Chapter 622: The Death of Ge Shu Han

This was a subconscious impulse of Zhang Weijin’s—he already regarded Li Hen as the emperor in his heart. Thus, as soon as Li Hen’s imperial edict arrived, he knelt down without hesitation.
Yang Shenjin declared loudly, “I am deeply pleased to hear that Zhang Weijin, a loyal and righteous official from Xiangzhou, wishes to return to the legitimate throne. To honor his loyalty and righteousness, I hereby appoint him as the Prince of Xiangyang, Grand General of the Cavalry, and equal in rank to the Three Ministers. Additionally, he is appointed Minister of Rites, with a fief of a thousand households in Xiangyang. So be it!”
Li Hen went to great lengths to win over Zhang Weijin. Even when An Lushan was made a prince, he did not yet hold the positions of Minister of Rites or equal to the Three Ministers. Now, all these titles were given to Zhang Weijin because the situation was extremely urgent—if Jingzhou was not captured soon, the armies in the south would be completely destroyed.
Zhang Weijin was overjoyed. He kowtowed three times and said, “Your servant Zhang Weijin accepts the edict!”
Yang Shenjin quickly helped him up and handed him the secret decree, laughing, “Your Highness, the Prince, now we shall serve under the same roof. First, let me congratulate you.”
The title “Your Highness, the Prince” filled Zhang Weijin with joy. stroking his beard, he said with a smile, “Vice Minister Yang, you’re too kind. As long as I receive the emperor’s salary, I must be loyal to him. Please give me any orders the emperor has for me.”
“Hmm! The emperor does have a task for you.”
“Speak! If the emperor wants Li Mao’s head, I’ll fetch it for you right away.”
Yang Shenjin shook his head and laughed, “Li Mao’s head isn’t urgent.”
“If it’s not Li Mao’s head, then what does the emperor want?”
Yang Shenjin leaned in and lowered his voice, “The emperor first wants Ge Shu Han’s head.”
……
Yang Shenjin was taken away to rest. Zhang Weijin paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. Although he had already accepted Li Hen’s appointment and become a prince, he wasn’t foolish. He knew Li Hen was only using him. The fact that Li Hen had made him a prince might not have been out of goodwill. Right now, they needed him, which was why they were so deferential, but what would happen to him once they were done using him? Li Hen wasn’t someone who would spare even his own sons and grandchildren—would he spare Zhang Weijin?
Moreover, Zhang Weijin was even more convinced that Southern Tang would eventually be conquered by Northern Tang. He wondered if surrendering to Southern Tang had been a wise decision.
At that moment, his cousin Zhang Zhong came in. Seeing his brother’s worried expression, he asked, “Brother, are you worried that Li Hen might change his mind?”
Zhang Weijin nodded. “I’m not only worried that Li Hen might go back on his word but also that Southern Tang will eventually be destroyed by Northern Tang.”
“Then why don’t you defect to Northern Tang?”

“What can I gain by joining the Northern Tang? Li Qing’an doesn’t even consider Jingxiang to be important. He has many talented subordinates; at most I could become a general, perhaps just a lieutenant general. If I pursue a civil career, the most I could achieve is be the governor of Xiangzhou. Only by surrendering to Li Hen do I have a chance of being made a prince. I know that clearly.”
Zhang Zhong came from the streets; such people lack the ability to achieve great things, but they are cunning, pragmatic, and good at calculating and protecting their own interests. After thinking for a while, he said, “Elder brother, I think you don’t need to worry. As long as you have an army, Li Hen won’t dare to touch you easily. In the future, once the Northern Tang destroys the Southern Tang, our Zhang family can surrender to Li Qing’an and still enjoy wealth and status. Right, elder brother?”
Although Zhang Zhong’s idea was simple, it hit the mark, instantly reminding Zhang Weijin. He narrowed his eyes and smiled slyly—that’s exactly it.
He then glanced at the few letters on the table. They were from Yang Shenjin and had been exchanged between him and Ge Shuhan when Li Qing’an gave him medicinal wine. These letters had remained in Ge Shuhan’s home in Chengdu and were seized by Li Hen during his raid on Ge Shuhan’s house.
The content of the letters was quite ordinary, just reminiscing about the past and Li Qing’an showing concern for Ge Shuhan’s health. But the letters themselves posed a serious problem.
Since Li Hen wanted Zhang Weijin to kill Ge Shuhan, he naturally had to give these pieces of evidence to him. Recalling how Ge Shuhan had forced Li Mao to try to kill him, Zhang Weijin gritted his teeth secretly. Fine! A true man must be ruthless. Since Ge Shuhan had tried to harm him repeatedly, he shouldn’t be blamed for being heartless.
“Alright! Take good care of Yang Shenjin for me. Tell him I’m going to see Li Mao right now.”
Zhang Weijin quickly packed up and left in a hurry.
…
Li Mao had also been quite troubled these days. He learned about Li Qing’an’s invasion of the Jiangnan region three days later than Li Hen. Despite this, he was extremely anxious. After seizing Jiangnan, might Li Qing’an turn his attention to attacking Jingxiang?
However, his worries were soon relieved when officials in Chang’an wrote to him, explaining that Li Qing’an attacked Jiangnan only because of soaring prices in Chang’an and the difficulty of transporting supplies from Jiangnan to Chang’an. With An Lushan still not defeated in Hebei, Li Qing’an couldn’t wage war on multiple fronts.
But just as Li Mao’s worries dissipated, news came that Li Hen was leading an army of 100,000 troops to Yiling. This made Li Mao’s heart hang in suspense once again.
He immediately ordered Ge Shuhan to advance to Zhijiang to prepare for battle against Li Hen’s army. Unexpectedly, Ge Shuhan submitted a memorial stating that Zhijiang was too small to defend against the Southern Tang forces, and it would be better to hold onto Jingzhou. He refused to obey the order and stayed in Jingzhou.

Soon, a secret report arrived from Jingzhou, stating that Ge Shuhan had remained inactive out of resentment for refusing to kill Zhang Weijin and Zhao Fengzhang. This angered Li Mao greatly, but he was helpless. At that moment, Li Mao realized he relied too much on Ge Shuhan, who didn’t even take him seriously.

Li Mao had no mood for songs or dances. He locked himself in his study to study maps, deeply worried. Last time, Li Heng’s army had advanced eastward only with the help of Li Qing’an, forcing him to retreat to Bashu. This time, Li Qing’an was fighting in the south and would certainly not help him again. Li Mao had no confidence at all.

Suddenly, a guard reported from outside, “Your Highness, General Zhang has arrived and urgently requests an audience.”

Zhang Weijin arrived at just the right time. Li Mao also wanted to discuss strategies to deal with Li Heng, so he said, “Let him in!”

A moment later, Zhang Weijin entered the study, knelt down, and said, “Your servant Zhang Weijin pays his respects to Your Highness.”

“General Zhang, please rise.”

Li Mao’s queen was in Chang’an, and he had two favorite concubines in Xiangyang, both of whom were Zhang Weijin’s sisters. Thus, Zhang Weijin could be considered his brother-in-law and one of his most trusted confidants. Although the Zhang family was somewhat domineering in Xiangyang, Li Mao didn’t care as long as Zhang Weijin could help him solve problems.

Li Mao sighed and said, “General Zhang, the situation is unfavorable to me. I’m extremely worried!”

Zhang Weijin smiled slightly and said, “Your Highness, I think the situation is actually favorable to us.”

Li Mao perked up and asked eagerly, “How so?”

“The key is that Your Highness overestimates Li Heng’s strength. In fact, once Gao Xianzhi falls, the Jiannan army is no longer a threat. Xi Yuanqing and Zhao Chongjin have surrendered to Li Qing’an, and Jia Chongguan has been exiled to Nanzhao. All three of the Jiannan army’s top generals are gone—so what’s there to fear?”

Zhang Weijin’s words sounded reasonable, and it was indeed the case. Li Mao’s anxiety was greatly relieved. He nodded and smiled, “Moreover, we have 150,000 troops, while Li Heng only has 120,000. What Ge Shuhan said makes sense too. The Jingxiang army is good at naval battles, while the Jiannan army is good at mountain battles. We should fight them in the Jingzhou area—this is a strategy to leverage our strengths and avoid our weaknesses.”

Zhang Weijin shook his head. “Your Highness is wrong. If you follow Ge Shuhan’s advice, you will surely die without even a proper burial.”

“What do you mean by that?” Li Mao asked unhappily. Zhang Weijin’s words were too harsh—what did he mean by dying without a proper burial? It annoyed Li Mao greatly.

“Your Highness, he refuses to go to Zhijiang, claiming that Li Heng will attack Jingzhou. That’s just his wishful thinking. Li Heng’s Jiannan Army is not good at naval battles. Why attack Jingzhou? Can’t they just attack Xiangyang directly? Will Geshu Han come to save Your Highness then? No, definitely not. He’ll take the opportunity to lead his naval forces eastward to join his new master.”
“What? Lead troops eastward? Join a new master? Speak clearly!”
“Your Highness, the reason I rushed back from Shouzhou is that I received top-secret information: Geshu Han has colluded with Li Qing’an. He plans to betray Your Highness and hand over Jingzhou’s naval forces to Li Qing’an.”
Li Mao was shocked. “Do you have any evidence for this?”
“Yes! I have evidence.”
Zhang Weijin handed the letters between Geshu Han and Li Qing’an to Li Mao and added, “These were stolen by Geshu Han’s personal guards. He was seriously injured and rushed to Shouzhou to give these letters to me. He also told me…”
At this point, Zhang Weijin deliberately stopped speaking, waiting for Li Mao to finish reading the letters. By the time Li Mao finished, his face had turned pale green. The evidence was irrefutable—Geshu Han and Li Qing’an had long been in collusion.
“What did he tell you?” Li Mao demanded fiercely.
“He told me that Li Qing’an’s biggest weakness in attacking the south is the lack of warships and a naval force. So Li Qing’an wrote to Geshu Han, asking him to lead 80,000 naval troops and warships eastward to assist in the battle. Unfortunately, the soldier who was supposed to steal the letter was caught, injured, and fled Jingzhou overnight to come to me. After telling me all this, he died from his injuries.”
Zhang Weijin knew Li Mao’s personality well. Li Mao was already highly suspicious of Geshu Han. Now that the origin of these letters was confirmed, he wouldn’t ask about details like who the messenger was. It was as if Li Mao’s heart was already filled with resentment toward Geshu Han, and these letters were the spark that ignited it.
Sure enough, Li Mao flew into a rage, threw the letters onto the ground, and cursed in the direction of Jingzhou, “Geshu Han! You’re ungrateful and deserve death!”
Zhang Weijin took the opportunity to fuel the fire further. “Your Highness, Geshu Han has been ungrateful for a long time. First, he betrayed the late emperor and surrendered to Li Heng. Later, he betrayed Li Heng and rejoined the late emperor. After the emperor’s death, Li Heng ascended the throne. Fearing that Li Heng would hold it against him, Geshu Han turned to Your Highness. But in his heart, he never regarded Your Highness as his true master. Even those of us below can tell—he’s the Prince of Lianghu, not a general under the Prince of Jing…”
“Enough!”

Li Mao angrily interrupted Zhang Weijin, pacing back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. He had gradually come to understand certain things. Last time, he had said that Li Qingan would show him respect, so he wrote a letter to Li Qingan, and indeed Li Qingan sent troops. He still didn’t know what his letter said.
If Ge Shu Han didn’t agree to something for Li Qingan, would Li Qingan send troops?
Needless to say, he could guess that Ge Shu Han must have agreed. If Li Qingan attacked Jiangnan, he would send his naval forces to assist. Hmph! It was unclear who really held control over the Jingxiang army—himself or his brother Ge Shu Han?
Thinking of this, Li Mao became filled with murderous intent. He said darkly, “If internal traitors aren’t eliminated, how can external enemies be repelled? I wanted to tolerate him, but he wouldn’t tolerate me. Very well, General Zhang, do you have any way to help me kill this ungrateful wretch?”
“Yes! I have a plan to kill Ge Shu Han.”
……
Five days later, Ge Shu Han led a thousand elite cavalry troops to Shuidao County, about a hundred li away from Xiangzhou. He had been ordered by Li Mao to rush back to Xiangyang immediately so that the military commanders in various regions could discuss strategies to deal with the Jiannan army.
Ge Shu Han didn’t suspect anything. With a major enemy at the door, even if Li Mao was dissatisfied with him, he wouldn’t dare kill him at such a time. He was very confident. Besides himself, who else could Li Mao rely on? Moreover, he had a thousand elite cavalry troops—veterans from Longyou who had fought alongside him for years. With them around, how could Li Mao do anything to him?
Ge Shu Han also wanted to settle accounts with Li Mao in Xiangyang. Li Mao had promised to investigate the issue of selling military positions within the army but later gave no further news. Perhaps Li Mao wanted to let it go, but Ge Shu Han wouldn’t accept that. If he didn’t investigate this thoroughly, how could he face his subordinates?
Fortunately, the Jiannan army was attacking, and Li Mao now needed his help. This was the perfect opportunity. He could send troops, but he had to give Li Mao an explanation.
Filled with grief and anger, Ge Shu Han rushed along the Han River. That afternoon, he entered Shuidao County. Five li ahead, a river blocked his path.
This was an important crossing point on the Han River, called Shukou Crossing. A tributary of the Han River, the Shu River, flowed into it here. Ge Shu Han didn’t need to cross the Han River, but he needed to cross the Shu River. Of course, he could also take a detour to Yiqing County, thirty li away, to cross the river, but Yiqing County was a small crossing point without large ferries. It would take at least a day for his thousand cavalry troops to cross the river, and he couldn’t wait. So Ge Shu Han decided to cross at Shukou Crossing.

The Shukou ferry was very wide, located at the mouth where the Shu River flowed into the river. It allowed crossing the Han River to the east and the Shu River to the north. Three or four large ships were docked at the ferry terminal. One of the large ships was already full of passengers, gently making its way across to the other side of the Han River.

“General!”

His personal officer rushed back and reported, “I’ve talked to the boatmen. There are two large ships available. Each ship can carry sixty people, including horses, across the river each time. They should all be able to cross by dark.”

Ge Shuhan glanced at the sky. It would still be about an hour and a half before dark. That was good. He nodded and ordered, “Then use these two ships. Tell everyone to cross the river in order!”

Ge Shuhan’s army was crossing a river, not the Han River. It only took fifteen minutes to make a round trip. His personal soldiers dismounted and led their horses onto the ferry boats. Both ferry boats were large boats capable of carrying 300 tons. Four rowers pushed the boats forward, one in front and one behind. If they had to cross the Han River, they would need to set sails and rely on the wind to carry them across.

Soon, the two boats set off on the water. Before long, the first boat returned, with the first batch of sixty cavalry having safely crossed the river.

At that moment, Ge Shuhan boarded the boat, accompanied by fifty of his personal soldiers. The ferry boat slowly moved away from the shore. Everything seemed normal. Standing at the bow, Ge Shuhan gazed at the Han River, his heart heavy with anxiety about his future. He was already in his fifties, yet his future remained uncertain. Li Longji had once trusted and relied on him, but later he became incompetent. Ge Shuhan thought he was like a madman.

Although Li Heng was more sensible than Li Longji, he was cruel and would never tolerate someone like Ge Shuhan. So Ge Shuhan left the Jiannan army without hesitation.

Ge Shuhan had originally thought that Li Mao, who valued scholars and was kind-hearted, would be a wise ruler. He sincerely wanted to serve Li Mao as his lord. But unexpectedly, Li Mao turned out to be just as incompetent and unreliable. He listened to treacherous advisors and allowed officials to be sold in the army. This made Ge Shuhan unable to bear it and left him extremely disappointed.

Gazing at the vast river, Ge Shuhan let out a long sigh. He thought of Li Qing’an. Li Qing’an was his junior, yet now he could rule the country. After all, it was because he had chosen the path of raising an army to establish his own power—this was the only viable path for warlords like them!

Serving the Li family wholeheartedly didn’t guarantee safety; in the end, they would still be killed like dogs by the Li family. Isn’t An Sishun a living example? And Gao Xianzhi—such a loyal person—would have been ruined and killed long ago if it weren’t for Li Qing’an’s help.

It was not until today, after nearly twenty years of serving the Li family, that Ge Shuhan finally understood this truth: when the birds are gone, the good bows are hidden; when the cunning rabbits die, their hounds are cooked. Serving the royal family ultimately leads to death, while only by raising an army and proclaiming oneself king can one hope for a peaceful end.

In fact, An Lushan also saw through this truth. But because he controlled the strategic region of Hebei, posed a great threat to the court, and was ambitious enough to overthrow the Li family, he was intolerable to the court.

Ge Shuhan had made up his mind. If Li Mao still refused to listen to his advice and persisted in his folly this time, he would lead his troops to Guangzhou and proclaim himself the governor of the Five Prefectures of Lingnan. With the mountains high and distances long, the court might not want to invade him. As long as he acknowledged the court’s authority, did not interfere in local affairs, and maintained a six-part autonomy and four-part compliance, he believed the court would turn a blind eye, just as Li Qingan had done in Anxi.

At this thought, Ge Shuhan felt a sudden clarity in his mind; the fog before his eyes dissipated, revealing a clear path ahead. He was filled with excitement, longing to return home like an arrow. He no longer wanted to go to Xiangyang. Enough—forget about Li Mao. He would return right away.

Just as Ge Shuhan turned around to give orders, he heard his subordinates shouting, “Boatman, where are you taking us?”

Startled, he realized the ferry was not heading to the other side of the river but was instead entering the Han River. Fuming, he drew his sword and pointed it at one of the rowers, shouting, “Turn back immediately, or I’ll kill you!”

The four rowers cried out in despair, “General, aren’t you going across the river? That’s why we’re heading to the other side.”

“Nonsense!”

Ge Shuhan realized something was wrong—several fast boats were speeding toward him, their sails full, like arrows leaving a bow. He could even faintly see people holding bows and crossbows at the bow of the boats.

Panicked, Ge Shuhan, who was a landlubber, knew he could defeat thousands on land but might not even beat a woman in water. He drew his sword and slashed at the rowers.

The four rowers shouted loudly and leaped into the river at the same time. The ferry immediately began spinning around in the water. His personal guards, all cavalry, did not know how to swim and panicked on board.

At that moment, water started pouring into the ferry from four openings. In moments, most of the ferry sank, and half of his fifty bodyguards fell into the river and disappeared.

Standing at the bow with his sword, Ge Shuhan was helpless as the ferry sank. Looking up to the sky, he cried out, “Heaven! Do you want to destroy me, Ge Shuhan?”

“Old thief Ge Shuhan, if heaven won’t destroy you, I will!”

A fast boat passed by him, and the man at the bow was none other than his arch-rival, General Zhang Weijin. Holding a bow and arrow, Zhang Weijin had already aimed at Geshu Han. Before he could react, Zhang shot an arrow with great force. With water all around him, Geshu Han had nowhere to hide. The arrow struck his right chest, piercing through his armor. He let out a loud cry before falling into the Han River along with his armor. The river surface turned red with blood, and a boatman was already holding Geshu Han’s head high in the air. “General Zhang, I’ve killed Geshu Han!” Zhang Weijin laughed heartily. “You wretched thief Geshu Han, even you have come to this day?”