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Chapter 202: Entering Tang
Without needing Qin Shubao's orders, the Tang army surged forward. Yuchi Jingde, still struggling to rise, was pinned firmly to the ground, his divine strength gradually dissipating as he could only roar in anger.
Li Jing rode into the camp and casually glanced over, seeing nothing more than a rather brave fool.
"This cannot happen again next time."
Qin Shubao laughed while covering his wound. "To kill such a Fierce General so easily would be a pity. Let’s keep him for Tang Wang; he may prove useful in the future."
The military doctor stepped forward to apply medicine and stop the bleeding before securely bandaging the wound. Qin Shubao exerted a little pressure and felt it was manageable, saying, "Commander, shall we not pursue Li Mi? The General has only minor injuries; it is not a significant issue."
Li Jing shook his head. "Li Mi cannot amount to anything now. His supplies are exhausted; where can he go to make a comeback? Sooner or later, he will voluntarily submit. Our priority now is to capture Yuwen Huaji. Tang Wang has yet to ascend the throne; what we await is his head."
Qin Shubao's spirits lifted, but glancing at the weary soldiers around him, he said, "The soldiers are exhausted and need rest and food."
Li Jing smiled. "We can cook up some meals; Yuwen Huaji won’t escape."
Meanwhile, Li Mi, seeing there were no pursuers or ambushers, gradually came to a halt. After the feeling of survival came a sense of panic—how had such a promising situation turned so dire?
Where had Li Jian Cheng's troops emerged from? His grand army had been utterly defeated, leaving only seven or eight thousand troops remaining. Although some forces still occupied several counties, his elite soldiers had been decimated; those remaining were merely garrison troops.
Leaning against a large tree, Li Mi drew his sword and addressed Wang Bodang and the others rushing towards him. "Thank you all for your hard work over the years. Our defeat is due to my incompetence and loss of virtue. I will now take my own life to apologize to you all."
Wang Bodang and the others wept bitterly but still urged him, "You have aspirations to restore order in the world; we are willing to follow you without complaint. Please continue to lead us in seeking a way out."
Li Mi slowly raised his head as several leaves fell around him. The fallen leaves return to their roots; perhaps he should have listened to Xuan Gan back then and stayed to assist Li Jian Cheng.
Liu Xie, the official in charge, guessed Li Mi's thoughts and proactively advised him, "In the past, when Liu Benzi submitted to the Han Dynasty, he was still able to enjoy rents and taxes. You and Tang Wang are old acquaintances; surely there will be wealth and honor for you."
A few faces showed displeasure at this suggestion but were quickly persuaded by others. Clearly, most recognized that Tang Wang would soon hold power over the realm; they could escape temporarily but not forever. It was better to act now than be captured later in Chang'an.
Li Mi sighed deeply. "How can I dare covet wealth and honor? I simply cannot bear for you all to share in my disgrace. I will enter the pass and plead for forgiveness from Tang Wang so that you may achieve success in the new dynasty."
In Luoyang City, Xu Shijie and Luo Yi occupied half of the city, not because they lacked the military strength to take it all, but because they were coldly observing the infighting and slaughter occurring in the other half.
Even though they had already entered the city, Wang Shichong and Yuan Wendu's troops showed no signs of stopping; instead, they gathered their forces to fight fiercely within the palace.
Wang Shichong found himself with no way out, placing his hopes on defeating Yuan Wendu to boost morale and drive Zhai Rang out of Luoyang. Yuan Wendu, on the other hand, harbored deep resentment towards Wang Shichong for daring to rebel and nearly succeeding in killing him.
Thus, he disregarded everything else. Wasn't Zhai Rang aligned with Li Jian Cheng? If worse came to worst, he could simply surrender. As a member of the Yuan clan, even under Li Jian Cheng's command, he would still hold a high-ranking position.
When the time was right, Wei Zheng sent someone to contact both sides to see who would be willing to surrender. To his surprise, both were willing and hoped to send troops to help eliminate the other.
After consultation with Xu Shijie and Luo Yi, Wei Zheng ultimately chose to support Yuan Wendu. The result was that Wang Shichong fled in disgrace while the Tang army took control of Luoyang.
After leaving Luoyang, Wang Shichong pondered his next move and realized that Yuwen Huaji was his only option for refuge. However, Yuwen Huaji was incompetent; with a little effort, Wang Shichong might be able to replace him. With the Imperial Guards and Heroic Fruit at his disposal, he believed he could reclaim Luoyang!
He set off towards Yuwen Huaji's army, hoping to catch up with them during their battle with Li Mi so he could offer his allegiance.
However, halfway there, he encountered remnants of Li Mi's forces and learned that Li Mi's camp had already been occupied by the Tang army. Wang Shichong calculated that more than half of the world was now under Tang Wang's control.
Even if he managed to gain Yuwen Huaji's troops, could he really turn the tide?
Wang Shichong was ambitious but also clever. He turned his troops around again—not back to Luoyang, which would be suicidal—but instead aimed to enter the pass and directly surrender to Tang Wang.
It was worth noting that years ago, he had some connections with Tang Wang; during the Yanmen Siege when he went to rescue the king, it was under Tang Wang's command that he served.
Meanwhile, Yuwen Huaji was also fleeing. Pei Qiantong led a night raid against Li Mi's camp but returned defeated. This alone wasn't too concerning since they had initially held the advantage.
However, it was unexpected that upon returning to camp, they were attacked by their own men. The already demoralized soldiers lost control completely, leading to chaos throughout the entire camp.
Sima Dekan and Zhao Xingzhu led Heroic Fruit in an attempt to take advantage of the confusion and kill Yuwen Huaji. Yet somehow, Yuwen Huaji managed to escape, though only a few thousand men remained under his command.
He did not bring any gold or jewels with him, not even the emperor he had established was left behind in the chaotic camp.
Yuwen Huaji fled in a panic to a small county town, feeling that he would not survive for many days. He complained to his brother Yuwen Zhiji, "I never wanted to rebel; you forced me to kill the emperor and rebel. Now there is no place for me in the world. It's all your fault!"
Yuwen Zhiji was also furious: "Weren't you living quite well a few days ago, enjoying the riches of being an emperor? Why didn't you blame me then?"
This made Yuwen Huaji cry even louder: "I was born into wealth; the emperor didn't enjoy anything more than I did. You clearly forced me into this! If we both die, Father will definitely punish you severely!"
"Hmph, after causing our deaths and the destruction of our clan, you still have the face to mention Father?"
Upon hearing this, Yuwen Huaji stopped crying. In fact, a clear bubble of snot formed under his nose as he laughed through his tears: "I sent the third brother to Chang'an and conveniently got rid of his wife. He will definitely survive, and our family line can continue. That's my contribution!"
Yuwen Zhiji sighed and said nothing more. At this moment, Yuwen Huaji seemed much more spirited: "Life is meant to end; isn't it better to be an emperor for a day?"
Yuwen Zhiji laughed: "Alright, quickly! You still need to confer me as Qin Wang and establish me as the crown prince. If you die before me, then I can succeed as emperor after you."
The two brothers immediately began preparing for the coronation ceremony, deciding on the national title and establishing the era name as Heavenly Longevity. They posthumously honored their ancestors as emperors and appointed officials, so that all officials and generals were granted titles of nobility, with the lowest rank being fifth-grade officials, which pleased everyone involved.
…………
(End of Chapter)
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