Volume One, Chapter Three: Trapped in Peril

“Are they from the Left Dragon Guard?” Li Heng steadied himself and asked.

“Your Highness, they don’t seem to be from the Left Dragon Guard. I only feel that those men are suspicious; I didn’t see their faces clearly,” Li Fuguo glanced toward the distance cautiously and said.

If they weren’t from the Left Dragon Guard, then who could they be? Suddenly, Li Heng thought perhaps Yang Guozhong had sensed something and was acting out of desperation!

Yes, that must be it!

The Crown Prince is the legally designated heir and a natural symbol of authority! In ancient times, what was more important than rank and righteousness?

If they succeeded in kidnapping the Crown Prince, Yang Guozhong would have bargaining power against Emperor Li Longji.

Even if Li Longji refused to pardon him, Yang could take the prince to Lingwu or Hexi, use him as a puppet to seize power, and establish a new center of authority. It was not impossible.

“How many guards do we have now?” Li Heng asked.

“Your Highness, we only have ten guards currently,” Li Fuguo replied.

“What? Where are the others?” Li Heng was shocked. Three hundred guards of the Crown Prince’s Guard reduced to only ten!

“Your Highness, the others were all summoned away by Chen Xuanli in the name of the Emperor, supposedly as a precaution,” Li Fuguo explained.

“Is that true? Why wasn’t I informed?” Li Heng asked angrily.

“Your Highness, you were dizzy earlier and fell asleep. It was during that time Chen Xuanli ordered over two hundred guards away,” Li Fuguo said with a bowed posture.

“Foolish! Why didn’t you report this sooner?” Li Heng scolded.

“Your Highness, I was just about to report it when Chen Xuanli arrived,” Li Fuguo said with a look of grievance.

This was troublesome indeed! Yang Guozhong had a hundred retainers; Wei Fangjin also had a hundred. Though these men were unarmored, two hundred against ten was still a sure victory.

Chen Xuanli, Chen Xuanli, how could you put me in such a perilous position? Even if you had left me thirty guards, it would have been better!

And Li Fuguo, what good are you? Why didn’t you report this sooner?

Li Heng cursed them countless times in his heart, but it brought neither relief nor help. The only plan now was to withstand the desperate struggle of Yang Guozhong and Wei Fangjin for a sliver of hope.

The situation was critical; sweat broke out on Li Heng’s brow. His brows furrowed deeply as his mind raced, trying to find a way out of this dire predicament.

“Fuguo, where are your men?” Li Heng suddenly asked.

“I... Your Highness, you already know?” Li Fuguo paused.

“Stop wasting time, speak!” Li Heng demanded.

“Your Highness, just now Wang Guoxun sent word—they won’t arrive at Xingping County for a while yet.”

Distant help could not extinguish the immediate fire. It seemed the men secretly recruited by Zhang Liangdi and Li Fuguo wouldn’t arrive in time.

“Your Highness, Yang Guozhong and Wei Fangjin are already making moves,” a guard assigned to monitor Yang Guozhong hurried in to report.

To be cautious, Li Heng had arranged for several men to secretly watch the chancellors’ movements since departing Chang’an.

Hearing this, Li Heng anxiously scratched his head.

“What about Prince Guangping and Prince Jianning?” he asked.

Prince Guangping, Li Shu, was Li Heng’s eldest son and the future Emperor Daizong of Tang. Prince Jianning, Li Tan, was his third son.

“Your Highness, while you were unconscious, Prince Guangping, Prince Jianning, and Zhang Liangdi sensed something amiss. After a brief discussion, they decided Prince Jianning would lead the remaining guards to protect Your Highness, while Prince Guangping would wait in Xingping County for the men I recruited, just in case,” Li Fuguo explained in detail.

Li Heng nodded slowly and said, “Then summon Prince Jianning here.”

Ten guards, plus Li Tan and Li Fuguo, made twelve in total. Twelve against two hundred—a dauntingly lopsided ratio. On paper, defeating two hundred with twelve was practically a hellish challenge!

Should he seek Chen Xuanli’s help? After Li Fuguo left, Li Heng asked himself this question repeatedly.

To seek Chen Xuanli’s aid would drag him into Chen’s schemes, no matter the outcome, making Li Longji wary of him.

At this moment, he was weak and must not provoke Li Longji’s suspicion.

If Chen Xuanli wasn’t wary of him, why would he have ordered his guards away? Plainly put, Chen feared he might use the confusion to usurp his position.

Li Longji surely understood that the Dragon Guard was no longer as loyal as in Chang’an. If stirred up, they might choose a new master.

At present, the most legitimate new master was none other than himself, the Crown Prince. It certainly wasn’t Prince Shou, Li Mao.

At this crucial moment, he could only rely on himself and must not ask Chen Xuanli for help.

Enough! Better to rely on oneself than on others! He firmly believed that if he overcame this hurdle, following the course of history would lead to a bright future.

He would go to Lingwu, become emperor, then reclaim the two capitals and stabilize the unity of the Tang Dynasty.

No! He had no intention of going to Lingwu! His goal was to hold Chang’an, defeat An Lushan’s rebels head-on, and restore the grandeur of Tang! Since he had already come this far, how could he take the old path?

He intended to forge a brand-new Tang with his own hands!

But right now, the most pressing issue was not where to become emperor, but how to defeat two hundred men with only a dozen or so. He wracked his brain, sweat soaking his back.

Soon, Li Tan and Li Fuguo rode up.

Li Tan saluted Li Heng from horseback. “Father, what are your orders?”

“Chen Xuanli just told me he wants to stage a coup and use the opportunity to kill Yang Guozhong,” Li Heng said.

“That’s good! That schemer Yang Guozhong has abused his power and harmed the nation; he deserves to die,” Li Tan said through gritted teeth.

If not for Yang Guozhong’s incompetence in controlling An Lushan and causing the Anshi Rebellion, he’d now be living peacefully in the Baishun Mansion in Chang’an as a prince.

“But Yang Guozhong is desperate now,” Li Heng said gravely.

“Father, you mean he’s coming after us?” Li Tan’s eyes widened in shock.

Li Heng said heavily, “Guards just reported that Yang Guozhong and Wei Fangjin are already mobilizing.”

“Father, my elder brother is waiting in Xingping, but our reinforcements haven’t arrived yet. What shall we do?” Li Tan’s voice trembled as he sensed the crisis.

Yang Guozhong’s couple hundred retainers were no match for Chen Xuanli’s Dragon Guard, but more than enough to overwhelm their ten guards.

“Can we defeat Yang Guozhong’s men with just thirteen of us?” Li Heng asked.

“Your Highness, are you joking? There’s no way a handful of us could beat two hundred or so!” Li Fuguo, skilled in horsemanship and archery, showed his fear now. He wiped sweat from his forehead, only for more to appear.

“Your Highness, we should retreat to Xingping County and join Prince Guangping. We can protect ourselves there,” Li Fuguo suggested.

Li Heng immediately rejected the idea. As Crown Prince, to desert the Emperor and flee to Xingping was tantamount to renouncing his title.

If he ceased to be Crown Prince, Princes Shou and Yong would surely seize the opportunity.

“Father, these ten guards are each capable of taking on ten men, and the eunuch Li is highly skilled in martial arts. Though Yang Guozhong’s men outnumber us, they have no armor. We are few, but all wear bright armor, wield horse lances, and carry swords at our waists.

“Furthermore, each of us has a strong bow with fifty sharp arrows. By this reckoning, we’re not at a disadvantage.

“We should try. After all, there’s no other option,” Li Tan said thoughtfully.

He knew they were outmatched but needed to inspire confidence in his father. He had resolved that when battle began, Li Fuguo would protect the Crown Prince and break through the siege to seek refuge with the Emperor.

He and the guards would fight to the death to keep the Crown Prince safe.

Li Heng nodded slightly, knowing Li Tan’s words were bravado to ease his worries.

But without a sure victory, how could he not be anxious?

If brute force failed, they would have to outthink their enemies.