Chapter 320: Cutting Off the Root Cause

Appointing princes to govern local areas has always been a significant concern for rulers throughout history. While it enables effective control over regions, prevents rebellions by disloyal subjects, and safeguards the ruling family’s hold on the state, its drawbacks are also evident.

The practice of enfeoffment during the Zhou Dynasty led to the centuries-long Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. In the early Han Dynasty, enfeoffment resulted in the Rebellion of the Seven Kings. Subsequent rulers learned from these lessons and tried their best to avoid such practices, until Zhu Yuanzhang’s enfeoffment at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, which quickly led to the Jingnan Campaign.

In the Tang Dynasty, enfeoffment occurred intermittently. At the beginning of the dynasty, Emperor Taizong Li Shimin appointed princes to govern local areas, but for only short periods. By the mid-Tang period, after the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, Li Longji fled west to Bashu and immediately appointed several of his sons to command troops in various regions, which soon led to the Rebellion of Prince Yong. Although Emperor Suzong suppressed the princes’ rebellions, the separatist warlords left over from the An Lushan Rebellion continued to cause problems for a century, ultimately leading to the downfall of the Tang Dynasty.

This time, Li Longji’s decision to appoint princes to govern local areas was a form of enfeoffment. Proposed by Yang Guozhong—whose intention was originally to balance the power of the crown prince—this idea was not opposed by other high-ranking officials, including Li Linfu. Li Longji accepted it because everyone recognized the severity of the crisis: the interior was defenseless with few troops, while military power was concentrated in border regions, where military governors held significant authority. Figures like An Lushan, Geshu Han, Li Qing’an, An Sishun, and Gao Xianzhi could cause serious consequences if any of them turned rebellious.

Among them, An Lushan and Geshu Han were the most concerning, as their troops were located very close to Guanzhong. However, directly seizing their military power seemed inappropriate. Thus, Li Longji adopted a more moderate approach. For An Lushan, whom he trusted, he did not appoint a prince to govern Hebei but instead strengthened the power of military supervisors. He also appointed Li Wan, the Prince of Rong, as the military governor of Hedong as a buffer.

Recently, favoring Wu Xianyi, Li Longji appointed Li Xuan, the youngest son of Wu Xianyi and the Prince of Xiliang, as the deputy military governor of Longyou to assist Geshu Han in commanding troops. He also appointed another son of Wu Xianyi, Li Qi, the Prince of Bian Ai, as the commander-in-chief of the Chanyu Protectorate and deputy military governor of Shuofang, stationed in Jiuyuan. This was essentially to monitor An Sishun, the military governor of Shuofang, while also commanding nearly 30,000 troops from the subdued northern tribes and 20,000 troops stationed in Jiuyuan. In reality, this was a step toward gradually seizing An Sishun’s military power.

Among all the military governors, the one who posed the least threat to the imperial court was the governor of the Five Prefectures in Lingnan, who commanded 15,000 troops. He Luguang, the governor, would travel over mountains and rivers every year to report to the court, and with eunuch Lü Taiyi overseeing the troops, the region remained stable, so Li Longji did not consider intervening there.

Next was the governor of Anxi. Due to its remote location, it had little influence over Guanzhong, so it should not have required a prince to be stationed there. However, the reality was quite the opposite. Li Longji’s greatest hatred now was directed at Li Qing’an, the governor of Anxi. He even sent his eldest son, the Prince of Qing, to take control of Anxi.

The reason was simple: the woman he had long desired was taken away by Li Qing’an. For Li Longji, who had amassed over 40,000 concubines in his lifetime, this was an utter humiliation. He had initially planned to use Li Qing’an to support his grandson, but on the night Li Qing’an married Du Gu Mingyue, his desire for revenge arose. He resolved to kill Li Qing’an and reclaim Du Gu Mingyue. If it weren’t for concerns about affecting the war against Tubo, Li Qing’an would have already died in Chang’an.

Now that the war against Tubo was over, Li Longji decided to act. He wanted to replace Li Qing’an with his eldest son, Li Cong, to command the 200,000 troops in Anxi.

But there was one thing he hadn’t anticipated: his eldest son, Li Cong, was completely unwilling to go to Anxi and was instead indulgent in pleasure, spending his days indulging in food and women.

A few months earlier, the Prince of Qing had sent a letter saying he was now stationed in Shazhou. Li Longji had no doubts about this and even felt relieved. Li Qing’an had launched the campaign in Anxi from Shazhou, indicating that his eldest son was also involved in the battle.

As soon as the battle ended, he eagerly sent a secret order to his eldest son. Knowing that relying solely on his eldest son was still risky, he also sent a secret order to Feng Changqing, the deputy governor of Anxi. After sending these two orders back to back, Li Longji began to wait eagerly for the day when Mingyue would reappear beyond the Tianshan Mountains.

……

Shazhou is what is now Dunhuang, but during the Tang Dynasty, its jurisdiction was much larger, including Lop Nur in present-day Xinjiang, which was also under its control. Dunhuang in the Tang Dynasty was far more prosperous than in later times. The Silk Road split at Yumen Pass: one route headed north to Beiting and Suiye, while the other went through Dunhuang along the southern route to Kucha or Yutian. At that time, Lop Nur was still an endless sea called Puchang Sea. There were numerous oases in the desert, home to many inhabitants, unlike today’s barren expanse. Oases were also very convenient for merchants.

Dunhuang was already a famous trading hub at that time, with prosperous commerce, a large population, and a climate much warmer and wetter than in later periods. For this reason, Li Cong found life in Dunhuang very comfortable. He led a carefree life in his palace, unattended by anyone, with five thousand soldiers protecting his safety so he had no worries about bandits. When he grew bored in the palace, he would go out into the streets to relax or ride a horse to explore the surroundings—living in great freedom, surrounded by large groups of soldiers for protection. The people in the streets would bow to him upon seeing him, greatly satisfying his sense of pride. It was nothing like Chang’an, where despite being the highest-ranking prince, no one paid him any attention, and he had to live in constant fear that his father would learn of his misdeeds. Here, with the mountains separating him from the emperor, he finally felt the joy of freedom. For the first time, Li Cong stopped complaining about being sent to Anxi; if possible, he even wanted to stay there for a long time.

But today, his dreams seemed about to shatter. At noon, outside the Prince Qing’s palace, a young eunuch who had come from afar and a dozen palace guards slowly stopped. The eunuch said to the guards, “Hurry and report to Prince Qing—the emperor has sent an imperial edict!”

The guards did not dare delay and rushed to inform Li Cong. Li Cong had just finished lunch and was enjoying himself with two beauties. He was about to take a nap when suddenly an imperial edict arrived, catching him off guard. Anxiously, he went outside the palace and saw a young eunuch he had never met before. The young eunuch stepped forward, knelt down, and bowed, saying, “Feng Sanfan, an official from the Linde Hall of Daming Palace, pays his respects to Prince Qing!”

“Eunuch Feng, rise!”

Li Cong looked at the eunuch skeptically. He had indeed never seen or heard of him before. As if sensing his confusion, Feng Sanfan smiled and explained, “Your Highness, I was originally in Taiji Palace. Since a group of eunuchs were transferred to the Eastern Palace and there was a shortage of staff, I was transferred to Daming Palace. I came to Dunhuang with Eunuch Xia. He couldn’t adapt to the climate in the Western Regions and fell ill in Zhangye, so I was sent to deliver the emperor’s edict.”

“I see!”
Only then did Li Cong understand. No wonder he had never seen him before—he must have been transferred from Taiji Palace. He knew Eunuch Xia—Xia Yangwen, the senior eunuch of the Linde Hall.

No longer suspicious, he took the edict. It was actually an imperial decree, as it was neither an imperial edict on yellow hemp issued by the Secretariat nor an imperial edict on white hemp issued by the Hanlin Academy. Instead, it was a decree written and issued by Li Longji himself, which could also be called a secret decree. By convention, such decrees had no legal force and were merely expressions of the emperor’s will.

Seeing such an imperial edict, Li Cong was even more shocked. He didn’t dare open it and hurriedly put it away, saying to Feng Sanfan, “Eunuch Feng, please wait a moment. I’ll read it first and then give you an answer.”

Li Cong rushed back to his room and opened the secret edict given to him by his emperor. He was stunned—his father had ordered him to investigate the customs and people in the River Region, take control of it, and secretly investigate whether Li Qingan was suspected of raising an army on his own. Li Cong inwardly groaned; traveling to the River Region wasn’t like taking a stroll around the city—it was a journey of thousands of miles that would take months. How could his father think of such a thing so casually? He had just gotten used to Dunhuang, and now he was being sent away again—was this trying to kill him?

But he didn’t dare disobey. He ordered someone to summon his advisor Yan Kai. Moments later, Yan Kai entered his room at a brisk pace, bowed, and said with a smile, “Your Highness, I heard there’s an imperial edict?”

“It’s not good news!”

Li Cong sighed and handed him his father’s secret edict. Yan Kai read it and frowned. “Why would it be a trip to the River Region?”

“Yes! My father wrote a few words in a fit of passion. It’s easy for him, but for me to go there, I’d have to cross countless mountains and rivers. Why doesn’t he think about my difficulties? The task of supervising the troops should be given to Bian Lingcheng!”

Li Cong felt a hint of resentment toward his father, and his tone lost some respect. Yan Kai pondered for a moment before saying with a smile, “Your Highness, I think this isn’t a bad thing at all—it’s actually a great opportunity!”

“A great opportunity?”

Li Cong was even more puzzled. “How so?”

“As Your Highness said, it’s clearly a task for a supervisor. Why send you? But if we examine it carefully, there are four words worth pondering: ‘take control of the River Region.’ What does that mean? If I’m not mistaken, it means Your Highness is to go to the River Region and establish a new state.”

“What?” Li Cong was shocked. He stood up abruptly, his fat face trembling as he stammered, “What does that mean? You want me to go to the River Region and establish a state?”

“Your Highness, calm down. Sit down and let me explain it to you slowly.”

Yan Kai smiled and invited Li Cong to sit down, then said leisurely, “In River Region, it’s not possible to establish prefectures and governors as in the Central Plains. The area is too remote; it takes half a year or more just to send and receive imperial documents. Moreover, it’s a settlement of the Sogdians. Since our Tang Dynasty has already taken control of this land with military force, we won’t manage it as a vassal state as before—otherwise, it will eventually be seized by the Arabs. So the options are either military rule or establishing a state. Long-term military rule would lead to de facto independence. Surely the Emperor has also considered this, which is why establishing a state is the best solution. Of course, it’s not about letting the Sogdians establish a state, but the Han people. Then who should be the king? Do you think it will be Li Qing’an?”
“How could it be him? This is my Li family’s realm. Though he is a prince, he has no connection to the imperial family. If a state is to be established, it should be led by a prince.”
Li Cong was already tempted. Yan Kai’s analysis hit the nail on the head. For over a decade, he had dreamed of ascending to the throne, but the position of emperor in the Tang Dynasty was ultimately out of his reach. His father preferred to let Changsun ascend the throne rather than let him, as the eldest son, take control of the imperial palace. He had given up hope, knowing he had no chance of becoming emperor. But now, a new opportunity suddenly appeared before him—establishing a state in River Region. Of course, it wouldn’t be as an emperor, but even as a king, what was the difference from an emperor?
Li Cong was so excited he almost shouted, “Long live my father!” He strongly restrained his excitement and asked in a trembling voice, “Sir, what should I do now?”
“Of course, you should go to River Region. The journey will be tough, but thinking of becoming emperor, I believe you can endure such hardship.”
“Good! I’ll follow your advice. I’ll set off right away. If I can become emperor, I will surely appoint you as prime minister.”
“Thank you, Your Highness. No! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
Yan Kai changed his address, which made Li Cong overjoyed. He stood up and said, “I’ll write a letter to my father now to express my stance.”
Yan Kai smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness, perhaps I should write this letter. After it’s written, you can review it and seal it with the imperial seal.”
Li Cong was too dizzy to write a letter. Since Yan Kai volunteered to do it, it was perfect. Without hesitation, he said with a smile, “Very well! Let you write it. Show it to me after it’s done, and once it’s sent, we’ll set off.”

Of course, in the afternoon, Li Cong’s reply was sent back to Chang’an. He then set off westward, as this was also the true order from Li Longji—he was not allowed to stay in Dunhuang and was ordered to return to Anxi. His five thousand guards naturally had to leave Dunhuang as well, but two thousand of them did not return to Anxi instead controlling the strategic pass from Anxi to Hexi, Xingxing Gorge.
…
Compared to the high efficiency of Prince He Qing, another secret order was much slower, as Feng Changqing was no longer in Kucha; he had been transferred to Yincheng to oversee the settlement of Tibetan herders. Li Qingan wanted to turn these Tibetans into slaves or prostitutes, but Feng Changqing could not bear it. Thus, settling these Tibetans became his responsibility. In a sense, Feng Changqing had “changed careers,” from a military commander to a civil official, busy leading a group of civil servants in settling these special immigrants who had left their homeland. Feng Changqing had no complaints—Persian prisoners of war had been exchanged for food, and Han people were reluctant to come to Yincheng to mine. These Tibetan herders were therefore the best labor force. Moreover, Li Qingan had agreed to allow them to mine for five years before letting them return to the Sabi Basin to continue herding.
It was this promise that gave hope to the sixty thousand Tibetan herders and prisoners of war who had left their homes. Feng Changqing took them to the distant Yincheng, where they began a new life as miners.
For months on end, Feng Changqing worked tirelessly in Yincheng. Most of these Tibetans were civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, so they could not be managed like Persian prisoners of war. Li Qingan authorized Feng Changqing to establish Yinzhou, and he served as both the governor of Yinzhou and its military commander. He demolished the old, dilapidated houses in Yincheng, built new houses, government offices, compiled household registers, transported food, established schools and pharmacies, and set up shops—all of which were Feng Changqing’s strengths. In this way, he effectively took on the role of a provincial governor.
One early morning, Li Longji’s secret order, after a long journey, finally reached Feng Changqing’s hands.