Chapter 356: First Signs of Talent

Li Wan never expected his father to send him to Lingzhou. His heart was filled with bitterness. He certainly knew what going to Lingzhou meant—not only the risk of being captured as a hostage by An Sishun, but also who would take control of his Hedong Army. Suddenly, Li Wan understood the real reason behind his father’s order to guard him on his journey to Guanlong: it wasn’t really about protection, but rather using it as an excuse to seize his military power. Thinking further, perhaps Wu Xianyi’s two sons, like him, were merely pawns for his father. No wonder his father was willing to meet the Tangut people’s request to let them defend against the Uyghurs—he wanted to bring the Shuofang Army back to Chang’an as well. With 180,000 troops under his control, he could hand them all over to the crown prince, Li Yu. This might well be the real reason why his father wanted to go to Shuofang in person.

“What! You refuse to go?”
Li Longji coughed twice, his tone gradually turning harsh. As Li Wan had guessed, his father really came to Shuofang to gather troops. There were only 80,000 troops in Guanzhong, most of them new recruits. How could such troops withstand the powerful forces of the military governors? Having been emperor for nearly forty years, Li Longji understood this well. It was also why he was determined to defeat the Tubo people—by weakening them, Longyou and Hexi would face less threat, allowing him to recall some troops to defend Chang’an. As for his inspection of Guanlong, on one hand, it was indeed to seize An Sishun’s power personally, and on the other hand, it was an opportunity to gather more troops to defend Chang’an. That was his plan.

At that moment, sensing that his son had seen through his true intentions, a murderous glint appeared in his eyes. The kindness vanished from his face, replaced by a terrifying expression. “Do you also dare to defy orders?”
“Your son dares not. I will set off early tomorrow morning.”
“No! Go now! Depart right away!”
With no choice, Li Wan replied in a trembling voice, “Your son obeys.”

After Li Wan left, Wu Xianyi wiped the sweat from Li Longji’s forehead and complained softly, “It’s so dark outside, and it’s raining. It would be better to send him off tomorrow.”
Li Longji didn’t respond. He closed his eyes. After a while, his face suddenly twisted in pain as he exclaimed urgently, “Quick! Give me that medicine!”
Wu Xianyi was startled and hurriedly said, “Your Majesty, you’re unwell. You shouldn’t take that medicine. The imperial physicians have repeatedly warned that it must not be taken when sick.”

“Hurry… give it to me!” Li Longji grabbed her wrist with incredible force, almost breaking her arm. A strange glint appeared in his eyes, a look that filled Wu Xianyi with terror.
“I’ll give it to you.”
Not daring to refuse any longer, she took out a small sandalwood box from the chest, opened it, and found dozens of crimson pills the size of grapes. That red color reminded Wu Xianyi of Li Longji’s earlier gaze, filling her with even greater unease.
“Hurry up!”
Li Longji urged her again. Wu Xianyi took out two pills, stepped forward quickly, carefully helped him sit up, and gently pushed one pill into his mouth. Like a person starving and thirsty, Li Longji chewed the pill down in seconds. Wu Xianyi gave him a sip of water, then secretly held the other pill in her palm. Unexpectedly, Li Longji glanced at her hand and snapped, “There’s more!”
Helpless and sighing inwardly, Wu Xianyi forced the other pill into his mouth as well. After taking the pills, Li Longji lay back down. After a while, that eerie look returned to his eyes as his hand slowly slipped into Wu Xianyi’s skirt.
Shocked, Wu Xianyi grabbed Li Longji’s hand and pleaded, “Your Majesty, you’re ill! Once you recover, I’ll take good care of you. You can’t do this now—you need to recover.”
Li Longji roughly pulled his hand away and continued to explore upward along the inside of her thighs. Filled with fear and anxiety, Wu Xianyi didn’t know what to do. Suddenly, she trembled and collapsed at his feet. As his grip tightened, she began to gasp softly. The two palace maids nearby finally noticed something was wrong. They quickly pulled the curtain shut and secured the tent door.
Standing outside the tent, they exchanged a terrified glance. The emperor was truly reckless—doing such things despite being so ill. Then, a faint scream from inside the curtain and the rhythmic creaking of the bed came through. The two maids sighed in silence and left quietly.
It was raining harder outside.
……
Huizhou was adjacent to Lingzhou, which is today’s Jingyuan County in Gansu. This area belonged to the Liupan Mountains, a region of continuous mountains and rugged terrain. Although not very far from Lingzhou, the Shuofang army had to cross the Liupan Mountains. Coupled with the heavy rain, it posed a severe challenge to their advance.

It was not until the afternoon of the next day that the Shuofang army finally managed to climb over the Liupan Mountains, having covered only half of the journey and now located in Wulan County. An Sishun was burning with anxiety; he knew his whereabouts must have already been discovered by Li Longji. If he did not cross the river soon, he would be caught by the imperial army and meet certain death.

“Commander!”

An officer rushed over and reported, “Spies have learned that due to heavy rain, the Yellow River’s waters have risen sharply. The wind and waves are fierce at night, making it impossible to cross.”

“Is there any latest news from the emperor?”

“Not yet. They should still be at Qinggang Ridge. The spies say the rain there is even heavier.”

An Sishun thought for a moment before decisively saying, “We won’t cross at Huizhou. We’ll cross directly at the Wulan ferry.”

Wulan County was an important pass on the Yellow River, with the New Spring Army’s camp on the other side. In less than half an hour, the army arrived at the ferry. Because the waters here were calm and easy to cross, it had been a bustling trade hub since ancient times, giving rise to Wulan County.

Due to the heavy rain, most boats were moored at the ferry, forming a sea of vessels that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was noon, mealtime, and most boatmen were eating inside their boats. At that moment, a thousand vanguard soldiers arrived at full speed. They rushed onto the larger boats, shouting angrily and seizing them. In just a short while, over two hundred passenger and cargo boats were taken by the Shuofang army.

In less than half an hour, An Sishun’s army reached the ferry. Dozens of passenger and cargo boats, forcibly requisitioned by the vanguard, were already waiting. An Sishun immediately ordered them to board, but then an accident occurred—rumors began to spread within the army that An Sishun was not going to Hexi to fight against the Uyghur army but rather that the imperial army was approaching Lingzhou, and An Sishun was going to Hexi to avoid them.

The rumors quickly spread, and the soldiers refused to board, shouting, “Commander An, please explain clearly before we go!”

An Sishun had no choice but to order a platform built. Amid the drizzling rain, he stepped onto the platform.

“Brothers, there are rumors that I am going to Hexi to avoid the emperor. I know where these rumors originated. I can assure you with certainty that this is not true! I’ve received news that the Uyghurs are moving south from Juyan Lake toward Zhangye, and the situation is urgent. Meanwhile, the troops in Hexi have been withdrawn by Geshu Han, leaving the region defenseless. I was ordered by the emperor not to tell you all, but since you doubt me, I’ll show you!”

He took out an imperial edict from his bosom—it was the order dismissing him from his position as governor of Shuofang. He held it high and shouted, “Do you see clearly? This is the imperial edict!”

He stepped down the stairs, unrolled the imperial edict, and held it up in front of the soldiers one by one, shouting sternly, “Do you see clearly? Can you read it?”
Not to mention that the rain and mist obscured visibility, making it impossible to read the words clearly, even if they could, most of the soldiers were illiterate and none knew what was written. Yet An Sishun’s demeanor temporarily dispelled their doubts.
Seeing that everyone believed him, An Sishun immediately waved his hand and ordered, “All troops, board the ships!”
The army began to board the ships one after another. At that moment, a trusted general slowly approached An Sishun and whispered, “We can deceive them for a while, but once we reach Hexi, without the Uyghur troops, how will the commander explain himself?”
An Sishun looked at the soldiers lining up to board the ships and sighed softly. “Plans are made by humans, but success depends on fate!”
…
More than two hundred large ships slowly made their way across to the other shore under the heavy rain. The rain was intense, the wind fierce, and the waves high, causing the ships to toss violently and making navigation extremely difficult. A slight carelessness could lead to capsizing. Under normal circumstances, ships would not set sail in such weather, but under the threat of the soldiers, the boatmen had no choice but to brave the storm, moving at an extremely slow pace.
After over an hour, the ships finally reached the other shore one after another. An Sishun’s ship was in the middle; it was the largest, capable of carrying over five hundred people, including An Sishun and his more than two hundred personal guards. Before the ship even reached the shore, An Sishun noticed something unusual on the other side—groups of cavalry were galloping along the shore, separating his soldiers. The cavalry were shouting loudly. An Sishun felt as if he had stepped into empty space and fallen into an abyss. He realized immediately that these cavalry were not his troops; they must be Guo Ziyi’s pursuers.
At that moment, a large group of troops appeared on the shore. At the front of the group was an old general, clad in iron armor and silver plates, looking imposing as he stared coldly at An Sishun’s ship. He was none other than Guo Ziyi, the new governor of Shuofang, who was about to replace him.
He still hadn’t deceived himself. An Sishun was so distressed that he almost wanted to jump into the Yellow River. He knew too well Guo Ziyi’s prestige among the Shuofang army. Apart from his own guards, all the soldiers trusted him. It was over; he was completely finished.
At that moment, the more than ten thousand soldiers who had already landed on the shore erupted in a shout: “We will never betray the Tang Dynasty! We follow General Guo!”
Even some of his trusted generals were shouting loudly. A wave of chill swept through An Sishun’s heart. Then one of his guards stepped forward and said, “Commander An, let’s return to the other shore right away!”

An Sishun gently shook his head. Though the world was vast, where could he find a place to stay? An Lushan had valued his army, but now that his army was gone and he held no value anymore, would An Lushan still take the risk of sheltering him? Besides, they had no blood relation at all—An Lushan merely shared the same surname as him.

“Drive the boat ashore. I want to speak to Guo Ziyi!”

The large boat slowly approached the shore. An Sishun walked to the bow and called out loudly, “General Guo, please come forward and talk to me!”

Guo Ziyi urged his horse forward and bowed from atop it, saying, “Commander An, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you go to Hexi.”

“You know I’m going to Hexi?” An Sishun stared intently into his eyes.

Guo Ziyi nodded. “In fact, apart from Hexi, you have nowhere else to go.”

“What if I go to seek refuge with Fanyang?”

“Rather than seek refuge with Fanyang, it’s better for you to surrender to the Emperor. Given your character—preferring to be a leader rather than a subordinate—I know you’ll never side with An Lushan. Besides, Gao Xiuyan told me that your alliance with An Lushan is just a pretense.”

“Hmph!” An Sishun sneered coldly. “Since you’ve succeeded in stopping me this time, you must have received a generous reward from Li Longji, right?”

“An Sishun!” Guo Ziyi glared at him fiercely and said sternly, “Aren’t you still willing to change your mind?”

An Sishun laughed. The louder he laughed, the more intensely, until he ended up laughing so hard that tears streamed down his face. Suddenly, he stopped laughing and said disdainfully to Guo Ziyi, “Guo Ziyi, do you really think Li Longji sincerely appointed you as the military governor of Shuofang? Stop dreaming. He’s only using you temporarily. Sooner or later, you’ll become his victim. What happened to me today will be your fate tomorrow! If you let me go, I’ll serve you as your deputy, and together we can achieve great things in Hexi. How about that?”

Although An Sishun knew the chances were slim, he still wanted to give it a try. No miracle happened. Guo Ziyi gently shook his head. “An Sishun, I’m giving you one last chance. Surrender, and I’ll intercede with the Emperor to plead for your life.”

“What if I refuse?”

Guo Ziyi said nothing more. He waved his hand, and nearly a thousand cavalrymen raised their short spears. A thousand cold spear tips were aimed at him. Although archers couldn’t use arrows in the rain, those thousand spears were enough to tear him to pieces. He wouldn’t even have a chance to escape. Realizing he couldn’t avoid death, An Sishun suddenly drew his sword and laughed loudly. “I, An Sishun, stand between heaven and earth. If I can’t rule alone, how can I survive in this world? Since there’s no hope for me in this life, I’ll wait for the next!”

He swung his sword sharply at his neck; blood gushed forth, coloring the entire sword red. His throat made several gurgling sounds as more blood spilled out. He stared at the river surface, then cast one last glance at the tens of thousands of soldiers standing dumbfounded on the shore. A tragic smile appeared on his face before he collapsed backward, stiff as a board.
Guo Ziyi let out a low sigh and ordered his attendants, “Take his head and place it carefully in a box. Pass on my orders: the army must cross the river again.”
He turned his horse and slowly rode back toward the troops, still hearing An Sishun’s words echoing in his ears: “Do you really think Li Longji sincerely appointed you as the governor of Shuofang? Stop dreaming. He’s only using you temporarily. Sooner or later, you too will become his victim. What happened to me today will be your fate tomorrow!”
Guo Ziyi looked up at the gray sky as heavy raindrops struck his face. His eyes were filled with confusion. Could it really be true, as An Sishun said, that the emperor was not worth loyalty?