Chapter 40: Passing Years (7)
“Your Majesty, Your Majesty! You’ve overwhelmed me, truly overwhelmed me!”
Ge Shu Han suddenly knelt on the ground, embracing the thick legs of the Tang Emperor Li Longji and weeping bitterly. “Your Majesty has shown me such grace—I don’t know how to repay it! I feel ashamed before You!”
Li Longji patted Ge Shu Han’s shoulder gently. “My dear general, you are the pillar of my empire, the great supporter of my dynasty. With you by my side, my Tang will endure forever, and I can rest in peace. Isn’t this enough as a repayment to me?”
“I… I…”
“Get up quickly! As the governor of Longyou and a prince of my Tang, how can you act like this, crying and wailing?”
Li Longji helped Ge Shu Han up and nodded at Yang Guozhong. “With Guozhong protecting the country and its people inside, and you leading the troops to fight the rebels outside, how could there be any trouble quelling these rebels? I await your good news. The day you suppress the rebels will be the day I grant you the title of prince. This royal title will be hereditary, never to be revoked!”
Li Longji adjusted the hem of his imperial robe and smiled. “Not long ago, Guozhong made a bet with me—how long it would take you to defeat the rebels and reclaim the Eastern Capital. Guozhong said it wouldn’t take a year, while I said half a year would suffice!”
Upon hearing this, Ge Shu Han’s expression darkened slightly before he smiled. “There are nearly 200,000 troops stationed at Tongguan, while the main rebel force led by Cui Qianyou numbering only 20,000, plus other auxiliary troops, won’t exceed 50,000 in total. With such a huge advantage, I can defeat the rebels in just one battle once I leave the city!”
“Good!”
These days, news of rebels capturing various provinces and counties had kept Li Longji gloomy, with not a single day of cheer. Now, with Ge Shu Han’s confident words, though the battle hadn’t yet begun, it greatly boosted his confidence.
“General Ge Shu is the best among our Tang’s border troops. Such mere rebels surely won’t bother him, but be careful of those with ulterior motives!”
Yang Guozhong stroked his beard lightly. “After all, even if these rebels are fierce, they act openly, making them easier to guard against than those who scheme in secret.”
He kept glancing at Crown Prince Li Hen at the head of the table, nearly causing the prince to choke on his drink.
“Prime Minister, there’s no need to worry. Though I’m not outstanding, I can still tell who is loyal and who is treacherous.”
After a pause, Ge Shu Han added, “I just wonder how well-done you prefer your roasted pork—so I can know the standard when I catch those rebels and roast them.”
“Haha, haha! General, you’re really witty!”
Yang Guozhong laughed so hard he bent over. “Not too well-done—seven-tenths done is enough, haha, haha.”
“For the Tang, let’s raise a toast!”
Li Longji was filled with pride at that moment, as if the rebellion led by An Lushan was merely a trivial disturbance—Tang Dynasty would still remain Tang Dynasty, and the realm would still belong to him, Li Longji. This land of Tang would ultimately bear the Li surname!…
As soon as the private banquet ended, Crown Prince Li Heng, accompanied by his personal attendants, left the office building and rushed eastward along the path beside the palace walls. He had drunk too much that night and felt dizzy.
Hmm, what time is it now? Heh, what’s the use of knowing? Whether it’s any particular time or not, life just goes on in a daze. There was Li Linfu before, and now there’s Yang Guozhong—he could never enjoy a life of freedom and happiness!
It was only then that he realized that both Yang Guozhong and Li Linfu were puppets supported by his father to suppress him. As long as his father remained alive, his suffering would never end.
A loving father and a filial son—such a relationship! He had indeed thought about living such a life, but would the Emperor of Tang give him such a chance? Would he?
“Ugh! Ugh!” At a corner, Li Heng could no longer hold back and vomited against the palace wall, spewing out all the acid from the whole day.
“Your Highness, are you alright? Physician Sun specifically warned you not to drink too much. What shall we do now?”
The young eunuch panicked, patting Li Heng’s back while looking around, hesitating whether to call someone to help the crown prince. Li Heng understood his thoughts and simply waved his hand, saying, “Don’t call anyone. I know my own condition well—it’s nothing serious!”
All he had now was his age. If his father found out he was weak and sickly, he would surely think he was worthless in his eyes. He had to persevere.
“Ah, ah!” The eunuch, with tears in his eyes, supported Li Heng as they staggered forward step by step.
The evening wind blew across their faces, sharp as a knife. It was late at night, and the moonlight over Xingqing Palace was both enchanting and infuriating…
The next morning, the Emperor of Tang personally saw General Ge Shuhan off at the Mingde Gate. After defeating Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, Ge Shuhan was now the only general the empire could rely on to fight against An Lushan. No matter how he tried to comfort himself in the romantic night, once sober, Li Longji knew full well what this battle meant for Ge Shuhan.
Since ancient times, those who seized Guanzhong have gained control of the whole realm. Even Emperor Gaozu, who started his journey from Taiyuan, advanced toward Guanzhong without hesitation at the suggestion of Liu Wenjing. There is no eternal legitimate emperor; the so-called mandate from heaven is merely a pretext used by those in power to deceive the people. Li Longji certainly knew all this, which is why he attached such great importance to this battle, sparing no effort to deploy half of his troops from Hexi and Longyou to allow Ge Shu Han to arrange his forces to confront the rebels.
This was a battle with nothing to lose—he truly couldn’t afford to fail!
“My loyal minister, the battlefield is full of uncertainties. You must act decisively without hesitation. Though the rebels have sharp military skills, they act against heaven’s will and lack popular support. They have been besieging Tongguan for over a month but still cannot take it, showing their strength is waning. If you use your troops wisely and seize the opportunity, you will surely defeat them in one fell swoop! I await good news from you—I await your triumphant return!”
Surrounded by his ministers, Li Longji stepped forward to Ge Shu Han, patted his shoulder, and spoke words filled with passion.
Ge Shu Han immediately knelt down and said, “I will not fail to repay His Majesty’s grace. I will capture the rebels’ leader within three months and present it to Your Majesty!”
“Good, good! March, march!”
Filled with enthusiasm, Li Longji drew his long-unsharpened sword and raised it high with a clang.
“May heaven bless the Tang Dynasty!”
“May heaven bless the Tang Dynasty!”
The entire army shouted in unison, their voices rising high into the sky, carrying far and wide.