Chapter 689 Everyone has their own thoughts

After the defeat of Yizhou, An Lushan had no choice but to give up Youzhou and led 70,000 remaining troops to retreat to the Lulong Jiedu. At present, only Pingzhou and Yingzhou remained in Hebei prefectures and counties under his control, while Jizhou became a buffer zone for him and Shi Siming, with neither side garrison.

The loss of Youzhou was an extremely heavy blow to An Lushan. He was so angry that he finally became blind and could not see anything. From then on, he lived in darkness.

An Lushan’s new camp is in Liucheng County, Yingzhou, which is today Chaoyang, Liaoning. This place has always been the location of Yingzhou camp. An Lushan’s last 70,000 troops are all stationed here.

However, what made An Lushan feel a little relieved was that Pingzhou and Yingzhou had a large population, and there was also some money and food, as well as the money and food he brought from Youzhou, and the support of Khitan and Xi, he could not only guarantee the military food of 70,000 troops, but also some surplus, which gave him confidence to revive his strength.

In the room, An Lushan closed his eyes and lay on a wide bamboo chair with his fat body. Agent Zhang Tongru recited him the latest Youzhou intelligence sent by the Youzhou spy.

"Shi Siming entered Youzhou and increased the tax by 50%, and levyed a captive tax, house beam tax, wine tax, tea tax, and Youzhou shops withered. Only one ten stores opened. The private grain was collected and rations were distributed according to the captive tax. They could only fill their stomachs every day. Most of the people were hungry to death...."

"Stop reading!"

An Lushan waved his hand and sighed, "Everyone said that this person is a jackal. It is true that he saw him today. If I had known today, I would have killed him with one knife."

"The Young Marshal is back!" The soldiers' reports came from the door.

Only by hearing the sound of footsteps, An Qingxu walked in quickly from outside the door. He seemed excited and in a very good mood.

"Father, this training effect is very good!"

An Qingxu was appointed by An Lushan to recruit soldiers and train troops in Ping and Ying prefectures. Since An Lushan took away a large amount of money and grain when he evacuated from Youzhou, as a guarantee, An Qingxu's recruitment was very smooth. He recruited 30,000 soldiers in just two months. In addition, An Lushan implemented the defense of the fortress during the Pinglu Jiedushi, and most of the people were practicing martial arts. An Qingxu's training was very smooth.

An Qingxu said excitedly: "I have only been practicing troops for a month, but the effect is like I have been practicing troops for a year, which is simply unexpected."

"This is because they have been training in militia for several years."

An Lushan was not surprised. As he expected, he told An Qingxu that it only takes two months to train troops at most.

"Can this army be officially put into battle?" This is what An Lushan cares about the most.

An Qingxu thought about it and shook his head and said, "Although the training effect is good, it is best to train for another month."

"You don't have to practice anymore, Tongru, give him the letter in the morning."

Zhang Tongru has always been excluded by Gao Shang, and he was lucky enough to fail to perform important tasks several times. He was even arrested by the Tang army in Chang'an, but Li Qing'an let him go and concealed the arrested experience for him.

Zhang Tongru did not surrender to Li Qing'an, but instead begged for mercy from Li Qing'an. If he was put back, he would definitely kill Gao Shang for Li Qing'an. It was precisely this reason that Li Qing'an let him go.

Zhang Tongru's hatred for Gao Shang can be described in the four words "unforgettable". After returning to Youzhou this time, he took advantage of Gao Shang's defeat in Luzhou and tried his best to slander An Lushan, which finally made An Lushan feel a little dissatisfied with Gao Shang. This time, Yizhou was defeated because Gao Shang was not able to raise funds, and eventually reduced the combat effectiveness of the cavalry. Zhang Tongru took the opportunity to fan the flames and finally made An Lushan decide to abandon Gao Shang and send Gao Shang to An Qingxu, and Zhang Tongru became his confidant aide.

Zhang Tongru hurriedly took out a letter and handed it to An Qingxu with a flattering smile, "Young Marshal, please check it out!"

An Qingxu did not hide his disgust for Zhang Tongru. He snorted heavily and snatched the letter. The letter was written by the Khitan chief Li Huaijie. This Li Huaijie was the leader of the Khitan who married Dugu Mingyue's sister Dugu Mingjing in the fifth year of Tianbao. In the fifth year of Tianbao, Dugu Mingjing was named Princess Jingle and married to Li Huaijie, but was killed by Li Huaijie in just half a year.

Zhang Tongru also knew that An Qingxu hated him, and a subtle murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he retreated with a smile on his face.

After reading the letter, An Qingxu frowned. In the letter, Li Huaijie asked An Lushan's army to gather with the Khitan army, but in fact, he wanted An Lushan to obey his mobilization. An Qingxu and his father had different opinions on the relationship with the Khitan.

"Father, didn't you agree that Yan, Khitan and Xi families will each form their own formation and attack Bohai at the same time? Why did it change again? We asked him to gather with him Li Huaijie. Father, there is something wrong with it!"

An Lushan couldn't see his son's expression in his eyes, but he could hear his son's dissatisfaction. He was a little unhappy and asked An Qingxu in a lengthened voice: "What's the problem?"

"Didn't my father see it? Li Huaijie obviously wanted to eat us. The so-called gathering of three armies was nothing more than giving our army to his command. Father, we must never be so honest."

"You idiot, our army is basically Khitans and Xi people, and his military rations are also controlled by him. What should you do if you don't listen to him? He can disintegrate our army overnight. To this point today, do you really think I can still be the king of the king?"

Perhaps because he realized that he was too strict, An Lushan calmed down and said, "I know you are dissatisfied with the Khitans. In fact, you are not satisfied with the father. But under the eaves, you have to bow your head. If a real man can bend, he can stretch his head. As long as we have complete soldiers, armor, food and grass, we will ignore the Khitans. We will make a big fuss in the Bohai Kingdom and go to Silla to develop. Sooner or later, we will destroy the Khitans and fight back to Hebei. This time we join forces with the Khitans, and you will be the main general. Lead 70,000 troops north and leave the training to the third brother!"

The third child here is An Lushan's third son An Qinghe. An Qingxu did not dare to argue with his father anymore, so he nodded, "Then kid go and pack up the troops!"

"Go! This time you are the main general and An Taiqing is the deputy general. You will set off in three days."

An Qingxu retreated, and Zhang Tongru, who was lurking beside him, immediately stepped forward and said, "Prince, when the young marshal left the room just now, I saw that he was seriously dissatisfied. I was very worried about the young marshal..."

"Well! I have nothing to do now. I can only trust my son. They are always better than outsiders!"

An Lushan sighed, "Actually, I am also worried that the Khitans will annex my army, so I asked the second brother to go to war. At least he would not be bribed by Li Huaijie. He led 70,000 troops and let the third brother lead the new recruits. In this way, I feel a little relieved. You go down! I'm a little sleepy."

Zhang Tongru wanted to persuade him again, but An Lushan was already snoring loudly and fell asleep. Zhang Tongru had no choice but to curse the dead pig inwardly and retreat.

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An Qingxu returned to the barracks outside the city worriedly. This was the new recruits. The newly recruited 30,000 troops were trained here. As soon as An Qingxu entered his tent, Gao Shang walked in from outside the camp.

"Young Marshal, what's the situation?"

An Qingxu sighed, "I was told by the gentleman. The Khitan really wanted us to lead our troops north to meet. The Khitan wolf ambitions and wants to swallow us!"

Since the Battle of Luzhou, Gao Shang has gained the trust of An Qingxu. In addition, An Lushan no longer trusts him, so he simply left An Lushan and assisted An Qingxu with all his heart. Compared with An Lushan, An Qingxu was simple and kind, and was not as cruel as An Lushan. More importantly, An Qingxu obeyed his words, which made Gao Shang feel very accomplished.

It was Gao Shang's idea to ask An Qingxu to take the initiative to apply to train new recruits. Gao Shang had already seen the Khitan control over An Lushan. Not only did the Khitans serve as the main generals, but even the important links of food, grass and supplies were controlled by the Khitans. In this case, mastering one's own army is the way to survive.

Gao Shang pondered for a while and asked again: "What is the prince's attitude?"

"The father said we can't afford to offend the Khitans. Since the other party asked to go to recruit soldiers, we can only go. The father asked me to lead the soldiers. Sir, what should I do?"

"Young Marshal, I still say the same thing. I have to tighten my military power. Although the prince gave you the 70,000 troops, have you ever thought about it? You can't control this army at all. Seven generals, five Khitans, and two Xi people. Even the prince himself cannot control the army. What's the use of the young marshal going? Why don't you listen to me and take the new recruits to Pingzhou. The Pingzhou warehouse has a lot of money and grain, which is just for us to use as military supplies."

An Qingxu nodded. He was about to agree, but someone reported that An Taiqing was coming.

An Taiqing was also one of the defeated generals in Luzhou. After he was defeated, he hid in the mountains. Finally, after the situation stabilized, he led the last few personal soldiers to escape from Hedong and return to Youzhou. At this time, Youzhou had been occupied by Shi Siming, and his young and beautiful wife was also occupied by Shi Siming.

An Taiqing was very sad and angry, begging An Lushan to fight back to Youzhou every day and take back his wife. However, An Lushan only comforted him, but no longer had the idea of ​​returning to Youzhou. He ordered him and An Qingxu to train new recruits, which disappointed An Taiqing. Today, he heard that An Lushan was going to appoint him as his deputy general and follow An Qingxu to the north. He suddenly felt something was wrong and hurried to find An Qingxu.

An Taiqing quickly walked into the tent, bowed and said, "Young Marshal, the situation is not good!"

An Qingxu glanced at him, "Why is the situation not good?"

"I just heard that the Grand Marshal had ordered the Third Young Marshal to take over the New Army Battalion, and Zhang Zhongzhi was the deputy general of the New Army Battalion. This was obviously to seize the military power of the Young Marshal. Bei Zhi begs the Young Marshal to immediately order the new army to leave Yingzhou and go to Pingzhou for training."

An Qingxu turned his head to look up Gao Shang, Gao Shang nodded, meaning that An Taiqing could trust. An Qingxu laughed and said, "General An and I have come together. I am about to withdraw my troops south. Since General An has no objection, we should withdraw our troops south immediately without further ado."

An Taiqing was overjoyed and bowed and said, "Abide by the order!"

Half an hour later, An Qingxu led 30,000 new recruits soldiers and left Yingzhou without saying goodbye, and went to Pingzhou. Before leaving, he left a letter to An Lushan, saying that he wanted to continue training new recruits and was unwilling to go north.

An Lushan was furious, but he had no choice but to order An Qinghe and Zhang Zhongzhi to lead an army of 70,000 northwards.

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The Khitan of the Tang Dynasty was called Songmo Governor's Office in the Tang Dynasty. It covers the area east of Chifeng to Korqin today, occupying the most fertile grassland. The Khitan chief was also the governor of Songmo. The population was hundreds of thousands, the whole people were soldiers, and more than 100,000 soldiers. Since the Wu Zetian era, he has been fighting with the Tang Dynasty frequently. In the late Kaiyuan period, the Tang army defeated the Khitan, captured countless Khitan children, moved them to the Youzhou area of ​​Fanyang, and lived with the Han people. Now many Khitans in An Lushan's army are these migrants and their descendants.

After the Khitan suffered a crushing defeat in the late Kaiyuan period, he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. The leader Li Huaijie was named King Chongshun and married him as his wife with the daughter of Dugu. However, soon the Khitan and the Xi people rebelled again, killed the princess of the Tang Dynasty to sacrifice the flag, and fought a long-lasting tug-of-war with An Lushan, the governor of Fanyang.

More than ten years have passed in a flash, and the Khitan has recovered. Seeing that the Tang Dynasty was weak and the internal part was broken, Li Huaijie had the idea of ​​conquering the Tang Dynasty. He continued to increase troops and provide food assistance to gradually control An Lushan.

At this time, the Han soldiers in the Yan army were almost extinct, and were basically a Hu army dominated by Khitan, Xi and Turks. Among them, the Khitans were the most prosperous. Seventy percent of the officers above the Central Army were Khitans, and An Lushan had actually become a puppet of the Khitans.

Although Li Huaijie was determined to go south to plunder the Tang Dynasty, his strength was greatly damaged due to excessive support for An Lushan. In addition, he was afraid that the army would go south, so the Bohai people took the opportunity to seize his lair. Therefore, he considered it again and again. Li Huaijie decided to join forces with the Xi people and An Lushan, and the three families would take the Bohai together, and then consider going south to the Central Plains.

At the end of August, it was the season when the autumn was high and the horses were fat. The tents on the banks of the Raole River were densely packed for more than ten miles. Seventy thousand Khitan warriors and 300,000 parents, wives and children were all gathered here. Nearly 70% of Khitans, as well as millions of cattle, sheep and livestock gathered here.

‘Woo-Woo-Woo-Woo!’

The low horn sounded across the Raole River, and the war horses were galloping, rolling across the grassland like muffled thunder, and tens of thousands of knights gathered from all directions.

In the middle of the knights gathered was a large tent made of wool, with a golden ceiling and woven with gold and silver threads. It was quite as powerful as a wealthy king. This was Li Huaijie's tent, and this was also the temporary tent of the Khitan.

The Khitan was a nomadic people, and the whole people were soldiers. Li Huaijie had more than 100,000 soldiers, but half of the support of An Lushan was spent, leaving only 70,000 troops. It was undoubtedly a bit difficult to attack the Bohai Kingdom with these 70,000 troops. Moreover, Bohai and Silla have formed a coalition force, and it is said that there are 150,000 troops. Li Huaijie knew that he could only unite An Lushan and the Xi people. With the impact of the Khitan cavalry and the equipment of An Lushan Yan Army, they were definitely sure to defeat the Bohai Silla coalition.

Besides, Li Huaijie had other plans. Since An Lushan's main force was already dominated by Khitans, why didn't he take the opportunity to take it over to him? The 70,000 well-equipped army is undoubtedly a piece of fat in his eyes.

Li Huaijie is about his early fifties today. He is tall and has a fierce appearance. Dugu Mingjing, who was killed by him back then, has always been the thing he is most proud of. Killing the Tang princess means that he and the Tang Dynasty completely break up. Dugu Mingjing was killed because she was not the real Princess of the Li family of the Tang Dynasty, but was just a woman in the foreign relatives, so he thought Li Longji was bullying him.

But he heard a piece of news last year that Li Qing'an's princess was the sister of the Tang Dynasty princess he killed, which surprised him. It was precisely because of this that he suddenly realized that Li Qing'an would not forgive him and his determination to rebel against the Tang Dynasty burst out strongly in his heart.

Hearing the sound of the trumpet, Li Huaijie walked out of the tent quickly. He saw a cavalry slowly coming in the distance. On the plain in the distance, the winding cavalry was like a long snake, stretching for seven or eight miles, with a wolf-headed flag in the head. This was the team of the Xi people. Like the Uighurs, the Khitan and the Xi people both admired wolf and used wolf-headed flags as military flags.

"Look at it!"
To be continued...