I Can Control My Ancestors

Just as the rebels were maneuvering against the Tang Army, they first feigned a setback and then took advantage of the opportunity to secretly cross the Yangtze River.

Within a few months, they captured the regions of Qian, Ji, Rao, and Xin.

The Jiangnan area had almost no defense against this sudden onslaught, and in an instant, the forces of Huang Chao swept through, trampling everything in their path.

In truth, one cannot blame others.

It was simply because the disputes in the court were still ongoing and had not completely ceased.

Human selfishness, once it arises, is boundless; it’s an endless struggle from start to finish.

Some falsely report military achievements for merit, while others lie about the state of the wars to slander political rivals.

All of this affects the entire battlefield situation.

Yet, despite all this, no one could stop it.

No one would be foolish.

These people, doing these things at such a time, basically are just gambling.

Whether the ship of Great Tang sinks or not, this isn’t even within their consideration.

This matter dealt a severe blow to the entire Great Tang.

——In fact, the various systems of Great Tang had already completely rotted away, with only the most core sea trade having a slightest ray of hope for salvation.

This wasn’t because these people backed down.

It was simply because the interests tied to sea trade were too many.

Moreover, they understood that affecting sea trade would be a massive blow to the current Great Tang, and besides, this was everyone’s money pouch.

No one would allow it to completely rot away.

But now, the situation has drastically changed.

The Huang Chao rebellion severely damaged the entire sea trade system, coupled with years of corrupt governance and rampant pirates, under various erosions, the last balance of Jiangnan sea trade was also thoroughly broken.

What followed was the constant emergence of refugee waves.

And this was destined to be the last straw to crush Great Tang.

The refugee problem has always been the most challenging issue for any feudal dynasty, let alone the already precarious situation of the Great Tang.

Huang Chao would never miss an opportunity to strengthen his momentum.

This sweeping of Jiangnan greatly increased his power.

And the court’s mishandling of the situation made him smell opportunity.

——The world had finally fallen into complete chaos.

If the previous turmoil hadn’t made people realize the end of Great Tang, then with the Gu Clan’s withdrawal and the collapse of sea trade, people finally truly felt: the era has completely changed.

The common people...were unable to survive anymore.

In front of them was only one path, just as Huang Chao called for—to overthrow the ruthless heaven.

...

In the same year’s December.

Huang Chao once again led his army into Fuzhou, pointing his sword at Lingnan.

He seemed to have grasped the core of this opportunity, advancing rapidly towards another lifeblood of Great Tang.

Currently, the core strategic location in Lingnan is not Panyu.

But it’s the New City that Gu Yi controlled during Gu Ye’s time, designated for the entire Lingnan, which is today’s Guangzhou Protectorate.

Although Panyu Port remains prosperous.

But due to geographical constraints, when matters of sea trade were striving to develop, Guangzhou naturally ushered in a period of rapid development, especially during the expansion of New City by Gu Jing years ago.

This series of developments laid the foundation for Guangzhou’s current status.

Unlike the previous ravaging of Jiangnan, upon detecting enemy movements, Guangzhou’s Protector Li Tiao had long been prepared.

But the current Great Tang was so—

Even if the local forces wanted to resist, the central hub’s support never kept up.

Not to mention the remote mountains and rivers, the rebel armies rising in succession from all directions greatly helped Huang Chao in holding back the central forces.

And as time passed.

No matter how stable Lingnan was, it ultimately couldn’t withstand the rolling tides.

Ganfu Sixth Year, October.

Huang Chao invaded Guangzhou, capturing Jiedu Envoy Li Tiao alive.

And as usual, beheaded him in front of thousands of troops.

Besides—

Including the local aristocratic families of Lingnan, even those big-nosed merchants colluding with officials, suffered Huang Chao’s bloody purge, as did followers from various sects.

Thus, he vented his anger.

And this also brought him soaring prestige.

Because the common people following him in rebellion had too much anger towards these people.

Even Gu Yi found it difficult to estimate how many people had been killed during Huang Chao’s march.

It is noteworthy that during this period, Huang Chao visited the branch of the Gu Clan in Lingnan and once again performed sacrifices for the ancestors of the Gu Clan.

This move not only earned him a great deal of popular support.

During this period, Huang Chao made no secret of his attitude towards the Gu Clan.

He knew full well there were definitely descendants of the Gu Clan hiding their identities to block him, but he accepted this calmly.

Even when conferring with the patriarch of the Lingnan branch, he never felt that he had done wrong.

He wanted to carve out a completely new path.

News spread continually.

Perhaps it was truly because the world at this time was far too chaotic that this matter didn’t cause much of an impact, the court had already completely disintegrated, unable to tackle so many issues anymore.

This was one of the results of power struggles.

When the Central Hub lacked strong power, the regions would gradually detach from its control, becoming actual separation struggles for power.

This was evident during the late Han periods.

Whether during the Eastern Han, or at the end of Yan Han.

And now—

All this was just the same play in a different form.

Huang Chao, having committed such atrocities, was already destined not to have any allies; all forces would do everything to stop him.

In the same December.

Huang Chao officially declared himself king in Guangzhou, enumerating the "Crimes of the Tang Dynasty" in proclamation to the world, announcing a North Expedition.

Unlike the historical events of the past.

Perhaps due to changes in the environment he grew up in, and the appearance of the Gu Clan’s learning, Huang Chao, this time, didn’t divide and conquer the enemy camps as the history had recorded.

He wanted to confront the entire world.

Just like Gu Xi did in ancient times, only he wanted to be more radical, desiring to completely destroy family politics.

A stone stirred a thousand waves!

Not because of Huang Chao’s proclamation.

But due to his act of becoming king, which, for all the traitors across the land, and even for the families slowly rising with a separatist mindset, was regarded as a colossal good news.

——At last, someone took this step.

And it equally illuminated a path for them.

Fighting for that final great seat of power!

The entire world, really chaotic.

Gu Yi has always watched everything silently, his heart equally complex and hard to decipher.

History indeed had undergone considerable changes.

At least from the current view.

Great Tang seemingly had hard times escaping this calamity.

There are many underlying causes, the most crucial being the population increase, which makes this chaos far transcending the original history.

This is evidently historical inevitability.

And what made Gu Yi’s mood complicated was precisely this.

It was impossible for the growth of Kyushu’s population to stop here; with the continuing development of the Gu Clan, the productivity they brought soared, the entire Kyushu’s population definitely couldn’t be below the original history.

But if according to this situation.

Then how would future calamities evolve?

Perhaps directly witnessing generations of the Gu Clan pouring so much effort into this land, even as open-minded as Gu Yi, it’s inevitable to draw forth indescribable emotions.

This wasn’t melodrama, but pondering the Gu Clan’s future path.

The Gu Clan ultimately cannot avoid disaster every time.

Even with the precedent of the Kong Clan bending to survive, the Gu Clan absolutely wouldn’t take that route.

This was the choice made by generations of ancestors in the Gu Clan.

The Gu Clan’s stance was inherently incompatible with that.

Generation after generation of ancestors had set the tone for the Gu Clan, and now burdened with all their expectations, Gu Yi would also not abandon the family’s backbone.

And when the wheels of history rolled up to the Gu Clan.

What does the Gu Clan ultimately need to accomplish?

This is what Gu Yi is pondering.

Evidently, certain matters, whether for the people of Kyushu, or for the whole Gu Clan, he cannot avoid.....

....

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