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Chapter 1254 Sunset Over Chang'an, Loyal Heart Knocks on the Imperial Palace

"This is Chang'an!"

The weary travelers stopped at the city gate of Chang'an. At this moment, Lu Shisi burst into tears and immediately knelt down.

Guo Yuanzheng, standing to the side, was in no better shape. When he walked out of the gates of Chang'an to travel to the Western Regions, he was only an eighteen or nineteen-year-old boy. Now, more than a decade later, he is an old man with white hair.

Although the two were seven or eight years apart in age, they went to the Western Regions in almost the same batch. Most of the other young men who went to the Western Regions with him died in battle there. Now, only a few blood-stained letters from home accompanied him back to Chang'an.

“Benefactor Guo, Benefactor Lu, don’t be too sad!” Master Fajie bowed and comforted them.

In fact, there were also tears glistening in his eyes. In fact, he had been away from Chang'an for even longer than Lu Shisi.

"Master, Commander Lin, please rest at the post station for now. I will go to the palace to report to His Majesty. Please wait for news at the post station!" Li Sheng led them to the post station and then took his leave to go to the palace to report.

"Lord Sima, do you think His Majesty will summon us?" After watching Li Sheng leave, Lu Shisi asked Lin Hao, filled with anticipation for the opportunity to meet the Emperor.

"We'll definitely be able to see the master, and we certainly will too!" Lin Hao said with certainty.

In fact, Lin Hao knew that without his extraordinary abilities, it would not be an easy thing to meet Emperor Dezong.

If it were the newly enthroned Emperor Dezong of Tang, upon hearing news from the Western Regions, he would certainly have summoned him immediately. At that time, he still had the ambition to revive the Tang Dynasty. But now, Emperor Dezong's ambition has probably long since been worn away.

More than a decade ago, when Emperor Dezong of Tang first ascended the throne, he appeared to be a ruler who would restore the dynasty. He chose trusted officials to distance himself from eunuchs and accepted the advice of Chancellor Yang Yan to implement the Two-Tax System.

At the same time, efforts were made to eliminate the increasingly powerful regional military governors who had grown stronger since the An Lushan Rebellion.

In foreign affairs, the government accepted the advice of the famous minister Li Mi to "make peace with the Uyghurs in the north, establish connections with Yunnan in the south, and form alliances with the Abbasid Caliphate and India in the west" to counter the Tibetan Empire. They repeatedly defeated the Tibetan army and successfully reversed the strategic disadvantage against the Tibetan Empire.

It can be said that if the plot continues to develop in this direction, the Tang Dynasty's revival is possible.

However, this is only a hope, because the deeper contradictions have not been resolved, and ZTE's fate will only be to rise to prominence and then decline.

For example, the fundamental contradiction of reducing the power of the regional military governors was addressed in the second year of Jianzhong (781). Li Baochen, the military governor of Chengde, died, and his son Li Weiyue requested Emperor Dezong to appoint him as the new military governor of Chengde and succeed his father.

Emperor Dezong could not let go of such an opportunity to weaken the power of the regional military governors, especially given the arrogant attitude of the other party. Naturally, he refused his request.

Therefore, Li Weiyue, together with Tian Yue, the military governor of Weibo, Li Zhengji, the military governor of Ziqing, and Liang Chongyi, the military governor of Shannan East Circuit, launched a rebellion.

Emperor Dezong then ordered Zhu Tao, the garrison commander of Youzhou, and Li Xilie, the military governor of Huaixi, to quell the rebellion.

The army initially loyal to the Tang central government had the upper hand. Li Zhengji died of illness shortly after his rebellion, and his son Li Na continued to lead the Ziqing Army, but was besieged.

Liang Chongyi was defeated by Li Xilie and committed suicide. Wang Wujun, a subordinate of Li Weiyue, betrayed Li Weiyue, killed him, and surrendered to the central government. Of the four towns, only Tian Yue of Weibo was still resisting the central government, but he was already isolated and powerless.

But at this moment, Wang Wujun and Zhu Tao led troops to rescue Tian Yue of Weibo and Li Na of Ziqing, allowing Tian Yue and others to recover their strength. Subsequently, Li Xilie rebelled, and the disaster caused by the regional military governors intensified.

In the fourth year of Jianzhong, Yao Lingyan, the military governor of Jingyuan, led 5,000 soldiers to Chang'an.

When the soldiers of Jingyuan left their garrison, most of them brought their families with them, hoping to receive generous rewards from the imperial court after arriving in Chang'an. However, they received nothing until they left Chang'an.

Emperor Dezong learned from his previous experience that as long as the other party did not openly rebel, it was better to appease them than to rebel.

So an imperial edict was issued ordering Wang Xiang, the Prefect of Jingzhao, to reward the army. However, Wang Xiang only provided them with coarse tea and simple meals.

Enraged by this, the soldiers launched a mutiny, drove Emperor Dezong out of Chang'an, and fled to Fengtian for refuge.

After this incident, Emperor Dezong's ambition gradually faded. He began to appoint eunuchs as commanders of the imperial guards and increased miscellaneous taxes such as furniture and tea throughout the country, which led to growing resentment among the people.

Its policy towards the regional military governors was largely appeasement, which allowed their power to grow stronger day by day, causing it to miss a great opportunity to revitalize the Tang Dynasty.

If he had been more flexible in his handling of the situation, perhaps the regional military governors within the Tang Dynasty would have already been subdued.

If he hadn't refused to unite with the Uyghurs because of an unpleasant meeting with the Uyghur Khan in his early years, perhaps the road to the Western Regions would have been reopened.

At that time, Emperor Dezong was still ambitious, and with the assistance of a famous prime minister like Li Mi, as well as renowned generals like Hun Jian and Li Sheng, there was certainly a chance for him to revive the Tang Dynasty and reopen the Western Regions.

Of course, Lin Hao felt that Emperor Dezong couldn't be entirely blamed. In fact, in Lin Hao's opinion, the other party hadn't done a bad job at all.

The key issue is that after the An Lushan Rebellion, the power of the regional military governors became increasingly strong, while the central army's control over these governors weakened after the Battle of Xiangji Temple.

Speaking of Xiangji Temple, one cannot help but mention a saying circulating online:

"If we fight at Xuanwu Gate, whoever wins will be the Crown Prince; if we fight at Xiangji Temple, whoever loses will be the rebel."

The Xuanwu Gate Incident is well-known and needs no introduction. Li Erfeng, with her eight hundred men, directly defeated Li Jiancheng at Xuanwu Gate, became emperor, and made Li Yuan the retired emperor.

Although the Xuanwu Gate Incident set a bad precedent, fortunately, Li Erfeng was inspired to work hard and bring the Tang Dynasty to its peak.

However, the Battle of Xiangji Temple was different. After the An Lushan Rebellion broke out, the rebel army captured Chang'an, and 80,000 central imperial guards were either killed or scattered. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang fled to Sichuan, and Emperor Suzong of Tang ascended the throne in Lingwu.

In order to recapture Chang'an, Emperor Suzong of Tang appointed his son, Prince Li Chu of Guangping, as Grand Marshal of the Army and Guo Ziyi as Deputy Grand Marshal, with famous generals such as Li Siye and Wang Sili in command.

The core forces were the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army, which had returned from the Western Regions. These two forces had been stationed in the Western Regions for a long time and had rich combat experience, making them the mainstay of the Tang Dynasty.

Besides these two local armed forces, the others included 4 Uyghur cavalry, the Shuofang Army, and foreign troops from the Nanman and Dashi tribes, totaling approximately 15 troops.

The rebel army was led by An Lushan's adopted son, An Shouzhong, and Li Guiren, the Prince of Beiping, with the Hebei cavalry as its main force.

It was once the elite army defending the northeastern border of the Tang Dynasty, well-equipped and tactically fierce, with a total strength of about 10.

In simple terms, the Battle of Xiangji Temple was a major victory for the Tang army. After about four hours of fierce fighting, the Tang army suffered 70,000 casualties but killed 60,000 rebels and captured 20,000. The rebel army was almost completely annihilated, and the Tang army successfully recaptured Chang'an. However, although the Battle of Xiangji Temple was a great victory for the Tang army, it also drained the empire's elite forces. The Anxi Army and the Beiting Army were almost completely wiped out, which led to a sharp decline in Tang control over the Western Regions. Tibet took the opportunity to expand, and the passage to the Western Regions was cut off.

Getting back to the main point, after the Battle of Xiangji Temple, the central army was gone, and the Anxi army and Beiting army were almost completely wiped out, so the power of the regional military governors gradually got out of control.

This loss of control is a systemic loss of control. Unless there is a central army, or another Anxi army and Beiting army, it is impossible to suppress the local warlord forces.

At this time, the power of the regional military governors had spiraled out of control, and it would be difficult to consolidate the national strength of the Tang Dynasty and achieve a revival by simply relying on balancing tactics.

Moreover, an emperor who has lost his ambition is incapable of leading the Tang Dynasty back to the glory of the Zhenguan and Kaiyuan eras.

Li Bi had already passed away last year, and Hun Jian and Li Sheng were also very old. It was no longer possible to rely on the resources of the Tang Dynasty to aid the Western Regions.

······
As dusk deepened, the Daming Palace in Chang'an, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, resembled a lurking beast. The air inside the Zichen Hall was thick with the scent of incense, yet it couldn't dispel the stale, oppressive atmosphere.

Emperor Dezong of Tang, Li Shi, leaned against his imperial couch, listening to the report from Li Sheng, the military governor of Fengxiang, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the jade tablet.

Emperor Dezong's eyes were somewhat dazed. The words "Western Regions," "Anxi," and "Beiting" seemed to come from the distant past, carrying the scent of wind, sand, and blood.

He was aware of the contributions of the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army, but that was all in the past and no longer stirred much emotion in him.

The fragmentation of the three towns in Hebei, the infighting in the court, and the empty treasury—these immediate troubles had already dulled his former vigor as the "restoration emperor."

That territory, lost for nearly thirty years, was more like a heavy yet vague old dream to him.

"...Lin Hao, the acting military commander under the command of Prince Guo of the Anxi Protectorate, carrying the seals of Anxi and Beiting, as well as the memorials of Guo Xin and Yang Xigu, awaits your decree outside the palace, requesting an audience with the Emperor to report the true situation in the Western Regions." Li Sheng's loud voice broke the silence in the palace.

Emperor Dezong slightly raised his eyes, his mind involuntarily turning to the Anxi Army and the Beiting Army. If only they could come to the aid of the emperor again.

He, who had initially shown little interest, sighed inwardly and said with a hint of weariness in his voice:
"The Western Regions, ah, Guo Xin and Yang Xigu are still holding out? I thought...!"

Emperor Dezong paused here, then waved his hand and said, "Summon him in!"

A moment later, Lin Hao, dressed in official robes, entered the main hall. His posture was as upright as a poplar tree in the Gobi Desert. When he reached the emperor, he paid his respects according to etiquette. His movements were decisive, and his eyes were clear, which was out of place with the gloomy atmosphere in the hall.

"Your subject, Lin Hao, acting military commander under General Guo of the Anxi Protectorate, pays his respects to Your Majesty!"

Emperor Dezong looked Lin Hao up and down. He was much younger than he had imagined. After all, the soldiers left behind in the Western Regions should be in their fifties or sixties by their age.

However, Lin Hao's calm demeanor impressed Emperor Dezong, so he offered a hand in a gesture of support:

"Rise. How is the Western Regions now? How many troops does Guo Xin and his men still have?" Although Emperor Dezong knew that there were probably only veterans left in the Western Regions, he still asked with anticipation.

Lin Hao did not answer directly, but instead took out an oilcloth package from his pocket, raised it high with both hands, and said:
"Your Majesty, this is a memorial submitted by Prince Guo, Protector-General of Anxi, and Yang Xigu, Grand Protector-General of Beiting, detailing the situation in the Western Regions. Please review it!"

The eunuch took the memorial and presented it before the emperor. Emperor Dezong gestured for it to be opened, and Lin Hao's voice rang out, clear and powerful, each word attempting to strike the still lake of his heart:

"Your Majesty! Since the Hexi Road was cut off in the first year of Guangde, twenty-five years have passed! For twenty-five years, the Tang flag has not fallen on the walls of Kucha! The war drums have not ceased outside Xizhou City!"

"Surrounded by Tibetans, our provisions are almost exhausted, our arrows are worn down, and our armor is rotten! The soldiers in the army are all white-haired! They are using their last lives to guard the western gate of the Great Tang!"

"They longed for the royal army every day, and thought of Chang'an every night! They wanted to ask: Does His Majesty still remember them? Does the Tang Dynasty still remember that there is a group of white-haired old soldiers in the Western Regions who never laid down their armor until their deaths!"

Emperor Dezong's gaze fell on the memorial, and the words seemed to come alive, reminding him of his excitement when Guo Xin's envoy arrived at the Jianzhong era at great risk, and his guilt for ultimately failing to send troops.

His fading ambitions were deeply stung by Lin Hao's words, but the thorns of reality soon entangled him: Hebei, factional strife, and the national treasury.

Emperor Dezong felt frustrated and finally shook his head and sighed, "I know the soldiers are loyal and brave, but the court also has its difficulties!"

"Your Majesty!" Lin Hao suddenly looked up, his gaze sharp as lightning. At the same time, he quietly activated his illusion skill.

This skill is not about control, but about guidance and stimulation, implanting beliefs or memories into Dezong's memory.

At this moment, Emperor Dezong saw in his mind the image of Guo Xin, with his white hair and sword, standing on the city wall of Kucha, surrounded by countless veterans, facing the surging enemy army without flinching!

Outside Xizhou City, Yang Xigu, his armor tattered, still roared and charged forward. The old soldier murmured "Chang'an" before his death.
Anxi and Beiting are like two nails driven into the flank of Tibet. If they are lost, there will never be peace in the Hexi Corridor!
The heroic spirit of the thirty-six Marquises of Dingyuan of the Great Han Dynasty in pacifying the Western Regions, and the glory of Emperor Taizong, the Heavenly Khan!

"Your Majesty!" Lin Hao's voice, sharp and resonant, boomed:

"Anxi and Beiting are not burdens, but sharp blades that the Great Tang can thrust into the heart of Tibet! If we hold them, Tibet will be like a fishbone stuck in our throat! If we lose them, Tibet will gain control of the Western Regions, and the western border of the Great Tang will never have peace!"

"Soldiers, there is no need for a massive army! All you need is a title! A single imperial edict can give hope to the Tang people and various tribes in the Western Regions; a single document can decide the fate of the world!"

"Although we are short of food, I can cultivate land and even seek food from the enemy. We can find other ways to overcome these difficulties!"

"The only shortage is in the Western Regions, specifically in the people of our Great Tang, and in the young people of the Great Tang. Currently, the remaining soldiers in the Western Regions number only about 20,000, but 99% of them are elderly men, and there are less than 2,000 young and strong soldiers over 40 years old."

Then Lin Hao said in a low voice:
"If Your Majesty finds this difficult, then Your Majesty need only grant us official status. Anxi and Beiting will remain Tang territory. I am willing to sign a military pledge to defend this western frontier for Your Majesty and fight to the last man!"

Emperor Dezong stood up abruptly, his chest heaving. Lin Hao's words and spiritual guidance shattered the ice that encased his heart, revealing the deep-seated imperial ambition that refused to succumb to decadence.

Although he was deeply moved by the tragic loyalty of the man, Lin Hao's words made him realize another possibility.

I was further enlightened by the words "lack of people" and "status". Perhaps it would not take too much effort to preserve that land and maintain that glory.

Of course, what Emperor Dezong didn't know was that these were all inspirations generated by Lin Hao using illusion skills on him.

(End of this chapter)