Chapter 602: The Blood Battle at Xiangzhou (6)

“General Cheng, there’s activity at the base of the east city wall!” a soldier urgently reported to Cheng Qianli.
Cheng Qianli, still basking in the joy of defeating the enemy siege vehicles, was startled by this news and rushed toward the east city wall.
A crowd had already gathered at the base of the wall. Twenty large vats were neatly buried there—these were underground listening devices used to detect movements beneath the ground. Dozens of soldiers were lying on top of the vats, listening carefully.
“The general is here!”
Everyone stepped aside as Cheng Qianli stepped forward and asked, “Is there any activity?”
“Reporting to the general, we heard digging and knocking sounds underground earlier, but they’ve stopped now.”
“Let me try.”
Cheng Qianli lay down, pressing his ear against one of the vats and closing his eyes to listen. Suddenly, he heard knocking sounds—“thud! thud!” His eyes lit up, and the soldiers beside him shouted, “It’s happening again! They’ve started again.”
An experienced soldier quickly assessed the situation. Based on the knocking sounds, the enemy was no more than thirty steps away—meaning they were already beneath the moat.
Cheng Qianli understood that An Lushan intended to attack using underground tunnels. However, he had little experience defending against such attacks and fell silent in thought. Liu Qingyun, the commander of the east city, stepped forward and suggested, “General, when attacking through tunnels, the enemy usually gathers at the front before charging out in force to maximize their surprise attack. So the best way to counter this is to cut off their retreat and then use poisonous smoke.”
“Good!”
Cheng Qianli nodded. “This task is yours. If you succeed, I’ll reward you generously!”
“General, rest assured. I’ll handle it well.”
……
By now, the battlefield had calmed down. An Lushan’s army had retreated three miles away, giving the Tang forces an opportunity. Liu Qingyun personally led over a hundred men down from the city wall using siege vehicles. Instead of collecting arrows, they crossed the moat, crouched low, and rushed toward the battlefield. The field was filled with destroyed siege vehicles, blood-stained boulders, broken ladders, and corpses everywhere.
After running about a hundred steps, they stopped and used special metal listening devices to search for tunnels underground.
“We found it!” a soldier whispered. The other soldiers gathered around. They listened carefully through the devices and indeed heard faint footsteps underground. Following the sound, they crawled forward slowly for five hundred steps until the footsteps disappeared. This meant all the enemy soldiers involved in the attack had reached the base of the city, with no way to retreat.

“Start digging!” At Liu Qingyun’s command, over a hundred soldiers began digging immediately with tomb-raiding shovels. In moments, two deep pits were formed. With a loud “boom,” the soil collapsed, revealing a dark cave about ten feet above the ground, five feet high and wide, and seemingly bottomless—wide enough for someone to crawl through. Five soldiers jumped in. After a short while, several muffled groans were heard. The soldiers pulled out a Yan army soldier who was very young and trembling with fear. “Pity me! Spare my life!” Liu Qingyun grabbed his clothes and said viciously, “Tell the truth, and I won’t kill you.” “I’ll tell! I’ll tell!” “How many people are in the tunnel?” “About three thousand. They’ve all gone ahead. I fell behind because of stomach pain.” “Good!” Liu Qingyun punched him unconscious and then ordered, “Keep digging!” The hundred soldiers filled the entrance tightly and pushed several large stones on top to seal the tunnel. At that moment, a soldier waved a red scarf to signal inside the city. The city side had already located the tunnel but hadn’t dug it open yet. Upon hearing the order, the soldiers waiting there began digging at one corner of the tunnel. The tunnel was already packed with soldiers. When they suddenly saw daylight, dozens of them tried to break through, but were all killed by arrows from the Tang army. A fire was lit, and the soldiers threw poisonous branches and vines such as oleander, kudzu, and ivy into the flames. Thick smoke poured into the tunnel, accompanied by coughing and screams of terror. Those who tried to rush out through the smoke were immediately shot dead by the Tang army. The Tang army even poured kerosene on the corpses, burning them along with the bodies. The poor three thousand Yan soldiers had no way to escape and were all asphyxiated deep underground within fifteen minutes… Upon hearing the news, An Lushan was furious. Pointing at An Shouzhong, he ordered, “Throw him out and execute him!” An Shouzhong screamed in fear, “General, I am guilty, but not to the point of death!” “General, the intelligence was wrong! General, I am innocent!” “Stop!” An Lushan waved his hand and said coldly, “What’s wrong with the intelligence? Explain!” An Shouzhong wiped the sweat from his forehead and knelt down. “General, I thought the intelligence said the Tang army hadn’t set up any listening devices, so I came up with the idea of attacking through a tunnel. But today, it’s clear the Tang army has listening devices. Why wasn’t that mentioned in the intelligence? General, it’s clearly a mistake in the information!” Those words reminded An Lushan. He remembered that the intelligence had indeed stated the Tang army hadn’t set up any listening devices. What was going on?

“Go! Invite Mr. Gao here.”
“Is the Marshal looking for me?”
Gao Shang’s voice came from the entrance of the tent. He stepped in quickly, bowed, and said, “Your humble servant pays respects to the Marshal!”
“Mr. Gao, your intelligence was incorrect! You said the Tang army hadn’t set up hidden listening devices, yet I lost three thousand men today.”
An Lushan’s tone carried a hint of reproach. Gao Shang apologized, saying, “Marshal, the intelligence was from four days ago. They hadn’t set them up then, but it’s possible they have now.”
In fact, Gao Shang also sensed something was wrong. This failed attempt at tunnel-based assault, along with the clearly inaccurate intelligence from spies inside the city, made him suspicious. Even if there were no hidden listening devices four days ago, the Tang army should have informed them if they had installed them. Their silence raised doubts. Thinking of previous delays, he grew even more worried—had something gone wrong?
He had just received news from inside the city that Cheng Qianli had reduced food rations for the populace, leading to riots last night. Gao Shang couldn’t believe this and didn’t want to tell An Lushan.
Though he doubted the city’s intelligence, he couldn’t admit he had received false information in front of An Lushan. He explained, “They didn’t know the Marshal intended to attack by tunnel. It’s understandable that the intelligence wasn’t timely. For this mistake, I take full responsibility. Please, Marshal, calm your anger.”
An Lushan held Gao Shang in high regard, so he couldn’t blame him after hearing his explanation. He waved his hand and ordered, “Set him free!”
An Shouzhong, spared from death, rushed forward to thank him, “Thank you, Marshal, for sparing my life!”
Although An Lushan spared him, he still resented him and ignored him. Sighing, he said to Gao Shang, “Sir, the city is well-fortified and hard to take. I’m extremely anxious!”
Gao Shang smiled slightly and asked, “The first time the Marshal tried to attack, it almost succeeded. Why was that?”
After a brief thought, An Lushan replied, “It was because I used nest carts. The enemy had no countermeasure. But this time they used thunder carts, rendering my nest carts ineffective.”
“That’s right! That’s the problem. I’ve realized that Cheng Qianli lacks experience in defending cities and has no quick solutions. When the Marshal first used nest carts, he struggled to adapt, which is why we almost succeeded. That’s his biggest weakness—and also the key to taking Xiangzhou. Does the Marshal understand what I mean?”
An Lushan wasn’t immediately aware of this. An Shouzhong interjected, “What the strategist means is we should use new types of siege weapons to succeed at once.”
“I know. There’s no need for you to chime in!”

An Lushan glared at him fiercely, scaring An Shouzhong so much that he fell silent, lowering his head and not daring to speak. Only then did An Lushan turn to Gao Shang and ask, “So, according to your plan, how should we proceed?”
Gao Shang smiled darkly and said, “I still say the same thing: strike suddenly and attack when they’re unprepared.”
He whispered a few words in An Lushan’s ear. An Lushan nodded, gritted his teeth, and said, “Good! We’ll follow your strategy. At all costs, we must capture Xiangzhou before the Yellow River freezes.”
…
In the afternoon, the soldiers guarding the southern city discovered that the Yan army besieging them had completely vanished, leaving only an empty camp. This left Cheng Qianli puzzled—where had An Lushan sent his troops?
But before he could think further, an attack arose from the northern city. This time, An Lushan deployed a hundred thousand troops to launch a massive assault, focusing on the western section of the northern city. The attacks were relentless, wave after wave of fierce assaults ensued. Corpses piled up everywhere; the battle was brutal. The soldiers on the city walls were suppressed by An Lushan’s thirty thousand archers, losing their advantage with bows and crossbows. Over a hundred scaling ladders were placed against the city walls. The Yan army climbed up like ants, with many ladders being overturned, yet more Yan soldiers kept attacking and breaking through gaps, only to be overwhelmed by reinforcements from the Tang army.
An Lushan seemed determined like iron, refusing to withdraw his troops. The battle continued until late at night, with fighting still going on by lamplight. Corpses piled up high on both sides of the city, blood staining the walls. Both sides suffered heavy losses—over thirty thousand Yan soldiers died, and more than ten thousand Tang soldiers were killed as well. Both sides were driven to desperation.
Cheng Qianli’s voice was hoarse from shouting. This was the most brutal battle he had ever experienced in his life. He knew that whether they could hold Xiangzhou depended on this night. He had gone all in, deploying thirty thousand troops to fight fiercely in the northern city, leaving only five thousand in the western and eastern cities, while all the defenders of the southern city were transferred to the northern city.
Flames soared above the city walls, and scaling ladders were set ablaze, turning the Yan soldiers engulfed in fire into screaming figures falling from the walls. Yet more ladders were brought forward, and desperate soldiers rushed at the walls again. Both sides were exhausted from fighting. Many Yan soldiers wanted to retreat, but An Lushan sent three thousand swordsmen to oversee the battle, beheading anyone who tried to back down.
On the wooden platform, An Lushan gripped the hilt of his sword, his blood-red eyes fixed on the blazing flames on the city walls. At that moment, the wildness of his Hu heritage burned in his blood. He issued a strict order: if they failed to capture Xiangzhou this time, everyone above the rank of lieutenant general would be executed!
“Pass my order—deploy another thirty thousand troops to attack the northern city, and order Cai Xide’s troops to attack the western and eastern cities!”

It was already the first watch of the night. Reports came in from the eastern and western cities, indicating that enemy forces were showing signs of attacking the cities. Cheng Qianli roared in a hoarse voice, “Tell them that if they can’t hold the city, everyone in it will die.”

The war had reached its climax. The northern, eastern, and western cities had all launched attacks. An Lushan had deployed an unprecedented 200,000 troops for the siege. At that time, the Tang army still had over 30,000 soldiers, all of whom were engaged in fierce combat. Even 30,000 conscripts joined the fight. That night, Xiangzhou City stood on the brink of survival.

At the second watch, sudden activity arose in the previously silent southern camp. There were only a thousand defenders on the southern city walls. Disturbed by the loud roaring noises, they looked fearfully into the darkness. In the pitch-black night, a huge, dark mass was slowly approaching the city walls, like some prehistoric monster. It was four zhang tall and ten zhang long. When it was still a hundred steps away from the walls, all the soldiers shouted at once, “A battering ram!”

Indeed, it was an unbelievably massive battering ram. Its shaft was made of a thousand-year-old tree, eight zhang long and one zhang in diameter, with a cone-shaped tip made of refined iron. The wooden frame supporting the ram was even larger, with wood thicker than a human thigh. Dozens of iron chains a hundred zhang long hung from the ram’s body, and the base was equipped with eighteen giant wooden wheels as tall as a person.

An Lushan’s camp also had a dozen or so battering rams, but they were all small and practically useless. This colossal ram had been crafted by An Lushan over a year and was his secret weapon originally intended for attacking Chang’an. It had only arrived in Xiangzhou that morning.

The entire battering ram weighed tens of thousands of jin and was operated by 400 strong oxen and 3,000 soldiers. This was Gao Shang’s ingenious strategy—to overwhelm the enemy with force, forcing Cheng Qianli to divert all his troops from Xiangzhou to the other three cities. With few soldiers left on the southern walls, they would then use their powerful battering rams to attack.

Xiangzhou City was over sixty li in circumference. Even the fastest reinforcements from the three cities would take at least fifteen minutes to arrive. In this way, the Yan army created a time gap. By the time the reinforcements arrived, it would already be too late.

The battering ram feared two things most: gunpowder and iron hooks. To counter gunpowder fires, a thick layer of ice was applied to the entire ram, and 500 soldiers were specifically assigned to use sand to put out the flames. Moreover, Gao Shang had limited amounts of gunpowder, which he would surely use for defending the North City—this was a result of his lack of experience.

As for iron hooks, if the defenders on the city walls used hooks 100 zhang long to pull the chains of the battering ram sideways, it would lose balance and topple over. Gao Shang paid even less attention to this; since he hadn’t prepared thunder bombs, how could he have iron hooks that long?

The battering ram advanced slowly like a mountain, now only 50 steps away from the city gates. The 400 strong oxen used for pulling had already been taken away, and 3,000 Yan soldiers pushed it forward from both sides.

The over a thousand defenders on the city walls shot arrows like rain, which clanged against the battering ram. The Yan soldiers on both sides were prepared, with hundreds holding up large shields to protect their comrades as they pushed the ram forward.

The battering ram’s target wasn’t the city gates. The structure of the Central Plains’ city gates differed from those in the West—they consisted of double gates with a 20-zhang-long passage. The real defense lay in the inner gates, which were sealed with huge stones. The massive battering ram couldn’t get inside, so its target was the city wall. Its conical head ensured its immense destructive power.

Another 3,000 reinforcements continued to rush to the city walls. The nearest reinforcements from the East City were still several miles away from the South City. But the huge battering ram had already reached the foot of the city walls and stopped, as if time itself had halted. The soldiers on the walls ceased their futile shooting. Without gunpowder to set it on fire, throwing stones was useless. They stared blankly as the battering ram slowly pulled back.

2,000 Yan soldiers pulled the chains under the cover of their shields, shouting loudly. The 8-zhang-long, thick ram body rose higher and higher. Suddenly, with a loud cry, the chains loosened.

The dark ram body generated a strange whistling sound as it rushed downward with earth-shattering force, slamming violently into the city wall…

With a dull thud, the sound spread throughout the city. Many people felt their feet trembling as tens of thousands of pounds of force was transmitted to the wall in an instant. The South City Wall shook violently, causing the over a thousand defenders on it to lose their balance and fall.

The sturdy outer layer of the wall cracked. The combined force of the massive ram body and its high kinetic energy created an impact force of hundreds of thousands of pounds, all concentrated on five or six bricks. Unable to withstand such force, they were crushed into the city, creating a five-foot-wide hole.

Another cry was heard, and the massive battering ram was pulled up with a creaking sound. Two thousand soldiers suddenly released it, and the earth-shattering impact struck the city wall once again. With a roar, the bricks collapsed, and mud and sand poured out, instantly flooding the base of the battering ram and revealing a huge hole several dozen feet wide.

The section of the city wall chosen by the Yan army was the narrowest part, only two zhang wide. When the battering ram was pulled up high once more, the soldiers on the wall felt a sense of tragic determination as death approached. General Zhou Yuanlang drew his sword and shouted, “Brothers, let’s go down and fight to the death!”

……

“Boom!”

Another fierce impact, but this time it wasn’t muffled—it was a piercing sound that shattered the walls. Hundreds of stones flew everywhere inside the city. The head of the ram, like that of a giant dragon, had penetrated inside the city. The bricks collapsed, creating a huge hole four or five zhang wide.

The thousand Tang soldiers guarding there all showed a tragic expression, but none of them fled. They raised their crossbows and drew their swords, ready to use their bodies as a final barrier to defend Xiangzhou City.

Suddenly, loud shouts of battle echoed from the camp outside the southern city. Twenty thousand elite Yan soldiers rushed out from their tents. Three thousand cavalry led the way, and the twenty thousand troops surged in like a raging tide, entering Xiangzhou City through the collapsed hole in the southern wall.

Zhou Yuanlang shouted, “Brothers, kill the invaders!”

The thousand defenders ignored life and death, charging forward to fight to the end against An Lushan’s army……

With the southern city lost, the balance of victory tilted in favor of the Yan army. At that moment, Cheng Qianli issued his final order, “The entire army must break through from the southern city!”

The order to break through spread throughout the city. The last twenty thousand Tang soldiers left the city walls and headed for the southern gate, where the enemy forces were weakest. The Yan army immediately rushed onto the city walls. An officer shouted wildly, “The commander orders that whoever captures Cheng Qianli alive will be rewarded with ten thousand taels of gold!”

“Capture Cheng Qianli alive!”

The shouts echoed across the city walls. All the Tang soldiers had retreated, but Cheng Qianli remained firm.

“General, please go!”
A few bodyguards desperately pushed at Cheng Qianli, but he shook them off. He strode onto the battlements, his blood-red eyes fixed on the camp outside. In the flickering flames, he seemed to see An Lushan laughing triumphantly.

Suddenly, he shouted loudly, “An Lushan! I, Cheng Qianli, was born a subject of the Tang Dynasty and will die as one. Stop deluding yourself!”

He drew his sword abruptly and slashed at his own neck……

At that moment, snowflakes began to fall from the sky, covering everything in a heavy snowfall. It was the first heavy snowfall in southern Hebei.

As the smoke of the fierce battle at Xiangzhou dissipated, An Lushan’s 300,000-strong army finally captured the city. Of the 50,000 Tang troops defending it, only 13,000 managed to escape; the rest were nearly all killed in battle. The commander, Cheng Qianli, committed suicide when the city fell, sharing its fate. An Lushan’s army also suffered heavy losses, with over 50,000 dead and countless wounded. Yet, the victory at Xiangzhou did not grant An Lushan any strategic advantage. As the first heavy snowfall hit the Yellow River, it began to freeze solid. Three days later, Li Sheng’s forces of 30,000 crossed the Yellow River and entered Dezhou. Li Guangbi also led 100,000 troops across the river from Heyin and advanced toward Weizhou.