The World Online

Chapter 997 – Poet Saint Du Fu

The next morning, An Qingxu received an emergency letter from Luoyang.

Fanyang had fallen, and Luoyang was asking for help. An Qingxu did not even think about it. After greeting Di Chen, he immediately led his troops to Luoyang. Di Chen was helpless and could only pull back the troops.

Staying any longer in Chang An would mean that all his troops would fall.

Along with the rebel army leaving, the Chang An defending troops heaved a sigh of relief. Some soldiers could not hold on anymore and fell to the ground, as this battle was simply too exhilarating.

To Chang An, the most dangerous moment had passed.

Pushing back the rebels meant that Ouyang Shuo’s prestige here had reached a new peak. The officials’ annoyance toward Ouyang Shuo for his actions had been relieved, and the civilians in the city were filled with gratitude toward Ouyang Shuo.

As for those nobles and officials whose private troops were taken away, their attitudes changed. Now, they sought credit from the emperor. They described how their soldiers were so courageous and protected the safety of Chang An.

The various generals of the troops also entered the palace to pledge their allegiance to the emperor.

In comparison, Ouyang Shuo seemed to be ignored. It seems like be it Li Longji or Li Xiang, they were both terrified of this player.

The Imperial Court had already spread the word that they hoped for the player forces to move out of the city.

The danger in Chang An City had just ended, and the previous emperor Li Longji did not like his current position. He did not want to leave Taiji Palace.

How could his current position compare to being an emperor?

In history, Li Longji had a long period of power struggle with Li Xiang when he returned from Shu Lands, much less in the current situation.

As the previous emperor, Li Longji had a massive foundation in the dynasty, and there were many people who wished to follow him. As such, he naturally still wanted to control the dynasty and not become someone with no power.

The love for power of ancient emperors was something that normal people could not understand.

Take the Qing Dynasty Ganlong Emperor as an example. He once said that even if he had a long life, he did not dare to break his grandfather’s record of ruling for 61 years. If he managed to reach 60 years of ruling, he would give up his position.

He also spent huge amounts of resources to build a palace for himself for retirement – the Ningshou Palace.

When he was 85 and had ruled for 60 years, he gave up the throne as expected. However, he did not move to Ningshou Palace.

He still stayed in Yangxin Hall, and he accepted the visits from the officials and controlled country matters. He still retained power over the nation.

The poor Jiaqing became a fake emperor until Ganlong died. After that, he finally took over power. Until the Ganlong Emperor’s death, he did not even spend a single day in Ningshou Palace, such an irony.

Ganlong had did it beautifully. He had given up his spot voluntarily. On the other hand, this did not mean that Li Longji had all the more reason to interfere in dynasty matters.

Hence, the moment the rebels left, hidden currents moved in the Chang An Imperial Court.

The new versus the old slowly started their battle.

Ouyang Shuo did not bother about such matters. Taking the time when the two emperors were fighting, he rushed to a street on the west of Chang An to visit someone.

He was visiting the famous Poet Saint Du Fu.

Du Fu had a really close relationship with the An Lushan Rebellion, and many of his poems came out during this period. Like the ‘Three officials and three partings,’ which describe the chaotic situation.

For example: The Pressgang at Stone Moat Village

I seek for shelter at nightfall. What is the pressgang coming for? My old host climbs over the wall; My old hostess answers the door. How angry is the sergeant’s shout! How bitter is the woman’s cry! I hear what she tries to speak out. “I’d three sons guarding the town high. One wrote a letter telling me That his brothers were killed in war. He’ll keep alive if he can be; The dead have passed and are no more. In the house there is no man left, Except my grandson in the breast Of his mother, of all bereft; She can’t come out, in tatters dressed. Though I’m a woman weak and old, I beg to go tonight with you, That I may serve in the stronghold And cook morning meals as my due.” With night her voices fade away; I seem to hear still sob and sigh. At dawn again I go my way And only bid my host goodbye.

During the Battle Map, although the players changed the direction of the battle, the people that were hurt were still civilians. Outside of Chang An City, the tens of thousands of civilian bodies formed the best description.

Naturally, Ouyang Shuo visited Du Fu because he wanted him to come to Great Xia.

Du Fu was born from the Datu tribe in the north. When he was young, he once did not have to worry about food and clothes. When he became a middle-aged man, his family faltered, and his life got worse.

Although the civil servants and officials of the Imperial Court had their own thoughts and felt complicated about Ouyang Shuo, amongst the civilians, Ouyang Shuo was a true hero.

Furthermore, Ouyang Shuo used his position as Xia King and his appointment as commander to personally recruit Du Fu. As such, why would he not agree? There were not many people in ancient times that could reject a request from royalty.

Name: Du Fu (Saint Rank) Title: Poet Saint Dynasty: Tang Dynasty Identity: Great Xia scholar Occupation: Special Poet Loyalty: 75 Bone structure: 20 Comprehension: 18 Luck: 10 Charm: 15 Specialty: Poet Saint (raises dynasty culture index by 10%, raises civilian culture upbringing by 15%, raises dynasty poem and song standards by 50%, raises chances of poets breaking through bottleneck by 25%) Book: Dugong Set Evaluation: Poets use words as their work. Du Fu’s works had much change and much variety, encapsulating many meanings within.

After he smoothly recruited Du Fu, Ouyang Shuo felt really good. He also would not bother about the Imperial Court matters. Once the battle ended, and he received his war prizes, he would return to Great Xia.

As for chasing the rebels, Ouyang Shuo did not bother doing that.

First, the Chang An defending troops had suffered heavy casualties. Although the rebels were hurt, they still had the huge player army. If they chased these troops, it would be like charging into a lion’s den.

As for those troops that pledged their allegiance to the emperor, they were only good for standing at the side, shouting and cheering. They would all hesitate if you tried to make them chase the rebels.

When Ouyang Shuo saw that, his thoughts of chasing the enemy was extinguished. He only ordered the Jiannan Jiedushi to prepare to send troops to attack Luoyang.

With the two armies working together, Luoyang would definitely fall.

The progression of the war had greatly exceeded his expectations, and it was much smoother than he had anticipated. … An Qingxu was not able to rush to Luoyang in the end. Just as he arrived in Tong Pass, something happened in Luoyang.

After learning that the army had faced problems in Chang An and Fanyang had fallen, the Luoyang Army killed An Lushan and announced their desire to pledge their allegiance to the Imperial Court.

Things happened so quickly, and it caught An Qingxu off guard.

Di Chen and the others heaved a sigh of relief. The early end of the battle meant that they would not be dragged down. If they really had a final battle at Luoyang, who knows how many men they would have to sacrifice?

Along with An Lushan being killed, a battle notification sounded out.

“Battle Notification: Battle of An Lushan officially ends, the An Lushan Camp has failed to change history.” … “Battle Notification: The An Lushan Rebellion has officially ended. Now, based on the Battle Map contributions as well as contribution to the camp, extra contribution points will be decided.” … A System Notification sounded out in Ouyang Shuo’s ear.

“System Notification: Player Qiyue Wuyi, Tang Dynasty player representative, although successfully defended the city, made little contributions, awarded 20 thousand extra battle contribution points.”

“….”

Ouyang Shuo’s face was covered with black lines.

Based on the previous Battle Map, since Ouyang Shuo had turned the bad situation of the Tang Dynasty around, he should have been able to obtain at least 100 thousand extra battle contribution points. Now, he only received a pitiful 20 thousand.

Gaia was warning Ouyang Shuo, telling him that just because it was a Battle Map, he should not think that he could not simply do as he wished.

Ouyang Shuo was helpless. He took a look at the battle contribution points rankings.

1st: Qiyue Wuyi- 400000 points 2nd: Feng Qiuhuang- 300000 points 3rd: Di Chen- 250000 points 4th: Zhan Lang- 150000 points 5th: Xiong Ba- 140000 points 6th: Chun Shenjun- 120000 points 7th: Wandering Magic- 100000 points 8th: Sha Pojun- 20000 points

As the An Lushan camp player representative, Di Chen was unable to get ahead of Feng Qiuhuang because he was punished for using civilians as gunpowder, so he did not receive any extra rewards.

Sha Pojun was the worst out of the eight. The 50 thousand troops he brought were the reserve forces, and they were only thrown in at the last moment to fight against the 20 thousand Tiger Leopard Cavalry. As a result, he did not get an ideal amount of contribution points.

This small amount probably was not enough to revive his forces. … As the Battle Map had ended, Ouyang Shuo was prepared to obtain the prize for 1st place. However, he did not expect a group of officials to come out of the palace to meet him with an imperial decree. Li Xiang had directly sent the reward over.

When Ouyang Shuo saw that, he gave a bitter smile. That emperor truly did not want to meet him. He received the reward, and it was a piece of jade. Ouyang Shuo did not check its stats and simply teleported back.

The moment he arrived in Shanhai City, a System Notification sounded out in his ear.

“System Notification: The An Lushan Rebellion has officially ended, Tang Dynasty historical people automatically enter the game proceedings.” … As one of the most prosperous and talented dynasties in Chinese history, there were numerous historical talents during the Tang Dynasty. Apart from the 24 officials of the Lingyan Pavilion, there were poets, artists, and more.

To the China region Lords, this was great news.

“System Notification: The An Lushan Rebellion has officially ended, Qingcheng Sect and Wulin Sect officially enter the game proceedings.” … Along with history entering the Tang Dynasty, the underworld would get more and more interesting.