Chapter 28: Slaying the Dragon (IV)

As June drew to an end, Li Kuo was reviewing a stack of reports from the front lines in the Tangzhou government office.
Since April, the new emperor Li Heng had appointed Guo Ziyi as the deputy commander-in-chief of the imperial forces to assist Prince Guangping in suppressing the rebellion.
In May, the Tang army engaged in a fierce battle with the rebels near Qingqu, west of Chang’an, but was ultimately defeated. Left with no choice, Guo Ziyi retreated to Wugong. It now seemed that the struggle between the Tang Dynasty and the rebels for control of Chang’an had reached a critical stage. To ensure Chang’an remained under control, An Qingxu sent Sun Xiaozhe’s troops to reinforce it urgently. As a result, the 30,000 cavalry outside Tangzhou had withdrawn, reducing the pressure on Li Kuo significantly.
But this did not mean the worries in Li Kuo’s heart had dissipated.
His uncle Gao Shi had promised to send his family back, but there had been no news for months. Even though Suiyang was now in the midst of fierce battles, surely there could be at least a couple of people in the Jianghuai region willing to escort his family to Tangzhou?
The route via Xiangyang, then Nanyang, to Tangzhou did not pass near Suiyang and would not come under rebel interception. So why was his uncle still delaying? Could it be that he had other intentions?
The more Li Kuo thought about it, the angrier he became. His relationship with Li Heng was already irreparably strained. If he took any action, things would only get worse for his uncle. But waiting idly would drive him mad!
Furious, he slammed his fist on the desk and stood up in anger.
“Qilang, Qilang…”
Just as he was about to leave, he encountered Zhou Wucui, who was rushing over in a hurry. The two almost collided.
“What happened? Why are you so panicked?”
Seeing Zhang Yanji’s state, Li Kuo was puzzled. Normally, Zhou Wucui was the kind of person who remained calm even in the face of crisis. How could he be so flustered?
“I… I… You, ah!”
Zhou Wucui struggled for words for a long time before finally waving his sleeve in frustration and falling silent.
“What exactly happened?”
Li Kuo frowned deeply and grabbed Zhou Wucui’s shoulders, pressing him to speak. His behavior was extremely abnormal today. Li Kuo even noticed that Zhou Wucui’s eyes were red and swollen, clearly from crying. What could have made this boy cry like that? Li Kuo couldn’t imagine it.
“Hurry up and tell me! Do you want to drive me crazy?”
“Yanji… Yanji…”
Zhou Wucui covered his nose with one hand and sobbed softly.
“What’s wrong with Yanji? Speak up!”
Annoyed and frustrated by Zhou Wucui’s silence, Li Kuo shook him violently.

“Some brothers went to Lingwu to visit their families. On the city walls, they saw Yanji’s head!”
Zhou Wucui could no longer hold back his emotions. He covered his face with his hands and burst into tears.
“What? What did you say? Say it again!”
Li Kuo was nearly frantic, shaking Zhou Wucui violently. “You’re lying to me! You’re joking with me, right? Right?”
Zhou Wucui also became angry. In frustration, he pushed Li Kuo away and said, “Why would I lie to you? Wu Li went home to visit his family and indeed saw Yanji’s head on the city walls of Lingwu! He used to be Yanji’s personal guard—how could he be wrong?”
Li Kuo sat frozen on the ground. “It’s impossible! How could this happen? Why would Yanji go to Lingwu? Could it be…?”
Zhou Wucui choked up and said, “Wu Li said he saw a proclamation on the city walls. Apparently, the court discovered that you were plotting rebellion. They wanted to recall Yanji, who was serving in Anxi, as a hostage. But after sending several orders for you to go to Lingwu, you refused. So…”
“So they killed Yanji?”
Li Kuo slammed the table and sneered, “What a great Tang emperor! What a great Tang court! I never imagined the court I sacrificed my life for would be like this!”
In an instant, he drew his sword and headed outside.
“Qilang, what are you doing?”
Seeing Li Kuo about to do something foolish, Zhou Wucui rushed forward to hold him back.
“Leave me alone! I have to avenge Yanji! Don’t stop me!”
Li Kuo struggled violently, but suddenly felt a pain in his neck, his vision went dark, and he collapsed…
When Li Kuo opened his eyes, he found himself lying on a bed.
“Yanji! Yanji!”
Li Kuo cried out and sat up abruptly. He had just had a nightmare—Yanji, with a cruel smile, was coming toward him. Covered in blood, he just kept walking toward him without saying a word, just smiling cruelly.
“Qilang, you’re awake!”
Zhou Wucui sighed deeply and stepped closer to Li Kuo. “Calm down first. In your current state, you’re not thinking clearly. You’ll only harm your brothers. Once you’ve thought it through, if you really decide to fight that foolish emperor, your brothers won’t hesitate for a second!”
Li Kuo collapsed weakly on the bed, shaking his head and smiling bitterly. “It’s my fault Yanji died. If I had gone to Lingwu as ordered, he wouldn’t have died. It’s my fault Yanji died.”

“Don’t be foolish! That incompetent emperor isn’t someone with a broad mind. If you really go to Lingwu, you’ll likely end up in the same fate as Yan Ji.”
Zhou Wucui sneered, shattering Li Kuo’s illusions: “The fault lies with Yan Ji for being too stupid to follow that incompetent emperor’s orders and go to Lingwu to take up his post!”
“I can’t accept this! I won’t give up! I must avenge Yan Ji!”
Li Kuo struggled to get up, but Zhou Wucui pressed him down firmly.
“Calm down!”
Zhou Wucui glanced at Li Kuo and said, “What’s the situation now? Even if he’s incompetent, he’s still the emperor of the Tang Dynasty. If you rashly lead your men to Lingwu like this, isn’t that rebellion?”
“Then let it be rebellion! He killed Yan Ji—I’ll make him pay!”
Li Kuo suddenly turned his head and glared fiercely at Zhou Wucui.
Startled by the glare, Zhou Wucui said, “With your current strength, can you really avenge Yan Ji? Even if we include all the local militia in Tangzhou, we can at most gather twenty thousand troops, while the imperial guards guarding Lingwu number thirty thousand. Not to mention the thirty thousand troops left by General Guo Ziyi in Shuofang. Leading everyone there like this is like moths flying into a flame. Besides, this is a critical moment for suppressing the rebellion. If you cause trouble now and try to execute the incompetent emperor, how will that affect our plans? Do you really want to see the Tang Dynasty fall apart from now on?”
Li Kuo replied coldly, “That incompetent emperor doesn’t deserve to rule the Tang Dynasty! I must act on behalf of heaven—execute him, avenge Yan Ji, and rid the world of this scourge. The Tang Dynasty in my heart is not the one ruled by Li Heng!” Zhou Wucui shook his head and said, “Even if you could let go of everything else, could you let go of the old lady, Sister A Tian, and Li Niang?”
Boom!
Li Kuo’s mind exploded, and he immediately collapsed.
Yes, how could he have forgotten them? They were still in Jianghuai and Yangzhou!
“No wonder, no wonder Uncle Gao was reluctant to send them to Tangzhou.”
“You’re wronging him. Look at this!”
Zhou Wucui took out a letter from his sleeve and handed it to Li Kuo.
Li Kuo slowly pulled out the letter and read it word by word.
“What? Uncle Gao is planning to send my mother, A Tian, and Li Niang back today?”
Overjoyed, Li Kuo hugged Zhou Wucui tightly to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.
“However, he also said that as the governor of Jianghuai, he can’t leave Yangzhou too far. He can only send the old lady and the others to Xiangyang. You’ll have to go and pick them up in person!”

Zhou Wucui felt great pity seeing Li Kuo in such a state, but he didn’t say much. Instead, he emphasized the key points from Gao Shi’s letter to prevent Li Kuo from getting overly excited and losing his head.
“What’s difficult about that? I’ll go to Xiangyang right away to pick them up!”
Having received several bad news after another, how could Li Kuo not be happy to hear good news? Now, even if it were Fanyang, An Lushan’s stronghold, rather than Xiangyang as Gao Shi suggested, Li Kuo would undoubtedly rush there without hesitation.
“Don’t get so excited. Things need to be handled one by one!”
Zhou Wucui shrugged and said, “Take a look at this report. General Guo Ziyi hopes you’ll assist in besieging Chang’an.”
Hearing this, Li Kuo sneered, “Guo Ziyi? Does he know that I am now at odds with that foolish emperor? And yet he still wants me to die for him?”
Why could Li Heng treat him in such a domineering manner? Why could he kill loyal officials at will—just because he was the emperor of the Tang Dynasty?
Zhou Wucui sighed, “You’re not dying for that foolish emperor. You’re fighting for the people and the land of the Tang Dynasty! Didn’t you tell me once that the land of the Tang Dynasty belongs to everyone, not just one family? We’re just protecting our own homeland! Besides, General Guo Ziyi believes there’s some misunderstanding between that emperor and you. If you agree to help suppress the rebellion in Chang’an, he can vouch for you to dispel the emperor’s prejudice against you and make him revoke his order to attack you.”