Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 372: The Old Man Fades Away
"Grandpa, who is this guest that you need to greet at the door in person?"

General Li Shengui, who was in charge of the Eastern Expedition, supported his father Li Chong and stood at the door of the house to greet an old friend.

Li Chong is already very old.

When Li Chong returned from his last expedition, his hair had already turned white. Later, the political situation in the court was turbulent, and Li Chong was involved in the aftermath of the political struggle. He was stripped of the title of General of Cavalry and has been bedridden ever since.

Li Chong now speaks incoherently and has crooked eyes. He is no longer the crouching tiger that made the Southern Liang Dynasty shudder with fear.

Li Shengui was also a lover of Empress Dowager Hu. After Prince Gaoyang Yuan Yong and other clan ministers killed Empress Dowager Hu's two lovers, Zheng Yan and Xu He, Li Shengui was not killed by the kings because of Li Chong's face, but he was stripped of his official position and forced to return home to take care of his elderly father.

Li Chong had not left his bedroom for a long time. Even when Cui Guang passed away a while ago, Li Chong was unable to leave the house to pay his respects. He only sent his son to visit.

Some time ago, Li Chong dismissed the concubines he had kept over the years, leaving only a concubine who had taken care of him for many years. He promoted her to the position of wife and asked her to continue staying in the mansion to take care of him.

Everyone knows that this crouching tiger of Wei Dynasty, like the national destiny of Wei Dynasty, will have not much time left.

Li Shengui didn't know why his father, despite his sick body, stood in front of the mansion gate to greet others. Who on earth had the face to allow his father to do this?

After a while, a donkey cart slowly stopped in front of the gate of Li's mansion, and a skinny old man got off the cart. Li Shengui recognized that this was Li Daoyuan who had returned from being sent by the court to comfort Guanzhong.

Li Daoyuan is also old.

When Li Daoyuan surveyed and annotated "Water Classic" in the past, he always rode a horse. Later, when he entered the court as an official, he always rode a horse whether he went to court or to the government office. He never took a carriage or sedan chair.

But now Li Daoyuan has reached a state where he can no longer ride a horse.

In fact, Li Daoyuan is not much older than Li Chong, and is only in his fifties.

But now his hair has turned gray due to overwork.

As for why Li Daoyuan had to ride in a donkey cart, it was because all the war horses had been requisitioned and now all officials had no horses to ride.

"How can you trouble the general to wait for me outside the palace?"

Li Daoyuan stepped forward and supported Li Chong, and the two of them entered the mansion. Li Shengui followed behind them, thinking out many ideas.

Now Li Chong’s eldest son, Li Shizhe, is in the northwest and is the governor of Hezhou of the imperial court.

However, since Li Shizhe took office as the governor of Hezhou, he has had little presence.

At the beginning, Su Ze served as the General Protector of the Qiang, and was in charge of Hezhou's military affairs. When Su Ze's prestige grew, Li Shizhe simply traveled around Hezhou and lived a carefree life.

Li Shizhe's son-in-law Yu Jin has also made many military achievements. Several of Li Shizhe's sons now work under Yu Jin. Many members of the Li family have already gone to Guanxi.

The reason why Li Chong was able to enjoy his old age in Luoyang was largely because of Su Ze.

Li Shengui actually also wanted to leave Luoyang. Li Daoyuan was Su Ze's teacher. What if he could use his connections?
Returning to the inner room, Li Chong finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat on the couch. He sighed and said:
"Mr. Li came back too late. He was unable to catch up with Cui Wenzheng's funeral."

Old friends left one by one, and Li Chong was very happy to see Li Daoyuan.

In fact, for Li Chong, Li Daoyuan was not a friend. One of them was a scholar, while the other was a martial artist, and their relationship was superficial. The only thing they had in common was that they were both friends of Cui Guang.

Although we are not old friends, it is good to have an old acquaintance. Most of the ministers of Emperor Xiaowen have died out now.

At this time, for an old man like Li Chong, being able to meet old acquaintances is already a very happy thing.

Speaking of Cui Guang, even a cold-hearted person like Li Daoyuan felt a little sad.

Li Shengui found an opportunity to interrupt and said:

"I heard that Cui Gong's son Cui Jie escorted Cui Gong's works to Guanzhong, and was treated with great courtesy by General Su."

Li Shengui was trying to test his father's thoughts indirectly. He also wanted to go to Guanzhong, but he did not have a good relationship with his brother Li Shizhe. He still hoped that his father could use his face to ask Su Ze to give him an official position.

So after meeting Li Daoyuan, Li Shengui became even more eager. Everyone knew Su Ze's teacher, so it didn't matter if he didn't follow his path.

Li Chong said:

"Shen Gui, go check if the medicine is ready."

Li Shengui left the bedroom unwillingly. After his son left, Li Chong said:

"Please forgive me, Lord Li. My son has never been very good. When he saw you, he started to have improper thoughts."

Li Daoyuan also joked:
"Because of this disciple, after I returned to Luoyang, the number of people who came to visit me was overwhelming. Even when I was the governor of Henan, there were not so many people."

Li Chong burst into laughter after hearing this, but soon he started coughing violently again. Li Daoyuan quickly came forward with some water, and waited until Li Chong stopped coughing before asking:

"What is the situation in Guanzhong?"

Li Daoyuan sighed and said:
"Duke Danyang's rule was in chaos, but my disciple's rule was peaceful. When I left Guanzhong, all the scholars in Guanzhong went to join my disciple."

Li Chong was silent for a moment. Everyone could see through Su Ze's thoughts, but he had not yet openly rebelled. Everyone kept their heads down and acted like ostriches. After chatting for a while, Li Daoyuan talked about the situation in the court. He said:
"The court wants to appoint the governor of Xiangzhou, Prince Jian of Anle, as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Expedition to quell the rebellion. What do you think, General?"

Prince Anle Yuanjian made great efforts in suppressing the rebellion of Yuan Faseng, so he was appointed as the governor of Xiangzhou.

Now the court can no longer spare the troops to fight against Ge Rong, and can only select generals to suppress the rebellion from these powerful governors.

Originally, the court wanted the Yanzhou governor Yuan Yanming to lead the suppression of the rebellion. However, Yuan Yanming was defeated by Gao Huan in the Battle of Jizhou, and his prestige plummeted. Finally, after much searching by the court, only the Xiangzhou governor Yuan Jian could gather some troops.

Li Chong shook his head and said:

"Yuan Jian is a cruel person, unpopular in Xiangzhou, and he is mediocre and unintelligent, so there is really no one to help him in the court."

Li Daoyuan sighed and said:
"The court discussed several candidates. The first one was Pei Yan, the deputy of King Guangyang. After the Battle of Wulu, it was Pei Yan who managed to gather the remnants and escape to Jizhou, preserving part of the government army's strength. But Pei Yan is now behind enemy lines, and the court has no way of knowing his exact situation."

"In addition, the court was planning to dispatch General Yuan Ziyong of the Central Army to lead the newly recruited imperial guards, but Yuan Ziyong refused to accept the title of Grand Commander of the Eastern Expedition."

Li Chong said:

"Pei Yan is a man of many plans but lacks decisiveness. He can be a deputy general, but not a main general."

"Yuan Ziyong is a good candidate, but he lacks prestige in the army and has no weight in the court. The court will definitely not listen to his suggestions. If he becomes the Eastern Expedition Commander, he will be constrained by the court like Prince Guangyang. It is wise for him to refuse to take the position."

Li Daoyuan looked at Li Chong. Although this old man was old and seriously ill, his opinions on the generals in the court were very insightful. This time, Li Daoyuan came to visit Li Chong when he returned to Luoyang.

Li Daoyuan said sincerely:

"I have returned to Luoyang this time and was appointed as the Minister of the Court. I ask the General to give me some advice on how to quell the rebellion."

Li Daoyuan did not feel any joy at the promotion. Instead, he felt that the burden had become heavier.

Now the Menxia Province is paralyzed and the court's policies are in chaos. Li Daoyuan wants to reorganize the court and quell the rebellion, but his military skills are mediocre, so he comes to ask Li Chong for advice.

Li Chong coughed violently again. After a long while, he said:
"The battle has come to this point. It's impossible to win quickly."

Li Daoyuan also understood this principle, and he asked:

"What if we don't win quickly?"

Li Chong uttered a word: "Food".

Li Daoyuan quickly understood what Li Chong meant, and he asked:
"General, do you mean to take advantage of the rebels' weakness of having more soldiers and less food and confront them to consume their resources?"

Li Chong nodded and said:

"exactly."

Li Daoyuan added: "But the court is also short of food. The price of rice in Luoyang has increased several times, and the imperial army can't even get enough food and grass for the expedition."

Li Chong said:

"Doesn't Lord Li have a good disciple? I heard that Guanzhong has been doing well in recent years. Why don't you let your good disciple transport food to Luoyang?"

Li Daoyuan was silent for a moment, and finally said:
"Su Zilin is not unwilling to provide food. His envoy came to the door yesterday and said that he wanted to ask for the title of General of the Western Expedition on his behalf, and also wanted the court to grant him the honorary positions below the sixth rank, and also praised a lot of his subordinates for their merits."

Li Chong said:

"Then why is the court hesitating? Su Zilin still accepts the position of the court official. Isn't this a great thing?"

"Even if we don't give him the honorary titles below the sixth rank, even if he appoints officials on his own, what can the court do to him? It's better to give him all of them."

"Luoyang has come to this point, and he is still stingy with these titles?"

Li Daoyuan sighed and finally said:
"That's true."

At this time, Li Shengui walked into the inner room carrying medicine. Li Chong looked at his son and said to Li Daoyuan:
"Lord Li, my son is the most useless. He has only learned 10% of my skills, and he still has a strong desire for fame and fortune. After I die, please forgive him and let him return to his hometown to mourn."

Li Shengui was shocked after hearing this. He originally wanted Li Daoyuan to speak for him and arrange for him to go to Guanzhong. Why did his father want him to resign and return home?
It would be better to stay in Luoyang.

But in front of his father, Li Shengui did not dare to refute. Li Daoyuan looked at Li Chong and agreed to the request of this old man.

The two discussed the current situation again, and tacitly did not talk about Su Ze and Erzhu Rong. Li Daoyuan also had new thoughts on suppressing the rebellion in Hedong from the conversation.

No one expected that after Li Daoyuan left Li Chong's house, he received news that Li Chong's health was worse the next day. Li Daoyuan couldn't help but feel regretful, because it turned out that yesterday was Li Chong's last moment of life.

There would be one less old minister of Emperor Xiaowen in the court, but Li Daoyuan had no time to be sad.

In the end, the court met Su Ze's request and not only gave him the title of General of the Western Expedition, but also gave him the title of Duke of Gaoping County, which was beyond the standard.

The Menxia Province discussed the candidate for the Grand Commander of the Eastern Expedition. Although Li Daoyuan opposed it, with the support of Gaoyang Wang Yuanyong and Hejian Wang Yuanchen, they still appointed Xiangzhou Governor and Anle Wang Jian as the Grand Commander of the Eastern Expedition and sent troops to attack Ge Rong.

(End of this chapter)