Chapter 54

An Lushan rebelled!

Initially, when the news reached Chang'an, on the imperial court where songs and dances signified peace, hardly anyone believed it.

Especially Emperor Xuanzong Li Longji.

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" he shouted in the great hall, his face flushed with rage, pointing at the messenger who had brought the news and berating him: "An Lushan has always been loyal to me, like a father and son—how could he possibly rebel! You must be slandering him! It's Yang Guozhong! It's you, this treacherous villain, who has driven my An Lushan to revolt!"

He even ordered that the officer who had risked his life to bring the news be dragged out and executed.

The entire civil and military assembly fell silent like cicadas in winter.

Yang Guozhong was so frightened he knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly, crying out his innocence.

Only when the rebel forces from Fanyang swept across Hebei with unstoppable momentum, their spear pointed at the eastern capital Luoyang, did the emperor, lost in dreams of prosperity, finally awaken.

He was afraid.

He immediately issued an edict denouncing his adopted son An Lushan as a traitor, and appointed his other son, Prince Li Wan of Rong, as Marshal, with General Gao Xianzhi as Vice Marshal, to lead a hundred-thousand-strong army eastward to crush the rebellion.

However, this hastily assembled army consisted largely of Chang'an's inexperienced 'young master soldiers'; how could they match the battle-hardened troops under An Lushan's command?

To make matters worse, the supervising eunuch Bian Lingcheng had long been at odds with General Gao Xianzhi.

As soon as the army arrived at Tongguan, Bian Lingcheng fabricated charges, falsely accusing General Gao Xianzhi and another general, Feng Changqing, of embezzling military funds and undermining morale.

The dim-witted Emperor Xuanzong, without inquiring into right or wrong, issued an imperial edict ordering the beheading of these two final pillars of the Tang Dynasty on the battlefield.

"If I have sinned, my sin lies in abandoning Shaanxi Commandery; yet I held Tongguan, awaiting reinforcements—what crime have I committed? Your Majesty, you are destroying your own Great Wall!"

With the deaths of Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, the army descended into chaos.

An Lushan's rebel forces broke through the natural barrier of Tongguan with hardly any effort.

The gateway to Chang'an stood wide open.

When the news reached Chang'an, the entire city plunged into panic.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) had already sold his Luoyang residence, taking Wang Ce and the last few dozen household servants, and withdrew to Chang'an before the rebels arrived in Luoyang.

When the news of Tongguan's fall arrived, he was in his study, polishing a long sword.

It was the sword left by his father, Wang Jin.

"Head of Family! Head of Family! Something terrible has happened!"

Fu Bo came tumbling in, his face etched with unprecedented terror.

"Tongguan… Tongguan has fallen! Generals Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing have been… been beheaded! The rebels… the rebels have already crossed the Yellow River; at most three days, and they will be at the gates of Chang'an!"

Wang Hui's (Wang Xiu's) hand, polishing the sword, did not pause for a moment.

His face remained calm and unruffled.

"I understand."

Fu Bo froze, thinking he had misheard.

"Head of Family, that's over a hundred thousand rebels! Chang'an… we can't hold it! We… we must flee! To Jiangnan! The lady and the young masters are all in Jiangnan!"

"Flee?" Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) finally stopped polishing his sword, looked up at Fu Bo, and countered: "Fu Bo, I ask you—who am I?"

"You… you are the Head of Family!"

"I am still a Senior Fifth Rank Court Attendant of the Tang Dynasty." Wang Hui's voice was low, yet carried an undeniable force: "To eat the emperor's stipend is to serve the emperor. Now that the nation faces crisis, and the emperor has not fled, how could I flee first?"

Wang Xiu knew this better than anyone.

Following Li Longji is a dead end.

The best choice is to immediately take Wang Ce and flee to Jiangnan at full gallop.

But he could not.

He is Wang Xiu, yet he is also Wang Hui.

Wang Hui's memories, emotions, and identity were deeply etched into his soul.

He could send his wife, children, and elders to a safe place for the sake of the family's continuation.

But he himself could not become a deserter.

The Wang family's prestige had been earned by his father, Wang Jin, through a lifetime of effort. He could not, at this critical moment, trample that honor underfoot with his own hands.

More importantly, he wanted to witness the coming history with his own eyes.

Mawei Slope.

That was the Tang Dynasty's most brutal turning point from prosperity to decline.

He wanted to go see it.

"Fu Bo," Wang Hui rose, slung his sword at his waist, and said, "Go prepare—distribute all the valuables in the manor among the servants so they can each flee for their lives. Then take a few reliable men, ready horses and dry rations, and wait for me at the city gate."

"Head of Family! What are you…" Fu Bo's tears suddenly streamed down.

"I will enter the palace." Wang Hui's tone was utterly resolute: "If the emperor leaves, I will follow him; if the emperor stays, I will share the fate of this Chang'an."

Having said that, he ignored the weeping Fu Bo and strode out of the manor.

Inside the Imperial Palace, everything had descended into chaos.

Palace maids and eunuchs ran about like headless flies, their wails and screams filling the air.

The once majestic Daming Palace now resembled a ship on the verge of sinking.

Wang Hui proceeded unhindered to the Ganlu Temple.

Inside, Li Longji, dressed in ordinary robes, sat listlessly on the dragon throne, his face ashen.

Yang Guifei and her several sisters wept softly nearby.

"Your Majesty! It is my fault! I am incompetent! Please punish me! But the urgent matter is to ask Your Majesty to relocate to Shu Region! The Shu roads are treacherous; the rebels will never break through! As long as we preserve the imperial person, we have a chance to rise again!"

Also kneeling were Chancellor Wei Jiansu, the Imperial Guards' Dragon Martial General Chen Xuanli, and others, all urging Emperor Xuanzong to make a southern tour.

Seeing this, Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) also knelt behind the crowd, remaining silent.

Li Longji seemed not to have heard their words, merely muttering to himself: "Gone… all gone… my Tang Dynasty… gone…"

At that moment, a tall figure walked in from outside the hall.

It was Gao Lishi.

His face showed no panic at all, still wearing that calm, water-like expression.

He walked up to Li Longji and slowly knelt down.

"Your Majesty." His voice was steady and strong, "What Chancellor Yang and the other officials said is correct. As long as the green mountains remain, we need not fear lack of firewood. As long as you are still here, the Tang Dynasty will not fall."

"Please, Your Majesty, immediately move the capital to Shu."

"Please, Your Majesty, immediately move the capital to Shu."

The first sentence was spoken by Gao Lishi, the second sentence was the officials echoing in unison.

These two sentences seemed to infuse Li Longji with a hint of strength.

His cloudy eyes finally gained a glimmer of spirit.

He glanced at Gao Lishi, then at Yang Guozhong, and finally nodded weakly.

"All right... then... let's go to Shu..."

Once decided, the entire imperial palace sprang into action.

Commander of the Imperial Guards Chen Xuanli, leading the Dragon Martial Army, guarded outside the palace gate.

Li Longji, accompanied by Yang Guifei, Yang Guozhong, and a host of princes and grandsons, fled in panic toward the West Gate under the protection of the Imperial Guards.

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) mingled among the retinue of officials, silently following behind.

He turned his head and glanced at this once supremely prosperous capital.

He knew that when he returned, this place would be a ruin.

The troop fled the city in panic under the cover of night.

No one knew where they were going, no one knew what the future would hold.

Everyone's face was filled with confusion and fear.

Wang Hui, at the city gate, found Fu Bo and Wang Ce, who had been waiting a long time.

"Father!" Wang Ce saw Wang Hui and rushed over, his face not fearful but excited, "Are we going to war?"

Wang Hui (Wang Xiu) looked at his reckless son and felt a bitter smile.

"We are fleeing for safety." He patted his son's shoulder and said in a low voice, "Stay close to me, do not leave my side for a single step."

He mounted his horse and tied the parcel that Fu Bo handed over onto the saddle.

Inside the parcel was the Wang family's last assets in Chang'an: several banknotes worth tens of thousands of strings of cash, as well as some wound medicine and dry rations.

"Fu Bo, you should go too; everyone in Jiangnan is waiting for you." Wang Hui looked at this old man who had served the Wang family his whole life, feeling somewhat reluctant.

"Head of the family, this servant will wait for you to return to the Wang family!" Fu Bo's face was full of reluctance and worry.

He nodded, said no more, turned his horse around, and joined the vast yet chaotic fleeing procession.

The group headed west all the way, the atmosphere reaching a peak of oppression.

The once high-and-mighty nobles and aristocrats were now wretched refugees.