Chapter 350: Five Strategies

An Sishun’s reply to the imperial court was delayed in reaching Chang’an, but his plea for aid sent to An Lushan was sent urgently and arrived in Hebei within four days.
Just like Li Qing’an’s Anxi region, An Lushan also held the position of Commander in Charge of Military Affairs and Agricultural Development in Fanyang. He not only held military power but also control over local finances, allowing him to amass substantial resources for expanding his forces. Two years prior, when he attacked the Khitans with an army of 60,000, he suffered a crushing defeat, losing most of his troops. Yet, using his financial resources, he quickly replenished his forces.
Compared to Anxi, Hebei had a larger population and greater wealth. An Lushan had far more resources than Li Qing’an, and he was surrounded by talented generals and advisors. This made him the most powerful regional governor in the Tang Dynasty, second in name only to the emperor.
Despite his strength, An Lushan remained low-key. He enjoyed hosting banquets and would often say at these gatherings that Anxi had a vast territory and numerous troops, making Li Qing’an the true most powerful regional governor. Not only did he say this at banquets, but he also sent people to Chang’an, Luoyang, and other places to spread the idea that Anxi was powerful, aiming to shift everyone’s attention there.
He knew he wasn’t as far from the emperor as Li Qing’an was, making it difficult for Emperor Li Longji to keep a tight grip on him. Since Hebei was close to the Central Plains and had many local officials, any slight movement from him would reach Li Longji’s ears. Therefore, he constantly showed loyalty to Li Longji, searching for rare treasures to send to Yang Guifei and the emperor. After Yang Guifei was neglected, he fawned over Wu Xianyi, even bribing her personal maids with large sums of money. As a result, the favored Wu Xianyi flattered Li Longji greatly, earning his trust. Li Longji not only removed the eunuchs overseeing An Lushan’s forces but also ensured that princes were stationed in various military regions, while none were assigned to An Lushan’s area.

Although he enjoyed Li Longji’s trust, An Lushan was not at ease. He continued to make secret preparations intensively. Last year, he ordered his confidants in the capital to set fire to the weapons depot in Chang’an, destroying 300,000 weapons that the Tang Dynasty had accumulated over decades. Domestically, after gaining the power to mint coins, he mass-produced inferior silver coins to plunder people’s wealth. He also sent people to Bohai to boil salt and sold large quantities of smuggled salt in the Central Plains. Following Li Qing’an’s model, he implemented a system of fortified settlements in Fanyang and Pinglu, where the populace was forced to live in fortresses, with reservists trained extensively on a regular basis. Through these actions, his hidden strength grew rapidly. Officially, he only commanded 140,000 troops in two garrisons, but in reality, he was able to mobilize up to 200,000 troops.

The wave of reducing the power of regional warlords that began at the end of last year inevitably reached Fanyang. An Lushan was extremely anxious. He knew full well that Fanyang would eventually come under Li Longji’s scrutiny. No matter how much Li Longji trusted him, he still trusted his own sons more—after all, the Tang Dynasty belonged to the Li family, not the An family. To cope with the crisis, he ordered Liu Luogu, the liaison officer in Chang’an, to keep an eye on court developments and bribed the palace attendants extensively to monitor Li Longji’s every move.

Soon after, the Uyghur invasion broke out, and Li Longji used this incident to formally start reducing the power of regional warlords. An Lushan realized time was running out. No longer caring about revealing his ambitions, he immediately ordered the mobilization of civilian militias in Pinglu, under the pretense of spring training, but in reality, turning them into regular troops.

That night, a distress letter from An Sishun arrived at An Lushan’s mansion in Dongping Commandery.

Although An Lushan lacked literary talent, his study was exceptionally valuable. There was no particular style—just various precious items piled up in the room. Paintings by Wu Daozi and Yan Liben, cursive scripts by Zhang Xu, poems by Li Bai and Wang Wei—authentic works were casually hung around. As for Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian classics, there were countless of them, filling three rooms.

Yet An Lushan never paid any attention to these famous artworks and books. His only interest was a sand table map, which he learned from Li Qing’an. Three hundred craftsmen spent a year creating a model of the mountains, rivers, terrain, cities, populations, bridges, and military deployments in Hebei, Hedong, Henan, and Guanzhong regions using clay. It was highly intuitive and realistic. This sand table was An Lushan’s most treasured possession. Once, a maid accidentally spilled tea on it, triggering his furious anger. He drew his sword and killed her himself. From then on, no servant was allowed to enter the room where the sand table was kept.

The sand table was placed in a separate room without windows. Ten night pearls the size of pomelos hung in the corners, illuminating the room as brightly as day.
An Lushan stood quietly in front of the sand table, his gaze fixed for a long time on the fertile lands of Guanzhong. Or rather, he wasn’t really interested in Guanzhong at all; he was only concerned about that tiny dot the size of a needle tip within it—that was what truly interested him.
An Lushan’s ambition wasn’t innate. Before the sixth year of Tianbao, he was still scrambling to find ways to retain his position as military governor. But ever since he accidentally encountered the exquisitely beautiful Yang Guifei, his heart underwent subtle changes. To obtain her, he had to replace Li Longji. Although he longed for Yang Guifei day and night, before the tenth year of Tianbao, he only wanted to amass troops and declare himself the true ruler of Hebei.
It was only after Li Linfu stepped back from power due to illness that An Lushan truly developed the ambition to seize the Tang Dynasty’s throne and establish his own dynasty. Without Li Linfu’s threat, it was as if a chain around An Lushan’s neck had been removed. Yang Guozhong, whom he had always looked down on, took control of the Tang Dynasty’s government. At that time, land consolidation was worsening across the Tang lands, the people suffered, the military system was in disarray, the Central Plains were defenseless, and public resentment boiled over. An Lushan finally conceived the ambition to seize the Li family’s throne and establish the An dynasty.
Behind An Lushan, his advisor Gao Shang sat on a bamboo mat, calmly reading An Sishun’s letter for help, occasionally taking a sip of steaming tea.
The current situation was entirely within Gao Shang’s expectations. He knew that if Li Longji didn’t act against Ge Shuhan first, he would surely target An Sishun. Ge Shuhan was acting hastily because he was close to Chang’an, while An Sishun was the weakest among the military governors and the easiest target to weaken—like a soft persimmon. So it wasn’t surprising that Li Longji dealt with him first.
It was merely unexpected that Li Longji intended to weaken both Ge Shuhan and An Sishun at the same time.
“Sir, do you think I should help or not?”
An Lushan finally spoke. His voice was a bit hoarse, and his anxious gaze revealed his concern. An Sishun was his cousin, and they had always corresponded with each other, sharing an unusually close relationship. Now that An Sishun had written to ask for help, although he didn’t want to get involved, his loyalty made it impossible for him to turn away. He was extremely conflicted.
Gao Shang took another sip of tea and smiled, saying, “I just want to ask if the commander really wants to help him.”

An Lushan shook his head. “To be honest, I don’t want to help. Now isn’t the time to turn against Li Longji. Helping him now will only bring harm, not benefit to me.”
“That’s right. Since the marshal also knows it’s harmful, then why help?”
At this, Gao Shang’s expression turned serious. He said, “Marshal, please forgive my blunt words. Though you two are as close as brothers, at a moment that concerns your personal future, you must not only refuse to help him but also act in the greater good by showing Li Longji your support for his decision to depose An Sishun. Don’t let the flames of reducing the power of regional lords reach you. This isn’t just about self-preservation—it’s about the marshal needing time to prepare. Under no circumstances should you be the first to step forward.”
An Lushan’s gaze remained fixed on that tiny dot in Guanzhong. He sighed softly and said, “Sir, you’re right! To be honest, I’ve dreamed of ascending to that throne and ruling the world. I wonder when this dream will come true?”
“Marshal, don’t rush. If you follow my advice step by step, within three to five years, you will surely ascend to the highest position. But for now, you must endure—not only endure but also take action. I have five strategies; I hope the marshal will implement them.”
An Lushan also sat down and said, “Sir, please go ahead. I will definitely follow them.”
What Gao Shang liked most about An Lushan was his willingness to obey him. As a strategist, having a lord who would follow his advice meant his cause was already half successful. Then he could help his lord reach a high position, and he himself would gradually rise to a position of power and wealth. Originally, Gao Shang ranked second only to Yan Zhuang among An Lushan’s advisors, but after Yan Zhuang left, Gao Shang quickly became the top advisor. He also had some information that Yan Zhuang might be working as a strategist for Li Qing’an. He kept this information hidden from An Lushan—not because he was afraid Yan Zhuang would return to compete for power, but because he worried An Lushan might suspect him of seeking a higher position and lose trust in him.
Gao Shang stroked his goat beard and smiled, squinting his eyes. “The first strategy I mentioned earlier—submitting a petition to Li Longji in support of his decision to depose An Sishun—is the first one. I won’t say more. The second is to bribe Yang Guozhong heavily.”
“Yang Guozhong?” An Lushan interrupted Gao Shang, dismissing him with disdain. “Is there any need to curry favor with that fool? I’ve invested so much effort in him before—what compensation have I gotten? Besides, since the imperial concubine has fallen from power, it’s uncertain how long he can remain prime minister.”

“General!” Gao Shang emphasized, “Regardless of whether Yang Guozhong will fall from power in the future, at least for now he is still the Right Chancellor with great influence in the court. Moreover, the matter of reducing the power of the regional lords will be resolved within the next one or two years. During that time, Yang Guozhong won’t be removed from his position. Isn’t that exactly what General An is concerned about?”
An Lushan nodded reluctantly and said, “You’re right. Then I’ll humbly try to bribe him once more. Once I’m in power, I’ll make the Yang family pay back everything, including interest.”
Suddenly, the image of Yang Guifei’s peerless beauty appeared in An Lushan’s mind. He was stunned and murmured, “And her too—she belongs to me as well.”
Seeing that he seemed distracted, Gao Shang coughed loudly. An Lushan snapped out of his thoughts and forced a laugh, saying, “Please continue, sir. What’s the third strategy?”
“The third strategy is for the general to actively ask the princes to take command in Fanyang.”
“That’s… a bit extreme, isn’t it?”
Although An Lushan obeyed Gao Shang’s orders, he found this strategy hard to accept. His expression changed, and he said unhappily, “All your other strategies are fine, but asking princes to take command in Fanyang? It’s better for me to just hand over military power outright. If others find out, won’t they laugh at me as a fool?”
“General, please stay calm!”
Gao Shang smiled slightly and said, “Our goal is to make others think the general is utterly foolish, so they won’t be on guard.”
“But… I still think it’s inappropriate.”
“Let me ask the general: If Li Longji really sends princes to take command in Fanyang, can the general stop it?”
“Well… perhaps not.”
“That’s right. The decision to send princes to Fanyang lies with Li Longji, not the general. If he wants to send princes, he will do so without the general’s request. If he doesn’t want to send them, even if the general kneels and pleads, he still won’t send them.”
An Lushan seemed to understand a bit. He asked hesitantly, “Do you mean I’m just acting for show?”
“That’s exactly right!” Seeing that An Lushan finally understood, Gao Shang smiled in relief. “In fact, everything the general is doing now is just for show. Even supporting the removal of An Sishun is merely to show his stance. Of course, Li Longji won’t stop stripping the general of his military power just because the general acts well for show. He will still do it. But that’s not what we want. What we need is time—time to delay his decision to strip the general of power. That way, we’ll achieve our goal. Maybe it will end up falling through in the end. Does the general understand?”

“I see, alright! I’ll adopt your third strategy. Please ask Mr. Gao to present the fourth one.”
Gao Shang continued, “These four strategies are all practical measures—namely, keeping the marshal’s son as a hostage in Chang’an and arranging a marriage for him to a princess. This is actually a test as well. If Li Longji agrees to make him his son-in-law, it means he doesn’t intend to weaken the marshal’s power for now, giving us some leeway. If he refuses outright, it indicates he’s about to take action against the marshal, and we’ll need to take urgent measures.”
“What if he’s deliberately inviting my son to be his son-in-law to deceive me?” An Lushan thought of another possibility.
“Of course that’s possible, but the marshal must not forget that Li Longji now is not the same as he was a few years ago. Judging from his repeated foolish mistakes these past months, that possibility is slim. Besides, as long as the marshal refuses to go to the capital, it won’t be easy for him to take action against the marshal.”
An Lushan also smiled triumphantly, “He’s not as strong as before. After taking that medicine, he will eventually die at the hands of a woman. Yet he’s managed to hold on for three years, which was beyond my expectations.”
An Lushan took a sip of tea and said with a smile, “I accept this fourth strategy as well. Please go ahead and present the fifth strategy, sir.”
Seeing that An Lushan had accepted all four strategies so far, Gao Shang was extremely relieved and smiled cheerfully, “The key lies in the first four strategies; the fifth is just a supplement. The marshal can send people to Chang’an to spread the word—whether it’s Gao Xianzhi or Li Qing’an. In short, we need to make everyone believe they have rebellious intentions. With enough repetition, people will gradually believe it. Keep them under constant public scrutiny while we quietly prepare for war. In short, our goal is one: to buy as much time as possible.”
……