Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Rebel Forces Retreat

"Deputy Commander, the Tang army has set a heavy ambush ahead. Our troops have suffered grievous losses!" A subordinate officer galloped over, loudly reporting the situation at the front to Cui Qianyou, whose face was marked by deep anxiety.

"Understood. Investigate further!" Cui Qianyou, his thick brows tightly knitted, waved his hand impatiently.

"Yes, Deputy Commander!" the subordinate shouted, wheeling his horse around and riding off.

Cui Qianyou had already ordered the vanguard to halt their advance. He had never expected to encounter an even larger ambush by the Tang army at this location. Truth be told, this place was hardly suitable for an ambush—whether for a small or large force, the terrain simply did not lend itself to such tactics. Yet the Tang army had chosen this very spot to set their trap. They had blocked the valley with vast quantities of dry grass, then set it ablaze with fire arrows, sealing the pass with flames. They ignited the trees, shrubs, and grass on both sides of the mountain, cutting off nearly a thousand of his advance troops from the main force. Now, over a thousand soldiers were trapped in a sea of fire within the valley, and by the looks of it, there was no saving them.

It was fortunate the Tang army had not encircled them from the flanks or rear, or their tens of thousands would have been routed in short order.

The treacherous terrain made ambushes likely but encirclement difficult—he could only be grateful that fortune still favored them.

At this moment, Cui Qianyou could not discern whether the Tang army's ambushes were merely intended to slow their advance, striking in repeated small actions to sap morale, or whether these smaller forces were meant to lull them into carelessness, only for the Tang to unleash a devastating blow with a concentrated force at the right moment.

He could not make sense of it. The great fire had inflicted tremendous losses on his vanguard—so severe that, fresh from the heady victory at Lingbao, Cui Qianyou now found himself badly shaken, his judgment clouded.

He had already reported the latest ambush and the vanguard’s heavy casualties to An Qingxu at the rear, awaiting his decision. In the meantime, he ordered the entire army to be ready for combat; should the Tang strike again, they were to annihilate them at all costs.

Cui Qianyou knew full well that his troops’ morale could not withstand another such blow. Should they suffer one more large-scale ambush, the vanguard might collapse, and in this perilous terrain, a rout at the front would spell disaster for the rear. The mere thought made him break out in a cold sweat. If the entire army were routed and the Tang seized the opportunity to attack, it would be another Lingbao—a victory for the Tang, not for the "Great Yan" forces.

Now, Cui Qianyou was certain the Tang reinforcements had reached Tong Pass, albeit in small numbers—not enough to counterattack. Otherwise, after these ambushes, the Tang would have pressed their advantage and perhaps driven them all the way back to Shan Prefecture.

The fires on the mountains showed no sign of abating; if anything, they burned fiercer. While ordering his men to prepare for sudden attack, Cui Qianyou also commanded a detachment to carve a firebreak with all speed, hoping to prevent the blaze from spreading further.

Should Mount Hua itself catch fire, tens of thousands of soldiers would face death by flame or suffocation.

Just as Cui Qianyou finished giving the order to cut a firebreak, An Qingxu’s orders arrived: the main force was to withdraw ten miles and encamp at the morning’s departure point, with Cui Qianyou to prepare for a possible night assault by the Tang.

With the command issued, the rebel army began a slow withdrawal.

Li Fude’s unit had set the dry grass ablaze, a development few had foreseen.

The raging wildfire had devastated the rebel vanguard and driven them back with irresistible force—an outcome that surprised even Yang Xi, who watched from the walls of Tong Pass.

Yang Xi had only intended to slow the rebel advance with ambushes; he had not expected Li Fude, in executing his orders brilliantly, to devise his own method for striking a heavy blow. Trapping thousands of rebels in the flames and capturing hundreds alive, Li Fude had proven himself worthy of Yang Guozhong’s trust. Indeed, this Sichuanese commander possessed genuine ability.

Tong Pass lay within the domain of Mount Hua, and the blaze had been set on one of its outlying ridges. Fortunately, much of Mount Hua was bare rock, with little vegetation, so the fire would not consume the entire mountain.

Still, if the whole of Mount Hua had gone up in flames, most of the rebel army would have been roasted alive—a result that, all things considered, would not have been unwelcome.

The rebels began to withdraw in earnest as the mountain fire raged on. Everyone understood that for now, the crisis at Tong Pass was averted.

At some point, Gao Shi had returned to the city gate tower. Watching all that unfolded in the distance, he remarked with feeling to Yang Xi, "Commander Yang, I never imagined your ambush would achieve such resounding success—crippling the rebel vanguard and halting their assault! In my view, the rebels won’t dare attack Tong Pass again for at least two days."

"Let us hope so," Yang Xi replied, following Gao Shi’s words, but then shook his head. "But that is only our wishful thinking. The rebels know that after our defeat at Lingbao, our losses were heavy, and holding Tong Pass is a struggle. Reinforcements from Chang’an cannot arrive quickly, and even if some do, they will be in small numbers—we see this from the fact that our ambushes never developed into full-scale attacks. The rebels will not pass up the best opportunity to assault Tong Pass. If I am not mistaken, as soon as the fire dies down and the road is passable, they will return—perhaps as soon as tonight, or by tomorrow morning at the latest. A bitter battle is inevitable, General Gao—you must not let your guard down!"

First impressions matter, and combined with Gao Shi’s renown in history, Yang Xi found himself well-disposed toward this general, who appeared to be in his forties or fifties. In their few encounters, Gao Shi had proven astute and decisive, earning Yang Xi’s trust and a touch of warmth in his words.

Gao Shi also found himself thinking highly of Yang Xi. If only Yang Xi were not the son of Yang Guozhong but another noble, his regard for him would be even greater. Since coming to Tong Pass, Yang Xi’s actions had been above reproach, and his deployments had yielded remarkable results.

This led Gao Shi to wonder again: who was it that had so well trained the youngest son of Yang Guozhong?

At that moment, a soldier from the north gate brought word: a commander named Liu Guangting had arrived with a detachment, saying he was carrying out Yang Xi’s order to gather scattered troops outside the city. Hearing that Liu Guangting had only now reached Tong Pass, Yang Xi was displeased.

He had expected Liu Guangting, known for his capability, would have completed his task and entered the city long before now. Yet only now did his unit arrive.

Fortunately, only a hundred men had been assigned to Liu Guangting for collecting stragglers, so the combat strength of Yang Xi’s troops from Chang’an was unaffected.

"Order General Liu to bring his unit into the city at once, and have him report to me at the east gate," Yang Xi commanded coldly.

The messenger sped off to deliver the order.