Chapter 649: The Shangdang Campaign (XI)

At night, amidst the heavy rain, Li Qing’an stood on a watchtower, peering through the mist to observe Li Huaixian’s camp in the distance. Though the rain and fog obscured his vision, he seemed to be able to see the movements within the camp—groups of soldiers leaving for the north. This heavy rain was heaven’s favor to Li Huaixian; if he failed to make use of it, he would not be worthy of his name.

Suddenly, the sound of horse hooves came through the mist. The bodyguards immediately became alert, drawing their bows and arrows, watching carefully in the rain.

“Who’s there?” one soldier shouted.

A Tang army cavalryman appeared in the mist, drenched by the rain. Wiping the rain from his face, he shouted, “I am Li Tai, officer of the First Scout Battalion. I have urgent news to report to the general.”

“The general is right here. Speak, Officer Li!”

Li Tai was momentarily stunned before dismounting and kneeling on one knee. “I’ve discovered that Li Huaixian’s troops have headed north. The camp is empty—just an abandoned fortress.”

Li Qing’an nodded, confirming his suspicions. “You’ve done well, Officer Li. Continue to follow Li Huaixian’s troops and report at any time!”

“As ordered!”

Li Tai got back on his horse and spurred it toward the northeast.

Not long after he left, several sentries along with a Yan army officer carrying a message approached.

“General, this Yan officer has come under Li Guiren’s orders to deliver a declaration of war.”

“Where is it?”

A soldier rushed forward and handed Li Qing’an a letter wrapped in oilpaper. Li Qing’an tore it open. One of his bodyguards lit a torch, about to hold it up, but the nearby bodyguard officer glared at him sharply. With a gesture, several bodyguards stepped forward, using large shields to protect Li Qing’an from all sides.

This was based on the lesson learned from “Pang Juan’s death under this tree”—in a rainy night, a torch was an easy target. Sure enough, as soon as the soldiers raised their shields, more than a dozen crossbow arrows shot from the mist, hitting the shields with thuds. The arrowheads glowed, clearly coated in deadly poison. The bodyguards were shocked and rushed forward to shield Li Qing’an.

The sentries were furious. Hundreds of them rushed out of the camp, carrying shields and charging into the rain to hunt down the assassins. The messenger officer, unaware of the situation, stood there frozen, motionless. Several Tang soldiers drew their swords and charged at him.

“Stop!”

Li Qing’an stopped them. He nodded approvingly at the officer and handed him the letter. “Read it!”

The colonel did not dare be careless. Wearing a pair of leather gloves, he opened the letter, which contained only eight words: “If you don’t die, meet me in battle tomorrow!”
Li Qing’an sneered repeatedly and said to the messenger officer, “Go tell Li Guiren that I have only two words for him: Go ahead and fight!”
The heavy rain continued to fall relentlessly, turning the world white. Li Qing’an gazed at the dark silhouette of Luosong Peak, a cold smirk appearing on his lips. Anqing Xu had fled, Li Huaixian had left—how much longer could Li Guiren continue his one-man show?
…
The rain in early summer always came suddenly and left just as quickly. An hour later, the rain stopped, with not a single drop left in the air. The clouds parted, revealing the moon, and the earth was covered in a faint silver glow. The wind in the night sky became fresh and moist. If not for the muddy ground, it would be hard to believe that there had been such a downpour just moments ago.
It wasn’t until the first watch of the night that a messenger soldier went to Li Huaixian’s camp, and only then did Li Guiren learn that Li Huaixian, who was supposed to fight alongside him, had vanished in the heavy rain.
Li Huaixian’s escape did not dishearten him; instead, it awakened the wildness within him. The Tang army also had 80,000 soldiers, just like his own. With equal forces, let the swords and cavalry clash to see which army was the best in the world.
Li Guiren immediately shaped public opinion within the army, claiming that Li Huaixian’s troops had gone to fight the advancing Tang reinforcements under his orders, not by fleeing on their own. Most of the soldiers didn’t believe Li Huaixian would run away at such a time—if he wanted to leave, he would have done so long ago. The slightly unstable morale quickly stabilized under Li Guiren’s repeated assurances.
All night long, Li Guiren did not sleep. He sat upright in his tent, with all the lights extinguished. His hair was loose, and his upper body was bare. He held a sword at a slight angle, staring at its cold blade. This was his habit—searching for the killing intent in the blade before a great battle. The sword was him, and he was the sword, merging the two into one.
But tonight, he felt some regret. A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a perfect assassination attempt—everything failed in the end. In fact, he had been betting that with the heavy rain, Li Qing’an would surely come to the camp gate to look at his own camp. He had won that bet, but fate favored Li Qing’an.
…
Dawn gradually broke, and the drums of the Yan army’s camp began to beat—“Dong! Dong!” The loud, dull sound echoed across the land. If this had happened in the Khitan people’s stronghold, it would have been part of their ritual to worship the gods. But on the battlefield, it was a signal to attack, the drumbeat of war.

The drawbridge of the Yan army’s camp was slowly lowered, and the camp gates swung wide. Teams of cavalry and infantry streamed out in succession, an endless stream that took over an hour to fully disperse—eight hundred thousand soldiers in total. This was also the fighting style of the Xi and Khitan people: they went all out without reservation, aiming to either crush the enemy in one battle or wipe them out completely.

The Yan army’s camp was ten li away from the Tang army’s camp, but the Yan forces stopped just three li into marching. Li Guiren’s eight hundred thousand troops were divided into four formations, each consisting of about twenty thousand soldiers—two cavalry formations, one infantry formation, and one mixed infantry-cavalry formation.

The two cavalry formations were led by generals Ashina Congli and Zhang Zhongzhi, the deputy of Cai Xide, while the infantry formation was commanded by General An Taiqing. The mixed infantry-cavalry formation, serving as the rear force, was personally led by Li Guiren. However, due to an illness in his right foot, he could barely sit on horseback and could not lead the troops into battle. Thus, General Niu Tingjie took charge of commanding these twenty thousand mixed troops.

This army gathered almost all of An Lushan’s fierce generals—Li Guiren, Zhang Zhongzhi, Ashina Congli, An Taiqing, Niu Tingjie. Although most of these generals were ethnic minorities, their military tactics were highly skilled. The first to engage in battle would be the ethnic minority general Zhang Zhongzhi. He later changed his name to Li Baochen and was historically the commander of Chengde Town among the Three Towns of Hebei. But now he served as Cai Xide’s deputy. After Cai Xide was killed, he defected to Li Guiren.

Zhang Zhongzhi was around thirty-seven or thirty-eight years old. He had joined the army at fifteen and had been fighting for over twenty years. He was also of Xi ethnicity and was adopted as a foster son by Zhang Suo, a general of the Fanyang army, hence he changed his name to Zhang Zhongzhi. Under his foster father’s guidance, he became highly skilled in military tactics, especially in organizing infantry formations.

The reason Li Guiren sent him into battle first was to use tactical formations to defeat the Tang army.

The eight hundred thousand Yan troops were now in battle formation, vast and overwhelming, with a fierce fighting spirit. Every soldier was eager to defeat the Tang army in one battle. After that, they would plunder the region of Hedong. Li Guiren promised them that after this battle, they could plunder freely and enjoy wealth and luxury for the rest of their lives. Eager and ready, they waited for the Tang army to attack.

Li Guiren sat on his horse, staring coldly at the Tang army’s camp seven li away. Despite his stern expression, he could not hide the worry in his eyes.

Although Li Qingan had promised to fight today, last night there had been an attempt on his life. Would Li Qingan still keep his promise?

Li Guiren also knew of the Han strategy of attacking with full force at first, then weakening, and finally exhausting. Could Li Qingan also be using such a strategy?

Barbarian warriors rely entirely on morale in battle. If their morale is dampened, their weapons are not as sharp as those of the Han army, their armor is not as durable, and their training is not as refined—then it will be difficult to win this fight.
Li Guiren found himself in a dilemma. If he launched a full-scale attack, he feared the Tang army’s powerful bows and arrows would cause heavy casualties among his troops. But if he withdrew to his camp, it would be a severe blow to his troops’ morale, and the killing of Cai Xide the previous night might escalate further.
Time passed slowly, and the sun grew increasingly hot. The heat, combined with the humidity in the air, created an oppressive and unbearable environment.
An hour and a half had already passed, and many soldiers began to show signs of frustration. Forcing them to stand in the scorching sun—what was this? At first, there were whispers, then curses, interspersed with the angry shouts of officers. Clearly, this was a sign that morale was starting to waver.
Not only was Li Guiren anxious, but other high-ranking officers were also growing impatient. General Ashina Congce stepped forward and said, “General, why not launch a brief attack on the enemy camp? Whether we win or lose, it will boost morale—far better than wasting time here!”
Niu Jieting beside him also advised, “General, let the soldiers move around a bit. Send fewer troops to create a false attack—this way, losses will be minimal. The key is to give them something to look forward to.”
Li Guiren finally nodded. “Alright! Let’s fight a battle.”
He turned to Niu Jieting and said slowly, “General Niu, you’ll lead the charge! Select five thousand infantrymen from the mixed army to attack the Tang camp!”
“As you command!”
Niu Jieting turned and left. Moments later, drums began to sound loudly in the Yan army’s camp. The thunderous drums echoed across the land. The five thousand Yan infantrymen were divided into five groups, charging at the Tang camp from three different directions…
Inside the Tang camp, a four-zhang-tall mobile command tower had been built overnight. It resembled a giant chariot, standing tall among the Tang camps like a monstrous figure. It could compare to Luosong Peak behind the Yan camp and allowed visibility over the plains for dozens of miles.
The command tower was equipped with huge wooden wheels that required three thousand men to move it slowly. Its top platform could hold a hundred people, but only about twenty were there now. Flag bearers stood in each of the four directions, using flags to direct the army’s movements.
At that moment, Li Qingan was sitting on the command tower. The weather was perfect—clear skies and white clouds, providing an unobstructed view that allowed him to clearly see the Yan army’s situation. He could even overlook their formations, and faintly make out Li Guiren in the rear ranks.

Behind Li Qingan sat his staff member Wei Qingping, who possessed many detailed intelligence insights. Whenever Li Qingan had questions about intelligence, he would turn to Wei Qingping directly. Apart from this civilian official, there were no other generals. At this time, the senior generals were all eager to lead their troops into battle and unwilling to stay behind to watch, fearing they would miss the chance to earn merits. Even Li Siyeh personally led the Mo Dao Army. Although he had originally been the main commander, after Li Qingan took over, he reverted to his natural tendency as a general to lead from the front and set an example for his troops. Of course, there was still one general by Li Qingan’s side: Xi Yuanqing, the general in charge of the rear army. Xi Yuanqing was also an old friend of Li Qingan. When Li Qingan first became a colonel, Xi Yuanqing was already a lieutenant general, determined to earn merits and get promoted. He achieved great success in the Battle of Xiao Bulu and was promoted to middle lieutenant general, commanding three thousand troops to stay in Xiao Bulu. Later, when Gao Xianzhi was appointed as the military governor of Jiannan, he took Xi Yuanqing with him. Together with Zhao Chongjin, Xi Yuanqing became Gao Xianzhi’s right-hand men in the Jiannan army and were once appointed as the grand generals of the Jinwu Guard of Southern Tang. However, after the Gao Xianzhi incident, they were trapped in Yiling with no way out. Eventually, because Gao Xianzhi returned to Northern Tang, the two resolved to lead their troops to Hanzhong and surrender to the Northern Tang army. Li Heng was furious and had their parents, wives, and children captured, who are still imprisoned in the Tianwang Temple in Chengdu to this day. Xi Yuanqing also had excellent eyesight. Pointing at Ashina Congli’s twenty thousand cavalry, he said, “Li Guiren’s most elite Yeluohe cavalry should be in that formation. There are twenty thousand cavalry in that formation; the other cavalry must be the Youzhou Iron Cavalry.” “Mm!” Li Qingan nodded slightly. He had also noticed that Li Guiren’s army was uneven in quality. The twenty thousand cavalry in the center were the best organized, standing motionless for an hour and a half without any whispering among them. The ten thousand cavalry in the rear were also good, with neat formations and uniform armor—these must also be the Youzhou Iron Cavalry. In contrast, the left and right wings were clearly inferior, with chaotic formations and armor. It was evident that the troops in these wings were dissatisfied. These must be Cai Xide’s troops. It was said that Cai Xide’s army consisted of foreign troops borrowed from the Khitans and Xis, who were nomadic and rather disorganized. Although Li Guiren’s army was also mainly composed of Khitans and Xis, they were recruits of An Lushan and had received strict training. The two armies were not comparable.

Obviously, the flanks of Li Guiren’s army would be its weakest point. Despite realizing this, Li Qing’an still didn’t take it lightly. A disorganized army didn’t necessarily mean it was a ragtag group. Back in the day, An Lushan’s Fanyang army was repeatedly defeated by the Khitans, which showed that the Khitans had considerable combat skills; their disorganized formations were simply part of their fighting style.

At that moment, Li Qing’an suddenly noticed that there was no flag of Cai Xide among the Yan army, which surprised him greatly. Logically, Cai Xide held the same military rank as Li Guiren and was also one of the six major warlords in Hebei. Moreover, he had his own independent army. Even if he followed Li Guiren’s orders, his flag should still be present in his own forces. Yet it wasn’t there—only Li Guiren’s flags filled the sky, even in Cai Xide’s army.

“What’s going on?”

Li Qing’an wondered inwardly, “Could it be that Li Guiren and Cai Xide have had a conflict, and Cai Xide has been killed?”

As he pondered, drums suddenly boomed from the Yan army’s camp, and a force of 5,000 Yan infantry charged toward the Tang army’s camp, shouting loudly.

“Order Zhao Chongjie’s archer troops to prepare for battle!”