"The interviewing envoy Zhang Lizhen and the inspector Xi Jianhou both spoke highly of An Lushan. Both of them had very close personal relationships with An Lushan."
"Then let the Crown Prince step forward and have them file a complaint."
"But Your Majesty..."
"It's not for His Majesty, it's for our Right Chancellor."
Li Bi suddenly realized.
“Absolutely. Zhang Zhenli and Xi Jianhou are both weak-willed and opportunistic. They won’t miss the opportunity to befriend both the Crown Prince and the Right Chancellor at the same time. All they need to do is let them spread a few rumors to the Right Chancellor, saying that An Lushan is making moves everywhere, trying to win over some officials from the Six Ministries. And the Six Ministries are the Right Chancellor’s exclusive domain. He will absolutely not allow a barbarian from the border to interfere.”
Lu Xuan: "......"
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Chapter Sixty-Six Breaking the Stalemate
July's heat is waning, and the sweltering summer is gradually fading away.
Chang'an City gradually entered a new and busier time. Although this year couldn't be described as having favorable weather, it was still a year of abundant harvest. The people were naturally in high spirits. However, An Lushan was not so happy.
He was intelligent from a young age, and no matter where he served as an official, he could quickly win the favor of his superiors. He was also adept at making money and didn't hesitate to spend it. Therefore, from the moment he entered officialdom, he rose rapidly through the ranks. By his thirties, he was already the Vice Censor-in-Chief and the Military Governor of Pinglu. Holding such a high position, he sometimes became complacent, thinking that the officials in the court were nothing special.
But this summer was not pleasant for him. For some unknown reason, the Right Chancellor, Li Linfu, suddenly turned against him. Thank goodness, An Lushan had repeatedly tried to befriend this most powerful minister of the Tang Dynasty. And Li Linfu, seeing that Emperor Xuanzong (Li Longji) favored An Lushan, often spoke well of him. But this time, the Right Chancellor suddenly intervened, blocking Emperor Xuanzong's order to appoint An Lushan as the military governor of Fanyang.
An Lushan was utterly perplexed, wondering how he had offended the Right Chancellor. Yet, he dared not confront Li Linfu directly. Years ago, when he first met Li Linfu, he had felt a deep fear of him. Li Linfu's eyes seemed to see right through him, even predicting his next words.
After that, An Lushan dared not confront Li Linfu directly. To borrow some later interpretations, the reason An Lushan waited so long to begin his rebellion was because he feared Li Linfu. Of course, this is merely anecdotal history. The only certainty is that, within the imperial court, no one could truly suppress Li Linfu.
Lu Xuan never participated in the power struggles at court. The Jing'an Division's representative in court was He Zhizhang. He Zhizhang, the one whose delicate leaves were cut by the spring breeze of February, like scissors. He Zhizhang was a cunning old fox in the court. One of the very few high-ranking officials who could stand on the opposite side of the emperor's faction and still retain his favor.
"Your plan is too risky. Zhang Lizhen and Xi Jianhou are not people who can keep their mouths shut. The Right Chancellor is not the kind of person who can be used by you. This plan seems ingenious, but the Right Chancellor will surely come to his senses in less than ten days."
“So what if we anger him? If we don’t anger him, will Li Linfu give up suppressing the Crown Prince and instead assist him in ascending the throne?” Li Bi argued logically.
"How foolish! Do you really think that having the Jing'an Division and a thousand or so men from the Imperial Guard and the Prince's Guard can challenge Li Linfu? The Dragon Martial Army, the Golden Guard, the Right Valiant Guard... most of the troops in Chang'an are controlled by the Right Chancellor. The officials of the Six Ministries follow the Right Chancellor's lead without question. How can you possibly fight them?"
He Jian's words soon came true. Five days later, the Jing'an Division suffered a major upheaval.
A large number of civil servants who had been withdrawn from the Six Ministries were transferred back to their original ministries. The Court of Judicial Review and several other departments that had previously provided the Jingzhao Prefecture with all its case files unconditionally were suddenly facing difficulties. Even more seriously, the Ministry of Revenue's salaries began to be delayed.
Seemingly overnight, the independent and powerful Jing'an Division was abandoned by the entire court. Not only were most of its personnel withdrawn, but the remaining few were essentially converted into volunteer workers. Overnight, the Jing'an Division was on the verge of collapse.
"His Highness the Crown Prince has already used his personal funds to keep the Jing'an Division running. But now, the Jing'an Division is not functioning properly. Neither the Imperial Guards nor the Dragon Martial Army, nor even the Prefect of the Capital, are cooperating with us anymore. All kinds of files and secret letters are delayed. Without first-hand information, we are completely unable to respond to the situation in Chang'an. At this time, if the Jing'an Division makes any mistake, it will face annihilation. The power that His Highness the Crown Prince has accumulated will also be lost overnight."
Li Bi was deeply worried about this. Li Linfu's cunning and ruthlessness were laid bare before him for the first time. Even the anticipated confrontation and reasoned argument in front of the palace never materialized. The other side had silently and decisively won the case, leaving the Jing'an Division utterly powerless to retaliate.
However, Lu Xuan didn't seem worried at all. He was even enjoying a brand new dessert.
"Yes, His Highness the Crown Prince bestowed these four beauties upon me. Not only are they beautiful and graceful in their dances, but more importantly, they are incredibly skillful. I only mentioned them casually, and they made these almond cookies. Why don't you try them? They're fragrant, crispy, and delicious, sweet but not cloying."
"What time is it? Lieutenant Lu is still eating snacks. The Jing'an Division is on the verge of collapse. I don't have time for that."
"Why bother? Actually, to be precise, the Jing'an Division only faces two problems right now: money and intelligence. Let's talk about intelligence first. Do you know where the Minister of Rites went last night?"
"What's the meaning?"
"He went to the brothel and chose a girl named Xiu'er. He drank six cups of wine and spent half an hour making love with Xiu'er, and then an hour of tenderness. At midnight, he secretly left by carriage through the back door."
"I have no interest in talking to you..." Li Bi originally wanted to make a sarcastic remark, but suddenly his expression changed.
"No, how do you know so much detail? Is this true or false?" Li Bi's breathing became rapid.
“Of course it’s true. Because last night, the person who led the Minister of Personnel was a mole of the Bad People. If you want, I can give you a list of all the court officials who went to the brothel last night. That would take two sheets of paper.”
"Bad people? They're the constables under the county constables of the two counties."
"That's right, the head of the Wannian County Bad Guys is named Zhang Xiaojing. He served as a soldier in the Western Regions for ten years and as the head of the Bad Guys for nine. To the Crown Prince, Li Sicheng, the Right Chancellor, and others, he is nothing more than a tiny ant. However, he is meticulous in his thinking and decisive in his actions. In order to deal with the gangs in Chang'an, he sent out a large number of spies to be planted in various places in Chang'an."
During my tenure as the county magistrate of Wannian County, I provided him with considerable support, allowing him to expand his network of covert agents. In reality, today, no movement in Chang'an escapes his notice. He may not be able to detect information from the Right Chancellor's residence or the imperial city, but as soon as these important figures step out of their homes, his single eye can pinpoint their location.
"Such a person exists in Chang'an. Why have I never heard you mention him before?"
"Because he was prepared for this situation. It just seems that it happened much earlier than I expected."
"Alright, I'll believe you for now. But we still need a lot of money. Right now, the Ministry of Revenue is making excuses and not only refusing to give us money, but also cutting off everyone's salaries. To be honest, the Crown Prince's personality won't allow him to hold out for long."
"No money... then we'll borrow from someone. As far as I know, there are people in this world who are willing to risk everything to exchange money for a ticket to enter this circle. If Your Highness is willing to swallow your pride a little, I'm afraid we won't be able to afford it."
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Chapter Sixty-Seven: Printing
The East and West Markets of Chang'an City housed tens of thousands of merchants. Although most of them were struggling to make a living with meager assets, there were still countless wealthy merchants among them. Which of the most renowned merchant guilds in the entire Tang Dynasty didn't have several shops in Chang'an?
Grain stores were always an indispensable part of feudal dynasties. Don't be fooled by the low price of grain and the seemingly meager profit margins. Those who could afford to open rice stores were mostly wealthy merchants, often backed by powerful families. These people were the best source of funding.
"No way..." Lu Xuan rejected the idea without even thinking.
The once-powerful Sui Dynasty was destroyed by powerful aristocratic families. Several generations of Tang emperors desperately tried to suppress these families. If Li Heng were to make deals with them now, the bloodshed of generations of Tang emperors would be wasted. In a sense, Lu Xuan's wariness of these aristocratic families was even greater than An Lushan's.
One reason he made a lot of practical technology public was this. The upper class kept all the good things locked away, leaving the lower classes barely able to survive. This was how they maintained class stability. This was a consistent practice of feudal dynasties. Lu Xuan couldn't completely break this system, but he could at least weaken it. One way to do this was by suppressing the powerful families.
"Apart from those aristocratic families, other merchants can't provide much money."
"Are you sure? Do you know that during this period, the Western Regions were at war year after year? Countless small countries were torn apart. Khotan, Qiemo, Ronglu, Shule, Pishan... almost every day some small countries were destroyed, and then a new regime was established."
"You're trying to take advantage of those exiled royal families?"
"Since it's a small country, there probably isn't much to gain. But supplying one Jing'an Division shouldn't be a problem. His Highness the Crown Prince's involvement is an irresistible temptation for those exiles from small countries."