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

Chapter 332 Offer Your Loyalty
afternoon.

The mountains west of Haozhou
At first, it was just a black dot, then a blurry black line. But soon, the black line began to lengthen and widen.
It eventually transformed into a vast, overwhelming black tide, slowly surging towards Haozhou City.

The snow reflected a blinding, cold light.
This also makes the army stand out exceptionally clearly.

The flags fluttered in the wind.
On the central banner, one can vaguely see an eagle spreading its wings; upon closer inspection, it is not a goshawk, but a golden eagle.

This army emerged from the western valley. It was not very well-organized, but it was numerous and covered the entire snowfield in a dark mass.

“Carved flag,”

"And the wolf-head banner."

On the city wall of Haozhou, Zhang Daoyuan asked somewhat uneasily, "Eagle and Wolf Head, is this Liu Jizhen of Lishi Hu?"

Li Yi stroked the railing of the city tower. "Yes, it really is Liu Jizhen who has arrived."

Zhang He asked worriedly, "Why did Liu Jizhen come at this time of year instead of earlier?"

South of Haozhou City

Inside the golden tent under the wolf-headed banner,

Liu Wuzhou also received the report.

"Your Majesty, Liu Jizhen of Lishi has finally arrived with his troops, numbering over 20,000 infantry and cavalry, as ordered by imperial decree!"

"Hahaha, this Liu Jizhen has finally arrived." Liu Wuzhou laughed. "Send someone to deliver an imperial edict, instructing his subordinates to set up camp in the southwest and for him to come to see me immediately."

Right Minister Yang Funian also quickly offered his congratulations, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! With Liu Jizhen's 20,000-plus troops, taking Haozhou City will be much easier."

With the sudden arrival of this large army,
On the battlefield, soldiers on both the attacking and defending sides couldn't help but stir.
The Tang soldiers on the city wall gripped their weapons tightly when they saw their old nemesis, Liu Jizhen. Liu Jizhen had been present during both previous sieges of Haozhou, and his reappearance now meant he was undoubtedly an enemy again.

The Wu Zhou army outside the city was delighted by the arrival of this large army.

There is strength in numbers.
Having more soldiers also makes everyone feel safer.

The golden eagle and the blue wolf banner moved slowly forward, and more than 20,000 Lishi Hu infantry and cavalry emerged from the western valley and arrayed themselves on the snowy plain below.

Then they continued to slowly walk towards the city of Haozhou.

One of Liu Wuzhou's lieutenant generals led more than ten riders galloping towards them.
"The Holy Emperor has issued an edict; Prince Peng, Liu Jizhen, shall receive the edict!"

The general rode his horse to the front of the banner.

Li Jizhen, wearing a brocade robe over his bright armor, looked at the envoy on horseback with no expression on his face.

"Prince Peng, Liu Jizhen, has received the imperial edict!"

Li Jizhen did not dismount.

Surrounded by a group of elite Hu cavalry, he asked coldly from horseback, "Which Holy Emperor? There is only Li Jizhen here, not Liu Jizhen."

The envoy was taken aback.

"How dare you!" the lieutenant general rebuked angrily.

Li Jizhen's personal guards immediately rebuked him: "How dare you be so disrespectful in front of the Prince of Pengcheng!"

The envoy was taken aback. The King of Pengcheng? Didn't the Emperor already bestow the title of King of Peng upon Liu Jizhen?

Li Jizhen turned to a middle-aged man in a purple robe and iron armor next to him and said, "Lord Xihe, Liu Wuzhou is indeed still completely unaware."

The man in purple robes chuckled and glanced at the sky.

"Prince Pengcheng, take action and prove your loyalty to the Emperor in Chang'an and to the Tang Dynasty!"

The messenger was terrified upon hearing this.

"Who are you?"

"Me? I am Zhang Lun, Duke of Xihe, Pillar of State, Chief Secretary of Xizhou Prefecture, Governor of Xide Prefecture, and Deputy Commander-in-Chief of Xizhou Road Army of the Great Tang Dynasty."

The envoy's face turned deathly pale instantly.
"Liu Jizhen, how dare you betray the Han and defect to the Tang?"

Li Jizhen sneered disdainfully: "I have long since submitted to the Emperor of Chang'an. I was only coerced by you before. Now the Emperor of Chang'an is forgiving of past transgressions and is still willing to accept me. He even retains the titles and honors of Prince of Pengcheng, bestowed with the imperial surname, Governor of Shizhou, and General of the Right Wing Guard. I am extremely grateful."

"Liu Jizhen, you're courting death!"

Chief Li Shihu simply waved his hand.
His captain of guards spurred his horse forward and stabbed the envoy of the lieutenant general to death with a single thrust of his spear.

Li Jizhen turned to look at Zhang Lun.

Zhang Lun looked at Liu Wuzhou's envoy, who had been stabbed to the ground, without any expression. He simply looked up at the sky again.

"It's past noon,"
Why hasn't Steward Liu arrived yet?

"Perhaps it's because of the cold weather and snow, and the difficult mountain roads that caused this delay. What should we do now?"

"No rush. Let's move a little closer to Liu Wuzhou's army outside Haozhou City, and closer to Liu Wuzhou's wolf-head banner outside the south city."

Li Jizhen instructed his generals to act in accordance with Zhang Lun's wishes.

The chieftain of the Jihu tribe in Lishi has now submitted to the Tang Dynasty again, not because he is weak, but because not long ago Liu Dewei, Zhang Lun, and Lu Chisong led their army north to Lishi to attack Liu Jizhen.

Over the past six months, Liu Jizhen has been constantly shifting his allegiance, but his strength has not only failed to expand in the slightest, but has also been greatly depleted due to several unsuccessful expeditions.

In the freezing cold, Liu Jizhen was being pressed forward by Liu Dewei and his men, and was also being plundered by Li Yi's light cavalry from Haozhou.

Meanwhile, Emperor Li Yuan of Chang'an sent envoys to Lishi to offer him amnesty, saying that as long as he continued to submit, he would forgive his past transgressions and allow him to remain the Prince of Pengcheng, the Governor of Shizhou, and be granted the imperial surname.

Beset by internal and external troubles, he didn't want to end up like his sixth brother, losing his head.

In the end, Liu Jizhen had no choice but to submit to the Tang Dynasty again and become Li Jizhen once more.

Zhang Lun rode alone to Lishi City, demanding that he gather his troops and send them to Haozhou. In the end, he had no choice but to come.

At this time, his identity here was the General Commander of the Shizhou Road Army.

South of the city,

Under the wolf-head banner,
"Your Majesty, General Guo, who went to deliver the imperial edict, has not returned, nor has Liu Jizhen. His army has not set up camp in the southwest and is still moving in this direction."

Liu Wuzhou frowned.

"What's wrong with Liu Jizhen? Send someone over there again to order his men to immediately halt their advance, retreat southwest, and set up camp at the foot of the mountain."

"Summon Liu Jizhen to come see me immediately."

Another group of messengers arrived on horseback.

"Peng Wang Liu Jizhen receives the imperial decree,"

Li Jizhen waved his hand impatiently, and his personal cavalry immediately surrounded the messengers and killed them all.

Zhang Lun still looked up at the sky.

Then I looked towards Haozhou City.

“Master Zhang?” Li Jizhen asked him.

"According to the original plan, continue to approach Liu Wuzhou. Get as close as you can before he notices, and then catch him off guard."

Li Jizhen glanced at the city walls of Haozhou. "The original plan was that this afternoon, General Liu of Xizhou would arrive with 20,000 troops, followed by several armies led by Li Daoxuan of Xiaoyi, Li Zhongwen of Wenshui, and Li Daozong of Yong'an, all arriving at the walls of Haozhou."
They joined forces to encircle and annihilate Liu Wuzhou.

Why are we the only ones who have arrived now?

"Do Zhang Gong and Chief Steward Li intend for me to fight Liu Wuzhou alone while they stand by and watch?" Li Jizhen had no choice but to plead for himself.

He came out of necessity.
But he didn't want to fight Liu Wuzhou to the death.

“Am I not with Prince Pengcheng?” Zhang Lun said. “Don’t worry, although Chief Steward Li is young, he is a master strategist. He has already put a lot of thought into planning this battle, so how could he end up with a half-cooked meal?”

"Now that you've come, do you think Liu Dewei from Xizhou, Li Zhongwen from Wenshui, Li Daoxuan from Xiaoyi, and Li Daozong from Yong'an won't come?"

Li Jizhen thought about it and it seemed to make sense, but he was still worried that Li Yi was deliberately trying to make them fight Liu Wuzhou first so that he could reap the benefits.

He gritted his teeth. "I won't launch an attack alone unless I see other troops appear."

The city walls of Haozhou.

The soldiers defending the city watched the Wu Zhou army below the city walls and began cutting down the wooden stakes even faster, and many of them became somewhat nervous and uneasy.

More than 20,000 men—that's enough to change the outcome of a war on the battlefield.

Li Yi opened the thermos, which contained goji berries, red dates, longan, and chrysanthemum tea, still warm. He took a few sips and found it very comforting.

"Duke Rongguo?" Chen Junbin was getting annoyed with Li Yi's indifferent attitude. "Liu Jizhen's troops are about to join forces with Liu Wuzhou."

"Yes, pass on my military order: all generals under Li Cunxiao in the central army, assemble immediately, don your armor, and await orders inside the south gate, ready to launch an attack."

"Huh?" Even Zhang Daoyuan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise. The enemy had brought more than 20,000 fresh troops. Why were they attacking now?
Li Yi spat out the chrysanthemum tea dregs.
"The time is almost up, light a beacon fire on the city wall!"

"What does it mean to light a single beacon fire?" Zhang He and the others on the city wall were all baffled.

A plume of smoke rose high, piercing the afternoon sky.

"It's time to launch the attack!"

Li Yi stood on the city gate tower, looking at Liu Jizhen's army in the distance.

However, they stopped when they were still a long way from Liu Wuzhou's troops.

Li Yi frowned.

Liu Jizhen actually stopped despite having such a good opportunity.

"Is he afraid of being used as cannon fodder and doesn't want to be wasted? Damn it, he's always like this."

"What did the Duke of Rong say?" Zhang Zhiang asked.

"nothing."

Li Yi walked to the drum and picked up the drumsticks.

"Order Li Cunxiao and his generals to lead the central army out of the south gate and directly attack Liu Wuzhou under the wolf-head banner!"

"Steward, please think it over."

Li Yi, however, was already vigorously beating the cowhide drum.

As soon as the drum sounded,
The remaining war drums were also sounded.
Advance upon hearing the drum.

The attack begins.

The south gate of Haozhou opened, and Qiang general Li Cunxiao took the lead, charging out bravely in armor and spear, followed by a thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry in the central army.

This sudden attack startled the Wu Zhou army, who were still diligently cutting down the barricades outside the city.
This also startled Liu Wuzhou, the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, who was cursing Liu Jizhen in the golden tent.

"Why are you so crazy?"

But soon he understood why Li Yi had made his move at that moment.

"Your Majesty, a plume of smoke has risen over Haozhou City!"

"Your Majesty, a plume of smoke has also risen over Xiaoyi City."

"His Majesty,"

Liu Wu and Zhou Teng stood up abruptly. "Is Li Yi brat going to fight to the death?"

He paced around the tent a few times. "Good. I was just afraid he'd hole up in the city and wouldn't come out. He's here just in time. Order Liu Jizhen to quickly go up and intercept him!"

Liu Jizhen's mountain barbarian army has moved.
They began to accelerate their advance, but not towards the south gate of Haozhou, nor towards the army that was leaving the city; instead, they headed straight for Liu Wuzhou's central army's wolf-head banner.

The 20,000-strong army marched at a faster pace, with each square formation moving forward, pressing down on the enemy and spreading out for miles.

"Oh no, Liu Ji has rebelled!"

Under the banner, Liu Wuzhou, who was already mounted on his warhorse, keenly sensed that something was amiss.

The two groups of messengers he sent out had not returned, and Liu Jizhen had not obeyed orders to retreat to the southwest to set up camp; now he was heading straight for his central army.

Even the dumbest person could tell something was wrong.

"Report!"

"Your Majesty, an army is attacking from the south, in the direction of Xiaoyi. They are carrying the banner of the Prince of Huaiyang."

"Report,"

"General Guo of the North City sent an urgent report that Li Zhongwen's troops from Wenshui City have appeared to the north!"

"Report! Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! Another army of ten thousand has arrived from the southwest, bearing the banner of Liu, the governor of Xizhou!"

Soon, news came that another Tang army had appeared in the east, flying the banner of the Duke of Lueyang.

Liu Wuzhou finally woke up as if from a dream.
The Tang army had now surrounded them from all sides. "That dog Liu Jizhen, he actually betrayed me and surrendered to Tang!"

Several thousand Tang soldiers who had broken out of Haozhou City had already engaged in battle, charging forward like sharp knives with extreme ferocity. Meanwhile, several thousand cavalrymen from Liu Jizhen's army of over 20,000 men in the west also charged out, shooting forth like arrows released from a bow.

"Damn it!"

Liu Wuzhou launched into a tirade of curses.
As flames of war rose from all sides of Haozhou,
After a moment's hesitation, Liu Wuzhou gave the order.

"Withdraw! Order all battalions to withdraw and retreat towards Jiexiu."

Liu Wuzhou felt the gilded iron armor on his body was icy cold.
He gripped the riding whip so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

On the front, the Haozhou army charged out of the city, advancing relentlessly and unstoppable. On the west, Liu Jizhen's massive army of the Ji Hu swept across the land like a tidal wave.

Meanwhile, in the southwest, Liu Dewei's Xizhou army surged in like a black tide.

To the east, Li Daozong and Li Daoxuan strode across the solid ice, their black armor reflecting the snow, their spears like a forest.

To the north, in a direction blocked by Haozhou, Li Zhongwen also led his troops to attack amidst the smoke of war.

"Retreat! The entire army retreats!" Liu Wuzhou roared, his voice laced with terror. How long had it been since he'd felt such fear? Was it when he followed Yang Yichen on the campaign against Liaodong, beneath the mountain fortress of the Goguryeo people? Or was it later, when his affair with the concubine of Wang Rengong, the prefect of Mayi, was exposed, and he decided to kill Wang Rengong and rebel?
Or perhaps it was the time when he fought the Sui general on the banks of the Sanggan River and was utterly defeated and lost his armor.
Liu Wuzhou hurriedly fled eastward, not wanting to be surrounded or captured alive.

He knew perfectly well that of his 50,000 men, less than 20,000 were armored, and he also had 3,000 Turkic cavalry. If a real battle broke out, those men would definitely be unreliable.

He didn't know why Li Yi was able to organize so many troops to surround them so quickly.

Of the Thirty-Six Stratagems, running away is the best; as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood to burn.

When the banner moves eastward,
The Wu Zhou army, which had been clearing fortifications and cutting down wooden stakes around Haozhou City, was thrown into chaos.

Various rumors are flying around.
Some say that the Haozhou army has stormed up to the emperor and seized the imperial carriage.

Some say the emperor fled after his defeat.

Some even say that the Song king suffered a major defeat in the south, and that Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin of the Tang Dynasty, personally led a large army to the scene.

retreat,

Almost without exception, it quickly turned into a rout.

The army was defeated like a mountain.

If Liu Wuzhou had been bolder, he wouldn't have moved his wolf-head banner or his imperial flag, but instead ordered his troops to converge on him.
They formed ranks and prepared for battle just outside Haozhou City.
Perhaps it's not that bad.

But Liu Wuzhou had already run away.
Upon hearing the news, the Turkic leader Nibushe Ashina Shibobi immediately led three thousand light cavalry to flee.

Previously, when drinking with Liu Wuzhou, the two even addressed each other as brothers, and Shibobi repeatedly patted his chest and promised to firmly support him.

At the crucial moment, he still ran away.

The auxiliary soldiers and laborers scattered and fled in panic.
On the snowy plains outside Haozhou City,
It's a complete mess.

Abandoned battering rams and shield wagons were scattered everywhere outside the city, and even the large shield platoons were thrown around.

The panicked soldiers trampled each other, bumping around like headless flies.

On the city wall of Haozhou,

Li Yi, standing on high ground, had a clear view of the chaotic scene.

He witnessed firsthand how a large army collapsed on the battlefield.
The Wu Zhou army had no will to fight and scattered and fled in disarray.

Meanwhile, the pursuing Tang armies maintained their formation.

Tang cavalry maneuvered swiftly and infiltrated the enemy lines, while light infantry scattered wave after wave of fleeing soldiers.

Liu Wuzhou's wolf-head banner flew further and further away, rushing eastward toward Jiexiu.

Horses neighing and people howling

The north wind blew in gusts, one after another.

Li Yi stroked the railing of the city tower, unable to resist the urge to burst into song.

One after another, Tang troops, their morale soaring, pursued the enemy for dozens of miles across the snowy plains.

Zhang He looked at his young nephew, his face flushed with excitement, "How did you do that?"

Chen Junbin wished he were the one in command today. Fifty thousand troops had been routed in less than two days, and this time it was Liu Wuzhou leading the expedition in person.

He commanded the defense of Xingzhou, but the city fell and he was captured.

Li Yi defended the city, and before he could even figure it out, he had already won—a victory so complete and so astonishing.

(End of this chapter)