Chapter 96

The twenty-fifth year of the Origin Harmony era, autumn.

The osmanthus blossoms of South of the River were in full bloom, the air filled with a sweet, cloying fragrance.

But this fragrance was completely shattered by an urgent military report, reeking of blood, that arrived from the north.

"Huang Chao's great army has already conquered South of the Huai River, its spearhead pointing straight at the Yangtze River! Wide Mausoleum (Yangzhou) is in imminent danger!"

When the news arrived, the entire Yangzhou city instantly fell into great panic.

Those wealthy merchants and townspeople who once mocked the Wang Family for worrying needlessly now finally understood what it meant for doom to descend.

They grabbed their families and fled, wailing as they tried to escape the city about to be devoured by war.

But the city gates had already been tightly shut by the government troops who had rushed upon hearing the news.

The Yangzhou Regional Inspector stood on the high watchtower, looking down at the dark, surging crowd below, scrambling like headless flies, his face written with despair.

He knew that with his few thousand local militia who had never even seen blood, it was impossible to resist Huang Chao's hundreds of thousands of tiger-and-wolf troops.

The fall of Yangzhou city was merely a matter of time.

And he, this senior official of the Tang Dynasty tasked with defending the borders, had only one fate: to become a ghost under the rebels' blades.

Just as he was preparing to write his last will and share Yangzhou's fate,

Outside the city, a troop slowly appeared on the horizon.

It was a force composed entirely of cavalry, not many in number—about two thousand.

Yet their bearing was magnificent, their horses divine, and each soldier exuded a chilling killing intent.

At the very front of the troop, a large banner embroidered with the character 'Wang' fluttered in the wind.

It was the Wang Family's army!

The Yangzhou Regional Inspector's eyes lit up suddenly, as if, while drowning, he had grasped a lifesaving straw.

He recognized the commander of that troop—a young scion of the Wang Family named Wang Po, the biological grandson of the elder brother of the Wang clan, and also the eldest legitimate son of the current Head of Family, Wang Jing, the finest of the sixth generation.

"Quick! Open the gate! Welcome General Wang!" the Regional Inspector shouted excitedly.

The gate opened, and Wang Po led his two thousand cavalry slowly into the city.

He ignored the fawning Regional Inspector who came up to him, instead going straight to the Regional Inspector's residence and producing the Wang Family's Pacification Commissioner's token.

"By order of the Pacification Commissioner, effective immediately, all defenses of Yangzhou city are to be taken over by my Wang Family!"

Wang Po's voice, though young, carried an air of authority.

The Regional Inspector nodded repeatedly, like a chick pecking at grain: "Yes, yes, yes, everything is up to General Wang!"

Now he only wished to save his own life; how could he dare to have any objection?

Wang Po immediately began taking over the city's defenses.

He disarmed the several thousand misshapen militia under the Regional Inspector's command, assigning them to transport supplies and repair the city walls.

Then he summoned five thousand elite infantry from the Wang Family Fort, replacing all the defenders on the city walls.

The Wang Family's divine crossbows were set up one by one on the city ramparts, their dark muzzles aimed outward.

Barrels of fire oil and bundles of fire arrows were also hauled up onto the watchtowers.

In just a single day, the defenses of Yangzhou city were upgraded by more than one level.

Having done all that, Wang Po finally had time to see the Regional Inspector who had been frightened out of his wits.

"Regional Inspector," Wang Po looked at him and said bluntly, "The Huang Chao army will arrive soon; to hold the city is impossible."

"Ah?" the Regional Inspector's face turned pale again, "Then… what do you mean, General Wang?"

"My meaning is that we must, before the main force of the Huang Chao army arrives, transfer all the city's people and supplies."

"Transfer? Transfer where to?"

Wang Po pointed to the south of the city.

"My Wang Family Fort."

The Regional Inspector stared, stunned.

Only then did he understand that the Wang Family had never intended to make a last stand in Yangzhou city.

What they wanted were the people of Yangzhou city and its wealth!

They intended to… empty out all of Yangzhou!

"This… this might not be proper," the Regional Inspector hesitated, "Yangzhou belongs to the Court, its inhabitants are also the Court's subjects. How can…"

"Regional Inspector," Wang Po interrupted him, his eyes turning icy, "Do you want to leave them here to be slaughtered to the last by Huang Chao's rebel troops?"

"If you are unwilling, that's fine too. My Wang Family will take only those who wish to follow us."

"But when the city falls, jade and stone will burn together. Sir, you must think this through clearly."

A cold sweat instantly broke out on the Regional Inspector's forehead.

He knew he had no choice.

……

An unprecedented mass migration began.

Under the organization of the Wang Family army, hundreds of thousands of Yangzhou's residents began to move in an orderly fashion toward the Wang Family Fort to the south of the city.

Gold, silver, fine silks, grain, cloth, artisan books… all valuables were loaded onto carts and hauled away together.

The entire Yangzhou city was nearly emptied out.

Three days later.

When the vanguard of the Huang Chao army reached beneath Yangzhou's walls, they found an empty, dead city.

Not a single defending soldier remained on the walls.

"What's going on? Where are the people?"

The commander leading them was a fierce general under Huang Chao, Shang Rang.

He sent people to cautiously enter the city to scout; they reported back that there was not a single person in the city, only some broken furniture that could not be taken away.

"Damn it! Where did all the people go?" Shang Rang shouted angrily.

They had fought their way here with great effort, just to loot Yangzhou, that rich city flowing with oil.

Now they haven't even gotten a single hair.

Just as he was about to order the empty city burned to vent his anger,

a scout came flying on horseback.

"Report! General! A huge fort has been discovered thirty li south of the city! All the people and wealth of Yangzhou are inside that fort!"

"A fort?" Shang Rang's eyes lit up instantly.

"Ha! Heaven has a road you refuse to take, Hell has no gate you break into! It saves me the trouble of going door to door to loot!"

He immediately ordered: "All troops, change direction! Target, the southern fort! Level it for me!"

Tens of thousands of troops immediately turned, murderous aura rising, and surged toward the Wang family fort.

……

Wang family fort, on the corner tower.

Wang Zong (Wang Xiu) sat in a wheelchair, surrounded by his descendants, quietly watching the distant sky‑obscuring dust clouds rolling in.

He was about to die, but he could not rest easy about the Wang family; now he knew Huang Chao had arrived.

He had spent the second half of his life preparing for this moment.

"How many have come?" he asked calmly.

"Reporting to the ancestor, roughly thirty thousand or more, all cavalry, the vanguard of Huang Chao's forces," Wang Po replied beside him.

His face showed no trace of tension, but rather a hint of eager excitement.

"Thirty thousand?" the corner of Wang Zong's (Wang Xiu's) mouth curled into a contemptuous smirk.

"Convey my orders."

"All divine‑arm crossbows, ready!"

"All repeating‑crossbow soldiers, onto the walls!"

"Tell our troops that the meat they have eaten and the armor they have worn these past years were not given for free."

"Today, let this rabble of Huang Chao taste the flavor of our Wang family's swords and blades!"

"Let them know who owns this Jiangnan!"

On the corner tower, a black command flag representing the Wang family's highest authority was suddenly swung down!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Within the fort, the deep, resonant war drums rose to the heavens!

A bloody battle that would decide the fate of Jiangnan began!