Chapter 545: The General Changes Careers

It was on the third day after his capture that Ji Guangchen finally decided to surrender to Li Qingan. He was deeply moved by the Anxi Army soldiers who were guarding him. There were sixteen soldiers in total, and aside from them, no one else paid attention to him, which gave him the idea of escaping. He kept waiting for an opportunity.

The sixteen soldiers were divided into four shifts, with each shift guarding him for three hours. Yet not a single soldier slacked off during those three hours. They stood like sixteen statues, attentively guarding the four corners of his tent—no joking, no rough behavior, no vulgar remarks, not even any conversation. The silence was terrifying.

The slightest movement from him would immediately draw soldiers to check and record it. He also noticed that during shift changes, the soldiers arrived on time, without fail, speaking nothing and simply signing over duties. The military discipline was extremely strict.

On the first day, Ji Guangchen was surprised. He hadn’t expected ordinary soldiers of the Anxi Army to be so disciplined. At the same time, he sneered inwardly—Li Guangbi must have done this on purpose to impress him! On the second day, he gradually lost hope. The flawless guarding by the Anxi Army left him with no chance of escape.

By the third day, he was truly shocked. He realized this wasn’t Li Guangbi’s deliberate act—it was simply the Anxi Army’s consistent style: strict and meticulous.

Ji Guangchen began to reflect. From this small detail, he could see the Anxi Army’s strict military discipline, a discipline that couldn’t be established in just a day or two. It required years, even decades, of persistence to develop. In contrast, Li Heng’s Guanzhong Army had extremely lax discipline. Many soldiers joined merely for rations and pay, and they would surrender or flee at the first sign of a fierce battle. That was his army—30,000 men turned into chaos when attacked by 20,000 Anxi cavalry, with most surrendering or fleeing. Only a little over 2,000 tried to resist. What if it were the Anxi Army? Ji Guangchen believed that even if attacked, the Anxi soldiers, even if fighting separately, would fight to the death against the attackers. Given their discipline and emphasis on scouts, it would be nearly impossible for them to be caught off guard.

It was this contrast that made Ji Guangchen, who had always held biases against the Anxi Army, begin to reflect on himself. He realized the gap between Li Heng and Li Qingan. Li Qingan’s Anxi Army had been tempered through countless bloody battles, while Li Heng’s army? Most of its soldiers had never even experienced a proper battle. Could they be compared?

He had originally thought that Li Heng would defeat Li Qing’an, and that he, Ji Guangchen, would win Li Heng’s respect by remaining loyal and unyielding. But now he realized how naive his thoughts had been. Not to mention that Li Heng would never trust him again—even if he did, Li Heng wouldn’t have the chance, as he would surely be defeated by Li Qing’an. The soldiers of the Central Plains were too lazy; they simply couldn’t match the fierce Anxi army.

Ji Guangchen began to consider his own future. At this point, he shed his arrogance and scholarly pretensions. He finally realized that he had only one path left: to surrender to Li Qing’an as soon as possible if he wanted a chance to be reinstated.

After three days of deliberation, he finally expressed his willingness to surrender to Li Guangbi on the way to Luoyang.

In the thick rain and mist, Ji Guangchen was led into Li Qing’an’s tent by several soldiers. It was raining heavily, and despite the soldiers holding umbrellas over him, he was still drenched to the skin.

Inside the tent, Li Qing’an had already finished talking with Li Guangbi. Sitting in the position of commander-in-chief, he was reviewing documents sent from Anxi without lifting his head. Li Guangbi sat nearby, looking somewhat helpless; he didn’t understand why Li Qing’an was so cold toward Ji Guangchen.

In fact, Li Qing’an had known Ji Guangchen since their time in Chang’an. Back then, they were both lieutenant generals. In his memory, Ji Guangchen was highly skilled in military strategy, able to explain things in great detail. Though he seemed a bit theoretical, Li Qing’an had to admit that he was indeed a man of both literary and military talent—capable not only of leading troops in battle but also of governing provinces.

On the other hand, Ji Guangchen was very proud and aloof. He neither befriended powerful families nor paid attention to ordinary generals like himself with no background. For this reason, Li Qing’an didn’t want to treat him too favorably, as that would only make him more arrogant. Only by severely crushing his pride could he make him serve him wholeheartedly.

When Ji Guangchen was brought into the tent, no one handed him a dry towel to wipe his face, nor did anyone bring him ginger soup to warm himself. He stood alone at the entrance of the tent, at a loss. Then, a gust of wind and rain made him shiver, and he realized he had already surrendered to Li Qing’an.

He quickly stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and bowed, saying, “Ji Guangchen, a defeated general, pays his respects to His Highness, the Prince of Zhao, the governor of Anxi!”

Li Qing’an still ignored him, but Li Guangbi, who was nearby, couldn’t stand it any longer. Smiling, he reminded him, “General Ji, have you decided to serve our great general?”

Ji Guangchen’s face turned bright red; it was extremely difficult for him to say he would surrender, but he knew he had to make a statement. Gritting his teeth, he said, “I am willing to serve the great general loyally!”
Li Qing’an’s expression softened slightly. He gave a signal to his bodyguards before slowly saying, “General Ji, please stand up.”
Two bodyguards helped him up and handed him a dry towel and ginger tea. Ji Guangchen silently wiped the rainwater from his face with the towel but shook his head at the ginger tea, indicating he didn’t need it.
“I thank the great general!”
Li Qing’an still ignored him, and Ji Guangchen remained silent, head bowed. His former pride was completely gone now. After a while, Li Qing’an put down his pen and said indifferently, “I wonder what plans General Ji has for the future?”
“I am willing to follow the great general’s arrangements.”
“What if I don’t let you serve in the army anymore?”
Ji Guangchen didn’t understand the meaning of Li Qing’an’s words. He sighed and said, “Then I am willing to go home and farm!”
“Oh!” Li Qing’an smiled slightly and asked, “I wonder how many acres of land General Ji’s family owns?”
Ji Guangchen’s family was a prominent clan in Luoyang, but he himself didn’t own much land. His parents had left him only a hundred or so acres. After thinking for a moment, he said, “My parents left me 120 acres, and I also have two hectares of farmland as my permanent estate. That’s all.”
Being honest and not coveting soldiers’ rations was also one of Ji Guangchen’s strengths, and it was this quality that Li Qing’an appreciated. Nodding, he said to him, “As I said earlier, I don’t want you to serve in the army for now. The governor of Huaizhou was transferred last month, and a new governor hasn’t been appointed yet. You go and serve as the governor of Huaizhou! Also, serve as the military commander there.”
Huaizhou was located north of the Yellow River, in what is now Jiaozuo, Henan, and also belonged to the capital region. Although Ji Guangchen didn’t understand why Li Qing’an didn’t want him to serve in the army but instead make him a governor, since he had surrendered to Li Qing’an, he naturally had to obey the arrangements. Moreover, being a governor was far better than what he had initially expected—he thought he would be demoted to a lieutenant general.
This showed that Li Qing’an still valued him highly. Ji Guangchen was excited and quickly bowed, saying, “I am willing to go to Huaizhou to take up the position!”
“Hmm! I should call you Lord Ji now.”

Li Qing’an’s smile vanished from his face. He spoke to Ji Guangchen in a serious tone, “Go to Huaizhou and accomplish two tasks for me within this year. First, train the peasants according to my Anxi militia system—equip them with weapons and hide soldiers among the people. The minimum number I require is 30,000 trained militia members; there is no upper limit—more is better. If An Lushan invades from the south, Huaizhou will be among the first to suffer. I don’t want its people to become mere lambs for slaughter. Do you understand?”
Ji Guangchen felt a chill in his heart and quickly bowed, saying, “I understand!”
Seeing his sincere attitude, Li Qing’an’s expression softened slightly. He continued, “Second, work with Pei Yi, the governor of Henan Prefecture and chief administrator of the capital region, to implement land restrictions. Thirteen powerful families in Huaizhou own land within the restricted area, totaling 27,000 hectares of fertile land. Pei Yi will give you the specific list. You must distribute the land by the end of the year. Do not neglect the law just because the landowners are allies of Li Hen. Otherwise, I will punish you with military law.”
“I dare not. In fact, I also support land restrictions. Moreover, I have my own ideas regarding restricting land for high-ranking generals.”
“Is that so? Share your thoughts,” Li Qing’an asked, quite interested.
Just as Ji Guangchen was about to speak, Li Qing’an waved his hand and said with a smile, “Governor Ji, sit down and talk.”
Li Guangbi, who was sitting nearby, stood up and said, “Since we’re discussing matters of state, I’ll take my leave first.”
“No! Sit down and listen too.”
Li Qing’an wouldn’t let him go. He tapped the table impatiently and said, “You, Li Siyeh—both of you only know how to fight. Not to mention Li Fei Yuanli, who is nothing but a rough man. This won’t do. You should learn from Duan Xiushi—someone who is skilled in both military strategy and governance. Only then can you take charge of a region on your own. Especially regarding land issues, which are the fundamental cause of rise and fall throughout history—just as it was thousands of years ago, it will remain the same in the future. You must be patient and listen!”
Li Qing’an’s tone grew increasingly stern. Li Guangbi wiped the sweat from his forehead. He knew his lord wouldn’t care about trivial matters but was extremely strict about fundamental issues. Not daring to argue, he sat up straight, ready to listen attentively.
Li Qing’an said no more and turned to Ji Guangchen, “Go ahead and speak.”

Seeing that Li Qing’an also scolded Li Guangbi mercilessly, Ji Guangchen grew even more fearful of him. He slowly sat down, organized his thoughts, and said, “I believe the general should target specific groups when restricting land ownership—there’s no need to affect everyone at once. Right now, what’s needed is to ease land consolidation, not completely overturn the reforms. Otherwise, all the landowners in the land will unite against the general. During the Han Dynasty, Wang Mang was too radical and offended the powerful families, which led to the short-lived Xin Dynasty. I hope the general won’t repeat that mistake.”

Although Ji Guangchen’s words weren’t particularly innovative—many had already warned Li Qing’an—it was remarkable that a general could see this. Li Qing’an nodded and asked, “Then tell me, whom should I target for restricting land ownership?”

Ji Guangchen thought for a moment before saying, “As the general mentioned earlier, it’s the powerful elites who defected to Southern Tang. They defected precisely because they opposed the general, so it’s only natural to target them. I think the general is already doing that. Another group are the large landowners, who are easy targets. I advise the general to go after them as well.”

“Are you referring to the temples?” Li Qing’an asked with a smile.

“That’s right—the temples!”

Seeing that Li Qing’an understood his point, Ji Guangchen also smiled and said, “Since the time of Wu Zetian, temples have been occupying more and more land, to the extent that it rivals the land held by the imperial family and powerful elites. They are a major problem for the Tang Dynasty. Starting from the first year of Tianbao, Li Longji promoted Taoism and suppressed Buddhism, aiming to restrict temple land seizures. But his efforts failed. Not only were temple land seizures not curbed, but Taoist monasteries also began occupying land, causing great suffering to the people. Emperor Jingzong started restricting land ownership, but only targeted the imperial family and powerful elites, without yet addressing the temples and Taoist monasteries. Therefore, I advise the general that after restricting the land of the powerful elites and the imperial family of Southern Tang, he should start targeting the temples across the country. This way, it can ease land consolidation without arousing hatred from the prominent families. What does the general think?”

Ji Guangchen actually had selfish motives. His Ji family was a prominent clan in Luoyang, and he was well aware of the concerns of their class regarding the future. They feared that Li Qingan’s new policies would affect their interests, and if that happened, they would surely rise up to resist Li Qingan’s regime. Ji Guangchen supported Li Heng to a large extent because Li Heng had clearly promised to protect the interests of their class. As a representative of these prominent clans, Ji Guangchen naturally hoped to have the chance to persuade Li Qingan or at least convey the views of his class. Today was his first appointment after surrendering, yet he inadvertently got this opportunity, so he seized it to express his wishes to Li Qingan.

For Li Qingan, it was not the first time someone had raised this issue—families like the Pei, Cui, Lu, and Du Gu clans had all expressed similar concerns, hoping that Li Qingan’s new policies would not affect them too much. Today, Ji Guangchen was merely repeating what many others had said, but his words proved effective.

Just as quantitative changes eventually lead to qualitative changes, Ji Guangchen’s words were the first persuasion Li Qingan received after he began to strive for control over the Central Plains, forcing him to pause and consider his next political moves.

After seeing Ji Guangchen and Li Guangbi off, Li Qingan stood with his hands behind his back in front of the tent door. He gazed at the stormy night, his mind filled with thoughts. Throughout history, any political party or powerful figure who wanted to seize power had to rely on one class while suppressing another. What class did Li Qingan need to rely on?

“Should I rely on the peasant class?”
Li Qingan shook his head. Throughout history, those who seized power always exploited the peasant class rather than relying on them. The Liu-Han, Li-Tang, Zhao-Song, and Zhu-Ming dynasties were all the same. But just as it’s difficult to seize power by force, it’s equally hard to maintain it. The Qin dynasty failed to adapt to the times—it overthrew the aristocratic class of the Warring States period but failed to cultivate a new class to rely on. Its tyranny lost the people’s support, and it was exploited by the old aristocracy, leading to its downfall after just two emperors. The Sui dynasty was similar. Emperor Wen of Sui established the system of three departments and six ministries with the aim of completely breaking down the aristocratic system that had existed since the Han and Jin dynasties. However, this violated the interests of the prominent clans. Without establishing a new class to rely on, all the powerful families rebelled, causing the Sui dynasty to fall after just two emperors. Eventually, the Li-Tang dynasty reaped the benefits sown by Emperor Wen of Sui.

History, with its resolute and irreversible stance, told Li Qingan that the past is gone, and only the future can be pursued. Acting in line with the trends was the wise choice for him. By relying on powerful families to undermine the Li Tang royal clan, he could then establish a new class to break down those aristocratic families. And as long as he won over the peasant class, those aristocratic families would have no basis to rebel against him. This was his world.