Chapter 490: Entering Chang'an, Reviving the Great Tang

In the thirty-sixth year of the Western Han Jinshan era, 945 CE, on the first day of the fourth month, the central gate of the Liang Kingdom's great camp by the Ba River swung open.

An Shoujie, eldest son of the late An Yanwei, Military Governor of Jinchang Army and Governor of Jingzhao Prefecture, led the yabing officers of Jinchang Army from Commander upward, the Administrative Assistants and judicial clerks of Jingzhao Prefecture, the elders of Chang'an, the heads of the merchant guilds, and over six hundred residents, bearing great quantities of grain, pigs and sheep, wine, and other provisions, to the Liang army's great camp to present their plea.

This was already their third time coming. With the ritual of three refusals and three yieldings reaching this point, it was time to make their stance clear.

So Zhang Zhao threw open the camp gates and let these several hundred people in.

Zhang Zhao himself no longer hid away either, but went to the entrance of the command tent to receive them, and even sent Guo Tiance to the camp gate.

The moment An Shoujie and the others saw Guo Tiance arrive at the camp gate, they knew Zhang Zhao had decided to appear in person, and their hearts were immediately set at ease.

In such matters, the three refusals and three yieldings merely express humility; they do not mean refusal.

The first two times they had failed to grasp the situation, simply because few people still used this set of formalities nowadays.

By the current customs of military men, if you wanted a piece of territory, you simply sent troops to attack and take it. Who needed all these roundabout maneuvers? Why waste the effort!

Still, An Shoujie had to admit that this sense of propriety and order was far better than simply unleashing soldiers to kill and plunder.

At the camp gate, the armored soldiers of the Liang Kingdom's Hanshan Unit stood holding ceremonial ji halberds and leopard-tail spears, hengdao sabers at their left hips, quivers hanging at their right, clad in iron armor faced with all-red cloth, lined up from the camp gate all the way to the command tent.

When An Shoujie and the others reached the entrance of the command tent, before they could even speak, twelve cannon shots rang out.

Amid the swirling gunpowder smoke, An Shoujie and his party were startled. They had long heard that the Heavenly King Zhang had mastered the art of thunder and fire and passed it on to his elite troops, that neither metal nor stone could withstand it — and now they saw it was indeed so.

With this in mind, An Shoujie quickened his pace, and with the leading men, knelt directly before the man standing beneath the great banner bearing the character Zhang at the entrance of the command tent.

An Shoujie squeezed his eyes hard twice, forcing out a few tears, then raised his voice and began to wail.

"We, the orphaned people of Jingzhao Prefecture, come before the Heavenly King of Great Liang.

Now our capital has fallen, and high and low alike are without a master. The two hundred thousand people of Chang'an are like a flock of sheep without a shepherd. Since the Heavenly King has already led his great army into Guanzhong, we beg you to take pity on us and deign to enter the city to bring peace to the land!"

"Indeed! The northern barbarians have invaded, and the Son of Heaven must surely have been killed. Only the Heavenly King's grace can keep us people of Guanzhong safe!"

"We beg the Heavenly King, for the sake of our shared blood as sons of Tang, to uphold justice for us!"

The whole group put on their finest performances before Zhang Zhao.

One elder was even weeping so hard that tears and snot streamed down his face, nearly rolling on the ground. Anyone who did not know better would truly have taken them for loyal subjects of the Later Jin.

Among the crowd, only Li Shouling, who had come along, said nothing, for he had already pledged himself to Zhang Zhao back when Zhang Zhao first entered Guanzhong.

The family temple where Li Shouling presided over sacrifices to the twenty-one emperors of the Great Tang, as well as the statues and shrine at the temple gate commemorating the martyrs who had opened up the northwest, had all been built with Zhang Zhao's support.

Therefore, Zhang Zhao had not deceived him. Li Shouling knew what Zhang Zhao intended to do, and he too had no regard for the Shi family's Jin, which had replaced the Tang.

"Gentlemen, please rise! Though I accepted Shi Chonggui's invitation, my entry into Guanzhong was not to save the Shi clan, for the Shi clan are in truth usurping traitors who sold out the nation for their own glory.

The million soldiers and civilians of my Great Liang in Hexi, Longyou, Anxi, Beiting, and Shuofang are loyal, now and forever, to the Great Dynasty."

An Shoujie was somewhat stunned to hear this. He raised his head blankly and stared at Zhang Zhao in astonishment.

This script was wrong! Why had it suddenly turned to the Shi clan selling out the nation for glory?

And if that was the topic, An Shoujie began to feel afraid, because Shi Chonggui's birth mother was his paternal cousin. If the Shi Jin were not recognized by Zhang Zhao, then what would become of him?

Zhang Zhao smiled coldly in his heart. For a great matter like welcoming him into Chang'an, the credit certainly could not go to An Shoujie.

Otherwise, the An family would become benefactors to him, Zhang Zhao, and the entire Jinchang Army would gain glory from it. How then could Zhang Zhao carry out sweeping reforms across all of Guanzhong?

This was the moment for Li Shouling to step forward. He immediately strode out one pace, placing himself directly in front of An Shoujie, and said to Zhang Zhao:

"The Heavenly King speaks truly. The Shi clan may bear the title of Son of Heaven, but they are in truth traitorous ministers. How can there be a Son of Heaven of the Central Plains who was enthroned by the Khitan barbarians?

In the ten years since the Shi clan founded their state, they have not shown the slightest grace to the elders of Guanzhong. So why speak of avenging the Shi clan? I say we should instead welcome the Prince of Xu of the Great Dynasty into the city."

The moment Li Shouling spoke, everyone around drew a sharp breath in fright. Though they all knew he was a surviving elder of the Great Dynasty's imperial clan, did he have to be this bold?

The King of Liang had fifty thousand troops surrounding Chang'an, and here he was proposing to welcome a scion of the former dynasty's imperial clan — was he not courting death?

But to everyone's surprise, Zhang Zhao actually nodded in approval.

"You have all come at just the right time. In years past, before the late Emperor Mingmiao of the former dynasty passed away, he said that his sons were all too young, and he feared the altars of state could not be preserved. Whoever in later generations could preserve the Great Dynasty's ancestral temple and keep its descendants alive would be worthy to inherit the Great Dynasty's virtue.

I and Emperor Mingmiao share the bond of brothers. And it is precisely my intention to return to the Great Dynasty and raise a righteous army to drive out the northern barbarians.

Now the Prince of Xu has come to my camp and spoken of this, and wishes to take me as his adoptive father, to help him avenge his family and nation. Since you have all come, you may serve as witnesses."

When had Emperor Mingmiao ever said such a thing? Everyone was stunned.

The sheer amount of information was simply too much!

So much that An Shoujie had no time to consider that he was a close relative of Shi Chonggui, or what he should do in the future.

In a state of extreme shock, the whole group was led in a daze to the already-prepared site for the adoption ceremony.

The ceremony began the moment An Shoujie, Li Shouling, and the others arrived.

Before all the civil and military officials of Liang and the representatives of Chang'an, Li Congyi ascended the high platform and presented three gifts to Zhang Zhao.

The first was his father Li Siyuan's two precious seals. Though not the imperial jade seal, they carried extraordinary significance, and were truly the most treasured heirlooms Li Congyi had kept hidden away.

The second was a dragon-and-phoenix reddish-yellow imperial robe made by the Clothing Bureau of the Palace Service Office during Li Siyuan's lifetime. This was a genuine yellow robe, and one that Li Siyuan had never worn.

The third was a letter written in blood by Li Congyi himself, expressing his wish to take Zhang Zhao as his adoptive father and beseeching his adoptive father to avenge his family and nation.

When presenting this blood letter, Li Congyi felt a sharp pain in his fingers, for the blood letter was no forgery — he had truly cut his own finger and mixed the blood into the ink as he wrote.

With the three gifts presented, Li Congyi, before the spirit tablets of Emperor Wu of the Later Tang, Li Keyong, and Emperor Mingzong, Li Siyuan, performed three bows on the spot and addressed Zhang Zhao as his adoptive father.

Zhang Zhao did not stand on ceremony. After receiving Li Congyi's three bows, he in turn gave Li Congyi three gifts.

The first: in Chang'an and Luoyang, mansions would be built according to the treatment befitting a prince, to serve as Li Congyi's residences.

The second: sixty thousand mu of fine farmland in Jingzhou and Weizhou, along with one hundred fifty households, granted as Li Congyi's fief for performing sacrifices to the twenty-three emperors of the Former Tang and Later Tang.

This was no mere stipend fief, but an actual fief where Li Congyi would have full authority over all affairs.

The last was a reward in goods and wealth: white sugar, rock sugar, brocade, silk cloth, horses and mules, altogether worth more than twenty thousand strings of cash.

This was a win-win situation. Zhang Zhao gained the moral high ground.

And Li Congyi, who had spent ten years with a stone hanging over his heart, always fearing he might be killed at any moment, finally felt that stone fall to the ground.

He also gained goods and wealth totaling roughly fifty thousand strings of cash — an absolute windfall.

Seeing Zhang Zhao's maneuvers, the people from Chang'an finally understood what Zhang Zhao intended to do.

This Heavenly King, you truly cannot say he is no loyal subject — for he actually intended to raise the Great Tang's banner over Chang'an, and in the Great Tang's name march east to drive out the Khitan.

At this moment, Li Shouling prostrated himself again and cried out, "Jingzhao Prefecture has always been the great dynasty's capital. For a thousand years, the people of Chang'an have yearned beyond measure for the great dynasty to return and shelter us common folk in peace.

Since the Heavenly King has received the late Emperor's solemn charge at the moment of the dynasty's survival or extinction, he should enter Chang'an at once, summon the heroes of the realm, and chastise the Khitan."

These three great shouts were not raised by others, but by the civil officials, military officers, and even the common soldiers under Zhang Zhao.

Zhang Xichong, Fan Zhi, and He Ning also stepped forward.

"The realm has long suffered war and fragmentation. We beg the Heavenly King to enter the city, to establish rites and law, and to revive the state."

Yan Jin, Ma Yaozi, and Ma Shacai stepped forward in turn.

"This is the heartfelt loyalty and support of the soldiers. We beg the Heavenly King to enter the city and lead us to drive out the northern barbarians and restore the Great Tang."

Last of all, Li Congyi walked over and gave Zhang Zhao a deep bow.

"We beg you, my lord, to enter the city of Chang'an, to bring peace to the common people."

Still, I, Heavenly King Zhang, felt something was missing. He suddenly transformed into a master actor, covered his face with his hands, feigned great anger, and rebuked them.

"I entered Guanzhong out of loyalty and righteousness, to return to my country. Do not ruin my reputation."

Hearing Zhang Zhao speak thus, the seemingly rough but inwardly astute Barbarian Bear immediately stepped forward. He looked around and shouted sternly.

"Who does not know the Heavenly King's loyalty and righteousness! But now the state has no master, and a hero is needed to bring peace to the four quarters and rebuild the altars of the realm.

If a loyal and righteous descendant, a benevolent and virtuous lord like the Heavenly King does not take up this role, should we let a usurper of the Shi clan do it instead?"

Glared at fiercely by the menacing Barbarian Bear, the several dozen Chang'an officials, gentry, and commoners who had already risen prostrated themselves once more.

Immediately after, everyone in the military camp prostrated themselves on the ground, and with one voice they shouted, the sound shaking the surrounding fields.

"Ah!" Zhang Zhao let out a long sigh, his acting now reaching the pinnacle of perfection. He tilted his head back slightly, tears seeming to roll in his eyes, and his voice took on a choked, sobbing tone.

"Treading the Stars"

"My family fell into Tibetan hands and refused to become slaves of the barbarians. For four generations, our greatest wish has been to lead the sons of Tang lost amid foreign dust back to their homeland.

But the great dynasty has declined, and the Central Plains are in chaos, so much so that we have no home to return to.

Enough! Enough! Even if I am crushed to pieces, even if later loyal and righteous men do not understand, I will enter this city of Chang'an."

At this, Zhang Zhao wiped his eyes with his sleeve, as if brushing away tears, then looked around and shouted with resounding force.

"Because although the Great Tang is gone, we are still here.

As long as we remain, we will never allow the great dynasty to sink into ruin.

My sons, follow me into the city, and rebuild the Great Tang!"

"Rebuild the Great Tang! Rebuild the Great Tang!"

The impassioned voices resounded along both banks of the Ba River. From Zhang Zhao on down, every man's heart surged with emotion, and the army of tens of thousands immediately struck camp and advanced toward the city of Chang'an.

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