Chapter 444: Leaving the Mountain

With the Hebei rebellion, many things across the Great Tang changed.

The government's word no longer seemed to carry quite the same authority.

Localities were no longer as diligent in carrying out government decrees.

For another example, the surveillance and house arrest surrounding Crown Prince Li Chang, who was "praying for blessings" at the foot of Mount Hua, slackened almost overnight.

Because everyone understood that regardless of whether the court succeeded in suppressing the rebellion or the rebel army purged the emperor's entourage, there would be no place for Li Chang in the future.

The "legitimacy" of Li Chang's position as Crown Prince derived from Jige's authority. And this rebellion would greatly weaken Jige's imperial power—when the skin is gone, where will the hair attach? Once Jige lost power, naturally no one would give Li Chang a second glance.

It was foreseeable that legitimacy through rites and law would be born in the course of suppressing the rebellion—it all depended on which imperial prince could assume the office of "Grand Marshal of All Under Heaven" and take full charge of the suppression.

After the war, he would be the undisputed, unchallengeable Crown Prince.

Until he ascended the throne.

But in any case, Li Chang, who had already offended Jige beyond all repair, had lost every possibility in this game.

Such a spent man naturally had no value worth guarding—even if he defected to Huangfu Weiming's side, the other party would not take him.

Li Chang also featured prominently in Huangfu Weiming's "denunciation proclamation," which described him as "incompetent and foolish, cruel and tyrannical, lecherous and greedy, ignorant and unlearned, offering his wife to curry favor."

Since it was the "Four Princes" issuing the proclamation, Li Chang was of course a target to be struck down and dealt with—there was no doubt about this. Huangfu Weiming would not do him any favors either.

Li Chang turned a deaf ear to all of this, letting it go in one ear and out the other. He had long known that the north was bound to rebel.

Wei Jian's last attempt at persuasion had come to nothing, and now this was the follow-up. The outcome proved that the things Li Chang did not care about, many imperial princes cared about very much. They all very much wanted to sit in the supreme seat.

Early that morning, Crown Prince Li Chang was strolling at the foot of Mount Hua, climbing slowly, feeling the breath of spring after the Lantern Festival.

The river waters had thawed, green grass was sprouting, and birds soared across the sky—a scene brimming with vitality.

Li Chang suddenly felt that becoming a monk here, far from the worldly dust, might not be so bad after all. He was truly sick and tired of all the scheming, betrayal, and manipulation.

However, just as Li Chang could not help but sigh with emotion, the narrow mountain path he was climbing was blocked by a young Daoist priest.

Li Chang instinctively shifted a step to the left, yielding to the person coming down the mountain. Unexpectedly, the other party moved in the same direction, still blocking his path.

"Daoist friend, please go first."

Li Chang made a courteous gesture of invitation.

But that young Daoist priest smiled and said:

"Your Highness, in life you belong to the imperial clan, and in death your soul belongs to the imperial clan. From birth, you have been unable to transcend this cycle. The hunger and cold of the mortal world have nothing to do with you, and the freedom of the mortal world is likewise beyond your reach.

Your Highness can no longer run away."

That single sentence pierced straight into Li Chang's heart!

He looked at the somewhat familiar young Daoist priest with a horrified expression, suddenly seeming to recall something, and asked in confusion: "Are you... Li Mi?"

"Indeed. I have come specifically to find Your Highness on this trip."

Li Mi did not deny it, nodding slightly, his calm bearing carrying a trace of barely perceptible confidence.

Li Mi, who had spent years traveling famous mountains and great rivers, now bore an added measure of confidence and a touch less arrogance. The superficial gloss washed away, returning to original simplicity.

"You probably still don't know my situation, so there's no need to waste time, is there."

Li Chang waved his hand gently, turned around, and headed down the mountain toward the Three Purities Hall.

Persuaders like Li Mi were far too many. He was merely the best-presented one among them.

"Your Highness, this humble Daoist has come to Mount Hua this time specifically to recommend someone to Your Highness—someone who can help Your Highness turn the tide."

Li Mi said this unhurriedly, not the least bit flustered.

Hearing this, a helpless smile appeared on Li Chang's face. He sighed and said:

"Are you just like Huangfu Weiming now? Before, Wei Jian came to urge me to join the rebels, and now you come too. What is the point of such things?

I already find it all utterly pointless."

"Your Highness, people differ from one another, and matters differ as well.

That person is right now inside the Three Purities Hall. Please simply accompany this humble Daoist to meet him.

Afterward, whether the matter succeeds or not, as long as Your Highness nods, this humble Daoist will not say another word."

Li Mi bowed with hands clasped to Li Chang.

"Very well then."

Li Chang nodded slightly and said no more. He knew that if he did not go meet this mysterious person today, Li Mi would not leave.

Li Chang was now someone who dreaded trouble.

The two came together to the Three Purities Hall of the Western March Temple, less than ten li from the foot of the mountain. Upon arriving, they found that all idlers had been dismissed. A man whose hair had already gone gray, appearing to be over fifty, was kneeling on a cushion, devoutly kowtowing and paying respects to the divine statue within the hall.

"Your Highness has arrived a bit late."

The man turned around and looked at Li Chang with a smile on his face.

"So it's actually you..."

Li Chang's face was filled with shock. This was the last person he ever expected to come—it was actually that trusted confidant of the Son of Heaven, a senior figure who had been by his side since before his ascension to the throne:

Fang Youde!

"Your Highness should still address this humble official as Military Commissioner of the Loyal Martial Army, Eastern Capital Keeper, and concurrently Prefect of Henan."

Fang Youde corrected him with a solemn expression.

"But those official titles..."

Li Chang was no three-year-old child. He of course understood what those official titles implied.

"This humble official intends to forge an edict to seize power, and requests that Your Highness accompany this humble official to Luoyang to take charge of the overall situation."

Fang Youde said this as a matter of course, not finding the slightest problem in his absurd words.

Li Mi urged from the side:

"Your Highness, Jiedushi Fang is joking with you. In truth, the Crane Control Army has already entered Luoyang and taken over the city's defenses, calling on the soldiers and civilians to defend the city together. If the Son of Heaven cannot defend Luoyang, the Crown Prince must defend it at least. Otherwise, it might be better to yield that throne to Li Wan.

Eastern Capital Keeper Li Cheng and Palace Censor Lu Yi have already been persuaded by Jiedushi Fang and are ready for Your Highness to take control of Luoyang."

"But..."

Li Chang still had much more to say, but Fang Youde waved his hand and said: "Most of those who were monitoring Your Highness are willing to follow Your Highness to share in the nation's peril together. I ask the Crown Prince to depart at once."

Only now did Li Chang faintly detect an elusive scent of blood within the hall, and he suddenly understood what Fang Youde had done.

What happened to the "majority" goes without saying; as for the fate of that "minority," one need not ask.

"Fang Quanzhong, are you not the Sage's trusted confidant? Do you know what you are actually doing?"

Li Chang looked at Fang Youde with a grave expression and demanded.

Li Mi also watched Fang Youde with an amused expression, wanting to hear what kind of explanation he could come up with.

"Your Highness, what I have been loyal to has always been the Great Tang, never any single person.

Whoever can make the Great Tang prosper, to them I pledge my loyalty."

Fang Youde cupped his fists in salute to Li Chang.

Seeing that Li Chang was wavering, Fang Youde added one more emphasis:

"If Your Highness successfully defends Luoyang, ascending the throne in the future will be a matter of course.

If Your Highness fails to defend the city, sharing in the nation's peril is also a worthy death.

Whatever else Your Highness wishes to ask now, I will answer one by one."

"Nothing more. Let us go."

Li Chang gave a slight nod and took the lead in stepping out of the Hall of Three Purities.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and looked at Li Mi, asking: "Is this your Longzhong Plan?"

Hearing this, Li Mi cupped his hands in salute to Li Chang and said: "The Great Tang's century-old foundation cannot simply be destroyed like this. There are many things Your Highness cannot escape. The things the Son of Heaven ought to do but does not do must always be done by someone—for instance, the Crown Prince."

Clearly, Li Mi tacitly acknowledged Li Chang's characterization.

In truth, it was indeed Li Mi who had sought out Fang Youde at the first opportunity and obtained his full support.

The latter marched troops from Bianzhou to Luoyang with lightning speed, combining grace and authority, and persuaded the local Luoyang garrison and Henan Prefecture officials with appeals to righteousness to welcome the Crown Prince into Luoyang to take charge of the overall situation.

Because those people had also been badly frightened by the Hebei rebellion and urgently needed a backbone! Fang Youde leading several thousand men of the Loyal Martial Army into Hulao Pass to block the rebels' westward advance was precisely the reassurance they needed.

Li Chang finally understood the reason these two heavyweights supported him.

Brother Ji had disappointed everyone thoroughly! Even including the staunch confidants at his side!

These people might not possibly rebel and stand on Huangfu Weiming's side. But neither could they possibly equate Brother Ji with the Great Tang as they once did.

After so many years of Brother Ji's perverse governance, accumulated over time, people's hearts had ultimately changed.

But these people's support was not given freely, nor unconditionally.

This required Li Chang to prove himself in the imminent suppression of the rebellion. Luoyang was bound to be the center of the great battle, the core of the storm.

If he could hold Luoyang, he would also preserve the Crown Prince's legitimacy. In the future, even if Brother Ji wanted to change the Crown Prince, it would not be so easy a matter.

And if he could not hold Luoyang, it would suffice to prove that the Crown Prince himself was a worthless fool, better off dying heroically beneath the rebels' blades.

Moreover, even if he ascended the throne in the future, merits would still need to be rewarded accordingly—this was politics.

The road ahead was still long, with no end in sight.

The party arrived at the main road, and Fang Youde's subordinate general Li Jiaqing stepped forward and saluted: "Jiedushi, all preparations are complete. Let us now proceed to the Eastern Capital via the Two Capitals Express Road."

"Your Highness, please."

Fang Youde drew back the carriage curtain and made an inviting gesture.

Li Chang glanced back at the towering Mount Hua, then looked at the faintly discernible Western March Temple, and could not help but let out a long sigh.

He knew there was nothing he could do. Once in Luoyang, he would be nothing more than a large "mascot."

The only role he could play was to stabilize people's hearts.

Then again, if the realm were to collapse, could he even remain at Mount Hua?

Seen this way, this journey seemed imperative.

As for whether going to Luoyang would offend Brother Ji, Li Chang could not care less about that.

The whole world was already in such chaos—what was there left to say!

Li Chang felt he was just like those birds flying into the sky at the foot of Mount Hua. They appeared quite free, yet were not necessarily truly free.

When to take flight, when to land—none of it was up to them.

……

Weizhou had forty-eight thousand households, seemingly not few, but they were distributed across Liyang, Wei County, Ji County, Gongcheng, Xinxiang, and other places, with the population very scattered. Most of these places had fallen into rebel hands.

Ji County now had fewer than five thousand people; those who could flee had long since crossed to the south bank of the Yellow River. The militia troops who had once served and been reorganized numbered fewer than five hundred; even if every able-bodied young man were mobilized, it would amount to no more than a thousand or so.

The weak defeating the strong was, after all, a miracle—not something that could happen every day. When Yin Ziqi led his troops to attack Ji County for the second time, he captured the city walls in the first assault.

It could be said to have fallen at a single stroke.

Nan Jiyun, who had long been prepared, covered Yuan Jie, Du Fu, and the others as they broke out from the south.

Due to the formidable reputation he had previously established, the rebels were somewhat hesitant, so Nan Jiyun hacked a bloody path. By the time the group fled in sorry state to the neighboring Heyin County, only a few people remained at Yuan Jie's side.

And among them, Du Fu was not included.

Three days later, beneath the walls of Xiangzhou, blades and spears stood like a forest, stern and solemn.

Tens of thousands of rebel troops had already besieged Yecheng so tightly that not a drop of water could slip through. Wang Tao, the Inspector of Xiangzhou, refused to surrender and organized the city's soldiers and civilians to defend it.

The rebel forces under Huangfu Weiming's command adopted a certain "flanking assault" tactic this time.

They continually encroached upon the commanderies and counties surrounding Xiangzhou and drove away those who would not submit. All who were unwilling to surrender and could flee had fled to Xiangzhou.

After all, this was the largest strategic stronghold on the north bank of the Yellow River, bar none. The officially registered households numbered over sixty thousand, with a population in the hundreds of thousands.

After sweeping the outskirts of Xiangzhou clean, the rebel forces surrounded Xiangzhou entirely, seemingly in no rush to storm it.

Li Guiren dispatched a fast horse to report to Huangfu Weiming, who traveled day and night to Xiangzhou to oversee the grand plan for the siege.

In truth, Huangfu Weiming's caution had an obvious intent. The Hebei rebels needed a bridgehead from which to advance from Hebei into Henan. This place had to have a large population with no shortage of labor, had to have tall and sturdy city walls, and moreover had to have convenient transportation, in order to concentrate their forces.

Clearly, in Hebei only Ye City met these conditions.

"Marshal, I hear Du Fu writes excellent poetry. Why not have him compose a few poems for you, praising the Marshal's brilliance and martial prowess?"

Looking at the trembling, disheveled Du Fu before him, Yin Ziqi made the suggestion to the stern Huangfu Weiming.

To kill a man and destroy his heart—many times, dealing with someone requires no blade. Everyone present understood Yin Ziqi's sinister intent, yet none spoke it aloud.

Du Fu came from the Jingzhao Du clan; in their eyes, he was exactly the sort of person who deserved to be dealt with!

He warranted no sympathy!

After Yin Ziqi captured him, they had all planned to watch this minor official of considerable poetic talent flatter them, a pack of rough soldiers!

"Du Zimei, this marshal has heard that you once wrote the line: 'I shall ascend to the absolute summit, and look down upon all mountains as small.'"

"Truly fine poetry."

"The Marshal praises me undeservedly, undeservedly."

Du Fu performed the crossed-hand salute with utmost care, his head bowed very low, not daring at all to look at Huangfu Weiming.

He thought to himself that things were dire, calculating how to escape. But no matter how he thought about it, he felt utterly at a loss.

"How about this: you now enter Ye City as my army's envoy and persuade Inspector Wang Tao of Xiang Province to open the city and surrender. What say you?"

His Highness the Prince of Rong has already been named Crown Prince, and will soon enter Guanzhong and proceed to Chang'an to ascend the throne. When that time comes, you too will be a minister who followed the dragon."

Huangfu Weiming smiled at Du Fu, clearly having taken the intent to recruit him.

Du Fu very much wanted to ask, "Can I not go?" But seeing the heavily armed guards beside Huangfu Weiming, and the unfriendly gazes of the Hebei generals—

That word "no" stayed stuck in his throat, unable to come out.

"Eh?

Marshal, at the very least you should let Du Zimei show his skill! The man has considerable talent!

Why not have him write a surrender poem, so the generals can enjoy it as well."

Yin Ziqi was deeply vindictive. Huangfu Weiming had strictly forbidden him from massacring the city, and the grudge from his last great embarrassment had to find a target for revenge!

Nan Jiyun and Yuan Jie had fled quickly, and for now he could do nothing about them, so he would just have to make things difficult for Du Fu.

"I am truly terrified right now. I cannot write anything."

Du Fu said to Huangfu Weiming with a helpless expression, performing the crossed-hand salute.

Yin Ziqi was just about to lose his temper when he saw Huangfu Weiming wave his hand and say to Du Fu, "Change into a military uniform, and go at once into Ye City to urge their surrender."

His tone carried an unquestionable authority.

(End of this chapter)