Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 379: Strike Back at Liu Jilong

"The transformation of heaven and earth is achieved through austerity and killing; the way of the emperor is to use power and military force to support culture and virtue."

"I have received the mandate of heaven and am in charge of all nations. I must be magnanimous and cautious in war."

"Liu Jilong has abandoned human ethics and rebelled against the will of heaven. He has established his own regime in Longyou, established his own military and political power, and disobeyed the imperial edict, sending troops to invade Shu."

"I have sent envoys many times to persuade him with kindness and power, hoping that he would repent and submit to the court. He refused orders and misled the people of one area, coerced the troops of the three armies, abused the border, killed the people, burned cities, plundered villages, and committed tyranny without restraint."

"It is advisable to order the troops from Fengxiang, Jingyuan, Bining, Shuofang, Hedong, and Hexi to join forces, and the troops from Xichuan, Dongchuan, and Shannan West to join forces with Guanzhong, so that they can work together and attack together."

"Liu Jilong's old official rank should be abolished. When the army arrives, we should immediately annihilate him...Announce this to the whole country and abroad so that everyone knows."

On the first day of June in the seventh year of Xiantong, when the imperial court issued the "Decree to Punish Liu Jilong", before the turmoil in Longyou, chaos broke out in Guanzhong, Jiannan, Guannei and other places.

The price of a dou of rice in Guanzhong originally was 120 coins. After the "Decree to Punish Liu Jilian" was issued, the price of grain rose to 200 coins in just one day.

The prices of grain in Guannei Road, Jiannan Road, Shannan West Road and other places all rose accordingly. Merchants and wealthy families hoarded grain, thinking it was a rare commodity. The people's lives were already difficult, and with the sudden rise in grain prices, they were unable to make a living.

As a result, countless people fled to the mountains, and each state and county government sent laborers to search for the fugitives, causing a chaotic situation.

In the past, the cavalrymen from all sides could still greet each other from a distance, but now when they meet, they treat each other as enemies and hunt them down.

For example, on the 80-mile road from Guankou Pass to Gutao Pass, as Gao Pian ordered his troops to advance, the cavalry from both sides began to fight, arrows flew back and forth, and horses neighed...

"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

In the scorching afternoon, dozens of Tang cavalrymen rushed into Gutao Pass, and then the city gates were closed tightly, flags on the city walls fluttered, and the elite cavalrymen galloped to the Yamen inside the city, dismounted, and walked quickly into the Yamen.

The rustling sound of armor plates was still making its rounds as the leading brigade commander walked into the main hall and bowed. He then reported on the military situation at the front.

"The Xichuan troops are less than 20 miles away from the pass!"

After the words fell, Shang Duoluo, who was in the main seat, put down the book in his hand and frowned slightly: "Got it, let the Tangqi rest, and send Butang to the mountain forts at the pass to supervise the movements of the government troops."

"I obey your command!" The brigade commander bowed and then left the palace.

Soon after he left, several generals learned the news and rushed into the Yamen.

"Commander-in-chief, news has come from Shiquan County that Gao Pian has sent more than 3,000 soldiers to harass Shiquan!"

Cuo Ben bowed and reported the news that had just arrived.

Shang Duoluo was not nervous when he heard this, but said: "With Wang Sifeng and Wei Gongluo stationed in Shiquan, Shiquan is safe, so there is no need to worry."

"Gao Pian's troops are only 20 miles away from here, and will set up camp outside the pass at dusk at the latest."

"This official obtained the blueprints of our army's catapults from Suo Xun, so there is no need to set up ram-horn walls and trenches outside the city."

"So after eight months of reinforcements, I was able to defend Taoguan even if Gao Pian led a large army to attack."

"What we need to be vigilant about now is whether this official will send troops to harass our army's rear food supply route."

"You return to Wenshan now, and stand guard with Melu Danzeng at various places within a ten-mile radius outside the city, keeping vigilant in all directions."

Shang Duoluo told Cuoben his guess and then ordered him to withdraw to Wenshan County for garrison.

Although Shang Duoluo, Li Ji, Cui Shu and others tried to force Liu Jilian to turn against the Tang Dynasty, when this moment really came, he was still a little panicked in his heart.

After all, it was the Tang Dynasty that brought down Tubo. Even though it was old, it was still a behemoth.

Shang Duoluo was well aware of his own abilities. In the past, not to mention he was afraid of heat, even Shang Yanxin, who was afraid of heat, could chase him and beat him.

Now, Lu Ruyue and Lin Ruzhen, who are at the same level as Shang Yanxin, are both under Gao Pian's command, which is enough to show Gao Pian's level.

Facing such a famous general, you'd better not think of any strategies or tactics, just guard the pass honestly.

"The last general takes command!"

Upon seeing this, Cuoben bowed in response, then led his men out of Gutaoguan Yamen and rode towards Wenshan on horseback.

Two hours later, the Xichuan army led by Gao Pian arrived at Gutao Pass, faster than Shang Duoluo had expected.

Upon hearing the news, Shang Duoluo put on armor, climbed the horse road of Gutaoguan, and came to the city gate tower.

On the city wall, flags with words such as "Tang" and "Shang" were fluttering, including the Three Stars Flag, the Five Colors Flag, the Longyou Protectorate Flag, and so on.

Even though they had been defined as rebels by the imperial court, Longyou still hung the flag representing the Tang Dynasty, which made the Xichuan army outside the city feel strange.

"Damn it, Liu Jilong still has the nerve to hang the imperial flag?"

"Once the city is captured, we won't have to worry about changing the flags!"

While the Xichuan army was busy setting up camp, Gao Pian personally led his generals to approach Gutao Pass and stopped more than 300 steps away from the pass to observe the situation at Gutao Pass.

Zhang Lin and Liang Zun were cursing at each other, while Gao Pian squinted his eyes and observed Gu Taoguan.

It has to be said that Longyou’s city-building methods are indeed sophisticated and they are more willing to spend money.

Therefore, after Taoguan was rebuilt, it not only became visibly thicker, but also a little taller.

"It is at least three meters high and four meters thick, and is made of stacked stones. It is extremely difficult to conquer."

Wang Zhongren was left in Chengdu Prefecture by Gao Pian, Lu Ruyue was sent to guard the Dadu River, and Suo Xun was sent to attack Shiquan.

Now, apart from Zhang Lin and Liang Zun, the only general left under Gao Pian's command is General Lin Ruzhen.

The last time we fought with Longyou, most of them were in their twenties or thirties.

Now, more than ten years have passed, Gao Pian is already 45 years old, and Zhang Lin and others are also around 40 years old.

Even so, when they met the Longyou Army again, everyone was still ambitious.

"General, why worry? Liu Jilong has few soldiers and is being held back by Wang Shi. It's not easy for us to break through Gutao Pass, but it's not difficult either."

"Tomorrow we will place more than a hundred catapults in front of the battle line. No matter how strong they are, I don't believe they can remain unmoved under such a strong attack!"

Zhang Lin's words won everyone's nods, but Gao Pian was still a little worried. He turned around and asked, "The defense of Guankou Pass must not be relaxed. If Liu Jilong leads his army to break into Shuzhong and cut off our retreat, then our efforts will be in vain!"

"Don't worry, Marshal Jie, everything has been arranged. Liu Jilong will not be allowed to commit violence again this time!"

Liang Zun said this, and Gao Pian nodded in satisfaction. He then turned his horse around and returned with the other generals to the three armies three miles away from Gutao Pass, and concentrated on setting up the camp.

At the same time, Shang Duoluo on Gutao Pass also watched Gao Pian and others leave, and turned to look at the Longyou soldiers on the horse road.

Most of them were between 174 and years old, and each of them was around feet inches (cm) tall, which was considered upper-middle class among the common people.

This was because most of them lived under the rule of Tubo and food was scarce.

If they had enough meat, they might be even taller. For example, the children of generals and soldiers in the army would be two or three inches taller than boys of the same age because they ate a lot of meat.

When they grow up, they may grow to five feet six or seven inches tall and be selected into the army, following in their father's footsteps.

Thinking of this, Shang Duoluo continued to check the city defenses.

It has to be said that Gao Pian's estimation was fairly accurate. Therefore, after being rebuilt by Shang Duo Luo, Taoguan is now three zhang high, forty zhang and two chi thick, and the road is wide enough for horses to run. Many catapults, wolf-tooth maces, yaksha pestles, gun carts and other city defense equipment are also deployed in it.

Many of these city defense equipment were not available to the Tang army of the same period, but there were many people in the Longyou army who were good at using them.

After confirming that there were no loopholes in the city defense, Shang Duoluo returned to the Yamen to rest.

After a night, neither side of the army, inside or outside the city, was able to get a good rest.

In the face of war, the soldiers of the three armies are under tremendous mental pressure, and the strings in their brains are tense and ready to explode.

The Longyou Army inside the city was slightly better, but the Xichuan Army outside the city was not so good.

Because of this, Gao Pian prohibited the merchants from Xichuan who followed the army from approaching the military camp, and the distance had to be kept at thirty miles.

In terms of military discipline, Gao Pian's Xichuan Army was definitely much stronger than the officers and soldiers from various towns led by Wang Shi.

Facing the Gutao Pass in front of him, Gao Pian did not rush to attack, but let his soldiers rest until the morning, and then sent 30,000 civilians to start building a catapult position.

Seeing the catapults being built outside the city, Shang Duoluo, who had already gotten up and climbed up the city wall, looked more and more solemn.

Zhang Lin was not exaggerating when he said there were nearly a hundred catapults. However, the river valley in front of Gutao Pass was less than a hundred steps wide, so the number of catapults that could be deployed was very limited.

Even though Gao Pian had chosen to build it in three sections, front, middle and back, the number of trebuchets he could build was no more than seventy.

After building the catapult, the laborers only had a brief rest and then began to search for river stones from the banks of the Yangtze River (Minjiang River) to use as slingshot.

Shang Duolu roughly understood Gao Pian's thoughts.

"He wanted to search for enough slingshots and take Gutao Pass by force."

He spoke to the left and right lieutenants and other generals, then returned to the city gate tower to write a military report and sent it to the north by express horse.

While the horses were heading north, Jiangyou County and Shiquan County were both threatened by government troops.

Three thousand soldiers from Qianzhong Road led by Suo Xun surrounded Shiquan County, and ten thousand Dongchuan soldiers led by Li Fu also stationed outside Jiangyou County.

In Shannan West Road, Jiedushi Wang Duo did not attack, but instead held Xingzhou and Fengzhou to ensure that Shannan West Road would not be lost.

Compared to them, Zhou Bao from Shuofang Town was more impulsive.

On May 28th, before the imperial court issued the "Order to Punish Liu Jilong", he led two thousand elite cavalry from Shuofang and seven thousand elite cavalry from Pingxia and Shatuo out of Huizhou and Huining.

On the second day of June, he led his cavalry and frequently appeared between Guangwu County and Wuquan County in Lanzhou.

Although he did not advance deep into the border and was discovered several times by the Longyou Army's Tangqi, he did not withdraw his troops. Instead, he relied on the fact that Huining County was no more than 200 miles away from the two counties of Lanzhou and continued to invade the border.

Anyone who knew a little about cavalry tactics would know that he was testing the reaction and attack speed of the Longyou cavalry in Lanzhou.

Once he figures out the marching and raiding speeds of both sides, he will decisively attack Guangwu to cut off the connection between Longyou and Liangzhou.

Gao Pian and Li Fu in the south were advancing steadily, Wang Duo in the east was defending closely, and Zhou Bao in the north was waiting for an opportunity to act.

The situation facing the Longyou Army was already very bad.

Under such circumstances, the main forces of the Tang army stationed in Shanggui County also began to act.

On the second day of June, Wang Shi left troops from Bining and Hedong, two towns with slightly weaker combat power, to garrison Shanggui to guard against a surprise attack by the Longyou army from Chengzhou.

In addition, Chengji County, where grain and fodder were stored, was handed over to the infantry of the Xuanwu Army and the Tianxiong Army for guarding.

After everything was settled, Wang Shi led 5,000 elite cavalry, 15,000 cavalry infantry, 30,000 infantry and 80,000 civilians to move to Wushan County.

The army took two and a half days to reach the distance of one hundred miles, which shows their marching speed.

Wushan County was the city where Gao Pian was stationed in the past. Although it was a county town, there were not many civilians in the city. There were only 5,000 Tianxiong Army infantrymen stationed here.

This place was only thirty miles away from the first barrier set up in Longxi County, Weizhou. Therefore, Wang Shi did not rush to attack, but stationed in Wushan County and sent cavalry and infantry to explore the old Tibetan road in the south.

That night the news was reported back to Wushan County, and camps were set up inside and outside the county with bonfires lit.

Wang Shi couldn't sleep until the cavalry and infantry who had gone south to explore the old official road of Tubo returned. Only then did he feel at ease.

"Reporting to the Shao Bao, Longyou is thirty miles south of Wushan County. An official road has been built on the site of the old Tibetan road, connecting to Chengzhou. A stone fort has also been built, with no less than a thousand soldiers guarding it."

In the Wushan County government office, in front of the military governors of various towns, the military commanders and Wang Shi, Wang Chongrong, the cavalry and infantry commander under the Hezhong governor, respectfully reported.

After listening to his report, Wang Shi nodded slightly and then asked:
"Is the official road to the south long and narrow? What is the condition of the stone fort? Is there a water source? How is the official road repaired? Is it possible to travel fast?"

After several questions were put forward, Wang Zhongrong did not panic, but answered them neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"The official road to the south is about 20 to 30 feet wide. The stone fort is located in a wide area, with a front width of no more than 100 steps. The city wall is 20 feet high and no less than 30 feet thick. The defenders in the city can be called elite. There is a river on the left side of the stone fort, so there is no shortage of water sources, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"Longyou has built stone bridges and paved official roads that are two meters wide. Although it is difficult for the army to move quickly, it is not a problem to rush to Chengzhou to provide assistance."

Wang Chongrong answered several questions one by one. After listening, Wang Shi nodded slightly and looked at Li Chengxun, the governor of Tianxiong Army, who was sitting on the left.

"Envoy Li, how many troops are there in the fortress built in Longxi?"

"I don't know the number of soldiers and horses." Li Chengxun said bluntly:
"The local terrain is complicated and cannot be explained in a few words, but I have sent someone to draw a map. The map is next to the young guard's left hand. The young guard can open it and check it out."

Wang Shi was not angry at Li Chengxun's arrogance, but just picked up the map and opened it to check.

There is a bay with four passes and two river crossing gates arranged in front and behind. The terrain is dangerous and easy to defend but difficult to attack.

Looking at Weizhou and Longxi, which were managed like an iron barrel, even Wang Shi couldn't help feeling a headache.

He had been leading the army for nearly ten years, but his opponents were all barbarians from Dali and bandits from the Central Plains.

The war of encirclement and suppression of vassal states had not happened for a long time, so not only him, but also all the other states were nervous.

After all, they were not besieging an ordinary vassal state, but a big town like Longyou which was not inferior to the three towns in Heshuo.

Thinking of this, the military governors and generals of various towns also noticed that Wang Shi's expression was wrong, and their expressions became serious.

"It has been so many days since the imperial edict was issued. It has been four days now. Why has Liu Jilong made no move? Could it be that he wants to defend the city tightly and wait until our food and grass run out?"

In the team, Jingyuan Jiedushi Li Hongfu couldn't help but ask, and his words attracted a lot of attention.

However, they did not keep their eyes on Li Hongfu for too long, but turned to look at Wang Shi.

Wang Shi said in a deep voice: "The troops from Xichuan, Dongchuan and Shuofang all went out before us. If the official roads in Longyou are unobstructed, Liu Jilong might have received the news."

"If he leads his troops to help somewhere, I can also lead my troops westward to seize the six passes in Longxi first."

"But before that, I still need to wait for his news and cut off the official road between Weizhou and Chengzhou."

As soon as Wang Shi finished speaking, he looked at a person in the team: "Wang Bingma Shi!"

In the first battle to quell the rebellion, Wang Shi naturally wanted to show the momentum of the imperial court, so he chose his eldest son Wang She without hesitation.

"I am here!" Wang She stepped forward decisively and bowed, while Wang Shi also spoke:

"I order you to lead the Longqiangdu, Zhongwu Army and Xuanwu Army to attack the Longyou Stone Fort on the old Tibetan Road tomorrow morning. You must capture the Stone Fort within five days!"

"The last general takes command!"

Wang She agreed without hesitation. Wang Shi nodded slightly and then looked at Li Chengxun: "Please, General Li, lead the Tianxiong Army to Longxi Fortress tomorrow to test the situation of the rebels."

"I obey your command." Li Chengxun did not stand up, but just bowed and accepted the order.

This attitude is also the attitude held by many military governors present here.

They were not sure that the imperial court could pacify Longyou, so they needed to preserve their strength before the government troops gained the upper hand.

However, as he agreed, he heard the sound of armor plates outside the government office, and then a man walked out and said with a smile:
"Envoy Li is really very proud. You must know that in front of Young Master Wang, even I have to stand up to receive orders..."

A slightly harsh voice sounded, and everyone's faces suddenly changed. They all stood up and bowed to the person who came: "Deputy Envoy Yang..."

The visitors were Yang Xuanji, deputy commander of the Left Army of the Shen Ce Army, and Yang Gongqing, deputy commander of the Right Army, who commanded the 20,000-man Shen Ce Army.

The two of them represented the Northern Division, so naturally, no one present dared to put on airs in front of the Northern Division.

This is also thanks to the fact that the Northern Division recruited new soldiers and trained them a year in advance, so they did not fall behind in the training during these days and were able to save both face and substance.

Faced with the attitude of the crowd, Yang Xuanji and Yang Gongqing walked into the main hall one after another and bowed to Wang Shi.

"Wang Shaobao, we two are leading the army to set up camp. Please forgive us for being late."

"What are you two saying..."

Wang Shi sighed in his heart. He still overestimated the prestige of the imperial court among the various towns.

In various towns, there are many people like Li Chengxun who say one thing in public and do another in private.

At times like this, Yang Xuanji and Yang Gongqing from the Northern Division are still needed to keep things under control.

What he didn't expect was that before Yang Xuanji and Yang Gongqing could speak, an even more intense sound of armor scales was heard outside the yamen.

A lieutenant ran into the hall in a hurry, bowed to Wang Shi without even taking a breath, and was sweating profusely.

"Urgent report from Chengji... Rebels, rebels, rebels appeared in the northern part of Chengji, and they are suspected of attacking the granary. Requesting reinforcements!!"

(End of this chapter)