Chapter 459: Arresting the Spy

Lin Jian originated from the Yulin Army and was a trusted general under the former Yulin Army commander Chen Xuanli. He had risen to become the fourth most powerful figure in the Guanzhong Army, proving he was not reckless or foolish. How could he not know that the Pei family was currently surrounded by powerful figures? Being too aggressive would offend many people. But since he had received orders from Li Heng to disrupt the Pei family’s celebration, Lin Jian had no choice but to venture into their home despite his reservations.

Yet in front of Li Qingan, Lin Jian still felt uneasy. He realized he had said something wrong earlier. How could he dare to suggest killing everyone without hesitation in front of Li Qingan’s personal guards? He had witnessed Meng Yun’s death firsthand and could never forget the gruesome scene.

Lin Jian quickly bowed and said, “Reporting to the general, I was sent by the Regent to arrest a spy. Out of urgency, my words were inappropriate. Please forgive me, General!”

“A spy?”

Li Qingan slowly walked to the entrance of the hall and snorted, “Who is the spy?”

“Reporting to the general, Wei Jiansu, the Deputy Minister of War, is the spy!”

At these words, the hall erupted in chaos. All eyes turned to Wei Jiansu, who was sitting in the first row in the middle of the hall with his wife. Ever since Lin Jian appeared, he had been sweating profusely, sensing that Lin Jian was referring to him. Could something have happened to butler Liu?

When Lin Jian named him, Wei Jiansu’s face turned pale, and he lowered his head deeply. Whispers filled the hall—was Wei Jiansu really a spy? Whose spy? Apparently, he was Li Longji’s spy.

At that moment, several key members of the Pei family sitting beside Pei Kuan looked extremely upset. At such a crucial moment for Pei Kuan’s birthday, the arrival of the Guanzhong Army to disrupt the celebration was undoubtedly a heavy blow. Pei Min was furious and about to stand up, but Pei Zunqing held him back.

“Don’t step in. Let Pei Lian handle it!”

Jiang was indeed experienced. Pei Zunqing reacted quickly. As the Right Prime Minister, if Pei Min stepped in, it could be seen as abusing his power to obstruct military affairs. It was better to have Pei Lian handle it.

Pei Lian nodded and quickly left the hall. He approached Li Qingan and bowed to Lin Jian, saying, “General Lin, today is my father’s 75th birthday. Could you do the Pei family a favor and wait until after the celebration to make the arrest?”

Without waiting for Lin Jian’s reply, he immediately ordered, “Someone, assign a seat for General Lin.”

“This…”

Lin Jian was in a dilemma. He had been ordered to disrupt the Pei family’s celebration, so he certainly wouldn’t give them face. But Li Qingan was standing right there! He didn’t dare act rashly.

Li Qing’an remained silent, staring coldly at the man, waiting to see what he would dare to do in front of him. He had just spoken with Wei Huan in the morning, and now in the afternoon, Li Heng wanted to arrest Wei Jiansu—this was clearly aimed at Li Qing’an, to slap him in front of thousands of high-ranking officials. Didn’t you, Li Qing’an, want to support the Pei family? Well, I’ll ruin the Pei family’s plans.

Lin Jian didn’t dare be reckless in front of Li Qing’an. Just as he was about to use Pei Yi’s words to back out, Wang Gong stepped forward and said, “General Lin, you can’t just claim someone is a spy based on your words alone. Do you have any evidence?”

“Evidence? Yes! I do!”

Lin Jian quickly took out a letter and said, “This is a letter written by Wei Jiansu to the former emperor in Chengdu. We also intercepted military documents he was planning to send to Chengdu—these are all military secrets. The evidence is conclusive!”

With a wave of his hand, several soldiers carried in a box. When it was opened, it was filled with documents, along with two of Wei Jiansu’s servants and stablehands tied up.

“What’s going on?”

Wang Gong frowned and said to Li Qing’an, “General, the evidence is conclusive. I can’t stop this.”

Li Qing’an sneered and said, “Since the evidence is conclusive, go ahead and arrest him. I’m just the governor of Anxi; I can’t interfere in matters in Chang’an, right, Prime Minister Wang?”

After saying that, he gave a signal to his bodyguards, who immediately stepped aside to clear a path, clearly allowing Lin Jian to arrest him. Lin Jian dared not act rashly. He looked at Wang Gong in distress, who was also hesitant. If Li Qing’an intervened to stop the arrest of Wei Jiansu, he could order Lin Jian to proceed forcefully. But since Li Qing’an stepped aside, Wang Gong had some concerns. However, if he gave in now, he wouldn’t be able to undermine Li Qing’an or the Pei family. The arrest had to happen.

Just as Wang Gong was about to order the arrest, Wei Jiansu stood up. He took a deep breath and said, “The north is still part of the Tang Dynasty, and the south is also part of it. There’s no such thing as a spy. If you call me a spy, I won’t argue. I’ll just go with you. Don’t ruin Elder Pei’s birthday celebration.”

With that, he stepped forward and said to Lin Jian, “Let’s go! I’ll come with you.”

Lin Jian glanced at Wang Gong, who nodded and said, “National law must be followed. We have no choice but to temporarily inconvenience Deputy Wei.”

Lin Jian waved his hand, and two soldiers immediately stepped forward, grabbing Wei Jiansu’s arms from both sides and leading him away. Lin Jian bowed to Li Qing’an and said, “General, I’m merely carrying out orders. Please forgive me.”

Li Qing’an said nothing, and Lin Jian felt uneasy, so he had no choice but to leave. It wasn’t until they were far away that Li Qing’an smiled faintly and said, “Now I understand—so the army can also arrest ministers.” He glanced at Wang Gong mockingly, then turned with a smile and said, “Distinguished guests, this little incident shouldn’t overshadow Grand Preceptor Pei’s birthday celebration. We suggest that the prime ministers in the Council of State raise a toast to Grand Preceptor Pei collectively. In a moment, the Emperor himself will come to wish Grand Preceptor Pei a happy birthday. Please wait patiently.” Zhang Yun stood up first and said with a smile, “The general has a point. Grand Preceptor Pei is also an elder in the Council of State. We should offer him a toast.” As music played, the atmosphere in the hall became lively again, but Wang Gong felt heavy-hearted, still thinking about what Li Qing’an had said earlier. “So the army can also arrest ministers!” He suddenly realized that sending the Guanzhong Army to arrest Wei Jiansu had been a mistake. …… The news of the Guanzhong Army arresting people at Pei’s birthday banquet quickly spread throughout Chang’an. It undoubtedly became a highly interesting topic. Some curious people described the events in vivid detail: thousands of powerful figures in Chang’an were celebrating Pei Kuan’s birthday when, at the climax, the Guanzhong Army stormed in and arrested Wei Jiansu, the Deputy Minister of War. Li Qing’an and Wang Gong clashed, and the conflict ended with Wei Jiansu surrendering. Although Pei Kuan’s birthday celebration continued, and the young emperor even came specially to wish him a happy birthday, it seemed the celebration wasn’t affected. Yet anyone with eyes could see that the Guanzhong Army’s bold move to arrest people during the banquet was itself a slap in the face to the Pei family. As for Li Qing’an, his failure to protect Wei Jiansu was undoubtedly a setback to his reputation, likely deterring many noble families from joining him. They would wonder just how capable Li Qing’an really was in politics. But many people knew that Wei Jiansu’s arrest was just the beginning, not the end. Given Li Qing’an’s style, he would surely launch a fierce counterattack. As night fell, Pei’s birthday banquet had long ended, but the drama surrounding Wei Jiansu’s arrest had just begun. In Quchi Fang, a carriage slowly drove out of the neighborhood gate, heading toward Fuxia Gate. Inside the carriage, Wei Tao looked worried. He had returned from Pei’s residence not long ago before boarding the carriage and leaving the city. Wei Tao was worried about the future of the Wei family. After nearly a decade of hardships, the Wei family had suffered repeated setbacks. Now, with Wei Jiansu’s arrest, the family’s last high-ranking official had also fallen, and the Wei family would face an unprecedented crisis.

After returning to his mansion, Wei Tao immediately went to see a few of Wei Jiansu’s trusted aides to understand the situation. It turned out to be true—Wei Jiansu indeed planned to defect to Chengdu. Li Longji had promised him the position of prime minister, and Wei Jiansu was also preparing to send military information from Guanzhong to Chengdu. That was the serious issue. Wei Tao believed that almost half of the court officials would be bribed by Li Longji and collude with him to secure their own backs. No one could be completely clean in this matter.

But for someone like Wei Jiansu to hand over military secrets to Li Longji was extremely rare. Wei Tao couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. If not for this, Li Heng wouldn’t have dared to arrest people outright based on just a letter. Otherwise, Wei Jiansu’s crimes would have been firmly established.

Yet Wei Tao still had a glimmer of hope. When the arrests took place in the funeral hall, Li Heng made a mistake—he used the troops from Guanzhong to make the arrests. Although the troops from Guanzhong were the victims, they didn’t have the authority to do so; it should have been the Jinwu Guard who carried out the arrests. This flaw wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t trivial either. If Li Qing’an had taken advantage of it at that time, Wei Jiansu wouldn’t have been captured. But Li Qing’an gave up that opportunity.

Wei Tao believed Li Qing’an must have realized the mistake the other side had made, but he failed to seize it to counterattack. What did that mean? It meant that to some extent, Li Qing’an also wanted Wei Jiansu to be captured. Perhaps he wanted to use this opportunity to win back the Wei family’s support, or he might have other plans. Either way, Li Qing’an surely wouldn’t stand by idly; he must have a backup plan. If Wei Tao went to see him, there might still be a chance to turn things around.

The carriage left the mansion’s gate. After a brief inspection, it left Chang’an city and headed toward the camp of the Anxi Army outside Mingde Gate.

……

Li Qing’an usually stayed in the military camp. After the Pei family’s banquet, he didn’t stay at the Pei mansion for long and quickly returned to the camp. As soon as he arrived, he ordered people to bring Cui Guangyuan and Cui Ping over.

Both Cui Guangyuan and Cui Ping were descendants of the Boling Cui family. They were also key figures of the Cui family within Li Qing’an’s faction. In fact, besides them, there was also Cui Yi in Anxi, who served as the chief inspector of the Anxi Supervision Office and was also a descendant of the Cui family.

At that moment, Cui Guangyuan and Cui Ping were sitting in the main tent, while Li Qing’an was informing them of an important decision.

“I’ve called you here to make it clear that I plan to assign you both as local officials and have you leave Chang’an temporarily. I wonder what your thoughts are—where do you want to go? Tell me, and I’ll arrange it for you.”

Seeing the puzzled expressions on the two men’s faces, Li Qing’an smiled and said, “I know you might not be able to accept this right away, but this has indeed been my idea for a long time. It’s just that I’ve only made up my mind today. You are all my people, and naturally, you will be given important roles in the future. So, letting you leave Chang’an is only a temporary measure. In at most two or three years, you will return to Chang’an. What do you say? Are you willing to follow my arrangements?”
Although Cui Guangyuan was several years older than Cui Ping, they were peers. In terms of legitimate bloodline, Cui Ping was slightly more legitimate than Cui Guangyuan, as Cui Guangyuan belonged to a lesser branch of the Cui family.
The two exchanged a glance and then stood up to bow, saying, “We are willing to follow the General’s arrangements!”
“Sit, sit down!”
Li Qing’an quickly waved his hand and smiled, saying, “I’d like to hear your own ideas first. If they align with my plan, I’ll arrange things according to your suggestions.”
He glanced at Cui Guangyuan and said, “Cui Guangyuan, you go first!”
Cui Guangyuan was currently the governor of Jingzhao, but this position was among the most difficult to hold in the imperial court. Officials usually didn’t serve long there, as they easily offended the powerful and became scapegoats in power struggles. The average tenure was about a year. Those who performed well could continue to rise and become high-ranking local officials, while those who failed would sink and find it hard to recover.
Cui Guangyuan had been the governor of Jingzhao for nearly a year. With the Anxi Army and the Guanzhong Army dividing control over Guanzhong, his power had been undermined. It was time for him to leave, so he had been considering new opportunities. Cui Guangyuan’s greatest ambition was not to be a civil official but to command the armies and become a regional warlord. Long ago, when he was the magistrate of Chang’an County, he had already expressed this desire to Li Qing’an. Now that Li Qing’an had brought it up, he pondered for a moment before saying, “General, I hope to switch to a military position and become a provincial governor, commanding the armies.”
Historically, although Cui Guangyuan held the title of Jienan Military Governor and participated in battles against An Qingxu, he was not a very competent commander. Though he had great ambitions in the military, he was not suited for leading troops. His actions in history revealed certain flaws—overconfidence, impatience, and overambition with insufficient skills. Of course, Cui Guangyuan might have had his strengths, but the rule of the Anxi Army was “rise through battle.” Those who hadn’t gone through actual combat couldn’t be entrusted with independent command. Although Li Qing’an didn’t know the details of history, he would not break the rules of the Anxi Army.

Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “Your demands aren’t high, so they should be achievable. Still, I hope you won’t change careers for now. Go to Taiyuan and serve as its governor to stabilize the situation there for me. Resign as the governor of Jingzhao tomorrow and head to Taiyuan to take up your post. Your appointment letter will arrive in Taiyuan at the same time. Of course, I’ll also satisfy part of your desire to serve in the military—you can also serve as the Commander in Charge of Agricultural Affairs in Hedong, responsible for the military’s provisions and logistics, and oversee some logistical troops. What do you think?”
“I shall obey!”
Cui Guangyuan hesitated for a moment before asking, “Then who is the governor of Hedong?”
Li Qing’an pointed at himself and smiled, “I am the governor, but I only oversee it remotely and don’t get involved in specific military affairs. The actual military affairs are handled by Lei Wanchun, the governor of Yunchou, who is also the deputy governor of Hedong.”
“I understand. I’ll leave tomorrow.”
Li Qing’an nodded and smiled, “Go home first and pack your things. I’ll talk to Cui Ping.”
Cui Guangyuan bowed and left. Only Li Qing’an and Cui Ping remained in the tent. Back then, Cui Ping had used Li Qing’an’s connections to get a position as the county magistrate of Xuyi in order to buy a house. Soon after, Li Qing’an recommended him for promotion to the governor of Sizhou. Before he knew it, he had become one of Li Qing’an’s closest confidants, even closer than Cui Guangyuan. Now, Cui Ping held the position of vice minister of the Ministry of Works, making him a mid-to-high-ranking official.
Cui Ping was the nephew of Cui Qiao and belonged to the legitimate branch of the Cui family from Boling. However, his status within the family wasn’t high. Because of his close relationship with Li Qing’an, he was also ostracized by the Cui family. Last year, during the family ancestral ceremony, he wasn’t even invited, a punishment that could be considered extremely severe. As a result, Cui Ping had been depressed ever since. He knew the problem stemmed from his closeness to Li Qing’an. Yet, he stuck to his principle of staying close to Li Qing’an, believing that his fortunes would turn someday.
The tent fell silent. Li Qing’an took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “I heard you couldn’t attend the ancestral ceremony last year. Were you very disappointed?”
Cui Ping nodded and sighed, “Only those who commit crimes are punished by being excluded from the ancestral ceremony. I really don’t understand why they would treat me like this. I’m extremely disappointed.”
“As the saying goes, things change over time—nothing remains constant. You must believe in your own choices. Even though the Cui family won’t allow you to attend the ceremony now, one day they will respectfully invite you back to preside over it. And that day isn’t far off.”

At this point, Li Qing’an added, “The reason I asked you and Cui Guangyuan to leave Chang’an today is that I have some matters to attend to. Staying in Chang’an would be detrimental to you. I can’t tell you what those matters are for now, but you’ll find out soon enough.”
Cui Ping nodded silently. “I understand.”
“Very well! First, tell me what you think. What do you want to do?”
After a moment of thought, Cui Ping replied, “I want to serve as an official in Anxi.”
Li Qing’an was taken aback, then laughed and said, “You truly have good judgment. My plan for you is similar. For now, you will serve as the Pacification Commissioner and Deputy Governor of Hexi, in charge of administrative affairs there. Especially now, you must ensure the safe arrival of the first batch of 50,000 immigrants from Henan Province in Anxi.”
“I understand. I will set off for Hexi tomorrow.”
“No! You don’t need to rush to Hexi. Go to Huazhou first. I just received news that the first batch of immigrants, about 7,000 households, has arrived in Huazhou. These people are actually disaster victims from the four provinces of Zheng, Bian, Song, and Chen. It was not easy for them to come from Henan. Although they received assistance from local authorities along the way, I’m worried that the elderly and weak among them may not be able to endure the long journey. In previous years, many elderly and weak people died during the migration from Hedong. The responsibility on your shoulders is immense. If you can safely deliver these 50,000 immigrants to Anxi, I will consider it a great achievement for you.”
Cui Ping bowed respectfully and said earnestly, “I understand!”
Li patted his shoulder and smiled, “Go! Remember my words: Mountains may not move, but water does. The Cui family will surely regret their decision to prevent you from participating in the ancestral rites.”
Cui Ping left, and Li Qing’an picked up his teacup and sipped slowly, sorting out his next steps in his mind. Today, Li Heng had seized Wei Jiansu in front of him. Regardless of whether Wei Jiansu had defected to Li Longji or not, Li Heng and his allies’ intention was clear—they wanted to teach the Pei family a lesson by forcing them to side with them, and also to intimidate other powerful families by punishing the Wei family. If he, Li Qing’an, truly stayed silent, he would be a great disappointment.
A counterattack was inevitable. The key was how to carry it out—through patience, waiting, and determination. If he didn’t attack, that was one thing; but if he did, he had to make Li Heng cry out in pain.
At that moment, a report came from outside the door from his personal guards, “General, Wei Tao requests an audience!”