A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 297 Raising the White Flag

A residual sun spreads in the water, half of the river is half red.

Yong'an Castle was built east of the Fen River and south of the Great Lake. To the north of Yong'an Castle, there was a lake, once known as Zhaoyuqi Great Lake, which was as famous as Yunmengze and Taihu Lake, covering an area of ​​hundreds of miles.

Later, the Fen River changed its course, and Zhaoyuqi was divided from a large lake into many smaller lakes. Yong'an Fort was built next to the largest lake, Wucheng Lake.

As the sun sets, the lake shimmers with light.

What a beautiful sight!

But Liu Liu'er couldn't stand on the tall Yong'an Fort city tower to see this beautiful view; he was now covered in sweat and even starving.

Stepping on the muddy ground left by the summer flood, I looked at Yong'an Fort, built on a high slope by the lake.

There must be a rammed earth wall four zhang high and a moat two zhang wide, which was filled with water at this time.

The setting sun bathed Yong'an Fort in gold, and he saw a faint glow emanating from between the battlements—it was the Fu Yuan Nu, which he recognized at a glance.

In Xicheng, Haozhou, he attacked the city for seven days in a row, and the Fuyuan crossbows caused him too many casualties.

"Your Majesty, Yong'an Fort is another tough nut to crack," a bald chieftain said with a frown.

They were ordered by Khan Liu Jizhen to search for and intercept the troops that had attacked the grain route from Yong'an Fort. However, after searching for three days, they did not see a single ghost and naturally did not recover a single grain of grain. They eventually arrived at the foot of Yong'an Fort.

But the fortress was larger than expected.

A local man who had been arrested told Liu Liu'er that Yong'anbao used to be the county seat, but it was moved to the Northwest New City because it was close to a lake and often flooded.

This place became a military fortress.

"It has a circumference of four li and four gates. In addition, there are two more fortified passes to the west and south. The city walls are more than three zhang high and two zhang thick at the base, with crenellations on top."
In addition to the south gate being a single gate, there are also barbicans on the east, west, and north sides.

The city had four gate towers, each topped with a gate tower, and corner towers at each of the four corners. Every few dozen steps around the city, there was an arrow tower, totaling thirty-one arrow towers. The moat was two zhang wide and deep…

The more Liu Liu listened, the more her brows furrowed.

Except for being smaller than Haozhou, Yong'an Fort is no less fortified than Haozhou City in any other aspect. In fact, because it is smaller, it is easier to concentrate the defense.

Three barbicans, two fortified gates.
Although it is a small city,

But for Liu Liu'er, who is now out of food, this city is one he cannot conquer.

Liu Liu'er looked back.
Those were seven thousand exhausted and hungry soldiers.

We stopped eating breakfast and everyone is still hungry.

Red flags fluttered in the wind atop the city wall. Liu Liu'er gritted his teeth and ordered, "Call the leaders over here."

"Your Majesty, let's retreat!"

"Yong'an Fort cannot be taken."

"The brothers are still hungry."

In the evening breeze, a group of mountain barbarian leaders offered their opinions.

Faced with Yong'an Fortress, not a single mountain barbarian had the will to fight.

After a seven-day siege of Haozhou, they suffered three thousand casualties, and no one was willing to launch a full-scale attack on the city anymore.

"Your Majesty, let's send some men to gather grass and grain nearby and fill our stomachs first."

Liu Liu'er held the Seven Treasures Sword inlaid with serpentine stones. This sword was a gift from the Turkic Shibi Khan. His elder brother also had one, and his brother's sword had a wolf's head on it.

"Attack on the grass? Where can we find any grass to attack here?" He shook his head. "If we retreat to Haozhou now, how will we face the Khan's wrath?"

Do you want him to order you to launch a full-scale attack on Haozhou City again?

All the Bu Luo Ji Hu people fell silent.

dilemma.

"I've decided to join Tang. Who among you is willing to follow me?"

Liu Liu'er uttered something astonishing.

"I've heard that the Tang emperor is a good person. He accepts anyone who submits and bestows high-ranking official titles and generous rewards upon them. At the very least, we won't have to risk our lives and suffer bloodshed at the foot of a fortified city."

“Those of you who don’t want to surrender to Tang can go back. I won’t stop you. If any of your men are willing to go back with you, you can take them with you.”

One of the inspecting officers hesitated and asked, "If we surrender to Tang, will the Tang court still accept us?"

In the tenth year of the Daye era, they followed Liu Long'er in rebelling against the Sui Dynasty. Li Yuan stayed in Taiyuan to pacify Hedong and sent troops to suppress the rebellion. In the end, Liu Long'er also died under Liang De's siege, and the Bu Luoji rebellion was quelled.

But now everyone is rising up again, and they are still rebelling against the Li Tang dynasty.

If the price were to drop again, would the Tang people still accept it?
"I heard that there is a guy named Zhu Can in Shannan who is extremely vicious. His army even eats people. He once called himself the Emperor of Chu, but after his defeat and surrender, the Tang Emperor still bestowed upon him the title of King of Chu."

Now that Liu Wuzhou has led the Turks to attack Bingzhou, and we have switched sides, the Tang court would be overjoyed and certainly wouldn't refuse.

The group did not hesitate for too long.
They quickly decided to follow Liu Liu'er to surrender to Tang. The disastrous defeat in the siege of Haozhou had extinguished the initial momentum they had when they first raised their army, and now all they wanted was to survive.

Liu Liu'er took off his armor, revealing his bare upper body.

Holding a white flag, they walked to the front of Yong'an Fort.

on the city wall,
Ji Sigong and Yu Jun had been watching this Hu army the whole time.

A few days ago, the scouts of Yong'an Fort discovered the grain convoy of Lishihu. At Yu Yun's suggestion, Ji Sigong ordered Yu Yun to lead several hundred men to attack the grain convoy.

They successfully ambushed the careless grain transport team from Lishi Hu. After the successful attack, Yu Yun did not bother to transport the several thousand shi of grain back. Instead, he directly notified the nearby villagers to take most of the grain.

Yu Jun, carrying the captured horses and mules, as well as the severed heads, and only a small amount of grain, quickly returned to Yong'an Fort.

Liu Liu'er led seven thousand men, but their movements were slow, and they didn't find anyone at all.

By the time they arrived at Yong'an Fort, Yu Yun and the others had rested and were full of energy again. "Chief Steward Ji, are they going to surrender?"

Yu Yun was somewhat stunned.

The enemy must have numbered six or seven thousand, while they only had about two thousand men in Yong'an Fort. They brought two thousand soldiers with them, while the fort originally had five hundred soldiers.

Among them were a thousand elite soldiers.

Outnumbered and outgunned, would they surrender before even firing this arrow?

"Could it be a feigned surrender?" Ji Sigong hesitated. He was currently the commander of the military camp guarding Yong'an Fort, but he still listened to Yu Yun's advice. After all, Yu Yun was originally a prefect and later came to conquer Hedong as the Right Valiant Guard General.

He was dismissed from his post because of his involvement with Li Zhongwen, but who doesn't know the Yu family in Guanzhong?

"I don't think it's necessarily a feigned surrender. Buluoji is just a descendant of the Xiongnu, a vanguard of the Five Barbarian Invasions back then, but he has never really amounted to anything over the years."
When Liu Long'er rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, the last general wiped them out.

In the end, they were just barbarians living in the Qin and Jin mountains and rivers.

They attacked Haozhou and suffered heavy losses; it's perfectly normal for them to surrender now.

After the two discussed it,
They then sent someone to summon Li Shihu, who was raising a white flag, to come to the fort for talks.

unexpectedly,

As soon as the man entered the fortress, he revealed his identity: he was Liu Long'er's son, Liu Jizhen's younger brother, and Prince Liu Liu of Tuoding.

"Liu Liu'er of Bu Luojili Stone, I surrender!"

Ji Sigong sized up the man who called himself Liu Liu'er; he had a high nose, deep-set eyes, and curly hair and a bushy beard.
He speaks fluent Mandarin, though he's a bit of a charlatan.

The Book of Zhou says that they are a branch of the Xiongnu, descendants of the five tribes of Liu Yuanhai. They live in the valleys and mountains, spanning seven or eight hundred li from west of Lishi to east of Anding, and their settlements are numerous and prosperous.

These mountain barbarians frequently rebelled, with some even proclaiming themselves emperors or khans. They often plundered the inhabitants, especially during times of turmoil in the Central Plains dynasties. The area between Fen and Jin was never peaceful and was known as the "barbarian wilderness."

Since the Northern Dynasties, many Buluoqi Hu people have submitted to the Han Chinese and migrated to the interior, some even changing their surnames to Han surnames and serving as officials in the court, while others have become hereditary border generals of the court.

For example, many members of the Yu clan changed their surname to Yu, and many members of the Liu, Bai, and Yu clans joined the imperial court and became military families.

···
Spirit Stone City
When Li Yi received the letter from his brother-in-law, he was still a little skeptical.

Yu Jun ambushed the Lishi Hu supply convoy under the city of Haozhou, beheading more than 300 people, seizing more than 5,000 shi of grain and grass, and also capturing several hundred horses and mules.
Even more outrageous, Liu Liu'er, the Prince of Tuoding of Lishi, actually surrendered with 7,000 men at Yong'an Fort.

He put down the letter.

Looking at the person in front of me, I saw a large gold ring on his ear, a high nose, deep-set eyes, a big head, and a thick neck.

"We are guilty chieftain Liu Liu'er. Please, General, have mercy on us and spare our lives."

Liu Liu'er knelt before Li Yi, his forehead pressed against the floor of the chief steward's camp, and he could hear his own heavy breathing.

He requested to come here, hoping to gain acceptance from the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yi did not tell him to get up.

He squinted and sized up the man.
I was also a little hesitant.

Seven thousand people surrendering sounds like a good thing, but it's impossible to determine if it's a feigned surrender. Also, if it's a genuine surrender, how will he settle them?

Ji Sigong said that these seven thousand men had run out of food.
Accepting their surrender and providing them with provisions was a huge burden. The most troublesome thing was that Li Yi didn't dare to completely trust them and didn't dare to arrange for them to occupy any city.

"Liu Liu'er has truly surrendered. If you, General Manager, need me to do anything, I will go through fire and water without hesitation."

"You were willing to lead your troops to attack Liu Jizhen, and your subordinates were willing too?"

Liu Liu'er hesitated for only a moment before saying, "Liu Jizhen is willing to be a lackey of the Turks, but he doesn't care about our lives. Since I have surrendered to Tang, I am naturally irreconcilable with him. As long as the general gives the order, I am willing to be the vanguard to attack Liu Jizhen."

Li Yi didn't take those words seriously.

"Your willingness to submit shows you are very pragmatic."

"I, the chief steward, accept your allegiance and will immediately petition the Emperor in Chang'an to grant you official positions. Until the imperial decree arrives, you will be under my command for the time being."

"I will obey the Commander's orders!"

"General Liu, please sit down," Li Yi helped him up. "I have a very troublesome matter that has been bothering me. I have trapped General Liu Wuzhou, Huang Ziying, and his thousands of elite troops in Jiahu Fort in Queshu Valley."
However, I lack sufficient troops; I can only besiege him, not send troops to annihilate him.
General Liu, do you have any good suggestions?

Liu Liu'er had just sat down when he stood up again. "Liu Liu'er is willing to be the vanguard of the general and assist in the campaign against Huang Ziying."

That attitude is impeccable.

Looking at him, Li Yi felt a strong impulse rising within him.

Previously, we were always short of troops, but now we have an additional 7,000 Ji Hu. So, can we launch an attack on Huang Ziying at Jiahu Fort?

We should eliminate this potential hazard as soon as possible.

While deep in thought,

Liu Heizi, a bodyguard, came in.
"General, the God of Yindi Guanqiu has sent someone to request an audience, saying it's an urgent military matter."

"Take General Liu aside to rest first,"

Qiu Shenyan's messenger delivered an urgent military report: Jiahu Fort was short of food, and the Sogdian Hu Yurun and Huang Ziying had a falling out over the issue of supplies. Yurun secretly sent someone to Yindi Pass to meet Qiu Shenyan, offering to become an inside agent for the Tang army and hand over Jiahu Fort.

This Yu Run, when Huang Ziying led his army to Jiahu Fort, he directly opened the fort to welcome them. Now, only three months later, they've already fallen out?

Merchants really don't have any principles.

After encountering Liu Liu'er of Lishi Hu leading 7,000 men to surrender, and Yu Run of Jiahu Fort offering to surrender the city as an inside agent, Li Yi couldn't help but wonder if this was the end of the world and the beginning of good fortune.

After the clouds disperse, the moon will shine brightly.

(End of this chapter)