Chapter Eight: Petition

The servant’s report struck Yang Guozhong like a thunderbolt on a clear day, leaving him stunned and speechless, while Yang Xi was equally shocked.

Heavens! The most terrifying event had truly come to pass!

Ge Shuhan’s defeat, the annihilation of two hundred thousand troops, and the mere eight thousand survivors who managed to escape back to Tongguan—the cruel reality recorded in history had unfolded before their eyes. Even without witnessing the aftermath of defeat, Yang Xi could sense the bloodshed outside Tongguan’s city walls!

Why had Yang Guozhong ignored his repeated warnings just days before? Why hadn’t he revealed, the very first time Yang Xi spoke, that the imperial court had already ordered Ge Shuhan to lead the army out? Why hadn’t he spoken more forcefully, more directly, to make Yang Guozhong understand? Oh, heavens, how could it have come to this!

Yang Xi felt a powerful urge to burst into tears!

What to do now? Ge Shuhan was defeated, and Tongguan was on the brink of falling. Once the news of Tongguan’s loss reached them, Li Longji would immediately prepare to flee, Chang’an would fall, and the string of tragic events recorded in history would unfold one after another. The wheel of history would roll forward, unstoppable, crushing countless lives into dust—including his own, for he was Yang Guozhong’s youngest son, Yang Xi!

Yang Xi, once a scout hardened by tough training and harsh environments, had never imagined himself so helpless. As for Yang Guozhong, who had not foreseen any of this, he was dumbstruck, standing motionless in utter despair.

“Father, the court must immediately send reinforcements to Tongguan! While Tongguan is still in our hands, its defenses must be strengthened to ensure it is not lost!” Yang Xi was the first to recover his wits. Regardless of the man before him being his “father,” he shouted, “It’s still morning, there is plenty of time before nightfall. If troops are assembled now and dispatched to reinforce Tongguan, they could arrive by dawn tomorrow! As long as the rebels don’t immediately pursue and attack after our defeat, Tongguan can still be held! Father, don’t hesitate—go to the palace at once and urge the Emperor to send a great army to reinforce Tongguan. Otherwise, Tongguan will surely fall, and Chang’an will be lost as well! Father!!!”

Wang Chen’s last few words, nearly a furious roar, finally jolted Yang Guozhong out of his stupor. But he was still at a loss until Yang Xi repeated his plea, then, suddenly coming to himself, he rushed out without a word.

Yang Xi, briefly stunned, hurried after him.

“Father, let me accompany you to the palace. Perhaps I can help plead your case!”

Yang Guozhong paused, glanced at his youngest son’s determined expression, and made no objection. Striding forward, he replied, “Very well, Xi’er, come with me to the palace. You can speak to His Majesty with me when the time comes.”

Yang Xi’s earlier words had been so unexpected—he had all but predicted Ge Shuhan’s defeat. Yang Guozhong now looked at his youngest son with new eyes. It had been on his own advice that Ge Shuhan had launched a full-scale attack, and it was this advice that led to disaster. The Emperor would surely vent his wrath on him, perhaps even put him to death as a scapegoat. What Yang Xi had just said about urgently reinforcing Tongguan was wise. If he brought Yang Xi with him to plead for forgiveness and seek counsel, perhaps this newly resolute son might bring unexpected results!

The servants had already prepared swift horses. Father and son mounted up and sped toward Xingqing Palace.

Yang Xi’s thoughts were entirely focused on the battle at Tongguan; he didn’t even pause to wonder how he had become so adept at horseback riding.

Upon arriving outside Xingqing Palace, they dismounted. Without waiting to be announced, Yang Guozhong led Yang Xi straight into the palace. In such an emergency, the Emperor would certainly have received the military report already. Regardless of how the Emperor might punish him, he had to present himself at once—only then might the Emperor’s anger be somewhat lessened.

As Yang Guozhong and Yang Xi made their way to Li Longji’s bedchamber, an imperial eunuch summoned them—the Emperor had already received news of the disastrous defeat at Tongguan. Following the eunuch, they hurried to the Emperor’s quarters.

On the way, Yang Guozhong rapidly told Yang Xi things he had not shared before.

After hearing this, Yang Xi understood the general situation. Once the court had ordered Ge Shuhan to march out, Ge Shuhan had argued strenuously for holding the pass, sending repeated petitions to the Emperor to rescind the order. At this same time, the court received memorials from Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi far away in Hebei. Reporting their own campaigns, the two generals also warned, “If the army is sent out from Tongguan, defeat is certain. If the city cannot be held, the capital will face upheaval, and chaos will sweep the realm—how then can order be restored?”

Yet the court continued to press Ge Shuhan to march out. Under such pressure, Ge Shuhan had no choice but to lead two hundred thousand men to battle.

Hearing all this, Yang Xi was silent with bitter disgust. For the sake of personal gain, his father had disregarded the country’s welfare and forced Ge Shuhan into battle, bringing disaster upon the Tang dynasty!

If he had followed his own impulses, he would have liked to seize Yang Guozhong and give him a good beating, perhaps even end him on the spot.

But he could not act on impulse now; he had to keep calm, for only by staying calm could he hope to resolve this crisis.

As they neared the Emperor’s bedchamber, Yang Guozhong shared more. After the court had executed Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi and appointed Ge Shuhan to command at Tongguan, Yang Guozhong, with the Emperor’s permission, had selected three thousand men to train in the forbidden gardens under Li Fude and Liu Guangting, intending to use them as a reserve. He also mustered ten thousand troops at Ba Shang under the trusted commander Du Qianyun, ostensibly to defend against An Lushan’s rebels, but in truth to guard against a possible mutiny by Ge Shuhan. This scheme had been discovered: on the first day of the sixth month, Ge Shuhan had Du Qianyun killed and taken command of those ten thousand men.

Before Yang Guozhong could finish explaining, the two of them reached the Emperor’s bedchamber. The trusted eunuch Gao Lishi personally ushered them inside, quietly warning Yang Guozhong that the Emperor was furious and that they must choose their words carefully.

It was Yang Xi’s first time meeting this legendary eunuch, renowned for his loyalty to Li Longji. Hearing his kindly warning, Yang Xi felt a strange fondness for Gao Lishi’s gentle features. But he knew that anyone who survived so long at court could hide their true feelings and smile warmly in any circumstance.

Inside, Yang Xi immediately spotted an elderly man with white hair and beard sitting slumped on the throne, chin resting on his hand, eyes closed, utterly devoid of vigor. This was surely the illustrious Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Li Longji, but Yang Xi saw nothing of imperial dignity in him. As Yang Xi tried to study the Emperor more closely, Yang Guozhong walked forward, knelt down with a thud, kowtowed several times, and pleaded, “Your Majesty, your unworthy servant comes to beg forgiveness. Tongguan has fallen—this disaster is mine. I beg Your Majesty to mete out punishment!”

Yang Xi hesitated, unsure whether he too should kneel. He knew full well that as his father begged forgiveness, he ought to do the same, but the prideful nature and the memory of his own knees, which had never bent to anyone in his own time, gave him pause.

His hesitation, however, drew a sideways glance from the waiting Gao Lishi.

As Yang Xi, reluctant but about to kneel, Li Longji—roused by Yang Guozhong’s actions—spoke: “Yang Silang, help your father up.”

Yang Xi breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward, and helped Yang Guozhong to his feet.

“Guozhong, there is no need for this,” croaked Li Longji. “I know you have served me loyally. You urged Ge Shuhan to take the offensive in hopes of ending the rebellion swiftly. The defeat at Tongguan is not your fault, but rather the result of Ge Shuhan’s lack of skill in battle!”

To everyone’s surprise, Li Longji exonerated Yang Guozhong. Both father and son looked up in astonishment as the haggard old man continued, “Guozhong, I summoned you today not to punish you, but to seek your counsel—how should we respond to the disaster at Tongguan?”

After receiving news of the defeat, Li Longji had summoned his ministers for urgent deliberations. Yang Guozhong was the first to arrive, barely a quarter of an hour after being summoned—a fact that gratified the Emperor.

Of course, he did intend to punish Yang Guozhong, but with the crisis at hand, any reckoning would have to wait until later. Besides, Yang Guozhong remained one of the few people he could truly trust.

The Emperor’s forbearance was what Yang Guozhong had hoped for, but it was nonetheless a great relief. After glancing at Yang Xi, he composed himself and said, “Your Majesty, I believe we must immediately dispatch a general with a large army to reinforce Tongguan. Time is of the essence! If Tongguan can be held, the rebels cannot reach Chang’an.”

No sooner had Yang Guozhong finished than Yang Xi, “at just the right moment,” stepped forward and declared, “Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops to reinforce Tongguan, to save the pass from peril, and to redeem my father’s error—thus relieving the empire of this crisis!”

“What?” “Ah?!” Li Longji, seated on the throne, and Yang Guozhong, standing beside Yang Xi, exclaimed in unison. But Li Longji, his attention fixed on Yang Xi, took no notice of Yang Guozhong’s cry. Seeing Yang Xi step forward after his father’s suggestion, Li Longji assumed this had been prearranged between father and son and was thoroughly astonished.

But what could have possessed Yang Guozhong to propose his seventeen-year-old son for such a critical mission?

Noting the effect of his proposal, and seeing that Li Longji was stunned and Yang Guozhong made no move to interrupt or object, Yang Xi seized the opportunity to press his plea: “Your Majesty, I came to the palace with my father today precisely to request, in person, command of the relief expedition! I am willing to lead a force to reinforce Tongguan and resolve its crisis, and my father will agree to this. I am willing to sign a military pledge: if I cannot save Tongguan, I will accept whatever punishment Your Majesty decrees! I beg Your Majesty to grant this favor—let me lead the army to relieve Tongguan!”