The pair went about living in their private world where nothing mattered except the two of them and their needs, so it came as a shock when the Emperor learned that An Lushan had indeed revolted.
An Lushan had been sending spies into the city to gather information ever since his removal from the capital, making sure that he knew everything that took place. Each year he would present the Emperor with treasures in order to stay in his good graces and got promoted because of it. Under this cover of loyalty he enlarged his army and gathered armament and food. He also built up a group of civilian and military officials in preparation for his revolt.
Prime Minister Yang Guozhong had continued to suspect that An Lushan was up to something. He had reported the warning signs of An’s revolt to the Emperor, but each of his report was ignored. The Emperor assumed that Yang Guozhong was trying to destroy An Lushan whom the Emperor trusted. It was only when the crown prince and other officials brought similar reports that the Emperor began to worry. An Lushan was the military governor of the frontier provinces, who commanded more than a hundred-thousand soldiers. It would be a great disaster if he revolted.
Finally, the Emperor sent an envoy to visit Fanyang where An was based under the pretext of bestowing the soldiers with fresh oranges and try to find out what was happening at the frontier. However, An Lushan had bribed the Emperor’s envoy who returned with all the good news that An Lushan was loyal and patriotic. The gullible emperor believed everything he was told.
The Golden Age of Kaiyuan was coming to its end. By now the Emperor was quite incompetent. He sought out only what gave him pleasure and cared less than ever for his official duties. The court was filled with corruption. The common people complained but nothing changed.
With Yang Yuhuan in the royal harem and Yang Guozhong in court as the Prime Minister, the Yang family had grown powerful and held high positions in the government. But Yang could not tolerate other talented people in the court for fear they would outshine him, leaving him weaker than he realized.
An Lushan knew that the Tang Dynasty was on the verge of collapse and he took full advantage of this situation. He launched a war to eliminate the Prime Minister.
The empire was unprepared for such an attack. An Lushan’s army easily fought its way to the capital Chang’an.
One day as the Emperor and Lady Yang were in the garden listening music Yang Guozhong rushed toward them and fustered.
“Your Majesty, Disaster!” Guozhong yelled. “An Lushan and his army have passed Tongguan (a pass in present-day Shaanxi Province) and will soon be approaching Chang’an!”
“Where are the soldiers guarding the pass?” asked the Emperor, greatly taken aback by the news.
“They have surrendered,” Yang Guozhong replied woefully.
It took a while for the dumfounded Emperor to collect himself. He did not know what to do and asked Yang Guozhong for advice.
“I have warned Your Majesty about Lushan’s ambitions,” Yang Guozhong replied coldly, “but everytime you turned a deaf ear, and now my judgment has been proved correct.”
Hearing that, the Emperor was speechless. Yang was right. The three of them stood there in silence.
“Since there is not much we can do now,” Yang Guozhong finally spoke. “I suggest, my lord, that we leave the capital before An Lushan arrives. We can go to Sichuan and wait there for the reinforcement troops from other provinces to gather and defeat the rebels.”
The Emperor, still in shock, was ready to take any advice. He agreed to Yang Guozhong’s plan and sent orders to his officials to follow him to Sichuan. He gathered up his guards, and soon he and Lady Yang were en route to Sichuan.
At this moment, the city of Chang’an was in complete chaos. Civilians, officials, soldiers, even many of the royal soldiers had fled the city. Only three thousand palace guards remained, under the command of General Chen Yuanli.
The emperor and his entourage were received and protected by the eunuchs and local ofcials but before long they were told that all of them had fled. As a result, the palace guards were short on supplies. By the time they reached Xingping in present-day Shaanxi Province, they were out of water and food. It was hot and the soldiers hungry, tired and resentful.
Yang Guozhong’s political rivals incited the soldiers that it was the Yang family that had forced An Lushan to revolt and therefore the Yang family was to blame. It worked as they hoped; the exhausted and angry soldiers began to blame Yang Guozhong for their misfortune.
When the Emperor and his caravan reached a place called Mawei Slope, they overheard noises coming from the vanguard battalions. Just as General Chen was about to scout it out, a group of soldiers came forward and circled him.
“An Lushan’s revolt is the reason that His Majesty had to leave the capital. But Yang Guozhong is to blame. If he is not killed today, we will no longer work to protect His Majesty.”
“Calm down.” General Chen tried to mollify them. “First, let’s set up camp. Then I will meet with His Majesty and find a solution.”
The Emperor heard clamours outside. Wandering what was happening, he questioned Gao Lishi and asked him to send for Chen Yuanli.
Fully armored, Chen entered the camp and saluted the Emperor.
“The imperial guards blamed Prime Minister Yang Guozhong. His greed brought on this disaster. They killed him before I could stop them.”
“What?” The update scared the Emperor. “How dare they?” Lady Yang was shocked by the news of her cousin’s death.
Her face grew pale and she could not hold back the tears.
General Chen waited silently for further questions. After a while the Emperor broke the silence.
“Well. Let it be,” he sighed. “You are pardoned for killing without my order. Let’s resume our journey.”
“The guards are still unwilling to continue. There’s more.”
“Yang Guozhong is dead. W hat else do they want?” the Emperor demanded.
“They believe another person should be killed before we continue.”
“What? Who else do they want killed?”
