Chapter 53

The banquet at Huaqing Palace in the third year of Tianbao was like a stone thrown into a lake, the ripples it raised quickly dissipated.

Days seemed to have returned to their usual course.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) remained low-key, daily shuttling between government offices and the manor.

The Wang Family's business remained thriving, and the plan to move south was proceeding secretly and swiftly.

Jiangnan's land was bought up in large tracts, and new kiln workshops, silk manors, and tea shops sprang up like bamboo shoots after rain. The orphans personally selected by Fu Bo, in a dedicated school, were learning knowledge that could be said to surpass this. And Wang Ce, that energetic second son, was sent by Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) to Zhou Tong's command, beginning to receive harsher martial arts and military training.

Wang Xiu tried to bring everything under her control, constructing the strongest fortress for the impending chaotic age.

However, the wheels of history would not stop turning because of one person's efforts.

The winds in the Court grew ever more strange.

Li Linfu's power reached its peak. As chancellor, he envied talent and ability, suppressed dissent, and turned the entire Court into his personal fiefdom. Anyone whose talent and reputation might surpass his would be expelled from the capital by various means.

Many once-famous capable ministers and officials were either demoted or exiled, leaving the Court devoid of righteousness.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu), due to his lowly post, never took part in political struggles, and thus escaped the fallout.

But he keenly felt that the political ecosystem of the Tang Dynasty was rapidly deteriorating.

Li Linfu, to consolidate his power, proposed an extremely dangerous strategy—favoring barbarian generals, letting them command the frontier garrisons, to guard against accomplished Han generals entering the Court to become chancellors, which would threaten his position.

This strategy received the approval of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, who had long grown weary of Court affairs and sought only pleasure.

Thus, a gigantic monster began to grow wildly under everyone's tacit consent.

An Lushan, the fat man who danced the huixuan dance in Huaqing Palace, became the greatest beneficiary of this strategy.

In the third year of Tianbao, he was appointed as the military governor of Pinglu.

In the sixth year of Tianbao, he also concurrently held the post of military governor of Fanyang.

In the tenth year of Tianbao, he again concurrently held the post of military governor of Hedong.

One man holding the commands of three garrisons, he wielded nearly two hundred thousand of the Tang Dynasty's finest northern troops; his power was unprecedented.

Each year he brought vast quantities of rare treasures and heavy gold to Chang'an, bribing Court officials to curry favor with the emperor and the consort.

He adopted Yang Guifei, who was more than ten years his junior, as his 'dry mother'; each time he entered the palace, he first bowed to the consort, then to the emperor. When the emperor asked why, he earnestly replied, 'Our barbarian custom is to have a mother before a father.'

Such absurd behavior not only failed to alert Emperor Li Longji, but made him feel that An Lushan was loyally devoted to him, a 'good son' he could completely trust.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) felt a chill each time he saw An Lushan's fawning, ingratiating face from afar in the palace.

He knew this tiger had been fed too fat.

So fat that it was about to break free of its cage.

And just then, a new disturbance arose in the Court.

In the eleventh year of Tianbao, the all-powerful Li Linfu died of illness.

His death not only failed to improve the Court's situation, but made it even worse.

Because a more greedy, more foolish person had ascended to the pinnacle of power.

Yang Guozhong.

Yang Guifei's paternal cousin.

He relied on his marital connection to swiftly replace Li Linfu's position, becoming the new chancellor.

If Li Linfu was still a capable villain, then Yang Guozhong was pure stupidity; besides greed and excluding outsiders, he knew nothing of governance.

After taking office, the first thing he did was to contend with An Lushan for power and profit.

The two fought to the death in the Court.

Yang Guozhong constantly slandered An Lushan before the emperor, claiming he harbored rebellious intent; while An Lushan, each time, sent messengers riding hard to the emperor to lament that he was being framed by Yang Guozhong, insisting his loyalty to the Tang could be verified by sun and moon.

Emperor Li Longji was worn out by the two, but ultimately still chose to believe his 'good son' An Lushan.

He thought Yang Guozhong was merely jealous.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) coldly watched all this, with only one thought in mind.

Something was going to happen.

In the thirteenth year of Tianbao, all of the Wang Family's core industries in Luoyang and Chang'an had been quietly transferred to Jiangnan.

Wang Hui's wife Li Shi, accompanied by eldest son Wang You and third son Wang Qian, under the escort of hundreds of guards, left Luoyang under the pretext of 'visiting relatives to the south' and settled in Yangzhou, while her sister's family had already arrived in Jiangnan.

The entire vast Wang Family was almost completely moved out.

Only Wang Hui remained, along with his second son Wang Ce, who had grown into a heroic youth, still staying in Luoyang.

Wang Hui stayed because, as a Court-appointed official, he could not leave without cause. He needed to remain here to stand the final watch for his family, and also to witness firsthand the impending storm.

And Wang Ce stayed because he absolutely refused to go.

"Father! I won't go!" Wang Ce stood before Wang Hui, neck stiff, face full of stubbornness, "I want to stay in Luoyang! I want to go to battle, kill enemies, defend home and country! That's what a man ought to do!"

Although he had never told his family about the impending war, any observant person could sense that such massive mobilization would surely bring great events.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) looked at his son, his feelings a tangled mix.

He knew this was the effect of the 【martial arts excellence】 talent. This talent not only gave him a strong physique, but also a heart eager for battle and martial pursuits.

"Nonsense!" Wang Hui snapped, his face stern, "How old are you? Go to battle and kill enemies? Do you know what a battlefield is like? If you go, you'll just be throwing away your life!"

"I'm not afraid of death!" Flames burned in Wang Ce's eyes, "I've studied martial arts and military strategy for years not to become a rich gentleman in Jiangnan! Father, let me go! If the nation faces peril, how can our Wang Family hide in the rear!"

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu...... Xiu) was choked by his words, unable to speak for a long time.

What could he say?

Say he knew what would happen in the future? Say everything he did was to let the family survive in the chaotic age?

He could not say.

He looked at his son's face, full of ideals and hot blood, and for the first time doubted his own 'golden finger'.

He had given his son talent, planned his son's life.

But was this really right?

In the end, he still couldn't prevail over Wang Ce.

He could only agree to let Wang Ce temporarily stay in Luoyang, but he absolutely would not allow him to run off to the army on his own.

In an atmosphere of extreme oppression and tension, time arrived at the winter of Tianbao Year 14.

November.

A swift horse, as if mad, galloped into Luoyang City.

The rider on the horse was drenched in blood; when he fell off, he had only his last breath left.

He summoned all his strength and shouted the words that made the entire Tang Dynasty tremble.

"He has rebelled... the Military Governor of North of Fan River, An Lushan, has rebelled!"

"He... he led a force of 150,000 under the banner 'Purge the court, exterminate the traitor Yang Guozhong' and marched south!"

Boom!

The news arrived like a thunderbolt from the Nine Heavens, exploding in Luoyang City.

The whole city instantly plunged into great panic and chaos.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu), who had already passed the midpoint of his life, sat in his mansion; when he heard the news, the teacup in his hand slipped silently, fell to the floor, and shattered into pieces.

He closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.

What was bound to come, eventually came.

He did not panic.

Because he had been waiting for this day, and had waited too long.