Chapter 646: The Battle of Shangdang (8)

Li Huaixian’s main camp was located in Tunliu County. He commanded an army of 70,000 troops, most of whom were originally from the Fanyang Army and consisted mainly of Han people from the counties around Youzhou. Although Li Huaixian himself had only half Han ancestry, he had fully assimilated into Han culture, making it difficult for others to tell that he had once been a Khitan slave. He considered himself a Han and concealed his past experiences. Aside from An Lushan and a few trusted allies, everyone in the Fanyang Army believed him to be Han.

Li Huaixian was in his forties, tall and thin. Having served in the army for nearly twenty years, he had become extremely cunning. He was not a pious man. One of the main reasons he opposed Li Guiren’s massacres and plundering was that his soldiers were all Han, and the Han army resented and hated the killings and rapes committed by the barbarians. To quell the anger among his troops, he had to repeatedly condemn Li Guiren’s atrocities.

Li Huaixian was also an ambitious man. Among the three military governors in Hebei during that period, he occupied Youzhou and became a de facto regional warlord. In fact, what was called “quelling the An Lushan Rebellion” in history was merely a compromise between the imperial court and the rebels. The rebels stopped claiming to be emperors and instead sought to replace the Tang Dynasty, while the court tacitly allowed the military governors to rule independently. This led to the emergence of three separate power centers: Tian Chengsi in Weibo Garrison, Li Baochen in Chengde Garrison, and Li Huaixian in Youzhou Garrison—this was the phenomenon of regional warlordism in the late Tang Dynasty.

Faced with this serious situation, Li Huaixian was also considering his options for retreat. He had only two plans: either surrender to Li Qingan and seek a position as a high general, ending his life in wealth and comfort, or follow in Shi Siming’s footsteps by establishing his own power base, occupying several counties, and enjoying the pleasures of rule by force.

Inside the main tent, Li Huaixian stood alone in front of the sand table, gazing at the map of Hebei in deep thought. Although he had already sent a letter expressing his intention to surrender to Li Qingan, he had not made a final decision—whether to surrender or declare independence—he remained conflicted.

At that moment, a bodyguard at the tent entrance reported, “General, Mr. Han and General Feiyong have come to see you.”

Li Huaixian slowly emerged from his thoughts and nodded, saying, “Let them in!”

Mr. Han’s full name is Han Li; he is Li Huaixian’s advisor. General Feiyong is Li Riyue, Li Huaixian’s most trusted and favored general. One of them is a scholar and the other a warrior, both of whom are Li Huaixian’s most trusted people. Moments later, the two entered. They didn’t meet at the entrance of the tent but had already discussed it beforehand—they came to persuade Li Huaixian to surrender to the Tang dynasty.
“Saluting the general!”
Li Huaixian waved his hand and smiled, “Sit down and talk.”
The three of them sat down at the table. Li Huaixian glanced at Han Li and said with a slight smile, “Mr. Han, you’re here to persuade me again, right?”
Han Li was in his thirties, from Chenliu. He grew up in poverty and studied hard. He went to the capital twice during the Tiantai 10th and 11th years to take exams but failed both times. Too ashamed to return home, he ended up in Hebei, making a living by writing letters for others. By chance, he wrote a few letters for Li Huaixian, which won him Li Huaixian’s admiration, and he was appointed as his advisor. Over the years, he offered many suggestions to Li Huaixian and gradually became his most trusted advisor.
Han Li smiled. Instead of directly answering Li Huaixian’s question, he asked in return, “How much time do you think is left?”
In other words, how much time was left for him to consider and make a decision? Li Huaixian had been unclear about this. He knew time was running out, but he couldn’t say exactly how urgent it was. After pondering for a while, Li Huaixian said, “I really can’t see that clearly. Please speak frankly, Mr. Han.”
“General, in fact, you only have one day left. If I’m not mistaken, Yin Ziqi’s army will be approaching She County by tomorrow. Once they arrive, An Qingxu will surely leave first. Should you go or stay? If you go, where will your base be? If you stay, what will be your achievements? General, the situation is urgent!”
After a long silence, Li Huaixian said, “If I go, I plan to take control of Cangzhou and Dezhou. There are still some people there, so the damage won’t be too severe. By mobilizing soldiers to settle there, it should become my base.”
“And then?” Han Li pressed on, “What about the major battle in Hebei? Which side will you side with, An Lushan or Shi Siming?”
“I won’t side with either. I’ll establish my own faction and let them fight among themselves.”
Han Li laughed coldly several times. “General, you’re oversimplifying the problem. Leaving aside whether you can stay out of it and whether there’s enough food to feed such a large army, just consider this: how long do you think your independent regime can last? Half a year, or a year?”

Li Huaixian remained silent. Han Li added, “If it were the era of Li Longji, with the imperial army weak, perhaps one could carve out a fiefdom, and the court would have no choice but to accept it. But now, with Li Qing’an in power and his formidable military strength, would he allow a general to establish a fiefdom? What would happen if such a general were later suppressed? Just like An Lushan and Shi Siming—either exile or extermination of the entire family. General, you must consider this carefully!”
Han Li’s persuasion made Li Huaixian’s desire to establish a fiefdom waver slightly. At that moment, Li Riyue beside him also advised, “During the ambush in Hebei last time, our army was able to retreat intact without being pursued by the Tang forces because their target wasn’t us but Li Guiren. Li Guiren’s troops were brutal and heartless. I heard that Li Qing’an has already issued orders not to accept surrender from Li Guiren’s forces. Our army maintains good discipline and has not committed atrocities like massacres. This is your greatest asset, General. Why not use it to secure your future instead of turning against the court?”
With their successive persuasions, the weight of surrendering already weighed 70% in Li Huaixian’s mind. Just then, footsteps were heard outside the tent. A bodyguard said, “General, the men who went to the Tang army’s camp to deliver a message have returned.”
“Ah!”
Li Huaixian perked up and quickly ordered, “Bring them in at once!”
He then said to Han Li and Li Riyue, “Let’s see what news they’ve brought first.”
A moment later, the three messengers were brought in and knelt down in salute. “General, we’re back!”
“No need for formalities. Did you see Li Qing’an?”
The leading officer replied, “General, we did see Li Qing’an. He wrote a letter for you.”
“Where is the letter?” Li Huaixian asked urgently.
The officer handed him a letter. Li Huaixian eagerly opened it. It was Li Qing’an’s own handwriting, beginning with, “To General Li Huaixian, Governor of Jizhou under the Fanyang Military Region…”
Li Huaixian sighed inwardly. He slowly read the entire letter before passing it to Han Li. “Sir, please take a look.”
Han Li quickly read the letter and smiled. “General, this is an opportunity! Li Qing’an is giving you a chance to earn merits—better even than surrendering directly with your troops. You must seize this opportunity.”

Li Riyue also finished reading the letter and smiled, saying, “It’s clear from the letterhead that Li Qing’an doesn’t regard the general as a traitor. He still calls him the governor of Jizhou. By surrendering to him, the general is actually seeking refuge. It’s common for troops from different factions in the court to switch sides, and that’s why the general didn’t order his men to slaughter anyone.”
Seeing that Li Huaixian was still hesitating, both of them grew anxious and said together, “General, make up your mind quickly! If you don’t decide now, you’ll lose your chance!”
At that moment, Li Huaixian finally made up his mind. Gritting his teeth, he said, “Alright! I’ll do as he asks in his letter.”
……
Unlike Li Huaixian’s decision to surrender to the Tang army and An Qingxu’s plan to withdraw to Hebei, Li Guiren was a staunch pro-war advocate. Being a Xi person, his thoughts were much simpler than those of Li Huaixian and An Qingxu. His greatest desire in life was to fight a good battle against a strong opponent. Even if he died on the battlefield, he wouldn’t care. From this perspective, he was a pure professional soldier.
In Li Guiren’s eyes, the strongest enemy was naturally Li Qing’an. If he could defeat Li Qing’an, he would become the greatest soldier in the world. Despite suffering two major defeats and heavy casualties, this hadn’t discouraged him at all; instead, it had strengthened his resolve to fight Li Qing’an. The previous two battles had been ambushes—what if it was a direct confrontation? The outcome was still uncertain!
Especially after Li Guangbi defeated 30,000 Yan troops with just 2,000 cavalry, Li Guiren couldn’t bear such a loss. It fueled his ambition—he swore he wouldn’t rest until he regained his honor.
Li Guiren’s determination to fight to the death received strong support from General Cai Xide, but Cai Xide’s views differed slightly from Li Guiren’s.
Although Cai Xide was also a Xi person, he had a very good relationship with the Turkic Shi Siming. Among the factions in Hebei, Shi Siming, Cai Xide, and Li Guiren formed one group, while Li Huaixian and Tian Bingsi formed another. However, the relationship between Shi Siming and Cai Xide went far beyond a mere factional alliance—it was closer to a true partnership.
Cai Xide had just received a secret letter from Shi Siming, asking him to keep the Yan troops stuck in the Hedong battlefield for two or three days, at most three. Once that was done, Shi Siming would be able to send troops south. By then, the troops in Hedong would have no choice but to surrender to him. If Cai Xide succeeded, Shi Siming would appoint him as his deputy commander, and the two would share wealth and glory.

It was with such thoughts that Cai Xide strongly supported Li Guiren. But their armies alone were not enough; the two of them had only 80,000 troops, and they needed to add Li Huaixian’s 70,000 troops to compete with the Tang army. But would Li Huaixian cooperate with them?
Both of them were at a loss. The only solution was to find An Qingxu and see if he could persuade Li Huaixian to join the battle. But the question was, what was An Qingxu’s attitude?
While discussing strategies, someone came to report that Han Li, Li Huaixian’s advisor, wanted to see them.
Li Guiren was stunned. He certainly knew who Han Li was—Li Huaixian’s trusted advisor. What was he doing here?