Battle of Yongqiu

Part of the An Shi Rebellion

Date	Spring of 756 AD
Location	Yongqiu, China
Result	Decisive Tang victory

Belligerents

Tang Dynasty

Yan Dynasty

Commanders and leaders

Zhang Xun
Jia Bi

Linghu Chao

Strength

2,000

40,000

Casualties and losses

Less than 500

20,000

Followed by Battle of Suiyang

The Battle of Yongqiu (雍丘之戰, pinyin: Yōngqiū zhī zhàn) was a battle in Yongqiu (current Qi County, Kaifeng) in 756 AD during the An Shi Rebellion, between An Lushan and the Tang army. The Tang army, led by Zhang Xun, finally won this battle.

An Lushan had enjoyed many successes early on in his rebellion. His army numbered more than 160,000, and was growing rapidly. In the fall of 755, An Lushan won a major victory at Luoyang, the eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty. With civilians losing faith in the Tang Dynasty, and more people and generals joining An Lushan's newly proclaimed Great Yan Dynasty every day, it seemed that the Tang Dynasty was near its end. An Lushan set his eyes on Chang'an, the capital of Tang.

Suiyang was of great military significance. If the Tang Dynasty could defend this area, An Lushan's influence would be limited to the north of China for the time being. This would give the Tang Dynasty enough time to prepare defences further south. If An Lushan conquered this area quickly, he would be free to conquer the rest of the resource-rich southern China.

At this time, the governor of the Suiyang District, named Yang Wanshi (楊萬石), decided to surrender to An Lushan. The governor of the city of Yongqiu, named Linghu Chao (令狐潮), agreed with the surrender after the fall of Luoyang, which in his view made the Tang cause hopeless. The army commander of Suiyang Fortress at this time was Zhang Xun. He refused to follow Yang Wan Shí's surrender orders, and instead gathered around 3,000 citizens and soldiers to combat the rebels.

Zhang Xun noticed that if Yongqiu remained in Au Lushan's control, Suiyang would not be safe for much longer. As a result, he led an army of around 2,000 men to besiege the weakly defended Yongqiu. At this time, Linghu Chao had imprisoned a few hundred loyal Tang soldiers within the fortress. To Zhang Xun's luck, these prisoners were able to escape (probably with the help of civilians or other uncaptured loyal soldiers), and caused massive chaos within the fortress. Zhang Xun took this opportunity to besiege the fortress. Yongqiu fell to Zhang Xun very quickly, and Linghu Chao escaped.

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Wikipedia