Chapter 537: Pei Min Resigns

The side hall was extremely quiet. It was only at this moment that everyone understood the key point of this emergency meeting—sending troops. That was the focus of the meeting; all the previous votes had merely been preparations. Li Qing’an’s true goal was for Guo Ziyi to send troops to stay in Hedong permanently. In that case, Guo Ziyi’s influence in Guannei Road would be uprooted, and the entire area west of the Yellow River would fall under Li Qing’an’s control. Although everyone understood the real reason behind Li Qing’an’s request to deploy troops, no one had anything to say. Li Qing’an’s request was entirely reasonable—dealing with An Lushan was not just the responsibility of the Anxi Army; the Shuofang Army also had a duty to contribute. At this point, all eyes turned to Guo Ziyi. Could he withstand Li Qing’an’s pressure?

Guo Ziyi did not answer immediately. He seemed to be deep in thought, head bowed in silence. He indeed had not expected Li Qing’an to use this matter as a pretext. Yet he could not refuse. Even defending against the Uyghurs was not a valid reason for refusal—having moved far north into the desert, the Uyghurs would find it difficult to regain their former strength without the support of the Tang Dynasty. With no way out, Guo Ziyi finally said slowly, “The Shuofang Army is part of the Tang Army and is willing to follow the court’s orders.”

He sighed inwardly. At the last moment, he had still been defeated by Li Qing’an. At that instant, the officials in the side hall began to applaud. They were applauding the union of the Anxi Army and the Shuofang Army. This way, even if An Lushan truly had 500,000 troops, they would still have an army to resist him.

Yet Prime Minister Pei Min was filled with despair. He also knew this was Li Qing’an’s countermove. He himself had said that the Political Council was responsible only for government affairs, not military matters. Therefore, deploying troops fell under military affairs, not government affairs, and the Political Council could not interfere. Pei Min sighed inwardly but had no choice but to stand up and say, “Since Prince Zhao has plans to send troops to Hedong, as the Political Council, we should quickly make logistical preparations for sending troops. We will hold another meeting later to discuss this in detail. Then, today’s meeting is concluded.”

“Wait!” Li Qing’an stood up again and said to everyone, “I have one more matter to discuss with you. Please be patient!”

Chatter immediately spread among the officials in the main hall. Besides sending troops, what else could Li Qing’an have?

Li Qing’an slowly walked to the center of the side hall and smiled at everyone, saying, “Everyone, I have invited officials of rank five and above here today because there is one more matter to discuss—regarding the authority of the Political Council.”

The side hall was so quiet that even the fall of a needle could be heard. “The powers of the Council of State” — what a sensitive term! How could Li Qing’an bring it up at this moment? The several chancellors of the Council of State exchanged glances; none knew which powers Li Qing’an intended to restrict. Only Pei Min’s face turned dark — he understood that this must mean Li Qing’an was aiming to target him.

Seeing everyone’s puzzled expressions, Li Qing’an smiled again and said, “There’s no need for concern. I’m not trying to restrict the Council of State’s powers; rather, I want to rationalize them. As we all know, originally, the power to handle state affairs wasn’t in the hands of a single chancellor but was shared among the chancellors in rotation, with the right chancellor taking the lead. But since Li Linfu became the right chancellor, he held this power alone for a long time. After Yang Guozhong succeeded him, he did the same. In my opinion, this leads to tyranny by one person and hinders collective decision-making among the chancellors. I’ve gathered everyone here today so that we can jointly decide to restore the old system, with the power to handle state affairs rotating among the chancellors.”

Generally, the rules regarding this power were set by the emperor. But since the emperor of the Tang Dynasty was still young, Li Qing’an and Li Heng agreed that it should be chosen by ministers of rank five or above, and any changes to the internal power structure within the Council of State should also be decided jointly by such officials.

Today, with over a hundred officials gathered in one hall, it was precisely because Li Qing’an wanted them to change the power rules of the Council of State.

Li Qing’an’s proposal had a far greater impact on the Council of State than ordering Guo Ziyi to send troops. It shocked all seven members of the Council of State. The power to handle state affairs represented the authority of the chancellors, meaning each chancellor had the chance to have the final say on major government matters, and everyone had a chance to become the right chancellor.

Even Zhang Yun’s eyes lit up. Though he hoped to replace Pei Min as the right chancellor, when he calmed down, he realized this wish was unlikely to come true. His brother Zhang Jie had followed Li Heng southward, so Li Qing’an would never appoint him as the right chancellor.

If he couldn’t become the right chancellor, then, as Li Qing’an suggested, with the power to handle state affairs rotating among the chancellors, he still had a chance to hold executive power.

Unable to contain his excitement, Zhang Yun stood up and said, “In the past, Emperor Taizong also said, ‘To please one person’s desires is a grave threat to the people; it is a policy that leads to the downfall of a nation!’ The prosperous Kaiyuan era declined due to tyranny, widespread public resentment, and deep-rooted problems — all caused by one person’s rule. The general’s proposal to rotate the power to handle state affairs restores the old system, promotes fairness, and meets everyone’s expectations. We will fully support it.”

Zhang Yun’s statement earned rounds of applause in the great hall. Li Qing’an nodded and said, “The Left Prime Minister’s words truly represent the sentiments of most court officials. If this resolution is passed, I propose that, for a period of ten days, each prime minister take turns holding the ‘power of governance’ for ten days each. What do all of you think?” The applause grew even louder. Zhang Gao also smiled and said, “Prince Zhao’s suggestion aligns with public opinion; we firmly support it.” At that moment, Li Qing’an turned to Pei Min with a slight smile and asked, “What does the Right Prime Minister think?” At this point, Pei Min felt utterly despondent. He never expected Li Qing’an’s counterattack to be so fierce and ruthless, causing him deep pain. His face turned pale, and his lips trembled slightly. Just as he was about to speak, everything went dark before his eyes, and he collapsed to the ground. “Bad news! Prime Minister Pei has fainted.” …… The afternoon meeting of the Council of State, though only half an hour long, led to two major decisions: sending troops to Hedong and Henan regions, and revising the power structure of the Council. These decisions caused a huge stir throughout the court and the country. Especially the news that Right Prime Minister Pei Min fainted on the spot sent ripples throughout Chang’an, with rumors filling every street and alley. Inside Pei Min’s residence, an imperial physician came out of the sickroom and said to Pei Min’s family waiting at the door, “It’s not too serious. It’s mainly due to long-term overwork and sudden extreme anger affecting his heart. He’ll recover after a few days of proper rest, but he must avoid overexertion.” The physician wrote out a prescription and left. In the room, Pei Min lay quietly on the bed, his wife sitting beside him, gently wiping his forehead with a warm towel. Gradually, Pei Min’s eyes opened. In fact, he had been awake the whole time, but the profound pain in his heart made it difficult for him to face reality. It was only now that he truly understood Li Qing’an’s cruelty. Although Li Qing’an never mentioned Pei Min’s name or attacked him directly, he had grouped Pei Min with people like Li Linfu and Yang Guozhong. Li Qing’an had instilled a prejudice in everyone—that the rotating system of governance power hadn’t been implemented because of Pei Min’s obstruction, and that Pei Min himself was a dictator. This filled Pei Min with deep sorrow. He had proposed that the Council of State incorporate the Shuofang troops to restrict Li Qing’an’s power and prevent him from becoming a dictator. Yet in the end, it was Li Qing’an who advocated for shared power, while Pei Min was labeled a dictator.

It was only then that Pei Min gradually realized the cruelty of political struggles and how naive he had been, how idealistic as a scholar—he had even tried to use military power to confront Li Qing’an. How foolish!
Pei Min sighed secretly. Just then, panicked voices from outside came in—“Master and madam, Prince Zhao has arrived to visit the master!”
“Do not let him in!” Pei Min’s wife snapped angrily. “Tell him the master still hasn’t woken up, and our family does not welcome him.”
“Madam!” Pei Min gently stopped his wife’s rudeness and said to the servants, “Invite him in. Tell him I’m ill and bedridden, unable to greet him personally.”
“Master, you…” Pei Min’s wife was astonished.
Pei Min waved his hand lightly. “Madam, please step back. Things aren’t as you think.”
With no choice, Pei Min’s wife left. Moments later, Pei Min’s son, Pei Zhili, led Li Qing’an into the ward.
As soon as Li Qing’an entered, he asked concerningly, “Prime Minister Pei, is your condition any better now?”
Pei Min gave a bitter smile. “Thank you, General, for your concern. I’m feeling a bit better.”
Li Qing’an sat down by his bedside and sighed as well. “The idea of rotating leadership among the ministers is actually something I’ve thought about for a long time. I introduced it without consulting the Council of State first, and I must apologize to Prime Minister Pei for that.”
Although Pei Min knew this was Li Qing’an’s tactic of attacking first and then offering reconciliation, hearing the word “apology” from Li Qing’an made him feel a little better. He smiled and said, “I just didn’t expect the General to launch a war on Hedong and Henan so soon. I thought you’d focus on internal reforms, such as abolishing slavery as in Anxi or ending land consolidation. Don’t you have such plans?”
Li Qing’an shook his head. “Abolishing land consolidation can follow Emperor Jingzong’s decree, but it’s not yet time to abolish slavery. In Anxi, slavery was abolished because of a severe shortage of Han people; we urgently needed to increase the number of Han households west of the Pamir Mountains, so we used military force. But in the Central Plains, we can’t be too radical, as it affects too many people’s interests. The result would only be pushing the wealthy families south to Southern Tang. So we must proceed slowly. After conquering Southern Tang, we can gradually introduce the abolition of slavery while vigorously encouraging industry and commerce, so that more people have jobs to support their families. Once the Tang Dynasty becomes strong enough, slavery will naturally disappear from our society.”

Pei Min smiled and said with emotion, “I’m relieved to hear the General speak like this. I was afraid the General might be too aggressive, using military methods to implement the strategies used in Anxi. Little did I know, the situation in Anxi is completely different from that in the Central Plains. What works there might not work here.”

Li Qing’an patted Pei Min’s back to reassure him. The two sat for a while longer. Then, Li Qing’an smiled again and said, “I came today for two reasons: to check on Prime Minister Pei’s health, and also to discuss something with you.”

“Go ahead! What is it?”

Li Qing’an hesitated for a moment before slowly saying something that nearly made Pei Min faint again.

“I hope you’ll voluntarily resign from your position as Prime Minister.”

Pei Min’s head spun. After a while, he gathered his thoughts and glared angrily at Li Qing’an’s indifferent gaze. “I want to know why! Why should I resign?”

Pei Min was furious. He knew Li Qing’an was continuing to retaliate against him—just because he had crossed his limits. Unless he pushed himself to the brink, Li Qing’an wouldn’t give up. He even went as far as coming to his home to pressure him. That was too much!

As if aware of his anger, Li Qing’an smiled faintly and said, “Prime Minister Pei, please calm down. It’s not what you think.”

After all, Pei Min was a high-ranking minister. Despite his fury, he forced himself to stay calm and asked slowly, “Then tell me! Why do you want me to resign?”

“It’s simple. Because I also support the principle of checks and balances between the emperor and the prime minister!”

Seeing Pei Min’s wide-eyed shock, Li Qing’an smiled lightly again. “You will become a famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty remembered through the ages, but not yet!”

Pei Min felt a burning sensation in his nose, and tears almost welled up. He fully understood Li Qing’an’s meaning. He nodded gently. “I understand. I’ll submit my resignation to the Council of State early tomorrow morning.”

“Then don’t you want to ask who will take your place?”

“Please speak, General!”

After pondering for a moment, Li Qing’an smiled and said, “I won’t harm the interests of the Pei family. So, it will still be someone from the Pei family who succeeds you.”

“Pei Yu?”

“No! It’s Pei Zunqing…”

…

Early the next morning, Pei Min formally submitted his resignation to the Council of State, citing the need to rest and recover from his illness. The Council quickly accepted his resignation and appointed him as Tutor to the Crown Prince and Director of the Eastern Palace.

The Political Council also approved the candidate proposed by Zhang Yun, appointing Pei Zunqing as the new Chief Secretary. It simultaneously passed a formal resolution designating Cui Pingze, the Military Governor of Hexi, to take over Pei Zunqing’s former position as Deputy Chief Secretary.

The long-awaited change in power, whereby the seven prime ministers would take turns governing, came into effect on the same day. Zhang Yun was the first to assume this role for a period of ten days.

After Pei Min resigned, another major initiative proposed by Li Qingan—preparations for war in the Hedong and Henan regions—began immediately. The Ministry of Revenue approved 800,000 dan of grain as provisions for the expeditionary forces, along with 1.2 million guan in funds, 150,000 sets of armor, nearly 200,000 various weapons, and countless other supplies such as tents. Additionally, Li Qingan transferred 300,000 warhorses from Hexi for use in the expedition.

In terms of command, Li Qingan, the Supreme Commander of All Troops, served as the main commander of the expedition. Guo Ziyi, the Military Governor of Shuofang, was appointed as the right deputy commander, while Li Guangbi, the deputy military governor of Longyou who had just led 20,000 elite troops to Chang’an, was appointed as the left deputy commander. A total of 160,000 troops were deployed—80,000 from Shuofang and 80,000 from Anxi. The Shuofang forces would cross the Yellow River to attack Hedong, while the Anxi forces would pass through Tongguan to attack Henan.

On the second day of the seventh month in the first year of Qingping, the Political Council, along with all officials, bid farewell to the expeditionary forces at Baqiao in Chang’an. The 80,000 troops from Anxi set off in great numbers toward Tongguan. On the fourth day of the seventh month, Guo Ziyi appointed Cheng Qianli as the vanguard and personally led 80,000 troops toward the Yellow River near Yanzhou.

With these two armies moving in opposite directions—south and north—they officially launched the Northern Tang forces’ expedition.