Chapter 141 The Emperor's Meeting

Li Qingan was already injured. Although he was exhausted after three days of running, the family members of the soldiers who cried sadly on the other side made him exhausted. Even if he was a man who was so strong that he could no longer withstand the physical torture and finally fell ill. He had to hand over the remaining aftermath to the captain He Yingchuan.

On that evening, Anxi Army and his party entered Chang'an City. The inside and outside of Mingde Gate were crowded with people entering and leaving the city. It was very lively. The boys and girls who returned from outings, the villagers who bought goods in the city and were preparing to go home. In addition, the city gate was being repaired, making it difficult to enter and exit the city.

"This is our military certificate!" The captain who led the team handed a document to the military academy guarding the gate.

It was the Anxi Army who had returned from Longyou. The lieutenant guarding the gate looked in awe and waved his hand, "Everyone let me give it, let them enter the city first."

The people who were crowded at the gate of the city waiting to enter the city heard that they were soldiers returning from Longyou, and they all went a way to both sides and looked at the group of thin soldiers curiously. Two hundred Anxi soldiers walked into the city cave silently. Soon, the people on both sides started to talk.

"Are they?"

"Brother Gu, what are you talking about?"

"Don't you know? The Anxi Army, which intercepted the main force of Tubo, was almost wiped out."

"You mean Li Qing'an's Anxi army? But I didn't see him!"

"It must be true. Look at the carriage, he is probably inside the carriage."

The discussions are getting louder and louder. These days, the legendary story about the three thousand Anxi Western Army intercepting the 80,000 Tubo army spread throughout Chang'an during the Battle of Longyou. Only then did the people of the Tang Dynasty realize that the victory of Shibao City was at the cost of the annihilation of the three thousand Tang troops, and countless people sighed.

I don’t know who took the lead, but suddenly there was a thunderous applause from the city gate, and someone shouted: “Good, you are the real heroes of the Tang Dynasty!”

The soldiers of the Anxi Army bowed their fists and slowly walked into Chang'an City.

Today is the 11th day of the first lunar month, and Chang'an City is busy preparing for the Spring Festival. This year's New Year coincides with the great victory of Longyou. Li Longji issued an order to celebrate the whole country. On the 15th of the first lunar month, the Spring Festival was flourishing and became an extremely grand celebration. The Spring Festival is also called the Lantern Festival. As the name suggests, it is to enjoy lanterns. All markets will have lanterns and decorate them. The wealthy families will also try their best to seek newness and wonder in order to continue their family prosperity in the new year. However, whether it is a market or a wealthy family, it cannot be compared with the official lanterns in Chang'an. The Lantern Festival every year uses Zhuque Street and Chunming Street as the north, south, east and west axis, and lays countless gorgeous camouflages on these two streets, becoming the focus of the whole city.

It is a huge project to lay lights on two streets that are dozens of miles long. Although it is the 11th day of the first lunar month, laying lights has reached its climax. Countless servants and craftsmen on Zhuque Street are busy busy. After Li Qing'an and his group entered the city gate, they stopped and waited for Li Qing'an's arrangements.

Li Qing'an was too weak to ride a horse. He was half lying in a temporary rented carriage, silently looking at this unparalleled metropolis from the car window. The towering palaces in the distance, the crowds of people on the streets, and the prosperity and magnificence of Chang'an made him feel inexplicably moved. A tragic battle and a baptism of life and death made him feel as if he had become ten years older.

"General, brothers don't know where to go?"

The person who spoke was Li Qing'an's new personal army, named Jiang Xiaonian. Like He Yanming, who died in battle, he was also the second generation of the athletes of the Anxi Long March. He was originally a sergeant in the Anxi Scout Camp. The young man was only twenty years old. He was not only tall, but also very clever.

"Go to Guangfufang!"

Guangfufang is Li Qing'an's new house. Although the house is not big and it is a little crowded with 200 people, he really has no place to go. As soon as he finished speaking, a middle-aged man ran across the road and shouted from a distance: "General Li!"

The person who came was actually Butler Luo from Gao Lishi's Mansion. He ran forward and said happily: "I have been waiting here since the morning, and I have been waiting for General Li until now."

"It turned out to be Butler Luo."

Li Qingan smiled slightly and said, "How did Butler Luo know that I would enter the city from Mingde Gate?"

"Not only Mingde Gate, all the city gate masters sent people to wait. The master said that General Li might not have a place to resettle subordinates, so he ordered us to invite General Li back to the mansion. My master has arranged it and specially emptied five large yards, boiled hot water, prepared food, and waited for General Li to take his people to live."

Gao Lishi's meticulous arrangement moved Li Qingan a little. He nodded and smiled: "Okay! Let's go to Gao Weng's mansion."

"Okay! Come with me, everyone!"

Butler Luo successfully completed the task assigned by Gao Lishi, and he happily led the Anxi army to Yishanfang.

"Butler Luo, is Gao Weng in good health?"

"My master is in good health! Yesterday, he accompanied the emperor to the school to inspect the Longyou Army. He heard that he had shot a few arrows, which attracted the audience's cheers."

Speaking of this, Butler Luo asked strangely: "General Li, why didn't you participate in the city ceremony the day before yesterday? It's really grand! Many servants from the mansion and I went there too. When everyone came back, they said they wanted to join the army. Alas! That kind of mighty feeling is really exciting."

Li Qingan smiled and changed the subject: "Is there anything interesting in Chang'an recently?"

"What's interesting? Or it's the Lantern Festival in the Yuan Dynasty four days later."

Speaking of this, Butler Luo suddenly remembered something and slapped his head: "By the way! In two days, the Imperial Concubine will hold a Yuefu competition, which will be held in Qujiang Xingyuan. I heard that the scale is grand and ordinary civilians are allowed to participate. General Li might as well go and take a look when he has time."

"I'm not in good health, let's see it then!"

Soon, they walked into Yishanfang and came to Gao Lishi's mansion. Gao Lishi had not returned in the palace, but his son had already received instructions. When he heard that Li Qing'an had come, he immediately ordered the side gate to open. Hundreds of slaves ran out and carried their horses and bags, each serving one, which made Zhong'an's Western Army a little at a loss. Li Qing'an smiled and said to his subordinates: "This is not an official government office, it is my personal friendship. Everyone should be at will, just follow them, take a shower, eat, and have a good sleep."

After receiving Li Qing'an's order, everyone followed their families into the mansion. Gao Lishi's son was Feng Jisi, who was adopted by Gao Lishi's elder brother. He was appointed as the chief of Dali Temple and was also a very smart and capable official. He bowed and stepped forward to lower his voice and smiled: "General Li doesn't have to worry about what the Ministry of War will say. Let General Li live in Gao's mansion, which is especially accurate for the emperor."

"I'll feel relieved."

Li Qingan smiled and asked again, "I wonder when will Mr. Gao come back?"

"In a while! The emperor is busy with the Longyou Army these two days. My father has to serve the people, but he has already given instructions. General Li just follows my arrangements."

"Then I'll bother Brother Feng."

Feng Jisi made a very thoughtful arrangement. Not only did he send someone with experience in serving the injuries to bathe Li Qing'an, but he also invited several famous doctors to treat the injuries to Li Qing'an and his subordinates to heal Li Qing'an. After a busy schedule, Li Qing'an had supper, and then changed into a new dress and went back to the room to rest.

The place where he lived was still the Furong Tower, and the furnishings were still there, but there were no sisters around him, which made Li Qing'an feel a little confused about others when he saw things.

Li Qingan slowly walked to the window and opened it. A cold night wind blew over his face. He stared silently at the frozen lotus pond, with a lot of thoughts in his heart. Although the battle of Shibao City brought him an indelible memory, Li Qingan knew that the most important thing he had now was to come out of the shadow of this battle. The brothers who died in battle had been asleep, but their families were still there. Arrangement of their families for the dead brothers was something that they, the living, needed to do. In short, it was his unshirkable responsibility.

Arrange the families of the fallen soldiers to have resources. Money is one aspect, but more importantly, they must allow their parents to spend their old age and have no worries about food and clothing; they must allow their children to study and be able to support themselves in the future, just like their sons, their husbands, and their fathers are still alive. Only in this way can those brothers who died in battle be in peace and quiet.

To this end, he needed to obtain a piece of land so that he could become the master who could control the land. In the Tang Dynasty, with such an identity, civil officials were prefects, military generals were governors, and at least the governor of a state.

Li Qing'an couldn't help but think of Geshuhan again. When he broke up with him in Jincheng County, Geshuhan was extremely unhappy. In fact, when he was in Longyou, he felt that there was a hint of vigilance and uneasiness behind Geshuhan's hearty smile. This was an inevitable result of scattering the people. The Anxi Army was too popular and had already threatened the interests of the Longyou Army.

Geshuhan is the head coach of the Longyou Battle. Li Longji will inevitably rely on him to continue to seize Jiuqu and Dafeichuan. In this case, Geshuhan's positioning for himself is crucial, but will Geshuhan praise himself vigorously?

Suddenly, Li Qingan felt something. When he turned around, he saw Gao Lishi standing at the door, looking at him with a smile.

"Honor Gao!" Li Qingan hurriedly bowed and bowed.

"Come on! Sit down and talk."

Gao Lishi waved his hand and asked Li Qing'an to sit down. He asked with concern: "Qilang, how is the injury on his body?"

"I invited two famous doctors to see this today. They said that my muscles and bones are strong and it doesn't matter. As long as the wound no longer breaks, I will be as intact as soon as I don't have any more wounds."

Gao Lishi nodded and said, "The Lord asked you just now. I hope you can see you as soon as possible. The specific time can be decided by you."

Speaking of this, Gao Lishi sighed and said, "Qilang, the Lord is indeed very tolerant of you. You did not attend the celebration without authorization. The Lord forgives you. The Ministry of War should have been to appease the military, but you ran away. This Lord has also tolerated you."

Li Qingan nodded silently and pondered for a moment, he asked again: "Mr. Gao, how will the court prepare to pay for the families of the fallen soldiers?"

"The plan has been decided and divided into two parts. The court directly pays 10,000 yuan per person for funeral expenses, and then pays 300 cigarettes per month and 7 dou of rice for a total of 20 consecutive years. This is borne by local governments, and there are also tax exemptions."

"Only ten characters!"

Li Qingan raised his head suddenly, and anger burned in his eyes, "Mr. Gao, please forgive me for being rude. The soldiers sacrificed their lives to seize the Stone Castle City and to defend the Tang Dynasty. But the court despises them so much. Who will work hard for the Tang Dynasty in the future?"

"Qiro, don't be so excited."

Gao Lishi hurriedly comforted him and said, "The court also knew that the ten-spot money was slightly less, so he used the method of paying rice every month to supplement it. The total amount was 100 spots. If the rice price rose, it would be more than 100 spots!"

Li Qingan suppressed his grief and anger in his heart and said slowly: "Mr. Gao, things are not that simple. The court wants to throw the burden to the local government, but what if the local government refuses to bear it? What if the person in charge extorted and deducted it? After twenty years, Mr. Gao really thought that the local government would stick to the end without fail?"

Gao Lishi was speechless. In fact, he knew very well that although there was not enough money and food, the taxes of each state would be escorted to Beijing in March and April, and it was possible to pay a portion of them at that time. However, the emperor insisted on using monthly payments. After all, his fundamental purpose was to throw the burden of pensions to the local government.

Li Qing'an looked at Gao Lishi. He knew that the pension plan was a foregone conclusion and could not be changed, so he said, "Okay! I won't talk about this matter anymore. I want to ask Mr. Gao, what kind of reward is His Majesty going to give me?"

"This is why I came to you tonight. In fact, the Lord asked me to come, although he didn't say it clearly."

Li Qing'an suddenly felt uneasy in his heart. What Gao Lishi might have brought was news that was unfavorable to him.

"Mr. Gao, tell me! I heard."

Gao Lishi sighed softly and said, "Today Geshuhan officially submitted a memorial to the court for the Battle of Shibao City. Although he admitted that you made great contributions to intercept the main force of Tubo, he believed that the main contribution was to seize the Shibao City. He also believed that although the Shibao City captured by Li Siye in the end, Li Siye's success was based on the death of 12,000 Longyou Army. Therefore, in his memorial, the first contribution was Gao Xiuyan, the second contribution was Li Siye, and the second contribution was you."

Speaking of this, Gao Lishi secretly glanced at Li Qing'an, and saw that he was not as angry as he had expected. Gao Lishi was a little surprised and asked, "Qilang, do you think this is reasonable too?"

Li Qingan said lightly: "He is the head coach of the Battle of Longyou. How to repay the merits is his power. Will the court reject his official memorial because I am dissatisfied?"

"The court will not reject the chief commander's report because of his subordinates' dissatisfaction, but the emperor knows that this is unfair to you, so the emperor hopes to talk to you and find a way to be both good."

Li Qing'an stood up and said, "Mr. Gao, I want to meet the emperor tomorrow."

The next morning, Li Qing'an recovered slightly from illness and came to Xingqing Palace. After waiting for a while, a eunuch led him into Datong Palace.

"Your Majesty, Li Qing'an has arrived."

"Xuan him comes in!" Li Longji's voice came from the imperial study room.

In the past few days, Li Longji unexpectedly worked hard and took down Shibao City. His mind moved to Dafeichuan and the Nine Curves of the Yellow River. These two places were originally the territory of Tuyuhun. Because Tuyuhun was conquered by the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun became a vassal state of the Tang Dynasty.

However, due to the rise of Tubo, in the third year of Longshuo in the Tang Dynasty, Tuyuhun was destroyed by Tubo. Jiuqu and Dafeichuan eventually returned to Tubo, becoming the logistics base for Tubo to attack Longyou.

Li Longji knew very well that if Shibao City was the bridgehead from Tubo to the Tang Dynasty, then the Dafeichuan and the Yellow River Jiuqu were the capital of the Tubo people invading Longyou. The lessons learned over the past decades told him that only by winning the Dafeichuan and the Yellow River Jiuqu can he truly gain strategic advantages.

Li Longji stood in front of the map and stared for a long time, planning the next battle in his heart. At this time, Li Qing'an had already entered the study. He did not disturb Li Longji's contemplation, but stood by and waited quietly.

"Your Majesty! He is here." Gao Lishi reminded in a low voice.

Li Longji turned around and saw that Li Qing'an had already come in, so he withdrew his thoughts and smiled: "General Li, the person I want to see most now is you."

"See Your Majesty!"

"Don't give a gift, give a seat!"

A eunuch moved an embroidery pier to Li Qing'an.

"Thank you Your Majesty!" Li Qing'an sat down and bowed, "Your Majesty can understand me, I am grateful."

"General Li, I already know your deeds very clearly. You can intercept 80,000 Tubo troops with 3,000 troops, and win time for the former army to seize the Shibao City at the cost of almost annihilation. I will not deny this contribution."

Speaking of this, Li Longji took Geshuhan's memorial and shook his head and said, "But there is one thing I have to explain to you clearly. The rewards of the Ministry of War must be decided based on General Geshu's memorial. This is a consistent rule. The rules will not be changed because General Geshu's low evaluation of you."

After saying that, Li Longji looked at Li Qing'an, waiting for his statement that Geshuhan would be the support of seizing Dafeichuan and Jiuqu for him. Even if Li Qing'an made great contributions, he would not reject Geshuhan's memorial because of this. This is a prerequisite, Li Qing'an must accept it.
To be continued...