History of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms

Chapter 47: The Heaven-Rising Fragrance Array Penetrates Chang'an 1
The imperial court hurriedly arranged the defense lines and quickly received reports from various defense lines.

First, the Eastern Capital Luoyang: 500 new soldiers recruited by Ruzhou set fire to Anxi Gate (the northeast gate of Luoyang City) when passing through the Eastern Capital Luoyang, looted the streets, and left through Changxia Gate (the southeast gate of Luoyang). Tribute to Liu Hanhong.

Report from the Mengshui defense line: An internal conflict broke out between the Ganhua Army and the Zhongwu Army in Xuzhou. Xue Neng, the governor of the Zhongwu Army, was killed. Qi Kerang, the governor of Taining, led his troops back to Yanzhou. As a result, the task forces of the other war zones dispersed...Mianshui, the most important pass, collapsed without a fight.

Emperor Xizong of Tang was at a loss as to what to do. The then Prime Minister Dou Lugong suggested that Huang Chao be quickly granted the title of "Jiedushi of Tianping Army".

Prime Minister Lu Xie firmly opposed it, saying that Huang Chao was greedy and even if he was given the seal of the governor, it would not stop him from smashing, looting and burning. It would also shake our army's determination to suppress the bandits and damage morale. It would be better to urgently mobilize various war zones to guard Sizhou to prevent Cao's army from crossing the Huai River to the north, and then let Gao Pian attack Cao's army from behind.

Emperor Xizong of Tang followed Lu Xie's advice because there was another brave general in Sizhou who could eliminate the harm to the country. He was Cao Quanzheng, the brave general who had previously joined forces with Liu Jurong to defeat the Cao army and almost wiped out the Cao army.

In the battle of Xiangyang, Cao Quanzheng was about to annihilate Cao's army, but the imperial court changed the commander in chief and deprived Cao Quanzheng of his command. Now, the bandits were unstoppable, so Cao Quanzheng was urgently appointed as the governor of Tianping Army and the deputy commander-in-chief of the Zhengdong Front Army (the deputy governor of the east).

Song Wei was right, when the birds are all gone, the bow is put away; Liu Jurong summed it up more comprehensively, when they need you, you are the boss and you are promoted to a higher position, but when they don’t need you anymore, they treat you like a grandson.

Cao Quanzheng, who had just been deprived of his military power for no reason, immediately became the deputy commander-in-chief of the Zhengdong Front Army.

However, Cao Quanzheng, the deputy commander-in-chief of the front army, had only 6,000 soldiers and horses, and he had to face the 150,000-strong army led by Huang Chao.

Cao Quanzheng was a man of both military and civil talents, loyal and brave, and always won with a small force. However, the disparity in numbers between the enemy and us was too great. Cao Quanzheng won every small battle, but lost the entire battle. He was willing to kill the enemy, but he was powerless to turn the tide. Cao Quanzheng retreated to Sizhou City.

Sizhou is a heroic city. Back then, Xin Dan held out here for ten months. Even when all the surrounding areas were occupied and he was isolated and helpless, he remained like an unyielding nail, firmly nailed into the enemy's heart, and wrote a heroic chapter that is worthy of praise and tears in the "Pang Xun Rebellion".

Now, Cao Quanzheng retreated to Sizhou, bathed in the heroic spirit and inspired by the righteous spirit of loyalty to the emperor and the country. As the deputy commander-in-chief of the Zhengdong Front Army, he asked the northern war zones to speed up the dispatch of reinforcements and coordinate defense, and at the same time asked for help from Gao Pian, the governor of the Huainan Army, who had not moved his troops.

With the reputation of Marshal Gao and the limited strength of Cao Quanzheng, we can fight back together and kill the bandits at the gate of Sizhou! Marshal Gao, it's time to make achievements.

However, the heroic Sizhou City still stood alone, with no sign of reinforcements. All the war zones stood aside and Gao Pian also watched the fire from the other side.

If there was no secret agreement or dirty traitorous clauses between Gao Pian and Huang Chao, at least they reached some kind of tacit understanding.

Huang Chao circled Gao Pian's territory and attacked Sizhou City calmly without worrying about being attacked from the front and back. Gao Pian just watched the Cao army slip away from under his nose.

In the end, Cao Quanzheng was outnumbered and Sizhou fell.

The important pass before, the Mengshui River, had long since collapsed without a fight, and had become an almost undefended area. So the Cao army crossed the Huai River calmly and captured Shenzhou, Yingzhou, Songzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou and other places.

After Huang Chao crossed the Huai River, his strategic thinking became clear. He held meetings and tried to create a friendly image. He stopped burning, killing and looting, and only recruited young men to supplement his troops. He also distributed notices to commanders in various war zones, saying: "You'd better stay at your posts and don't offend my military prestige! I will first go to Luoyang, the eastern capital, and then to Chang'an to question the tyrant and petition for the people. It's none of your business."

The influence of the Cao army extended to Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan and Shandong. At this time, Huang Chao's ambition was no longer to return home in glory, but to seize Chang'an.

Most of the war zones that received Huang Chao's letter chose to wait and see what would happen. Gao Pian was obedient, so why should we show off?
For the first time, the Cao army posed a substantial threat to the core area of ​​the Tang Empire, and the whole court was shaken. Tian Lingzi, the powerful eunuch who had always deceived his superiors, also felt that he had lost control of the entire chess game, so he put the blame on Prime Minister Lu Xie. Prime Minister Lu Xie had two major political assets, licking Tian Lingzi internally and relying on Gao Pian externally. Before, Huang Chao asked for amnesty in Guangzhou, only asking for a position of security captain. It was Lu Xie's active operation, with the intention of deliberately angering Huang Chao and making the amnesty fail, because he believed that Gao Pian would wipe out Huang Chao in one fell swoop, so Lu Xie strongly recommended Gao Pian and advocated the use of force to suppress the rebellion.

Unexpectedly, Gao Pian nurtured the enemy and brought disaster upon himself, so Tian Lingzi, who was behind the scenes, decisively used Lu Xie to put the blame on him for the defeat, and Lu Xie was forced to resign and retire.

Emperor Xizong of the Tang Dynasty summoned the prime minister to discuss countermeasures. Prime Minister Cui Hang suggested that the troops from various war zones in the pass (west of Tongguan) be mobilized, together with the central imperial guards, to jointly guard Tongguan. Tongguan was the eastern gate of Chang'an. As long as Tongguan was there, Chang'an could rest assured.

A few days later, Emperor Xizong of Tang was discussing matters with his ministers in Yanying Hall. He was so frightened that he cried with tears streaming down his face. "My dear ministers, who has a good plan to defeat the enemy?"

The great eunuch Tian Lingzi stepped forward and volunteered, saying that he was willing to lead the imperial guards to garrison Tongguan.

Emperor Xizong of Tang was filled with worry. "What use are the imperial guards? I'm afraid they are going to die in vain."

Tian Lingzi was playing hard to get, saying the opposite of what he meant. He was reluctant to go to the front line to fight, and he wanted the emperor to say this, so he quickly used the past to satirize the present, saying: "During the An-Shi Rebellion, Emperor Xuanzong visited Shu!"

Prime Minister Cui Hang added fuel to the fire and continued to scare the emperor, "An Lushan only had 50,000 men at that time, but Huang Chao now has 600,000 men! They are incomparable. Run."

Dou Lu added fuel to the fire, "Yes, back then, Geshu Han's 180,000 troops failed to defend Tongguan. Now, who in the court can compare with Geshu Han? Fortunately, Eunuch Tian thought about the empire and had made careful arrangements in advance. The commanders of Shu are all confidants of the court. Compared with Emperor Xuanzong, our situation is much better."

Emperor Xizong of Tang looked at his attendants with disappointment, "My dear ministers, the Tang Dynasty has always treated you well! How could I have failed you? I should repay my emperor's kindness when I receive his salary. Now that the bandits have invaded and are endangering our country, you are not thinking of helping the country in times of crisis, but are concentrating on persuading me to flee?"

All the civil and military officials lowered their heads and no one said a word.

Some people remained silent out of guilt, but the silence of powerful eunuch Tian Lingzi was a silent demonstration, answering the emperor with practical actions: there was no other way except to escape.

In the huge Yanying Hall, the only sound was the sobbing of Emperor Xizong of Tang.

Anxiety, fear, grief, helplessness...

After a long while, Emperor Xizong of Tang swallowed his tears, raised his hand and pointed at Tian Lingzi, "You will guard Tongguan for me for the time being!"

After the meeting that day, Emperor Xizong of Tang personally reviewed the central imperial guards, summoned the three generals of the left and right Shenshen armies, personally granted them temporary official positions, ordered Tian Lingzi as the commander-in-chief, and ordered the eunuch Yang Fugong as the deputy commander-in-chief to go to Tongguan to deploy defenses.

Whether Tongguan could stop Huang Chao was no longer important. Even if the Tang Empire could defend Tongguan, it could not defend its own territory.

At the critical moment, the prime ministers of the country actually agreed on the issue of escape. Even the emperor's most trusted person and godfather, the eunuch Tian Lingzi, advised him to flee to Shu for refuge. The Tang Empire had begun to rot from the bones and there was no hope for it.

Tian Lingzi persuaded Emperor Xizong to seek refuge in Shu, not for the emperor's own safety, nor for the Tang Dynasty. What Tian Lingzi wanted to do was what many people wanted to do throughout history - to use the emperor to control the princes.

(End of this chapter)