Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 504 Sometimes identity is a kind of original sin

Licheng, the capital of Qizhou, was also the headquarters of the newly established Tianping Army Jiedushi of the imperial court.

Yongwang Li Lin benefited from the rebellion in Hebei and was sent to be a military governor, and was placed in Qizhou, Yunzhou and other places near the south bank of the Yellow River. Simply put, his job was to block the flank of the Hebei rebels moving south and prevent them from plundering the land from the east.

To be honest, this is indeed not Huangfu Weiming's main focus.

Li Lin stayed in Qizhou for half a year in fear and confusion, fearing that he would be beheaded by the rebels from Hebei who attacked the city. He was very diligent in taking care of government and military affairs day and night.

However, half a year later, nothing happened in the area under the jurisdiction of the Tianping Army Jiedushi, which made Li Lin feel relieved.

So he was like a duck into water, eating when he was ready, playing when he was ready, and doing whatever he felt comfortable with.

As for government and military affairs, the civil affairs were handled by Dou Shao, and the military affairs were handled by Li Xian. These two people were the assistants arranged by Ji Ge for Li Lin, and they also monitored Li Lin. They were not on the same page with the prince.

Of course, Li Lin also recruited some so-called "confidants" as his staff, the most famous of whom was Li Bai.

In addition to playing with women, Li Lin's favorite thing on weekdays was to drink and brag with so-called "famous scholars" such as Li Bai and listen to them sing his praises.

In summer, the daytime heat is unbearable, and only at night can you feel a little cool. Only at this time, people who endure the heat will wake up from the daytime daze and regain their vitality.

Even though Li Lin was the governor of Tianping Army and was used to a life of luxury, he could not escape the effects of the scorching heat.

At nightfall, Li Lin, who had slept well during the day, began to get excited. He summoned his close associates, such as Li Bai, Xue Liu, Li Taiqing, Wei Zichun, Liu Julin, and Cai Yu, for a banquet.

Everyone was drinking in the lobby of the government office, bragging and chatting under the pretext of "discussing government affairs", and the party was very lively.

After three rounds of drinking, no one knew what Li Lin was thinking about. He burped, looked around and asked, "Everyone, the world is in chaos now. What do you think I should do?"

Li Lin was originally very interested in hearing people flatter him, but he didn't expect that after these words were spoken, the table became quiet instead.

Yes, troubled times have come, and if you are not careful, you will lose your head!

Who the hell dares to say such nonsense?
Li Lin felt a little melancholy when he found that no one was talking.

He sighed and said, "Crown Prince Li Heng has ascended the throne in Chang'an and honored the emperor as the Supreme Emperor. I have not yet sent a congratulatory message, nor have I acknowledged Li Heng as the new emperor. Do you think Li Heng will raise an army to attack me?"

In fact, Li Lin and Gao Shang had discussed this issue many times, and the conclusion they reached was: there is no need to worry about such nonsense!
Because there are more than 100,000 elite troops in Hedong, which are controlled by Li Longji. If these troops enter Guanzhong and control Chang'an, it will be easy to depose Li Heng.

The reason why Li Lin didn't pay much attention to local government affairs was that he wanted to "sit on the mountain and watch the tigers fight". He would wait for the winner in Chang'an to be decided, and then he would make a corresponding gesture.

Maintaining the status quo.

Therefore, Li Lin chose to turn a blind eye to the edict of enthronement issued by Chang'an. He neither sent a congratulatory message nor issued an anti-rebellion manifesto, and mainly pretended to be deaf and dumb.

His plan was very well made, but after waiting for a while, for some reason, the two sides had not yet started fighting!

This unexpected situation made Li Lin extremely anxious.

Because the Qizhou, Yunzhou and other places under his jurisdiction are very close to Hebei! They are only separated by the Yellow River!

If there is no fighting in Chang'an, the Hebei rebels will most likely fight with him!

In recent times, although Li Lin seems to be in a leisurely state, he is actually "pretending to be calm".

I was scared to death!

"Your Highness, Li Heng's succession to the throne was tantamount to a palace coup, and was a private transfer between the ministers and the crown prince while the emperor was away in Chang'an.

If the saint returns to Guanzhong, then the whole court will be rebels. I think Your Highness must not send a congratulatory message to avoid being implicated.

We should wait and see for now."

Wei Zichun saluted Li Lin with his arms crossed.

It must be said that this view is politically savvy. As a prince, Li Lin did not need to stand up and express his views so quickly.

Aren’t the other princes the same? They didn’t express their opinions either?

Li Lin nodded and said, "That makes sense."

However, Xue Liu had a different opinion. He saluted Li Lin with his arms crossed and said sharply:

"Your Highness, this is wrong. The Saint is already old, and there is no guarantee that the border troops in Hedong will not have strange thoughts.

If the army turns against us, then Li Heng will definitely be the new emperor. Your Highness might as well send a congratulatory message first, since the sage will not send troops to attack Qizhou anyway.

Even if Li Heng succeeds to the throne, he still needs support. He cannot do anything to His Highness. Instead, he must do his best to win over His Highness.

If you hold on for a while, maybe in a year or two, the situation will change suddenly, and Your Highness may have a chance to take advantage of it."

He obviously thought that Brother Ji was unreliable and might die next month.

However, Li Heng is much younger than Brother Ji and has greater potential than Brother Ji can match. It may be possible for him to make the soldiers under Brother Ji turn against him.

Li Lin now sends a congratulatory message to recognize Li Heng's succession to the throne, making him the first among all the princes. If Li Heng wins in the end, this move can at least buy back decades of wealth and glory.

Even if Li Heng had evil intentions, it would probably take a long time for him to clean up the situation, eliminate the rebels in Hebei and the princes who disobeyed him, and finally settle accounts with Li Lin.

It is unclear whether Li Heng can live to see that day!
"What you said makes sense."

Li Lin nodded slightly, the balance in his heart swaying back and forth, and he remained undecided.

But the originally sweet wine in the glass seemed to have turned bitter.

Pretending nothing happened doesn't mean nothing really happened.

"Li Taibai, what do you think?"

Li Lin felt very strange when he saw that Li Bai, who usually loved to talk a lot, was silent at the banquet today.

"Your Highness, Qizhou has the benefit of the Ji River and the danger of the Yellow River.

You can take a sea ship to trade with Bohai State, exchange local specialties for horses, and train cavalry. You can also build a warship, depart from Jeju, and take a sea ship directly to Youzhou! At worst, you can also attack the coastal counties of Hebei.

Instead of worrying about whether it is the saint or the prince who will enter Chang'an, and whether to send a congratulatory message or a proclamation, it is better to prepare for war and strengthen yourself!"

Li Bai seemed to have drunk too much today and looked very distressed.

However, his words were just like Fang Chongyong's previous life's hope that his son, a poor student, would become the top scorer in the provincial college entrance examination, full of useless yet correct principles.

Wei Zichun was the one who introduced Li Bai to Prince Yong's mansion, or rather, Prince Yong sent him to recruit Li Bai. He was an old friend of Li Bai, and the two had a very good personal relationship, and he could talk to Li Bai normally.

Wei Zichun saw that Li Bai was talking about something unrealistic again, so he patiently persuaded him: "Li Bai, you are drunk, don't talk too much, don't talk too much."

"I'm not drunk!"

Li Bai stood up suddenly, as if provoked by something, and shouted at the staff around him: "You are such a scumbag, you only know how to eat, drink and have fun! Don't you know that His Highness is in a very dangerous situation? You are not worthy of being consulted!"

He turned around and left angrily without even saying hello to Prince Yong.

It was a nice and leisurely banquet, but Li Bai made it end in such a bad mood. Li Lin felt as if he had eaten a plate of green-headed flies and felt extremely sick.

The faces of the other staff members, except Li Bai, turned red and white.

“Your Highness, Li Bai knows very little about government and military affairs. Although what he said makes some sense, there are no conditions for implementation.

Please don't blame him for talking too much after drinking, Li Bai still loves you."

Wei Zichun quickly tried to smooth things over for Li Bai and said that the other aides at the table were not as magnanimous as him and all of them looked disdainful.

Li Bai is indeed not a very good person. Apart from writing poetry, there is hardly anything he can show for it.

Being someone else's subordinate, or being a staff member, was a torture for both his superiors and subordinates, and Li Bai himself was not happy with his job. Wei Zichun had helped Li Bai many times, but Li Bai still went his own way.

Perhaps, this is the unruly charm of the great poet.

People around me often think this way.

"You just open your mouth and say you want to trade with Bohai and buy horses. How do you trade and buy? Do you think they will sell if you ask them to? Bohai is still a vassal of the Tang Dynasty and explicitly refuses to have any dealings with the Hebei bandit army. It is obvious that they are unwilling to intervene in the internal disputes of the Tang Dynasty.

How could such a country support Your Highness when the situation is unclear?
Building ships and training a navy to launch a surprise attack on Youzhou was even more absurd. Training a navy that could travel calmly and be armed to the teeth would be difficult to achieve results without two years, even if preparations were started today.

Who can guarantee that the situation in the world will be the same as it is today in two years? Not to mention that even if you occupy Youzhou, you still have to be able to hold it. Who will be sent to guard Youzhou by then? Who can hold Youzhou?

Li Bai is just like carving a boat to look for a sword! How foolish! "

Liu Julin defended himself with a helpless look on his face.

He had been a governor in a southern coastal state before, and had some experience in maritime trade and naval warfare, and had given Li Lin a lot of advice on military affairs. He was not Wei Zichun, and he needed to save face for Li Bai.

Directly criticize Li Bai's strategy and devalue it to nothing.

To put it simply, Li Bai's strategy was to start from the Jiaodong Peninsula, enter the Haihe River, and then go upstream to Youzhou.

It is somewhat similar to the scene in the late Qing Dynasty when the Eight-Nation Alliance landed in Tanggu and headed straight for the capital.

However, planning this move in the Tang Dynasty was too advanced and its feasibility was almost zero.

All we can say is that Li Bai's strategy, like his poems, is full of romance.

But a love-brained person cannot be in love for a lifetime, and romance cannot be eaten.

The implementation of this strategy would be difficult to conceal from Huangfu Weiming, and even if it was concealed, it would be extremely difficult to carry out a successful surprise attack.

Even if we succeed by chance, where will the supplies come from and how can we maintain it in the long term?
"Well, let him be. I'm tired, you guys eat slowly."

Li Lin said listlessly, stood up, waved his sleeves, turned around and walked out of the government hall.

It's all these crap. Doesn't he know it's hard to move forward? There's no point in saying this!

Li Lin felt extremely disgusted at this moment!

He returned to the newly built so-called "Royal Palace". As soon as he entered the door, his confidant Gao Shang said with a worried look on his face: "Your Highness, you are finally back. There is an important matter that needs to be decided."

"Big news? What big news could there be? Is Huangfu Weiming leading his troops to attack us?"

Li Lin asked back with an unhappy look on his face and a breath of alcohol.

"Your Highness, this is not the place to talk! Please talk in the study!"

Gao Shang was so anxious that he almost jumped up and down.

"I know, I know. Let's go to the study."

Li Lin waved his hand and followed Gao Shang to the study. After the two sat down, Gao Shang handed Li Lin a letter.

"It was sent by Fang Qing, the governor of Xuanwu Army. His words were not kind and he seemed to be looking for trouble."

Before Li Lin had time to read the letter, he heard Gao Shang say this, and hurriedly picked up the letter and read it word by word in his mind.

After he finished reading the letter, he was so frightened that he lost his mind.

"Fang Zhongyong is going to..."

"Your Highness, now his name is Fang Qing."

Gao Shang couldn't help but remind him, because the signature was Fang Qing, the governor of Xuanwu Army.

"Is Fang Qing coming to deal with us?

I didn't provoke him!"

Prince Yong Li Lin looked puzzled at this moment.

Is this hangman Fang Chongyong just bored?

In the letter, Fang Zhongyong issued an ultimatum to Li Lin. If he did not send a congratulatory letter to the new emperor and pay tribute within five days, he would immediately send troops to attack Yunzhou! He would regard Prince Yong as a traitor to the court!
After taking Yunzhou, the next step is to attack Qizhou!
"Your Highness is the descendant of a saint, that's the reason.

Whether Fang Qing wants to expand the territory he controls or to act as a vanguard for Li Heng, he doesn't need to find a special reason to deal with His Highness."

Gao Shang said slowly.

All the gifts bestowed by fate have already been secretly marked with a price. Li Lin was born with fine clothes and delicious food, surrounded by beauties, seemingly enjoying the best treatment in the world.

However, his identity as a prince comes with its own cursed shackles.

One drink and one peck, the days will be numbered.

As a prince, Li Lin means that everything in the world will no longer be tolerant of him. A person like him who enjoys all the power is born to die.

Every day of our life is going against the will of heaven.

In Gao Shang's opinion, Li Lin was born to enjoy advantages and external conditions that others did not have. Shouldn't such a person die?

Li Lin actually asked Fang Chongyong why he wanted to beat him. It was so stupid.

The prince was born to be attacked and plotted against!

Gao Shang stood aside with an expressionless face, secretly despising Yongwang Li Lin in his heart.

"Then how should I deal with it?"

Li Lin asked nervously.

Just as what was discussed at the dinner tonight, Li Lin was unwilling to send either a congratulatory message or a manifesto.

At least I don't want to do it now.

He looked at Gao Shang eagerly, his heart in turmoil.

"Why don't I go to Caozhou? Fang Qing's troops are now stationed in Caozhou and will soon enter Puzhou.

However, as Puzhou was a frontline city, people's livelihood had long been impoverished, the people had fled, and there was no way to obtain food and fodder.

I'm afraid the Xuanwu Army will attack Yunzhou soon."

Gao Shang said with a sigh.

"No, you can't go. If you go, my shogunate won't be able to maintain itself."

Li Lin flatly refused.

Now, when Li Lin reports political and military affairs, he directly hands them over to Gao Shang for handling. If Gao Shang leaves, who will he discuss those political and military affairs with?

"Why not let Li Taibai go? He likes to talk a lot. Let him talk to Fang Qing."

Li Lin suddenly thought of the scene at the banquet where Li Bai disgusted him, and he said it without thinking.

"Li Taibai? I heard that he and Fang Qing are old friends, so that's good too."

Gao Shang nodded slightly. He had always disliked Li Bai. If that big mouth offended Fang Chongyong, it didn't seem like a big deal to let the other party kill him with a knife.

(End of this chapter)