Tang Dynasty Swordsman

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He paused for a moment, then said, "Tibet's national policy depends on the rise and fall of the Tang Dynasty, as if its life is tied to the hands of others. It's really hard to accept."

Ma Chongying advised, “This is unavoidable. After all, Tibet is vast and sparsely populated, far inferior to the Tang Dynasty, which occupies the Central Plains. However, Tibet also has the advantage of its terrain. Even if we are outnumbered, as long as there is no internal turmoil, the Tang people will eventually find it difficult to reach the plateau, and self-preservation should not be difficult. But in order to expand the territory inherited from our ancestors and to block the Buddhist enemies from other lands, if the Tang Dynasty is in chaos, I will definitely lead troops to fight again and bring glory to the Zanpu!”

Trisong Detsen smiled and said, “During the time of the previous Zanpu, the Tang people crossed Menggu and Chiling, broke through Shibao, and marched towards the Western Sea. Then the previous Zanpu was killed, and everyone in Lhasa was in danger. However, soon after, the Tang Dynasty was thrown into turmoil, and troops from Longyou and Hexi were transferred eastward. It was as if a huge boulder was lifted off my shoulders, allowing me to breathe freely. Isn’t this the power and virtue of our ancestors? Isn’t this the protection of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas? Therefore, I am very confident that Tibet will eventually prosper. Even if it cannot surpass China, it will be able to stand on equal footing with it.”

He reached out and patted Ma Chongying on the shoulder: "I have great confidence in Da Lun. Da Lun, you must not be discouraged by temporary setbacks. As for sending envoys to Tang to investigate the war situation in the east, it is certainly necessary. In addition, we should also send more spies into Shanzhou to investigate the situation of Li Tan's government."

Ma Chongying nodded repeatedly.

Trisong Detsen then asked, "What strategy do you have for dealing with that Li Erlang?"

Ma Chongying hesitated for a moment before saying, "We can send brave warriors into Shancheng to assassinate him..."

Trisong Detsen laughed loudly: "Great Master is joking. He himself is an unparalleled warrior. What warrior could possibly assassinate him? However... could we find a way to transfer him away from Longyou? The Tang chaos is not yet over, and our Tibetan army has already retreated. Why should such a warrior not go to fight An Qingxu, but stay in Longyou for so long? Great Master, go and think of a good plan."

Ma Chongying hurriedly kowtowed and accepted the order.

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After confirming that the Tibetan army had withdrawn beyond the borders, Guo Xin and Li Yuanzhong immediately reported to Li Tan, requesting that troops be dispatched to recapture Linfan City, Xuanwei Army, and Suihe Garrison – which Li Tan granted.

He had already considered revising his previous proposal and not abandoning Shancheng for the time being, and the strategies of the generals at the front brought by Li Ji further boosted his confidence. Li Ji, however, was not overly optimistic and had originally planned to use the opportunity of his report to advise Li Tan—

A balance of tension and relaxation is essential in both civil and military affairs. We already took a risk by not abandoning Shancheng and forcefully resisting the barbarian invaders; from now on, caution is paramount. The key issue is that you've just arrived in Longyou, your troops are not yet fully organized, and your supplies are insufficient. If you rashly abandon Shancheng, morale will plummet, leading to a rout. Therefore, taking risks is necessary. However, now that the barbarian invaders have retreated, our army has achieved considerable success, you've reported back to the court, and the morale of the army and the people is gradually rising. Continuing to take risks would be inappropriate...

However, according to Li Tan, the soldiers could still be trained, but the problem of food and provisions was not easy to solve. Moreover, if Shancheng was abandoned, the people would have nowhere to go, putting them in a dilemma. Therefore, Li Ji's words of advice could only be touched upon briefly, and it was not appropriate to give him a long and earnest remonstrance.

Li Tan granted the request of the generals at the front, and Li Yuanzhong led 3,000 troops to attack Linfan City.

Linfan City was located at the westernmost end of the Shanzhou Valley, built against the mountain, making its terrain extremely strategic. However, this strategic advantage was only for the Tibetans who came from the west; the terrain to its east was relatively open and flat, making it not too difficult to capture. Because it was far from the core area of ​​the Tibetan Empire and supplies were difficult to transport, the Tibetan army only left 700 infantrymen to defend the city. Li Yuanzhong launched a fierce attack for five days and finally captured the city.

He then placed 1,300 cavalry and infantry in Linfan City. Li Yuanzhong was confident that even if Ma Chongying led a large army to invade again, it would be enough to hold off the enemy for half a month or even longer. In theory, the main force of Shanzhou would be able to come to the rescue after half a month.

The reasons for abandoning Linfan earlier were twofold: first, Guo Xin had only recently entered Shancheng, his troops were not yet fully prepared and might not be of much use, so they dared not go west to rescue him; second, to the west of Linfan, in a slightly wider section of the valley, lay Suirong City. The road between Linfan and Suirong was narrow and difficult to traverse, and the two cities were situated at opposite ends of this treacherous valley. Originally, Linfan was to be defended, while Suirong was to be attacked, thus supporting the Shenwei Army to the northwest and Dingrong City to the southwest. However, last year Ma Chongying had first conquered Shenwei and Dingrong, and because Gao Sheng did not send a single soldier to their aid, the Suirong troops could only watch helplessly as both places fell. This autumn, Ma Chongying returned, first conquering Suirong, then chasing the scattered Tang army directly to the walls of Linfan, and seizing the opportunity to capture it. At that time, Guo Xin was in Shancheng, and given the distance, he could not possibly reach Suirong, so he had no choice but to abandon Linfan as well.

Now, instead of continuing to pacify the Rong, we are only restoring Linfan, adopting a purely defensive posture. This should be enough to block the western end of the basin for quite some time, about half a month, which is sufficient to wait until most of the fields around Shancheng have completed their autumn harvest.

—Because a considerable number of Tibetans were farmers serving as soldiers, and the Tibetans still needed to harvest barley, they couldn't send a large army eastward too early.

Of course, given the crossroads-like terrain of Shancheng, simply blocking the western entrance was not enough. Therefore, after conquering Linfan, Li Yuanzhong turned north to attempt to recapture Xuanwei Army.

The barbarian army stationed in Xuanwei numbered over a thousand, with a large number of cavalry. They defended the strategic location with infantry while sending cavalry to harass the enemy. Li Yuanzhong fought for four days without achieving any success. Guo Xin then sent Shence cavalry to assist, but they could only manage to force the barbarian cavalry back into their fortifications. Soon after, the barbarian bandits from Anren and Baishui came to the rescue, forcing Li Yuanzhong to retreat.

If half of the troops in Shancheng were committed to a fierce attack, regardless of casualties, Xuanwei could probably be recaptured, but that would be a losing proposition. Subsequently, Li Yuanzhong went south again to try to capture Suihe Shouzhuo, but he also returned empty-handed. The key reason was that after a long battle, the Tang army was also very tired, while the Tibetan army was well-rested and relied on its natural defenses to gain a considerable advantage.

Since it was difficult to recover Xuanwei and Suihe, the only option was to settle for second best—Generals Guo and Li divided their troops to build fortifications and block the north and south valley routes. The new fortification on the north route was built at the foot of Tulou Mountain. The barbarian cavalry from Xuanwei came to harass them many times, but they were all successfully repelled by Chen Fu and Yi Tiechui leading the Shence Army. The new fortification on the south route was built at a place called Zongzhai between the valley entrance and the Suihe garrison.

According to the report, the fortress will be completed by January of next year at the latest. After the troops are stationed there, the people of Shancheng can return to their hometowns to sow seeds with peace of mind.

Li Ji did not participate in these battles. He was forced to stay in Shanzhou to assist Yang Yan in handling general affairs and storing grain and supplies. Since the shogunate was basically empty, even if he was forced into it, Li Changwei had to do his part. Fortunately, although he had no experience, he was enthusiastic and much more reliable than the deputy commander Gao Sheng, who completely abandoned his duties.

Then, before the new year, the newly hired staff members of the government arrived in Shanzhou one after another. Among the several people Yang Yan had placed his hopes on, Su Duan, who had only passed the imperial examination half a year ago, was already appointed as the county magistrate with a promising future, so he naturally refused to give up his official post to join the government. The others—Xue Yong, Zhang Zhu, and Yuan Xiu—all arrived. However, Su Duan dared not offend Li Tan, and also wanted to give Yang Yan an explanation, so he personally wrote a letter to persuade his old friend Du Fu to recommend Du Zimei to him.

The four arrived one after the other, and Li Tan immediately hosted a banquet to entertain them all. Yang Yan and Li Ji naturally had to accompany them. However, all those present were learned scholars who were new to the military headquarters and unfamiliar with the situation. They were not in a position to make rash plans, so they could only compose poems and essays to curry favor with the military commander. Li Ji, mixed in with them, could not get a word in edgewise and could only drink in silence, feeling quite bored.

He thought to himself that if he had known, he would have taken advantage of these guys' arrival to ask Li Tan for permission to return to Shancheng and drink with Guo Xin, Li Yuanzhong, and their gang of martial artists; that would have been much more comfortable...

Even worse, in his excitement, Li Tan ordered everyone to compose poems and play drinking games. Li Ji panicked and hurriedly said, "This humble official cannot compose poetry, but I can hold my sword and supervise the games..." Li Tan laughed loudly, "Combining poems is an elegant affair, why must you hold your sword and supervise? Besides, if the guards were holding swords by my side, I'm afraid even I would feel like I had thorns in my back, sweating profusely, how could I possibly compose a poem?"

But he also knew that Li Ji was not very learned, especially since he had never heard of the boy having written any poetry. Therefore, he made an exception for him and said, "Since Changwei is not good at poetry, he can propose the topic and set the rhyme. It doesn't have to be fancy, just neat and proper." I'm delegating the power to set the rules to you. You can choose what you can do.

Li Ji thought to himself, "I roughly know the rules of poetry, it's nothing more than level and oblique tones, but when it comes to putting them together, I really can't think of anything right now... Fine, I'll just copy it, you forced me to do this!"

Chapter Thirty: A Timeless Masterpiece

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Li Ji lowered his head and pondered for a long time, until everyone in the room grew impatient. Only then did he grit his teeth and slowly recite:

"Dust from the journey and wine stains on my clothes..."

Damn, this is really not easy. Copying poems is easy, but choosing the right one for the occasion is difficult. I don't know how the protagonists in those time-travel novels can pick out suitable poems from a vast collection of famous ones with just a frown and a blink of an eye... Especially since I have no literary reputation, if the copied sentences are too elegant or too romantic, I will definitely be questioned to my face and exposed on the spot.

Fortunately, after racking his brains, he finally came up with this sentence, which was both straightforward and easy to understand, and contained "battle clothes" and "wine stains," which corresponded to the war situation and the banquet scene. It sounded quite plausible—quite like something a warrior would come up with on the spot.

Upon hearing this, Li Tan stroked his beard and smiled, saying, "That's right—Changwei can find some works by contemporary masters to read in his spare time. Practice makes perfect, and if he encounters such a situation again, he will not have to ponder for so long."

Li Ji cupped his hands and said, "Please continue, Your Highness." Don't just make things difficult for me or criticize me; let's see what you can do.

After a moment's thought, Li Tan recited: "Holding the imperial banner, I leave the capital."

Li Ji secretly shook his head, thinking to himself, "This doesn't make sense... I'm already covered in dust from the journey, and you've only just left the capital? What is this, a flashback? As expected of your royal family... at least for the last two generations, not a single one of you has any literary talent, yet you still like to pretend to be cultured. It's truly laughable."

But who dared to disagree with what the general had written? They could only follow Li Tan's train of thought and continue reciting. Yang Yan immediately added, "His grand plans and strategies chilled the hearts of the barbarians."

Li Ji couldn't help but complain in his heart, which made it all the more convenient—"When it comes to flattery, you are the best."

Then Xue Yong said, "I will repay the Emperor's grace with my blood and loyalty."

Zhang Zhu said, "I read historical records every day at cockcrow."

Yuan Xiu said, "Every year the tiger roars in the military camp."

Finally, it was Du Fu's turn—seven people, eight lines each, and he had to conclude. Du Zimei seemed to have less inspiration than the others, and after considering for a while, he slowly said: "I only hope that there will be no chaos or turmoil throughout the world, and I, an old man, offer a cup of fresh celery."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji's spirits lifted—"Hmm, those two sentences are good."

To be honest, Xue Yong and his ilk were only about as good as Li Tan in terms of literary talent, and not even as good as Yang Yan's line, which, though perhaps a bit sycophantic, was still fluent. And if you're going to follow Yang Gongnan's line of thought, you can't just write nothing but flattery; it's not only repetitive and boring, but also lacks elegance. Du Zimei's concluding lines, however, return to the end of war and the peace of the world, elevating the theme somewhat. Furthermore, the phrase "offering a cup" echoes his opening line about "wine stains," like a small flower finally blooming on a withered vine.

Yes, I've heard that even Li Bai praised this person's poetry. Indeed, a man of great renown, his words are not unfounded.

After finishing the seven-line poem, Li Tan was overjoyed and raised his cup, saying, "Gentlemen, you are all highly talented. Every line of this poem is in accordance with the rules..." This was not wrong. Regardless of the level of skill, the rules were still followed. For example, even if "the daughter is happy, and she pokes XX in," it would not be considered a violation of the drinking game. "Come, let's all drink a cup and pray for the sage's joy, health, and peace throughout the world."

Everyone drank, and the atmosphere at the banquet gradually became relaxed and lively. Li Tan, slightly tipsy, simply told the guests not to be bound by formalities and to take off their hats.

The Chinese have always placed great importance on hairstyles and headwear. While commoners might not care, scholars and officials would be unable to appear in public without a headwear—some even risked being chopped into mincemeat while trying to fix their headwear. By the Tang Dynasty, the headscarf commonly worn by commoners had evolved into a hat or turban, serving the same ceremonial function as a headwear. Therefore, even though Li Tan was hosting a banquet indoors today, both host and guests wore turbans and dared not remove them even slightly.

Removing one's hat is tantamount to exempting oneself from formalities. If even hats can be removed, then shouting, smirking, even opening one's robes and loosening one's belt in the midst of revelry are all acceptable. Li Tan's actions were intended to dispel the timidity of his newly hired staff, eliminate any barriers between host and guest, and ensure that from now on, everyone would be good friends who could drink together without hats, and would naturally work together diligently and loyally in serving the king.

He was the first to remove his turban and toss it aside, and everyone followed suit—if even the military commander had let go of his formalities, it wouldn't be appropriate for you to deliberately maintain a facade. As a result, the atmosphere became even more harmonious, and everyone except Yang Yan ate and drank heartily, toasting each other, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

Du Fu, holding a wine cup, came over to toast Li Ji, saying, "I have heard of your name since I was in the capital..."

Li Ji raised his cup with both hands, stood up, and repeatedly said he dared not accept such praise.

Du Fu smiled and said, "But who says that Li Changwei, who says 'every grain is hard-earned,' can't write poetry?"

Li Ji was startled upon hearing this, as if caught red-handed stealing a chicken, his face flushing red—thankfully, the alcohol masked his embarrassment. He hurriedly asked, "This, this...where did Mr. Du hear this from?"

Du Fu laughed and said, "When I was in the Censorate (he had served as Left Remonstrance Official), one of my subordinates told me that he heard it at the home of Lü Miaozhen in Pingkang."

Li Ji thought to himself, "Who is this person who would spread my shameful secret... Oh, the other person might not even think it's shameful, they might even consider it a good story, so they probably don't have any bad intentions. But it's normal that dozens of people present at Lü Miaozhen's house, where we were drinking and listening to music, would remember my poem that inexplicably won first place. The problem is, I didn't announce myself loudly, so how could they recognize me? Who is it?"

He casually and modestly replied, "It's just a playful piece, merely rhyming; how could it be considered poetry..." Just as he was about to inquire about the minor official Du Fu had mentioned, Du Zimei said seriously, "There are two kinds of poetry. One comes from heaven, naturally integrated into the bones of mortals, unadorned and flawless, like the works of Li Bai; the other is painstakingly crafted, each word carefully considered, which inevitably loses its natural charm, like my work. Your 'every grain is hard-earned,' and just now 'dust from the journey mingled with wine stains on my clothes,' also belong to the former..."

Li Ji was even more embarrassed and just wanted to find a hole to crawl into...

"Since you have such talent, why don't you study poetry? If you had studied it even a little, you would surely have created even more masterpieces. It would be a pity to leave this unpolished gem uncarved and buried deep in the mountains."

Li Ji quickly changed the subject: "Mr. Du, you are too modest. Even Li Bai praised your poems highly. Do you have any masterpieces that you would be willing to recite for me?"

Upon hearing this, Du Fu sighed softly and simply sat down cross-legged in front of Li Ji's desk, saying: "When I was young, I repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, but I never lost my lofty aspirations. I also traveled with Mr. Taibai, visiting famous mountains and rivers, discussing philosophy over wine. My works were either depictions of natural scenery or childish musings on trivial matters..."

"In my youth, I was too arrogant and willful, lacking ambition and ambition, which led to a bumpy official career, poverty, and a decline in my career. Unexpectedly, just as I was in dire straits, the country fell into chaos again. Unable to find refuge in Lingwu, I was captured by rebels and taken to Chang'an... Later, after the two capitals were restored, I entered the Censorate and requested to visit my family in Qiang Village, Fuzhou, where I wrote three short poems..."

"Li is willing to hear it."

Du Fu then put down his wine cup, looked up at the sky, and slowly recited:

"The third verse is: 'A flock of chickens are squawking wildly, fighting when guests arrive. I chase the chickens up a tree, and then I hear knocking at the gate. Four or five elders ask me how long I've been away. Each of them carries something, pouring out wine, sometimes cloudy, sometimes clear. I bitterly complain that the wine is weak, and the millet fields are uncultivated. The war has not yet ended, and all the children have gone east to fight. I ask to sing for the elders, ashamed of my deep feelings for their hardships. After the song, I look up to the sky and sigh, and tears stream down the faces of all present.'"

If Li Ji had just transmigrated and suddenly heard this poem, he might have collapsed to his knees and prostrated himself in worship! Fortunately, back in Ding'an City, he first heard Yan Wu recite "Early Autumn in the Military City," which was like a wake-up call. Afterward, he begged Li Bi and Li Shi to collect some contemporary poems to read, thus coming into contact with the works of Li Bai, Gao Shi, Wang Wei, He Zhizhang, Meng Haoran, Wang Changling, and others. He deeply felt that the level of Tang Dynasty poetry was no less than that of the Jian'an period, and might even have reached a new peak, towering thousands of feet high!

So he has developed some immunity to some extent.

However, Du Fu's poems still impressed Li Ji greatly. Especially given Li Ji's personality, he preferred realistic works and did not necessarily appreciate Li Bai's extremely romantic and unrestrained writing style—"I admit you're very talented, but unfortunately, I don't like it."

Du Fu's poem "Qiang Village" uses simple language and a rustic style to describe the ordinary scene of returning to his hometown and being greeted by the elders. However, it also interweaves a description of the times: "...the millet fields are uncultivated, the war has not yet ended, and all the children have gone east to fight." He seamlessly combines his personal experiences with the chaos and turmoil of the country.

"This is truly a fine poem! This is the style I love!" Li Ji couldn't help but bow deeply to Du Fu and said, "Your poem is truly moving. Who would say it's an elaborate work, lacking natural charm? Do you have any other older works? I hope you would allow me to copy them down and read them day and night."

His performance was somewhat unexpected for Du Fu. It should be noted that Du Fu's poetic reputation was not very high at that time, and his reputation was only second-rate—if it weren't for Li Bai's help in promoting him, it would probably have been even lower—mainly because his works did not conform to the luxurious and ornate style of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras, and his official career was not smooth, with the highest position he could reach was only Left Advisor.

In fact, the positions of Left Remonstrance Official and Left Advisor, though only seventh or eighth rank, were close advisors to the emperor and a direct path to higher positions. However, the problem was that Du Fu was already over forty when he became Left Remonstrance Official, and he couldn't see much of a future in it. Moreover, he was demoted shortly after taking office for speaking out against the wrongdoing of Fang Guan. Theoretically speaking, even the ordinary works of high-ranking officials are praised, so even the most brilliant works of lowly officials need people to have the time to read them.

Moreover, Du Fu's early works were not very mature. When he was extremely impoverished and even his youngest son starved to death, and seeing the people becoming increasingly poor under the so-called "prosperous age" of the Tianbao era, his poetic style became even more melancholic and satirical. Then, even fewer people read his poems—the emperor was on the throne, and the world was at peace, so what was he lamenting? It wasn't until after the great chaos, when the court and the people had learned their lesson, that they could read Du Fu's poems again and truly empathize with his plight, thus making him famous for all time.

So at this time, although Du Fu boasted that his poetic talent was no less than that of Li Bai, few people agreed with him. He said that Li Bai was alongside Wang Wei, followed by Meng Haoran, Wang Changling, Gao Shi, Cen Shen, and so on. When did it become Du Fu's turn?

Unexpectedly, this Inspector Li had such a high opinion of his poem "Qiang Village." Even if his words were just polite, they were still very touching. Du Zimei felt a great sense of kinship, and his lips twitched slightly. He didn't know whether to be happy or to quickly offer some words of humility. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "In the midst of chaos, many of my old works were lost. Since you like them, I will quickly transcribe what I remember. Please correct me if I am wrong."

Perhaps driven by a bit of a desire to show off, Du Fu acted swiftly—after the banquet that day, Li Ji drank quite a bit of wine, went home, washed up, and went to sleep. He didn't get up until the next day, when someone delivered a scroll of Du Fu's poems to him. Li Ji didn't have time to look at it then, so he casually handed it to Qingluan for safekeeping, intending to read it carefully by candlelight that evening.

There are approximately forty poems in total, including "Looking at Mount Tai," "To Li Bai," and "Twenty-Two Rhymes Presented to Vice Minister Wei." Under the lamplight, Li Ji slowly unrolled the scroll, reading as he did so, starting with the next poem, "The Ballad of the War Chariots"—

"The carriages rumble, the horses neigh, and the travelers carry bows and arrows at their waists. Parents, wives, and children see them off, but the dust obscures the Xianyang Bridge... It is true that it is bad to give birth to a son, but good to give birth to a daughter. A daughter can still marry a neighbor, while a son is buried and forgotten among the weeds. Do you not see the head of Qinghai Lake, where since ancient times, white bones have been left uncollected? New ghosts are distressed and old ghosts weep, their cries echoing in the damp, overcast sky."

Li Ji's eyes widened immediately—Wow, that's amazing!

Upon rereading "A Five-Hundred-Word Poem Written on My Journey from the Capital to Fengxian," he came across the line "Behind the red gates, the stench of wine and meat; on the road, the bones of those frozen to death." The hairs on his back stood on end, and he felt a deep chill penetrate his very being. He couldn't help but stand up abruptly.

The servant Qingluan, who was attending to him, trembled in fright and hurriedly asked, "Young master, what's the matter that you're in such a hurry?"

Li Ji was momentarily dazed before regaining his composure. He lowered his head and silently recited the poem again, then smiled bitterly and said, "I often regret that I cannot live in the same era as Qu Yuan, but I never thought that there would be such a timeless masterpiece in our time! Call Qingluan over here and read it with me."

Qingluan declined, saying, "Although I know a few characters, I don't understand poetry..."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Do you think I understand? Don't worry, these poems and essays are all very straightforward, you won't have trouble understanding them."

With a slight tremor of his left hand, he unfolded the next poem, "Lament for Chen Tao," and immediately recited it aloud: "In the first month of winter, the sons of good families from ten prefectures, their blood turned the waters of Chen Tao Marsh. The wilderness is vast, the sky clear, and there is no sound of battle; forty thousand righteous soldiers died on the same day! The barbarian hordes returned, their arrows washed with blood, still singing barbarian songs and drinking in the city. The people of the capital turned their faces north and wept, day and night hoping for the arrival of the government troops..."

His voice grew softer and softer until he finally sighed and collapsed to the ground. Qingluan asked in surprise, "What is this saying? I really don't understand." Li Ji frowned and muttered to himself, "Why would Du Zimei submit a memorial to speak for Fang Guan? When I see this poem now, I wish I could devour that old good-for-nothing alive!"

Back when he was at the imperial court in Ding'an, upon hearing of Fang Guan's crushing defeat at Chentao, he felt indignant, but ultimately, it was none of his business—at that time, he hadn't even figured out whether to support the Tang or find an opportunity to rebel against it—he discussed it briefly with Li Bi, but it was all just empty talk, and he dropped the matter. But now, reading this poem, "Lament for Chentao," a wave of sorrow and tragedy washes over him, as if he were witnessing firsthand how many valiant men were buried on the battlefield, their lives filled with unfulfilled grief, because of one man's lack of strategy…

He had read many ancient poems in his previous life, but almost none of them truly moved him. Perhaps it was because he was just a shut-in in front of a computer during peaceful times. But now that he had transmigrated into this world, stepped onto the battlefield again, and witnessed life and death, these few lines of text were like a sharp sword, piercing straight to Li Ji's heart—could the power of poetry really be so great?!

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Chapter Thirty-One: Dumplings and Wine

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♂The End♂

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Before he knew it, the year was coming to an end. The first year of Qian Yuan was about to end, and in just one more night, it would be the second year. Li Ji had inexplicably transmigrated here and was about to enter his third year.

Looking back on my previous life, it all seems like a dream, leaving me with a deep sense of melancholy.

The barbarian invaders had finally retreated, and it was no longer considered wartime. Therefore, the Longyou Military Headquarters, as was customary, closed its offices and gave everyone a holiday early. Li Ji returned home and asked Qingluan, "What do you usually eat on New Year's Eve?"

Qingluan replied, "I am used to eating soup noodles—my lord is from Guandong, I wonder what your hometown is used to eating, so I can prepare in advance."

Li Ji blurted out, "Of course we have to eat dumplings!"

Qingluan asked in surprise, "What are dumplings? And how do you make them?"

Li Ji then realized what was going on and smiled, "It's just a rural term; it's actually just crescent-shaped wontons."

Thinking about how busy I've been with work lately, I haven't cooked for a long time—and as they say, a gourmand who can't cook isn't a true foodie—Ever since that day in the snow when I tried hot pot, Qingluan has been the one preparing the meals. Generally speaking, cooking isn't considered a man's job—professional chefs aside—but it's not shameful for the head of the household to cook; it's purely a personal hobby.

So Li Ji rolled up his sleeves and started making dumplings with Qingluan. Dumplings weren't popular back then; they were a variation of wontons. Because the way they were wrapped was different from wontons, the two ends had to be raised up, curved like a crescent moon, hence the name "Crescent Moon Wonton".

Qingluan first prepared the dough, while Li Ji chopped the mutton and chives to make the filling. Then, he personally took the rolling pin and rolled out the wrappers while instructing Qingluan: "In my hometown, we don't make dumplings like wontons by spreading the dough out into a large sheet and cutting it into small pieces. Instead, we roll each sheet into a circle, making the center slightly thicker so that it won't break easily when the water boils... Dumplings should be wrapped like this, folded and pinched tightly. They don't actually resemble a crescent moon, but rather an ear."

"This was invented by Zhang Zhongjing, the medical sage of the late Han Dynasty. It was called 'jiao'er' at the time because its shape resembled an ear. And it is said that if you eat dumplings in winter, no matter how cold the weather is, your ears will not get frostbite. Of course, it's just a legend, take it with a grain of salt..."

Qingluan learned quickly, and the two of them made about a hundred leek and mutton dumplings in one go. They boiled them in boiling water until they floated, then scooped them out of the pot. Li Ji ordered the first batch of dumplings to be sent to the old soldier guarding the gate, and the rest of the batches were eaten by him and Qingluan sitting facing each other inside the house. Qingluan also heated up a pot of wine, and Li Ji ate a dumpling with a sip of wine, thoroughly enjoying himself.

—As the saying goes, "Dumplings and wine go hand in hand, the more you eat, the more you have."

While eating, he also told Qingluan, "If there are any leftovers, you can fry them with some oil tomorrow; they will taste even better."