Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 218 Gao Yan's Ambition

In these days, Zhu Wen also learned about the aftermath of the Battle of Han River after he fell into a coma.

With the mediation of Zhu Zhen and several other generals, the gentry of Chaozhou and Xunzhou, despite their constant bickering and near-infighting, still managed to complete the distribution of various spoils of war, including the captured barbarians.

The people of Lingnan, a remote and desolate place, are truly fierce and unyielding.

The gentry usually fanned themselves with folding fans and composed pretentious poems and essays. But once they got angry, they immediately drew their swords, rolled up their sleeves, and prepared to draw blood.

In the Central Plains, wealthy families would have their servants handle any trouble. But in Lingnan, the gentry would personally charge forward with knives, their servants following closely behind.

After the 5,000 soldiers trapped in the mountains were relieved, they were too hungry to fight for long and all withdrew to Chaozhou to rest and recuperate.

The clan leaders, however, refused to give up. They led their servants and local militia to continue their search and extermination efforts against the barbarian strongholds in the mountains, seeking to seize more labor and wealth.

The barbarian tribes would plunder Han people, generally killing the men and keeping the women. The Han people, on the other hand, looked down on the ugly barbarian women, and the old and young were not suitable as laborers, so they would often kill them on the spot; the strong and hardworking barbarian men could be kept to work in their own fields, or they could be sold for a good price.

The chieftains followed Gao Yan into battle, but lost more than 10,000 of their strongest men. They were powerless to retaliate against the Han people's revenge and sent envoys to humbly seek peace, but they were all killed by the gentry of Chaozhou.

Seek peace? Do you still have any bargaining power at this point?
The chieftains then deeply regretted believing Gao Yan's lies.

What's done is done, and there's no going back.
They could only scatter and flee through the mountains, hiding from the search and suppression, as fearful as stray dogs.

If they manage to survive this round of searches and killings, they can secretly lead their people back to the village in the future.

The plains to the south were not yet fully developed, and the Han people only wanted to use them as laborers. They didn't care about their land for the time being and wouldn't stay in the mountains for long.

As the Han Chinese population in Lingnan continues to grow and multiply, the future is uncertain.

At this point, the chieftains would naturally have the idea of ​​capturing the culprit Gao Yan and handing him over to the Grass Army.

Gao Yan, however, had already vanished without a trace.

During the intense search of the mountains, there were even incidents of people boiling herbs from the bodies of slain barbarians.

The Han people dug out the bones of the barbarians, boiled them in a large pot, added some medicinal herbs, and made them into a paste. It was said that consuming it could enhance strength and courage.

Such barbaric behavior was unacceptable to many soldiers, who inquired why it was done this way.

The reply was that the barbarians not only enjoyed hunting Han people's heads and making them into wine cups and other decorative items for their homes, but they also sometimes cooked and ate the brains of Han people they dug out, or even ate them raw.

The Han people's custom of "boiling foreign paste" was nothing more than a form of retaliation against headhunters, a tit-for-tat, blood-for-blood approach.

As later Western philosophers said, "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster; and if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you."

In order to survive in such an environment and expand their living space in the struggle with the barbarians, the Han people of Lingnan had to become as fierce, cruel, and bloodthirsty as their opponents.

But this also means that if a strong leader unites them, these fierce people, freed from endless feuds and vendettas, could unleash their full war potential and become a force capable of shaking the world.

Li Tiao established a separatist regime in Lingnan, plotting to seize the entire country; Huang Chao also set his sights on Lingnan.

A large part of the reason lies in the fact that the local people are brave and capable.

……

Lingnan West Road, Liuzhou City.

In the grand hall, Gao Yan, dressed in military attire, respectfully bowed to the white-bearded middle-aged man before him.

"This humble general, Gao Yan, pays his respects to Lord Yang." Gao Yan's face held just the right amount of reverence, enough to make the other party feel his flattery without being too servile and lowering the status of a member of the prestigious Gao family of Bohai.

"Young Master Gao, please rise quickly." The middle-aged man stroked his bald chin and smiled slightly, but he made no attempt to help Gao Yan up. "Yanwei is Commander Lei's nephew. He is young and successful, and full of vigor. I, Yang, must give way to him! In this campaign, we will serve as the commander and deputy commander, respectively. We should work together to quell the bandits and relieve the worries of the imperial family."

Gao Yan slowly rose to his feet: "I have long heard of Lord Yang's loyalty and righteousness, and his constant concern for the imperial family. Meeting him today, I can confirm that his reputation is well-deserved."

Among the eunuchs of the Tang Dynasty, Yang Fuguang was a prominent figure.

Serving eunuchs as military supervisors was a common practice since the An Lushan Rebellion. However, Yang Fuguang was different from other eunuchs who were drawn into the army for self-defense but knew nothing about military affairs.

Yang Fuguang was good at treating his soldiers and was also brave in battle. During the reign of Emperor Yizong, the predecessor of the current emperor, he began to lead troops to quell the rebellion.

In recent years, Yang Fuguang followed Yan Shuai Zhen Ranyu to kill Wang Xianzhi in Qizhou, and cooperated with Zhenhai Jiedushi Pei Qu to strangle Cao Shixiong. He made some military achievements and can be called a good general of the Tang Dynasty.

After Gao Yan's defeat at Hanjiang, the censors in the court impeached him relentlessly, saying that Gao Yan was young and impetuous, boastful, and completely incapable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of suppressing bandits. They requested that Gao Yan be relieved of all his posts and escorted back to Chang'an to await punishment.

Lei Shuai Gao Pian is currently the Commander-in-Chief of all military forces. He succeeded Song Wei and Zhen Ranyu as the commander-in-chief responsible for suppressing bandit armies in the Tang Dynasty after their deaths.

Gao Yan was sent by Gao Pian, and his fate was closely tied to Gao Pian's. Gao Pian immediately submitted a memorial defending his nephew, arguing that most of the elite troops Gao Yan led from Zhenhai, Zhejiang West, and Huainan had not yet arrived. Gao Yan, fighting with a motley crew of barbarians, although initially victorious but ultimately defeated, with almost all the dead being barbarians, had severely damaged the rebel army and even killed Zhu Wen's elder brother, Zhu Cun, making the rebels tremble with fear.

According to Gao Pian, Gao Yan not only had no faults, but also had merits.

Emperor Li Xuan was so engrossed in playing polo that he didn't want to pay any attention to these debates and left them to be discussed by several prime ministers and chief eunuchs.

In such situations, the outcome is usually a compromise. Therefore, the central government issued an imperial edict, ordering Yang Fuguang to lead the Shence Army to Lingnan as the Commander-in-Chief of the Lingnan Circuits and concurrently as the Military Supervisor, while Gao Yan was appointed as the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Lingnan Circuits, directly commanding the military affairs of suppressing bandits in the Lingnan area.

"With me here, Yanwei need not worry about being hampered by the court or the lack of logistical supplies." Yang Fuguang spoke with great composure: "Young Master Yanwei is skilled in battle and resourceful, I know that very well. Those pedantic scholars who are ignorant of military affairs are just making baseless accusations, why should they be taken seriously?"

"When we annihilate the rebels this time, we still need Yanwei's long-term strategy to cut off Huang Jutian's head, so as to appease the emperor and put the people at ease."

"Gentleman Yang has shown me such favor, how could I not do my utmost!" Gao Yan said with a grateful expression.

What he was really thinking was—you damned eunuch, once we wipe out the bandits, I'll take your dog's life right away!
He knew, of course, that the imperial court sent Yang Fuguang to provide support as well as to check and balance the situation.

Yang Fuguang was directly monitoring Gao Yan, so it could be said that Gao Yan did not need to worry about being restrained by the court.

Gao Yan has reached an agreement with Li Tiao through Hua Wang.

Once the bandits are successfully wiped out and their elite troops are subdued, Li Tiao will set up a trap in Guangzhou.

Yang Fuguang was wary of him, but not of Li Tiao. When the executioners killed Yang Fuguang on the spot, he and Li Tiao would divide Yang Fuguang's elite troops, allowing them to directly seize control of Lingnan and resist the imperial court!

Gao Yan considered himself a man of great ambition. He knew that Li Tiao's years of management in Lingnan and his status as a descendant of Li Jiancheng were crucial to the uprising.

Li Tiao's influence was not limited to the eastern part of Lingnan; he also had many protégés and former officials in the western part of Lingnan.

If things go well, he wouldn't mind first supporting Li Tiao as emperor, just as his ancestor Gao Huan supported Yuan Xiu, a descendant of the Northern Wei dynasty.

But it would be a waste to give such a stunning beauty as Flower Queen Yu Di to Li Tiao's good-for-nothing son, Li Yi. She must be snatched away and made her her plaything.

Of course, Gao Yan knew Hua Wang's ability to stir up trouble and wouldn't trust her at all. If You Di really fell into his hands, Gao Yan would cripple her martial arts and sever her tendons; only then would Gao Yan feel safe.

Not minding supporting Li Tiao as emperor and planning to take away Li Yi's beloved woman are not contradictory at all.

Their ancestors, the Gao family of Bohai, had a tradition of "punching the emperor three times and shouting 'You dog's feet, I am emperor'."

(End of this chapter)