Chapter 417: The Unconventional Sword Move

Li Qing’an’s carriage was among an army of four hundred thousand. This time, he wasn’t riding a horse but was seated in an extremely spacious carriage, almost like a mobile room, pulled by twelve horses as they headed east. He worked inside the carriage the entire time. Besides him, there was his concubine Ruhua, who took care of his daily needs.

This was the same carriage that Ge Shu Han had given him years ago. It was lined with thick Persian carpets, one of the spoils of war. The walls were reinforced with wooden planks, and there were bedding and pillows, making it very comfortable. By the window stood a low, wide table with the four essential writing tools, along with a thick stack of documents. The carriage also had an inner room serving as a library, containing nearly a thousand books.

At that moment, Li Qing’an was reviewing documents sent from Anxi. His concubine Ruhua sat cross-legged in the inner room, deeply absorbed in reading. Having been with Li Qing’an for so many years, Ruhua had learned how to read and write and took control of the financial affairs in his household. On this journey, Li Qing’an had originally intended to have Wuyi accompany him eastward, but Wuyi preferred peace and didn’t want to travel around constantly. Mingyue thought this suited Ruhua’s personality, so she allowed her to go with him.

Li Qing’an finished reviewing a report, picked up his teacup, and brought it to his lips only to find it empty. He set the cup down and glanced back. Seeing Ruhua fully engrossed in her book, he shook his head with a wry smile. This girl claimed to be there to take care of him, but so far, she hadn’t even poured him a cup of tea—she was completely immersed in the world of books.

This couldn’t continue. He absolutely had to make her pour him a cup. Li Qing’an tapped the teacup gently on the table—no response. He tapped it again—still nothing. Finally, he coughed loudly and called, “Ruhua!”

Ruhua slowly raised her head, her eyes confused. She was still lost in the story. Li Qing’an pointed at the teacup and said with a smile, “Pour your husband a cup of tea!”

“Okay.”

Just as Ruhua was about to stand up, she let out an “Ouch!” and collapsed heavily, her brows furrowed in pain. “Big brother, my leg is cramping—it’s numb!”

“I’ll take a look!”

As Li Qing’an got ready to stand up, Ruhua waved her hands frantically in fear. “Don’t come! Please don’t touch me. It hurts more if you touch me.”

Li Qing’an knew well the feeling of leg cramps and numbness, and how painful it was to be touched. Yet some people liked to tease others by touching them. He had initially wanted to tease her too, but seeing her in such pain, he grew worried and asked, “What do you want me to do? I can help you.”

“As long as you don’t touch me.”

Pause. Ruhua said, “I’m a bit thirsty. Why don’t you pour me a cup of tea?”
…
The army was still ten miles away from Beiting City when a messenger on horseback rushed over from afar, holding a red letter tube above his head and shouting, “Urgent message from Chang’an!”
The personal guard took the letter tube and quickly went to the window, whispering, “General, an urgent message from Chang’an.”
Li Qing’an was drinking the tea he had poured for himself. Hearing the guard’s voice, he put down his cup, opened the window, and took the letter tube. It was red, indicating something extremely important. He quickly shook out the letter and slowly unrolled the thin sheet of paper. It read: Eighty thousand troops from Jiannan are marching toward Chang’an.
Li Qing’an was shocked. The deployment of troops from Jiannan meant the situation had escalated, with the conflict moving from behind the scenes to the open stage.
After pondering for a moment, he immediately ordered the guard, “Go and invite Mr. Yan here!”
Yan Zhuang was also in the army, riding in a carriage, though smaller than Li Qing’an’s, without any concubines to serve him. On this eastern campaign, he would act as a key advisor.
Soon, Yan Zhuang arrived in a hurry. Li Qing’an had him board the carriage. Once he sat down, Li Qing’an said, “Sir, there’s new developments in Chang’an.”
He handed him the pigeon message. Yan Zhuang quickly scanned it and was also shocked. Though it was within his expectations, he hadn’t expected it to happen so soon. He fell into deep thought.
By then, Ruhua had finally brought two cups of tea. She knelt down, placed the cups on the table, and apologized to Li Qing’an with a smile for pouring the tea earlier. Li Qing’an nodded and pointed to the inner room, signaling for her to continue reading.
The small door closed softly, and Ruhua left them alone. Yan Zhuang had emerged from his thoughts and said with a smile, “To be honest, this was within my expectations. Li Longji wants to regain his throne but has no support. He must turn to some of his sons. The Prince of Wu is too far away to be of any use, and the Prince of Jing has too few troops to rival the imperial army. Only the Prince of Shu, Li Liu, is shrewd and capable, skilled in leading troops, and has Gao Xianzhi as his ally. More importantly, he is powerful, commanding a hundred thousand troops. He has also adopted the militia system from Anxi and established a reserve force of another hundred thousand. In fact, Li Liu has two hundred thousand troops at his disposal, which is why Li Longji values him so much. I guess Li Longji must have made some promises to him—perhaps something like making him the crown prince—hence his eagerness to lead troops northward.”
“Then, sir, have you thought about how we should respond?”
“Does the general want to storm into Chang’an at once and step into the Hanyuan Hall?”

“No!” Li Qing’an shook his head firmly. “The time for me to seize power is not yet ripe. I won’t take over now, but I have decided to get directly involved in court affairs and stop standing by idly.”
“If that’s the case, the general’s first step should be to take control of Hexi. By moving his troops to Liangzhou and stationing them in Longyou, he’ll be close to Chang’an. I think that with a large army near Chang’an, anyone will take note of this powerful force in Anxi.”
Li Qing’an gently stroked his chin. Taking control of Hexi and Longyou would indeed be good—ideally without bloodshed.
…
Chang’an was in chaos at that time. The various royal families were at the center of turmoil. After the Princess of Huo’s residence was raided, Li Yu ordered the seizure of more than a dozen other residences belonging to princesses and princes notorious for land annexation, including those of Prince Qing and Prince Di. In doing so, Li Yu acquired a large amount of money and grain, filling his treasuries and granaries, thus immediately resolving the financial crisis.
Yet his political crisis deepened. The powerful royal families began to form alliances on a large scale, arming and training their retainers, while the court itself started to split. After Zhang Yun, two key officials, Yang Shenjin and Chen Xilié, resigned one after another. Yang Guozhong and Wang Gong also gathered their own followers, trading favors for political gain. They no longer trusted Li Yu. Affected by this, the court officials were panicked, and many stopped attending court and stayed at home.
Recruitment centers were everywhere in the provinces and counties of Guanzhong. Li Yu took a desperate gamble, acting like a gambler who had lost everything and cared nothing anymore. He used his resources to recruit troops on a massive scale. In just half a month, he gathered nearly 80,000 soldiers, bringing his total force to 180,000, who trained day and night.
Although the entire court and society were in turmoil, the markets in Chang’an remained calm. Li Yu seized nearly 5 million dan of grain from the large estates in Guanzhong. Apart from 2 million dan used for the army, the remaining 3 million dan were handed over to the Ministry of Revenue, under the full responsibility of the newly appointed minister, Pei Min. To stabilize grain prices in Chang’an, Pei Min released 400,000 dan of grain at low prices into the market, immediately bringing down the soaring prices. The price dropped to 150 wen per dou, the lowest it had been in over two years. The fall in grain prices brought peace to the people, and life in the various districts of Chang’an continued in an orderly manner, without any chaos.

In Xiling Alley on the west side of the Western Market, the former Rehai Izakaya has now become Li Qing’an’s stronghold in Chang’an. At this time, in Chang’an and the Guanzhong region, in addition to the nearly thousand members of the Hantang Club, another two thousand scouts were dispatched from Anxi. They were also special forces from Anxi, disguised as ordinary people. Under the cover of the Hantang Club, they infiltrated various counties near Chang’an—working as restaurant staff, tea shop clerks, escort gang members, or martial arts school students—playing various roles while actively cooperating with the Hantang Club to carry out various orders from the Anxi Internal Affairs Bureau.

Although Xiling Alley served as the headquarters for Chang’an’s intelligence agencies, pigeon communications did not take place here. It was close to the Western Market and had a large population, with frequent pigeon movements that could easily arouse suspicion. Pigeon communications usually took place in villages outside the city, where dedicated people were responsible for delivering messages.

That afternoon, a carriage rushed in and entered Xiling Alley. With a clatter, it stopped in front of a dark-painted gate. A young man jumped down from the carriage, stepped forward, and knocked loudly on the door. The door opened slightly, and the young man took out a copper plaque, flashed it, and slipped inside.

“Is Manager Hu here?” he asked in a low voice.

“Yes! But is it news from Anxi?”

The young man nodded. “It’s a red message tube—urgent!”

“Please follow me!” The man from the mansion led the young man quickly inside, passing through several gates until they reached the inner part of the mansion. He pointed to a room and said, “Manager Hu is holding a meeting inside. Go ahead by yourself!”

Manager Hu was actually Hu Peiyun, the head of the Anxi Internal Affairs Bureau in Chang’an. He had made great contributions in the battle over silver coins and had been promoted to lieutenant general, in charge of the more than three thousand members of the Anxi Internal Affairs Bureau in Chang’an.

At that moment, Hu Peiyun was discussing security measures with a dozen of his trusted subordinates. With so many people present, any carelessness could lead to exposure, so ensuring secure communication became an urgent priority.

Suddenly, a report came from outside the door, “Manager Hu, there’s urgent news from Anxi—a red message tube.”

A red message tube indicated extremely urgent information, usually sent under Li Qing’an’s orders and representing critical commands. With red pigeon messages arriving at such a tense time, Hu Peiyun naturally couldn’t afford to delay. He immediately ordered, “Bring it in!”

The young man entered and handed over a red bamboo tube. Hu Peiyun broke it open and poured out a thin roll of paper. He quickly unrolled it and saw Li Qing’an’s handwriting, containing just five words: “Execute An Qingzong immediately.”

An Qingzong was held in custody in An Lushan’s residence in Chang’an, located in Qinren Fang. It was a luxurious mansion bestowed upon An Lushan by Emperor Li Longji seven years earlier, covering 30 mu of land. With its high eaves and domed roofs, it met the standards of a prince’s residence. In fact, this mansion had originally belonged to Princess Yuzhen, Emperor Li Longji’s younger sister. After she became a Taoist priestess, the mansion fell vacant, and Li Longji gave it to An Lushan.

The mansion was exquisitely built, with pavilions, towers, and galleries in abundance. Strange flowers and exotic plants were everywhere, and artificial hills and ponds with fish could be seen throughout. Yet, despite its beauty, it was now as desolate as a haunted house, with no family members or servants—only 200 soldiers who kept An Qingzong imprisoned in a small courtyard in the back. An Qingzong, An Lushan’s eldest son, had originally intended to go to the capital to become a son-in-law and serve as a hostage. But Emperor Li Longji fainted in Shuofang and never regained consciousness, shattering An Qingzong’s dreams of becoming a son-in-law. Because An Lushan had seized Hedong, Li Yu, filled with anger, ordered An Qingzong to be imprisoned in An’s mansion. Initially, he was guarded by 500 soldiers and confined to a single room. But a month ago, definite news came from the palace that the emperor intended to use him as a bargaining chip to exchange for Prince Li Xi of Xiliang. As a result, his imprisonment was relaxed—he was moved from a room to a courtyard, the number of guards was reduced from 500 to 200, and two servants were assigned to serve him.

An Qingzong finally hoped to be released. He looked forward to that day every day. Unexpectedly, recent political upheavals led to open conflict between Li Yu and the late Emperor Li Longji, with house searches and confiscation of lands, plunging Chang’an into chaos. An Qingzong was forgotten once again.

At night, the soldiers continued to patrol outside An’s mansion as usual. Due to the tense situation in the court, Qinren Fang fell silent early, with every household closing its doors and few people on the streets. At that moment, the sound of a carriage approaching could be heard from afar. A carriage slowly drove up and stopped in front of An’s mansion. The two guards at the entrance were not surprised; this carriage had come every day for the past few days—it belonged to Li Dong, an imperial censor. After the court decided to use An Qingzong to exchange for Prince Li Xi of Xiliang, Li Dong was in charge of the operation. He had arranged for An Qingzong to be moved to a different residence and provided him with two servants. He hadn’t come for several days, so his return must imply some new arrangement. However, it was strange that he came at night.

The door opened, and Li Dong stepped down from the carriage, followed by a retainer—not the one from before, but a new face. Yet that wasn’t important; what mattered was the person behind him. Though this person wore a black robe, a conical hat, and a veil covering their face, the guard at the door recognized them at a glance—it was a young woman. Through the veil, her appearance must be quite beautiful.

Li Dong straightened his back and walked toward the gate step by step, with the retainer and the woman following behind. In truth, Li Dong shouldn’t have been able to straighten his back, as he carried heavy shackles. His two sons, wife, and mother had been kidnapped by a group of strangers and held as hostages. He had no choice but to follow their orders, otherwise, his family would be killed.

“Censor Li, what brings you here so late?” an officer stepped forward, bowing with a smile.

Li Dong nodded and whispered a few words in the officer’s ear, then pointed at the woman. Envy appeared in the officer’s eyes. The court thought of everything! Knowing that Emperor Anqingzong had been restless lately, they sent palace concubines to soothe him, yet no one thought of soldiers like them. Sigh!

“Censor Li, please come in!”

Li Dong gave a signal to the retainer and the woman and hurried inside.

Emperor Anqingzong was in his early thirties, overweight, and quite similar to his father. He hadn’t married yet because he wanted to become a son-in-law, so he remained single in Chang’an. He had been imprisoned for half a year, suffering greatly. Finally, his conditions had improved—from imprisonment to house arrest, with better food, shelter, and servants. But his illness troubled him. In Hebei, he needed women by his side every night. Now, having not seen a woman in over half a year, he struggled to sleep at night. He longed to get out and find dozens of women to enjoy himself with.

Just as he was about to go to bed, Li Dong’s voice came from outside, “Young Master An, have you rested?”

“N-no!”

Emperor Anqingzong was overjoyed. Might Li Dong’s arrival bring news? He rushed out to greet him. At such times, his vision was especially sharp. He immediately noticed the woman behind Li Dong. The woman had removed her veil, and indeed, she was as beautiful as a flower. Emperor Anqingzong was stunned. At that moment, even if it were an old sow, he would consider her as beautiful as Diao Chan.

He swallowed hard and said, “Censor Li, what brings you here so late?”

Li Dong whispered a few words in his ear, pointed at the woman, and smiled ambiguously. Emperor Anqingzong was overjoyed and repeated, “Please! Please! Please! Come in quickly.”

Li Dong crossed his arms and said to the woman, “Beautiful lady, I won’t go in. You go ahead! I’ll take you back later.”
The woman nodded and put her veil back down. But in the instant the veil was lowered, a terrifying killing intent flashed in her eyes.
The attendant also looked solemn and waited in the courtyard with Li Dong. From inside the room, only the woman’s laughter could be heard, followed by the extinguishing of the lights.
After what seemed like a long time, the door opened, and the woman stepped out, holding nothing in her hands, still wrapped in her black robe, though the hem of the robe was unusually wide.
“Is it done?” Li Dong’s voice trembled slightly.
The woman nodded calmly and said, “Young Master An has gone to sleep.”
“Alright! Let’s go.”
Li Dong led them out. At the door, they encountered an officer with a prominent face. He smiled ambiguously and said, “It’s already over so quickly?”
Li Dong chuckled and replied, “Young Master An is impatient and quite fat, so of course it’s faster. He’s already asleep; we shouldn’t disturb him.”
“Good! I’ll see you off.”
“No need! We’ll go on our own.”
Li Dong led the two of them away. The officer stared at the woman’s back, stroked his beard, and whispered with a smile, “Damn, this woman is so fat—such a big butt. What a shame!”
The three got into the carriage, which set off immediately. The woman took out a large round package from under her robe, handed it to the attendant, and sneered, “We’ve succeeded!”
“Great job!” the attendant praised with a thumbs up.
At that moment, Li Dong exclaimed in fear, “W-what should I do then? What about my family?”
The attendant handed him a packet of silver coins and said with a smile, “My master won’t mistreat you. Your family is in Xianyang. The exact address is in the packet. There’s also a copper plaque inside. Give it to the guards, and they’ll release your family. Then someone will take your whole family to Anxi. People as learned as Censor Li are welcome in Anxi.”
Li Dong took the small bundle, let out a long sigh of relief, and nodded. “Alright, I’ll leave Chang’an overnight.”
At that moment, the drums signaling the closing of the city gates sounded, and the carriage quickly left Qinren Fang and headed toward Chunming Gate.
“Why did you kill An Qingzong?”
“Censor Li is a learned man. You might want to guess.”
“Let me think… Ah! I get it.”
……