Chapter 139: Controlling Hexi and holding eleven envoy positions
"Qilang, did you know that the woman named Changli from Lingcui Tower in Chang'an has come to your house?"

Luo Xing quietly told Li Xuan that he and Li Xuan had gone to Lingcui Tower together to deal with the fight involving Li Lang and had met Changli.

That look is indeed hard to forget.

Since Li Xuan had been in the same room with Chang Li, Luo Xing was afraid that Li Xuan didn't know, so he reminded him.

"You mean she became the singing girl given to me by the saint?"

Li Xuan was suddenly stunned. Wasn’t she in Lingcui Tower?

Why come to him?
Logically speaking, given Chang Li's low status, he has no destiny and no ability to force anything.

"Yes! That's her!"

Luo Xing nodded.

"Go call her over here and I'll ask her what's going on!"

Li Xuan gave some instructions to Luo Xing and then went into the bedroom to wash up.

"Qi Lang, please wait a moment!"

Luo Xing ran away immediately after saying this.

When Li Xuan changed into the purple official uniform, Changli was already waiting in the main hall.

"Your servant Changli pays homage to the great general!"

Changli, wearing a green skirt, bowed to Li Xuanying.

Goodbye Li Xuan, she is very complicated.

Li Xuan has an identity that makes her even more out of reach. He is the only general in the world who can be as famous as Wang Zhongsi!
"No need to be polite!"

Li Xuan motioned for her to excuse herself.

She is still stunningly beautiful, but it's a pity that she is of humble status.

"Longyou is a poor place, why would you choose to come here?"

Li Xuan asked Changli.

"When slaves are enrolled in the Imperial Academy, their fate is beyond their control."

Chang Li’s meaning was very clear, she was also arranged to be here.

She heard that a group of singing girls were to be selected to be sent to the ministers. When they were chosen, she felt relieved but also extremely desperate.

But when she learned that she would be sent to Longyou and enter the residence of Li Xuan, the general of the Left Dragon Guard and the governor, she felt that this was her luckiest fate.

"Aren't you in Lingcui Tower?" Li Xuan asked curiously again.

"I was suddenly called back to the Music Academy, and Sanniang was unable to stop it. The officials of the Music Academy told me that someone wanted to take me as a concubine. But a few days later, Mr. Gao came to the Music Academy to select someone, and then he took me away!"

Changli answered Li Xuan without hiding anything.

"Then do you regret coming here?"

Li Xuan understood what was going on.

The person who was able to transfer Changli from Lingcui Tower to the Jiaofang and seemingly was also able to place Changli on the music register must be one of the top dignitaries in Chang'an.

Later, Gao Lishi was ordered by Li Longji to select beautiful women with both beauty and talent from the Jiaofang to reward Li Xuan.

After Gao Lishi saw Changli, he chose her for Li Xuan. The officials of the Jiaofang dared not say a word when they saw Gao Lishi.

Since Li Longji now favors Yang Yuhuan the most, Gao Lishi does not dare to recommend other beauties to Li Longji. The experienced Gao Lishi can see the naivety and stubbornness of Yang Yuhuan, and he is afraid of being blamed by Yang Yuhuan.

Besides, no matter how beautiful Changli is, she is not as charming as Yang Yuhuan.

He saw how much Li Longji doted on Yang Yuhuan. He was so afraid that she would melt if he held her in his mouth, and so afraid that she would drop if he held her in his hands.

Anyone who dared to say a bad word about Yang Yuhuan would be dragged out and beaten to death.

"I have no regrets. It is my honor to serve the general!"

Changli turned pale and knelt down before Li Xuan.

In Chang'an, countless princes and nobles bowed down to her pomegranates and often spent huge sums of money to ask her to play a song for them.

But Changli has always faced her identity squarely, and the only thing others care about is her appearance.

Just like not long ago, she was transferred back to the Jiaofang, and there was no force to stop her.

"Okay! From now on, you will be in charge of the other nine singing girls!"

Li Xuan stood up and helped Changli up.

In fact, he was still very grateful to Changli. If it weren't for Changli's reminder, Li Shizhi would have probably fallen into the trap that time.

If Li Shi fell into the trap when Li Xuan was not around, the consequences would be disastrous.

"What kind of songs and dances do you like to listen to? I will arrange them for you in the future!"

When Changli approached Li Xuan, he lowered his head and said with a red face.

"No need to practice any songs or dances. You can teach me how to compose music when you have time!"

Li Xuan knew that Changli was proficient in music and could compose his own music.

He was anxious to learn music and compose music for the Song Dynasty poems in his mind.

"Your servant... obeys your command!"

After hearing what Li Xuan said, Changli was at a loss and finally obeyed.

There is nowhere to go in Longyou, and the city only sells daily necessities. It cannot be compared with any city in the Central Plains.

There is nothing much outside the city except scattered villages and military camps one after another.

So Changli's life here is very hard.

In the morning, Li Xuan arrived at the government office to officially handle official business.

On the same day, Gao Xiuyan and Wang Nande also led the Lintao cavalry back to the vicinity of Huangshui City.

Before that, they had been stationed in the upper reaches of the Huangshui River.

"What do you two generals think of the defense of the Qinghai area?"

Li Xuan summoned Gao Xiuyan and Wang Nande to ask questions.

"Reporting to General Li, we were initially facing only 30,000 infantrymen, and seven days later, another 10,000 Tibetan cavalry were transferred over. Our army is confident that we can defeat the Tibetan army in Qinghai!"

Gao Xiuyan replied to Li Xuan.

"Reporting to General Li, I also feel that the Tibetans' defense in the Qinghai area is relatively weak compared to the past. They built Kuba City next to Kuba Lake, which is an example of their lack of confidence."

Wang Nandi replied immediately.

"Qinghai is a good place, but it has no strategic location to defend. Even if we take Qinghai temporarily, Tubo will send troops from all over the country to attack, and our army will have to withdraw."

Li Xuan understood that the two generals were eager to fight.

But he already felt that it would be better to take Jiuqu as the main one and Qinghai as the secondary one.

"If we can capture Shibao City, we can attack or defend the Qinghai area."

Gao Xiuyan was eager for Li Xuan to launch an attack on Shibao City and remove this thorn.

"We need to use strategy to take Stone Castle, not brute force!"

Li Xuan only told his strategy to his trusted aides, and no one else knew about it.

Now Tubo uses Shibao City as a fulcrum and has many layouts, including many fortresses and beacons on Chiling Mountain, which are designed to protect Shibao City.

Li Xuan was afraid that more and more people would know about this strategy and it would be accidentally leaked.

"General Li, according to the prisoners captured by Zhuosheng, the Tuyuhun people were very dissatisfied with the weakness of the Tuyuhun king and the exploitation of Tubo after the Battle of Lishui. Now Tubo's chief minister, Moluqiongsang Woermang, has been stationed here to prevent Tuyuhun from rebellion. Can we take advantage of this?"

Wang Nandi suddenly said to Li Xuan.

"I have already made plans for Tuyuhun. This will be the key to our army's next great victory."

Li Xuan nodded slightly.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan summoned Murong Xihao.

"Do the seven thousand Tuyuhun captives trust you now?"

After Murong Xihao paid his respects, Li Xuan asked him.

"Replying to General Li, after spending some time with them, they have completely trusted me. After they go back, they will surely incite their people to rebellion. General Li said before that he would release them back to Tuyuhun in the spring. But I think that after they go back, they will most likely be killed by Tubo. I hope to train them into light cavalry, and if General Li goes to war with Tubo, he can use them as the main attack and recruit other Tuyuhun soldiers to surrender."

Murong Xihao answered Li Xuan and asked for orders.

When Li Xuan heard Murong Xihao's words, he did not agree immediately.

His original intention was to release the captives, instigate Tuyuhun to rebel, turn to the Tang Dynasty, and make Tubo attacked from all sides.

Then he took the opportunity to launch a surprise attack on Tubo and turned this strategy into victory.

"I think what General Murong said makes sense. Tuyuhun is a Xianbei people, good at riding and shooting. We have 7,000 Tuyuhun captives, and they can affect most of Tuyuhun's camps. If we use them in battle, they will be a killer weapon!"

Wang, who was standing by, rarely agreed with Murong Xihao's suggestion.

"The Tuyuhun people are full of resentment. Even if we don't release the captives, they may rebel. It is entirely feasible for us to use the captives for our own benefit."

Gao Xiuyan also agreed.

"Seven thousand cavalry is not a small number. If they are not united, they will backfire on our army!"

Li Xuan was worried because there must be nobles among the Tuyuhun captives, and those nobles might be pro-Tubo.

If they act like grandsons now and incite the soldiers at the critical moment, they will lose both the wife and the army.

"Our army has no shortage of elite cavalry and light cavalry. In that case, let's train them into infantry. I will report to the Saint and let General Murong temporarily lead the 7,000 infantry of Tuyuhun."

Li Xuan felt that what Murong Xihao said made sense and used a compromise method.

The infantry posed much less of a threat to them.

"Thank you, Li Shuai!"

Murong Xihao accepted the order.

Being able to capture Tuyuhun and upgrade them into soldiers had already exceeded his psychological expectations, not to mention that General Li had put them under his command.

Murong Xihao knew that as long as he could conquer Tuyuhun, he would have made a great contribution in the future and would gain greater fame. "We must temper their mentality and make them completely surrender to us. We cannot afford to make any mistakes on the battlefield."

Li Xuan said solemnly to Murong Xihao.

"I will obey your orders!"

He had separated the Tuyuhun nobles and only had the common people working for him.

"Okay, go down! When we set out on the day of the war, we will first offer the Tuyuhun prince as a sacrifice."

Li Xuan decided to kill Tuyuhun prince Xi Nongcan in front of the Tuyuhun soldiers so that the Tuyuhun soldiers would completely get rid of the former "fake king".

The Murong clan is the real Tuyuhun royal family!
Even the Murong clan had been sinicized, and in less than a hundred years, Tuyuhun would be completely integrated into "Huaxia".

Li Xuan also instructed Gao Xiuyan and Wang Nande to fill the gaps in the troops as soon as possible.

Especially in the Lintao Army, when recruiting soldiers, those who can ride horses are given priority.

In Longyou and Hexi, there are too many Han and Hu people who can ride horses and shoot arrows.

A few days later, military envoys came to Huangshui in person to collect silk and money. In addition, they had one more thing to ask: they wanted horses from Li Xuan.

The military envoys all knew that the Lintao Army had a full complement of 40,000 war horses, making it the most mobile army in the world.

Li Xuan seized another 6,000 horses this time. He couldn't just give these horses to the pastoral supervisor!
The military envoys all wanted to take some back to increase the mobility of their own armies.

Especially large armies like the Anren Army and the Zhenxi Army.

Li Xuan did not hesitate too much and decided to give two thousand war horses to the Anren Army, one thousand war horses to the Heyuan Army, one thousand war horses to the Zhenxi Army, one thousand war horses to the Momen Army, and one thousand war horses to the Baishui Army.

Any army in Longyou with more than 4,000 men would have at least 1,000 cavalry.

Forget about other small armies like Ningsai and Zhenwei. Like Shouzhuo, they are mainly defensive, with some scouts.

The high-quality mares and Western Region stallions that Li Xuan brought back from Longju Island were not distributed to the troops.

Li Xuan established the Huangshui Prison in the northern part of the Huangshui River, temporarily named the Lower Prison, with Liu Xi as the pastoral supervisor.

Huangshui Prison will sooner or later be developed into a prison.

After establishing the strategic initiative, Li Xuan will also set up new pastures in Qinghai Lake and the upper reaches of the Yellow River.

Liu Xi's position as the pastor was just to show off his status. When Liu Xi was not around, the deputy pastor took over the position. He still mainly traded with the Li Te horse merchants.

……

Chang'an, Xingqing Palace.

"Black clouds are pressing down on the city, and the city is about to be destroyed. The armor shines towards the sun, and the golden scales are revealed. The sound of horns fills the sky with autumn colors, and the rouge on the frontier is purple in the night. The half-rolled red flag is facing the Yishui River, and the drums are silent in the heavy frost and cold. I will report your kindness on the Golden Terrace, and I will die for you with the Jade Dragon..."

Li Longji recited Li Xuan's "Helong Qu" in the main hall.

He loved this poem, especially the last two lines, as he saw Li Xuan's utter loyalty.

There were actually people who impeached such a loyal minister.

After receiving Li Xuan's decree, Li Longji was so angry that he demoted the censor to the position of county magistrate in Qianzhong, a remote place.

Killing the famous Tubo general greatly enhanced the country's prestige. As Lubu said, "Women and children bowed to the east and shouted long live the saint when the saint sent the heavenly army to them." He seemed to be a benevolent and righteous king who "loved the people like his own children."

Li Longji always cared about what the people thought of him, so every year he would host a banquet for some elders from the common people in Hua'e Xianghui Tower.

During the grand event at Guangyuntan, he saw the people cheering in front of Wangchun Tower, so he ordered the palace musicians to play in the pond and have fun with the people.

Civil and military officials looked at each other in amazement. This poem was indeed well written!
Compared with other poets, Li Qillang can always flatter in the right way without appearing vulgar.

Although Li Longji often recited poems at banquets, this was his first time in the court.

Wang Wei, who was the last among the ministers, read it carefully and felt that it was a work of excellence.

Wang Wei hadn't seen Li Xuan for a long time and missed her very much.

Li Linfu had a faint smile on his face, but he was already cursing in his heart.

He also wanted to flatter like this, but he didn't have the literary talent to do so.

Fortunately, he had vented his anger last night.

The result of yesterday's military discussion made him unable to sleep or eat. But he could not go against Li Longji's will.

After seeing the ministers commenting and praising him, Li Linfu stood up and said, "General Li has fought deep behind enemy lines and enhanced our country's prestige. He should be given a more important position."

The decision of the Zhongshu Menxiatang had to be made by him, even if the chief prime minister was unwilling.

"What suggestions does the Right Prime Minister have?"

Li Longji asked the question knowing the answer.

"The prestige of the Tang Dynasty in the Western Regions has declined. I suggest that General Fu Meng be appointed as the governor of the four Anxi towns. General Fu Meng was once the governor of Shule and conquered Poye City. He is well-known in the Western Regions. I believe that with him in charge, the Tang Dynasty's reputation in the Western Regions will be revived."

"Since the Kaiyuan period, many generals have concurrently served as Jiedushi of Hexi and Longyou, coordinating the two armies. General Li can be made Jiedushi, Zhidushi, Yingtian Ambassador of Hexi, judge Wuwei County affairs, and concurrently serve as Ambassador of Chishui Army, Yafan Envoy of Helong, and Changxing Transport Envoy of Hexi."

After Li Linfu bowed, he repeated to his ministers the results of yesterday's military discussion.

These diplomatic posts were all positions assigned to Li Xuan by Li Longji.

What made him most depressed was that it turned out that his job was the Hexi Changxing Transport Commissioner.

Although he held more than thirty envoys, this position was quite important.

When he resigned from the position of Minister of Personnel, he took the initiative to resign from five diplomatic posts to show his intentions.

If he had known this earlier, he would not have resigned from the position of Hexi Changxing Transport Commissioner.

When Li Linfu said this, the ministers were moved, but no one was shocked.

Everyone knew that Li Xuan was about to take control of the Hexi Army.

It would be the same even if there was no battle in Qinghai!

The current Li Xuan is unparalleled in ability and is the person Li Longji trusts and favors the most.

Li Xuan held multiple posts, both of which were important ones, unique among the military governors.

Such power exceeds that of any other military governor.

Fortunately, the saint did not promote Li Xuan's title this time.

"What does the Left Prime Minister think?"

Li Longji asked Wei Jian again.

"I have no objection. If General Li controls the Hexi Army, he can focus on dealing with Tubo."

Of course Wei Jian had to agree, as this was the military secret discussed yesterday.

Li Linfu is a cunning old man. He is under increasing pressure and wants Li Xuan to help relieve the pressure for him.

"I second the proposal!"

All the ministers also bowed.

"Remove General Fu Meng from his posts as governor of Hexi, governor of Zhidu, and military governor of Yingtian, and appoint General Fu Meng as deputy governor of Anxi Protectorate and governor of the four towns of Anxi... and appoint General Li to concurrently hold the above posts. The rest of the nobles, officials of the minuscule class, and officials of the official post will remain unchanged for the time being."

Since both the prime minister and the emperor agreed, the matter was settled.

The eunuch Lin Zhaoyin was sent to make the appointment.

At the same time, with rewards.

Li Longji also rewarded Li Xuan with two hundred gold coins, thirty gold items, and twenty jade items.

At the same time, Li Longji ordered Li Xuan to go to Chang'an in April to inquire about the affairs.

After April, the weather turned warmer and the probability of a major war became smaller, so Li Xuan could leave.

At the same time, Li Longji ordered Wang Zhongsi to concurrently serve as the governor of Hedong.

The difference is that Wang Zhongsi also served as the Hedong envoy.

Li Linfu was alert, thinking that this was a sign of him becoming a prime minister, and he was planning in his mind how to deal with Wang Zhongsi.

Since last year, An Lushan has also served as the Jiedushi of Pinglu and Fanyang.

This time, the saint's envoy did not transport a large amount of goods and arrived at Huangshui City a month later.

Li Xuan personally received Lin Zhaoyin and learned of his appointment by Li Longji.

After Lin Zhaoyin has rested for a few days, he will follow Lin Zhaoyin to Hexi.

Fu Meng Lingcha was different from Li Xuan. He had to go to Chang'an first and then to Anxi.

Li Xuan finally gained control of the Hexi Army. He could now let go without having to worry about manpower.

Li Xuan always regretted that Li Longji did not let him serve as the envoy of Hexi and Longyou, which made it impossible for him to govern the local area.

This time, Li Longji asked Li Xuan to judge Wuwei County.

Wuwei County was the seat of the Hexi Jiedushi.

To judge means to hold both a high position and a low-level job.

Li Xuan already held the position of governor of Xiping County, so it was impossible for him to serve as another governor concurrently.

In other words, the two counties where Li Xuan can now interfere in government affairs are Xiping County, the seat of Longyou, and Wuwei County, the seat of Hexi.

As the name suggests, the Helong Yafan Envoy was in charge of managing and pacifying the Hu people in the Hexi and Longyou areas.

If necessary, troops from the Hu tribes can be mobilized to participate in the war against Tubo.

For Li Xuan, this position was dispensable, and many Hu warriors volunteered to join the army.

If we rashly conquer the Hu tribes, it will intensify local conflicts, and the recruitment system will become meaningless.

The last position is Hexi Changxing Transport Commissioner.

This was an official transportation agency of the Tang Dynasty. It was also called Changxingfang and Changyunfang. Ox carts were the main means of transportation. It was set up in Xizhou, Dunhuang, Wuwei, Zhangye and other places on the Hexi Corridor.

It can be said that it was responsible for transportation from the Western Regions to the Hexi Corridor and then to Chang'an.

This position is very important to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan sorted out his duties and realized that he now served as the Jiedushi of Longyou, Jiedushi of Hexi, Zhidushi of Longyou, Zhidushi of Hexi, Yingtianshi of Longyou, Yingtianshi of Hexi, Herdsman of Longyou, Transport Envoy of Hexi, Suppressing Envoy of Helong, Yafan Envoy of Helong and Ambassador of Chishui Army, a total of eleven posts.

(End of this chapter)