Chapter 641: The Shangdang Campaign (3)

In Shangdang County, Ashina Congli had returned from Changzi County and was reporting the results of the rescue mission to more than a dozen high-ranking officials, including An Qingxu, Li Guiren, and Li Huaixian. An Qingxu had just arrived in Shangdang County that day. An Lushan’s orders had reached Hedong two days earlier, stating that everyone must obey An Qingxu’s commands—meaning the commander-in-chief was no longer Li Guiren but An Qingxu.

An Lushan was aware that his son lacked experience in warfare and political tactics, so he sent his military advisor, Gao Shang, to accompany An Qingxu. Gao Shang sat behind An Qingxu; given his high status in the Yan army, sitting there was undoubtedly to bolster An Qingxu’s authority.

Li Huaixian also arrived, as a gesture of respect toward An Qingxu. As long as he wasn’t under Li Guiren’s command, he could accept this arrangement. Li Huaixian sat at the far edge, his face dark and silent. An Qingxu had warned him that if he wanted to leave the camp alive, he must stay quiet.

Li Guiren sat on the other side, leaning on a crutch. His expression was grim—not because of Li Huaixian’s presence, but because An Qingxu had replaced him as the commander of the southern front. It was clear that An Lushan did not trust him. Though resentful, he dared say nothing. After all, An Qingxu was the crown prince, and Gao Shang carried An Lushan’s execution sword—who would dare disobey? They could be executed without even reporting first.

Ashina Congli detailed what he had seen and heard, and then asked the surviving squad leaders to repeat their accounts. The tent was silent. Revenge—everyone understood it was revenge. No prisoners would be taken; everyone would be killed. This was revenge for Li Guiren killing the wounded soldiers of the Anxi army.

Li Huaixian glared at Li Guiren in outrage. Not killing captured soldiers was a long-standing rule on the battlefield, yet Li Guiren had broken it. Now it was their turn—let’s see what Li Guiren would say.

Li Huaixian was also furious over another matter: Li Guiren had killed too many people and ignored them afterward. To prevent plagues, he now had to send three thousand men to bury the corpses, and these three thousand men could not return to the army. Li Guiren had committed acts that angered both humans and gods, yet he was forced to clean up the mess. Fortunately, no plague broke out; otherwise, hundreds of thousands would have died. Li Huaixian hated Li Guiren deeply. If this were his own camp, he would have captured and executed Li Guiren long ago.

At last, An Qingxu spoke. “Li Qingan’s strategy is clear—to defeat them one by one. We can no longer be scattered in different locations.”

He glanced at Li Huaixian and Li Guiren, then slowly said, “We can only divide our forces into two main camps. One is General Li Guiren’s Southern Camp, stationed in Shangdang, and the other is General Li Huaixian’s Northern Camp, stationed in Tunliu. No troops will be stationed in any other small towns.”
Li Guiren snapped angrily, “If you have the guts, fight openly! What kind of hero is someone who relies on sneak attacks?”
Just as Li Huaixian began to mock him, Gao Shang was prepared. He reached out and held him back, preventing him from speaking. Li Huaixian had no choice but to swallow his words, staring coldly at Li Guiren with disdain in his heart.
Gao Shang took over and said with a smile, “Li Qing’an has always been known for his cunning tactics. If you expect him not to use surprise attacks, then he’s not Li Qing’an at all. I’ve studied his combat style—he likes to probe first, attack the flanks, and then launch a full-scale assault. This time is no different. The sneak attack on Changzi County is a probe, so his next move will surely be to attack the flanks. The question now is: where are our flanks? Has anyone figured it out?”
Gao Shang’s analysis piqued everyone’s interest, and they fell into deep thought. Li Huaixian spoke up first, “Could it be the 40,000 troops of Yin Ziqi surrounding Taiyuan?”
Gao Shang shook his head and smiled, “Yin Ziqi’s troops have little to do with the southern front. Even if we eliminate Yin Ziqi’s forces, Guo Ziyi will still need to defend Taiyuan. He’s cautious and won’t venture south easily, so we don’t need to worry too much about him.”
An Qingxu also smiled and said, “Guo Ziyi’s patience is astonishing. Yin Ziqi has only 40,000 troops, while Guo Ziyi has 80,000. Yin Ziqi stationed his troops 20 li outside Taiyuan City to provoke him, yet Guo Ziyi remained motionless. It’s truly baffling.”
“Major General, it’s actually quite simple,” Gao Shang said with a smile. “Guo Ziyi only has these 80,000 troops, and he must protect them at all costs. Rather than saying he’s defending Taiyuan, it’s better to say he’s protecting his last remnants of strength. The court relies on strength—without it, he’s nothing. It’s laughable that Guo Ziyi still thinks he can protect the descendants of Li Shimin.”
Gao Shang’s words resonated with Li Huaixian, who also smiled and said, “This Guo Ziyi really doesn’t understand the situation. Li Qing’an already has 500,000 troops. What can his 80,000 troops do? Can he even rebel against the court? I don’t think Li Qing’an takes him seriously either…”
Before Li Huaixian could finish speaking, Li Guiren cut him off coldly, “Mr. Gao, after all this talk, where exactly is Li Qing’an planning to attack the flanks? I’m still waiting to hear it!”
“Oh! I forgot the main point.”
Gao Shang smiled apologetically and said to everyone, “When I mentioned Li Qing’an attacking the flanks, I wasn’t referring to Taiyuan. It should be Mingzhou in Hebei, to cut off our supply lines.”

Only then did everyone realize what was going on. Li Guiren frowned and said, “But how could he get around to our rear?”
“He can’t, but Li Guangbi can!” Li Huaixian retorted coldly.
……
To go from Changping Pass to Zhaozhou in Hebei, one still had to take Baixing Road, entering Weizhou’s Gongcheng County directly through Bailu Mountain—what is today’s Huixian in Henan—before proceeding to Xiangzhou and then to Mingzhou, located where Handan is today in Hebei, named after the Ming River.
Li Guiren controlled Mingzhou, Xingzhou, and Zhaozhou. His main granaries were in Linming County of Mingzhou, heavily defended and strictly guarded. The grain needed for this southern campaign was first transported from Youzhou to the Linming granaries, then sent south via Fukou Pass to Luzhou.
To cut off the Yan army’s supply lines, the best location was the stretch from Handan to Fuyang County. The official road was about fifty li long, surrounded by dense forests with many excellent hiding spots.
Tian Chengsi’s troops were mainly concentrated in Weizhou and Bozhou, with a small number stationed in Xiangzhou—only a few thousand men, mostly in major cities like Xiangzhou City and Yexian. There were almost no troops in Weizhou to the south. After Li Guangbi entered Hedong, to seize the strategically important Baixing Road, he sent five thousand troops to occupy Gongcheng County in Weizhou, thus controlling the entrance to Baixing Road in Hebei.
That night, a force of two thousand cavalry rushed across the land of Hebei. Leading them was General Li Guangbi, who had been sent by Li Qingan to cut off the Yan army’s supply lines. While it was impossible to completely block the supply routes, they could take the opportunity to destroy several grain transport teams, thereby weakening the Yan army’s morale—equally significant as Li Siyue’s surprise attack on Changzi County.
The two thousand soldiers chosen by Li Guangbi were all elite, veterans from Anxi who had served for over five years. Most of them had fought alongside him against the Toharans and the Tubo people in Longyou. They were battle-hardened, and their warhorses were fine horses from Dayuan, tall and strong, excellent for long-distance raids.
The two thousand cavalry raced through the pitch-black night. Their hooves were covered with Anxi cotton cloth, allowing them to move silently through forests and grasslands. Without the loud sound of hooves, they resembled ghosts racing under the moonlight.
The cavalry unit moved far away from Xiangzhou and Yexian, heading north. For hundreds of miles, there was not a single crowing chicken. Although it was already early summer, no one could be seen wherever they passed. There were only ruined, uninhabited villages and empty county towns, like a ghostly realm. After the An Lushan Rebellion, the land of Hebei was in a state of decay and ruin.

Li Guangbi’s heart was heavy. It was then that he truly understood the careful considerations behind Li Qingan’s several large-scale migrations, as well as the strategic necessity of preventing An Lushan’s troops from entering Hedong. An Lushan’s army was like locusts; wherever they went, everything was swept away by them.

The cavalry unit traveled day and night for two days and two nights. That night, they arrived at a small place called Zhaoyi Town on the south bank of the Fushui River. This area was the junction of the Taihang Mountains and the plains, a hilly region stretching for dozens of miles. Across the river lay Fukou Town, the entrance to Fukou Pass.

The mountains here were low and the forests dense. Since the population was mainly concentrated in the eastern part of Fuyang County, this area had very few inhabitants, and its environment remained undamaged, featuring vast forests stretching for hundreds of miles.

All of this was clearly reflected on Li Guangbi’s small sand table. He had a special sand table, a gift from Li Qingan last winter. What made it special was that it was composed of 100 small square-foot sand tables assembled together. If needed, he could take only a portion of them. For example, now he had brought only four sand tables, which covered all his routes.

Under the moonlight, the soldiers rested in the forest. Li Guangbi found an open area, sat cross-legged on the grass, and stared at the sand table in the moonlight. According to the information provided by Li Qingan, An Lushan had recently transported 500,000 dan of grain to Ming County from Youzhou. Therefore, the number of grain transport convoys passing through Fukou Pass to Hedong would increase significantly during this period.

His scouts had already gone to investigate the situation. Li Guangbi was thinking about the movements of the Yan army. After being ambushed in Changzi County, the Yan army would surely strengthen its defenses, making another successful ambush much harder. Li Guiren might not be good at using surprise tactics, but what about An Qingxu? Especially Gao Shang, the advisor who had come south with An Qingxu—would he consider launching an ambush on the grain supply routes?

Although Li Guangbi understood the difficulties of another ambush, he still had to take this step. He didn’t want to lose to Li Siyue. In particular, Li Siyue’s remark that he kept coming and going across the Yellow River deeply angered him. Li Siyue’s mockery also reflected the views of many others. Indeed, no one understood why he had crossed the Yellow River only to retreat. Since there were no troops stationed in Xiangzhou, why didn’t he occupy it? Not only outsiders didn’t understand, but even his own subordinates didn’t get it. Li Sheng even came all the way from Qizhou to question him.

He was speechless; he had been faithfully carrying out Li Qing’an’s orders—Li Qing’an had forbidden him from occupying Xiangzhou or attacking Wei Bo, ordered him to retreat to Henan before the Yellow River thawed, and given him the reason that military provisions were difficult to obtain. Was that really the case? As Li Sheng questioned, it would have been possible to stockpile large amounts of food in Xiangzhou without needing to transport it from Henan. Moreover, they possessed the only fleet on the Yellow River, capable of transporting tens of thousands of troops across the river in a single day and night. With all this, why retreat to Hedong and hand over Hebei to An Lushan? Li Guangbi could not answer his soldiers’ questions, nor could he explain things to the people of the realm. Thus, he earned the nickname “Boatman of the Yellow River.” From beginning to end, he only explained to Li Sheng once, and even then, it was just a half-baked statement: “If An Lushan doesn’t get control of the entire Hebei region, he won’t station troops there, and the warlords in Hebei won’t be able to establish their own fiefdoms.” Those were Li Qing’an’s exact words, which even Li Guangbi had not fully understood at the time. But now he understood—the beginnings of warlordism in Hebei had already taken shape. The forces led by Shi Siming, Li Huaixian, Li Guiren, Cai Xide, Tian Chengsi, and An Qingxu were all unruly and independent, relying solely on An Lushan’s authority to hold them together. If anything happened to An Lushan, the Yan army would surely split. As Li Guangbi was still deep in thought, footsteps approached. A bodyguard came forward and reported, “General, the scouts have brought news.” “Bring them in!” A scout was brought in. He knelt on one knee and reported, “General, we have obtained some intelligence.” “Speak! What intelligence?” “About fifty li north of Fuyang County, a convoy carrying provisions is heading south. It consists of around five hundred carts, all loaded with fodder, and is escorted by a thousand cavalrymen.” Li Guangbi pondered for a moment. This was just a medium-sized convoy of provisions, and since it didn’t contain food, its value wasn’t high. But his goal wasn’t to capture much in the way of provisions. As long as he achieved victory, and the longer he stayed here, the more likely he was to be exposed. “General Li…” The scout hesitated and said, “One of our men is missing.” “Was he captured?” “I don’t know!” The scout shook his head. “Maybe he was captured, or maybe he got lost.” The deputy general beside him was very worried and whispered, “General, if he was captured, our whereabouts will be exposed. It’s better to retreat first!” “No!” Li Guangbi firmly ordered, “Have the men mount their horses and get ready to set off!”

The order was carried out swiftly. Two thousand cavalry mounted their horses, crossed the Fu River, and raced north, disappearing into the deep night in no time.
…
In a forest on the west side of the main road, An Shouzhong looked up at the moon, which shone and dimmed as it moved through the clouds.
“General An, I’m worried the enemy won’t come,” said an officer beside him in a low voice.
An Shouzhong shook his head and smiled. “They should come. As long as they haven’t discovered us, haven’t we already captured a Tang scout? Li Guangbi is right in the army—such an opportunity doesn’t come often!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than a Yan scout rushed over and said, “General An, the Tang army has been spotted. There are about two thousand cavalry, already twenty li away.”
“Good!”
An Shouzhong ordered triumphantly, “Prepare to close in!”
…