Chapter 495: The Thousand Oxen Guards

Huaiyuan Fang was where the heavy troops of the Thousand Oxen Guards were stationed. The Thousand Oxen Guards had 20,000 troops deployed in Chang’an County, with a small number of soldiers stationed in each Fang. However, a large force was stationed near the Western Market, mainly to ensure its safety. Chang’an was not only the political center of the Tang Dynasty but also another economic hub aside from Yangzhou. The main markets were the Western Market and the Eastern Market, with the Western Market being the most important. The Eastern Market focused on luxury goods, while the Western Market served as a distribution center for everyday necessities such as rice, oil, tea, and cloth. A large volume of goods passed through here daily, playing a crucial role in maintaining stability in Chang’an and even the entire Central Plains region. Thus, protecting the Western Market was of utmost importance to the Thousand Oxen Guards.

Numerous Thousand Oxen Guard soldiers were stationed in the Western Market and several surrounding Fangs, including Huaiyuan, Yanshou, Guangde, Yankang, and Taiping. Additionally, Taiping Fang housed the Dugu Mansion, where the Princess of Zhao temporarily resided, as well as Li Qing’an’s only son. As a result, nearly 5,000 soldiers were stationed in this small Fang, with the Dugu Mansion almost entirely surrounded by military camps. Huaiyuan Fang, being the location of the Anxi Army’s discipline supervision and intelligence headquarters in the Central Plains, also had over 3,000 troops stationed there. This was why Li Qing’an placed Yang Yuhuan in Huaiyuan Fang—its strong military protection ensured that even if someone found her, it would be difficult for her to leave the Fang.

As dusk fell, the light snow falling from the sky finally stopped, and more people began to appear on the streets. Huaiyuan Fang, being close to the Western Market, had a particularly large population of temporary residents. Many merchants rented houses there as warehouses and hired numerous assistants. Porters transporting goods were also everywhere. Once the snow stopped, merchants, cargo handlers, and porters could be seen everywhere on the streets.

Cihang Yuan remained completely quiet throughout the day—no movement at all, with no one entering or leaving. About a hundred steps away, in a small tavern diagonally across from Cihang Yuan, a dozen merchants were gathered drinking and having dinner. In a small private room on the second floor, several patrons had been there all day. Since they paid well, the tavern owner turned a blind eye and ignored them.

Two men sat by the window, closely watching the surroundings of Cihang Yuan. They had been observing since morning, and their paper was already filled with various pieces of information.

“Look! There they are again,” one of them whispered.

The two of them looked west together. Though far apart, they could still see a carriage approaching from the west of Cihang Yuan. Its doors and windows were tightly covered with black curtains. It didn’t differ much from other carriages, except for its lantern—a conical-shaped lantern hung on the right side of the carriage pole. It was this conical lantern that made it stand out and allowed the two men to recognize it at a glance. This carriage had appeared at the entrance of Cihang Yuan six times already.

Undoubtedly, it must have been sent by An Lushan. But this time, instead of circling around the courtyard before leaving, it went straight through a small street to the west of Cihang Yuan and headed to the opposite side.

“It seems they’re about to act. Go back and report!”
“You go report. I’ll keep watching here.”

One of the men folded the copied intelligence into a ball, left the small room, and hurried down to the first floor. There, the shopkeeper was bent over calculating accounts, while a dozen or so drinkers were engrossed in drinking. A few men were holding down one person, forcing wine down his throat. Laughter and toasting filled the air.

The man moved quickly along the wall, bent his head, and soon exited. He untied a horse tied to a post at the entrance, mounted it, and rode away. At that moment, the shopkeeper slowly raised his head and watched the man ride off. A strange smile appeared on his face.

He looked up again, waved his hand to call over a clerk, whispered something to him. The clerk nodded and quickly left the tavern.

……

In fact, the two men spying in the tavern had made a mistake. If they had entered the courtyard, they would have realized just how serious their error was. There were six identical carriages parked there, all covered with black curtains, each with a conical lantern hanging on the right side of the carriage pole—only these lanterns were extinguished. The six carriages stood quietly there, like six well-trained hounds.

The courtyard was the backyard of a large mansion. Its owner was a foreigner who had settled in Chang’an during the Kaiyuan era. Someone gave him a gold ingot weighing ten taels, just for three days of rent, and he immediately moved away with his family.

Undoubtedly, the mansion was in the most advantageous location—only sixty steps away from Cihang Yuan in a straight line. But due to the winding paths in the alleys, it added several hundred more steps. Yet for those skilled in martial arts who could climb walls and move swiftly along them, it was still only sixty steps.

Not only that, but the mansion was adjacent to the city wall, which served as the back wall of the backyard. If a hole were dug in the wall, one could directly exit Huaiyuan Fang. In fact, the hole had already been dug—a large opening one zhang high and two zhang wide. There was only a thin layer of wall covering separating it from the street outside; with a strike from an iron pickaxe, the wall covering would collapse with a loud crash.

By now, it was completely dark, and the thunderous sound of drums closing the city gates echoed across Chang’an. Everyone was hurrying down the streets, trying to return to their own districts before the gates closed. The mansion was eerily quiet, as if deserted. The men selected by An Lushan were the finest troops from Fanyang Army, known for their strict discipline. Although An Lushan knew it was extremely risky to abduct people under the watchful eyes of the Anxi Army, his desire for the world’s greatest woman drove him to take such a dangerous gamble. He knew that if he didn’t get Yang Guifei today, he would never have another chance.

The door to the guest hall was locked from the inside. There was no light inside, only the sound of breathing coming from within—clearly, there were many people there. Then, a deep voice rang out in the hall.

“You have very little time—just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. Once you’ve taken her, retreat immediately. Don’t worry about whether the Anxi Army will discover you; they will definitely find out. Whether you can escape alive depends on how fast you act. Commander An has promised a generous reward to all participants: ten thousand strings of coins and a promotion of three ranks for the first one to capture Yang Guifei.”

“Let’s go!”

As soon as the deep voice finished speaking, dozens of skilled men in black rushed out of the hall. They were all scouts from the Fanyang Army, trained in combat and other martial arts, making them one of the elite units in the army. There were 500 of them in total. This time, An Lushan brought 300 of them to the capital to strengthen Chang’an’s intelligence network, while 200 were sent on this mission to abduct Yang Guifei—50 for the assault and 150 for support.

Fifty men in black climbed onto the walls and dashed off like hares or falcons, vanishing in an instant, racing toward Cihang Yuan like a whirlwind.

In the backyard of the mansion, more than a hundred men in black appeared, leading horses, along with six carriages. There were so many people that they couldn’t all fit in the yard; many waited in the corridors and rooms. Two burly men holding pickaxes stood on either side of the wall, ready to break through at the command.

A storm of violence had already erupted within the Cihang Monastery. Perhaps the nun captured that morning, knowing she could not survive, deliberately gave the wrong direction. Fifty men in black scaled the walls and rushed into the northwest corner of the monastery. But this was not the residence of Yang Guifei—it was the courtyard where the nuns lived. Within moments, five or six screams were heard as several elderly nuns who had just finished their duties and were about to return to their rooms collapsed in pools of blood, each killed by a single sword strike. The last nun, trembling, pointed toward the northeast corner before being pierced through the heart by a sword.

The fifty men in black rushed like bats toward the small courtyard in the northeast corner, driven by the promise of a huge reward of ten thousand guan and a promotion of three ranks. They no longer cared about loyalty among their own ranks; only the first to capture Yang Guifei would get it.

The screams of the elderly nuns pierced the silent night, carrying for hundreds of steps. About 150 steps south of the Cihang Monastery lay the barracks of the Qianniu Guard. Their screams set the troops into chaos, and in the darkness, countless soldiers from the Qianniu Guard rushed toward them.

Time was indeed just the length of a tea break. If the men in black had delayed even a moment longer, they would have been surrounded by the Qianniu Guard. At that moment, the fifty men in black rushed into the courtyard where Yang Guifei lived from all directions almost simultaneously. The courtyard was very quiet, covered in a thick layer of snow. One room had dim light, suggesting that its inhabitants had already gone to bed.

The fifty men in black charged into the courtyard and rushed at the three rooms inside. Just then, the paper windows of the rooms were suddenly pried open, and nearly a hundred dark military crossbows appeared outside. With a series of “click” sounds as the triggers were pulled, a hundred arrows were fired like a storm at the fifty men rushing forward. No matter how skilled they were, it was impossible to avoid this onslaught. Screams filled the air as more than twenty men fell instantly.

The fifty men in black were terrified and fled outward, but it was too late. The walls and entrances around them were packed with Qianniu Guard soldiers armed with crossbows, swords, and shields—over five or six hundred in total. The remaining twenty-odd men huddled together, back to back.

At that moment, Hu Yunpei, the head of the Anxi Army’s intelligence agency in Chang’an, appeared. His face was filled with disdainful sneers. An Lushan dared to act right under the noses of their intelligence headquarters—clearly underestimating them completely. The Cihang Monastery was surrounded by spies, with defenses so strict that even An Lushan could not have imagined them. There was no need for a peasant to report that an elderly nun had been missing for a day; surely they would have been alert.

Perhaps An Lushan could never have imagined that there was a secret passage in Cihang Yuan leading to the Intelligence Bureau next door. Yang Yuhuan and her maids had already been taken away, and hundreds of elite soldiers were in ambush, waiting for these fearless men to fall into the trap. Hu Yunpei waved his hand, and instantly arrows flew in all directions. The last twenty-odd men let out long screams before dying inside Cihang Yuan. The death of those fifty men in black was just the beginning of a larger drama. The 150 reinforcements in the backyard heard the screams and realized something was wrong. Soon, the sound of horse hooves rushed toward them, like thunder. A soldier on the wall shouted, “Bad news! A large group of cavalry is coming this way!” Before his words faded, an arrow whizzed and hit the sentinel. With a cry, the sentinel fell from the wall. Everyone’s heart sank. At that moment, there was a banging at the front gate. Two strong men armed with iron picks didn’t hesitate—they swung their picks at the thin wall, and in just two strikes, the wall collapsed, revealing a large hole. Instantly, 150 cavalry rushed out through it. By then, thousands of Qianniuwei cavalry had already arrived just dozens of steps away. General Nan Jiyun led the charge, drawing his bow and shooting two arrows, which knocked down two soldiers in black from Fanyang. Less than half of the 150 cavalry in black had managed to escape when thousands of Qianniuwei cavalry surged forward like a tidal wave, sealing off the escape route. Hundreds of Qianniuwei soldiers also rushed in from the front yard, cutting off escape from all sides. The dozens of people trapped in the courtyard could not escape death. But for Nan Jiyun, letting even one person escape would be a disgrace. He spurred his horse and led 3,000 cavalry in pursuit of the fifty or so cavalry in black who had managed to escape through the hole. A dramatic scene unfolded then: the remaining fugitives tried to escape along the path between Guangde Fang and Yankang Fang, aiming to cross Zhuque Street and reach the area controlled by the Jinguwei, still about six or seven li away from Xinghua and Fengle Fangs. But after running less than two li, a large group of cavalry suddenly appeared on the path ahead, blocking their way. The fugitives thought it was the Qianniuwei blocking them, but just as they despaired, someone realized that it seemed to be the Jinguwei instead. The fugitives shouted in excitement, “We are under General An’s command! Please save us quickly!”

It was indeed the Jingu Wei blocking the road ahead. Their leader was named Jin Lin, one of Chen Xuanli’s closest confidants. He led 500 men to secretly cross Zhuque Street and reach Chang’an County under the control of the Qianniu Wei, aiming to catch Yang Guifei from their hands before An Lushan could do so, in a move akin to a mantis hunting a cicada with a sparrow lurking behind.

In the darkness, Jin Lin saw dozens of people being chased by the Qianniu Wei and realized their target had arrived. He immediately shouted, “I’ve come here at the order of Commander Feng An to provide support. Have you succeeded?”

A group of men rushed over, out of breath, and said, “The enemy was prepared. We failed.”

Hearing this, Jin Lin’s expression changed drastically. He stepped back, waved his hand, and ordered viciously, “Kill them!”

The 500 Jingu Wei soldiers charged forward, raising their swords to kill. Alas, these soldiers, who thought they had escaped danger, fell into even greater peril. What seemed like rescuers turned into their executioners, and soon, curses and screams filled the air.

At that moment, Nan Jiyun arrived with his troops. Recognizing the enemy, he shouted sternly, “How dare the Jingu Wei kill people in Chang’an County?”

Most of the 50 or 60 people had already been killed. The remaining twenty or so preferred to surrender to the Qianniu Wei. They desperately broke through the encirclement and rushed back to them, kneeling and pleading, “We surrender! We surrender!”

Over a hundred Jingu Wei soldiers wanted to charge in to finish them off, but Jin Lin stopped them. He spurred his horse forward a few steps, bowed, and said, “In reply to General Nan’s question, we were originally patrolling on Zhuque Street when we suddenly heard screams of fighting. Thinking someone might be threatening the Qianniu Wei, we came to offer support.”

“Lies!” shouted an An Lushan soldier angrily. “They clearly asked us if we had succeeded. They have ulterior motives.”

“Damn you, scoundrel!” Jin Lin flew into a rage, drawing his sword to attack the talkative soldier. Suddenly, Nan Jiyun drew his bow, aiming a sharp arrow at him, and said coldly, “Jin Lin, put down your sword. Otherwise, I’ll kill you on the spot!”

After a brief standoff, Jin Lin reluctantly sheathed his sword and said, “General Nan, we came here with good intentions to help you. You can’t possibly believe this bastard’s nonsense!”

At that moment, another 2,000 Qianniu Wei soldiers rushed out from the alley between Xinghua Fang and Fengle Fang, cutting off the Jingu Wei’s retreat. In total, 5,000 Qianniu Wei soldiers trapped the 500 Jingu Wei soldiers in the alley between the two districts.

Nan Jiyun certainly knew that the Jinwu Guard wasn’t there to help him. If they weren’t there to provide support, they were there to take advantage of the situation. With a cold snort, he said, “Neither side shall cross Zhuque Street. This is an agreement signed by my general and the Regent. Over the past six months, the Qianniu Guard has never set foot in Wannian County. Yet tonight, the Jinwu Guard has broken through the boundary. Our Qianniu Guard demands an explanation from the Regent. Now, I order you all to dismount and kneel on the ground. I’ll count to three. Those who refuse will be executed without mercy!”