Chapter 2: The Great Tribulation is Near

  (New book is struggling, seeking recommendation votes and collection!)

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  Yang Hui stood in front of the window, staring blankly at the lush greenery in the courtyard. He had been standing like this for a long time, without any movement, and didn't respond to any requests or calls from the people around him, just standing straight, trying his best to think things through!

  He shouldn't be called Yang Hui, and he shouldn't appear here either. This isn't the world he lives in. It's a dream, a very realistic one, but not reality - - - - He was just dreaming, hadn't woken up yet, or it was a scene being described, everything seen was an illusion!

  But "countless" facts prove everything is true.

  Yang Yuhuan's cousin, Yang Guozhong, the fourth son of the famous Tang Dynasty politician and Yang's brother, Yang Guozhong, who is currently serving as a palace attendant.

  But nobody knew that although his body was Yang Hui's, his soul had been replaced by a person from the modern world more than a thousand years later.

  He is a "transcender", a transcender who combines the memories of two lifetimes, and before his transcendence, he was a soldier who had just retired.

  After serving as a soldier for ten years, he retired from the position of reconnaissance company commander in the army group due to some reason. With tears in his eyes, he bid farewell to his troops and comrades, and took a long-distance bus back to his hometown with a heavy heart. The journey was too dull, and his emotions were too excited, so he could only find other ways to vent this unspeakable sadness and loneliness. He liked reading books and was very interested in military and history, so when waiting for the transfer at the bus station, he bought a book "An Shi Rebellion" to read.

  This was an era he was very interested in, and he had also read relevant works before, about the Tang Dynasty, about the Anshi Rebellion, only that he hadn't studied it carefully. Therefore, he wasn't unfamiliar with this period of history, and he found it quite interesting to read. However, just as he was getting into it, immersed in the grandeur of the Tang Dynasty and lamenting its decline due to the Anshi Rebellion, the bus suddenly had an accident and rear-ended a large trailer truck in front.

  He lost consciousness in a terrifying intense impact and woke up to find himself transported back in time, possessing the body of a young man.

  After spending some time and effort, Yang Hui roughly figured out that the body his soul was attached to was Yang Hui, the youngest son of Yang Guozhong, a powerful minister during the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang. He was said to be a 17-year-old youth with good looks, decent literary talent, and martial arts skills.

  It was like this, one morning Yang Hui got up as usual to practice martial arts, but while swinging his spear, for some reason the spear suddenly opened up his own skull, and Yang Hui, who had suffered a severe injury, immediately fell into a coma, only waking up two days later.

  It was just that no one could have imagined that the Yang Hui who woke up had already ceased to be the original Yang Hui, his soul having been replaced by a mysterious person from a later generation. Waking up early today and finding himself back in ancient times, as an immortal being, Yang Hui couldn't believe it no matter what, but the reality before him eventually forced him to accept the result of crossing over; after figuring out his identity, he was even more shocked!

  Good heavens, isn't this playing with people? Why did I have to transmigrate into the body of Yang Guozhong's son, that treacherous and hated prime minister of old? In the book "An Shi Rebellion" I read before I lost consciousness, it was recorded that when Yang Guozhong followed Emperor Xuanzong in his flight to Shu, the imperial guards mutinied, Yang Yuhuan and her sisters were killed, and Yang Guozhong and all his family members were also slaughtered by the enraged imperial guards amidst the chaos.

  "What time is it now? Has the An Shi Rebellion broken out? How much longer until Yang Guozhong and his family are killed? Finally thinking of this question, Yang Huiyan turned around to ask Ping'er, a beautiful young woman who was one of his personal maids and had been standing behind him all along, occasionally making soft requests: "Tell me, what is the current year, and what date is today?"

  "Fourth Master, this year is the 15th year of Tianbao, today is June 5th!" The little maid named Ping'er finally heard her young master ask her a question. Although the words were strange and inexplicable, they still made her very happy, and she hastily replied, repeatedly asking: "Fourth Master, you've been injured on the head, have you forgotten all these things? Don't worry, hurry up and rest for a while, and after your body recovers, everything will come back to mind! Fourth Master, I'll help you go..."

  "Tianbao 15th year, June 5th?" Although this bizarre experience made his thinking reaction not too agile, Ping'er's two sentences still caused Yang Hui's intense shock. Tianbao 14th year November, An Lushan rebelled in Fanyang, rebelling against the Tang Dynasty, Tianbao 15th year June, Chang'an was occupied by the rebels, Yang Guozhong and his family were killed by mutinous imperial guards at Mawei Slope amidst the chaos!

  This is an event recorded in history, and thinking of this, Yang Hui felt a little dizzy.

  Li Longji fled into Shu, and Yang Guozhong's whole family was killed in the sixth month of Tianbao 15.

  Good heavens, what's the meaning of this? If I'm going to cross over, then let me cross over, why do I have to be pushed into a fiery furnace as soon as I cross over and immediately play a game of cutting my own throat? Is it to make him experience crossing over again and again? This is too much!

  According to historical records, after the fall of Luoyang, an enraged Emperor Xuanzong of Tang listened to the advice of his prime minister Yang Guozhong and was misled by the eunuchs. At the end of the 14th year of the Tianbao era (755 CE), he had the two renowned generals Feng Changqing and Gao Xianzhi killed, and replaced them with Ge Shuhan, who was recovering from illness at home, as commander-in-chief of the troops stationed in Tongguan. Emperor Xuanzong repeatedly ordered Ge Shuhan to lead his army out of Tongguan to attack the enemy.

  Geshu Han did not dare to disobey the imperial court's order, and in June of Tianbao 15th year, he led all the soldiers stationed at Tongguan into battle. As a result, they were ambushed by the enemy, and the 200,000-strong army was defeated by An Lushan's general Cui Jianyu, suffering a great defeat and retreating. Tongguan was immediately lost and occupied by the rebel army.

  After Tongguan fell, there was no more danger for Chang'an, and the rebel army could march directly to Chang'an.

  Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, having heard that the rebel forces were approaching, did not make any defensive arrangements for Chang'an and fled from the palace at night to Shu.

  The emperor fled, how could the soldiers defending the city still have the heart to resist? Chang'an became an undefended city and was eventually easily occupied by the rebels. Countless palace nobles and ordinary people were killed when the rebels entered the city, and the three major palaces of Daming Palace, Taiji Palace, and Xingqing Palace were looted.

  After the imperial court fled to a place called Mawei Slope, the soldiers of the Imperial Guard rioted and demanded that Yang Guozhong's father and son, who had brought disaster to the country and its people, as well as Yang Yuhuan, be killed. Emperor Xuanzong was forced to agree to the demands of the Imperial Guard soldiers, and in the end, Yang Guozhong's father and son were hacked to death by the rioting army, while Yang Yuhuan was strangled to death.

  All of this is recorded in detail in the book "An Shi Rebellion" that Yang Hui read before crossing over. The chapter he was reading before losing consciousness was about Luoyang being captured and Chang'an falling into the hands of the rebels. After realizing what time period he was currently in, Yang Hui felt a chill run down his spine.

  Yang Kai, who had experienced many real battles, had several close calls with death in his later years. Many of his comrades-in-arms died during training or while executing missions, but he still feared death.

  When a person dies, his life is gone, and everyone will be afraid of it, unless he dies suddenly and unexpectedly, in which case there is no time to be afraid.

  The tragic end of Yang Guozhong's family being slaughtered by the mutinous army was even more unacceptable to Yang Hui. Such a death was too cruel, too humiliating, and too lacking in heroic spirit for him to bear. How could he choose such a way to die? He would never have chosen this way.

  Anyone who knows they will face death is always extremely fearful, and he is no exception.

  When one knows they are going to face death, they will always make a struggle. Yang Kai is no exception!

  If the book records are correct, the rebels will soon arrive in Chang'an or are already on their way to attack Chang'an. The government is calm and does not seem like Chang'an has been occupied, nor can it be when the rebels start attacking the city. According to historical records, Yang Guozhong accompanied Li Longji to escape before the rebels started attacking Chang'an. That is to say, it is even more impossible after Chang'an fell!

  The disaster has not occurred, and there may be room for recovery. As this thought arose, Yang Hui's heart surged with an indescribable impulse, and he immediately turned his head to ask the people standing behind him, "Tell me, where have An Lushan's rebel troops arrived? Has Tongguan fallen?"

  Ping'er, who was not good at speaking outside the house, couldn't answer this question. At that time, a close attendant named Yang Zheng standing behind Ping'er came forward and answered: "Replying to Fourth Master, the rebel army of An Ze is currently facing off against the government troops under Tongguan City, and Tongguan has not yet fallen!"

  Yang Zheng was Yang Hui's most loyal follower, showing great loyalty. In Yang Hui's remaining memories, he trusted this person who was slightly older than him and didn't suspect the truth of Yang Zheng's words at all, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

  Tong Pass has not yet fallen, and the government army is still facing off against the rebel army at Tong Pass. It seems that Li Longji's extremely erroneous decision has not been made yet, and he has not ordered Geshu Han to launch an attack. If Geshu Han were to lead his troops into battle and suffer a crushing defeat, then Tong Pass would certainly be lost. Once Tong Pass falls, the gates of Chang'an will be wide open, and even if Li Longji had the ability to foresee the future, he might still be unable to turn things around and salvage the situation!

  He has always been a person who loves life, even more than ordinary people. Having just crossed over once, he doesn't want to die again, he wants to live well, live a clear and bright life before saying anything else, he must do his best to change the course of history.

  His father is Yang Guozhong, the Tang Dynasty's powerful minister, who was the one advising Emperor Xuanzong on his decisions. If he could persuade Yang Guozhong to change his mind and order Geshu Han to defend Tong Pass firmly without rushing into battle, it might not be impossible for the fate of the Tang Dynasty to change.

  Moreover, he clearly understood that Chang'an being occupied by An Lushan's army signified the ultimate demise of the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and from then on, the Tang Dynasty would thoroughly decline. This was also something he absolutely did not want to see. He is no longer a bystander in history, but a participant. Since he had traveled through time to the beginning of the An Shi Rebellion, he must do something for this era, as well as for himself, even if it meant going against the tide, or else his own fate would be miserable.

  Not thinking of the overall situation, at least for his own life, he also had to do something bold.

  In an instant, Yang Hui made up his mind and asked Yang Zheng: "Yang Guo... is my father in the mansion? I have a very important matter to discuss with him?"

  Yang Zheng replied honestly: "Fourth Master, the old master has entered the palace. This morning, His Majesty urgently sent someone to summon the old master to enter the palace, saying that there was an urgent military situation to discuss. The old master immediately entered the palace and hasn't returned yet! He came to see you before entering the palace!"

  Yang Hui was Yang Guozhong's most beloved son. These two days, when Yang Hui was unconscious, Yang Guozhong, who handled a myriad of affairs every day, also came over to accompany him from time to time, wiping away his old tears. Today, early in the morning before Yang Hui woke up, he also came to pay his respects and only left after receiving an urgent imperial edict from someone inside the palace.

  "Oh, I see..." Yang Hui responded with a sound, and before he could ask anything else, a noisy commotion and chaotic footsteps came from afar, seemingly a group of people were heading this way.

  "Fourth Master, the old master has come to see you!" A voice from one of the servants immediately followed.