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

Chapter 337 Promotion to Prince of Fenyang

Huashan Palace

Li Yuan played his beloved pipa, and Pei Ji danced to entertain him.

After the exciting piece was finished, the emperor shouted to Lu Kuan, "Quickly, immediately send someone to deliver Li Yi's victory report back to the capital and announce it along the way to reassure the army and the people."

Even in the dead of winter, the emperor stayed on Mount Hua and would often go hunting in the mountains. The emperor had no leisure for such things; in fact, it was all to reassure the soldiers and civilians.

As long as the emperor held the line at Tongguan, the situation in Hedong was relatively good. But if the emperor retreated westward, Hedong might truly be lost.

Therefore, even though the New Year was approaching, Li Yuan dared not return to the capital, fearing that if the emperor's banners were moved, rumors would spread that Hedong had been defeated, causing panic in Guanzhong.

"Wu Yi and Dao Xuan are both my good nephews. One is a master strategist, and the other charges into the snow naked. Good, may Heaven bless the Tang Dynasty."

Pei Ji poured tea for the emperor.

"If you don't want tea, pour me a glass of wine." The emperor also specifically requested that the pair of wine glasses he had given to the Prince of Qin be brought out earlier, "the pair of stemmed red wine glasses that Li Yi had previously presented to me, I'll have some Gaochang wine."

Sipping red wine,

Li Yuan's face flushed with excitement.

"There are still many capable members of the Tang imperial family," Li Yuan said with a smile. Zhao Guogong Li Xiaogong is making good progress in Kuizhou, and Lujiang Wang Li Yuan has also won many victories in the encirclement and suppression of the Bashan barbarians.

The Dao Xuan Dao Sect members who are now following Li Yi are all making outstanding contributions in battle. Even the usually spoiled brothers Boyi and Fengci are performing quite well.

The emperor ordered Pei Ji to grind the ink.
The emperor spread out yellow hemp paper, holding a wine cup in his left hand and a brush in his right, wielding ink.

The emperor bestowed the title of Prince Zhao upon his sixth son, Yuan Jing; the title of Prince Lu upon his seventh son, Yuan Chang; and the title of Prince Feng upon his eighth son, Yuan Heng.

Crown Prince Jiancheng's eldest son, Li Chengzong, was made Prince of Taiyuan, and his second son, Li Chengdao, was made Prince of Anlu.

Li Chengqian, the eldest son of Prince Qin (Li Shimin), was enfeoffed as Prince of Zhongshan, and Li Chengye, the eldest son of Prince Qi (Yuanji), was enfeoffed as Prince of Liang.

Li Xiaogong, the Duke of Zhao, was promoted to Prince of Hejian, and Li Daozong, the Duke of Lueyang, was promoted to Prince of Rencheng.

Li Daoyan was enfeoffed as the King of Jiaodong, Li Xiaoyi as the King of Jiaoxi, and Li Demao as the King of Linchuan.

One name after another was written down.
Finally, the emperor wrote down the names of his three sons, four grandsons, and seventeen nephews from the imperial clan. Li Yuan looked at them, then picked up his brush and added the name of Li Yi.
Li Yi, the Duke of Rongguo, was promoted to Prince of Fenyang.

Three princes were granted the title of Prince of the First Rank, four grandsons of the emperor were granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank, and eighteen nephews of the imperial clan were granted the title of Prince of the Second Rank.

Of these eighteen nephews, the brothers Li Shentong and Li Shenfu, cousins, each had seven sons, and all of them were granted the title of king this time. In addition, there were four others, including Xiaogong Daozong and Wuyi.
At the beginning of his reign, he enfeoffed nine members of the imperial clan, including Li Shentong, as kings, and now he has enfeoffed eighteen more.

Pei Ji watched from the side, secretly alarmed.

The most unique addition was Li Yi, who was not originally a member of the imperial family. He was later registered as a member of the imperial clan and then adopted by the younger brother of Prince Yi'an, Xiao Chang. However, Li Xiao Chang was not a member of the imperial family within five degrees of kinship, but rather a distant relative.

It is obvious that the two princes, Li Xiaochang and Li Yi, uncle and nephew, are different from the princes who were granted surnames, such as Prince Pengcheng, Li Jizhen, Prince Yan, Li Yi, and Prince Chu, Li Fuwei.

Pei Ji did not voice his objection.

Li Yi has made great contributions and is currently favored by the emperor. How could someone who has just made a big mistake go against Li Yi?

Not only should they not object, but they should also try to get closer to Li Yi and cultivate a good relationship with him.

Just two days later,

More good news has arrived from Haozhou.

"Your Majesty, Li Yi has used a stratagem to capture Lingshi City, completely cutting off Song Jingang's supply lines," Qian Jiulong reported excitedly.

"Li Yi is already in Lingshi. He has ordered Li Jizhen to lead 10,000 Lishi Hu and Zhang Lun to lead 4,000 Haoxi soldiers, plus 6,000 auxiliary soldiers, to form a 20,000-strong army to march south and reinforce the King of Qin."

Two more days passed,
More good news.

"Prince Pengcheng, Li Jizhen, and Duke of Xihe, Zhang Lun, have captured Huoyi and recovered Lüzhou, and are now marching on Jinzhou!"

Li Yuan approached the map.
Of the three prefectures of Haojie and Lüsan, only Liu Wuzhou remained, besieging Jiexiu City, and Li Jizhen of Shizhou also surrendered again.

"it is good,"

The emperor was so excited that he asked Pei Ji to pour him more wine.

"Liu Wuzhou's more than 10,000 men are trapped in Jiexiu City, and Song Jingang is not in much better shape. He only has Jinzhou and Huizhou behind him, and now he is trapped in Jiangzhou."

On the map, Liu and Song have been cut off.
Although more than a dozen counties in Bingzhou are still in enemy hands, the key to war still lies with the main force. If the main force is annihilated, then no matter how many cities are occupied, it is just a matter of issuing a proclamation.

The huge gap in the defensive line caused by the defeat of Prince Yong'an and Dugu Huai'en's army is no longer a major concern.
“Song Jingang is even poorer than us now. His supply lines have been cut off by Li Yi, and now he’s sent 20,000 men south to attack. He can’t even take care of himself.”

"Immediately issue an edict to the King of Qin: The opportunity has arrived! Seize the moment and strike!"

The emperor slammed his fist on the map, feeling immensely relieved, all the frustration he had accumulated over the past six months vanished.

In order to devour Song Jingang as quickly as possible,
Li Yuan even took out his last savings for his funeral.

The 10,000 troops left at Changchun Palace were handed over to Generals Qu Tutong and Sang Xianhe for command. They were then to cross the river again and attack Lü Chongmao in Xia County.

But Li Yuan then displayed his true nature as a powerful ruler, sending people to appease Lü Chongmao. He not only promised to pardon Lü Chongmao if he surrendered, but also appointed him as the governor of Xia Prefecture, allowing Lü Chongmao to find an opportunity to eliminate Yuchi Gong.

Whoever could inflict the most pain on Li Yuan would be granted a high-ranking official position and generous title. The more pain he inflicted, the higher the rank and title. Of course, Li Yuan would welcome those who could directly surrender with their troops and territory; the more troops and territory they possessed, the higher their rank and title would be, with no upper limit, and they could even be granted a royal surname and the title of king.

Li Yuan didn't care about bestowing titles and official positions; his ultimate goal was to unify the country. Jiangzhou, Baibi.

The continuous stream of good news also boosted the morale of the Baibi troops.

Faced with the emperor's urgent edict,
Li Shimin also summoned his generals for a meeting.

In the dead of winter, with the Lunar New Year fast approaching...
Li Shimin originally thought that he would continue to confront and wear down Song Jingang until after the New Year.

But the situation changed too quickly.
A series of unexpected events led to a major defeat for the Yong'an King's southeastern army, catching him off guard. Fortunately, Li Yi of Haozhou quietly accomplished a remarkable feat: when Liu Wuzhou assembled 50,000 troops to besiege Haozhou, Li Yi not only lifted the siege in just two days...

They even routed Liu Wuzhou, leaving him in disarray, and seized the spirit stones in the process.

"Ladies and gentlemen,"
Li Yi has been making quite a splash in the north lately, using a small force to launch counter-attacks and strike decisively. After reading these reports, I almost wish I were in Haozhou back then.

The generals burst into laughter.

Cheng Yaojin bluntly stated, "Wu Yi's use of troops is truly remarkable. He seems harmless, but before you know it, he can unleash earth-shattering attacks."

Feng Deyi reminded him: "His Majesty has already bestowed upon Lord Li the title of Prince of Fenyang, so General Cheng cannot address him by his given name directly."

"Wu Yi and I are sworn brothers!" Old Cheng laughed.

All the civil and military officials marveled at the emperor's favoritism towards Li Yi and admired Li Yi's achievements.

"Alright, let's talk about us first. Now that the Prince of Fenyang has completely blocked the Fen-Jin passage, Song Jingang is trapped like a turtle in a jar."

We must seize this opportunity and annihilate him quickly.

"What good plans do you all have?"

In fact, after Li Xiaoji's Southeast Army suffered a major defeat, Bai Bi's side was in a very passive position and had been discussing countermeasures.

The defeat at Xia County created a gap in the southeastern defense line. Song Jingang could travel from Xia County to Puzhou at any time, or even cross the Yellow River to threaten Shaanxi and Guo, or even enter Guanzhong to attack Yongfeng Granary, the main grain supply base in the rear.

However, Li Shimin, stationed in Song Jingang's northwest, did not have many troops at his disposal, and it would be very dangerous to send troops to block the gap in Xia County.

With only 30,000 troops, if they were to split up and march south to defend both ends, both ends might be weak. If Song Jingang were to launch a full-scale attack on one of the routes, they could easily be defeated one by one.

Qin Qiong suggested, "Your Majesty, I believe that a passive defense is not as good as an active attack. The Prince of Fenyang has achieved a great victory in the north and has sent 20,000 troops south, already recapturing Lüzhou and Huoyi, and is now advancing directly towards Jinzhou."
With Song Jingang's rear unstable, he will inevitably recall Yuchi Gong and others who previously marched south to attack our army in Xia County, either to defend the north or to join forces with Song Jingang's troops.

As Qin Qiong spoke, he walked to the map and pointed to Xia County and Wenxi.

"Song Jingang's main force is besieging Wenxi, while Yuchi Gongxun is leading an elite force in Xia County. The route between the two places must pass through Meiliangchuan."
It is highly likely that Yuchi Gong will return to Wenxi via Meiliangchuan, or head north to Jinzhou for defense.

Then, the opportunity arose.

Li Shimin looked at the location of Meiliangchuan.

Li Yi preferred a defensive counter-attacking style in battle, first securing the position and then looking for weaknesses. Li Shimin, on the other hand, was adept at both offense and defense, and Qin Qiong's words resonated deeply with him.

In warfare, the most important thing is to be able to detect the enemy's movements, or even predict their next move.

If you can make accurate predictions, you'll have a lot more room to maneuver.

Yin Kaishan, the Minister of War of the Grand Secretariat, also stared excitedly at Meiliangchuan and said, "Your Majesty, this humble general is willing to lead an elite force to Meiliangchuan to ambush them, so that when Generals Yuchi Gong and Xun Xiang pass by, we can catch them off guard."

Song Jingang's main force is in Wenxi. If Li Shimin directly attacks Song Jingang, the two sides are evenly matched, and a frontal assault would offer little chance of success.
But if a precise ambush can be launched, that's a different story.

Even Yuwen Shiji agreed with the ambush, saying, "As General Qin said, Yuchi Gong Xunxiang must be retreating to Wenxi now. He defeated the Yong'an Prince's army in Xia County and captured many prisoners. If he wants to retreat, he can only do so via the Meiliangchuan road."

If it weren't for Li Yi's great victory in Haozhou...
Then Yuchi Gong's troops might use Xiaying as their base of advance and march towards Puban, joining forces with Wang Xingben to try to break through the Yellow River defense line.

But now, they must go back.

It is a necessary route through the Mira River, and the terrain is also suitable for an ambush.

Li Shimin's eyes lit up, and he prepared to personally lead the troops there.

However, none of the generals agreed. Although the ambush was a calculated move and had a high chance of success, Bai Bi's main force could not be moved yet, and this place could not be lost.

Then we can only send a detachment. Since Yuchi Gong and Xun Xiang were able to annihilate more than 30,000 troops of the Prince of Yong'an in Xia County, it is enough to show that these two are very powerful.

We must not let the King of Qin take any risks.

"Your Majesty, why don't we ask Minister Yin to lead the troops?" Yuwen Shiji suggested.

Li Shimin wanted to go personally, but everyone objected, so in the end he had to decide that Yin Kaishan, the Minister of War of the Grand Secretariat, would lead the troops.
Yin Kaishan's trusted generals Qin Wutong and Wei Xiaojie accompanied him.

Li Shimin was still not at ease, so he appointed Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin as chief stewards.

“I will give you 8,000 infantry and cavalry to take a roundabout route, quietly outflank the enemy at the Mira River, and ambush them.”

Yin Kaishan was Li Shimin's right-hand man, always assisting him in commanding the army. Qin Wutong and Wei Xiaojie were originally Sui generals, brave and skilled in battle. Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin surrendered after the Battle of Guzhou. Although they did not have any remarkable achievements in the Tang Dynasty, they were still very famous in the Central Plains.

The fact that Li Shimin dispatched four of his most powerful generals at once shows that he was sparing no expense.

Cheng Yaojin thumped his chest loudly, "Wuyi has made such a name for himself in the north, how can Shubao and I, as his elder brothers, fall behind? This time, we will definitely bring back the heads of those two traitors, Yuchi Gong and Xun Xiang."

(End of this chapter)