Chapter 46: Trapping the Enemy

Li Fei Yuanli came out of his room and happened to meet a plump beauty holding a pipa, with their servant following behind. Thinking she was the musician from his own room, he couldn’t resist the urge and pinched her delicate buttocks. Unexpectedly, she was actually the musician from the next room.

The matter could have been resolved easily with an apology and some compensation. The servant kept apologizing, and Li Fei Yuanli, with a grim expression, reached into his pocket for money. The woman glanced at his hand, waiting to see how much he would offer.

It seemed the misunderstanding could be cleared up, but at that moment, six guards at the next room’s door exchanged glances. One of them suddenly rushed forward and punched Li Fei Yuanli in the face.

“Damn it! How dare you assault our general’s woman!”

Unprepared, Li Fei Yuanli was hit in the nose by a powerful punch, causing blood to spray out and dye his thick beard red. Immediately, the other five men rushed in, knocking him to the ground and beating him mercilessly. Screams from the woman and pleas from the servant created chaos at the door.

Those inside, drinking wine, initially thought it was no big deal—this old man was known for harassing women and was probably teasing another musician. But soon, they heard fighting outside. Everyone rushed out to see Li Fei Yuanli being kicked and beaten mercilessly. Li Fei Shouyu’s eyes turned red as he roared and charged forward, kicking one of the men to the ground.

The rest of the Anxi Army became furious and joined in the fight. The six men were no match for them and soon fled in panic.

“You wretched bandits! How dare you attack my retainer!”

Five or six people rushed out of the next room. The leader, around thirty years old, wore fine clothes but looked like a bandit. He glared angrily at the Anxi Army.

Li Fei Yuanli’s nose had been broken, and he was still being beaten on the ground. Unable to even touch them, he was filled with rage. Getting up, he roared like a mad tiger and rushed at the leader, knocking him to the ground, choking him, and punching him in the face with his huge fists.

Seeing that the Anxi Army was far outnumbered, the men desperately rescued their leader and fled in the other direction. The leader, covered in blood, turned back and cursed, “Good job! Bai Yuanguang, Duan Xiushi, and Li Fei Shouyu—wait and see!”

Li Qing’an was stunned. How could the other party know him? Duan Xiushi also recognized him and whispered to Li Qing’an, “They’re from Fanyang’s military cavalry team. The young man in the brocade robe is An Lushan’s son, An Qingxu.”
“Oh! So that’s An Qingxu.”
Seeing that everyone wanted to go back and drink, Li Qing’an stepped forward and said, “Gentlemen, after fighting An Qingxu, they certainly won’t give up easily. Follow my advice. We can drink slowly later; for now, let’s go back first and wait for him at the Imperial Secretariat.”
Although they had all come through battles and were not afraid of Fanyang’s troops, this was still Chang’an, and everyone knew they couldn’t act rashly. So they nodded and followed Li Qing’an back to the Imperial Secretariat.
As soon as they returned, loud hoofbeats could be heard in Chongren Fang. More than 200 fully armed Fanyang cavalrymen charged toward the Anxi Imperial Secretariat with fierce intent. An Qingxu led the charge, now clad in new armor, his eyes filled with hatred. He had never suffered such a defeat before—almost killed by Li Fei Yuanli.
Chongren Fang fell into chaos. The people in the streets stumbled and fled in all directions. The thundering hooves of the 200 cavalrymen rushed to the Anxi Imperial Secretariat in an instant, surrounding it completely.
An Qingxu galloped over, drew his bow, and shot an arrow that struck straight into the gate of the Anxi Imperial Secretariat.
“You cowardly bunch! If you’ve got guts, come out!”
Li Fei Yuanli and He Lou Yurun were furious. They mounted their horses and prepared to charge out, but Li Qing’an grabbed their reins. “Don’t be reckless!”
“But that bastard humiliated us like this. We can’t bear it.”
“You may not want to, but you must endure it!”
Li Qing’an glanced at the others and said solemnly, “I’ll take charge of this today. Any objections?”
Li Siye, who had remained silent, spoke up, “I trust Seventh Brother’s judgment. I’ll follow you.”
Bai Yuanguang and Duan Xiushi also nodded. “We’ll follow your lead.”
Everyone agreed. Li Qing’an looked at Li Fei Yuanli and He Lou Yurun and asked, “What about you two?”
He Lou Yurun said nothing, indicating his consent. But Li Fei Yuanli grumbled, “Sure, we’ll follow you. But I’m afraid you’ll be too cautious and tarnish the reputation of our Anxi army.”
Li Qing’an smiled coldly. “Don’t worry! I’ll make sure An Qingxu pays for this.”

At this time, Chang’an was not only filled with horse teams from various places but also tens of thousands of scholars who had come from across the country to take the imperial examinations the following spring. Chongren Fang was precisely where these scholars gathered. The news of the Fanyang troops coming to cause trouble with the Anxi troops spread like wildfire throughout the area in no time. Tens of thousands of scholars gathered a few hundred steps away, eagerly awaiting the battle between the two forces. More and more people flocked in, even those from Pingkang Fang came upon hearing the news.

An Qingxu rode back and forth on his horse, the intense pain on his face making him even more irritable. He kept cursing loudly, “The Anxi troops are all castrated wretches; their ancestors for eighteen generations were born of prostitutes…”

“Are you even men? If you are men, come out and fight!”

The gates of the Jinzouyuan were tightly closed, and obstacles were placed on the steps to prevent the Fanyang cavalry from rushing in. Inside the gates, the officials of the Jinzouyuan, along with a group of servants, were frantically moving large stones to block the gates. One servant muttered angrily, “A bunch of troublemakers! If you’ve got guts, go fight outside!”

“Shh!” The official pointed to Li Fei Shouyu, who was perched on a big tree. “That guy has sharp ears. Don’t let him hear us.”

At that moment, Li Fei Shouyu jumped down from the tree and ran into the main hall. Inside, the soldiers of the Anxi troops sat on mats, polishing their weapons. Li Qingan was also sitting on a couch, carefully adjusting his “Hundred Beasts” bow and nocking an arrow on the string to aim.

“Seventh Brother!” Li Fei Shouyu rushed in. “I’ve seen clearly—they have fire arrows.”

“How many people are equipped with them?”

“Almost half of them.”

“Half of them!” Li Qingan thought to himself. “If they shoot all their arrows, how many fire arrows will there be?”

“Everyone, come here.”

Li Qingan waved his hand, and everyone gathered around. They asked in unison, “Seventh Brother, have you come up with another good plan?”

Li Qingan smiled mysteriously. “Don’t ask yet. Everyone go find some flammable materials and pile them at the doorways and under the windows. Wait for their fire arrows to be shot in.”

“But won’t that burn us too?”

“I get it!” Duan Xiushi slapped his forehead. He suddenly realized what to do and quickly said, “But if they don’t have many fire arrows, it might not be enough to start a fire.”

Li Qingan smiled slightly. “It’s fine. Just one fire arrow is enough. Then, we can give An Qingxu a hand.”

“Let’s split up and do it!”

The crowd dispersed—some went to the kitchen to fetch firewood, some rolled up the seating, and others headed to the stables in the backyard for hay. Everyone was busy, while Li Qing’an took out two arrows without his name carved on them, picked up his bow, and strode toward the door.

Outside the main gate, Yan Zhuang, An Lushan’s advisor, rushed over in a panic. An Lushan was also in Chang’an and had just arrived at court. Yan Zhuang was eating outside when he suddenly heard that An Qingxu had led troops to attack the Western Regions Reporting Office. He was shocked and, unable to continue eating, sent someone to inform An Lushan while rushing desperately toward Chongren Fang. His heart was in turmoil—this was Chang’an, not Fanyang. Next to Chongren Fang was the imperial palace. How dare that bastard bring two hundred cavalry to cause trouble near the palace? If the censors accused him, the consequences would be unimaginable!

“Erlang! You bastard! Do you want to kill your father?”

Yan Zhuang saw officials among the onlookers. Filled with anger and urgency, he wished he could kick this troublemaker off his horse.

“Leave me alone! If I don’t storm the Western Regions Reporting Office today, I swear I’ll renounce the An surname!”

An Qingxu had a stubborn temper, and no one could persuade him once his anger flared.

Seeing that An Qingxu wouldn’t listen, Yan Zhuang turned to scold the accompanying generals, “Cai Xide, instead of trying to stop Erlang, you’re helping him cause trouble. How will you report this to your lord?”

Cai Xide was ashamed after being scolded. Just as he was about to lead his troops back, an arrow shot out from the wall of the reporting office with a whoosh, piercing through An Qingxu’s horse’s head. The horse fell, knocking An Qingxu to the ground. An Qingxu flew into a rage and shouted, “Shoot arrows at them! Kill these bastards!”

Arrows rained down like a storm—hundreds of them flew toward the reporting office, including seven or eight flaming arrows. Yan Zhuang was frantic, jumping around in worry. “You idiot! You’re about to cause a huge disaster!”

As soon as he finished speaking, thick smoke billowed out of the reporting office, quickly turning into a raging fire. Yan Zhuang was stunned. After a long while, he sighed deeply and murmured, “It’s over! Everything’s completely ruined!”

At that moment, the scholars in the street scattered to the sides. Thousands of Imperial Guards rushed over and quickly surrounded the Fanyang troops. Thousands of bows and crossbows were aimed at them. The Fanyang troops huddled together, at a loss. A general stepped forward and shouted, “Drop your weapons immediately, or you’ll be charged with rebellion!”

“You bastard! Did you see that? Now all the blame falls on you!” Yan Zhuang cursed through gritted teeth. An Qingxu was stunned. He suddenly realized what had happened and threw down his bow and arrows. The soldiers also dropped their weapons and raised their hands.

At this moment, the people in the Memorial Hall began to escape one after another. Their faces were all blackened from the smoke. Several stretchers were carried among them, clearly indicating that some people had been injured by arrows. Li Fei Yuanli lay on a stretcher, cursing An Qingxu loudly: “I was shot by this thief! How hateful! I can’t serve my country loyally, yet I’m injured at the hands of the Tang army.” After cursing, he turned to Li Qingan and winked, looking extremely proud. Li Qingan smiled faintly, armed himself, rushed into the neighborhood, and set fire to the Memorial Hall. An Qingxu would surely suffer greatly, if not die.