Chapter 424: Confronting An Lushan (Part 2)

Just as An Lushan valued Li Qing’an, Li Qing’an also placed great importance on An Lushan and this battle. He couldn’t afford to lose—it was as he told Pei Min: if he failed, he would have to retreat to Anxi and struggle to recover for years.
This was a battle of equal strength, one that relied on timing, geography, and unity. The slightest carelessness could lead to fatal danger.
This time, An Lushan used the pretext of his son’s death to launch a massive attack on Guanzhong. Though he didn’t raise a banner of rebellion, his actions were undeniably treasonous—first by forcing his way into Tongguan, then crossing the river into the interior. His ambitious ambitions were well known to everyone.
Without a legitimate cause, justifications fall short. The pretext for launching an attack is crucial. Even if An Lushan could ignore public criticism, his troops might hesitate, unwilling to join him in rebellion or risk their lives for him. This would inevitably weaken his army’s morale and combat effectiveness. After all, not all of An Lushan’s troops were barbarians; most were Han soldiers, along with many Han generals. To rebel so recklessly just as the Tang Dynasty was emerging from its Golden Age would surely lose public support.
Li Qing’an, however, dared not be careless. He sent people to Chang’an to spread the message that he was acting under imperial orders to suppress An Lushan, thereby gaining public support. He also sent envoys to local governments in surrounding counties to urge the people to evacuate. Meanwhile, he dispatched numerous scouts to various areas inside Guanzhong, especially those surrounding Fengxiang, to prevent them from attacking from behind.
It was early summer, but the sun was scorching, its intense rays baking the land. Marching under the weight of dozens of pounds of armor and weapons would drain strength rapidly. In such weather, whoever could wait patiently would gain the advantage of timing.
From the start, Li Qing’an realized An Lushan had made a mistake—he was waiting for him in Qingzhou instead of seizing the more advantageous position in Yuanzhou.
“Cool autumn in August, the Xiao Pass winds blow;
The northern wind cuts the grass on Tianshan.”
Donghangu, Niaowu, Sanguan in the west, and Xiaoguan in the north—these have always been the four major passes of Guanzhong. The Xiao Pass here is not the one located over 200 miles to the north in Xiaoguan County, but rather the junction of the Liupan Mountains pass and the old Xiao Pass route, about three miles southwest of Pinggao County (today’s Guyuan County). Backed by the Liupan Mountains and controlling the famous “One Gorge, Three Passes” in northern Guanzhong—Danzheng Gorge, Liupan Pass, Longshan Pass, and Wating Pass—this location offered a vast, strategically advantageous terrain, perfect for both offense and defense.

Current reports suggest that An Lushan’s vanguard has not yet reached Pinggao County. To seize this strategically important location first, Tian Zhen and Wu Yong, the leading generals of the Anxi Army, led their troops at full speed, bypassing Qiwu Mountain and marching day and night, determined to capture this crucial pass before An Lushan’s forces could do so. Meanwhile, Shi Siming, An Lushan’s deputy general, also sent his general Xue Hao with ten thousand troops to rush toward Pinggao County at night, aiming to take control of the same pass. Just as dawn broke, the vanguard of the Anxi Army arrived at Weiru Town, about fifty li northwest of Pinggao County. Named after the Weiru River, the town had a population of around four hundred households and could be considered a sizable settlement. In early summer, dawn came early, and the town was already bustling with activity—farmers heading to the wheat fields east of the town to harvest. With the wheat harvest approaching, the fields were a golden hue. When the ten thousand troops of the Anxi Army entered the town, it immediately fell silent. People closed their doors and windows, peeking fearfully through cracks, worried that the army would storm into their homes and loot them. Some had heard that Hulutown and nearby villages east of the Weiru River had been raided by an army the previous night, with acts of rape, murder, and destruction; almost all of Hulutown and the four surrounding villages were devastated, with only a dozen young men surviving by crossing the Weiru River. Gradually, the townspeople relaxed, as the army seemed to have strict discipline and did not harass them. Soon, they learned that it was actually the Anxi Army, which enjoyed a high reputation in the Tang Dynasty and had never caused trouble among the people. People began to go out to gather more information. After entering Weiru Town, the Anxi Army was given an hour to rest. The soldiers, exhausted from a night of marching, fed their horses briefly before falling asleep. Under a large locust tree at the east end of the town, Tian Zhen and Wu Yong discussed their next steps. Their original routes were different, but after crossing Qiwu Mountain, they joined forces to capture Xiaoguan. Although both held the same rank, Tian Zhen had more experience and was older, so Li Qing’an appointed him as the main commander and Wu Yong as his deputy. “General Wu, I have a feeling that An Lushan’s army might be nearby.”

Tian Zhen stood on a large stone mill, gazing eastward. He was also a famous spear warrior from Anxi, tall and muscular with particularly long arms. However, a long, deep scar ran across his entire left face, looking extremely terrifying—a remnant of the battle in Khwarazm. In that bloody battle, he luckily escaped injury, but the scar on his face was shocking, disfiguring his whole face.

Wu Yong nodded. “The closer we get to Pinggao County, the greater the chance of encountering An Lushan’s troops. We need to be extra careful.”

“Actually, capturing Pinggao County isn’t that important. What matters is taking control of Xiaoguan. As soon as the scouts bring news, we must advance immediately and try to reach Xiaoguan as fast as possible.”

At that moment, several soldiers rushed over with an old man. One of the soldiers said, “General Tian, the village head of the town has arrived. He has news about An Lushan’s army.”

Tian Zhen was overjoyed and quickly ordered the soldier, “Please bring the village head here to speak with us.”

The village head of Weiru Town was an old man in his sixties. He stepped forward and knelt down. “I am Cao Jian, the village head of Weiru Town, greeting you, General.”

Tian Zhen quickly helped him up and said with a smile, “There’s no need for formalities, please sit down!”

Village head Cao stood up and said, “Your soldiers told me you want to know about An Lushan’s army. I don’t know if it’s An Lushan’s troops, but last night, an army came from Hulutown across the river. They burned, killed, and looted, and it wasn’t until midnight that things calmed down. We don’t know if they’ve left yet.”

Tian Zhen and Wu Yong exchanged a glance. If it wasn’t their troops, then it must be An Lushan’s. Wu Yong asked urgently, “May I ask, village head, how many troops do they have?”

“According to those who escaped across the river, there are at least five or six thousand, maybe even more.”

“Are there any bridges nearby to cross the river?”

Village head Cao replied with lingering fear, “There used to be a bridge three miles ahead, but it collapsed last month due to neglect. The authorities said they would repair it soon, but nothing has happened yet. Fortunately, that’s why the troops on the other side can’t cross. Now, people have to rely on ferries to cross.”

“Where is the nearest bridge?”

“It’s in Pinggao County, fifty miles away. There are no other bridges in this area.”

“Thank you, village head.”

Tian Zhen quickly said to Wu Yong, “Regardless of whether they’ve set off or not, we must leave immediately and reach Xiaoguan as fast as possible. Otherwise, we’ll miss a crucial opportunity.”

At that moment, Village head Cao interjected, “There’s a shortcut to Xiaoguan that can save an hour. Horses can also use it. I can find some young men to take you there.”

Tian Zhen was overjoyed and immediately ordered, “Wake the soldiers and set off right away!”
The soldiers of the Anxi Army, still asleep, were awakened one after another. Ignoring their fatigue, they quickly packed up their belongings and mounted their horses to set off.
At the same time the Anxi Army set out, An Lushan’s army on the opposite bank had already taken a lead of nearly an hour, about ten miles ahead. Led by General Xue Hao, this army also numbered ten thousand men, half Hu and half Han. Most of the Hu were Turks loyal to Fanyang, along with some Khitans and Xis. These ethnic minorities fought for An Lushan in pursuit of wealth and women. Their commander, Xue Hao, was an extremely ruthless man who did not enforce strict discipline in his army. Along the way from Yanzhou, he allowed his soldiers to plunder and rape, causing great suffering to the local people. This also significantly slowed down their progress; after four days and three nights, they had not yet reached Pinggao County.
Originally, Xue Hao had been urged by Shi Siming to capture Pinggao County as soon as possible, as it was the administrative center of Yuanzhou, with a large population and abundant resources. Xue Hao and his men had long coveted it and wanted to seize it quickly to prevent the “fat sheep” from escaping. Unexpectedly, last night one of his subordinates brought him a beautiful woman from Huluzhen. During intercourse, he was scratched in his private parts by the woman. Fuming with rage, Xue Hao killed her with his sword and ordered a massacre of Huluzhen and the surrounding villages. They wreaked havoc in Huluzhen all night, losing five hours.
Perhaps it was fate at work—Heaven could not allow them to have all the advantages. It was precisely these five lost hours that changed the fate of An Lushan’s army and turned the course of the entire war.
By then, Xue Hao had also received news from scouts that traces of the Anxi Army had been spotted across the river. He became anxious and ordered his soldiers to advance quickly. However, because his army had plundered a large amount of wealth, with oxen and donkeys pulled along and everyone carrying heavy loads, many soldiers also had women on their horses, making it impossible to speed up their progress. Xue Hao ordered three times to abandon the wealth and women, but no one obeyed. Furious, he killed three Hu generals who refused to follow orders. Only then were the Hu soldiers frightened and began to discard the oxen, donkeys, women, and other heavy items, keeping only gold, silver, and valuables, and accelerated their march toward Pinggao County.

Two massive armies marched swiftly along both banks of the Wei River, chasing each other closely, almost side by side, all striving to seize strategic key points first. This area was part of the Liupan Mountains, with undulating terrain making marching difficult. They couldn’t ride at full speed like on flatlands; they had to climb one mountain after another. What would take fifty miles in normal conditions took a whole day. Yet, with the help of the local people, the Anxi army took a shortcut straight to Xiaoguan.

As darkness fell, the majestic and imposing main fortress of Xiaoguan was clearly visible in the night. A scout rushed over and reported, “General Tian, there are only three hundred soldiers from Guanzhong garrisoning the main fortress of Xiaoguan. An Lushan’s army has not arrived yet.”

Another scout reported, “An Lushan’s army is almost at Pinggao County, less than ten miles from here.”

Tian Zhen finally let out a long sigh. Wiping his sweat, he smiled at Wu Yong and said, “Thanks to taking the shortcut, otherwise, An Lushan’s army would have taken it first.”

At that moment, Wu Yong had a bold idea. He whispered a few words in Tian Zhen’s ear. Tian Zhen frowned deeply, then suddenly slammed his fist on the table and said, “If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you get its cubs? Let’s do it!”

……

By the time night fell, An Lushan’s army finally arrived at Pinggao County, exhausted. Xiaoguan was three miles southwest of Pinggao County. At that moment, the nearby city could be seen clearly, with its gates tightly closed. The vanguard suddenly stopped. Xue Hao shouted, “Why did we stop?”

“General, the men want to enter the city!”

“Nonsense!”

Xue Hao flew into a rage and cursed, “Are you used to stealing money and women? As soon as you see a city, you want to enter it? Go around the city and head straight for Xiaoguan!”

Hearing that they couldn’t enter the city, the Hu soldiers grew restless. “The general promised three days off after entering Pinggao City. Why did he go back on his word?”

Xue Hao didn’t dare provoke these lawless Hu soldiers and could only hold back his anger as he shouted, “Listen up, men! We must seize Xiaoguan before the Anxi army. This is General Shi’s order. Anyone who delays the mission will face severe consequences. I promise you all that once we take Xiaoguan, I’ll let you go back and steal money and women, so that each of you can return with a full load.”

Under Xue Hao’s threats and inducements, the soldiers finally gave up attacking Pinggao County and left in frustration, going around the city instead.

After passing Pinggao County, the road immediately became treacherous. One huge stone pillar after another stood like giant monsters in the darkness of the night. The Fanyang army had barely slept all night before and marched at full speed for another day; everyone was exhausted. Yet they still had to climb mountains and cross ridges to reach Xiongguan, just three li away. Three li wasn’t a long distance—easy to cover in flat terrain—but here, it was extremely difficult. They couldn’t ride their horses and had to lead them while walking, a journey that would take at least half an hour.

The soldiers complained bitterly as they trudged forward. At that moment, a scout rushed over and reported, “General Xue, the vanguard of the Anxi army has been spotted six li to the northwest—about three thousand men. They’re rushing desperately toward Xiaoguan.”

Xue Hao was shocked. He thought the Anxi army was still over a dozen li away. In frustration, he shouted, “Order the men to speed up! To the hundred men who reach Xiaoguan’s main fortress first, each will be rewarded with three women and a thousand strings of coins!”

Driven by the promise of money and women, his soldiers began to charge toward Xiaoguan with shouts of excitement. Though already exhausted, they now were full of energy. Ten thousand men surged through the valley toward Xiaoguan, three li away.

But when they were still two li from Xiaoguan’s main fortress, they entered a mountain pass about one and a half li long. After emerging from the pass, a narrow path led up to the main fortress above. The path was less than ten feet wide, allowing at most three people to walk side by side—truly a place where one man could hold off ten thousand.

This was where Xiaoguan’s danger lay. Surrounded by rolling mountains that extended into the towering Liupan Mountains, a branch of the Liupan Mountains dropped here, creating a vast canyon over ten li wide and hundreds of li long. The famous San Guankou and Danzheng Gorge were located here, as was the Jing River that flowed into Guanzhong. Xiaoguan was the first of this series of passes.

Xue Hao rode on his horse, staring at the dark mountains on both sides. He felt uneasy. This was an ideal spot for an ambush—large numbers of troops could hide in the mountains on either side, while his army moved forward in the narrow pass with no cover, not even a single tree. He regretted focusing solely on capturing Xiaoguan without considering the possibility of an Anxi army ambush.

But it was too late. His main force had already entered the pass, and he had no choice but to push forward as quickly as possible.

“The vanguard, speed up! Get out of this pass as soon as possible!”

Just as An Lushan’s vanguard was about to emerge from the valley, suddenly, the sound of clappers echoed around them. In the darkness, thousands of arrows were shot simultaneously—like a hailstorm of arrows—that poured down upon An Lushan’s unprepared army. Cries of pain and wails filled the valley instantly. Huge rocks were pried off the mountains and hurled down onto the soldiers below, mowing them down and leaving corpses everywhere.
Xue Hao realized they had fallen into an ambush and, in panic, stamped his feet and shouted, “Stay calm! Stay calm!” But no one listened to him. Their discipline was already poor, and in the face of death, no one cared about others. Anarchy reigned in An Lushan’s army. Ten thousand soldiers struggled under the arrow rain, scrambling to flee back the way they came. They trampled each other, cried out in despair, and suffered massive casualties…
On the ridge, Tian Zhen watched the dense crowd below and sighed regretfully. “It’s a shame I couldn’t bring a few Thunder Cranes. Otherwise, this would have been truly satisfying.”
…
Three days later, Li Qing’an’s main force of 70,000 soldiers arrived at Pinggao County. Tian Zhen, along with hundreds of soldiers and local officials such as the governor of Yuanzhou and the county magistrate, was already waiting outside the city.
Tian Zhen stepped forward and saluted. “I am honored to have fulfilled my mission by seizing Xiaoguan first. Now, ten thousand soldiers are stationed at Xiaoguan and various passes to the south—everything is under control.”
Li Qing’an nodded and smiled. “I heard you abandoned entering Xiaoguan at the last moment and instead launched an ambush on An Lushan’s army. That was very bold of you. I will reward you generously.”
“General, it was General Wu’s strategy. He also led three thousand men disguised as decoy troops, successfully deceiving An Lushan’s scouts. This is all General Wu’s merit.”
“Very good! You acknowledge your achievements without arrogance and credit your colleagues. I will reward both of you. Now, I want to know the final results of the battle.”
“General, of An Lushan’s ten thousand vanguard soldiers, we killed over five thousand, captured three thousand, and less than two thousand managed to escape. Unfortunately, their commander, Xue Hao, also escaped.”
After pondering for a moment, Li Qing’an ordered, “That army has burned, killed, and raped along the way. Wherever they passed, it became a land of horrors. They deserve the harshest punishment. Pass my order: execute all three thousand captives to intimidate An Lushan’s brutal forces.”