Chapter 582: The Chengdu Incident

At Nanming Palace in Chengdu, a eunuch hurriedly entered the palace and arrived at Li Heng’s private study. He reported in a low voice, “Your Majesty, Gao Xianzhi has arrived.”
“Summon him for an audience!”
During this period, Li Heng was in a very bad mood. Two major setbacks—failure in the attack on Jingzhou and the loss of Hanzhong—had put Southern Tang in a highly passive strategic position. Especially the loss of Hanzhong put everyone in Chengdu in extreme crisis. Yet the real crisis was not a strategic one but a psychological one. The soldiers and civilians of Southern Tang feared Li Qingan like a tiger. The Anxi army captured Hanzhong within two days, dealing a severe blow to Southern Tang’s forces, even leading to waves of desertions. Everyone in the court trembled at the mention of Li Qingan, so much so that no one spoke up when discussing the recovery of Hanzhong.
This fear applied even to Li Heng himself. Although he repeatedly declared his intention to recover Hanzhong and Guanzhong, in reality, he lacked the courage and determination. All he wanted was to coexist peacefully with Northern Tang, hoping for some sort of truce between the two sides.
This was true externally, but internally, he was unequivocal—military power was the one thing he valued most. Unfortunately, during his mission to Jingzhou, his son still failed to carry out the planned actions: killing Xi Yuanqing, Zhao Chongjin, and Jia Chongguan. These three still held military power within the Jiannan army. But one thing had succeeded—Gao Xianzhi’s forces had been reduced to 30,000 men. The majority of the Jiannan army was now under the control of Crown Prince Li’s faction. Xi Yuanqing and the other two generals were left to guard Yiling. Although Gao Xianzhi’s influence had not been completely eradicated, at least Li Heng no longer feared him as much as before.
After a while, Gao Xianzhi hurriedly entered the private study and bowed, saying, “Your servant Gao Xianzhi pays his respects to Your Majesty!”
Li Heng remained silent, but his expression darkened. How dare Gao Xianzhi refuse to kneel! Hmph! Did he still think Li Heng needed his help as before?
Gao Xianzhi stood bowed for a long time but heard no reply from Li Heng. Feeling uneasy, he said again, “Your servant Gao Xianzhi pays his respects to Your Majesty!”
Finally, Li Heng spoke. He glared coldly at Gao Xianzhi and asked, “General Gao, what brings you here?”
“Your Majesty! It’s the same request as before. I’m not in good health and beg Your Majesty to allow me to return home to recover.”
“Where do you plan to recover?”
“I own some farmland in Shuzhou. I intend to return there to work the land.”
“Farmland?”
Li Heng sneered. “Are you referring to that 3,000-mu piece of fertile land at the foot of Wangyu Mountain?”

Gao Xianzhi’s forehead began to sweat. Li Heng asked him why he had such land. A sense of foreboding arose in his heart, and he forced himself to say, “Indeed!”
“But I don’t recall ever granting you such a large estate. Moreover, your permanent farmland should be in Anxi. I’m a bit confused—how did you get this land? Explain it to me.”
By now, Gao Xianzhi’s back was completely soaked. He fully understood what Li Heng intended. Li Heng didn’t want him to escape unscathed; he wanted to kill him, using the matter of land as an excuse. Gao Xianzhi felt profound sorrow. When the cunning rabbit dies, even its hounds are killed. If it weren’t for him eliminating Li Wan back then, would Li Heng have his throne today?
He had thought Li Heng would be better than the old emperor Li Longji, but now it seemed Li Heng was even more cruel and vicious than his father. The rumor that Li Heng had killed his father might well be true.
Under Li Heng’s sharp gaze, Gao Xianzhi gradually straightened his back. He suddenly realized that if Li Heng wanted him dead, no amount of pleading would help. Calmly, he said, “Your Majesty, my estate was granted by the late emperor. You can check the records of last year’s court meeting on the fifth day of the twelfth month. I dare not speak rashly.”
“Is that so? But I’ve already checked. Last year, the late emperor only granted you a thousand mu of fertile land. Yet now you have three thousand mu. Where did those two thousand mu come from?”
By this point, Li Heng’s tone was no longer sarcastic but extremely stern. “Tell me! Where did those two thousand mu come from?”
“I dare not deceive Your Majesty. Those two thousand mu…”
Before he could finish, Li Heng threw a imperial edict in front of him with a swish. “Look carefully. Does it say a thousand mu? Would I wrong you?”
Seeing Li Heng casually throw his father Li Longji’s edict in front of him like trash, Gao Xianzhi felt utterly desperate. Li Heng would trample on the late emperor’s orders so recklessly. He didn’t even need to look to know it must say a thousand mu—the number “three” had disappeared.
At this point, he decided to fight back. Stiffening his neck, he said, “I am innocent!”
“Innocent?”
Li Heng sneered in succession, “Whether you’re guilty or not isn’t up to you, nor up to me. The Tang Dynasty has laws. Your guilt must be determined by the law. Bring him here!”
Suddenly, several burly men appeared behind Li Heng and surrounded Gao Xianzhi. Li Heng glanced at him and said, “Arrest this man. Have the Ministry of Punishments, the Dali Temple, and the Censorate conduct a joint trial. I will not protect him!”
……

The news of Gao Xianzhi’s arrest and imprisonment spread throughout Chengdu by the next day. The charge was clear: seizing land belonging to honest families. The High Judicial Council held a trial, and the people of Bashu cheered with delight. Yet many officials were secretly alarmed by Li Heng’s tactics—eliminating a military threat while also addressing the issues of many landless farmers and easing the intense conflicts arising from land disputes. Though not particularly ingenious, these methods were extremely ruthless, beyond the reach of ordinary people.

In Chang’an, the late autumn sun cast golden hues across the city, and a chill had begun to settle in the air. Several men on horseback arrived at Mingde Gate, exhausted from their journey. The prosperity of Chang’an and its beautiful women held no appeal for them; instead, they were worried and kept asking around until they reached the gates of Prince Zhao’s mansion in Xingdao Fang. A middle-aged man at the forefront stepped forward and said to the guards, “We are family members of Miss Gao Wu. We’ve come from Chengdu with a letter for her. Does she live here?”

“Please wait a moment!”

The guards glanced at them before going inside. After a while, Gao Wu, dressed in a bright red dress, rushed out like the wind and asked anxiously, “Where are they?”

“Sister Wu!” The middle-aged man called out loudly when he saw her.

“Uncle Qi!”

Gao Wu was stunned for a moment before quickly stepping down the stairs and asking nervously, “What happened?”

This Uncle Qi was Qi Sheng, who had always been her father Gao Xianzhi’s personal bodyguard. The men around him were also her father’s guards. They should have been protecting him, so why were they in Chang’an? A sense of foreboding arose in her heart.

Qi Sheng sighed and handed her a letter. “This is a letter from your mother for you. Please take a look.”

Gao Wu quickly opened the letter. After reading just half of it, she was shocked. The letter slipped from her hands as she could hardly believe what she saw.

Qi Sheng picked up the letter and handed it back to her. “Miss, the old general has been imprisoned in the Dali Temple. The emperor doesn’t dare execute him right away because he wants to see how his former subordinates will react. But according to information we obtained by bribing a high-ranking official in the Dali Temple, the emperor is likely to kill the old general in prison once things calm down a bit, then claim he committed suicide out of fear of punishment. Miss, the situation is urgent!”

Before he could finish speaking, Gao Wu hurriedly asked, “Have you gone to inform General Xi and General Zhao?”

“We already sent someone.”

Qi Sheng shook his head and said gloomily, “But we’re very worried that General Xi and the others won’t rise in rebellion either. It’s not that they dare not; it’s that the old general won’t allow them to rebel. Their strength isn’t enough, but we know the old general—he would never let his subordinates rebel for his sake…”
At this point, Qi Sheng hesitated for a moment before adding, “We think the only one who can save the old general is the young lady.”
“Me? Of course I want to save my father, but how? Teach me!”
Qi Sheng glanced at the soldiers guarding the door not far away and lowered his voice, “The young lady can’t save him, but Li Qing’an can. Do you understand?”
“Him!” A hint of confusion appeared in Gao Wu’s eyes, but soon her gaze became clear.
…
Li Qing’an had already learned through messengers from Chengdu that Gao Xianzhi had been imprisoned. It was within his expectations. Based on his understanding of Li Heng, he knew Li Heng would never tolerate Gao Xianzhi continuing to exert influence in the army. During the execution of Li Wan and Yang Guozhong at the beginning of the year, Gao Xianzhi was already idle at home, yet he was able to rally support and immediately regain control of the army. Although this earned Gao Xianzhi great praise from Li Longji, it was undoubtedly a nightmare for Li Heng. If Gao Xianzhi could seize power and kill Li Wan, he could just as easily seize power and kill Li Heng.
Gao Xianzhi’s fate was sealed the moment he seized power. Li Longji, as an experienced emperor, might not care, but no subsequent ruler could tolerate such a general who remained active despite being retired.
Li Qing’an had also sent people to hint to Gao Xianzhi, suggesting he come to Northern Tang, but Gao Xianzhi responded with silence, leaving him helpless.
At that moment, Li Qing’an was in his study reviewing some important affairs from Anxi, including the nearly completion of the Tang Straight Road and the settlement of 200,000 new immigrants in Anxi. These two matters were the most significant events in Anxi in recent years and had been under his close attention. Now that they were nearing completion, he felt greatly relieved. Yet he was more concerned about whether the Anxi government was handling things in accordance with local laws, and whether there were any instances of favoritism, corruption, or malpractice. Li Qing’an knew the new regime in Anxi could maintain integrity at first, but he wondered if the officials there could retain their initial vigor and honesty over time. He trusted Wang Changling, but what about Pei Mian? And those officials who came from Hexi? He was very worried.
Just then, Gao Wu’s voice came from outside the door, “Seventh Brother, may I come in?”