Peach Blossoms in Chang'an

The night wind blew through the broken roof of the dilapidated temple, making a humming sound like the howling of ghosts and wolves. Qian Xu tightly grasped the sword at his waist and stepped into the temple cautiously. The moonlight cast mottled light and shadows through the holes, and vaguely saw straw and broken rubble scattered on the ground, and the air was filled with a smell of decay.

"Sir, there is no one here." A guard lit a fire and looked around, with a puzzled tone.

Qian Xu looked around, frowning. Could it be that he had made a mistake in judgment and had fallen into a trap? Just as he was about to order an evacuation, he suddenly caught a glimpse of something engraved on the wall behind the statue.

He walked forward quickly and brushed away the dust on it. A strange symbol gradually emerged. He seemed to have seen it before, but he couldn't remember where he had seen it.

"Sir, look!" another guard exclaimed, pointing at a stone slab in the corner.

Qian Xu walked over and saw that the stone slab had been moved artificially, revealing a dark hole. He jumped down without hesitation, and the guards behind him followed closely.

Below the cave entrance was a narrow passage with dim oil lamps on both sides. Qian Xu and his companions walked down the passage for about an incense stick of time before finally arriving in front of a heavy stone door.

Before they could get close, the stone door suddenly opened slowly, and dazzling flames poured out from the door, accompanied by a noisy sound of people talking.

Qian Xu and the others looked at each other, held their breath, and walked in lightly. In front of them was a spacious underground secret room, with weapons and maps hanging on the walls. In the middle was a huge round table, and several men in luxurious clothes were sitting around the table, talking in low voices.

"We must make sure this uprising is foolproof and never give the imperial court any chance!"

"Don't worry, I have already contacted Huang Chao, he will send troops to meet us outside the city."

"As long as we control the palace, the world will be ours!"

Qian Xu was shocked. These people were actually...

Just then, there was a sudden commotion at the entrance to the secret room.

"who?!"

Before Qian Xu and others could react, they were surrounded by a group of men in black.

"No, I was discovered!"

At the same time, in a secret mountain villa thousands of miles away, Dou Qing was pacing back and forth anxiously.

"Girl, don't worry. General Qian is a lucky man and will be fine." An old lady in plain clothes comforted.

"But..." Dou Qing hesitated, his eyes full of worry.

"I know what you are worried about." The old woman sighed, "Those aristocratic families have been colluding with Huang Chao for a long time, and their power is intertwined. It is not easy to bring them down."

"But I can't just watch General Qian put himself in danger!" Dou Qing said firmly, "You saved me and told me these secrets because you hoped I could help General Qian, right?"

The old woman smiled slightly: "It seems that you have figured it out."

"I have found the key to cracking the code. As long as..."

"As long as we find the secret agreement, we can prove their guilt!" Dou Qing clenched his fists. "But the secret agreement was hidden very secretly. I still haven't found its whereabouts."

The old woman walked to the bookshelf and gently turned a book. The wall behind the bookshelf slowly opened to the sides, revealing a secret compartment. She took out a wooden box from the secret compartment and handed it to Dou Qing: "Maybe there is the answer you want in it."

Dou Qing took the wooden box and opened it. Inside was a letter and a jade pendant. She picked up the envelope and saw the words "My son's letter" written on it. The handwriting was vigorous and powerful. It was exactly her father's handwriting!

Dou Qing opened the envelope with trembling hands. The letter paper was covered with densely written words, recording the details of the collusion between the aristocratic families and Huang Chao, as well as the hiding place of the secret agreement!

"Dad, don't worry, I will definitely avenge you and clear General Qian's name!" Dou Qing said in a firm tone with tears in his eyes.

At the same time, Qian Xu was trapped in the underground secret room. He was dealing with the men in black while looking for a chance to escape. He knew that if he let these people escape, the consequences would be disastrous.

At this moment, there was a loud noise at the entrance of the secret room, followed by shouts of killing. Qian Xu was delighted, reinforcements were coming!

He summoned up his remaining courage, fought hard to break out, and finally met up with the arriving reinforcements.

"General Qian, are you okay?" A familiar voice came. Qian Xu looked up and saw General Li wearing armor, standing in front of him majestically.

"General Li, you are finally back!" Qian Xu said excitedly.

General Li laughed loudly: "General Qian saved my life, how can I just sit there and watch? What's more, those aristocratic families are bullying us too much, it's time to teach them a lesson!"

General Li's return greatly boosted morale. Qian Xu, Dou Qing and General Li gathered together and formulated a detailed counterattack plan based on the new clues, ready to expose the true face of the aristocratic family in one fell swoop. A storm is coming, and dark clouds are gathering over Chang'an City, foreshadowing a bloody storm. The night in Chang'an City is as deep as ink that cannot be dissolved. Qian Xu, dressed in black, flexibly shuttled between high walls and deep courtyards, like a ghost walking at night. Following the instructions of the mysterious ally, he avoided layers of guards and finally arrived at his destination-a seemingly ordinary mansion.

"General Qian, this is where the aristocratic families gather in secret." A deep voice came from behind Qian Xu, with a hint of tension that was barely noticeable. The person who spoke was the mysterious ally who called himself "Shadow" and had been hiding in the dark, providing intelligence to Qian Xu.

Qian Xu nodded, but didn't say anything, his eyes became sharper. He took a jade pendant from Shadow, which was the certificate for entering the secret meeting. He took a deep breath and put the jade pendant close to the mechanism on the door. With a light "click", the heavy door opened silently.

Qian Xu flashed in, and the "shadow" behind him quickly closed the door. The two of them disappeared into the night as if they had never appeared.

The house was brightly lit, and unlike the silence outside, it was a completely different scene. A group of people sat around a huge round table, talking in low voices, and the atmosphere was particularly solemn.

Qian Xu hid in the dark, observing these people carefully. They were all representatives of aristocratic families, and they were usually righteous, but at this moment, they all had gloomy faces, with greed and ambition flashing in their eyes.

"Everyone, Huang Chao is now powerful and the imperial court is unable to resist. We must make plans early!" An old man spoke first, with a hint of anxiety in his tone.

"Hmph, the imperial court? They are nothing but a bunch of drunkards!" Another middle-aged man snorted coldly, "In my opinion, why don't we take this opportunity to establish ourselves as kings? Why should we be controlled by others?"

"Yes, the wealth and connections accumulated by our aristocratic families over generations are not comparable to those peasants."

"As long as we join forces and overthrow the imperial court, this world will be ours!"

……

Listening to these people's conversation, Qian Xu was furious. These aristocratic families, for their own selfish interests, actually colluded with the rebels and betrayed the country and the people. This was simply a crime that could not be forgiven!

He quietly took out a small recording device that Shadow had given him and recorded all the conversations between these people. He knew that this would be the key evidence to bring down these people.

Just then, a familiar voice came over, which made Qian Xu's heart tremble.

"Don't worry, I have reached an agreement with Huang Chao. As long as we work together from inside and outside to capture Chang'an, he will agree to make us kings and share the world!"

The person who spoke was the middle-aged man who had always advocated cooperation with Huang Chao. His tone was full of confidence and pride.

Qian Xu sneered in his heart, he knew that his chance had come. He took a deep breath, pushed open the door, and strode in.

"What did you say?!"

His voice was like thunder, exploding in everyone's ears. Everyone looked up in surprise and looked at the uninvited guest.

Qian Xu's eyes were as sharp as torches as he scanned all the people present. They finally stopped at the middle-aged man, and a cold arc appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Can you say what you just said again?"

Qian Xu's words were like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, stirring up thousands of waves. The members of the aristocratic families present were stunned at first, but then they reacted and stood up with their eyes wide open.

"Qian Xu! How dare you trespass into our meeting place? How audacious!"

"Someone, come! Take down this traitor!"

Facing the anger of the crowd, Qian Xu seemed unusually calm. He took out a recording device from his arms and held it high. "Everyone, why don't you listen to what this is first, and then decide whether to arrest me, the 'traitor'?"

Qian Xu's words were like a thunderbolt, which stunned everyone present. A clear voice came out from the recording device, which was the conversation they had just had about conspiring to collude with Huang Chao and intending to rebel.

The faces of the people from the aristocratic families turned pale instantly. They never thought that Qian Xu would have something on them. Qian Xu sneered at their reactions, his heart filled with the joy of victory. He knew that with this recording, these aristocratic families would never be able to turn things around.

Qian Xu presented the recording to the emperor, who was furious and ordered a thorough investigation. In the end, the aristocratic families involved in the rebellion were uprooted, their wealth was confiscated, and the heads of the families were executed, completely losing their former glory.

Qian Xu was re-employed by the emperor and reinstated because of his great contribution in exposing the truth. He knew that it was not the time to relax, as Huang Chao's rebels were still wreaking havoc in various places and the people were still living in dire straits. He had to put down the rebellion as soon as possible and bring peace and prosperity to the world.

Qian Xu then regrouped and led the army to launch a full-scale counterattack against Huang Chao. He led the troops and bravely killed the enemy, which boosted the morale of the Tang army. Under Qian Xu's leadership, the Tang army was unstoppable, successively conquered the cities occupied by the rebels, and approached the rebel base camp.

The battle was unprecedentedly fierce. Qian Xu, wearing armor and holding a spear, charged forward like a killing god, unstoppable. Just as he was about to break through the rebels' last line of defense, a sharp arrow suddenly shot out from the darkness and hit him in the chest...