Chapter 29: Slaying the Dragon (5)

You are not fighting for the lands of a single family or clan—you are defending our own homeland!
Zhou Wucui’s response was resounding, and Li Kuo couldn’t help but feel inspired.
Indeed, when he first heard of An Lushan’s rebellion and decided to march north, wasn’t it to protect the Tang Dynasty, to protect the homeland belonging to each of them? This Tang Dynasty did not belong to Li Heng and his son, nor to the Li Tang court—it belonged to everyone!
Whether they were nobles or commoners toiling in the streets, they all shared the same sky and the same land. The Tang Dynasty was great not because of the illustrious pedigrees of its emperors and officials, but because of the efforts and perseverance of every Tang person. That was how their own Tang Dynasty was created!
And now, the rebels wanted to destroy this Tang Dynasty, which so many Tang people had fought for with their lives and blood. As a Tang person, would he really ignore such a heavy responsibility due to personal grudges?
He would never do such a thing!
From the moment he put on this military uniform, his fate was sealed—he could never abandon this heavy responsibility.
“Wucui, you’re right. The Tang Dynasty we defend is not Li Heng and his son’s Tang Dynasty!”
A smile appeared on Li Kuo’s lips. “But now that the army is besieging Chang’an, its fall is only a matter of time. Even if I lead my troops to Tongguan, it would be merely adding icing on the cake—not much of a help. It’s better to do something that’s more beneficial to the Tang Dynasty and our homeland!”
Zhou Wucui frowned and murmured, “More beneficial to the Tang Dynasty, more beneficial to our homeland?”
“That’s right!”
Li Kuo nodded. “The situation in Chang’an and Suiyang is exactly the opposite. Instead of adding icing on the cake in Chang’an, it’s better to bring relief in Suiyang. The people of Chang’an are people—aren’t the people of Suiyang also people? We are not defending the lands of a single family or clan, nor are we defending only the homes of emperors and officials!”
Why was Li Heng so eager to recapture Chang’an? Because Chang’an symbolized the longevity of the dynasty and the hope of the Tang Dynasty. Although Suiyang was geographically important, it lacked such symbolic significance. If given a choice, Li Heng would surely prioritize recapturing Chang’an to deal a heavy psychological blow to the rebels.
That’s why he was willing to deploy all his troops to Chang’an, why he was willing to borrow troops from the Uyghurs to attack the city—all not because he cared about the safety of the people in Chang’an, but because he cared about his own throne and kingdom.

So he preferred to sacrifice hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Suiyang City to satisfy his own desires. But Li Kuo would not do such a thing. In his eyes, the lives of the people in Chang’an and Suiyang were equally precious, and the lands of Chang’an and Suiyang were equally important. What they protected was not the territory of a single family or dynasty, but the homeland of every Tang person! There was no distinction between high and low, noble and humble—this was the Great Tang belonging to everyone, the Great Tang of Chinese culture! When the sun rose, it was the glory of the Great Tang!… As soon as Li Kuo proposed marching on Suiyang, he received support from many soldiers from the Jianghuai region. This was not hard to understand, as most of these soldiers, aside from a few from the Tongwu Camp, were natives of Jiangdu. Now that Suiyang was besieged by rebels, it would fall sooner or later without reinforcements. Once that happened, the people of Jianghuai would suffer. Compared to Chang’an, the people of Jiangdu were the true relatives of these soldiers! Everyone has selfish motives; if given a choice, they would naturally choose to protect those closest to them by blood! With the full support of his soldiers, Li Kuo became even more determined. He personally wrote to Guo Ziyi, declining his kindness and stating that he would march on Suiyang to lift the siege. Soon after, Guo Ziyi replied, highly praising Li Kuo’s noble actions and promising to do his utmost to speak on his behalf before the emperor to bridge the gap between them as lord and subject. Li Kuo dismissed Guo Ziyi’s gesture with a smile, not taking it seriously. Bridge the gap? Rigid ice doesn’t form in a day—how could such a gap be easily resolved? All he wanted now was to quell the rebellion as soon as possible and live in peace with his family! As for imperial favor, he neither sought nor cared for it! After making his plans, Li Kuo sent someone to inform his uncle Gao Shi, saying he would go to Jianghuai to pick up his family after lifting the siege in Suiyang, so as not to trouble him further. Once everything was arranged, Li Kuo felt relieved. Suiyang, I’m coming!… It was nearly July, and the weather was extremely hot. Only at night, when the darkness covered the stars, did the heat ease slightly. Li Kuo had led his troops away from Tangzhou for two days and had now arrived outside Nandun City. With the rebels near Chang’an being repeatedly defeated by the imperial army, they were now confined to the area around Chang’an and posed no threat to Tangzhou at all.

Free from concerns, Li Kuo promptly mobilized all ten thousand elite troops in the city, leaving only five thousand local fighters to defend it. Adding to this were the more than a thousand horse bandits gathered in Shangcai, bringing Li Kuo’s total cavalry force to eleven thousand. Although these cavalry were not as fierce and powerful as those from Yeluo River, they were all elite troops carefully trained by Li Kuo, and they would likely not be at a disadvantage against ordinary rebel cavalry. With such a light cavalry force, they advanced swiftly, and the small groups of rebels they encountered along the way would actively avoid them, not daring to confront them head-on. Li Kuo’s goal was clear: to lift the siege of Suiyang. Since Suiyang had been under siege for a long time, every day of delay posed greater risks, so Li Kuo ordered his troops to carry only half a month’s worth of rations, march a hundred li per day, and rest for only three hours at night. Such rapid marching was extremely rare even among the elite rebel forces. “Qilang, just ahead is Luyi!” Zhou Wucui pointed to a small city on the map and tapped it lightly. Under the dim light, Li Kuo frowned and said, “I heard that Tian Chengsi has stationed a large number of troops here. Is there another route to Suiyang?” Zhou Wucui shrugged helplessly and said, “There is one, but it’s a longer detour. We only have half a month’s rations, so it will be even more difficult if we take that route.” Li Kuo nodded and said, “Then let’s go through Luyi. I’ve long heard of Tian Chengsi’s reputation; this is a good chance to confront him properly!” … There was no conversation that night. Early the next morning, as the first light appeared, the soldiers got up to cook. Less than half an hour later, after breakfast, they set off for Luyi. Luyi was located beside the Xi Fei River, just over two hundred li from Suiyang. Rebel general Tian Chengsi was in charge of defending the outskirts of Suiyang to prevent Tang troops from arriving in relief. However, the area surrounding Suiyang was vast, and even with all his efforts, Tian Chengsi could not manage it alone. So he sent several trusted subordinates to oversee several key fortresses, with Luyi being one of the most strategically important. In fact, there was no need to enter the city to pass through Luyi; crossing via the shallow waters downstream was more convenient. After sending scouts to survey the surrounding terrain, Li Kuo decided to cross the river at the Xi Fei River. To his surprise, they were not intercepted by the rebels when crossing the river. By the time the entire army had crossed the Xi Fei River, not a single rebel was in sight. This result surprised Li Kuo greatly, as Luyi was an important stronghold, and the number of troops stationed there by the rebels must have been significant. Even if they couldn’t confront him head-on, they could still try to delay him by attacking from the flanks.

With over ten thousand of my cavalry speeding past the city outside, how could the defending generals not notice? Given the rebels’ competitive and aggressive nature, how could they stay inside the city and watch helplessly as we crossed the river? When something extraordinary happens, there must be a trick behind it. Thus, Li Kuo became wary and ordered his entire army to heighten their vigilance.

“Qilang, I don’t think there’s anything strange about the rebels’ actions,” Zhou Wucui said, holding the reins in one hand while using the scabbard to push aside the branches above his head. “Think about it—right now, the main force of the rebels is concentrated within ten miles outside Suiyang. From their perspective, if we go to rescue Suiyang, they can let us pass, after all, there are over a hundred thousand troops stationed outside Suiyang, ready to besiege and attack us. But if we’re not there to rescue Suiyang, they have even less reason to attack. After all, it’s not their responsibility, and acting rashly could be seen as overstepping their authority. If they win, it’s fine, but if they lose, we might take Luyi from them, and then they’ll truly be at a loss for words.”

Li Kuo nodded. Zhou Wucui’s analysis made sense. After all, with his army advancing so fiercely, holding the city was not a bad option until their true intentions were clear.

At this point, there was no need to worry about these matters anymore; he needed to focus more on the path ahead.

“But the rest of the journey won’t be easy. To reach Suiyang, we must cross the Bianhuan River, and this river is extremely fast-flowing—far too swift to cross on foot.”

Zhou Wucui analyzed gravely, “We can either take a ferry or cross by bridge. The former is feasible, but with our large numbers, it’s hard to find enough ferries. If anything goes wrong along the way, it will be difficult to form a battle formation to confront the enemy.”

“So, we can only cross by bridge?” Li Kuo asked, frowning.