Chapter 676: Human Weaknesses

A few days after the palace coup in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Qing’an was already in Junyi County. Junyi County was the administrative center of Bianzhou, which is today’s Kaifeng. Traveling south along the Bian River for several dozen miles led to Chenliu County.

Inspecting the grain transport routes and the Jiangnan region was part of his long-planned strategy. The prosperity of the Kaiyuan era stemmed from the young Li Longji’s dedication to governance, the emergence of many capable ministers, and the orderly administration of the country. Another key factor was the development of Jiangnan, where smooth grain transport allowed large quantities of goods to reach Guanzhong. This led to abundant government granaries, reduced taxes, lower prices across the region, and generally improved living standards for the people, thus enabling the prosperity of the Kaiyuan era.

However, as Li Longji allowed the elite to acquire land at will, wealth increasingly concentrated in their hands. The rich grew richer while the poor grew poorer—a classic case of “cutting the cake,” a phenomenon unchanged through the ages. But with the rebellion of An Lushan and major upheavals within the court, wealth in the country faced a reshuffle. As the person in charge of governing the country, Li Qing’an first needed to restore order and revive the livelihoods in Hebei, which had been devastated by war. This required the court to control substantial resources, with food being the most crucial.

He planned to spend ten years restoring the population of the Tang Dynasty to its level at the beginning of the Tianbao era and its economy to that of the tenth year of the Kaiyuan era, when the Tang Dynasty would once again flourish. Among all his plans, grain transport and the Jiangnan region were extremely important. Grain transport was not merely for government use; it was a form of transportation. The Tang Dynasty had no cars or trains, but it could develop water transportation extensively. Water transport, with its large capacity and convenience, could connect the north, south, east, and west, playing a vital role in the exchange of goods.

Once the country gradually stabilized, his focus would shift to the economy. Junyi was one of the most important transit stations for grain transport, where the Bian River and the Baigou River met. As early as the Kaiyuan era, large warehouses and storage areas had been built along the Bian River here. However, due to blockages in the river, this area gradually declined in the later years of the Tianbao era. Goods became scarce, and the large warehouses became habitats for refugees, wild dogs, and cats. The economy of Junyi County, once prosperous thanks to grain transport, began to decline.

But with the court’s renewed emphasis on grain transport, Cui Ning, the Left Prime Minister, personally went to Jianghuai and Henan to restore smooth transport. As the central hub for water transportation in the Henan region, as well as the residence of the regional governor and the headquarters of the Henan grain transport administration, Junyi County’s importance was once again highlighted.

This time, Li Qing’an’s eastern tour mainly involved traveling by boat. Over twenty government ships sailed along the Bian River, with cavalry units guarding both banks. A light drizzle was falling, and rows of windbreak trees lined the banks, lush and green. Between the trees, large fields and villages could be seen—winter wheat had been harvested, and rice had been planted, creating a lush green landscape in the paddy fields. From time to time, farmers working in the fields would look up in this direction. Wearing bamboo hats, they were busy in the fields, making the banks of the Bian River resemble a peaceful yet vibrant painting.

Li Qing’an stood at the bow with his hands behind his back, admiring this beautiful scene from afar. He was deeply relieved that Henan Province had not been devastated by the An Lushan Rebellion. Although Hebei had suffered greatly, its area was small, and most of its people had been successfully evacuated, minimizing the damage caused by the rebellion. The two core regions of Central China—Hedong and Henan—had remained intact, laying a solid foundation for his plan to revive the Tang Dynasty.

At that moment, a bodyguard shouted, “General, we’ve arrived at the Junyi Wharf ahead.”

The Junyi Wharf, two li to the south, was clearly visible now. A large cluster of warehouses appeared above the treetops. Even from the boat, they could sense the festive atmosphere with drums and gongs at the wharf—likely all the local officials were there.

Suddenly, Li Qing’an remembered something and smiled at Wei Qingping, saying, “In a few days, when we pass through Chenliu, I’d like to go ashore and visit an old friend. I think his injuries should be almost healed by then.”

Wei Qingping did not reply. Li Qing’an turned around and saw his aide Wei Qingping sitting in front of the map, holding a teacup in both hands, looking worried. He hadn’t heard him speak. He had been like this since morning. Li Qing’an smiled and asked, “Is Mr. Wei still thinking about Chengdu?”

Wei Qingping sighed, “I never expected it to be the Li faction who would win in the end. That man values force and has a violent personality. It will be difficult to make him surrender; he will surely resist to the end. I’m worried about the disaster in Shu!”

“Hmm!”

Li Qing’an nodded as well. “As the saying goes, planning lies with humans, but success depends on fate. Prince Peng, Li Jin, had favorable timing, location, and support, yet still lost. It can only be said that fate was not on his side, or that he was not as decisive as the Li faction. If Li Jin fails, he will surely die. It’s a pity that Yan Kai couldn’t escape and perished along with him. This is also my loss. I’ll treat his family well as a way to honor him.”

Wei Qingping still felt somewhat unwilling and asked again, “Your Highness, is there really no way to avoid disaster in Shu? Hebei Road has already been destroyed. If Ba-Shu is also ruined and the people suffer, it will not be easy for the Tang Dynasty to recover. Your Highness, this is what worries me the most.”

Li Qingan pondered for a moment. “Your concern is actually mine as well. The reason I have delayed launching an attack on Southern Tang is that I hope internal strife will arise among them, allowing us to take control of Southern Tang without fighting. If Li Hen is willing to surrender, I might even let him become a prince. Of course, I know this is unlikely, so I wanted to use the struggle for the throne in Southern Tang to weaken their strength as much as possible. I just didn’t expect Li Jin to be so weak. But there is still room to turn things around. Everyone has weaknesses; if we can exploit those of key figures, we might be able to avoid the disaster in Shu.”

Wei Qingping seemed to understand something and exclaimed in delight, “Has the general already made arrangements?”

Li Qingan nodded and smiled. “I’ve already instructed the Intelligence Bureau to handle it. I believe they won’t disappoint me.”

Gazing at the fertile lands before him, the numerous rivers in the plains, the simple farmers working in the fields, the villages with smoke rising from their chimneys, and the clearly visible city of Xunyi in the distance, Li Qingan felt deeply moved. Such a beautiful land—how could it be destroyed by war again?

……

In Chengdu, five days had passed since Li Xi ascended the throne. The city remained shrouded in tension and oppression. The martial law had not been fully lifted, but the people could go shopping on the streets for two hours in the afternoon, and only then did the city show a hint of vitality.

The busiest place in the city was still the South Market. Out of fear and anxiety about the future, every household in Chengdu began stockpiling grain and various necessities, which were only available in large quantities at the South Market. Every afternoon, large crowds flocked there, crowding out the shops selling these essentials.

The horse shops were no exception. Lines of people gathered outside each shop to buy cattle and sheep. Although killing cattle was a serious crime in the Tang Dynasty, in times of chaos, no one cared. Although they claimed to buy cattle for plowing, it was understood that due to high prices, several families would often pool their money to buy one.

In front of the fine horse shops, wealthy families also gathered to buy horses, not for slaughter but for use in fleeing. However, with limited numbers of horses, cattle, and sheep, most people left empty-handed. The streets were filled with groups of resentful people.

“Do you know? Last night, Yang Shenjin’s residence next to mine was raided on charges of colluding with Northern Tang. Yang Shenjin was imprisoned, and his wife hanged herself upon hearing the news. One of their two sons fled, while the other… Alas! The new emperor is too cruel; not even someone who is merely a nominal tutor to the Prince of Peng escaped his wrath.”
A group of people gathered to discuss various matters and exchange news. In recent days, many officials of Southern Tang had suffered catastrophic losses. All 138 officials who had publicly supported the Prince of Peng were dealt with—some were dismissed from office, while others had their homes raided. Many old enemies of Li Fuguo from the Li faction were also purged.
Everyone was accused of colluding with Northern Tang, even Cui Yuan, the left chancellor who had supported him after the coup, was not spared. He was stripped of all his positions and demoted to a commoner. Zhang Jie, the minister of rites, was promoted to right chancellor and head of the Secretariat. Wang Gong was reassigned as left chancellor and head of the Privy Council. If it weren’t for Wang Gong secretly sending 50,000 strings of coins to Li Fuguo, he too would have been doomed.
“What’s Yang Shenjin anyway?”
Another elder sneered, “It’s the royal family who truly suffers! Out of the 78 royal households in Chengdu, over 60 had their homes raided. Many were imprisoned, likely executed secretly. The head of the Prince of Siqi was beheaded—how tragic! The emperor is ruthless; fearing the accusation of patricide, he turned his wrath on the royal family.”
“Shh! Someone’s coming.”
The crowd stopped talking. A carriage emerged from the alley beside Qianlima and headed toward the southern city gate.
After leaving the southern market, the carriage sped straight toward the Prince of Jinchang’s mansion, located not far from Nanming Palace. That mansion was originally the Prince of Siqi’s residence and was now occupied by Guo Yingyi, who had made it his new palace. Chengdu was under martial law these days, and Guo Yingyi remained in the city, reaping the huge benefits from supporting the new emperor’s ascension.
Yet today, Guo Yingyi was nervous. He had just received two pieces of intelligence. One came from the garrison in Jianzhou: an army of 100,000 from Northern Tang had marched south, captured Yichang County, and was advancing toward Jianmen Pass. The commander of this army was Li Guangbi. The other piece of intelligence said that Li Sheng, a general of Northern Tang, was leading 50,000 troops from Yiling into Shu. The Northern Tang army moved swiftly—by Fengjie, with their vanguard already reaching Yun’an County, on the verge of entering Wanzhou.
These two pieces of news made Guo Yingyi feel as if the end of the world had arrived. He had still held out a sliver of hope that the Northern Tang army wouldn’t attack Shu for now, but that hope vanished. The Northern Tang army was indeed launching a full-scale attack on Southern Tang. For an entire morning, he locked himself in his study, pondering what to do—what about his life, his treasures, and his beautiful wives?

Guo Yingyi was terrified; he dared not report this situation to the new emperor Li Xi. Before figuring out his own escape plan, he wouldn’t tell anyone.
“Marshal!” A bodyguard reported softly at the door.
“Annoying! I said not to disturb me!”
“Marshal, you should take a look! It’s very important.”
Guo Yingyi was puzzled. His bodyguard knew his habits well—if he insisted this much, there might indeed be something important. He stepped forward to open the door and saw a box in the bodyguard’s hands.
“What’s this?”
Guo Yingyi took the box. It was heavy, seemingly containing metal. When he opened it, his eyes widened in shock. He quickly closed the box and asked anxiously, “Where is the person?”
“He’s waiting outside the mansion.”
“Bring him to my study right away! Wait!”
Guo Yingyi called back to the bodyguard and instructed him, “Bring him in through the side door—don’t let anyone see him.”
After the bodyguard left, Guo Yingyi returned to his seat and couldn’t resist opening the box again. Inside was a gold plaque engraved with the words “King of Zhao,” and on the back, “Supreme General of Tiance, Governor of Anxi.” This was Li Qingan’s identity plaque. Guo Yingyi naturally knew Li Qingan couldn’t be in Chengdu, but the presence of the plaque meant Li Qingan himself was there.
A moment later, the bodyguard brought in a burly man wearing a conical hat that covered his face. The man removed the hat and smiled gently, “Governor Guo, it’s been years.”
“It’s you!”
Guo Yingyi was stunned. He suddenly recognized this man—Shi Jingzhong, a high-ranking general under Geshu Han, with whom he had dealt many times when he was the governor of Qinzhou.
“You… how are you in Chengdu? Weren’t you supposed to return to Longyou?”
Shi Jingzhong pointed at the gold plaque on the table and said with a smile, “Seeing that plaque, Governor Guo, don’t you understand yet?”
Only then did Guo Yingyi realize, “So you’re the head spy of the Northern Tang in Chengdu.”
“That’s right, it’s me!”
Guo Yingyi immediately understood again. Pointing at Shi Jingzhong, he exclaimed in surprise, “I get it now—you must be the one who shot Linghu Fei.”
He had studied the arrow that killed Linghu Fei and concluded that the shooter must have had at least a decade of experience with crossbows to hit the target right between the eyebrows while the target was in a moving carriage. Now that he saw Shi Jingzhong, he realized it had to be him.
“That’s correct. I’m the one who killed Linghu Fei!”
Shi Jingzhong admitted it readily. He smiled and said, “Is Marshal Guo really going to dwell on such trivial matters?”
Guo Yingyi quickly invited him in to sit down and ordered his bodyguard not to let anyone disturb them. If the new emperor came, he should say he was sick.

Shi Jingzhong appeared confident. He greatly admired the general’s insight for targeting Guo Yingyi. From the intelligence he had, Guo Yingyi was a greedy, lustful, and ungrateful man who had betrayed Li Longji and Li Heng. He cared only about profit, not loyalty. Yet such a person had one major weakness: fear of death. His greed for wealth made him more afraid of death than anyone else. From the moment this man invited him to his mansion, he knew the general’s judgment was absolutely correct. To resolve the issue with Southern Tang at the lowest cost and avoid disaster in Shu, the key lay with this man.

That afternoon, Shi Jingzhong also received intelligence that Li Guangbi and Li Sheng had simultaneously launched attacks on Southern Tang. The final moment was approaching, and he believed Guo Yingyi must be aware of this as well.

Guo Yingyi picked up the gold plaque and studied it for a long time. He had come to Shu after being demoted by Li Qingan. Now that the Northern Tang army was advancing, did he still have a chance?

Even if he could use the terrain to stop Li Guangbi, he couldn’t stop Li Sheng’s army. The military strength of Southern Tang was so weak that it might suffice against unarmed civilians, but facing the elite troops of Northern Tang, he had no confidence at all.

He sighed and asked, “What does Prince Zhao mean?”

“Before delivering Prince Zhao’s orders, let me tell General Guo one thing first.”

“What is it?”

“Jia Chongguan and Nanzhao have surrendered to Northern Tang. General Guo, better not think about going to Annam.”

Guo Yingyi’s expression changed drastically. He had spent the entire morning considering that his only escape route was to retreat to Annam and establish himself there. But with Jia Chongguan and Nanzhao having surrendered to Northern Tang, that last escape route was also blocked.

With no way out, Guo Yingyi became utterly disheartened, like a deflated balloon.

“Go ahead! What are Prince Zhao’s orders?”

“Prince Zhao offers General Guo three options for him to choose from.”

Guo Yingyi regained some energy and nodded eagerly. “General Shi, please speak!”

“The first option, and also the best one, is for General Guo to immediately lead his troops to surrender to Northern Tang, enforce strict military discipline, capture the puppet emperor, and take control of Chengdu, thus ending the war with Southern Tang without bloodshed. Afterwards, Prince Zhao could appoint him as the Governor of Yizhou, leaving his family’s wealth untouched.”

Although the position of Governor of Yizhou was high-ranking, real power lay with the Military Governor of Jiannan. The governorship was merely a nominal role, meant for retirement. In other words, Li Qingan would give him a title and benefits but no real power.

Guo Yingyi sighed inwardly. “What about the second option?”

“The second option, which is also a moderate solution, is that if General Guo cannot surrender immediately, he will still have to fight against the Northern Tang army. But as long as General Guo enforces strict military discipline and prevents any attacks on civilians, Your Highness will spare his life, allow him to return to his hometown to live out his days, and preserve his property.”
At this, Shi Jingzhong smiled slightly and said, “Does General Guo want to hear about the worst option?”
“No! Stop talking.”
Guo Yingyi hurriedly shook his head. He knew what the worst option entailed—losing his life and having his wealth confiscated. Under no circumstances would he accept it. Without his life, what use was his wealth? Without his wealth, he didn’t want to live either.
Guo Yingyi pondered for a long time. He could only choose between the first and second options. Although Li Qingan’s conditions were fairly generous, the matter was of great importance, so he had to think carefully.
“I want to know how to prove that these are indeed the words of Prince Zhao,” he said, still somewhat skeptical of Shi Jingzhong.
Shi Jingzhong pointed to the gold medal on the table. “This gold medal can prove it.”
“The gold medal only proves that Prince Zhao has a message for me, but it doesn’t prove it’s exactly what you’ve said. It’s not that I don’t trust General Shi. In case you misremember even slightly, since this concerns my life and property, I must be cautious.”
Shi Jingzhong was prepared. He took out a letter written by Li Qingan himself and handed it to him with a smile. “This is a letter written in Prince Zhao’s own hand. I can give it to you.”
Guo Yingyi slowly unfolded the letter. The handwriting was very small, and he wasn’t sure if it was indeed Li Qingan’s handwriting. It read: “Take my gold medal to see Guo Yingyi. You may propose the following three strategies: one…”
It was indeed true. Guo Yingyi took a deep breath and said, “Give me some time to think, just a little time!”
“You can have time to consider, but you must lift the martial law immediately.”
“No problem. I’ll order it lifted right away!”
……