Wang Chengye
|
He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. |
Wang Chengye (王承業) was the Right General of the Feathered Forest Tang royal guards during the tenure of Right Chancellor Yang Guozhong.
In this capacity, he was privy to the existence of the Golden Turtles, a shadowy group which had infiltrated the Tang government and were then led by Guozhong. He sought to be admitted into its ranks, but at the outbreak of the An Lushan Rebellion in 755, this wish had still not yet been realized. Until then, he acted as an agent of the Golden Turtle eunuch Bian Lingcheng, working to undermine Tang loyalists who genuinely strove to protect the country and its people.
Biography
In 756, Wang Chengye and his detachment of the Feathered Forest were stationed at Tong Pass under the command of General Gao Xianzhi, precariously defending the capital of Chang'an against An Lushan's Yeluohe forces.[1] Morale was already desperately low among the Tang troops after the garrison narrowly fended off an attack by Yeluohe general Sun Xiaozhe, but it was made worse by the orders relayed by the eunuch Bian Lingcheng on behalf of Chancellor Yang Guozhong to pursue Sun Xiaozhe for a counter-attack. Recognizing that to leave the safety of the indomitable fortress would be suicidal for his men, Xianzhi furiously refused and lashed out at Lingcheng. The spiteful eunuch returned to Chang'an to report this incident to Guozhong, fully intent on exacting retribution against the general for this slight.[2]
Not long after while the forlorn officers were holding council, a secret message arrived from Changshan Commandery in Hebei Circuit. Sent by Li E, a former elite crossbowman who had served under Xianzhi at the Battle of Talas, the letter rekindled the hope in the officers' hearts that had nearly died. Li E revealed that Changshan was not only organizing a counter-rebellion against An Lushan but that they had a plan to seize the critical Tumen Pass by killing the Yeluohe commanders Gao Miao and Li Qincou. Once this had been accomplished, loyalists across all Hebei could be rallied together, and the pathway would be open to rendezvous with Gao Xianzhi's imperial army, whereupon they could converge on An Lushan, then in the eastern capital of Luoyang.[1]
The entire council were deeply moved by this unexpected news of support, with Wang Chengye himself feigning a dramatic outpouring of tears. Reacting swiftly, he immediately offered to be the one to lead troops to the northern capital of Taiyuan in support of the Changshan loyalists.[1] His request was granted,[1][3] but as a secret ally of the Golden Turtles, his allegiance was not to the Tang.[4] Although the Yeluohe was a splinter faction of the Golden Turtles and their nemesis,[5] Guozhong wanted to ensure that only their members would win accolades for the defeat of the rebels, for they were loathe to lose their monopoly on power over the government.[4]
Thus, when Wang Chengye received Li E before the gates of Taiyuan, he immediately ordered his arrest.[3] Li E, having assassinated the Yeluohe lieutenant generals Gao Miao, Li Qincou, and He Qiannian as promised,[6] had rushed with all haste alone bearing the golden turtle badges found with their bodies as proof of their demise.[6][4] The Changshan governor Yan Gaoqing had been perplexed by the tokens because he knew them only as outdated badges of Empress Wu Zetian's era, and he correctly judged that they needed to be reported to the imperial court for investigation. Apart from this, Li E was instructed to request urgent reinforcements for Changshan, for it was sure to face the full wrath of the Yeluohe for their actions at Tumen Pass.[6]
Wang Chengye's sudden attack shocked and horrified Li E, who was already beleaguered with fatigue and caged in by Chengye's army. Chengye did not care to explain his betrayal, only dismissively telling him that a disgraced general had no right to order the commander of the royal guards, in allusion to Gao Xianzhi's defeat at Talas. With no recourse left, Li E frantically tried to fight his way to freedom but was eventually overwhelmed and brutally beaten down by tower shields.[3]
With his quarry at his mercy, Chengye declined to execute him on the spot, reasoning that the young man could be used as evidence to falsely implicate Gao Xianzhi and his lieutenant Feng Changqing in conspiracy.[3] Unbeknownst to him,[3] Li E was a Hidden One,[7] an enemy of the Order of the Ancients—of which the Golden Turtles was but a sect[8]—since time immemorial.[9][10] As his soldiers dragged Li E away, Chengye added that he would not forget their contributions once he made his "glorious ascendance" into the ranks of the Golden Turtles. It was this statement that Li E ruminated over as he lost consciousness.[3]
Appearances
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Golden Turtles (Part 5)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Golden Turtles (Part 4)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Integrity's Last (Part 3)
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Integrity's Last (Part 2)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – The Flower Banquet (Part 7)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – Golden Turtles (Part 8)
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Dynasty – The Flower Banquet (Part 2)
- ↑ 刺客信条: 王朝 – 最強历史人物画卷
- ↑ Assassin's Creed
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins