Chapter 633: The Yan Army’s Invasion from the West

Morning mist, thick as milk, hung over both banks of the Mianman River. Vast fields of wheat were already a deep green, with strong seedlings sprouting into ears. This was a winter wheat region; unlike the south, after the winter wheat was harvested in May, corn would be planted instead of rice. It was a busy time in the fields. Though the morning mist had not yet dissipated, farmers could be seen working hard everywhere.

This area was west of Guguan in Hedong, within the jurisdiction of Shi’ai County in Taiyuan Prefecture. In the distance, the towering Taihang Mountains could be faintly seen. It was also the Hedong entrance to Jingxing, a strategically important place contested by military forces.

A rapid sound of horse hooves came from afar, growing louder as a group of cavalry rushed in from the west, their speed dispersing the morning mist. Several farmers in the fields couldn’t help but look up. One older farmer seemed particularly worried.

“Uncle Changgeng, I heard there might be war soon. Will it reach us?” asked a young man anxiously.

Another middle-aged man laughed, “Silang, you’re part of the militia. Don’t you know whether there will be war or not? Why come ask us?”

“Uncle Mo, I may be in the militia, but I only attend drills on time. How would I know if there’s going to be a war? I saw Uncle Changgeng looking worried, and since he’s older and wiser, I couldn’t help but ask him.”

The farmer named Changgeng sighed. “I’m just guessing. From yesterday to today, five groups of cavalry have passed by—all messengers. If nothing were wrong in Jingxing, why would they be in such a hurry? I think An Lushan has already sent troops to Hedong.”

His words left everyone stunned. Some cried, “The wheat isn’t ready yet. If the invaders come, it will all be destroyed!” Others, more panicked, said, “The invaders are barbarians who kill, burn, and rape women. Those with young women at home, run quickly! Forget the wheat!”

People argued back and forth—some wanted to flee, others to wait for the soldiers. No one could make up their mind. Suddenly, someone ran over from the wheat field, beating a gong and shouting, “Everyone, go back to the village! The village head has urgent matters to discuss. Hurry!”

“Uncle Mo, should we go?”

“Hey! How can you be so slow to react? Go quickly!”

In panic, everyone gathered their things and ran back to the village.

The homes of these villagers were not far ahead, in a village called Manbei Village. It was a large village with over 300 households, composed of five major clans, along with another dozen or so households that did not belong to these five clans. There were not many young people in the village; some had gone to Taiyuan to seek work, others had joined the army, and the rest had joined the local militia, totaling about 120 people. Together with the young people from nearby villages, around 500 people formed a militia unit.

At that moment, several old locust trees at the village entrance were crowded with men, women, and children. In the middle, the elders of the five clans stood in a circle, listening solemnly to a young official.

The young official’s surname was Zhao; he was the military affairs officer at the Shai’ai County government. The village head of Manbei Village was by his side. The villagers who had gradually returned from the wheat fields also crowded into the crowd.

“Fellow villagers, before dawn, everyone from our county government went to the countryside. We just received an urgent order from Lord Yan of Taiyuan Prefecture: everyone must evacuate to Taiyuan City. Those who don’t want to go to Taiyuan City can still go, but they must head to Fenzhou or Jinzhou. Time is extremely urgent—please set off today.”

“Officer Zhao, I have a question,” said an elder from one of the clans surnamed Mo. “There’s still over a month before the wheat turns yellow. Is it possible for the soldiers to hold Guan Pass and prevent the enemy troops from entering Hedong?”

“I’m not entirely sure about the specifics, but there are already over ten thousand soldiers at Guan Pass. Given that, I think Guan Pass is about to fall.”

At this, the young official raised his voice further. “Fellow villagers, you all know how brutal the enemy troops are. Wherever they pass, nine out of ten households are left empty. Many of them are Khitans and Xis—fierce and brutal, like wild beasts. To save our lives, forget about the wheat. We’ve also received news from Taiyuan Prefecture: the imperial court has decided to waive all taxes for this year. Moreover, those who evacuate to Taiyuan City will have tents to live in and rice provided by the government. After defeating the enemy troops, we can rebuild our homes. There’s no time to lose—let’s set off right away!”

The young official had to go to several other villages, so he motivated them for a while before riding off on his horse.

As soon as the official left, the village entrance became chaotic—cries of children, shouts of women, and cursing.

“Elder, are we going or not?” several impatient people shouted loudly.

After discussing it, the elders told their respective clansmen, “Go back and pack your things first! We’ll discuss this further.”

These words were like poking a beehive; the more than a thousand people gathered at the village entrance scattered instantly, each rushing back to their own homes in panic.

Half an hour later, the chiefs of the five clans officially decided to retreat to Taiyuan immediately. Various clans then discussed specific evacuation plans, mainly focusing on gathering carriages, counting the number of women, children, and the elderly, as well as determining how to distribute rations.

At noon, the more than a hundred members of the Mo clan, the smallest clan in Manbei Village, began to evacuate. Twenty-odd carriages were allocated by the clan; the elderly and children rode in them while the women and men walked. The carriages were loaded with valuable items from each household, as well as necessities such as bedding and clothes, and they set off for Taiyuan City, three hundred miles away.

Once on the official road, it was already crowded with people—endless streams of people stretching for miles. Groups of refugees flocked from the county town and villages from all directions. Most of them remained silent, heading west with uncertainty and worry about the future.

…

The battle to seize Chengtian Garrison City had lasted three days and nights. Chengtian Garrison City was later known as Niangziguan, named after the women’s army led by Princess Pingyang in the early Tang Dynasty, which was stationed there.

Chengtian Garrison City was regarded as the ninth major pass of the Great Wall. Rugged mountains, valleys, and the Great Wall together formed an impregnable fortress. It was also the last major pass into Hedong. Defended by a force of 3,000 soldiers from the Chengtian Army, An Lushan’s army of nearly 200,000 had reached the gates of the city. To capture this strategic pass, An Qingxu deployed nearly 80,000 troops, while Guo Ziyi gradually sent more reinforcements, raising the defending force to 10,000.

By the fourth day of the battle, the area around Chengtian Garrison City was littered with corpses and blood. The Yan army had lost nearly 15,000 men, while Guo Ziyi’s forces had suffered over 60% casualties. The once-strong fortress was now severely damaged, and the city was in grave danger.

At noon, after a fierce battle, the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood. There were gruesome corpses and burned siege ladders everywhere. Inside the fortress, the defending soldiers rested exhausted against the walls. The battlements were in disarray, covered with arrows and stones, and pools of blood were shocking to see. Hundreds of dead soldiers and nearly a thousand wounded were carried away. After four days and nights of fighting, the 10,000 defending soldiers were reduced to less than 3,000. Everyone knew that if no reinforcements arrived, the fall of the city was only a matter of time.

The commander of Tang’s forces was Lu Sigong, a senior general under Guo Ziyi and a general in the Shuofang Army. At that moment, clad in armor, Lu Sigong was inspecting the city walls with dozens of soldiers. His mood was heavy—he had already sent five cavalry units to Taiyuan for reinforcements, but he had just received an order from Guo Ziyi to abandon the Chengtian Army’s garrison.

Lu Sigong sighed inwardly. He understood Guo Ziyi’s decision. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to defend the garrison, but the Yan forces were too numerous, and the disparity in strength made it impossible to hold on any longer.

He slowly walked to the top of the city wall and gazed into the distance. In the distance, mountains stretched endlessly, with a narrow pass running through them—that was Jingxing. At its narrowest point, it was wide enough for only one person and one horse to pass, but once out of Jingxing, the terrain opened up into a funnel-shaped valley. Within this valley, spanning over ten miles long, nearly 100,000 Yan soldiers were stationed densely, with another 100,000 still waiting in the Jingxing gorge.

Looking at the vast Yan camp filled with flags and camps, Lu Sigong felt deeply conflicted. On one hand, he dared not disobey Guo Ziyi’s orders, but on the other hand, he didn’t want to become the Tang general who allowed the Yan forces to enter Hedong. If the Yan forces wreaked havoc in Hedong, future historical records would surely condemn him harshly: “The rebel army attacked the Chengtian Army’s garrison, and Lu Sigong fled westward, abandoning the pass.”

The immense pressure made it difficult for him to make a decision. But he also knew that if he refused to retreat, his army would be utterly destroyed, and his own fate would be one of heroic sacrifice.

At that moment, a soldier rushed over. “General Lu, urgent orders from Taiyuan!”

Lu Sigong took the order—it was another directive from Guo Ziyi. The order contained just six words: “Abandon the pass and retreat to Taiyuan immediately.”

Dozens of officers gathered around him. “General, what should we do?”

Lu Sigong glanced at them and said solemnly, “The old marshal’s order is to abandon the pass and retreat. What are your opinions?”

They looked at each other, none speaking. It was clear they didn’t want to defend the pass to the death. With Guo Ziyi’s order, their resolve wavered.

One officer said, “We’ve lost nearly 70% of our troops, and morale is shattered. It’s not advisable to fight any longer.”

“Is that everyone’s opinion?”

They all nodded silently. One of them said, “Military orders are like mountains. We dare not disobey the old marshal’s orders.”

Lu Sigong remained silent for a moment before sighing deeply. “Very well! I’ll take full responsibility.”

He immediately issued a firm order, “Pass on my orders: the wounded should retreat first. Abandon the pass and retreat to Taiyuan at dusk!”

…

As darkness fell, on a high platform in front of the Chengtian Army’s fortress, An Qingxu, Li Huaixian, and Cai Xide were gazing at the pass several miles away. They had just received intelligence that the Tang troops guarding the pass seemed to be acting strangely.

As the commander of this attack on Hedong, An Qingxu was under immense pressure. Before this, he had never led an army of over 50,000 men, yet now his father, An Lushan, had tasked him with commanding 200,000 troops and ordered him to capture Taiyuan within a month.

Everything had gone smoothly since they set out half a month ago, but the fortress before them represented his first major setback on his march westward into Hedong. He had already lost 18,000 men, yet the fortress still stood firm.

Although Li Huaixian and Cai Xide tried to reassure him, saying that it was normal to suffer 20,000 casualties when attacking such a impregnable fortress, the immense pressure kept An Qingxu from getting proper sleep for several nights in a row—last night, he stayed awake all night.

Li Huaixian said in a low voice, “Young prince, I estimate the Tang army must have suffered heavy losses as well—killing 3,000 enemies at the cost of 800 of our own. Moreover, the bricks and stones of the fortress are already loosening. With two more attacks, the fortress should collapse.”

An Qingxu sighed. “Just one fortress has cost me 18,000 men and taken four days. I’m even more worried about Taiyuan City. Its defenses are strong—can we capture it in 20 days?”

Cai Xide interjected, “Young prince, you don’t need to worry about the time limit. The Prince of Yan must also realize that a month is hardly enough. I think his real intention isn’t to attack Taiyuan City.”

An Qingxu and Li Huaixian were shocked and quickly asked, “How do you mean?”

Cai Xide replied slowly, “I heard this from Shi Siming before we set off. The Prince of Yan’s true goal is to have us deal with Li Siyeh’s Anxi Army.”

A hint of fear appeared in An Qingxu’s eyes. They were sent to attack Taiyuan, only to be made attack the Anxi Army instead. If that were true, his father An Lushan was truly cunning.

“How does Shi Siming know that?” Li Huaixian asked doubtfully.

“I asked him too. He said it’s just a guess. To take Hedong, the Anxi Army cannot be bypassed. Either An Shouzhong will deal with them, or we will, or we can cooperate with An Shouzhong. Guo Ziyi’s army isn’t a concern. As long as we defeat the Anxi Army, Hedong will be ours.”

“That Shi Siming is really cunning!”

The relationship between Li Huaixian and Shi Siming was extremely poor. Last year, when Shi Siming suffered a major defeat in Hengzhou, Li Huaixian led his troops to defeat Guo Ziyi’s army and rescue Shi Siming. However, due to the weakened defenses in Youzhou, the fodder stores were set on fire. Logically, Shi Siming should have been grateful and taken half of the blame before An Lushan. But while pretending to plead for mercy on the surface, he secretly told An Lushan that it was because Li Huaixian had arbitrarily sent troops to suppress the rebel forces, leaving Youzhou undermanned.

When Li Huaixian learned of this, he developed deep hatred for Shi Siming, and the two became sworn enemies. That’s why An Lushan did not send them together on this mission.

Li Huaixian sneered and said, “I guess he bribed someone close to the prince. Isn’t that exactly what he likes to do? Knowing the prince’s true intentions, he pretended to be sick and refused to fight against the Anxi forces, trying to preserve his own strength. This man has ulterior motives. We must advise the prince carefully to be on guard against him.”

An Qingxu fell into deep thought. He somewhat believed Shi Siming’s speculation—that they might indeed be sent to fight against the Anxi forces. But if they cooperated with An Shouzhong to attack the Anxi forces from both sides, it could be a win-win solution.

Just then, a cavalry rider rushed over and shouted from below the platform, “Urgent news for General An! We found that Chengtian Army’s fortress is empty—there are no defenders left!”

The three were shocked and looked toward the fortress. They saw flames everywhere, indicating it was in a defensive state—it was actually the Tang army’s empty-city tactic.

An Qingxu was extremely excited and immediately ordered, “Issue orders! The main army shall capture Chengtian Army’s fortress!”