Chapter 349: Unwilling to Be Demoted

After succeeding in Yanzhou, Khagan Gele sent four armies to plunder wealth and grain in the northern provinces of Guanlong. Once their supplies were sufficient and there were no signs of Anxi sending troops, the Uyghur forces prepared to invade southward in force. The Uyghur army that attacked Xiazhou belonged to the Sigye tribe among the nine Uyghur tribes, led by Sigye Wenhuan.

Xiazhou originally had its own military garrison, but as the soldiers gradually became corrupt, the garrison turned into an empty camp. Only a few hundred local fighters recruited by the governor of Xiazhou were left to maintain order. However, there were many Dangxiang people living in Xiazhou, with the Tuoba tribe—the largest Dangxiang tribe—located in both Xiazhou and Yinzhou. When the Uyghur forces suddenly attacked, Tuoba Xiong, the chief of the Tuoba tribe, was in Xiazhou city discussing grain loans with the governor along with his wife. Bringing only three thousand guards, he could not withstand the Uyghurs’ assault and had to retreat to Xiazhou city, sending people to Yinzhou for help.

Tuoba Xiong’s wife, Yingke, was the daughter of Fang Dangluo. She also hurriedly wrote to her father and brothers for aid. Fortunately, the Uyghur forces’ siege tactics were rather crude—they had no trebuchets and could only use heavy wooden beams to ram the city gates, making the battle for the gates the focal point of the conflict.

Xiazhou was surrounded by moats, with drawbridges across them. However, the drawbridge at the east gate could not be raised due to neglect, making it the main target for the Uyghurs. Tens of thousands of Uyghur cavalry were lined up in the open fields outside the east city wall, their enthusiasm at its peak, their eyes filled with the eagerness of wolves. Once they entered the city, all its wealth and women would belong to them.

But their attack was not successful. Xiazhou was not like Yanzhou—a weak lamb ready to be slaughtered. There were defenders in Xiazhou, but even they could not stop the Uyghurs’ fierce desires. Hundreds of Uyghur warriors, carrying a fifty-foot-long log, charged at the gate while shouting. Stones rained down from the city walls, knocking many people to the ground. The Uyghur forces behind them fired arrows in unison at the city walls. Although their bows were not as sharp as those of the Tang army, their sheer numbers and dense arrow rain kept the Dangxiang defenders from lifting their heads.

With a loud crash, the log struck the city gate, causing the walls to tremble and the gate to shake violently, but it did not break.

“Ram it again!” Sigye Wenhuan ordered sharply, waving his whip.

The hundreds of men retreated quickly. At that moment, the Uyghur arrows slowed slightly, and more stones were thrown from the city walls, knocking dozens more people into the moat.

“Damn it! Those on the city walls aren’t Tang soldiers.”

Si Jiewen suddenly saw clearly that the defenders on the city walls were all Baiyi Tangut people. No wonder they didn’t have the sharp bows and arrows of the Tang army. He immediately became excited and shouted, “The first person to break into the city can choose any hundred women he wants!” His words triggered wild cheers from the Uyghur soldiers, and thousands more rushed forward. They held up shields to protect the soldiers carrying the battering ram. Thousands of large shields covered the massive ram tightly, resembling a giant centipede with scales. The ram struck the city gate again with force. The stones thrown from the walls no longer had the same effect; they clanged against the shields. At that moment, the Uyghur army below fired thousands of arrows. Dozens of people couldn’t dodge in time and were hit by arrows, screaming as they fell from the city walls. With another earth-shattering impact, the city gate shook violently, as if an old man on the verge of collapse was about to fall—just one more push was needed. On the city walls, Governor Luo Xiyan seemed to realize the situation was hopeless. He slowly drew his sword and looked at the Uyghurs like locusts. With a long sigh, he raised his sword and brought it to his neck. Tuoba Xiong, who was behind him, grabbed him and shouted, “Governor Luo, you must not do this! My cavalry will surely protect you and get you out safely!” Luo Xiyan shook his head solemnly and said, “As an official responsible for the people here, I must share the fate of this city. How can I abandon the townspeople and flee on my own?” Just then, the Uyghur army launched its third attack. The battering ram was pulled back a hundred steps away. They gathered their strength and charged forward with shouts. This attack would determine the tragic fate of Xiazhou. At that moment, chaos broke out behind the Uyghur army. From afar, yellow dust could be seen swirling—seemingly another army was approaching. It quickly rushed into the Uyghur forces, which were eager to enter the city. This new army was extremely fierce, scattering the Uyghur cavalry. The Tangut people on the city walls cheered wildly. Tuoba Xiong also saw clearly that the leader of this army was a towering warrior holding a large copper club. He slaughtered the Uyghur soldiers, sending blood and brains flying. In just a moment, dozens of Uyghur cavalry were killed. Tuoba Xiong grabbed Luo Xiyan’s arm and shouted, “Look! That’s my brother-in-law! Our reinforcements have arrived! Brothers, let’s go out and fight!” The Uyghurs stopped their attack and turned to counterattack. But at that moment, the city gate behind them swung open, and three thousand Tangut cavalry charged out. With high morale, they attacked from both sides, defeating the ten-thousand-strong Uyghur army. The Uyghurs fled in disarray, with no less than four thousand of them killed by the Tanguts.

The great victory at Xiazhou became a turning point in the Uyghurs’ southern invasion, greatly boosting the morale of the resistance forces across the region. Han people, Dangxiang people, and Tuyuhun people organized themselves to defend against the Uyghur cavalry. At the beginning of April, Uyghur Khan Gele realized that the Tang people were not easy to humiliate, so he was forced to abandon his raids in northern Guanlong and withdraw his troops to Jiuyuan, ending the siege of Lingzhou. At this point, the Uyghurs reverted to their original strategy and sent envoys to Chang’an to negotiate terms for withdrawing their troops.
……
As the Uyghur army retreated northward, Lingzhou was finally freed from siege. An Sishun breathed a deep sigh of relief. But as soon as one crisis passed, another arose. Shortly after the Uyghurs left, an imperial edict arrived in the city. Due to An Sishun’s heavy defeat at Dingyuan City, he was removed from his position as governor of Shuofang and temporarily appointed as the governor of Lingzhou, with orders to return to the capital to report on his duties.
After sending away the envoys, An Sishun flew into a rage. He tore the imperial edict to shreds and cursed in the direction of Chang’an, saying, “Victory and defeat are common in warfare. Geshu Han lost many soldiers yet was made a king; An Lushan was defeated by the Khitans but was promoted instead of surrendering; Yang Guozhong was defeated by Nanzhao yet became prime minister. Just because I suffered a temporary defeat, they want to remove me from my position. Where is justice in this?”
At that moment, his trusted general Gao Xiuyan advised him, “General, this is just an excuse for the emperor to seize power. Everyone knows this. I’m worried that once you go to the capital, things will likely turn out badly for you. To keep the Prince of Bian in control of Shuofang, the emperor will surely kill you, just as he killed Wang Zhongsi to protect Geshu Han. You need to make a decision soon!”
Fueled by anger, An Sishun snapped, “You’re right. First, he failed to deal with Li Qing’an, so now he’s turning his attention to us, the governors who are close to him. It’s a pity I don’t have many troops; otherwise, I would surely rebel against him!”
“Have you forgotten the Prince of Dongping?”
Gao Xiuyan smiled slyly. “Although you don’t have many troops, the Prince of Dongping has a large army. You might as well ask him to exert pressure in Hebei to force the emperor to abandon his plan to weaken the regional governors.”
An Sishun pondered for a while. It seemed he had no other effective solution, so he slowly nodded and said, “That’s true!”
An Sishun immediately wrote a letter and ordered it to be sent urgently to An Lushan. At the same time, he replied to Li Longji, pointing out that the situation in Shuofang was unstable, and his departure would severely affect troop morale, allowing the Uyghurs to take advantage. Therefore, he decided not to resign from his position as governor for now, waiting to make a decision after the Uyghurs withdrew. This was clearly a refusal of Li Longji’s order to remove him from office.
……

In Shan County of Longyou, Ge Shu Han had just sent away the secretly visiting former crown prince Li Hen. With his hands behind his back, he paced back and forth in the room. On his desk lay an imperial edict from Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty, ordering him to hand over command of the troops in Lanzhou, Liangzhou, Hezhou, Taozhou, Kuozhou, and various military forts around Qinghai—essentially handing over control of those troops to Li Qian, the King of Xiliang, so that he could take them to support Shuofang. At the same time, it offered Ge Shu Han a backdoor out by allowing him to serve as Minister of Works in the court.

Li Qian was already the governor of Shan Prefecture and commanded 30,000 troops. With these additional troops, he would have 70,000 soldiers at his disposal—almost the entire elite force of Longyou and Hexi. As for Ge Shu Han, he would become a military governor in name only.

This was clearly an attempt to strip him of his military power. It seemed Li Qingan had underestimated Li Longji’s ambition—Li Longji wanted not only to take away An Sishun’s power but also his own. What would be the consequences if he refused to hand over power? Thinking of Wang Zhongsì’s violent death, Ge Shu Han shuddered. He knew that if he hesitated even slightly, Li Longji would kill him without hesitation.

Li Hen, on the other hand, advised him not to surrender power and to pledge loyalty to the crown prince, which opened another door for Ge Shu Han—the Eastern Palace faction. Should he join them, following in Li Qingan’s footsteps, or become a mere pawn to support Li Qingan?

Ge Shu Han shook his head. He was reluctant to be labeled as part of the Eastern Palace faction. On one side was Li Longji’s threat to force him to hand over power, promising to appoint him Minister of Works and let him serve as a minister in the court. On the other side was the temptation from the crown prince Li Yu—loyalty to him would ensure protection for his descendants.

Which path to take? Ge Shu Han was truly undecided. Moreover, his trusted advisor Gao Shi had been sent to Chang’an, leaving him without any advice.

Anxious, Ge Shu Han drew his sword and began swinging it around the room. The blade gleamed, and the wind howled as he involuntarily murmured, “As long as Ge Shu remains in Longcheng, the Uyghurs shall never cross the Yin Mountains.” He swung the sword at a wooden pillar and sighed deeply, “The current emperor is foolish—allowing a scoundrel to become a general!”

Just then, his servant Zuo Che rushed in urgently and reported, “General, there’s a disturbance in the army!”

“What?” Ge Shu Han was shocked and quickly asked, “What happened?”

“Yang Jinghui, the commander of the Xuanwei Army, and Wang Nande, the commander of the Heyuan Army, have led their troops away from their bases and are heading toward Shan Prefecture.”

“Clang!”

Ge Shuhan’s sword fell to the ground. This news left him stunned. Of course he knew what had happened—it must have been Emperor Li Longji who secretly ordered Yang Jinghui and Wang Nande to turn against him. The two of them commanded over ten thousand troops, the elite forces of Longyou. Ge Shuhan felt heartache; Li Longji had struck from behind him.

“Mr. Gao has arrived!” A report came from outside the tent from his personal guards.

Ge Shuhan was overjoyed. Gao Shi had returned just in time. “Hurry! Please invite him in!” He rushed out to greet him. As soon as the door opened, Gao Shi entered, covered in dust.

“Sir, you’re finally back. I’m in a life-or-death crisis. Please teach me,” Ge Shuhan said, bowing deeply to Gao Shi.

Gao Shi waved his hand. “General, there’s no need for formalities. I came all the way from Chang’an specifically for this matter. Let’s talk slowly.”

“Good! Please sit down, sir.”

Ge Shuhan invited Gao Shi to sit and personally poured him a cup of tea. After taking a sip of the hot tea, Gao Shi finally let out a long sigh of relief. “I heard some rumors on the way—did the emperor plan to appoint you as Minister of Works?”

“The rumors are true. As long as I hand over power, he indeed promised to appoint me as Minister of Works.”

Ge Shuhan handed the imperial edict to Gao Shi and sighed again. “He’s really ruthless. I just heard that Yang Jinghui and Wang Nande have both led their troops to join Li Qian. Li Qian is still inexperienced and certainly doesn’t have the ability to turn them over on his own. It must be the emperor who secretly gave them orders. Now I’m in a very difficult position!”

After reading the edict, Gao Shi smiled. “Hasn’t the crown prince come to see you?”

Ge Shuhan was surprised. “How do you know?”

“I heard in Lanzhou that someone saw the former crown prince. I guessed he must have come to see you on behalf of the crown prince.”

Ge Shuhan nodded. “That’s right. He did come to see me, and he left not long ago. He wants me to pledge loyalty to the crown prince and not hand over my troops to Li Qian. One is the current emperor, and the other is the future crown prince. I’m in a dilemma!”

“That’s why I rushed back so quickly!”

Gao Shi gave Ge Shuhan a subtle signal outside the door. Ge Shuhan immediately ordered his guards, “No one is allowed in!”

He closed the door and returned to his seat, urging, “Please teach me, sir!”

Gao Shi lowered his voice. “I spent a thousand strings of coins to get information from the emperor’s personal physician. It seems the emperor might not survive this year!”

“Is it that serious?” Ge Shuhan was skeptical.

“The situation is indeed serious!”

Gao Shi sneered and said, “The imperial physician also told me that the emperor has been taking an aphrodisiac for almost three years now, and this medicine was actually presented by An Lushan.”
Geshu Han gasped in shock. “What you mean is, this medicine is actually…”
“Who knows? But one thing is certain—the emperor’s health has been declining day by day after taking this medicine; he now looks as old as eighty, with a hunched back. Of course, the root cause is his excessive indulgence in lust, but it was this medicine that intensified his desires. It can be said he was indirectly destroyed by it.”
Geshu Han let out a long sigh. No wonder he was so incompetent—his energy was all devoted to women. He lowered his head and pondered for a long time before saying, “I understand what you mean. You want me to side with the crown prince, but the crown prince already has Li Qing’an as his pillar. If I follow Li Qing’an, I won’t be able to bear it!”
“Who said a commander must necessarily follow Li Qing’an?”
Gao Shi smiled slightly. “The commander is in Longyou, while Li Qing’an is in Anxi. Which is closer?”
Geshu Han suddenly understood. At that moment, he finally made up his mind. Slamming his fist on the table, he declared, “Alright! It’s decided. I’ll claim that the Tibetans are showing signs of counterattack, and I’ll lead my troops westward!”
Early the next morning, Geshu Han immediately ordered the mobilization of troops from various regions. He also ordered the 10,000 troops stationed in Liangzhou to withdraw southward from Dabuoga to the Hohuang area. At the same time, he sent Gao Shi to Shanzhou to stabilize Li Qian, claiming that he would formally hand over command once all the troops were gathered.
Ten days later, 50,000 troops assembled in Shanzhou. Just then, Geshu Han suddenly claimed that the Tibetans were preparing to launch an attack, so he led his troops southward to Dafeichuan and stationed heavy forces in Shibao City to prevent Li Qian from pursuing them. Only then did Li Qian realize he had fallen for Geshu Han’s trick. He regretted it deeply. By then, Emperor Li Longji had issued three imperial orders urging him to march northward. With no choice, Li Qian led his 40,000 troops northward to Lingzhou.