Chapter 54 Fall of the Nation

The crowd erupted in uproar.

Shi Nian grabbed Yang Guang by the sleeve, her face a mix of shock and suspicion as she asked, "What did they say? Tongguan has fallen? How could Tongguan fall so quickly?!"

She clearly remembered that in history, Chang'an City had held out for half a year. Now, after barely a month, Tongguan had fallen...

Her question was the question on everyone's minds. After Luoyang fell, the citizens' only remaining hope lay in Generals Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing defending the city, backed by Tongguan's garrison of two hundred thousand troops, which should have guaranteed Chang'an's safety.

Yet now, the news suddenly broke that Tongguan had fallen, and even the Emperor had fled?!

The nightmare they feared day and night had become reality, and panic gripped everyone. Only the execution supervisor maintained a shred of reason, shouting harshly, "Nonsense! His Majesty sits securely in the Daming Palace, when has he ever fled?! You are slandering the pure reputation of the holy and wise Son of Heaven!"

"Is that so?" Nie Cheng raised his voice. "Then what was the purpose of opening the Yanqiu Gate this dawn? Why was the city gate opened? General Chen Xuanli reorganized the Six Armies, selected nine hundred horses, and escorted the Imperial Consort, princes, imperial grandsons, and high-ranking officials to flee overnight by the cover of darkness, abandoning Chang'an City and all its inhabitants to their fate. Does the Prefect truly know nothing of this?"

The execution supervisor's face instantly turned ashen.

Those among the crowd who had initially doubted now harbored no further skepticism, and the area below the stage immediately plunged into chaos. Cries of grief, curses, and wailing pierced the clouds. Someone shouted, "An Lushan is coming! We cannot sit here and wait for death! Run, run quickly!"

This cry shocked the others awake, and the crowd scattered in a panic. Taking advantage of the confusion, Nie Cheng grabbed Shi Nian's hand and said, "Let's go."

Some guards tried to block them, but the frantic crowd surged forward, crashing into the guards wave after wave, preventing them from advancing. Even those who managed to squeeze through were fended off by Nie Cheng in a few swift moves, leaving the authorities to watch helplessly as the four of them escaped into the distance.

Until they reached a secluded spot, Shi Nian still could not believe she had cheated death just like that! She threw her arms around Nie Cheng, jumping up and down with excitement. "I thought I was a goner! I thought I was truly a goner this time!"

Nie Cheng let her hug him for a moment before pressing two fingers against her shoulder to push her back slightly. "With Dugu Yulang here, how could he ever let you die?"

Shi Nian blinked and looked back hesitantly, only to find Yang Guang standing a short distance away with his hands clasped behind his back. His expression seemed calm, but his gaze landed indifferently on her hand. She suddenly realized she was still clutching Nie Cheng's waist. After all, this was the ancient era; doing this seemed a bit... improper, to say the least.

She released her grip, intending to say something dignified to gloss it over, but then noticed over a dozen people standing behind Yang Guang. They were dressed as commoners, though their bearing suggested otherwise.

What had Nie Cheng said just now? With Dugu Yulang here, she wouldn't die...

Yang Guang curled his lips into a smile. "You have impressive skills, sir. You must have calculated long ago that I had a backup plan, actually managing to endure until the very last moment. But weren't you afraid that some accident might happen and cost this timid, death-fearing young lady her life?"

"Yulang calculates every move without fail, so how could he let himself come to harm? I merely had faith in you."

Listening to them trade barbed remarks, Shi Nian knitted her brows. Nie Cheng glanced at her. "We owe a debt of gratitude to the loyal men behind Yulang who shouted 'Tongguan has fallen, the Emperor has fled' in public, and secretly tripped up the guards while we made our escape. Otherwise, escaping wouldn't have been so easy."

They were the ones who had shouted? Shi Nian was stunned. So those cries weren't a coincidence; Yang Guang's men had been saving them. Yet hadn't he claimed he had no reinforcements...

"Has the Emperor truly fled?" she suddenly asked.

"He has truly fled."

"And did you know?"

Nie Cheng paused. "I knew."

"When?"

"Last night."

Shi Nian nodded. "No wonder the two of you dared to storm the execution ground alone."

As Shi Nian pondered this, she turned her head and found Nie Cheng staring right at her. Her eyes darted around. "What? Feeling guilty? Afraid I'll be angry?"

Shi Nian waved a hand. "Forget it, I'm already used to it. If I got mad every time something like this happened, I'd never stop being angry."

Some things became clear the moment she thought them through. Nie Cheng and Bruce had received advance news of the Emperor's flight and had decided to raid the execution ground to save people. They must have treated this intelligence as their most crucial trump card, but they hadn't rushed to play it because Nie Cheng was certain Yang Guang would not go to his death willingly and that someone would come to his rescue. Based on their prior intelligence, the rescuers were nine-tenths likely connected to An Lushan.

Therefore, they had stalled endlessly at the execution ground until the other side could no longer restrain themselves and made their move.

Shi Nian looked at Yang Guang. "Won't you introduce these brave men?"

Yang Guang's expression remained composed. "These are secret agents left behind in the capital by the Fanyang Jiedushi, and they now take their orders from me."

As expected.

Shi Nian thought bitterly that everyone had known what was going to happen today, and everyone had known they wouldn't die—except for her. She was the only one who had been terrified out of her wits.

No, thinking about it like this still made her a bit angry!

"Didn't you say the Fanyang Jiedushi might not send anyone to rescue you?"

"Did I say that? Oh, I suppose I did." Yang Guang wore an apologetic expression. "My apologies, I lied again."

I don't think you've ever told the truth in your life!

"You flatter me, Yulang. With the miraculous achievement you've pulled off, helping the Fanyang Jiedushi capture Tongguan, how could he not come to save you?"

Yang Guang's smile faded, his gaze piercing Nie Cheng like needles. Yet the man acted as though he felt nothing, continuing: "Tongguan is naturally a perilous stronghold, easy to defend and hard to attack. Had the city remained sealed, the rebel forces could have done nothing for quite some time. It is simply a pity that the Emperor listened to slanderous whispers, actually suspecting General Gao Xianzhi of secretly colluding with An Lushan, and ordered him out of the city to meet the enemy, leading right into an ambush. Two hundred thousand troops were thus destroyed in a single stroke."

He paused. "As for how those slanderous whispers reached the Emperor's ears, I hear there was a secret letter listing numerous fabricated crimes against Gao Xianzhi. Might I ask if Yulang could enlighten us on how that letter came to be?"

Yang Guang and Nie Cheng locked eyes. Shi Nian had a feeling that not until this very moment did Yang Guang look at this man squarely for the first time, truly seeing Nie Cheng for who he was.

A moment later, the corners of Yang Guang's lips lifted into a slight smile. "You guessed correctly. I wrote the letter. My entry into the palace was for this very purpose. Monarchs throughout history have been suspicious, especially aging and muddle-headed ones. Bribing close attendants and adding a forged letter—sometimes framing someone is not as difficult as you might think. Your follower here is much smarter than his master."

Shi Nian ignored the faint mockery in his words, her mind entirely occupied by a single thought: So this was the reason Tongguan fell so quickly? Because of Yang Guang?

She remembered that historically, Li Longji indeed suspected Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, but his choice at the time had been to behead the pair and dispatch Goshu Han to defend the city instead. Only after Goshu Han defended Tongguan for half a year did he once again fall under the influence of treacherous ministers, suspecting Goshu Han and forcing him out of the city to meet the enemy, ultimately bringing about catastrophe.

Yet now, because of Yang Guang alone, Chang'an had fallen half a year ahead of time!

His plan seemed simple, but as an outsider who had arrived merely three months ago with neither roots nor foundation, he had been able to pinpoint the fatal flaw within a complex political arena. Such vision and methods... were utterly ruthless!

The scene from the prison that night flashed before her eyes. He was just as he had claimed: single-handedly stirring up the winds and clouds of the Great Tang, leaving the descendants of the Li imperial family with no peace.

Shi Nian knew the chaos at the Duliu Tree execution ground would soon sweep through Chang'an. Sure enough, in less than half an hour, everyone was whispering that the Emperor had fled. Terrified citizens flooded toward the Daming Palace, hoping for a miracle, but what greeted them instead were palace gates swinging wide open as palace attendants, carrying bundles in groups of three and five, fled in panic.

The heavens had collapsed!

The populace finally believed they had been abandoned by the Emperor, and Chang'an City instantly plunged into turmoil. The timid packed their belongings to run for their lives, while the daring began to riot. Thieves ran rampant within the city; not only were the mansions of high officials plundered, but some even broke into the Daming Palace, riding donkeys to carouse audibly within the Hanyuan Hall. The once inviolable sacred imperial palace was now treated like desolate wasteland, left to the whims of commoners, stripped of the last shred of supreme imperial dignity.

By afternoon, the situation spiraled further out of control when thieves went so far as to set fire to the imperial treasury's Zuo-Cang Daying Warehouse...

"They're crazy, completely crazy! I think these people have lost their minds! What should we do now?" Shi Nian said.

Nie Cheng looked ahead. They had all changed their clothes and were now walking along Zhuque Avenue. The once prosperous and imposing grand street was now littered with debris; fleeing citizens constantly streamed past them, and dark smoke billowed in the distance, though where else was burning remained unknown.

Such war-torn chaos actually worked to their advantage since no one had the leisure to care about a few insignificant fugitives.

Unlike Shi Nian's anxiety, the men present were remarkably calm. Nie Cheng said, "These matters do not concern us. Li Longji left people behind in Chang'an before he fled; once they come to their senses, they will know how to handle it."

"And we're just going to watch?"

"Of course we're not just going to watch."

Nie Cheng stopped there. Shi Nian blinked, then understood.

She turned her head to look at Yang Guang. "Hey, what are your plans next? Are you going to report back to the Fanyang Jiedushi?"

Though Tongguan had fallen, Chang'an had not yet landed in rebel hands. An Lushan was currently marching his army hither—was Yang Guang planning to go and greet him?

Yang Guang asked, "What, are you planning to keep following me?"

Shi Nian rolled her eyes. "Obviously. Don't tell me you don't want me following you? Could you bear to let me leave?"

Her original intention was that Yang Guang still depended on her to find a way home and would never let her go, but falling upon outsiders' ears, her words took on a completely different meaning. The subordinates behind Yang Guang exchanged glances, all wearing knowing, ambiguous smiles.

Shi Nian had yet to realize her phrasing had gone awry, staring at him with wide eyes. Amusement flickered in Yang Guang's gaze as well. "I am indeed leaving the city, but not to greet the Fanyang Jiedushi."

"Then..."

"I am rather curious to see where the Son of Heaven's carriage train has traveled, and I wish to catch up and take a look."

"Catch up with the imperial carriage?" Shi Nian said in disbelief. "You surely aren't still unsatisfied with your handiwork and planning to assassinate Li Longji, are you? He's already miserable enough—brother, show some mercy and let him go in peace!"

"Do you think he could go in peace even if I did nothing?"

Shi Nian choked on her words.

A smile lingered on the corners of Yang Guang's lips, yet his eyes betrayed a chill. "The capital has fallen, the rivers and mountains are shattered, and a millennium of grand ambition has turned to ashes. All of this stems from the Emperor's favoritism toward sycophants. How much resentment do you suppose fills the hearts of the court officials and the soldiers of the Six Armies right now? This journey will not be smooth. Tomorrow, or perhaps the day after, something is bound to happen."

Indeed, their journey ahead would hardly be smooth. Before long, that mutiny which would shock the annals of history would occur.

Right there at the Mawei Posthouse.

"Since you know this, why bother going..."

"I naturally have my purpose. Will you accompany me, or will you not?"

Shi Nian was torn. She certainly couldn't split up with Yang Guang, but she genuinely worried he would stir up yet more irreversible trouble. Nie Cheng had explicitly stated they couldn't let Yang Guang cause any irreversible consequences; by now he had already meddled in too much, and she was truly terrified.

"Since Yulang wishes to go, we shall naturally accompany him. Niannian, stop overthinking it; we will go with Yulang."

Since Nie Cheng had made the decision, Shi Nian instantly abandoned her hesitation. He was the team leader anyway—if things went wrong, he would take the blame, and she was more than happy to take the easy way out.

Her submissive, obedient demeanor caused Yang Guang's brow to twitch.

He remembered this man; she had been with him back in the Pingkang Quarter. Though she had claimed he was her servant, he knew that was utter nonsense.

What on earth was their relationship? She seemed to trust and rely on him so completely...

Just then, a follower led over several horses. The sight drained the color from Shi Nian's face. "Wh-What are you doing?"

"If we're going to catch up with the imperial carriage, are we supposed to walk?" Nie Cheng said. "Naturally, we ride horses."

"No carriage? Do we have to ride these? Go find a carriage, won't you!"

"There isn't one. Do me a favor and ride with me. Don't worry, I'm a very steady rider."

"Go fool a ghost! You almost bounced me half to death last time! I don't believe you anymore!"

Shi Nian was filled with righteous indignation. It was the twenty-first century, and she had even survived a near-beheading; why couldn't she escape the fate of riding a horse?!

When Nie Cheng tried to forcibly haul her onto a horse, Shi Nian resisted with all her might. Just as their squabbling showed no sign of stopping, another hand grabbed her and gave a gentle tug, pulling her away.

Shi Nian looked up in astonishment as Yang Guang asked, "You don't know how to ride?"

"...Ah."

"Not at all?"

"Maybe... a tiny bit."

She used her thumb and index finger to indicate a minuscule amount. Yang Guang thought for a moment before saying, "Then share a horse with me."

Before Shi Nian could react, he hoisted her onto the saddle and swung himself up to sit right behind her. "Alright, let's go."

Not until the spirited steed was galloping down Zhuque Avenue did Shi Nian fully process the situation. She hadn't wanted to share a horse with Nie Cheng, true, but she hadn't wanted to share one with Yang Guang either! Since she didn't want to ride at all, what was the point of him stepping in?

Still, it was too late to ponder that. Fortunately, Yang Guang's horsemanship seemed slightly superior to Nie Cheng's; he rode steadily enough, so she simply gave up struggling.

Before long, the group reached the vicinity of the city gate, where the crowd grew even denser as everyone scrambled frantically to escape. Although border guards were present, they were essentially useless—no one checked travel passes, and instead, the soldiers wore anxious expressions, looking as though they were desperately eager to flee themselves.

The realization that they were about to leave stirred complex emotions in Shi Nian's heart. In truth, her spirits had been low all day. She had forced herself to endure it earlier, but seeing the populace fighting to escape now finally broke her resolve.

This was Chang'an City, the most prosperous metropolis in the world. She still remembered the day she first arrived, deeply moved by its abundant wealth and peaceful, song-and-dance-filled prosperity. The citizens lived and worked here in peace, generation after generation guarding the same homeland, believing they would live out their days in such tranquility forever.

Yet all of it had been destroyed by the flames of war.

"What is it?" Yang Guang asked.

"The fallen capital, being forced to leave one's homeland... Do you think these people fleeing Chang'an today will ever have a chance to return?"

Yang Guang fell silent for a fraction of a second. "Do you blame me?"

Strictly speaking, Yang Guang bore responsibility for reducing Chang'an to this state. Yet Shi Nian shook her head. "I don't blame you. Many things are preordained; even without you, they would have happened eventually, sooner or later."

Hearing this, Yang Guang said nothing more.

As everyone harbored their own thoughts, a commotion suddenly erupted to their right, where five or six men were tangling with three young women. Such sights were hardly rare in these troubled times; the vulnerable always suffered most, and they had already encountered several robberies along the way.

Only this time, the ruffians seemed intent on more than mere plunder, having already started pawing at the women. Shi Nian grew worried, but Yang Guang showed no inclination to intervene and was about to urge his horse onward when one of the women suddenly shrieked, "Susu! Susu! What are you doing, let go of Susu!"

Hearing a familiar name, Shi Nian looked closer and realized those women were none other than the courtesans she had seen back in the Pingkang Quarter. At the very center, her wrist gripped tightly by a ruffian, was none other than the renowned courtesan Wang Susu!

Wang Susu had never expected she would fall to such a pass.

When the news of the Emperor's flight arrived, the entire Pingkang Quarter had plunged into chaos. They too had packed their belongings and fled, only to be separated from Madame Zheng and the others along the road. These vicious thugs had targeted them; not only had they stolen their valuables, but they had also set their sights on her.

"I too have visited the Pingkang Quarter in the past, though unfortunately I never had the honor of tasting the Zhuzi's sweet nectar. I wonder if I might have the privilege today of becoming the Zhuzi's favored guest?"

The man wore a frantic expression. Filled with revulsion, she struggled in vain to break free. As he dragged her into his arms and moved to kiss her amid the jeers of the onlookers, her heart sank heavily to the bottom.

Could it be that she was truly going to be publicly humiliated by such wretches?

Just as the man was about to kiss Wang Susu, he suddenly felt a force grip the back of his neck, and before he could react, he was violently slammed to the ground. Closing her eyes, Wang Susu heard a cry of pain. Blinking in surprise, she looked up to see a familiar face.

"Yulang..."

Yang Guang did not look at her, fixing his gaze instead on the man on the ground. The man's accomplices snapped back to their senses and tried to intervene, only for the followers trailing closely behind to effortlessly lay them low, leaving them sprawled across the ground groaning in agony.

Looking down from his horse with cold detachment, Yang Guang said, "With the nation in crisis, rather than thinking of serving the country and rooting out traitors, you choose to bully the weak here. In my eyes, your lives are forfeit."

At these words, the followers drew their blades, appearing genuinely ready to strike. Terrified, the men scrambled to the ground and began kowtowing frantically, begging for mercy.

"Yulang," Wang Susu called out once more.

Yang Guang finally looked toward her. The woman's face was pale and her hair disheveled, yet she struggled to maintain her composure. Through those delicate features, the famed courtesan Wang Susu of Chang'an was still faintly discernible.

"Susu thanks Yulang for saving her life."

He gave a slight nod. Only then did Wang Susu notice a young woman standing not far behind him, watching her with a gaze full of worry and concern. Seeing her look over, the woman even offered a reassuring smile. Wang Susu paused briefly, recognizing her as the Lady Shi who had once played music inside the Pingkang Quarter.

She had only stayed for a few days; later, when Dugu Yulang vanished, so had she, and the others had gossiped about it for quite some time.

Wang Susu looked at Shi Nian, then back at Yang Guang, as though finally understanding something. A trace of self-mockery flashed in her eyes.

"Let's go." Yang Guang took Shi Nian's hand and helped her back onto the horse.

Wang Susu watched Yang Guang. A full month had passed since they last met, yet looking back now, it felt like a lifetime ago. She did not ask where he was going, knowing full well that this parting would be forever, but it was enough.

Being able to see him one last time was enough for her. She had no more regrets.

Smoothing her skirts, she placed her hands together on her lower right and dipped into a graceful, demure bow. With her gentle smile and alluring posture, this the-very-epitome-of-understanding flower of romance seemed as though she were still back in the Pingkang Quarter, playing the zither and composing poetry while accompanying him by his side.

"Susu bids farewell to Yulang."

Seated upright in the saddle with the reins in his hands, Yang Guang did not look back. "I will leave two men behind to escort you to rendezvous with Madame Zheng. Be careful from now on."

"Understood. Since Susu can no longer walk by Yulang's side, may Yulang take good care of himself on the long and arduous road ahead."

Yang Guang flicked his riding crop. With a loud whinny, the horse lunged forward and galloped away.

In his arms, Shi Nian turned her head back to watch. Amid the billowing dust and smoke, Wang Susu kneeling in farewell grew smaller and smaller in the distance. She suddenly remembered that night—the poetry competition in the pleasure house, the witty banter of the courtesan—all those prosperous and splendid scenes which, regrettably, had now turned into empty dreams.

As the golden sun sank low and the city gates faded into the distance, Chang'an City was bathed in a brilliant golden glow, resembling a conflagration as it finally vanished from sight.