Chapter 528: Disaster Comes from the South

At the first watch, thousands of Anxi troops escorted Li Qing’an’s family and a group of ministers to Mei County. Li Qing’an’s wife, children, and the families of the officials settled in Mei County, while Pei Min and over a dozen other high-ranking officials were led by soldiers into the military tent.

Under the guidance of the soldiers, the ministers entered the tent, which was brightly lit. The soldiers had made simple arrangements: a row of large tables arranged in the style of the Western Regions, with high-backed chairs on both sides. Although such chairs had appeared in the palace before, they were still somewhat unfamiliar to these ministers accustomed to kneeling.

Yet at this moment, the discomfort of the chairs was unimportant. All the ministers were filled with excitement, knowing that they would decide the fate of the Tang Dynasty that night.

Pei Min sat down with mixed feelings. Back in Wugong County, he had already seen through Li Qing’an’s plans. Li Qing’an had specifically ordered that Li Yu’s youngest son, Prince Sui Li Xun, be brought to Wugong County. It was obvious that Li Qing’an intended to make this young son the emperor, following the example of the Duke of Zhou.

In his own opinion, Pei Min agreed with Li Qing’an’s approach—redressing the wrongs done to Emperor Zhaozong to win the hearts of the people. But he was more concerned about the future: how long would Li Qing’an keep this young son on the throne? What impact would such chaos in succession have on the Tang Dynasty’s future? And once Li Qing’an took power, in what capacity would he rule the country?

There was also a severe drought in Hebei and Hedong this year, which could lead to a large number of hungry people. How could they be relieved? Pei Min had so many thoughts that when Li Qing’an entered the tent and everyone stood up, he remained lost in his thoughts, unaware of Li Qing’an’s arrival.

“What are you thinking about, Lord Pei?” Li Qing’an asked with a smile as he approached Pei Min.

Only then did Pei Min snap out of his thoughts. He quickly stood up to greet him, saying, “I was just thinking about the severe drought in Hedong and Hebei. I got distracted. Please forgive me, General!”

“We will discuss this matter later. Everyone, please sit down first!”

Li Qing’an asked everyone to sit. There were exactly seven people: Pei Min, Zhang Yun, Cui Huan, Wei Tao, Zhang Gao, Lu Huan, and Wang Jin. Wang Jin was the younger brother of Wang Wei and had served as Deputy Minister of Justice before resigning along with the others. He too had been invited by Li Qing’an, clearly intended to join the council as a prime minister. This came as a surprise to everyone. Moreover, among the seven members of the council, Li Qing’an was not included, indicating that he would not join the council.

At that moment, Zhang Yun said with a smile, “We just heard that the General has completely defeated the Tubo, and the Anxi troops have taken Lhasa. This is truly wonderful news—something to celebrate!”

Cui Huan also smiled and said, “Without the Tubo raiding the borders, our military expenses will be greatly reduced, which will help improve people’s lives. I believe the Tang Dynasty will soon regain its former strength.” Everyone spoke at once. At that moment, Pei Min asked, “I wonder what plans the general has for dealing with Tubo?” Li Qing’an thought for a while before saying, “My ultimate goal is to bring Tubo under the central government, but this will take some time. The Tubo tribes are scattered and have been independent for a long time. Acting too hastily might force them to rebel again. So I plan to take two steps. The first step is to implement military administration, with 30,000 Tang troops stationed in Tubo. Meanwhile, we will vigorously promote Buddhism to instill values of compassion, cooperation, and non-violence deep into the Tubo people’s hearts. Five or ten years later, when the time is right, Tubo will officially become part of the Tang Dynasty.” Having said this, Li Qing’an added, “Right now, Tubo is still under Tang control, and there are tens of thousands of freed Han slaves there. I plan to let them settle permanently in Tubo, which means we need a group of young officials to help govern. Let’s discuss this in a few days and implement it as soon as possible.” Since Li Qing’an had gone this far, it seemed certain that the seven of them would form the government council. Everyone became more active. Pei Min joked, “The general didn’t summon us this late just to talk about Tubo, did he?” “Of course not!” Li Qing’an also laughed. “I originally wanted to invite you all for dinner, but since you’ve just arrived, we’ll have to settle for breakfast. Well! I’ll just tell you frankly!” The smile disappeared from Li Qing’an’s face as he said solemnly to everyone, “The country cannot go a day without a ruler, nor can it go a day without a government. Now that the puppet emperor has fled south, it’s time for us to rebuild the Tang Dynasty. You are all high-ranking officials with great authority, and you must take on this responsibility. Now, I’ll put forward some suggestions for dividing tasks, basically based on your current positions.” Li Qing’an took a booklet and handed it to Pei Min, saying, “Prime Minister, you go ahead and announce it.” Pei Min nodded, opened the booklet, and saw his own name listed first: Chancellor, Right Prime Minister, and Minister of Personnel. Without mentioning himself, he slowly read on, “Zhang Yun, Chief of the Secretariat, Left Prime Minister, and Minister of Revenue.” Zhang Yun stood up and bowed slightly to Li Qing’an, secretly rejoicing that he hadn’t made the wrong choice this time. If he had followed Li Heng, he wouldn’t have this position now. “Cui Huan will be Minister of Rites, Wei Tao Minister of Justice, Zhang Gao Minister of Works, Wang Jin Minister of War, and Lu Huan Deputy Chief of the Secretariat. These seven will serve as co-chancellors and form the government council.”

Li Qing’an’s appointment was very brief, without any elaborate words or ceremonies. Everyone stood up and bowed to express their gratitude to him.
“Then what position will the great general hold?” asked Zhang Gao, who was known for his straightforwardness.
The tent fell silent immediately—this was the core question. Li Qing’an had appointed seven cabinet members, but he himself wasn’t included, which was quite surprising. If he had intentions of ascending the throne, that would be another matter, but everyone understood that he wouldn’t compete for the imperial throne this time. So what position would he take?
Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Li Qing’an smiled slightly and said, “I am a man who leads troops into battle. An Lushan has not yet been defeated, Yangzhou and Jingzhou have not been pacified, and Chengdu has not yet been unified. I must deal with these matters one by one, so it’s not appropriate for me to get involved in politics. However, if you all agree, I can take on the title of Supreme General and Commander-in-Chief of all the troops.”
Then, Li Qing’an continued slowly, “You may recall your colleagues and quickly form a new government to ensure the normal operation of state affairs. As for the new emperor, Li Xun, the Prince of Sui and son of Emperor Jingzong, is young, but he was born under auspicious omens. He will surely become an emperor who revives the Tang Dynasty. I suggest we establish him as the new emperor—it’s only natural for a son to follow in his father’s footsteps. What do you all think?”
…
Chengdu in June was in the rainy season. Light rain covered the entire city. Although it was the height of summer, there was a hint of coolness. At night, the streets were deserted, with all shops closed. Passersby returned to their accommodations early, and every household in the neighborhoods also closed their doors early. It had been raining in Chengdu for three consecutive days.
Fuxing Fang was a large district in the eastern part of Chengdu, home to many nobles and luxurious houses. It was one of the three most famous districts in Chengdu. It was already dark, and several servants guarding the entrance sat idly in a small room, chatting and boasting. Suddenly, the sound of wheels came from afar. Moments later, a large and magnificent carriage emerged from the misty rain and entered the gates of Fuxing Fang, followed by nearly a hundred guards. The sound of horse hooves splashed water everywhere. Before the servants could react, the carriage quickly drove through the gates and disappeared into the darkness.
The servants looked at each other in confusion. “It seems to be Yang Guozhong!”
“That’s right, it’s him!”
Yang Guozhong’s carriage raced through Fuxing Fang. Inside the dimly lit carriage, Yang Guozhong had a complex expression. He felt that cooperating with Li Qing’an was like boarding a ship full of thieves. Now, it wasn’t easy for him to get off.

He had just received urgent messages from his two sons in Guanzhong today. They had assigned him a task that seemed almost impossible to complete. Of course, he knew it was Li Qingan’s orders, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t just do nothing. His sons were in Li Qingan’s hands, but if he carried out the task, he felt unwilling to serve Li Qingan like a dog. Yet even a dog gets a bone for its efforts—what had Li Qingan given him so far? Nothing but a distant promise: “Earn redemption through merit, and past faults will be forgiven.” This was nothing short of an insult to him, Yang Guozhong. What crime had he committed? He was the Right Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, one of Li Longji’s most trusted ministers. Even without the imperial concubine, Li Longji would still use him. Was that a crime in Li Longji’s eyes?

Yang Guozhong was truly dissatisfied with Li Qingan, but he had no choice. His sons were in that man’s power, and given Li Qingan’s current strength, it was possible he might indeed need Li Qingan’s forgiveness in the future. Yang Guozhong let out a long sigh. The continuous night rain only deepened his despair.

“Why is Prime Minister Yang sighing?” someone asked with a smile from behind.

It turned out there was another person sitting in the back seat. If not observed closely, his presence would be hard to notice. He was around forty years old, a middle-aged scholar—Wei Qingping, Li Qingan’s aide. He had been in Chengdu for ten days and would serve as Li Qingan’s liaison there. Today, he learned that Yang Guozhong had already received messages from his sons, so he came to visit.

Seeing Yang Guozhong looking worried, and knowing he was unwilling, Wei Qingping smiled again and said, “Actually, Prime Minister Yang is helping himself. If Li Heng comes to rule Sichuan, he won’t spare Prime Minister Yang first. He will surely kill you to establish his authority. I think Prime Minister Yang understands this better than I do.”

Yang Guozhong sighed inwardly again. Wei Qingping was right. Li Heng’s arrival would bring tragedy to many, and he, Yang Guozhong, would be the first.

He slowly said, “Yes, I’m well aware of that. But the task you want me to do is too difficult for me alone. So tonight, I’ll take you to someone who can handle it.”

Wei Qingping smiled and said nothing. Yang Guozhong glanced at him and then remembered something, so he instructed him, “Mr. Wei, when you meet him later, try not to say anything. This man is very suspicious. I’m afraid he’ll spot your flaws.”

“Don’t worry! I know what to do.”

The carriage raced through the rain and mist, and in moments, it stopped in front of a massive royal mansion. Yang Guozhong’s guards rushed up the steps and said to the gatekeeper, “Please inform the prince that Prime Minister Yang has arrived!”
The gatekeeper rushed off to deliver the message. Through the misty rain, Wei Qingping saw that under the light of two dim lanterns, the plaque on the mansion gate read “Rongwang Mansion.”
He nodded inwardly. Yang Guozhong was right—this man was truly Li Heng’s greatest rival.
Rongwang was none other than Li Wan. Three years ago, after being appointed as the military governor of Hedong by Li Longji, he faced repeated setbacks and was eventually imprisoned in Yingquanfang by Li Heng. He bribed his guards with large sums of money to escape. After fleeing to Chengdu, he gradually gained Li Longji’s favor and seized most of Gao Xianzhi’s military power. In his eyes, he was the rightful heir to the Southern Tang throne. But then he heard shocking news: his father had passed the throne to his third son, Li Heng.
This news enraged Li Wan, who was determined to claim the throne for himself. He would never give up what belonged to him to Li Heng.
At that moment, Li Wan was reading in his study when a servant came to report, “Yang Guozhong has arrived. He has urgent matters to discuss with your lordship.”
Li Wan was surprised. Why had Yang Guozhong come? He and Yang Guozhong had once been friends. Before his father fainted in Guannei Road, Yang Guozhong had promised to support him as emperor. Although his dream of becoming emperor was shattered later due to the interference of Li Qingan and Guo Ziyi, Yang Guozhong was a decent man worth keeping as an ally. Since arriving in Chengdu, he had received much support from Yang Guozhong. Though Li Wan knew Yang Guozhong was trying to win him over deliberately, he was happy to have such a powerful ally.
“Please! Bring him in quickly!”
Li Wan quickly got up and went to greet him personally…
In front of the mansion gate, Yang Guozhong waited for a while, with Wei Qingping standing behind him with his hands behind his back. Suddenly, hurried footsteps came from inside the mansion, and Li Wan stepped out laughing.
“Prime Minister Yang comes to my mansion without sending anyone to inform me in advance. If I happen to be absent, wouldn’t Prime Minister Yang blame me for being rude?”
Yang Guozhong quickly bowed and said, “The matter is urgent, and there was no time to inform Your Highness. Please forgive me!”
“Oh! I see.”
Li Wan quickly said, “Then please come inside!”
At that moment, he suddenly noticed Wei Qingping and asked curiously, “Who is this?”
“This is my trusted advisor, Mr. Wei, who has just arrived from Hanzhong.”
Upon hearing the word “Hanzhong,” Li Wan’s eyelids twitched violently. That place was now too sensitive. “Mr. Wei, please come in too!”
Wei Qingping smiled slightly and said, “Then I’ll disturb Your Highness.”

The two were led into Li Wan’s outer study, where two beautiful concubines served them tea. Yang Guozhong, who usually got distracted by beautiful women, had no interest in admiring the two beauties before him today; it was obvious he was deep in thought.
“What urgent message did Prime Minister Yang bring for me?”
“Sigh! Let Mr. Wei, my advisor, speak.”
Li Wan turned his gaze toward Wei Qingping. Wei Qingping bowed and said, “I am on very good terms with Linghu Fei, a trusted advisor to Li Hen. I went to Hanzhong precisely to see him.”
Li Wan perked up. He knew that Linghu Fei was actually Yang Guozhong’s advisor and now a trusted man of Li Hen’s—so he could indeed provide valuable information.
“Please hurry and tell me what Linghu Fei said.”
Wei Qingping hesitated for a moment and glanced at Yang Guozhong. Yang Guozhong let out a long sigh and said, “The emperor has already issued a secret order for Li Hen to abdicate. Once Li Hen arrives in Chengdu, he will ascend the throne as the emperor of Southern Tang.”
With a loud thud, Li Wan slammed his fist on the table and growled, “Dream on! As long as I’m still alive, he’ll never be able to ascend the throne.”
Yang Guozhong also couldn’t help but curse, “I think the same. If Li Hen becomes emperor, the first person he’ll kill will be Your Highness, and the second will be me. I came here today to discuss a plan with you—we must prevent this scoundrel from ascending the throne in Chengdu. Otherwise, neither of us will have a chance to live.”
“Hmm!”
Li Wan nodded. He glanced at Wei Qingping again and said with a smile, “Mr. Wei, why not sit for a while? Prime Minister Yang and I want to talk privately.”
He then ordered the two concubines, “Take good care of Mr. Wei. Did you hear that?”
He gave Yang Guozhong a subtle signal, and the two got up and left. Wei Qingping picked up his teacup and took a slow sip, a faint smile on his lips. He had an intuition that Li Wan was doomed.
Li Wan led Yang Guozhong to his inner study and closed the door tightly. Now, no one else could hear them. Li Wan then lowered his voice and said to Yang Guozhong, “It’s just the two of us here. Go ahead and tell me what we should do.”
Yang Guozhong smirked coldly and said, “Actually, there is a solution. Since he has issued a public decree, why not go all out?”
With a crack, Li Wan broke a jade ruler in his hand.
……
The rain and mist were thick, and the night was pitch dark, but the Nanming Palace in Chengdu was shrouded in terror. In the quiet night, Li Longji’s weak, hysterical screams could be heard from afar.

“You bastards! Everyone of you wants to harm me! Will you feel satisfied if you kill me? Let me tell you—this is not true. Even if I die, I’ll make sure you die first!”
Inside the Nanming Palace, hundreds of eunuchs and palace maids were terrified. Just because there was a tiny foreign object in their porridge bowls that night, the emperor flew into a rage. He smashed the bowls and had all four imperial chefs and three maids who served him beaten to death. Two eunuchs who fainted from fear were also dragged out and killed.
How could this not scare the maids and eunuchs? Lǐ Lóngjī had become increasingly terrifying lately. He would kill at the slightest dissatisfaction, and even corporal punishment was no longer enough. None of the maids who took turns serving him ever survived. He was like the King of Hell. Today, he had killed five maids and eunuchs—who would be chosen next?
In the inner chamber, Lǐ Lóngjī lay on a rattan bed, the pain in his back making him even angrier. His eyes, fierce like those of a vulture, stared at everyone around him. He had only one thought: someone must be trying to harm him, and that person was hidden among these eunuchs and maids. He would find them.
At that moment, several maids rushed in, escorting Wu Huifei. Wu Huifei was actually Wu Xiányí—the only one who could calm Lǐ Lóngjī’s fury.
“Your Majesty! Please calm down!”
Kneeling before Lǐ Lóngjī, Wu Huifei pleaded, “No one dares to harm you. Please take care of your health. The imperial physicians say that your anger can damage your heart. Have you forgotten?”
“Someone wants to harm me!”
“No! Absolutely no one wants to harm you. These are all my people.”
“Your people?”
Lǐ Lóngjī’s blood-red eyes widened, scaring Wu Huifei into trembling. “Your Majesty—!”
He grabbed her hair and punched her face hard. “Witch! It’s you who wants to harm me!”