Chapter 483: The Grand Entrance (Part 2)

As night fell, a carriage rushed toward the residence of Prime Minister Pei Min. It stopped in front of the mansion, and Li Yan, the Minister of Punishments, stepped out of the carriage. Pei Min’s eldest son, Pei Mingyi, was already waiting outside. Upon seeing Li Yan emerge, he hurried forward to greet him, “Uncle, Father is waiting in the study.”
Li Yan seemed preoccupied and, without exchanging pleasantries, followed Pei Mingyi into the mansion.
“Nephew, has the General sent any letters?” As they approached the study door, Li Yan suddenly asked Pei Mingyi.
Pei Mingyi served as an officer in the Anxi Army and was currently stationed in Chang’an, responsible for handling letters from Anxi. He shook his head and said, “There are no official letters from the Anxi Army, but Father has received a quick message from the General, sent from Longyou.”
This was exactly what Li Yan wanted to know. He nodded and went straight into the study.
Inside the study, Pei Min was reading a quick message written by Li Qing’an. The letter had been sent from Huangcheng that afternoon, and he was reading it for the third time. He kept rereading it because some parts were unclear to him—specifically, he didn’t understand why Li Qing’an had instructed him to do such things.
“All proposals put forward by the Regency Party may be approved.”
This was the most crucial sentence in the letter. It appeared out of nowhere, with no context or explanation at the beginning. How could he interpret it? Were all proposals to be approved? Pei Min found this statement too arbitrary. Given the changing circumstances, it was unlikely Li Qing’an knew everything—for example, he must not have been aware of An Lushan’s advance on the capital. Could proposals targeting An Lushan still be approved?
After pondering for a long time, he put down the letter and walked to the window with his hands behind his back. The slightly cool night breeze on his face helped clear his thoughts.
Pei Min sighed inwardly. In fact, he understood Li Qing’an’s intentions, as well as the unspoken words behind them. Li Qing’an’s goal was simple: to enable Li Heng’s madness. Perhaps this was the real reason behind Li Qing’an’s departure from Chang’an.
He also understood Li Qing’an’s ultimate goal—he wanted to ascend the throne as the Prince of Zhao. In fact, Li Heng wasn’t his obstacle; Li Shici, who existed legally and legitimately, was his greatest hindrance.

But he couldn’t take action to overthrow Li Shi’s throne. On the contrary, he had to support Li Shi, making everyone feel that he, Li Qing’an, was also supporting a legitimate and lawful regime—just as Cao Cao always supported the Han dynasty in the late Han period. Yet Li Qing’an was different from Cao Cao; he was also part of the Li clan. So while supporting Li Shi, he had to use Li Heng’s help to overthrow him.

Pei Min felt his heart grow dark. He had figured out all of Li Qing’an’s hidden intentions, and he too felt confused and lost. Supporting Li Shi was for the benefit of the country and the Tang dynasty, for its long-term stability, while supporting Li Qing’an was for his own Pei family. Which was more important—family or the country?

In fact, Pei Min had pondered this question for a long time. Unlike Pei Zunqing, who had a clear goal of putting family interests above everything, he still had some sense of duty to the country. His father, Pei Yaoqing, had played a role in bringing about the prosperous Kaiyuan era. Before dying, his father had told him only one thing: “Protect the prosperity of the Tang dynasty.” This phrase remained etched in his mind. He understood what his father meant—he had to devote himself wholeheartedly to the prosperity of the Tang dynasty. So, couldn’t Li Qing’an bring prosperity to the Tang dynasty? That conclusion was obviously absurd. The complex situation of regional warlords at the moment could only be resolved by Li Qing’an; only he had the ability to unify the Tang dynasty.

Yet he felt that Li Qing’an lacked something—perhaps legitimacy! He wasn’t a descendant of Li Shimin.

Pei Min let out a long sigh. When it came to choosing between family, country, and the world, how difficult it was!

“Father, Minister Li has arrived.”

His son’s announcement from outside interrupted Pei Min’s thoughts. He turned around and said, “Please let him in!”

Pei Min put aside his reflections and returned to his seat. He had specifically sent someone to invite Li Yan over to discuss Li Qing’an’s letter.

The door opened, and Li Yan entered. Pei Min immediately stood up, bowed, and said with a smile, “I’m sorry for disturbing Minister Li’s rest!”

Li Yan’s expression was grim, without a trace of a smile. He didn’t bother to be polite with Pei Min and sat down right away.

“What’s the matter? Prime Minister, please speak first!”

Seeing his unfriendly expression, Pei Min asked cautiously, “What happened? Is it because of An Lushan?”

“What is An Lushan? Would I get upset over him?”

“Then what exactly happened?”

Li Yan was someone who couldn’t keep secrets. After Pei Min pressed him several times, he snapped, “This afternoon, news came from the Zichen Hall—Li Heng issued an order as regent, ordering our Land Department to freeze indefinitely any distribution of land from the imperial estates in Weinan County. In effect, this is a veiled rejection of the late emperor’s decree to distribute land from those estates.”
“But didn’t the Council of State already pass a resolution?”
Li Yan glanced at Pei Min and sighed. “That’s exactly the problem. Li Heng pointed out that the resolution passed by our Council of State only applied to land belonging to the imperial family, and imperial family land did not include the imperial estates. He used this to demand that our Land Department withdraw from managing the estates and return all the land that had already been distributed, with extremely firm demands.”
Pei Min remained silent for a moment before asking, “So what are you planning to do?”
Li Yan bit his lip tightly and said, “I’m very worried that the troops in Guanzhong might harm the officials in charge of the imperial estates’ lands. I plan to go to Weinan County tomorrow to assess the situation. If conditions permit, I’ll rush to distribute the land to the people.”
“Has Brother Qiming considered making concessions?”
“Concessions?” Li Yan snorted heavily. “I can make concessions on anything else, but I will never compromise on land reform. This is something the late emperor achieved at the cost of his life. If I back down, how can I face him? Whether it’s land belonging to the imperial family or the imperial estates, as long as I, Li Yan, am alive, I will persist in distributing the land. If Prime Minister Pei doesn’t support me, well, I’ll handle this on my own!”
“Calm down! Brother Qiming, please calm down!” Pei Min hurriedly tried to soothe him. “It’s not that I don’t support you. It’s because Prince Zhao has ordered us to comply with the regent’s arrangements during this time.”
Li Yan was stunned. His anger quickly subsided, and he asked, “Where is the letter? Let me see it.”
Pei Min handed him Li Qingan’s letter, and Li Yan opened it and read it carefully.
Although Li Yan was also part of Prince Zhao’s faction, he was very different from Pei Min. Pei Min was Li Qingan’s brother-in-law, and his two sons served as civil officials in Li Qingan’s army. He was extremely loyal to Li Qingan. Even though his views sometimes differed slightly from Li Qingan’s, he would ultimately follow his orders.
Li Yan, on the other hand, was utterly loyal to Li Yu and was one of the two people Li Yu trusted the most. He became a key advocate for Li Yu’s land reform.

Out of loyalty to Li Yu, Li Yan also firmly supported the current emperor, Li Shi. Strictly speaking, he should be considered part of the royalist faction, on the same side as Guo Ziyi, Wang Sili, and others. However, due to his hostility and opposition toward Li Heng, he naturally became a supporter of Prince Zhao, aligning with Li Qingan, Pei Min, and others as a staunch opponent of Li Heng. In the court’s factional divisions, he was also classified as part of Prince Zhao’s camp.

Because of his royalist background, Li Qingan was even more polite toward him. Similarly, many crucial matters were not discussed with him—such as reinstating Cui Huan as prime minister. Li Yan had no idea that Li Qingan had already reached a secret agreement with the Cui family.

This time, Li Qingan wrote to Pei Min from Longyou, hoping that Pei Min could persuade Li Yan. Pei Min sighed and said, “Prince Zhao hopes that during his absence, we avoid conflicts with the regent faction as much as possible, as it would be disadvantageous for us. He also said that if we feel our safety is threatened, we can turn to General Nan Jiyun, who will arrange for guards to protect us. Brother Qiming, I also hope you can stay calm. Let’s put off matters related to the imperial estates for now and launch a counterattack once Prince Zhao returns to the capital.”

Although Li Yan was an upright person, he wasn’t foolish. Pei Min’s advice made sense. It wasn’t too late to launch a counterattack after Li Qingan returned. Li Heng wouldn’t dare openly take back the imperial estates; if he only wanted them frozen for a long time, then they would be frozen for now.

Thinking this, Li Yan said, “Then I won’t go to Weinan County tomorrow. I’ll send people to recall the officials in charge of the imperial estates. I need to visit Xinfeng County tomorrow, where there’s a Baishui Estate that used to belong to the Yang family. Land is being distributed there these days. I doubt Li Heng would oppose that too!”

“Should Secretary Li have military protection? I’ll talk to Nan Jiyun.”

Li Yan waved his hand smilingly and said, “No need for troops. I have dozens of household servants, enough to deal with petty thieves. Besides, Xinfeng County is under the jurisdiction of the Guanzhong army. If the Anxi army goes there, they might use it against us, so let’s not trouble them.”

…

Early the next morning, Li Yan set off for Xinfeng County, escorted by dozens of armed household servants and two officials from the Land Department.

The Land and Fields Department was a temporary agency established by Li Yu to seize land from the imperial clan. It was composed of dozens of officials drawn from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Treasury Bureau, the Censorate, and the Ministry of Justice. Li Yan served as the head of this department, while Shen Yue, the deputy head of the Ministry of Agriculture and brother of Empress Shen Zhenzhu, acted as his deputy. Thus, the department was actually under Li Yu’s direct control. After Li Yu’s death, land distribution activities were temporarily halted until the fifth day of the eighth month, when a strategy to continue distribution was finalized, and the department resumed operations.

Although Li Yan was the Minister of Justice, he actually did not handle judicial affairs. He devoted himself entirely to land redistribution, convinced that he must fulfill the unfinished wishes of the previous emperor by distributing tens of thousands of acres of land to farmers who had lost their land in Guanzhong, thereby alleviating land consolidation there. Because Li Yan was the vanguard in seizing land, ruthless and indifferent to any ties with the imperial clan, many members of the clan hated him deeply.

Li Yan was aware of this, so he always traveled with dozens of armed bodyguards. Today, he had originally planned to go to the imperial estate, but after being persuaded by Pei Min, he changed his mind and headed instead to Baishui Manor in Xinfeng County.

Baishui Manor was a vast estate covering over a thousand acres. It originally belonged to An Lushan. In the sixth year of the Tianbao era, when Lady Yang Huahua of the Guo state celebrated her birthday, An Lushan gave her this estate as a gift.

Located southeast of Xinfeng County, about fifteen li from Lishan Mountain, the manor was surrounded by beautiful mountains and clear waters. To the west of the manor flowed a small river named Baishui, hence the name Baishui Manor. A few months earlier, a battle over land had broken out here, and Yang Xian, one of the main members of the Yang family, was killed by an arrow. Nearly half a year had passed, and the manor had become property to be distributed. The tenants were extremely excited, as they would be the first to benefit from the land allocation.

By early September, the weather was clear and crisp, and the autumn rice was nearing maturity. The rice fields were a golden hue, and villages everywhere were filled with laughter and joy over the harvest.

At noon, Li Yan was nearly at the manor. Less than ten li away, he could already see Baishui Mountain behind it. They left the main road and continued along a small path flanked by dense rice fields that rustled in the wind.

Full of enthusiasm, Li Yan smiled at Tian Yunqing, an official accompanying him, and said, “It will take at least three days to distribute the land of Baishui Manor. I won’t be able to go home for three days. Will my wife scold me?”

Tian Yunqing was transferred from the Ministry of Agriculture. He was a Jinshi from the ninth year of the Tianbao era, young and promising. He had been married for only three months. Riding on his horse beside Li Yan’s carriage, he heard the Prime Minister ask him questions. He quickly replied respectfully, “Your Excellency, I have been away frequently these past few months, and my wife has gotten used to it. However, my salary is too low, so she often complains.”
“Hmm! You should do more while you’re young to build experience for the future. Work hard. There will be an assessment tomorrow, and I’ll give you an excellent rating. If you get excellent ratings for four years in a row, you’ll be promoted and your salary will increase. Additionally, I approve you receiving the special allowance from Anxi, which can help support your family.”
Tian Yunqing was overjoyed. Li Yan was always strict and upright, imposing strict discipline on his subordinates. As his underlings, none of them dared to accept the special allowance from Anxi. Now that Li Yan had relaxed his rules, their lives would be much easier.
At that moment, they arrived at the Baishui River and needed to cross a small bridge. Suddenly, one of the servants shouted, “Master! Why is the bridge broken?”
Tian Yunqing leaned forward to take a look and saw that the bridge indeed was broken. “Strange, it was fine last time I came. How did it break?”
Muttering to himself for a while, he then said to Li Yan, “Your Excellency, I know there’s another old bridge to the west, but it’s also in poor condition. I’ll go check it. If that doesn’t work, I’ll think of another solution.”
“Then go quickly!”
Tian Yunqing spurred his horse and rushed west along the path through the fields. But after less than a hundred steps, he suddenly heard several screams behind him. Turning around, he was terrified—hundreds of Guanzhong army soldiers rushed out of the paddy fields, armed with long knives and spears, surrounding the carriage and slashing at Li Yan’s servants. One officer, somewhat familiar to him, nocked an arrow and aimed at him. With a snap of the bowstring, an arrow flew toward him in an instant. Terrified, he screamed and instinctively dodged to the side. The arrow hit his shoulder, causing intense pain. He could no longer sit steadily on his horse and was about to fall off. In that life-or-death moment, his desire to survive made him clench tightly to the horse’s neck and flee west desperately.
Several assassins were chasing after him. In panic, Tian Yunqing rushed toward the riverbank. Unable to stop his horse in time, he screamed as he and his horse plunged into the river. The water was fast, and Tian Yunqing choked on several mouthfuls of water. His head hit a large rock hard, and he lost consciousness instantly.
……

The news of Minister of Punishments Li Yan being assassinated reached Chang’an in the evening, shocking the entire city. It was the first time since the founding of the Tang Dynasty that a prime minister had been killed. Chaos ensued throughout the city. Li Heng immediately issued an order to act as regent, ordering a thorough investigation of the murderer and stating that anyone involved would be severely punished. However, the findings were disheartening—Li Yan and all his attendants had been killed, with no survivors. Whether they were killed by the troops in Guanzhong or by the royal family who resented him was a subject of intense debate in Chang’an, with no consensus. Pei Min urgently sent someone to report this tragic news to Li Qing’an. At this time, the political situation in Chang’an changed once again, with one seat empty in the government hall. Who would fill this vacancy became the top concern for all the officials in the court. …