Chapter 536: The Art of Rule as an Emperor

Not long after the secret meeting in the Council Hall ended, a carriage quickly left the Daming Palace. Inside was Prime Minister Zhang Yun, who squinted out of the window, lost in thought—no one knew what he was thinking.

After leaving the Daming Palace, the carriage slowed down, moving slowly along the streets as if taking a stroll. Zhang Yun was still undecided. He was like a shrewd merchant, always seeking business opportunities. The morning meeting in the Council Hall had unexpectedly revealed Pei Min’s secrets—there were differences between Pei Min and Li Qing’an, as Pei Min wanted Guo Ziyi to side with the Council Hall rather than Li Qing’an. This surprised Zhang Yun greatly.

He immediately realized this was an opportunity—a chance to overthrow Pei Min and take his place as Prime Minister. For years, becoming Prime Minister had been Zhang Yun’s greatest aspiration. Since the time of Li Linfu, he had hoped to replace him, but it was Yang Guozhong who succeeded Li Linfu, not him. This left Zhang Yun deeply disappointed. As the political landscape changed, he kept adjusting his stance and position. Eventually, he chose Li Qing’an, realizing that Li Qing’an would dominate the Tang dynasty for a long time.

Zhang Yun and Pei Min had never been allies, not even now. Compared to Pei Min, Zhang Yun was more of a politician. In fact, he was a politician by nature—skilled at opportunism, seizing power, and engaging in power struggles. It was precisely this opportunistic nature that made Zhang Yun an indestructible figure in mid-Tang politics. As for safeguarding the power of the prime minister and limiting the emperor’s power, he showed no interest.

The carriage had slowly reached Zhuque Street. By then, Zhang Yun had finally made up his mind—he must not miss this opportunity. With that thought, he signaled one of his trusted guards, who stepped forward and said, “Please give your orders, Prime Minister!”

“Go to the camp outside the city and find Li Qing’an. Tell him…”

…

No wall is airtight. News of the secret meeting regarding the Shuofang Army in the Council Hall eventually reached Li Qing’an’s ears. Although he didn’t know the specifics of the meeting, he believed that holding a secret meeting itself was suspicious. What did the Council Hall want to do? Try to bring Guo Ziyi’s army under their control?

If Guo Ziyi’s unwillingness to submit still earned Li Qing’an’s respect, then the Council Hall’s ambiguous attitude toward the matter raised suspicions in his mind.

Perhaps because Li Qing’an was stationed in the border areas, he wasn’t very familiar with the various administrative procedures in the Council of State. Yet there was one principle he always held firmly—military power. He could temporarily hand over any other power to the Council of State, but military power remained firmly in his own hands.

Li Qing’an paced slowly inside the tent with his hands behind his back. Guo Ziyi’s arrival in the capital was within his expectations, but the Council of State’s attitude was not. He had thought Pei Min would come to consult him first! But instead, Pei Min wanted to bypass him and take direct command of the troops.

Li Qing’an couldn’t help but sneer. Pei Min was indeed too hasty—revealing his intentions too early.

The incident with Guo Ziyi had unexpectedly exposed a certain discord between him and the Council of State. Should he be grateful to Guo Ziyi for coming to the capital?

At that moment, a soldier’s report came from outside the tent: “General, the Right Prime Minister has arrived and wishes to see you.”

Li Qing’an nodded and said, “Let him in!”

Although he was filled with dissatisfaction toward Pei Min at that moment, he also didn’t trust Zhang Yun. Zhang Yun’s tactics of backstabbing made him even more wary. He needed to clarify things—whose intention was this really?

A moment later, Pei Min entered, accompanied by two bodyguards, feeling uneasy. Li Qing’an had always treated him with great respect, always coming out personally to greet him. But now, not only did he not go out to greet him, he didn’t even say “please” first. Pei Min sensitively realized that Li Qing’an might already know about the Council of State’s meeting regarding the troops in Shuofang.

As soon as he entered the tent, he saw Li Qing’an sitting behind the command seat, staring at him coldly. His heart trembled, and he hurriedly stepped forward to bow and say, “I have matters to discuss with the general, so I’ve come to visit!”

“Sit.”

Li Qing’an pointed to a chair beside him with a very cold attitude. Pei Min adjusted his clothes and sat down. By now, his mood had calmed down. He had come to see Li Qing’an openly and with a clear conscience—what was there to fear?

“Prime Minister Pei, I heard the Council of State discussed the troops in Shuofang this morning. Is that true?”

Pei Min sighed inwardly. It was so difficult for the officials in the court to unite as one—there were always those with ulterior motives. He wondered who had reported to Li Qing’an this time.

Li Qing’an’s sharp gaze left no room for further thought. Pei Min straightened up and said, “The general is right. The Council of State indeed discussed the troops in Shuofang this morning.”

“Hmph!” Li Qing’an snorted lightly. “Doesn’t Prime Minister Pei think the Council of State is overstepping its authority?”

Pei Min knew Li Qingan would ask this, so he replied seriously, “If that’s what the General thinks, then he’s wrong. The Council of State wasn’t discussing military affairs in Shuofang; instead, it was discussing Guo Ziyi’s request to relocate 20,000 households from within the passes to Lingzhou. I believe we haven’t overstepped our authority—this indeed falls under the Council of State’s jurisdiction. Just as when the General wanted to relocate 300,000 people from the Central Plains to Anxi, it was also decided by the Council of State.”

Pei Min’s firm words didn’t change Li Qingan’s decision. He said slowly, “Prime Minister Pei, I hope you can understand the concessions I’ve made. I entered Guanzhong under the authority of imperial power, but I never set foot in Hanyuan Hall, nor did I proclaim myself regent or seize control of the Council of State. The seven prime ministers of the Council of State were chosen by public consensus. On the contrary, I haven’t used military power to suppress political authority or interfered with the Council’s operations. I hope my concessions will help maintain stability in the Tang dynasty’s political landscape—a balance reached through mutual understanding between the military and government. If the Council of State tries to break this balance or destroy this understanding, then, Prime Minister Pei, I regret to say that I will dissolve the Council of State and have the officials recommend new prime ministers. Would you be willing to accept that?”

Li Qingan’s words carried a threatening tone, leaving Pei Min feeling helpless. Yet he also didn’t want to back down, so he said, “We greatly admire the General’s willingness to stay out of political affairs. We have no intention of showing disrespect toward you. But relocating people from within the passes is indeed within the Council of State’s responsibilities. Of course, such a relocation would also involve the military, which is why we didn’t make any decisions this morning. We all agreed it would be best to hear the General’s opinion. That’s why I’ve come to see you today.”

After saying this, Pei Min took out Guo Ziyi’s memorial and handed it to a bodyguard beside him, who then passed it to Li Qingan. Li Qingan picked up the memorial and flipped through it. It was indeed similar to what Pei Min had said, though it contained some details related to him. For example, Guo Ziyi wanted to extend the beacon towers along the west bank of the Yellow River in Yanzhou all the way to Shuofang to prevent An Lushan from invading the region again—this was military affairs under Li Qingan’s jurisdiction.

But Li Qingan didn’t say much. He pushed the memorial back onto the table and gave it to Pei Min, still speaking calmly, “Since Guo Ziyi insists on reporting this to the Council of State, there’s nothing I can do. It’s his army in Shuofang; I can’t interfere in his affairs. I don’t want to know about it. Prime Minister Pei, there’s no need to discuss it further. Well, since there’s nothing else, please go back. I still have military matters to attend to, so I won’t keep you any longer.”

Pei Min sighed secretly. Despite Li Qingan’s firm attitude, he wasn’t willing to compromise on principle. Seeing that further discussion was impossible, he got up and said, “Very well! I’ll take my leave then.”
Li Qingan remained silent. After Pei Yuan left, he slowly walked to the tent door and watched Pei Min’s retreating figure. He let out a soft sigh, “A worthy minister and noble scholar—too bad he’s out of his time!”
…
The events of the next two days were all part of Guo Ziyi’s schedule. He met with the new emperor and the empress dowager, formally reported on his duties to the Council of State, and visited some retired elders in the capital. Yet he never went to see Li Qingan, as there was no plan for such a meeting in his schedule.
Li Qingan, on his part, didn’t inquire about anything related to Guo Ziyi, as if Guo Ziyi’s arrival in the capital had nothing to do with him. Still, something strange happened the next morning: the Council of State appointed Cui Ping, the chief secretary of the Hexi Military Region, as Vice Minister of the Secretariat, and Liu Yan, the coin minting official in Anxi, as Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue in charge of financial affairs.
Just when everyone thought this was the Council of State yielding to Li Qingan, another intriguing rumor spread: Pei Wan’er was supposed to marry Li Qingan the next day to formally form a union with the Pei family, but Li Qingan postponed it indefinitely under the pretext of waiting for an auspicious day. Since he didn’t reveal it, no one knew when that day would be.
Inside the Pei household, Pei Yang, the governor of Ningzhou, relayed to his father the news he had heard from his father-in-law, Lu Huan, the Vice Minister of the Secretariat. Pei Yang’s son, Pei Jun, was married to Lu Huan’s daughter. Lu Huan told him that his cousin, Pei Min, the Right Prime Minister, led the other prime ministers in the Council of State to oppose Li Qingan over the matter of Guo Ziyi.
“Father, Vice Minister Lu says that on the surface this seems calm, but in reality there’s intense undercurrents. Li Qingan is extremely angry about this and is said to have fallen out with Pei Min.”
“I knew it was him ruining the Pei family’s affairs!”
Furious, Pei Zunqing slammed the table hard, causing a loud crash. The pens, ink, paper, and inkstones on the table jumped as well. He was so angry he gritted his teeth and said, “This man thinks he’s so noble. Does he really believe the power of the Council of State is supreme? Hmph! Our Pei family will surely perish at his hands sooner or later.”
Pei Yang was Pei Wan’er’s father. He had returned to the capital to attend his uncle Pei Kuan’s memorial ceremony. Coincidentally, he encountered this incident. Although his father Pei Zunqing hated Pei Min deeply, Pei Yang somewhat agreed with Pei Min’s actions. He also disapproved of his father’s focus solely on family interests at the expense of the overall interests of the court.

He then advised his father, “Father, what Pei Min is doing makes sense after all. Ever since Li Longji issued edicts from the palace through the Grand Secretaries of the cabinet, weakening the power of the Central Secretariat and the Chancellery, the power of the chancellor has remained weak. Li Qingan entered the Central Plains with an army leader’s stance and is very powerful. If he ascends the throne in the future, he will surely impose even stricter restrictions on the chancellor’s power. Since the current emperor is still young, it is the perfect time for the Political Council to reestablish its systems. If we wait until Li Qingan has unified the country and ascended the throne before strengthening the chancellor’s power, it will likely be too late. So at this critical moment, Pei Min and the Political Council must not back down.”
“You know nothing!”
Pei Zunqing’s face turned red, and he shouted, sticking out his neck, “Reestablishing the chancellor’s power? When has the Political Council ever held military power? Pei Min is just a scholar. Does he think that by winning over Guo Ziyi he can confront Li Qingan? Does he think everyone will support him? How foolish! Who is Zhang Yun? Will he support Pei Min? After all these years, he still hasn’t learned anything. Zhang Yun is just going with the flow, pushing that fool into the abyss. If he wants to go into the abyss, that’s one thing, but he also wants to drag down the Pei family and my granddaughter. How foolish! I’ve never seen such stupidity.”
“Then what should we do, Father?”
Pei Zunqing sighed heavily, forcing himself to calm down before slowly saying to his son, “If I’m not mistaken, Zhang Yun has already betrayed Pei Min. It seems calm now, but I can sense the signs of a storm approaching. I think Pei Min is in trouble this time. Even if he doesn’t fall now, he probably won’t hold his position as chancellor for long.”
“Is it really that serious?”
Pei Yang was still skeptical. “Father, do you think too highly of Li Qingan?”
Pei Zunqing stared at his son in shock. He hadn’t expected his son to say such things. He wanted to get angry but couldn’t, so he patiently said to his son, “You and Pei Min both have that arrogant attitude typical of aristocratic families. You both look down on Li Qingan, thinking he’s just a local warlord who achieved his status through military strength. You’re all too self-righteous. I’ll tell you one thing—do you know why Cui Huan, despite being overthrown by Li Qingan, was able to return to the Political Council later? Do you know the truth behind it?”
Pei Yang frowned. “Could it not be because Li Qingan later compromised with Li Heng?”
“Compromise? Hmph!”
Pei Zunqing snorted coldly. “If it were Li Heng’s will, then have you ever thought about why Cui Huan later became part of the Zhao King’s faction?”
Pei Yang began to understand. “Father, what you mean is…”

“Do you understand now? In fact, after bringing down Cui Huan, Li Qingan secretly won over this man—first giving him a harsh lesson and then offering him benefits—thus bringing the Cui family under his control. After that, he agreed to a marriage alliance with the Pei family, manipulating both the Cui and Pei families at will. Think about it—why would he suddenly transfer Cui Ping to the capital to serve as a vice minister? Who is Cui Ping?”
Pei Yang suddenly realized it—Cui Ping was the son of Cui Yu, a member of the Cui family’s direct line. Due to his poor relationship with the family head, Cui Huan, he had not been allowed to offer sacrifices to his ancestors for three years. He blurted out, “I understand! Li Qingan wants Cui Ping to replace Cui Huan!”
“Do you see? This is the art of ruling as an emperor.”
“What about our Pei family?” Pei Yang asked anxiously.
At that moment, a faint hint of joy appeared on Pei Zunqing’s face as he smiled and said, “I thought Li Qingan would transfer Pei Mian to the capital, but instead he sent Liu Yan. This shows he already has someone from the Pei family in mind.”
“Could it be Pei Yu?”
Pei Zunqing glanced at his son, who shook his head and said calmly, “Pei Yu is too young. He might be useful in twenty years, but right now, we need someone older, more experienced, and shrewder. Does my son understand?”
……
Guo Ziyi’s various activities in the capital were finally coming to an end. In a few days, he would return to Lingzhou. That afternoon, he suddenly received a notice from the Government Hall, asking him to attend a meeting in the Zichen Hall to discuss the relocation of military households further. Guo Ziyi was overjoyed—this matter had remained unresolved, and today the Government Hall would likely give him an answer.
He hurriedly went to the Zichen Hall. The meeting room was located in a side hall, where nearly a hundred ministers were already seated. All officials of rank five or higher were present, along with even Empress Dowager Shen, who was hidden behind the curtains in the hall.
Guo Ziyi arrived a bit late. An official led him to an empty seat. He bowed politely to everyone and sat down. Right across from him was Pei Min, whose face was grim and displeased. Guo Ziyi was startled. Then he noticed Li Qingan was also present, sitting at the head of the table with a calm smile on his face.

Pei Min felt extremely helpless. The original plan was to discuss and approve the relocation of 20,000 people from Guannei Road to Lingzhou today, but Li Qing’an finally expressed his opinion. Since a large number of people from Guannei Road were involved in building the Tang Straight Road, and another 50,000 people from that region were to be relocated to Anxi, these tasks had not yet been completed. If 20,000 people were sent north now, it would surely affect the construction of the Tang Straight Road as well as the sinicization of Anxi. Li Qing’an suggested that, in principle, the relocation could be approved, but it must wait until the construction of the Tang Straight Road was finished before it could be implemented. Additionally, priority should be given to the immigrants going to Anxi, meaning it would take at least three years.

Pei Min knew this was Li Qing’an’s tactic to buy time, but he had nothing to say. After all, the approval for the Tang Straight Road and the Anxi relocation came first, so he could only accept it silently.

At that moment, a clear bell sound came from inside the hall, signaling the start of the meeting. Lu Yi, the censor-in-chief presiding over the meeting, stood up and first bowed to the empress dowager, saying, “Your Majesty, let’s begin officially.”

Shen Zhenzhu, behind the curtain, spoke softly, “I am here only to observe and will not interfere in politics. Please continue, ministers.”

Lu Yi nodded at Li Qing’an before declaring loudly, “Today’s meeting was temporarily called at the proposal of His Highness, the Prince of Zhao, the Supreme Commander of the Army, to discuss military matters in the Central Plains. Now, the meeting officially begins.”

Hearing this, Guo Ziyi’s mind buzzed. It wasn’t about discussing the relocation but about fighting in the Central Plains. What was going on? He glanced at Pei Min, who gave a wry smile, indicating he too had no solution.

At that moment, Li Qing’an stood up and handed out a memorial to everyone, saying, “This is an urgent report sent this morning by Yan Zhenqing, the governor of Yizhou in Hebei Road. An Lushan has gathered 300,000 barbarian troops, and together with the forces from Fanyang and Lulong, he claims to have a 500,000-strong army, currently in final preparations for war. An Lushan’s rebellion could erupt at any time. Meanwhile, the imperial court only has 200,000 troops and must also defend against the southern Tang forces advancing north. As a result, we will face a severe shortage of troops to resist An Lushan’s rebellion. To address this shortage and contain An Lushan in Hebei, I propose that the court immediately send troops to the Central Plains to incorporate the hundreds of thousands of troops left there by Li Hen. I have already reported this to the empress dowager, who has agreed to my plan.”

Shen Zhenzhu’s expression seemed somewhat unnatural. In truth, she had no right to interfere in such military matters, but since Li Qing’an insisted on using her name for this plan, she had no choice but to speak up loudly: “An Lushan’s treacherous ambitions are well known to all. If we remain inside the pass, then both Hedong and Henan regions will fall into An Lushan’s hands. With their dense populations and fertile lands, these areas will undoubtedly strengthen An Lushan’s power and bring endless disasters to the people there. Therefore, I support Prince Zhao’s proposal to contain An Lushan in Hebei and protect the people of the realm as much as possible. If I cannot make this decision, the Council of State can vote on it.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhang Yun was the first to raise his hand. “I agree with Her Majesty the Empress Dowager’s view and support Prince Zhao’s proposal.”

Immediately after, Lu Huan and Wei Tao also raised their hands. “In favor!”

Zhang Gao and Wang Jin pondered for a moment before raising their hands almost simultaneously. By then, five members of the Council of State had agreed. It was pointless for Pei Min and Cui Huan to disagree, as the number of supporters had already exceeded half. At that point, Cui Huan also raised his hand, forcing Pei Min to nod and say, “I also support containing the enemy outside.”

“Good!”

Li Qing’an continued, “Since the Council of State has approved this, as the supreme commander of the army, I must make military arrangements. I will personally lead 100,000 troops out of Tongguan to Luoyang to reclaim Henan. Although we have some troops north of Taiyuan in Hedong, their numbers are too small to recover the entire region or resist An Lushan’s invasion from the east.”

With that, Li Qing’an turned to Guo Ziyi and said, “I propose that General Guo serve as the commander of Hedong, leading the troops from Shuofang to reclaim Hedong and resist An Lushan’s invasion!”