LFHYB -Chapter 153 Special Grant of Authority to Establish a Commandery Office

Li Xuanba endured it for a while. Then, unable to take it any longer, he started fighting with his elder brother.

Although Li Xuanba was very weak, he had been sickly since childhood and had plenty of experience in how to sneak-attack a strong older brother.

Li Shimin, likewise, had plenty of experience in how to be sneak-attacked by his younger brother in a perfectly reasonable way.

When Li Zhiyun was called out of bed by someone sent by Yuwen Zhu to eat, he couldn’t help laughing when he saw his two elder brothers.

Li Xuanba’s topknot had been messed up by Li Shimin, and now, like Li Shimin, he had his hair casually tied behind his head. There was a very obvious bump on his forehead.

Li Shimin kept rubbing the corner of his mouth, complaining that Li Xuanba always liked to punch him in the face. Now there was a dark bruise at the corner of his mouth, making it uncomfortable even to eat.

Li Zhiyun tried to hold it in—tried and tried—but failed, laughing so hard he nearly doubled over.

Li Xuanba and Li Shimin exchanged a look. Li Shimin pressed Li Zhiyun down, while Li Xuanba grabbed Li Zhiyun’s face.

Li Shimin sneered. “I hear that while I was away, you were pretty arrogant—often making your third brother angry, huh?”

Li Xuanba said expressionlessly, “Now that Second Brother is holding you down, let’s see how you run.”

Li Zhiyun spoke indistinctly, “Third sister-in-law, save me!”

Yuwen Zhu smiled, turned around, and went out, continuing on to the kitchen to hurry the dishes.

Li Zhiyun glanced toward Luo Shixin, whose eyes were red.

Luo Shixin wiped his tears while dodging aside, avoiding Li Zhiyun’s gaze.

Li Zhiyun: “……” My life is over.

Li Xuanba released his grip on Li Zhiyun’s cheek. Li Shimin pushed Li Zhiyun down onto the couch in one motion, and Li Xuanba began tickling him.

Li Zhiyun: “Hahahahaha! Third Brother, I was wrong, I was wrong! I won’t ever make you angry again!”

Li Xuanba said stiffly, “Only realizing your mistake now? Too late.”

Li Shimin laughed. “Exactly. Your good days are over!”

Li Zhiyun: “Hahahahaha! I really was wrong! But if I was wrong, don’t Erlang and Sanlang have no faults at all?”

Li Shimin let go of Li Zhiyun and poked at the tears he was laughing out. “Of course we’re at fault too. Look at your Third Brother—his head is full of bumps. And look at me, your Second Brother…”

Li Shimin pointed to the corner of his mouth. “All bruised.”

Li Zhiyun rubbed his sore cheeks from laughing. “Oh.”

Li Xuanba straightened Li Zhiyun’s rumpled clothes. “It’s safe now. You need to make up the lessons you missed.”

Li Zhiyun obediently replied, “Okay.”

Li Xuanba smiled and said to Li Shimin, “He behaves as soon as he sees you.”

Li Shimin rolled his eyes. “He’s not well-behaved just seeing me. It takes the two of us together to keep this little hellion in line.”

What A-Xuan called a “little hellion” really was an apt description of Little Five.

Back when Little Five was still a chubby little meatball who rolled when he walked, if A-Xuan wasn’t around, Little Five had pulled no end of pranks on him.

Li Zhiyun lifted his chin and said, “That’s because I’m amazing! If Erlang and Sanlang don’t manage me together, no one can control me!”

“Fine, fine, yes, yes,” Li Xuanba said, returning to his couch and panting heavily. After just a short bout of roughhousing, he was already exhausted.

Li Shimin smoothed Li Xuanba’s breathing. “Eat more and build your body up sooner. I’ve heard that the Western Regions have lots of nourishing medicinal ingredients that the Central Plains don’t. When I get back to Zhangye, I’ll get some for you.”

Li Xuanba smiled. “Alright.”

Li Zhiyun shuffled over to Luo Shixin’s side and threw a punch at him.

Luo Shixin blocked it.

Li Zhiyun’s mouth opened and closed without making a sound, but it was obvious he was cursing.

Luo Shixin pretended not to see it.

The lord and Third Young Master were disciplining their younger brother—why should he get involved?

After Luo Shixin and Li Zhiyun finished their little interaction, Li Shimin finally asked Luo Shixin about what he had experienced during this period.

Although Li Xuanba had already gone over it once in his mind, Li Shimin still wanted to hear another person’s account from a different perspective.

When Yuwen Zhu returned, Li Shimin asked again.

They didn’t bother with the rule of “no talking while eating,” chatting as they ate.

At first, Yuwen Zhu felt a bit uncomfortable, but later she joined in. She even forgot about eating, continuously complaining to Li Shimin about Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba sat beside Yuwen Zhu, silently cutting meat for her, adding dishes, and refilling water.

Only when Yuwen Zhu saw that the meat and vegetables in her bowl were piled high did she stop complaining about Li Xuanba and lower her head to eat in earnest.

Li Shimin shot Li Xuanba a teasing look.

Li Xuanba calmly met his second brother’s gaze: [What? Missing Second Sister-in-law?]

Li Shimin: [Tsk.]

After Li Xuanba said that, he really did start missing her.

Li Shimin wasn’t the kind of person to be awkward about it. Since he was thinking about her, he said it outright: “Sigh, I’ve been away so long—I really miss Guanyinbi. When I left Zhangye, A-Xuan’s life was still hanging by a thread, and Guanyinbi was constantly worried. She’s been alone in Zhangye. I left Han Gou and Wu Di by her side, hoping she wouldn’t be too afraid.”

Li Xuanba said, “Second Sister-in-law is probably out hunting every day with Han Gou and Wu Di already, and having so much fun she’s forgotten her husband.”

Li Shimin laughed and cursed, “Bullshit. She’s not like me.”

Li Xuanba asked in confusion, “Second Brother, why have your words gotten so crude this time we met?”

Li Shimin replied nonchalantly, “I’m in the army day in and day out, hanging around with those rough soldiers. But talking like this feels pretty good—very liberating.”

Li Xuanba said, “You should still change it. Right now you’re leading troops, so no one says anything. But once you become emperor, be careful not to get chased and scolded by censors every day.”

Li Shimin waved his hand. “You’re so naggy. Got it, got it.”

The corners of Yuwen Zhu’s lips lifted slightly.

When they talked about things like this, Third Young Master never avoided her. That made her very happy.

Li Zhiyun snorted. “It’s still too early to talk about that. Doesn’t the emperor still want to take Second Brother to perform the Fengshan rites? I think that’s great—maybe Second Brother will become the only person to perform Fengshan twice.”

Luo Shixin said, “Better not. Who would want to go up Mount Tai to perform Fengshan with such a muddle-headed and cruel ruler? If he does it, later enlightened rulers wouldn’t even dare to perform Fengshan anymore.”

Li Xuanba said, “Isn’t that even better? It saves all future enlightened rulers a huge expense.”

Li Shimin said solemnly, “That won’t do! Even if I have to scrimp on clothes and eat less meat at every meal, I’ll still save up money to perform Fengshan. A-Xuan, you have to help me!”

Li Xuanba sighed. “The Fengshan ceremony really costs a fortune. I think instead of counting on me, you’d be better off letting Yang Guang ruin the reputation of Fengshan himself.”

Li Shimin said, word by word, “I. Will. Not! I want to perform the Fengshan!”

Li Xuanba clicked his tongue. “Tsk.”

Li Zhiyun covered his mouth, laughing as he leaned over to whisper in Luo Shixin’s ear. “Don’t you think my second brother is even more childish than me?”

Luo Shixin glanced at Li Zhiyun and felt that Li Zhiyun hadn’t seen the lord for too long—he was really itching to be taught a lesson by him.

Yuwen Zhu said, “The meat’s getting cold, my lord. Eat first, then make a fuss.”

Li Shimin said cheerfully, “Hear that? A-Xuan, you’re being scolded by your wife.”

Li Xuanba sneered. “Just wait until I get back to Zhangye—”

Li Shimin cut him off. “You’ll go complain to Guanyinbi, right? Tattletale puppy.”

Li Xuanba replied, “As long as it works.”

Yuwen Zhu said helplessly, “My lord, eat.”

Li Xuanba answered obediently, “Okay.”

He picked up a chunk of uncut meat and stuffed it into Li Shimin’s mouth, shutting him before he could keep rambling.

Li Shimin spat the meat out, clutching the bruised corner of his mouth—still black-and-blue from Li Xuanba’s punch—and glared at him.

Li Xuanba held his bowl and turned his face aside.

Li Zhiyun kept snickering, and even Luo Shixin almost burst out laughing.

Yuwen Zhu smiled and shook her head, no longer bothering with the two of them.

It seemed she couldn’t manage them alone—she’d have to wait until they returned to Zhangye and have Guanyinbi help out.

That night, Li Shimin and Li Xuanba squeezed onto one bed.

In the middle of the night, Li Shimin went to Li Zhiyun’s room and carried over Li Zhiyun too, who hadn’t fallen asleep yet.

Li Zhiyun talked tough, saying he didn’t want to squeeze in with his brothers, but still obediently slept right in the middle of them.

Li Zhiyun fell asleep incredibly fast. While Li Xuanba was still grumbling to himself and Li Shimin, Li Shimin pinched Li Zhiyun’s cheek, and Li Zhiyun didn’t react at all.

Li Shimin whispered, “Little Five still sleeps like a rock.”

Li Xuanba thought, [Only right now. Lately he hasn’t been sleeping well at all. Even when he’s beside me, he doesn’t sleep soundly—he keeps talking in his sleep.]

Li Shimin said, “Raising kids is such a hassle.”

Li Xuanba replied, [You haven’t even raised one yet. And when you do, you’re really terrible at it.]

Li Shimin stopped him. “Enough, enough. I’m in a good mood right now—don’t tell me unhappy things. Are you sleeping or not?”

Li Xuanba replied, [Sleeping. Good night.]

Li Shimin smiled. “Good night.”

He turned onto his side, facing outward, and soon fell asleep as well.

This time, he slept through the night without dreams—rather than having a night filled with empty, formless dreams.

The next day, Li Shimin rubbed his eyes and muttered, “So it really was a dream.”

Li Zhiyun propped his foot on Li Shimin’s stomach, yawning. “Second brother, what dream?”

Li Xuanba climbed out of bed and said while getting dressed, “He definitely dreamed about Second Sister-in-law.”

Li Zhiyun cried out theatrically, “Wow~”

Li Shimin: “……”

It wasn’t a dream—he really had seen his brothers. And they were still just as annoying.

He kicked Li Zhiyun off to the side first, then sprang up and smacked Li Xuanba on the back of the head. “Shut up! I didn’t dream about Guanyinbi! I dreamed that I became emperor, and you two little brothers finally became obedient!”

Li Zhiyun said, “Second brother, if you became emperor I might become obedient, but Third Brother and ‘obedient’—do those two have even the tiniest bit to do with each other? Are you sure?”

Li Shimin said with a straight face, “That’s why I said it was a dream.”

Li Xuanba rubbed the back of his head—it didn’t hurt—and urged, “Hurry up and get dressed. We still have to go see His Majesty. It’d be best if we leave today. Second Brother, you don’t really want Yang Guang to drag you off to perform Fengshan, do you?”

Li Shimin hurriedly started dressing.

With their status, the three of them should have had servants dressing them from childhood. Many nobles their age couldn’t even dress themselves.

But the speed at which these three dressed had been honed in the military camps—far faster than servants could manage. So even in a safe environment, they were too lazy to have servants come in.

After getting dressed, the three of them helped one another tidy up clothes, hair, and accessories.

When they went out, breakfast still wasn’t ready.

Li Shimin guided Li Zhiyun in practicing the long spear and horse-lance, while Li Xuanba read under the shade of a tree. Before long, Luo Shixin also joined the morning training.

Yuwen Zhu yawned as she walked into the courtyard and told them breakfast was ready.

After everyone finished breakfast, Li Shimin, Li Zhiyun, and Luo Shixin were all soaked with sweat and had to change clothes again.

Li Xuanba complained, “You three really waste clothes.”

Li Shimin said, “I’m not throwing the old clothes away, just changing them. How is that wasting clothes?”

Li Zhiyun nodded repeatedly. “Exactly, exactly.”

Only Luo Shixin rubbed his nose awkwardly and gave a dry laugh.

Yuwen Zhu sighed. “My lord, say less. Do you feel uncomfortable if you don’t needle people?”

Li Shimin said, “That’s right, sister-in-law—you should scold him more.”

Li Xuanba said irritably, “Are you going to see His Majesty or not?”

Li Shimin sighed. “I really don’t want to go.”

When both Li Xuanba and Li Shimin turned their heads toward him, Li Zhiyun shook his head repeatedly. “I won’t go. I really can’t stand seeing Yang Guang—acting all the time is exhausting.”

Li Shimin said, “Then don’t. You and Shixin go find Pei Shoujing and Fourth Young Master Changsun.”

Li Zhiyun said, “Okay.”

Luo Shixin nodded. “Yes.”

Li Shimin crouched down. “Come, I’ll carry you.”

Li Xuanba said, “I’ll use the wheelchair.”

Li Shimin said, “The road’s uneven—the wheelchair will jolt. Sit in it when we reach the emperor. Don’t waste time.”

“Oh.” Li Xuanba obediently lay on his second brother’s back and was carried up.

Li Shimin bounced him a little. “So light. Looks like I need to make another plan to fatten you up. Let’s go!”

With that, Li Shimin kicked off and shot forward like the wind.

Chen Tieniu, Xiang Gu, and the other guards hadn’t even reacted yet before Li Shimin had already dashed out the door. They immediately started running after him in a loose scramble.

Li Zhiyun turned his head to Luo Shixin and said, “Third Brother always says Second Brother is a husky that slips its leash—but he never tells me what a husky is.”

Luo Shixin sighed. “You’d better not ask. I think whatever Third Young Master said probably wasn’t anything nice.”

Li Zhiyun asked, “Third Sister-in-law, do you know what a husky is?”

Yuwen Zhu actually did know—Li Xuanba had drawn one for her before.

But she smiled and said, “I don’t know. Wulang, don’t ask. It definitely wasn’t anything nice.”

Li Zhiyun folded his arms and sighed. So curious.

A husky was probably some kind of animal that loved to run wild. If he ever found out what a husky was, he’d catch one and bring it back to give to Second Brother, then tell him this was the metaphor Third Brother always used to mock him.

Luo Shixin eyed him suspiciously. “Jihong, are you plotting something bad?”

Li Zhiyun raised his head, wearing the exact same calm expression as Li Xuanba. “How could I? No.”

Luo Shixin: “…” He began to be on guard.

Yuwen Zhu couldn’t help laughing.

…

“Achoo.” Li Shimin rubbed his nose. “Who’s talking bad about me?”

Li Xuanba said, “There are way too many people who talk bad about you. Who knows? Just think how many Turks and Tuyuhun people you’ve beaten up.”

Li Shimin laughed. “If the Turks and Tuyuhun were thinking about me, I wouldn’t be sneezing—otherwise I’d be sneezing all day. I suspect it’s Little Five secretly muttering about me behind my back.”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Possible.”

After the two older brothers blamed their younger brother without a shred of evidence, they finally got down to business.

Li Xuanba was feeling lazy and didn’t want to speak, so he switched to inner-voice mode:
[Let’s align our stories again. When you set out on campaign, Western Turkic forces were already plotting against Dunhuang Commandery. You went to investigate the Eastern Turkic situation because you were worried that when you marched on Dunhuang, the Eastern Turks might ambush your rear.]

Li Shimin said, “Who would’ve known that when I saw the Eastern Turks’ internal defenses were empty, I probed further and learned that Shibi Qaghan had sent troops to attack Yanmen Commandery. I hurried back to Zhangye to gather forces, ordered Changsun Wuji to lead men to Yanmen for relief, and personally took Pei Xingyan to raid the Turkic khagan’s tent, forcing Shibi Qaghan to withdraw his troops to rescue it. That was the strategy of ‘besiege Wei to rescue Zhao.’”

Li Xuanba: [The Eastern Turks were too useless. You took the khagan’s tent with ease and incredible speed—so fast that Changsun Wuji had only just finished recruiting local militia. You then ordered him to rendezvous with you and head south together to relieve Yanmen Commandery.]

Li Shimin smiled. “On the way, I ran into Shibi Qaghan—already crushed by you, A-Xuan—and, completely baffled, captured him. Such a huge merit just fell straight into my mouth. What a coincidence—everything was just a coincidence.”

The twins put their heads together and snickered.

Yes, yes—pure coincidence. All coincidences.

After laughing for a bit, Li Shimin turned serious. “The Western Turks must already know that the Eastern Turks are internally empty and that I left Zhangye. He’ll definitely seize the chance to attack Dunhuang Commandery and plot to annex the Eastern Turks, fulfilling his ambition of unifying the Turkic tribes. I must return to reinforce immediately.”

Li Xuanba spoke gloomily, “Second Brother, not only did you leave Zhangye yourself, to exert maximum strength in rescuing His Majesty you also took all your fierce generals with you. What’s left guarding Longyou Circuit are the old, weak, sick, and disabled. The Hexi region is in grave danger!”

Li Shimin nodded. “Exactly—grave danger!”

The two sighed deeply in unison.

Li Shimin hooked an arm around his younger brother’s neck. “Can we pull it off?”

Li Xuanba said, “I think we can. Duke Pei knows Zhangye and Dunhuang’s predicament very well; he’ll definitely speak for us.”

Li Shimin said, “What Duke Pei? Call him Teacher Pei. Although he isn’t our formal teacher, we once shared half a teacher’s bond. We should call him ‘Teacher.’ He’s spoken so many good words for us before the Emperor—this ‘Teacher’ must be addressed.”

Li Xuanba shot Li Shimin a look. “I said that to you yesterday.”

Li Shimin bared his teeth in a grin. “Now it’s my line.”

Li Xuanba rolled his eyes at his shameless brother again.

Li Shimin ruffled Li Xuanba’s hair, then carefully rearranged his topknot. “With the military situation so urgent, Father can’t blame us for not returning to Taiyuan.”

Li Xuanba’s expression darkened. “Mm.”

Li Shimin patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry—the grudge with Li Jiancheng, I will repay.”

Li Xuanba said, “Even if we don’t make the first move, as long as Little Five and I are still alive, he’ll be terrified and uneasy. I’ll force him to move first… Don’t clench your fists. I won’t use the three of us brothers as bait—absolutely not!”

Li Shimin lowered his raised fist. “Mm.”

Li Xuanba rubbed the goosebumps on the back of his hand. Second Brother must have spent too much time on the battlefield—when he put on a stern face, it was pretty frightening. Goosebumps and all.

After aligning their stories once more, the audience with the Emperor went very smoothly.

Li Shimin’s expression—serious with a hint of anxiety—was flawless, and the Western Turks as an enemy also greatly satisfied Yang Guang.

Li Xuanba: [If we claimed the enemy was peasant unrest in Longyou Circuit, Yang Guang would be unhappy. In his view, barbarians and petty tribes raiding the borders is normal; the Turks are a formidable enemy even Emperor Wen of Sui couldn’t deal with, so it’s only natural that his enemy is the Turks. But if the common people dare to rebel, that’s slapping him in the face. How laughable.]

Li Shimin: [Shut up.]

Li Xuanba: [I didn’t open my mouth. Don’t answer! What if you accidentally let something slip?]

Li Shimin: “…” Aaaaah! Going crazy! If you’re worried I’ll let something slip, then stop chattering endlessly with treasonous nonsense while I’m talking to the Emperor!

Yang Guang asked in confusion, “Why do you keep glancing toward Dade?”

Li Shimin said gravely, “I fear that if I look away even for a moment, my younger brother will disappear.”

Li Xuanba: “…” You’re obviously annoyed that my inner voice is too noisy and are covertly glaring at me!

Yang Guang and the ministers beside him all showed looks of sympathy.

Yang Guang said, “I originally intended to keep Dade in Luoyang to recuperate, but you should still take him back to Zhangye. Zhangye is far away, but if Dade isn’t by your side, you’d likely be unable to settle your mind.”

Pei Shiju said, “Dealing with the Western Turks also requires Third Young Master Li. At present the court cannot support Longyou; it can only let Second Young Master Li shoulder it himself. With only battle, he cannot withstand the Western Turks. Second Young Master Li intimidates the Western Turks, while Third Young Master Li divides and draws them over—only then can the crisis in the Western Regions be resolved.”

Pei Shiju paused for a moment, then said against his true feelings, “Originally, General Changsun was the most suitable person for this task. However, General Changsun is advanced in years and cannot make the journey. Li Sanlang is General Changsun’s disciple, and he will certainly be able to complete this task on General Changsun’s behalf.”

In truth, Pei Shiju still believed that he was no worse than Changsun Sheng. But Changsun Sheng’s schemes had all succeeded, while his own plan had instead led Shibi Khan to attack Yanmen Commandery. Although he believed this was due to the decline of the Sui rather than his own failings, it was no longer appropriate to boast.

Yang Guang thought of Changsun Sheng and said, “Indeed. If General Changsun were not old and ill, I would never have suffered such humiliation.”

Li Xuanba said, “Your Majesty, is it not Shibi Khan who suffered humiliation? Your Majesty personally led the imperial expedition, confronted Shibi Khan’s army, and crushed the Eastern Turkic forces in one stroke. This is an achievement unmatched in the ages.”

Yang Guang burst into hearty laughter. “Dade speaks rightly! The one who was humiliated is Shibi Khan! Hahahaha!”

The other ministers also laughed heartily. Li Shimin capturing Shibi Khan alive truly let them vent the resentment pent up in their hearts.

At this moment, everyone’s favor toward Li Shimin and Li Xuanba was at its peak. Seeing that the two brothers were eager to return to Zhangye, the ministers all urged Yang Guang to release them quickly.

Moreover, they were also somewhat fearful of the Turks.

If Eastern Turks had dared to besiege Yanmen Commandery, then the Western Turks might be just as ferocious.

If Li Shimin did not return in time and the Hexi region were lost, the threat would fall directly upon the Western Capital, Daxing. That was the ancestral land of most of the meritorious nobles.

Under the ministers’ persuasion, Yang Guang briefly conferred rewards upon Li Shimin, formally enfeoffing him as Marquis of Champion, solidifying his title, and granting him an additional one thousand households as fief.

Li Xuanba, though not enfeoffed as a marquis, was also granted an additional five hundred households.

However, with chaos raging across the realm, these so-called fiefs were all empty promises and could not actually be collected.

Aside from Li Shimin’s title of “Marquis of Champion,” the tangible rewards the brothers received were promotions in rank. Li Shimin was specially elevated to the senior first-rank honorary position of Guanglu Daifu, while Li Xuanba was promoted to the junior second-rank position of Right Guanglu Daifu.

The senior first-rank Guanglu Daifu corresponded to the former merit rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, which had once been a fourth-rank honor. The merit-rank system had already been abolished by Yang Guang. All merit ranks above Kaifu Yitong Sansi were eliminated, leaving only Kaifu Yitong Sansi as equivalent to the senior first-rank Guanglu Daifu.

From this alone, one could see that the later “scattered official” system instituted by Yang Guang was far inferior in status to the old merit-rank system.

Kaifu Yitong Sansi had originally carried the right to “open an office” (kaifu). Naturally, all merit ranks above it also possessed that authority. Now, only military officials such as generals and great generals holding substantive posts could open offices; even Kaifu Yitong Sansi no longer qualified to do so.

Moreover, Kaifu Yitong Sansi had once been the starting point for the legitimate eldest sons of capable meritorious nobles when they benefited from hereditary privilege.

Most founding dukes with achievements would grant their heirs the merit rank of Kaifu Yitong Sansi before they inherited the title. Particularly powerful dukes like Gao Jiong could even have their sons directly made commandery dukes.

In the past, as long as one’s father worked a bit harder, it was easy for noble sons to become Kaifu Yitong Sansi. Now, after Li Shimin and Li Xuanba had rendered such enormous service, they were merely specially elevated to senior first-rank Guanglu Daifu.

Thus, although Yang Guang claimed that he had raised the status of Kaifu Yitong Sansi—changing it from fourth rank to senior first rank, just below princes and dukes—everyone knew what was really going on.

Yang Guang’s special promotion of Li Shimin was not solely because of Li Shimin’s great merit.

At present, the Sui had no spare capacity to support Li Shimin and could only allow him to raise troops and provisions on his own to resist the Western Turks.

Since Li Yuan had already been appointed a general, Yang Guang did not wish to further promote Li Yuan. It would therefore be awkward to appoint Li Shimin as a general as well. Instead, he elevated Li Shimin’s honorary rank and, following the old precedent of “Kaifu Yitong Sansi,” specially permitted Li Shimin to open an office in Zhangye to guard against the Turks.

With this “special permission,” Li Shimin could finally bestow official appointments on his subordinates on a large scale. Even high offices such as commandery governor could be handled at his own discretion. This was similar to how, in original history, when Qutu Tong led troops against Li Yuan, he was able to appoint Yao Jun’su as Governor of Hedong Commandery.

By granting Li Shimin such extensive authority, Yang Guang was also making a statement on behalf of the court. The court had completely abandoned supporting the Longyou Circuit. By turning Longyou into a “battlefield,” Li Shimin was allowed to appoint local officials himself.

That afternoon, Li Shimin set out with his family and subordinates to return to Zhangye.

Apart from titles, official ranks, and verbal promises of fiefs, the court granted no other rewards.

For the ordinary soldiers who had fought desperately to rescue the emperor, none of the material rewards originally promised by Yang Guang were fulfilled.

Before leaving, Li Xuanba scraped together all the valuables from his second brother, Pei Xingyan, Changsun Wuji, and others, and first fulfilled his own promise of rewards to the soldiers.

Li Shimin said softly, “Fortunately, I kept quite a few things. It should be enough to reward the officers and men under my command. Once the emperor returns to the Eastern Capital, he will make up the rewards, right?”

Li Xuanba replied: [He will make them up—but not much. The generous rewards originally promised will be changed to the same calculation used when fighting Yang Xuangan and bandit leaders. Most soldiers will receive no reward at all.]

Li Shimin clenched the reins tightly and let out a heavy sigh. “To reward merit inadequately—such behavior is unworthy of a ruler.”

Li Xuanba glanced at Li Shimin. Your son and daughter-in-law are famously stingy when it comes to military merit. When the two of them ruled as emperors, they not only docked rewards but even decreed that those who died on the battlefield would have their rewards withheld without compensation. Did you know that?

Well, you don’t. When Second Brother grows a bit older, I’ll hide the matter of the Empress and only tell him how stingy his son was.

“Forget it. No more thinking about depressing things. Let’s go home!” Li Shimin said, patting his face and speaking with high spirits.

“Alright.” Li Xuanba obediently withdrew back into the carriage.

Li Zhiyun also declined Second Brother’s invitation to ride together. He hid in the carriage to avoid the blazing sun, leaving Second Brother alone outside, raising his whip with spirited enthusiasm.

Li Shimin: “……”

Li Shimin: “My younger brothers are really no fun.”

Changsun Wuji and the bruised and swollen Pei Xingyan burst into laughter.