Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

Upon hearing this, the faces of the imperial guards who had been listening intently all showed complex emotions.

Someone sighed softly.

This sigh, as if it could spread like a plague, prompted two or three others to sigh as well.

Li Cenji's gaze swept across everyone's faces, and he asked:

"What? Do you all not want to fight?"

The group looked at each other, but none of them dared to respond.

The old soldier, surprisingly bold, smiled wryly and said:

"Commander, how are we supposed to respond to your words? If we say we are willing, we would be going against our conscience; if we say we are unwilling, we would appear to be cowards who fear death and are not worthy of being called heroes."

As he spoke, he pointed to the soldiers around him.

"Look at these brothers, which one of them wasn't born of a father and mother? Which one doesn't have elderly parents and young children at home? Going into battle is a life-or-death struggle. If they are lucky enough to come back alive, then everything will be fine; if they don't come back..."

He shook his head and said no more.

Upon hearing this, Li Cenji was not annoyed. He simply nodded slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then said:

"What you say is only human nature. But don't you also want to achieve great things, secure a good future for your wives and children?"

Upon hearing this, the imperial guards looked at each other and fell silent.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but the phrase "bestowing titles and privileges upon their wives and children" was simply out of reach for ordinary soldiers like them.

Most of them were good men from Guanzhong who enlisted in the army. They had been toiling away in the ranks for more than ten years, and if they could make it to the rank of squad leader, they were already considered extremely lucky.

As for bestowing titles and privileges upon wives and children, that's a matter for generals and commanders; what does it have to do with us soldiers?

However, it was not easy to say these words out loud, as it would be too disheartening, and he was afraid of offending the captain, so he could only remain silent.

Just then, a soft laugh came from outside the courtyard gate:

"To achieve merit and establish a career? To secure a reward for one's wife and children? Commandant, you make it sound as sweet as a song. But given the hearts of those above, let alone the reward for merit, we might not even receive our due military pay!"

These words were extremely impolite, and everyone around them changed their expressions upon hearing them.

Several young soldiers glanced at Li Cenji to the side, then looked at the tightly closed main room, seemingly feeling that Xu Tai's words were too much.

Putting everything else aside, at least the Commandant and Lord Zheng never mistreated them.

However, most of the veterans remained silent, and some even nodded slightly, clearly thinking the same thing but daring not to say it aloud.

Li Cenji looked up in the direction of the sound and saw a man in his early thirties leading a group of imperial guards into the room.

This man was broad-shouldered and burly, with a square face and a wide mouth, but his eyes were long and narrow, revealing a shrewdness.

His lamellar armor was polished to a gleaming shine, and a horizontal sword hung at his waist. He walked with a powerful stride, exuding quite an imposing presence.

Upon seeing this person, Li Cenji smiled slightly.

This man, surnamed Xu and named Tai, was one of the five brigade commanders under the original owner, in charge of a hundred men. He was a ruthless character who dared to charge and kill.

However, this person has one flaw:

He has a sharp tongue and dares to say anything, making fun of anyone. He has offended quite a few people in the military.

Xu Tai walked up to Li Cenji, straightened his armor, bowed respectfully, and then stood up.

Li Cenji, however, was not angry. He pointed at Xu Tai and laughed as he scolded him:

"Xu Tai, you foul mouth—let me tell you, if you don't die on the battlefield one day, you will surely die because of your foul mouth!"

Xu Tai chuckled, offering no rebuttal, but simply cupped his hands in a respectful bow and said:

"The Commandant's admonition is correct. However, what I have said is all the truth. Although the truth may not be pleasant to hear, it is still better than those flattering and sycophantic words."

Li Cenji shook his head, too lazy to argue with him. He stepped forward, helped him up, patted his shoulder, and said seriously:

"Enough of this idle talk. Tomorrow is the rotation day, and the duty of guarding the General's Mansion will be handed over to Zhou Ping's brigade. After your brigade finishes your shift today, take a good two-day rest and have two days off. Send letters if you need to, buy what you need to buy, and if you have money on hand, you can go to the street to buy a pot of wine. Just remember, we will be setting out to fight soon, so don't wear yourself out."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tai's smile gradually faded.

He paused for a moment, then turned to look at his brothers who had kept watch with him all night, their faces etched with weariness. He then looked at Li Cenji and said in a low voice:

"Captain, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should."

"Tell me."

Xu Tai took a deep breath and said:

"Of my brothers, seven or eight out of ten have families in Guanzhong. Now that Huang Chao's rebels have occupied Chang'an, much of Guanzhong has fallen. Even if... even if I buy things and write letters home, where can I send them? If I send them back home, I fear the letter won't arrive before the place is under the banner of the rebels. If I send them to my relatives, who knows whether they are alive or dead, or where they are?"

He spoke calmly, yet his words carried immense weight.

Upon hearing this, Li Cenji was speechless for a moment.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but felt as if something was blocking his throat, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The soldiers around them, who had been whispering amongst themselves, all fell silent. Some lowered their heads, some turned their faces away, and some clenched their fists so tightly that their nails dug into their palms.

The old soldier, who had been smiling just moments before, fell silent, his lips pressed tightly together, a tear glistening in his eye, which he forcefully suppressed.

The air seemed to freeze, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Looking at these faces, Li Cenji was speechless.

The wind under the eaves grew stronger, stinging one's face. In the distance, the faint cawing of crows sounded particularly desolate in this bleak winter day.

Just as the silence grew heavier, the main hall suddenly erupted in chaos!

"Marshal! Marshal!"

"Help! Help!"

The sounds were urgent and chaotic, mixed with the noise of tables and chairs being overturned and the panicked shouts of the crowd, creating a noisy and extremely frightening scene.

The imperial guards under the eaves were all startled, and several of them instinctively gripped their sword hilts and took two steps toward the front of the hall.

Li Cenji remained expressionless, as if he had expected this to happen.

He abruptly raised his hand, stopping the soldiers behind him who were about to rush in, and shouted sternly:

"Hold your ground! No one is to move without my order!"

Having said that, he took a deep breath, hurriedly entered the courtyard, pushed open the two vermilion gates, and stepped inside.

The hall was in complete chaos.

Those officers who had been putting on airs and acting high and mighty just moments before were now ashen-faced, crowding in a circle around the large table in the center.

Rapid breathing and intermittent groans came from within the circle; it was unclear who was shouting.

"Don't push! Don't push! Give the general some breathing room!"

Li Cenji pushed through the crowd and squeezed in.

Upon seeing this, my heart skipped a beat.

Zheng Tian lay face up in the arms of his advisor Sun Chu, his eyes closed, his face as pale as paper, and his lips bluish-black.

The registrar, Sun Chu, supported the back of his head with one hand and gently stroked his chest with the other. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead as he kept calling out:

"Marshal! Marshal! Wake up!"

Li Cenji stood at the door, his gaze sweeping across the hall.

Military Commander Li Changyan was the first to recover his senses. Seeing Li Cenji push open the door and enter, he hurriedly said:

"Lieutenant Li! Quickly! Go and fetch a doctor! The best doctor in the city!"

Li Cenji responded, but did not turn around immediately. Instead, he first summoned a guard outside the door and whispered the order:

"Go and fetch a doctor, and do it quickly. Just remember, don't make a big fuss, don't make a fuss, just quietly invite him. If anyone asks, just say... say that one of our personal guards has eaten something bad and is vomiting and having diarrhea, and we need a doctor to come and take a look."

The imperial guard received the order and dashed out in a flash.

Upon hearing this, Li Changyan couldn't help but glance at Li Cenji again, secretly nodding in approval:

This fair-skinned young man, who rose to power through connections, was quite composed and knew how to conceal his true intentions.

Before long, the imperial guard led an old doctor with a white beard, panting as he ran in.

The doctor was a man of the world; upon entering and seeing the scene, he knew the matter was no small thing. Without asking any further questions, he hurriedly stepped forward to take the pulse.

He then took out silver needles from the medicine box and inserted them into acupoints all over Zheng Tian's body.

The room was completely silent; you could hear a pin drop.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Zheng Tian's pale old face, and no one dared to breathe.

Li Cenji stood by the door, calmly watching everything, but inwardly sighed.

He knew that Zheng Tian's illness was no minor symptom.

As far as he knew, Zheng Tian suffered a stroke during this bout of intense anger.

Although he managed to recover somewhat and was still able to manage affairs, he eventually developed a chronic illness and died in depression a few years later.

Of course, he couldn't say this, nor dared he say it.

After about half a cup of tea's time, Zheng Tian finally let out a hoarse sound:

"Well--"

It felt like something stuck in my throat had been cleared away.

Then, his eyelids trembled and he slowly opened them.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

But before they could even catch their breath, everyone realized something was wrong.

Although Zheng Tian opened his eyes, he was still quite lucid. He rolled his eyes, seemingly trying to recognize the faces of the people in front of him.

He opened his mouth several times, but only made hoarse "ah...ah..." sounds from his throat, intermittent and indistinct, unable to utter a single coherent word.

He raised his right hand again, as if to point something or write something, but the hand fell limply to his side, trembling slightly.

The doctor hurriedly stepped forward, took the pulse again, examined the tongue coating, then stepped back two steps, bowed to the crowd, and said:

"My lords, this illness of yours is due to a sudden attack of internal heat on the heart, compounded by excessive fatigue, leading to a deficiency of both qi and blood, thus resulting in a stroke. Fortunately, the treatment was swift, preventing the injury from penetrating deep into the internal organs. However… this illness comes on like a landslide, but recovery is slow and gradual. It may take anywhere from ten days to over a month for you to gradually recover. In the next few days, you must absolutely avoid any mental or physical exertion and focus on rest. If you were to agitate your liver again or overexert yourself, I fear…"