Chapter 599: Blood Battle in Xiangzhou (III)

Qiu County in Yizhou was a small county nestled along the banks of the Yishui River, located in the southern part of Yizhou, far from main roads, making it a relatively remote area. Across the Yishui River lay Youzhou’s territory. Like other counties in Hebei, Qiu County experienced a sharp decline in population after several waves of mass migrations. Especially after a massacre in Anxi County, not far from Qiu County, more people fled there, reducing the population from over three thousand households to less than six hundred. Even the county magistrate, deputy magistrates, and other officials disappeared without a trace. Panic ensued in Qiu County, with bandits emerging everywhere.

But soon, a new official arrived in Qiu County—Zhang Xun, the former magistrate of Yixian County. Accompanying him was Cui Anshi, the county commander. Together, they quickly organized local militias to eliminate more than a dozen bands of bandits in the county, restoring peace. Ironically, An Lushan also sent an order as the Prince of Yan, praising Zhang Xun for quelling the bandits and promoting him to governor of Yizhou, while Cui Anshi was promoted to military advisor to Yizhou.

On the surface, Zhang Xun pretended to accept the appointment. Meanwhile, he actively gathered displaced people from all directions, forged weapons and arrows, and organized the Anxiang Regiment. Soon, they defeated a group of 300 bandits holed up on Xiangshan Mountain, seizing large amounts of food and weapons. They distributed food to settle the people and protect them. Displaced people flocked to them like ants. In just half a month, Zhang Xun’s Anxiang Regiment grew to 1,500 men.

At that time, a special group arrived in Qiu County. They rode tall steeds, wearing coarse short clothes with armor underneath, and bamboo hats. There were 22 riders in total. Aside from one petite woman, the remaining 21 were all tall and strong. Each carried a sword, a long bow on their back, and a leather pouch. Arrow quivers and short spears hung from their saddles. It was clear this was an extraordinary army. The leader had a childlike face and an honest, simple appearance. Though tall, he resembled a tavern worker rather than a warrior. He was Ji Sheng, one of Li Qing’an’s most capable scouts, along with his 21 brothers.

The extra girl was Xie Nongjian, the woman who had killed Li Qinchou. After the battle at the inn, she joined this scouting team. She was smart and resourceful, free from the delicacy typical of girls. Living and traveling with the scouts, she endured hardships bravely and won their affection. Everyone called her “Little Xie.” With her around, even the arduous marches seemed a bit more lively.

“Ji Tou, are we really going to help this County Magistrate Zhang?”

Xiao Xie was after all a young girl, more talkative than these silent men. Her voice was beautiful, like that of a singing oriole. Everyone loved hearing her call General Ji Sheng “Ji Tou.” Ji Sheng was strict with them all, but he couldn’t get angry in front of this little girl. This nickname led many to jokingly think of a chicken’s head, giving them some amusement, and smiles appeared on the scouts’ faces as they looked at Xiao Xie.

Ji Sheng gave a bitter smile and said, “I don’t know why I have to help this County Magistrate Zhang, but it’s the Great General’s order. We must obey!”
“How could the Great General know about this County Magistrate Zhang? It’s really strange!”
Ji Sheng’s expression darkened as he stretched out his voice, “Xiao Xie—”
Xiao Xie stuck out her tongue and covered her mouth, not daring to speak anymore. Yet her curiosity grew even more—what kind of person was Li Qing’an, to make her brothers admire him so much?

However, Ji Sheng was also puzzled. They had many tasks they could undertake, each one of which could be carried out with great enthusiasm, but the order from Li Qing’an was simply: give full support to Zhang Xun. In his memory, the name Zhang Xun only appeared once in Yan Gaoqing’s tens of thousands of words of report, in an unremarkable place. Yet Li Qing’an had paid attention to him, which left Ji Sheng utterly confused. But no matter what Li Qing’an’s reason was, Ji Sheng had only one choice: to obey.

The group arrived at the foot of the city wall. The wall wasn’t high and seemed somewhat dilapidated. The city gates were tightly closed, and a dozen soldiers from the Anxiang Regiment stood on top of the wall, holding long spears, looking at them in confusion.
“Please inform your County Magistrate Zhang that people from Zhending County have arrived.”
One of the Anxiang Regiment soldiers rushed inside the city. At that moment, Zhang Xun was in the county office discussing strategies with Cui Anshi regarding the integration of their forces. This matter troubled Zhang Xun greatly. He didn’t know who had informed Li Huaixian, the governor of Youzhou, about the Anxiang Regiment, but Li Huaixian had sent people to deliver a message, planning to incorporate their regiment into the Yan army. Soon, troops for integration would arrive.

Of course, Zhang Xun wouldn’t allow the militia he had built to be incorporated into An Lushan’s army—that would be the same as surrendering completely to An Lushan. But he also knew that his militia’s combat strength was weak; they had only fought some bandits, and that too by using tactics. Otherwise, they might not even be able to defeat those bandits, let alone the regular Yan army.

“Lord, I think we should still prioritize using strategy. Li Huaixian is suspicious of us, which is why he suggests integrating us into his forces. I estimate he’ll send no less than five hundred soldiers. Against those five hundred Yan troops, we’re bound to lose. Only by using strategy might we have a slim chance.”
Zhang Xun paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He was conflicted. Through his relentless efforts over the past half month, the population of Qiu County had grown from just over six hundred households to two thousand, with stable public morale. Moreover, Qiu County was adjacent to Youzhou, so An Lushan was unlikely to massacre the people. Under normal circumstances, the more than two thousand households in the county could probably survive the war.
But now he was rebelling against An Lushan for a higher cause, determined to die for justice. Yet this would inevitably endanger the people of the county. If An Lushan’s army arrived, the entire county would be destroyed. How could anyone remain unharmed in such chaos? He could die bravely, but as the governor of the county, he couldn’t bear to let these innocent people die with him. Zhang Xun was filled with conflict.
After a long while, he slowly said, “We don’t know yet when the Yan troops will arrive or how many they will be. Even if we use strategy, we must be prepared to fight to the death. First, ask the soldiers of the militia how many of them want to be integrated into the Yan forces.”
Cui Anshi could see Zhang Xun’s hesitation, so he nodded and said, “Alright! I’ll go talk to them first to see what they think. If everyone is determined to resist An Lushan, then we’ll fight to the end.”
Cui Anshi bowed and left. Zhang Xun walked to the window, hands behind his back, gazing at the horizon. A true man, standing between heaven and earth, should uphold justice and understand reason. When the country is in peril, one must step forward—how could one live on out of fear for one’s own life? With this thought, Zhang Xun resolved himself. Things had come to this point; he would go all out.
At that moment, a report came from outside the door from a militia soldier: “Lord, a group of people has arrived outside the city, about twenty in number. They say they’re from Zhending County and want to see you.”
Zhang Xun was startled. People from Zhending? Could it be Jiang Xiaotong? He quickly put on an outer robe and said, “Take me there right away!”
The county was small, and soon Zhang Xun was on the city walls. Looking down, he saw indeed over twenty riders below, but they weren’t Jiang Xiaotong—just strangers he didn’t recognize.
“I am Zhang Xun. Who are you? Why have you come to see me?”
Ji Sheng spurred his horse forward and smiled, “Our identities can’t be revealed. Let County Magistrate Zhang let us enter the city, and I’ll tell you privately.”

Zhang Xun saw that the opponent had only over twenty men, and even if they were An Lushan’s men, they wouldn’t be able to do anything to him. So he ordered, “Open the city gates and let them in!” The soldiers turned the wheels, and the old and heavy city gates creaked open. The twenty-some men entered one after another. Zhang Xun ran down from the city wall and waited for them by the gates. He bowed again and asked, “May I know your identities?” Ji Sheng dismounted and whispered to him, “We are scouts from the Anxi Army. I am Ji Sheng, a lieutenant general in the First Scout Battalion.” “Ah!” Zhang Xun exclaimed in surprise. He immediately realized who they were and said joyfully, “Could it be General Ji, the one who eliminated Li Qinchou’s forces?” “Indeed.” Zhang Xun bowed solemnly, “So it is General Ji who has arrived. I owe you my apologies for my rudeness!” “Shh!” Ji Sheng glanced around and saw that the militia soldiers on the city walls were all watching them. He whispered, “This is not the right place to talk. Let’s go somewhere else.” “General Ji, please follow me!” Zhang Xun led them to the county office. He ordered people to prepare food and have the horses fed and given water. Others called everyone to rest and eat. Ji Sheng and his deputy Zhao Jingyun followed Zhang Xun into the inner office. Zhang Xun invited them in, closed the door, and sighed, “Your arrival might not be very timely.” Ji Sheng and Zhao Jingyun exchanged a look. Ji Sheng smiled and asked, “How so?” “An Lushan’s army might come to take control of my militia in the next one or two days. I’ve been worried about this.” Zhang Xun sighed again. “How troublesome!” Ji Sheng laughed. “In that case, we must have arrived at just the right time. We can help County Magistrate Zhang solve this problem.” Zhang Xun was overjoyed. He had originally planned to face An Lushan’s army’s arrival and was worried about having no help. The arrival of Ji Sheng and his men would undoubtedly bring him great support. “General Ji’s arrival is truly heaven’s help!” “County Magistrate Zhang, please don’t be polite. Although we are few in number, we are good at using surprise tactics. I believe we can help you.” Zhang Xun’s worries were finally relieved. Suddenly remembering something, he asked with a smile, “How did General Ji think of coming to Qiu County? I thought you had returned to Hedong.” “We did return to Yunchou once, but we received orders from my general to come to Qiu County and assist County Magistrate Zhang. That’s why we came back.” “You mean it was Prince Zhao who sent you to help me?” Zhang Xun asked in surprise. Ji Sheng nodded with a smile. “Exactly!” “But how could Prince Zhao know about me?”

“I’m not entirely sure either. Perhaps Governor Yan mentioned you in his report, saying that you were preparing to resist An Lushan in Qiu County. Our general is very observant; he notices things that others don’t, so he ordered us to come and assist you.”
Zhang Xun thought for a moment and realized this might be the only explanation. He had never read Yan Gaoqing’s report and didn’t know how Yan had described him.
“Has General Ji thought about how we should deal with An Lushan’s approaching army?”
“Well… there must be many ways. Let’s discuss it together.”
…
The next day at noon, a Yan army cavalry force of nearly six hundred men arrived in Qiu County. Leading them was a Chitan general named Ajiegu, around thirty-five or thirty-six years old, with dark skin and a short stature, but extremely sturdy build. He had served in the Fanyang army for many years and could speak fluent Chinese. He was one of Li Huaixian’s subordinates and had been sent under Li Huaixian’s orders to incorporate the local civilian defense forces in Qiu County.
On one hand, it was because Li Huaixian wouldn’t allow any other army besides the Yan army to exist near Youzhou. On the other hand, there were a large number of refugees in Hebei, resulting in a severe shortage of soldiers. When Li Huaixian heard that Zhang Xun had recruited 1,500 men, he immediately decided to take control of this army.
Leading troops to nearby counties to carry out tasks was what these soldiers wanted most. An Lushan no longer enforced military discipline, so who knew how much they could plunder on such missions? Moreover, since this army would be stationed in Qiu County, far from the central government, they would essentially be their own rulers.
Thus, as soon as Li Huaixian sent troops, three or four of his subordinates rushed to volunteer. No one would take the temporarily assembled civilian defense forces seriously. But it was said that there were over two thousand households in Qiu County, along with Suicheng County and Guiyi County, all with large populations. This task seemed like a huge opportunity.
Ajiegu was good at flattering people, so he got this task assigned to him. Behind the six hundred cavalrymen were dozens of wagons, containing some armor, weapons, flags needed for incorporation, but mostly the loot they had acquired along the way.
They launched night attacks on five or six villages near Yixian County. Although most of the locals had fled, they still managed to steal a lot of money and goods, as well as capture fifty or sixty young women, several of whom were quite attractive. After having their fun with them, they sent people back to Youzhou to sell them in brothels, earning more money from that as well.

These women were locked in several carriages, and all along the way they could be heard crying, but the soldiers paid no attention. They planned to take their revenge on them at night; after all, Li Huaixian hadn’t set any time limits for them. So they continued to loot and abuse women along the way.
At noon, seeing that Qiu County was only ten miles ahead, everyone thought of the two thousand households in Qiu County, with an average of three people per household, and their hearts grew warm. They longed to fly there as quickly as possible.
Just then, dust rose ahead, and a group of people appeared. A Jiegu immediately ordered the troops to stop moving. As the group approached, they saw that it was a dozen men driving several carriages, with dozens of sheep tied to them, along with many large jars and firewood. Everyone was stunned—what were they planning to do?
The leading middle-aged official stepped forward, bowed, and said, “I am Zhang Xun, the governor of Yizhou. May I ask if you are the soldiers sent by General Li to Qiu County?”