Chapter 645: The Battle of Shangdang (7)

Li Zhur’s sudden escape undoubtedly triggered a chain reaction, exposing Shi Siming’s schemes. By chance, however, Shi Siming got the news first. Three of Li Zhur’s followers, realizing the situation was dire and fearing execution by An Lushan, turned to side with Shi Siming.

With the situation rapidly changing, Shi Siming took a desperate gamble. He ordered the Tubo Turkic cavalry to bypass Wangdu County from the north, cutting off An Lushan’s retreat, while he personally led an army of 80,000 men toward Wangdu County. Success in killing An Lushan hinged on this single move.

In the darkness of night, the 80,000 troops surged toward Wangdu County from the northwest and southwest. They converged at Anxi County before splitting into two groups, advancing north and south like giant pincers aimed at An Lushan’s camp.

At that time, An Lushan was still waiting inside Wangdu County for news from Li Zhur. When Li Zhur set out from Zhending County, a pigeon message had been sent. Based on the distance, Li Zhur should have arrived by now, but it was already the hour of Hai, and there was still no sign of him.

An Lushan grew increasingly uneasy. Suddenly, a blue flash appeared outside—the lightning. Soon after, thunder rumbled, and the air grew oppressive, signaling an impending storm.

An Lushan was extremely irritable. His vision suddenly blurred, and he could no longer see how many guards were around him. Everything before his eyes turned white. His frustration and physical discomfort only made his mood worse.

“Send someone to hurry him!” An Lushan roared.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside. One of his personal guards shouted urgently, “My lord, something terrible has happened!”

“What’s the emergency?”

“My lord! A pigeon message from the sentries—tens of thousands of troops are marching toward Wangdu County from thirty miles away! The situation is critical!”

The sudden news left An Lushan stunned, his mind going blank. Could it be… could it be Li Qing’an who had come?

But his shock lasted only a moment before he realized it—no, it wasn’t Li Qing’an. It was Shi Siming! It had to be him.

Ever since he heard that the Turks called Shi Siming “the emperor,” An Lushan had resented him deeply. One mountain cannot accommodate two tigers—how could Shi Siming stand alongside him? But since it was a time when manpower was needed, he had temporarily tolerated him. Yet now, Shi Siming had rebelled.

An Lushan broke into a cold sweat. He immediately realized that Shi Siming had come to kill him. “Quick! Help me onto the carriage! We must return to Youzhou at once!”

The top priority was to flee for his life. Panicked and shouting angrily, more than a dozen of his trusted guards almost carried him onto the carriage. The carriage rushed out of the city gate in haste. Outside the city, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, with strong winds and sandstorms. But as soon as they left the city gate, An Lushan shouted, “Turn south! South!”
An Lushan suddenly realized that Shi Siming might have blocked his escape route. He was so anxious his voice became hoarse as he cursed loudly in the thunder. The carriage turned around, and thousands of his personal guards, in a state of panic, surrounded the carriage as it sped southward.
Halfway there, An Lushan suddenly remembered his imperial carriage—the throne at the top of it had cost a thousand pounds of gold and was inlaid with countless precious jewels, worth millions. It had been given away for free to that bastard Shi Siming. Filled with rage, he resolved that he must tear Shi Siming to pieces no matter what.
Just after the carriage had traveled over twenty miles, a downpour began, with thunder, lightning, and fierce winds and rain. At that moment, An Lushan seemed to hear shouts and fighting sounds behind him. He pulled back the curtain to look, but nothing could be seen through the fierce wind and rain; his eyes had already lost their vision.
“My lord, there are flames in the north. Wangdu County has been set on fire.”
“I seem to hear shouts and fighting sounds coming after us!” An Lushan shouted.
“No, it must be your lord hearing things.”
An Lushan listened carefully again, and the shouts and fighting sounds indeed disappeared. Now filled with extreme fear, he knelt on the carriage, clasping his hands and praying to the Bodhisattva for protection.
“O Great Merciful and Compassionate Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, please protect me and help me escape this peril. I will surely rebuild your golden statue for you and never break my promise. Please bless me, Bodhisattva!”
Suddenly, the carriage jolted violently, and his plump body was flung to the right.
…
Shi Siming rushed into Wangdu County and then learned that An Lushan had fled. Furious, he ordered his soldiers to set fires and kill everyone. He personally led 20,000 elite cavalry, moving swiftly with light equipment, in pursuit of An Lushan southward.
Shi Siming was also extremely anxious. This was his only chance to kill An Lushan. If An Lushan escaped, he would regret it for life.
It was already the first watch of the night, and the rain grew heavier. Everything around was covered in thick mist. The heavy rain had destroyed most of An Lushan’s escape trail, and there were no messages from scouts. They could only rely on the few remaining horse hoofprints on the ground to pursue southward.
“Deputy commander, look at the carriage!”
A cavalryman spotted a carriage abandoned by the road. Shi Siming recognized it at once—it was An Lushan’s carriage. He slowed down his horse, wiped the rain from his face, and urged his horse forward. The carriage was lying on its side, one horse had a broken leg and was struggling painfully on the ground, and one of the carriage wheels had fallen, rolling about ten feet away.

“Deputy commander, there’s blood in the carriage!”
Shi Siming nodded. It seemed An Lushan was seriously injured. He immediately ordered, “Chase in the direction of Boye County!”
He mounted his horse, whipped it hard, and the 20,000 cavalry rushed forward toward Boye County.
Wangdu County was located at the junction of Dingzhou, Yizhou, and Mozhou. As An Lushan fled south, he must have entered Mozhou territory. The nearest county was Boye County in Yingzhou, south of Mozhou, about eighty miles away from Wangdu County. Finding blood in the overturned carriage, Shi Siming deduced that An Lushan must be injured and likely would go to Boye County to seek medical treatment.
After a night of pursuit, at dawn, Shi Siming’s 20,000 light cavalry finally arrived in Boye County. The heavy rain had stopped, but thin rain still fell from the sky. Shi Siming glanced at the chaotic horse hoofprints at the north city gate and smiled triumphantly—he had been right.
A cavalryman rushed over and reported, “Deputy commander, there are no signs of anyone leaving the city through the other gates.”
“Good! Seal all four gates!”
With a wave of his hand, the 20,000 cavalry rushed to the four gates and quickly sealed them all.
Suddenly, a soldier screamed as he was shot down by an arrow. Only then did everyone notice that dense groups of soldiers had appeared on the city walls—thousands of them, An Lushan’s personal guards. They fired arrows in unison, catching the soldiers below off guard and causing chaos, with over a hundred killed or wounded.
The cavalry retreated in disarray. Shi Siming flew into a rage. “Return to Wangdu immediately to summon more troops! I’ll crush Boye County!”
…
Three hours later, Shi Siming’s 40,000-strong army gathered in Boye County, bringing with them scaling ladders, battering rams, and other siege weapons. Without even setting up camp, Shi Siming ordered an attack.
Boye County wasn’t large, and its city walls were only twenty feet high. They might be ineffective against cavalry, but for infantry equipped with siege weapons, this small county was easily vulnerable. The 40,000 troops launched a fierce assault, and just one hour later, the east city wall collapsed. Shi Siming’s 60,000 troops surged into the city…
“Deputy commander, we haven’t found An Lushan!”
“Deputy commander, he’s not in the county government building either!”
…
One unfavorable report after another came in from all directions. Shi Siming’s eyes turned red with anger. He roared, “Search the entire city! Turn it upside down if necessary, but find him!”
At that moment, several soldiers brought in one of An Lushan’s confidants. “Deputy commander, this man might know where An Lushan is.”

Shi Siming strode forward, grabbed him by the collar, and shouted, “Speak quickly! Where is An Lushan?”
The loyalist was severely injured, with one hand severed. With weak breaths, he said, “I’ll tell you… just spare my life, Deputy Commander!”
“Speak quickly! Where is he hiding?”
“My lord… he’s not in the county town. After the carriage broke down, he rode away on horseback with a few bodyguards, fleeing eastward.”
The site where the carriage was destroyed was still fifty miles to the north. Shi Siming stood there for a moment before suddenly shouting, drawing his long sword, and beheading the soldier in one swing. Nearly insane, he screamed hysterically at the sky, “An Lushan, then let’s have a fierce battle! Let’s see if the world belongs to you or me!”
Swinging his sword and glaring with blood-red eyes, he ordered, “Kill every last person in this city, nobles and commoners alike!”
…
A failed coup and an unsuccessful assassination led to the most severe division within the Yan army. Shi Siming openly refused to acknowledge himself as part of the Yan army, proclaiming himself the Holy King of Great Zhou. He renamed his army the Zhou army, seized five provinces in western Hebei—Hengzhou, Dingzhou, Zhaozhou, Shenzhou, and Jizhou—and led an army of 200,000 to confront An Lushan.
An Lushan, surprisingly, remained silent, trying to downplay Shi Siming’s rebellion. He was filled with concern, fearing that the upheaval in Hebei would affect the battlefield in Hedong. At this point, he had no interest in expanding into Hedong. He issued ten urgent orders, ordering the Yan troops in Hedong to withdraw to Hebei. He also sent pigeon messages, ordering Yin Ziqi in Taiyuan to immediately lead his troops south to join An Qingxu’s forces.
…
By then, the situation on the Hedong battlefield had reversed. Since Li Guangbi defeated 30,000 Yan troops with just 2,000 elite cavalry, the morale of the Yan army suffered a severe blow. Especially the use of the powerful Thunderbolt by the Tang army terrified the Yan soldiers. The terrifying sight of the Thunderbolt exploding spread rapidly as the defeated troops returned to camp. Everyone in the camp whispered about its horror, causing widespread panic. All soldiers were deeply worried about when the Thunderbolt might explode above their heads.
Li Guangbi’s surprise attack not only severely damaged the morale of the Yan army but also caused serious divisions among its high-ranking officers. Li Huaixian’s withdrawal at a critical moment became the direct trigger for a rift between him and Li Guiren. Li Guiren accused Li Huaixian’s subordinates of acting in self-interest, which led to the failure to encircle and destroy Li Guangbi’s isolated forces. Li Huaixian’s retreat was the root cause of the entire army’s collapse. In short, all responsibility should fall on Li Huaixian. He strongly demanded that Li Huaixian be removed from his military position and stripped of his authority.

Facing Li Guiren’s accusations, Li Huaixian chose to ignore them, but he had his own thoughts and was already considering his escape route.
……
Although An Qingxu was the commander-in-chief, his direct army numbered only over ten thousand men. They were not stationed together with Li Guiren’s forces but in Pei Village, about fifteen li away from the Shangdang camp. He found himself in a dilemma—the growing conflict between Li Guiren and Li Huaixian made it difficult for him to side with either party.
Though there’s an old saying that “a tiger’s son is also a tiger,” this saying didn’t hold much weight in An Qingxu’s case. An Lushan was a formidable figure, even a warlord, while his son An Qingxu was much weaker. Perhaps the generals under him were all at the level of his uncles, making it hard for him to establish authority among them. If he wanted to command these troops as effortlessly as An Lushan, he would need to possess greater abilities than his father.
Unfortunately, An Qingxu was an ordinary military leader, lacking the talent to rule the world, let alone the skills to command large armies. Fortunately, he had Gao Shang by his side, who could offer advice at any time to prevent him from being at a loss. Inside the camp in Pei Village, Gao Shang was discussing next steps with An Qingxu.
An Qingxu walked anxiously back and forth in the tent, hands behind his back. Morale was low, the granaries had been burned, and worse, Hebei had split—Shi Siming had raised an army and declared himself independent. The situation on the Hedong front was becoming increasingly dire.
He stopped in his tracks and sighed deeply. “Mr. Gao, what should I do?”
Gao Shang remained silent for a long time before shaking his head helplessly. “Victory is impossible. If we can retreat while preserving our strength, that would already be the greatest luck. But I’m worried—we’ll struggle even to withdraw. Clearly, Li Qingan is like a fierce tiger, watching us from the sidelines, ready to launch a full-scale attack the moment we retreat.”
“How long do you think we can hold out?”
Gao Shang smiled bitterly and raised three fingers. “At most three days!”
An Qingxu was shocked. “But our supplies will last at least half a month. Why only three days?”
“Young master, the problem isn’t with us or Li Qingan—it’s Hebei. Right now, Shi Siming is organizing his troops and can’t send them out yet. But once he’s ready, his first move will be to march south to Xingzhou, seize Fuyang County, and cut off our retreat. We’ll have no choice but to surrender to him or to Li Qingan. I might be able to surrender to Shi Siming, but what about you? What will you do?”

“The king has already ordered Tian Chengsi to come and support us. How could he defy his orders?”
Gao Shang shook his head and sighed, “Has the young marshal forgotten Tian Chengsi’s nickname? He won’t come to support us. Even if he does, it will just be for show, unless…”
An Qingxu looked gloomy. Tian Chengsi was known as the ‘Cunning Fox’—would this old fox really come to their aid? Hearing the last part, he froze for a moment. “Unless what? Please tell me, sir.”
“Unless we surrender to Tian Chengsi, he will definitely come to support us.”
An Qingxu walked back and forth, holding his head. “Sir, my mind is in chaos. The situation is too complicated. What should I do?”
“Young marshal, if you understand just one thing, you’ll know what to do.”
“Understand which thing? Please be direct, sir.”
Gao Shang smiled coldly. “Just focus on yourself. Stop acting like the commander-in-chief. You can’t control Li Huaixian and Li Guiren at all.”
An Qingxu stood there for a while before slowly understanding. “Sir, then my top priority is to take over Yin Ziqi’s 40,000 troops as soon as possible and then withdraw to Youzhou immediately, right?”
“Exactly! If you can do that, it will be fortunate for both of us.”
……
At that time, Li Qingan led an army of 100,000 troops eastward to Liangmazhai, only about a hundred li away from the main Yan forces. At night, the Tang army camp was very quiet. Sentinels patrolled back and forth near the camp gates, and 24 watchtowers stood tall, with sentinels keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings.
Suddenly, several cavalry riders rushed forward. When they were still a few hundred steps away from the camp, they were spotted by the soldiers on the watchtowers. Since there weren’t many of them, the watchtowers didn’t sound the alarm but instead informed the gatekeepers. Immediately, a group of Tang cavalry stepped forward to intercept them.
“Stop! Who are you?”
There were three cavalry riders in total. The leader stepped forward and bowed. “We are sent by General Li Huaixian to deliver an important letter to Prince Zhao!”
The sentry captain pointed his spear at them and ordered, “Get off your horses, raise your hands, and lay down your weapons!”
The three cavalry riders immediately dismounted, placing their swords at their waists, bows and arrows, and daggers in their boots on the ground, with their hands raised behind their backs.
The Tang captain gave a signal to his men, who quickly approached to search them and take away all their belongings.
“Captain, nothing unusual found.”
The Tang captain nodded and said to the three men, “Come with me! You can keep your belongings and horses for now. They will be returned to you when you leave.”

Three of Li Huaixian’s men followed the Tang army officer into the Tang camp. When they reached the camp gate, their eyes were covered with black cloth—a standard practice for envoys in the army. Unless it was intended to let the envoy see the military’s strength, they had to be blindfolded when entering or leaving to prevent the leakage of military secrets.

Inside the Tang army’s command tent, the lights were bright. A sand table was placed in the center of the tent, and around it, Li Qing’an was discussing the next steps for military action with Li Siye, Li Feiyuanli, and more than a dozen other senior generals.

Li Qing’an had already received news from the Hebei Intelligence Bureau about the internal strife between An Lushan and Shi Siming in Hebei. This news didn’t surprise him; he had long known of Shi Siming’s ambition. However, he hadn’t expected Shi Siming to take advantage of the battle in Hedong to launch an attack. To Li Qing’an’s disappointment, An Lushan hadn’t been killed and had escaped back to Youzhou using a trick to disappear.

Since the situation in Hebei had changed, it would inevitably affect the war situation in Hedong, so their plans had to be adjusted.

“Gentlemen, the war situation is now very unfavorable for the Yan army. If I’m not mistaken, An Lushan will surely rush to call back the Yan troops in Hedong to Youzhou. So, hundreds of thousands of Yan troops could return to Hebei at any time. But so far, they haven’t moved. I infer that An Qingxu is waiting for the Yan troops besieging Taiyuan to move south.”

Li Qing’an pointed with a wooden stick at a pass in the far north of Luzhou and continued, “According to the latest intelligence, Yin Ziqi’s 40,000 troops should have reached Shihui Pass, which is right here, and entered Luzhou territory. Within at most three days, this army will reach Shangdang County. Once we capture this army, An Qingxu will surely withdraw immediately, returning to Hebei via Fukou Pass. Then, Li Huaixian’s and Li Guiren’s armies, being hostile to each other, will also be forced to retreat to Hebei. So, we can’t wait any longer. We must launch an attack before they leave to annihilate the enemy. Does anyone have any objections?”

Everyone agreed with Li Qing’an’s analysis—it was indeed the case.

“I’d like to add something!” Li Siye also picked up a wooden stick and pointed at the road to She County. “I suspect Yin Ziqi’s army might not go to Shangdang County at all. Instead, they might go through She County and join forces with An Qingxu at Fukou Pass.”

Li Qing’an nodded. “Siye is right. That’s a very likely possibility. If that’s the case, the time frame shortens by another day. We only have two days left—time is extremely tight.”

Suddenly, Xi Yuanqing from the side said, “General, why not send Li Guangbi’s army north to Fuyang County to cut off the enemy’s retreat?”

Li Qing’an smiled and said, “I’ve thought about this as well. First, there aren’t many Tang troops in Wei Zhou—only fifty thousand. If they head north, they will surely be attacked by Shi Siming, which would allow Shi Siming to absorb the remaining forces of the Yan army, giving him an unfair advantage. Even if there are remaining forces, I hope they fall into An Lushan’s hands. That way, he and Shi Siming can have a balance of power, and they can fight each other. So, I don’t want to cut off their escape route.”
Xi Yuanqing nodded silently; he began to understand. Just then, a soldier reported from outside, “Reporting to the general, Li Huaixian has sent someone to deliver a letter to you. The messenger is outside the tent now.”
Li Qing’an was taken aback, then smiled meaningfully. Li Huaixian’s envoy had arrived at just the right time.