Chapter 482: The Grand Debut (Part 1)

The Tibetan army’s attempt to attack Jiuqu was thwarted in a devastating manner. Xianke Island was reduced to ashes; of the more than 9,000 elite Tibetan soldiers on the island, only about 2,000 who took refuge in the waters along the shore survived. Nearly 7,000 others were burned to death or drowned. In this brilliant interception battle, the Tang army suffered just over thirty injuries, with no deaths. This outstanding achievement won Li Sheng the trust and respect of the Anxi army, allowing him to fully command this 20,000-strong force.

The heavy losses across the river also forced Ma Chongying to temporarily abandon his plans to attack Jiuqu. He led his troops back to Wuhai, recalling the 20,000 troops who had gone north to Dafei Chuan, while sending messengers to Lhasa to apologize to the king and request aid.

By early September, all the wheat in Jiuqu had been harvested. Li Sheng ordered that large quantities of food and over 100,000 farmers and herders living there be sent back to Hehuang, leaving only Tang troops stationed in Jiuqu. Meanwhile, Li Guangbi personally led 30,000 Tang troops into Dafei Chuan, creating a strategic balance between Dafei Chuan and Jiuqu, which faced the Tibetan forces in Wuhai. The two sides entered a state of standoff.

Early September saw Li Qingan still on his way back to Anxi, but Chang’an experienced some unusual changes due to his temporary absence. At that time, Chang’an’s layout remained unchanged, with Zhuque Street as the dividing line—Jinwu Wei controlling Wannian County and Qianniu Wei controlling Chang’an County. Additionally, 20,000 Anxi troops were stationed outside Chang’an City and Xianyang County. Yet, it was then that An Lushan entered the capital.

An Lushan’s arrival was not sudden. Although he had suffered a crushing defeat in Guannei Road and earned a reputation as a traitor, he had not rebelled nor seized control of Hebei. Aside from the imperial troops being barred from entering Hebei, the administrative system there remained under imperial oversight. Officials in areas other than Youzhou were still appointed by the court. This was the difference between rebellion and not rebellion. Moreover, An Lushan’s voluntary withdrawal from Hedong made some people in the court who had benefited from him start speaking in his defense, claiming he had entered Guannei Road out of grief over his son’s death, seeking justice for him, with no intention of rebelling.

At first, only Ji Wen, the vice minister of the Ministry of War, vigorously defended him, but soon Fang Gan, the vice minister of the Secretariat, also submitted a memorial to the council, arguing that An Lushan should not be isolated in this way and should be given a chance to reform. Otherwise, if An Lushan allied himself with the Southern Tang court, it would be extremely detrimental to the situation in Chang’an. Wang Gong, the left chancellor, agreed with Fang Gan’s view and suggested appointing An Lushan as the left vice minister of the Secretariat. However, due to Zhang Yun’s abstention and Cui Huan, the vice minister of the Ministry of Revenue, voting against it, the council rejected the proposal with a vote of four to two.

Although the council did not approve it, regent Li Hen eventually issued a statement acknowledging that An Lushan remained the military governor of the region and allowing him to enter the capital to meet the new emperor. Thus, An Lushan’s fate seemed to take a turn for the better. With Li Hen’s forgiveness and endorsement, and filled with deep remorse and piety, he waited for the opportunity to leave Chang’an. With strong support from the regent’s faction, he once again made his appearance in Chang’an.

On the fifth day of the ninth month, escorted by a thousand personal guards, An Lushan arrived at Mingde Gate in Chang’an in his carriage. Outside the gate, entrusted by Li Hen, Wang Gong, the left chancellor; Fang Gan, the vice minister of the Secretariat; Ji Wen, the minister of the Ministry of War; Zhang Jie, the head of the Imperial Sacrificial Bureau; Linghu Fei, the guest of the crown prince; and over fifty mid- to low-ranking officials from the regent’s faction went out to welcome him.

An Lushan still looked the same—his face was pumpkin-sized, his eyes narrowed—but his attitude had become extremely humble. He stepped forward and bowed deeply to Wang Gong, saying, “Your humble servant, An Lushan, pays his respects to the left chancellor.”

In the Tang Dynasty, the term “lord” was used for parents or elders, and among officials, it was generally customary to address them as “magnate” rather than “lord.” Yet An Lushan actually addressed Wang Gong as “lord,” clearly trying to belittle himself and elevate Wang Gong.

Wang Gong laughed and replied, “General An, there’s no need for such formalities. We are all officials serving under the same emperor. When we go to Hebei in the future, we might even have to fight against you! Don’t you think?”

Everyone laughed. “The left chancellor is right. When we go to Hebei, General An, you must treat us as honored guests!”

“Of course! Definitely!”

An Lushan was deeply moved. He repeatedly bowed to everyone, saying, “Your humble servant will surely treat you as honored guests and give you the best hospitality.”

At that moment, An Lushan caught a glimpse of Zhang Jie, the head of the Imperial Sacrificial Bureau. He was slightly surprised—how did he also come here?

Wang Gong waved his hand, and immediately someone brought over a table with three cups of wine. He smiled at An Lushan and said, “This is a welcome drink. After you finish it, you can enter the city. Please, have a drink!”

With that, he personally picked up a cup of wine and handed it to An Lushan. An Lushan took the cup. How dare he drink wine of such unknown origin? Yet he also didn’t dare refuse. His gaze turned to Ji Wen, who gave him a subtle nod, signaling that the wine was safe to drink. Still, An Lushan covered the cup with his sleeve and poured the wine down his beard, where it flowed into his underarm armor.
“Good wine! The wine from Chang’an is like women—so delicate and sweet.”
The word “delicate” coming from An Lushan’s rough mouth made everyone laugh. There were still two cups of wine left. At that moment, Gao Shang, the advisor behind An Lushan, stepped forward and said with a smile, “Left Chancellor, General An suffers from a serious stomach illness. The doctors have repeatedly warned him not to drink a drop of alcohol. Let me drink these last two cups for him!”
An Lushan waved his hand dismissively and said unhappily, “There’s no need for you to do that for me. Even if my stomach hurts, I must uphold the Left Chancellor’s face. Bring the wine; I’ll keep drinking!”
Wang Gong quickly apologized, “I didn’t realize General An was unwell. I’m sorry for any offense. Let’s skip those last two cups. It’s just a formality after all.”
He waved his hand again and said with a smile, “General An, please get into the carriage and enter the city!”
The simple welcome ceremony outside Mingde Gate came to an end. An Lushan boarded the carriage, which slowly entered Mingde Gate under the tight protection of 300 personal guards.
Inside the carriage, a concubine wiped the wine stains from An Lushan’s underarm armor. An Lushan nodded and said gratefully to Gao Shang, “Thank you for stepping in in time. Otherwise, I really wouldn’t have known what to do about those last two cups.”
Gao Shang smiled and said, “Actually, I think there’s definitely nothing wrong with these three cups of wine. After all, the regent faction wants to rely on the general and wouldn’t act now. I only stepped in because I saw the general refusing to drink.”
An Lushan waved his hand to send the concubine away and said to Gao Shang, “This time, it’s thanks to your strategy—exploiting the conflict between the regent faction and the Prince of Zhao’s faction, and using the regent faction’s attempt to win me over—that I was able to return to court. But I just saw Zhang Jie. I’m a bit confused. Could Zhang Yun and Li Hen also be in secret collusion? Otherwise, why would Zhang Jie come?”
Gao Shang pondered for a moment before saying, “To be honest, I’m also a bit puzzled. Even if Zhang Yun and Li Hen are colluding, Zhang Jie wouldn’t show up openly. I think he must have come on his own, with nothing to do with the regent faction. That old fox Zhang Yun—no one knows what he’s thinking.”

By this time, An Lushan had figured it out. With a disdainful snort, he said, “What an old fox? He’s nothing but a fence-sitter. As soon as Li Qing’an left, he abstained from voting. He sent his brother to make a show and put on an act. If Li Qing’an presses him, he’ll surely claim it was his brother’s own action and that he’s already scolded him. Isn’t Zhang Yun just such a person?”
“Well said!” Gao Shang praised with a thumbs up. “The marshal is really improving at judging people!”
An Lushan stroked his beard and smiled. “I know Zhang Yun well. He’s been in secret conflict with Li Linfu for so many years. He should be old enough to have the right to hold a position. So why was the position of right chancellor taken away from him by Yang Guozhong? Actually, Li Longji also saw through his nature as a fence-sitter, which is why he didn’t use him.”
At that moment, he suddenly remembered something and added, “That Cui Huan is quite unexpected. As a member of the regent faction, he vetoed Wang Gong’s proposal. It’s really strange! Could he have secretly sided with Li Qing’an?”
Gao Shang nodded and smiled. “I think that’s likely. Otherwise, how could Li Qing’an give up the chancellorship to Li Hen for free? It’s a hidden trap he set, but it was exposed because of the marshal’s matter. Hehe! There’s going to be some interesting action now.”
An Lushan narrowed his eyes and thought for a while. “I don’t want to just watch. I’m thinking that since Li Hen wants to win me over, maybe I should give him a generous gift.”
“What does the marshal mean…”
“That’s right. When we pass through Weinan County, aren’t those imperial estates being measured? I doubt Li Hen would generously give his land to those poor peasants!”
He pondered for a moment before adding, “Leave this task to Shi Siming. And my son’s tomb should also be built as soon as possible.”
At that moment, the sound of cheerful chatter came from outside the carriage. An Lushan watched a group of beautifully dressed women walking by not far away, which stirred his desires again. He said, “I know she’s not dead. She must be hiding somewhere in Chang’an. This time, I must find her. If I can’t get her, I swear I won’t bear the surname An!”
…

After presiding over the ceremony, Wang Gong and Linghu Fei hurried to the Zichen Hall, where Li Heng was still waiting for their reply. Inside the Zichen Hall, Li Heng was savoring a bowl of bird’s nest porridge. Since Li Qing’an left the capital, he had indeed enjoyed a few peaceful days. People like Pei Min and Li Yan had become much more obedient due to Li Qing’an’s absence. Although they still refused to compromise on certain principled matters, they no longer opposed other issues, such as preserving the princely residences and reinstating the practice of closing the city gates at the hour of Hai. These seemingly trivial matters could be smoothly approved in the government council, but they were very important to Li Heng.

Now, Li Heng was considering three major matters that needed to be settled while Li Qing’an was away from Chang’an. The first was to ban middle and lower-ranking officials from accepting allowances from Anxi. Although many officials had declined such allowances along with their regular salaries, Li Heng knew that quite a few were still reluctant to give up those substantial Anxi allowances. Feeling indebted, they worked especially hard for Anxi. This was evident from the rapid transportation of supplies and the efficient mobilization of laborers during preparations for the campaign in Longyou—these officials were more diligent than ever before.

Li Heng had no objection to their efforts in preparing for the campaign in Longyou; he also hoped the Tang army would defeat the Tubo forces. But these officials must not become puppets of Anxi—this was the first major matter.

The second was An Lushan. Although Ji Wen was the first to advocate for An Lushan, it was Fang Gan who recognized his value. Didn’t Li Heng need someone from a foreign region to counter Li Qing’an? An Lushan was the perfect candidate. Of course, he was aware of An Lushan’s ambition, but wasn’t Li Qing’an ambitious as well? There was also Geshu Han, who was equally ambitious. Guo Ziyi was old, but if he had been twenty years younger, he would have been just as ambitious.

So Li Heng didn’t care about An Lushan’s ambition. He believed he could control him. As long as An Lushan helped him eliminate Li Qing’an, it wouldn’t be impossible to appoint him as a king of a barbarian state in Khitan or Turkistan in the future.

This was his second major matter—he must bring An Lushan under his control.

The third major issue was land. Deep in his heart, he opposed his son seizing the land belonging to the imperial clan, as that would severely weaken the power of the Li family and undermine the foundation of their rule over the Tang Dynasty. Although land consolidation was also a serious problem, Li Heng believed that maintaining the Li family’s rule over the Tang Dynasty was far more important. Within a few months, Li Yu had carried out brutal actions to seize land and loot homes from hundreds of members of the imperial clan, greatly weakening their power. He must restore their status and property, even though it was difficult; he had to do it at all costs, otherwise he would not have the support of the imperial clan once he ascended the throne.

Li Heng was thinking about these three major issues when a guard reported from outside, “Your Highness, the Left Prime Minister and the Crown Prince’s guest have arrived.”
“Let them in!”
Li Heng downed the bird’s nest soup in one gulp and set the bowl aside. Wang Gong and Linghu Fei entered one after another.
“We pay our respects to Your Highness!”
“Has An Lushan received the message?”
“Yes, he has returned to his own residence. He said he will come to see Your Highness early tomorrow morning and only meet the Emperor in the afternoon.”
Li Heng nodded. He was satisfied with An Lushan’s attitude of putting him first. He asked again, “What about An Lushan’s attitude? Is he arrogant?”
Wang Gong shook his head. “This time, An Lushan is very humble, completely devoid of his former arrogance. It’s clear from his words that he holds Your Highness in great respect. His defeat in Guannei Road has made him more cautious.”
Seeing that Linghu Fei seemed to disagree with Wang Gong’s opinion, Li Heng asked him, “What do you think, Mr. Linghu?”
Linghu Fei smiled and said, “I think An Lushan has become even more cunning. His act of pretending to be old is just a facade. From the way he drank, it was clear he wasn’t really drinking; he poured the wine into his beard. I saw it clearly from the side—perhaps the Left Prime Minister didn’t notice.”
Wang Gong’s face turned red. In fact, he was well aware that An Lushan was pretending. Who was he? The Left Prime Minister of the Tang Dynasty, with so many years of political experience—he wouldn’t fail to see through such a thing. He knew clearly, but since he had received great benefits from An Lushan before and would continue to do so in the future, he deliberately spoke well of him. He never expected it to be exposed by this unreasonable Linghu Fei.
Seeing the awkward atmosphere, Wang Gong cleared his throat and quickly changed the subject. “There’s another strange thing—Zhang Jie also came. We didn’t invite him.”
“It’s indeed strange!”

Li Heng cast an unhappy glance at Wang Gong. He stood up, crossed his arms, and walked a few steps away, saying, “Not only is Zhang Jie strange, but Cui Huan’s situation is even stranger. Both matters need to be investigated thoroughly until everything is clarified!”