Chapter 368: Retreating to Set a Trap

At noon the next day, An Lushan’s additional 20,000 troops also arrived at Tongguan. Meanwhile, 5,000 newly recruited soldiers led by He Yingchuan, the commander of Li Qing’an’s camp, also reached Tongguan. These 5,000 soldiers were originally local military troops who had become displaced refugees due to land annexation and were now being reorganized.

This was Li Qing’an’s strategy. He couldn’t stay in Chang’an for long—even for a short time—it would be difficult. Once Li Heng’s main forces returned to the capital, he would have to leave immediately, yet he needed his forces in Chang’an. These 20,000 new troops represented his power. For this reason, he left 500 personal guards for Nan Jiyun, with each of these guards leading 40 new soldiers. In this way, the entire army was under strict control by the Anxi Army.

The arrival of the 5,000 newly recruited soldiers greatly strengthened the defense of Tongguan and completely shattered An Lushan’s ambition to enter Central China and seize control of the court.

On the walls of Tongguan, Li Qing’an gazed complexly at An Lushan’s camp in the distance. He had just received urgent news: there were unusual activities at the Qinggang Mountain camp far away in Qingzhou. Scouts from the Anxi Army sent to investigate discovered that Guo Shuhan’s envoys had secretly arrived at the camp. Soon after, the Tang troops at Qinggang Mountain launched a fierce attack on the princes of Bian. Before Prince Rong could arrive to rescue them, they defeated more than 10,000 troops from Prince Bian and Prince Xiliang in one battle.

It was only then that Li Qing’an understood the true reason behind Li Heng’s delay in taking action. With his overwhelming military strength and experienced generals like Guo Ziyi, he had yet to engage the armies of Prince Bian and Prince Rong for thirteen days—this made people doubt Li Heng’s motives.

It turned out that Li Heng wanted to establish a relationship with Guo Shuhan. This also indicated that Guo Shuhan must have already sided with Li Heng, which was why he could act freely and launch aggressive attacks on the other two factions of princes.

Li Qing’an was filled with mixed emotions. The time for Li Heng’s army to return to the capital was approaching, and major changes were about to occur in the Tang Dynasty. He had little time and opportunity left. How could he seize his chance? Time was fleeting—could he catch it?

“Saluting the great general!” He Yingchuan, the commander of Li Qing’an’s camp, stepped forward quickly and knelt to pay his respects.

He Yingchuan was a militia soldier recruited by Li Qing’an in Yangzhou back then. He was seriously injured in the Battle of Shibao City and took nearly two years to recover before gradually becoming one of Li Qing’an’s personal guards. This time, when Li Qing’an went to the capital, aside from Nan Jiyun, he was the most important general. According to Li Qing’an’s plan, Nan Jiyun would guard the capital while He Yingchuan would be stationed in Jingzhou, so that the two could support each other and act as a strategic pair. In case of crisis, they could also withdraw from Guanzhong via Jingzhou.

With Tongguan now in danger, He Yingchuan temporarily abandoned Jingzhou and rushed to Tongguan to provide support.

“How are the newly recruited troops?” Li Qing’an asked with a smile.

“Most of the new recruits this time were former imperial troops, with over 60% being from Guanzhong. They have an excellent foundation, highly skilled in archery, crossbow use, and swordsmanship. They can fight almost without much training. Their discipline is excellent, as shown by their ability to keep up during the forced march—no one fell behind.”

He Yingchuan was generous with his praise for his new subordinates, clearly very fond of this new army.

Li Qing’an nodded and said, “You must keep these 20,000 troops firmly under control. When conditions permit, send select members to Anxi for training in batches. Also, treat them well. The necessary military funds will be provided by the Juhai Xingguifang. I’ll also order officials in Anxi to allocate military farmland for them, treating them as part of the Anxi army to give them a sense of belonging. When I’m not in Chang’an, you must stay in constant contact with me. Someone will come to find you then.”

“I shall obey the orders!”

“One more thing—maintain strict military discipline. Do not let your actions tarnish my reputation in Chang’an. Do you hear me?”

“I would never dare. I will surely keep my troops in check.”

“Not only must you control your troops, but if anyone dares to pretend to be them to damage my reputation, you must investigate thoroughly. I’ve already spoken to Nan Jiyun. I’m telling you again today: do not be weak. Whoever dares to offend the interests of Anxi must be confronted.”

“Yes! I’ve remembered.”

“Then go! Rest your troops well. In my absence, you can assist General Wang in defending Tongguan.”

He Yingchuan turned to leave but stopped again, asking softly, “When does the general plan to leave Tongguan?”

“As soon as possible tonight, at the latest tomorrow.”

Li Qing’an stared at An Lushan’s camp. He needed to observe An Lushan’s movements to decide on his own route. It seemed he would need to use a special warning.

Inside and outside An Lushan’s main camp, dozens of executioners were beating An Qingxu mercilessly, causing him to scream like a pig being slaughtered. The generals around were terrified and none dared enter the tent to plead for mercy. Inside the tent, An Lushan, who had just recovered from illness, was furious. The failure of his 6,000 cavalry force had completely ruined his hopes of taking control of Guanzhong, and his dream of using the emperor as a pawn to command the lords had shattered. Although he ordered Shi Siming to capture Tongguan within three days, he knew full well that it was almost impossible to do so in that time, especially with Li Qingan still defending Tongguan. The mere thought of Li Qingan filled him with rage, and he vented all his anger on his son. It was his own incompetence that had led to their near-successful mission failing. If he had tried his best and still failed, it might have been forgivable—after all, An Lushan was aware of the strength of the Anxi army. But he did nothing at all. When Sun Xiaozhe attacked Tongguan, he failed to organize any effective support. No wonder An Lushan was so enraged. Shi Siming knelt below, his face pale. He knew that after An Qingxu was dealt with, it would be his turn next. If he fled in front of everyone, he would surely be executed or at least beaten with a hundred military whips. Shi Siming kept sending glances at Gao Shang, who stood aside. The only person who could save them now was the strategist Gao Shang. But Gao Shang wasdeep in thought, seemingly deep in thought, which made Shi Siming grind his teeth in frustration. Just then, a junior officer entered, holding a large cloth bag, and reported, “General, Li Qingan sent this bag, saying it contains General Sun’s head.” The mention of Sun Xiaozhe caused An Lushan great pain. He was one of his most trusted subordinates and also his son-in-law, yet he had died in Tongguan. “Where is the man who brought the head?” An Lushan demanded viciously. “General, it’s just a local farmer, not an Anxi soldier.” An Lushan snorted. “At least he knows what’s best!” He glanced at the cloth bag and ordered, “Unwrap it!” One of his bodyguards carefully unwrapped the bag, revealing a large wooden box. The bodyguard hesitated before opening it, waiting for An Lushan’s command. “Open it!” “Wait!” At that moment, Gao Shang suddenly spoke up. He said to An Lushan, “General, opening unknown items sent by the enemy inside the main camp is a serious military taboo. You must be careful.” An Lushan was reminded of this, so he stepped back from the box and said, “Open it then!”

Two bodyguards opened the wooden box. With a soft “click,” it opened, revealing a human head inside. Strangely, green smoke emerged from the box. Several bodyguards gathered around, ready to take out the head. An Lushan was about to step forward when, in that instant, a bright red light flashed from the box, followed by a deafening explosion that shattered it into pieces. Several bodyguards fell backward, screaming in pain.

This wooden box was clearly no match for the sand table that had killed the Tubo king. Li Qing’an didn’t really intend to kill An Lushan. Without An Lushan, would he, Li Qing’an, still have a chance?

It was merely a warning—he hadn’t even placed poisoned nails or metal shards in the box. As a result, aside from one bodyguard who lost an arm after being blown away, the other three suffered only minor injuries. The blood and flesh scattered on the ground were from Sun Xiaozhe’s shattered head.

As the smoke cleared, silence reigned in the tent. Even the executions outside had stopped. The dozen or so people inside the tent stood frozen like statues. Moments later, countless soldiers rushed toward the tent. As a group of bodyguards tried to storm in, An Lushan suddenly roared, “Stop right there!”

His roar was like a freezing spell from magic—nearly a hundred bodyguards trying to enter froze at the entrance, none of them daring to go in.

An Lushan slowly walked over to the table. Most of the wooden box had been blown away, leaving only a base on the table. He stared at it for a long time before murmuring, “This is Li Qing’an’s Thunderbolt. I’ve finally seen it with my own eyes.”

Thunderbolt was An Lushan’s dream. After the Battle of Shibu City, An Sishun, then the military governor of Hexi, learned from some Tu Yugur soldiers who had participated in the battle that Li Qing’an possessed such a secret weapon. He immediately told An Lushan about it. Over the years, An Lushan had dreamed of obtaining this weapon but had no way to do so. The Anxi army kept it as top-secret, even high-ranking officials like Li Fei Yuanli didn’t know what Thunderbolt was. Only the dozen or so bodyguards who had followed Li Qing’an through life and death knew this secret, and they were all in the State of Shi. An Lushan, far away in the Central Plains, had no way of knowing.

Last year, he asked Li Longji to force Li Qing’an to hand over the formula. But after trying it dozens of times, he realized that Li Qing’an’s so-called formula was fake. By then, Li Qing’an had already returned to Anxi.

An Lushan had been haunted by this dream for years, and today he finally saw it with his own eyes. At that moment, he suddenly noticed a trace of fiery red powder remaining at the edge of the base. Overjoyed, like an addict with no more supplies, he greedily and carefully gathered the tiny amount of fiery red powder with his fingers, ending up with a small pile the size of a pill.

Gao Shang also stepped forward and stopped three feet away from the table, stretching his neck like a frightened turtle minister.

“Commander, is this the Thunder Bomb? It doesn’t seem very powerful to me!”

“You’re a scholar; you don’t understand.”

An Lushan glanced at Gao Shang unhappily and said, “Don’t you know that during the Battle of Talas, Li Qing’an used this Thunder Bomb to kill so many people at once? It even created a huge crater dozens of feet wide in the ground. This is real history. There’s not enough in this box today; otherwise, neither of us would survive.”

As he spoke, An Lushan bent down to sniff the red powder. Suddenly, a strong scent struck his nostrils, causing him to sneeze violently. He inwardly panicked. By the time he looked again, the red powder had vanished without a trace.

An Lushan slammed his fist on the table, teeth gritting, and cursed, “Damn it!”

If he had been more careful, he would have realized that the ground was covered in red powder—nothing but lime used to mimic human heads, dyed fiery red to deceive him. What was truly useful were the paper flowers scattered everywhere, remnants of the firecrackers, which had long since been blown away along with the “human heads.”

Later, An Lushan finally discovered the fiery red powder on the ground. He ordered it to be collected for study, but after months of research, they found nothing.

The sudden explosion disrupted An Lushan’s plans and dissipated his desire to attack Tongguan. With Li Qing’an possessing the Thunder Bomb, it was impossible to take Tongguan. At a time of great despair, Gao Shang suggested an alternative strategy called “Retreat to Set a Trap.”

“Commander, I’ve also thought about what to do if we can’t enter Guanzhong.”

An Lushan lay on his bed, topless, enjoying the massages from two maids on his fat body, while preparations were being made outside the camp to return to Hedong.

Having suffered a severe defeat and lacking confidence, he lazily asked, “Go on! What should I do now?”

“Actually, the plan I have is the same as entering Guanzhong and taking control of the court—it’s just achieved through a different method.”

An Lushan showed some interest. With a wave of his hand, he ordered two maids to leave. Sitting up, he put on a robe and said with a smile, “Please go ahead, sir. I’m very interested.”
Gao Shang smiled and said, “Actually, the method I have in mind is already being used by Gao Xianzhi. Marshal, why not guess?”
“You just like to make me guess riddles!”
Despite saying that, An Lushan remained eager and frowned as he tried to figure it out. Suddenly, he laughed and said, “Could it be that you want me to use a prince as a pawn too?”
“Marshal, you’re brilliant! You guessed it right away.”
Gao Shang gave a thumbs up and flattered An Lushan heavily, saying, “Marshal, think about it. If you have a prince in your hands, you can issue orders in his name. I reckon that after Li Yu ascends the throne, the princes who hold military power in other regions won’t acknowledge him, nor will the prince under your control. When the time is right, you can help this prince proclaim himself emperor, use his name to attack the regional lords, gradually strengthen your own power, and then use his name to march into Chang’an. After that, you can get rid of the prince you have and install a young prince as emperor. Wouldn’t that work too?”
An Lushan slapped his forehead and laughed loudly, “My advisor is truly useful! He has such a great backup plan—never disappoints me!”
“Then which prince does the marshal want to use?”
An Lushan narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, “I really like those two handsome boys born to Wu Xianyi. Let’s use them! If we can also get Wu Xianyi herself to be a pawn, that would be even better.”
“It’s simple for the marshal to get those two handsome boys. Just follow my plan, and not only will you have those two, the Prince of Bian and the Prince of Xiliang, but also the old handsome one, the Prince of Rong. If lucky, you might even get his 40,000 troops from Hedong.”
“Great! This time, I’ll definitely follow your instructions without any changes.”
……
That very night, An Lushan withdrew his army and crossed the Yellow River northward. He fully followed Gao Shang’s plan, stationing his troops in Jiangzhou in southeastern Henan, staying put while setting up a vast network, waiting for their prey to fall into the trap.

At Tongguan, Li Qing’an finally received confirmed news: An Lushan had indeed withdrawn his troops. Before dawn the next day, he led 2,500 cavalry out of Tongguan and headed north along the Yellow River. This was the vast Loess Plateau, with undulating mountains to the west that were difficult to cross. The only way forward was along the Yellow River’s floodplains. The further north they went, the harder the terrain became. Three days later, Li Qing’an’s troops barely reached Mengmen Mountain. A few miles further lay the famous Hukou Waterfall. From there, the terrain became increasingly treacherous with rapid currents, making it impossible to cross the river. Only by passing Mengmen Mountain and reaching the Yanzhou area could they possibly cross the river. In particular, the Yellow River crossing at Menshan County had always been a bustling place for merchants, with many large boats available for crossing. Li Qing’an set his sights on Menshan’s official crossing point. He sent dozens of scouts to gather information while he himself stayed hidden.

…

After nearly half a month of standoff, Li Heng finally saw what he had been waiting for: Ge Shuhan sent his trusted men to meet with him. By then, Ge Shuhan had returned to the Hehuang Valley. With weak forces and scarce supplies, he lacked the strength to declare himself independent and could only continue to support the imperial court. He clearly stated his firm support for Emperor Changsun to ascend the throne and his willingness to obey the court’s orders. Of course, as a condition, Li Heng agreed not to remove Ge Shuhan from his position as governor of Longyou and would provide financial support there.

With Ge Shuhan’s issue resolved, the overall situation was settled. Li Heng immediately ordered Guo Ziyi to launch an attack. Well-prepared, Guo Ziyi swiftly defeated the armies of Li Qian and Li Qi in just one battle. Then he turned south to attack the forces of Prince Rong, who was stationed in Fuzhou. Worried that Prince Rong might march south toward Chang’an, Guo Ziyi divided his forces. He first ordered General Li Guoliang to lead 20,000 troops to encircle Fangzhou, cutting off Prince Rong’s route southward.

Guo Ziyi then personally led 80,000 troops south along the Huachi River, pressing toward Fuzhou and gradually tightening Prince Rong’s defenses, forcing him back to the Fulu County area in the north of Fuzhou.

A light drizzle began again, washing away the dryness and dust from recent days, bringing a fresh and moist feel to the air.

In the Tang army’s camp, Li Heng, holding an oil-paper umbrella, hurried to Guo Ziyi’s tent. Since Li Heng ordered the attack, he had left it entirely to Guo Ziyi to deploy troops and strategize, never interfering. But these past two days, Li Heng could no longer hold back. The day before yesterday, they could have intercepted Prince Rong’s army in the Dapan Mountain area, but Guo Ziyi still allowed them to escape, which left Li Heng deeply puzzled.

“Your Highness, Prince Yong, has arrived!”
The guards in front of the tent immediately shouted loudly upon seeing Li Heng arrive.

Li Heng quickly waved his hand, signaling to the guards not to announce his arrival, but by then Guo Ziyi had already heard and came out to greet him.
“Your Highness, it’s raining outside. Why not rest inside the tent?”
“Oh! The rain is boring, so I wanted to go out for a walk and get some fresh air. Since I happened to come by your place, I thought I’d visit the old general.”
“Your Highness, please come in!”
Guo Ziyi invited Li Heng in. In the center of the large tent stood a huge sand table, left behind by Li Longji. Li Longji was still in a deep coma, cared for by Wu Xianyi.
Several generals stood beside the sand table, clearly discussing battle plans.
Li Heng entered the tent and slowly walked over to the sand table. Seeing a red flag planted in Fulu County, he smiled and said, “Is the old general planning to engage in a decisive battle in Fulu County against Prince Rong?”
Guo Ziyi shook his head and laughed, “If we wanted to fight a decisive battle, we could have done it the day before yesterday at Dapan Mountain. Why wait until now?”
Li Heng frowned and said, “Then I don’t understand. The old general neither fights nor avoids battle—what exactly is his intention?”