“What is Prince Jin?” Fu Shen snorted coldly, “This lord has a family. Not rebelling is already giving him tremendous face. He wants me to sacrifice my life? He can dream.”
Fu Shen had overestimated Sun Yunchun’s luck.
On May 18th, enemy troops reached Miyun, joined with the Tang Zhou military, and the capital troops retreated to Huairou. His Highness Prince Jin was killed by Right Divine Wu Guard General Cao Fenchen. The Northern Palace Guard swept through like a whirlwind, beheading the Zhe tribe spies around Prince Jin and displaying their heads on the city walls.
Emperor Tai visited the ancestral temple, removed his hat, kowtowed, wept to the ancestral shrine, then ascended the court and ordered the relocation of the capital to Chang’an. That afternoon, a light cavalry escort protected Emperor Tai as he escaped from the Blue Sky Gate, fleeing to Shu.
The next day, Fu Shen received the Emperor’s final imperial edict in Yan Zhou from the Flying Dragon Guard – four words: “Decide for yourself.”
On May 19th, the capital was in chaos, officials and civilians fleeing in panic.
On May 20th, the capital troops retreated, and bandits entered the court.
Jiangnan, Lin’an.
A few days earlier.
“Father has already passed the throne to Prince Jin…” Qi Wang was so angry his hands were shaking. After pacing a few rounds, he shouted: “Someone, prepare the horses! This prince will return to the capital immediately!”
“Your Highness, please calm down,” Yan Xiaohang immediately advised, “Don’t be hasty.
Prince Jin could kill the crown prince and force the Emperor to pass him the throne, so he must have elite troops. Returning unprepared would be like walking into a net. In my opinion, it’s better to observe and then make plans.”
Qi Wang, momentarily overcome with hot blood, was stopped by Yan Xiaohang and gradually calmed down. He told the attending servants: “Go investigate the capital’s situation. Report any palace movements to me immediately.”
Later, Yan Xiaohang would repeatedly think that if time could rewind, he would first give himself a big slap and take back those words “observe and wait”. What did Qi Wang’s life or death have to do with him? Let the princes fight it out, whoever wants to sit on the throne can sit on it. He just wanted to return to the capital, to be by his general’s side.
Yan Xiaohang never imagined that his “observing and waiting” would bring national destruction, territorial loss, and a long separation.
In the 26th year of Emperor Tai’s reign, rebels broke through the capital.
Emperor Tai fled in panic to the west. Some officials, inner court members, and Beijing citizens followed him to Shu, while others fled south with their families to Jing, Chu, and Huainan regions.
The Northern Yan cavalry contracted their defense lines, breaking through from the western line. Midway, they encountered the Ning Zhou military head-on.
The Northern Yan army, burning with rage, defeated the Ning Zhou rebel army. Fu Shen personally drew his bow and shot the rebel leader dead. Two Northern Yan soldiers climbed the Ning Zhou city walls and, taking advantage of the dark night, hung that head high on the city gate tower.
This battle established their might. The Northern Yan cavalry remained as brutal as ever, with no one daring to challenge their edge. In early July, the Northern Yan army joined the Gan Zhou army in Wuwei. Fu Shen gathered remnant troops from the northwest, reorganized, used Gan Zhou as a base, reclaimed and cultivated land, recuperated, and prepared for counterattack.
North’s defense line has been broken, with the Dá, Zhè, and Bohai tribes encountering no obstacles, driving straight into the Central Plains’ heartland. Half the territory has fallen to foreign enemies. Under these circumstances, Yue Changfeng, the Huainan Circuit Governor, was the first to raise troops against the bandits, blocking the Bohai army north of the Huai River and stopping the barbarians’ southward advance. Immediately following, Prince Duan Guihong of Xiping County declared that “the southwest must focus on self-preservation”, only accepting refugees from the north and no longer dispatching troops to rescue the emperor.
With these two precedents, various circuit governors followed suit, maintaining their own territories, governing independently, and agreeing not to invade each other except in resisting foreign enemies.
Watching the Great Zhou about to fragment and lose its national foundation, in the same year’s autumn, Prince Qi Sun Yaoduan proclaimed himself emperor in Jinling, honoring Emperor Yuan Tai as the Grand Emperor, establishing the Zhou dynasty, changing the era name to “Changzhi”, and declaring it to the world.
The new dynasty was composed of former officials who had fled from the north and renowned scholars from Jiangnan. Emperor Changzhi did not establish a prime minister position, instead following the old practice of the Yuan Tai era by opening the Yanying Hall to jointly decide state affairs with senior officials.
On the day of his ascension, the governors of Jiangnan, Jingchu, Lingnan, Fujian, and the East Sea Navy all submitted congratulatory memorials, supporting the new emperor. Yan Xiaohan followed the Prince of Qi to Jiangnan from Jingchu, first preventing his return to the capital, then negotiating with various circuit governors. His merits were enough to be granted a marquis or ministerial position, but he declined, preferring to be a behind-the-scenes contributor due to past criticisms.
Thus, Emperor Changzhi still allowed him to lead the imperial guards and permitted him to attend discussions in the Yanying Hall, treating him as a crucial right-hand man.
The old officials who had previously criticized Yan Xiaohan were now enlightened. Standing firm through two dynasties, he transformed from a notorious court favorite to a stabilizing hero who supported the new monarch. This cunning strategist not only possessed remarkable political skills but also incredible luck!
After experiencing these turbulent events, Yan Xiaohan’s image increasingly resembled that of a “deep and scheming court official”. His once-frequent smile rarely appeared, his demeanor becoming restrained and severe, unpredictable yet subtly melancholic, making others hesitant to approach him.
Estranged from old court officials and unfamiliar to new nobles, Yan Xiaohan felt as if he had returned to the Yuan Tai era, once again isolated.
The deeply trusted Yan remained indifferent to his colleagues’ whispers and glances, having long grown accustomed to such treatment. He had not planned to achieve great merit in these chaotic times, but circumstances compelled him. If Emperor Changzhi could not establish himself, a wandering prince would either become a puppet emperor or be eliminated, and his followers would fare no better.
Yan Xiaohan did not wish to be controlled or die in Jiangnan.
During sleepless nights in Jiangnan, he would sometimes awaken, feeling an inexplicable emptiness, reminiscent of his past drug addiction, with an indescribable sense of longing consuming his heart. Not knowing Fu Shen’s whereabouts tormented him. He knew the capital had fallen, Emperor Yuan Tai had fled west, and the Northern Yan cavalry had broken through, but Fu Shen’s exact location remained a mystery. Since their parting in Jingchu, they had lost all contact. Yan Xiaohan had questioned numerous officials and soldiers who had fled south, yet received no response. The fallen Central Plains separated them like an entire world.
