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

Chapter 322 A Sword's Light Chills Wenshui City
Haozhou,

Inside the governor's mansion,

Li Yi looked at the sand table of Hedong in front of him.
"An urgent report just came back from Wenshui: Huang Ziying is leading his troops to plunder the city's inhabitants, loot their stored grain, forcibly conscript men, and even rape women and kill innocent people indiscriminately. Wenshui has become a living hell."

Everyone in the hall was furious upon hearing the news, especially the Wu family who had previously evacuated from Wenshui.

"Please, General, send troops to rescue the people from their suffering," Wu Hongsi pleaded. This man was Wu Shiyue's nephew.

Li Yi pondered.

Prince Huaiyang, Li Daoxuan, stood up. "Duke Rong, I believe this is an opportunity. Before Huang Ziying moved his troops, he allowed them to plunder Wenshui City. Once these soldiers start looting, they will be difficult to control."

We can immediately dispatch troops to Wenshui, infiltrate the city under cover of night, and annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop.

"There might not be an opportunity," Li Zhongwen said cautiously.

"If we don't have a chance to enter the city, that's fine. We'll lie in ambush near the outskirts of Wenshui City and wait for him to send troops out tomorrow so we can ambush him on the way."

Li Yi looked at Wu Hongsi: "Would Military Advisor Wu be willing to be our guide?"

"My subordinate is willing."

Li Yi nodded in satisfaction. Wenshui was the Wu family's stronghold, so naturally they didn't want to see it being slaughtered and plundered like this.

"True village lord,"

"I'm giving you three thousand light cavalry. You and the Prince of Huaiyang will go there. Be careful. If you have the chance, go for it; if you don't, don't force it."

Li Zhongwen, Li Daoxuan, and Wu Hongsi accepted the order and left.

“I have been to Wenshui City. The city is nine li in circumference and more than four zhang high. It faces the Wengu River to the west, and not far to the west of the river are mountains. This city is not easy to attack.” Lu Chengqing said in a low voice, “Isn’t this a bit too hasty?”

"Opportunities are fleeting, so seize them when they arise. Don't worry, I don't fight unprepared battles. We even took Wenshui City before when Prime Minister Pei's army was besieging Jiexiu."

However, they later gave up voluntarily. Did you think that when we took Wenshui City, we only brought back some local powerful families like the Wu clan?

Lu Chengqing's eyes lit up: "The steward still has a backup plan?"

"Haha, of course."

Li Yi was able to learn about Wenshui City's movements so quickly because he had spies and informants planted within the city, and there was even a secret passage leading out of the city.

The present-day Wenshui City was built during the ancient Wei Dynasty. It was originally named Shouyang and was renamed Wenshui during the Sui Dynasty.

The Wengu River flows out from the western waters, passes through the west of the city, and eventually merges into the Fen River.

As darkness fell...
Huang Ziying's troops continued to plunder and commit rape throughout the city.

With the time to return to camp approaching, few of the soldiers, caught up in the frenzy of looting, paid any attention to the situation.

The guards reported to Huang Ziying.

Inside the county government office, Huang Ziying, who was drinking with two beautiful women, laughed dismissively after hearing this: "These little rascals, let them vent their anger a bit more. After midnight, they'll be sheathed."

We still need to break camp and march out tomorrow; we can't afford to delay our mission.

"Come, keep me drinking, my beauty,"

Li Zhongwen and Li Daoxuan led three thousand cavalrymen on a forced march of more than sixty li, and rested in the reeds along the Wenshui River, a few li away from Wenshui City.

In the darkness,
From within the towering walls of Wenshui in the distance, flames could be seen shooting into the sky, and shouts could be heard from time to time.

Wu Hongsi clenched his fists and cursed the bandit army through gritted teeth.

After resting and eating rations, the men and horses ate and drank water.
The man, gagged, and the horse, its hooves wrapped, stealthily made their way towards the city.

In the south of the city, in a grove of jujube trees,
The group found the cabin in the woods, moved aside the firewood and straw used as a disguise, and pulled back the cover to reveal the secret passage inside.

This is one of the tunnels leading into the city. Li Yi had three such tunnels secretly dug when the Tang army occupied Wenshui last time.

One hundred elite jumping soldiers entered the tunnel with swords, shields, bows, and crossbows.

This tunnel passes through the city wall and leads directly to the backyard of an old residence belonging to the Wu family inside the city.

Several soldiers of the Wu Zhou army were breaking into the house, ransacking it and searching for valuables, when they suddenly heard a strange noise from the backyard. They assumed it was the owner of the house who was hiding.

He came running at the sound, carrying a knife.

The moment they appeared, several crossbow bolts whizzed by, and the leading Wu Zhou soldier was shot dead and fell to the ground. Those behind him roared in anger.

But then several more crossbow bolts came flying in.
Immediately afterwards, several jumping soldiers rushed forward, and they were all quickly dealt with.

Elite fighters emerged continuously from the underground passage. These hundred men quickly reorganized themselves in the courtyard before charging out and heading straight for the nearby south gate.

Almost simultaneously, in the southeast area, two other surprise attack squads emerging from tunnels also rushed towards the south gate.

Wenshui City has a grid-like main street that divides the entire city into eight wards.

Each ward had its own walls and gates, but because Huang Ziying had allowed his troops to loot tonight, all the ward gates inside the city, except for the four outer city gates which were tightly closed, had been opened, allowing the marauding soldiers to freely enter and exit, looting and raping everywhere.
Fires broke out in many places.

Many residents fled and shouted.

When the Tang army withdrew last time, most of those who retreated to Haozhou were powerful and wealthy families. Many ordinary people did not leave, or went out to hide for a while and then came back.

Now they are suffering a calamity.

Li Daoxuan, wielding a thousand-ox blade, charged forward, slashing down any soldiers he saw.

He was surrounded by his personal guards, all of whom were incredibly brave and fierce.

His team was the first to reach the south gate. The soldiers on the city wall were drinking and envying their brothers below who were able to plunder so freely. They were looking forward to changing shifts so they could have some fun too.

By the time someone realized something was wrong with the approaching group of people, it was too late.

Three entire teams stormed to the south gate. Three hundred elite soldiers leaped about, armed with crossbows and bows, and carrying round leather shields and broadswords. In the darkness, they were as sharp as thousand-ox knives, incomparably ruthless and unstoppable.

Li Daoxuan wielded the Thousand Ox Blade, leaped high into the air, and beheaded the enemy gatekeeper captain wearing two layers of iron armor.

"Quickly, lower the drawbridge and open the city gates!"

Three hundred elite troops occupied the south gate, and the Wu Zhou army was no match for them.

Li Daoxuan went berserk, wielding his sharp Thousand Ox Blade to kill one enemy at a time. His guards on either side used shields to block arrows for him and fired crossbows at any approaching enemies.

"Li Silang of the Great Tang Dynasty is here! Anyone who blocks my way shall die!" The winch pulled up the heavy gate, and the drawbridge was lowered.
The bolts on the city gate were removed, and the iron-clad city gate was slowly opened.

Li Zhongwen, who had been lying in ambush outside the city, immediately ordered that all but one thousand cavalrymen rush into the city.

Tang Qi spat out the wooden stick from his mouth.
He spurred his horse and charged into the south gate at full speed.

The young Prince of Huaiyang, Li Daoxuan, stood atop the south gate, wielding his Thousand Ox Blade, and shouted, "Enter the city!"

"Enter the city!"

Countless Tang cavalrymen also shouted loudly in response to enter the city.

Their iron hooves thundered.

They charged down the street, fighting their way through.

Soon, Li Daoxuan's men entered the city, and their horses were brought along. Li Daoxuan jumped onto his horse, "Follow me, let's capture the ringleader and head to the county government!"

Cavalry surged forth like a tide.

They quickly swept through the enemies along the four main streets, following the grid pattern, and then stormed into the alleys to continue their sweep.

The soldiers, who had long since gone mad with greed, were mostly unarmored and disorganized; they simply carried swords and plundered spoils, raping women.

In the darkness, stunned and bewildered by the attack,

The Tang cavalry continued to shout.

"The Duke of Rongguo has entered the city; surrender immediately."

"General Li has led an army of 50,000 to besiege Wenshui City!"

"Huang Ziying has been captured alive!"

"Huang Ziying has surrendered!"

···
Huang Ziying was sleeping with a beautiful woman in his arms in the backyard of the county government office.
His personal guards frantically woke him up, but he was still drunk and didn't understand what was going on.

"General, the Tang army, the Tang army has entered the city."

Huang Ziying waved his hand: "You're drunk too? The Tang army is still seventy miles away."

"General, the Tang army has indeed entered the city, and their cavalry are wreaking havoc throughout the city."

Huang Ziying was stunned for a moment, then jumped up, but lost her balance and fell.

How did the Tang army enter the city?

The guards didn't know how the Tang army entered the city; they only knew that Tang cavalry were killing people everywhere.

They clearly had 10,000 men, but now they are scattered and unable to organize a defense.

"General, we must retreat immediately! The Tang army has already occupied the south and east gates."

Without even bothering to put on armor,
Slightly drunk, Huang Ziying ran outside with the help of his personal guards.

He was helped onto a horse and then ran towards the north gate with his personal guards.

The Fen River flows outside the west gate, while Tang troops are stationed at the east and south gates. The only option is to flee north towards Taiyuan.

On the main street, Tang cavalrymen charged in droves, and Huang Ziying's personal guards fought desperately to protect him as he rushed out. When they reached the North Gate, they found soldiers fleeing everywhere, crowding together and trampling each other.

Everyone wanted to escape Wenshui City immediately.
Even at this point, many people were still reluctant to part with the spoils they had robbed. Some were carrying valuables and silks on their backs, and some were even leading the men and women they had robbed by rope.

Enraged, Huang Ziying swung his knife wildly, carving a bloody path through the crowd and finally breaking out of the North Gate.

Once outside the north gate, the congestion subsided.
The wilderness was dark, yet incredibly vast.

Huang Ziying was sweating profusely and had finally sobered up. Looking back at Wenshui City, he could only sigh and urge his horse to flee towards Taiyuan.

They had only been out of there for a short time.

Suddenly, a whooshing sound rang out.
Arrows rained down.

Many people around him fell from power, and Huang Ziying was also hit by an arrow.

A cavalry unit emerged from the darkness.
Huang Ziying cried out in distress, ignoring the arrow wounds on his body, and turned his horse around to flee.

They hadn't gone far when the sound of horses' hooves thundered behind them; they had been overtaken.

He was quickly surrounded on all sides, and Huang Ziying, still shirtless, brandished a knife and roared as he swung it wildly.

A series of arrow whistling sounds followed.
Huang Ziying was shot and turned into a hedgehog.

"Don't shoot the horse, it's a fine horse."

Huang Ziying fell off his horse.
A Tang soldier came up to him, saying, "He's not even dressed, but he's making quite a racket. I thought he'd caught a big fish." With that, he jumped off his horse, drew his sword, and cut off Huang Ziying's head.

"This horse and knife are quite good."

Wenshui City
It's reached the extreme of chaos.

Huang Ziying's troops in the city fled in panic, completely demoralized.

Li Daoxuan was very disappointed that he failed to capture Huang Ziying at the county government office, so he led his troops to capture the west gate.

But they deliberately left the north gate open.

The cavalry swept through the city relentlessly, dividing and driving away the defeated soldiers.

Li Zhongwen led a thousand cavalrymen, galloping across the north gate, constantly intercepting and killing the soldiers who were trying to escape the city.

One team swept through and drove out the inhabitants of the city, while the other intercepted and attacked them outside the city.

It lasted almost all night.

Tianming,

Everywhere were prisoners kneeling and begging to surrender, bound in strings.

The heads cut off by the Tang army were piled up outside Wenshui City, forming a mound of over three thousand heads.

(End of this chapter)