Chapter 391: Forcing the Qinhuai River

Huang Jian walked into the central command tent and saw that it was quite plain inside—blue cloth curtains formed the tent, divided into an outer and inner chamber, the outer for meetings and the inner for sleeping. Two horn lanterns hung from the tent ceiling, their oil nearly spent, the flames burning listlessly.

In the center sat an old elm commander's table, its lacquer worn dull. Spread across it were three or five military dispatches and documents, a stone inkstone half dry, a writing brush set down askew, and at the corner sat half a cup of leftover tea and a plate of half-eaten pastries.

A deer-antler rack for command arrows leaned crookedly against a tent pole, with only a few arrows sparsely stuck in it.

The terrain map on the front tent wall hadn't been nailed securely—half of it had sagged down, covering most of the wall.

There were no sword-bearing guards standing in formation inside the tent. Only two personal soldiers leaned against the tent entrance, heads drooped, dozing off—not the slightest look of urgency or battle-readiness about them.

Lu Xiangsheng walked out from the side, yawning, exchanged greetings with Huang Jian, and the two took their seats as host and guest.

Huang Jian covertly sized him up. He saw Lu Xiangsheng with disheveled hair, sleepy eyes, a languid air, dark circles around his eyes—the whole dissipated look of a man hollowed out by wine and women, no different from the wine-sack rice-bag officials of the Great Ming. He felt a few more degrees reassured.

Lu Xiangsheng clasped his hands in apology for his appearance.

Huang Jian gestured that it was no matter, then cut straight to the point: "My master has long admired Your Excellency's reputation, and has long known that Your Excellency exhausts yourself for the state, yet is hamstrung by the eunuchs and repeatedly subjected to their machinations. He has specially sent me here to convey his regards and a measure of sympathy."

Lu Xiangsheng clasped his hands and said, "Many thanks."

Huang Jian continued: "At present, our army in the Jiangzhe region numbers over a hundred thousand in total strength, and we also hold the advantage of maritime transport. Your Excellency's troops number only thirty thousand, with fewer than ten thousand fit for combat. Defeating our army will hardly be an easy task. Might I ask whether Your Excellency has a plan in mind?"

Lu Xiangsheng gave Liang Fu a barely perceptible glance. Liang Fu understood and snorted coldly: "What does the envoy mean by this? Did you come all this way just to insult us?"

Not answering was itself a form of acknowledgment. Huang Jian got the satisfactory answer he wanted, his heart blooming with joy, though on his face he waved his hands repeatedly: "I wouldn't dare. I merely feel wronged on Your Excellency's behalf. With Your Excellency's talents for ordering the realm, your ambitions have no room to unfold. Now, pressed by the court, you must fight our army to the death—is that not a pity? At present the realm is in turmoil, and the Jianzhou barbarians are the true threat to China. Why not turn your blade and join our Great Xia in resisting the foreign foe together?

My master is willing to follow the precedent of Dongjiang. He invites Your Excellency to personally lead the Tianxiong Army to garrison Liaodong. All weapons, provisions, and pay will be supplied by our state. No supervisors will be appointed, no interference in military affairs—the troops will be entirely under Your Excellency's command."

Lu Xiangsheng's expression wavered, as if somewhat tempted.

Huang Jian then promptly laid out Gu Yanwu's discourse on "the fall of Ming versus the fall of the world" and Ye Zhen's discourse on "national enmity and family hatred versus private grudges and old grievances." These two sets of rhetoric had already become the standard script for the Great Xia in persuading Ming generals to surrender.

Sure enough, after he finished, Lu Xiangsheng frowned in thought and fell silent.

It was instead Regional Commander Liang Fu who seemed quite tempted, glancing repeatedly at Lu Xiangsheng.

Seeing an opening, Huang Jian pressed his persuasion harder. Lu Xiangsheng's face showed a look of inner struggle, until finally he said: "My Lu clan has received the state's grace for generations. I myself was exceptionally promoted by His Majesty, made Governor-General of Zhejiang and Zhili, granted the imperial sword, and entrusted with the weight of half the southeast.

Such grace of recognition could never be repaid even if I were ground to dust. How could I betray my master and turn my back on that kindness to serve another? The envoy need say no more. Please, take your leave."

Regional Commander Liang Fu showed a look of regret, but still walked before Huang Jian to see him out. After escorting him from the camp, Liang Fu turned back and said: "Your Excellency, this officer believes—"

Lu Xiangsheng swept him with a cold glare and said in an icy voice: "Any man who dares speak of surrender—execute him!"

Liang Fu shrank his neck and said no more.

"Pass the order: the Tianxiong Army rests in camp today. Build up your strength. After sunset, march north, cross the river, and break the enemy."

Huang Jian crossed the Qinhuai River and returned to the Niushou Mountain main camp. He told Lei Sanxiang everything he had seen and heard along the way, and finally said: "From his demeanor, I can see Lu Xiangsheng already has intentions of defecting. Let me go again another day, and I'm certain I can persuade him to abandon the darkness and come to the light."

The commander of the First Infantry Brigade laughed: "This man runs his army lazily and carelessly—he's nothing but an armchair strategist. Destroying him would be no more than turning over our hand."

The other generals also showed great contempt for Lu Xiangsheng.

Since the Seventh Division had entered Jiangzhe, it had never fought a single hard battle—to put it more precisely, it had barely fought at all.

Everywhere it went, Ming troops surrendered at the sight of its banner, and prefectures and counties were settled the moment the proclamation arrived. Even the most humble and cautious man, having grown used to such scenes, could hardly avoid becoming arrogant.

Looking further back—the Battle of the Lu River, the Battle of Huangtianji, and so on—the New Army had fought major battles time and again without ever once being at a disadvantage. When encountering seasoned commanders like Hong Chengchou or Sun Chengzong, that was one thing.

But what was a mere scholar like Lu Xiangsheng, that everyone should be on guard against him?

After the group had joked around for a while, Lei Sanxiang said: "Where are Zhang Moye and the others now?"

"They've reached about sixty li to the southwest, in the Caishiji area."

By land to Nanjing, there were broadly three main roads—east, west, and south. The cavalry brigade was taking the western road, from which they could either directly reinforce the troops besieging the city or cut off Lu Xiangsheng's retreat. As for Lu Xiangsheng, both the eastern and western roads lay under the threat of the Great Xia's naval guns. Small groups could pass without issue, but a large force of over ten thousand men could only take the route through Lishui, Fangshan, and Niushou Mountain.

That was why Lei Sanxiang was blocking the enemy here.

He pondered for a long while, then cursed: "Damn it all! Send a fast rider to Zhang Moye with orders for the cavalry brigade to reach Niushou Mountain before nightfall." The generals were all puzzled. Someone advised: "Commander, Zhang Moye at Caishi Station can attack or defend as needed. Once he joins forces with us, what if Lu Xiangsheng runs?"

The artillery battalion commander said: "Commander, with our current strength and one hundred forty cannons, we can hold the Qinhuai River easily. If the Tianxiong Army dares to cross, they'll be blown to shreds. There's no need to send reinforcements."

Lei Sanxiang glared and barked: "Carry out the order!"

"Yes!" The generals said no more and clasped their hands in unison.

Moments later, a squad of dispatch riders galloped out of camp, heading southwest.

The guard stations along the river on this route had long since been wiped clean by Luo Dagu's Yangtze River Fleet, so the Xia army's messengers rode at full speed as if through uninhabited land. After the meeting ended, Lei Sanxiang still felt uneasy at heart, so he dragged Huang Jian up to General Mountain.

The soldier on watch over the enemy camp immediately clasped his hands and saluted upon seeing Lei Sanxiang: "Commander!"

"Any movement in the enemy camp?" Lei Sanxiang pulled out a telescope and peered toward the enemy camp.

"This morning the enemy lit over one hundred thirty cooking fires and had more than one hundred horses coming and going from the camp pond—about the same as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary."

Lu Xiangsheng had pitched his camp with great method, using curtains and tree shade everywhere to block observation and prevent anyone from seeing through his true disposition. Lei Sanxiang stared for a long while but couldn't make out the pattern, so he said to Huang Jian again: "Tell me what you saw this morning once more."

When Huang Jian got to the part about the Ming troops snoring like thunder and none of them getting up,

Lei Sanxiang sharply called out: "Stop! What time was it when you entered the camp?"

"Around the second quarter of the mao hour."

Lei Sanxiang then asked the lookout soldier: "What time did that turtle Lu Xiangsheng light his cooking fires?"

"The third quarter of the mao hour."

"What time do they usually light their cooking fires?"

"Around the same time as well."

The timing matched up. Lei Sanxiang scratched his head vigorously and muttered: "I keep feeling that surnamed Lu is showing weakness while cooking up something nasty, but I can't find any evidence." Huang Jian had once visited Pu Mingsheng and seen what a ferocious, murderous general looked like. He simply couldn't compare Lu Xiangsheng's image to that, so he asked: "What makes you say so?"

Lei Sanxiang said: "Because the helmsman reminded us eight hundred times to be careful of this man! The helmsman can never be wrong, so it must be us who are wrong." At that point, Lei Sanxiang turned to the staff officer and said: "Double the lookouts on General Mountain these next few days, day and night without rest. Keep a tight watch on the other side of the river!" After returning to the central command tent, Lei Sanxiang stared hard at the sand table, unable to figure out what Lu Xiangsheng intended to do.

With that dog emperor's imperial decree pressing him to fight, he absolutely could not withdraw his troops.

And with Niushou Mountain looming threateningly beside him, Lu Xiangsheng also couldn't march north across the river.

It was the same as an army not being able to march past a city—once caught in a pincer from front and back, defeat would come in an instant.

Lu Xiangsheng also couldn't detour northeast and enter Nanjing directly from the Zijing Mountain direction—that route had no main road. Unless Lu Xiangsheng abandoned all his grain, pay, and baggage trains, there was no possibility of taking that path.

But looking at the overall situation, even if Lu Xiangsheng entered Nanjing, he would merely be holding a besieged city. The Great Xia could simply surround the city in turn. The siege of Nanjing would remain unresolved, and Lu Xiangsheng would have thrown his own troops away, leaving his position even more passive.

Lei Sanxiang racked his brains for a whole day without finding the answer, scratching his head without cease.

In the evening, distant rumbling thunder rolled in from afar, and the clear tea in the cup rippled with waves.

Lei Sanxiang stepped out of the tent to look, and saw the sky to the southwest filled with drifting yellow sand. Beneath the yellow sand, a line of black dots stretched on for one or two li.

As the yellow sand drew near, the hoofbeats grew louder, turning into a sky-shaking thunder that nearly drowned out every sound between heaven and earth. Gravel danced and jumped, and a tingling numbness spread from the soles of the feet all the way up to the calves.

Several thousand warhorses surged like waves, and row after row of dark-red banners snapped and fluttered in the yellow dust—it was Zhang Moye's cavalry brigade arriving.

Lei Sanxiang's heart settled somewhat. With four thousand horse and foot here, no matter what schemes that Turtle Lu concocted, they could deal with it at leisure.

As the cavalry reached the camp gate, the conch horn sounded. The gate guards verified their identities, opened the gate, moved aside the chevaux de frise, and let the cavalry enter. Though they all rode short-legged Yunnan ponies and Jeju horses, four thousand men advancing together still made an extremely fearsome spectacle.

Twenty li away, in the Ming army camp, Lu Xiangsheng stood at the entrance of his command tent, his expression grave.

Liang Fu hurried up to him, cupped his hands and said: "Your Excellency, the scout riders report that four thousand enemy cavalry have entered their camp."

Lu Xiangsheng let out a long sigh and remained silent for a long while.

"Your Excellency?"

Lu Xiangsheng said with emotion: "That these bandit troops can ravage Jiangnan proves they are no ordinary foes. The Minister's plan of secretly crossing the Chencang has been seen through by them." Liang Fu let out an "ah," then said: "Perhaps it was merely coincidence?"

Lu Xiangsheng shook his head: "The Xia army sent an envoy in the morning, and by evening they were already bringing cavalry into camp—this is certainly no accident.

These past few days I have observed their formations and camp layout—their advances and retreats are well-founded, their discipline severe and orderly.

The enemy general is clearly one who understands war. His daring to split his forces to hold between Ox-Head Mountain and Rain-Flower Terrace is all because he has this cavalry to support and reinforce him. I underestimated them."

Liang Fu looked toward the camp and saw the soldiers already emerging from their tents, preparing for the northward night raid, so he said: "This subordinate will go call off the camp attack."

"Wait." Lu Xiangsheng hesitated a moment, then steeled his resolve and said in a low voice: "The plan remains unchanged. Tonight we cross the river and attack Rain-Flower Terrace to the north." Liang Fu was greatly puzzled: "Your Excellency, since the plan has already been seen through, wouldn't attacking now be playing right into the enemy's hands?"

Lu Xiangsheng asked: "Where has the rear army reached?"

"They've arrived at Lukou Town, thirty li south of Fangshan."

Lu Xiangsheng said: "Send word to Lu Xiangjin, order him to march north to Fangshan immediately and join forces with the main body of Zhejiang troops there. You remain at Fangshan, and at dawn tomorrow, cross the river and attack the enemy's main camp at Ox-Head Mountain!"

Liang Fu's heart seized with panic. Lu Xiangsheng's original plan had merely been to send a detached force to smash the enemy at Rain-Flower Terrace and flee before reinforcements could arrive. How had it now become a decisive river-crossing battle?

And if he was to command the Zhejiang troops and the rear army, where was His Excellency going? Could it be...

Lu Xiangsheng explained: "The enemy cavalry have ridden from afar, and their horses are spent.

I will turn their scheme against them. The main attacking force heading north to Rain-Flower Terrace will be changed into a feint—making a great show of force to lure the Ox-Head Mountain enemy into rushing back to reinforce. Once their reinforcements have been drawn north, the main army will cross the river and break them.

To draw the enemy into committing heavy forces, the feint must be fought for real, with full commitment.

Therefore, this Minister will personally lead the Tianxiong Army across the river!"

His words were veiled, but in truth he meant to use the Tianxiong Army as bait to force the enemy into coming to reinforce. Regardless of how the battle at Ox-Head Mountain went, the Tianxiong Army that crossed the river was doomed.

Liang Fu stood frozen on the spot, then said with resolve: "How can Your Excellency risk himself? Let this subordinate go! This subordinate needs only a thousand elite troops!" Lu Xiangsheng said in a cold voice: "This is a military order."

Liang Fu's neck stiffened, and he knelt with fists cupped: "This subordinate is by no means a commander's caliber—directing a great army across the river is beyond my ability. Fangshan absolutely requires Your Excellency's personal command! Even if this subordinate must defy military orders today, I beg Your Excellency to rescind the command."

Lu Xiangsheng looked at him, a flicker of reluctance crossing his face, but in the end he gritted his teeth and said: "Enough! You will command the northern route. I'll transfer two thousand Tianxiong troops to you, and take this letter as well."

Lu Xiangsheng took a letter from his bosom and handed it to Liang Fu.

Liang Fu saw that the recipient was Fu Zhenshang, the Minister of War in Nanjing.

"In the letter I order him that at the middle of the Yin hour, upon hearing the sounds of battle outside the city, he is to send the city garrison out to strike from both sides, joining you in attacking the enemy camp at Rain-Flower Terrace. This letter is of grave importance—send it by fast horse into Nanjing city at once."

From Fangshan to Rain-Flower Terrace was roughly twenty-five li. Counting the river crossing, the march would take about eight hours.

When the troops arrived beneath Rain-Flower Terrace, it should be exactly the middle of the Yin hour.

Liang Fu tucked the letter away: "This subordinate has committed it to memory."

He looked up at the sky, saw that it was growing dark, and said: "It's getting late. This subordinate will be on his way."

For an ordinary night raid, it would naturally be better for the troops to set out later, but since this battle was meant to draw the enemy out, showing a few openings was of no consequence.

Lu Xiangsheng nodded in approval.

Liang Fu returned to his camp, sent out the secret letter, mustered his soldiers, donned his armor, and led out his warhorse. Before leaving camp, he came one last time before Lu Xiangsheng and said with a solemn bow of his hands: "Your Excellency, take care."

Lu Xiangsheng returned the bow: "Take care!"

Liang Fu swung onto his horse and led two thousand Tianxiong troops out of the camp through the side gate.

By now it was completely dark. The Tianxiong Army was an elite force accustomed to night raids—the soldiers marched with bits in their mouths and cloth wrapped around the horses' hooves, advancing in utter silence. On General Mountain twenty li away, over a dozen lookout men peered through their telescopes into the pitch darkness, straining their eyes but unable to make out the enemy's movements.

After the army marched twenty li north, they reached the banks of the Qinhuai River.

Liang Fu first sent a small squad five li upstream on the Qinhuai to light fires and create a commotion, drawing away the Great Xia's river patrol warships, then crossed at a shallow shoal thick with reeds downstream.

Despite all the concealment, halfway through the crossing they were still spotted by a Xia patrol warship.

"Swoosh—crack!"

A signal flare shot into the sky, and immediately dense gunfire erupted from the warship—all heavy, powerful large-hook guns.

Lead shot whistled through the air above the heads of the crossing soldiers.

One crossing fishing boat took four hits in succession, and three Tianxiong soldiers were blown open on the spot, their flesh and blood splattering across the faces of their comrades on the same boat. A soldier cried out in grief and fury: "Father! I'll fuck your mothers!"

The Tianxiong soldiers had all been recruited from the three prefectures of Daming, Guangping, and Shunde—within the ranks were all clansmen and kin, fathers and sons, brothers. Everyone was connected by blood or marriage. When one man died in battle, the whole unit burned with shared hatred, and with military law extremely harsh on top of that, they could fight to the death without retreating.

The soldier who had lost his kin immediately stood up, grabbed his bird-gun musket, and fired at the Great Xia warship.

But northerners were unskilled in water combat. His sudden rising threw the fishing boat off balance—it rocked violently several times and then capsized outright, dumping everyone aboard into the water. Many soldiers could not swim and thrashed and floundered in the Qinhuai River.

Hearing the gunfire, more and more warships converged on the direction of the Tianxiong Army's crossing.

Unfortunately, it was the dry season—though the river was wide, the water was shallow, and since the lower reaches of the Qinhuai ran close to Nanjing, the Sea Wolf ships could not enter. Only bird boats were on the river.

The Tianxiong Army braved the fire of the bird boats' large-hook guns and forced their way across the Qinhuai River.

On the bank, Liang Fu ordered the soldiers who had already crossed to hide in the reed marshes and fire at the Great Xia warships on the river, momentarily suppressing the bird boats' firepower. Seeing this, one bird boat blasted the reed marsh heavily with its large-hook guns.

Several clumps of reeds toppled over in response, and the pale white reed catkins were sent swirling wildly into the air.

But with the dim sky and the dense reeds, such blind firing inflicted few casualties on the Tianxiong Army.

On one bird boat, a crewman pulled out a fierce-fire jar and shouted: "Get closer to shore—burn them to death!"

The squad leader beside him slapped him on the head.

"Are you mad? What way is the wind blowing right now? Are you trying to burn the enemy, or burn yourself?"

The crewman sullenly set down the fire jar.

The two sides exchanged fire for a long while; on the bird boats, the gunwales where the large grappling guns were mounted had suffered minor damage.

And the sound of lead shot tearing through the air around them never ceased—the bird boats' sides were being blasted into flying splinters.

A sailor said, "This isn't right! This Ming army is different somehow!"

Another chimed in, "An ordinary Ming army would have broken and scattered after taking this many shots."

The squad leader snapped, "Cut the nonsense, hurry up and reload!"

In the time it took them to speak, two more bird boats arrived, their side-mounted large grappling guns firing without pause, the gunfire merging into one continuous roar that did not let up for an instant.

From the reed marshes on the west bank, volley after volley of lead shot came flying—even if it was mostly wild firing, under such a dense network of fire, the Tianxiong Army still took heavy casualties. Liang Fu clenched his jaw, murderous light in his eyes. He had originally believed that with the might of the Tianxiong Army and firepower suppression from the shore, it would be enough to force back the Xia Army's warships. He never expected that after exchanging fire for so long, it would be his own side that was being suppressed instead.

There were clearly only a dozen or so warships, yet their firepower was ferocious to such a degree.

No wonder word from the north said the Xia Army was invincible at naval warfare—today he had seen it for himself.

"How many men still haven't crossed the river?" Liang Fu grabbed the Vice Regional Commander beside him and asked.

As he spoke, a shrill shriek of lead shot tearing through the air came, and the two men both instinctively ducked their heads.

"About five hundred remain!"

"Damned bastards!" Liang Fu cursed. He glanced at the reed marshes—if they kept grinding on like this, the soldiers' losses would be too great. He gritted his teeth and said, "Pull the soldiers out, set fire to the reed marshes!"

The Vice Regional Commander went down to relay the order, and moments later sparks flared up in the reed marshes.

It was early autumn; on both banks of the Qinhuai River the weather was dry and things were parched, the reeds withered yellow. The reed marshes caught fire almost at the touch of a flame, and rolling black smoke drifted with the northwest wind toward the river surface.

The black smoke mingled with the gunsmoke, obscuring the gunners' sight, and the sailors were choked into coughing fits.

The remaining Tianxiong Army troops took this opportunity to quickly row across the river.

Someone on a bird boat shouted, "They're trying to run!"

The boat captain yelled, "Hoist sail and work the oars—let's chase them down!"

On one fishing boat sat eight Tianxiong Army men, each with a crude oar in hand. Rowing forward with all their might, the boat refused to travel in a straight line and instead careened directly toward a bird boat.

"Hahahaha! Go to hell!"

The bird boat's sailors laughed and cheered, mounting their large grappling guns at the bow and blasting away at the Tianxiong Army's fishing boat.

In an instant, three or four men were hit and killed. The survivors, panicking, rowed even more chaotically, and the fishing boat spun in circles on the river.

The bird boat charged straight in, using its bow to capsize the fishing boat. Just as it was about to seek a new target, unexpectedly a man climbed up over its gunwale.

The moment this man came aboard, without a word, he snatched a blade and started hacking. One sailor, in desperation, raised his arm to block—with a ripping sound, his left hand was severed clean off at the wrist. The wounded crewman clutched his wound and collapsed onto the deck, screaming.

The crew hadn't expected the man to be so ferocious; they all stood momentarily stunned. The oarsman, quick-eyed and quick-handed, suddenly wrenched the helm around. The Tianxiong soldier fell onto the deck, and the sailors swarmed forward, cutting him down in a flurry of blades.

After that engagement, the sailors were all shaken, and dared not let the Tianxiong Army get too close again.

Fortunately, as long as they weren't engaged at close quarters, the Tianxiong Army was nothing but a bunch of landlubbers, utterly helpless to fight back—capsized boats and gunshot victims were beyond counting. Liang Fu watched the miserable state of his men, his eyes seeming to spit fire, but in the end he swallowed his anger and said, "We're leaving!"

After this attrition on the river, the two thousand Tianxiong Army troops were reduced to barely seventeen hundred, and they had lost countless armor and equipment as well.

Liang Fu understood that this battle was a certain defeat for him, that there was no going back—but for the sake of the Minister, he went willingly.

At the end of the Yin hour, Liang Fu arrived at the foot of Yuhuatai.

The sky was still dark, with only a faint hint of white in the east.

On Yuhuatai, more than two thousand soldiers of the Great Xia Army had long since heard the gunfire from the banks of the Qinhuai River. They had already formed up their battle lines, waiting with focused attention.

Liang Fu glanced at the city of Nanjing—the city walls showed no sign of movement at all, as if the Minister's secret letter had never been received.

He knew full well that his troops were utterly exhausted, but for the sake of the greater plan, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Don your armor—attack the hill!"

Soon, rolling gunfire sounded from the foothills of Yuhuatai.

Atop the Yuhua Gate, the Minister of War, the Nanjing Garrison Commander, and the garrison eunuch watched the two sides clashing in battle, silent and wordless.

In the Minister of War's hand, he still held Lu Xiangsheng's secret letter.

"Per the Minister's instructions, we should sally out of the city to strike the enemy's flank!"

The garrison eunuch said, "Lu Xiangsheng only sent a few thousand men, while the Xia Army has a full ten thousand—isn't this just marching to their deaths? If we go out to support them now and something goes wrong, who will bear the responsibility?"

The Nanjing Garrison Commander said, "This is the prudent and cautious word. Nanjing is where the Ancestral Emperor's Xiaoling Mausoleum lies, it is not—"

The Minister of War said, "Are we supposed to just watch with our own eyes as our allied army is slaughtered?"

The garrison eunuch said disdainfully, "This household only guards the imperial mausoleum and supervises the officials. As long as the imperial mausoleum is safe and Nanjing city is not lost, that is enough. Everything else is the business of you local officials—this household will not meddle, and cannot meddle."

The Minister of War stood frozen on the spot, and in the end could only let out a long sigh.

Yahei

Fenyuan