Chapter 419: Various Warlords

As everyone guessed, upon hearing the news of his son’s death, An Lushan beat his feet and chest in grief, wailing loudly. He vowed to avenge his eldest son and immediately ordered his troops to don mourning clothes. Without waiting for orders from the imperial court, he led 100,000 elite soldiers on a massive march toward Tongguan, claiming to hunt down the murderer of his son.

Meanwhile, 40,000 troops from Jingzhou, under the leadership of Li Mao, had already reached Hanzhong and seized Nanzheng. They prepared to march on Chang’an. Additionally, 100,000 troops from Jiannan, led by Gao Xianzhi, headed toward Chencang, intending to enter Guanzhong from there. With several large armies approaching from all sides, war clouds gathered over Chang’an.

To deal with this complex situation, Li Yu took proactive measures. On one hand, he divided the 200,000 troops in Guanzhong into three groups: 80,000 troops were sent to Tongguan under the command of Wang Sili to defend against An Lushan’s forces, another 100,000 troops were sent to Hanzhong with Meng Yun as commander-in-chief and Luo Zhengyi as deputy commander, while 20,000 troops were stationed in Chang’an under the command of Changsun Quanxu. On the other hand, Li Yu issued several orders to bring 30,000 troops from Shuofang and 20,000 troops from Liangzhou into Guanzhong. These two armies were merged under Guo Ziyi’s command and sent swiftly to Chang’an.

Since Guo Ziyi became the governor of Shuofang, his main task had been to recruit and train troops to restore the weakened Shuofang army. However, due to insufficient funds provided by the court, his recruitment efforts were limited—less than 20,000 troops could be gathered in nearly a year. With no other choice, Guo Ziyi turned to training elite troops intensively. In just one year, he transformed the new Shuofang army into a formidable force, though it still lacked experience in actual combat.

Upon receiving Li Yu’s orders, Guo Ziyi left 5,000 troops to defend Jiuyuan and Lingzhou, while the remaining 30,000 elite soldiers set out southward, marching day and night to join forces with the troops in Huizhou and Liangzhou. Two days later, Huining City was already in sight.

Huizhou is located in what is now Jingyuan County, Gansu Province, on the east bank of the Yellow River. Surrounded by mountains and rivers and covering a vast area, it has always been a crucial passage from the Central Plains to the Western Regions. It is one of the key towns along the northern Silk Road, known as the “pivot of Qin and Long,” and serves as a strategic stronghold for forces advancing from the Western Regions eastward.

The rivers in this area flow gently, making it easy to cross. Most merchants traveling to the Western Regions crossed here. There were hundreds of ferries at the docks on both banks, with boats coming and going in constant activity.

But these past few days, the river has been deserted; the merchants have all vanished, and the ferries have been taken over by an army. For a day and night, the river was filled with soldiers—these were the Liangzhou troops sent from the west of the river. They had arrived two days ago and were waiting for the Shuofang troops to join them.

For Cheng Qianli, Emperor Li Yu’s imperial order to dispatch troops was nothing short of a lifeline, saving him at his most desperate moment. Over the past year, Cheng Qianli had been under constant pressure from the Anxi army. To the north of Ganzhou, by the Juyan Lake, about sixty thousand troops from the three Anxi tribes, under the command of General Cui Qianyou, were eyeing Ganzhou with hostility. Meanwhile, in Suzhou, forty thousand Anxi troops were on high alert, ready to launch an attack on Ganzhou and Liangzhou at any time.

Throughout the year, Cheng Qianli had known no peace day or night. A few days ago, he received reports from scouts that the Anxi troops in Suzhou had been significantly reinforced, numbering around eighty thousand. Cheng Qianli immediately guessed that Li Qingan must have also taken action and arrived in Suzhou personally. With two hundred thousand elite troops in the west and sixty thousand fierce soldiers in the north, the eighteen thousand-strong Anxi army formed a siege around the west of the river, filling Cheng Qianli with terror and extreme anxiety.

But just then, the emperor’s order to dispatch troops arrived, and Cheng Qianli felt greatly relieved. Without even informing the local officials, he set out with his troops that very night. It was only after crossing the Yellow River that his worries finally subsided.

At that moment, a scout rushed over and reported, “Commander, the Shuofang troops are ten miles away, and General Guo has also arrived.”

Cheng Qianli quickly climbed to the observation platform and looked north. In the distance, dust rose—indeed, a large army was approaching. Overjoyed, he shouted, “Prepare a horse for me! I’ll go greet the general!”

Moments later, Cheng Qianli led over a hundred cavalrymen north at full speed.

After two days of marching, Guo Ziyi finally arrived in Huizhou. The city ahead was Huining County, the administrative center of Huizhou. Dressed in silver armor and looking imposing, still strong in his old age, Guo Ziyi gazed sternly into the distance.

This time, his mission upon entering the capital was clear—he would face Gao Xianzhi. If given a choice, Guo Ziyi would without hesitation choose to confront An Lushan. After all, An Lushan and Gao Xianzhi were entirely different in nature. An Lushan was a local warlord with rebellious intentions; fighting him was to protect the interests of the Tang Dynasty, bringing only benefits with no harm. But Gao Xianzhi was different. Fighting him meant getting involved in a power struggle among the imperial family—both the current emperor and the former emperor were his rulers, leaving him in a very difficult position. He also faced a choice of allegiance: should he support the current emperor or remain loyal to the former? This uncertainty had kept him undecided throughout his journey; he even stayed up all night the previous evening.

It was only now that he finally made up his mind to support the emperor. After all, the emperor trusted him greatly, and his determination to reform made him the hope of the Tang Dynasty. The former emperor had already become corrupt, and there should be no thought of restoring him to power.

With his decision made, Guo Ziyi’s spirits lifted. At that moment, one of his personal guards shouted, “Commander, it seems Governor Cheng is approaching.”

Guo Ziyi lifted the curtain to look and saw a group of cavalry rushing forward. The leader was indeed Cheng Qianli. He immediately waved his hand and ordered, “Stop advancing!”

The order was immediately carried out, and the Shuofang army halted. Soon, Cheng Qianli arrived. From afar, he bowed and said with a smile, “Commander, thank you for your hard work on the journey.”

Cheng Qianli held the position of Governor of Liangzhou, while Li Qing’an also served as the Military Governor of Hexi. Logically, Cheng Qianli should have been under Li Qing’an’s command. In reality, however, Cheng Qianli was under Guo Ziyi’s authority—not because Guo Ziyi could control Liangzhou, but because Cheng Qianli also held the position of Deputy Military Governor of Shuofang. It was a strange arrangement, born out of necessity.

Guo Ziyi also bowed slightly and said with a smile, “Governor Cheng, you too have had a hard time.”

“Not at all! The emperor ordered me to rush here with my troops. Right now, 20 million soldiers are stationed ahead, waiting for the commander to join them.”

“Excellent! We’ll assemble our forces immediately and head straight for Chang’an. Along the way, I received three imperial orders urging us to advance urgently. It seems the situation is very critical.”

“But our men must be very tired after traveling all this way. How about resting for half a day before continuing?”

“No!” Guo Ziyi refused firmly. “Even I, an old man, feel no fatigue. Why should they? We’ll assemble the troops right away and set off immediately.”

“As you command!”

Cheng Qianli turned his horse and rode alongside Guo Ziyi. Then he whispered, “Before leaving, I received intelligence from scouts: the Anxi army has increased its forces in Suzhou by 80,000 men. I guess Li Qing’an has arrived.”

Guo Ziyi said indifferently, “Have you reported this to the Emperor?”
“Not yet. Of course, I must report to the commander first; otherwise, it would be considered bypassing proper channels.”
Guo Ziyi glanced at him. This cunning fellow knew how to shift responsibility. After pondering for a moment, he asked calmly, “I heard you say just now that Li Qing’an seems to have arrived. Can’t you confirm that?”
“I can’t confirm it. The scouts haven’t seen Li Qing’an, nor have they received any clues indicating his arrival.”
“Since you can’t confirm it, don’t make random guesses. Perhaps this is just a normal rotation of troops in Anxi. There’s no need to overthink it. Right now, we must firmly carry out the Emperor’s orders, not get distracted by other matters.”
Cheng Qianli secretly gave a thumbs up in admiration. Truly cunning—he downplayed the matter with just a few words. He quickly agreed, “The commander is right. Our top priority now is to enter the capital, not worry about other issues. Besides, even if Li Qing’an arrives, the Emperor is willing to return Hexi to him, so it doesn’t matter.”
Guo Ziyi frowned. Why was Cheng Qianli making things worse? He immediately shook his head and said, “That’s just your wild speculation. The Emperor never said such a thing, nor did he mean it.”
Cheng Qianli wanted to say more, but Guo Ziyi waved his hand to interrupt him. “General Cheng, as I said earlier, the Emperor has already sent three imperial orders urging us to enter the capital urgently. Stop talking about other things.”
He spurred his horse and called to the others, “Everyone, speed up! We’ll rest for an hour in Huining.”
…
On the third night while the armies from Shuofang and Liangzhou gathered in Huining, an army of about 50,000 people also left Shanzhou and headed rapidly toward Chang’an. At the same time, Ge Shuhan’s forces in Longyou were not idle either.
Since Li Yu ascended the throne, Ge Shuhan had kept a low profile and was almost forgotten. But this didn’t mean he was indifferent to the situation in the court. In fact, he had been closely monitoring the political changes in the court. Meanwhile, he was secretly recruiting troops. Longyou was a prosperous region of the Tang Dynasty, with a large population and abundant food supplies, which provided strong support for Ge Shuhan’s recruitment efforts. Still, he didn’t dare to recruit large numbers of troops—firstly, out of fear of being criticized by the court, and secondly, due to insufficient military supplies such as weapons and armor, which couldn’t meet the needs of more soldiers.

So, over the course of a year, Geshu Han only recruited 40,000 soldiers. Together with his original 40,000 troops, he now had 80,000 men at his disposal. During this crisis in Chang’an, Li Yu did not issue any imperial orders to him—not because Li Yu had forgotten him, but because he was unsure of Geshu Han’s allegiance, not knowing whom he would actually support. Similarly, Li Longji also did not consider him, unsure of whom he would side with at the last moment.

At night, Geshu Han’s army arrived in Lanzhou. He planned to cross the Yellow River from there. Light rain began to fall. Accompanied by a dozen subordinates, Geshu Han went to the banks of the Yellow River to assess the feasibility of crossing. In the light rain, the river water flowed darkly; though the current was gentle, it hid deadly dangers, with whirlpools appearing from time to time on the surface.

At that moment, a few bodyguards brought forward an old boatman. “My lord, this old boatman has been crossing the Yellow River for thirty years. He knows whether it’s possible to cross.”

The old boatman stepped forward and knelt to pay his respects. “Your humble servant greets the Prince of Pingxi.”

Unlike other military governors who preferred to be called great marshals or generals, Geshu Han liked to be addressed as “my lord” because he was the Prince of Pingxi. He had almost sacrificed his life for this title—how could he not use it?

Geshu Han glanced at the old man and, finding him passable, smiled and said, “Then tell me, is it possible to cross the Yellow River at night?”

The old boatman quickly shook his head. “By no means. There’s a saying about the Yellow River: ‘In May, ghosts board the boats.’ It means one should not cross the river on summer nights.”

“Why not? The water seems quite calm to me. Can’t we use large boats?”

“My lord, what you see from the shore is one thing, but the situation in the middle of the river is another. The currents there are fierce, with violent whirlpools, making it very easy for a boat to capsize. Using large boats isn’t impossible, but the risk is too great. It’s hard to see the river surface at night, and a moment of carelessness could mean being swept away.”

Seeing that he spoke earnestly, Geshu Han believed him to some extent. He sighed and said to those around him, “Pass my order: the army shall camp here and cross the river after dawn tomorrow.”

No sooner had he spoken than a bodyguard rushed up from behind, calling out urgently from afar, “My lord!”

“What is it?”

The bodyguard whispered something in his ear. Geshu Han was shocked and quickly asked, “Where is he?”

“He’s already waiting in your tent.”

Geshu Han mounted his horse and said to everyone, “Go and order the troops to set up camp immediately. Get some rest early; we’ll cross the river early tomorrow morning.”

With that, he spurred his horse and rushed toward where the army was stationed.

Ge Shuhan’s 50,000-strong army had already begun setting up camp. Tent after tent appeared in the rain and mist. It was a simple camp setup without any fences; the soldiers, exhausted, fell into their tents and fell fast asleep.

Ge Shuhan’s main tent had been set up first, located in the center of the camp, with an additional side tent next to it, where Ge Shuhan’s three concubines lived. This was characteristic of Ge Shuhan—he couldn’t stay away from women for even a moment and always took his favorite concubines wherever he went.

The main tent was brightly lit, and a figure could be seen walking back and forth. Ge Shuhan entered the tent and then turned around, ordering, “No one is allowed to enter without my permission.”

As soon as he entered, the man inside turned around and said with a smile, “I almost missed General Ge Shuhan.”

Under the light, this young man turned out to be Li Qiu, the adopted son of Prince Qing Li Cong. However, he had long since severed ties with Li Cong. He was now a trusted confidant of the Retired Emperor Li Heng. Although he didn’t address Ge Shuhan as “my lord,” Ge Shuhan didn’t mind. He quickly waved his hand and said, “Please, young lord, have a seat!”

The two sat down, and a concubine brought them hot tea. Ge Shuhan waved his hand and said, “You may leave.”

After the concubine left, Ge Shuhan asked, “Did you come looking for me, young lord?”

Li Qiu took a sip of the strong hot tea and smiled. “I crossed the Yellow River this afternoon, intending to go to Shanzhou to see the general. But on the way, I heard that the general had already passed by, so I quickly turned back to chase after him. Fortunately, I caught up.”

“What? Has the Retired Emperor changed his mind again?”

Li Qiu shook his head and handed Ge Shuhan a letter. “This is a personal letter from the Retired Emperor to the general. Everything he wants to say is in this letter.”

Ge Shuhan opened the letter and read it for a while. His brows furrowed as he said, “Didn’t the Retired Emperor order me to garrison Chang’an? Why has he changed his mind to send me to deal with Gao Xianzhi?”

Li Qiu smiled and said, “General Ge Shuhan may not know yet that Guo Ziyi and Cheng Qianli have already led their troops into Guanzhong. They are facing off against Gao Xianzhi’s army in Fengxiang. But Guo Ziyi’s forces are weaker than Gao Xianzhi’s, and he’s likely to be defeated. Your 50,000-strong army arriving there would mean 100,000 against 100,000.”