Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 33

Zhen Sui said, "Is there a eunuch living in the room next door? He might be eavesdropping right now, pressed against the wall..."

Upon hearing this, Li Ji was greatly shocked and involuntarily clenched his fists.

"If I go over and kill him with one punch, then climb over the wall and leave, you naturally won't be able to stay here and will have to leave the palace, right?"

Judging from A-Cuo's tone, he was clearly extremely angry. He hissed, "Did I save your life that day so that you would kill innocent people?! Go now, I'm going to sleep!"

Zhen Sui chuckled twice, but finally dared not linger any longer, and left the room with only the sound of light footsteps. Li Ji slowly turned around, facing his own door, his fists crossed loosely in front of his chest, but after a few soft sounds, there was no more movement.

Wow, this guy is so good at bypassing the firewall, I can't keep up!

Fortunately, this guy was just lying and didn't really intend to rush in and punch me to "death"... No, judging from his seduction of A-Cuo, this is probably not deception or intimidation, but can barely be considered... teasing?

Just as I was pondering whether to sneak over and mock... no, ask A-Cuo, I suddenly heard a "snap snap" of knuckles tapping on the wall, followed by A-Cuo's voice: "If you dare come any closer, I'd rather yell and we'll both break up!"

Li Ji couldn't help but find it amusing, and could only pretend to snore a few times in response.

Forget it, let's not provoke her. Let's talk about asking her to help send messages out of the palace tomorrow night.

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The next day at noon, he went out to deliver food and arrived at the Imperial Bedchamber's official residence, where...

As they were delivering the rice and cakes, an elderly eunuch in a red robe, surrounded by attendants, suddenly strode in from outside the door and ordered, "How many eunuchs are here? Bring them all out!"

A court attendant bowed and inquired, "Eunuch Tang, what brings you to summon this eunuch? Has someone committed some offense?"

The eunuch Tang curled his lip: "Exactly. A palace maid in Consort Zhang's courtyard was diagnosed as pregnant. His Majesty suspected that there were fake eunuchs in the palace! He ordered me to take off all their pants for inspection."

Li Ji was immediately shocked... At the same time, he couldn't help but curse inwardly, "An Qingxu, are you an idiot? Your own palace security is so lax! Yan Zhuang and Zhou Zhi stay overnight in the inner palace every day, with many guards by their side—for example, last night, if Zhou Zhi hadn't stayed in the palace, he probably wouldn't have been able to climb over the many palace walls to find A-Cuo—anyone could have slept with him! How could you suspect there was a fake eunuch?!"

Fake eunuchs do exist, though... but I've never laid a hand on any palace servants! Besides, I've only been in the palace for a few days; there's definitely not enough time. No, that's not the key issue. The key issue is, if they really wanted to take my pants off for a physical examination, what should I do? Even if I didn't, how could a man endure such humiliation?!

Oh no, if you really don't have that, then you can't be considered a real man...

It seems my only option is to find a chance to break out of the palace, and I don't even know if I can return unscathed—anyway, Consort Shen is protected by A-Cuo, so she should be safe. If I am lucky enough to survive, I might as well stay outside the palace and work with A-Cuo from the inside in the future…

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but turn my head and glance at A-Cuo, who was unloading the bread baskets from the cart. However, the little girl's gaze was blank as before, and I didn't know if she had even noticed me.

Could it be that she really thinks I've been castrated, and therefore doesn't care at all? It's my fault; I should have explained it to her a long time ago...

Suddenly, a middle-aged eunuch behind the old eunuch said, "Is this the food deliveryman? Let's check this one first."

Li Ji was furious. He thought to himself, "Why are you being so dedicated before the superior has even spoken? Even if I were to storm out of the palace, I would first punch you to death, you troublemaking, childless bastard!"

Seeing the old eunuch shift his gaze, Li Ji's heart pounded, and he clenched his fists inwardly. Just then, a loud "bang" rang in his ears—

It turned out that A-Cuo had accidentally dropped the bamboo basket, scattering the flatbread all over the ground.

Another palace maid who was following her said anxiously, "A-Cuo, how could you be so careless?" She then called to Li Ji, "Zhi Li, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and come help!"

Li Ji quickly ran over and helped A Cuo clean up the flatbread that had rolled on the ground. During this time, A Cuo seemed to intentionally or unintentionally brush Li Ji's hand, probably meaning: Don't be impulsive, lest you ruin things.

Li Ji thought to himself, "Are you asking me to endure humiliation and take off my pants willingly? But you don't know, if I take off my pants, I'll be exposed!"

Fortunately, this delay allowed five or six eunuchs from the Imperial Carriage Department to be summoned and lined up in front of the old eunuch. The old eunuch then waved his hand and said, "Let the Imperial Kitchen send the food first, so as not to delay and cause me to be scolded." Li Ji thus escaped a disaster for the time being.

But the search would eventually lead back to Si Chu, unless they discovered a second fake eunuch… No, even if they caught the “real culprit,” it wouldn’t necessarily mean the others would be let off the hook. So, while packing up the cake baskets, he mentally planned where, based on the palace paths he’d become familiar with over the past few days, it would be easiest to abandon the carriage and escape…

Not long after leaving Siyu, Acuo took a few quick steps, approached Li Ji, and then, with a blank expression, her lips moved slightly, her voice barely audible: "Don't run away, I'll think of a way."

Li Ji had excellent hearing and heard it clearly—he guessed that the palace maid behind him couldn't hear it—and immediately glanced at her sideways, but A-Cuo slowed down and fell behind the carriage as if nothing had happened.

Li Ji pondered repeatedly. It seemed that if he tried to break through the palace gates, there would be too many guards, and he estimated he wouldn't be able to escape. If he tried to climb over the wall... well, from the position of Si Chu, the wall would be the shortest and the lowest. "Forget it," he thought, "I'll go back first and wait to see how things develop. Ultimately, if I can continue to lie low, that's the best course of action."

Furthermore, if they disappear without a trace, that's one thing, but if they are discovered to have escaped, wouldn't the sudden disappearance of the steward arouse suspicion and lead to a search by higher-ups? Could it affect Consort Shen?

Besides, I had promised that if the rebel army were to invade the palace and wreak havoc, I would help block the gates of the kitchen and save the palace women.

They waited until evening, but the old eunuch didn't come knocking. So, in the dead of night, Li Ji quietly slipped into A-Cuo's room and whispered, "Was the matter resolved? How did you handle it?"

A-Cuo replied, "What ability do I have? I only secretly informed Third Sister and asked her to find a way. She should have gone to Yang Si-Chu. With Yang Si-Chu coming forward, it can be explained that you have only been in the palace for less than ten days, and the other two in the courtyard are old and ugly... I suppose that eunuch will not make a wasted trip."

He paused for a moment, then added, "Perhaps Yang Siqi paid him."

Li Ji let out a long sigh of relief, cupped his hands in thanks, and said, "Thank you for your care." Then he frowned and asked her, "You...did you already know that I wasn't a real eunuch?"

A-Cuo replied, "Others may not know you, but I do. You are from the Li family of Zhao County, the younger brother of the military clerk. How could you possibly have really become a eunuch?"

Li Ji thought to himself that Zhen Sui's assessment was correct; the little girl was indeed quite clever. So, following the lead, he deliberately steered the conversation towards Zhen Sui—"Today is truly an undeserved disaster. An Qingxu is an idiot. People like Zhen Sui, who are constantly in and out of the palace, have countless opportunities to have affairs with palace maids. How could he..."

Chapter Nineteen, Guarding the Gate and Resisting Invaders

With a loud bang, the gate of the catering courtyard swayed precariously.

It was already dusk on the day the mutinous troops entered and looted the palace. Last night, in the dead of night, An Qingxu, along with his family and important officials such as Yan Zhuang and Gao Shang, quietly opened the Xuanwu Gate in the north and left the palace. They then fled Luoyang through the Longguang Gate, making a hasty escape towards the Heyang Bridge. Before dawn, many eunuchs and palace servants received the news and also packed up their belongings and fled the palace.

It is estimated that these escaped eunuchs and palace servants spread the news throughout the city, which triggered chaos throughout the city. Soon after, the palace guards and the rebel army guarding the city coordinated their efforts and surged into the palace.

Now that the "emperor" and his ministers had fled, and with hundreds of thousands of Tang troops about to reach the city walls, everyone knew that Luoyang was no longer defensible, and escape was the only option. However, the Tang vanguard was still near Xin'an, and tens of thousands of rebel troops, still unaware of the situation, were stationed outside the city, attempting to stop the Tang army. It was estimated that the Tang army would not be able to enter the city anytime soon. Since there was still some time, it might be wise to "raise" some travel expenses before fleeing.

So the rebels began looting the city, but unfortunately, the An family had already plundered the land after occupying Luoyang, leaving ordinary people with almost no surplus food. Wealthy families like Yu Ling's, on the other hand, not only had strong servants to protect their property, but also worked together in a coordinated, armed defense, making it difficult for the rebels to take advantage. Then, someone suddenly thought, "An Qingxu is gone, the palace is without a master, what's the point of guarding it? Let's just go into the palace and rob it!"

And there are quite a few women in this palace!

Those who first received the news and fled were mostly high-ranking eunuchs and female scribes with official positions. As for the lower and middle ranks, they were at a loss, bewildered and helpless, and were almost all trapped in the palace by the imperial guards. Thus, the Luoyang palace instantly became a den of iniquity. The rebels looted and searched for palace women, venting their lust, which was amplified many times over by fear. Many palace women and even eunuchs had no choice but to find places to hide, as they had previously arranged, including the palace cooks.

Originally a small staff of just over twenty, the inner courtyard was soon swarmed with one or two hundred people, making it almost impossible to move. Manager Lü remained hidden in his bedroom, kneeling and praying, not daring to show himself. Manager Pang, while wanting to maintain order, was of low rank and unable to command effectively. Finally, Manager Yang, supported by Consort Shen and A'cuo on either side, emerged shakily and sternly reprimanded them:

"If the rebel army gets in, none of us will survive! Why are we just huddled in the backyard like turtles hiding in the sand? Hurry up and select the strongest men to go out and block the gate!"

Li Ji naturally took the lead in blocking the gate, and six or seven other eunuchs and palace maids with some strength and courage were also led out by A Cuo to help. They piled up almost everything heavy they could find and move behind the gate, but palace maids and eunuchs still kept fleeing there, pleading and begging, making it difficult to close the gate.

Finally, some rebel soldiers followed the sound and arrived. A eunuch was about to enter the gate when he was shot in the back by an arrow and fell to the ground. At this critical moment, Li Ji could no longer worry about saving more people—it was already difficult enough to save those in the courtyard—so he immediately kicked the eunuch, whose body was already half inside the gate, out of the courtyard, and then pushed the gate shut.

A-Cuo naturally stopped pretending to be senile. With a leap, he jumped more than three feet high and reached out to lock the door.

As a separate courtyard, the gate to the Sichu was quite small, unlike the double doors found in most courtyards and halls of the palace. It consisted of only one door leaf, so instead of a bolt, a key was used. The original meaning of "key" is an iron bar; when applied to the outside of a wheel, it becomes a linchpin, hence the term "cartridge key"; when applied to a door, it becomes a bolt, hence the term "door key." As the saying goes, "A horizontal bar is called a gate, a vertical bar is called a key," and the later term "key point" (or "crucial point") derives from this.

However, the door to the Si Chu Yuan courtyard wasn't secured with iron keys, but rather with a wooden key, held in place by two iron rings in a groove in the upper door frame—it was meant to defend against the inside, not the outside. Li Ji looked at the wooden key; it was barely half a foot long and about the thickness of a cup… This thing could be broken by hand; could it really keep out the rebels outside?

They quickly called over the palace servants and eunuchs to move over several wooden tables and frames and prop them against the door.

Hearing the rebels shouting outside to open the gate, those inside the courtyard paid no heed. Soon, footsteps became hurried, mixed with pleas and screams, clearly indicating that more and more rebels were gathering. Someone asked, "Are there any palace servants inside?" Another replied, "It seems some have escaped inside, and more than one."

The person who had spoken earlier shouted, "Then what are we waiting for? Come and bang on the door!"

Then, a series of loud bangs were heard, the door shook violently, and even the iron ring holding the wooden key trembled as if it were about to open...

People in the Tang Dynasty customarily sat on the floor and did not have beds, so furniture was generally small. Especially in poor places like Sichu, even Yang Sichu did not have a couch to rest on... The few tables and shelves were nowhere near enough to block the courtyard gate. Li Ji was anxious, so he quickly walked to the side of the outer courtyard, lowered his body, hugged a large water vat with both arms, exhaled and shouted "Rise!"

The vat, about half a foot off the ground, wobbled slightly before crashing heavily to the ground with a loud thud...

The earthenware jar was nearly a meter high and in diameter, and when filled with water, it must have weighed more than half a ton. Fortunately, it wasn't full, otherwise even with Li Ji's superhuman strength, he wouldn't have been able to lift it. But he could only lift a small portion of it; he couldn't possibly move it.

Upon seeing this, A-Cuo quickly called for help—but she was used to playing dumb, so she only gestured—to help Li Ji push the water vat forcefully to the door. Li Ji reached out and pushed aside the useless tables and chairs, firmly securing the water vat against the door.

Just as he caught his breath, a eunuch grabbed a wooden stool and, with a mighty effort, hurled it over the wall. A cry of "Ouch!" was heard, followed by a shout: "How dare you resist! Go and get some fire, burn this door down!"

Upon hearing this, the palace servants were filled with fear and wailed. They had initially thought that the soldiers who stormed into the palace were Tang troops and wouldn't dare to set fires so boldly. Who would have thought that it was rebels looting before their escape? These guys had completely lost their command and were completely unrestrained, having no qualms about burning the palace! Several palace servants went to beat up the eunuch—who told you to meddle!

Li Ji quickly reached out to stop him, saying, "If he doesn't throw the stool, won't the mutinous soldiers be tempted to burn down the door? We must work together and not fight amongst ourselves!"

Actually, he wasn't too worried about the rebels burning down the door, because such a large door, made of solid wood and painted—although much of it had peeled off—wouldn't be easy to set on fire unless firewood was piled up or oil was poured on it. But how could these rebels, who were eager to rob and then escape, possibly have enough patience?

His fear was that the rebels would throw torches into the courtyard, or even launch rockets. Now, wooden furniture lay scattered around the doorway, and further on was the kitchen, piled high with firewood, and tinderboxes everywhere! And especially, there was flour…

Li Ji thought to himself that this wouldn't work; a purely defensive approach would likely be insufficient to repel the enemy.

He planned to first set up a ladder to climb over the wall, assess the situation, and then jump down to fight to the death. The alleyways near Si Chu were extremely narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass at a time; two people would have to squeeze sideways. This meant that every time he delivered food, he had to empty the cart, lift one wheel off the ground, and turn sideways… truly a place where “one man can hold the pass against ten thousand!”

Otherwise, those rebels would probably have brought out big rams to beat the door long ago, instead of wasting their time banging it on their shoulders.

However, the outside was full of armed soldiers, while he was empty-handed. It's not easy to kill someone with just your fists, let alone force the enemy to retreat.

So he sidled up to A-Cuo and asked her in a low voice, "Do you have any weapons?"

A-Cuo glanced at him, then looked down and flipped her hand upwards. Li Ji stared intently and saw that she was holding a two-inch-long fine steel short sword in her palm, which was blue and looked very sharp.

Li Ji clicked his tongue and said, "Forget it..." How can this thing hurt someone at close range? Unless you use it as a fist dagger between your fingers, but I don't know how to use that...

Suddenly, A-Cuo closed her thumb, gripping the short sword. Then, with a flick of her wrist and a whoosh, a gust of wind grazed past Li Ji's ear. Caught off guard, Li Ji instinctively tilted his head back, then turned to see a rebel soldier, sword in hand, scaling the courtyard wall—

A-Cuo's sword shot was incredibly accurate, striking the rebel soldier squarely in the throat. The soldier shuddered and fell backward.

Li Ji was overjoyed; it was as if someone had delivered exactly what he needed! He leaped forward, pinned down the rebel soldier who was not yet completely dead, and snatched the sword from his hand.

He immediately summoned a ladder, grabbed a horizontal sword, and swiftly climbed up.

Just then, another rebel soldier climbed onto the wall. Before he could even regain his footing, Li Ji slashed him hard with his sword, striking him squarely in the abdomen. The body fell over the wall. Taking advantage of the moment, Li Ji peeked out and saw that the narrow, long alleyway was densely packed with at least forty or fifty rebel soldiers.

However, Li Ji was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he was very pleased.

Most of these rebels were originally guards of the palace, and many were patrolling the various neighborhoods or assisting in guarding the city gates. Logically, they should not wear armor—under the emperor's nose, the people they were dealing with were mostly traitors, not enemy soldiers, so why would they wear armor? It's like the armed police of later generations, who are generally not equipped with heavy weapons.

Especially since the Tang army had not yet truly reached the city walls, even the defending soldiers were mostly unarmored, wearing only short robes and turbans, offering very little protection. In addition, the narrow alleyways made it impossible to wield long spears and halberds, so most of them carried horizontal swords, and some even carried shorter shield swords.

Li Ji had witnessed firsthand the carnage of thousands of troops, and had even followed Li Tan in a night chase after a rebel general, clashing with Tian Qianzhen's men. He knew that individual martial prowess had limited effectiveness in military formations. His ability to capture Tian Qianzhen alive was purely due to catching him off guard and taking advantage of the situation. If Tian Qianzhen had been prepared, with a hundred or so men surrounding him, even if Nan Ba ​​were present, it wouldn't have been so easy for him to break through.

The claim of being "a match for ten thousand men" is pure exaggeration. Killing seven men with a single slap is boasting, let alone facing thousands. As for the saying "taking the head of a general from among ten thousand soldiers is as easy as taking something from a bag," there's no rule stating that one must charge into enemy lines alone. Therefore, although Li Ji was strong and his martial arts were quite formidable, if the chaotic army outside the wall were all fully armored, armed with spears and halberds, he would probably just glance at them and instinctively pull his head back in…

However, seeing that most of the enemy soldiers were unarmored and unable to wield long weapons, Li Ji felt much more at ease. He then turned to A-Cuo and winked – "I'll go out and fight; you take care of the courtyard." With a leap, he vaulted over the wall, and before he even landed, he swung his sword down, cleaving a rebel soldier who was about to rush in and ram the door in two, shoulder to back!

The long, narrow, and straight-edged broadsword was not actually suitable for forceful slashing, and it couldn't compare to the so-called "ghost-head broadsword" of later generations. However, Li Ji was naturally strong, and with the momentum of his downward lunge, he unleashed the power of the broadsword without even realizing it. Seeing his comrades bleeding profusely and dying so horribly, the rebel soldiers were all terrified and retreated hastily.

Li Ji thought to himself, "I'm just trying to scare you all away, otherwise I won't have anywhere to stand. Especially since the alleyways are all connected and the courtyard gate is in the middle, I'm surrounded by enemies. If you don't make way first, even if I land, I'll be caught in a pincer movement."

He steadied himself, paused briefly, then swung his sword and charged in one direction. A traitorous soldier parried with his own sword, the two blades clashing...

Chapter Twenty: The Cliff of Life and Death

"This spineless bastard can fight—get the spear, attack from both sides, and pierce him through!"

Upon hearing this, Li Ji couldn't help but secretly realize that things were going badly.

He was now covered in blood—mostly the enemy's blood, of course, as he only had a few small scratches on his own body. Nearly a whole squad had fallen in front of and behind him. He had thought that those rabble soldiers were only after money and would have no guts. Even if they were driven by lust, they should have retreated after being cut down six or seven of them.

Some wanted to flee, but there were also many who, despite their comrades, still rushed forward.

Li Ji guessed that there must be a military general nearby directing the retreat, using his prestige to halt the retreat.

Sure enough, they heard someone shout to bring out a long spear.

The spear is a variant of the lance, and it has only recently become popular. It is generally shorter than a lance, only about two meters long. Of course, in narrow alleys, a long spear is simply not practical, but why bother? You can just hold it level and thrust it straight forward.

Li Ji might not take a single spear thrust seriously, but what if he were attacked from both sides? If a line of soldiers, each wielding a spear, had spears thrusting out from the side of the person in front, and five or six spearheads were thrusting at him all at once?

Cold sweat immediately poured down Li Ji's back...

He was still thinking of "one man guarding the pass, ten thousand cannot break through," but first there must be a "pass," and the pass walls must be protected by bows and arrows—did he really think that one person alone could hold the fortress? Li Ji thought to himself, I might as well not seal off the courtyard and block the gate with myself. Even if you shorten your spears to stab me, you won't have enough force or distance to charge. Now I'm in the middle of the alley. If two groups of people charge at me with spears in front and behind, unless I can really fly or disappear into the ground, I'm doomed!

The only way now is to capture the leader, find out who is in command, and take him down... But looking around, there are so many people, I can't see far at all. Who knows where the general is hiding? I probably won't be able to find him by sound alone.

After the general shouted, the rebels retreated slightly, allowing Li Ji to catch his breath. But then spears came flying at him; sure enough, several spears were held by different men, four or five spearheads pointing at him from the north and south. Li Ji thought to himself, "It's over. Not only am I going to die here today, but after I die, I doubt even A-Cuo and the others can hold Si-Chi for long… Once the rebels storm Si-Chi, A-Cuo, Consort Shen, and the others will all be doomed!"

Why is the weather so nice today? The sun has set, but it hasn't gotten completely dark yet. If it were dark, even if the rebels lit torches to fight, they probably wouldn't be able to see far. We can use the darkness to prolong our lives a little longer...

I really can't rely too much on my own strength. I must remember that only numbers truly bring power… Today's events have taught me a lesson. I shouldn't have come out; I should have firmly guarded the gate. Even if the gate were breached, I could have fought my way through. But I guess I'll have to take this lesson with me to the afterlife…

Seeing five or six spearheads rapidly advancing towards him from both sides, Li Ji couldn't help but sigh inwardly, realizing he was doomed. There was no use in regretting it now; he might as well kill one to make it worthwhile, or kill two to make a profit!

Actually, I've already made quite a bit of money, but when it comes to killing enemies, is there ever too much?

Ignoring the gunfire from the north, he charged straight towards the south with his sword drawn. He had barely taken a step when he heard a scream behind him. Glancing back briefly, he saw a rebel soldier at the forefront, his throat pierced by a sword, falling backward. His fall threw the four or five men behind him into disarray, halting their charge.

Li Ji turned his head and looked up at the top of the courtyard gate, and sure enough, he saw A-Cuo's little head flash by and disappear.

He thought to himself, "Well done!" But his strides grew longer and longer, and in an instant he met several spearheads coming from the south. The rebel soldiers were charging forward in a straight line, so only the one at the very front had a wide enough field of vision and could move relatively more nimbly. Li Ji immediately reached out and grabbed the back of the spearhead, then thrust it forward with all his might.

The traitor fell backward as if struck by A-Cuo's flying sword, causing his comrades behind him to stumble as well. Taking advantage of the situation, Li Ji swung his sword down, severing several spearheads at once.

But he was still holding a gun barrel in his left hand. He flipped back and forth and threw it. It was only half a meter away. His opponent had no way to avoid it. It hit him right in the chest and he went limp on the spot.

Seeing that things were not going well, the remaining rebel soldiers turned and fled. Li Ji chased after them, stepping over the corpses, but only managed to kill one more person.

But then he heard a whoosh behind him. He quickly turned his head and saw a feathered arrow whizz past his ear, knocking a fleeing rebel to the ground. Li Ji was terrified—they'd actually remembered to fire arrows! Could it be that A-Ce's flying sword had alerted the enemy instead?

I realized I was wrong. I should have ignored the enemy on the south side and left it to A-Cuo to deal with, and then charged north myself, because the general who was speaking was clearly somewhere on the north side!

He hurriedly turned around and charged back, but the alleyway was blocked again in an instant, making it difficult for him to break through further and find the general.

After fighting for so long, Li Ji's strength began to wane, and his sword was chipped in several places and no longer sharp. Taking advantage of the rebels' fear and reluctance to close in, he crouched down, picked up another sword, switched it with his own, and then glared and shouted, "The palace is in full swing, why do you all come here to seek your deaths?!"

With a "whoosh," another arrow flew in, but Li Ji reacted quickly and cleaved it down with his sword.