Devour a city to feed the world.

“The An Lushan Rebellion? The turning point from prosperity to decline?”

Upon hearing this, Li Shimin’s expression darkened considerably. “And it planted the seeds of my Tang dynasty’s downfall?”

“Sir, what exactly happened in the An Lushan Rebellion?” Empress Zhangsun asked.

“In 755 AD, the fourteenth year of the Tianbao era of Tang, An Lushan, who concurrently held the military governorship of Fanyang, Pinglu, and Hedong, mobilized his subordinate Tang troops along with forces from the Tongluo, Xi, Khitan, and Shiwei tribes, totaling 150,000 men—though he claimed to have 200,000—under the pretext of ‘worries for the realm’s peril’ and a secret edict to punish Yang Guozhong. He raised his army in Fanyang.”

“At that time, the empire had enjoyed a long period of peace. The common people, along with several generations, had never seen war. When news of the Fanyang uprising broke, shock reverberated near and far.”

“Within An Lushan’s jurisdiction, the counties his rebel forces passed through crumbled at the sight of them. Local magistrates either opened their gates to welcome the rebels, abandoned their posts and fled, or were captured and killed by the rebels.”

“Reports of An Lushan’s rebellion reached Taiyuan and the Eastern Surrender Fortress, but Emperor Xuanzong still dismissed them as fabrications spread by those who despised An Lushan, refusing to believe them.”

“It wasn’t until the fifteenth day of the eleventh month of the same year that Emperor Xuanzong finally believed An Lushan had indeed led a rebellion, and he summoned Chancellor Yang Guozhong to discuss countermeasures.”

“In the twelfth month of that year, An Lushan led the main rebel force to attack Luoyang and Tong Pass, intending to breach these two strongholds and then march straight on Chang’an. Luoyang fell, but the natural fortress of Tong Pass, stoutly defended by Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, withstood repeated assaults from the rebel forces, even forcing the enemy to consider retreat.”

Qin Ning paused here, took a sip of wine, and continued, “But in his later years, Li Longji had become blinded by greed and folly, losing the decisiveness and wisdom of his youth. Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing adopted the correct strategy of fortifying their defenses, thwarting the enemy’s plan for a swift victory after their long march.”

“Moreover, Tong Pass served as Chang’an’s shield, effectively protecting the capital. Yet some treacherous, petty individuals slandered Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing before Li Longji, accusing them of colluding with the rebel forces and thus delaying a direct confrontation.”

“Without a thorough investigation, Li Longji had the two men beheaded in public, costing the court two seasoned and courageous generals!”

“Damn it!”

Li Shimin roared in fury. “A fatuous ruler! A fatuous ruler indeed!”

Qin Ning continued, “After Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing died, Li Longji sent Geshu Han to take command of the Tong Pass army. When Geshu Han arrived at Tong Pass, he also correctly assessed the situation on both sides and believed that holding the pass without engaging was the proper defense.”

“But as time passed, Emperor Xuanzong lost patience with him. With the treacherous Chancellor Yang Guozhong once again goading him, Emperor Xuanzong issued an imperial decree forcing Geshu Han to attack. Upon receiving the decree, Geshu Han knew the battle was doomed, yet, cowed by the authority of the throne, he was forced to lead his troops into battle. Naturally, he suffered a crushing defeat, and was even bound by his own men and delivered to the enemy camp.”

“Tong Pass fell. Chang’an fell. The emperor and crown prince fled. When Emperor Xuanzong’s entourage reached Mawei Slope, the imperial guards, pushed beyond endurance, mutinied, killing Yang Guozhong. Gao Lishi and others strangled Yang Guifei.”

“Thereupon, Crown Prince Li Heng ascended the throne on his own authority at Lingwu, honored Li Longji as Retired Emperor, and changed the reign title to Zhide, becoming Emperor Suzong of Tang.”

“He appointed Guo Ziyi as Minister of War and Li Guangbi as Minister of Revenue. The two were ordered to suppress the rebellion. The following year, Guo Ziyi recommended Li Guangbi as Hedong Military Governor. They joined forces and divided their troops to advance into Hebei, meeting at Changshan, where they defeated An Lushan’s general Shi Siming and recovered the Hebei region.”

“Later, in the course of pacifying the An Lushan Rebellion, the historically famous Battle of Xiangji Temple and the Battle of Suiyang took place.”

At this point, Qin Ning fixed his gaze solemnly on Li Shimin. “Old Li, you should most definitely go to witness these two battles.”

“What happened?” Li Shimin frowned deeply. From Qin Ning’s expression alone, he could tell these battles were far from ordinary.

Zhu Yuanzhang let out a sigh. “The Battle of Xiangji Temple, also known as the Battle of Feng River, was the decisive battle in which the Tang army recaptured Chang’an. It was the turning point of the An Lushan Rebellion.”

“In just four hours, the two sides fought at nearly a one-to-one casualty ratio, from noon until sunset. 130,000 soldiers fell. That battle also set the most brutal record of battlefield casualties in the age of cold weapons.”

Li Shimin fell silent. Qin Shi Huang fell silent. Cheng Yaojin, Zhangsun Wuji, and all the others fell silent as well.

130,000 soldiers dead in just four hours.

Even for veteran generals like Cheng Yaojin and Qin Qiong, who had spent years on battlefields, the mere thought of such a gruesome scene sent shivers through them.

“And before that, there was the equally famous Battle of Suiyang,” Zhu Yuanzhang spoke again. “The defending general of Suiyang at the time, Zhang Xun, held the city for ten months with only 7,000 troops. They fought hundreds of battles, great and small, killing a total of 120,000 enemy soldiers and preventing the rebel forces from advancing southward.”

Hearing this, Li Shimin and the others were stunned. “Seven thousand men held the city for ten months and wiped out 120,000 enemies!”

Qin Ning said, “That’s right. Suiyang was already an isolated city at that time—no reinforcements, no supplies. Yet they held it for ten months, rendering a great service in quelling the An Lushan Rebellion and buying precious time for the Tang dynasty to recover its strength.”

“No supplies?”

Everyone furrowed their brows. Empress Zhangsun couldn’t help but ask, “Sir, then how did they…”

“When the city’s provisions were exhausted, it fed the world.”

These eight words struck Li Shimin and the others like thunder.

Qin Ning continued, “The rebel army, unable to take the city after a prolonged siege, adopted a strategy of encirclement. With no supplies, the soldiers in the city began catching birds and rats, even gnawing on tree roots and leaves. Later, they boiled and ate leather armor and the sinew from bows and crossbows. After that, they began slaughtering their warhorses.”

“When everything edible was gone…”

Qin Ning stopped short, saying no more.

But Li Shimin and the others could imagine what happened next. Their expressions turned grim beyond measure.

After a long silence, Li Shimin let out a deep sigh. “Sir, once this matter is concluded, please, by all means, take me there.”

“I will,” Qin Ning said with a nod.

...

At sunset.

The speeding train came to a halt.

But since night was falling, they decided not to disembark, intending instead to sleep on the train and inspect this coastal area for development plans the next morning.

“Stop! If you take one more step forward, we will kill without mercy!”

Just then, the shouts of soldiers came from outside the car.

Li Shimin called a soldier in and asked, “What is happening outside?”

“Your Majesty, a group has suddenly appeared outside. They appear to be nearby villagers, over a hundred of them. Fearing they might disturb the imperial presence, we were preparing to drive them away,” the reporting soldier said.