Chapter 340: A Man's Name, the Shadow of His Deeds

In Chang'an, at the office of the Military Governor of the Jinchang Army — originally the Sixteen Princes' Residence of the Tang dynasty — some of the mansions had survived the wars and now served fittingly as the headquarters of the foremost military governor of Guanzhong and the office of the Governor of Jingzhao.

An Shenqi was born in the fourth year of Qianning under Emperor Zhaozong of Tang (897), making him exactly forty this year. He had joined the army in his youth, was a master of bow and horse with unmatched martial skill, and his command ability was also excellent. Even in the Five Dynasties, an age that produced fierce generals in abundance, he counted as one of the notable famous and valiant commanders.

At this moment, this renowned general, entrusted by Shi Jingtang with the heavy responsibility of stabilizing Guanzhong, was holding two letters, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

He handed both letters to his cousin An Shengsheng, the Revenue Commissioner, to read.

An Shengsheng took the two letters and read them through at a glance. At once an irrepressible smile spread across his face, and he cupped his hands toward An Shenqi.

"Congratulations, Second Brother. Li Congyan wants the Xiongwu Army in order to kill Zhang Zhao of Hexi, and Zhang Zhao has also sent a letter vowing to kill Li Congyan.

These two are both tigers and wolves! When two tigers fight, one is sure to be wounded. As long as they do not conspire together to entrench themselves in Guanzhong, the court has nothing to worry about!"

An Shenqi's face also broke into a smile. He had originally prepared himself for Guanzhong to fall into ruin, but now he found the situation was far better than he had expected.

Although the three prefectures of Jingzhou, Binzhou, and Ningzhou, along with Xingping and Qianzhou in Guanzhong, had been plundered by the rebel troops, the overall situation had not deteriorated.

The wealthiest region, the Chang'an area, was safe and sound. Apart from Xingping County, the other places had hardly suffered any military disaster. The Jinchang Army defending Chang'an had lost a few battles, but its main force still remained.

At this thought, An Shenqi's expression hardened, and he suddenly sighed.

"The Hexi Army came by imperial decree to quell the rebellion. Minister Zhang pacified the rebel soldiers with only one army; he is a meritorious servant of the state. For me to employ this scheme of driving the tiger to devour the wolf, I truly feel ashamed in my heart!"

An Shengsheng shook his head dismissively and said, "The Sage of Virtue and Martial Filial Piety, the last emperor who burned himself to death on the Xuanwu Tower, and our present Sage — before they rebelled, which of them was not a meritorious servant of the state?

Besides, the Sage earnestly hopes that Second Brother will stabilize Guanzhong as soon as possible and lead the army east to strike the traitor Zhang Congbin from both sides. Time is pressing, and it does not allow Second Brother to distinguish whether Minister Zhang is loyal or treacherous.

At worst, after he is defeated by Li Congyan, we can do him a favor and let him return to Hexi."

An Shenqi shook his head at these words. An Shengsheng thought An Shenqi still could not bear it, but after a moment of deliberation, An Shenqi spoke.

"If this Hexi Army cannot defeat the Fengxiang Army, then cut the weeds and eliminate the roots! Hexi has always produced great generals. This man has the momentum to unify Hexi, and in the future he will surely be a great threat to the northwest.

He can surely see through our scheme of driving the tiger to devour the wolf. Having offended him to this degree, it would be better to simply remove the future threat."

At these words, An Shengsheng was momentarily choked speechless. Only after a long while did he say, "Then what if the Hexi Army wins? What should we do? I fear that even if we sent out everything we have, we might not be able to keep them here."

An Shenqi narrowed his eyes and slowly shook his head. "If he wins, then we will present him with gold, silk, and beautiful women, bring out all the grain and provisions from the Chang'an storehouses to reward his service, and even take the initiative to petition the Sage for honors on his behalf!"

"And why is that? Didn't Second Brother say this man would sooner or later become a great threat to the northwest? How can we then let the tiger return to the mountain?" An Shengsheng was once again left speechless, feeling his brain could hardly keep up.

"If this man can first defeat the rebel troops of the Zhangyi and Jingnan armies, and then defeat twenty thousand Fengxiang troops, that proves he is no ordinary loyal minister, but a 'loyal minister' like our present Sage.

Hexi and Guanzhong will sooner or later be his for the taking. Whether he is a great threat or not no longer matters, because he is bound to be unstoppable.

Then our An family must sell him a very great favor, and leave some goodwill for Shouzhong, Shouli, and the rest."

An Shouzhong was An Shenqi's eldest son, and An Shouli was An Shengsheng's son. This Grand Tutor An, who had survived several dynasties without falling, truly had real skill. He had calculated every possibility, and every angle was handled with perfect precision.

"Then how should we reply to these two letters?" An Shengsheng looked at his elder brother with admiration. Only such meticulous thought could guarantee the An family's wealth and rank!

"Do not reply. Li Congyan is fond of schemes but slow to decide. He says he wants to attack the Hexi Army, but in his heart he still wants to swallow Kang Fu's eight thousand Xiongwu troops. He will not move that quickly.

And although Zhang Zhao is brave and fierce, his foundation is too shallow. Even now he is still camped in the open field. He will not move that quickly either.

Let them stew for a while. Let them build up a full head of anger, so that when they do fight, they will strike all the harder!"

An Shenqi had calculated every detail. If Zhang Zhao were just another warlord of this era, one could call it flawless planning.

In An Shenqi's plan, Zhang Zhao had only one choice: retreat to Qianzhou to secure his own safety first, then grow deeply resentful, and finally, under his instigation, break out into a great battle with Li Congyan.

But what An Shenqi never imagined was that after the public trial assembly, Zhang Zhao immediately mobilized his army.

Although the Guiyi Army's soldiers had already been fighting continuously for more than ten days, and had been away from Liangzhou for over two months, they were all moved by Zhang Zhao's kindness and righteousness. Spurred especially by the desire to see Chang'an and the great cause of bringing peace to the realm, the Guiyi Army completed its war preparations in just one day.

In one day, everything from armor, weapons, provisions, and the condition of mules and horses to the soldiers' morale was made ready for battle.

While An Shenqi was still in Chang'an, hosting banquets for Zhao Kuangzan and distributing rewards, offices, and promises to the officers of the Jinchang Army, the Guiyi Army's seven thousand troops had already begun to march.

Zhang Zhao's battle plan this time was very simple. Li Congyan's twenty thousand troops were stationed separately in Wugong and Xingping counties.

The county seats of these two counties were about fifty li apart. Li Congyan himself, with a main force of fourteen thousand, was stationed in Wugong County.

The Fengxiang Army's provisions, baggage, and the goods and wealth plundered from Xingping County were all piled up in Wugong County.

In Xingping County, Li Congyan's third brother, Li Congzhao, the Prefect of Longzhou, held the town with more than seven thousand men. These seven thousand were there to keep watch on Zhang Zhao, who was only a dozen or so li from Xingping County.

But well, anything else might be said, but keeping watch was impossible, because the cavalry of the various peoples of Hexi under Zhang Zhao's command had no equal anywhere in present-day Guanzhong.

Thus, although Li Congzhao was nominally keeping watch, the few hundred cavalry under him could not break through the Guiyi Army's blockade and screening at all. Zhang Zhao had him completely figured out, while Li Congzhao did not even know Zhang Zhao had held a public trial assembly.

What Zhang Zhao needed to do now was surround Xingping County, then use his cavalry to cut off the connection between Xingping and Wugong, and draw Li Congyan's main force out of Wugong County.

Once Li Congyan came out, whether he advanced or retreated would no longer be up to him. Even if he broke through the Guiyi Army's blocking force and entered Xingping County to rescue Li Congzhao, so what?

Zhang Zhao could then trap them inside Xingping County, forcing them to send out a large force to protect even a party going out to fetch water or gather firewood, making it impossible for them to move a single step.

This is the strength of cavalry. It may not necessarily defeat you, but when the battle begins, and where it begins — that is for me to decide.

If you win, at most I take a small loss and give it up. But if you lose, then you are finished. Basically not a single one of you will escape.

This was also why Zhang Zhao wanted to hold the public trial assembly. He wanted to win the hearts of the people of Xingping, Wugong, and even all of Guanzhong, so that his cavalry could always gain the support of the common people — for gathering intelligence, guiding the way, and so on.

Outside the county seat of Xingping, a cavalry force of two hundred men rode out of the city in a careless, swaggering manner. They were going to carry out Prefect Li's surveillance mission.

But no one took it seriously. Those Hexi cavalrymen all rode fine horses, one in a hundred, and some of them were even better equipped than they were.

The key was their numbers — several thousand of them. With only two hundred or so men, who would dare to tug the tiger's whiskers? So everyone just went out to put on a show and then returned to report.

But today seemed different. The cavalry Captain and his men had ridden barely a li out of Xingping County when they sensed something was wrong.

The ground was covered with the tracks of many animals. The village where they often went to steal chickens and ducks, grope widows, and force the villagers to cook hot meals for them was eerily quiet.

In the sweltering heat, cold sweat instantly broke out on the Captain's forehead. He decisively yanked the reins, let out a whistle, turned, and fled.

But quick-witted as he was, he was still a moment too late. At a roll of drums, a force burst out of the village — at least seven or eight hundred cavalry, sweeping in from both left and right in a slashing pincer.

At their head was a man on a white horse in silver robes — the very figure the Fengxiang cavalry feared most. These days they had lost no small number of men to this white-robed general.

"Xue Baipao is here! Xue Baipao is here!" The Fengxiang cavalry shouted as they fled.

A man's name is the shadow of his deeds. In his first battle, Murong Xinzhang had shot the rebel general Sun Xiaoguo with a single arrow, leading to his capture and execution.

In his second battle, he shot the rebel leader He Chuan in the arm from a hundred and fifty paces. Such divine marksmanship immediately began to be celebrated in the army and among the people.

By the time the Fengxiang cavalry had repeatedly suffered heavy losses at Murong Xinzhang's hands, tales of his archery and horsemanship had likewise begun to spread.

Though in private, to belittle Murong Xinzhang, these men all called him the Good Elder Son.

But face to face, not one of them dared speak so; they all compared him to Xue Rengui, who loved to wear a white robe, and called him Xue White-Robe.

It would have been better if they had not called him that, because Murong Xinzhang's temperament was a bit of a crowd-craver — the moment they cried "Xue White-Robe is coming," Murong Xinzhang only grew more excited!

Three arrows settled the Heavenly Mountains! Doffing his helmet, he drove back ten thousand foes!

That was simply the pinnacle of a warrior's life. Though it could not compare to carving stone at Yanran or performing the fengshan rites at Langjuxu, it was still supreme glory.

As the master, so the pet. The crowd-craving Murong Xinzhang howled at the sky like an ape, and the Snow-White Dust beneath him was every bit as excited as its master, its four black hooves churning so fast they seemed about to take flight.

Man and horse burst out of the formation together, and a small stream nearly ten feet wide, Snow-White Dust cleared in a single leap.

Still more than a hundred paces away, Murong Xinzhang drew his stiff bow and loosed left and right, and the Fengxiang cavalry toppled to the ground one after another.

Seen from afar, it looked as though Murong Xinzhang alone was chasing down several hundred men and shooting them, like a fierce tiger pouncing on a flock of sheep.

Li Congxu, who had rushed up onto the city wall at the news, was so frightened that all color drained from his face. He seized the men beside him and demanded, "Who is that man? Can it be Xue of Youzhou reborn?"

The officers and soldiers around him answered in one voice: "That is the adopted son of Zhang Zhao, Military Governor of Hexi, known as Xue White-Robe. He once took He Chuan's head amid ten thousand troops, and his valor is a match for ten thousand men!"

Fine! It was getting more and more absurd!

But Li Congxu believed it without the slightest doubt, because seen from afar, the man truly did seem capable of taking an enemy general's head amid ten thousand troops! In just this short while, he had shot dead six of his cavalry officers.

"Third Young Lord! Look into the distance!" At that moment, a trusted officer pointed far off and bade Li Congxu look.

Li Congxu raised his eyes. Several li away, an army flying the great banners of the Military Governor of Hexi and Commissioner of the Guiyi Army, Zhang, came flooding over the hills and plains.

Li Congxu shouted, "Quick! Go report to my elder brother at once! The Hexi men have come to fight to the death!"

All chapters have been cached for you. Download the APP to view.