The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 50 The strong man returns after ten years

On April 23rd of the first year of Gyeongbok, the sun was shining brightly, and the main infantry force of the Yingwu Army had crossed the Qishui River.

Wang Congxun left first, escorting two thousand captured Bin people back to the east via Qishan.

The military supply envoy Xu Yanruo was in charge of the logistics here. The amount of food, laborers and treasures gathered here was huge. Since they had to return to the army, they had to send troops to protect it in case a group of hungry and chaotic soldiers suddenly appeared from somewhere.

The Shangchen Army also returned on the 24th.

The vanguard general Li Yanzhen led two thousand cavalry and infantry to sweep along the Taihe Pass section of the Qishui River, captured many rampant bandits, and killed dozens of giant insects. Long-term wars had caused the tiger problem in this area to worsen, and many villages were occupied by swarms of giant insects after the people fled.

As the army passed by, there was even a tiger crouching on the hillside and watching from afar, which made Li Yanzhen very angry, so he sent executioners up the mountain to capture the tiger.

The saint has no time for them.

After withdrawing the troops from Yong County, the saint led 5500 Longjie knights, 1123 imperial guards and 480 Weiwei to join forces with 6341 Yaowu troops of Li Sizhou, then turned southwest and advanced lightly towards Guocheng, another important town in Fengxiang.

Guocheng is very close to Chencang and has always been the gateway to Fengxiang. Later, Zhu Wen entered Guanzhong and fought with Li Maozhen for the control of the emperor, and they fought here. The motive of the saint coming here is also very simple - to show his face in front of the people of Qi and to increase his presence.

In addition, only Qizhen Ya General Li Jimi and more than a thousand yamen soldiers were stationed in Guocheng.

He was also one of Li Maozhen's adopted sons. After Li Maozhen escaped from Macheng, he summoned his old subordinates to attack Ji Kan's rebellious son. He was depressed about his father's future and did not go.

In Fengxiang today, the real Jiedu Li Maozhen was stripped of his position by the court, the usurper Li Jikan was killed by his subordinates, and the deputy general Han Xinggong claimed himself as the regent and attempted to command the troops, but he failed to convince the people. Moreover, there has been no news of this guy for a long time, and it is unknown whether he is alive or dead.

Each military leader acted on his own.

Li Jimi had been hiding in Guocheng for several months, and he was in constant fear. He was worried that his father would turn the tables and find him to punish him. He was also afraid that Wang Xingyu would attack and kill him to vent his anger. But compared to that, he was more afraid of a mutiny. He found excuses to drive out the soldiers he didn't trust one after another, leaving more than a thousand yamen soldiers in Guo County - most of them were Chengde soldiers who came to Guanzhong with Li Maozhen to defend against the autumn.

When the news came that the sage was personally leading an expedition to Fengxiang, Li Jimi was terrified and slept in a secret corner every night.

How dare we not learn from the mistakes of our sworn brother Li Jikan?

On April 25, the sage arrived with more than 10,000 people including the Longjie Army, Yaowu Army, and the Imperial Guards. Li Jimi built several forts outside the city to station foreign troops, each with dozens to hundreds of soldiers.

Seeing the coming of the army, these villages clamored for surrender without waiting to see who was coming. Ma Pan Village, built on the cliff east of the city, was the first to see the enemy and was the first to open the Ma Pan Village gate. Ten generals of the Yanei Cavalry, including Sang Xingshi and Tian Zhirong, rushed down the mountain, shouting "We deserve to die."

One hundred cavalrymen and three hundred provincial soldiers also took off their armor and ran in a column to the front of Long Jie's army, where they surrendered and lined up obediently.

"The military man is quick to understand current affairs, and is innocent." The sage said this in a loud voice, and the generals could not help but laugh. The guards and personal soldiers, the chief of the Yicong army, Cao Zhe, drew his sword and shouted, "These thieves are fickle, and there are only two or three of them. Please kill them for the sage!"

Li Ye couldn't help but glance at this local tyrant's son - very good, he has some thoughts on his mind.

"Saint!" Sang Xingshi and Tian Zhirong were terrified when they heard this and called out to His Majesty. They then lay flat on their stomachs in the mud with their buttocks sticking up high.

"Hahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter. Is this what the arrogant Qi people are like?

Where has the momentum of the eagles flying and horses galloping under the Chang'an city gone?

"Where is Li Jimi?" The saint waved his hand to interrupt the taunting and asked Sang Xingshi.

"Your Majesty, the villain is afraid of the power of heaven and is hiding in the city. I, your Majesty, would like to lead you to attack Guocheng." Sang Xingshi replied angrily.

"How many military camps are there outside the city?" the saint asked again.

Tian Zhirong answered first: "There are six more military camps, Baogong, Heishui, Xianzi, Pusa, Wuhou, and Xiaoshuigou, and Mapan Camp, with more than 1,300 soldiers. They are all Zhizhou garrison soldiers, loyal to the court, but were dragged down by Li Maozhen."

"Go and persuade them to surrender." The saint thought for a moment and said without question, "Those who are willing to serve the people can do as they please. The rest will be merged into one city. You and Sang Xingshi will serve as the chief and deputy commanders. Follow me to Chang'an another day."

This...the two of them hesitated at the same time.

Ten birds in the bush are not as good as one bird in the hand. Once you go to the capital, you will have to depend on the emperor's mood to make your own living. You have no control over your own affairs.

Seeing that the two did not respond, the saint, who had already seen what kind of people they were, patted their lowered heads and asked, "Did you hear that?"

Sang Xingshi felt pain, looked at the military school who were watching with fierce eyes, and said decisively: "Your humble servant obeys your order."

"Me too!" Tian Zhirong kowtowed in horror.

"Get out!" Liu Xianyuan cursed when he saw the saint walking past them and observing the silent Guocheng.

The two men tumbled away in a panic and ran to persuade the remaining military camps to surrender.

The saint watched for a while, but there was no sound from the top of the city. Li Jimi didn't even have the courage to show up. He was so timid that he was just like a groundhog.

"Tell Li Jimi to leave the city." The saint glanced at Mo Zang Qiqi in the crowd and instructed.

"Here!"

Lieutenant Mei Zang Qiqi took the letter of complaint from Li Dao, the Grand Chamberlain, and put it on the arrow. Then he called a dozen knights from the same tribe to rush to the city within a hundred steps, and shot the letter at the top of the building, shouting: "The saint punishes the guilty and does not involve the innocent. The king has six armies, and will not kill villains. Now order the troops to come, but order the town commander Li Jimi to come out to meet him. If you don't obey, we will break into Guocheng and leave no one alive!"

"Destroy Guocheng and leave no one alive!" More than ten thousand infantry and cavalry shouted in unison.

Li Jimi, who was standing on the tower, felt his head buzzing. He had originally planned to offer some food, goods, and weapons to satisfy the emperor's lust in order to seek peace. However, the two generals Tian and Sang surrendered outside the city and shamelessly persuaded the other six military camps to surrender.

The sight of him lying with his butt sticking out at the feet of a saint is disgusting...

"Captain, the second arrow!" You Yajun came up, grabbed his arm and said anxiously: "What are you thinking? If you don't say anything after shooting the third arrow, the saint will attack the city. Now there are only more than 1,100 soldiers like us in Guocheng, how can we defend it!"

With a clang, another warrior drew his sword and flashed it, saying grimly, "Don't make mistakes and harm others."

"What are you doing?" Li Jimi sat there with his legs crossed, rolled his eyes, and said resentfully, "I didn't say I wouldn't surrender. We came as soon as they called us, and the court looked down on us. Do you still want to sell us for a good price?"

When the third arrow was shot, the gate of Guocheng fell and opened.

Li Jimi changed into a white plain dress and was kneeling at the door with more than 30 people including the generals from the yamen and the shogunate's attendants.

1174 Yak troops ran out in seven columns.

The warriors took off their helmets and heavy armor and placed them at their feet. Then they walked out one by one and sorted out their swords, bows, spears and other weapons and placed them neatly.

"Organize the ranks," the officers shouted.

The soldiers looked left and right, aligned themselves, keeping a distance of one foot between them, and then bowed their heads towards the king's division.

The saint smiled.

Really well-trained.

"Han Jian, Wang Xingyu, and Li Maozhen led an army to invade the city, stole our military and government affairs, and forced the people to scatter." The sage was not in a hurry to enter the city. Instead, he rode his horse to Li Jimi and others and said, "The hatred of nine generations can still be avenged, so I have built up the army and armor, managed the finances, and punished the three traitors. I have killed Han Jian's three clans and hung their heads at the gate of the country. A few days ago, I defeated Xingyu's troops with 5,000 men. Now I will punish the thieves in Qizhen and break through the gate of the thieves, and they will definitely be punished."

"saint!"

Li Jimi kowtowed and cried, "Jimi is innocent. I stopped my horse in Chang'an. The coercion of the emperor was all done by the traitors Li Maozhen, Li Jipeng, Li Jikan, the shogunate, and the army. Please move the troops to Dazhen Pass and execute Li Maozhen. Jimi is willing to surrender and come to the court."

"Really?" The saint clearly didn't believe it, staring at him with a pair of dark pupils. Li Jimi felt uneasy, feeling the dense gazes around him, and said firmly: "It is indeed true!"

Finally, the saint patted his horse's back and laughed, "Since you are Li Ni's fake son and hold a high position of power in the town, you must know who planned the invasion a few years ago, right?"

What a vicious mind! Li Jimi had guessed what the saint was going to do.

This is to make everyone kill each other and destroy the cohesive will of more than a thousand people...

Sure enough, the saint waved his hand and said, "Go! Identify and arrest the thief, and you will personally supervise the execution. Is that okay?"

"Yes." Li Jimi answered in a trembling voice, feeling hopeless.

With this wave of killing, everyone is divided and taken to Chang'an. Do they still want to get together to do something? Including myself, no one can go back to Fengxiang. I can only follow the saint to the end...

no solution anymore.

A dead Taoist friend is not a poor Taoist.

Li Jimi made up his mind, stood up and walked back, and began to discuss with the generals and the shogunate staff. The knights of the Longjie Army were sitting on their horses, agitated, staring at them, as if they would charge at any time.

But how can we discuss such a death list?

"I'm going to die?" A yamen officer couldn't believe it and reached out to draw his sword to defend himself.

puff!
Several soldiers rushed forward and said, "I'm sorry, Kang... Yanei, go see the King of Hell!"

The knife was swung wildly and the man was chopped into a pool of minced meat.

The other shogunate attendants and generals looked terrified.

Some people knelt down to beg for mercy, while others turned around and tried to escape. Unexpectedly, someone in the army suddenly stood up, knocked him down, and shouted: "If you don't die, who will die? Are we, the humble men, going to die?"

The cavalrymen of the Longjie Army rode forward to suppress the rebellion. Mo Zang Qiqi said to them, "Don't move. If you move, I will shoot you."

"Go see King Yama!" A soldier spat, picked up a knife and rushed towards Li Jimi and others.

The officers fought with their bare hands, and the shogunate's civilian officials ran around, their throats emitting shrill screams, their faces full of fear, but... was it useful? Before long, more than 70 military officers and civilian officials were knocked to their knees by the manic soldiers.

Li Jimi closed his eyes tightly in pain and waved his hands weakly.

"Behead!" The soldiers raised their swords and blood immediately flowed into a river, and heads flew into the sky.

"On that day, the Qi army of tens of thousands threatened Gwanghwamun. Were there only a few dozen people who rebelled?" the saint questioned. He would never forget the Qi army's smiling faces as they shot arrows at him from downstairs and threatened to rob the emperor's concubines.

"Saint..." Li Jimi fell to the ground and cried, "The soldiers followed orders and are not guilty."

"In a family of ten, there must be a loyal person. In an army of one fire, there must be a villain." The sage remained calm.

These words were like thunder roaring in Li Jimi's ears.

But the saint obviously wanted to make him suffer more, and said something shocking in a calm tone: "Go, discuss with the soldiers, and find the traitor among ten fire soldiers and kill him, and eliminate the black sheep."

"Yes, sir..." Li Jimi walked back in despair.

More than a thousand surrendered soldiers quickly turned against each other, and 112 warriors were kicked out of the team one after another.

"Behead him." Li Jimi gave the order with a wooden expression.

It was not known whether surrendering without a fight was the right choice this time. The sage's methods were far beyond his expectations - he had established his prestige in the army, and his own troops had also been thrown into chaos. From now on, the soldiers would only hate and suspect each other, and it would be easy for the sage to reorganize and control them.

The most hateful thing is that I am the one who bears the wrath of the warriors. How will I live in Chang'an in the future?
In sorrow, the sage said, "Go to Shayuan to supervise the horses."

As for the isolated city of Guoxian, he did not plan to deploy defenses - he could not defend against a large enemy, and he did not need to defend against a small enemy. Now he was still unable to control this area, and as for the remaining 2600 surrendered soldiers of Tian Zhirong, Sang Xingshi, Li Jimi and other generals, they had to be reorganized immediately.

In addition, the ten generals of the imperial guards, that is, the troops of Cao Wei, the noble family of Qian County, were too weak. Although the two hundred family members had certain military qualities, the more than 700 peasants who were taken in were pure peasants. Apart from being strong, they had no idea about marching and fighting, and they were in urgent need of adjustment.

After a little thought, Li Ye made preliminary arrangements.

"I want to set up a part of the Congzhi Army, with a temporary number of 1000 soldiers. The left and right wings of the Longjie Army will each have 900 knights, and the left and right wings of the Yingwu Army will each have 1700 infantry, which means 200 infantry and cavalry. The 4000 Qizhenya Army and Zhizhouzhen soldiers who surrendered will all be incorporated into the capital. The Yaowu Army and the Weiwei will each send people to supplement. In this way, the Congzhi Army will be organized into infantry and cavalry."

"Cao Wei?" the sage called out.

"The minister is here."

"The Imperial Guards and Volunteers will each send out fifty warriors, all of whom are from your family, to serve as officers of the detachment and the artillery." The sage ordered. These sons of generals who are skilled in archery and horsemanship and have excellent military qualities are indispensable, and secondly, he is short of people now.

As for the middle-level officers, Li Ye had already thought about it.

"Yin Shouzhi, the general of the Yingwu Army, was appointed as the commander of the left wing of the Congzhi Army, and Mo Zangqiqi, the lieutenant of the Longjie Army, was appointed as the deputy commander. Chen Quan, the general of the Yulin Army, was appointed as the commander of the right wing, and Pei Yan, the general of the Huben Army, was his deputy. Chen Xizhen was appointed as the chief military officer, and Xifeng Shuolihe was appointed as the envoy of Youyi."

They were all military academies who had made contributions before, or the guards who followed him, and he had a good impression of them.

Although this is a sloppy approach, there is no other way for now. Just observe slowly. If it is suitable, continue to serve, if it is just a vacant position, then leave. Anyway, there will be wars in the future, and more and more suitable talents will emerge.

"I will obey your orders." Yin Shouzhi and other four people stepped out and responded loudly.

Since the little king was not around, the insecure sage did not stay in Guocheng for long. On the 26th and 27th, he wandered around Guocheng and summoned more than ten small landlords. He talked about daily life and gave some wealth, food, and salt to the people who came to see the sage - if you follow the sage, you will have food to eat, but if you hang out with Li Maozhen and other thieves, you will starve to death.

On the 28th, the sage crossed the Qishui River to the east and returned to Chang'an. He ordered Han She, the imperial attendant, to write a notice and post it on the plaque to announce the victory.

Because it was spring ploughing season, soldiers were strictly prohibited from entering towns and trampling farmland. Once the order was issued, no one dared to violate it. When the people in the mountains learned that the bandits in Qi and Bin had been defeated, they sang and danced and rushed home first. The people were pleased to see that there was no danger of looting and violence in the villages, and they resumed their old occupations.

The nearly one-month western tour ended successfully, and the exhausted sage returned to Chang'an, where he had been away for a long time. Thanks to Emperor Taizong's blessing, no accidents like the Gaoliang River and Tumubao occurred. Taiwei Du Rangneng, his subordinate Liu Chongwang, and Shangshu Li Xi led hundreds of civil and military officials to welcome him ten miles out of the city, and all the ministers congratulated him.

What surprised the saint most was the news from Xichuan.

On the way, the general told him that a new round of fighting had broken out in Shu.

Wang Jian, who was not recognized by the court, was furious and sent a large army to invade various states, trying to unify the three provinces by force, which caused strong backlash in various places. Yang Shouzhen of the Longjian Army, Yang Shouliang of the Xingyuan Army, Yang Shouhou, the governor of Mianzhou, Yang Sheng of the Weiron Army, Yang Shouzhong of the Wuding Army, and Mancun of the Ganyi Army decided to join forces to deal with him.

Gu Yanhui, the governor of Dongchuan, was almost killed by Wang Jian last year. Seeing this, he joined forces with Wai Zhai Lang and threatened to capture Chengdu and capture the thief Wang Ba alive. Feng Xingxi, the governor of Jin, Shang and Junzhou, also joined the camp, fearing that Wang Jian's unification of Bashu would pose a threat to him.

Yan Fei, the Xia Kui pacification and control inspector, was even more overjoyed.

He was the assistant appointed by Wei Zhaodu when he entered Shu. Now that Wei Zhaodu was dismissed from his post and the court did not summon him back, he was also sharpening his knife and preparing to make a difference.

Yu Zifu, the governor of Jiazhou (Leshan City, Sichuan), also raised the "flag of rebellion" under Wang Jian's nose.

Eight military governors and two provincial governors jointly resisted Chengdu.

It can be predicted that Wang Jian will be very sad for a long time in the future.

(End of this chapter)