Control your ancestors and create an immortal family starting from the Eastern Han Dynasty

Chapter 232 Tang Zhong (Part Two)

A sudden storm is brewing.

From the moment Huang Chao declared himself king, the entire Tang Dynasty had already fallen into a precipice.

Whether it's the emperor sitting in the court or not.

Or perhaps it was those ministers who felt they had finally seized power.

They all immediately sensed something was wrong.

—They completely lost control of the local area.

This disruption doesn't mean that local people directly rebelled; it simply means that these people no longer had any scruples and would use all sorts of absurd reasons to evade their orders.

This also completely revealed that everyone's idea of ​​returning the principal was true.

The Tang Dynasty is doomed!

In February of the following year, Huang Chao launched another uprising.

The army built rafts in Guizhou and sailed down the Xiang River, first approaching Jiangling and then Xiangyang.

—The flames of war have been reignited.

Even though the central government of the Tang Dynasty was still exerting its efforts to stop Huang Chao and this overwhelming momentum.

But all of this was ultimately in vain.

The rebels are no longer the same rebels they once were.

Whether in terms of overall quality or equipment, they have made considerable progress.

Most importantly, the morale of the Tang army collapsed.

Huang Chao had already earned a fearsome reputation.

Countless rumors circulate about him throughout the land. His cruel methods not only won him the hearts of the people who had always been oppressed, but also earned him immense prestige.

When faced with the rebels, the Tang army had absolutely no will to fight.

Tanzhou was lost in just a few days.

More than 100,000 Tang soldiers shed their blood on the Xiang River.

Huang Chao was not only deliberately trying to maintain his infamous reputation, but also trying to lighten the burden on his entire army.

This battle utterly shattered the spirit of the Tang army.

Faced with the overwhelming influx of rebel troops.

The Tang army even began to flee without a fight, and in a short period of time, Huang Chao captured the important town of Jiangling without bloodshed.

And this ultimately instilled fear in everyone.

Huang Chao was too bloodthirsty.

Faced with his swift and decisive offensive, no one could help but feel fear.

Whether it was the Tang Dynasty royal family or other aristocratic families.

And under this circumstance.

Even if they were unwilling, the Tang Dynasty royal family had no choice but to continuously cede benefits, whether to the powerful families in the court or to the various clans.

Although all of this is nothing in the present moment.

After all, these people had already shown signs of establishing their own independent regimes.

But this was a nominal promise to them, and the two have different meanings.

In fact, Li Xuan was unwilling to make this choice.

After all, such a choice was tantamount to giving away the land conquered by his ancestors to others. Even if the Tang Dynasty did not perish, he would still be unable to escape infamy.

But what can he do now?

He had considered going to the Gu family, and even entertained the idea of ​​going to Julu himself.

But in the end, the ministers stopped them.

He could only resent his ancestors for making that choice back then, which led him to this state today.
In fact, for an emperor...

What truly terrified them was not anything else, but the loss of their kingdom.

This is not just about one's own life.

The most crucial thing is the title of "ruler who brought about the downfall of his country." Whether it was Jie and Zhou, or Qin Er Shi or even Emperor Yang of Sui, these people have been cursed for too many years.

This is the most terrifying thing.

That's why Li Xuan had to give it his all, no matter what the cost.

As for the follow-up to this matter...
Li Xuan could only keep thinking to himself that he could rival Emperor Taizong and once again lead the Tang army to conquer the world and reclaim all the land.

As the edict spread, people from all directions worked even harder.

Of course, this was ultimately just a last resort for them.

They would resist Huang Chao's actions no matter what, and Li Xuan's current measures are just icing on the cake.

While not entirely useless, it's not really anything that's important to these people anymore.

They were bound to fight for it!
If they could defeat Huang Chao, the world would be theirs to roam freely, so why would they need an imperial edict?
—The situation has changed drastically!
Faced with the murderous Huang Chao, all four forces mustered all their strength to resist him.

February of the first year of Guangming.

Perhaps because his journey had been too smooth, Huang Chao was eventually ambushed, suffered heavy losses, and was defeated in Jingbei.

If this were at the very beginning of an uprising...

This matter will definitely shake the morale of the Tang Dynasty's army, and even make the rebels in all directions much more obedient.

But nowadays...

As long as Huang Chao is still alive, it will ultimately be useless.

May.

The two sides engaged in a decisive battle at Shinju.

In order to gain fame for destroying Huang Chao, Gao Pian ordered his top general Zhang Lin to launch a general offensive against Huang Chao without waiting for allies.

Both sides amassed hundreds of thousands of troops and engaged in fierce fighting at Xinzhou.

Actually, Gao Pian can't be blamed for this.

The current chaos in the world is unstoppable. Given Huang Chao's current prestige, if we can destroy Huang Chao, we can not only absorb his troops, but also gain immense prestige.

Gao Pian came from the Bohai Gao clan, a top-ranking military family.

How could it be that he had absolutely no ambition?

Unfortunately, he ultimately underestimated Huang Chao.

They underestimated Huang Chao's current prestige among the rebels, believing that his army's morale would surely collapse after such a major defeat.

And there is only one possible outcome.

Huang Chao devised a plan to defeat Zhang Lin, killing Zhang Lin in battle and annihilating Gao Pian's elite troops.

The morale of the Tang army collapsed completely, and the gateway to the north of the Yangtze River was wide open.

In just a few months, Huang Chao ravaged Sizhou, killing indiscriminately without showing any mercy.

He then led his army north along the Huai River.

All the reinforcements from all directions collapsed at the mere mention of Huang Chao's name.

The rebel army advanced as if they had no one, heading straight for Luoyang!
As if history were repeating itself, Li Xuan was finally forced to face the same choice that Emperor Xuanzong of Tang had made in the past.

Should we run away?
No, his situation at this moment is even more difficult than Li Longji's.

Li Longji at least had nominal imperial power back then, but things are completely different for him now.

Once he leaves Luoyang, he will surely be coerced by the enemy and become a plaything in someone else's hands.

Li Xuan was no stranger to all of this.

After all, he has been fighting with people in the court ever since he ascended the throne.

That is why he was certain that if he escaped Luoyang, the situation he would face would be even worse.

Because he had nothing left.

All that's left is a title.

Apart from that, there is nothing.

Fortunately, Liu Xie in this world is different from the one in the original history, otherwise Li Xuan would have easily foreseen his own fate.

Even so, it solidified his resolve to follow his path.

"To die for one's country!"

"It can be considered as not disgracing the reputation of the previous emperors."

He uttered these words himself in court. Despite the earnest pleas of his ministers, his attitude remained exceptionally resolute. He was indeed exhausted.

Li Xuan's life was truly tragic.

He ascended the throne through the hands of eunuchs, then conspired with court officials to eliminate them, and later fought against powerful ministers...

All of this had already exhausted him, let alone the idea of ​​escaping elsewhere to become a puppet in someone else's hands.

In contrast, Li Xuan would rather simply die with his country.

I want to be an ordinary person in my next life.

This was indeed beyond Gu Yi's expectations, since in the original history, Li Xuan had fled without any hesitation.

Clearly, history has undergone considerable changes.

The Gu family has developed to this day.

Clearly, many things can no longer be easily erased by this mere corrective power.

For example, the ideas disseminated by Gu.

This will eventually affect many people in subtle ways.

Take Li Xuan as an example.

However, his actions were not a good thing for the Tang Dynasty at present.

Once he makes this choice, whether it's the ministers in the court or the eunuchs in the palace, driven by a strong will to survive, the generals will make a series of different choices.

All of this will bring about a huge chain reaction.

Both the garrison in Luoyang and the people within the city will be affected by this fear.

Of course, there were also some who were willing to die alongside Li Xuan and the Tang Dynasty.

But these are still a minority.

Li Xuan did not interfere with these matters. Whether they chose to escape or stay and fight alongside them, he allowed them to make their own choices.

This was his final act of mercy as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

From that day on, he stayed in Lingyan Pavilion every day.

That's right, it's not the Imperial Ancestral Temple, but the Lingyan Pavilion.

Li Shimin's achievements in the Tang Dynasty are unshakeable.

Whether a ruler is incompetent or wise, they all yearn to become an emperor like Li Shimin.

The same goes for Li Xuan.

This was also where he finally found solace.

The news continued to spread.

Huang Chao would not be swayed by Li Xuan's slight mercy.

On the contrary, upon hearing that chaos was gradually breaking out within Luoyang, his marching speed increased considerably.

November of the first year of Guangming.

The rebels officially attacked Luoyang.

It was only at this moment that Li Xuan finally exuded a trace of imperial aura.

He thus commanded his army from atop the city walls to boost morale and block the rebels' path.

And this did indeed play a certain role.

Although to many people, Li Xuan now has absolutely no authority whatsoever.

But for the lowest-ranking soldiers...

Li Xuan was ultimately the emperor.

Now that the emperor is personally leading the fight against the enemy alongside them, it will naturally boost the morale of the entire army.

Unfortunately, the Tang army's combat effectiveness was indeed too poor.

Compared to the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The difference in combat strength was enormous. Even with the boost in morale, the generals of Luoyang, an isolated city without support, could hardly withstand Huang Chao's offensive.

March of the second year of Guangming.

After months of siege, the rebel army finally broke through the gates of Luoyang.

They officially stormed into the capital of the Tang Dynasty.

Emperor Li Xuan watched helplessly as the rebel army entered the city, and ultimately chose to commit suicide, leaving himself with a final dignity as an emperor.

The once-glorious Tang Dynasty was completely swallowed up by the tides of time.

Huang Chao killed all the members of the Tang Dynasty's imperial family.

This includes the remaining officials in the imperial court.

Amidst the chaos, surrounded by his soldiers, he officially took that step, formally proclaiming himself emperor and establishing the Great Qi dynasty.

The reign title was changed to Jintong.

His feelings were somewhat complicated.

In truth, Huang Chao never imagined that he would actually come to this point.

He went to Lingyan Pavilion.

Even at the Imperial Ancestral Temple, which enshrines Li Yuan, Li Shimin, and other emperors of the Tang Dynasty, there was no joy as expected, nor the excitement of seeing the entire world. Only, gazing in the direction of Julu, did one silently murmur:
"It's much easier to break into the Luoyang Palace than to pass the imperial examinations to get into the Luoyang Palace."

He seemed to be speaking to his classmates and teachers at Gu's Academy, or perhaps he was comforting his former self who was once devoted to learning.

Then, his gaze hardened once more.

That's how Huang Chao was.

He had different goals, and now that one goal had been achieved, he naturally set his sights on the next one.

And he has only one next goal.

—To unify the world!
News from Luoyang spread like wildfire in all directions.

Li Xuan is dead!

This news would be comparable to a nuclear bomb at any time, but it hasn't caused much of a stir in the present day.

The reasons behind this are naturally quite difficult to ascertain.

That means everyone had already anticipated this.

From the moment Li Xuan chose not to leave Luoyang, his fate was already sealed.

And that is precisely why many people have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.

Even before the news had fully spread.

As a result, various regions rose up one after another, each wanting to install members of the Li clan as rulers in order to continue the Tang dynasty's imperial lineage.

It was as if they had been prepared for this all along.

Whether it was the chosen person or the established reputation, everything seemed so natural.

After all, the Tang Dynasty had been established for many years.

Its influence is undeniable.

How could we not use this group of people?

As the news continued to spread, the chaos in the world intensified.

Leaving aside Huang Chao, the emperor of the Great Qi dynasty, just considering the imperial family members who ascended the throne during the Tang dynasty, there were a total of four emperors throughout the country, which shows just how serious the chaos was at that time.

This chaos is even more severe than the chaos caused by the Liu clan in the past.

Whether they are rebels or not.

Or perhaps it was the Li Tang imperial family established by people from all directions.

These people are all acting independently, yet they are all vying for that same position.

And this is just the beginning.

Li Xuan's death marked the end of an era.

For the ambitious and ruthless heroes throughout the land...

From this moment on, all the shackles on them were completely shattered!
And this will only be the beginning.

Just like during the chaos of the Liu clan in the past, there will always be different outstanding people who emerge at the corresponding time to drive the entire era forward.

This chaotic world will definitely not end easily.

(P.S.: It's almost the end of the month, so I'm begging for monthly votes! I'm begging you guys for your support, brothers! I'd be extremely grateful.)
(End of this chapter)