Chapter 642: The Shangdang Campaign (4)

Li Guangbi led 2,000 cavalry at full speed along the edge of the vast forest, parallel to the main road—which was five li away. Full of confidence, he had no idea that the hill he had just crossed was the entrance to a trap set by An Shouzhong.

At that moment, a group of scouts rushed over, their faces filled with panic. They whispered a few words in Li Guangbi’s ear. His expression changed, but he waved his hand, signaling his soldiers to keep moving forward. His deputy general looked stunned—was he deliberately heading into danger despite knowing there were threats ahead?

It was already the first watch of the night. About 500 carriages were parked on the road 20 li north of Fuyang County, loaded with fodder. For a time, fodder had been more valuable than grain in Hebei. The drivers and soldiers were sleeping inside the carriages, planning to rest for two hours before continuing southward. Their task was to transport supplies back and forth; after countless trips, they were exhausted, and even the necessary sentries had gone somewhere to sleep.

The carriages were parked haphazardly on the road, with horses grazing and drinking water before sleeping in front of them. The surroundings were quiet, filled only with the intermittent chirping of insects.

Suddenly, a rocket shot through the air with a whoosh, hitting a pile of fodder in one of the carriages. Flames instantly erupted, spreading rapidly with the wind. In moments, the fire soared into the sky. The driver sleeping in the fodder pile screamed as he fell from the carriage, his hair already engulfed in flames.

More rockets rained down, and within seconds, over 300 carriages were set ablaze. Chaos ensued on the road. The guarding soldiers scrambled onto their horses, desperately trying to control the panicked beasts.

“Attack!” Li Guangbi roared. The 2,000 cavalry rushed out of the forest like tigers, charging at the convoy and engaging in fierce battles with the Yan troops. The sound of weapons clashing filled the air as cavalrymen fell from their horses after being struck. The Yan troops were no match for the Tang forces. In short order, more than half of the convoy’s guards were killed or wounded, and the remaining cavalry scattered in all directions. All the carriages were now completely consumed by fire. Countless flaming carriages raced across the road and fields before toppling over, their horses buried under burning fodder.

At that moment, Li Guangbi glanced coldly around the forest. He could already hear shouts and the thunderous sound of horse hooves coming from all directions. Dense ranks of Yan troops appeared from every side—mostly infantry. Based on his experience, their number must have been no less than 30,000.

Li Guangbi’s judgment was accurate. Thirty-five thousand troops in total: Li Guiren, Cai Xide, and Li Huaixian each provided ten thousand, plus another five thousand under An Shouzhong to guard the supplies. He was in charge of leading this campaign against the Tang forces—leading, not commanding. He couldn’t command Li Huaixian’s troops; Li Huaixian could deploy his forces at An Qingxu’s orders, but command authority would never be handed over to him. The three armies formed a vast hunting net, rapidly closing in on their prey. But when about four hundred paces away from Li Guangbi’s forces, the thirty-something thousand Yan troops stopped in their tracks. It was as if the prey were a fierce lion, and none of the hunters dared approach to capture it. Usually, they would wait for the lion to die of hunger and thirst. Moreover, these were three hunters with their own motives—none wanted to take the risk of capturing the prey, yet all wanted the best prize: Li Guangbi’s head. Under the encirclement of the heavy forces, Li Guangbi’s two thousand troops quickly formed a circular formation, with two large rings—one outer and one inner. The horses in the outer ring were spaced one step apart, and those in the inner ring were also spaced one step apart, arranged alternately with the outer ring, allowing both sides to advance and retreat, creating two lines of attack. Each cavalryman carried a state-of-the-art cavalry crossbow. This was a newly developed bowcrossbow designed specifically for cavalry, similar to the later Shenbi crossbow. Its bow was three feet three inches long, with a string two feet five inches long, offering a range of up to three hundred paces and an effective killing range of one hundred eighty paces. Its main difference lay in the stringing mechanism. Ordinary crossbows were pulled backward using force from the feet or arms, but this crossbow featured a lever-like copper rod that pulled the string forward from the bottom, using the principle of leverage to string it easily. This reverse stringing method was not very practical for infantry but was ideal for cavalry. The crossbow arrows had wooden handles, allowing cavalrymen to hold a shield in one hand while using the other to string the bow. There was also an iron ring beside the saddle, which was crucial for stringing. With this cavalry crossbow, one simply inserted the lever into the ring and pulled upward with one hand—click— and the stringing was complete. The arrows were stored in quivers, with twenty arrows per quiver. By holding the crossbow horizontally and using the index finger to lift the arrow cover, an arrow would fall precisely into the slot. Even if there was a slight misalignment, it could be adjusted manually. The arrows were seven inches long but sharper, faster, and more effective at piercing armor. This convenient, fast, and powerful cavalry crossbow was highly favored by the cavalry once ten thousand were equipped. Since the arrow quivers resembled rhinoceros horns, the cavalry called it the “Rhinoceros Moon-Gazing Crossbow.”

With its unique handle, many clever soldiers utilized the grooves on the shield in combination with this crossbow to shoot with one hand. This shooting method quickly became popular in the military camps and caught the attention of armorsmiths, who began to study the combination of shields and crossbow arrows.

Two thousand cavalry formed two large circles, inner and outer, with two thousand crossbows aimed coldly at the enemy forces 300 steps away, creating a standoff between the two sides. However, this standoff lasted only for a short while. The Li Guiren forces in the southwest launched the attack first, followed by the Cai Xide forces in the east. An Shouzhong’s five thousand troops tasked with protecting supplies also charged forward, but Li Huaixian’s 10,000 troops in the north remained motionless. They waved flags, shouted, and beat drums to boost morale, but none of them charged.

Li Huaixian’s fierce general, Li Riyue, received orders from his commander to avoid direct combat in order to conserve strength. Twenty-five thousand Yan troops charged fiercely from three directions with overwhelming momentum, but Li Guangbi remained unmoved. He had secret weapons and was not panicked. Seeing that the northern troops were only shouting but not actually attacking, Li Guangbi realized something and quickly adjusted his formation from a circular shape to a half-moon shape, increasing the firing range.

Although the Tang army consisted of only two thousand men, they were as resolute as Mount Tai. With cold gazes and crossbows in hand, they aimed at the advancing Yan troops without any fear or intention to retreat. The fierce killing intent emitted by these two thousand men was no less than that of the twenty-five thousand Yan troops.

The Yan troops rushed rapidly toward the Tang army—300 steps… 250 steps… 200 steps… 180 steps. The cavalry reached the killing distance first. Suddenly, a rapid sound of clappers arose among the Tang troops. Following the clapping, a thousand crossbow arrows were fired like a rainstorm at the dense ranks of Yan cavalry. Chaos ensued as hundreds of Yan cavalry were hit and fell to the ground. Then, the cavalry in the inner circle charged forward again, and another thousand arrows were fired in rapid succession, killing another three or four hundred cavalrymen.

Another thousand cavalry had already loaded their crossbows and fired again. The Tang soldiers had gradually developed coordination. Instead of firing one after another, they shot side by side, creating a timing difference with their comrades. As one round of arrows was fired, another was immediately shot.

Entering the formation, drawing the crossbow, releasing the arrow, shooting—almost all in one smooth motion, with such proficiency that the arrow barrage never paused, flowing like a seamless stream. Wave after wave of arrows was fired at the enemy ranks. In just a hundred paces, twelve thousand arrows were shot in six rounds. Nearly five thousand cavalrymen on the Yan side were killed or wounded. Li Guiren’s eight thousand cavalry were the first to collapse and withdraw from the siege.

An Shouzhong was also an experienced veteran general. Seeing the deadly power of the Tang cavalry’s crossbow arrows filled him with awe. Moreover, Li Huaixian’s troops were not involved in the siege, creating weaknesses on both sides that allowed the Tang forces to escape easily through them. He immediately shouted, “Withdraw!”

The sound of the retreat gong rang—ding! ding! ding! The Yan forces, sensing the disadvantage, retreated like a tide, moving back to three hundred paces away. The Tang forces continued shooting, firing densely at the ground. Thousands of wounded Yan soldiers writhed on the ground, along with horses lying there, bleeding and convulsing. In moments, the battlefield fell silent—all the wounded soldiers and horses had been killed.

The Tang soldiers also suffered over thirty injuries from flying arrows, but none were killed. The battlefield settled down, and both sides entered a new round of standoff.

An Shouzhong galloped to the north and angrily rebuked General Li Riyue, “All our soldiers are risking their lives—why isn’t your unit participating?” Li Riyue replied coldly, “The time isn’t right. Sending troops now would result in heavy losses, which isn’t worth it.” An Shouzhong was furious and cursed, “You bastard! If it weren’t for your refusal to send troops, our losses wouldn’t be so severe! You’re acting out of self-interest!” “General An!” Li Riyue still spoke indifferently, “Whether to send troops is a decision for us. You’re not Prince An Shao—you have no right to command us. So please refrain from overstepping your authority.” “You!” An Shouzhong trembled with rage. He drew an arrow, broke it in half, then turned and rode away. Li Riyue glanced at the broken arrow on the ground and sneered disdainfully.

Inside the Tang army, Li Guangbi was filled with passion. He encouraged his soldiers loudly, “Well done! Truly worthy of the Anxi Army—unperturbed even when facing disaster. Let those Yan scoundrels see what the best army in the world is like, what it means to fight ten with one. Brothers, today we’ll show the whole world that soldiers who have fought on the Turfan battlefield are invincible!”

On the main road, 2,000 Tang troops were facing off against 30,000 Yan troops, while inside the Yan army’s granary in Linming County, the sounds of battle were deafening. Linming originally had 8,000 Yan troops stationed there, but An Shouzhong took 5,000 of them to lay an ambush against Li Guangbi, with another 1,000 cavalry pretending to escort supplies. Only 2,000 troops remained in the granary, leaving them extremely weak.

At that moment, 3,000 Tang troops led by Li Guangbi’s general Yong Xihao broke through the desperate resistance of the 2,000 troops guarding the granary and rushed into it. Bags of fire oil were poured onto the granaries, and torches ignited the oil, causing flames to shoot into the air. One after another, the granaries were consumed by raging fires. The flames lit up the dark night sky, and the bright flames and thick smoke could be seen from a hundred miles away.

Thirty miles away on the main road, the Tang and Yan troops were still locked in combat. Suddenly, a Tang soldier pointed north and shouted, “General, General Yong has succeeded!”

The Yan troops also noticed the anomaly and immediately became chaotic. Everyone was stunned. An Shouzhong slapped his forehead hard, filled with pain—he had fallen for Li Guangbi’s trick of luring him away.

Seeing the moment was ripe, Li Guangbi shouted, “Fire the Thunder Bombs!”

Immediately, a dozen Tang army craftsmen dismounted a small catapult from their horses. The catapult consisted of four parts and was assembled in no time. Dozens of Tang soldiers carried it dozens of steps away.

This catapult resembled a large crossbow, about 33 feet long. Using a winch to generate force, it could shoot objects weighing 30 jin up to 300 steps away.

The 20,000 Yan troops stared blankly at them working, unsure what the Tang troops were doing—were they planning to use stones in battle? But with just one catapult, what was the point?

A Tang soldier lit the Thunder Bomb, which resembled a black pumpkin. The fuse burned rapidly. When it reached the 300-step mark, the catapult fired. A dark thunder bomb arced through the air, emitting white smoke as it flew toward the densest group of Yan infantry. These were Cai Xide’s troops—over 10,000 Yan soldiers looked up in horror as the black sphere rushed toward them.

At that moment, the 2,000 Tang troops turned and ran north at full speed, covering 150 steps in one go to escape the range of the Thunder Bombs. Many covered their ears, even covering their warhorses’ ears as well.

An Shouzhong suddenly realized the danger. He shouted, “It’s bad!”

As soon as the words were spoken, the thunderous bomb exploded violently among the Yan troops. A red flame burst forth, followed by an earth-shattering explosion. Red light flashed, and thick smoke billowed into the air, quickly forming a mushroom cloud. Under the combined impact of gunpowder, shockwaves, and shattered metal fragments, the Yan troops suffered heavy casualties. The explosion site was filled with severed limbs, crushed heads, broken bodies, and soldiers killed by the shockwaves. Injured soldiers lay everywhere, with cries of pain filling the air. The dense crowd of Yan troops amplified the bomb’s destructive power, killing and injuring over a thousand of them.

Yet the bomb’s true effect was fear. The more than 20,000 Yan troops present were stunned. They had never seen such a powerful weapon—it was as if the god of thunder himself was enraged. Most of the soldiers were barbarians who knelt on the ground, desperately begging for mercy, claiming it was divine punishment for their cruelty.

Although the Tang troops were prepared, they were still thrown into chaos by the bomb’s loud explosion. But they quickly regained control. Li Guangbi swung his sword and shouted, “Brothers! The moment for heroes has come! Let the enemy troops tremble beneath our hooves!” The Tang troops roared in unison. Two thousand swords flashed with deadly intent, and two thousand cavalry charged like thunder, sweeping through the panicked Yan troops with unstoppable force.

The Yan troops were already demoralized and had no will to resist, collapsing instantly. They scattered in all directions, crying out in despair. Heads rolled under the hooves of the Tang cavalry, and pleas turned into screams of death.

Seeing that the Yan troops could no longer resist and knowing that the granaries under his command had been burned by the Tang troops, An Shouzhong realized Li Guiren would not spare him. He led two thousand loyal soldiers southeast to join Tian Chengsi. Li Riyue was also stunned by the bomb and had no desire to fight, focusing instead on preserving his forces. He led 10,000 of his men to evacuate the battlefield swiftly.

The worst fate befell Li Guiren’s and Cai Xide’s armies, especially Li Guiren’s, which became the target of the Tang army’s brutal assault. In this battle, the Yan troops suffered massive casualties—35,000 of them were killed, with over 18,000 slain. The Tang army had only 2,000 cavalry, and fewer than 200 of them were killed or injured, resulting in one of the greatest victories for the few against the many during the An Lushan Rebellion.

This battle made Li Guangbi famous throughout the land, earning him the title of “God of War.” His fame quickly surpassed that of Li Siye, making him the second most important figure in the Anxi Army after Li Qing’an.