Chapter 23 The End of a Famous General

In the main room of Prince Xin'an's Mansion, an old man was lying on the bed.

He was so thin that his bones were visible, his hair had turned completely white, and his teeth had all fallen out. He looked like he was about to die.

He is Li Yi, Prince of Xin'an, who is now enjoying his retirement as the Prince's Grand Tutor.

"Grandpa, Qilang from the Zuo Xiang family is here to see you..."

Li Xian came up to Li Yi and spoke softly.

Among nobles, they either call each other father or "Sir".

When Li Yi was seriously ill, Li Xian used folk names to address him, which was very touching.

"It's Shichiro! I remember the last time I saw you, you were still a child and didn't remember anything. Now I'm in bed and I'm confused."

Li Yi raised his head slightly. He was surprised that a junior would come to see him.

He tried to think about Li Xuan's age. Fifteen? Sixteen? Or seventeen?

"You're not confused at all. You'll be fine."

Li Xuan comforted Li Yi before he fell.

Li Shizhi and Li Yi are of the same generation, and their grandfathers are brothers.

However, Li Chengqian was stripped of his title because of his rebellion, so his descendants had no throne.

According to the Tang system, Li Yi's eldest son Li He would inevitably be conferred the title of Duke in the future.

"I used to be very afraid of death, but after lying in bed for so long, I feel that death is not something I am afraid of. You are the first young man from the royal family to visit me."

Li Yi said with relief.

Li Shizhi has such a polite son, so he will have successors in the future.

"Grandpa, Qilang is only sixteen years old, but his poetry has already spread all over Chang'an. Now the scholars in Chang'an all think that Qilang will become a great talent like Wang Wei in the future."

After Li Yi fell ill, he no longer listened to the literary affairs of Chang'an. Li Xian whispered in Li Yi's ear to introduce Li Xuan.

"Since the founding of our Tang Dynasty, there has not been a world-famous poet among the royal family. Can you read Qilang's poems to me?" Li Yi's face turned redder, he was very surprised.

"I'll read a few poems to the prince."

Li Xuan came forward.

Li Yi waved his hand and motioned Li Xuan to sit beside the bed.

"Hold fast to the green mountains and never let go, your roots are in the broken rocks..."

Then Li Xuan read to Li Yi in a soft voice several poems that he had copied from later generations during this period.

"It's a good poem, with the literary grace of Wang Wei. Although I can't remember it and will forget it very quickly, I can hear Qilang's aspirations."

Li Yi listened attentively and even moved his body at the end. When the quilt slipped off, Li Xian quickly covered it for Li Yi.

"The Prince is a famous general of my clan and my elder. I have always looked up to you. The Saint has just appointed me as the deputy envoy of Feng'an Army, and I will be leaving for Lingwu County soon. I come here today to say goodbye to you." Li Xuan replied to Li Yi.

"Alas! We both joined the army like Ban Chao, but I joined the army at the age of sixty, and Qilang joined the army at the age of sixteen. Qilang must have made greater achievements than me!"

Hearing that Li Xuan was so young and was going to join the Frontier, Li Yi thought of his own glorious years and felt deeply moved.

He was appointed as deputy general of an army by the emperor before he even reached adulthood. He must have had some extraordinary qualities.

"A man of great ambition is not old. There are only a few people like the Duke who have this spirit, even from ancient times. This is exactly what I want to learn from the Duke."

Hearing Li Yi's words, Li Xuan was full of admiration.

As a prince, he should be planting flowers and raising birds, surrounded by his children and grandchildren, and enjoying the happiness of family life in his sixties.

However, he was able to stand up and make great contributions to the country at critical moments.

"Balang, go and get me the 'March Record' that I wrote."

Li Yi smiled and gave an order to Li Xian.

Li Xian nodded and left.

When Li Xuan asked Li Yi for advice, Li Xian came back with a book and handed it to Li Yi's skinny hands.

"I have been in the military for more than ten years, and most of the time, I fought against Tubo. I have recorded the terrain of the mountains and rivers on the border between Han and Tubo, as well as the details of the battles with Tubo. The country's biggest enemy is Tubo. If Qilang is determined to join the army, he will fight against Tubo sooner or later. I hope this will be helpful to Qilang."

Li Yi handed the military record he wrote to Li Xuan.

He grabbed Li Xuan's hand again and reminded him emphatically: "Don't attack Shibao City again."

The most important military fortress on the border between Tang and Tubo was Shibao City.

After Li Yi captured Shibao City through a surprise attack, it only lasted for thirteen years.

In the 29th year of Kaiyuan, Gai Jiayun, the governor of Hexi and Longyou, relied on his military exploits, indulged in wine and sex, and ignored defense, causing Shibao City to change hands again.

Li Yi was one of the generals in the Tang Dynasty who knew Shibao City best. He knew that one man could hold the pass against ten thousand.

At that time, he rushed thousands of miles and took the enemy by surprise, so the loss was very small. Once Tubo was prepared, Shibao City would be impregnable.

"This book is as valuable as a thousand pieces of gold, Li Xuan will read it carefully. May I ask your Majesty, how can we take Shibao City again?" Li Xuan took the "Military Record", stood up and bowed to Li Yi, and asked.

Shibao City was Li Longji's thorn in the side, and he dreamed of how to recapture it.

Li Longji still has patience now, knowing that a strong attack is unwise. In a few years, Li Longji will lose his mind and must take Shibao City regardless of casualties.

Li Yi shook his head slightly on the bed and said, "This is your era."

Li Xuan didn't ask any more questions. He just sat on the couch and listened to Li Yi's teachings.

For fear of scaring Li Yi, Li Xuan spoke very softly and slowly from beginning to end. Li Yi was talking to Li Xuan for a whole hour. Gradually, Li Yi became exhausted and began to pant.

Li Xian pulled Li Xuan's clothes, suggesting that Li Xuan should stop.

"Prince, your teachings have improved my state of mind, broadened my horizons, and enriched my knowledge. Please take care of yourself. I will come to see you again when I come back from the north," Li Xuan said no more and said goodbye rather sadly.

Historically, Li Yi would have passed away this year.

He felt ashamed for coming so late.

"Go! A wise man is cautious when he is favored, while a fool is arrogant when he is favored. There are too many examples, so I won't list them one by one. Remember, remember..."

Li Xuan bowed one last time, and Li Xian escorted him out of Prince Xin'an's palace.

After Li Xian came back, he helped Li Yi drink a bowl of hot soup. After Li Yi recovered, he spoke again: "He is so handsome, but it's a pity that I met him too late. I am dying soon and cannot see his future."

"How can you say that, Grandpa? I hope you live a long life and I want to be with you."

Li Xian's eyes were moist, and he believed that Li Yi would gradually get better.

"Some time ago, Dalang told me that a military governor named An Lushan acted disrespectfully towards the crown prince at a banquet. Everyone is mortal, isn't this stupid? But Dalang also said that An Lushan was not a stupid person."

Li Yi paused here, his meaning was self-evident.

At the beginning, Prime Minister Zhang Jiuling advised An Lushan that he would definitely rebel in the future. However, Li Longji thought that Zhang Jiuling made a rash judgment on the loyal and good people by "using Wang Yifu's knowledge of Shi Le". He hated Zhang Jiuling even more.

In some cases, you should never judge a person by his appearance. When the emperor was already old, An Lushan actually said in public, "I don't know there is a prince, I only know the emperor." What should we do if the emperor dies in the future and the prince succeeds to the throne?

"The Hu people are short-sighted, so don't think too much about it, Grandpa."

Li Xian gently stroked Li Yi's chest to calm his father down.

……

On March 26th, the streets of Chang'an were deserted.

Li Xuan has packed his luggage and plans to leave Chang'an tomorrow to report to Lingwu.

Before leaving, Li Xuan was going to Changlepo, northeast of Chang'an City, to watch a grand event.

In order to ensure the smooth holding of the event, Li Longji ordered the cancellation of today's morning court.

This is the famous "Guangyuntan Festival" in history, but the name "Guangyuntan" did not exist at that time.

Guangyuntan was founded by Wei Jian, the governor of Shan County and the envoy of land and water transportation.

Wei Jian created this pond in order to open up the canal transportation in Guanzhong.

As the Wei River was winding and had too much silt, Wei Jian first built a dam in Xianyang to store the Wei River and constructed the "Xingcheng Weir"; then he intercepted the Bashui River and the Chanshui River before they flowed into the Wei River and diverted them to flow eastward; then he dug a channel parallel to the Wei River and merged with the Wei River near Yongfengcang in Huayin County, thus connecting the grain transport between Chang'an and the Guanxi granary "Yongfengcang".

When the canal passed through Changlepo, Wei Jian built the towering Wangchun Tower on the east side of the canal.

It took another two years to dig a deep pool under Wangchun Tower.

There is no doubt that opening up the Guanzhong water transport and integrating Guanzhong into the Grand Canal system was a project that enriched the country and benefited the people. To a certain extent, it prevented Li Longji from moving the central government and moving the capital to Luoyang with all the civil and military officials to "seek food."

During the Kaiyuan period, due to food shortages, Li Longji "moved the capital to find food" five times and ruled Luoyang for nearly ten years.

Every large-scale migration was accompanied by more than 100,000 imperial guards, tens of thousands of palace maids, countless officials and their families, and the families of the powerful.

Not only is it a waste of money and time, it also causes great harm to the people and places along the way.

The economic center of gravity of China has begun to shift to the south. Even at the peak of its prosperity, the fertile plains of Guanzhong still seem too small.

It is impossible to judge whether it is right or wrong to make Chang'an the capital. After all, Chang'an is a place surrounded by mountains and is easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Early that morning, uncle and nephew Pei Huang and Pei Zhou came to see Li Xuan.

"Qilang, I heard that you were canonized by the saint and will go to the frontier to serve as a deputy general. Your dream is to become a general, and it will be accomplished so soon. Alas, my father compared me with you, but I can't do anything well."

Li Xuan and his party rode out of Pingkangfang and headed northeast, exiting from Tonghua Gate in the northeast corner of Chang'an.

On the way, Pei Huang said to Li Xuan.

His best friend will leave him to build a career. Thinking of his playful nature, he feels a little lost.

"I was young and had no ambitions before, but now I take back what I said. I am a descendant of Emperor Taizong, and it would be a shame if I only wanted to be a general."

Li Xuan's eyes were full of determination. Joining the army in the north was just his first step.

"Qillang is so awesome. I never realized you are so talented before." Pei Zhou looked at Li Xuan with eyes full of admiration.

"Don't be too playful. You should study hard. If you become rich and powerful, don't forget us!" Li Xuan mainly said this to Pei Huang.

Pei Huang has been taking his uncle out for fun, which has somewhat "misled the young people".

Pei Zhou was a famous official in history and he was promoted to the position of Jiedushi.

But Li Xuan had never heard of Pei Huang.

Those who do nothing, even if they are nobles or princes, will not leave their names in history.

"I will practice riding and shooting diligently and study poetry and books. When my arms can wield a long spear like Qilang, and when I can see words again, I will not need to ask others. I will go to the border to find Qilang."

Pei Huang was very moved when he heard Li Xuan's words.

During this period, Li Xuan had a huge influence on him, and he vowed in his heart that he would never play around again and would be like Li Xuan, not relying on his elders.

"Me too!"

Pei Zhou also shouted.

Li Xuan nodded. He also hoped that his former playmate could be listed in a separate biography in history books.

(End of this chapter)