Word Number：483 Author：闲穿径竹 Translator： Release Time：2025-06-26

　　On that very day, Feng Changqing mounted his steed and rode posthaste to the east capital, tasked with raising a new army. Within ten days, he had mustered sixty thousand men. As a defensive measure, he ordered the severing of the Heyang Bridge at Luoyang, cutting off a crucial crossing point.　　Meanwhile, An Lushan’s forces had already reached Bo Ling. From there, he dispatched He Qiannian with a detachment to assault Taiyuan. The city fell swiftly, and Yang Guanghui was taken alive.　　An Lushan turned coldly to Yang Guanghui. “The traitorous Chancellor Yang Guozhong has brought ruin upon the realm”, he declared. “I march under secret edict from His Majesty to chastise the wicked. As one of Yang’s accomplices, you shall serve as an offering to the gods of war.” And with that, Yang Guanghui was led to the execution ground and beheaded.　　An Lushan then ordered An Zhongzhi to garrison his troops at Tumen Pass. Zhongzhi, once of the Xi tribe, had submitted to Tang rule and was later adopted by An Lushan as a foster son—one of the famed eight thousand warriors under his command.　　Remembering the kindness once shown to him by Zhang Shougui, An Lushan appointed Zhang’s son, Zhang Xiancheng, as acting Prefect of Bo Ling, entrusting him with temporary stewardship of the city.　　When An Lushan’s army reached the gates of Changshan, its Prefect, Yan Gaoqing, found himself sorely outmatched — his troops few, his officers fewer still. Resistance, under such circumstances, was futile. After conferring with his Chief Clerk, Yuan Luqian, Yan chose instead to open the city gates in surrender.　　An Lushan, outwardly magnanimous, presented Yan Gaoqing with a gold fish pouch and a robe of purple — symbols of imperial favour — and bade him remain as Governor of Changshan. Yet beneath this gesture of clemency lay a shrewd precaution: he detained Yan’s son, Yan Jiming, as a hostage, and stationed his own officer, Li Qincou, at the head of five thousand troops to jointly garrison the city.　　Upon returning to the city, Yan Gaoqing looked down at the Tang official robes he still wore, then turned to Yuan Luqian and asked, with quiet gravity, Why should I don these garments still?”　　Yuan, instantly grasping his meaning, said nothing aloud—but from that moment, the two began to conspire in secret. Together, they reached out to loyal officers within the garrison, laying the groundwork for an uprising against An Lushan’s usurpation.　　Now, it so happened that at Mount Taihang’s stronghold, the Master of the Manor, Zhou Zhouzhu, summoned Liu Chengyuan to the study, sending word through his steward, Zhou Changlin. Once Liu had arrived, Zhou Boryong leaned in and spoke in a hushed tone. “Word has reached us that the Prince of Dongping now marches under secret edict from His Majesty himself, raising arms to rid the court of the