Chapter 595: Behind the War

Early in the morning, a white pigeon circled in the sky before descending onto the pigeon tower in Heyin County. The soldier on duty saw a red pigeon tube tied to the pigeon’s leg and quickly untied it, rushing outside Heyin City.

Outside Heyin City lay a large camp housing about ten thousand troops—Li Qing’an’s personal guard. In peacetime, his personal escort numbered a thousand, but during war, it grew to tens of thousands, forming an independent military force known as the Hubei Guard. This was Li Qing’an’s security force, comprising scouts, cavalry, and infantry, totaling exactly ten thousand men. For several days, Li Qing’an remained in Heyin County, constantly monitoring the situation in Xiangzhou. Of course, as the commander-in-chief of the entire army, he wasn’t overly concerned about the outcome of Xiangzhou’s fate. Whether it was held or lost didn’t affect the overall situation. Guo Ziyi was no match for An Lushan—he lacked the strength. It was Li Qing’an who did.

In fact, Li Qing’an wasn’t interested in whether Cheng Qianli would win or lose, nor in the fate of Xiangzhou. He was only concerned with one thing: whether An Lushan would launch an attack as he had predicted. This determined whether he could control the situation. If An Lushan truly attacked Xiangzhou, Li Qing’an felt he would be able to anticipate every move and intention of An Lushan.

At first, Li Qing’an wasn’t very proactive in dealing with An Lushan’s aggressive rebellion; he merely adopted a defensive stance. On one hand, he still had unfinished matters in Anxi, leaving him without the strength or energy to suppress An Lushan’s rebellion. On the other hand, as a time traveler, although he had known years earlier that the An-Lushan Rebellion would eventually erupt, he didn’t intend to stop it. It wasn’t just for his own interests—it was because he understood the corruption of the Tang Dynasty’s system and the severe land consolidation. Tang society needed such social upheaval and disruption, like An Lushan’s rebellion, to reshuffle power dynamics, challenge the minds of the scholars, force those in power to reflect, and carry out thorough reforms to remove the rotten elements and revitalize the Tang Dynasty.

Putting out An Lushan’s rebellion too early would only allow those in power to continue indulging in the complacency of the Tang Dynasty’s prosperous era, gradually decaying until everything was ruined.

Everything has its advantages and disadvantages; the key is to maintain a balance so as not to let the An Lushan Rebellion escalate and ultimately destroy society, becoming the root cause of the thousand-year decline of Han civilization. Opium is both a poison and a medicine—what matters is how it is used. Sometimes Li Qing’an felt as though he was gambling, risking his life, wealth, and the fate of the Tang Dynasty. At dawn, Li Qing’an would habitually go to the Yellow River embankment to check the ice conditions. Over the past few days, he had checked almost every day—it was one of his hobbies. The old boatman said it would be seven days before the Yellow River was completely frozen. As if to verify the old boatman’s words, Li Qing’an checked it every day, turning it into a sort of hobby. Today, the ice on the river had extended several miles toward the center; it was hard for ordinary people to see the water, with only a shiny surface visible. But Li Qing’an’s vision was extraordinary—he could still see the calm water in the distance and quickly determine that the ice covered two and a half miles, meaning the opposite bank was similar. The Yellow River was ten miles wide, and half of it was already frozen—just in two days! It seemed the old boatman had been conservative; the river should be completely frozen within five days at most. He remembered the saying, “Do not travel upstream when the Yellow River first freezes; otherwise, the Dragon King will summon you.” “General!” A shout came from behind. Li Qing’an turned and saw a cavalryman rushing over. The cavalryman dismounted quickly, stepped forward, and saluted, saying, “Latest intelligence from the Hebei Circuit Intelligence Office!” The messenger handed Li Qing’an a red pigeon tube. Li Qing’an broke it open and took out a scroll of intelligence written in the special code of Anxi. He handed it to his bodyguard, who quickly translated it and reported to Li Qing’an, “General, the intelligence states that An Lushan has once again led 200,000 troops southward. The vanguard has reached Beizhou and joined forces with Cai Xide’s army. Together, 300,000 troops will besiege Xiangzhou, while Cheng Qianli still refuses to withdraw.” Li Qing’an’s pupils narrowed to slits. As he had guessed, An Lushan’s true goal was still to attack Xiangzhou. Li Qing’an sneered inwardly—An Lushan had made a mistake. He should have attacked Hedong first and left Xiangzhou to Guo Ziyi, so that Li Qing’an’s troops in Henan would not be able to advance northward. Could Cheng Qianli’s few tens of thousands of troops really capture his stronghold in Youzhou? If An Lushan captured Xiangzhou, it would mean direct confrontation with Li Qing’an’s army, with no buffer zone left. Thinking this, Li Qing’an turned around and ordered, “Return to camp! Set out and head back to Luoyang!”

He mounted his horse and headed toward the main camp. Just as he reached the camp gate, he saw Li Guangbi approaching at full speed, looking worried. Li Qingan stopped his warhorse. When Li Guangbi got closer, he said with a smile, “You’re coming in such a hurry. Has something serious happened?”
Li Guangbi bowed and asked, “Does the general know about the situation in Xiangzhou?”
“Hmm! Are you referring to An Lushan’s 200,000-strong army marching south? I just found out.”
At this moment, Li Guangbi admired Li Qingan deeply. No one in the world could probably match Li Qingan’s ability to grasp the overall situation. If An Lushan’s army was indeed marching south, what should they do next? Li Guangbi was even more concerned about their countermeasures.
“General, with An Lushan’s army marching south, how should we respond?”
Most people have a tendency to rely on others. As Li Qingan accurately predicted the enemy’s movements step by step, Li Guangbi gradually lost his ability to think independently and began to rely on Li Qingan’s plans. But Li Qingan wanted him to be able to handle things on his own. Without saying much, Li Qingan just smiled and said, “I’m just here to inspect the front lines; I’m not in charge of combat. You are the commander of the eastern army. Decide for yourself whether to provide aid or not. I need to return to Luoyang immediately.”
Li Guangbi was stunned. Just as Li Qingan was about to enter the camp gate, he suddenly snapped out of it and hurriedly said, “General, please wait!”
Li Qingan stopped and turned around with a smile, “General Li, what’s the matter?”
Li Guangbi stepped forward quickly and said, “General, I have two small requests.”
“Go ahead! What do you want?”
“I know that the intelligence office in Hebei is currently in Xiangzhou. Please allow me to contact them so that I can obtain more and faster information from them.”
“Sure!”
Li Qingan agreed without hesitation. “Then state your second request.”
“My second request is that I want to help Cheng Qianli defend the city.”
“Oh? How do you plan to help him?” Li Qingan asked with interest.
“I want to give them a new type of weapon!”
Li Qingan looked at Li Guangbi deeply, as if seeing a far-sighted strategy in his eyes, then nodded and said, “Alright, I approve of your second request too.”
……
Cai Xide’s 30,000-strong vanguard had already reached Xiangzhou. Instead of immediately surrounding the city, they camped 30 li away, waiting for the main force to arrive. Although An Lushan’s army was still far away, the arrival of the vanguard sent a chill through the city of Xiangzhou.

Tension immediately arose within Xiangzhou City. Soldiers began patrolling the city day and night. Cheng Qianli organized 20,000 troops to dig a moat outside the city. The moat had frozen, rendering it useless for defense, but Cheng Qianli was not willing to give up. He tried to break the ice, but soon abandoned the effort. The section of the moat that was broken open re-froze quickly, and the entire Anyang River was frozen solid. Any attempt to break it open was merely a waste of time.

In a flurry of activity, Cheng Qianli ordered civilians to transport bundles of arrows and boulders onto the city walls. He also blocked the four city gates with huge stones. With the moat frozen, An Lushan’s large siege engines could directly attack the gates, putting them in a very unfavorable position.

The city’s defenses were in chaos, and the residents inside were also uneasy. Xiangzhou City was the second-largest city in Hebei Province after Youzhou. It originally had 80,000 residents, totaling nearly 500,000 people. After several large-scale migrations and evacuations, only about 20,000 to 100,000 people remained. Still, 100,000 was a significant number, including people from all walks of life. Moreover, given the city’s vast size, governing such a large population was no easy task.

In the center of Xiangzhou City stood an inn called Guanzhong Inn. It covered a large area, with four floors high, capable of accommodating 1,000 guests at once. It had both a front building and a back courtyard, functioning as an inn as well, and had always been very busy, ranking among the best inns in the city.

However, as tensions rose, Guanzhong Inn, like other inns, saw its business decline. Especially its inn section had almost no customers. There were plenty of empty houses in Xiangzhou City, and since they could be occupied for free, who would pay to stay in an inn?

Despite the poor business, the inn still opened in the morning and closed only at night, standing in sharp contrast to many other inns that closed down. There were still a few people who enjoyed life to the fullest, but their numbers had greatly decreased.

That morning, the sunlight dispelled the fog, and the warm rays shone upon Anyang City. Everyone went outside to enjoy the rare winter sunlight. As usual, the doors of Guanzhong Inn opened. A few employees lazily cleaned the premises, while the chubby owner squinted, leaning on the counter, enjoying the warmth of winter. His short, stout body complemented the fat cat snoring on the wall.

The owner’s name was Zhang Debao. He had been working at Guanzhong Inn for thirty years. Kind and helpful, he was known to tens of thousands of families in the surrounding area. At that moment, Zhang Debao’s eyes gradually widened as he stared intently at the sky outside the main gate. He saw a gray pigeon circling downward, flying over his inn.

Zhang Debao immediately stood up and stumbled toward the back door, knocking over several seats that had been washed and hung up to dry. “You bastards! Can’t you leave the seats alone?” Without caring to pursue responsibility, he ran to the back yard. Passing through a side door led to the inn, and he continued to the back yard of the inn, which was locked year-round and considered off-limits to guests. By then, Zhang Debao could already hear the cooing of pigeons inside. He frantically found a key, unlocked the door, and stepped inside. The gray pigeon from earlier was already perched on the cage, cooing as it waited to be put back in.

At a glance, Zhang Debao saw a pigeon message tied to its leg. He quickly grabbed some millet and placed it in his palm. The pigeon flew onto his hand in surprise. While stroking its feathers, he skillfully untied the message tube, which was wrapped in a thin layer of white silk. Upon tearing it open, he found a red message tube, indicating its high importance. The origin marked on it was Xingyang—Zhang Debao was stunned. Xingyang was the location of General Li Guangbi’s headquarters.

Not daring to delay, he rushed with the message tube back into the inn and climbed to the fourth floor in one breath. Out of breath, he knocked on a door.

“Who is it?” came a young woman’s voice from inside.

“Miss, it’s me! There’s an urgent letter.”

“Come in!”

Zhang Debao pushed the door open. He really didn’t want to enter this room, which he privately called the “ghost house.” It always had thick curtains drawn, making it dim, gloomy, and bitterly cold. Yet there was no musty smell—instead, there was a faint, indescribable fragrance, nothing like the scent of women’s cosmetics.

The room was empty except for a table and a set of chairs. On the table were several neatly stacked documents. A woman in a black gauze dress sat at the table, her back to him. Her posture was straight, her figure slender, and her skin eerily pale. In Zhang Debao’s memory, every time he entered, she was always facing away, always looking like a widow.

Zhang Debao sighed inwardly. Why couldn’t the girl be normal like other women?

“Give me the letter!”

The woman turned her head. Though her skin was terrifyingly pale and her gaze icy as snow, her face was as clear as ice jade, her beauty stunning. Unfortunately, she lacked her left arm, which was severed at the shoulder, leaving her with only one hand.

This woman was Qi Yuhua, the new head of the Hebei intelligence branch, succeeding Zhang Yue. She was only 25 years old and the daughter of Qi Huaiyuan, one of the 24 core members of the Hidden Dragon Society. She had trained in the Central Plains since childhood and possessed exceptional martial skills. At the age of 15, she joined the Han-Tang Society and made numerous contributions, gradually rising through the ranks. After Zhang Yue’s death, Li Qingan appointed her as the head of the Hebei branch.

Qi Yuhua had a famous nickname in the Han-Tang Society—Black Kite. Over time, people forgot her real name. Ten days ago, she came to Xiangzhou from Yizhou under orders from the Chang’an Intelligence Bureau, tasked with leading her trusted subordinates to Xiangzhou to assist the Tang army in defending the city.

The Guanzhong Restaurant was one of their branch offices, and Zhang Debao was its head. His 14 employees were all members of the Han-Tang Society, but they didn’t know Qi Yuhua was their superior; they only knew a strange woman had arrived.

Zhang Debao placed the pigeon message on the table and stepped back immediately. Qi Yuhua broke the message tube with one hand and slowly unrolled a scroll on the table. She pressed the edges with a sharp dagger and read it carefully. Although the message was written in the Anxi code, it posed no difficulty for her. She read it quickly, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes. Fearing she might have misunderstood, she took out a small booklet and retranslated it using the code, confirming she hadn’t misread it.

Nodding, she instructed Zhang Debao, “Go to Xiangzhou City and collect two things for me.”

“Please tell me what they are, miss.”

“One is nitrate, and the other is sulfur. The more, the better. Send your men to collect them right away; I need them urgently.”

After saying this, Qi Yuhua fell silent again, staring at the pigeon message and lost in thought.

“Miss, I’ll be leaving then.”

Zhang Debao said this twice, but seeing no response, he prepared to leave secretly. Just as he reached the door, Qi Yuhua called out to him.

“Shopkeeper Zhang, wait a moment!”

Her voice was always cold and emotionless. Zhang Debao sighed inwardly. He missed the old Zhang Yue, while this woman made him feel afraid.

“Miss, is there anything else?”

“Did you do what I asked you yesterday?”

“Oh! You mean the people who raise pigeons in Xiangzhou City?”

“Yes! Have you found out anything?”

Zhang Debao smiled bitterly inwardly. She had instructed him yesterday evening, and now that it was just dawn, she wanted results already. Moreover, she wouldn’t explain why she needed pigeons, leaving him completely confused. Fortunately, being a local, he knew well about these matters; otherwise, no one else would have any idea where to start—where could they find pigeons at night?

“Reporting to the young lady, as far as I know, there are thirteen pigeon breeders in Xiangzhou City. Most of them have left, leaving only four. I know the locations of all four.”

“Is there any that moved here just half a month ago?”

Zhang Debao suddenly slapped his forehead—he understood why Master Qi wanted to investigate the pigeons. He perked up and said, “Yes! There’s one. I only found out about it a few days ago. It’s the Baiyutang Store. It opened just half a month ago. While others fled, they came to Xiangzhou to open a store—strange! They raise pigeons there.”

“Very good! You may go. Within two days, bring me all the sulfur and nitrate in Xiangzhou City.”

……

The opening of the Baiyutang Store against all odds indeed surprised many people. Generally, during times of crisis, merchants would evacuate dangerous areas. Once rebel troops entered the city, merchants would be the first to suffer, especially those dealing in money, who were prime targets for looting. Moreover, starting a store required significant capital, yet they were willing to invest in this dangerous city of Xiangzhou. Either they had connections with An Lushan and knew the rebels wouldn’t loot them, or they were crazy.

Some advised against it, and some mocked them, but the Baiyutang Store still opened as usual ten days ago, located on the busy East Street in Xiangzhou City, about three hundred steps away from the Guanzhong Tavern.

Although business was sluggish, they, like the Guanzhong Tavern, opened early and closed late. That night, as the Baiyutang Store prepared to close as usual, a pigeon suddenly took off from the backyard. It circled low a few times before trying to fly out of the city. But just as it flew over a large tree, a crossbow arrow shot out from behind the tree like lightning, hitting the pigeon, which then plummeted straight down from the sky.