Chapter 700: Serving with Peace of Mind

The good news of the full restoration of Hebei swept across the entire Tang Dynasty. Every province and county celebrated the victory, with people spontaneously taking to the streets to play drums and bells, sing, and dance. At night, every household lit lanterns usually used only on the Lantern Festival, creating a dazzling display that turned the rivers and mountains of Chang’an into a scene as bright as day.

The capital, Chang’an, was also in an uproar. Millions of people celebrated the victory in their own ways—firecrackers exploded continuously, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children sang together, drums and bells rang in the streets, lion dances took place, and groups of musicians and dancers appeared on the streets, singing and laughing. Entire Chang’an was immersed in the joy of victory.

Yet beneath this joy lay a hint of sorrow. The news of Li Siyeh’s death shocked the court and the people. The imperial court suspended meetings for three days in mourning. The empress dowager promptly issued an order to confer the title of Prince of Wuwei on Li Siyeh and allow his son to inherit the title.

The Tang court also announced the construction of a tomb for the loyal and brave soldiers who had died while expanding the empire’s territory or suppressing the An Lushan Rebellion.

Daming Palace was quiet due to the suspended meetings, but meetings in the Hall of Government continued. After a full morning of discussions, a carriage left Daming Palace and headed swiftly toward Prince Zhao’s mansion, where Li Qing’an resided.

Inside Li Qing’an’s private study, it was very quiet. A bronze incense burner in the corner emitted thin trails of smoke, filling the room with a faint sandalwood scent. The light was dim, with curtains drawn, allowing only a sliver of light from the corner to reveal the surroundings.

At that moment, the study door opened gently. Li Qing’an’s concubine, Rushi, entered quietly, carrying a bowl of ginseng tea. On the large soft chair in the study, Li Qing’an was still asleep. He had stayed up all night and only fallen asleep early in the morning. A document from Anxi had slipped to the floor, along with the blanket covering him.

Rushi quickly set down the bowl and knelt to pick up the blanket, gently covering him. But Li Qing’an suddenly woke up. “Oh! What time is it?”

He felt a severe headache and tried to sit up. Rushi quickly held him down and said softly, “It’s just dawn. Sleep a little longer!”

In fact, it was already noon. Seeing how exhausted Li Qing’an was, Rushi couldn’t bear to tell him the truth. She touched his forehead—it was scorching hot. She was shocked. “My lord, are you sick?”

“Seems so.”

Li Qing’an also felt not only a headache but also severe pain in his muscles. It seemed like symptoms of a cold, probably from catching a chill while sleeping.

“It’s all my fault; I shouldn’t have let you sleep in the study!”
Ru Shi hurriedly wrapped Li Qing’an in a blanket while lamenting, “I’ll go get a doctor for you right away!”
She rushed to leave, but Li Qing’an called her back, “Don’t call a doctor. Just make me a bowl of ginger soup—thicker—and I’ll be fine after resting a bit.”
Seeing Ru Shi still hesitant, he emphasized, “I don’t want a doctor. Anything else will do.”
“I understand. I’ll have the kitchen make you a bowl of ginger tea!”
Ru Shi stepped out quickly. Li Qing’an moved slightly to make himself more comfortable, then picked up the official reports sent to him by Zhang Gao, the administrative officer of Anxi. He had only read half of them last night due to the dim light.
He struggled to get up, slowly walked to the window, and pulled back the curtains. Bright light streamed in, illuminating the entire room. He opened the window further, and a fresh spring breeze blew in, clearing his foggy mind. He took in deeply the sweet, fragrant air, allowing his body and mind to relax. The muscle pain he had felt moments ago disappeared instantly.
“Dalan!” Mingyue rushed in, her face full of concern. “Ru Shi said you’re sick?”
Ru Shi followed her in, carrying a bowl of ginger soup. It was originally meant for her sister Ru Hua, but she brought it to Li Qing’an first.
“Maybe it’s because the air wasn’t circulating well. I opened the window to ventilate, and I feel much better now.”
As soon as he said that, a cold breeze blew in, making him shiver. He sneezed loudly. Mingyue quickly closed the window and scolded him, “How can you open the window when you’re sick? That will let cold air in. You’re such an adult yet act like a child.”
A wife is different from a concubine. A concubine must consider the master’s mood and usually doesn’t dare to disobey if he wants to do something or not. But a wife has more authority. Mingyue helped Li Qing’an lie down on a soft chair, pulled the curtains shut, fetched bedding to cover him, and ordered Ru Shi, “Hurry and find someone to bring Doctor Wang. He’s not prone to illness, but once he gets sick, it’s serious. We can’t afford to delay!”
With Mingyue’s support, Ru Shi ignored Li Qing’an’s desperate eye signals, nodded, and left.
Li Qing’an sighed, “Mingyue, I’m setting out on a mission in two days. Your fussing will delay important matters!”

“Who said I’m delaying important matters? It’s you who refuses to see a doctor that’s causing delays!” Perhaps thinking of her husband about to go on a military campaign, Mingyue was filled with worry. Her anxious tone naturally became a bit harsh. “You can still move now, but what about the day after tomorrow? What if you get too sick to get out of bed? Have you forgotten? That year in Suiye, when you returned from Huoxun Country, your arrow wound flared up, and you were unconscious for two days straight, scaring everyone. Not to mention we were almost terrified to death, dozens of civil and military officials in Anxi also stayed outside your door all night, worried. Have you forgotten all of that?”
Li Qing’an smiled bitterly in resignation. “That was an injury, not an illness. They’re different.”
“For me, they’re the same!” Mingyue’s tone grew agitated. “My point is simple: you’re my husband, and I’m in charge of your health. Don’t argue with me!”
Seeing his wife’s emotional distress, Li Qing’an knew it was because he was going on a campaign—lasting at least half a year. She was heartbroken and couldn’t sleep well for days. Now that he was sick, her anxiety and worry erupted. Full of guilt, he took her hand and said softly, “I promise you. This is my last campaign. From now on, I’ll stay with you and the children.”
Mingyue was stunned. Her husband understood her feelings. She bit her lip gently, feeling her nose sting and her eyes moisten. Li Qing’an reached out to wipe away the tears at the corners of her eyes and smiled, “Why are you crying?”
“Dalang, can’t you avoid going on the campaign yourself?”
Mingyue could hold back no longer. She buried her face in Li Qing’an’s chest and sobbed softly. “Do you know? I’ve been so worried that I can’t sleep for days. Even in my dreams, I see you shot by the Uyghur’s poisoned arrows… waking me up in fright. But I dare not say anything, as it’s considered inauspicious. Dalang, you’re the pillar of our family and of the Tang Dynasty. Can’t you just stay?”
The death of Li Siyeh had terrified Mingyue to the extreme. Only then did she realize that even commanders could die in battle. She had heard the soldiers say more than once that Li Qing’an, to boost morale, sometimes would don armor himself and lead the charge at the front. This made her even more afraid.
The day after tomorrow, Li Qing’an would set off on his campaign. The fear and worry weighed heavily on her, making it hard to breathe. But as a princess, she couldn’t show any signs in public. She had to keep it all bottled up inside. At this moment, she could hold back no longer.

Li Qingan gently stroked his wife’s hair. He could feel the deep love and care she had for him. Over the years of marriage, though they sometimes had disagreements, he had to admit that everything she did was for his own good. Mingyue was truly the best wife a man could ask for.

At that moment, footsteps were heard outside. Mingyue quickly wiped away her tears and stood up. Someone at the door reported, “My lord, Prime Minister Zhang requests an audience!”

Mingyue frowned. She looked at Li Qingan—her husband was sick now. Could he really receive him? Li Qingan smiled and said, “It’s fine. I actually need to talk to him too. Please let him in.”

Mingyue sighed. She knew that although Li Qingan was sick, it wouldn’t be a problem to meet with the prime minister. What worried her was that after the meeting, a bunch of tasks would likely follow immediately.

With no choice, she said, “Please ask the prime minister to wait in the outer study.”

No one else was allowed in Li Qingan’s inner study except Mingyue and Rushi. Of course, exceptions did occur—for example, Mingzhu had once sneaked in and taken a gold medal for self-protection.

……

Zhang Yun was invited to the outer study. As he sipped tea, he pondered the situation. It was becoming increasingly clear that Li Qingan’s ascension to the throne was only a matter of time. But the clearer things became, the more uneasy Zhang Yun felt. He had become the right prime minister because he was a powerful moderate who could keep the court stable. That’s why Li Qingan valued him. But what would happen after that?

It was obvious that Li Qingan intended to rely heavily on his son, Zhang Zhijie, as compensation. But his son was still young—there would be at least another twenty years before he could become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty. Would their Zhang family be left without power during those twenty years? And it would be the most critical twenty years yet.

More importantly, would Li Qingan’s promises hold for twenty years?

These concerns kept Zhang Yun awake day and night. As Li Qingan was about to go on an expedition, he could no longer hold back. He used the pretext of discussing military preparations to test Li Qingan’s stance.

At that moment, the door to the study opened, and Li Qingan came in from outside. He had changed into looser clothes. Though unwell, he could still manage to meet with one or two ministers. If there were too many, he would surely collapse.

“Your humble servant pays respects to Your Highness!”
Zhang Yun stood up and bowed to Li Qingan. Using the phrase “your humble servant” as a form of address was once used only by a few ministers, but recently, more and more ministers, including Zhang Yun, had adopted it—it had almost become a common practice.

“I’ve kept Prime Minister Zhang waiting for so long!”
Li Qing’an replied in a deep voice. Zhang Yun asked in surprise, “Is Your Highness ill?”
“Mm! I fell asleep in the study last night and feel a bit unwell.”
“It’s truly a sin of mine to disturb Your Highness’s rest.”
“No problem!” Li Qing’an waved his hand and smiled. “I’m used to being busy. If I really had to rest, that would be the real trouble!”
Seeing that Li Qing’an was still in good spirits, Zhang Yun also sat down. Li Qing’an smiled and asked first, “How was this morning’s meeting in the Council of State?”
The agenda of that morning’s meeting was to borrow grain from the common people. Although the official granaries still had enough grain to support the campaign against the Uyghurs, a severe drought had struck Henan this year—there hadn’t been rain for 200 days already, and a poor harvest of summer crops was inevitable. Famine was on the verge of spreading. Additionally, Hebei also needed a large amount of grain for recovery. Thus, out of the 2 million dan in the official granaries, at most 500,000 dan could be allocated for this campaign.
For this campaign against the Uyghurs, Li Qing’an had mobilized nearly 300,000 troops, and it would last half a year. Considering transportation losses, at least 2 million dan of grain were needed, leaving a huge shortfall. The tax grain from Jianghuai wouldn’t arrive until autumn. Therefore, Li Qing’an proposed borrowing grain from the common people, to be repaid with cattle and sheep captured from the Uyghurs.
In fact, Li Qing’an had already taken precautions. The armies from Xinde and Tianzhu had brought another 2 million dan of grain, and the fleet had arrived in Guangzhou. Within a month at most, the fleet would enter the Yellow River and head straight to Luoyang, so there wouldn’t be a problem with grain.
However, Li Qing’an wanted more people to support the northern expedition and to participate in this campaign against the Uyghurs. That’s why he came up with the idea of borrowing grain, tying the interests of the common people directly to this campaign. In this way, his northern expedition would be in line with public opinion and gain more legitimacy.
Zhang Yun nodded. “The Council of State has unanimously approved the resolution. It will be put into effect tomorrow. Minister Pei will be fully responsible for this matter, borrowing grain from five regions: the capital area, Jiangnan, Guannei, and Hedong.”
“Is there no one who objects?”
Li Qing’an asked with a smile. With such a measure that disrupted the people, would all these prime ministers support it?
Zhang Yun shook his head smilingly. “The key is that Your Highness agreed to repayment. If it were unconditional support, I doubt it would pass. But with repayment, it’s different. Moreover, the items for repayment are clear—cattle, sheep, and other spoils of war. That way, no one has any objections.”

At this point, Zhang Yun sighed. “Today, Minister Pei said that during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the court also borrowed grain and horses from the people to attack the Xiongnu. Every household was forced to stop growing crops and plant grass to feed the Han army’s warhorses—only four mu of land could support one horse. The whole country suffered greatly in terms of labor and resources, with seven or eight out of ten of the nation’s wealth lost. Yet after defeating the Xiongnu and capturing large numbers of cattle, sheep, and warhorses, Emperor Wu refused to return them to the people, keeping them all as his own spoils. As a result, due to poor care, most of those cattle, sheep, and warhorses died within a single winter. This led to widespread public resentment, and from then on, no one was willing to support further campaigns against the Xiongnu. Therefore, this time, Your Highness must take Emperor Wu of Han as a lesson.”

Li Qing’an nodded in approval. If Pei Min or Yan Zhenqing had said these words, he wouldn’t have been surprised at all. But the fact that they came from Zhang Yun, a politician who had always prioritized personal interests, made them particularly significant. It showed that the court’s atmosphere was moving toward a positive cycle—excellent ministers influencing each other, allowing the good qualities within Zhang Yun to gradually emerge while his evil side faded away. This was indeed a promising sign!

“Prime Minister Zhang, I will set out on a northern campaign the day after tomorrow. I hope the Council of State will take on more responsibilities for the affairs of the court.”

“Your Highness, please go in peace. All the prime ministers in the Council of State wish for your swift return victorious!”

After finishing their official discussions, Zhang Yun gradually shifted the conversation to his real purpose for coming today. He asked tentatively, “I plan to formally submit my resignation as prime minister to the Council of State once Your Highness returns. What do you think?”

“Why resign when you’re doing so well?” Li Qing’an asked with a smile.

Zhang Yun’s heart pounded. He felt that Li Qing’an’s tone seemed to imply an attempt to keep him. He was extremely nervous but managed to control it and said slowly, “I feel that I am getting older, and my vigor is not what it used to be. I believe it’s time to step aside and give the position to younger ministers with more energy, so they can assist Your Highness in reviving the Tang Dynasty. That’s why.”

Li Qing’an laughed, as if hearing Zhang Yun say something childish. Of course, he understood Zhang Yun’s intentions. When he first chose Zhang Yun as the right prime minister, he had told him that he was only a temporary figure and wouldn’t be kept in the position forever, because he was too mediocre and cautious, lacking the vigor needed to revive the Tang Dynasty.

A year had passed, and he still remembered what he had said back then. His original judgment was correct—Zhang Yun was good at maintaining stability but lacked drive.

But time changes everything. A year was enough for him to fully understand this old politician.

Li Qing’an stood with his hands behind his back, gazing out the window. His wife wouldn’t let him breathe fresh air, but here he could breathe freely. After a long while, he slowly turned around and said calmly, “A delicious dish never uses just one seasoning. Whether it’s Yan Zhenqing or Cui Ning, Liu Yan or Wang Jin, or even Pei Min, they all share similar qualities—they are like a seasoning. But I still need salt or sugar, someone mature and steady, someone with experience who can keep things under control in critical moments. I’ve always thought that person was you, but I wasn’t sure until just now, when you mentioned the faults of Emperor Wu of Han. Now I’m certain—this person is you.” Li Qing’an smiled. “Please continue as you are; you are a qualified prime minister.”

……

Due to Li Siyeh’s unfortunate death in battle, Li Qing’an, the Grand General of the Tang Dynasty, decided to lead a campaign against the Uyghurs personally. On March 20th of the third year of the Qingping era, Li Qing’an held a grand northern expedition ceremony at the Zhuque Gate in Chang’an. Flanked by nearly ten million people from Chang’an who came to see him off, Li Qing’an, clad in golden armor and armed with a sword and spear, rode atop a tall Arabian white horse. Leading 100,000 Tang cavalry troops, he marched through Zhuque Street, left Chang’an, and set off for Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, Li Guangbi in the eastern region had gathered 150,000 troops in Youzhou, waiting for Li Qing’an’s order to launch the northern campaign. Li Sheng in Taiyuan had also assembled 50,000 elite troops, ready to set out at any moment.

In Lingzhou, the new governor of Shuofang, Duan Xiushi, had deployed 100,000 Shuofang troops along the Lingzhou-Hetao region to defend against Uyghur forces invading from within the pass.

To win this campaign aimed at completely eliminating the threat in the north, the Tang Dynasty mobilized the entire country. People from all over the Tang realm generously donated grain and money. In just half a month, 1.7 million strings of coins and 2.2 million dan of grain were donated, fully meeting the logistical needs of the Tang army.

On March 26th, Li Qing’an led his 100,000 troops to Taiyuan. There, he officially issued the order for the northern expedition. Li Guangbi led 150,000 cavalry troops through Juyong Pass and headed toward the Yin Mountains. On April 5th, Li Qing’an arrived in Yunchou, where he also led 150,000 cavalry troops out of Qingse Fort through the Great Wall and advanced toward the Yin Mountains.

By then, Li Qing’an had received intelligence that the Uyghur Khan Gele was also leading over 100,000 troops toward the Yin Mountains. As Li Qing’an had predicted, the Uyghurs’ first goal was not to attack the Tang Dynasty but to incorporate the 100,000 remaining troops of Shi Siming and his son, along with the 50,000 troops of the Puguo tribe.

Therefore, the direction they will attack the Tang Dynasty from in the future can only be Hedong Road or Hebei Road. The prefectures and counties in Hebei Road have been destroyed, while the prosperous Hedong Road will surely be the Uyghurs’ second target after taking in the Shi father and son.