Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Fortunately, the Uyghur cavalry were still attacking Hengshan's formation, so Ashina Chengqing deployed his strong defensive formation and slowly advanced northwest. His plan was that if the Hengshan forces could hold out until our troops arrived, he could use the strong defensive formation to overwhelm the Uyghur cavalry; if the Hengshan forces did not survive until then, with his strong defensive formation, the Uyghur cavalry would be helpless, and he could slowly retreat back to Zhaojue Temple.

Li Ji and Ma Lin had considered this situation, which is why they planned that if Ashina Chengqing rushed to Hengshan, the troops of Shannan East Road and Zhenxi should feign defeat to lure the enemy and make the rebel army's formation even more chaotic. However, Ashina Chengqing deployed a strong formation and advanced slowly... There was no other way but to take the initiative to launch a fierce attack, try to restrain the enemy army and prevent them from retreating, and wait for the battle of Hengshan to end.

Ma Lin was from Fufeng (Fengxiang) and claimed to be a descendant of Ma Yuan, the General Who Subdued the Waves of the Han Dynasty. However, Li Ji maliciously speculated that it was more likely that he was a member of Ma Teng's faction who had not been killed by Cao Cao and was a survivor. He came from a military family and joined the army in the Anxi Protectorate, which is why the court entrusted him with the command of the Zhenxi Army.

— Zhenxi is the same as Anxi, which was renamed after the four towns of Kucha, Yanqi, Shule and Yutian under its jurisdiction.

Ma Lin had once gone to Fengxiang to defend the emperor and protect Li Heng. When the two capitals were first recovered, he led a hundred cavalrymen to defeat a rebel army of five thousand in Weinan. Later, he served under Li Guangbi and fought against the rebels in Heyang. Therefore, although he did not have a deep relationship with Li Ji, they were old acquaintances, and he had long admired Li Ji's bravery.

Ma Lin simply looked down on the troops of Shannan East Circuit—the elite soldiers of Zhenxi had fiercely defended against the Uyghurs for decades, and after coming east to defend the emperor, they had repeatedly clashed with rebel forces. Although only two or three thousand remained, the rest were reinforcements from Huaixi, and they still retained a certain arrogance. In contrast, the Jingxiang region had never produced any strong and capable troops to begin with, and in recent years, all that had been heard of was their rebellion and unrest. Could such troops, if sent to the front lines, possibly win a battle?

Although Li Ji's forces were not entirely composed of Xiangyang soldiers, but also included the old Luoyang garrison led by Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun, which was based on soldiers from Yongqiu and Suiyang and mainly composed of recruits from other prefectures and counties in Henan, Ma Lin deliberately ignored them...

Therefore, Li Ji was informed: "I will charge into the enemy lines first. If I am unable to win, Li, the defender, may retreat towards Hengshui to seek reinforcements from Lord Pugu..."

Chapter Three: Remnants of the Turks

The Zhenxi Army was arrogant and fierce, so it was understandable that Ma Lin volunteered to lead the charge. However, instead of saying, "If I fail, Li Shufang, you take over," he ordered Li Ji to retreat towards Hengshan and seek reinforcements from Pugu Huai'en…

Upon hearing the order from the Zhenxi Army, Li Ji stroked his beard and smiled, glancing around and saying, "Zhenxi Ma looks down on us quite a bit."

Before Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun could respond, Liang Chongyi jumped up: "Damn these Western barbarians! I request permission to attack their ranks and take the heads of the Turkic remnants to present to our defenders!"

Ashina was originally a Turkic royal family. Although Ashina Chengqing was born a Tang person, his non-Han bloodline could not be washed away. Therefore, Liang Chongyi cursed him as a "Turkic descendant".

Li Ji smiled and waved his hand: "We are all comrades, why call them 'Western barbarians'? Since Ma Zhenxi invited us, let him go."

It was inconvenient for him to compete with Ma Lin. Firstly, he didn't have much confidence in his Xiangyang troops. Secondly, Ma Lin's position was above Li Ji's, so the fact that Ma Lin was willing to speak to him in a consultative tone instead of giving orders directly was already quite polite. He couldn't refuse this courtesy.

Li Ji then relayed to his subordinates: "The Zhenxi Army underestimates us, so I will not confront them for the time being. However, if they cannot win, should we really retreat to Hengshan? Those who do not wish to retreat, shout my name in unison so that I may know."

This was also a tactic of provoking. The order was given only moments before shouts of "Li Erlang!" rang out from each formation. Li Ji nodded: "The morale is good." He instructed the scouts: "Observe the movements at the front carefully and report back to me promptly; do not delay."

Originally, it was thought that with ten thousand men attacking an enemy ten times their size, and the enemy having deployed a strong formation, Ma Lin would likely find it difficult to achieve anything—it would be quite an achievement if he could fight for a while longer and not be quickly defeated. Unexpectedly, before the battle had even begun, a report came from the front: "Commander Ma led his troops to repeatedly attack the enemy's formation, but the formation was too strong to penetrate. Commander Ma then shouted: 'Today is urgent, how can we not fight to the death?!' He took the lead, spurring his horse into the formation and charging into the midst of the ten thousand troops."

Li Ji was quite surprised to hear this and hurriedly called to his subordinates: "General Ma is a top general of the country, yet he can disregard his own life and death. Are we just going to sit and watch?" He was afraid that Ma Lin would steal all the credit, so he quickly urged his troops forward to join the battle.

Upon arrival, they saw that the Zhenxi Army, led by Ma Lin, had driven deep into the enemy ranks like a steel nail. However, from a distance, Ma Lin's banner seemed frozen in place, still some distance from Ashina Chengqing's great banner, seemingly unable to advance any further. Meanwhile, the enemy, relying on their superior numbers, gradually closed in from both flanks, seemingly intending to cut off the Zhenxi Army from the middle and thus encircle Ma Lin.

Li Ji thought to himself, "Thank goodness. If I had been a step later, Ma Lin might have really failed."

So he ordered Lei Wanchun and Liang Chongyi to lead the left and right wings of the army to reinforce the Zhenxi Army, block the enemy's flanks and avoid being surrounded; he himself nodded to Nan Jiyun: "Brother Nan, please help me with the rear guard. Let me, Li, take the credit for breaking the formation."

Nan Jiyun smiled and said, "Second Brother is now a general of ten thousand troops, so please don't be reckless—but if you insist on going, then go ahead!"

Li Ji laughed heartily and led Chen Ruo's two hundred cavalrymen straight into the rebel army's ranks.

In a decisive battle on the plains, the power of cavalry can be fully unleashed. Although it is inconvenient for cavalry to break through a strong infantry formation head-on, hasn't the Zhenxi Army already torn open a gap? At this critical juncture, wouldn't it be a great pity not to send out our only two hundred cavalry?

Although Li Ji was the commander-in-chief of the Shannan East Route Army, he should have been in charge of the overall situation and should not have personally led the charge. However, the art of war lies in the mind and adapting to the situation, so there was no reason for him to be stationed in the central command. Besides, even Ma Lin had already charged in; what reason did Li Erlang have to be cautious?

He immediately shouldered his double maces and wielded his lance, spurred his horse forward, parted the Zhenxi Army, and charged straight into the rebel ranks. He also ordered his two hundred cavalrymen to shout in unison: "Li Erlang, who has captured Tian Qianzhen, Gao Tinghui, and Yu Wenjing alive, has arrived!"

Li Ji was a powerful figure in Longyou, defending the capital and holding the imperial gates. However, given the communication capabilities of that era, the rebel soldiers might not have heard of him. Even if they had heard a word or two, the distance between them made it difficult for them to have any deep impression of him. Therefore, he did not mention any of these matters, only saying that he had captured three rebel generals: Tian Qianzhen, Gao Tinghui, and Yu Wenjing.

Tian Qianzhen was originally a general under An Lushan. Now, Tian Chengsi, the military governor of Suiyang who is deeply trusted by Shi Chaoyi, is his nephew. Gao Tinghui and Yu Wenjing are under Shi Siming. Although their ranks are not high, they are known as "enemies of ten thousand men". Even the rebel soldiers who have only recently been recruited could not possibly not have heard of any of these three.

Only in this way can one make a name for oneself and intimidate the thieves!

As expected, after three shouts, the enemy was terrified and instinctively retreated. One of the rebel generals, trying to bolster morale, charged at Li Ji with his spear, only to be easily pierced through the heart by Li Ji with a single thrust. The rebel army's frontal formation thus became even more scattered.

Therefore, Li Ji approached Ma Lin almost effortlessly.

At this moment, Ma Lin, under the protection of over a hundred soldiers, was engaged in fierce combat with a traitorous general. The two wielded their spears, circling and fighting on horseback, the outcome uncertain. In truth, given Ma Zhenxi's martial arts skills, he shouldn't have taken the enemy general seriously. However, he was surrounded, with the rebel army closing in layer upon layer, threatening to cut off his retreat at any moment. Nearly half of his soldiers had already perished, causing Ma Lin to become anxious and unable to fully utilize his abilities.

He's hesitating, wondering if he should back down a little.

With Ashina Chengqing's banner so close, only half an arrow's distance away, if he couldn't charge straight to the rebel leader and retreat even slightly, a comeback would be as difficult as ascending to heaven—a golden opportunity was too good to pass up. However, even a spent arrow cannot pierce silk. He had led the charge recklessly, disregarding life and death, and his strength was waning. If he didn't withdraw soon and were surrounded by the rebels, death would be his only fate…

Could you give it a little more effort? Maybe if you put in a little more effort, you'll win!

As he hesitated, he suddenly heard the sound of hooves behind him, followed by a loud shout: "General Ma, I'm here to help you!" Immediately, a huge lance thrust in from the side, striking the traitorous general facing Ma Lin squarely in the ribs, sending the thief flying into the air!

Ma Lin secretly praised, "What great strength!" Without turning around, he knew who had come. He thought to himself that although the Jingxiang troops were not good at fighting, Li Changwei himself was famous for breaking through enemy lines and capturing generals. He should have discussed with the deputy commander about transferring him to be the vanguard... Hmm, he guessed Li Ji would definitely not agree.

He then pointed his lance forward and shouted, "Go and kill the remnants of the Turks!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "You also call Ashina Chengqing a 'Turkic descendant'? Racial discrimination is wrong..." He immediately agreed, squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and rammed forward again.

But he immediately felt immense pressure. His earlier ease in the fight was due to Ma Lin's leading the charge; now, having taken the baton, he faced the elite rebel troops protecting their commander and banner, and he knew the task was difficult. He had barely leaped forward when a hail of arrows rained down upon him…

Li Ji thought to himself that Ashina Chengqing was really desperate. Now, our army only has a few hundred cavalrymen wedged into the enemy formation, engaged in close combat, and all mixed up in one place. You are firing arrows over such a wide area, without any regard for friend or foe. Are you planning to destroy us all? He immediately spread out his lance and parried left and right. The arrows could not penetrate within three feet of him and were all shattered.

However, a few arrows did hit the horse. Fortunately, Li Ji was a general, and his warhorse was equipped with quite good gear, including a face shield, breastplate, and neck guard. Although it was made of leather and not inlaid with iron in order not to hinder maneuverability, it was enough to protect against stray arrows that were thrown from a distance.

Thus the horse continued its momentum, charging forward relentlessly.

Li Ji thought to himself, "Ma Lin has charged into the enemy formation. Has he gone a hundred paces? Probably close to two hundred. So, how could I not make it through the remaining thirty or forty paces? Never mind, I'll charge! I'll die in front of Ashina Chengqing's horse, and splatter him with flesh and blood!"

Unexpectedly, he didn't even need to charge thirty or forty paces; after just twenty, Ashina Chengqing succumbed to the psychological pressure. The key was Li Ji's bravery, and his elite troops were all highly skilled, many having crawled out of the corpse piles of Suiyang, showing no fear of death—when people fight desperately, the masses naturally flee. Ashina Chengqing, seeing this from afar, felt a chill and asked his men, "Who is that enemy general who will cross Ma Lin and charge at me first?"

The left and right reports: "Li Erlang, who claims to have captured Tian Qianzhen alive."

Although Gao Tinghui and Yu Wenjing were valiant generals under Shi Siming, Ashina Chengqing didn't take them seriously—their rank and status were far inferior. However, Tian Qianzhen had fought alongside him to protect Lushan, and Ashina Chengqing knew him to be one of the top generals in the Yan army, skilled in both literature and military arts. Such a fine general had unfortunately fallen into the hands of the Tang people, and it was said that he had even surrendered… Ashina Chengqing had felt deeply regretful about this in the past, and felt that—with the death of the old emperor, the Yan dynasty had indeed declined, and each subsequent generation was inferior to the last…

Hearing that Tian Qian had been captured by the general before him, he was so terrified that he turned his horse around and fled without even calling for his soldiers.

Ashina Chengqing fled, and his elite guards followed suit, easing the pressure on Li Ji. With a few leaps, their warhorses quickly closed in on the banner.

The commander's banner was extremely tall, with a flagpole as thick as a child's arm, which was too heavy for an ordinary person to lift. Since ancient times, those who could carry the banner alone were among the best warriors in the army. Therefore, it was usually placed on a cart and pulled by horses. Although the horses did not need to be unloaded when the banner arrived at the destination, it still needed to be secured with stakes to prevent it from shifting.

Because the banner is the symbol of the commander-in-chief, attracting the attention of the entire army, if the horses are startled and the banner and chariot move forward, it may be mistaken for the commander-in-chief giving an order to attack. If it does, that's fine; but if it retreats even slightly, it may dampen the morale and be thought that the central army is under attack and will be defeated. What should be done then?

Thus, Ashina Chengqing turned his horse around and fled in haste, which was very convenient, but moving the chariot and pulling the banner was much more troublesome. When Li Ji arrived, the chariot had just been moved and the chariot had not yet turned 180 degrees when Li Ji immediately drew a "Green Lotus Four-Sided Mace" from his back and snapped the banner pole in half with a "crack"—

The rebel banner collapsed with a crash, bringing this fierce battle to a close.

With the banner fallen, the rebel army's formation crumbled, and they fled in panic, none daring to attack the Tang forces again. Li Ji finally breathed a sigh of relief, shaking his shoulders. "Thankfully," he thought, "I still have some strength left," he thought, turning back to call to Chen Ruo—

Unexpectedly, his subordinates reported: "General Chen has been hit by three arrows and two spears, and his injuries are very serious..."

Li Ji then noticed that of the two hundred cavalrymen he had led out, only a hundred remained... During the last few dozen steps of the charge, most of the enemies attacking from the left and right were dealt with by Chen Ruo and the others. The pressure they faced was no less than that of Li Ji, but in terms of martial arts and armor protection, they were far inferior to Li Ji, so it was inevitable that they suffered heavy casualties.

To be honest, if the commander hadn't been charging forward headlong, and hadn't been so close to the enemy's main camp, as if the dawn was just around the corner, these two hundred cavalrymen would have collapsed long ago.

Seeing this, Li Ji couldn't help but feel a little sad. A line of poetry he had read in his previous life came to mind: "Please don't talk about being enfeoffed as a marquis, for the success of one general is built on the bones of ten thousand."

But then his spirits lifted again—if I could carve out a hundred or two hundred years of peace, this poem might not be seen in this world again, who knows!

He immediately ordered: "Take Chen Ruoyu back to the rear and treat him well—go to Hengshan and tell the deputy commander that the Turkic remnants have fled and whether the deputy commander has returned."

The soldier received the order and spurred his horse to gallop away. By the time he arrived at Hengshan, the Tang army's victory was already assured, and they were finishing off several thousand desperate rebel soldiers. When Pugu Huai'en received the report, he was shocked. After briefly inquiring about the situation, he ordered, "Summon Pugu Yang."

Before long, Pugu Yang spurred his horse and came over, asking, "Father, what brings you here?"

Pugu Huaien said, "Li Ji sent someone to inform us that Ashina Chengqing has been defeated..." He was unwilling to mention "Turkic remnants," because Pugu was one of the Nine Tribes of Tiele, originally a subordinate tribe of the Turks—"Are you asking us whether we should go or not?"

Pugu Yang was also greatly shocked upon hearing this, and then exclaimed in astonishment, "Second Brother is so unreasonable! He was ordered to restrain the rebels, how could he have been defeated and driven away? This time, the greatest credit belongs to Second Brother..."

The shouts grew softer and softer—after all, he had a good relationship with Li Ji, and if Ma Lin had relayed those words, the young marshal would probably have lost his temper on the spot, and might even have gone to fight the Zhenxi Army.

Pugu Huaien said, “Do not delay any longer. Hurry up and go with Di De. If you cannot take Ashina Chengqing’s head, I will see you outside Zhaojue Temple tomorrow. If you are even a step late, you will be executed without mercy!”

Pugu Yang accepted the order and soon joined forces with the Uyghur troops led by Di De. Several thousand elite cavalrymen rushed southeast. They met up with Li Ji and Ma Lin at dusk. At this time, the Tang army pursued the rebels, killing and capturing several thousand, and advanced to Shiliuyuan. Ashina Chengqing gathered the defeated soldiers and lined up to wait.

Pugu Yang asked, "Second Brother, Ma Zhenxi, why don't we fight again?"

Ma Lin said, "After fighting for half a day, we are exhausted and the horses are tired. It is getting late. We should withdraw and fight again tomorrow."

Pugu Yang asked, "Father has ordered that we meet tomorrow outside Zhaojue Temple—how far is it from here?" Ma Lin replied, "No more than twenty li." Emperor De laughed heartily, "In that case, the sun has not yet set; we can fight a little longer." He then looked at Li Ji, "Will you come along, Second Brother?"

Li Jizheng had just dismounted and was resting on a large rock when he heard this and jumped up: "Let's go together, let's go together!" He immediately selected more than 300 soldiers who still had fighting strength and the will to fight—including the three generals Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and Liang Chongyi—and rearranged their formation.

Not to be outdone, Ma Lin also hurriedly mustered his troops. Meanwhile, Pugu Yang, Di De, and the others, having come from afar, were also quite exhausted. They rested their horses for a while, fed them some hay, and then joined forces, surging straight towards the rebel camp.

Chapter Four, In Front of Huian Gate

In the Battle of Shiliuyuan, the rebel army's formation was incomplete and still quite scattered. Then, they saw countless cavalry charging out from the opposite side, among which were Uyghur banners...

The Uyghur cavalry was the strongest in the world. Even the main force of the Tang army, which once roamed north and south and crossed the Pamir Mountains, would not dare to directly confront them without a strong defensive formation. How much less would the rebel army, which was mostly demoralized after a recent defeat? It should be noted that among Shi Chaoyi's army of about 100,000 men, less than one in a hundred were veterans who had fought alongside An Lushan and Shi Siming in the repeated battles against the Khitan, Xi and other northeastern tribes. Most of them were refugees forcibly recruited from Henan and Hebei to fill the ranks. How could they dare to fight against the Uyghur army?

They collapsed at the first contact, and the Tang-He allied forces pursued them for seven or eight miles before stopping when it got dark.

As they set up camp for the night, Li Ji came to check on Chen Ruo. The young man was incredibly unlucky; he had been struck by three arrows and two gunshots, one of which had pierced his ribs, leaving a four-inch-deep wound. Even in later times, let alone with the poor medical standards of that era, it wouldn't be so easy to save him. When Li Ji arrived, Chen Ruo was on his deathbed. Li Ji couldn't help but hold Chen Ruo's hand, tears streaming down his face.

Chen Ruo forced a smile and said, "Second Brother, do not grieve... It feels like only yesterday that I rode alongside you to Linhuai to seek reinforcements. Now that I can fight the enemy under your command, I have no regrets even if I die!"

Li Ji asked him, "Do you have any other wishes?"

Chen Ruo shouted, "Please, Erlang, kill Xu Shuji for me!"

When Suiyang was besieged, its food supplies were exhausted. Soldiers and civilians scavenged bones for food, and even killed women to eat. The situation inside the city was so tragic that Zhang Xun, years later, still could not shake off the regret and shame in his heart, and eventually died of starvation. Fortunately, Li Ji and Chen Ruo went to invite Helan Jinming and Xu Shuji to bring reinforcements, which lifted the siege. At that time, of the tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians, less than two thousand remained, and they were all skeletal, too weak to even carry weapons up the city walls.

Zhang Xun was initially quite grateful to Generals Helan Jinming and Xu Shuji, but then Chen Ruo recounted the process of seeking help, and everyone realized that the two generals, especially Xu Shuji, had been coerced by Li Ji... In other words, you had the power to rescue them, but instead of waiting for a suitable opportunity, you simply sat and watched the outcome, refusing to come to their aid! These are not benefactors, but clearly enemies!

Although they were enemies, Xu Shuji was ultimately a general of the same state, and the remnants of the Suiyang forces had no choice but to swallow their anger and resentment. However, not long afterward, Xu Shuji surrendered to Shi Siming. When the news spread, everyone gritted their teeth in hatred. Zhang Xun declared that very day, "I vow to take Shuji's head to appease the loyal ministers and people who died in Suiyang!"

Therefore, Chen Ruo's last wish was to ask Li Ji to help him kill Xu Shuji. Li Ji also hated Xu Shuji very much, and immediately patted his chest and said, "I will definitely cut off the head of the traitor Xu to offer as a sacrifice to Zhang Dafu and you!" Chen Ruo used his last strength to nod and then passed away.

The following morning, the Tang army launched another fierce attack on the rebels, defeating Ashina Chengqing three times at Laojun Temple and forcing him to retreat to Zhaojue Temple. At noon, Pugu Huai'en arrived with the main force and launched a final attack. The rebels were routed, with men and horses trampling each other, and countless people were lost in the nearby Shangshu Valley. Ashina Chengqing died in the chaos, and Shi Chaoyi, with several hundred trusted cavalry, abandoned Zhaojue Temple that night and fled east to Luoyang.

When the Tang army entered the temple, they naturally burned and killed many monks. More than a hundred monks were killed by their own weapons, and the famous temple, which had been famous for hundreds of years, was reduced to rubble and ruins.

The count showed that the Tang army had killed tens of thousands of rebels—many of whom were captured and then executed in batches—and captured more than four thousand alive. Pugu Huai'en ordered his scribe to write a record five times higher, reporting that 60,000 had been beheaded and 20,000 captured.

Regardless, Shi Chaoyi's force of over 100,000 men was almost entirely scattered and unable to recover in the short term. Pugu Huai'en then summoned his generals, pointed his whip southeast, and asked, "Who is willing to lead the charge to retake Tokyo?"

Li Ji quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "I am willing to go!"

Pugu Yang hurriedly said, "Second Master has few cavalry under his command, so it would be better if I went instead."

Li Ji said, "We must be wary of Shi Chaoyi's defense of the city. Your forces are all cavalry, so it's not convenient for you to attack the city."

Pugu Yang curled his lip: "Even if that fellow had two lives, he wouldn't dare!" He insisted on going first. Pugu Huai'en, of course, hoped that the credit for the recapture of Tokyo would fall on his son, so he immediately agreed and ordered that Pugu Yang be awarded the title.

Li Ji then asked, "So, when you go to attack Luoyang, which gate do you plan to enter through?"

Pugu Yang didn't know how to lie, so he immediately answered honestly, "Go straight along the road to Huian Gate."

There was no outer city gate on the west side of Luoyang. The Luo River served as a dividing line, with the imperial city to the north and the imperial gardens to the south. The imperial city's west wall had the Lühe Gate and Xuanhui Gate, while the north wall had the Longguang Gate and Deyou Gate. The city walls were high and the gates thick, making them difficult to scale without inside help. As for the imperial gardens, due to their long history as a battlefield, the rebels—including former Tang soldiers—had dug many pits there, making it difficult for cavalry to maneuver. Furthermore, with the main army currently to the northwest of Luoyang, there was no need to specifically cross the Luo River to attack the southern city.

Therefore, Pugu Yang planned to enter through the Huian Gate, which is located in the central part of the northern city of Luoyang, that is, the first outer city gate—not the palace gate.

Li Ji nodded and said, "In that case, I request to travel next to Lord Pugu." Pugu Huai'en agreed.