Chapter 36: Passing Years (III)

“Hehe, those are just things the common people boast about. I’m far from that good.”
Li Kuo modestly shrugged his hands. In Nan Jiyun’s presence, he could always remain that childlike person—it felt wonderful!
After a brief pause, Li Kuo continued, “By the way, Brother Nan, aren’t you and Brother Zhang serving in Qiao Commandery? Why did you suddenly think of Tangzhou?”
“Ah, it’s a long story.”
Nan Jiyun clearly looked tired. He lifted his robe, sat down, drank the green tea handed to him by Li Kuo in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and said, “My brother Zhang and I have been serving in Qiao Commandery. Some time ago, the rebel general Zhang Tongwu captured provinces like Song and Cao, gaining immense power. The governor, Yang Wanshi, fearing the rebels’ might and worried they would massacre the city if they took it, even wanted to surrender the entire commandery! What’s worse, he forced my father to become his chief advisor and to welcome the rebels. How could my father, who has received great imperial favor, do such treasonous things? After receiving Yang Wanshi’s order, my father led his men to mourn in the emperor’s ancestral temple and vowed to fight against the rebels!” (Note 1)
Nan Jiyun slammed the teacup down on the table fiercely and clenched his fists.
“Brother Zhang is truly a heroic man!”
Li Kuo felt his blood boil at these words. He never imagined that the gentle scholar Brother Zhang would show such courage in the face of national crisis, willing to risk everything to serve his country.
“And then? What happened next?”
Although Li Kuo knew Nan Jiyun was safe now and Zhang Xun must be fine, he couldn’t help but ask anxiously.
“My father led over a thousand local militia fighters to fight against the smaller rebel forces. Though they didn’t gain much advantage, they also weren’t at a disadvantage. Since Qiao Commandery is in a flat area with no natural defenses, I advised my father to head for Yongqiu.” (Note 2)
Nan Jiyun took a deep breath and patted his knee. “As the ancients said, chaos reveals true character! Jia Yu, the county magistrate of Danfu, couldn’t bear to see the people suffer under the rebels, so he also raised troops to resist them. United as one, they managed to defeat Zhang Tongwu’s forces, advanced toward Yongqiu, and joined my father.”
Li Kuo sighed. “The reason the rebels have been so unstoppable is precisely because there are no heroes like Brother Zhang and Brother Nan. It’s sad that even after three or four months since the rebels rose up, the court still can’t recover a single city or province.”

Nan Jiyun said, “Hehe, sometimes it’s better to rely on oneself rather than others—those who save themselves will be saved by heaven. I liked the idea that after our lord joined forces with Jia Yan, they had two thousand troops. They planned to use Yongqiu as a base and advance northward to confront the rebels. But who would have thought that the magistrate of Yongqiu, Linghu Chao, would actually consider surrendering the city to the enemy? While the soldiers were resting, he tied them up in the courtyard and planned to kill them. If not for him leaving the city for some reason, the soldiers would have seized the chance to untie themselves, kill the guards, and perhaps his treacherous plan would have succeeded.”

Zhou Wucui, who was listening, was furious. “These corrupt officials! They exploit the people more than anyone else on ordinary days, but the moment real effort is needed, they turn traitor faster than anyone! Such people deserve to be torn apart and have their heads displayed publicly!”

Nan Jiyun nodded. “Brother Zhou is right. But in this world, it’s these opportunistic scoundrels who thrive. Our general couldn’t bear to see Yongqiu fall into the hands of the rebels, so he entered the city with Jia Yan and fought alongside the soldiers of Yongqiu to defend it!”

“What about those princes? They’re supposed to protect the region for the emperor—don’t they owe any effort or responsibility?”

Li Kuo frowned slightly and asked unhappily.

“Those princes? With An Lushan’s rebel forces advancing relentlessly, they already packed up their gold, silver, and valuables and crossed the Huai River to take refuge in the south. How could they possibly have the leisure to fight against the rebels?” Nan Jiyun scoffed a few times before continuing, “But there are exceptions. The Prince of Wu, who was then the governor of Lingchang, received an imperial order to lead the troops in Henan to resist the rebels. After learning that our lord and Jia Yan had taken control of Yongqiu, he immediately promoted Jia Yan to censor and our lord to chief secretary as a form of encouragement.” Zhou Wucui sneered upon hearing this. “What good is that? He doesn’t send a single soldier or grain—just empty promises.”

Li Kuo glared at Zhou Wucui. “Don’t be rude. The old prince did his best.”

“Hmph!” Zhou Wucui shrugged and fell silent.

“Brother Nan, go on!”

Nan Jiyun sighed lightly. “Linghu Chao turned traitor. After joining Zhang Tongwu, he was given an important position and prepared to besiege Yongqiu. Yongqiu’s supplies and defenses were already weaker than those of the prefecture city. After repeated fierce attacks by the rebels, it was on the verge of collapse. Fortunately, the soldiers and civilians stood united, and they managed to hold on. But those rebels kept shouting insults from the city walls, using extremely vile language. Lord Jia couldn’t bear it any longer, so he led his soldiers out to confront them, but they were outnumbered and he died fighting for his country.”

“Lord Jia also served his country loyally!” Li Kuo shook his head and sighed deeply.

“My lord continues to lead the troops and civilians of Yongqiu in valiant battles against the enemy. Appointed by the old prince as the supreme commander of Yongqiu, his leadership has greatly boosted morale, allowing them to repel the rebels’ attacks time and again. Yet Linghu Chao is not satisfied with this and has brought the rebel general Li Tingwang with an army of 40,000 to besiege the city—the situation is extremely critical! While my lord continues to lead the resistance, he ordered me to leave the city and seek aid along the southern route. Along the way, I visited several cities, but the county magistrates refused to let me in. Just as I was disheartened and ready to return to Yongqiu, I accidentally met you, Seventh Brother, in Tangzhou!”

Speaking of this, Nan Jiyun was clearly excited, his eyes filled with hope.

Although he trusted Nan Jiyun greatly, Li Kuo still became instinctively cautious after a brief thought. With the country in chaos and rebels rampaging, compared to the northern regions of Henan and the capital area, the southern provinces of Qiao and Yongqiu were clearly safer. As a civil official, the third-place winner of the imperial examinations, he should be there preparing supplies and training new soldiers, not thinking of heading north to fight—the idea seemed like overstepping his bounds.

Yet he couldn’t say this outright. He simply bowed to Nan Jiyun and asked, “Elder Brother Nan, have you come to Tangzhou to ask me to send troops to Yongqiu to relieve the siege?”

Seeing that he had laid it out clearly, Nan Jiyun stopped hiding his intentions. Waving his hand boldly, he said, “That’s right. Seventh Brother, you now have over ten thousand armored soldiers at your disposal. If you go to Yongqiu and attack the enemy from both sides alongside my lord, we can surely defeat them. What do you think?”

Nan Jiyun never expected Li Kuo to refuse. From the first time he saw this boy in Chang’an, he knew he was a man filled with a desire for revenge.

Note 1: Qiao County is located in present-day Maozhou, Anhui. Note 2: Yongqiu is located in present-day Qi County, Henan. Note 3: Danfu is located in present-day Shan County, Shandong. Note 4: Lingchang is located in present-day Hua County, Henan.