Chapter 587: Hidden Worries in Lushan

At the first watch of the night, when all should be silent and people deep in sleep, a sense of panic began to envelop Yi County. Lights lit up in every household, and the paper windows reflected frantic figures. Crowds of refugees filled the streets and alleys—carrying heavy bags, leading children and family members, with many bearing their elderly parents. Following the carriages of wealthy families, they stumbled outward from the city. From the crowd came cries of children and screams of women. Men sighed, shouldering the heaviest loads as they struggled to lead their families away. News that An Lushan’s army was approaching had spread to every corner of Yi County. Another rumor, equally widespread, was that An Lushan’s troops were barbarians who did not bring provisions and fed on women and children. These terrifying rumors plunged the entire county into unprecedented fear. Both the wealthy and ordinary people fled in panic.

On the city walls of Yi County, a dozen or so officials silently watched the exodus. After the governor of Yi Zhou was killed, the highest-ranking official should have been the chief secretary, but Yuan Qun, the chief secretary, had left months earlier to lead immigrants to Hedong and had not returned. Thus, the responsibility of making decisions fell on Sima Jiang Xiaotong. Being a military man by background, he acted decisively, mobilizing the people to flee within half an hour. Yet he failed to consider some details—such as where the refugees should go. He and Ma Jun planned for the people to first flee to Dingzhou, then together head to Hengzhou, and finally enter Hedong through Jingxing. But this plan seemed unrealistic. The distance from Yi Zhou to Hengzhou was at least three to four hundred li. At their current pace, it would take seven or eight days to reach there, by which time An Lushan’s cavalry would have caught up. With hundreds of thousands of people gathered together, it would only make it easier for An Lushan’s army to slaughter and plunder.

Jiang Xiaotong watched as tens of thousands of people fled the city, forming a long procession on the main road, slowly and laboriously heading west with the old and young. Concern filled his eyes. They couldn’t travel even fifty li in a day and night—what should they do?

At that moment, an official stepped forward quickly and bowed. “Sima Jiang, if the people continue to flee like this, serious problems will arise. They should immediately take a detour into the mountains to seek refuge.”

These words reminded Jiang Xiaotong. Right! They should flee into the mountains. How had he not thought of that? Without hesitation, he ordered his subordinates, “Quickly take the villagers into the mountains! Hurry!”

Dozens of bailiffs rode swiftly on horseback, shouting loudly to urge the people to take a different route. Most were reluctant to enter the mountains, but the bailiffs had a point—walking all day was no match for An Lushan’s cavalry covering an hour’s distance. Many realized this and turned toward the Jihui Mountains in the northwest. The number grew from a few hundred to several thousand, then tens of thousands. People tend to follow the crowd, especially when everyone is in panic and lacks independent thinking. They rushed wherever there were more people. Soon, the majority of those fleeing to the mountains had changed direction, but many wealthy families still using carriages refused to enter the mountains. With carriages, their escape would be much faster, and the mountain roads were difficult for carriages to navigate. Would they abandon their carriages and walk up the mountains like commoners?

Thus, all the carriages continued along the main road, speeding westward. Jiang Xiaotong shook his head. These people, who refused to repent even at the brink of death—fine, let them attract An Lushan’s cavalry!

He turned to the official who had given him advice and said, “Thank you for your suggestion, County Magistrate Zhang. Although Yi County is empty, Qiu County remains unaware. How about we split our forces? I’ll go to Dingzhou to report the news, and you go to Qiu County. Would you be willing to take on that task?”

County Magistrate Zhang was in his early forties, of medium build, with three strands of long beard beneath his jaw. He had a sharp, refined appearance. Stroking his beard, he smiled and said, “Since Marshal Jiang values me, Zhang Xun, what more can I say?”

……

In Youzhou City, on the eve of the uprising, in An Lushan’s Yanwang Palace, this hero of the mid-Tang Dynasty struggled to fall asleep. Still clad in golden armor, he paced back and forth in the palace hall, his gaze anxiously fixed on the dark night sky. He was growing impatient. After decades of anticipation, his dream was finally about to come true at dawn. From then on, he would embark on a journey to conquer the vast lands of the Tang Dynasty. His heart was filled with excitement. He imagined himself wearing a dragon robe, stepping into Hanyuan Hall, embracing the lands of the Tang Dynasty, and beside him, the stunning Yang Guifei. He even dreamed of bathing with her in Huaqing Pool. Not even An Lushan himself knew how much of his decade-long desire to rebel was driven by Yang Guifei.

“Commander, Mr. Gao has arrived.”

“Commander, Mr. Gao has arrived…”

It took the personal guard officer Li Zhuer calling twice from behind before waking An Lushan from his reverie. “Oh! Let him in.”

An Lushan steadied his mind. For some reason, he suddenly thought of Li Qing’an—the man who stood like a mountain in his path to becoming emperor. Could he defeat this strongest opponent he had ever faced? His heart, filled with desire for power, suddenly turned cold and heavy. Gao Shang’s arrival pulled him back to reality. Yang Guifei was still in Li Qing’an’s hands. To rescue her, he first had to kill Li Qing’an.

An Lushan sighed. His hope for dawn vanished. He sat down tiredly. Now he suddenly wanted to sleep well and continue his dream.

There was no chance for that dream anymore. It was already the fourth watch; dawn would soon break. Gao Shang rushed in and bowed to An Lushan, saying, “I have urgent news to report to the commander!”

Gao Shang was in charge of An Lushan’s intelligence network. Seeing his urgent appearance, An Lushan immediately realized something was wrong. “Hurry up, what happened?”

“I don’t know who leaked the information, but I just received news that the people of Yizhou are in full retreat…”

“Damn it!”

An Lushan cursed under his breath. He wasn’t worried about the people fleeing; he was worried about the news reaching Chang’an. He suddenly turned around and glared, “How could you not know? I ordered no one to leave Youzhou City. Who left without permission?”

“Commander, now is not the time to investigate that.”

“Nonsense! With traitors in the army, how can we fight? Tell me, who is it?”

Gao Shang was secretly pleased. If he really didn’t want to investigate, he wouldn’t report it. But he wanted to hold someone accountable. Ma Jun had already escaped, and he couldn’t punish him, but Ma Jun’s superior, the military advisor Zhao Huanzhi, had always been a thorn in his side. Now that an opportunity arose, how could he let it pass?

“Reporting to the commander, it’s Ma Jun, the officer in charge of farming.”

“So it’s him. It seems Yan Zhuang has been in secret contact with him.”

An Lushan didn’t hesitate. He immediately ordered, “Execute all the officers and soldiers at the city gates who allowed Ma Jun to escape, public execution!”

After a pause, he added, “Zhao Huanzhi failed to discipline his subordinates. Remove him from his position and flog him a hundred times as a warning.”

An Lushan’s personal guards left to carry out the orders. Gao Shang then asked, “I wonder what the commander plans to do with the counties in Hebei?”

It was only then that An Lushan thought of the counties in Hebei. He had never paid attention to them before. With his army passing through, those who surrendered would be spared; those who resisted would be massacred. There was nothing to discuss. He didn’t want Hebei—he wanted the whole world. Those counties in Hebei had no soldiers, no generals, only a bunch of incompetent officials and sheep-like people.

He waved his hand and said, “I am the knife blade, and the people are the fish. What’s there to say? Isn’t this the day the soldiers have been waiting for? Don’t try to persuade me about loving and protecting the people—I understand all that, An Lushan does too. But having soldiers risk their lives for me is more important than anything else.”
Gao Shang wanted to urge him to enforce military discipline, but An Lushan spoke so firmly that he could only remain silent. He knew An Lushan was telling the truth—among his five hundred thousand troops, at least half were barbarian soldiers who followed him for wealth and plunder, and An Lushan knew better than anyone what those soldiers wanted.
“But…” He wanted to mention that no one was growing military rations, but in the end he couldn’t say a word. There was no grain in Hebei Circuit, but there was in Hedong. When Hedong ran out, there was grain in Henan. As a last resort, there was still Guanzhong. Gao Shang couldn’t help but sigh softly. He knew An Lushan too well—in his eyes, Han people were nothing but pigs and dogs.
At that moment, An Lushan changed the subject. “Cai Xide came to see me this morning. He wants to attack Xiangzhou and asks Shi Siming to take control of Jingxing. What do you think?”
Gao Shang naturally knew An Lushan wasn’t asking about combat capabilities but why Cai Xide wanted to volunteer. He sighed and said, “It only shows that General Cai lacks vision—he hasn’t grasped the deeper meaning behind the Marshal’s strategy.”
“Hmph! It’s not that he lacks vision; it’s that Shi Siming is too shrewd. He’s seen through my strategy. Not only that, but he even dares to defy orders. I find myself increasingly unable to control him.”
An Lushan’s tone now carried a strong murderous intent. In fact, his desire to kill Shi Siming wasn’t because of this, but because when Shi Siming went to the Turks to recruit troops, the Turks called him the Second Sage and themselves the First Sage. What was more, Shi Siming gladly accepted it and treated himself on equal footing with An Lushan—he was truly grown too bold.
When the gunpowder depot exploded, An Lushan had intended to take the chance to kill him, but he was worried that Shi Siming’s eighty thousand troops might cause trouble, so he held back. Yet this incident remained like a thorn in An Lushan’s heart. Any slight move from Shi Siming would cause him intense pain.
Gao Shang, however, had a good personal relationship with Shi Siming. Sensing the murderous intent in An Lushan’s heart, he was shocked. He quickly explained, “I thought Shi Siming’s desire to change sides wasn’t due to any deep motive, but rather because he’s been terrified by Li Qing’an. Marshal, changing sides might not necessarily be a bad thing.”
“Is that so?” An Lushan glanced at Gao Shang, as if seeing through his attempt to defend Shi Siming.
“Marshal…”

Gao Shang wanted to say more, but An Lushan waved his hand to interrupt him. “There’s no need for further explanations. With a great war ahead, I won’t harm myself. Fine, Shi Siming and Cai Xide can exchange their tasks.” He stood up, walked slowly to the front of the hall with his hands behind his back, glanced at the faint light of dawn in the east, and said with a faint smile, “My era, An Lushan’s era, has finally arrived.”