Chapter 98

Shang Rang fled back to Huang Chao's main camp with his defeated remnants, in a sorry state.

When Huang Chao saw Shang Rang's sorry state—having lost his armor and weapons, his troops decimated—he flew into a rage and drew his waist sword on the spot.

"Shang Rang! I gave you thirty thousand elite cavalry, and this is how you fight for me?"

Huang Chao was tall and dark-faced, his eyes revealing the unique ruthlessness and domineering aura of a heroic outlaw.

He kicked Shang Rang to the ground with one foot, then placed the icy blade of his sword directly against his neck.

"Speak! What exactly happened? How did a mere fort reduce you to this sorry state?"

Shang Rang was terrified out of his wits, crawling and stumbling to his knees, his voice trembling.

"Great... General! It's not that I'm incompetent, it's really... that the Wang Family's weapons—no, not weapons, but sorcery—are just too... too powerful!"

"Sorcery?" Huang Chao's brows furrowed even deeper.

"Yes, General!" Shang Rang exaggeratedly recounted their encounter beneath the Wang Family fort's walls.

"Their walls are taller than a prefectural capital's! Outside, there's a wide, deep river!"

"The most terrifying thing is their crossbows! General, you haven't seen it—they have a huge crossbow; one bolt can pierce three or four of our brothers, like candied gourds on a string!"

"There's also a small crossbow that can fire nonstop! We charged to the walls, hadn't even touched them, when a hail of arrows like locusts shot us down—our brothers... our brothers died horribly!"

As Shang Rang spoke, he actually burst into tears.

Huang Chao listened silently; the anger on his face gradually gave way to gravity and doubt.

He, too, was an expert; naturally he could tell that the huge crossbow Shang Rang described was the legendary "bed crossbow."

But the bed crossbow is a national heavy weapon, strictly controlled by the Court as military equipment, only available in small numbers at border forts.

How could a Jiangnan aristocratic family possibly possess such a great killer weapon?

And its power was described in such an exaggerated manner?

Moreover, that rapid-fire crossbow—he had never even heard of it.

"Are you telling the truth?" Huang Chao pressed his sword down a little harder.

"Absolutely true! If I utter even half a falsehood, I willingly accept death!" Shang Rang swore an oath.

Huang Chao sheathed his sword.

He knew that although Shang Rang had lost the battle, he still lacked the gall to deceive him.

He walked to the map, looked at the specially marked "Yangzhou Wang Family Fort," and fell into contemplation.

Wang Family.

That name was not unfamiliar to him.

Even when he was a failed scholar, he had heard legends of the Wang Family.

A family that had endured nearly two hundred years, producing chancellors and generals, wealthy enough to rival a nation, famed throughout the land.

He had thought such a family was nothing but a pampered, long-corrupt empty shell.

He never expected it to be such a tough bone to crack.

"Men!" Huang Chao suddenly ordered.

"Convey my order: the army halts its southern advance and rests here for three days."

"Also, send our best scouts to infiltrate Yangzhou; I need to know everything about the Wang Family and that fort—the more detail, the better!"

Three days later.

Detailed reports on the Wang Family were laid out one by one on Huang Chao's desk.

After reading them, even he—a man of firm resolve and daring boldness—couldn't help but suck in a breath of cold air.

The reports said:

The Wang Family began preparing for war ten years ago.

They bought up nearly all the military equipment available in the northern border garrisons.

Their stockpiled grain could feed 100,000 people for three years.

The fort they built is extraordinarily sturdy, and its defensive equipment is unheard of.

They command a private elite force of over ten thousand, whose equipment and training even surpass the Court's Imperial Guards.

Most terrifying of all, they have taken in nearly 100,000 refugees.

They treat these refugees without contempt, all equally, like a wise emperor treating his subjects—letting them reclaim land, produce, enlist... the whole fort radiates outward, already forming an independent kingdom that can sustain itself and continually replenish its lifeblood!

"A state within a state..."

Huang Chao gazed at those four characters on the report and muttered to himself.

For the first time, a chill ran down his back.

He realized that this southern campaign might have kicked him onto a true Iron Control board.

His subordinate generals, after hearing these reports, all exploded in an uproar.

"General! This Wang Family is practically a monster—should we still fight them?"

"Yes, General! Even General Shang Rang's thirty thousand elite cavalry suffered such a loss at their hands. If we launch a frontal assault, even if we take it, we'd likely pay a heavy price!"

"In my opinion, we should bypass Yangzhou and attack other prefectures and counties instead. Jiangnan is so vast, with plenty of fat to spare—why must we stubbornly butt heads against this hard bone?"

Listening to his subordinates' debate, Huang Chao's heart also began to waver.

He is no reckless brute.

He knows that war is about attrition.

If, for the sake of taking a small fort, he lets his troops be decimated and his vitality sapped, what will he have left to contend with the Court's main forces? What will he have to vie for the empire?

But to just slink away like that?

Where could Huang Chao put his face?

He, the "Soaring Heaven Grand General," how could his title not become a laughingstock of the world?

Just as he hesitated.

An unexpected guest arrived at his main camp.

The visitor claimed to be an envoy of the Wang Family.

Moreover, he came by order of the Wang Family's eldest living patriarch, the Wang Clan, to pay his respects to Huang Chao.

Huang Chao froze.

What does the Wang Family want by sending an envoy?

Seeking peace?

He snorted coldly and immediately ordered: "Let him in! I want to see what tricks the Wang Family is up to!"

Soon, a middle-aged man in a green robe, bearing an elegant scholarly air, was brought in.

Although he was surrounded by tens of thousands of troops, his face showed no fear; he appeared calm and composed.

Facing Huang Chao, who sat high on the main seat, he performed a deep bow without arrogance or humility.

"Jiangnan Wang Clan, Wang Qian's grandson Wang Tian, pays respects to the Soaring Heaven Grand General."

Wang Qian!

Huang Chao's pupils contracted; that name, to him, was like thunder to the ears!

"The number one talent of the Tang Dynasty after the Kaiyuan era!"

His poems and prose had already spread throughout the world.

Huang Chao himself had once been a scholar; he naturally knew Wang Qian's standing among the literati.

He never expected that the Wang Family would send someone who was actually the descendant of such a weighty figure.

"Are you Wang Qian's grandson?" Huang Chao's tone softened. "I have long heard of your grandfather's great name. I don't know what advice Master Wang has come to give today?"

Wang Tian smiled faintly.

"I dare not offer advice. Tian, I have come today by order of my elder uncle to present a gift to the Grand General."

"Oh, a gift?" A hint of mockery flashed in Huang Chao's eyes. "You Wang Family wounded thousands of my brothers; now you want to settle this with just a gift?"

"No." Wang Tian shook his head.

"This gift is not meant to settle our grudge."

"But to make friends with the Grand General."

Saying this, he took out a gift list from his sleeve and handed it over.

"My elder uncle said: The Grand General raised his army to punish the wicked for the sake of all under heaven. Though we Wang Family are an aristocratic clan, we also know the court is corrupt and the people suffer. Therefore, we harbor no hostility toward the common folk."

"The battle the other day was purely a misunderstanding. It was all because General Shang Rang laxly commanded his troops, allowing them to loot; the Wang Family, seeking self-defense, had no choice but to fight back."

"Now that I have heard the Grand General has arrived in person, our ancestor has specially prepared a modest gift to show respect."

"One hundred thousand bushels of grain."

"Fifty thousand taels of gold and silver."

"Furthermore, there are a thousand sets of armor forged from refined iron and five hundred fine horses."

"Our ancestor said: These may be regarded as the Wang Family's contribution of military funds to the Grand General's revolution."

Wang Qian's words rang out like metal striking stone.

In the entire great tent, instantly, not a sparrow stirred.

Huang Chao and all his officers stared at Wang Qian, dumbfounded, as if hearing heavenly scripture.

Could they have misheard?

The Wang Family, instead of fighting them, is sending money, grain, and weapons?

What kind of move is this?

Huang Chao stared at the gift list, then at the composed Wang Tian before him, his mind in utter confusion.

He simply could not understand the Wang Family any longer.