Chapter 544: Streamlining the Bureaucracy

After leaving the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Li Qing’an returned to the military camp inside the imperial city. He discussed the situation in the Duji Region with ministers such as Pei Yi. After the ministers left, Li Qing’an secretly kept Pei Yi behind.

Li Qing’an only had one day and one night in Luoyang. During this short time, he wanted to accomplish two things: first, the sacrifice at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which he had already done; second, the arrangement of power in Luoyang. Although Luoyang was merely a secondary capital to Chang’an, its strategic location was extremely important. Controlling Luoyang meant controlling the entire Central Plains. Li Qing’an had decided to station troops there, but he also needed to take full control of Luoyang’s administrative system.

Currently, Luoyang’s administrative structure was quite complex. There was the governor in charge of the eastern capital, the prefect of Henan Province, the governor of the Duji Region, and the mayor of Luoyang. Among them, those with real power were the governor of Luoyang and the prefect of Henan Province. The governor of Luoyang held military authority. Although there were no troops stationed in Luoyang at the moment, the 2,000 troops in the Xingyang Granary were under his command. Through these troops, he could effectively control the Xingyang Granary and thus possess the most crucial strategic resource—food—making it his greatest asset.

Next was the prefect of Henan Province, who held local administrative power. Similar to the governor of Jingzhao, the prefect of Henan Province also held a third-rank position. However, unlike the governor of Jingzhao, he was not restricted by many other power departments and more resembled a provincial governor with real local authority.

Li Qing’an’s plan was to merge the roles of the governor of Luoyang and the prefect of Henan Province, assigning one trusted person to hold both positions. He had already chosen the candidate: Pei Yi.

Pei Yi was the eldest son of Pei Kuan and the father of Pei Yu. Pei Yu belonged to Li Qing’an’s core faction. Pei Yi would surely help his own son, especially since Li Qing’an’s sister, Xiao Lian, was Pei Yi’s daughter-in-law—linking them through marriage. Therefore, for Li Qing’an, Pei Yi was the most suitable representative in Luoyang.

More importantly, Li Qing’an planned to implement land reform in the Duji Region. Over the past two days, he had received detailed reports on the land situation in the province’s one prefecture and four states. This area was also severely affected by land consolidation, especially since it was close to the capital, where nobles from the imperial family occupied large tracts of land. Most of these nobles supported the Southern Tang Dynasty, and many had fled to Chengdu. This created favorable conditions for his land reform—targeting them would face the least resistance and cost.

The key issue now is that there’s no strong official to push for land reform in the Capital Region. There are too many people in charge, and anyone can claim responsibility, resulting in no one actually taking action—this won’t do.

A moment later, Pei Yi was brought in by the soldiers. He bowed and said, “I pay my respects to Prince Zhao!”

“There’s no need for formalities, Pei. Please sit.”

Li Qing’an invited Pei Yi to sit and said with a smile, “Has Pei already thought of a suitable name for your grandson?”

Pei Yi had been somewhat uneasy, not knowing why Li Qing’an had kept him aside. Hearing about his grandson, he immediately felt relieved. His grandson was his treasure—how could he not have thought of a name?

Pei Yi stroked his beard and smiled, “I’ve already thought of one. It’s a single name: Duan.”

“Pei Duan!” Li Qing’an repeated it twice and nodded in approval. “That’s a good name—upright and strict. Raised under the Pei family’s values, he will surely become a pillar of the nation in the future.”

“Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. The child’s mother is dignified and virtuous. With her raising the child, that’s the foundation for his character. Having Xiao Lian as his daughter-in-law is also a blessing for our Pei family.”

The two talked about the child for a while. After taking a sip of tea, Li Qing’an shifted the topic to business. “I’ve kept Pei here because there’s something I’d like your help with.”

Pei Yi understood immediately. With Li Qing’an’s capabilities, what could there be he couldn’t handle? “Help” was just a polite way of saying he wanted to entrust him with a task. He quickly bowed and said, “Please give your orders, Your Highness!”

“It’s this: An Lushan’s rebellion is now inevitable. According to my strategy, I aim to contain the rebellion within the Hebei Region. But An Lushan is very powerful, and I’m worried he might cross the Yellow River and march straight on Zhengzhou. So, storing all the grain from the Henan Region in Xingyang isn’t safe. I plan to move all the grain from Xingyang to Luoyang. The imperial city is unused and could serve as a storage area. I’d like to ask Pei to handle this task.”

Pei Yi was stunned. Moving grain should be left to Yang Shenyu. Not understanding Li Qing’an’s intention, he hesitated and said, “I’m willing to serve Your Highness, but the grain in Xingyang has always been managed by the governor of Luoyang. Would it be inappropriate for me to overstep my authority?”

Li Qing’an sneered lightly. “When has the governor of Luoyang ever been able to manage Zhengzhou? To put it bluntly, it’s Yang Shenyu who’s been overstepping his authority. This should be the responsibility of the governor of the Capital Region—what does it have to do with him? That’s exactly why I think something isn’t right here, and I want to sort it out.”

Pei Yi finally understood. It turned out that Li Qingan wanted to seize Yang Shenyu’s power by moving the grain from Xingyang to Luoyang. Naturally, those two thousand soldiers wouldn’t follow, and Li Qingan’s own troops would be responsible for guarding it. In that case, Li Qingan’s troops would control the Luoyang palace, leaving Yang Shenyu completely powerless. By taking control of the grain supply himself, Li Qingan would essentially replace Yang Shenyu.

Although Li Qingan’s plan was clever, Pei Yi still felt there was one aspect not fully controlled—Miao Jinqing, the governor of Duji Road, and Ji Wen, the magistrate of Luoyang. Though neither of them held much power, if they allied with Yang Shenyu, Pei Yi might not be able to defeat them. Especially since Li Qingan had taken all the power for himself, the possibility of the three of them uniting grew even greater.

Thinking of this, he reminded Li Qingan, “Perhaps the general is unaware that Henan Prefecture falls under the jurisdiction of Duji Road. Strictly speaking, Duji Road can also oversee matters related to grain.”

“Don’t worry about that, Envoy Pei. Miao Jinqing is scheduled to be transferred as the governor of Luzhou, and you will take on the role of governor of Duji Road. Ji Wen will be transferred as the governor of Youzhou, and the Ministry of Personnel in Luoyang will assign someone else to that position. Moreover, I will deploy ten thousand troops to stay in Luoyang, so everything there will be properly managed.”

Li Qingan’s arrangements reassured Pei Yi. In other words, he would become the highest administrative official in Luoyang and even Duji Road. Originally, the governor of Henan Prefecture held significant power, but it was greatly reduced due to constraints from Duji Road and the troops stationed in Luoyang. Now that Li Qingan had resolved these key issues, Pei Yi felt as if his constraints had been lifted, and his power had greatly increased. No one could hold him back anymore. He was extremely grateful and quickly stood up to bow deeply to Li Qingan, saying, “I will surely do my utmost to govern Luoyang well for Your Highness.”

Li Qingan chuckled and said, “Please sit down, Envoy Pei! Now let’s discuss implementing land reform in Duji Road.”

……

Early the next morning, Li Qingan led fifty thousand troops out of Luoyang and headed toward Zhengzhou. By evening, the army reached Yanshi County. At that time, Li Guangbi, who was personally escorting Ji Guangchen, also arrived in Yanshi County. Li Qingan immediately ordered the army to camp there.

At dusk, after several days of gloom, it finally started to rain. The rain grew heavier, and the entire Duji Road was submerged in a thick mist.

The main camp of the Anxi Army was set up on a high ground. The soldiers pitched tents and erected camp fences in the rain, and several tall watchtowers were built. Although it was only for one night, Li Qing’an wouldn’t take any chances. He insisted that every detail be thoroughly addressed, which was part of the Anxi Army’s consistent style. Their strength lay not only in combat skills but also in camp management, training, logistics, and more.

Every detail had to be considered, and everything had to be done with utmost precision—this was the key to maintaining their formidable combat strength. For example, the soldiers had to set up camp in the rain, and many would get soaked, which was inevitable. But as the military commander, he had to prepare ginger soup for each soldier to ward off cold and keep them healthy, ensuring their combat effectiveness—this was the importance of attention to detail.

Inside the main tent, Li Qing’an slowly sipped a bowl of ginger soup while thinking about strategies against Xu Shujī’s army. Initially, Li Heng had assigned Xu Shujī only 30,000 troops to defend Huazhou and Puzhou, mainly to prevent An Lushan’s forces from advancing southward. Yet Xu Shujī expanded the defense area on his own, not only taking control of Hua and Puzhou but also seizing five more provinces—Bian, Cao, Song, Yan, and Xu—while increasing his troop count from 30,000 to 70,000.

This showed that Xu Shujī was ambitious, aiming to become a regional lord like Li Qing’an or even rule over Henan. For this reason, he would never easily give up the seven provinces he had occupied. He wouldn’t leave unless forced, and he might even fight against Li Qing’an himself. Therefore, dealing with Xu Shujī couldn’t rely on surprise attacks like those used against Ji Guangchen; a cautious and methodical approach was necessary.

As Li Qing’an pondered his strategy, his personal guard reported from outside the tent, “General, General Li Guangbi has arrived.”

Li Qing’an quickly stood up and smiled, “Tell him to come in at once!”

No sooner had he spoken than a figure rushed through the rain and mist, carrying a sheepskin over his shoulder, heading straight toward them—it was Li Guangbi.

Li Guangbi rushed into the tent and laughed repeatedly, “What heavy rain! This is a blessing for the farmers!”

Li Qing’an also smiled, “Good weather means a smooth campaign for us. Come in quickly and have a bowl of ginger tea to warm up.”

Li Guangbi entered the tent. A guard handed him a dry towel, while another brought him a bowl of ginger tea. He dried his hair and drank the tea in one gulp before finally taking a deep breath and bowing to Li Qing’an.

Li Qing’an waved his hand and said with a smile, “No need for formalities. Sit down and talk.”

The two sat down in the tent, and Li Qing’an asked first, “How is Ji Guangchen?”

“I’ve placed him in a separate tent. But congratulations, General — after a few days of consideration, he’s willing to surrender to you.”
Li Qing’an nodded with a smile. He had originally planned to persuade this man to surrender in person, but since he had surrendered on his own, it saved Li Qing’an the effort. That was perfect. So he said with a smile, “Very well, let’s discuss further how to deal with Xu Shujи next.”