Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

Chapter 76 Persuading Li Cenji? (Seeking first subscription, 4000 words)

"General, please take care of yourself!"

Sun Chu was sweating profusely with anxiety. "Although the defeat at Lishan was a major setback, Commander Cheng, Commander Qiu, and Commander Li are still holding their ground in the western suburbs. There might still be a chance for a turnaround—"

Zheng Tian waved his hand, stopping him from speaking.

He closed his eyes, leaned back on the pillow, his chest heaving violently. After a long while, he said in a hoarse voice, "Send orders to Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong to temporarily halt their eastward advance, set up camp on the spot, and not to make any rash moves. Also, send scouts to Chang'an to find out if Cheng Zongchu and the others are still there."

Sun Chu responded and turned to leave.

But as soon as he reached the tent entrance, he heard another burst of hurried footsteps outside.

Immediately afterward, a soldier helped a messenger stumble in, both beaming with joy. The soldier's voice trembled as he cried out, "General! Great news! A truly momentous occasion!"

Zheng Tian opened his eyes, looking at him weakly, and said indifferently, "What's the good news? Could it be that Cheng and Qiu have broken through?"

The messenger knelt down with a thud, presenting a letter with both hands, his voice trembling with excitement: "Huang Chao is dead! Li Liuhou launched a night attack on the rebel army's central camp, beheading Huang Chao amidst ten thousand soldiers! Chang'an has been recaptured!"

These two letters should not have been delivered so close together, but Cheng Zongchu requested that the good news be sent urgently, so the messenger, on three horses, worked day and night and just managed to arrive in time.

The tent fell silent instantly.

It was so quiet that you could hear the soft crackling of the candlelight, Zheng's heavy breathing, and the dull thud of the document falling from Sun Chu's hand to the ground.

Zheng Tian sat up abruptly, snatched the letter, and his fingers trembled so much that he could barely open the envelope.

He tore open the seal, pulled out the letter, and held it up to the candlelight to read it.

One word, two words, one line, two lines —

His gaze swept across the letter line by line, and a surge of wild joy gradually welled up in his old eyes, tears overflowing from them.

This veteran official, who served three dynasties and two terms as prime minister, single-handedly held up the Guanzhong region during the turbulent times of the Tang Dynasty, held that letter in his hands, tears silently streaming down his wrinkled face.

"well----"

His voice choked, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence. He just kept repeating the word, as if he wanted to release all the worries and anxieties that had been building up in his heart over the past few days with that word.

Sun Chu stood aside, his eyes also reddening as he looked at Zheng Tian's appearance.

Upon seeing this, the officers and soldiers in the tent all felt a lump in their throats. Some quietly turned their faces away, some lowered their heads, and some secretly wiped the corners of their eyes.

Zheng Tian cried for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before gradually stopping.

He wiped his face with his sleeve, read the letter again, then raised his head, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the tent, his voice hoarse but firm: "Take a look, all of you."

He handed the letter to Sun Chu, who took it with both hands and read it aloud.

When the text read, "Li Cenji personally led two thousand cavalrymen in a night raid on the enemy's central camp, breaking through three layers of fortifications and beheading Meng Kai and Gai Hong," a low murmur of surprise rang out in the tent.

When the text read, "Huang Chao, knowing he could not escape death, committed suicide, and I then took his head," the gasps of surprise turned into cheers.

When the final line, "In Chang'an, the rebel army surrendered at the mere sight of them, and the people welcomed the royal army with food and drink," was read, the cheers were deafening.

"What a brilliant Li Yu!"

"Truly a divine being!"

"Fengxiang has produced a true overlord!"

The tent was filled with jubilation; the gloom that had settled over the defeat at Lishan had vanished.

Zheng Tian leaned back on his pillow, listening to the cheers, and a smile finally appeared on his lips. That smile contained relief, pride, and a hint of indescribable emotion.

"Quiet, oh quiet—"

He murmured, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you."

After reading the letter, Sun Chu walked to the bedside, bowed, and said, "General, in this battle, Li Liuhou not only killed Huang Chao, but also captured more than a hundred civil and military officials, including Zhao Zhang, the self-proclaimed Qi official, and nearly ten thousand soldiers surrendered. He also seized countless loads of grain and fodder. This achievement is comparable to that of Guo Ziyi, the Prince of Fenyang in his time."

Zheng Tian shook his head and laughed, "The Prince of Fenyang recovered the two capitals, his achievements are unparalleled. How could I, Jingzhi, dare to compare with him? However—for his age, to have accomplished such a feat is already extraordinary. When I was his age, I was still a scholar in the Hanlin Academy, and I couldn't even hold a sword properly."

Everyone in the tent burst into laughter.

Zheng Tian laughed for a while, then suddenly stopped laughing and said seriously, "Send down the order to send both the documents on the defeat at Lishan and the great victory at Chang'an to Chengdu by fast horse and present them to the Emperor. Also, draft another memorial to report in detail on Li Cenji's achievements in this battle and request the Emperor to reward him."

Sun Chu responded and immediately went to do it.

Zheng Tian then summoned a military officer and instructed him, "Go to each camp and spread the word that Huang Chao is dead and Chang'an has been recovered, so that the soldiers no longer need to worry. Also, have the cooks slaughter a few more pigs for an extra meal tonight as a celebration."

The officer happily agreed and ran out.

Before long, the various camps of the military headquarters were in an uproar.

"Huang Chao is dead! Li Liuhou killed Huang Chao!"

"Chang'an has been recaptured! We've won!"

"Extra meal! Extra meal tonight! The cooks have slaughtered a pig!"

Cheers rose in waves, echoing across the camp.

The soldiers spread the news, some hugged each other, laughing and jumping, some knelt on the ground and kowtowed to the sky, some drank heartily from their wine bowls, and some threw their helmets into the air.

The officers and soldiers of Fengxiang town were especially proud of this.

Li Cenji was the military governor of Fengxiang and Longyou, and he was their general.

He made such a great contribution that the entire Fengxiang Army was proud of him.

"Did you hear that? Our Commander Li killed Huang Chao!"

"Of course! We beheaded Shang Rang at Longwei Slope and Huang Chao outside Chang'an. Our Commander Li is specifically dedicated to killing bandit leaders!"

The officers and soldiers of Fengxiang all stood tall with their chests out and bellies tucked in, walking with a swagger.

Zheng Tian leaned against the pillow, listening to the waves of cheers outside the tent, and the smile on his lips grew deeper and deeper.

He gazed at the dim oil lamp on the tent ceiling, pondering what to do next.

Chang'an was recovered, and Huang Chao was dead, but the world was not yet at peace.

Those regional military governors, those regional military commanders, those court officials with ulterior motives—every single one of them needed to be dealt with.

However, that's a matter for the future.

At least for today, he can finally get a good night's sleep.

He closed his eyes, listened to the cheers outside the tent, and gradually drifted off to sleep.

In his dream, he saw a young man wearing bright armor, holding a long spear, riding a yellow horse, galloping freely among thousands of troops.

Behind the young man, two large banners fluttered in the wind, one bearing a huge "Li" character and the other bearing a "Tang" character.

Zheng Tian smiled in his dream.

He laughed heartily and contentedly, like a gardener watching the sapling he planted with his own hands finally grow into a towering tree, his heart filled with satisfaction and pride.

Chang'an, Dali Temple Prison.

This prison, which held serious criminals of the imperial court, had been vacant for a long time after Huang Chao entered Chang'an.

Now that Huang Chao is dead, all the captured officials and military officers of the pseudo-Qi regime have been brought here.

The prison cells were divided into two levels, built of bluestone, with iron doors and windows, and were cold and damp.

The torches on the wall burned fiercely, casting swaying shadows on the stone wall, like a chaotic dance of demons.

The air was filled with a nauseating stench of mold, blood, and excrement.

Go down the iron stairs from the upper level, and you'll find a long passageway.

There was a row of cells on each side of the passageway. Each cell was only about ten feet square, but it held seven or eight people, so crowded that it was difficult to even turn over.

The prisoners were either sitting or lying down; some were staring blankly against the wall, some were huddled in a corner trembling, and some were lying on the ground sobbing softly.

Cries rose and fell.

"Waaaaah—I was originally an official of the Tang Dynasty, but I was forced to surrender to Huang Chao. The court won't kill me, will it? They won't kill me, will they?"

A middle-aged scholar huddled in a corner, hugging his knees, trembling all over, repeatedly muttering the same phrase, whether to comfort himself or to seek approval from others, it was unclear.

"You? You were forced into this situation?"

A burly man with a fierce face sneered, spitting as he spoke, "I was forced into this! I'm a farmer from Fujian. Huang Chao's army occupied the village. If I didn't obey, my whole family would die! Who would have thought that I'd become a general fighting alongside Huang Chao on the battlefield—what could I do? What could I do!"

As he spoke, his voice lowered, finally turning into a long sigh. He buried his head between his knees and said no more.

"Why are you crying? What's the use of crying?"

Another hoarse voice rang out, "When you joined the rebellion with King Huang, you should have known this day would come. The victor is king, the loser is villain; it has always been this way. If crying could save your life, I'll cry with you."

The speaker had a thin face, high cheekbones, and triangular eyes.

He sat cross-legged on a straw mat, leaning against the cold stone wall, his eyes closed, his fingers unconsciously drawing circles on the ground.

This man was none other than Zhao Zhang, one of the four prime ministers of the pseudo-Qi state and a strategist under Huang Chao.

Huang Chao told him to escape and become a wealthy man, but where could he possibly escape to?

Unsurprisingly, he was also captured by the Tang army.

After Zhao Zhang said this, the prison became quieter.

But the silence lasted only a moment before the crying resumed, even more heart-wrenching than before.

"I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"

A man in his thirties rushed to the iron fence, gripped the bars with both hands, and shook them desperately, making the chains rattle.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face was streaked with tears, and his voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "I can't die, I can't die!"

"Huang Ye, that's enough!"

A deep voice rang out in the cell, tinged with impatience and weariness, "Even if you break the iron bars, what good will it do? Save your energy."

The speaker was Zhu Wen.

He sat in the innermost corner of the cell, leaning against the stone wall, one leg bent, his arm resting on his knee, his head hanging down, his expression unreadable.

His robes were covered in blood and mud, his hair was disheveled, and his face was ashen. He was a far cry from the once mighty and awe-inspiring general who once dominated the battlefield.

Upon hearing his voice, Huang Ye turned around abruptly, rushed to Zhu Wen's side, and cried out hoarsely, "Brother Zhu! Brother Zhu! You must think of something! You are a valiant general under our elder brother, the court might spare your life! Please speak for me, please speak for me! I don't want to die, I really don't want to die!"

Zhu Wen slowly raised his head and glanced at him.

There was pity, helplessness, and a hint of annoyance in that gaze.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back and just sighed heavily.

But Huang Ye thought he had a solution, so he repeatedly pleaded and kept tugging at Zhu Wen's sleeve.

"Huangye".

Zhu Wen, thoroughly annoyed, finally spoke, "Your elder brother is Huang Chao, your surname is Huang, and you are a direct descendant of the Huang family. Even if the court spares everyone else, it will never spare you. You—accept your fate."

Upon hearing this, Huang Ye trembled and his face turned deathly pale.

He loosened his sleeves, staggered back two steps, and fell to the ground with a thud. His lips trembled, but he couldn't utter a single word.

After a long while, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence, his voice almost pleading: "Brother Zhu—you—can't you think of a way? I—I really don't want to die—"

Zhu Wen closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

What can he do?

He himself was a prisoner, his fate unknown and his future uncertain.

If he could find a solution, he would have done so long ago. Why would he have waited until now?

But looking at Huang Ye's desperate face and listening to his repeated pleas, Zhu Wen grew increasingly impatient.

He opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping across the cell before finally settling on Zhao Zhang in the opposite cell.

"Huangye".

He lowered his voice, "I have an idea for you."

Huang Ye, as if grasping at a straw, scrambled to Zhu Wen's side and pleaded urgently, "What idea? Brother Zhu, tell me quickly!"

Zhu Wen gestured towards the opposite cell with his lip and whispered, "Go and beg Zhao Zhang."

"Zhao Zhang?"

Huang Ye was taken aback and turned to look at Zhao Zhang in the opposite cell.

Zhu Wen said, "Zhao Zhang is your elder brother's strategist. He has followed your elder brother for many years and is extremely loyal. Your elder brother has treated him well, so he will not sit idly by and watch the Huang family bloodline die out. If you go and ask him for help, he will remember your elder brother's kindness and might come up with a solution."

Upon hearing this, a glimmer of hope rekindled in Huang Ye's eyes.

He scrambled to his feet, staggered to the railing closest to Zhao Zhang, and knelt down with a thud, his voice choked with sobs: "Mr. Zhao! Mr. Zhao! Please save me! I don't want to die! Please think of a way to save me!"

Zhao Zhang had been resting with his eyes closed when he heard Huang Ye's cries and opened them.

He glanced at Huang Ye, a complex look flashing in his eyes, but said nothing and closed his eyes again.

Huang Ye thought he was unwilling to help, and became very anxious. He kowtowed repeatedly, his forehead hitting the cold stone ground with a dull "thump-thump" sound. In the blink of an eye, his flesh was covered in blood.

"Mr. Zhao! I beg you! I am my elder brother's only younger brother. He loved me the most when he was alive. If he were alive, how could he not be heartbroken to see me like this? Mr. Zhao, please, for the sake of my elder brother, save me!"

Zhao Zhang's eyelids twitched, and he finally opened his eyes again.

He was silent for a moment, then sighed deeply and said slowly, "General Huang, what are you doing? Get up and speak."