Chapter 644: The Battle of Shangdang (6)

An Lushan’s wedding procession had arrived in Wangdu County, Dingzhou. To welcome Yang Guifei, An Lushan arranged a grand spectacle—he even used the imperial dragon carriage, which he had prepared years earlier and hidden in a warehouse. Now it was revealed to the public. Five hundred guards carried the massive dragon carriage, with eight hundred strong men marching in front, holding flags that fluttered in the wind, creating a magnificent sight.

Sitting in his carriage, An Lushan narrowed his eyes at the vast wedding procession. He was extremely satisfied with his arrangements. What status did Yang Guifei possess? Besides him, who else could afford to give her such grandeur and honor? He believed she would be overjoyed.

At that moment, a horse rushed over, ridden by one of An Lushan’s guards. He sent someone every day to inquire about Yang Guifei’s condition—had she eaten? Bathed? Rested well? He wanted to know every detail.

“My lord, there’s a painting!”

The guard handed him a painting scroll. An Lushan smiled as he took it. He closed his eyes for a moment to see clearly, then opened them and slowly unrolled the scroll, only to freeze in shock. The painting showed Yang Guifei naked, lying on a low couch, with a seductive expression on her face. Anger flared up in An Lushan’s heart.

How dare Li Zhur and painter Xu create such vulgar paintings of Yang Guifei? Had they lost all sense of decency? Li Zhur was an eunuch, so maybe it was tolerable, but painter Xu…

An Lushan was furious. He tore the painting in half. She was the woman he wanted to keep hidden in a golden palace—she was his most sacred possession. Who dared offend her? He resolved to kill Li Zhur and painter Xu at once.

But soon, An Lushan reconsidered. That didn’t make sense! How could Yang Guifei paint such a thing? Even in the Grand Ming Palace, it was impossible. Who was she? She had once been the most noble woman in the Tang Dynasty. If such a painting spread, how could she preserve her reputation? Moreover, she was now a female Taoist priest—it was even more impossible! What was going on? Hadn’t she refused to leave, desperate to die? Yet her expression on the couch clearly resembled that of a lustful whore.

Doubts began to arise in An Lushan’s mind. He was already a highly suspicious man. These days, his judgment had been clouded by thoughts of Yang Guifei, so he hadn’t thought carefully. But this painting was like a bucket of cold water thrown on him, making him shudder and regain some clarity.

Li Zhur had served him for ten years—how could he not know his temperament? Unless he wanted to die, he wouldn’t ask the Imperial Concubine to paint such a picture. More importantly, not even under torture would he believe that the esteemed Yang Guifei would strip naked and pose for an unknown painter. There must be something behind this!

Thinking this, he immediately ordered, “Return to Wangdu County!” He then instructed one of his bodyguards, “Send a pigeon message to Hengzhou and have Li Zhur brought to me.”

……

News of An Lushan’s army suddenly stopping in Wangdu County, Dingzhou, reached Shi Siming’s ears through scouts two hours later. This news truly surprised him—there was no reason for it! Why would An Lushan, who had come in such a hurry, suddenly stop in Wangdu County? And then turn back after passing it?

This gave Shi Siming an ominous premonition. Had An Lushan seen through his plans? Countless thoughts raced through his mind. He had prepared for this operation for three whole months—40,000 troops were stationed south of Hengzhou, another 40,000 north of it, with tens of thousands of Puguo cavalry between Hengzhou and Dingzhou. In essence, he had laid a tight net around Hengzhou. Once An Lushan entered, he would be trapped.

Shi Siming had waited a long time for this opportunity. Generals and strategists like Li Huaixian, Li Guiren, Cai Xide, An Qingxu, and Gao Shang were all confronting Li Qing’an in Hedong, while only An Lushan was in Youzhou. If he could eliminate An Lushan, he would be able to control the entire army of Youzhou.

By then, when those generals were defeated in Hedong, they would come to him for refuge. No one would dare oppose him anymore. Although Tian Chengsi of Wei Bo was still there, his distance and insufficient forces made him insignificant.

Shi Siming knew this was his once-in-a-lifetime chance. Missing it would make it difficult for him to realize his ambitions. Moreover, he had used a fake imperial concubine to deceive An Lushan. Once An Lushan found out, he wouldn’t spare him.

Shi Siming walked over to the map and studied An Lushan’s location. Wangdu County was at the border between Dingzhou and Yizhou, not far from Youzhou. If An Lushan discovered his plans, it would take him just one and a half days to return to Youzhou. The key now was whether An Lushan had realized his intentions or was merely stopping temporarily before continuing on.

After much thought, An Lushan probably hadn’t discovered his plans; otherwise, he would have turned back long ago. “Shi Siming, stay calm!” he warned himself silently.

At that moment, a bodyguard reported, “Deputy commander, Li Ge’er has arrived. He has urgent matters to discuss!”

Perfect timing—Shi Siming was just looking for him. “Hurry and send him in!”
Soon, Li Zhurou entered the room accompanied by his bodyguards. He was extremely nervous; his life hung in the balance at this moment. Facing Shi Siming’s eagle-like, sinister gaze, Li Zhurou’s legs gave way, and he knelt down with a thud, bowing his head. “Your servant Li Zhurou pays his respects to the deputy commander!”
“Hmm, get up.”
Shi Siming’s tone softened slightly. Suddenly, an accident occurred, and Li Zhurou’s role became slightly more important. Originally, as soon as An Lushan entered Hengzhou, he intended to kill Li Zhurou. An Lushan was the big pig, and Li Zhurou was the little pig—killing both would eliminate any future threats. As for that fat woman, he would use her as An Lushan’s burial companion. Hadn’t An Lushan rushed over just for her? Out of their decade-long friendship, he was willing to fulfill this wish for An Lushan.
Shi Siming’s gentle tone gave Li Zhurou a glimmer of hope. He stood up and said, “Deputy commander, I just received a pigeon message from An Lushan.”
“Oh?”
Shi Siming perked up and quickly asked, “Where is the message? Show it to me right away!”
Li Zhurou handed the message to Shi Siming, who eagerly opened it and skimmed through it. The content was simple: Li Zhurou was ordered to rush to Wangdu County immediately.
“Deputy commander!”
Li Zhurou glanced at Shi Siming secretly and timidly said, “I don’t want to go to Wangdu County. The prince will kill me.”
“No! You must go.”
Shi Siming replied without hesitation, “You must lure An Lushan to Hengzhou. Tell him that the imperial concubine is terrified of the Khitans and is sick. Even in her illness, she cries out for his help. You must make An the traitor rush over in haste.”
At this point, Shi Siming also realized that Li Zhurou was extremely important—essentially, the key to his success or failure. Smiling, he gently patted Li Zhurou’s shoulder and said softly, “I know you’re afraid. Don’t worry; you pose no threat to me. I, Shi Siming, wouldn’t be so petty. Otherwise, how could I conquer the world? Rest assured, though I may not use you, I’ll still give you enough money to support yourself and spend the rest of your life in the south.”
Having been by An Lushan’s side for ten years, Li Zhurou had deeply experienced the hypocritical nature of those in power—An Lushan’s apparent sincerity masked by deep malice. He no longer believed any sweet words from Shi Siming. On the contrary, he was even more convinced that Shi Siming would kill him.

Li Zhuer knew the moment that would determine his fate had arrived. He knelt on the ground, his face covered in tears, and said, “Vice Marshal, I will forever remember your kindness. I will do my utmost to serve you!”
“Good! Good!”
Shi Siming nodded repeatedly. He helped Li Zhuer up, gently brushed the dust off his knees, and said solemnly, “A man’s knees may be covered in gold, but remember—I, Shi Siming, don’t want you to kneel!”
Touched to tears, Li Zhuer said, “I surrender my life to you, Vice Marshal.”
Shi Siming smiled slightly and ordered, “Someone, bring five hundred taels of gold!”
“This… it’s not possible!”
“Take it. It’s for your travel expenses, or to handle the guards around An Lushan on my behalf. I’ll reward you doubly later.”
A bodyguard brought ten large gold ingots and placed them in a bag—quite heavy. Seeing how thin Li Zhuer was, Shi Siming feared he wouldn’t be able to carry such a heavy load, so he said with a smile, “I’ll give you a horse as well!”
“I cannot express my gratitude enough. I will forever remember your kindness, Vice Marshal.”
Li Zhuer stopped kneeling. He bowed deeply before turning to leave. Shi Siming watched his slender figure and sneered coldly.
“Vice Marshal, shall we send someone to keep an eye on him?” asked a bodyguard.
Shi Siming shook his head. “There are people from An Lushan around him. Sending someone might expose us. I’ve seen through this man—he’s been a dog his whole life. Give him a bone and pat his head, and he’ll be overjoyed. Now that he’s on my side, he can’t leave. Don’t worry—he won’t cause any problems.”
…
The distance from Zhending County to Wangdu County was about two hundred li. Riding fast, one could reach it in a day and night. Li Zhuer had received a fine horse from Shi Siming, allowing him to travel at great speed. Three guards followed him as they headed toward Wangdu County.
At night, the three arrived in Wuji County of Dingzhou. Li Zhuer was extremely tired. He said to the three guards, “I keep feeling like someone is following us. Have you noticed anything?”
One of the guards shook his head. “No. We’ve been watching for a day, and no one has followed us.”
Relieved, Li Zhuer smiled and said, “Guards, let’s find a place to rest. We can set off again early tomorrow.”
Although the three guards were soldiers of An Lushan, they didn’t know if the situation was urgent and followed Li Zhuer’s lead. Since Li Zhuer wanted to rest, they bowed and said, “As you say, young master. Let’s go rest in the county!”
“I’ll treat the three of you to drinks. There’s really nothing urgent—let’s get drunk together.”

The three guards were overjoyed and escorted Li Zhuer into Wuji County. They found an inn to drop off their horses and luggage, then went to a nearby tavern. As soon as Li Zhuer entered, he threw down a silver ingot and said to the innkeeper, “Bring all the best wine here—let my three brothers drink until they’re drunk.”

“Coming! Coming!”

The innkeeper quickly ordered his staff to bring the wine. In a short while, five or six jars of fine wine were brought over. The three guards were Turks, and one of their most notable traits was their love for wine. Since they usually didn’t have the chance to drink, they were thrilled to see Li Zhuer’s generosity. They sat down and started drinking. Li Zhuer drank with them, ate a bowl of rice, and when he felt the time was right, he said to the three of them, “I’m done eating. I’m going back to sleep. You guys go ahead and drink slowly.”

As long as he paid, the others didn’t care. They all laughed and said, “Go sleep! Go sleep!”

Li Zhuer came out of the room, bought fifty steamed buns as food for the journey, and ran back to the inn. He led out his horse, mounted it, patted the bag containing the 500 taels of gold given to him by Shi Siming, and patted his fine horse as well, smiling proudly. Then he tightened his legs around the horse’s flanks, and it galloped swiftly toward the south. He had a pass given to him by An Lushan, allowing him to travel anywhere in the Hebei region. Gradually, the man and his horse disappeared at the edge of the south.

……

(Li Zhuer is a figure recorded in historical texts. In the Old Book of Tang, it was he who led Yan Zhuang into An Lushan’s bedroom to kill him, with An Qingxu keeping watch outside. In this story, he is a minor character—greedy and cunning—but in the end, he outwitted both An Lushan and Shi Siming and managed to escape successfully. I hope this character can be portrayed vividly.)