Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 86 I am living in the human world with my head covered in snow

The main force of Huang Chao's army is now active around Luoyang City. Although they failed to break through the city wall, they burned down many manors of aristocratic families outside the city and demolished all the ground buildings of Gong Mausoleum.

Although Gongling is not an imperial mausoleum, it is the mausoleum of Li Hong, the eldest son of Emperor Gaozong of Tang and Empress Wu Zetian. Even if the tomb was not excavated, but only burned, it would still be a serious matter.

Just as Commander Yan herself said, if she still couldn't kill Wang Xianzhi after such a big incident, the attacks and impeachments from all sides would be enough to force her to commit suicide by taking poison.

But now that Wang Xianzhi was dead, General Yan's refusal to return to rescue Luoyang could be explained away by the overall situation. Not only was General Yan innocent, but he had actually made a significant contribution in defeating the enemy.

After Zhu Wen and Shang Rang led the breakout team into Henan Province, only Huang Chao's nephew Lin Yan and half-nephew Huang Hao came to greet them with several thousand soldiers. According to them, Duan Hongyan is still fighting beside Huang Chao.

While Huang Chao's army was rigorously trained, much like the Han general Cheng Buzhi's "formal formations," and much more organized and disciplined than Wang Xianzhi's troops, compared to Wang Xianzhi's numerous talented men, Huang Chao, aside from his three apprentices, lacked many capable personnel.

Zhu Wen knew that Huang Chao's army, excluding auxiliary troops and miscellaneous servants, had only 15,000 actual combat troops. Now that Alliance Leader Wang had died in battle and over 10,000 remnants of Wang Xianzhi's army had been rescued, while Huang Chao's army would be greatly strengthened, fully absorbing them would not be an easy task.

Lin Yan and Zhu Wen were already quite familiar with each other. He expressed his farewell feelings to Zhu Wen and lamented that such a peerless figure as Wang Xianzhi was gone just like that. He then joined forces with Zhu Wen and Shang Rang and led them to join the main force.

"Liu Hanhong has escaped." Zhu Wen said to Lin Yan, "I should have killed that gossipy lawyer from Yanzhou long ago."

Liu Hanhong followed the main force across the Dabie Mountains and led a vanguard attack on a government army, fighting with great valor and capturing many enemies. However, he later fled with a batch of baggage and surrendered to the government army.

"Only by proving his combat prowess can he avoid being killed by the government troops." Lin Yan sighed, "Back then, he was just a minor official in Yanzhou. He hijacked supplies from the army of Snow Marshal Qi Kerang and defected to Alliance Leader Wang."

That operation was small-scale, and was not commanded by Qi Kerang or Kou Qianzhi, but by Yan Lingkong, the leader of the "Southern Dipper Six Stars." This incident also led Qi Kerang to believe that Yan Lingkong was not capable of handling it alone.

Unexpectedly, when the Cao army was defeated and retreating, this guy used the same trick again.

There is always a group of shameless villains who can improve their status by jumping around like this.

But for Zhu Wen, this was not a bad thing. At least the next time he saw that annoying face, Zhu Wen would have a legitimate reason to chop off his head.

The bad news had already been brought to Huang Chao's desk by scouts.

When Zhu Wen returned to the army, he learned that after receiving the news of Wang Xianzhi's death, his master Huang Chao had locked himself in the general's tent for several days. He had not eaten or drunk anything for several days, rarely spoke, and did not see anyone.

The sudden passing of Wang Xianzhi, his close friend since childhood, made Huang Chao feel indescribably sad.

When the morning light once again touched the earth, the generals saw Huang Chao walking out of the tent.

Marshal Yan is about to return to Heluo, and it is time for the army to move.

Huang Chao was wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, and walked steadily, but his face was haggard and could not be concealed. In just a few days, he looked much older.

He suddenly took off his helmet, and there was no hairpin on his head, so his hair fluttered in the wind.

Everyone was surprised to see that Huang Chao's originally black hair had turned completely frosty white and was fluttering in the wind.

His white hair is three thousand feet long, and his sorrow is as long as it. This frosty hair further highlights Huang Chao's melancholy and sorrow.

In this world, how many true friends are there? Ziqi passed away, and Boya broke his string.

Huang Chao raised his head to the sky and struck the sword ring with his hands, making a clanging sound.

His cracked lips moved and he suddenly began to moan.

"You are buried in the abyss, and my head is covered with snow."

As they were speaking, a sad wind suddenly arose, and flags all over the camp fluttered.

This is a poem written by Bai Juyi to mourn Yuan Zhen, but it really reflects Huang Chao's mood at the moment.

In the field, more than a dozen high-ranking officials of the aristocracy who were captured when the Cao army raided the area around Luoyang were tied to wooden pillars, their arms spread out to both sides, their clothes were thin, and their eyes were full of fear.

"If Brother Xianzhi is safe, it is not a big deal to let your family members redeem you." Huang Chao's voice was flat, but there was no doubt about it.

"But when he dies, he can only use you nobles as the first drop of blood to be buried with him.

After he finished speaking, Huang Chao came forward with a knife in hand.

These children of wealthy families, who usually acted arrogantly and domineeringly and treated the common people as ants, trembled all over, wailed, and even begged for mercy when they were about to be killed. What was the difference between them and the common people who trembled in fear before the tax collectors?
"Master Yan, you can't kill us!"

"Leader Wang's death has nothing to do with us, and we have never suggested suppressing the rebel army..."

"If we die, the imperial court will be furious..."

"We are useful to the Righteous Army! If General Yan doesn't want to be recruited, we are willing to surrender, serve him as our master, and serve him faithfully..."

"Have mercy!"

The Cui family of Qinghe, the Lu family of Fanyang, the Wei family of Jingzhao, the Xiao family of Lanling, the Lu family of Wujun...

Huang Chao looked at these officials captured by the Cao army, silently thinking of their "noble origins". He had once envied them immensely because they could achieve the fame and honor that he, Huang Chao, had always dreamed of without any effort.

However, these people's attitude towards death made him feel so ugly.

They eat the emperor's salary and share his worries. Under the protection of the imperial family, these guys devoured the blood and flesh of the people. Faced with the shadow of death, they have no integrity and wag their tails like dogs and pigs, begging for mercy.

Huang Chao's expression turned indifferent, and he chopped down the big knife in his hand at a steady rhythm, killing one person at a time, neither fast nor slow.

Streams of blood splashed into the sky one after another.

The pleas for mercy gradually turned into vicious curses, but Huang Chao completely ignored them.

Before his death, a high-ranking official spewed thick phlegm at him in resentment, but it was also swept away by the wind from his sword.

Soon, the heads of more than ten high-ranking officials of the Tang Dynasty rolled to the ground, leaving only headless corpses tied to wooden frames.

The officers and soldiers watched all this silently, knowing that from today on, the conflict between the Cao army and the imperial court would be impossible to reconcile.

But with the all-powerful Wang Xianzhi dead, who would still harbor the desire for compromise? And how could the 30,000 wandering souls on the banks of the Qizhou River give anyone any hope for the imperial court?
After Huang Chao killed a number of high-ranking officials in the Tang court, he took out a jar of wine and smashed it with one palm. The wine gushed out and spilled onto the ground, mixing with the blood on the ground.

The wine has a strong aroma with a pungent smell. It is the liquor that Huang Chao distilled using Han Dynasty technology.

"Soul, come back! Leave your constant dryness,
Why are you in all directions?
But it’s a bit ominous to stay away from that place!

Soul, come back! The East cannot be trusted.

A thousand feet tall, but only the soul is sought.

In ten days, there will be more gold and stones.

If they all get used to it, their souls will be released.

Come back! I can't trust you with anything.

……

Come back! Going back might put your life in danger."

Huang Chao sang a long and sorrowful song with his robe fluttering in the wind. What he sang was the "Soul Summoning" chapter from Qu Yuan's "Chu Ci", a poem by the Sanlu official.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, and at this moment, many white flags and banners appeared in the army, dancing in the wind. Paper money fluttered in the air and rained down in a stream, matching the white hair of Huang Chao.

What Huang Chao recruited was not only the heroic spirit of his lifelong friend Wang Xianzhi, but also the souls of 30,000 Cao Army soldiers who were buried on the banks of the Yangtze River.

You are buried in the earth, your bones have melted away, I am living in the world, my hair is covered with snow. After the battle of Qizhou, Huang Chao's hair turned white overnight, and the whole army wore mourning clothes.

Everyone knows that Wang Xianzhi’s blood will not be shed in vain.

After the solemn sacrifice, everyone's eyes were filled with tears, and fear was replaced by courage.

Huang Chao's deafening words echoed in their ears.

"Marshal Yan thought that by killing Brother Xianzhi, he was breaking the backbone of the martial arts world."

"But if Brother Xianzhi died upright, the backbone of the martial arts world would remain unbroken. If one Wang Xianzhi falls, thousands upon thousands of Wang Xianzhis will stand up."

"In Zhen Ranyu's eyes, she killed the 'Land Godly Immortal' of the Wulin, which was 'Slaying the Immortal'. Then our revenge will be 'Slaying the Gods'. We will cut off the head of the Tang Dynasty Valkyrie and completely end the myth of the Four Marshals' invincibility."

"The Four Generals of the Tang Dynasty are like the four pillars supporting the empire. If even one of them is severed, it would be like Gong Gong hitting Mount Buzhou with his head. The pillar of heaven would break, the earth would break, the sky would tilt to the northwest, and the earth would sink to the southeast. The foundation of the empire, which it believed would last forever, would collapse."

"Are you willing to follow Chao and become the water god Gonggong, fighting against heaven and earth until death?"

Zhu Wen silently glanced at the excited crowd from the side.

The ancients said: When the armies are equal, the one who is more compassionate will win.

No matter how much you plan, what you must consider is the human heart.

Marshal Yan had planned everything, but he had never expected that Wang Xianzhi would be able to use his unparalleled martial prowess to create a tragic and majestic scene that would shake the mountains and rivers.

Huang Chao continued Wang Xianzhi's ambition and ignited the tragic desire for revenge in people's hearts to the extreme.

The dust of war in Qizhou has settled, but the next decisive battle is just around the corner.

Everyone understood that between Huang Chao and Yan Shuai, it was either you die or I die, and only one person could survive.

And where is the battlefield where fate has destined for them to fight to the death?

(End of this chapter)