Chapter 541: Water Merges into the River, Sand Settles on the Shore

That night, Fang Youde gathered all the generals for a meeting to discuss military affairs.

Everyone could see that Fang Youde wore a desolate expression, showing no excitement at all about defeating a strong enemy.

"Li Guangbi will lead five thousand men to guard Puzhou, Gao Xianzhi will lead five thousand men to guard Tongguan; using your own troops as the backbone, you may recruit and unite soldiers on your own."

Fang Youde instructed in a calm voice tinged with fatigue.

Although he couldn't understand where this gloom came from, the order required no further explanation; it was perfectly normal, a post‑victory garrison operation.

It also meant that Fang Youde would lead the other troops back to Chang'an.

"Understood!"

Li Guangbi and Gao Xianzhi clasped their fists in unison and saluted, accepting the order.

After this battle, Fang Youde's authority in the army was at its zenith; no one dared to defy him.

"Everyone else, follow the others back to Chang'an; then rewards will be given according to merit.

That's it, we set out now."

Fang Youde let out a light sigh and said.

His attitude was clearly off, but with many eyes watching, anyone who wanted to ask felt embarrassed; everyone pretended they saw nothing.

After the crowd dispersed, Li Jiaqing slipped up to Fang Youde's side and whispered, "Grand Marshal, is something wrong?"

At that moment, the two silently made their way to a locust tree where no one was watching.

"Li Chang has killed the retired emperor; a regime change is coming."

Fang Youde whispered to Li Jiaqing.

However, the latter was not surprised at all; instead, with a sigh of lament, he said, "A living old tyrant is a thief; if I were the emperor, I'd probably kill him too. But with the retired emperor dying now, Grand Marshal, you're in a bind."

Fang Youde, well aware of Li Jiaqing's blunt temperament, paid no mind to those words he once considered "grossly treasonous."

"The wood has become a boat; saying this now is meaningless."

Fang Youde let out a long sigh, feeling deeply bewildered.

"Grand Marshal, when the emperor kills his father, he certainly cannot sit securely on the throne.

Why not depose the emperor, reinstall a prince, and do as Cao Mengde did in his day?"

This is for you, Grand Marshal, for the Kong He Army, and for the people of the world!"

Li Jiaqing lowered his voice and whispered conspiratorially.

"Isn't it just the emperor killing the retired emperor? There are plenty of emperors! If this one displeases you, just install another!"

"Figures like Han Jian, Li Maozhen, Zhu Wen—it's not that they can't, it's that they simply won't."

Fang Youde let out another long sigh.

Li Jiaqing heard the words in a haze, but he didn't dare ask anything and remained silent.

In any case, Li Jiaqing realized that Fang Youde seemed uninterested in power and hadn't planned any scheming.

He even vaguely feared being elevated by his subordinates!

"Grand Marshal, what are your plans after this?"

Li Jiaqing asked, puzzled.

"Jiaqing, the Kong He Army will now be under you and Huaiguang.

The soldiers earned today's reputation through blood‑soaked battles; you must treat them well."

Fang Youde patted Li Huaiguang's shoulder and said.

"Grand Marshal, that cannot be!"

Li Jiaqing quickly knelt and pleaded, "Grand Marshal, you are the soul of the Kong He Army; if you leave, how will the soldiers manage?"

He had already sensed Fang Youde's intention to depart.

"I go where I came from, and I will return there; Chang'an is not my home."

Fang Youde helped Li Jiaqing to his feet, brushed the dust off him, and said:

"I came from Dunhuang in Sha Province, so I will naturally return to Dunhuang. The turmoil of the world, I no longer wish to involve myself in.

Now I will set out; after you go to Chang'an to meet the emperor, you may decide everything yourself.

Whatever you love to do, whatever you wish, I will not interfere; you need not send anyone to find me, nor discuss anything with me."

Hearing this, Li Jiaqing was shocked!

Fang Youde was actually about to set out alone now! He was about to relinquish all his authority!

But after a moment's thought, Li Jiaqing understood Fang Youde's intentions.

If he returned to Chang'an, both emotionally and logically he couldn't escape; countless people would kneel before Fang Youde, asking him to "take charge of the whole situation."

If he were forced to stay, it would betray his original purpose and inherit a mess—hardly a release.

If he doesn't stay, the historian's pen is ruthless; who knows how they will portray Fang Youde, piling countless black pots onto his name.

Leaving now, clean and decisive, is best for him and for everyone.

At least it prevents false accusations. He "retired" quietly, and others should stop pinning those hats on him.

"Grand Marshal, a true man cannot be without power for a day! If you leave, you'll become a commoner in Sha Province; there's no need for this, why such a thing?"

Li Jiaqing knelt, crying out, clutching Fang Youde's sleeve and refusing to let go.

"What's wrong with being a commoner?"

All my life, I have been running to preserve the flourishing Tang.

Now the chaos of the world has taken shape; only by breaking first and then establishing can we resolve this predicament.

I am old and weary, lacking the energy to keep dealing with those petty schemers.

After you enter Chang'an, do as you wish; you need not consider my thoughts.

Fang Youde helped Li Jiaqing to his feet; this time Li Jiaqing offered no further persuasion, only a slight nod and a helpless sigh.

Fang Youde's myriad thoughts have turned to ash; he no longer cares about wealth and honor, merely an old man seeking a secluded place to spend his twilight years.

He is not yet old, but his heart is already dead; how sorrowful, how painful.

"Understood, please take care, Great Marshal!"

Li Jiaqing wiped the tears from his face, solemnly clasped his fists and bowed to Fang Youde.

"Life's affairs are impermanent; you should go with the flow."

Fang Youde waved his hand at him and walked alone toward the forest where the horses were tethered.

……

This year should have been the thirteenth year of Tianbao, but after the retired emperor Li Longji "accidentally" fell to his death from Qinzhengwubenlou, the emperor Li Chang ordered the era name changed to Baoying, thus the first year of Baoying.

In Chang'an, rumors swirled that the retired emperor's death was actually caused by the emperor Li Chang, yet the authorities insisted the retired emperor had simply fallen by his own mishap.

However, the fact that the Jinwu Guard was sent everywhere to arrest rumor‑mongers and that the retired emperor's coffin was hastily placed in the unfinished Tai Tomb suggests the cause of death is suspicious.

Moreover, the emperor openly showed no respect for the retired emperor and had no intention of performing filial rites.

Furthermore, over a hundred guards, palace maids, and eunuchs on duty at Xingqing Palace were executed on the grounds of "negligence" leading to the retired emperor's death, which made outsiders suspect deep conspiracies.

Nevertheless, under Li Mi's administration, the court's internal affairs began to run surprisingly smoothly.

After the imperial forces crushed the Hebei rebels, Li Chang issued an edict appointing Li Guangbi as the Defender of Hezhong, commanding troops to garrison Puzhou and recruit and organize soldiers to replenish the ranks.

At the same time, Gao Xianzhi was made the Defender of Tongguan, leading troops to guard Tongguan.

The court then ordered that the western territories of Chang'an—Wugong, Guoxian, and Yongxian—be divided into defense zones, establishing Fengxiang Prefecture and stationing the Konghe Army there.

Simultaneously, Li Chang appointed Li Jiaqing as the Military Governor of Fengxiang, and Li Jiaqing's son Li Huaiguang as Grand General of the Qian Niu Guard, serving at the emperor's side.

After Yan Zhenqing was regularized, he became the Chief of the Secretariat and Right Prime Minister; Li Mi served as Palace Attendant and Left Prime Minister. Other central office vacancies caused by the war were also largely filled in a short time.

After all, three‑legged toads are hard to find, while aspiring officials are plentiful.

It is hard to say whether such deft maneuvering came from Li Chang.

Nevertheless, the central institutions of Chang'an began to function normally again. At first glance, everything seemed fine, as if nothing had happened.

But no one knows what the future holds.

Because unrest spreads not only across the realm but also within Chang'an; rumors of the emperor murdering his father and sovereign circulate among the powerful, growing louder to the point of being common gossip.

How the princes stationed across the country will respond remains uncertain.

Likewise, the reactions of the Li Tang royal clan and the various Guanzhong nobles residing in Chang'an are unknown.

And the Marshal Fang, who single‑handedly defeated the Hebei rebels, suddenly vanished from the sight of all court officials and nobles.

He asked for nothing, said nothing, and even did not go to Chang'an, simply departing without notice.

Dressed in coarse hemp robes with no ornaments, Fang Youde looked like a destitute old man.

He was like a grain of sand hidden on a beach; after returning to Chang'an he vanished without a trace, no one knows where he went. Yet his god‑like command in battle, an unbeaten myth on the field, spread through the streets and taverns.

A month slipped by, and the undercurrent in Chang'an caused by Ji Ge's "sudden accident" seemed to calm. People were busy with the autumn harvest and grain storage, attending to their own affairs, and the rumors of patricide gradually subsided.

The autumn wind whirled the fallen leaves; the crisp, high autumn air carried a faint chill.

That day, a plainly dressed middle‑aged man arrived near Jin Su Mountain by Weinan County, where Li Longji's tomb lay. Even the guard post at the entrance of the Tai Tomb was built very simply, not meant for long‑term garrison.

Emperor Li Chang appeared to hold great grudge against Ji Ge, vehemently opposing the interment of his birth mother Consort Wu Hui together with Ji Ge, and also refusing to finish the Tai Tomb.

"Stop, who are you?"

A soldier of the Konghe Army lazily stepped forward and blocked the middle‑aged man.

They had been sent to guard the Tai Tomb and were already displeased. Since the duty was temporary—only until the end of the year—they accepted the assignment.

"I wish to go inside to speak with the tomb's owner; I'll be out quickly."

The man handed over a jar of wine.

The Konghe soldier finally examined the man's face closely. Though his appearance had changed greatly and his clothes were far more shabby than before… this was indeed Marshal Fang!

"Marshal!"

The few men who had moved forward to search him immediately knelt down.

"Rise, there is no longer any great marshal; you should serve Li Jiaqing properly."

Fang Youde helped the men to their feet, handed one jar of wine to the other, and kept the second jar.

"Marshal, I will lead the way for you; this way, please…"

The stationed Konghe Army captain made a reverent gesturing of invitation.

Fang Youde waved his hand, said nothing more, and headed straight toward the main burial chamber of the Tai Tomb.

Soon he saw the Tai Tomb's blank stone stele.

Perhaps because Ji Ge's deeds and faults were highly disputed, this tall blank stele remained uninscribed even a month after his burial.

This alone shows that the court ministers are far from a monolithic block.

Fang Youde sighed; he had lived under an alias in a cramped Chang'an dwelling for a month, probing for information.

Then he discovered a ridiculous fact.

The common folk at the bottom tier literally didn't care whether Ji Ge lived or died!

Or whether Ji Ge died, Li Chang ascended, or Li Chang killed Ji Ge—those people had no opinion at all.

Their lives consist of struggling at the bottom, just scraping together a full meal. Surviving already exhausts all their strength; they have no energy to worry about whether the current emperor has murdered his father.

And they can't grow a bigger flesh!

Reality is that simple, so simple that it makes Fang Youde question his own life.

At the stone door of the Tai Tomb's burial chamber, Fang Youde waved his hand, signaling the Konghe soldiers behind him to leave.

After everyone left, Fang Youde sat down heavily on the ground.

"Sanlang, I'm going home; before parting I came to see you. I will probably die in Shazhou; this is our final meeting."

Fang Youde sighed and continued, "If I had known Li Chang would kill you, I would certainly have spared you back then. This jar of wine is my atonement to you."

Fang Youde poured the wine from the wine jar onto the ground, pouring until empty, then casually tossed the jar aside.

"People are not plants; how could they be without feelings."

"Although I have long known what kind of virtue you are, I still hope we can be like ruler and minister, matching each other."

"I rescue the flourishing Tang; you be a wise ruler; we each get what we need, and do not disturb each other. If it could be so, how wonderful."

"Alas, the great trend of the world has its destiny; what you say doesn't count, nor does what I say."

"Whether you have done your best, I cannot say, after all I have never been an emperor."

"But I truly have done my best; I truly owe nothing to your Li family."

After speaking, Fang Youde let out another long sigh; the trees in the Tai Mausoleum rustled in the wind, as if trying to tell something.

"The trend of regional warlords in the Great Tang has already formed; those good sons of yours will probably raise troops in the name of avenging you."

"Across the nation, there will also be people who, under the banner of punishing the unrighteous, join their uprisings."

"If I am not mistaken, whoever Li Chang sends, they cannot hold this pass."

Fang Youde picked up a small stone, threw it at the tomb gate, and it bounced back after hitting the stone door.

His playful spirit surged, and he tossed it several more times; it felt just like when he used to play polo with Brother Ji.

"Who the next prince to take Guanzhong will be is hard to say. If he is wise, after taking Guanzhong he should delegate authority, pacify the rebel forces, and grant them the title of Military Governor, letting them keep one‑third of the taxes they collect."

"From then on, the whole Great Tang would be filled with Military Governors, drifting lazily, and the nation's fortunes would probably last another hundred years."

"And that's about it."

Fang Youde kept throwing stones, shaking his head in disappointment as he said:

"If you know these things, would you cry or laugh?"

A strange smile appeared on his face, and in his habitual sarcastic tone he said:

"Li Chang killed you, thus losing the people's hearts and legitimacy, giving all the rebels a reason to rise."

"Such a rotten situation, I can't even hold this show!"

"If there's blame, blame it on destiny."

"By the way, that brat of mine always used to say we should trust the wisdom of later generations."

"Then you also trust the Li family's later generations, right? I'm tired, so I won't meddle in your family affairs any more."

After speaking, Fang Youde stood, brushed the dust off his body, turned to glance at the tomb chamber, then turned away and left without lingering.