Chapter 63: Tragedy

In early March of the seventh year of Daye, Li Jing, the Vice Administrator of Mayi Commandery, was still inspecting the local granaries and food reserves, keeping all the civil officials of the Mayi Household Office in a state of constant trepidation.

The officials of the other departments were hardly having an easier time.

Ever since Li Jing took charge of the administration in Mayi, he had been rather laid-back. Aside from keeping a tight, iron grip on the three thousand cavalry and infantry soldiers in the Mayi garrison, he had not made any drastic moves.

However, things were different now. The Emperor was about to launch a campaign against Liaodong, and as usual, the entire empire was in an uproar over it.

Mayi was geographically close to Hebei. If the administration was not put in order now, there would inevitably be a harsh reckoning to face later on.

Having suffered a string of bad luck for nearly twenty years, Li Jing was deeply aware of the stakes. Not to mention anyone else, even his own elder brother in the capital kept a watchful eye on him.

Of course, Li Jing’s own private motives were also a significant factor.

Truth be told, Li Jing had grievances over the years that he could hardly voice.

Back in the day, he had considered himself a dependent of Yang Su’s faction, serving as an official under his patronage, while his elder brother, Li Duan, was a trusted confidant of Grand General Shi Wansui.

The struggle for power between Yang Su and Gao Jiong had lasted for nearly two decades, and the collateral damage was far from small.

At that time, Gao Jiong’s disciples and former subordinates spread far and wide across the imperial court, genuinely overshadowing Yang Su.

In the end, however, the victor was Yang Su.

Li Jing saw things very clearly: among the prominent ministers of the court back then, Gao Jiong was unquestionably unmatched in both talent and reputation.

The downfall of such a founding statesman of the Kaihuang era was not because his political rival Yang Su was overwhelmingly formidable, but rather because his achievements were too great to be rewarded, arousing the Emperor's suspicion.

In that continuous series of breathtaking, interlocking struggles that intertwined with the battle for the throne, Li Jing’s faction was like a small boat in a violent storm, easily overturned.

Shi Wansui was dead, and Li Duan was stripped of his official rank and reduced to a commoner.

Yang Su’s faction had gained the upper hand, yet Li Jing did not reap a single benefit; instead, he was gloomily driven out of the capital. This was clearly their retaliation.

The figures at the top remained as steady as monoliths, while the small fish and shrimp at the bottom suffered the heaviest casualties.

During the turmoil of those years, Li Jing was merely one of those small fish and shrimp.

After being tossed about from place to place without any promotions, let alone the chance to return to the capital, it might have seemed that he was merely implicated by his elder brother. In reality, this was the price he paid for aligning himself with Yang Su’s faction.

The invisible barriers constantly obstructing his promotions and his path back to the capital were likely so obscure that even Niu Hong, the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, could not figure out who was behind them. Back then, no one would ever have made a massive fuss for the sake of a lowly official like Li Jing.

However, the vicissitudes of the world could never be anticipated by mortals.

Crown Prince Yang Yong was deposed, and Gao Jiong was demoted. A legendary minister of a generation finally reached the end of his official career. Yet, it could be said that he was relatively fortunate; in the twilight years of Emperor Wen, countless virtuous ministers and capable generals of the founding era had their families ruined and clans exterminated one after another, whereas Gao Jiong managed to retire safely, which was truly no small feat.

Meanwhile, Yang Su won the deep trust of Emperor Wen, Yang Jian, and Empress Dugu, and his influence grew immensely.

By this point, it should have been a matter of course for Li Jing to return to the capital to take up an official post.

Ironically, the person who stubbornly blocked Li Jing’s path back to the capital was none other than his own elder brother, Li Duan.

The saying that it was easiest to advance one's career while stationed in the capital was far from empty words.

Hunkered down in the capital of Chang'an, Li Duan had switched his allegiance, pledging himself to the powerful Yuwen clan of the capital. He gradually grew in importance and even managed to reclaim the title of Duke of Yongkang that had been stripped away years before.

Blood ties and fraternal bonds were utterly worthless in the face of fame, fortune, and power.

Moreover, although the Li family branch did not hold top-tier clout in the capital, they were indeed members of the prominent elite families of Chang'an.

Within such a grand lineage, no matter what bizarre events occurred, one need not be surprised.

As the head of the household, Li Duan’s greatest apprehension was precisely this younger brother of his. Throughout the years, the only person capable of contending with him for the position of family head was this very brother.

Had this younger brother not been so young back then, the peerage of Duke of Yongkang might never have fallen onto his own head.

Therefore, he would never allow this brother to return to the capital.

Consequently, Li Jing was miserably trapped by his elder brother.

It was true that his official rank had risen, but he had been dumped into a frontier wasteland like Mayi. To make matters worse, people all claimed that Li Jing owed his promotion entirely to his brother’s grace, leaving him with grievances he could not share.

Around this time, Yang Su met a fate similar to Gao Jiong's of years past, falling under the Emperor's suspicion. Rumor had it that he was too afraid to even seek medical treatment for his illness and directly sickened and died at his post.

It was rather comical: less than a year after Yang Su’s death, the life of the renowned minister Gao Jiong also reached its end.

The pair of lifelong rivals had embarked on their final journey almost hand in hand, which simultaneously marked the complete conclusion of the turbulent winds and clouds of Emperor Wen’s late reign.

The ambitious new emperor sat upon the dragon throne, looking left and right with triumphant satisfaction, finally setting his mind at ease. For there was no longer anyone possessing the audacity and prestige to criticize him or act as a check on his power.

By this juncture, Li Jing made the painful discovery that the only person left in the imperial court who still remembered him and constantly plotted against him was probably none other than Li Duan.

A tragic life needed no explanation.

Just when he most needed support, his maternal uncle Han Qinhu died.

Just as he was beginning to show his talent and striving to make a mark, he was abruptly convicted of a crime and demoted out of the capital.

When the new emperor ascended the throne and he caught a glimmer of hope, Yang Su died.

He finally received a promotion, only to be sent to a ghost-forsaken place like Mayi.

If he wished to win military merits, the Tujue invaders would not show up; if he desired to be promoted to Administrator, he found himself forcefully suppressed and held down by others.

Furthermore, Mayi was a place where his elder brother Li Duan had once campaigned, leaving behind quite a few old subordinates. If Li Jing wanted to accomplish anything here, he first had to ask whether those people would consent.

It could be said that Li Jing’s first half of life was filled with various tragedies. He had no control over his own fate, constantly tumbling into one pit after another, making it increasingly difficult to crawl back out.

Could one expect such a person to serve the country diligently and conscientiously guard the borders in Mayi? How could that possibly happen?

Yet, the seventh year of Daye offered Li Jing, whose hope was gradually fading, a faint glimmer of light.

Naturally, he knew that no matter how hard he tried to scheme his way in, it was impossible for him to join the expeditionary army to conquer Liaodong.

However, a place like Mayi was far too close to Hebei, and he was ninety percent certain that the Emperor would personally lead the campaign.

Even though he viewed this as an extremely foolish act—the Emperor's love for grandiose achievements was beginning to become incomprehensible, and his personality and actions were already starting to mirror those of the warlords at the end of the Jin dynasty—for Li Jing himself, this was the closest he had been to the Emperor in nearly twenty years.

Therefore, he desperately wanted the Emperor to know that there was still an official in Mayi named Li Jing, whom the Grand General Han Qinhu had once praised as being well-versed in military affairs.

Thus, this time around, when inspecting the granaries, Li Jing applied himself with twelve-tenths of his energy.

By March, before even half of the inspection was completed, the Mayi administration had already submitted death sentences for twenty-six individuals to the Yanmen and Daizhou General Office. In reality, without even waiting for a reply from Yanmen, heads had already been rolling thick and fast right here.

This was a blatantly obvious purge.

Those who lost their heads were mostly local officials, and half of them were military officers.

Li Jing had hardened his heart to thoroughly eradicate the old subordinates left behind in Mayi by his elder brother Li Duan, thereby clearing the path for his future actions.

And at this moment, a relatively minor fire within the city of Mayi provided Li Jing, whose eyes were already bloodshot from slaughtering, with yet another pretext...

*(Seeking collections, seeking recommendations, seeking tips)*