Chapter 697: Soldiers enter Hebei

Winter goes and spring comes, and the spring of the three years of Qingping finally arrives. The ice and snow of the Bohai Sea country melts, the streams gurgle, the willows are green, the tender branches are budding, and the birds are chirping happily on the branches. The sky is blue like a gem, and the air is filled with a moist and warm atmosphere.

The battle of siege in Huzhou also ended with the Tang army's great advance. It was besieged for a whole winter, with food and grass cut off, and the Khitan army suffered a crushing defeat after dozens of breakouts. Tens of thousands of troops survived the cold winter by killing horses and chiseling ice and fishing. Despite this, a large number of soldiers died of starvation, or were killed by the severe cold, and a large number of soldiers fled along the ice sheets on the lake.

At the end of February, the ice and snow melted, and the Tang army entered Huzhou City without any resistance. Huzhou City was like a hell on earth. Tens of thousands of war horses had been slaughtered. Without forage, they could not survive the severe winter. More than 60,000 Khitan soldiers were left, and more than 40,000 people were killed. They died of illness, freezing, starving and fleeing in large numbers. They eventually destroyed the Khitan army, causing the Khitan coalition that invaded the Bohai Kingdom to completely wipe out the Khitan coalition forces.

The commander Li Huaijie committed suicide in the final attack of the Tang army. Li Baozhen ordered his head to be cut off and ordered people to send it to Chang'an. Li Baozhen could not bear to kill the remaining 5,800 remaining troops and handed them over to the Bohai Kingdom as slaves. At this point, the Bohai Kingdom battle was declared over.

At this time, the great prince of Bohai Kingdom had given way to the third prince Da Yingjun. In the camp of the Tang army, Li Baozhen officially signed a security agreement with Bohai Kingdom on behalf of the Tang army. From the date of the agreement's effectiveness, Bohai Kingdom gave up its army and only retained an imperial guard with no more than 3,000 people. The security of Bohai Kingdom was fully responsible for the Tang army.

After the agreement was signed, Li Baozhen took office as the governor of Bohai and led 30,000 troops to station in the Bohai Kingdom. Zhao Chongjie and Ge Shu Yao each led 30,000 troops to attack Yingzhou with a speedless thunder.

At the same time, Li Qing'an, the commander of the Tang army, also issued an order for the Hebei War. Li Guangbi had assembled 100,000 troops in Xiangzhou and sent troops to Weizhou. Tian Chengsi officially surrendered. Li Guangbi's army then headed north and pointed to Youzhou. Li Siye from Hedong also led a 70,000 army to Jingxing, entered Hengzhou, Hebei Road, and headed towards Youzhou.

The situation in Hebei is changing rapidly and has reached its last moment of change.

In Yingzhou, An Qingxu was like an ant on a hot pan. He had already received news of the demise of the Khitan. He knew that the Tang army would not go back by boat, and the next step would be to attack Yingzhou. For this reason, An Qingxu began to recruit a large number of troops, but his recruitment encountered great obstacles.

His original excuse was to fight against the invasion of the Khitan army, so the Han people in the camp and Pingzhou were enthusiastic about signing up, but who had revealed the news. The news of the destruction of the Khitan by the Tang army had been circulating in Yingzhou and Hepingzhou, which greatly affected An Qingxu's recruitment.

"The military advisor is here!"

The personal soldiers reported outside, and then the footsteps rang out. An Qingxu hurriedly opened the door as if he had found a reinforcement, and saw Gao Shang walking in from outside quickly.

"Sir, please help me!"

Gao Shang didn't look very good either. He walked into the room with a gloomy face, waved his hand, and asked the soldiers to go down. An Qingxu looked at Gao Shang nervously. His lips moved, and finally asked, "Sir, what happened?"

Gao Shang sighed, "I just got the news that the thousand troops stationed in Xincheng County have changed their flags and declared them to be the garrison of the Tang Dynasty."

"What!"

An Qingxu was stunned, and he asked anxiously again: "Is it to surrender or...?"

Gao Shang shook his head, "It's not that he surrendered. Before the Tang army arrived in Xincheng, they received news of the demise of the Khitan and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty."

Gao Shang looked at him again, "Little Prince, do you know the consequences of this matter?"

An Qingxu sat down powerlessly, with deep fear in his eyes. How could he not know the consequences of this matter? More than 80,000 troops of his 30,000 troops were Han people. They joined the army enthusiastically to resist the Khitans. Now that the Khitan has been destroyed, can these Han people still work hard for him?

The Xincheng Guards are the best explanation. Their rebellion will surely affect more Han soldiers, and more people will surrender to the Tang Dynasty.

"Sir, I always feel that someone is deliberately promoting it."

An Qingxu's voice was very low, with a deep sense of anxiety, "We have been hiding the Khitan affairs, but now almost everyone knows it. Why is this?"

"This is what I told you. The Tang army had spies active around us, including the prince being stabbed, the prince's imperial guards attacked us, and An Yong was really killing. These were all deliberately provoked by someone. Li Li Qing'an's spies never left us."

Gao Shang stared at the young commander. He wanted him to understand the crisis of the situation. The Tang army of the Bohai Kingdom was about to move south, and Li Guangbi's army soon arrived here. They were attacked from front and back and were desperate. At most, three days, and in only three days, the Tang army would die when they arrived in Yingzhou.

"Little Prince, it's time to make a decision."

Gao Shang tried to lower his tone and told him in a gentle tone, but his words were not soft. An Qingxu raised his head in shock, "Sir...what did you say?"

"Little Prince, we can't stay in Yingzhou anymore. Do you understand what I mean?"

"But where else can we go besides Yingzhou?" An Qingxu's mind was in chaos. He didn't understand the meaning of Gao Shang's words. He looked at Gao Shang with a begging look. He had no opinion at all. Where did Gao Shang ask him to go? Where did he go?

"Sir, you said, I'll listen to you."

"Okay!" Gao Shang nodded, "While the army is still in command, we give up Yingzhou and head towards Silla. The news I have received is that the Tang army has not attacked Silla yet. There are only more than 10,000 Silla troops in Silla. This is our only chance to survive. To capture Silla and occupy Silla's port. Even if the Tang army attacks Silla, we can escape by boat."

"Let me think about it again...think about it again!"

An Qingxu talked to himself, asking him to give up Yingzhou. Emotionally, he couldn't accept it no matter how he held his head in his arms. He squatted down in pain.

"Little Prince!"

Gao Shang shouted sternly: "You can't be confused anymore. In fact, you have no time anymore. Whether you can enter Silla is still a bet. But if you don't bet, you will die in three days. But if you bet, you still have a glimmer of hope! Otherwise, you will surrender to Shi Siming and see if he forgives you?"

An Qingxu shook all over. How could he surrender to Shi Siming? At this moment, he finally woke up and left the green mountains there, not afraid of no firewood. He stood up and said slowly: "Okay! Let's march into Silla."

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That night, An Qingxu's army began to march towards Silla. Unlike later generations, the border between the Tang Dynasty and Silla was not the Yalu River, but in today's Datong River. An Qingxu's army must first cross the Liaodong Peninsula and then cross the Yalu River to the south before entering the final Silla.

Although An Qingxu led the army to set out at night, he still could not escape the eyes of the scouts of the Tang army. Just as An Qingxu's army had just left Yingzhou, the scouts of the Tang army immediately rushed north to report this most important information to the Tang army.

At this time, Ge Shu Yao's 30,000 troops had entered the northern part of Yingzhou. After receiving the news, they immediately turned to the southeast and pursued the retreating Yan army's main force. Zhao Chongjie's army entered Yingzhou from the east. After they received the news of An Qingxu's retreating east, they immediately set up a net of heaven and earth in the guard area.

Two days later, An Qingxu's 30,000 troops arrived at Ruluo Shouzhao and were intercepted by Zhao Chongjie's troops. The two sides fought a fierce encounter. The Yan army lost to the Tang army and was forced to retreat to Liucheng. But at this moment, Geshu Yao's troops blocked the Yan army's retreat from behind. Two Tang troops attacked each other forward and backward, blocking the Yan army in a narrow valley west of Ruluo Shouzhao. This is one of the most worrying possibilities that Gao Shang was most worried about. He was attacked by the Tang army, and the development of the situation was developing in the worst direction.

As night fell, the Yan army's camp was silent. After two days of marching and a fierce battle, the soldiers were exhausted and fell asleep. However, not everyone could fall asleep. Many people tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. The left army general An Taiqing was one of them.

An Taiqing was the deputy general of An Qingxu and the most important leader of the Yan army. He had 11,000 troops under him. Although An Taiqing was exhausted, his worries about the situation and his nostalgia for his wife made him unable to fall asleep for a long time. He sat in the tent in a daze, and placed a picture of a beauty in front of him. It was a portrait of his wife. Her wife was named Qiuniang. She was unparalleled in appearance and was known as the number one beauty in Youzhou. She has now been occupied by Shi Siming and can never return to him.

In order to win him over, An Lushan and his son agreed one after another to help him take back his wife. He also believed it and put all his hopes on them, but now his hopes can only be a waste of time.

He led his troops for many years, and of course he knew the current crisis. Two Tang troops attacked them from the front and back and defeated them in one battle. The Yan army was already in a desperate situation. At the latest tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it would be the day when their entire army was wiped out.

An Taiqing's heart was filled with mourning, and he had no hope of saving his wife.

At this moment, footsteps rang outside the tent, "Who is it?" An Taiqing turned around and shouted sternly.

"General An, it's me, I have important things to discuss with the general."

It was a strange voice. He was stopped by his personal soldiers. An Taiqing hesitated for a moment. If it were normal, he would never see strangers. But for some reason, he agreed today and said, "Let him come in!"

He lifted the curtain and walked into a thin soldier. Under the dim light, he saw a baby face with a confident smile on his face. An Taiqing looked at him deeply. He confirmed that he had never seen this person before. At this time, he felt a strange feeling in his heart that this soldier would bring him unusual news and might save him from desperate situations.

"Who are you?" An Taiqing looked at him.

"In the next surname, Ji, one single name wins."

The soldier was very confident. He sat down directly opposite An Taiqing. An Taiqing's face sank. Just as he was about to scold him, Ji Sheng smiled and said, "My other identity is the Duke of Boling County, Deputy Envoy of the Military Control Commission of Fan Yang, and the General of the Champion. I think this identity should be able to sit with you!"

An Taiqing stood up in fear, took a few steps back, drew his sword and pointed it at him, shouting, "Come!"

Ji Sheng shook his head gently, "It seems that General An doesn't want to save his wife anymore."

This sentence hit An Taiqing's chest like a heavy hammer. Although his sword had not been put down, it had already trembled slightly.

At this time, five or six personal soldiers rushed in. They rushed forward to capture Ji Sheng, but An Taiqing waved his hand, "You guys go out, nothing is wrong."

The Qing soldiers fell down, and An Taiqing then took back the sword and looked at Ji Sheng in fear. The reason why Ji Sheng dared to come to find An Taiqing was to seize his weakness. Seeing that An Taiqing was already moved, he waved his hand, "General An, please sit down first!"

After An Taiqing sat down slowly, Ji Sheng smiled and said, "I have the latest information about General An's wife. Are General An interested in listening?"

An Taiqing was stunned, and his eyes were filled with irrepressible sadness. Why didn't he want to know, and he wanted to know in his dreams, but his heart was in a mess at this moment, and the news did not startle him. He asked in a low voice: "How is she?"

"My subordinates saw her yesterday morning. First of all, she was still alive. Secondly, she had a very bad life and a sad face. I heard that she was rewarded by Shi Siming to Puguyan, the son of former betrayal general Puguhuaien. I have ordered his subordinates to rescue her. General An Taiqing, do you understand my sincerity?"

An Taiqing had another glimmer of hope in his heart. Although this hope was slim, it was the only hope for the couple to reunite. He understood Ji Sheng's meaning, so he nodded and sighed softly.

Ji Sheng looked at him and said, "Actually, I don't have to come to you. Now the Tang army is attacking each other in front and back, and I won't hide it from you. Before dawn tomorrow morning, the Tang army will launch a general attack. Your morale is depressed and you will be defeated in a battle. For the Tang army, it is worth noting whether you surrender or not, but I still take the risk to see you. You need to understand why I came to you."

"I know!"

An Taiqing hugged his head and said, "You don't want me, but my 11,000 Han troops. They are all the people of the Tang Dynasty in Hepingzhou. You can't bear to slaughter, so you want to save them, so you find me."

"Yeah!" Ji Sheng smiled, "You are sober than I thought, okay! I'll give you half an hour to consider whether you surrender or not."

"It takes less than half an hour!"

An Taiqing resolutely knelt down on one knee, clasped his fists and said, "I will reply to General Ji now, I surrender, I am willing to lead my troops to surrender to the Tang army, and I can persuade the Later Army General Luo Zhiyu to surrender together with me."

"Okay! It's not too late. Please take action now. I hope you will lead your troops out of the camp overnight!"

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In early March of the third year of Qingping, An Qingxu led his army to Yingzhou and went to Silla, trying to make a comeback in Silla. However, at this time, the 60,000 Tang army had entered Yingzhou in two groups, blocking An Qingxu's 30,000 troops near Ruluo's capture. That night, the left army general An Taiqing connected with the rear army's general Luo Zhiyu, and the two led their troops to surrender to the Tang army overnight.

The surrender of the left and rear troops caused great chaos in the Yan army. A large number of Han soldiers were unwilling to fight against the court and began to flee one after another. An Qingxu couldn't ban it. By the fourth update, there were only less than 26,000 people left. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, An Qingxu led two thousand personal guards to break out in the direction of Silla.

Zhao Chongjie led his army to chase and caught up with An Qingxu on the banks of the Yalu River. The two armies fought melee on the banks of the river. Gao Shang was killed in the chaos. An Qingxu was shot by Zhao Chongjie with an arrow, and the remaining troops of An Qingxu were killed in battle.

At this point, the An Lushan faction in the Anshi Rebellion officially perished.

However, after Zhao Chongjie's army annihilated the remnants of Anqingxu's army, they did not return to Yingzhou, but led 30,000 people from the headquarters to cross the Yalu River and headed towards Silla.
Chapter completed!