Chapter Eleven: Perseverance (I)

Zheng Jun frowned and said, “Could it not be Generals Gao and Feng?”
Wu Lengzi waved his hand and replied, “Those are the actual commanders. The nominal supreme commander is Prince Li Wan, the Sixth Prince! That prince is well-known as a supporter of the crown prince, having been close to him since childhood. It’s unclear why the emperor made such a foolish mistake this time.”
After a pause, Wu Lengzi continued, “It is said that Generals Gao and Feng were forced to withdraw their troops due to insufficient logistical support. Think about it—what’s most important in marching? It’s supplies! How can soldiers go to battle on an empty stomach?”
Hearing this, Zheng Jun was utterly confused. “Who exactly is in charge of logistical support? How could such an important task go wrong?”
Wu Lengzi snorted coldly, “Who else but our Great Tang’s Prime Minister Yang? He also holds the position of Minister of Revenue. All military supplies must pass through his hands. If he decides to hold things back, who can say no?”
“But why would he do that?”
Zheng Jun grew more suspicious and kept asking questions.
“Are you really that stupid, Old Zheng, or are you pretending to be clueless? Yang Guozhong and the crown prince have been at odds for days now—almost everyone in the world knows about it. Prince Li Wan is on the crown prince’s side. How could Yang Guozhong just stand by and let him achieve success? If Prince Li Wan succeeds, it means giving the crown prince more prestige—equivalently, it’s a blow to Yang Guozhong himself!”
Wu Lengzi spoke fluently, spitting saliva all over Zheng Jun’s face.
“That scoundrel! I never thought he could be so shameless!”
Only after Wu Lengzi explained it did he realize. With tensions between Yang Guozhong and the crown prince, it made sense he wouldn’t let the crown prince shine. But to treat national affairs as a game and sacrifice the lives of nearly a million people in Luoyang just to suppress the crown prince’s faction! How could such a narrow-minded person be the prime minister of the Great Tang court?
“Shameless? So what if he’s shameless? Aren’t there plenty of shameless people in this world? Don’t forget—this prime minister of our Great Tang was once a good-for-nothing thug who did nothing but loaf around. Do you expect him to value loyalty and the army? Forget it!”
Wu Lengzi glared at Zheng Jun and said, “That’s why birth is crucial. The Yang family produced an imperial concubine, and all her sons rose to power, enjoying wealth and control over countless lives. As for those refugees in Luoyang, their fate still depends on his whims!”
“Enough!”

Zheng Jun felt an intense anger well up inside him, his chest heaving with fury, like a inflated sheepskin raft.
“Look, look! Just by saying this, you get angry again!”
Wu Lengzi snapped his lips in frustration and said, “I heard General Li is also on the prince’s side. I think we’ll surely suffer if we follow him. How about we escape quickly while it’s night and no one’s around? After all, with the chaos these days, the court won’t bother searching for just two ordinary soldiers!”
“Shut up!”
Zheng Jun glared fiercely at Wu Lengzi and declared loudly, “If you want to run, go ahead anytime. I won’t reveal a single word, but please don’t drag me in, Old Zheng. Though not everyone in the Tang Dynasty is a patriot dedicated to the country, there are certainly not all weaklings like you!”
Zheng Jun pushed Wu Lengzi, who was stunned, aside and strode away…
In the pitch-black night sky hung a solitary moon.
Under its cold light lay vast deserts.
Leaning against an earthen wall, Li Kuo warmed himself by a campfire, gazing at the faintly glowing stars in the sky.
Two hours earlier, scouts had reported rebels outside Tangzhou City, numbering around eight thousand. That meant Tangzhou was likely already in enemy hands. This wasn’t good news for him, as his original plan had been to pass through Tangzhou to enter Guanzhong to aid the emperor. It seemed An Lushan’s advance across the Central Plains was even faster than he had imagined—likely by next year, the entire Henan region would fall to the rebels.
Sigh!
Staring at the crackling campfire, Li Kuo fell silent.
It was now impossible to enter Guanzhong without fighting the rebels. Whether passing through Tangzhou or taking the route via Xuzhou to Shangzhou, he would inevitably encounter rebel forces. It wasn’t that he feared battle; if not for his imperial orders, he would have rushed to fight the rebels right away to prove the courage of a Tang man.
But now, with imperial orders to protect the royal family and the court, he had to put many things aside.
He could even imagine the people in the surrounding counties, waiting day and night for the imperial army to rescue them. But he couldn’t… he just couldn’t…
Heh, hadn’t he joined the army to protect his homeland? Why, as his rank grew higher, did he end up with more and more responsibilities?

Li Kuo couldn’t understand—why were there so many conflicts between the interests of the Tang court and those of the common people? He couldn’t fathom why the emperor cared only about the safety of Zhongzhou and the eastern capital of Luoyang, ignoring the lives and deaths of the people in the counties of Henan and Hebei provinces!
Snap!
Li Kuo grabbed a handful of snow and threw it into the fire. The flames surged instantly to a towering height, emitting eerie howls.
He had no choice but to order the entire army to set up camp on the spot to discuss their next steps. Yet after thinking all night, he came up with nothing!
Damn it! Damn it!
“Commander, Commander?”
Dou Qing had appeared behind Li Kuo at some point. Seeing Li Kuo in such disarray, he didn’t know what to say for a moment.
“Oh, it’s Brother Dou.”
Li Kuo adjusted his emotions slightly and smiled at Dou Qing.
“Commander, earlier…”
Dou Qing smiled awkwardly and shrugged.
“It’s nothing. Go ahead.”
Li Kuo waved his hand, indicating it was fine.
Though his heart was in turmoil, Dou Qing had to report, “Commander, there’s a veteran named Zheng Jun who insists on meeting you. I tried to refuse, but what do you think?”
Li Kuo thought for a moment before sighing, “Call him in.”
“Right away.”
Dou Qing replied softly and bowed before retreating.
Hiss!
A gust of cold wind blew, making Li Kuo shiver as he instinctively curled up.
“A humble soldier reports to the commander!”
A somewhat unfamiliar voice came from behind Li Kuo.
“Your name is Zheng Jun?”
Li Kuo sat up straight and asked in a deep voice.
“Yes.”
“I heard you wanted to see me?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I have some suggestions regarding the march.”
Zheng Jun paused briefly before raising his head again. “I heard the commander plans to take the route through Tangzhou City?”
Li Kuo never kept the marching route secret from his subordinates, so he wasn’t surprised when Zheng Jun mentioned it.
“That’s correct. I originally planned to bypass Xuzhou City and take the route through Tangzhou, but it seems that’s no longer possible now.”
Li Kuo spoke slowly, “Scouts have spotted large groups of rebels outside the city. Now, I have an imperial order to follow…”
“General! Please allow this humble soldier to speak frankly—our Tang army has come this far; we really can’t retreat any further!”

Zheng Jun knelt on the ground, repeatedly bowing to Li Kuo and saying, “The traitor An Lushan raised an army in rebellion. All the prefectures and counties in Hebei Circuit defected to his side, and many in Henan Circuit also fled at the first sign of trouble. Now, because of that scoundrel Yang Guozhong’s schemes from behind the scenes, even the Eastern Capital has fallen. Li Cheng, the governor of the Eastern Capital, and Lu Yi, the Chief Censor, refused to surrender. They led the sons of the Han people to fight to the death, shedding their last drops of blood to preserve the dignity of our Tang Empire…”

Zheng Jun sobbed for a long time before finally calming down. “Did they do all this just to show An Lushan that not all soldiers of the Tang Empire are cowards? Now that the Eastern Capital has fallen, if we don’t fight a decisive battle, who knows how further the rebels’ arrogance will go? We can no longer retreat!”

He spoke with tears in his voice, moving even Li Kuo.

“Get up first and speak properly. What’s the point of this?”

Li Kuo helped Zheng Jun up and asked, “Then what do you think I should do to fight a decisive battle?”

Seeing that Li Kuo was willing to listen to his advice, Zheng Jun was deeply moved. He quickly replied, “General, I’m not someone who ignores reality. Over the years in the Jianghuai Army, I’ve seen the strength of the Central Plains armies. If others don’t understand, how could I not know the combat capabilities of my comrades? Don’t even talk about expecting them to fight against An Lushan’s 8,000 Yeluo River troops. Even if they faced An Lushan’s elite cavalry, they’d likely be scattered in disarray after just a few rounds!”

After a pause, he continued, “Although An Lushan claims to have 200,000 troops, not all of them can be elite. Aside from the 8,000 Yeluo River troops and 30,000 personal guards, An Lushan relies on those 80,000 elite cavalry. But now, half of those 80,000 cavalry are under the control of his deputy Shi Siming, who guards his base in Hebei. So, the number of elite troops An Lushan actually has is no more than 70,000. With Henan Circuit being so vast, how could he send elite troops to every city? That means, in places like Tangzhou, even if captured by the rebels, the troops sent there would likely be second-rate. Most of them are mercenaries, whose combat strength and fighting spirit are far inferior to those 80,000 elite cavalry.”

Li Kuo listened carefully, half believing and half doubting. He believed part of it—the fact that An Lushan’s troops were divided into different ranks with varying strengths. But he doubted the specific numbers Zheng Jun mentioned.

It wasn’t surprising that Li Kuo was skeptical. After all, such matters were military secrets. How could Zheng Jun possibly know them?