Chapter 361 Recapture of Yecheng
In Yecheng.

When An Qingxu learned that An Lushan had been defeated in Mingzhou and fled, he sought out An Shouzhong to discuss the matter.

An Qingxu said, "Shouzhong, although you are my father's adopted son, you and I are like brothers. Do you know why my father sent me to Yecheng?"

An Shouzhong pretended not to know and said, "Your Highness Prince Jin, please enlighten me."

An Qingxu said, "Father is worried that after the fall of Mingzhou, there will be no one to succeed the throne of Great Yan. Now that Mingzhou has fallen, why don't you follow Father's wishes?"

An Shouzhong asked, "Your Highness Prince Jin wants me to support you as the new emperor?"

An Qingxu smiled and said, "What do you mean?"

An Shouzhong said: "Unless there is news of my adoptive father's death or his will, Your Highness the Prince of Jin, please wait a little longer. The most urgent task is to find a way to break through the encirclement of the Tang army."

An Qingxu said, "How can we break through? The Tang army was clearly the attacker, but they fought steadily. Half of my father's elite troops were killed. Do you still have a chance to win?"

An Shouzhong said: "Whether we win or not depends on fate. King Jin, please take a rest first. I will go to deploy the defense."

After An Shouzhong finished speaking, he left.

An Qingxu watched An Shouzhong walk away and slammed the table in anger.

……

Changan.

Li Ying held Yan Zhenqing's "Eulogy for My Nephew" in his hand, his face looking heavy.

He also thought about saving Yan Gaoqing's family at first, but there were many things that were beyond his control.

After all, Yan Gaoqing was behind enemy lines. No matter how he planned, it was impossible for his army to be pushed behind enemy lines to open up a battlefield.

Therefore, he was powerless to do anything about the sacrifices of not only Yan Gaoqing, but also the loyal officials in many places in Hebei and the loyal and brave men in Pinglu.

Li Heng was deep in thought when Feng Changqing suddenly rushed in with a memorial and said happily, "Your Majesty, we won a great victory in Mingzhou. The government troops have recaptured Mingzhou, but..."

"Just what?" Li Heng asked calmly.

Feng Changqing said: "It's just that An Lushan has escaped, and Pugu Huai'en has led people to chase him. We don't know where he will escape to."

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "He either fled to Yecheng or fled north. We haven't received any report from General Gao yet, so he must have fled north."

"What a pity." Feng Changqing sighed.

Li Heng smiled back and said nothing.

Feng Changqing felt it was a pity, but Li Heng didn't think so.

Because Li Heng knew very well that with the support of his great teammates and if he followed his strategy, it was only a matter of time before An Lushan was defeated and fled. But if An Lushan was defeated, would the problem of Hebei Province be really solved?

Li Ying doesn't think so.

Therefore, it was actually a good thing that wherever An Lushan went, the government troops would attack him.

Feng Changqing continued: "Your Majesty, what should we do next?"

Li Heng said: "Since Guo Ziyi and his men have won the battle, they should be rewarded. After the reward, let them return to the north to fight against Shi Siming. If Shi Siming wants to surrender, the condition is that Shi Siming and his generals must return to the capital to apologize. An Shouzhong should be handed over to General Gao."

At this time, Wei Jiansu entered the palace and presented a memorial, saying, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Ying still has not submitted a congratulatory letter to congratulate Your Majesty on your ascension to the throne. This is a secret memorial from Li Xian, the Chief Clerk of Jiangling."

Li Xian was the son of Li Yi, Prince of Xin'an, and the great-great-grandson of Li Shimin. He was of the same generation as Li Heng. He had the talent to assist the king and was both civil and military.

Li Heng took Li Xian's secret report, opened it and took a look. It said that Ying Wang Li Lu intended to rebel.

After reading it, Li Heng burned the secret memorial and said, "Return Li Xian back. In addition, since Prince Ying has made great contributions to governance, he should be promoted to the position of Tongzhongshumenxia Pingzhangshi."

"Yes." Wei Jiansu accepted the order and left.

After Wei Jiansu left, Li Heng said to Feng Changqing, "Send an imperial edict to have Lai Zhen, Li Qi, and Zhang Xun station troops in Xiangyang. At the same time, send an imperial edict to Gao Shi to send troops immediately if the Prince of Ying makes any unusual moves."

"Yes!" Feng Changqing accepted the order and asked in confusion: "Since Your Majesty is determined to use military force against Prince Ying, why did you give him an official title?"

Li Heng said: "First, it can paralyze him and make him let down his guard. Second, if he can turn back from his mistakes, there will be no need to start a war."

"Your Majesty is wise." Feng Changqing flattered.

Li Ying ignored Feng Changqing's flattery and said quietly, "Once General Gao captures Yecheng, we can implement the new policy."...

Yecheng.

Yecheng is also a famous place. Since Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao, Yecheng has successively become the capital of Cao Wei, Later Zhao, Ran Wei, Former Yan, Eastern Wei and Northern Qi. After Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian put down the rebellion of Yuchi Jiong, he was afraid that Hebei would become too powerful, so he ordered the relocation of people and the destruction of the city. Emperor Gaozong of Tang Li Zhi rebuilt Yecheng and An Shouzhong reinforced it.

Gao Xianzhi knew that a forceful attack on Yecheng would result in heavy casualties, so he made preparations for both scenarios.

First, prepare to divert the water of Zhang River to flood Yecheng.

Second, three trenches were dug around Yecheng to form a high-pressure siege.

The siege lasted for a whole month. The food and grass in Yecheng were cut off, and rats were in great demand and more valuable than gold.

At the same time, the rebels in Yecheng were constantly threatened by Gao Xianzhi to flood the city.

The rebels' morale was greatly reduced, with many deserters and many surrendering to the government troops.

During this period, An Shouzhong took the initiative to attack several times, but they were all resolved by Gao Xianzhi. An Shouzhong knew that he was powerless to reverse the situation, so after five days of debauchery, he summoned the generals in Yecheng to discuss matters.

Although they were discussing matters, An Shouzhong did not listen to others and instead issued orders directly.

He himself led the main army to attack Gao Xianzhi, and ordered Li Guiren, Cui Qianyou, and Linghu Chao to lead a small force to take An Qingxu and flee north.

After making the decision, An Shouzhong led 50,000 troops eastward.

Gao Xianzhi knew that now was the time for a decisive battle, so he deployed his troops at Zhangshui and confronted the rebels.

This time, the Tang army had no military supervisor, only Gao Xianzhi as the commander-in-chief, and no one was willing to betray Li Siye.

Historically, Li Siye died in the Battle of Yecheng.

Because Li Heng did not appoint a commander-in-chief but only eunuchs to supervise the army, the nine military governors surrounded Yecheng and no one took action. Only Li Siye was the most pure and attacked Yecheng alone, but was shot to death.

Now, the Helong soldiers led by Gao Xianzhi were all elite, while An Shouzhong's soldiers were hungry and their morale was low, so both sides advanced in formation.

Gao Xianzhi and Li Chengguang led the infantry forward, tearing a gap in the rebel front line. Li Siye led the heavy cavalry to rush into the rebel line through the gap, charging back and forth. Bai Xiaode, Yuchi Sheng, and Tuoba Shouji led the light cavalry to attack the rebel flanks from both sides.

The rebel formation was broken and they soon fell into chaos and fled in all directions.

An Shouzhong led his personal guards to fight desperately and rushed straight to Gao Xianzhi, hoping to exchange Gao Xianzhi's head.

Seeing this, Li Siye, who was charging into the battle line, rushed back with his heavy cavalry to stop them.

Under the charge of Li Siye's heavy cavalry, An Shouzhong's personal guards were quickly killed or wounded.

Li Siye rode his horse close to An Shouzhong and swung his Mo Dao at him.

An Shouzhong raised his spear to block, but the spear was cut off by Li Siye's Mo Dao.

Li Siye swung his sword again and forced An Shouzhong off his horse.

At this time, the government troops had already formed a trend of reaping the benefits of the rebels.

Li Siye pointed his knife at An Shouzhong and said, "If it weren't for you, we would have been able to put down the rebellion long ago. In terms of crime, your crime is unforgivable, but you are also a talented general. If you can surrender, I will petition His Majesty to save your life."

"If you die on the battlefield, this is your fate." An Shouzhong was not afraid but laughed, "You were able to divert the Zhang River to attack the city, because you were afraid of hurting the people on both sides of the Zhang River. It can be considered as benevolence and righteousness. I will give you a military merit. I hope that after you enter the city, you will let my wife and concubines go. General, please proceed!"

Li Siye asked, "Have you already made up your mind to die?"

An Shouzhong picked up a spear and said, "I will never surrender until I die!"

"Well!" Li Siye jumped off his horse and stood opposite An Shouzhong.

The two of them shouted at the same time and rushed towards each other.

Figures crossed each other and An Shouzhong's head rolled to the ground.

The government troops won a great victory at Zhangshui and rushed into Yecheng. Yecheng was recaptured, but An Qingxu and others were not found.

At this point, the southern part of Hebei Province was completely recovered.

(End of this chapter)