Chapter 3: Wuling (III)

Taikang was not too far from Ningling City—about seventy or eighty li. Yet the journey there was difficult. After capturing Yongqiu, the rebel general Linghu Chao ordered his generals Lin Jiayou and Cui Shu to lead three thousand cavalry each to block the west and south sides of Ningling City. Now, the area north of Ningling City was under rebel control, with the only stronghold still in the imperial hands being Suiyang, located east of Ningling.

This strategic location sat at the junction of Huainan and Henan routes, acting like a fishbone that frustrated the rebels. Li Kuo chose not to attack Taikang head-on. First, Taikang was situated in a plain with no natural defenses, and attacking it would only waste troops. Second, Taikang was too far from Tangzhou; even if captured, it would remain an isolated city with little practical value.

Instead, Li Kuo decided to head north overnight toward Ningling. While Li Heng’s threats and inducements played a role in his decision, it was mainly due to the importance of Ningling. Initially, Li Kuo had refused to send reinforcements to Yongqiu because the city was well-fortified and well-stocked, with not many rebels attacking it. In contrast, the situation at Tongguan was far more critical, so Li Kuo chose to stay in Tangzhou and wait for developments. But now, the situation had changed drastically. Linghu Chao was clearly not satisfied with just capturing Yongqiu; his goal was to achieve great military success by taking Ningling and thus gaining control of Suiyang, the gateway to Jianghuai.

Once Suiyang fell, the rebels could ride straight south, subjugating the entire land north of the Yangtze River and wreaking havoc. If Jianghuai fell as well, the Tang court would lose all hope of turning the situation around. Therefore, Li Kuo had to send reinforcements to Ningling at this moment to relieve the urgent crisis.

“Commander, the scouts report that there’s a makeshift camp on the plain thirty li southwest of Ningling City. It seems to have around a thousand men, and inside are mostly burlap bags—likely the enemy’s grain stores!” Xianyu Yucheng reported to Li Kuo, bowing respectfully.

“What’s the current situation in Ningling City?” Li Kuo asked in a deep voice, frowning. With the situation ahead unclear, leading troops there recklessly could result in heavy losses. Linghu Chao was cunning and likely had already received reports along the route, meaning their cavalry’s movements were probably already known to the enemy.

“Fierce battles are underway in Ningling City. Our men can’t get too close, but it seems they’re completely surrounded by the rebels and can only defend themselves,” Xianyu Yucheng replied after thinking for a moment.

“If we burn that military camp, how likely do you think the rebels will retreat?”
Li Kuo frowned, considering all possibilities. Logically speaking, Linghu Chao shouldn’t hoard all his supplies in one place. If an unexpected force attacked from behind and burned those supplies, wouldn’t they be forced to withdraw?
Had he become so confident that he believed no one from the Tang Dynasty would lead an army to confront him?
“Commander, in my opinion, we needn’t worry about so much. Just charge forward. It would be best if the rebels retreat, but if they don’t, we can always march to the gates of Ningling City. By then, Xiao Zhang, the top scholar, will surely lead the city’s defenders to fight against them. Under such double pressure, Linghu Chao will surely be defeated.”
Xianyu Yucheng didn’t think this far. In his view, his five thousand cavalry were the elite of Jianghuai and the capital. Not only could they compete with the Yeluo River forces, but dealing with a few scattered rebel troops was a piece of cake.
Li Kuo pondered for a long time before declaring firmly, “Pass my orders: the entire army shall head southwest toward Ningling City! We must arrive by midnight!”
“Understood, Commander!”
Xianyu Yucheng respectfully clasped his fists and left to carry out the order。……
The moon hung high in the sky, surrounded by brilliant stars.
The vast wilderness was utterly silent.
Not far from Ningling City, Juma Camp was brightly lit and filled with noise.
As the rear supply force for the army besieging Ningling, this group of over a thousand logistics soldiers led a very comfortable life. All they had to do was set up a camp on the plain and deliver supplies to outside Ningling City on schedule—thus completing their mission.
The rest of the time, whether they wanted to capture a few girls from nearby villages for pleasure or engage in drinking and gambling, no one would interfere. No need to fight in battle, no need to hold shields or climb walls under arrow fire—just wine, meat, and women. Even a god wouldn’t want to trade such a life!
As the commander of this army, Zheng Hanlin naturally enjoyed the finest wines, the most tender roasted meat, and the most desirable women.
Zheng Hanlin wasn’t a barbarian, nor was he among those who rose in arms with An Lushan in Fanyang. In fact, after the rebels captured Xingyang, he defected to them through someone’s introduction. He was the illegitimate son of Zheng Jun, the current head of the Zheng family in Xingyang. Resentful of not being valued by his family, he simply joined the rebels.
Yet the Zheng family’s century-long reputation was ruined by this Zheng Hanlin, so much so that Zheng Jun, the head of the family, died from anger, spitting blood.

Zheng Hanlin had such a refined name, yet laughably lacked any trace of refinement. Due to his origin from the Zheng family of Xingyang, though he was an illegitimate child, he was valued by the rebel general Yin Ziqi and appointed as a military advisor under Linghu Chao. It was his first time holding an official position, and despite it being just that of a military advisor, Zheng Hanlin was overjoyed. In this world, there are always those who crave power desperately but struggle to rise due to their lack of strength. Once they seize power through some chance, they recklessly use it to oppress the people to satisfy their pitiful vanity. Zheng Hanlin was clearly one such person. Because of his Tang descent, Yin Ziqi did not assign him elite troops but instead gave him all the puppet soldiers gathered along the way. These puppet soldiers were mostly ruffians who had long wanted a chance to stand out but now saw the rebels marching south. Driven by the desire for fame through military achievements, they joined the rebels without caring whether the heads they had to cut were those of their own relatives. With such a shameless army under Zheng Hanlin’s command, one can imagine the tragic fate of the local people. In the fifty-mile radius of counties, the people’s grain stores were nearly emptied, and women aged 14 to 35 were all captured to satisfy the rebels’ lusts. Inside the main tent of the military camp, the lights flickered continuously. Zheng Hanlin basked in his triumphant excitement, squinting at the beauty before him. The woman lay naked on a wooden bed, her limbs tied to the headboard, unable to move. Zheng Hanlin did not cover her mouth for a simple reason: he enjoyed immensely the sound of her desperate screams. Such shrill cries maximized his sense of conquest as a man, allowing him to relieve tension with each thrust. The louder she screamed, the happier and more aroused he became. What was morality? What was virtue? In Zheng Hanlin’s eyes, they were all nonsense! The ideals of cultivating oneself, managing one’s family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—all nonsense! He indeed wanted to govern the state and bring peace, but would that foolish emperor give him a chance? Among those who became officials, who wasn’t the legitimate son of a prominent family? People like him, born illegitimate, would likely never get a chance to stand out in their lives!

Since the moment he was abandoned by his family, he had never trusted so-called morality and virtue again. Loyalty to the emperor and country, respect for fathers and elder brothers—why should he do that? He had never received the slightest favor or indulgence from his family, so why should he be forced to shed blood and sweat for the Zheng family? He had not received even the slightest reward from the Tang court, so why should he be expected to show loyalty to the emperor and country?

Just because he was an illegitimate child, did he have to become someone else’s stepping stone, forced to kneel at his legitimate elder brother’s feet and never lift his head again? Just because he was illegitimate, did he not deserve his family’s attention, preventing him from achieving success in the imperial examinations and entering government service? Just because he was illegitimate, did he have to live a life of humiliation?

No, he would not accept it; he would not resign himself to fate!

He was determined to gamble, to risk his life in this gamble!

“Someone, drag this whore outside and give her to the brothers as a reward!”
A sense of revenge surged in Zheng Hanlin’s heart as he put on his trousers, jumped down from the bed, and gave orders.

Whoever gave him wealth was his morality; whoever gave him women was his justice!

From this perspective, An Lushan’s rebel forces were actually the forces of justice, while the so-called legitimate Tang dynasty was nothing but outright traitors.

The curtain was lifted, and a cold wind blew in. Several armored soldiers entered the tent and dragged the woman from the bed away. After being ravaged by Zheng Hanlin, she was utterly disheartened, smiling coldly as she allowed herself to be dragged away.

“Take her away too!”
Zheng Hanlin raised his eyebrows and ordered sharply.

In this life, the court and his family owed him too much—he would demand full compensation, refusing to accept even the slightest debt!