Chapter 56 The End of the War

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(Fourth update, seeking collections, recommendation votes, and tips)

"Report to the Marshal, General Pang sends word that his division has captured all the gates of Shanzhou and is currently besieging the desperate rebels who are making a final stand!"

A soldier rode swiftly up the hillside to Yang Xi, who was surveying the situation through a pair of binoculars, and reported in a loud voice.

"Good!" Hearing the soldier's report, Yang Xi let out an excited shout and immediately issued his orders: "Order General Pang, General Lu, and General Tian to conclude the battle within the city as soon as possible, and compel the rebels to surrender if at all possible!"

"Transmit my orders to Generals Liu Guangting and Wang Sili: they must intercept the fleeing rebels. This Marshal intends to annihilate all one hundred thousand of these enemy troops right here in Shanzhou!"

"Yes, Marshal!" Several awaiting dispatch riders immediately acknowledged the command, whipped their horses into a gallop, and sped away to deliver Yang Xi's orders.

Yang Xi's face was beaming with excitement. The progress of today's battle was smoother than anything he had ever imagined.

Neither he nor his subordinate generals had expected that after less than an hour of siege warfare, the rebel forces would suffer a total collapse along the entire front, scrambling everywhere to flee for their lives. Tens of thousands of Great Tang troops had surged into Shanzhou city, quickly bringing the internal situation under control. The ultimate outcome of this battle was no longer in doubt; it would undoubtedly end in a decisive victory for the Great Tang forces, dealing a devastating blow to the rebels in Shanzhou.

A barely contained joy washed over Yang Xi's face. He felt an immense sense of accomplishment. The one hundred thousand troops of Shanzhou had thus been wiped out in a flash, just like the two hundred thousand Tang soldiers at the Battle of Lingbao a few months ago, erased from their respective military registries. Once the news spread, it would surely shock the entire realm.

Yang Xi also knew that his renown would reach new heights following the Battle of Shanzhou. Everyone in the world would know of him—would know of Yang Xi, the brilliant military commander. The success of a single general is built upon ten thousand withered bones; at this moment, Yang Xi gave no thought to how many lives had been snuffed out by this battle. His mind was occupied solely by the victory secured by the army under his command.

Yang Xi felt deeply fortunate. It seemed that accelerating the production of gunpowder and applying explosives to warfare was an extremely correct decision.
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The crude "flying-thunder cannons," though simple in craftsmanship, played the most decisive role in this siege. The power of any arrow simply could not compare to that of an explosive charge. He had to urge the skilled artisans inside Tongguan fortress to step up production, manufacturing even more gunpowder, explosive charges, and "flying-thunder cannons." He also needed to give the "flying-thunder cannon" a proper name—something that sounded pleasant to the ear, befitted the era, and would become a synonym for terror. "The Mighty Great General Cannon"—that name sounded rather nice, and it seemed to have historical precedents as well.

Pang Zhong, Lü Chongben, Tian Liangqi, and other generals led their troops to continue fighting fiercely within Shanzhou city, encircling and annihilating the rebellious soldiers who resisted or refused to surrender. Meanwhile, news came from Liu Guangting's division that the rebels had indeed broken through and fled toward the East and South Gates; his division was already in the process of encircling and forcing the surrender of the fleeing rebel soldiers. Wang Sili's division had also caught up head-on, joining forces with Liu Guangting's troops to participate in the pursuit and interception of the retreating enemy columns.

Yang Xi no longer harbored any worries. This battle was drawing to a close; the Great Tang had achieved ultimate victory, and Shanzhou—abandoned by Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing—was once again back in the hands of the Great Tang military.

The brilliance and singularity of this campaign would also be recorded in history in a special format, leaving the world in awe.

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The fighting essentially concluded as dawn approached, though sporadic small-scale skirmishes still broke out within Shanzhou city, and towering columns of thick smoke billowed everywhere. Pang Zhong, Lü Chongben, Tian Liangqi, and other generals reported that they had securely taken control of the situation within Shanzhou; the city was firmly in the grasp of the Great Tang army. The majority of the rebels in Shanzhou had surrendered, and those unwilling to surrender had been wiped out. The troops led by the various generals were currently scouring the city for surviving rebels, pacifying the populace, and restoring order.

Liu Guangting's and Wang Sili's divisions also sent back respective reports that the vast majority of the rebels who had fled the city had been intercepted and slain by them. They were now dispatching troops to hunt down the remnants who had slipped through their encirclement under the cover of night.

Gao Shi, who had stood steadfastly by Yang Xi's side throughout, frequently dispatching himself to arrange tasks and coordinate the movements of the various divisions, listened to the battle reports sent back one after another by the generals. With deep emotion, he said to Yang Xi, "Marshal, this subordinate truly admires you. To attack a city defended by one hundred thousand troops using an equal number of men, and to break through its defenses in a single night—surely, such a feat is unprecedented under heaven!"

Although Gao Shi knew that Shanzhou had been breached so swiftly due to the use of gunpowder and field cannons—whose terrifying explosions instantly stripped the rebels of their will to resist, causing them to flee in panic and leading to the city's rapid fall—all the credit for these achievements could be laid squarely at Yang Xi's feet.

Had Yang Xi not dispatched scouts who discovered that the enemy commander Cui Qianyou had secretly left Shanzhou for Luoyang, their army would not have launched its attack at this exact moment. It was Yang Xi's order for a rapid assault that had caught the rebels completely off guard. Had Cui Qianyou been present in Shanzhou, this battle certainly would not have been fought so easily. Knowing that the Great Tang had sortied out of Tongguan, Cui Qianyou would surely have made defensive preparations, and their army could never have reached the walls of Shanzhou so smoothly. The explosive charges, which played a decisive role in this battle, were also invented by Yang Xi. Without the gunpowder invented and produced by Yang Xi, such a terrifying weapon would never have been thrown into warfare. It could be said that the victory of this campaign belonged entirely to Yang Xi; the stellar performances of the other generals merely served to add extra luster to Yang Xi's record of achievements.
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Hearing Gao Shi's heartfelt praise, Yang Xi was filled with pride, but after a couple of chuckles, he modestly replied, "General Gao flatters me too much. That this battle achieved such brilliant results is entirely due to the rebels being unprepared and failing to anticipate that our army possessed such formidable weapons. Such a scenario will happen only once and will never occur again. The fleeing rebel troops will surely report the situation at Shanzhou to Cui Qianyou, An Qingxu, and An Lushan. Once they know, they will undoubtedly strengthen their defenses. For our army to achieve such results again is practically impossible."

"What the Marshal says makes some sense, but this victory is so magnificent that it amply proves the Marshal's outstanding military leadership. Looking across the realm, truly few can compare!" Gao Shi said, bowing respectfully to Yang Xi. "This subordinate holds the utmost admiration for the Marshal's strategy! In the future, I hope the Marshal will offer this subordinate much guidance; I would be endlessly grateful!"

"Ah, General Gao is too courteous. Now is not the time for such polite pleasantries," Yang Xi said with a smiling courtesy, then immediately issued an order: "General Gao, the fighting within Shanzhou city has basically subsided. I order you to lead the Marshal's headquarters personnel into Shanzhou city immediately and restore order within the city as quickly as possible!"

"Yes, Marshal!" Gao Shi acknowledged loudly and immediately set about making the arrangements!

After Gao Shi had properly managed the situation within the city, Yang Xi likewise entered Shanzhou, which was still thick with the scent of gunpowder.

The battle spoils were soon tallied: a total of over three thousand rebel soldiers were beheaded, more than eighty thousand were captured alive, and over ten thousand managed to escape. Several thousand more rebels had trampled each other to death, drowned, or fallen to their deaths during the rout.

Yang Xi immediately dispatched the battle report to Chang'an via a six-hundred-li urgent courier.
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