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

Chapter 335 The True Colors Revealed
The sun sets in the west.

Flocks of crows swept over the city walls in the twilight.
The moat of Jiexiu City had long since frozen into a bluish-gray glazed jade belt, and the north wind blew through the arrow holes of the towering arrow towers, its mournful sound like the mournful sound of a Qiang flute.

Longquan Temple is located in the north of Jiexiu City.

Liu Wuzhou arrived at the temple gate, surrounded by a large contingent of imperial guards.

Upon hearing the news, Abbot Daocheng immediately led a group of monks out to greet them.

The monk Daocheng wore a purple and gold kasaya and held a nine-ringed tin staff.

"Amitabha Buddha, this humble monk was unaware of Your Majesty's arrival and has failed to greet you properly. I am deeply sorry for my rudeness. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Liu Wuzhou, also dressed in a purple robe, sat astride a Khitan horse and surveyed the Buddhist temple that occupied a secluded corner of the city.

"I sent someone to borrow some grain from Longquan Temple, but the reply was that they refused to lend it."

"Your Majesty, the temple also has no surplus grain."

A steward beside Daocheng explained.

Liu Wuzhou snorted coldly, and one of his generals spurred his horse forward and stabbed the monk to death with a spear.

A chorus of exclamations erupted.

Dao Cheng exclaimed in alarm, "Your Majesty, this is a sacred Buddhist site; we must not rashly resort to force..."

The voice has not fallen,

Liu Wuzhou drew his sword and slashed him to the ground.

"Shut up," he spat at Dao Cheng, who was lying on the ground, clutching his throat and not yet dead, "I can appoint you as the Imperial Advisor and elevate you high, but I can also kick you down and kill you with a single blow."

In chaotic times, there is no Buddha; filling one's stomach is the only true measure. If you have food but refuse to share it, you're courting death.

A group of monks panicked.
“Kill all these bald monks. Since they refuse to lend us grain, take every single grain with us.”

The fierce and ruthless Wu Zhou imperial guards pounced forward.

Swords flashed and blood splattered.

An old monk knelt on the ground, begging Liu Wuzhou for mercy, "Your Majesty, it was Longquan Temple that helped you capture Jiexiu City!"

"Bah! If you could betray the Tang Dynasty back then, why wouldn't you rebel against the Han Dynasty as well?"

The monks guarding the temple were quickly slaughtered by the Wu Zhou army. Soldiers stormed into Longquan Temple, smashing over sutra cabinets and incense burners.

They smashed open the temple's granary, opened their money vault, and even pulled out their ledgers containing loan sharking funds for kitchen and kitchen use, as well as those used as collateral for loans from the longevity treasury.

"Your Majesty, the granaries at Longquan Temple contain thousands of bushels of grain, including millet, wheat, flour, and rice, as well as plenty of oil,"

"Your Majesty, we have discovered a money kiln in the temple and found a large amount of gold, copper coins, and silk."

Liu Wuzhou strolled through the temple.

"Move everything away. Remember to smash all the Buddha statues, bronze bells, bronze furnaces, and so on, and melt them down into bronze ingots to reward the soldiers."

After looting Longquan Temple,
Liu Wuzhou did not stop.

"All young women aged fourteen to twenty from every household in Jiexiu City have been brought to the governor's mansion. I intend to send them to Chuluo Khan!"

"Anyone who dares not hand it over will face my ruthlessness."

Guo Jing couldn't help but persuade Liu Wuzhou, "Your Majesty, should the prominent families and gentry in the city be exempted?"

But Liu Wuzhou didn't care at all. He was already on the verge of collapse, so why should he care about the future floods?

“If you want to be exempted, that’s fine too. Ten taels of gold or twenty shi of grain in exchange for one person,” Liu Wuzhou grinned, revealing his gleaming white teeth.

As dusk settled,

The sky gradually darkened.

Chaos suddenly broke out in Jiexiu City as soldiers seized young women everywhere.

Even powerful and wealthy families were not exempt, unless they offered gold or grain.

In the courtyard of a luxurious mansion, a young woman dressed in a red and green dress clung tightly to a pillar, refusing to let go. "Sir, please have mercy! My child is only a month old!"

"If you don't want to go to the Turkic Khaganate, that's fine too. Ten taels of gold or twenty shi of grain."

An elderly man with white hair, leaning on a cane, pleaded from the side, "Sir, we have no gold or grain at home. Could you please use silk or copper coins?"

"Pah! All we need is gold or grain. What's the point of silk and copper coins? They're not easy to carry anyway."

“Sir, please have mercy! We’re willing to give more. We’ll give you three hundred bolts of silk, no, five hundred bolts of silk.”

The Wu Zhou soldiers dragging the woman exchanged glances. "Alright, bring the silk now."

Five hundred bolts of silk are worth more than twenty taels of gold, and these soldiers wanted to make a quick buck.

The old man quickly instructed his family, "Go and fetch the silk, quick!"

Such scenes were happening all over the city; if a young woman didn't have enough gold, grain, or money and silk, she could only be dragged away.

at night,

In the governor's mansion,

There were piles of looted gold, gold and silver ornaments, silk, copper coins, and other valuables.

More than a hundred young women are being held captive in the backyard; they cannot be ransomed.

Liu Wuzhou entered, his gaze sweeping around the room. "Gag all these women and tie their hands," he ordered.

"Brother-in-law, take these women, along with the gold and silver ornaments, to Chuluo Khan. Tell him that as long as he continues to support me and send me reinforcements, I will continue to pay tribute to him."
"Once I capture Chang'an, I will give him Taiyuan and the entire Bingzhou."

···
late at night.

East of Jiexiu City, Li Daoxuan's military camp.

The young Prince of Huaiyang was wiping his lance. This valiant general, with three thousand infantry and cavalry, dared to set up camp east of Jiexiu City, deliberately provoking Liu Wuzhou.

"Your Majesty,"

"There's movement in Jiexiu City."

"Has Liu Wuzhou finally lost his patience?" Li Daoxuan sneered.

Soon, further news arrived: the east gate of Jiexiu City had indeed opened, and the Wu Zhou army, carrying torches, charged out of the city.

"Is he afraid I won't know he's here?"

"Send the order to prepare for battle."

Despite the night battle, Li Daoxuan remained fearless and even filled with anticipation.

He picked up his spear and walked out of the tent.
The night wind was biting.

He took a deep breath and looked westward towards Jiexiu City.

Several miles apart,

Sure enough, a fiery dragon was winding its way in.

"Perfect timing! Let's have a good fight!"

"Men, prepare my armor!"

He wore a thin rhinoceros-hide soft armor as an inner layer, a bright armor as an outer layer, and finally a Persian rope armor. Despite wearing three layers of armor, the young prince still moved with ease.

His personal guards brought him his warhorse.

They've already put on a disguise.

Outside the camp,
It was a pre-designed antler-shaped barrier.

Liu Wuzhou personally led several thousand infantry and cavalry to attack. This Han emperor was skilled in archery and horsemanship, and had extensive experience in battle, having fought his way through the Liaodong campaign.

Now they donned their armor and charged once more.

The wind whistled past his ears, and the horses' hooves thundered, yet he felt a greater sense of security. He had been raising an army for several years and had been emperor for several years, but being emperor was not as reassuring, exhilarating, or in control as charging into battle on horseback.

The Tang camp was right in front of them; cavalrymen swept past like the wind.

Suddenly, the horses of the cavalry at the very front rank neighed, and many of them fell to the ground.
The man fell on his back and his horse fell over.

Tripwires, horse traps, and caltrops—Liu Wuzhou immediately thought of them, but he did not retreat and continued his charge.

"kill!"

Behind the antlers,

The Tang infantry drew their bows and began firing arrows at the approaching enemy.

Arrows rained down.

Many cavalrymen were hit by arrows, and some warhorses fell to the ground, resulting in a chaotic scene of men and horses tumbling over.

But the cavalry continued their charge.

As the warhorses galloped, Liu Wuzhou drew his bow and fired arrows at the Tang army.

The cavalry charged towards the camp like arrowheads.

Just as they were about to collide, they split in two and ran around the camp, with the cavalrymen firing arrows as they ran.

Li Daoxuan stepped into the stirrups and mounted his horse.
Wielding a spear,

He led his cavalry to charge out from behind the camp.

An arrow shot from the darkness, striking his shoulder and lodging in the ring of his chainmail. Li Daoxuan didn't even glance at it, charging towards the enemy with his spear, sweeping a Wu Zhou cavalryman with a bow off his horse.

The two groups clashed in the darkness.

Liu Wuzhou repeatedly charged around the Tang army's palisade east of the city, initially believing that the small Tang camp would not be able to withstand his onslaught.

But after a long battle

Unable to break through the Tang army's defenses, and with the Tang army relying on their palisades for cover, Li Daoxuan led his cavalry in a charge, yet he gained no advantage whatsoever.

Fire broke out on the city wall of Jiexiu.

That was the agreed-upon signal.

Tang troops are coming.

"withdraw!"

Liu Wuzhou shouted loudly.

The guards blew the horn.
Amidst the mournful sound of horns, the Wu Zhou army retreated towards Jiexiu City. Li Daoxuan pursued them for a while, but eventually led his troops back as well.

Liu Wuzhou returned to the city through the east gate, several feathered arrows stuck in his armor, and the blood splattered on his face had already congealed.

"Damn it, we had a good fight tonight. This Li Daoxuan, the little brat, has some skill."

Li Daoxuan led his troops back to the camp.
Covered in blood

He was carried off his horse by his personal guards.

He was covered in arrows.

He had barely dismounted when the fine steed let out a mournful neigh and collapsed, riddled with arrows.

Qiu Yingqi quickly summoned the military doctor.
"Seventeen arrows, the king has been struck by seventeen arrows." The army doctor first cut off the shafts of each arrow, and then pulled them out.

Fortunately, Li Daoxuan was wearing triple armor today, which blocked most of the arrows, and some were just superficial wounds.

There were no serious arrow wounds.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the military doctor's examination results.
The soldiers cheered, rejoicing for their valiant commander.

Li Daoxuan was covered in blood, mostly from his enemies.

He just felt very tired and thirsty.

"So what if Liu Wuzhou came in person? He's nothing special!"

···
Beneath Ling Shi City.

midnight,

A large group of people arrived at the pass.
Hearing the commotion, the Wu Zhou soldiers guarding the city wall peered out to observe.

There were many figures in sight, and a cacophony of sounds carried on the cold wind, including the cries of many babies and children.

"Open the city gates quickly!"

"Who goes there?" someone shouted from the city wall, and an arrow whistled past them.

Someone cried out in panic, "We are civilians from the north who have fled south. Liu Wuzhou's defeated troops have breached our fortified village, and we have been fleeing south all the way here. Please, General Manager Li, open the gate and let us in quickly. Wuzhou's bandit army is still behind us."

"Please open the city gates and save us!"

The soldiers guarding the city frowned as they listened. What did these people mean? Did they think they were Tang soldiers?

At this moment, someone below exclaimed in surprise.

"Oh no, this doesn't seem to be Zhangbi Fortress, this is Lingshi City. We took the wrong path in the dark, passed Zhangbi Fortress, and ended up in Lingshi City."
The defenders here are the traitors of Wu Zhou, run!

A flurry of panic ensued.
The woman and child cried loudly, and the group hurriedly turned and ran, some still cursing, "Why did you lead us to Lingshi City instead of Zhangbibao?"

This is the territory of the Wu Zhou rebels; isn't this like lambs to the slaughter?

"Stop talking, run! Zhangbibao is in the northeast, don't go the wrong way again."

On the city wall of the north gate of Lingshi
The garrison soldiers, after listening to the conversation in the Hedong accent, finally understood what was going on.

"Damn it, these people are here to defect to the Tang army."

"How dare you disrespect His Majesty!"

The captain on duty was also enraged. "Follow me, chase after them, and kill them."

"No, Captain, kill the men and bring back the young women. We're all bored guarding the city every day. Let the brothers have some fun too."

A group of people perked up.

They hoisted the sluice gates, lowered the drawbridge, opened the city gates, and rushed out of the city into the darkness.

The soldiers left on the city wall were excitedly discussing how they were about to have some fun.

Not long after,
A large group of people returned.
The man on the city wall shouted down, "Brother, you're fast! How many women did you catch?"

His response was an arrow.

The group suddenly accelerated and rushed into the city, then, to the bewilderment of the defenders, brandished their swords and drew their bows.

Soon, this group of people occupied the north gate.
Several fires were lit on the city wall, shooting straight into the night sky.

In the darkness in the distance,
Countless soldiers rushed toward the north gate of Lingshi.

Liu Heizi excitedly shouted to Li Yi, who was standing by the roadside, "Brother, it's done! It's really done! We've entered the city! The brothers have stormed into the city!"

"Ah Lang, that's a brilliant move! How did you come up with that? Are the guards of Spirit Stone City all pigs? How could they fall for it so easily?"

Zhang Daoyuan watched as the Tang army poured into Ling Shi City, and he was amazed. "Wu Yi's move was truly brilliant. He took Ling Shi City so easily."

Unbelievable! Absolutely unbelievable!

Who could have imagined that a group of refugees, especially a group of refugees with women and infants, would...

It's the easiest way to make people lower their guard.

"What I admire most about Wu Yi is not that he had these refugees bring women and children into the city to sneak in, but that he could think of pretending to have gone into the wrong city and then running away as soon as he realized it. This move was really clever and directly lured the garrison out of the city."

Li Yi laughed heartily: "This is called feigning weakness to lure the enemy into a trap. Let's go, into the city!"

Three months later, Li Yi returned to Lingshi.

(End of this chapter)