Chapter 55: Heavenly Questions (7)

The setting sun stretched out the shadows, casting a faint orange-red glow on the bluish-gray city walls in the distance.
Li Kuo held the reins with one hand and sighed wistfully.
Yangzhou, the famous city on the Huai River with its twenty-four bridges, was still Yangzhou—but for some reason, Li Kuo felt it lacked its former charm. Things remained the same, yet people had changed; perhaps even the most beautiful moments were illusory. After ambushing Linghu Chao’s group by the Cang River, Li Kuo led his troops south to join forces with Wu Zei and Li Sheng’s armies. After this battle, Yin Ziqi would likely not rush to advance into Huainan, which put Li Kuo at ease somewhat.
Later, he heard that the imperial army had recaptured Chang’an and then marched eastward toward Suiyang. Yin Ziqi, having seized Suiyang just a few days earlier, was forced into battle against the Tang court and was defeated in chaos. The Tang army successfully regained Suiyang, securing the gateway to the Jianghuai region.
Now it seemed all of this was like a dream.
“Seventh Brother, it’s been ages since I’ve had stewed silver carp heads. We must treat ourselves well on this return!”
Zhou Wuzei rubbed his palms together, swallowing saliva eagerly; his deep dimples looked especially endearing from afar.
Li Kuo glared at him irritably and said, “You! All you think about is food! Is that how a genius acts?”
Zhou Wuzei shrugged and laughed, “Whether I’m a genius or not has nothing to do with eating and drinking. One serves in office for food and clothing. If I can’t even enjoy eating and drinking, then why fight so hard?”
Li Sheng laughed beside him, “Wuzei’s thoughts are indeed practical. Commander, don’t argue with him. But we’ve all been under great stress these past days. It’s good to relax a bit now that we’re in Yangzhou.”
Dou Qing cleared his throat lightly. “Yes, most of our soldiers are from the Jianghuai region. This is like returning home in glory. I heard the rebels have retreated to Luoyang, and General Guo Ziyi is leading a coalition to besiege the eastern capital. It seems this rebellion will be quelled soon. We can finally rest properly too.”
Hearing this, Li Kuo frowned slightly. Now that Li Heng had returned to Chang’an and Luoyang was on the verge of being pacified, if true peace finally came, would Li Heng forgive him for defying his orders back then? Even if Li Heng chose to overlook it, could he forget that Yan Ji had been executed by that foolish emperor?
The conflict between him and Li Heng seemed irreconcilable.
“Commander, what are you thinking? Hurry up and enter the city!”
Wang Xiaochun, eager to take a hot bath in the city, urged him as Li Kuo remained lost in thought.
“Oh!”

Li Kuo smiled faintly, waved his whip lightly, and walked toward the magnificent city of Yangzhou under the glow of the sunrise。……
A colorful flag stood on top of the city wall, with a checkpoint beneath it.
A few soldiers in armor, armed with spears, were checking those passing by. Upon seeing Li Kuo and his group approaching the city gate, they immediately became alert. One soldier, who seemed to be a platoon leader, raised an eyebrow and snapped, “Who are these people? State your identities quickly! Stop coming any closer, or else—I’ll blow the horn!”
Wang Xiaochun was both angry and amused. He had only left Yangzhou two years ago, yet everyone there had completely forgotten him. He had led his troops to fight fiercely against the rebels at the front lines, only to face such treatment—truly disheartening.
Just as Wang Xiaochun was about to argue with the soldier, Li Sheng pulled him back. He had already noticed that the soldiers guarding the city had been completely replaced; it was only natural that this platoon leader didn’t recognize him.
“We are from the Jianghuai Army, sent by imperial order to suppress rebellion in Henan. We just lifted the siege of Suiyang a few days ago and are returning to rest.”
Li Kuo didn’t want to argue with the platoon leader. He simply smiled and spoke calmly.
Hearing Li Kuo mention Suiyang, the platoon leader shuddered involuntarily. He carefully examined everyone’s attire and, confirming that the leader was indeed Li Kuo, smiled and said, “I failed to recognize you, General Li. Please accept my apologies!”
Li Kuo waved his hand nonchalantly. “It’s fine. Now, please lead me into the city.”
The platoon leader gave a signal to the soldiers beside him, who then lazily moved to remove the wooden barriers in front of the city gate, allowing Li Kuo and his group to enter。……
“Commander, since when have the defenders of Yangzhou become so lazy?”
As soon as they entered the city, Dou Qing frowned and reminded Li Kuo. In his memory, the local troops in Yangzhou, though weak, had always been diligent and would never behave like that before. How could everything change so drastically just because they had been away for two years?
Li Kuo also found it strange, but he didn’t overthink it. “Soldiers can get lazy sometimes. Maybe we just happened to encounter them. Why worry so much? Since we’re here, let’s make the best of it.”
After a brief pause, Li Kuo said, “In a while, you and Li Sheng should lead the troops to the barracks in the southern part of the city and settle them down. Wu Zui and I will first go to the governor’s residence to visit Uncle Gao. It’s been so many years—we really miss him.”
Li Kuo truly missed Gao Shi. Counting back, it had been five years since they last met—time had changed a lot.

“Don’t worry, Governor. Leave this matter to me!”
Dou Qing patted his chest and said, “Governor, then I’ll head ahead!”
With that, Dou Qing turned his horse and led the soldiers from Jianghuai toward the southern city’s military camp。……
Red-painted high walls, carved beams, and painted rafters.
A building that hadn’t existed before suddenly rose up in Jiangdu City.
Looking at the magnificent golden characters on the mansion of the Jianghuai Military Governor, Li Kuo couldn’t help but feel emotional.
For some reason, seeing those elegant golden letters reminded him of the great calligrapher Zhang Jiuye and of his past days in Chang’an. Kicking his stirrup lightly, Li Kuo leaped off his horse, took a deep breath, and knocked on the red door.
“Knock, knock, knock!”
After three sharp knocks, the door opened, and a man in a gray robe, about fifty years old with a short build, stepped out.
He sized Li Kuo up from head to toe and asked in a deep voice, “What brings General here?”
Facing this new face, Li Kuo didn’t want to overstate things and simply said, “I’m the nephew of your master. I happened to be passing through Yangzhou, so I came to pay a visit.”
The doorkeeper found Li Kuo’s explanation plausible and nodded, saying, “Then follow me.”……
Rockeries, waterfalls, dance halls, and singing stages—along the way, Li Kuo couldn’t help but marvel at the extraordinary splendor of the Jianghuai Military Governor’s mansion.
Following the doorkeeper through various corridors, Li Kuo and Zhou Wucui finally stopped in a small courtyard.
“My master is reading in his study. Please wait a moment while I go inform him.”
Li Kuo nodded slightly, signaling the doorkeeper to proceed as he saw fit.
Without hesitation, the doorkeeper headed straight for the central room.
“Qilang, this Uncle Gao is really something. What exactly is your relationship with him? Why does it have to be such a hassle just to meet him?”
Zhou Wucui curled his lips, dissatisfied with Gao Shi’s pretentious behavior. Was he just a Jianghuai Military Governor? Qilang had also been a military commander—after all, it was a similar position. Was it really necessary to act so ostentatiously?
Li Kuo didn’t argue with him and waited quietly.
After a short while, the doorkeeper came out of the study.
“Gentlemen, my master invites you in!”
Li Kuo gave a slight nod in greeting to the doorkeeper and stepped into the study first。……
Perhaps due to the lack of sunlight, the room was quite dark even during the day.
Normally, shouldn’t a study be built in a sunny spot? Li Kuo really couldn’t understand why Gao Shi would do this.
Fortunately, the room wasn’t large, and it was just a few steps to reach the end.
“Qilang, you’re here!”

Gao Shi leaned back on a couch, squinting as he signaled to Li Kuo. “Come, sit next to me.”
Li Kuo frowned slightly. In his memory, Uncle Gao had always sat upright—when did he become so sloppy? But he didn’t want to say too much. With a faint smile, he found a seat near Gao Shi and gestured for Zhou Wucui to sit as well.
“Seventh Brother, I heard you defeated Linghu Chao outside Suiyang City and killed countless enemy generals?”
Gao Shi picked up his teacup and took a few sips, asking casually.
Li Kuo replied in unison, “That’s right. I was originally leading troops to reinforce Suiyang, but by the time I arrived, it had already been captured by the rebels. To help the locals evacuate in time, I led a thousand men to ambush the rebels by the Cang River.”
Gao Shi nodded slightly. “In that case, you’ve indeed accomplished a great feat! One day, I’ll surely petition the Emperor on your behalf.”
Seeing that Li Kuo didn’t seem moved, Gao Shi awkwardly waved his hand and smiled. “It’s been a long time since we last saw each other as uncle and nephew. How about you accompany me in a game of chess?”
“As you command, Uncle.”
Li Kuo bowed to Gao Shi and gladly agreed. …
“Chess requires a calm mind. Seventh Brother, are you so distracted because you have something on your mind?”
Seeing Li Kuo make repeated mistakes, Gao Shi cleared his throat a few times and asked seriously.
Realizing his thoughts had been exposed, Li Kuo stopped hiding them and said, “To be honest, I came to Jiangdu specifically to pick up my mother and the others. I haven’t seen them in a long time and am worried about them. If Uncle Gao doesn’t mind, may I see them now?”
Hearing this, Gao Shi, who had been calm before, suddenly sat up straight, causing his teacup to fall to the ground.