Chapter 367: The Indelible Shadow

The inner city gates, long desired by An Lushan’s army, finally opened—but instead of hope, they brought death. Hundreds of Anxi cavalry rushed in, sweeping over the stunned enemy forces. These were the most formidable cavalry in the Anxi army, having participated in the long march to Xiaobuli and the Battle of Talas. Veteran in battle, even death itself seemed to bow before them.

The warhorses charged wildly, slashing with swords and stabbing with spears. Limbs flew through the air, and heads rolled to the ground. Alarms and screams filled the inner fortress.

In the confined space of the inner fortress, the Anxi cavalry’s mastery of horse control was fully displayed, highlighting the huge disparity in combat strength between cavalry and infantry. Although An Lushan’s troops were elite Fanyang soldiers, they were clearly at a disadvantage against the more powerful Anxi cavalry, suffering a nearly one-sided massacre.

The inner fortress turned into a hellish battlefield, littered with corpses and rivers of blood. Sun Xiaozhe, standing near the city wall, was shocked. Though he knew Tang reinforcements had arrived, he had never seen such a formidable army. Less than three hundred cavalry could wreak havoc in the narrow fortress, decimating his elite troops.

He could hardly imagine that the Tang Dynasty still had such an army. Who were these soldiers? Suddenly, his pupils contracted violently—he saw a man, Li Qing’an, slowly entering through the inner city gates. It was the Anxi army!

Fear filled his eyes as Li Qing’an nocked an arrow, its sharp tip aimed coldly at him. Sun Xiaozhe was terrified and instinctively covered his head. An arrow appeared before him, and with a “crack,” an iron arrow pierced his chest. Sun Xiaozhe screamed as he was nailed to the wall alive.

With their commander dead, An Lushan’s army had no desire to fight further. They fled down the hill in disarray. In moments, the inner fortress was empty. With a loud noise, the outer city gates slowly closed.

The inner fortress was in utter chaos—everywhere there were severed limbs and heads, and the ground was soaked red with blood. The Anxi cavalry probed the corpses with their spears. Some wounded Fanyang soldiers lay on the ground, begging for mercy, but were killed mercilessly with a single spear thrust. Over eight hundred of An Lushan’s troops were slain.

The defenders of Tongguan finally regained their senses. Out of the original three thousand soldiers, only about one thousand four hundred remained, with more than half killed or wounded. At that moment, Wang Sili was helped over by two soldiers. Besides being struck by Sun Xiaozhe’s arrow, he had also been cut twice, but fortunately, none of the wounds were life-threatening.

Wang Sili glanced at Sun Xiaozhe, still nailed to the wall, his face twisted in a grotesque expression as he died with his eyes wide open. He was deeply shocked. He had heard before that Li Qingan was unparalleled in archery, but he never imagined it to be so fierce.

Wang Sili pushed away the soldiers helping him and knelt before Li Qingan, expressing his gratitude: “It was fortunate that the great general arrived in time. Otherwise, Tongguan would have fallen, and I, Wang Sili, would have become a criminal of the Tang Dynasty.”

Li Qingan quickly helped him up and said with a smile, “General Wang, you managed to hold off An Lushan’s six thousand fierce troops with just three thousand men. I truly admire you. You truly are a renowned and valiant general.”

Wang Sili felt ashamed, but thinking that An Lushan had even launched a surprise attack on Tongguan filled him with anger. He snapped, “An Lushan has sinister ambitions. He isn’t satisfied with occupying Hedong—he also wants to take control of Guanzhong. He really intends to rebel.”

“He wouldn’t dare rebel. He wants to follow in Dong Zhuo’s footsteps by entering the capital, taking control of the emperor, and then ruling the whole country. If I’m not mistaken, this troop is just his vanguard; there must be more of his forces following.”

Wang Sili was stunned and worried. “My men are mostly old and weak, and more than half of them are injured or dead. The general also doesn’t have many soldiers. If An Lushan sends a large force to attack, how can we cope?”

Li Qingan didn’t answer. He slowly walked over to Sun Xiaozhe’s body and, pointing at it, said with a smile, “General Wang, do you know who this man is?”

Wang Sili shook his head. “I don’t know. But he was quite brave; he must not be an unknown man.”

“This man is Sun Xiaozhe, one of An Lushan’s top generals, ranked third in terms of combat prowess.”

“Oh, so that’s him. No wonder he’s so strong. But even though he’s ranked third, he couldn’t withstand the general’s arrow.”

Li Qingan shook his head gently. “If we were to fight one-on-one on the battlefield, I would be no match for him. But I didn’t want to compete with him in combat. Yet he still died at my hands. General Wang, do you understand what I mean?”

After a moment’s thought, Wang Sili suddenly understood Li Qingan’s point. It wasn’t a direct battle against An Lushan. They had the natural barrier of Tongguan to rely on. No matter how many soldiers An Lushan sent, it wouldn’t matter.

Realizing this, Wang Sili felt relieved. He bowed to Li Qingan and said, “The crown prince has ordered me to follow the general’s commands. From now on, I am the general’s deputy. Everything shall be decided by the general.”

Li Qing’an really liked Wang Sili—he was a rare talent. He thus thought of recruiting him, but then remembered that this man was loyal to Li Yu. If he acted too openly, it might arouse Li Yu’s suspicion, so he restrained his urge to recruit him. With a faint smile, he said, “I’m here under the prince’s orders to support Tongguan. After defeating An Lushan, I’ll return to Anxi. The task of guarding Tongguan will once again fall on General Wang.”

Wang Sili sighed and said, “An Lushan has taken control of Hedong, and his ambitions are obvious. I’m worried that the court won’t be able to restrain him and will instead indulge him. At that time, us lower-ranking generals will have to endure countless humiliations. Especially after blocking An Lushan from entering the capital this time, he will surely hate me deeply. I only hope the court won’t sacrifice me to An Lushan. I’m very worried that this might happen.”

After saying that, Wang Sili’s gaze became filled with concern. He walked to the battlements and looked north, deeply troubled. Suddenly, he waved his arms and shouted, “In this vast world, isn’t there even a place for me, Wang Sili?”

Li Qing’an watched his back, able to understand the pain of this Tang general—a frustration with the court’s weakness and worry about the future of the Tang Dynasty.

He slowly walked up behind him and said slowly, “If such a day ever comes, General Wang, you might as well come to Anxi. The doors of Anxi will always be open to you.”

Wang Sili turned around abruptly, staring intently at Li Qing’an. In his gaze, Wang saw a hint of sincerity and concern for him. Deeply moved, he nodded silently and said solemnly, “I hope that one day I too can cross the mountains and go to Anxi to make achievements!”

Li Qing’an patted his shoulder firmly and looked into his eyes, saying, “I believe that day will surely come!”

……

Li Qing’an’s prediction was completely correct. In the afternoon, an army of about 30,000 men led by An Lushan arrived at Tongguan. According to the original plan, An Qingxu should have led 6,000 men to take control of Chang’an first, followed by the main army entering Guanzhong. But An Lushan made a slight change: An Qingxu would lead the cavalry to seize Tongguan first, then the main army would enter Guanzhong. No matter how it was adjusted, the outcome would be the same—An Lushan’s army would control Chang’an and Guanzhong, using the emperor as leverage to rule over the other lords, thus establishing his own dominance.

But An Lushan and Gao Shang never expected that Li Qing’an would lead three thousand cavalry to Chang’an first, uncovering their plot. As a result, they failed to capture Tongguan, and their efforts came to nothing. Yet at that moment, An Lushan still didn’t realize his plan had failed. Feeling unwell along the way, he temporarily stayed in Wenxi County, Jiangzhou, to recover, ordering Shi Siming to lead thirty thousand reinforcements into Guanzhong first.

The thirty thousand troops were stationed on a gentle slope about five li away from Tongguan, facing it from afar. Not far away was the vast Yellow River, winding eastward. In the main camp, Shi Siming, with a pale face, coldly stared at An Qingxu, who stubbornly refused to take responsibility. Shi Siming was An Lushan’s right-hand man, holding a high position in the Hebei army. He had also risen from a minor border merchant under An Lushan to take control of the Fanyang and Pinglu armies, making him one of the most senior veterans. He was An Qingxu’s uncle. Although An Qingxu was An Lushan’s son, he dared not be arrogant in front of Shi Siming, who could execute him under strict military discipline.

Thus, An Qingxu was extremely uneasy. He knew that failing to capture Tongguan would ruin his father’s plan. Kneeling on the ground, he desperately defended himself, saying, “Vice-commander, though I am the commander of the Ox and Horse Troops, it was the commander-in-chief’s order to have Sun Xiaozhe lead the vanguard. There were only two generals in total—since he took charge of the vanguard, I had to guard the rear. If we both competed for credit, no one would guard the rear, which is a grave military mistake. So, the defeat at Tongguan is entirely Sun Xiaozhe’s fault. By the time I heard the news, the vanguard had already been driven out of Tongguan, and Sun Xiaozhe was killed in Guanzhong. Please, vice-commander, be fair.”

Shi Siming suppressed his anger and snorted coldly, “It’s true that Sun Xiaozhe led the vanguard, but it was you who arranged the troops for battle. Why did you place three hundred slow oxen at the front, wasting time needlessly? If cavalry had been at the front, more troops could have entered. Could Wang Sili’s weak force of three thousand still hold them back? There would have been no defeat at all. How do you explain that?”

An Qingxu hadn’t had time to report the full situation to Shi Siming, so he still didn’t know about the arrival of the reinforcements. He thought the Ox and Horse Troops had been defeated by those three thousand weak soldiers, which filled him with great dissatisfaction. He hurriedly explained, “Vice-commander, we weren’t defeated by Wang Sili’s weak force. On the contrary, we were about to succeed when their reinforcements arrived—fierce and powerful. Just three hundred cavalry drove us back in disarray, forcing us to flee in defeat.”

“Who is it!” Shi Siming slammed the table angrily and demanded, “What kind of reinforcements are so arrogant? These six thousand soldiers are elite troops personally chosen by General An. Can’t even three hundred of them withstand them? Tell me, who could have such strength?”
Shi Siming didn’t quite believe An Qingxu’s words. At that moment, a barely perceptible hint of mockery flashed in An Qingxu’s eyes as he slowly said, “The deputy commander should be more familiar with him than I am. He is Li Qingan from Anxi.”
“What!” Shi Siming stood up abruptly before slowly sitting back down in dismay. It was actually Li Qingan. He seemed stunned, as if those memories of arrows flying through the air to the sound of drums reappeared before his eyes.
After a long while, his voice became hoarse as he asked, “How is that possible? How could he appear in Chang’an? He should be in Anxi.”
“The deputy commander should also be in Youzhou. So how could he end up in Tongguan?” An Qingxu’s tone now carried unmistakable mockery.
At this point, Shi Siming no longer cared to discern An Qingxu’s tone. His mind was in chaos. Waving his hand, he said, “Go! I’ll report this matter to the supreme commander myself.”
An Qingxu left, relieved. The tent was now empty, and his personal guards had also left. Shi Siming was extremely troubled. With his hands behind his back, he slowly walked to the front of the tent and gazed at the mighty city five miles away. He couldn’t help but recall those painful memories he preferred to forget, yet they grew deeper in his heart, becoming a nightmare for his entire life. Li Qingan, the person he never wanted to see again, was now above Tongguan, becoming an insurmountable obstacle in his path.
“Li Qingan, why must our paths cross in such a narrow way?” Shi Siming murmured to himself.
……
In the middle of the night, An Lushan’s reply arrived. In it, he cursed An Qingxu as incompetent and ordered Shi Siming to capture Tongguan within three days; otherwise, his head would be presented to him.
At dawn, An Lushan’s ten thousand troops quietly left the camp and headed toward Tongguan, hoping to launch a night attack. The darkness was thick, and the mountain paths were pitch black, making it impossible to see anything. The army struggled up the narrow paths. Just then, a soldier tried to move a log lying across the path, only to discover it was a trap set by the Tang army. With a loud roar, a heavy boulder weighing over a hundred pounds rolled down the slope, crushing five or six soldiers. Their agonized screams shattered the darkness of the night.

Suddenly, loud drumbeats echoed at Tongguan, and torches flared to life, illuminating the night sky. The sound of bowstrings rang out continuously, and arrows flew like swarms of locusts. In just a moment, more than half of the hundreds of soldiers gathered within a hundred paces were killed or wounded, and the remaining hundred or so fled down the mountain, rolling and scrambling.

Immediately afterward, two boulders the size of millstones were rolled down from the city walls one after another, hurtling down the narrow path toward the dense forces of Hebei. Cries of pain filled the mountain path as nearly a hundred people were crushed to pieces by the boulders.

Frightened, the soldiers shouted in unison and turned to flee toward the foot of the mountain. The soldiers behind them were driven to run as well, and in short order, not a single soldier remained on the mountain path, leaving behind corpses everywhere.

Dawn gradually broke, and a red sun rose, lighting up both inside and outside Tongguan. At that moment, Shi Siming rode a horse up the path, surrounded by his personal guards. They waved flags to signal the soldiers in the city not to shoot. Shi Siming had no choice—he must retrieve Sun Xiaozhe’s body. Sun Xiaozhe was An Lushan’s trusted general and married An Lushan’s niece. Retrieving Sun Xiaozhe’s body was also one of An Lushan’s orders.

Shi Siming was well aware of the difficulty of capturing Tongguan. The terrain there was extremely strategic—once defended, it was impossible to breach. Moreover, the Anxi army was incredibly brave, and Wang Silǐ was an expert at defending cities, known as the best defender in the land. Taking Tongguan was almost like daydreaming. If he could at least get Sun Xiaozhe’s body back, it would be some consolation.

Of course, he could also send someone else to negotiate with Li Qing’an. But Shi Siming had a secret he kept to himself—he wanted to use this opportunity to talk face to face with Li Qing’an to gauge his influence on him, hoping to rid himself of the shadow in his heart.

Thousands of crossbows on the city walls were pointed coldly at him. Standing on a prominent rock a hundred paces away, Shi Siming raised his hands to his mouth and shouted up at the city, “Please ask the military governor-general to come out and speak.”

At that moment, a few soldiers stepped aside on the city wall, and Li Qing’an stepped forward with a bow and arrows, smiling at Shi Siming. “So it’s an old acquaintance. General Shi, I hope you’re well?”

“General, I think there’s a misunderstanding. Our commander heard that Guanzhong was unguarded and feared it might be attacked by villains, endangering the crown prince. So he decided to go to the capital to protect him. I never expected this would lead to a misunderstanding and cause harm to our soldiers—it’s truly heartbreaking!”

“If it’s just a misunderstanding, then General Shi can take his troops back. With me protecting the emperor in Guanzhong, General An doesn’t need to worry anymore. He’d better focus on governing himself properly!”

The two of them exchanged words above and below the city walls, with tens of thousands of soldiers from both sides watching them. The mountains were dead silent, filled only with their hypocritically polite chatter.
Shi Siming forced himself to speak, “As long as the great general returns Sun Xiaozhe’s body to me, I will withdraw my troops immediately. That’s my only condition.”
Li Qing’an sneered coldly, “General Shi, why didn’t you say so earlier? I found that stinking corpse disgusting, so I already ordered it to be fed to dogs. I’m sorry, it’s no longer there.”
“Li Qing’an! How dare you!”
Shi Siming flew into a rage, pointing at Li Qing’an and cursing, “General Sun Xiaozhe was a famous general from Hebei. How dare you humiliate him like this? Aren’t you afraid of divine punishment?”
Li Qing’an swiftly drew his bow, aiming the arrow at Shi Siming. “Some so-called famous general—nothing but a traitor. Shi Siming, do you still have the guts to speak in front of me?”
Shi Siming’s heart seemed to plunge into an abyss. He stared blankly at Li Qing’an’s arrow, memories flooding back—arrows, Li Qing’an’s arrows, the horror of that last arrow. A deep-seated fear instantly overwhelmed him.
“No! No! Li Qing’an, don’t shoot!”
Li Qing’an sneered and shot an arrow that struck Shi Siming’s helmet, sending it flying more than ten feet away. At that moment, Shi Siming became like a clay statue, motionless, his eyes empty, taking on a deathly gray hue. Suddenly, he screamed, “I’m going to die!”
Ignoring everything, Shi Siming leaped off the rock and ran downhill. The rope holding his hair got caught on a branch, his uniform was torn, and one of his boots fell off. He paid no attention. All he could think was one word—“Run!” The farther away from Li Qing’an, the better.
Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of soldiers on both sides, Shi Siming acted like a madman—hair disheveled, barefoot, waving his arms wildly as he stumbled downhill. The soldiers on both sides were in shock. After all, Shi Siming was a famous general from Hebei, appointed as deputy governor of Fanyang. How could he become so pitiful in front of Li Qing’an?
Li Qing’an watched his retreating figure, shaking his head in disdain, and muttered to himself, “Shi Siming, you’ll never be able to escape my shadow in this life.”