Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

But as soon as the song ended, before the lingering sound had even faded, the sound of shattering cups and goblets, the screams of dancers, and the muffled thuds of bodies falling to the ground came from the main hall.

Everyone was startled. The leader of the group suddenly drew his sword and shouted sharply:

"Oh no! Something's happened in the hall!"

Dozens of soldiers drew their swords and surged into the courtyard like a tide, heading straight for the main hall.

The first few soldiers kicked open the half-closed hall door and were about to rush in when they all stopped in their tracks.

They spotted the young man holding a knife and holding Peng Gong hostage in the hall, who was coldly scanning them with his tiger-like eyes.

The soldiers, swords in hand, stood at the threshold, unsure whether to advance or retreat, exchanging bewildered glances.

The leader of the team swallowed hard, mustered his courage, took a half-step forward, and was about to speak.

Li Cenji spoke first.

His voice was not loud, but every word was clear, like the clash of metal, resounding and powerful.

"I am a descendant of Prince Zheng Yuanyi, a great-great-grandson of Emperor Gaozu, a great-nephew of Emperor Taizong, a grandson of Li Kuangyi, and a son of Li Yihuai."

Li Cenji never spoke of his background and kept a low profile, so much so that many people only knew that he was a member of the Imperial Guards under a privileged position, but did not know that he had such a distinguished background.

At this moment, he introduced himself, his voice firm and resounding, and the aura of a member of the imperial family was so overwhelming that everyone in the room dared not look him in the eye.

Li Cenji's gaze swept over the guards at the gate, and he continued in a stern voice:

"This eunuch Peng Jingrou, deeply favored by the Emperor and appointed as military supervisor, has no intention of repaying the favor. Instead, he publicly hosted a banquet for Huang Chao's envoys, attempting to coerce the generals into surrendering the city to the rebels! I have captured this scoundrel today to cleanse the court of treacherous officials and eliminate a national villain! Anyone who dares to move is an accomplice to the rebels! When reinforcements arrive, kill them without mercy and exterminate their entire family!"

These words were spoken with murderous intent, leaving no room for negotiation.

The soldiers at the gate looked at each other, their feet rooted to the spot, and dared not take another step forward.

They were hesitant to act for fear of causing serious harm.

Peng Jingrou was still under Li Cenji's blade. If he rushed in rashly, the blade would slice through him and the supervising officer would die instantly.

At that time, regardless of who is right or wrong, those of them as subordinates will be implicated.

What's more, the melody of "Qin King's Battle Song" still echoed in my ears, the lyrics and music of war and the glory of the Tang Dynasty stirring my heart and lingering for a long time.

They were to rush in right now to save a eunuch who was about to defect to the enemy and kill a member of the royal family.

They can't do it.

The leader of the team hesitated for a moment, then slowly lowered his raised hand and whispered:

"Step back...all of you step back and obey Lieutenant Li's orders."

The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief and retreated several steps in unison, lowering their swords and spears, but they still stood around the doorway, not daring to disperse.

Peng Jingrou was held tightly in Li Cenji's arms, the short blade pressed against his throat, cold and piercing.

He could feel Wang Jing's blood dripping down his neck from the blade, sticky and with a rusty, metallic smell.

His legs trembled slightly, and his robes rustled. However, he was a man who had been working in the palace for decades. Although he was afraid, he managed to maintain a semblance of composure on his face.

He took a deep breath, his voice tight from the blade in his throat, yet still carrying a hint of accusation:

"Li Cenji, how...how dare you do this?"

Upon hearing this, Li Cenji's lips curled into a sneer:

"That's a strange question, Peng Gong."

His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the hall could hear it clearly.

"I would like to ask you, Lord Peng, you have received great favors from the Emperor, and were entrusted with the task of inspecting Fengxiang and Longyou on his behalf. But how did you repay the Emperor? This morning, Lord Zheng was unconscious due to rheumatism, and this afternoon you held a banquet at your home, invited Huang Chao's envoy, and, in the name of Lord Zheng, drafted a letter of thanks, offering the imperial seal and ribbon, intending to hand over the city of Fengxiang to the rebels. You coerced the generals, forcing them to join the rebels. Is this your duty as the military supervisor?"

With each word he spoke, Peng Jingrou's face paled a little more.

"I, Li Cenji, am a member of the Tang imperial family, a great-great-grandson of Emperor Gaozu, receiving the salary and wearing the crown of the Tang Dynasty. How can I stand by and watch you, a eunuch, hand over Fengxiang City to that salt merchant Huang Chao?"

At this point, Li Cenji suddenly raised his head and swept his gaze across the faces of all the generals and officials in the hall.

Those officers and generals who had just been dejected and tacitly surrendered now turned their faces away uncomfortably when he swept his gaze over them.

Some people lowered their heads, some pretended to cough, and some wiped their faces with their sleeves, it was unclear whether they were wiping away sweat or tears.

Li Cenji naturally couldn't pursue the matter; in fact, he needed to find a way to save face for these officers and generals.

He said loudly:

"Peng Jingrou, do you really think the generals here are willing to surrender to the enemy with you? Open your eyes and look! Just now, the generals were weeping bitterly. Was it really because of Zheng Gong's stroke?"

Upon hearing this, Peng Jingrou's body stiffened abruptly.

Li Cenji's voice grew increasingly loud:

"What you generals are weeping for is the foundation of the Tang Dynasty's more than two hundred years of history! What you are weeping for is the empire that Emperor Taizong conquered on horseback! What you are weeping for is that you, as generals of the Tang Dynasty, cannot fight for your country against the enemy, but are instead coerced by you, a eunuch, into surrendering your cities! What you are weeping for is loyalty, integrity, and conscience!"

These words were like knives, each sentence piercing the heart.

Upon hearing this, the officers and soldiers in the hall blushed with shame and felt utterly embarrassed.

They had indeed tacitly agreed to surrender and bowed their heads before Huang Chao's envoy.

Now that Li Cenji has said it so bluntly, it's even more painful than being beaten with a stick.

However, Li Cenji's words were cleverly worded.

He was clearly rebuking these officers for their lack of integrity, but his words implied that he was placing all the blame on Peng Jingrou.

They said that Peng Jingrou "coerced" them, and that they "could not" kill traitors for the country.

This gives everyone a way out and an opportunity to make a new choice.

The first to react was Li Changyan.

Although the military commander of Fengxiang had tacitly agreed to surrender earlier, it was only because Zheng Tian was seriously ill, the group was leaderless, and the situation was beyond his control; it was not because he was truly willing to surrender to the enemy.

Seeing that Li Cenji had already beheaded the traitor and captured the military supervisor, and that the words were already on his lips, if he still didn't know how to respond, then he would have truly wasted the last few decades of his life.

Li Changyan slammed his hand on the table, making the dishes clang loudly, and stood up abruptly, his face full of anger. He pointed at Peng Jingrou and began to curse:

"Peng Jingrou! You eunuch, how dare you! You actually dared to secretly collude with the traitor Huang Chao behind Zheng Gong's back, trying to coerce us into surrendering to the rebels! We were merely feigning agreement just now to keep you and that traitorous envoy in check. Once we return to our camp, we will send troops into the city to capture and kill Huang Chao's envoy, then capture you, eunuch, and escort you to Chengdu to ask the Emperor to punish you!"

His words were righteous and impassioned, as if he were not the one who had just sat there silently, tacitly surrendering.

Li Changfu stood up right after his brother and pointed at Peng Jingrou, cursing:

"Indeed! We have received the nation's favor for generations, how could we surrender to traitors! We only refrained from acting openly earlier because of the large number of soldiers in your military command! Now that Commandant Li has taken action, we should all work together to eliminate the traitors!"

With these two brothers taking the lead, how could the other officers and soldiers not understand how to act?

In an instant, the crowd in the hall was filled with indignation, and shouts of curses rose and fell.

"Peng Jingrou! You spineless eunuch! How dare you commit such a heinous act!"

"We are utterly loyal to the Tang Dynasty; how could you, a mere eunuch, possibly sway us!"

"Kill this eunuch! Send his head to Chengdu and report it to the Emperor as a reward!"

"Yes! Kill this eunuch!"

The crowd cursed louder and more indignantly than the last, as if the louder their voices, the more they could prove their loyalty.

Those who had been weeping earlier were now crying even harder, but only they themselves knew the true reason for their tears.

Sun Chu, sitting at the table, witnessed this scene and felt a mix of emotions.

He could naturally see the intention behind Li Cenji's words, and he could also see that the generals' current statements were merely going with the flow and taking advantage of the situation.

If Li Cenji hadn't suddenly launched his attack, hadn't killed the traitorous envoy with a single stroke, and hadn't taken Peng Jingrou hostage, these officers and generals would probably have obediently signed their names on the letter of thanks and become Huang Chao's subjects long ago.

But so what?

At least for this moment, Li Cenji, with a short blade, boundless courage, and the song "Qin King's Battle Song," managed to pull the situation back from the brink of disaster.

At least for now, Fengxiang City has not yet fallen into Huang Chao's hands.

At least for now, the banners of the Tang Dynasty still flutter in the wind atop the city walls.

That's enough.

Sun Chu stood up, straightened his clothes, bowed deeply to Li Cenji, and said:

"Jingzhi's actions today are as righteous as the sun and moon. I am ashamed and speechless. I can only express my gratitude to Commandant Li on behalf of Lord Zheng and the tens of thousands of people of Fengxiang."

He spoke earnestly, and his eyes reddened even more.

Li Cenji glanced at Sun Chu, nodded slightly, but said nothing more.

His knife was still pressed against Peng Jingrou's neck, and he dared not relax his grip for the slightest.

Peng Jingrou's face was ashen at this moment.

He knew he was finished.

It's completely over.

Li Cenji's strike not only severed Wang Jing's escape route, but also Peng Jingrou's.

The defection of his generals cemented his reputation as a "traitor."

Even if he were to escape with his life today, if the news were to reach the Emperor's ears, he would surely die.

But he was not willing to give up.

He stared intently at Li Cenji, his voice hoarse, as if squeezed out from between his teeth:

"Li Cenji, you...you think you've won? Huang Chao's army is right here in Chang'an, ready to march west at any moment. With just these two towns of Fengxiang and Longyou, and with your mere ten or twenty thousand soldiers, how can you possibly stop Huang Chao's hundreds of thousands of troops? You kill me today, but when Huang Chao breaches the city tomorrow, you will die just the same! Everyone in this city will be buried with me!"

Upon hearing this, Li Cenji burst out laughing.

He lowered his head, looking at the expression of shock, fear, and a hint of resentment on Peng Jingrou's plump face, and said:

"Master Peng, what you're saying is quite ignorant."

With the blade pressed against his throat, Peng Jingrou dared not move, yet he still stubbornly held his neck and hissed:

"What...what do you mean by that?"

Li Cenji did not rush to answer. Instead, he raised his head, his gaze sweeping over the officers and generals in the hall before finally settling on Peng Jingrou's face. His tone was unhurried, yet every word was clear:

"Just now, Lord Peng said that Fengxiang, a mere two towns, could not withstand Huang Chao's hundreds of thousands of troops. If someone else had said that, it would have been understandable. But Lord Peng, you have been managing this place for so long, yet you haven't even grasped the advantages of Fengxiang's terrain?"

Peng Jingrou's face stiffened.

Li Cenji continued, his voice gradually rising:

"Fengxiang is a strategically important location, backed by the Qishan Mountains to the north, whose continuous mountain ranges form a natural barrier. To the south, it is bordered by the Wei and Yong Rivers, forming a natural moat. To the west, it is guarded by the Longshan Mountains, whose formidable defenses make it impregnable. To the east lies a flat plain, offering direct access to Chang'an. This strategically advantageous place is clearly a treasure trove, capable of both offense and defense. How could it be described by Lord Peng as a vulnerable and insurmountable predicament?"

With each word he spoke, the eyes of the officers and soldiers in the hall brightened a little more.

Most of these people had served in the army in Fengxiang and Longyou for many years, and were very familiar with the terrain and landscape.

However, these days, they were terrified by Huang Chao's unstoppable military advance, and the news of the emperor's westward flight was like a bucket of cold water poured over their heads.

With Zheng Tian suffering a stroke and the group leaderless, everyone was only thinking about how to save their own lives.

At this moment, Li Cenji's words invigorated the spirits of all the officers and soldiers, and their previous dejected mood immediately dissipated.

Peng Jingrou was speechless after Li Changyan's words. His face turned red, and his lips moved for a long time before he was about to retort.

Li Cenji was unwilling to argue with him any further, and simply flashed the short blade in his hand in front of Peng Jingrou's eyes.

The blood of Wang Jing on the blade was still wet, gleaming a dark red in the candlelight. It brushed past Peng Jingrou's nose, bringing with it a foul stench.

Peng Jingrou froze, swallowing back the words that were about to come out, not daring to utter another one.

Li Cenji stared into his eyes and said, word by word:

"Shut up."

Peng Jingrou's lips trembled violently twice before finally closing tightly.

Li Cenji then raised his head, his gaze passing over the generals and officials below the hall, and landing on Xu Tai, who was already staring in disbelief at the entrance of the hall.

Xu Tai was still clutching the two drumsticks in his hand, his square face filled with a mixture of shock and admiration.

Just now, Li Cenji suddenly launched an attack, beheaded the traitor, and captured the supervisor. The whole thing was done so smoothly and quickly that even this brute couldn't react in time.

By the time he came to his senses, Huang Chao's envoy was already lying in a pool of blood, and Peng Jingrou had become a prisoner under the knife.

Upon seeing Li Cenji's gaze fall upon him, Xu Tai shuddered, straightened his back abruptly, and clasped his hands in greeting:

"Captain!"

Li Cenji nodded slightly to him and gave the order in a deep voice:

"Xu Tai, you take the brothers and confiscate all the weapons and armor of the garrison soldiers in the supervisor's mansion. Remember, leave nothing behind."

Upon hearing this, Xu Tai's spirits lifted, and he responded loudly:

"Yes, sir!"

Having said that, he threw the drumsticks to the ground, drew the short knife he had kept hidden for a long time from his waist, and shouted:

"Brothers! Follow me!"

The twenty Imperial Guards had been waiting impatiently in the side hall for a long time.

Upon receiving the order, they charged out of the side hall like tigers released from their cages, drawing their hidden short blades from their bosoms, waists, and boots, and followed Xu Tai towards the courtyard.