Anxi, and Lingxi. In the past, there wasn’t enough money, food, or labor, but now the conditions are ripe for construction.”
As soon as Wang Changling finished speaking, Li Qing’an and the others cheered in agreement. Li Qing’an said with a smile, “I approve this plan right away. If there’s a shortage of labor, I can have Li Guangbi escort a group of Tocharian prisoners to work as laborers. Provide the money or people—I just want you to start construction as soon as possible.”
Building straight roads to connect Suiye with Beiting and Anxi had always been Li Qing’an’s wish. As he seized more land, it became urgent to build roads to strengthen connections between regions. He fully agreed with Wang Changling’s proposal.
They decided on this matter right away. After discussing road construction, the meeting officially began. Li Qing’an said, “Let me first talk about the southern campaign. Li Guangbi has already submitted a report on the Battle of Tocharistan; I assume you’ve all seen it, so I won’t repeat it. Instead, I’ll discuss the Battle of Sindh in detail.”
Li Qing’an took a sip of tea before continuing, “From a broader perspective, the outcome of the Battle of Sindh is no longer in doubt. The forces of the Abbasids are vastly superior to ours. It’s already a miracle they managed to escape back to their lands. As for the local armies in Sindh and Punjab, they’re completely insignificant—I can hardly consider them a threat. Our goal in this battle is to obtain food. Preliminary estimates show that Sindh alone has six million dan of stored grain.”
Wang Changling exclaimed, “Six million dan? That’s enough to feed Anxi for five years!”
Li Qing’an smiled. “Sindh is a region rich in grain, with extremely high yields. If we capture Sindh, we’ll have at least two million dan of grain annually. This way, we can relocate more people from Anxi to work in workshops, preventing the court from blocking us. Moreover, I plan to establish a seaport in Punjab as our outlet to the sea.”
“But what about the long distance?” Duan Xiushi interjected. “From Punjab to Suiye, it’s at least several thousand li, and the roads are difficult. I don’t think it’s very practical.”

“I’ve thought about this. The Sindh region is all plains, so there’s no problem. The main challenge is the section from the north to Bactria—just a few hundred miles of difficult terrain. Sindh has plenty of hardworking laborers who can build this road. If we can complete that stretch, it will save at least half the time. As Wang Changshi just said, building roads facilitates travel.”

“What does the General need a port for?” Cen Shen suddenly asked.

Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “For overseas trade. Perhaps one day I’ll travel to the Tang Dynasty by ship.”

At this point, there was no need to continue the discussion. Wang Changling then shifted the topic to another matter of the day.

“General, although the events in Hexi have ended, we need to give the court a statement on Anxi’s stance regarding Hexi. This requires the General’s decision.”

Li Qing’an pondered for a moment before asking, “What are the officials’ opinions?”

“The officials in the Political Affairs Hall have debated this. Many believe that although the court has taken back Gansu and Suzhou, it still recognizes them as part of Anxi; it’s just that we no longer control them. Everyone thinks the court hasn’t openly broken relations but has instead used underhanded tactics, and we can’t protest at all. So most officials think it’s best to remain silent. Does the General agree?”

Li Qing’an didn’t answer. He asked Duan Xiushi instead, “What’s the military’s stance?”

“Fight a battle and reclaim Gansu and Suzhou!” Duan Xiushi replied crisply. “The soldiers’ stance is simple.”

Li Qing’an nodded and said, “I’ve also thought about this repeatedly. We’re about to face a strong counterattack from the Arabs. In the next half year, our strategic focus remains in the west, not the east. If we confront the court, it will undoubtedly affect our preparations significantly. So my stance is clear: we must focus all our efforts on preparing for the Arabs.”

Li Qing’an’s statement was somewhat ambiguous—whether to fight or remain silent. The three of them exchanged glances. Cen Shen asked cautiously, “Does the General mean to acknowledge the court’s control over Gansu and Suzhou and remain silent?”

“Why remain silent?”

Li Qing’an sneered and said, “There are people in this world who, if you treat them well, think you’re flattering them or fearing them, and they won’t remember your kindness. If you’re weak, they’ll exploit you even more, pressing harder on you. On the contrary, if you show strength and beat them up severely, they’ll become afraid and never dare trouble you again. Unfortunately, our young emperor is one such person. I supported him to the throne and held off An Lushan’s army at Tongguan for him, yet not only did he not remember my kindness, but he also refused to fight An Lushan, nor the King of Wu, the King of Jing, or the King of Shu—those who openly opposed him. The first one he attacked was me, just because I’m easy to manipulate?”
At this, Li Qing’an stood up and declared firmly, “I can refuse to trade with the Central Plains or send even a single silver coin there. But as the Governor of Anxi, I will not accept Cheng Qianli as his deputy. Meng Yun and Luo Zhengyi led their troops in rebellion, attempting to assassinate their superior. Without my orders, they moved troops arbitrarily—by military law, they deserve execution. The imperial court must hand over their heads to the Anxi army. Otherwise, I will lead my troops to the capital and retrieve those two traitors’ heads myself. This is my stance.”
Wang Changling was shocked and quickly urged, “General, please don’t do this. If you do, you’ll be accused of rebellion, which will ruin your reputation.”
Duan Xiushi also advised, “General, think carefully before acting. Don’t be reckless. After all, he is the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. If you defy him, you’ll be deemed unjust.”
Seeing the three of them looking anxious, Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “I am, after all, the Prince of Zhao of the Tang Dynasty and the esteemed Governor of Anxi. After all these years of scheming, don’t you understand even this principle? I’ve said it—right now we must focus on preparing for war against the Arabs. I won’t send troops to attack Hexi.”
“So what does the general mean…”
“The best strategy is to strike at their plans. I’ll make them come to me in desperation.”