Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 136

When the Tang army arrived, Zhang Xiancheng surrendered the city. The Tang army then captured Huazhou.

After completing his own mission, Li Ji rushed back as fast as he could, but he could only watch the Shuofang army suffer the consequences. The Battle of Zhaojue Temple triggered a chain reaction, and the rebel army collapsed and was difficult to control.

Shi Chaoyi then crossed the Yellow River northward from Puzhou and joined forces with the troops of Tian Chengsi, the military governor of Suiyang, who had finally shaken off Li Guangbi's army. Their strength increased slightly, and they planned to defend Weizhou and summon the military governors of Hebei for reinforcements. Pugu Huaien joined forces with Li Baoyu and once again fought fiercely with the rebel army. Shi Chaoyi and Tian Chengsi were defeated and pursued by Pugu Yang all the way to the walls of Changle City in Weizhou.

Li Ji finally caught up with the main force in Changle.

He entered the tent to pay his respects to the deputy commander, Pugu Huai'en, and took the opportunity to ask, "I heard that the government troops captured more than ten people, including the false Grand Chancellor Xu Shuji and Wang Zhou. Is this true?"

Pugu Huaien nodded: "They have all been captured and are temporarily detained in Weizhou."

"What are your plans?"

"An envoy has been dispatched to announce the victory and report this matter; the court shall make its decision."

Li Ji frowned slightly, thinking to himself, "If it's decided by the imperial court, then most likely he won't be executed..."

The Tang Dynasty often rewarded surrendered officials and generals with prestigious positions, or at least honorary titles; even those captured were rarely executed. Especially considering Li Yu's early amnesty, Shi Chaoyi was probably the only one who would definitely lose his head.

Because the An family and the Shi family had both usurped titles and proclaimed themselves emperors, as the saying goes, "There cannot be two suns in the sky, nor two rulers in a country," this has always been an unforgivable crime, and only execution could establish their status and uphold the law. As for those who colluded, to demonstrate their loyalty, they need not be severely punished. In particular, those scholars and officials often had intricate connections with powerful families or important officials in the court, and anyone who pleaded on their behalf might be granted leniency.

Li Ji had already promised Chen Ruo on his deathbed that he would definitely kill Xu Shuji! While he didn't necessarily intend to do it himself, what if the court issued a pardon after the news reached Chang'an? Would he then send an assassin to carry it out? And what if the court, like it did with Yan Zhuang, reinstated Xu Shuji with an official position? If Li Ji were willing to cross the line and assassinate a serving official, he wouldn't have wasted his breath trying to persuade Li Fuguo that very day…

He then lowered his voice and said to Pugu Huai'en, "I don't know who Wang Zhou is, but that Xu Shuji... the deputy commander was once his colleague. Don't you hate him? Back then, he held his troops in Qiao and sat and watched the outcome. It was only by coercing him with force that he agreed to go to the rescue of Suiyang. Later, when he was defending Bianzhou, he voluntarily surrendered to Shi Siming. If it weren't for that, Luoyang might not have fallen again..."

In fact, Xu Shuji did not surrender voluntarily, but rather surrendered to the rebels after his army was defeated. However, Li Ji had also inquired about the events of that day in detail. The so-called surrender after defeat did not mean that the city fell, the army collapsed, or that he was captured by the rebels. He simply saw that the situation was not good and ordered the city gates to be opened—so what is the difference between this and voluntarily surrendering?

On that day, Li Guangbi ordered Xu Shuji to hold Bianzhou for fifteen days, giving him ample time to consolidate the defenses of Luoyang. If Xu Shuji had held out for the full fifteen days and Luoyang had still fallen, the blame would have been on Li Guangbi; but since he didn't even hold out for the full fifteen days, the responsibility for the near-total collapse of Henan's defenses had to fall on his shoulders.

At the time, Pugu Huai'en was also under Li Guangbi's command. He was forced to abandon Luoyang and retreat to Heyang. Thereafter, he fought a series of fierce battles with the rebel army, maintaining a stalemate until Emperor Suzong ordered Li Guangbi to retake Luoyang, which led to a complete defeat. Therefore, Li Ji absolutely did not believe that Pugu Huai'en harbored no resentment towards Xu Shuji.

Therefore, he advised Pugu Huaien, saying that such a scoundrel should not be allowed to wait for the imperial pardon.

Pugu Huaien frowned: "Xu Shuji has sided with the rebels and risen to the high position of the false Grand Chancellor. The court may not be willing to pardon him..."

"What if? Then this fiend could slip away from the vice commander's trap—how ​​could the vice commander not have regrets?"

Pugu Huaien sighed softly: "If it were up to me, it would be best to kill all these civil officials who surrendered to the rebels..." As for the military generals, there were countless Yan generals who surrendered and then rebelled again. Not to mention the court, even Pugu Huaien felt some sympathy for them and thought that if they could redeem themselves through meritorious service, they should be pardoned.

"...But since the report has already been submitted to the court, it is not appropriate to execute him without authorization."

In fact, when Xu Shuji, Wang Zhou, and others were captured that day, the generals clamored, saying that they should all be killed, as if they had won battle victories, and their heads could be presented to the emperor. However, Pugu Huai'en and Wang Jiahe felt that if they were minor officials, killing them would be acceptable, but for those of high rank, such as the false Grand Secretary—and before their defection, Xu Shuji was a military governor and Wang Zhou was an investigating envoy—it was safest to hand them over to the court for judgment. Therefore, they merely detained the dozen or so false officials and did not treat them harshly.

Li Ji gritted his teeth: "If the court issues a pardon, it will be inconvenient to kill again; but now the pardon has not been issued..."

Pugu Huai'en immediately waved his hand: "Second Brother, don't make things difficult for me."

Do you think the supervising eunuch is just for show? He's watching my every move. When the king refused to let the generals kill Xu Shuji, I agreed. But a few days later, without waiting for the court's order, I executed him on my own. If he impeaches me then, all the achievements of this eastern expedition will be wasted!

My old commander of the Shuofang Army is still sitting on the sidelines in the capital, and I don't want to follow in his footsteps.

Li Ji said, "There's no need for the Marshal to take action; I am willing to rid the Marshal of this scoundrel!"

Pugu Huaien shook his head again: "That's not appropriate. I am the deputy commander of Hebei. What difference does it make whether you kill me or I kill you? In the end, the blame will still fall on my head."

Li Ji's eyes darted around, and he tentatively asked, "What if Xu Shuji committed suicide out of fear of punishment?"

Upon hearing this, Pugu Huai'en frowned but did not reply.

Li Ji said, "The matter can be done secretly. Since Wang Junrong is at the front line, he may not be able to know about the affairs of Weizhou. The deputy commander only needs to secretly order the guards to let one or two people in. No one will know, and by the next morning, I will be hanging from the beam!"

He then added, "Even if the matter is leaked, only the guards need to be punished, and Li will certainly take full responsibility for it. It will not implicate the deputy commander—do I trust the deputy commander?"

Pugu Huai'en glanced sideways at Li Ji, his mind racing with thoughts. He had initially trusted Li Ji implicitly, even regarding him as a nephew, but this recent reunion had gradually made him realize the young man was incredibly cunning and unfathomable. First, he used the combined strength of the generals to force Yu Chao'en to leave; then, he secretly colluded with the marshal to issue an order forbidding looting… Regardless of the outcome, at least the young man wasn't always telling the truth in front of him!

But looking back, both events turned out quite well: forcing Yu Chaoen away relieved his family of any worries, and his own power in the army was further enhanced as a result—Wang Jiahe was new to the area and his influence was nowhere near that of Yu Chaoen; while looting was prohibited, the power to distribute the spoils was handed over to him, much to the satisfaction of the Shuofang army…

As for the potential dissatisfaction from other armies, Deputy Commander Pugu didn't care! As long as Wang Jiahe was fed, that was enough.

So, is Li Ji's word credible or not? After all, the other party is a great hero who helped the emperor and a good friend of the marshal... Especially considering the current situation, the marshal's ascension to the position of crown prince is just around the corner! Therefore, the day before yesterday, when his foolish son wanted to sever ties with Li Ji outside Huian Gate in Luoyang, he stopped him on the spot—this kid has a lot of influence, and even if he doesn't want to be friends with him, it's not good to become enemies.

After much deliberation, he finally agreed to Li Ji's request, but instructed him, "Send only two people, and make sure the matter is carried out discreetly, without leaving a trace..."

After Li Ji returned to his own camp, he summoned Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun and said, "I have a secret matter to discuss, and I need to send you two to Weizhou."

Lei Wanchun immediately objected: "With a major battle imminent, why did Erlang send us away? What secret matter is more important than killing the enemy on the battlefield?"

Nan Jiyun patted Lei Wanchun on the shoulder: "Old Lei, keep your voice down." Then he looked at Li Ji: "What secret is it?"

Li Ji smiled coldly: "Xu Shuji is being held in Weizhou. Do you two wish to kill him with your own hands?"

Upon hearing this, Nan and Lei were both surprised and delighted, and immediately accepted the order. Li Ji then explained the whole story in detail, and Nan Jiyun couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that we can't bring him to justice and comfort his spirit in heaven."

Li Ji comforted him, saying, "When a person dies, they are dead. It doesn't matter how they died. I believe that if Zhang Gong and the others have spirits in heaven, they will be pleased. It would not be unreasonable to send me there so that Zhang Gong and the others can personally devour my spirit."

The two generals received their orders and left. They changed their clothes and disguised themselves overnight, sneaked out of the camp, and rode swiftly towards Weizhou. Meanwhile, Li Ji, as usual, took his rice bowl and went out to eat with the soldiers, casually asking, "Other armies plunder, but I strictly forbid you from harming the people, resulting in meager gains. Do you resent me for this?"

The soldiers hurriedly replied, "How could we dare to complain about the defense?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "So it's not that you don't dare to, but that you don't resent it." Then he said seriously, "Robbing the people only damages your reputation, and how much money can you get? Besides, most of it has to be handed over to your superiors..."

Although they spared Luoyang, after leaving the city, the Tang army fought and looted their way through Zheng, Bian, Hua, Pu, and Wei prefectures. However, as Li Ji had said, their gains were very limited. This was because these prefectures had not only suffered from prolonged warfare, with less than one in ten people surviving, but also, after the rebels' exploitation and plundering, most of them had little wealth left—at most, they could only steal a few bushels of grain and a few chickens and ducks.

Just like the Uyghur soldiers who raided Luoyang back then, if they hadn't redeemed the women in the city with brocade, they probably wouldn't have even earned back their round-trip fare by simply robbing them.

Because how many bushels of grain can one person carry? How many bolts of silk can one tie on one's body? Any excess has nowhere to be hidden, so it must be offered to superiors—for example, in the Uyghur army, Di De was the one who ate the most.

As for encountering wealthy households, it would certainly be like the search and ransacking of the Luoyang palace by Pugu and his son. The lowly soldiers would only be responsible for carrying things, and everything would have to be moved to the commander's tent. If the commander could spare a little rice or flour to feed the soldiers a few meals, that would be considered very considerate of his men.

Therefore, Li Ji admonished his soldiers: "I have a salary from the imperial court, so I don't need any extra money. I will definitely share it with you all. As long as you obey my orders and strictly enforce military discipline, I will give you all my wealth, but I will never let you freeze or starve!"

That is indeed the truth. Whether the generals have embezzled or hoarded valuables or not, the camp is only so big, and the soldiers are very sharp-eyed. It's impossible to hide it from anyone. However, given the current climate, as long as the soldiers can survive, it's common for the generals to plunder more or even deduct more from their own resources.

Li Ji not only did not hoard any wealth, but he also distributed his gains—the treasuries of the recovered counties—fairly among his generals, officers, and soldiers according to their merits. Furthermore, his daily meals were basically the same as the soldiers', except for tea, which he paid for himself, having his wife send it from Chang'an…

The soldiers praised him, grateful for his defense, and vowed to uphold the rules of defense.

But as soon as Li Ji uttered those words, a sense of unease crept into his heart… His government salary, despite his vast wealth, was far from sufficient to cover his expenses. If he hadn't seized a teahouse, he probably wouldn't even be able to afford the rations for his advisors like Yin Shen and Han Hui. Furthermore, the Tang army had won consecutive victories, seizing enemy supplies and ensuring a temporary safety net. Even so, a third of Li Ji's soldiers couldn't possibly eat dry rations every day. If food ran out, could Li Ji afford to go hungry alongside his ordinary soldiers? Even he himself couldn't guarantee it…

He also knew that his treatment of his soldiers was mainly based on propaganda, or rather, on deceiving them; even Li Erlang couldn't truly say he "loved his soldiers like his own children" at the moment.

Shi Chaoyi fled to the vicinity of Changle, where he managed to regroup his defeated troops. With the addition of troops from Wei and Xiang prefectures—the pseudo-Yan still referred to them as commanderies, such as Wei Commandery and Ye Commandery—his forces swelled to over 50,000. In contrast, the Tang army, divided among its forces to defend Luoyang and Heyang, saw its strength reduced to around 30,000.

Therefore, Pugu Huaien urgently summoned Li Baoyu and the Uyghur soldiers to come as soon as possible to engage in another decisive battle with the rebels.

On the first day of battle, the Tang army suffered a slight setback. Tian Chengsi, the military governor of Suiyang under the pseudo-Yan regime, and Xue Song, the military governor of Yejun, were quite brave and valiant, twice forcing back Pugu Yang's vanguard and even inflicting heavy losses on Wei Boyu's Shaanxi-Guo army. Li Ji repeatedly requested to be ordered to advance and replace Pugu Yang, but Pugu Huai'en stopped him each time, saying, "As long as the enemy doesn't flee far, we can wait for the Uyghur troops to arrive and then defeat them in one fell swoop!"

The next day, the Tang army continued to take a defensive stance in the battle. Tian Chengsi advised Shi Chaoyi: "Li Baoyu is in Heyang, and Li Guangbi and others are in Henan. If they come to our aid in an emergency, our army will be in danger. I urge Your Majesty to immediately order the troops from You and Ji provinces to march south and come to protect you."

Shi Chaoyi said that people had already been sent to Hengyang and Boling to urge them to move, but as for Fanyang, "it is too far away, and we must be wary of the two barbarians (Khitan and Xi), so it seems inappropriate to act rashly?"

Tian Chengsi said, "I fear that the Tang army will converge from all sides, putting our army at a disadvantage. We may have to retreat north to the Yongji Canal and Zhangshui River area. In that case, we will need reinforcements from the Fanyang army to regain our footing. I hope Your Majesty will not hesitate and will quickly send an imperial envoy to Fanyang!"

Chapter Seven, Bad Luck

On the third day, Li Baoyu and Di De arrived together, bringing excellent news.

Xin Yunjing, the military governor of Hedong and prefect of Taiyuan, commanded tens of thousands of troops, but did not go south to participate in the battle to restore Luoyang. The court tasked him with crossing the Taihang Mountains to the east and threatening Shi Chaoyi's rear.

So, almost at the same time that the central army left Shanzhou and headed east toward Luoyang, Xin Yunjing also personally led 8,000 elite troops out of Jingxing and marched toward Hengzhou (Hengyang).

The commander of the puppet Yan regime in Hengzhou was Zhang Zhongzhi, the military governor and prefect of Hengyang. Originally a scholar from Fanyang, he was adopted by An Lushan and was exceptionally skilled in archery and horsemanship, possessing unparalleled bravery. At the beginning of the rebellion, he led eighteen horsemen to Taiyuan, capturing the Taiyuan governor, Yang Guanghui, alive. Over ten thousand pursuing troops dared not approach—thus temporarily eliminating the threat from the west, allowing An Lushan to advance unimpeded and capture Luoyang.

During the Battle of Xiangzhou, Zhang Zhongzhi once surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and was appointed as the Prefect of Hengzhou and the Duke of Miyun. After the defeat at Xiangzhou, he defected again to Shi Siming and was appointed as the Minister of Works and the Military Governor of Hengyang. He controlled four prefectures: Hengyang, Raoyang, Shanggu, and Zhaojun. Among the military governors of the puppet Yan Dynasty in Hebei, he was the most powerful and had the largest army.

Therefore, facing such a fierce general, Xin Yunjing had no chance of victory and no intention of engaging in direct combat. He only wanted to restrain Zhang Zhongzhi and prevent him from launching a large-scale southward campaign to support Shi Chaoyi. Unexpectedly, before the Tang army even left Jingxing, Zhang Zhongzhi took the initiative to send someone to make contact, offering to maintain his original jurisdiction on the condition that he kill his deputy general, Xin Wanbao, a confidant of Shi Chaoyi, and go to Yan to join the Tang.

When the news reached the Tang camp, Pugu Huai'en was overjoyed and immediately launched a fierce frontal attack on the rebel army. Di De led the Uyghur troops in the first charge, and in the chaos, he almost killed Tian Chengsi with an arrow. The rebel army was thus routed, and Shi Chaoyi fled in disarray.

In this battle, Li Ji was just a bystander again... He felt that Pugu Huai'en seemed to be deliberately suppressing him, not wanting him to achieve any more merits.

After Shi Chaoyi was defeated, he fled north to Wuqing County.

Qin Rui remained stationed in Qinghe, sending men to gather intelligence from various places. When Shi Chaoyi was facing off against the Tang army east of Changle, he summoned Guo Mo and said, "That brat, even with the situation so dire, is still so suspicious!"

When An Qingxu was defeated and fled Luoyang, he fled all the way to Xiangzhou, where he stubbornly defended Yecheng. This was partly because Yecheng had been a major stronghold in Hebei for centuries, with its high walls and dense fortifications, making it difficult to conquer. More importantly, it was his own territory. Unlike Shi Chaoyi, whose power base was only in Henan, and whose Hebei territories had long been distributed among various military governors, he knew he lacked popular support and feared that if he left the main army to enter the city, one of the governors might harbor malicious intentions…

Therefore, after passing through Weizhou, he did not enter the city and eventually confronted the Tang army east of Changle. Xue Song, the military governor of Yejun, invited him several times, "Let's go north to defend Yuancheng, the capital of Weijun?" Shi Chaoyi simply refused.

Among all the generals, Shi Chaoyi was most wary of Qin Rui—because Qin Rui had obtained his position as military governor through a mutiny—so before Tian Chengsi persuaded him to summon the Fanyang army, he first summoned Xue Song, the military governor of Ye County, and then Zhang Zhongzhi, the military governor of Hengyang, and Xue Zhongyi, the military governor of Boling. However, Qin Rui, the military governor of Wuqing, was nearby, yet no imperial edict had been issued to him.

Qin Rui had originally planned to lead his troops south to Changle as soon as he received the imperial edict, to seek an opportunity to contact the Tang army, defect on the battlefield, and achieve great merit...

Guo Mo said, “The situation is urgent. The Tang army is advancing like a whirlwind. If we wait until they are at the city gates before the general surrenders, he will be looked down upon. Even if he is pardoned for his past transgressions, he may still be recalled to Chang'an and given a nominal general to live out his days. I suggest we leave the city now and go to contact the Tang general.”

Qin Rui agreed, but before Guo Mo could report back, Shi Chaoyi had already been defeated and led over ten thousand remaining soldiers north into Wuqing County, temporarily residing outside Linqing. At this point, Shi Chaoyi had no time to spare and hurriedly sent someone to summon Qin Rui to come and protect him.

Qin Rui mobilized his entire army, more than ten thousand soldiers, and marched south to meet Shi Chaoyi. Upon meeting him, he looked around and saw only Tian Chengsi, but not Xue Song.

He then asked, "Has Commander Xue met with misfortune?"

Tian Chengsi sighed, "Commander Xue volunteered to cover the rear, but there has been no further news. Perhaps he really... is doomed."

Qin Rui thought to himself, "Not necessarily." He had long been exchanging private letters with the local military governors to investigate their intentions and knew that this Xue Song actually had a strong desire to surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

Tian Chengsi came from a military family; his father, Tian Shouyi, rose to the position of Deputy Protector-General of Andong, and his clan had served as lieutenants in the Lulong Army for generations. Zhang Zhongzhi and Qin Rui, on the other hand, started as common soldiers. In comparison, Xue Song's lineage was the most illustrious. His grandfather, Xue Li (Xue Rengui), was a famous general during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, enfeoffed as Duke of Pingyang, and posthumously awarded the titles of Left General of the Valiant Guard and Governor of Youzhou. His father, Xue Chuyu, served as the Military Governor of Fanyang, a full ten years earlier than An Lushan…

Given this connection, Xue Song's surrender to the Tang Dynasty was a natural progression, and he would certainly be the most trusted by the Tang court among all the surrendered generals.

As Qin Rui had predicted, Guo Mo secretly came to report to him as soon as he returned to his own camp, saying, "Commander Xue has surrendered to the Tang..."

Xue Song volunteered to cover the rear and block the pursuing troops. After parting ways with Shi Chaoyi, he gathered his remaining troops and encamped at Wang Mang City—formerly known as Yuan City, named after the fact that it had served as the seat of Ji Province during Wang Mang's reign. He then sent someone to surrender to Li Baoyu, the military governor of Zelu, offering to hand over the four prefectures of Ye, Ji, Guangping, and Julu (i.e., the four prefectures of Xiang, Wei, Ming, and Xing) to the Tang army.

Upon hearing this, Qin Rui stamped his feet repeatedly: "That Xue fellow beat me to it!" When it comes to surrendering, it's always better to surrender as early as possible. If you're a step behind others, your status will definitely be downgraded.

Guo Mo hurriedly said, "It is not too late for the General to surrender to the Tang Dynasty at this time. I met with Pugu Huai'en, the Deputy General of Hebei, on this trip. He promised that if the General surrenders Bei and De prefectures, he can stay in his post; if he can kill Shi Chaoyi, it will be an even greater achievement and he will surely be rewarded by the court."

Qin Rui frowned and said, "I think Tian Chengsi has no intention of surrendering to Tang, but intends to go all the way down this path... When I visited him today, he suggested that Shi Chaoyi continue his northward escape to Zhangbei, where he could join forces with Zhang Zhongzhi, Xue Zhongyi, and other troops to engage the Tang army in places like Xindu and Raoyang, while waiting for the Fanyang troops to advance south..."

Guo Mo quickly said, "There are rumors that Zhang Zhongzhi has also surrendered to the Tang!"

Qin Rui stamped his foot: "In that case, I cannot lag behind... However, my troops number only ten thousand, and Tian Chengsi's defeated soldiers outnumber ours. If we were to fight each other, the outcome would be uncertain... Moreover, even if we were to win, we might not be able to capture Shi Chaoyi. What should we do?"

Guo Mo thought for a moment and suggested, "Does the commander-in-chief intend for his men, such as Jingjing'er, to assassinate ordinary soldiers?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Rui's eyebrows shot up: "You mean... the acting governor, Chao Yi?!"

Guo Mo nodded: "Exactly. Shi Chaoyi is now like a stray dog ​​and will certainly not dare to stay here for long. I'm afraid that tomorrow morning, he will have the military governor and Tian Chengsi escort him to Zhangbei. Once he leaves Wuqing County, it will be difficult to take action, whether by strategy or force. Only tonight, we can send Jingjing'er to sneak into his camp, take his head, and the military governor can take it back to Tang. He will surely receive a great reward."

Qin Rui was overjoyed and immediately ordered Guo Mo, "Summon Jingjing'er!"

So, taking advantage of the dark clouds and lack of starlight and moonlight that night, Jingjing'er went alone to Shi Chaoyi's camp. Qin Rui was worried and dared not sleep. He paced back and forth in his tent with his hands behind his back until late at night when Jingjing'er finally returned to report.

The young man was covered in blood, his hands were empty, and his face was filled with bitterness: "I have come to apologize to the commander-in-chief—Heaven has not forsaken the traitor Shi!"

With Jingjing'er's light-footed skills, she could easily have scouted out even amidst a vast army under cover of darkness. However, Shi Chaoyi was always wary of Qin Rui, and the army was heavily guarded. Despite Jingjing'er's utmost caution, she still managed to slip past the main tent before being discovered. Upon hearing the report, Tian Chengsi hurriedly drew his sword to investigate. Seeing the situation was dire, Jingjing'er simply forced her way into the tent and unleashed a flurry of three darts at Shi Chaoyi.

Shi Chaoyi cried out "Ah!" and fell to the ground after being hit by the dart.

But Jingjing'er also realized that the dart hadn't pierced the skin or flesh, because it made a crisp sound of armor plates clicking. Shi Chaoyi was as frightened as a stray dog, and even at night, he dared not remove his armor. If he wanted to rush up and take Shi Chaoyi's life, he probably wouldn't have time to cut off his head. But the guards surged up in layers, and judging from the sound, Tian Chengsi and his men had already arrived outside the tent!

Left with no other choice, Jingjing shot down two soldiers and fled in a sorry state. Fortunately, everyone, including Tian Chengsi, was concerned about Shi Chaoyi's safety, which allowed him to barely escape the camp despite being stabbed several times. He then took a long detour to report back to Qin Rui.

Upon receiving the report, Qin Rui was filled with shame, anger, and frustration, yet he was at a loss. He hurriedly ordered, "Please summon Mr. Guo." He needed to discuss with Guo Mo what to do next after the assassination attempt failed. Should he simply fight Tian Chengsi to the death, or pretend to be uninvolved and wait until dawn to follow Shi Chaoyi north, then look for another opportunity…

However, a report soon arrived saying, "His Majesty and Military Governor Tian have both hastily broken camp and set off northward!"

It turned out that Tian Chengsi had forced Jingjing'er to retreat and entered the tent to inquire about Shi Chaoyi's well-being. Shi Chaoyi cursed loudly, "The Li family couldn't kill me on the battlefield, so they sent an assassin. How despicable and shameless!"

Tian Chengsi picked up the dart that had fallen to the ground, lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then said to Shi Chaoyi, "This is probably not an assassin from the Tang family... I just caught a glimpse of the assassin's figure; he was quite thin and small, and his shape was like a monkey. He seemed to be one of the strange martial arts masters from Zhou Zhi's 'Divine Machine Guard' in the past..."

Upon hearing this, Shi Chaoyi was startled and hurriedly asked, "Could it be that Qin Rui is plotting something sinister?!"

Qin Rui was originally a confidant of Zhou Zhi. After Zhou Zhi's death, half of his former subordinates joined Qin Rui's command. Since they were members of the "Divine Machine Guard," they were most likely sent by Qin Rui, right? Shi Chaoyi was quick-witted and immediately made the connection.

Tian Chengsi suggested, "We can send someone to secretly spy on the Wuqing army camp. It's late at night, and we have to travel far tomorrow, so Qin Rui should be asleep. If there's still a light in his tent, then it must be an assassin he sent!"

As Tian Chengsi had predicted, Qin Rui was still pacing around the tent, waiting for Jingjing'er's report... So Tian Chengsi said to Shi Chaoyi, "Since the Qin traitor has harbored ill intentions, we cannot stay here any longer. We should break camp and leave tonight—Your Majesty, go first, and I will cover your retreat!"

Upon receiving the report, Qin Rui realized his plot had been exposed, and there was no point in continuing the pretense. He hurriedly whipped his soldiers, raised torches, and gave chase through the night. Early the next morning, they caught up with Tian Chengsi on the south bank of the Yongji Canal, where Tian Chengsi had his troops ready for battle. Qin Rui spurred his horse forward and demanded, "Why did you not inform His Majesty before taking him hostage and fleeing in the night? What is the meaning of this?"

Tian Chengsi pointed his whip and said, "His Majesty has already passed the canal. Summon all the armies and kill you, you disloyal and unjust traitor, first!"

Qin Rui was furious and led his troops to attack. Tian Chengsi fought with his back to the river, and the two sides fought fiercely. Around noon, countless banners suddenly appeared on the north bank of the Yongji Canal, and the Yan army shouted: "100,000 troops from Hengyang and Boling have come to our aid! We will surely kill the traitor Qin Rui!"

In fact, Qin Rui was hoping for the Hengyang army to arrive, because Guo Mo had said that Zhang Zhongzhi had already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. However, this news did not spread throughout the Wuqing army. When the generals heard this, they thought that a large number of enemy reinforcements had indeed arrived, and they were all terrified. Taking advantage of the situation, Tian Chengsi led the charge and advanced his troops. Qin Rui was defeated and fled in a sorry state to his old stronghold in Qinghe, which was just a stone's throw away.

He truly hated Tian Chengsi to the core, while also lamenting his own bad luck—he was just one step away from taking Shi Chaoyi's head, and was instead defeated by the rebels… He had no choice but to send Guo Mo to the Tang camp again, to offer up the two prefectures of Bei and De, and to inform them of Shi Chaoyi's escape to the north.

But what angered him even more was yet to come—

At this time, Tang armies from all directions converged. Xin Yunjing came from the north, Tian Shenggong from the south, and Hou Xiyi from the east, their main force swelling to nearly 100,000. Meanwhile, Tian Chengsi repelled Qin Rui and crossed the Yongji Canal, only to learn that Zhang Zhongzhi had already surrendered to the Tang, and that only the 7,000 troops of Xue Zhongyi, the military governor of Boling, had come to his rescue…

Tian Chengsi felt that the situation was hopeless. Even if a large force from Fanyang arrived, it would be difficult to recover the lost territory. It would be fortunate if they could temporarily stop the Tang army's offensive and defend northern Hebei and Fanyang and other counties. How long could they hold out in such a small area?

But he was ultimately different from Qin Rui. Originally a subordinate of An Lushan, he had also joined Shi Siming's forces and was unwilling to bear the infamy of murdering his lord. Therefore, after the Yan army retreated across the Zhang River, he volunteered to stay and guard Hengshui County, suggesting that Shi Chaoyi personally go to Youzhou to urge Li Huaixian, the military governor of Fanyang, to send troops south to relieve Hengshui. Shi Chaoyi agreed.