Chapter 186 Great Changes in the World
Mao Mountain.
Heavy snow sealed the mountain passes.
Huang Chao in a cyan robe was standing on top of the mountain with his hands clasped behind his back. Under his feet, the rolling mountains were covered with snow, a vast expanse of whiteness in the sky and on earth.
The howling cold wind kept blowing down large snowflakes, covering the desolate winter’s beauty. The snowflakes all shattered and scattered one meter around Huang Chao.
Huang Chao frowned slightly and looked at the beautiful rivers and mountains quietly. He had stood silently for four hours. During this time, he didn’t move at all, not even a finger.
In the open space behind him, more than a dozen armored generals stood solemnly. At the very front of the open space, several Taoists were arranging the incense table, the memorial tablet and other things.
“Commander in chief, it’s all set up.” Zhu Wen, his personal soldier, reported to Huang Chao from behind.
Huang Chao’s mind was brought back to the present. Coming before the incense table, Huang Chao took the sandalwood from the Taoist and knelt on the futon. He was silent before the memorial tablet for a moment. Suddenly, he said loudly, “Brother Wang, you were a hero all your lifetime. You fought battles throughout the length and breadth of the country for several years and attacked dozens of states and counties with great ease. Wherever you went, the official troops were terrified. I’ve always respected you. But now, you’ve died in the dirty dog’s hands. Rest assured, I will avenge you!”
After he finished speaking, he knelt and kowtowed.
More than a dozen armored generals hit their chests with their fists at the same time and roared loudly in chorus, “Avenge General Wang!”
These people were obviously all practitioners of Qi techniques. The roar resounded through the air and echoed through the mountains.
The deceased was Wang Xianzhi.
Huang Chao came to his side with Zhu Wen, his personal soldier. Several black-robed Taoists waited there. They were the masters of Mao Mountain and the Taoists of Zhongnan Mountain who had been following Huang Chao to fight on the battlefield. They saluted when they saw Huang Chao coming over.
A Taoist of Zhongnan Mountain with a long face and white skin asked Huang Chao in a low voice, “It’s unfortunate that General Wang has died. The situation is very unfavorable to us. Now that the leader is gone, the troops don’t know where to go. General Huang, what’s your plan?”
Huang Chao thought for a while.
The fourth year of Qianfu was not a smooth year for the rebels. Soon after Li Ye was appointed as the commissioner of Pinglu, the imperial court ordered Gao Pian, one of the former double heroes of the empire who served as the commissioner of Xi Chuan in Sichuan, to lead the troops out of Xi Chuan. Although Gao Pian wasn’t the commander in chief of the official troops, wherever he went, the rebels never won but suffered heavy losses instead, so the rebels had to run away to avoid him.
Under this situation, Yang Fuguang, the inspector, sent someone to offer amnesty to Wang Xianzhi. Wang Xianzhi accepted the imperial court’s amnesty and dispatched Shang Junchang, the general, and the others to consult with the official troops for the position of commissioner. Unexpectedly, when Shang Junchang and the others entered the territory of the official troops, they were captured by Song Wei, the commander-in-chief of the official troops. Moreover, Song Wei reported to the imperial court that he had defeated Shang Junchang and the others and captured them, but he didn’t mention anything about the amnesty and killed them.
Shang Junchang and the others were Wang Xianzhi’s trusted generals and made countless military achievements. After his death, Wang Xianzhi was furious and led his troops to attack Song Wei violently to avenge his death. However, they lost. The main force was eliminated and Wang Xianzhi was killed.
From the time Wang Xianzhi started the uprising, Huang Chao responded to him and many so-called heroes in Jianghu also took the chance to respond too. There were more than a dozen volunteer armies of various sizes. The small ones had dozens of people and the large ones had tens of thousands of people. Among them, Wang Xianzhi had the most followers and he was worthy of being the chief of the volunteer armies.
The death of Wang Xianzhi was a great blow to them.
Huang Chao said to everyone, “I intend to avenge General Wang. What do you think?”
The Taoist, who had spoken first, said, “So, it’s necessary to call on all rebels first.”
Huang Chao nodded. Now that Wang Xianzhi has died, he had to lead the rebels.
After a few days, Huang Chao gathered the remaining troops of Wang Xianzhi. He called himself “The Soaring Great General”, changed the reign title to Wangba, set up hundreds of officials, and led the troops to attack Xiangyang. All the way, he had more victories than defeats and fought straight to the East Capital, Luoyang.
...
Chang’an, Weiyang Palace.
“A bunch of good-for-nothings!”
Li Yan swept away the wine on the table and kicked the table to pieces, but his anger was still not worked off, so he stomped back and forth as he swore.
The singers, who sang and danced just now, all prostrated in the hall, shaking.
Tian Lingzi gave the eunuch behind him a meaningful glance. The eunuch hurriedly took the singers and retreated.
“It has been four years, but this bunch of rebels still hasn’t been dealt with. After Wang Xianzhi was killed finally, I thought the world would be peaceful. But then what? Wang Xianzhi is dead, but the Soaring Great General comes out suddenly. How dare a pariah call himself a general? I have hundreds of thousands of troops and so many famous generals, but none of them could defeat a pariah and now he’s fighting his way directly to the East Capital?!”
Li Yan looked back and stared at Tian Lingzi. “You tell me, will the rebels attack Chang’an in a few days so that I can’t even stay in the Imperial Palace?!”
Tian Lingzi hurriedly comforted him. “Your Majesty, please don’t be angry. The rebels can’t arrive at the East Capital because there are so many generals outside the borders. Huang Chao, that fellow, can only make a bit trouble, but it’s useless. If the East Capital is really broken into, I’m willing to die by way of apologizing!”
Li Yan sat down on the throne and snorted. “If you die and then the rebels can be settled, I would have let you die!”
Tian Lingzi smiled apologetically.
Li Yan sighed. “If I had known, I wouldn’t have sent Brother Ye to Qing Prefecture...”
Speaking of this, Li Yan suddenly thought of something, so he said to Tian Lingzi eagerly, “How about I call Brother Ye back? In my opinion, those famous generals have unearned reputations. These old guys just take up the positions but do nothing. They have no ability at all, so they should resign earlier and make room for the more capable. I will call Brother Ye back to be the commander-in-chief. With his ability, he can definitely quell the rebels.”
Tian Lingzi smiled bitterly and said, “Your Majesty, it’s only been over a year since Prince An went to Qing Prefecture. If you call Prince An back now, it won’t make any sense. What’s more, Prince An is young, so if you rashly appoint him as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, those old guys will lose face and make a lot of trouble. This will be detrimental to Prince An!”
Li Yan had no idea, so he said unhappily, “What do you say?”
historical
Tian Lingzi thought for a while. “I will consult with the Prime Ministers right away. I promise to come up with a plan within three days. What do you think?”
Li Yan waved his hand in disinterest. “Go, go. I really don’t believe the rebels can bring down my great empire!”
Tian Lingzi walked out of the palace. His smile and the flattering expression disappeared and were replaced by malice and anger. He beckoned a trusted eunuch. “Go and give Lu Yan a message. If he can’t get rid of the rebels and I get a scolding from His Majesty again, he won’t be the Prime Minister anymore!”
The eunuch shook his shoulder and hastened to answer.
Tian Lingzi looked at the sky, and it was very gloomy. He turned his neck. “Prince An? If Prince An comes back, I can do nothing in the imperial court. If Prince An plans to investigate corruption, Lu Yan and I will end up like Wei Baoheng and Liu Xingshen.”
...
Before the ten thousand troops, Huang Chao looked over Xuanzhou and his face was gloomy.
The attacks on the East Capital were thwarted and he suffered several defeats in succession. Huang Chao had no choice but to draw his troops back to the south, but he found that the troops he left in Huainan were defeated by Gao Pian. Now that he lost his foundation, and the troops hadn’t entered big cities for a long time, the supply has become a big problem. He had to break into Xuanzhou in front of him.
“Attack!” Huang Chao shouted, lifting his sword.
At this moment, the gate suddenly opened wide, and an endless torrent of armored troops rushed out from inside to kill the rebels.
Huang Chao’s face grew darker. “They’re looking for death!”
The front line of the two armies began to engage in battle, and Huang Chao watched the battle on the watchtower. But before he could see the hope of a great victory, suddenly, a Taoist flew up the watchtower and said to him urgently, “Gao Pian’s troops are coming from the left, less than ten kilometers away from here, and there are tens of thousands of soldiers! From their flags, they are Gao Pian’s soldiers!”
“What?” Huang Chao’s expression changed greatly. Gao Pian’s soldiers had far more powerful fighting ability than the rebels. He clenched his teeth and looked at Xuanzhou. The two armies engaged in battle in front of the city. The battle was in a stalemate and too close to call.
“Withdraw!” Huang Chao had to deal with the matter at hand first. He had to order the troops to withdraw. Although they would be chased down, it was better than being surrounded by Gao Pian’s soldiers and killed by them. Now the rebels were defeated all the way and almost desperate.
Leaving Xuanzhou, Huang Chao led the troops to the south. Without Gao Pian’s troops, he conquered states and counties along the way and was invincible. Now, Huang Chao realized the truth of the saying, the oppressed and desperate are sure to win.
In the sixth year of Qianfu, Huang Chao’s rebels laid siege to Guangzhou.
The war lasted for many years. Huang Chao drifted from place to place and felt as panic-stricken as a stray dog, so he was very tired. Before attacking Guangzhou, Huang Chao took the initiative to ask the commissioner who was trapped in the city to report to the imperial court that he asked for amnesty and the position of the commissioner of the Tianping Army.
When the news reached Chang’an, Tian Lingzi and Lu Yan didn’t agree.
Huang Chao had no choice but to reduce his demands and asked to serve as the commander of Annan.
The imperial court disagreed again.
Huang Chao was furious and ordered to attack the city.
The city was broken in within one day.
After entering Guangzhou, Huang Chao claimed to be “the commander-in-chief of one million rebels” and widely spread the denunciation of the imperial court, berating them for being muddled and incompetent.
After occupying Guangzhou, Huang Chao planned to manage it well and establish his own base there. However, the disease in the army was so severe that a third of the soldiers died. The soldiers asked to leave Guangzhou and go north again.
After thinking for a long time, Huang Chao decided to heed the general sentiment and led the troops to the north again.
This time, no one would expect that the rebels, who had been chased by the official troops, would make a big mess.
...
Grassland Tatar tribe.
When the grass bends low in the wind, cows and sheep could be seen.
On the banks of the clear river, there was a tribe with dozens of tents.
Several riders came galloping down the gentle hills to one of the large tents. The first person who dismounted from the horse was Li Keyong.
Li Keyong wasn’t as frivolous and arrogant as before. His youthful face showed some transformation, and his strength was restrained, but his eyes were deeper.
Opening the curtain to go into the tent, Li Keyong saw Li Guochang sitting on the main seat. He asked with folded hands, “Father, why did you ask me to hurry back?”
At this time, Li Keyong noticed two monks sitting in the tent, too. They were the monks of the Juexiao Temple, and he knew them.
Li Guochang said to Li Keyong, “I’ve just received news. Huang Chao attacked Huainan again and Gao Pian was defeated.”
Li Keyong was shocked. “Gao Pian was defeated?”
The monk with a round face replied, “Huang Chao went north from Guangzhou this year and won every battle. He had hundreds of thousands of followers. But after entering Huainan, he was repeatedly defeated by Gao Pian and suffered great losses, so he wrote a letter to Gao Pian to ask for surrender and also bribed Gao Pian’s military officer with a lot of money. “Gao Pian was invincible these number of years and very proud, so he believed Huang Chao’s words easily and reported to the imperial court to withdraw every town’s troops.”
“However, after the withdrawal of each town’s troops, Huang Chao launched another fierce attack. He used a trick to kill Gao Pian’s military officer whom he bribed with a lot of money and eliminated his main force. Gao Pian suffered great losses, so he could only hide. Now, Gao Pian is unable to stop Huang Chao, and Huang Chao’s force has already changed. Gao Pian is the only remaining famous general of the empire, so if he is unable to fight again, you can imagine what the situation will be.”
Li Keyong quickly figured out the main point. “If no one can stop Huang Chao, wouldn’t our Shatuo tribe have a chance? We can go back to the Tang Empire, right?”
A few years ago, after Li Keyong returned from Chang’an, Li Guochang was framed as the mastermind behind the plan to assassinate Kang Chengxun because of the Lulong Army’s scheme. Li Guochang didn’t attach importance to the imperial court from the start, so he simply indulged his troops to occupy states and counties everywhere, trying to dominate the north. Finally, after a bitter battle, he was defeated by the Lulong Army and the other troops, so he had no choice but to flee to the Tatar tribe.
Before today, Li Guochang and his son were like stray dogs. They had nothing but the remaining troops of the Shatuo tribe. If the Tatar tribe hadn’t taken them in, they would have been destroyed thoroughly.
Now he heard that they would have a chance to be called up by the imperial court, therefore, he was very excited.
The monk of the Juexiao Temple smiled and said, “I have said that you are the man to achieve great things. This is fate, and it won’t be wrong.”
Li Keyong was very excited. He had had enough of the dependent living, so he asked, “When can we return south?”
Li Guochang motioned to Li Keyong to calm down. “The time when Huang Chao attacks Guanzhong and when Your Majesty calls on each town’s troops to rescue him is the time when we lead the troops to the south.”