Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 150

When Pugu Huai'en heard the news, he was deeply puzzled—wasn't Li Ji in Weibo? Why did he come to Fenzhou?

He had not received any news of Li Ji's return to Chang'an. Admittedly, the military governors of each region had spies in the capital to keep abreast of the court's movements and respond accordingly—for example, if the emperor intended to launch an expedition, he would usually send a letter to the nearby military governors to solicit their opinions, and receiving such news in advance would allow him to consider how to respond in a way that would please the emperor—but they basically only kept an eye on the Hall of State Affairs and the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel, and would not think of monitoring Li Ji's residence.

On the one hand, having too many people would easily reveal their whereabouts; on the other hand, there simply aren't enough people to handle it. Some local officials have already submitted memorials requesting the restoration of the envoys to the court and the residences of the prefects, but the court has yet to give a clear answer.

The so-called "Imperial Assembler" was similar to the "Reporting to the Emperor" in the Han Dynasty, referring to officials dispatched annually by local governments to the capital to report on their administration and finances. In the fifteenth year of the Zhenguan era, an imperial edict ordered the construction of over three hundred residences for these Imperial Assemblers in the capital's outlying areas. This ensured that as long as these residences existed, even outside of the reporting period, someone would be needed to manage them, making it convenient to openly and legitimately plant spies. Unfortunately, these residences began to fall into disuse during the Yongchun era of Emperor Gaozong, and by the Shenlong era, they had all been sold off. After the An Lushan Rebellion, even the Imperial Assembler system was discontinued.

Returning to the story, Pugu Huai'en couldn't understand why Li Ji would travel all the way from Weibo to Fenzhou. His trusted deputy, Fan Zhicheng, guessed, "Could it be that he's here to persuade the General on behalf of the court?" Pugu Huai'en nodded, "That's not necessarily true." He was about to go out of his office to greet him when Fan Zhicheng hurriedly said, "General, please be careful. Li Ji went to Xiangyang before, and the court summoned him back to the capital... Now he's come to Fenzhou again, wanting to persuade you..."

The implication is that Lai Zhen believed Li Ji's words, returned to the court to take up his post, and that's what led to his downfall. Can you really trust such a stranger?

Pugu Huai'en waved his hand and said, "We do not yet know their intentions, so there is no need to worry unnecessarily."

Fan Zhicheng advised, "Li Ji is only a fourth-rank official, while the military governor is the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince. Why bother to go out and greet him? Just summon him to see us. Besides, this man has always been arrogant and reckless. The military governor cannot be completely unprepared."

Pugu Huai'en agreed that he should not go out to greet Li Ji because of his status; as for guarding against Li Ji—he glanced at Fan Zhicheng: "How should we guard against him? If we line up our guards in front of the hall, as Tian Chengsi did for my son, people will look down on us and think that I am afraid of Li Ji—I am not a surrendered general like Tian! If you protect me, can you resist Li Ji?"

Fan Zhicheng smiled wryly, not daring to accept the order—Li Ji didn't recognize him, but he did recognize Li Ji and had personally witnessed Li Ji fighting on the battlefield, whether wielding a spear or a mace. He knew he was no match for him. After thinking for a moment, he suggested, "We can summon Yun Yaoji."

Pugu Huai'en nodded and then ordered Zhang Weiyue, the commander of the Imperial Guards, to welcome Li Ji into the main hall. He sat in the center, with Yunlin and Fan Zhicheng on either side.

Li Ji strode in, bowed respectfully, and asked, "Lord Pugu, how have you been?"

Although Pugu Huai'en, relying on his higher rank, did not personally greet Li Ji, it was inappropriate for him to remain seated any longer since Li Ji had arrived. He immediately stood up to return the greeting and ordered seats to be prepared for Li Ji. Then, he went straight to the point and asked, "Why has Changwei come to Fenzhou instead of being stationed in Weibo?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "If Lord Pugu doesn't return to Lingwu, isn't he temporarily staying in Fenzhou?"

Pugu Huai'en's face darkened: "Did Ze Changwei come here to help me or to help Xin Yunjing?"

Li Ji shook his head: "I came alone, why would I ask for your help?"

"Is this to resolve the conflict between me and Xin Yunjing?" Pugu Huai'en said coldly. "This enmity is irreconcilable. It's either me or him; no one can resolve it!"

Li Ji feigned surprise: "I thought Lord Pugu was a magnanimous person..."

"I've always been petty and vindictive!"

Li Ji spread his hands: "Strange indeed, that's hard to explain. Pugu Gong said he had an irreconcilable hatred for Xin Yunjing. Could it be that he killed your relatives and friends? Pugu Gong once told me that more than forty members of his family died in service to the king..."

Pugu Huaien couldn't help but interject to correct him: "Forty-six people."

Li Ji nodded and continued, "Those who die in service to the king either perish at the hands of the Western Barbarians or the Eastern Bandits. Many of the surrendered generals in Hebei, such as Tian Chengsi and Li Baochen, have the blood of the Pugu clan on their hands. However, after Pugu Gong entered Hebei, they turned against him and surrendered. He disregarded their past transgressions and even allowed them to lead his army again... Tian Chengsi used his elite troops to intimidate your son, and Pugu Gong was able to ignore it. Why is it that he is so unwilling to let go of Xin Yunjing?"

Pugu Huai'en found it difficult to answer, so Fan Zhicheng quickly chimed in, "Since they have surrendered, their past crimes will not be investigated. Now, the Grand Master (Pugu Yang was then the Imperial Censor) has repeatedly requested that Xin Yunjing come to apologize, but Xin firmly refuses..."

Li Ji glanced at him sideways and asked Pugu Huai'en, "This person looks very unfamiliar, who is he?"

"It is also Fan Zhicheng, the commander of the Ya Army."

Li Ji raised an eyebrow: "You mere junior officer, how dare you interrupt when the two commanders are speaking?!"

According to Li Baozhen, Fan Zhicheng was merely a deputy general. Of course, it was Li Ji's first meeting with him, so he couldn't possibly appear to know everything about him. But it's easy to imagine that a garrison's guards numbered no more than five or six hundred men. Even if the commander was highly trusted by his superior, his rank couldn't possibly be too high. What right did a mere guard battalion commander have to interrupt a conversation between leaders?

Fan Zhicheng was indignant, but he could only clasp his hands in apology. Pugu Huaien said, "Zhicheng was rude, please don't take offense. But what he said is exactly what I wanted to say—if you can get Xin Yunjing to come to Fenzhou to apologize in person, I will naturally release my troops and return to my post."

Li Ji shook his head: "Your son has deployed troops to pressure them, yet they still won't come out. I am neither Su Qin nor Zhang Yi; how could I possibly have such abilities?" He then looked at Pugu Huai'en: "Besides, I am not familiar with Xin, so why bother with him? I have come only to save Pugu's family." As he spoke, he took out an imperial edict from his robes: "Here is the Emperor's decree..."

Chapter Thirty-Three: Repeatedly Breaking Promises

When Li Ji was about to issue the imperial edict, Pugu Huai'en couldn't help but glance sideways at Fan Zhicheng, as if to say: You really guessed it right.

Instead of accepting the imperial decree, he asked, "What are the Emperor's instructions?"

Li Ji did not give a direct answer, but deliberately went around in circles: "Last month, I returned to the capital to pay my respects, and heard that His Majesty was quite angry upon receiving the memorial submitted by Pugu Gong. So I bowed before the Emperor and repeatedly pleaded with him, and only then did I obtain this imperial edict summoning Pugu Gong and his son back to court..."

Pugu Huai'en frowned: "Summoning my father and me back to court, do you intend to kill me?!"

Li Ji shook his head and laughed: "How absurd! Now, Lord Pugu has accused Xin Yunjing of bringing disaster to the country and Luo Fengxian of framing him, but Xin and Luo claim that Lord Pugu has rebellious intentions. The Emperor is in Chang'an with his eyes and ears blocked and cannot make a decision. Therefore, I request that the Emperor issue an edict to summon Lord Pugu and his son back to court so that they can present their case face to face and clarify the truth before the Emperor. Wouldn't that be better? The reason why the Emperor did not approve Lord Pugu's memorial and severely punished Xin Yunjing is because Luo Fengxian was in front of the Emperor. If Lord Pugu does not return in time, and instead Xin Yunjing returns first, wouldn't all the arguments be exhausted by those two sharp-tongued men? This would be very disadvantageous for Lord Pugu."

Pugu Huai'en waved his hand, as if to say: Shut up, let me think... This is a bit of a roundabout way of putting it. After a short while, he asked, "So, this imperial edict was requested by Changwei, and it was purely out of goodwill? The Emperor's summons of my father and me back to the capital is entirely beneficial to me?"

Li Ji nodded: "That's right." He even had an expression that said, "You're the one who finally understands my good intentions."

Pugu Huaien sneered, "When Changwei went to Xiangyang in the past, did he also persuade Lai Zhen to return to the capital in the same way?"

Li Ji flicked his sleeves: "Lord Pugu is a hero of our time, a model for all generals. Why compare him to a fool like Lai Zhen instead of a good one?" He then explained: "Lai Zhen only returned to the capital because he coveted the position of Minister of War and the honor of becoming a prime minister. Lord Pugu, on the other hand, after explaining his true intentions before the Emperor, naturally returned to guard Shuofang. How could anything happen to him? Moreover, Lai Zhen already held military power in Xiangyang and refused to obey the court's orders. When Wang Zhongsheng was trapped in Shenzhou, he was too cowardly to come to his aid. The Emperor disregarded his past transgressions and appointed him to the important position of Minister of War, yet he held the position without doing any work and was incompetent—such a blockhead deserves to be demoted, and it would be no wonder he was killed!"

"Moreover, Li hates nothing more than those who linger and refuse to help when their allies are in trouble. If you, my lord, were to admit that you also have such a bad reputation, then compared to Lai Zhen, I would turn around and leave without offering any assistance!"

As he spoke, his eyes shone brightly as he stared directly at Pugu Huai'en, waiting for his reply.

Pugu Huai'en turned his gaze away and said sullenly, "Lai Zhen did not save Wang Zhongsheng... Such a despicable act is universally condemned by soldiers. How could I have done such a thing? But even so, he should not be sentenced to death... He should have been executed on the spot. How could he have been lured into the capital to be beheaded?"

Li Ji explained, “The reason why Zhen was summoned back to the capital to serve as Minister of War and Chancellor was because the court was unaware of his treachery. Only after Lord Pugu recovered Luoyang and Wang Zhongsheng was able to return did his evil deeds come to light. If Lord Pugu truly wanted to make a comparison, you are comparable to Wang Zhongsheng. Now, you have been slandered by Xin Yunjing. If you had not returned to the court, how could the Emperor have known about Xin’s treachery?”

"If I return to the capital, will the Emperor be able to severely punish Xin Yunjing?"

Li Ji shook his head: "It depends on how Lord Pugu presents himself to the Emperor." Then he earnestly advised: "Before the Emperor's presence, please restrain your temper. If you speak as rudely as you did before, you may be wrong even if you are right. However, I have a deep friendship with the Emperor and know your loyalty. I have already vouched for you before the Emperor that you will not rebel. My elder brother and the Prince of Yong have also spoken up for you. As long as you speak patiently, the Emperor's wisdom will surely see through your deceit."

Then he produced Guo Ziyi's letter: "Minister Guo also strongly defended Lord Pugu."

Pugu Huai'en hurriedly ordered someone to take Guo Ziyi's handwritten letter with both hands, unfolded it and read it carefully, remaining silent for a long time.

Li Ji then tried to persuade him from another angle: "Now that you have been staying in Hedong for so long without returning to your post, even the sage would find it difficult to understand the truth of the matter, and this matter will never be resolved. Do you really want to fight with Xin Yunjing? Among colleagues, whoever starts the war first, even if they don't rebel, they will rebel. Then the Pugu family's reputation for loyalty for generations and your many battle achievements will be destroyed in an instant! It would be better to release your troops as soon as possible and return to the capital with me."

Fan Zhicheng repeatedly winked at Pugu Huai'en, but Pugu Huai'en pretended not to notice. After pondering for a long time, he finally asked, "In that case, if my father and I return to the capital, will our lives be spared?"

Li Ji laughed heartily: "What are you saying, Lord Pugu? You have neither the evil deeds of Lai Zhen nor the merit of suppressing the rebellion. No one in the world can compare to you. Who would dare to kill you? Even if the court has malicious intentions, the emperor cannot allow it."

In truth, the killing of Lai Zhen had little to do with the imperial court; it was essentially Li Yu's autocratic decision. Li Ji understood that his claim of resenting Lai Zhen for not rescuing Wang Zhongsheng was merely a pretext. Li Yu truly hated Lai Zhen for his powerful and unruly military, so he wanted to make an example of him. However, having been out of touch with politics for a long time and not having been on the throne for long, he lacked sufficient political wisdom. He didn't realize that when there were enough powerful and numerous rivals, hastily killing one could easily backfire.

Ultimately, the imperial power was nominally above that of the prime minister, which is why Li Ji said, "Even if the court has malicious intentions, the emperor cannot allow it." He then patted his chest and declared, "If anything untoward happens, I, Li, will risk my life to protect you and your son and help you escape danger!"

He persuaded him repeatedly, almost wearing his lips out, before Pugu Huai'en finally made up his mind and said, "Alright, then I will guard you this once." So he set up an incense table and accepted the imperial edict.

Li Jisheng, fearing that things might change if he delayed, requested to get up as soon as possible. Pugu Huaien said that it would not work. He had to send someone to call Pugu Yang back first. Didn't the imperial edict say that my father and I should return to the court together? Moreover, since we were leaving the army, we had to make arrangements first. He ordered someone to temporarily take charge of the various tribes, leave Hedong, and return to Shuofang.

Li Ji was temporarily settled in the guesthouse. But Li Ji couldn't stay idle, saying that he would take this opportunity to see old friends—he visited the generals of Shuofang Army, inviting them to drink with him, whether they were familiar or not, as long as they had met him once. Although Pugu Huai'en had his doubts, he did not stop him.

So, during the banquet, Li Ji told all the generals the meaning of Guo Ziyi's letter, and said, "I heard that there are people in the army who say that the Minister of Works is old and sick, but in my opinion, he can eat a bushel of rice a day and is probably stronger than me!" He also felt sorry that the Shuofang army had been away from their town for a long time, so he raised his cup to toast each of them and asked, "Where are you from? Is your family alright? It's quite hot in Hedong, are you still used to living here?"

This reveals that many of the generals longed to return home.

Furthermore, he learned during the banquet that Pugu Huai'en's mother was in Fenzhou—during the An Lushan Rebellion in Dongping, Pugu Huai'en had sent his mother to Chang'an to show his loyalty, and then took her with him when he returned to his post. Li Ji was taken aback and said, "It was my mistake. I should go and visit the old lady."

He had planned to visit Pugu Huai'en's mother the next day, but Pugu Huai'en invited him first. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said, "I'm worried I'll be killed if I go back... How about letting Yang'er return to court first? He'll be a hostage, and we can show the Emperor that the Pugu clan is not rebelling. Anyway, Yang'er understands everything here; let him explain his grievances before the Emperor."

Li Ji couldn't help but glance at Yun Lin sideways. Yun Lin understood and shifted his gaze to Fan Zhicheng, meaning: it was all Fan Zhicheng's instigation that made Pugu Huai'en dare not return to court.

Li Ji smiled wryly and said, "It's not that I had a falling out with Brother Pugu outside Luoyang and therefore spoke ill of him—his temper is even more violent than yours, and he doesn't know how to speak properly. If he were to go before the Emperor to plead his case... wouldn't you, Brother Pugu, be afraid of ruining things?"

After another long and repeated admonitions, Pugu Huai'en remained resolute and refused to return to the capital. When he was finally forced to comply, he could only say perfunctorily, "I have already sent someone to fetch Yang'er by fast horse. Let's wait until he arrives before we talk about it."

Li Ji requested to meet with Madam Pugu, but Pugu Huai'en refused, citing his mother's poor health.

Li Ji was quite pleased yesterday. I only needed to use my lips, without lifting a finger—just a few spittle—to persuade Pugu and his son to return to court. Any talk of severely punishing Xin Yunjing is mostly a pipe dream. Even whether Pugu and his son can get out of court after their return is none of my concern. As long as the rebellion in Hedong is quelled and they are spared, that's enough. At most, Guo Ziyi will have two more benches to sit on.

Who would have thought that things would take another turn overnight, causing him to deeply resent Fan Zhicheng. He thought to himself, "For the sake of the bigger picture, I didn't plan to deal with you right now, but it seems that won't work..."

Because Yunlin secretly reported the day before that "Pugu and his son are plotting a rebellion." Why? Because according to what he had seen and heard, Fan Zhicheng had secretly sent someone away from Fenzhou, possibly to contact the Uyghurs or even the Tibetans! Of course, after Li Ji's repeated questioning, it is still unknown whether this was at Pugu Huai'en's behest or whether Fan Zhicheng acted on his own initiative to become a traitor.

Ultimately, Yunlin lacked concrete evidence, and Li Ji feared that Pugu Huai'en was paving the way for his own future, with Fan Zhicheng merely a prop. Therefore, he dared not expose the matter. Who would have thought that it would be Fan Zhicheng who ultimately ruined everything!

After returning to his lodgings, he frowned deeply and paced back and forth in the room. Yuan Jing'an asked, "When Commander Li came, he said this matter would not be easy. Now that Pugu Yang has returned to court, it can be considered half a success. Why are you so worried?" Li Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Today Pugu Yang broke his promise. If this happens once, it will happen again. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

As expected, after two days, Pugu Yang returned to Fenzhou from Yuci. Pugu Huai'en then invited Li Ji over and said to him, "What Changwei said the other day was quite reasonable. Yang'er is truly inept at speaking; if he were to appear before the Emperor, he might offend His Majesty. Even I am not eloquent, far inferior to Changwei. Why not ask Changwei to return to the capital and plead my son's case before the Emperor? What do you think?" At the same time, he offered Li Ji silk and valuables as gifts.

Li Ji thought to himself, "As expected, my unfortunate prediction came true..."

He immediately glanced at Pugu Yang sitting beside him, then slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "When your father is in trouble, a son should not avoid swords and arrows! Is Brother Pugu so cowardly that he would rather put himself in danger than care about your father being insulted and humiliated? You want me to defend your family? I would rather not be Pugu!"

Two days ago, Pugu Huaien broke his promise and became fat, only willing to be a hostage and not daring to return to the court in person. Li Ji had already exhausted his words, but in the end... there was no result at all. He thought to himself that today the other party broke his promise again and took another step back. If he still tried to persuade him gently, it would probably be a waste of effort. Since that was the case, he might as well take a different approach and curse Pugu Yang.

Regardless of whether Fan Zhicheng has slandered you again, I'm convinced that it's you, Pugu Yang, who is cowardly and afraid of trouble, preferring to put your father and family in danger rather than return to the capital! This is unfilial and rebellious!

Upon hearing this, Pugu Yang indeed jumped up, disregarding his father's presence. He pointed at Li Ji and cursed, "It is clearly you who are jealous of my father and me, and wanted to lure us back to court to kill us—you killed Lai Zhen before, and now you kill Pugu! My father, out of consideration for our past friendship, did not detain you and let you go on your own. How dare you slander me like this?!"

Li Ji glared at Pugu Yang: "Your father has been very kind to me, giving me a fine bow in the past. That's why I risked my life on the battlefield, letting him do as he pleased. And now I've come here to save you and your son. Who would have thought that my good intentions would be so misunderstood, that I would be accused of having any intention to harm you, Pugu Gong... Why would I be jealous of you for no reason?"

Pugu Yang shouted, "Back then at the walls of Luoyang, you prevented my father and me from entering the city, which is why my father didn't want you to fight the enemy. That's why he harbors resentment..."

Li Ji laughed loudly, "I stopped you and your son from entering the city to protect the people of the city and to preserve the reputation of Lord Pugu; Lord Pugu did not ask me to fight the bandits, was it to protect my reputation and life? So, who has wronged you, your family or me?!"

Pugu Yang was never one for eloquence, and with just a few words, Li Ji led him astray, leaving him speechless and only able to hurl insults like "dog slave" and "thief." Li Ji thought to himself, "That's all you've got. Even your profanities lack creativity." Just as he was about to press his advantage, Pugu Huai'en slammed his hand on the table and scolded his son, "Don't be rude! Get out of here!"

Pugu Huai'en did indeed harbor rebellious intentions, but these intentions were not firm, and he had no intention of turning against the court. Moreover, Li Ji's visit had been courteous, bringing Guo Ziyi's letter and offering kind words of comfort, without any impoliteness. Pugu Huai'en couldn't afford to break ties with him. He had planned to wait for Li Ji to plead earnestly, then continue to appease him, perhaps even offering some money to keep him quiet, and the matter would be over. But unexpectedly, Li Ji abandoned him and turned to berate Pugu Yang.

Pugu Huai'en was naturally unhappy that someone was insulting his son, so he didn't stop Pugu Yang from retaliating. But his son... had a fiery temper, easily ignited, and was also clumsy with words, unable to curse. If he were allowed to continue arguing with Li Ji, he would only be humiliating himself. That's why he spoke up to stop him.

However, Li Ji refused to give up and brought the topic back to Pugu Yang, continuing to provoke him: "I swore brotherhood with you, but in order to be the first to plunder Luoyang, you even wanted to cut your robe in two. How unjust! The court has treated you and your father well, yet you disobeyed the imperial edict and refused to return to the capital. This is disloyalty. Pugu was misled by petty men and hesitated for a moment. As a son, you were unable to persuade your father to be loyal, and you were unable to take the risk for him. This is unfilial piety. The Pugu family is known throughout the world for its loyalty and valor. I never expected that such a cowardly, unfilial, and unjust man like you would be born. After you die, how will you have the face to meet the forty-six relatives who died in service to the king?"

"A person without shame is no better than a beast! You wear this human skin but are actually filled with pus and filth. A tiger father begets a dog son. Of all the dog slaves in the world, you are the most dog-like. Of all the thieves in the world, you are the most thief among thieves!"

These words were not only harsh, but also slightly implicated Pugu Huai'en. Pugu Huai'en couldn't help but change color and glare at Li Ji: "Alright, Changwei, you should watch your mouth."

Li Ji thought to himself, "I've done enough good. If he weren't your son, I wouldn't dare to curse your female relatives and family members in such a lowly way. If I really tore off the mask and cursed you viciously, you old thief would probably vomit blood on the spot!"

Chapter Thirty-Four: Capturing the Thief in the Palace

Li Ji launched into a tirade against Pugu Yang, and Pugu Huai'en tried to stop him, but before he could quell the anger, another one sprang into action—

Pugu Yang leaped to his feet, kicked over the table in front of him, and clenched his fists so tightly they cracked. He shouted at Li Ji, "How dare you insult me! Do you think Shuofang has no one to rely on? Are all the generals and soldiers in this hall just for show? Aren't you afraid of death?!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji laughed instead of getting angry: "Indeed, you are a coward, only able to rely on your numbers. Just like back then in front of Huian Gate in Luoyang, when I blocked your way with my own horse, if you hadn't been leading a thousand troops, you probably wouldn't have had the courage to sever ties with me, and would have just run away like a coward."

This is a knife to the heart.

Pugu Yang and Li Ji had known each other for many years and fought side by side more than once. How could he not be aware of Li Ji's abilities? Although they had never truly clashed, he honestly believed he was probably no match for Li Ji… Of course, if they weren't a match, they weren't a match. They were both generals, not commoners. Pugu Yang was quite confident in his own military prowess. But instead of intimidating Li Ji, Li Ji had publicly declared in front of everyone that he was a coward, too afraid to fight him personally, only relying on his numbers. How could Pugu Yang possibly save face?

The two military governors met at their offices, discussing the momentous matter of whether or not they would be ordered to return to the capital. Pugu Huai'en naturally summoned all his generals and officials, arranging them around him. Moreover, he had expressed his intention to return to the capital just a few days prior, so he not only summoned Pugu Yang from Yuci, but also Li Guangyi from Qixian, and Kang Yuanbao from Qinzhou… truly, all the generals were gathered. With so many eyes and ears watching and listening, if Pugu Yang dared not confront Li Ji, would he still be able to hold his head high in the army?

He then lunged forward and roared, "Everyone says Li Erlang is unparalleled in martial arts, but I'm not afraid! Do you dare to fight me to the death?!"

Li Ji had been waiting for him to say that, so he immediately jumped up, kicked over a table, glared at him, and shouted, "Come on, who's afraid of who?!"

Pugu Huai'en was furious—not at Li Ji, but at Pugu Yang. "You've suffered because of your fiery temper more than once or twice," he thought, "why don't you learn your lesson? You really want to fight Li Ji? Not only will you most likely lose, but you'll also lose all face. Even if you manage to win by chance, what then? Are you going to chop Li Ji up?"

But how could he stop the two from fighting? Should he simply send his son away, or order Li Ji to be dragged off the throne? Ultimately, he couldn't only consider his son's situation; he also had to consider himself and the Pugu clan. For a moment, he was somewhat undecided. Ideally, someone of some detached status would step in and mediate…

He glanced around at the generals—none seemed suitable—his gaze swept across the room, finally settling on Fan Zhicheng, who stood to the side. Fan Zhicheng, believing he understood the commander's meaning, immediately stepped forward and ordered the guards below: "Quickly bring Li Ji..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Ji turned his head and glared at him fiercely, shouting, "What do you want? How dare you, a lowly general, call my name?!" He immediately shut Fan Zhicheng up.

Then Li Ji looked around at the generals and said loudly, "As you all can see, today Pugu Yang has challenged me. If I do not accept, I will be unworthy of the name of defending Longyou against the barbarians and driving out the bandits in Hebei! There is no need for a life-or-death battle. If I lose, I will kneel down on the spot and kowtow to Pugu Yang to apologize. I will then leave Fenzhou and will no longer concern myself with the affairs of the Pugu family!"

Zhang Weiyue, Li Guangyi, Lu Liang and other generals could no longer sit still and stood up to persuade him, but to no avail. Pugu Yang also shouted, "Come, come, if I lose, I will kowtow to you to apologize!" He then clenched his fist and punched Li Ji in the face.

Pugu Huai'en hurriedly shouted, "Quickly separate the two!" However, all the generals kept a distance of more than three feet, with their arms outstretched, and repeatedly tried to persuade them, but no one dared to step forward. It was no joke; Li Ji was known for his bravery, and the emperor had bestowed upon him the title "Key Hero," which was fine, but even Pugu Yang was not someone to be trifled with. Who could stop him? Moreover, if we stopped either Pugu Yang or Li Ji, it would be seen as taking sides, and we would surely suffer the consequences in the future.

Ultimately, Pugu Yang was the son of the commander-in-chief; while Li Ji was the emperor's favorite general...

Li Guangyi and Zhang Weiyue were facing each other. Li Guangyi immediately exchanged a glance, meaning: Let's each take one of them and grab them. Zhang Weiyue nodded slightly, so Li Guangyi took a step forward... but he took it too early. Zhang Weiyue hadn't moved yet, so Li Guangyi was forced to pull his foot back. Seeing this, Zhang Weiyue didn't dare to go first either.

No sooner said than done, in the blink of an eye, Pugu Yang had already thrown a punch at Li Ji's face. Li Ji dodged to the side, simultaneously launching a kick at Pugu Yang's abdomen. Pugu Yang changed his move in time, parrying downwards with his arm, and the fist and foot collided with a "thud" before separating.

Pugu Huaien finally couldn't sit still any longer. He stood up and was about to step forward—you, Li Ji, don't dare to throw a punch at me, do you? As for Yang'er, there's even less of a chance. Right now, in and out of the hall, I guess only this old man like me can separate the two of them.

Li Ji caught a glimpse of this out of the corner of his eye, and immediately leaped to the entrance of the main hall, beckoning to Pugu Yang: "Come here, you're only a three-year-old child, you only need your father's help when you're in trouble!"

Pugu Yang shouted, "Father, sit still and watch me capture this thief alive!" He took a step forward and chased after him.

Having just exchanged blows, Pugu Yang's confidence soared—the mighty Li Erlang was nothing more than this. He had roughly figured it out: in terms of physical strength, the two were evenly matched, but he had been in the army since his youth, galloping across battlefields for nearly twenty years, while Pugu Yang had only been a soldier for a few years. How could he be a match for him? Pugu Yang was consumed by anger and, being someone who never liked to think things through, he didn't consider that the battlefield was a place of swords and spears, where large, sweeping movements were required, which was completely different from hand-to-hand combat.

Taking advantage of the momentum of his forward lunge, Li Ji threw a vicious straight punch. Li Ji crossed his arms to block, staggered back three steps, dissipating the force of his opponent's blow, and then flipped his left hand to grab Pugu Yang's wrist. Pugu Yang thought he had used the force of the punch to force Li Ji back, but his right straight punch missed, so he threw a left hook; Li Ji slightly shifted his body, flipped his right hand, and grabbed Pugu Yang's left wrist as well.

Pugu Yang's punch was purely instinctive, while Li Ji had thought things through and devised a strategy. As soon as he locked Pugu Yang's arms, he immediately twisted his right hand on top and his left hand on the bottom, while simultaneously kicking out with his left leg and hooking downwards. Pugu Yang lost his balance and fell sideways. Li Ji seized the opportunity to pounce on him, using all his strength to press him down.

Pugu Huai'en strode forward, but before he even got close, the outcome was already decided. He couldn't help but sigh inwardly, "Li Ji is indeed unparalleled in martial prowess..." Just as he was about to speak, saying that the outcome was decided, Yang'er, you should apologize to Commander Li.

Although Pugu Yang was a few years older than Li Ji and held a slightly higher rank—Pugu Yang's official salary was that of a third-rank Imperial Censor, while Li Ji was only a fourth-rank Vice Minister of War and an Inspector—Li Ji was ultimately a military governor, so he could barely be considered an equal to him. Therefore, it wouldn't be too shameful for his son to kowtow to him.

Besides, isn't this shameful? You little brat, you brought it on yourself!

Before Pugu Huai'en could finish speaking, Li Ji used his knees and left arm to pin Pugu Yang down, freeing his right hand. With his five fingers like eagle claws, Li Ji grabbed Pugu Yang's throat and glanced at him, saying, "Lord Pugu, I'm sorry!"

Pugu Huai'en was greatly alarmed and hurriedly shouted, "Wait!"

Li Ji suddenly roared, "If you take another step forward, I will die with you!"

Pugu Huai'en slammed on the brakes, nearly falling to the ground.

Pugu Yang opened his mouth to shout, but his throat was pinched, and he could only make "hehe" sounds, unable to utter a single word.

Zhang Weiyue and the others hurriedly tried to persuade him, "Why must it come to this? Please, Commander Li, release Physician Pugu." Li Ji glared at them and said, "Do you know who I hate most in my life?"