Military Preparedness Manual, Volume 39

Strategic Studies: Tang Dynasty, Part 3

Page 32

They attacked them, beheading seventy thousand; [Shi] Xide Shi Xide was a high-ranking general under the rebel leader An Lushan. fled and disappeared.

The Emperor arrived at Fengxiang. Within ten days, the troops from Longyou, Hexi, Anxi, and the Western Regions all assembled there. The "Yong-Diao" taxes The 'Zuyongdiao' was the Tang system of taxation in kind (grain, labor, and cloth). from the Yangtze and Huai River regions also arrived. When the people of Chang'an heard that the Imperial Carriage had arrived, those who managed to extricate themselves from the rebel-held areas and flee to the Emperor came in a continuous stream, day and night.

Li Mi requested to follow the previously devised strategy: to dispatch the masses of the Anxi and Western Regions forces along the northern frontier to the northeast to capture Fanyang Fanyang, near modern-day Beijing, was the political and military heart of An Lushan's rebellion. Li Mi's strategy was to "cut the roots" of the rebellion rather than just fighting for the branches.. The Emperor said, "Now that the Great Army has gathered, we should take advantage of our military’s sharp momentum to strike at the enemy's heart The 'heart' refers to the occupied capitals, Chang'an and Luoyang.. To instead lead the troops several thousand miles to the northeast to take Fanyang first—is that not too circuitous?"

He 。 replied 。 saying 。 "That 。 which 。 we 。 rely 。 upon 。 now 。 are 。 the 。 troops 。 of 。 the 。 North 。 west 。 and 。 the 。 various 。 barbarian 。 tribes 。. Their 。 nature 。 is 。 to endure 。 the cold 。 but 。 they fear 。

。 the heat 。. If 。 we take 。 advantage 。 of 。 the sharpness 。 of 。 their 。 fresh 。 arrival 。 to attack 。 [An] Lu 。 shan’s 。 already 。 exhausted 。 army 。, our 。 momentum 。 will 。 surely 。 overcome 。

。 the Two 。 Capitals 。. However 。, the spring 。 air 。 is 。 already 。 deep 。. When the 。 rebels 。 return 。 to their 。 home 。 nest 。 and the 。 region east 。 of the pass 。 becomes 。 hot 。, the official 。 army 。 will 。 surely 。 be exhausted 。.