Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 391 Huang Chao of Longyou
"Screech, screech..."

Before the ruined city, a corpse, mutilated and dismembered, hung high in front of the city tower.

The banners of "Yuanju" were defeated, and the Three Stars Banner and Five-Colored Banner representing the Tang Dynasty were also removed, replaced by the banners of "Longyou Protectorate".

On the second day of the seventh month of the seventh year of Xiantong, Huang Chao, the magistrate of the Longyou Protectorate, raised an army in Yuanju, killed the county magistrate Wang Shizhi and other officials, destroyed the government granaries and distributed grain to the starving people. He was elected as the leader by the people and called himself "Prefect of Longzhou of the Longyou Protectorate and Military Governor of Longzhou".

The following day, Huang Chao issued the "Imperial Edict to Punish the Traitor and Pacify the Emperor," claiming that he was originally a merchant under the jurisdiction of Longyou, and that he had worked diligently in business, using all the money and grain he earned to provide relief to disaster victims.

However, the emperor was misled by eunuchs and treacherous officials, and actually used troops against loyal ministers and even wanted to arrest all those who served in the country. He had no choice but to raise an army to purge the court of corrupt officials.

When the proclamation was issued, Henan Province was the first to be shaken. Countless refugees who had heard of Huang Chao and Longyou's "good reputation" flocked to Yuanju County to seek refuge with Huang Chao.

Within just eight days, Huang Chao gathered tens of thousands of followers and successively captured counties such as Yuanju, Kaocheng, and Yongqiu.

When the news reached Chang'an, Li Cui was furious.

"Purge the court of corrupt officials? Do I need him to purge the court of corrupt officials?!"

In the Xianning Palace, Li Cui slammed the memorial to the ground and questioned the ministers of the Southern and Northern Offices:

"They're just refugees, why is no one suppressing them?!"

"Your Majesty..." Xu Shang stepped forward helplessly and bowed, saying:

"The troops of various garrisons are either gathered in Qi and Lu or in Longyou. A month ago, another 20,000 troops were dispatched to aid Longyou, leaving the Central Plains vulnerable."

"If troops from Shandong and Hubei are mobilized, Wang Xianzhi, Pang Xun and others may break out and cause trouble."

Xu Shang's words were particularly harsh, and Li Cui couldn't help but say, "After so many years, we still haven't been able to subdue these two traitors, and we've wasted hundreds of thousands of coins and grain."

"Issue my decree that Kang Chengxun must immediately mobilize troops, even if it means searching every mountain and sea, to find Pang Xun for me."

"Once Pang Xun is dealt with, we will immediately march west to quell Huang Chao's rebellion!"

"Your subject obeys the decree..." Xu Shang bowed in response, and at this moment Qi Yuanjian from the Northern Division stepped forward and bowed, saying:

"Your Majesty, I believe that we should now clarify the relationship between Huang Chao and Longyou."

"Hmph!" Ximen Jixuan couldn't help but sneer, "It's nothing but a thief trying to intimidate others."

"Then why use the tiger skin of Longyou, and not someone else's tiger skin?"

Qi Yuanjian spoke softly but firmly, saying, "The urgent message from the Caozhou government office said that Huang Chao did indeed produce a letter bearing the mark of Longyou."

Ximen Jixuan frowned, also sensing that something was wrong.

Seeing that he remained silent, Qi Yuanjian continued to bow to Li Cui and said, "In my opinion, this matter may also be one of Liu Jilong's plans."

"That makes sense." Li Cui was easily swayed, and upon hearing Qi Yuanjian's words, he immediately sensed something was amiss.

Huang Chao, a native of Henan, would not have needed to raise the banner of Longyou if he had no connection with Liu Jilong.

Thinking of this, Li Cui felt an intense hatred for Liu Jilong.

This scoundrel not only seized his own Shuofang within a month, but also tried to incite the ignorant people of the He and Huai regions to rebel. He is truly despicable!

"Your Majesty, I believe that in addition to ordering Kang Jingci to suppress the rebels, Xuanwu, Zhongwu, and Yicheng should also be ordered to guard the area strictly and prevent the rebel army from entering the Eastern Capital!"

Seeing that everyone had expressed their opinions, Qi Yuanshi naturally couldn't fall behind and quickly expressed his own stance.

Li Cui nodded after hearing this, and looked at Xu Shang: "Issue an edict to all the towns, ordering them to guard against the enemy with utmost vigilance."

"Now is the crucial time for the imperial court to pacify Longyou. One wrong move could lead to total defeat. The Grand Canal and the eastern capital are of paramount importance and must not be lost."

"Your subject obeys the decree." Xu Shang sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that these were turbulent times.

He was naturally aware of the situation in the three towns of Zhongwu, Yicheng, and Xuanwu.

The garrison in Yicheng Town numbered only about three thousand soldiers, while Zhongwu was slightly better, but still only had about five thousand.

The largest force at present is Liu Zhan's Xuanwu Town, with more than 8,000 state soldiers and combat soldiers.

The three towns were stationed in more than 30 counties across the nine provinces. When divided among them, each county had only about 500 soldiers.

Huang Chao's forces are fierce; the news we're receiving now is from four days ago.

If the refugees from the Hehuai region were to regroup under his command, he could still pull out more than 100,000 refugees.

The three towns cannot be defended for long. The only hope is that the more than 30,000 troops under Kang Chengxun can deal with Pang Xun hiding in Lushan as soon as possible, and then advance westward to quell Huang Chao.

However, considering that Huang Chao did not take the initiative to attack the undefended Xuzhou in the south, but instead attacked Xuanwu Town, which had a large number of troops around it, Huang Chao's movements seem to be closer to those prefectures and counties that have not been attacked in recent years.

His insightful judgment made Xu Shang secretly curse the Ministry of Rites.

He had heard that Huang Chao had repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, but if Huang Chao had such insight, why had he failed the examinations so many times?
Now look what's happened. What should have been loyal ministers and generals of the court have become rebels who disrupt the peace of the Central Plains. It's truly a pity.

As Xu Shang was lost in thought, Li Cui's voice rang out again: "That traitor Liu Jilong has raised an army of ten thousand and surrounded Xiaoguan. He could march south and invade Yuanzhou at any time. What should we do now?"

Li Cui shifted the focus of the discussion to the Northwest, and upon hearing this, the ministers' expressions all turned solemn.

Compared to the affairs of the Central Plains, the affairs of the Northwest are of paramount importance.

Xiaoguan, one of the four strategic passes of Guanzhong, is currently surrounded by Liu Jilong, and the defense lines of Yuanzhou and Longshan are exposed to his military might.

If they were to take Xiaoguan and then march south, the Longshan defense line, which was mainly defending the west, would become a joke.

Besides, could the cities and passes within Jingyuan and Fengxiang withstand Liu Jilong's military might?
If Liu Jilong were to gamble everything and march south, would Guanzhong be in danger?
Various problems were presented to everyone, and Lu Yan, noticing the emperor's worries, took the initiative to speak:
"Your Majesty, I believe that it is the right time to send Wang Shaobao back to Xiaoguan. If he can inflict heavy losses on Liu Jilong's troops at Xiaoguan, that would be the best outcome."

“Your Majesty, I believe this is unacceptable.” Xu Shang rarely refuted Lu Yan’s statement.

All eyes were on him, and Xu Shang couldn't help but say, "Even if Xiaoguan is lost, the troops on both sides are still there. If Liu Jilong marches south alone, the government army can take the opportunity to cut off his retreat."

"In the past, when the Turks invaded the south, Emperor Taizong was able to force them to retreat because the Turks were isolated and deep in the territory, and our government troops could cut off their retreat at any time."

"Furthermore, Longyou is known for its cavalry, and the Jing River is an obstacle on the way south, making it not so easy to cross the river."

"I believe that matters at the front should be left to Prince Shaobao to decide, and the court need not interfere."

Xu Shang did feel the pressure from Liu Jilong's siege of Xiaoguan, but he did not think Liu Jilong could break into Guanzhong.

Over the years, the Tang Dynasty has invested heavily in the construction of cities and passes in the Longshan and Jingyuan areas.

Especially during Gao Pian's tenure in Qin and Long prefectures, the passes within Long prefecture were all built with rammed earth and bricks, making it difficult for Liu Jilong to march through Jingyuan and attack Guanzhong.

At least in Longzhou, a place he had to pass through, Liu Jilong would have to suffer.

If one were to detour into Binning Town, one could indeed bypass those fortified passes, but the northern part of Guanzhong is divided by loess gullies, and one can only go south along the river valley official road.

These valleys are narrow and long, and with proper preparation, Liu Jilong's cavalry could be completely contained here.

This is why Xu Shang was not worried that Liu Jilong could take Chang'an alone.

The ministers, having heard his words, felt somewhat relieved of their anxiety, and Li Cui even became slightly more dependent on him, saying:

"So, according to Prime Minister Xu's view, the court should just ignore everything and wait for the military situation at the front?"

"Your Majesty, of course not," Xu Shang replied respectfully, bowing.

"The government troops have suffered heavy casualties. According to the reports from the government troops, our army has lost nearly 30,000 men, while the rebel army has lost around 20,000 men."

"Although the imperial court has urgently dispatched 20,000 troops from Guandong, if the government troops suffer another setback during this period, the imperial court will have no troops available, and the capital region will inevitably be in danger."

"I believe that we should immediately summon the Imperial Guards for training, and promptly dismiss or replace those who are lacking..."

Xu Shang naturally dared not openly mention the Shence Army's practice of receiving salaries without working, so he referred to the entire Imperial Guard system in general.

After all, the Imperial Guards included not only the Shence Army, but also the Shenwu Army, Longwu Army, and Shenwei Army.

These armies were also rife with practices of drawing salaries without working and exploiting soldiers. Since the imperial court needed a force capable of defending the capital, Xu Shang took the opportunity to propose it.

In his view, most of the eunuchs in the Northern Commandery had purchased villas, mansions, and land in Guanzhong. Even if not for the emperor, but for themselves, they should still train an army to protect their property.

He just didn't expect that his words would make Qi Yuanjian, Ximen Jixuan and others in the Northern Division think more deeply.

As Li Cui turned his gaze toward them, they wondered whether Xu Shang and the emperor were truly trying to protect the capital region or to take the opportunity to weaken them.

In the past, the Shence Army had an estimated strength of 130,000, but the Northern Commander made concessions step by step, and now it only has an estimated strength of 60,000. Moreover, the troops directly under the Northern Commander have lost more than 7,000 soldiers in battle due to the campaign against Longyou and the occupation of Shuofang.

Currently, the Northern Division has less than 8,000 soldiers under its control in Chang'an, while there are more than 17,000 on the western front. However, when they encounter trouble, Yang Xuanji and his companion are unable to appear before them with their troops.

Thinking of this, they couldn't help but grit their teeth. Ximen Jixuan was the first to express his opinion: "The Right Shence Army will train 10,000 soldiers in the western suburbs."

He had no choice but to express his opinion. The Right Shence Army originally only had more than 7,000 soldiers. Although it expanded to 20,000 soldiers, 10,000 were taken away by Yang Gongqing, and another 5,000 were killed by Zhou Bao in Shuofang.

Currently, the Right Shence Army only has about 5,000 soldiers available, so it has to expand its forces.

Ximen Jixuan hadn't forgotten how Ma Gongru and his group died; he needed to ensure that the Right and Left Shence Armies were evenly matched. Seeing Ximen Jixuan's stance, Yang Xuanjie knew he couldn't remain silent and immediately said, "The Left Shence Army can train 10,000 troops in the eastern suburbs."

The Shence Army in the capital only has 10,000 soldiers, divided between the Left and Right Shence Armies. Now, both sides have asked to train 10,000 soldiers each, which means each side has expanded its army by 5,000.

Although the number of troops was small, it was enough to protect the capital region.

As for the Imperial Guards such as Shenwu and Longwu, they will not allow these troops to train and expand. These troops are better off continuing to loaf around and wait to die, otherwise how will the Shence Army control them?
Xu Shang also saw through their thoughts, but he didn't say anything more.

As long as there is a force that can be mobilized in Chang'an, Guanzhong will be more stable, and his goal will be achieved. He has no other business.

Li Cui took in everyone's expressions and nodded in satisfaction. At this moment, Lu Yan continued to bow and say:

"Your Majesty, I believe we should continue to win over the Kyrgyz and ask them to send troops to Liangzhou to contain Longyou."

Lu Yan's words made everyone frown, after all, the imperial court had already bribed the Kyrgyz and the Dokham Tibetans before the war.

As a result, neither the Kyrgyz nor the Dokham Tibetans sent troops to harass Longyou; otherwise, Longyou would not have deployed so many troops to the front line.

"Your Majesty, all the Kyrgyz want is to send troops to occupy the Western Regions."

"At present, the imperial court is too far away to intervene effectively, so it is not unreasonable to temporarily tolerate the Kyrgyz encroachment on the Western Regions."

"In addition, the court may allow the Kyrgyz to plunder Longyou, Shuofang and other places, with money, silk and artisans going to the Kyrgyz and people going to the court as an agreement."

Lu Yan's words moved Qi Yuanjian and the others present.

The imperial court only wanted the land and population of Longyou; it didn't care about money or silk.

If we could acquire the land and people of Longyou, Longyou could transport millions of shi of grain to Guanzhong every year, which would be far more attractive than the money, silk, and spices found in Longyou.

"That's a good point, but Kyrgyzstan might not agree."

Although Li Cui didn't know why the Kyrgyz accepted the court's gifts but didn't send troops to Longyou, he could guess that Liu Jilong must have given the Kyrgyz benefits.

If he wanted the Kyrgyz, a group of simple-minded and physically strong people, to abandon the agreement, he had to offer more enticing benefits, rather than empty promises of plundering Longyou and Shuofang.

After a moment's thought, Lu Yan said, "Your Majesty, why not arrange a marriage alliance to encourage the Kyrgyz to send troops?"

"Marriage?!"

The expressions on everyone's faces darkened in response to Lu Yan's words.

For the Tang Dynasty, marriage alliances were not humiliating. After all, the Tang Dynasty was a powerful nation, and the dowry required for marriage alliances was very generous. The Tang Dynasty could also use the princesses sent for marriage alliances to spy on intelligence, change the crown prince, and so on. It was a win-win situation.

However, the problem is that this was something that could only be done when the Tang Dynasty was powerful, and the Tang Dynasty today probably cannot force the Kyrgyz to offer a generous dowry through force.

From this perspective, the act of marriage alliance inevitably becomes somewhat humiliating.

"It has been more than forty years since the last time the court arranged a marriage alliance, and we are afraid that it would be impolite."

Li Cui offered a flimsy excuse to reject Lu Yan's suggestion, but Lu Yan replied:
“Your Majesty, I have inquired and found that the Khan of Kyrgyzstan has two sons and three daughters. The two sons are already married, while the three daughters are still unmarried.”

"I believe it would be better to follow the example of the King of Dunhuang in the past and have his prince marry the daughter of the Kyrgyz Khan."

The idea of ​​a prince marrying another prince may sound fantastical, but the Tang Dynasty did indeed do such a thing.

During the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty sought help from the Uyghurs. The Uyghur Khan, Gele, demanded that a member of the imperial family descended from Emperor Taizong marry his daughter.

The Tang court ultimately chose to have Li Chengcai, the Prince of Dunhuang, marry Princess Bilge, thus bringing in Uyghur troops to quell the An Lushan Rebellion.

Lu Yan's remarks were undoubtedly intended to persuade Li Cui to choose a member of the royal family to marry the Kyrgyz princess, thereby achieving the goal of requesting troops to march south.

Li Cui was clearly tempted after hearing this, but Xu Shang quickly stopped him:

“Your Majesty, it is not wrong for a member of the imperial family to marry a princess from another ethnic group. However, the other ethnic groups all favor members of the imperial family who are descended from Emperor Taizong. If the Kyrgyz have any ambitions, it will inevitably cause turmoil for our dynasty.”

Xu Shang's words awakened Li Cui. Not every member of the imperial clan was as honest as Li Chengcai. If the imperial clan conspired with foreign tribes, it would be tantamount to setting themselves on fire.

Thinking of this, Li Cui decisively said, "This matter must not be mentioned again. I am willing to use money and silk to recruit Hu soldiers, and I will not disgrace the bloodline of Emperor Taizong!"

"Your Majesty, I have misspoke..."

Lu Yan was surprised that the emperor was so cautious, and had no choice but to step down, while Li Cui looked at Yu Cong.

"The matter of the Kyrgyz will be left to the Prime Minister. If he can lead his troops south, that would be best. If not, it is not a pity."

"Your subject obeys the decree..."

Yu Cong bowed respectfully in response, and Li Cui, seeing that no one spoke, immediately dismissed the meeting.

Half an hour later, as the ministers returned to the Southern and Northern Offices, news of the Shence Army's recruitment of soldiers spread again, and the fast horses of the Southern and Northern Offices galloped out of the capital, heading towards various towns.

In contrast to the bustling city of Chang'an, the Zhang residence was filled with sorrow.

The woman's sobs echoed within the Zhang residence. Hundreds of Zhang family members stood outside the main hall, all looking towards it with worried eyes.

Inside the hall, Zhang Yitan lay on the bed, sweat pouring down his face, his withered hand tightly gripping Zhang Yichao's palm.

"Brother..."

Sixty-eight-year-old Zhang Yichao let his tears blur his vision, but he knew that his elder brother would not make it.

"Aye!"

Nineteen-year-old Zhang Huaicheng knelt before the bed, while Zhang Huaiding, Zhang Huaiquan, and others stood behind him with complicated expressions.

Zhang Yitan, the old man who assisted Zhang Yichao in maintaining the glory of the Zhang family in Dunhuang for more than forty years, finally collapsed before his eighty-second birthday.

He was sweating profusely and barely breathing; he had reached the end of his life.

"Erlang..."

"Brother, I'm here!"

Zhang Yitan spoke with difficulty, and Zhang Yichao responded with tears streaming down his face.

"Can Mu Zhi win...?"

On his deathbed, Zhang Yitan was not thinking of Zhang Huaishen, who was far away in the Western Regions, but of Liu Jilong in Longyou.

Perhaps he also knew that if Liu Jilong fell, his own eldest son would be left to fend for himself.

"Can win!"

Zhang Yichao burst into tears, while Zhang Yitan felt relieved and seemed to regain his spirits.

"Brother, please rest well, you'll be fine in a few days..."

Zhang Yichao tried his best to comfort Zhang Yitan, but Zhang Yitan knew his own situation.

He strained to glance at his son, using his peripheral vision to look at him.

"Erlang..."

“Father, I’m here.”

Zhang Huaicheng was in tears, because his mother had passed away two years ago, and now if his father also passed away, he would truly have no "relatives" left in Chang'an.

"It was Father who should have left you in Hexi. I'm so sorry..."

"No, it was my own idea to come along, it's not Father's fault..."

Zhang Yitan seemed to have exhausted his strength, and even though he only managed to say one sentence, he spoke haltingly.

Zhang Huaicheng kept shaking his head, while Zhang Yitan, seeing this, was quite helpless and could only explain:
"If Mu Zhi wins, and if you are able to leave afterwards, go to Longyou to find him..."

His words stopped Zhang Yichao's tears, and Zhang Huaiding and Zhang Huaiquan's expressions also changed slightly.

Clearly, Zhang Yitan did not believe they could protect Zhang Huaicheng, which disappointed them and made them somewhat angry.

"I remember..."

Zhang Huaicheng was no longer a child; he understood the meaning behind his father's words and sobbed as he agreed.

Seeing that he agreed, Zhang Yitan looked at Zhang Yichao: "Second Brother, don't blame me..."

"I..." Zhang Yichao didn't know what to say, and hesitated.

Looking at his appearance, Zhang Yitan looked up at the roof and chuckled dryly.

"It's a pity I've never had a long, heart-to-heart talk with him..."

(End of this chapter)