Chapter 525: Urgent Countermeasures

In May, news of Anxi’s victory in the Tang-Tibet war finally reached Chang’an, causing great joy throughout the city. The people of Chang’an spontaneously took to the streets, beating drums and gongs, celebrating day and night. Whether from Wannian County or Chang’an County, the streets were filled with jubilant citizens—gray-haired elders, mischievous children with their hair tied up high, merchants, scholars, soldiers—people of all backgrounds and ages, all immersed in the joy of victory.

Yet inside the Zichen Hall of Daming Palace, a different scene unfolded. Li Hen sat behind his imperial desk with a gloomy expression. His trusted advisors stood by in silence. They were certainly aware of the Tang army’s defeat of the Tibetans, but they had received even more disturbing news: Li Qing’an had ended the campaign in Longyou and was leading an army of 100,000 eastward, having already crossed the Yellow River from Lanzhou.

What they had always tried to avoid was now before them—Li Qing’an had returned. How should they respond?

“What do you think we should do now?” Li Hen asked, his voice hoarse and filled with deep exhaustion. He had considered many possibilities—perhaps Li Qing’an would arrive lightly, and he could go out to greet him personally, laughing together and putting aside past grievances, with Li Qing’an becoming his loyal subject from then on. But such a scenario could only exist in dreams. Li Qing’an was not coming lightly; he was leading a massive army eastward, with no prior warning, ready to march straight into Guanzhong. A chill ran down Li Hen’s spine—this visitor brought no good intentions!

His gaze turned to Wang Gong. Back then, Wang Gong had said he had a plan if Li Qing’an arrived. Now, Li Hen wanted to hear it.

“Prime Minister Wang, as the head of all officials, please speak first!”

Wang Gong, feeling forced to be the first to speak after Li Hen’s choice, said reluctantly, “I believe the Anxi army is powerful, and we should not confront them head-on.”

“I already know that!” Li Hen interrupted him irritably. “I want to hear your strategy.”

Wang Gong sighed inwardly. What strategy could there be now? Li Qing’an was coming with great force, clearly determined to seek justice for Li Shi. There was no room for negotiation—either Li Hen abdicated or they fought a decisive battle. Of course, he couldn’t say that. He could only settle for the next best option, something Li Hen might accept.

“Your Majesty, I suggest making Li Qing’an the crown prince. Perhaps he will accept reality then.”

“No!”

As soon as Wang Gong spoke, his words were dismissed by a shrill voice. Everyone turned to see it was Li Fuguo, the Palace Supervisor. He stepped forward and rebuked Wang Gong, saying, “You are the Right Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty. How dare you utter such absurd and outrageous words? The Eastern Palace belongs to the emperor’s descendants—how can it be allowed to be ruled by outsiders? Moreover, Li Qing’an is a descendant of the hidden crown prince. If he enters the Eastern Palace, how can you expect the emperor to face his ancestors?”

Li Fuguo held both positions as Palace Supervisor and Eunuch Supervisor, wielding great power. Officials who wanted to see Li Heng had to first obtain his approval. Li Heng trusted him greatly, showing him all memorials first and seeking his opinion before making a decision. Li Fuguo would write his comments in green ink in the lower right corner, and over time, this became a custom. His annotations were known as “green comments,” and sometimes they were even more important than Li Heng’s own opinions. Li Fuguo also controlled Li Heng’s newly established intelligence agency, the “Chashi Tingzi,” which had hundreds of spies tasked with monitoring officials or assassinating rivals.

Wang Gong, as the Right Prime Minister, held considerable executive power and could decide on certain matters without reporting to Li Heng, such as appointing officials below the fifth rank. This made Li Fuguo deeply jealous of him. He suggested several times to Li Heng that the Prime Minister’s power should be reduced.

Although Li Heng shared this view, he had just ascended the throne and could not afford to offend ministers like Wang Gong too much. Nevertheless, he granted Li Fuguo the power to attend meetings of the council as an observer.

Thus, the relationship between Li Fuguo and Wang Gong was extremely tense. Rumors said Li Fuguo had been secretly gathering evidence against Wang Gong. Today, having found an opportunity to exploit Wang Gong, he immediately exaggerated the situation.

He persistently reported to Li Heng, “Your Majesty, I suspect Wang Gong has secret dealings with Li Qing’an, which is why he speaks so openly in Li Qing’an’s defense. I suggest suspending Wang Gong from his duties and investigating his crimes of colluding with the enemy.”

Wang Gong was furious. How could anyone slander him like this in front of everyone? He stepped forward immediately and said, “Your Majesty, I have always been loyal to you, having proven my loyalty over time. I have never had any secret dealings with Li Qing’an. Li Fuguo is spreading nonsense and framing a minister. I ask Your Majesty to punish Li Fuguo severely to restore order in the court.”

“Enough!”

Li Heng snapped angrily, “Is this the time for arguments? I want you to solve problems, not create more troubles for me!”

Seeing Li Heng angry, neither of them dared speak anymore. They stepped back, glaring at each other.

At that moment, Fang Guan stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I would like to say a few words regarding how to deal with Li Qing’an.”

Li Heng perked up and quickly said, “Minister Fang, please speak!”

Fang Gan glanced at everyone and said slowly, “I believe there are two possibilities regarding Li Qing’an’s intentions. One is that he wants to replace Your Majesty, and the other is that he fears Your Majesty will take away his power, so he raises troops to force Your Majesty to yield. I lean more toward the latter possibility.”
“Why not the first possibility?” Li Heng asked.
“It’s simple. As a descendant of Prince Jiancheng, if he were to ascend the throne, it would surely provoke opposition from many. Unless the Tang dynasty falls into foreign hands and he can restore the Li dynasty, just like Liu Bei of Shu Han, his claim would lack legitimacy and support from the people. His reign would not last long. I think Li Qing’an must understand this as well. With the former emperor of Southern Tang still alive and the Tang dynasty’s legitimacy intact, it’s not his turn to rule. Therefore, I believe Li Qing’an’s true goal is for Your Majesty to acknowledge his current power and territory, so there can be room for negotiation.”
Fang Gan’s analysis convinced Li Heng deeply. But when he turned his gaze, he saw Linghu Fei’s contemptuous expression, clearly disapproving of Fang Gan’s views. Li Heng was startled and about to ask Linghu Fei when suddenly his son Li Xi rushed in from outside, shouting urgently, “Father, something serious has happened!”
Everyone was shocked and turned to look at him. Li Heng asked anxiously, “What happened?”
Wearing armor, Li Xi stepped forward and bowed. “Father, I’ve heard two pieces of news.”
“What news?”
“One piece of news is that eight thousand troops from Anxi have just escorted Princess Zhao and her son out of Chang’an County westward. Accompanying them are more than three hundred former officials like Pei Min and their families.”
Li Heng felt uneasy. Suppressing his tension, he pressed, “And what’s the other piece of news?”
“The other piece of news is that Wang Sili disobeyed orders. Instead of stationing his troops in Huazhou, he moved eastward and seized Tongguan.”
This news was like a thunderbolt, stunning everyone in the side hall. Wang Sili’s forty thousand troops had returned three days ago, originally supposed to guard Huazhou, but instead he seized Tongguan. It was highly likely that Wang Sili had been turned against him by Li Qing’an. By seizing Tongguan, he cut off any reinforcements from the Central Plains.
Everyone looked at each other, realizing the severity of the situation. Li Qing’an had already taken action. At this moment, Li Heng was distraught and said to everyone, “Everyone, leave! Let me think carefully.”

The others had no choice but to retreat, but Li Heng gave Linghu Fei a subtle signal. Linghu Fei understood and went outside for a round before returning. By then, Li Heng had gone back to his private study, where only his son Li Xi and his trusted advisor Li Fuguo were present. Linghu Fei entered and bowed to Li Heng, saying, “Your Majesty!”
“No need for formalities. Everyone, please sit down!”
Li Heng sighed and said to the three of them, “The situation is extremely critical. Our decision as the four of us must not be revealed under any circumstances.”
They nodded. He then said to Linghu Fei, “It was not convenient to speak earlier. Now, please go ahead.”
Seeing that Li Heng understood him well, Linghu Fei stroked his beard and smiled, “Only Your Majesty truly understands me!”
“Ah! Please go ahead.”
“Your Majesty, I refused to speak earlier because I believed that one of us must be secretly in league with Li Qing’an.”
Li Fuguo interjected excitedly, “It must be Wang Gong. He once allied with Li Qing’an—it has to be him.”
Li Heng waved his hand, telling him not to interrupt Linghu Fei, “Please continue, sir.”
Linghu Fei continued, “I don’t think it’s Wang Gong. Wang Gong is narrow-minded and, like Yang Guozhong, deeply resentful of Li Qing’an. He wouldn’t stoop to colluding with him out of pride. I initially thought it might be Li Qiu, Li Lin, or Zhang Jie, but after hearing Fang Gan’s words, I realized it was actually Fang Gan.”
“Fang Gan?” Li Heng was stunned. “But I thought what he said made sense.”
“Your Majesty, his first part was correct—Li Qing’an indeed lacks a legitimate claim to the throne now. But his second part is misleading you. There’s a major flaw in his words. I wonder if anyone else noticed it.”
Li Heng and Li Fuguo fell into deep thought. Fang Gan’s second part suggested that Li Qing’an’s goal was to protect his own interests, implying a possibility of negotiation.
Li Heng shook his head. “I can’t see what’s wrong. Please explain clearly, my lord.”
“Your Majesty, although Li Qing’an can’t ascend the throne himself for now, he can support someone else! If he installs a child as ruler, wouldn’t that help him protect his interests better than submitting to you?”
Li Heng and Li Fuguo exchanged a glance and suddenly understood. Yes, if Fang Gan could think of Li Qing’an not being able to ascend the throne temporarily, surely he could also consider the idea of Li Qing’an installing someone else.
“That damned scoundrel!”
Li Heng slammed the table in anger. “I must kill him first.”
Although Li Shi had no heirs, Li Yu still had two sons, who were in the hands of Empress Dowager Shen Zhenzhu, who had now been taken away by the Anxi Army.

“Your Majesty, we can kill Fang Guan at any time, but we should consider a backup plan now.”
Li Heng had no choice but to ask, “Then what should I do? Please advise me, sir.”
“I believe Your Majesty should prepare two options. Li Qing’an is moving his family and officials and taking control of Tongguan—clearly to lay the groundwork for an invasion of Anxi. If I’m not mistaken, Guo Ziyi’s troops will also join him in entering Guanzhong. But it will take him at least three to five days to get everything ready. We should make use of these three to five days to mobilize our troops.”
“What do you mean, my lord?”
“Your Majesty, what I mean is that the young prince should lead the main forces to Hanzhong first.”
……