Chu Qiao's suspicions were finally confirmed. The chaos in Tang finally broke out at the imperial mausoleum in Meishan after ten peaceful years. It came out of the blue, like a pot of cold water. Before the people inside could react in time, the pot of water was heated to its boiling point, implicating everyone within.
At Hanshui, the conflict had escalated. After a few groups of cavalry troops trampled on the land, the city was destroyed. Homes were torched; the fertile land was instantly turned to a barren wasteland. The prosperity of the city went up in smokes. On both sides of the roads, corpses of the civilians littered the ground. A pungent smell of blood could be detected amongst the decomposing bodies.
