Chapter 647: The Shangdang Campaign (9)

If it had been ten days ago, Li Guiren would not only have refused to meet Han Li but also killed him and sent his head to Li Huaixian. He had always believed that it was Li Huaixian’s lack of cooperation that had led to his humiliating defeat of 30,000 troops by just 2,000.
But now…
Li Guiren’s attitude had changed. He immediately ordered his guards to bring Han Li in, using the word “invite” for the first time.
A moment later, Han Li was brought in, looking very confident. As a strategist, the most basic skill was to know how to assess the situation. If he couldn’t even figure out Li Guiren’s current attitude, then he was a failure as a strategist.
“Saluting General Guiren!”
Han Li bowed respectfully. Li Guiren forced a smile and said, “Mr. Han, there’s no need for formalities. Please sit.”
Han Li then bowed to Cai Xide before sitting down. Li Guiren ordered someone to bring a cup of tea. He found it hard to speak, but the urgency of the situation forced him to act quickly. Since Han Li was Li Huaixian’s trusted advisor, he could represent Li Huaixian’s stance.
“The current situation is surely clearer to Mr. Han and Governor Li than to me. I would like to ask Mr. Han: What is Governor Li’s attitude? Does he want to withdraw or fight to the death against the Tang army?”
Li Guiren emphasized the words “fight to the death” heavily, looking at Han Li with hope in his eyes. He wasn’t stupid—if Li Huaixian wanted to withdraw, he would leave silently, faster than anyone else, and wouldn’t send Han Li to find him.
Han Li smiled slightly and said, “General Guiren, does he think we are already doomed?”
“That’s not certain. The battlefield is full of changes, and it’s hard to predict the outcome of war. Although Li Qingan seems to have some advantage, if it weren’t for his surprise attack, we might not have lost. More importantly, overconfident troops will surely fail. If I’m not wrong, the morale of the Tang army has risen too high—this is our chance.”
“So, General Guiren is ready to fight the Tang army?” Han Li asked with a smile.
“Of course!”
Li Guiren declared firmly, “It’s either his death or mine!”
“Cough! Cough!” Cai Xide coughed twice. He thought Li Guiren was revealing his stance too early. Han Li was clearly testing him—how couldn’t Li Guiren see that?
Just as Cai Xide was about to speak, Li Guiren waved his hand to stop him. He didn’t want Cai Xide to interject; he could handle it himself.
“Mr. Han, I’m a soldier. I don’t like beating around the bush. I ask you: Will Governor Li fight or retreat?”
“Fight!”

Han Li clearly uttered the word Li Guiren was expecting. Li Guiren was overjoyed; he never imagined Li Huaixian would have such an attitude—it was truly beyond his expectations. Han Li continued, “Although it’s hard to assess the outcome of the battle, I must mention some difficult truths upfront. My general has three small conditions.” “Conditions?” Cai Xide frowned beside him. When fighting together, what more conditions could there be, especially three of them? But Li Guiren waved his hand, telling him to stay silent. In fact, this was normal. Without conditions, would Li Huaixian even agree to help him fight? He asked eagerly, “I wonder what conditions Governor Li has?” “My general’s first condition is quite simple—he hopes to obtain two warhorses from Dayuan.” “Someone, bring ten of the best Dayuan horses!” At this point, even if Li Huaixian demanded a hundred warhorses, Li Guiren would agree without hesitation. “Thank you! Thank you!” Han Li bowed with a smile and said, “Then let’s discuss the second condition!” “Please go ahead, Mr. Han.” “My general says he will fully cooperate with General Guiren to win this battle. If we win, he hopes General Guiren will refrain from killing. We need Han people to grow crops and provide soldiers…” Before he could finish, Li Guiren agreed without hesitation. As long as women could be captured, men could be spared. He could accept the condition of not killing. “Please state the third condition.” “The third condition is that if we win, my general hopes General Guiren will assist him in attacking Taiyuan. Then, Taiyuan City will belong to my general. Is that acceptable?” This condition was somewhat unexpected for Li Guiren. After pondering for a moment, he nodded. “Alright! I agree.” Han Li immediately smiled and said, “We know General Guiren is someone who keeps his word. Since the general has agreed, we will follow his lead. When to send troops and where to meet—all will be decided by the general. We’re ready and standing by at any time!” “Good!” Li Guiren nodded firmly. He ordered someone to carry him in front of the sand table and pointed at a small village in the center with a wooden stick. “This is Luosong Village. The terrain here is flat, making it ideal for cavalry battles. Moreover, there’s a solitary hill behind the village. From that hill, one can see dozens of miles in all directions—it’s an excellent location for stationing troops. Let’s use that hill as our meeting point. We’ll send troops out together tomorrow, and meet here the afternoon after tomorrow. Is that enough time?” “It should be more than enough.”

Han Li asked again, “What about An Qingxu? My general hopes that he can also join the battle as the rear army.”
Li Guiren thought for a moment and said, “I’ll talk to An Qingxu. I’ll try my best to persuade him to join the battle.”
Han Li mentioned some details before bowing and taking his leave.
After seeing Han Li go far away, Li Guiren turned to Cai Xide with a smile and said, “What do you think? Li Huaixian actually wants to cooperate with me.”
“He just wants to use you,” Cai Xide said with a cold laugh.
“Oh? How so?”
“It’s simple. His first two conditions are just distractions to mislead you. His real goal is the third condition—he wants Taiyuan. On a larger scale, he wants Hedong. This man has great ambitions!”
Cai Xide sighed slightly and added, “Shi Siming’s self-proclamation has stirred up everyone’s ambitions. Li Huaixian clearly doesn’t want to return to Hebei. He wants to develop in Hedong. But to establish himself there, he first needs to defeat Li Qingan. That’s why he’s cooperating with you—this is his plan.”
“That doesn’t matter. Although I agreed to him, I only agreed to Taiyuan. I didn’t agree to any other places in Hedong. The key now is to defeat Li Qingan. With Li Huaixian’s full cooperation, I suddenly feel confident.”
With that, Li Guiren ordered someone to prepare a carriage for him. He was going to An Qingxu’s camp to persuade him to fight alongside him.
After Li Guiren left, Cai Xide stared blankly outside the tent. He really didn’t want to fight this battle, but Shi Siming’s order was to hold off the armies of Hedong for two days, which put him in a difficult position.
……
Li Guiren didn’t expect An Qingxu to agree so readily to serve as their rear army, providing support and overseeing supplies. An Qingxu also agreed to bring in Yin Ziqi’s 40,000 troops to join the battle.
This excited Li Guiren greatly. Though he knew everyone had their own motives, the basic goal was the same for all—defeating Li Qingan was the prerequisite for everyone. So everyone would fight wholeheartedly, and that was exactly what Li Guiren wanted.
Under Li Guiren’s coordination, the Yan troops in Hedong gradually united. They reached an agreement to set aside past grievances and focus entirely on preparing to fight against the Tang army.

Time was extremely tight. All three armies were preparing overnight. The soldiers in Li Guiren’s army received the strictest orders to pack up their belongings, with each person allowed to take only ten jin of personal items; anything extra had to be handed in. Many soldiers had women with them, and these women were to be dealt with by the soldiers themselves—killed on the spot and buried immediately. By dawn, no one was allowed to have any women around them; those who violated the order would be executed without mercy.

Li Huaixian’s army also began packing up. Li Huaixian ordered that the remaining 50,000 shi of grain and 5,000 shi of salt be distributed among the soldiers, while the cavalry was given extra forage. All kinds of supplies were to be burned. Apart from grain, each soldier could only carry six jin of personal items, which was roughly the weight of one guan of money.

Some soldiers had more than ten guan of money, but they could keep only one guan; the rest had to be handed in. Li Huaixian’s soldiers also realized that a major battle was approaching. Though terrified, they could not disobey military orders, so they busily packed up their belongings and checked their weapons. The atmosphere in the camp was extremely tense.

Unlike the turmoil in Li Guiren and Li Huaixian’s camps, An Qingxu’s camp was very calm. The soldiers quietly packed up their belongings without any restrictions. In fact, An Qingxu had arrived later, and his soldiers did not have much civilian wealth or grain. Yet his army was the first to be ready.

Dawn was breaking. An Qingxu walked to the entrance of the main tent with his hands behind his back, watching the red light gradually appearing in the east. According to the agreement among the three parties, his army would set off at noon, the last of the three armies to depart. Li Guiren’s 150,000 shi of military grain and various supplies were to be left under his guard.

“Young Lord, are you ready?” Gao Shang approached him.

“I’m ready, but I still feel an indescribable worry. It’s like something is weighing on me,” An Qingxu sighed.

“Then does the young lord have new thoughts?”

An Qingxu shook his head. “I don’t have any new thoughts. I just have some doubts, very big doubts.”

Gao Shang smiled slightly. “Tell me, what doubts do you have?”

“I really don’t understand how Li Huaixian could ally himself with Li Guiren. I understand Li Guiren—he’s a madman. But Li Guiren, such a shrewd and calm man—could he really believe he can defeat Li Qingan’s army?”

“The fact that the young lord can see this shows you’re not foolish.”

An Qingxu turned abruptly and stared at Gao Shang. “What do you mean by that?”

Gao Shang sighed bitterly and said, “Actually, Li Huaixian’s motives are quite simple. Things like establishing himself as king in Hedong or risking everything to survive—these reasons sound wonderful and easy to deceive people with. But if we strip away the facade and look at his true intentions, all his reasons rely on one prerequisite: defeating Li Qing’an. But can Li Qing’an really be defeated? He has Thunderous Lightning, a powerful army, rich combat experience, and a commander who can dominate the world. Meanwhile, our Yan army is filled with fear, its base is divided, its generals have their own ambitions, its supplies have been burned, and it has lost the support of the people. How can such an army be a match for Li Qing’an?”
“No!” An Qingxu replied without hesitation.
“The young prince knows it’s no, and I know it’s no too. Then doesn’t Li Huaixian know? If he clearly knows he can’t defeat Li Qing’an yet still mentions those conditions for victory, what are his true intentions?”
An Qingxu gasped in shock. He wasn’t stupid; he understood Gao Shang’s meaning. “Does the master mean that Li Huaixian might surrender to Li Qing’an?”
Gao Shang replied without hesitation, “It’s not just possible—it’s already happened. He has already surrendered to Li Qing’an. It’s his only way out, the most practical one, and also the perfect one.”
An Qingxu was as if struck by lightning. He stared blankly at the sky. After a long while, he murmured, “Then what should I do?”
“Young prince, you’ve forgotten what I told you again. Stop seeing yourself as the commander. You only have 10,000 soldiers—you can’t control them all. If you can escape unharmed, that will be your victory. Remember that!”
“I understand. Li Guiren and Cai Xide are actually Shi Siming’s men.”
……
Dawn finally broke. The 160,000-strong Yan army, divided into three groups, began to set off one after another, marching westward in a vast procession. Besides these 160,000 soldiers on the same front line, there was also Yin Ziqi’s 40,000 troops, who had also received An Qingxu’s orders to turn westward as well.
So far, the Yan army had cooperated perfectly. A great battle was finally upon them.