Chapter Seven Change Goals

  The sky is high and the birds fly freely, the sea is wide and the fish jump happily.

  This sentence is used to describe Chen Yingliang's mood after leaving Daxing, which is more appropriate than ever. There was no more of Lao San's good-hearted nagging, no more gloomy and oppressive feeling brought by the narrow streets, and no need to worry about the exclusion and oppression of the old Chai family. Only the vast sky and sea, countless dangers and opportunities in the unknown environment, the blood boiling with ambition, the idea of making a name for oneself and getting rich and promoted was even stronger than when he was the captain of the criminal police brigade. Excited, Chen Yingliang, a born wild-hearted man, rode his horse at full speed on the day he left Daxing, covering a distance of 70 or 80 miles.

  Oh, by the way, Chen Yingliang's riding skills are thanks to the dead ghost Chen Yingliang. The dead ghost Chen Yingliang was from a wealthy family and had received specialized training in literature and martial arts before his family declined, so he naturally learned horseback riding as a basic skill for a military general. Although his riding skills were not particularly impressive, at least he knew how to urge the horse forward and swing a whip, which benefited the current Chen Yingliang - who inherited all of dead ghost Chen Yingliang's memories and didn't need to learn horseback riding from scratch with great effort.

  Chen Yingliang was in a hurry to leave for many reasons, one of which was that he had provoked the powerful Lao Chai family before leaving, and he was still worried that they would take revenge. Although Chen Yingliang had created an illusion of himself entering Sichuan with his maze, he still hoped to quickly get far away from Daxing to be on the safe side.

  The second reason is equally important. As a traverser, Chen Yingliang certainly knows that Emperor Yang of Sui's three expeditions to Goguryeo all ended in failure, and this expedition will not be an exception. If Chen Yingliang wants to seize the opportunity provided by Fang Xuanling to show off his skills and even help Emperor Yang turn the tide of battle and change the fate of the failed conquest of Goguryeo, then it is naturally better to arrive at the Liaodong battlefield as soon as possible. Since Daxing is thousands of miles away from Liaodong, Chen Yingliang must speed up his journey as much as possible.

  The relatively peaceful Guanzhong region provided Chen Yingliang with the most basic safety guarantee, allowing him to rush along the road without encountering any risks or setbacks. He used only three days to travel from Daxing to Tongguan, and he also successfully passed through this ancient famous pass before sunset. After resting for a night at an inn east of Tongguan, Chen Yingliang immediately continued eastward along the official road, planning to cross the Yellow River again in Luoyang, then head straight to Liaodong via the North China Plain.

  The journey continued smoothly as before, and Chen Yingliang, who was in a hurry, arrived in Shanzhou in just over a day. The distance to Luoyang, the eastern capital, was now only about two days away. However, after resting for a night in Shanzhou and continuing eastward, Chen Yingliang gradually discovered that something was amiss. For some reason, there were suddenly many more officials and couriers on the official road, riding fast horses and wearing clothes with the character for "post station" on their chests and backs. They were in a hurry, and several of them even had small red flags inserted into their backs, representing extreme urgency. When they encountered travelers on the road, they would shout loudly, "Make way quickly! Military emergency! Anyone who blocks the way will be killed!"

  "What's going on?" After encountering such a courier for the third time, Chen Yingliang vaguely sensed that something was wrong. At the same time, Chen Yingliang also discovered a detail, which was that these couriers carrying small red flags were all rushing from the east of Luoyang to the west of Daxing. Based on this point, Chen Yingliang could confirm that somewhere in the east must have occurred an earth-shaking event!

  Something big might have happened not far away, because in the afternoon of that day, when Chen Yingliang was approaching Ganquan, he saw many civilians and travelers coming from the east, either carrying large and small packages or pushing single-wheeled carts, or driving cattle, sheep and horse-drawn carriages, supporting the elderly and holding children, calling out to each other, rushing westward in a panic, as if a war had already broken out ahead.

  "Something big must have happened!" Chen Yingliang's heart sank, and he immediately thought, "Could it be that the Huai Army has arrived in Luoyang? But that can't be right, the Huai Army is just a small bandit group now, how could they have the strength to attack Luoyang?"

  Under shock, Chen Yingliang hastily dismounted and stood by the roadside, blocking a middle-aged man carrying a bundle on his back, and asked him: "Uncle, what's going on ahead? Why are there so many refugees?"

  "What's going on? Something big is happening!" The middle-aged man, who was obviously a hot-tempered person, shouted at Chen Yingliang: "Yang Xuangan, the pillar of the country, has rebelled and started an uprising! He has already reached the outskirts of Dongdu, and will soon reach Shibei. If we don't hurry up and escape, we'll be left behind to await our deaths!"

  After the roar, the middle-aged man hastily pulled his family away, but Chen Yingliang was standing still like a wooden chicken, with thunderous sounds in his head. "How could I forget such a major historical event as Yang Xuangan's military coup? The second time Emperor Yang of Sui personally conquered Goguryeo, he didn't even fight because Yang Xuangan rebelled and turned back as soon as he arrived at Liaodong!"

  "Yang Xuangan! You son of a bitch, you've ruined me!" Chen Yingliang cursed loudly, "I finally found an opportunity to get started, and now it's all been messed up by you! Now I won't even be able to go to Liaodong, let alone have any use if I could. The Sui Yangdi's troops are all withdrawn to deal with you, how can Fang Xuanling's father still recommend me as a secretary to the Sui dynasty general?!"

  Under the unbearable pain, Chen Yingliang kicked a roadside tree and continued to curse in his heart, "Can't go to Liaodong now, what should I do? Go back to Daxing? Just offended the Chai family to death, going back now is not looking for death? Go to Wagang? The current Wagang is just a den of thieves, going to join them is too dangerous and the road may not even be passable! Yang Xuangan, you idiot! Clearly lost already, why stir up more trouble?! I'm done for because of you, done for...... wait a minute! Slow down!"

  In his heart, Chen Yingliang suddenly had a movement, and he thought of an even brighter and wider road. He said to himself: "How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I think about it the other way around? Yang Xuangan's rebellion is also a great opportunity for me to rise! Historically, this fool rebelled and was quickly defeated by the main force of the Sui Dynasty army, losing everything. Since that's the case, why don't I just join forces with the Sui general who is suppressing Yang Xuangan's rebellion? Compared to the doomed battlefield in Liaodong, isn't it a hundred times easier to gain merit and wealth on the battlefield where we are sure to win?"

  Having figured out this joint, Chen Yingliang's waist was no longer sore, his legs were no longer painful, and he didn't cramp at night. He immediately began to think about how to join the Sui army to put down the rebellion and gain merit. However, Chen Yingliang currently knew almost nothing about the situation on the front lines, and lacking necessary intelligence support, he could only think of a way to inquire about the detailed situation on the front lines and grasp more specific details about Yang Xuangan's military coup.

  It was also coincidental that at this time, a family with children fleeing from disaster passed by Chen Yingliang's side. The little boy in the family kept crying and saying he was thirsty, but the family had forgotten to bring water and could only let their son endure it. However, how long can a child endure? He continued to cry loudly without stopping. Chen Yingliang saw an opportunity and quickly untied the sheepskin water bag from his horse's saddle, calling out to the family: "Uncle, aunt, let your child drink my water, it's so hot today, children will get sick if they don't have enough water."

  "How can this be?" The man from that family hesitated a bit.

  "It's okay, I'll just go ahead and fill up another bottle where there is water," Chen Yingliang said with a smile.

  Seeing Chen Yingliang's kindness, the child was thirsty again. The couple thanked Chen Yingliang and took over the water bag to feed their children. They thanked Chen Yingliang again and again. Chen Yingliang pretended to be humble and asked: "Uncle, I just came from Daxing, I don't know the situation ahead, how far has Yang Xuangan reached? What is the situation in Mianchi and Luoyang?"

  "It's said that Yang Xuangan has arrived at the eastern suburb of Dongdu, near the Zhi River." The couple replied: "The county magistrate of Tongchi ordered a curfew for the whole city, all four gates are closed, and no civilians are allowed to enter or leave. We are people living outside the city, with no houses or relatives to turn to inside the city, so we can only try to run as far as possible to avoid being harmed by the rioting soldiers."

  "What about the situation in Dongdu?" Chen Yingliang asked, and the couple shook their heads to indicate that they did not know. Chen Yingliang had no choice but to ask again: "Uncle, when did you learn of this news?"

  "It was just this morning that we knew." The couple replied, "This morning, the county magistrate ordered a curfew for the entire city, saying that Yang Xuangan, the pillar of the state, had rebelled and crossed the Yellow River at Qingjun, bringing countless bandits to attack the Eastern Capital. Since Mianchi is only a day's journey from the Eastern Capital, the rebels' army may also come to attack Mianchi. To prevent any unexpected events, the county magistrate can only order the city to be sealed off and us outsiders to evacuate, lest the rebels' army arrives and harms us."

  "The notice to evacuate the civilians was announced by the authorities this morning, and I only saw those yamen runners with red flags today." Chen Yingliang analyzed in his heart, "The speed of official intelligence transmission is faster than that of the people. Yang Xuangan, this unlucky guy, rebelled, such an important news must be transmitted at a speed of 600 miles, it took about two hours to transmit the military emergency report from Luoyang to Mianchi, which means that Luoyang probably issued the military emergency report last night or even early this morning. Based on this calculation, Yang Xuangan should still be some distance away from Luoyang now. I can still make it in time if I go to join the army to suppress the rebellion!"

  Having roughly guessed the location of Yang Xuangan's rebel army, Chen Yingliang did not hesitate any longer. He thanked the peasant couple and remounted his horse to continue eastward at full speed towards Luoyang East Capital.

  Chen Yingliang, who was not wealthy, had a mediocre horse that couldn't keep up with the swift horses used for transmitting military information at the relay stations. Even if he whipped his horse to gallop as fast as possible, Chen Yingliang only arrived at the foot of Mianchi City in the late afternoon around 3-5 pm. By then, Mianchi had already been placed under martial law, with all four gates closed during the day and fully armed guards patrolling back and forth on the city walls. Meanwhile, the town outside the city was also deserted, with every household shuttered up and not a single resident or commoner to be seen, leaving behind only trash and debris scattered everywhere.

  Entering the city is no longer possible, and staying in a hotel has little hope. Chen Yingliang is not in a hurry, relying on the dry food supplemented in Shaan County, which is still sufficient, and the night of the sixth month of the lunar calendar is absolutely not cold. Chen Yingliang simply bypassed the city of Mianchi and continued to move east, racing against time to rush to Luoyang.

  That night, Chen Yingliang slept in a small grove of trees on the side of the official road from Tongqu to Luoyang, and after only two hours of sleep, he continued east under the moonlight.

  Chen Yingliang's speed was considered fast enough, but unfortunately Chen Yingliang seriously underestimated Yang Xuangan's marching speed and didn't know that there was a bad seed named Li Mi by Yang Xuangan's side, suggesting that Yang Xuangan should advance at full speed without giving the Luoyang garrison a chance to prepare. On the same day that Chen Yingliang learned of Yang Xuangan's rebellion, Yang Xuangan personally led the main force of the rebel army and had already crossed the Tiger Pass, dividing his troops into two routes along the Luo River and advancing westward at full speed, with only one day's journey left to Luoyang.

  Chen Yingliang also underestimated the reaction speed of the Luoyang garrison. On the same day, Fan Zigai, the defender of the eastern capital of Sui, had already dispatched two armies to advance eastward to fight against Yang Xuangan's rebel army. One army was led by Da Ruxian, the county magistrate of Henan, with a force of about 5,000 people. The other army was led by Pei Hongce, the governor of Henan, with a force of 8,000 people, and they separately fought against Yang Xuangan's two vanguard forces.

  Chen Yingliang didn't know that the next morning, just as he saw the magnificent city of Luoyang from afar, almost at the same time, Pei Hongce and Daxianyi led two rebel armies to meet Yang Jishan and Yang Xuanting, the vanguard of Yang Xuangan's rebel army on both banks of the Luo River. What awaited the Great Sui pacification army was a double defeat!