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

Chapter 311 The Banner Falls and the Commander is Captured
After the Mid-Autumn Festival,

Every day, Li Yi received a signal from the beacon tower in Haozhou that everything was alright. Scouts reported daily that Prime Minister Pei's troops were stationed at Suoduyuan and were building various siege weapons.

There were moat carts specifically designed for crossing trenches, including two-wheeled and four-wheeled moat carts, as well as folding bridges. These moat carts were all built according to the moat of Jiexiu City, and all of them were more than two zhang wide. When attacking the city, they were directly pushed into the moat and became a bridge.

There were also trench-filling vehicles, enclosed carriages that protected the soldiers inside as they filled trenches.

Crossing the moat was only the first hurdle in the siege.
They also needed to build battering rams and siege ladders. The battering rams were covered with raw cowhide and could accommodate ten people underneath. They could be used to transport soil to fill moats and also to cover soldiers as they approached the city. These rams were characterized by their sturdiness and lack of a bottom. People would hide inside the rams and push them forward. They could be used to fill moats, attack fortifications, and also to cover the digging of tunnels. They were indispensable for siege warfare.

Of course, battering rams specifically designed to breach city gates were also indispensable.

Other structures such as hitchhiking vehicles, hook-and-run vehicles, artillery towers, and siege ladders all need to be built in large numbers, especially siege ladders, which are not simply a matter of building a long ladder.
The city wall was over ten meters high; ordinary ladders wouldn't suffice. The Tang Dynasty's cloud ladder was a chariot with six wheels, two ladders on top, each over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters) long, connected by a pivot in the middle.

The chariot was covered with cowhide on all four sides, which protected it from arrows and fire. Soldiers hid underneath, pushed the chariot to the city wall, and then deployed it. Under the cover of archers, they climbed the ladders to attack the city.

In addition to these basic siege weapons,
They even had to prepare fire-based weapons and dust-generating equipment, as smoke was a great aid during the siege.

In addition, siege crossbows and catapults are indispensable.

Pei Ji is now holding back his energy, sending people to cut down trees all over Jieshan and bring them back to the Suoduyuan camp to make all kinds of siege weapons. He even dismantled the beams and pillars of houses in nearby villages for use.

The garrison of Jiexiu City also remained holed up and refused to come out.

While they were building siege equipment, there was complete silence. If Pei Ji hadn't sent light cavalry to blockade the area around Jiexiu, people would have thought the people in the city had already fled.

Li Yi estimated that Pei Ji wouldn't have half a month to properly prepare the siege equipment.

As the millet and sorghum in the fields ripened,
Li Yi quickly arranged for the people to start harvesting, and he even personally led soldiers to help with the harvest.

After leaving enough food for each family, he requisitioned the rest of the harvested grain and stored it in the city's warehouses for war preparedness.

He also sent people to expedite the transport of grain from Jinzhou and Lüzhou in the rear, and bought it at higher prices in the market, encouraging merchants to transport grain to sell.

He is stepping up efforts to stockpile grain.

Prepare for the worst.

On the west bank of the Fen River, vast fields of millet have turned golden, like a golden sea, with heavy ears of grain bending their backs.

Li Yi led the soldiers and civilians in working day and night to speed up the harvest.

Fortunately, Pei Ji's 80,000-strong army is currently stationed outside Jiexiu City.

There were also light cavalry patrols.

No Wu Zhou army dared to venture too deep, giving Li Yi a rare opportunity to harvest his crops, such as millet, sorghum, sorghum, and soybeans, and quickly store them in the granary.

Time passes day by day,

Li Yi knew that the day of the decisive battle should be approaching soon.

September arrived in the blink of an eye.

The late summer heatwave is still intense; it hasn't rained in a long time.

Suoduyuan Camp.

Tang Jian hurriedly entered Pei Ji's central command tent.

Pei Ji is angry.

"It's been more than half a month, and the siege equipment is still not finished. They're all useless idiots!"

"Prime Minister Pei, the number of siege weapons needed is quite large. Preparing materials such as timber and hides has taken a lot of time, and the army is short of craftsmen, so the construction is inevitably slow."

"I won't listen to your reasons. I'll give you seven more days at most. If you still haven't completed the task after seven days, you can come back with your head."

The group left looking disheveled and humiliated after being scolded.

"Prime Minister Pei."

"What brings you here, Chief Secretary Tang?"

"Prime Minister Pei, it's still about water. The weather has been hot and dry for a long time, and the mountain streams are completely dry. Now the soldiers have to walk more than 20 miles to the Fen River to fetch water, which is really too difficult."

There was another fight over water in the camp just now. Now, fights over water happen every day in the camp, and it's getting worse and worse.

Military Advisor Yong'an Prince Li Xiaoji suggested: "No one could have imagined that after such a long drought, the mountain streams below the plateau would dry up and stop flowing."

Fetching water twenty li (approximately 10 kilometers) is indeed too far; a round trip would be forty li (approximately 20 kilometers). The soldiers are exhausted, and the horses and mules are weary.
It would be better to move the camp west of Jiexiu City and set up camp along the Linfen River.

Pei Ji encountered a torrential rain when he was in Jinzhou last time, but it hasn't rained since. In Jiexiu, it hasn't rained for two months.

"Can't we hold out for a few more days? If we wait a few more days, the siege equipment will be ready, and we can launch a full-scale attack on Jiexiu City and take it down in one fell swoop, thus avoiding the trouble of moving camp again."

“Prime Minister Pei, the soldiers are exhausted from fetching water forty li every day. Once the siege equipment is completed, they will be too weak to attack the city.”

"Alright, then let's move camp tomorrow."

Haozhou,

Looking at the newly arrived grain in the warehouse, Li Yi felt much more at ease. With grain in the warehouse, he had nothing to fear.

As long as there is food, and with more than 10,000 soldiers in Haozhou City, although he dares not say that they are as solid as Wang Sizheng and Wei Xiaokuan in defending Yubi City, they should be able to deal with a siege of tens of thousands of people for several months without any problem.

The children are now a month old.
Li Yi, the father, could only learn about the two little ones' situation through letters from his family.

Under the moonlight streaming through the window,
Li Yi picked up his pen and wrote to his family, expressing his longing. He now desperately hoped that Pei Ji could capture Jiexiu and then defeat Liu Wuzhou in Taiyuan, so that he could return to Chang'an as soon as possible.

Liu Heizi stood guard outside the door.

Li Yi transferred all ten of Luo Jiabao's personal guards, as well as Li Cunxiao's four Qiang generals, back to Haozhou to his side. He had a bad feeling that history would repeat itself.

Although the current situation makes it impossible to see how Pei Ji could have suffered such a crushing defeat,
But his intuition told him that something bad might be about to happen.

After writing the letter,
Li Yi didn't sleep; he was still waiting for the midnight beacon fire to signal peace.

In September, Fenyang has already become cool.

Even the annoying mosquitoes have decreased significantly.

"Old Hei, boil some water, have some tea, and chat for a while."

"Why does Ah Lang seem so preoccupied lately?"

Do you miss home?

"Of course I miss him, I miss him every day. My son is already six months old, and I haven't even seen him yet. My wife is all alone at home, managing the household and taking care of the child. It's so hard for her," Old Hei said.

Fortunately, he followed Li Yi and also acquired some property. His wife, Cao, had servants and tenants at home, so she didn't have to farm, weave cloth, or take care of the children. But a woman at home without her husband by her side certainly had no one to rely on.

"I hope this battle ends soon so I can go home soon," Liu Heizi said with a smile. "This trip wasn't a complete waste. I've earned two medals following Ah Lang and been promoted to deputy commander of a rank nine. I'm an official now."

"When you go home, wouldn't that be considered a triumphant return?"

"Ah."

The night was cool and still. At midnight,

The beacon signal for peace finally arrived on time. Li Yi yawned and said, "We've been on edge these past few days, and we've been busy with the harvest every day. You must be tired. You should go to sleep early too. Don't stay on guard. You need to stay alert, because we might have to fight at any time."

Nothing happened all night.

The next day, the weather was beautiful again.

Li Yi then arranged for people to continue going out of the city to help collect grain and return to the city.

In the afternoon,

The time for the beacon fires of peace has arrived.

Li Yi stood on the city tower, gazing eastward.

War breaks out.

just,

Not a wisp of smoke.

One, two, three, four,

Four pillars of beacon fire.

Li Yi swallowed, feeling a buzzing in his head.

Four pillars of beacon smoke—this was the highest level of warning in the Tang Dynasty's beacon tower system.

Something big has happened.

"Quickly, immediately dispatch twelve scout cavalry units to gather intelligence in the direction of Jiexiu."

"Order the entire city to be on high alert!"

"One city, two fortresses, three passes—highest alert level!"

One order after another was issued.

Li Yi paced anxiously on the city wall. The distance was eighty li, and even a fast horse would take at least an hour to reach them.

Although the specific situation was still unknown, Li Yi quickly ordered martial law to be declared, the drawbridge to be raised, and the city gates to be closed.

Squads of scouts were dispatched to patrol and guard within a 20-mile radius of Haozhou City.

Liu Zhan, Zhao Wenge, and others also saw the four pillars of smoke, but they weren't as nervous as Li Yi. It wasn't until an hour later...

Li Zhongwen has arrived.

Li Zhongwen led several hundred cavalrymen, escorted by the light cavalry of Haozhou, to Haozhou City.

He was in a terrible state, utterly disheveled, and indeed he had abandoned his armor in an attempt to escape as quickly as possible.

"What happened?"

Li Yi arrived at the city gate.

Li Zhongwen was panting heavily, with several wounds on his body, his clothes stained with blood. He smiled bitterly at Li Yi and said, "You might not believe it, Duke Rong, but we just suffered a crushing defeat."

"A complete failure!"

"To be more specific, what exactly happened?"

"We were originally stationed on Suoduyuan at the foot of Jieshan Mountain, south of Jiexiu City. Due to drought, the mountain streams dried up, so we had to travel forty li (about 20 kilometers) round trip to the Fen River to fetch water. Our men and horses were exhausted, and the siege equipment was still not finished."

Therefore, the Prince of Yong'an suggested moving the camp to the west of the city and setting up camp along the Fen River.

Pei Xiang ordered the entire army to move camp this morning.

"Then,
Then Song Jingang suddenly launched an attack. Our army moved from Suoduyuan to the banks of the Fen River, twenty li away. Before the camp was even properly set up, we were caught off guard and almost the entire army was wiped out.

Li Yi found it hard to believe.
"How could that be? Even if Song Jingang attacks, how many troops does he have? You have an army of 80,000."

Li Zhongwen said with a mournful face, "What's the use of having a lot of people? It's precisely because there are so many people that we've been defeated so quickly and so miserably."

We had no idea when Song Jingang arrived near Jiexiu. He had over ten thousand men, including five thousand Turkic cavalry, and he himself had at least five thousand cavalry.

Moreover, Xun Xiang and Zhang Wansui from Jiexiu City almost turned out in full force.

Our new camp is located west of Jiexiu City, bordering the Fen River. Enemy cavalry suddenly attacked, catching us off guard and leaving us with no defensible terrain…”

The most terrifying thing was that at the time, tens of thousands of troops stretched for twenty miles, the old camp had been dismantled, and the new camp had not yet been set up.

Soldiers, auxiliary soldiers, civilians, and all kinds of carts and horses transporting supplies were all mixed together.

It was a complete disaster.

Pei Ji was attacked halfway. His six banners attracted the attention of Yuchi Gong, a fierce general under Song Jingang, who led five thousand cavalry directly towards him.

Deputy Commander-in-Chief Jiang Baoyi led the central army in a desperate resistance.

But Pei Ji turned and ran away.
As the six banners retreated, some of Jiang Baoyi's men thought they had been defeated and turned to run away as well.

"That Huang Ziying, damn it! The moment he saw the Dingyang Army's banner, he immediately defected on the battlefield and even turned to attack us!"

Liu Liu'er, the Hu of Lishi, immediately led his troops away.

Huang Ziying's troops numbered five thousand, and Liu Liu'er's troops numbered seven thousand. They had previously surrendered to Li Yi, and the court had appointed them as the governor of Lanzhou and the prefect of Xinzhou, respectively. However, now that the situation was not good, the two of them immediately became opportunists and switched sides again.

In this chaotic battlefield, more than 10,000 people defected, triggering an astonishing chain reaction.

In particular, Pei Ji's failure to regain his composure immediately and his subsequent escape exacerbated the chaos and defeat.

Even more deadly was Pei Ji's six-sided banner.
Too conspicuous, and relentlessly pursued by Yuchi Gong's iron cavalry, Pei Ji abandoned the banner and ran in the other direction.

He escaped, but the flag bearer did not; the six banners were seized.

Once the great banner fell,
The Tang army along the twenty-mile stretch between the old and new camps was in complete disarray.

Amid the chaos, Yuchi Gong pushed out a person bound hand and foot, and had his men shout that Pei Ji had been captured alive.

The six banners fell, the commander-in-chief was captured.
Huang Ziying and Liu Liu'er have switched sides again.

Soon, Jiang Baoyi, the deputy commander of the central army, was knocked off his horse by Yuchi Gong with a single spear thrust and captured alive.

Li Zhongwen led his troops in a brief resistance, but faced with the overwhelming force of the enemy's elite cavalry, they ultimately had no choice but to flee in disarray.
At the critical moment, instead of fleeing south, he discarded his armor and led several hundred of his personal guards directly west to Yong'an Fort.

Finally, he ran all the way to Haozhou City to see Li Yi.

"It's over, it's all over. Eighty thousand troops, routed in an instant." Li Zhongwen was devastated.

Upon hearing the news, Liu Zhan, the governor of Haozhou, Zhao Wenge, the director of the Water Conservancy Bureau, and Li Daoxuan, among others, were stunned to learn of Pei Ji's 80,000-strong army's defeat.

(End of this chapter)