Chapter 191 Returning to Huangshui City, Li Bai Sends Poems
It has never happened before that both father and son are founding dukes.

Generally, the son inherits his father's title, or when the father dies, the son becomes favored and is promoted to the rank of Duke.

Unlike Li Xuan, who was a Duke together with Li Shizhi before getting married.

The honors bestowed upon father and son seemed to overshadow the glory of Right Prime Minister Li Linfu.

Among the dukes, the Duke of Chu is considered to be the top one.

Qin, Jin, Chu and Qi were all powerful countries during the Spring and Autumn Period.

Duke of Qin was the title of nobility before Li Shimin was conferred the title of King of Qin. Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty, there has only been one such Duke and no further titles have been granted.

The Duke of Jin is the present-day Li Linfu.

The Duke of Qi had a powerful minister named Changsun Wuji before him, but he has not been given a title yet.

The previous Duke of Chu was Jiang Jiao, a favorite of Li Longji.

Unfortunately, Jiang Jiao ruined such a good hand.

Li Xuan was conferred the title of Duke of Chu, which was a sign of his noble status.

The Duke of Chu had a fief of three thousand households.

Although it was a nominal title, Li Longji added 300 households to Li Xuan's title.

Together with the previous 500 households, the total number of households under seal was 800, enjoying the taxes of 800 households in Chu.

There are twelve levels of military merit, the highest of which is Shangzhuguo.

Li Xuan's military achievements have long been qualified for the title of Shangzhuguo, and now being awarded this honor also means reaching the pinnacle of military merit and becoming a pillar of the country.

When Li Shizhi was appointed prime minister, he was also Shang Zhuguo.

Li Xuan was promoted from General of the Left Dragon and Martial Arts to General of the Right Feathered Guards.

Although the Yulin Army and the Longwu Army were both the Northern Yamen Imperial Guards.

But in terms of nominal status, the Yulin Army was more prestigious than the Longwu Army.

The wings of the country are as prosperous as the forest.

Since the time of Emperor Wu of Han, China has had the Yulin Army.

For a long time afterwards, the Yulin Army continued to exist and was even imitated by Tubo.

The Yulin Army can replace the term "Imperial Guards", but the Longwu Army cannot!
Finally, he also served as the interview ambassador for Hexi and Longyou.

The previous interview would certainly lead to Li Longji dismissing him from his post.

This means that Li Xuan officially took over the military, political and financial affairs of Hexi and Longyou.

He became a true frontier official, holding fifteen diplomatic posts concurrently. Only Li Linfu could match him in the court.

But the importance of holding concurrent posts was unmatched by Li Linfu.

It’s just that Li Linfu’s status is higher.

"Do you have any objections?"

After reading out the reward for Li Xuan, Li Longji paused for a moment and asked the civil and military officials.

"Your Majesty is wise. General Li recovered Jiuqu and expanded the territory for the Tang Dynasty. His title and honors were promoted to a higher level. Who would complain? Wuwei County and Xiping County under General Li's rule are better developed than before, and the people live and work in peace and contentment. He also serves as the envoy of Hexi and Longyou, supervising the officials of Helong. It is a blessing for the people of Hexi and Longyou."

After looking around, the left prime minister Pei Kuan was the first to stand up and speak.

He deliberately pointed out that such an unprecedented achievement as the recovery of Jiuqu would only result in a promotion of one rank; such military merit would only result in an increase of one rank, and no normal person should object to this.

After hearing Pei Kuan's words, the ministers all thought it made sense.

But I felt something was wrong.

The main reason was that they felt that Li Xuan was too young and had not yet reached adulthood, which brought shame to these old ministers.

Many people feel unbalanced.

"Your Majesty is wise, General Li deserves this reward!"

Li Linfu also stood up and bowed, saying against his conscience.

Li Xuan is currently at the peak of his career, so he can only go along with Li Longji's wishes and not disobey him.

He was just afraid that Li Xuan would defeat Tubo again and would overthrow him. What should he do?
However, Li Linfu was still determined to deal with Wang Zhongsi, because dealing with Wang Zhongsi would implicate the crown prince.

Secondly, Li Xuan was too favored by the Saint, and if he could not be dealt with, it would only bring disaster upon himself. Li Xuan was a very smart thief, and he was able to attack and defend himself at the same time.

"Your Majesty is wise..."

When the civil and military officials heard what the prime ministers had said, they all echoed it.

"General Gao, you are the one who will select the girls from the teaching academy. Choose those with excellent skills and stunning looks... Choose those who are the best at jade, gold, and lacquerware."

Li Longji gave instructions to Gao Lishi again.

Not to mention anything else, the gold, silver and jewelry that Li Xuan reported seized were far more than the reward given to Li Xuan.

So Li Longji was not stingy with Li Xuan.

"According to the order!"

Gao Lishi, dressed in yellow, bowed slightly and accepted the order.

Li Longji also appointed Lin Zhaoyin as a special envoy.

He ordered Henan Yin Pei Dunfu to take the silk money out of the warehouse in Luoyang and transport it to Chang'an as soon as possible.

Then it was transferred from Chang'an to Huangshui City.

This time, Li Longji did not order Li Xuan to return to the capital.

Things are different now. The Tang Dynasty and Tubo are almost confronting each other face to face.

As the commander-in-chief, Li Xuan couldn't even leave Jiuqu.

Even if we want to go back to Huangshui City, we have to wait until spring.

……

In the blink of an eye, it is already March.

Although the ice and snow on the Yellow River were gradually melting, the soldiers had only just resumed training due to the cold weather.

During this period, Li Xuan, in addition to receiving some news from Helong, practicing martial arts and reading as usual, practiced calligraphy, and practiced playing musical instruments such as the pipa, flute, and qin.

Sometimes, Li Xuan would play the flute for the soldiers in front of the campfire at night.

The soldiers didn't understand the meaning, but the tune was melodious and the melody was touching, so they felt that Marshal Li was an omnipotent man.

Although Li Xuan was the commander-in-chief, he personally wrote letters home for ordinary soldiers.

The post stations would deliver these letters to all corners of the country and into the hands of their families.

He certainly could not write all the letters home for the entire army by himself, so he ordered the clerks in the army not to refuse the soldiers' requests to write letters home when they were free, and Li Xuan would reward these clerks.

Many literate soldiers in the army also helped their comrades write letters home.

But there are so many letters from home that it will take a year or even longer to deliver them to their hometowns.

Some soldiers wanted to wait before sending letters home, and planned to send the rewards they received in the army to their parents, wives and children.

These trivial matters and details made Li Xuan's prestige in the Helong armies unshakable.

Other coaches can do it, but they are unwilling to lower themselves.

Li Xuan, however, could chat and laugh, and write letters home for the soldiers, just as if he was practicing calligraphy. Li Xuan also enjoyed himself.

Overall, Li Xuan had a comfortable life for more than two months.

At this time, Li Xuan had nothing to do in Jiuqu. The trivial matters of establishing the county, pastoral supervision, pastoral area, and building Wuning City did not need to be handled by Li Xuan, the governor, so they could be handed over to subordinates such as Liu Yan, Geshu Han, and Murong Xihao.

Li Xuan would occasionally leave Hongji Bridge and lead the Shen Ce Guards to patrol the surrounding area.

After two major battles, the injured Shen Ce Guards have recovered.

More than twenty people died in the battle, plus the personal guards who were transferred out to serve as generals. Li Xuan asked Xue Cuo to go to Huangshui City to recruit thirty personal guards. Now the Shen Ce Guards are still fully staffed with 200 people.

In mid-March, Li Xuan led the Shen Ce Guard to Chiling.

He always believed that Tubo would seek to seize Hongyan Fort, Yingshan Fort and other garrisons.

Therefore, not only were scouts dispatched from Jiuqu to Chiling for inspection, but orders were also issued to monitor the various garrisons day and night.

If the Tibetans come to attack, we will immediately light the signal fire. Suihe Shouzhuo, Heyuan Army, and Anren Army will go to support at any time.

Li Xuan looked at Chiling. The snow on the distant mountains had also melted.

Recently, Li Xuan came to the northeast pass of Chiling.

In the center of the mountain pass, there is Eagle Mountain Fort.

The Tang army deployed 400 soldiers in Yingshan Fort, equipped with 200 powerful crossbows and 200 bows and arrows, and 200 of them were wearing iron armor.

With such defensive power in this small castle, we can hold out until reinforcements arrive.

"Reporting to General Li, the Saint's special envoy will arrive in Huangshui City..."

When Li Xuan was still in Chiling, a messenger came on horseback to report.

"Okay! I'll go back right away."

Li Xuan made up his mind and returned to Chishui City with his personal guards.

As early as two months ago, Li Xuan and other generals in the army had received the news of the enthronement.

Li Xuan knew that he would definitely be granted the title of Duke and the title of Supreme Pillar of the State.

The Duke of Chu was very much in line with his expectations; he had not expected to be granted the title of Duke of Qin.

The title of Right Winged Guards General was just to satisfy this title that men yearn for, nothing else.

As for the additional fiefdom, the total amount of gold that Li Longji rewarded Li Xuan was more than two thousand taels, which Li Xuan had been saving.

Li Xuan looked down upon that little bit of tax.

Not to mention the many jade, gold, silver and lacquerware. The lacquerware of the Tang Dynasty is gorgeous, and the gold and silver flattening and carving are time-consuming and laborious. Although it is not as good as pure gold objects, the value of the top lacquerware is even greater than that of silver.

This time, the happiest thing for Li Xuan was that he got the position of ambassador to Hexi and Longyou that he had always dreamed of.

With this identity, Li Xuan could control the local officials in Helong and deal with the powerful forces in Helong without any scruples.

Li Xuan felt that there was something fishy about the "trafficking in women" case that he had asked Yan Zhenqing to investigate before. He had always kept it in mind and would investigate it carefully after leaving Jiuqu.

He would not be happy until this matter was clarified.

After his identity changed, Li Xuan's resume title also underwent drastic changes.

He is currently the General of the Right Feathered Guards, and serves as the Jiedushi, Zhidu, Yingtian, Fangfang, Yanti, Yafan, and Taoji Ambassador of Hexi and Longyou. He is also the Minister of Rites, the Governor of Xiping County, the judge of Wuwei County, and the Ambassador of Longyou Herdsmen, the Ambassador of Hexi Changxing Transport, and the Ambassador of Chishui Army. He was granted the title of Shangzhuguo, Yinqing Guanglu Dafu, and the title of Duke of Chu, with a real fief of 800 households.

Each of these missions and official positions were beyond the reach of ordinary people, but were held by Li Xuan alone.

If Li Xuan had kept a low profile in Hexi and Longyou for a few years, his call to purge the imperial court might have received a response.

But Li Xuan knew that the time was not yet ripe.

He didn't want to be the target of public criticism.

Li Xuan's previous temporary position as the Supervisor of Sizitai was dismissed because the construction of Sizitai was completed.

……

That night, Li Xuan returned to Chishui City.

Originally, Li Xuan wanted to transfer the Lintao army back to Huangshui when the glacier broke.

Now give up this idea.

The Lintao army has already established dozens of new pastures along the Yellow River south of Jiuqu, and the camps have already been rebuilt.

The war could start at any time, so the Lintao army will be temporarily stationed in Jiuqu.

After Qinghai is conquered, the Lintao army will be transferred away.

Before leaving Jiuqu, Li Xuan summoned Duan Xueshi, the secretary of Hexi.

"Secretary Duan, you are eloquent, alert and intelligent. Now there is a dangerous task for you to do."

After Li Xuan summoned Duan Xueshi, he directly explained the danger.

He was looking for his own subordinates and felt that Duan Xueshi was the most suitable candidate, so he summoned Duan Xueshi over.

Duan Xueshi was a Confucian general who was well versed in military strategy. Although he could write poetry, he did not have the literary spirit of Cen Shen and Gao Shi.

He is not as steady and responsible as Liu Yan, Yang Wan and others.

"Since I have joined the army, I am certainly not lacking in courage. Please give me your orders, General Li."

Duan Xueshi bowed to Li Xuan.

He had only joined Li Shuai's staff for a year when he was promoted to an official of the sixth rank. He was deeply grateful to Li Xuan and wanted to repay him.

"Good! You are so brave! I heard that the King of Subi, Mo Lingzan, is at odds with the upper class nobles and the Zamp of Tubo. I want Secretary Duan to be my secret envoy to contact Mo Lingzan and persuade him to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. When the opportunity comes, we will cooperate with the Tang Dynasty to attack the Tubo troops in Qinghai."

Li Xuan explained the whole story and reminded: "This trip is full of dangers. Not only must we be on guard against being caught by Tubo scouts, but we must also face Mei Lingzan who may turn hostile at any time. Secretary Duan, think carefully before answering."

"Although I am only a minor official in the army, I have always hoped to serve the country like Gu Ji of the Han Dynasty and sacrifice my life in the wilderness like Zhang Qian. Marshal Li has given me a chance, and I will do it with my life. In the past, Wei Jiang was able to sign a peace alliance with the barbarians. Now, relying on the powerful national strength of the Tang Dynasty and Marshal Li's great reputation, I will definitely accomplish something better than Wei Jiang."

After hearing Li Xuan's statement, Duan Xueshi spoke righteously without any hesitation.

Like Gao Shi, he compared himself to Gu Ji, who sacrificed his life for his country in the Western Regions.

Show that you are not afraid of sacrifice for the country's cause.

Just like Duan Xueshi once said: "It is impossible to make contributions to the country by searching for chapters and extracting words with this ability!"

This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is exactly what Duan Xueshi desires.

"Great! If we can convince Mei Lingzan, Secretary Duan will have done a great job."

Li Xuan clapped his hands and said.

He also told Duan Xueshi some specific details and the purpose.

Li Xuan wanted to take advantage of King Subi's desire and make a promise to him.

If they helped the Tang Dynasty, they could be allowed to establish the Suobei Kingdom, just like the Western Regions countries submitted to the Tang Dynasty. All of Suobei's eleven Dongdai territories would be governed by Mo Lingzan, and they would receive titles and rewards from the Tang Dynasty.

Mei Lingzan was given military and political power.

Although Meilingzan was the King of Suba, his power was definitely not that great. Not to mention that there was a little Gonglun who was always watching him, his brother "Meiluzan" controlled more tribesmen and slaves than Meilingzan, and was eyeing the position of King of Suba.

The fact that Mei Lingzan defected to the Tang Dynasty was leaked in history, indicating that Mei Lingzan had many Tibetan spies around him.

If there is any movement and the information is leaked by spies, all efforts will be in vain.

Li Xuan told Duan Xueshi what to do if Ling Zan was not willing to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

He personally escorted Duan Xueshi to Hongji Bridge, which was more than ten miles away, and asked two personal guards to follow Duan Xueshi to the Bailang Qiang base at the foot of Xiqing Mountain.

King Bailang Qiang will contact people on the Subi side and take Duan Xueshi to meet the Subi King Mo Lingzan.

Finally, after Li Xuan gave instructions to Gao Xiuyan, Geshu Han, Liu Shan and others, he led the Shen Ce Guard to leave Jiuqu.

The special envoy brought a large amount of supplies to Huangshui, and Li Xuan had to go to greet him.

Three days later, Li Xuan returned to Huangshui City and was cheered by officials and people.

Liu Yan informed Li Xuan that special envoy Lin Zhaoyin would arrive outside Huangshui City tomorrow.

After Li Xuan learned about it, he summoned his colleagues in Longyou to hold a meeting.

Longyou has been relatively stable since the war, and the powerful people in Xiping County have been eliminated.

The powerful people in other counties closed their doors and dared not commit crimes openly.

Especially after the envoys of the two places were transferred and Li Xuan was appointed as the new envoy, the officials in Hexi and Longyou were frightened.

They hoped that Li Xuan would stay at the front line and not come back.

People with bad intentions cursed Li Xuan to die on the front line.

Li Xuan has long been dubbed the butcher.

He was a butcher who specialized in killing the powerful, but with the downfall of every powerful family, there would always be local officials implicated.

The ones who were frightened were the evil tyrants, but the big families who had not committed any crime were not afraid, because the last time Li Xuan was in Wuwei, he did not indiscriminately deal with the big families.

The powerful people in Helong were all thinking of countermeasures.

If Li Xuan pushed them into a corner, they would definitely do something irrational.

When they know they can't escape their fate, these ruthless people who exploit the common people will definitely fight.

There are more than a hundred powerful families in the entire Helong area.
After the parliament ended, Liu Yan reminded Li Xuan that the great poet Li Bai had sent a letter to Li Xuan two days ago and placed it in Li Xuan's mansion.

After Li Xuan returned to his mansion, he opened the letter immediately.

It turned out that Li Bai sent a poem. What surprised Li Xuan was that this poem had appeared in history and was written to Geshu Han.

Now these words of praise are being directed at Li Xuan.

The only difference is the title of the poem is that it is “Song of Li Qi’s Recovering the Nine Bends”.

Heaven breeds talents for the country, and dense spears and halberds surround the spiritual platform.

The vast and profound plan is like the rivers and seas, and the unrestrained and free spirit is like the wind and thunder.

If a man behaves like this, all the armies will be defeated with just one command.

Wei Qing was a mere general, while Bai Qi was a mere coward.

This description made Li Xuan blush.

Although Geshu Han in history could not compare with Li Xuan in military achievements, Li Xuan could not deserve such a title.

Later when he rebelled, this poem became embarrassing...

Li Xuan saw that Li Bai left his address, so he wrote back.

He knew that Li Bai was disheartened and left his official career. Although he had played with Du Fu for a year, his pursuit of immortals and herbs, as well as his drinking and singing showed that he had a knot in his heart.

Li Bai thought that he was drifting like duckweed, but during his wandering, he left behind immortal poems in the history of Chinese literature.

So Li Xuan never thought of summoning Li Bai as his aide.

Moreover, Li Bai had just been driven out of Chang'an by Li Longji, so it was inappropriate to recruit Li Bai as an aide and ask Li Longji for an official position.

Immediately afterwards, Li Xuan also gave Li Bai a poem, "Langtaosha Presented to Li Bai".

Don't say that slander is as deep as the waves, and don't say that migrants are as heavy as sand. Although it is hard to go through thousands of trials and tribulations, gold will be found only after all the sand is blown away.

Li Xuan hopes that Li Bai will not care about the rumors in the secular world and indulge in his own romance.

He knew it was difficult for Li Bai to get "gold", but he wished Li Bai could achieve it.

The next day, Li Xuan crossed the Huangshui Bridge and, together with the military supervisor Zhang Daobin, met the special envoy Lin Zhaoyin twenty miles away.

Behind Lin Zhaoyin, horse-drawn carriages formed a long queue, escorted by the imperial guards.

The soldiers had been looking forward to the cartloads of silk and money for a long time.

In addition, there were a dozen exquisite carriages, which were given by Li Longji to Li Xuan as a reward for the beautiful women in the imperial music troupe who were proficient in musical instruments, singing and dancing.

If it is given to him now, he will be equivalent to Li Xuan's slave in the future.

Li Xuan was not a man obsessed with women. He knew that Geshu Han in history was drained of his body by Li Longji. He went from being a powerful general who could lead others to a man who indulged in sensual pleasures and became plagued by illness.

Li Xuan and Lin Zhaoyin were familiar with each other. Although Lin Zhaoyin was a special envoy, he knew the importance of Li Xuan in the eyes of the saint and knew that Li Xuan and Gao Lishi had a good relationship. Therefore, he was always polite to Li Xuan.

Li Xuan would not cause trouble. He invited Lin Zhaoyin back to Huangshui City, treated him to good food and wine, and also summoned his subordinates and officials from Wuwei to hold a welcome banquet for Lin Zhaoyin to welcome him and give Lin Zhaoyin enough face.

After resting in Huangshui City for seven days, Lin Zhaoyin set out for return with the imperial guards.

Li Xuan then summoned his subordinates and rewarded the troops according to their merits.

(End of this chapter)