Chapter 461: Using Their Own Methods (Part 2)

By early August, half a month had passed since the arrest at the Pei family’s residence, and the incident was gradually being forgotten. Pei Jiansu, who had been captured, admitted to his crimes of colluding with the enemy. He was stripped of all his positions and imprisoned in the Dali Temple. Having achieved his goal, Li Heng ordered that the matter be downplayed, prohibiting anyone from mentioning it anywhere. Within half a month, it seemed to have become a distant memory.

That evening, long after the usual time for leaving the court, Li Heng was still busy in the Zichen Hall. The next day would be the grand court meeting of August, and he had to review the agenda for tomorrow’s meeting that very night and send it to officials of rank four or higher. Since Li Shi ascended the throne, he had been nothing but a puppet, with no power until he reached adulthood. The actual power in the Tang Dynasty lay in the hands of Regent Li Heng and the Political Council. Even before this power balance was established, Li Heng had conducted a series of negotiations with Li Qing’an, including regarding the court meeting system. There were two types of court meetings: fixed and ad-hoc. Ad-hoc meetings were held temporarily when major matters arose, with the scale determined by the Political Council. There were three types of fixed meetings: the minor meetings, held once every ten days and called “Xun Hui,” attended mainly by officials of rank five or higher; the intermediate meetings, held monthly and requiring the attendance of all officials; and the grand meetings, held annually, to which all officials of rank nine or higher in the capital must attend, including those not involved in official duties—primarily for annual congratulations, without involving actual governance matters, though it also covered personnel changes. It was more of a ceremonial affair, making the intermediate meetings the most important.

The agenda items were drafted by the Political Council and submitted to the Regent for approval. The Regent could not delete any items but could add one or two important matters at will. Since tomorrow was the first monthly court meeting since Li Shi’s ascension, its significance was extraordinary. Li Heng attached great importance to it and began reviewing the agenda proposed by the Political Council that afternoon in the court chamber.

The Political Council had proposed four major agenda items. The first was to implement land redistribution. The court currently held large amounts of arable land, mostly recovered by Li Yu from various powerful figures during his tenure. Unfortunately, Li Yu passed away before completing the land distribution, leaving it on hold. However, at the strong urging of Minister of Rites Li Yan, the Political Council decided to restart the land distribution to fulfill Li Yu’s wish of increasing the proportion of self-cultivating farmers in the Guanzhong region to 70%.

This plan has been unanimously approved by the Council of State. Everyone understands the importance of self-cultivating farmers. In the past, reforms were difficult because they would threaten the interests of the powerful, but now that the land has been reclaimed, things have become much simpler. Li Heng also agrees with this, which is why the Council of State approved it unanimously.

The second matter is to relocate 300,000 Han people to Anxi within three years. This is Li Qing’an’s proposal, aimed at strengthening the Tang Dynasty’s control over Anxi. In fact, the migration to Anxi began as early as the reign of Li Longji—it was a strategic decision by the Tang elite, unrelated to power struggles. At that time, 100,000 people from Hedong were relocated to settle in Anxi. Unexpectedly, it was these 100,000 migrants from Hedong that greatly strengthened Li Qing’an’s power, eventually making him the most powerful regional lord in the Tang Dynasty.

Now, another 300,000 people are to be migrated to Anxi. If it had been a year earlier, Li Heng would definitely have refused, but now it makes no difference. Since Li Qing’an can conscript soldiers from Guannei, Guanzhong, Longyou, and Hedong, these 300,000 migrants will indeed strengthen the Han population in Anxi, enabling the Tang Dynasty to establish a permanent foothold there.

The third matter is also related to Anxi: building the Tang Direct Road. This is also a suggestion put forward by Li Qing’an. He plans to select the strongest among the first batch of migrants to Anxi, along with 100,000 able-bodied workers from Longyou and Guannei, to start construction in Huizhou. The goal is to build a direct road across the Hexi Corridor within a year. Meanwhile, 150,000 laborers have been recruited from Tohara and Xinde in the west, and construction there has already begun. Li Qing’an hopes construction can start in the east as well. The cost of 2 million strings of silver will be covered by Anxi, while the court needs to assist by providing food and recruiting people.

In a sense, Li Qing’an’s proposal seems to involve acting without prior approval. According to the information Li Heng received, construction of the Tang Direct Road started in Liangzhou a month ago. Li Qing’an is using prisoners of war from An Lushan, but food supply is a problem, so he wants the court to step in to ensure a steady supply of food.

The purpose of building the Tang Direct Road is clear: to strengthen connections between Anxi and the interior. Currently, it takes about a month to travel from Yizhou to the Yellow River. Once the wide and smooth Tang Direct Road is built, along with relay stations and sufficient horses along the way, messengers can reach the Yellow River in just half a month—half the time.

Of course, Li Heng knows that Li Qing’an is building the Tang Direct Road to better use Anxi to control the Central Plains. But on the other hand, with the Tang Direct Road, it becomes easier for the Central Plains to control Anxi as well. It’s like a double-edged sword—capable of harming both others and oneself. It is for this reason that Li Heng decides to approve the construction of the Tang Direct Road.

The issues regarding the first three topics were not serious, and Li Heng agreed to them all. What puzzled him, however, was the fourth topic: changes to some officials. But what kind of changes? It wasn’t clearly stated. Moreover, Wang Gong, Fang Guan, and Cui Huan all voted against it. Since Zhang Yun voted in favor, the proposal was passed 4 to 3.
“What kind of proposal is this? Why didn’t Wang Gong tell me?”
Li Heng’s brows furrowed. He immediately ordered his trusted eunuch, Li Fuguo, to go to the Ministry of State Affairs and, if Prime Minister Wang was still there, bring him to him right away.
Wang Gong had left the Daming Palace quite late these days, so it was likely he hadn’t left yet. Li Heng paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back, feeling a sense of foreboding. This feeling had started half a month ago after Wei Jiansu was arrested. Due to the urgency, from the time Wang Gong informed him that Wei Jiansu was colluding with Li Longji to the actual arrest, only an hour passed, leaving many details unaddressed and resulting in two mistakes.
The first mistake was failing to discuss and decide on it in the Council of State. According to the power division between him and the Council, arresting officials above the fourth rank required approval from the Council. Since Wei Jiansu was a vice minister of the Ministry of War, it was clear he had overstepped his authority.
The second mistake was sending the Guanzhong Army to arrest Wei Jiansu, which was also an overstepping of authority. Under the division of responsibilities agreed upon with Li Qing’an, the Guanzhong Army and the Anxi Army were only responsible for matters outside the city; neither army was allowed to enter the city. Internal affairs were handled by the Jinyu Guard and the Qianniu Guard, while the Yulin Army was responsible for the palace and imperial city. Sending the Guanzhong Army to arrest Wei Jiansu clearly violated the agreement.
In fact, such minor mistakes couldn’t be blamed on Li Heng. He had ordered the general of the Jinyu Guard to handle the matter, so it was only natural for the Jinyu Guard to make the arrest. Thus, Li Heng hadn’t given any special instructions. Unexpectedly, for the sake of caution, Chen Xuanli assigned the task to his trusted Lin Jian, who was actually a general of the Guanzhong Army. A series of coincidences led to the second mistake.
If Li Qing’an had seized these two mistakes to counterattack, he could have released Wei Jiansu from prison and even restored him to his position. But Li Qing’an remained silent, showing no reaction to this matter. It was this unusual calm that made Li Heng feel something was wrong. Why wasn’t Li Qing’an counterattacking? His calmness left Li Heng feeling as if he had punched into air.
At that moment, upon seeing the fourth topic, Li Heng’s concerns, which he had somewhat forgotten, surged back into his mind. What exactly was Li Qing’an planning to do tomorrow?
“Your Highness, Prime Minister Wang has arrived,” Li Linfu reported at the door.
“Let him in.”

After a moment, Wang Gong hurried in, bowed, and said, “I pay my respects to His Royal Highness, the Regent.”
“Prime Minister Wang still hasn’t returned; he must be very busy.”
Li Heng exchanged a few polite words before handing Wang Gong the agenda for tomorrow’s court meeting and saying, “Tell me about the fourth item—what changes have there been in personnel?”
“It’s about the new officials for the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works. Wei Jiansu has been removed from his position, and after Cui Ping resigned, those two posts have remained vacant. There’s also the position of Right Assistant Minister. During this morning’s meeting in the Council Hall, Li Qing’an proposed three candidates: Miao Jinqing, the governor of Shanzhou, to be appointed Minister of War, Yuan Zai, the supervisor of grain transport in Guanzhong, to be Minister of Works, and Wang Wei, an imperial censor, to be Right Assistant Minister. They have all taken these powerful positions. Meanwhile, Minister Fang proposed Wang Yu, the Deputy Minister of Rites, to be appointed governor of Jingzhao. We objected to the appointments for these four positions and voted against them. But since Zhang Yun voted in favor, those four appointments were approved. That’s roughly the situation.”
It was as Li Heng had expected. They were already in a weak position in the Council Hall, and with Zhang Yun trying to please Li Qing’an, they were bound to lose. But what concerned Li Heng was not that—he wanted to know why Wang Gong hadn’t informed him. If he hadn’t asked, would he have remained in the dark?
With a dark expression, Li Heng said, “If that’s the case, why wasn’t it clearly stated in the court report? Is a simple mention of other personnel changes enough to keep me informed?”
Wang Gong was stunned and then realized Li Heng’s dissatisfaction. He quickly replied, “It was actually Minister Cui’s idea—to hear the opinions of other ministers in court first. If it had been written clearly, it would have been hard to reverse the decision. By keeping it vague, there might still be a chance. I agree with Minister Cui’s view, and Li Qing’an and the others didn’t object either, so it was decided so simply.”
After hearing Wang Gong’s explanation, Li Heng’s expression eased slightly, and he nodded, saying, “Though that’s the case, you still need to report to me promptly, rather than waiting for me to ask.”
“I originally intended to report to Your Highness, but due to heavy duties, I forgot about it. Please forgive me, Your Highness!”
“It’s alright. Since you weren’t intentional, I won’t hold you accountable.”
Li Heng signed the court report, handed it to Li Fuguo, and said, “Deliver it immediately to the Chief Clerk so they can engrave it and send it to the key ministers overnight.”

After Li Fuguo left, Li Heng turned to Wang Gong and said, “It’s not that I’m being picky, but we must be extremely cautious at tomorrow’s court meeting. Last time with Wei Jiansu, Li Qing’an didn’t show any reaction, which isn’t like him at all. I’m worried he might cause trouble at tomorrow’s meeting, that’s why I’m being so careful, fearing even the slightest mistake.”

Li Heng sighed and asked Wang Gong, “What do you think, Prime Minister?”

“I’m also very worried. From the way Li Qing’an executed Meng Yun, it’s clear he’s the kind of person who can’t tolerate any oversight. We captured Wei Jiansu and dealt a blow to the Pei family—he certainly won’t give up easily. I’ve considered that he will surely try to find weaknesses against us. So during this time, I’ve specifically instructed our key members to be extremely careful and not give him any leverage, even keeping their family members under control. In short, I won’t be the least bit careless.”

Li Heng walked a few steps with his hands behind his back before saying, “By agreeing to his demands regarding relocation and the construction of the Tang Straight Road, you’ve made concessions to him to some extent. I hope he can understand that. But it’s right to be extra cautious, especially you, Fang Guan, and Cui Huan—none of you three may have any problems, otherwise it will be a severe blow to me.”

……

While Li Heng was discussing matters for the next day’s court meeting, Li Qing’an’s carriage arrived at Xuanyi Fang, escorted by hundreds of personal guards.

The carriage slowly stopped in front of Zhang Yun’s residence. A guard rushed up the steps and said to the astonished gatekeeper, “Hurry and inform Minister Zhang—say General Li, the Anxi Military Governor, has arrived.”

“Please wait a moment; I’ll go report it right away!” The gatekeeper turned and rushed inside. Moments later, Zhang Yun’s third son, Zhang Zhijie, hurried out. In his early twenties, he was Zhang Yun’s favorite youngest son, studying at the Imperial Academy. He had failed the imperial examinations last year and was waiting to enter official service through his father’s influence.

He bowed to Li Qing’an and said, “General, my father is out fishing and hasn’t returned yet. Please come inside and wait while I send someone to bring him back.”

Li Qing’an pulled back the curtain of the carriage and smiled, “I wonder where Minister Zhang goes fishing?”

“It’s under Xuanyi Bridge ahead—just one li from here. My father always goes there.”

“Then I’ll go find him directly. If I can’t find him, I’ll come back.”

Zhang Zhijie hesitated for a moment before saying, “Then let this junior guide you there.”

He immediately led a horse over, mounted it, and took Li Qing’an toward Xuanyi Bridge…

At this time, Zhang Yun was fishing under Xuanyi Bridge. Although he had resumed his official duties, he still occasionally went fishing in the small river and chatted with fellow fishermen about everyday life, which was also a way for him to understand the people’s conditions. Zhang Yun was a former Hanlin Academician and a leading figure in the literary world of Chang’an, enjoying great prestige among the scholars there. Despite his profound knowledge, he was also an experienced politician who saw things clearly and thoroughly. For example, when Li Longji ascended the throne in Chengdu, the powerful figures in Chang’an flocked to him. Li Longji even wrote to him several times, inviting him to go south and offering him the position of Minister of Personnel, but Zhang Yun remained unmoved. He knew that Li Longji valued his prestige rather than trusting him, as he had supported Prince Li Liu of Shu. Since Li Liu’s mysterious disappearance, Zhang Yun had guessed that he must have been killed by Li Longji. If he went to Chengdu, it would be fine if he could bring along some followers, but without them—and with his influence inferior to Yang Guozhong’s, his power less than Cui Yuan’s, and his status lower than Chen Xilie’s—how could he survive there? Li Longji would surely hold him accountable for supporting Li Liu later.

On the other hand, by staying in Chang’an and maneuvering between the two major factions led by Li Heng and Li Qing’an, his vote in the government became crucial. Both sides wanted to please him, and this was in his best interest. How could he give up such advantages to go to Chengdu?

Zhang Yun had a good catch that day—over twenty carp and crucian carp in just one hour. By now, dusk had fallen, and he was about to head back to his residence when, raising his gaze, he saw a carriage approaching, surrounded by a large group of soldiers. With a quick thought, he understood what was happening. He smiled faintly, pulled his conical hat lower, and stopped moving.

Li Qing’an stopped by the bridge, where several burly men were crouched—Zhang Yun’s bodyguards. Seeing Li Qing’an approach, they immediately stood up nervously.

“Where is my father?” Zhang Zhijie rushed forward and asked anxiously.

One of the bodyguards pointed below the bridge. “My lord is fishing down there.”

By then, Li Qing’an had already seen Zhang Yun’s back. He waved his hand, telling Zhang Zhijie not to disturb him, then walked down the path beside the bridge and slowly approached Zhang Yun, saying with a smile, “Minister Zhang truly has a taste for elegance!”

Zhang Yun was startled. Looking up, he saw it was Li Qing’an and exclaimed in surprise, “Why has the general come here?”

He then glanced at his son and his expression darkened. “This unfilial wretch didn’t even inform me!”

“Minister Zhang, don’t blame your son. It was I who told him not to inform you.”

At that moment, the few fishermen nearby saw Li Qing’an approaching and hurriedly stood up. They said to Zhang Yun, “Since Minister Zhang has such a young friend here, we’ll leave first.” Zhang Yun smiled and introduced Li Qing’an to them, saying, “This isn’t some ordinary young friend at all. This is none other than General Li, the renowned general you often mention, His Highness the Prince of Zhao.” The old fishermen were stunned, unable to believe that this young man was actually the famous Li Qing’an. They stood there in shock for a while before bowing together and saying, “We deserve death. Please forgive us, General.” Li Qing’an returned the bow with a smile and said, “I’m the one who’s an uninvited guest, disturbing your fishing. I should be the one to apologize.” He then turned to the oldest fisherman nearby and said, “Old man, may I borrow your stool and fishing rod? I’ll send someone to return them to you tomorrow.” “Please take them, General!” Li Qing’an put on a conical hat as well and sat down next to Zhang Yun, smiling. “I used to fish often in Suiye. Today, let’s treat it as being fishing with Minister Zhang!” Zhang Yun smiled slightly and said, “I’m truly fortunate to have a general like you as a fishing companion.” The two cast their rods together, sending the fishing lines out far into the water. “I heard there are no fish in the Hot Sea of Suiye. Is that true?” “The Hot Sea is vast and full of waves—how could there be no fish? It’s just that the locals believe there are water monsters in the sea, so they dare not fish there. Has Minister Zhang ever been to Anxi?” “I’ve only gone as far as Hexi. I’ve been to Juyan Lake. The sight of thousands of horses galloping along the lake is still unforgettable to me.” Recalling the past, Zhang Yun sighed softly, “Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. I’m old now and can no longer travel. I’ll spend the rest of my days in Chang’an.” “Even though one grows old, as long as one has descendants, life seems endless. I just spoke with your son. He has unique insights and a far-reaching vision—truly worthy of being the son of Minister Zhang.” “What did he say?” “Your son advised me to appoint more young officials in Anxi. Most young officials are ambitious and eager to make progress, making them perfect for developing the border regions. I told him that the average age of officials in Anxi is only 28. Zhang Zhihe is only 20 years old yet already serves as the governor of a county, leading the people to build cities and cultivate land. The people are grateful to him and named a tea mountain after him—Zhihe Mountain. His reputation will last forever. I asked your son if he wanted to serve in Anxi, and he said he needed your permission first.” Hearing this, Li Qing’an chuckled softly. Zhang Yun then asked calmly, “If my son really goes to Anxi, would you welcome him?”

“I certainly welcome it. Going to Anxi to train for a few years will surely raise one’s abilities far above those of peers in the Central Plains. Upon returning, the prospects are boundless. Take Pei Yu, the great-grandson of Pei Kuan—after just a few years there, he was able to represent Anxi on independent missions to the Abbasid Caliphate and Byzantium. At just 25, he already held the position of deputy head of the Honglu Temple. If your son goes to Anxi, I will also give him a chance to train. Coincidentally, there are 50,000 immigrants heading to Anxi, and I plan to establish 15 more counties. Your son could serve as a county magistrate, leading the people to build the county from scratch. After a few years of training, he’ll be more than qualified to become a prefect.”
Zhang Yun glanced back at his son, seeing him standing on the bridge, looking at her with great anticipation. It seemed Li Qingan had already convinced him—starting with his own son! Truly impressive!
“Thank you, General, for your kind offer. I’ll need some time to consider this.”
……