Chapter 683: Battle Deployment

Thousands of cavalry rode swiftly southeast under Li Qing’an’s leadership, the wind howling in their ears as they galloped nonstop through the pitch-dark night. Finally, they reached a checkpoint about twenty li away from Yangan Port. By now, this place was no longer Yangan Port—it had been moved to Jiangyang County.

Yangan Port had been transformed into a military port, the first of its kind in the Tang Dynasty. Not only was it a port, but the twenty-li area surrounding it, including Hudou Island, had become a military base. Twenty watchposts were set up around it, prohibiting any non-military personnel from entering, not even local officials. Maximum security measures were in place—this was also why Li Qing’an wouldn’t let Mingzhu accompany him. The rules were his to set, and he couldn’t violate them first.

Li Qing’an chose Yangan Port as a military base because of its location in a desolate area. For dozens of li around, there were only saline-alkali lands, with no forests or villages—completely uninhabited.

Upon entering the watchpost, they entered the military zone, still covered in vast saline-alkali lands. However, patrol cavalry could be seen from time to time. They were highly vigilant; upon spotting a large group of cavalry, they would immediately fire a rocket into the sky before approaching to inquire.

After verifying their identities, the cavalry continued onward. After another ten li, large, dark warehouses began to appear. These used to be salt warehouses but had now been converted into storage for military supplies and food for livestock.

A group of cavalry came to meet them, led by General Li Baozhen, with Zhao Chongjie and Geshu Yao following behind. After participating in the Jingxiang Campaign, they had quickly returned to Yangzhou to prepare for the next battle.

“Your humble servant greets the supreme general!”

“The three generals need not bow.”

Li Qing’an nodded and asked, “How are the ships prepared?”

Li Baozhen replied hastily, “Reporting to the supreme general, 2,300 sea ships have been gathered and are parked in the port and on Hudou Island. Inspections were completed yesterday, and they are ready to set sail at any time. As ordered by the supreme general, all waters north of Hudou Island have been sealed off, preventing any ships from passing through.”

“Weren’t it 2,700 large ships? Why are there only 2,300?”

As soon as the King of Wu was defeated, Li Qing’an ordered ships from various regions to be gathered. Any ship capable of carrying over a thousand dan could be requisitioned temporarily, including foreign ships from the Hu people who came to do business in the Tang Dynasty. Although there weren’t many ships in each region, together they formed a considerable force. Li Qing’an had received intelligence that a total of 2,700 large ships capable of sailing were available, but now there were only 2,300, which puzzled him.

“Reporting to the great general, four hundred large ships have set off for Cangzhou to transport refugees but have not returned yet.”
Only then did Li Qing’an recall that Zhang Xun had organized over sixty thousand people to evacuate from Hebei by sea. He had ordered four hundred large ships to carry them out, but there was still no news, which made him worried.
He wasn’t concerned about An Lushan. An Lushan’s army had been defeated by Shi Siming, and the Yan army’s strategic focus had shifted northeast. Shi Siming had already occupied Youzhou, putting tens of thousands of refugees in Mozhou in grave danger. The roads west and south had been blocked by Shi Siming and Tian Chengsi, leaving them with no choice but to head east by sea.
What worried Li Qing’an most was Tian Chengsi. To hold him off, he had ordered nearly 150,000 troops from Henan to gather near Jizhou, facing Tian Chengsi’s Weibo army across the river.
It was uncertain whether Zhang Xun could seize this brief opportunity to evacuate the people from Cangzhou in time. Li Qing’an sighed inwardly. He truly couldn’t take care of everything; those tens of thousands of refugees were left to their fate.
“What about General Li Chengshi?” Li Qing’an asked, noticing he hadn’t come along.
Li Chengshi had originally been the deputy commander under King Li Lin of Wu. Due to poor relations with the king’s heir, he surrendered to the Northern Tang army. As a rare naval general in the Tang army, he was highly regarded by Li Qing’an, who appointed him as the commander of Yangzhou’s naval forces, in charge of the four hundred warships there. He would lead the navy to escort subsequent military operations, so Li Qing’an paid him special attention.
Zhao Chongjie beside him laughed and said, “General Li Chengshi has gone to Hudou Island. We’ve informed him; he should be at the port by now. Not only him, but General Li Fei Yuanli is there too.”
Li Qing’an held back his warhorse and said dryly, “How is that bastard here too? Hasn’t he left yet?”
Li Fei Yuanli had been appointed as the governor of Xinde by Li Qing’an. After the Battle of Luzhou, he should have taken up his post, so Li Qing’an had stopped paying attention to him. He thought Li Fei Yuanli had already left, but to his surprise, he was still here. Although the appointment wasn’t urgent, it was unreasonable for him to keep delaying.
Li Qing’an asked again, “Is he here alone, or with his two thousand troops?”
“Reporting to the general, he is here with his two thousand men. He said he plans to take a ship to Xinde, but the grain ships there encountered storms en route and only arrived at Jiangyang Port yesterday to unload grain. So he won’t be able to set off for another day or two.”
Li Qing’an guessed it was for this reason. Given Li Fei Yuanli’s impatience, he usually wouldn’t delay. It must be that there were no ships available, forcing him to wait at the port. Li Qing’an then said with a smile, “Have him come to see me as well!”

The group continued to rush toward the dock. In a short while, the cavalry unit arrived at the dock. To the west of the dock lay a vast military camp, where 100,000 elite troops were stationed to carry out the Battle of Bohai. These troops had been secretly transferred from Hedong and Guanzhong after the Battle of Luzhou. The food, supplies, and other necessities required by these 100,000 troops were also secretly transported by sea, keeping everything highly concealed. Currently, these troops were stationed in a military restricted area, unknown even to the local authorities, under the command of generals Li Baozhen, Zhao Chongjie, and Geshu Yao.

Li Qingan did not go to the military camp but instead headed to the naval camp on the dock. He boarded a large ship, where Li Chengshi and Li Fei Yuanli had already been waiting for a long time on the deck.

Surrounded by everyone, Li Qingan stepped onto the deck. Li Chengshi was extremely excited. He immediately stepped forward, knelt on one knee, and saluted, “Your humble servant, Li Chengshi, pays respects to the general.”

It was their first meeting. Li Qingan had not seen him last time he was in Yangzhou. Li Qingan quickly helped him up and said with a smile, “I have long heard of Governor Li’s fame as a naval commander. Once the wars in the north are settled, our Tang Dynasty will gradually expand overseas. That will be the time for Governor Li to showcase his talents.”

Li Chengshi also expressed his anticipation, “Your humble servant looks forward to that day as well.”

“Good!” Li Qingan smiled. “We will discuss the plans for Bohai in detail later, and Governor Li must also participate. Governor Li has tasks to carry out in the Battle of Bohai as well.”

“Your humble servant looks forward to it!”

Li Qingan then turned his attention to Li Fei Yuanli and joked with a smile, “I thought you should be in Xinde, getting a second concubine by now.”

Li Qingan’s humor caused laughter among those on the ship. Li Fei Yuanli scratched the back of his head and said awkwardly with a smile, “I’ve never been on a ship at sea before. I wanted to experience something new, but I didn’t expect it to take this long. If I had known, I would have gone by horse.”

Li Qingan gave him a light punch on the shoulder. “How dare you say you’ve never been on a ship at sea? I remember you crying bitterly from seasickness when we took a ship to Longju Island in Qinghai back then. Now you want to go on a ship at sea again. Aren’t you afraid?”

Li Fei Yuanli was stunned. He scratched his head in confusion, clearly having forgotten about that trip to Qinghai. It was there he met his wife, Shi Sanniang.

Li Qingan ignored him and went straight into the main cabin of the ship, which had been converted into a temporary war council room. The cabin was spacious and well-lit. In the middle of the cabin stood a huge wooden table covered with a black cloth. Li Baozhen stepped forward quickly and slowly lifted the cloth to reveal a massive sand table showing the entire Hebei region, the Andong Protectorate, and the Silla Peninsula.

Everyone gathered around. Li Qing’an took a wooden pole and said to them, “Apart from Li Fei Yuanli, everyone here is related to this campaign.”
Li Fei Yuanli’s eyes widened in shock. Good heavens, there was another major campaign! He had no idea at all. If the sea ship hadn’t arrived a bit late, he would have missed this opportunity.
In his urgency, he blurted out, “General, I also want to participate in this campaign!”
Li Qing’an glared at him fiercely, and he dared not speak anymore. The Li Qing’an now was not the same as the General of Anxi back then—he was much more cautious, planning everything carefully, controlling the lives of millions with just a word. His disapproving gaze made Li Fei Yuanli shiver. He could no longer joke around with Li Qing’an as he used to.
In fact, Li Fei Yuanli could tell from the gathering of thousands of large ships, the silent arrival of a hundred thousand troops, the military zone spanning dozens of miles, and the mountains of food and supplies in the warehouses that Li Qing’an had been preparing for a long time.
The deployment of troops and the assignment of generals were all carefully planned in advance. Even Li Siyeh hadn’t been able to join—how could Li Qing’an simply agree to let him fight?
Li Fei Yuanli didn’t dare say anything more. He knew he definitely had no chance in this campaign. Yet inwardly, he cursed, “Damn it! If they won’t give me a chance, I’ll start my own campaign!”
As this thought arose, he became extremely eager to plan a campaign like Li Qing’an, longing to fly to Xinde himself.
While Li Fei Yuanli was lost in his thoughts, Li Qing’an continued, “I believe everyone has seen my orders for this campaign. Its name remains the same: the Bohai Campaign.”
The Bohai Campaign was Li Qing’an’s long-planned strategy. It had originated when Yang Huahua brought the King of Bohai and his skilled warriors to visit him. Li Qing’an had then conceived the idea of landing in the Bohai Kingdom and destroying An Lushan’s two main backers, the Khitans and the Xis.
But the conditions weren’t ripe at that time. With the victory in the Luzhou Campaign, An Lushan and Shi Siming were completely trapped inside Hebei, and most of the people there had fled. The remaining few were utterly unable to support An Lushan’s hundreds of thousands of troops, let alone Tian Bingsi’s sixty thousand troops.

Based on the information Li Qing’an has now obtained, the reason why An Lushan and Shi Siming’s armies have managed to hold on until now without collapsing is that they have external support: Shi Siming received support from the Uyghurs, while An Lushan got support from the Xixia and Khitans. Half a month ago, An Lushan and Shi Siming engaged in a battle involving 300,000 troops in Yi County. Shi Siming deployed 160,000 troops, and An Lushan deployed 140,000. After three days and nights of fierce fighting, An Lushan suffered a crushing defeat due to the exhaustion of fodder for his cavalry horses. In this battle, An Lushan lost everything—even his base. Youzhou was captured by Shi Siming, and An Lushan retreated with less than 70,000 remaining troops to Pingzhou and Yingzhou, joining forces with the Khitans. The time to launch a campaign against Bohai has come. Li Qing’an pointed with a wooden stick at Youzhou and said, “Let me first share some news with you all. An Lushan has been defeated by Shi Siming, and his stronghold, Youzhou, has been lost. Youzhou is now Shi Siming’s new home.” This news caused uproar in the cabin; everyone looked at each other in disbelief, unable to believe that such a domineering Yan army could no longer even defend its own base. Li Fei Yuanli asked, “General, has the Yan army been destroyed?” “No, they still have about 70,000 troops.” Li Qing’an pointed the wooden stick at Yingzhou and continued, “An Lushan has retreated to Yingzhou, joining forces with the Khitans and Xixia. Having suffered an initial defeat, he needs time to reorganize his troops. Once his army is reorganized, he will surely unite with the Khitans and Xixia to attack Bohai in order to obtain the population and food they urgently need. If Bohai is destroyed, Silla will also be doomed. If both Bohai and Silla are destroyed, An Lushan will have a continuous supply of troops and food, along with the Khitans’ warhorses, allowing him to regain strength. If he can defeat Shi Siming as well, An Lushan’s rebellion will have the opportunity to spread into the Central Plains, rendering all our previous efforts in vain.” Everyone fell silent. After a moment, Li Baozhen asked, “General, then why didn’t the Khitans attack Bohai before, and only now?” “General Li Baozhen, that’s an excellent question. I’ve been thinking about it too. It wasn’t until the last time the Bohai king, Da Wuyi, came to Chang’an to visit me that I understood the reason.”

Li Qing’an pointed at the Khitans with a wooden stick and said, “Actually, it’s not that the Khitans don’t want to conquer Bohai—they simply lack the strength. They have been at war with Bohai for years, with alternating victories. In fact, the Khitans are even weaker than Bohai. The Khitans once tried to ally with the Xi to attack Bohai, but they lacked trust in each other, so such an alliance was impossible. Similarly, Bohai also wanted to destroy the Khitans, but it had a long-standing feud with Silla. It feared that if a major war broke out with the Khitans, Silla would take the opportunity to attack Bohai, putting it in a difficult position. Thus, a delicate balance was maintained between them. Now, with An Lushan retreating to Yingzhou, this balance has been broken. He acts like a button that unites the Khitans and the Xi. Coupled with An Lushan’s own strength, Bohai is no longer a match for them. Its destruction is imminent. Therefore, we must send troops to help Bohai and at the same time destroy the Khitans and the Xi.”

Li Baozhen suddenly understood and clasped his fists, saying, “I understand now!”

At that moment, Li Qing’an scanned the crowd again and slowly said, “Actually, An Lushan and Shi Siming have become pawns in a game. One side playing the game is the Khitans, and the other is the Uyghurs. These two northern powers both want to seize Hebei and use it as a springboard to plunder the Central Plains. Otherwise, it would be unprofitable for the Khitans and Uyghurs to send troops and supplies to support An Lushan and Shi Siming in their fierce struggle. They must have some ulterior motive—namely, Hebei. Now that Shi Siming holds the upper hand, it means the Uyghurs have control of Hebei. With all these chaos, we cannot stand by idly. This is the fundamental reason why I consider launching this campaign against Bohai, using it as a starting point to address the problems in the north.”

Under Li Qing’an’s piercing gaze, everyone bowed together and said, “Please give orders, General!”

This made Li Fei Yuanli quickly step aside, complaining inwardly, “Damn it, I’m not included!”

Li Qing’an’s sharp gaze shot at him, scaring Li Fei Yuanli, who shuddered and quickly turned away. Then, Li Qing’an said solemnly to the crowd, “It takes a thousand days to train soldiers, but only a moment to use them. There’s no need to wait for the supply ships from Cangzhou to return. Starting tonight, we can begin preparations for war. I’ve already given orders: General Li Baozhen will be the main commander, with Generals Zhao Chongjie and Ge Shuyao as his deputy commanders, and Li Chengshi as the commander of the naval force. According to the plan I’ve devised, in three days, a hundred-thousand-strong army will set sail north!”

The four generals bowed together to accept the orders, saying, “We will obey the orders!”

Several key generals had rushed back to the camp in preparation, but Li Qing’an still stood in front of the sand table, deep in thought. One thread could affect the whole situation; he couldn’t focus only on An Lushan while ignoring Shi Siming…
“Pass my orders!” Li Qing’an ordered slowly.
A messenger soldier bowed to listen.
“Order Li Siyeh to immediately gather his troops and station them in Taiyuan. Order Li Guangbi to lead his troops back and station them in Xiangzhou. This is an urgent order—no delay is allowed!”
With the orders given, Li Qing’an felt slightly relieved. Glancing over, he saw Li Fei Yuanli hesitating at the door. He smiled and said, “What’s the matter? Why are you lurking around there?”
Li Fei Yuanli slowly stepped in and bowed, saying, “I will lead my troops to Jiangyang County to board a ship tomorrow. I wonder if the general has any instructions for me.”
“Have you changed your mind? You’re not going to Bohai Country anymore?”
“I’ve realized that if Li Siyeh doesn’t get a chance, I certainly won’t either.”
“What do you mean by ‘realized’?”
Li Qing’an was both annoyed and amused. He pointed to a chair. “Sit down first!”
Li Fei Yuanli sat down cautiously, hands on his knees, looking nervous. Li Qing’an smiled slightly and asked, “Are your wife and children doing well?”
“They’re fine. They’re living in Chang’an,” Li Fei Yuanli replied in a deep voice.
“Hmm! You’re going to Xinde. According to the rules, family members can’t go. Don’t worry! I’ll take good care of them. You’ll stay in Xinde for three years, then be transferred back to Chang’an as the General of the Right Military Guard. After another three years, you’ll go to Anxi as a military governor. That’s your plan for the next nine years. Any objections?”
“I have no objections. It’s just that I don’t know what to do in Xinde.”
Li Fei Yuanli fell silent for a moment before adding, “The general must still remember that in Hezhong, I favored Zoroastrians and suppressed Muslims, which led to severe punishment from the general. That incident had a great impact on me. I’m worried I might make the same mistake in Xinde.”
Li Qing’an laughed. “Actually, you didn’t do anything wrong back then.”
Li Fei Yuanli was stunned. He didn’t understand what Li Qing’an meant. “General, I’m not quite sure…”
“The direction was right, and the methods were also right. It’s just that you chose the wrong timing. At that time, we had just taken control of Hezhong and needed to stabilize the region. The Arabs were eyeing us closely, so we needed peace there and reconciliation between the two religious groups—no more conflicts. So, favoring Zoroastrians at that time was the wrong choice. But if you did it now, I might not only not punish you but also reward you. Understand?”
Li Fei Yuanli seemed half-understanding and said after a while, “I guess I understand.”

“It’s okay if you don’t understand. I’ll order Wei Qingping to go to Sindh with you as its governor. If you have any questions, you can consult him.”
“Yes! I’ll follow orders.”
After a pause, Li Fei Yuanli asked again, “General, I intend to attack Tianzhu, first by opening a route to the Tibetan Plateau. Do you agree?”
Li Qingan pondered for a moment before saying, “In principle, I agree, but don’t rush. Take it slow and gradually conquer Tianzhu step by step.”
Receiving Li Qingan’s affirmative response, Li Fei Yuanli was overjoyed. His biggest concern had been resolved. He stood up, bowed deeply, and said, “Then I’ll take my leave first.”
Li Qingan patted his shoulder and said earnestly, “Lao Li, we fought our way out of Sulou Fengshu Fort together. You’re my most trusted confidant. Back then, you were fearless. I hope you’ll be bolder outside, show more determination, and not fear any challenges. If anything happens, I’ll cover for you. In short, let the whole world know that our Tang Dynasty is not only a just army but also a powerful one. Those who offend our Tang Dynasty will be punished with blood!”
Li Fei Yuanli nodded firmly. “I’ll remember that!”