Chapter 58: Valuing Farmers (II)

When shopkeeper Xue Gui brought forward the three favorite dishes of Li Kuo’s to serve with wine, he naturally gave Li Kuo a winking smile.
“I used to think that someone of your noble status must surely enjoy rare delicacies. Only after getting to know you have I realized that in life, some people live for wealth, some for fame, while others truly live for the people! It’s a great fortune for the people of Tangzhou’s twelve counties to have you here!”
Li Kuo picked up a piece of braised mutton with his chopsticks and said with a smile, “What you say is partly true but not entirely. In life, one always loves oneself first before loving others. If I were now a destitute wanderer, I doubt the people of Tangzhou would welcome me. It’s true that I, Li, fight for the people of the Tang Dynasty, but before fighting, I must first ensure that my comrades who have followed me through thick and thin are well fed and clothed, right?”
Xue Gui was momentarily stunned and took a while to respond, “That’s true, that’s true. General Li, you’ve recently conquered Nanyang and Fangcheng, dealing a heavy blow to Cui Qianyou’s morale. Shouldn’t you seize this opportunity to advance on Linru and Liang County? This is a once-in-a-thousand-years chance. With the rebels struggling to send more troops to Chang’an, the area around Luoyang must be weak. If you launch a large-scale attack, the rebels might not put up a full-scale resistance!”
Although Xue Gui was just the owner of a tavern, he liked to read military books in his free time. If his family background had been better, he might have become a national general wielding a long spear to fight against barbarians.
Since An Lushan had declared himself emperor in Luoyang, the rebels had gathered a large army in the eastern region, leaving the entire capital area under their control like an iron barrel. As for military strongholds such as Xingyang, Yingyang, and Dengfeng, An Lushan had stationed elite troops there, making it impossible for the official army to approach.
That’s why Xue Gui was so amazed by Li Kuo’s act of setting fire to the grain stores at Luokou. To burn down the rebels’ vital supply depots despite their heavy defenses required extraordinary skill and courage.
In Xue Gui’s eyes, only an outstanding general like Li Kuo could pull teeth out of a tiger’s mouth, and now there was a perfect opportunity to do just that.

Not long ago, Chang’an was captured. In his panic, the Emperor fled westward to Shu together with his concubine, crown prince, imperial grandson, and various officials, creating a scene of great sorrow and desolation along the way. Yet An Lushan did not believe that Tongguan could fall so easily; he assumed the Tang army must have some decoy strategy. Therefore, he ordered Cui Qianyou to refrain from advancing for now, station his troops at Tongguan, and send scouts to investigate first. Cui Qianyou waited at Tongguan for ten full days without any signs of activity. It was only when the scouts reported back that he realized the Tang Emperor had already fled the city with his trusted followers.

Furious yet amused, Cui Qianyou immediately ordered his army to set off for Chang’an. Although Chang’an was the most formidable city of the Tang Dynasty, it had no natural defenses, so Cui Qianyou captured it with little effort. He then reported to An Lushan, earning his high praise.

The rebels had taken Chang’an! This news quickly became the hottest topic in Luoyang. But every advantage has its disadvantage. Though the rebels’ morale soared after capturing Chang’an, they still needed to send more troops to defend the surrounding areas. At that time, Shi Siming was busy fighting against Yan Gaoqing and his son with 80,000 elite troops in Hebei, leaving him unable to spare any forces. Tian Chengsi was also launching fierce attacks on Yongqiu, so the only troops that could be deployed were those stationed in the Luoyang and Dengfeng areas.

An Lushan attached great importance to Chang’an and immediately dispatched 30,000 troops to reinforce Guanzhong, but this weakened the defense forces in the Luoyang area. Linru and Liangxian were the gates to advancing toward Dengfeng. If these two places could be captured and coordinated with Tangzhou and Nanyang, it would surely deter the rebels significantly.

“Master Xue, what you say makes sense. But since Tongguan is now in the hands of the rebels, even if I capture Linru and Liangxian, I’m likely to be attacked from both sides by the rebels, putting me in a disadvantageous position—which wouldn’t be good,” said Li Kuo, swallowing a gulp of wine and sighing deeply.

After the rebels captured Chang’an, Guanzhong and Henan became a unified front, supported by the rear areas of Hebei and Hedong. From there, the rebels could threaten Gansu and Longnan to the west and pressure Jianghan to the south. The situation for the Tang court was truly critical!

Li Kuo had only heard the news of Chang’an’s fall recently. After the rebel general Sun Xiaozhe entered Chang’an, he appointed Zhang Tongru as the governor of Xijing and Cui Guangyuan as the prefect of Jingzhao. He also ordered An Shouzhi to lead troops to station in the imperial gardens to oversee the generals in Guanzhong.

After capturing Chang’an, An Lushan believed the whole world was under his control, and the rest of the regions were unimportant. So he immediately conferred titles and appointed a series of officials to govern and pacify Chang’an and its surrounding areas.

At first, Li Kuo thought that Chang’an, as the most powerful city of the Tang Dynasty and its capital, would make the rebels somewhat cautious—at least they wouldn’t slaughter indiscriminately, leaving some survivors among the city’s people. But these rebels had not a shred of humanity; they were nothing but beasts in human guise! The Hu soldiers, seemingly seeking revenge for the stubborn resistance of the troops at Tongguan, burned, killed, and looted upon entering the city. The once bustling markets instantly became desolate, and the once golden city turned into a hellish place!

An Lushan’s subsequent purge of the imperial officials was even more outrageous. According to the sobbing accounts of scouts from the Tongwu Camp who returned from Chang’an, An Lushan ordered Sun Xiaozhe to carry out a bloody massacre of those members of the royal family and officials’ families who had not fled Chang’an!

In fact, many princes, dukes, marquises, earls, generals, and prime ministers had followed the emperor to escape to Western Shu. But due to the haste, many of their families were not given time to evacuate. An Lushan ordered the execution of all these officials and nobles who remained in Chang’an. To eliminate all traces of resistance, the rebels even spared no one, not even infants in their arms.

“Hehe, that’s true. I heard that An Lushan is determined to fight to the end against our Tang Dynasty. He surely won’t tolerate any threat to his power…”

After a pause, Xue Gui said with a forced smile, “But this guy is truly a beast. I heard that after the rebels captured Chang’an, he sacrificed Princess Huo, her wife, and her husband in Chongren Fang to honor his eldest son, An Qingzong. He even ordered his soldiers to cut them open and remove their hearts! Anyone who was a supporter of Yang Guozhong or Gao Lishi, or anyone he despised, was beheaded and their heads hung on the gates of Mingde Gate. Tsk tsk, even more than twenty royal descendants and princesses were killed by An Lushan—it was truly horrible.”

Xue Gui spoke animatedly, as if he had witnessed it all with his own eyes.

Swallowing his saliva, Xue Gui continued, “Later, when An Lushan heard that the people of Chang’an were stealing treasures from the government stores during the chaos, he ordered a thorough search of the city for three days. Everything—government property and personal belongings—was plundered. Not long after moving into the palace, he ordered the arrest of all the civil and military officials left behind by the Tang court, as well as eunuchs and maids. The songs, acrobatics, dancing horses, and rhinoceroses that used to serve the emperor all fell into An Lushan’s hands. Still not satisfied, he sent hundreds of captured concubines, musicians, knights, and opera performers to Lingbi Palace in Luoyang under military escort, where they played music at banquets, drawing much attention.”

“Pah!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xiaochun shouted angrily, “That traitor An Lushan is nothing but a murderer. Even if the emperor failed him, what does that have to do with those princes and nobles? As for his act of recruiting actors from the opera troupe, it’s utterly shameful. He claims the emperor is unjust, but how is his own indulgence in pleasure any different from the emperor’s?”
Xue Gui wiped the spit from his cheek and smiled brightly, “Please don’t scold me; it wasn’t me who did this.”
“Sigh, if it were just that, it might still be tolerable. After all, An Lushan’s evil actions will surely lose him the people’s support. But I don’t know who gave him the idea—An Lushan actually appointed Chen Xilie, Zhang Jun, and the Zhang Ji brothers as prime ministers. All the other officials who defected to him were also given various positions. His strategy of winning over people’s hearts is truly ingenious. Whether these officials truly intended to defect or not, they’re forced to serve that traitor. First, he stirs up chaos, then lets them act as they please—what a cruel tactic!”
At this point, Li Kuo no longer had the appetite to eat. He put down his chopsticks and frowned in deep thought.
“Tch, in my opinion, rebels are just a bunch of strong but simple-minded brutes. They only know how to burn, kill, and loot; they have no vision or strategy at all. How could they come up with such a clever plan? It must have been that bastard Yan Zhuang, the strategist, who came up with it!”
Wang Xiaochun shook his head and sighed deeply, “I really don’t know what’s in that guy’s mind. The Tang Dynasty is his homeland, yet he’s willing to betray it all for just a purple robe. Such a person deserves to drown in a cesspool when he goes to the bathroom!”
“Cough, cough. General Li is eating right now. Could you, um, speak more gently?”
Hearing Wang Xiaochun say such things, Xue Gui almost spit out his drink. He suppressed his laughter and bowed to Wang Xiaochun.