Chapter 284: The Troublesome Commoner Harms My Jiedushi An

"Jiedushi An, could you bear a little longer?"

Zhang Tongru said while smearing cleansing medicine onto An Lushan's face.

The so‑called "cleansing medicine" is an external application used in Chinese medicine for disinfection and wound cleaning, functioning much like later medicinal wine.

Although An Lushan was beaten into a dog‑head, when he returned to cleanse the bruised wounds he managed to grit his teeth and stay silent, showing a toughness and endurance beyond ordinary men.

After washing the bruises from his face, Zhang Tongru applied black‑dragon‑horn plaster to An Lushan's face, finally sighing in relief. Black‑dragon‑horn plaster, similar to later dog‑skin plaster, is usually used together with cleansing medicine. This combination is remarkably effective for treating contusions and sprains.

Don't be fooled by An Lushan's seemingly serious injuries after Fang Chongyong's heavy beating; they were merely superficial wounds that, with a bit of topical treatment, posed no serious problem.

"You, Zhang Tongru, what rotten ideas you keep giving this Jiedushi!"

An Lushan, his face covered with black‑dragon‑horn plaster, couldn't help but complain.

"Jiedushi An, I never expected Fang Chongyong to dare act in front of the Sage! Yet the goal was achieved, and the Jiedushi escaped safely, wasn't it?"

Zhang Tongru handed An Lushan a bowl filled with herbal broth, made by mixing salted wine with yellow‑herb powder, an internal medicine for contusions. Yellow‑herb powder has long been a renowned internal remedy for injuries, proven effective.

"The taste is too harsh; can I not drink it?"

An Lushan frowned slightly and said.

"Jiedushi, in three days we have to fight another battle.

Right now, treating the injury is urgent."

Zhang Tongru sighed helplessly.

Hearing this, An Lushan took the wooden bowl and drank the broth in one gulp. The indescribably sharp flavor pierced his heart, truly unbearable.

"You are right; the Sage's only concern is that this Jiedushi and the Fang father‑son remain harmonious.

Once someone beats Fang Chongyong on the arena, the Sage can be at ease."

An Lushan clenched his fists, his gaze gloomy, and said: "When a man is under a eave he must bow his head; only those who have tasted it know the feeling."

Zhang Tongru frowned slightly, thought for a moment, and couldn't help but remind:

"Jiedushi An, in my humble opinion, after this arena match the Jiedushi will inevitably receive the Sage's reward and return to Hebei.

The matter of the case, the Sage likely won't bring up again. Yet on the return journey, could any mishap occur?"

Zhang Tongru's low voice made An Lushan's heart tremble.

"What do you mean?"

"Jiedushi, if the Sage rebukes you and you slink back to Yingzhou, that would be all right.

If the Sage also assigns you the Military Governor of Fanyang, many officials would find it intolerable.

Then whether the Jiedushi's road back to Hebei remains peaceful is hard to say."

Zhang Tongru, expression unchanged, warned.

"Holding both posts simultaneously?"

An Lushan was taken aback, unable to follow Zhang Tongru's line of thought—perhaps unable to keep up with Ji Ge's—if the court truly made such an appointment.

"Huangfu Weiming's prior military service was only in the northwest, and his contacts are also there.

After becoming Military Governor of Fanyang, he achieved little in military merit or governance. Meanwhile, the Jiedushi has continuously sold Khitan slaves in Guanzhong, supplying the court with considerable manpower.

The Sage has always wished the forces of the two Hebei towns to coordinate closely, advancing northward. What the Jiedushi has done all along has won the favor of the Sage and many high officials.

Seizing the chance, the Sage entrusted Youzhou to the Jiedushi and moved Huangfu Weiming to the west to counterbalance Wang Zhongsi; this was indeed appropriate. I believe this possibility is very high!"

Zhang Tongru spoke confidently, outlining An Lushan's greatest advantage: he is a Hu and commands influence among the Hu‑border town tribes beside the Hebei frontier, satisfying the court's need for control over Hebei.

Since the Wu Zhou Yingzhou rebellion, Tang's frontier defense in Youzhou has been in a constant state of "bleeding." After painstakingly recapturing lost ground, the tangled situation left the Tang army in a dilemma of "cannot advance, cannot defend."

After the mid‑Kaiyuan period, Ji Ge leveraged a series of great victories to implement a "using Hu to control Hu" strategy in Youzhou. An Lushan and his companions rose to prominence thanks to this opportunity.

An Lushan's emergence was merely a chance occurrence within this larger trend. In other words, countless "An Lushans" have arisen among the Hu‑border town tribes, but only he reached this position.

Due to the collapse of the militia system and the court's long‑standing demilitarization policy in southern Hebei, Tang increasingly relied on soldiers from the Hu‑border town tribes in northern Hebei to guard the frontier.

Since Huangfu Weiming refused to wage war in Youzhou against the northern Khitans, his replacement was only a matter of time.

Zhang Tongru instantly grasped the core issue: Tang may not need An Lushan himself, but it cannot do without the countless Youzhou Hu like him!

According to the "one‑stick‑for‑a‑sweet‑date" tactic, it is highly probable that after the arena match, An Lushan will also take on the role of Military Governor of Fanyang.

"If the dates aren't sweet, who would risk their life?"

Zhang Tongru seemed to see through Ji Ge's thoughts!

Moreover, Fang Chongyong, though young, is already Military Governor of Hexi and has participated in many state affairs. Now that the opportunity arises, being struck by the Son of Heaven is normal. Who Ji Ge wishes to promote or demote is obvious to outsiders.

"You mean someone intends to covertly harm this Jiedushi on the return journey?"

An Lushan crossed his arms, remained silent for a long while, then asked.

"We cannot rule out that possibility. Yet at least in Guanzhong, the Jiedushi should be safe. Whoever it is, they cannot act against the Jiedushi in Guanzhong and insult the Son of Heaven."

Zhang Tongru said in a deep voice.

"Then what should I do?"

An Lushan panicked instantly; his personal guards were detained by Fang Youde in Heyang City, leaving him with few capable fighters.

"First, have the Shen Ce Army escort the Jiedushi to Heyang; whoever it is wouldn't dare act while the Shen Ce Army is protecting the Jiedushi."

"After reaching Heyang, we can execute a Golden Cicada Shedding!"

Zhang Tongru suggested calmly.

"You mean Fang Youde might kill me?"

After hearing Zhang Tongru's description, An Lushan also realized.

"Jiedushi, you and Fang Youde's son are fighting in Chang'an's arena, clearly making the Fang father‑son pair irreconcilable.

Isn't it natural for Fang Youde to want to kill you?"

Zhang Tongru chuckled wryly, saying he wouldn't dare overestimate those high officials of the court.

"Then it's better to slip out of Chang'an quietly, return from Hedong to Hebei by light carriage and few attendants."

An Lushan lowered his voice and said.

"That won't do! Without personal guards to protect you, killing the Jiedushi would only require sending a few assassins!

At that point, it wouldn't just be Fang Youde who could kill the Jiedushi! Taking the Heyang route may seem dangerous, but it is actually the safest approach.

Even if Fang Youde wants to mobilize the Divine Strategy Army to kill the Jiedushi, the men under him might not necessarily obey him!"

Hearing that An Lushan was hatching some new scheme, Zhang Tongru hastily grabbed his sleeve and urged.

"It won't come to that, it won't come to that. Without me, the balance that the Sage desires would be broken.

Even if the father and son of the Fang family hate me to the bone, they wouldn't kill me.

What we must guard against is someone killing me to frame Fang Youde — killing two birds with one stone!"

An Lushan narrowed his eyes and waved his hand dismissively, not believing that Fang Youde would gain any tangible benefit from killing him. Everyone was just putting on an act; once the rabbits are all dead, the hunting dogs have no reason to exist.

Could there truly be anyone that foolish in the world?

"Let's hope so."

Zhang Tongru sighed with worry.

"Here's the plan: you send men to Heyang to muster troops, then station them at Puban to receive this Jiedushi. When the time comes, we will still take the Hedong route! Once the troops and horses are settled, go to Taiyuan City and speak with An Sishun, the Military Commissioner of Hedong, and have them help supply some military rations and baggage.

This Jiedushi will then quietly depart Puban into Guanzhong, rendezvous with you all, and together we return to Yingzhou."

An Lushan's small eyes darted around as he laid out his plan.

Fang Youde could refuse to let those five hundred Hebei soldiers enter Guanzhong, but he had no way to stop those troops from crossing the Wangwu Mountains to station in Hedong. Because that was An Sishun's territory, not Fang Youde's, and the supply problem for those Hebei soldiers could be resolved simply by An Lushan sending someone to give An Sishun a word.

An Sishun and An Lushan were cousins with no blood relation. An Sishun's father, An Bozhu, had an older brother named An Yanyan, who was An Lushan's stepfather. So they only had a nominal kinship.

However, An Sishun and An Lushan had known each other since childhood, scraping by in the same tribe. The An clan they belonged to was the Turkic An clan, with impure roots and no red pedigree, unlike the Liangzhou An clan, which had broken through the ceiling of the Great Tang's political system. Thus they remained firmly pinned to the border garrisons, barred from entering the court to serve as officials.

This was the Great Tang's blatant policy discrimination against the Hu people of the border garrisons.

In Fang Chongyong's previous life, the Liangzhou An clan would rather back Geshu Han than back An Sishun, which was in fact a deep wariness toward the Turkic An clan, fearing that the world would lump them together with the Turkic An clan.

The Liangzhou An clan, from the bottom of their hearts, utterly looked down on An Lushan and An Sishun, who had come over from the Turkic side.

As soon as the An-Shi Rebellion erupted, An Zhongzhang of the Liangzhou An clan immediately led the Red Water Army eastward to aid the sovereign, and was even granted the name "Li Baoyu." His entire family even changed their surname, all to draw a clear line between themselves and the Turkic An clan.

This mentality was somewhat akin to high-ranking Chinese Americans changing their surnames to "Smith" and the like — truly as common as could be.

"Jiedushi, this is too risky! Let's still take the Heyang route!"

Zhang Tongru shook his head and said earnestly.

"If I were Fang Youde, I would ambush somewhere in the mountains north of Heyang, near Henei — there would always be an opportunity. Even if this Jiedushi had a thousand men in hand, it wouldn't be enough for him to devour.

Only by taking Hedong, exiting through Jingxing to reach Hebei — this route is concealed, and only then can one rest easy.

If this Jiedushi can hold dual commands, then in the future I will never again come from Hebei to Chang'an to report on duty.

My mind is made up. Let's take the Hedong route from Puban."

An Lushan said with resounding firmness, rejecting Zhang Tongru's suggestion.

Having forged a deep grudge with the father and son of the Fang family, one indeed had to guard against them.

This feeling of a dragon stranded in shallow waters being bullied by shrimp was truly awful. Once a Military Commissioner was separated from the army under his command, his life and death lay entirely in the hands of others — An Lushan did not like being manipulated like this!

"Then... this humble official will head to Hedong now. Jiedushi, take care."

Zhang Tongru did not press the matter further; after all, this concerned An Lushan's own safety, and saying too much could easily arouse suspicion. Since An Lushan said he would take the Hedong route back to Hebei, then they would listen to him.

……

What An Lushan was thinking, Fang Chongyong did not know. But the moment he got home, he summoned Fang Dafu and asked what this so-called "ring challenge" was actually about and how it was played.

So Fang Dafu explained that the so-called "ring challenge" was not actually called by that name; its official name was "juedi." The "Treatise on Punishments and Law" in the Book of Han states: "After the Spring and Autumn period, the strong annexed the weak and the small, merging into the Warring States; the martial rites were gradually expanded and turned into spectacle, used to boast and display, and Qin renamed it juedi."

Juedi was a bare-handed, unarmored two-man grappling performance!

It was not sumo, but later sumo evolved from juedi. By the Tang dynasty, its techniques had no restrictions whatsoever; however, for the sake of spectacle, quite a number of routines had formed. These routines had a very strong performative character and were not highly practical in real combat.

In the Tang dynasty, many famous figures were skilled in juedi — Xue Rengui, Li Bai, and Guo Ziyi were all among its experts. Of course, performing and actually fighting were two entirely different matters. Taking to a ring for juedi was fundamentally different from a street brawl between hoodlums!

A Military Commissioner's juedi was somewhat akin to the old tale of "Xiang Zhuang performing a sword dance"!

Fang Chongyong had been playing along with An Lushan's act at the time and did not know the underlying intricacies. Only after hearing Fang Dafu's explanation did he realize how deep An Lushan's scheming was — absolutely not to be underestimated.

Whether An Lushan got beaten to a pulp three days later or gave Fang Chongyong a thrashing, he would have participated in a splendid "official exhibition match"!

Spread around, it would absolutely be a fine tale rather than a joke — after all, the Tang dynasty's ethos simply loved this sort of thing!

Of course, this would also earn Fang Chongyong a reputation for being "bold and decisive as a youth." The prestige of this kind of "exhibition match" was leagues above two nobles feuding over a woman!

If anyone thought An Lushan was a thickheaded fool who would duel at the slightest disagreement, they would be dead wrong — they'd be played to death and still be left completely in the dark!

"An Lushan is no simple matter!"

Fang Chongyong could not help but sigh.

"Isn't that the truth! When your father did juedi back in the day, he knocked down five men in a row. Three of them died within two days, and the remaining two were crippled.

With that, he helped the Sage deal with several troublemakers among the Hundred Riders, which was how he earned the Sage's deep trust. Young Master, you must not take this lightly."

Fang Dafu said dismissively, recounting the "rise to prominence" of Fang Youde back in the day.

"Isn't this juedi an exhibition match? How did people end up dead?"

Fang Chongyong asked in bewilderment. He suddenly realized that his cheap father had apparently been a ruthless man in his day!

"Well, people did die — fists and feet have no eyes. Young Master, don't you take this lightly.

Once you step onto that ring, the atmosphere is different, and it's very easy to lose control."

Fang Dafu stroked the long beard on his chin and spoke, looking every bit like a bystander pontificating on the ways of the martial world.

Hearing this, Fang Chongyong's neck shrank back. He somewhat regretted being too impulsive — he should have first inquired about An Lushan's fighting ability before charging in recklessly.

The Great Tang military had a tradition of performing "boxing" after victorious battles, though it was more for entertainment with few rules — this Fang Chongyong knew.

And An Lushan had risen step by step from his origins as a "Capture-General" (a special reconnaissance soldier of the Great Tang's border army), so he could not possibly be a layman when it came to juedi.

Fang Chongyong's thrashing of An Lushan at the Court of Judicature and Revision was nothing more than relying on striking first and the fact that An Lushan dared not lose his temper in front of Brother Ji — it was absolutely not a reflection of either side's true ability.

In order to blend in with the soldiers in the army, Fang Chongyong back then also practiced the "Tang Fist" for four years in Shazhou, which later became the "Red Fist", but he didn't know whether, when he used to spar with those Dou Lu military officers in Shazhou back then, the other side had gone easy on him.

Back then he still felt he was pretty capable, but the more he thought about it now, the more he felt there was a lot of pretense in it, and his heart would occasionally feel weak.

When the leaders of some public institutions play basketball with their subordinates, they always feel they're better than Jordan, Kobe, James, etc., unstoppable in drives, shooting, and steals—the all‑round king. But after retirement, they often can't even beat the old man next door who likes to take back his moves in chess.

Fang Chongyong feared this kind of thing happening the most.

"Uncle Dafu, how about we practice a round now?"

Fang Chongyong looked at the honest‑looking Fang Dafu and said.

"Sure! Young master, don't hold back!"

Fang Dafu said while moving his arms, leading Fang Chongyong to the front courtyard.

After the time it takes to burn an incense stick, Fang Chongyong lay on the ground with a look of astonishment, and Fang Dafu pulled him up.

"Your ability to play with the ladies in bed, Young Master, is far superior to your father's; I've heard those women at night screaming like pigs being slaughtered."

Fang Dafu leaned close to Fang Chongyong's ear and teased him in a low voice.

"We shouldn't talk about this kind of thing…"

Fang Chongyong replied with a speechless look, "What's the use of being good with women? He's not Lao Ai trying to become a male favorite!"

"But when it comes to horn‑butting skill, Young Master, you're far behind—you don't even know the basic techniques,"

"If you don't practice, I'm afraid that in three days, when you go up on the stage to face An Lushan, you'll surely suffer a big loss!"

Fang Dafu put away his smile and continued solemnly: "In these three days, I'll give Young Master a good training; it should be of some use."

(End of chapter)