The Flourishing Tang Dynasty: Beginning with Marrying Yang Yuhuan

Chapter 177: Change of Era
At the end of December 741 AD, it was time for Li Xian's funeral.

Heavy rain poured down in Chang'an.

Li Longji sent an envoy to tell Li Jing to be frugal and not to have any special funeral gifts.

The officials prepared to put a thousand kinds of food in the tomb according to the old practice. Pei Yaoqing then reported: "There are more than a thousand kinds of delicacies from the mountains and the sea, and they are not seasonal. Tian'en has always stated that Emperor Rang was frugal during his lifetime. Anything added outside of the etiquette may make Emperor Rang uneasy in his afterlife. I hope he will reduce it according to etiquette."

Li Longji was satisfied.

Li Heng braved the heavy rain to attend Li Xian's funeral.

In the first month of 742, Li Longji changed the reign title to Tianbao and the year to Zai.

In the pre-Qin era, there were four ways to express age, namely: zai, sui, si and nian.

"Er Ya Shi Tian" written in the Han Dynasty said: "Zai means year. Xia called it sui, Shang called it si, Zhou called it nian, Tang and Yu called it zai".

Li Heng had previously praised Li Longji as being better than Yao, Shun, Yu and Tang, and Li Longji himself also believed so, so naturally he had to use the character "zai" which was only used by a role model emperor.

In addition to changing the reign title to Tianbao and the year to Zai, Li Longji also gave himself an honorific title: Kaiyuan Tianbao Shengwen Shenwu Emperor.

After changing the reign title and adding honor, Li Longji announced three things.

The first thing was that Niu Xianke was seriously ill and unable to perform the job of prime minister, so Li Shizhi was promoted to replace Niu Xianke and became the left prime minister.

The second thing was to let Prince Yong Li Lin go to Jiannan and serve as the envoy for promotions and demotions.

The third thing is that Li Heng condoned his soldiers to embezzle food and wages. This was a complete misunderstanding. The soldiers under Li Heng did not engage in corruption.

Li Heng didn't care about Guan's involvement in his case because he had expected the result.

He cares more about the first two things.

Historically, although Li Longji changed the Yuan dynasty in 742, the year was changed to Zai in the third year of Tianbao.

In other words, Li Longji now believes that he is superior to any previous emperor earlier than anyone in history.

This may be related to the fact that he captured Shibao City in advance and Wang Zhongsi stabilized Mobei two years earlier.

Li Lin was allowed to take up the post in Chang'an fourteen years earlier than historical records.

Historically, it was only after the Anshi Rebellion that Li Longji asked Li Lin to go to Jianghuai to recruit soldiers.

Subsequently, a conflict broke out between Li Lin and Li Heng, which is known in history as the Rebellion of Prince Yong.

The person who commanded Li Heng to suppress the rebellion was Gao Shi, and one of Li Lin's advisers was Li Bai.

Thinking of Li Bai, Li Heng recalled that he and Li Heng met Li Bai at the same time during their previous trip to Qujiang.

Li Ying said casually: "I don't know where Li Bai is now."

Feng Changqing, who was standing by, heard what Li Heng said and said, "It was in Chang'an. A few days ago, Hongyue led me to visit Qujiang and met Li Bai. He seemed to be very close to Prince Yong."

"Oh?" Li Heng was slightly startled and sighed, "Could it be that the road to Shu is really going to be difficult?"

Feng Changqing was unaware of the indirect hints of these scholars, and continued: "The Shu Road is indeed difficult. If the court can repair the Shu Road, then the grain in Shuzhong can be transferred to the central area of ​​the Tang Dynasty. I wonder if Prince Yong will repair the Shu Road when he goes to Jiannan to serve as the envoy of promotion and demotion."

Li Heng said: "Repairing the Shu Road is not a simple matter. It requires money and people. It depends on what Prince Yong plans to do."

As the two were talking, Hongyue arrived in a hurry.

Hongyue saw Li Heng talking to Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi and did not dare to disturb them and prepared to leave.

Li Ying stopped Hongyue and said, "Miss Hongyue, please speak directly if you have anything to say."

"Yes." Hongyue stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, the person who reported you for condoning your soldiers to embezzle food and wages has been found." "Who is it?" Li Ying asked.

Hong Yue said: "In addition to the military supervisors accompanying the army, there is also Wang Nande, the military envoy of the Heyuan Army."

Heyuan Army is the second largest military town in Longyou.

"That's not surprising." Li Heng smiled slightly, "My third brother is very talented, but he likes to do some inexplicable things."

When Feng Changqing heard that it was someone from the army who reported him, he was furious and said, "Next time I meet Wang Nande, I will definitely teach him a lesson."

"Feng Er, don't talk nonsense." Gao Xianzhi stopped Feng Changqing and said, "After the Saint dismissed His Highness, he promoted Wang Nande to be the military commander of Longyou. Deputy Secretary Ma was promoted to the chief envoy, but Deputy Secretary Ma's health is worrying. I'm afraid that the military and political affairs of Longyou will fall into the hands of Wang Nande."

Feng Changqing said: "In terms of military talent, Wang Nande is also a talented general, but the situation in Longyou is not as simple as just fighting. Although we have just captured Shibao City, we have only taken the land. The Tubo forces have not weakened much. If we are not careful, they will be counterattacked."

Feng Changqing's words hit the nail on the head.

Historically, Geshu Han used the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers to capture Shibao City. Although this was criticized, it does not mean that Geshu Han had poor military capabilities and was only good at using people to fill the gap.

On the contrary, Geshu Han was very capable militarily because his enemy, Tubo, was also very strong.

After Geshu Han captured Shibao City, it took him several years to capture Qinghai Lake and the Nine Bends of the Yellow River, severely damaging Tubo and leaving it unable to fight back.

But now, Tubo is still a ferocious tiger.

Li Heng pondered and asked, "Generals, what do you think of Wang Nandi's comparison with Gai Jiayun and Huangfu Weiming?"

Feng Changqing said: "In terms of personal bravery, Wang Nan is stronger than the other two, but in terms of military strategy, Wang Nan is not much different from Gai Jiayun, and slightly weaker than Huangfu Weiming."

Gao Xianzhi said: "I agree with Feng Er's evaluation."

According to history, around the beginning of the Tianbao period, it was Gai Jiayun and Huangfu Weiming who were entangled with Tubo in Longyou, but neither of them gained any advantage.

Li Heng nodded, was silent for a while, and said: "Let's rest for two days and then set off back to Anxi."

"Yes." Gao Xianzhi, Feng Changqing and Hong Yue answered in unison.

For the next two days, Li Heng said he was resting, but in fact he went to discuss something with Li Linfu.

……

Li Linfu's residence, Yuetang.

"The prince not only took the opportunity to arrange border army generals, but also recommended Prince Yong to Jiannan. Li Shizhi, who supported the prince, also became the left prime minister. Wang Zhongsi also supported the prince. The situation is very unfavorable to us!" Ji Wen said worriedly.

Li Linfu was brewing tea, his face calm as he asked, "How do you think the Crown Prince's power now compares to Li Ying's power back then?"

Ji Wen was startled, thought for a moment, and said, "Li Ying was supported by most people at the time, and the Eastern Palace also had a relatively large military force. In comparison, the current prince is still a little behind."

Li Linfu said: "Then there is no need to rush, let him accumulate more."

Ji Wen asked doubtfully, "Isn't the Right Prime Minister worried?"

"What am I worried about?" Li Linfu smiled meaningfully. "The sage accepted my advice. Border generals will have fewer opportunities to serve as officials in the court. Niu Xianke is the last border general to serve as prime minister. As for Li Shizhi, he will be the last left prime minister who dares to disagree with me. Nothing can be achieved overnight. There must always be a transition."

Ji Wen seemed to understand something and asked, "What about Wang Zhongsi?"

Li Linfu said: "The border general has contact with the prince. I am not in a hurry about this matter. The saint will be more anxious than me. Wait, the best is yet to come."

As soon as Li Linfu finished speaking, a servant came to report that Li Heng was here to visit.

Li Linfu shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying, "Here comes the debt collector."

(End of this chapter)