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

Chapter 343 Taking Over Taiyuan
Despite the biting wind and the frozen Fen River, Li Yi could not stop walking.

Time waits for no one. He had been deceived for a long time by the imperial banner left behind by Liu Wuzhou. Li Zhongwen was defeated in Taiyuan, and he had to make amends.

It's 110 li from Lingshi to Fenyang, and 220 li from Fenyang to Taiyuan. He has to race against time, traveling day and night.

When he was hungry, he would chew on a handful of fried rice; when he was thirsty, he would drink a sip of cold water. He needed to take advantage of Liu Wuzhou's bold move south to Luzhou to retake Taiyuan.

Two days and two nights, 330 li (approximately 155 kilometers)

Li Yi was even dozing off on horseback; this kind of march was truly risking one's life.

He pinched his thigh, wondering when he had become so desperate, even so risky.
Perhaps he wanted to end this endless war as soon as possible, or perhaps he was worried that the situation in Bingzhou would deteriorate further. This time, the Turks were not just going through the motions; Prince Huaiyang, Daoxuan, was seriously wounded by elite Turkic cavalry.

If they didn't act quickly, perhaps even more Turkic cavalry would march south. He entered Taiyuan ahead of them.

Otherwise, if the Turkic army were to occupy Taiyuan, a city with a circumference of over twenty li, it would be difficult to conquer.

"My lord, we're almost at Jinyang,"

Liu Heizi rode over on horseback, his beard covered in stubble.

"Send out more light cavalry to scout. We must be extra careful as we approach Taiyuan. We must not fall into an ambush. The Turkic wolves are skilled in horsemanship and archery."

Li Yi just wanted to get into the city immediately, warm himself by the fire in a house where there was no cold wind, had a bowl of warm noodles, and finally a pot of tea.

My legs were frozen stiff, and I felt like I had lost all sensation.

My ears are almost frozen off.

He regretted it more than once, wondering why he had to work so hard. The small town of Lingshi was so warm, and on nice days you could even pitch a tent and ice fish on the Fen River. And on long nights, there were two Hu girls, Reba and Nazha, to warm your bed.

He's asking for trouble.

If his calculations are wrong, and Taiyuan is not an empty city but has a considerable army, then his trip will be in vain, and he may even find himself in trouble.

However, he could not stand idly by in the face of Liu Wuzhou's moves.

If we just sit and watch Liu Wuzhou conquer cities and territories in Luze and establish contact with Song Jingang without any hindrance or restraint, then this war will never end.

He wanted to go home.

He thought of his wife Du Shiniang in Chang'an, with her soft, long hair and unique fragrance, as well as Ji Lingyi, Jin Yushu, Luo Sanniang, and his three children. His adopted daughter Li Shu should be able to speak by now. He hadn't met Ping Anlang and Ruyi yet.

They passed through Yong'an Fort, Xiaoyi City, Xizhou, Wenshui City, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan City in succession, without encountering the Wu Zhou army.

They didn't encounter any Turks either.

Before arriving in Taiyuan, they passed by Jinci. King Cheng of Zhou, Ji Song, enfeoffed Ji Yu, who was from Baodi, in Tang, and called him Tang Shuyu. His fief was in Hedong. Later, one branch moved to Jinyang and built a temple at the source of the Jin River at the foot of Xuanweng Mountain.

During the Northern Qi dynasty, Emperor Gao Yang expanded the Jinci Temple, constructing grand pavilions and digging ponds. During the reign of Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty, the Relic Pagoda was added, standing thirteen feet tall, and the Jin River was diverted to irrigate rice paddies.

Jinci is a beautiful sight in Taiyuan, and Li Yi would definitely visit it if he had the time.

But now, he doesn't have the leisure or inclination for it.

The area around Jinci Temple is also surrounded by many Buddhist temples, Taoist temples, and villas of noble families. Although it is not a city, it is very prosperous.

As dawn breaks,

The towering city of Taiyuan came into view.

The city wall of Jinyang stretches endlessly, like a Great Wall.

Iron horses and icy rivers

When Li Yi led his vanguard Tang cavalry outside the city,
The city seems to be still asleep.
No alarm,

No soldiers came out of the city to intercept them.
Silence and silence.

The silence was frightening.

The cold stars disappeared, and the morning light shimmered on the ice.

Li Yi spurred his horse and arrived at the city walls.

It looks like an abandoned, desolate city.

When they arrived at the city gate, they found it wide open.

Qiang general Li Cunxiao rode his horse out of the city gate.
"Your Majesty, you are truly a brilliant strategist. There are really no enemies in Jinyang City. There are neither those damned Turkic wolves nor Liu Wuzhou's Daibei Army."

"Where is he?" Li Yi asked, puzzled.

"After we entered the city, we questioned some of the common people. Earlier, Vice Commander Li and the Prince of Huaiyang led their troops to the walls of Zhuyuan City. The powerful families in the city, including Xue and Guo, assisted Yang Funian in defending the city. Later, Liu Wuzhou led his army in a surprise attack and defeated Vice Commander Li and his men."

Li Yi rode his horse through the city gate, where the biting wind finally stopped him.

The city wall is 27 li in circumference and 4 zhang in height, consisting of three interconnected walls.

This city has twenty-four city gates.

Now, he's left wide open without any defenses; it's hard to believe.

"After Liu Wuzhou defeated Deputy Commander Li, he immediately marched south of Yuci City to attack Luzhou. It is said that after he left, his Right Minister Yang Funian was left to guard Taiyuan."

The Turkic leader Lunteqin led a thousand cavalry to assist in the defense.

However, after Liu Wuzhou left, Yusheshe, the son of Chuluo Khan who had been stationed in Mayi, led 10,000 cavalry to Taiyuan and looted extensively. Then Nibushe also led cavalry to Taiyuan and looted everywhere.

They looted Jinyang City for three days and three nights, abducting countless women and taking away a great deal of money, silk, and grain before leaving triumphantly.

Yang Funian dared not stop them and led his men to retreat to Yuci City.

Lunteqin then retreated to Xinzhou to garrison the city. "So, Jinyang City is truly an undefended ghost town now?"

"That's right. Not only are there no soldiers to defend it, it's almost a deserted city. Those three groups of Turks looted and kidnapped many people, and the remaining people also fled the city to escape."

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

As he had guessed, Liu Wuzhou had indeed taken all his possessions and headed for Luzhou. He wanted the Turks to stay behind and help him guard the city, but the Turks turned out to be a band of robbers who looted the place before leaving. Yang Funian and the local powerful families were powerless to stop them and were robbed as well, forcing them to flee to Yuci City.

When Gao Huan held real power in the Northern Wei Dynasty, he established the Grand Chancellor's Office in Jinyang, taking advantage of its strategic location and fortified city, and called Jinyang the "Hegemon's Mansion." Later, when his son became emperor, although he established his capital in Yecheng, he still referred to Jinyang as a secondary capital.

Gao Huan built the Jinyang Palace in Jinyang. During the Sui Dynasty, Yang Guang was appointed Prince of Jin and stationed in Jinyang. He added a palace city with a circumference of seven li outside the Jinyang Palace of the Northern Qi Dynasty. Later, he built a granary city with a circumference of eight li. Jinyang on the west bank of the Fen River then had three interconnected cities: Daming City, the palace city, and the granary city, with a circumference of twenty-seven li and twenty-four city gates.

It was the first military fortress and economic hub in the north of the Sui Dynasty.

It was once the third largest city in the world.

At its peak, Jinyang governed sixteen counties, with a population of over 120,000 households and a total population of over 700,000.

But now it's become a ghost town.

Li Yi ordered the cavalry that arrived first to quickly take over the gates of Daming City, the Palace City, and the Granary City.

The red flag of the Tang Dynasty was raised once again atop Jinyuan City.

The soldiers went around banging gongs and issuing notices to appease the people.

Li Yi entered the Bingzhou General's Mansion.
From the city gate to the governor's mansion, the entire route was littered with the wreckage of war, and there were even unclaimed corpses lying in the streets.
A dog is openly chewing on something.

Wolf packs have even appeared in the city.

“Organize the people in the city to help collect the bodies, set up soup kitchens, and distribute soup to everyone.”

“Send someone outside the city to inform the people and let them go home.”

In the governor's mansion,

It had already been looted completely.
No charcoal,

Those damned Turks stole even the braziers!
They cut down trees and dismantled furniture to burn as fuel.

Li Yi ordered his men to quickly set up a pot and boil water, and cook some noodles first, as his stomach was so hungry it was about to churn.

The fire was lit, and the cold room finally warmed up. Li Yi removed his armor, allowing his stiff and cold body to slowly regain some life.
Once the water boils, quickly add the noodles.
Cut some cured pork and cook it.
The noodles were cooked quickly, and Liu Heizi served him a large bowl. Li Yi didn't bother to be polite and started eating as soon as he was done.

After eating three bowls of noodles, Li Yi finally felt like he had come back to life.

Tang army units entered the city one after another.

He left some troops to garrison the area along the route of Wenshui, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan, mainly the defeated soldiers of Li Zhongwen's army.
He still has about ten thousand men under his command in Jinyang City.

Ten thousand men were only enough to guard the three cities of Taiyuan, which had a circumference of twenty-seven li and twenty-four city gates. The troop strength was a bit small.

“Send someone to find Lord Loufan, Li Boyuan, and ask him to lead 10,000 shi of state troops to assist in the defense. I will give him a chance to redeem himself for his previous desertion in battle.”

The situation in the city is terrible.

Almost all the people fled, especially the wealthy families in the city. Most of them followed Yang Funian to Yuci, while some went to their own manors and fortresses outside the city.

The Turks didn't care about their noble families, clans, or powerful clans; they would seize any opportunity to rob them, leaving the Turks with no choice but to defend themselves.

There was no one in the city, no soldiers, and no food.

Just last year, Taiyuan, as the birthplace of the Chinese emperor, still had 30,000 elite troops and enough grain reserves to last for ten years.

right now,

All that remained was an empty city, looted and ransacked. Only the elderly, the weak, and the disabled, who had been hiding in the city, survived the freezing cold and died even faster without the city's protection.

Li Yi has now successfully recaptured Taiyuan, but he faces many problems. The first is the food supply, which must be transported from Haozhou, a distance of 220 li (approximately 110 kilometers).
But now Haozhou doesn't have much grain left.

Moreover, the Turks remain a constant threat.

Li Yi didn't know if Yu Sheshe had returned to Mayi; he had ten thousand cavalrymen under his command, posing the greatest threat. Lun Teqin had a thousand cavalrymen in Xinzhou to the north, who could appear at any time.

Sixty li to the southeast, in Yuci, there is still a force of troops led by Yang Funian, the Right Minister of Liu Wuzhou.

They may not be many, but they are still a threat.

Having eaten too much, they sat by the fire.
Li Yi was thinking about things and then he started to doze off; he was just too sleepy.

"Deputy Chief Steward Li and Prince Rencheng have arrived."

Li Zhongwen and Li Daozong entered, both shivering with cold.

"Quickly, warm yourself by the fire,"

"Make some more noodles."

Li Zhongwen was very excited, shaking off the dejection of defeat. "I didn't expect that Liu Wuzhou would leave behind an empty city. If I had known, I wouldn't have retreated south."

"Who would have thought that Liu Wuzhou would take such a desperate gamble? He's putting the cart before the horse," Li Daozong said.

"This guy can't take care of both sides now. He thought the Turks would help him defend the city, but his house was raided instead."

Li Zhongwen took off his boots and put his frozen feet on the fire to warm them, which produced puffs of white smoke. Li Yi almost fainted from the fumes and quickly moved away.

"Grand Commander, when shall we attack Yuci City?"

"Don't rush. Send people to scout ahead first. Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated." Now that Li Yi has captured Taiyuan, he is not in a hurry to attack Yuci.

(End of this chapter)