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

Chapter 345 The King Never Dies

On the east bank of the Yellow River lies Puban, the legendary capital of Emperor Shun.

Emperor Li Yuan strolled on the city wall of Puban, which had a circumference of twenty li. During the Sui Dynasty, it was the seat of Hedong Prefecture, and during the Tang Dynasty, it was renamed Puzhou. Both Puzhou and Hedong County were located in this city.

During the prosperous period of the Sui Dynasty, this place was extremely wealthy. Puban City was located on the Hedong Plain, with Pujindu to the west. The Yellow River ferry here had a wide and calm water surface and a pontoon bridge. It was only 300 li away from Chang'an and was a vital transportation route in Guanzhong and Hedong. Puban thus became an important town in Hedong.

But they stubbornly resisted for three years.
The city of Puban, which stretches for twenty miles, is now like a ghost town.

"The rivers and mountains served as natural barriers, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. They also guarded vital transportation routes, but it's a pity they've been destroyed like this." Li Yuan shook his head and sighed.

"Huai'en, why do you think this city is called Puban?" the emperor asked his cousin.

Minister of Works, Duke of Wei, Dugu Huaien, replied with a smile: "Because it is located west of the Yellow River, with its mudflats and open fields overgrown with reeds, it is called Puban."

Puban, nestled between mountains and facing the river, is a strategic point between Qin and Jin, a place that has been contested by military strategists since ancient times. Even with only one isolated city, Yao Junsu and Wang Xingben were able to hold out for three years.

"This city is the throat of Chang'an. The two traitors, Yao and Wang, have been blocking the throat of Chang'an for three years. Today, I can finally have my revenge."

"It's all thanks to Heaven's blessing on our Tang Dynasty," Dugu Huaien flattered.

"Hahaha." The emperor laughed. "Huai'en, you should read more military books when you have time. You attacked Puban for two years, suffering heavy losses and wasting resources, but you still couldn't break through the city. When Qin Wutong and Qin Shubao attacked, they were able to lure the enemy out of the city in just one month, defeat the rebels, and force them to surrender. You should learn from them."

Li Yuan was in a good mood.
Qian Jiulong rushed over to report.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Qin reports that the Prince of Yong'an planned to escape back home, but the plot was exposed and he was killed by Song Jingang."

The emperor's smile froze.

"When we capture Song Jingang, we will surely have him executed by slow slicing!" After saying this, the emperor glared at his cousin, Dugu Huaien.

"Dugu Huaien was dismissed from his post as Minister of Works and demoted to Sima of the Puzhou General Administration Office."

Dugu Huaien bowed his head and begged for forgiveness.

Li Yuan turned and left.

night,

Dugu Huaien and his subordinate Yuan Junbao held a secret meeting in the study.

"You should make a decision as soon as possible and not hesitate any longer. Opportunity knocks but once."

Dugu Huaien frowned: "But Song Jingang said he would send Yuchi Gong to find the Prime Minister and lead troops, but he hasn't been able to come yet. I can't do anything alone."

"You are mistaken, sir. The Emperor is currently still in Puban and has few soldiers with him. On the contrary, he has many members of the Dugu family as guards. You could kill him with a cup of poison or a dagger."
As soon as the emperor dies, Puban City can be captured.

Previously, Wang Xingben surrendered and the emperor promised to pardon him, but later he personally killed him, and now he even wants to punish his former subordinates, publicly kill the emperor, and then release Wang Xingben's former subordinates. They will surely be loyal to him to the death.
Wang Xingben was able to defend Puban for three years, so why can't you defend it too? Besides, you can even bring Song Jingang's troops to your aid.

With the emperor's death, Hedong was thrown into chaos, and that's when the opportunity arose.

Dugu Huaien was implicated and demoted to Sima of the Puzhou General Administration Office because of the killing of Prince Yong'an, Li Xiaoji. He was filled with resentment and clenched his fists to discuss with Yuan Junbao the specific plan to assassinate the emperor.

late at night.

An urgent memorial was sent to Puban.

"Your Majesty, a messenger from the Prince of Fenyang arrives urgently, traveling eight hundred li."

Li Yuan, who was about to go to sleep, immediately got up and put on his clothes.

A few days ago, Li Yi was ordered to send Li Zhongwen, Li Daoxuan, and Li Boyuan with 20,000 men north to Taiyuan. However, they were ambushed and defeated by Liu Wuzhou and the Turkic army outside Taiyuan.

The report greatly alarmed and unsettled Li Yuan.
They were puzzled as to how Liu Wuzhou had escaped from Jiexiu to Taiyuan, and even more uneasy about the Turks' further support for Liu Wuzhou.

The emperor then received news that Liu Wuzhou had led the Turkic army into Yuzhou and Luzhou, heading straight for Zezhou, intending to open a passage to Song Jingang from the east.

Li Yuan was extremely uneasy and quickly summoned Li Shimin to Puban to inform him of this urgent news. He then instructed Li Shimin to find a way to defeat Song Jingang before Liu Wuzhou could open up a passage to Song Jingang.

Meanwhile, he also ordered Wang Xingmin to quickly lead troops to Luzhou to reinforce the defense.

Li Yi brought another urgent report, and Li Yuan, while putting on his robe, asked, "Good news or bad news?"

"The Prince of Fenyang has reported a victory, having recovered Taiyuan and persuaded Yang Funian, the Right Minister of the Wu Zhou dynasty, to surrender."

The emperor was stunned, somewhat incredulous.

He quickly took the news of victory and began to read it.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Fenyang has another secret memorial, saying that only Your Majesty can open it personally."

Qian Jiulong handed the bamboo tube to the emperor. It was sealed with wax and stamped with Li Yi's seal.

Li Yuan was puzzled. After reporting the victory, why was another secret memorial, which could only be opened by the emperor himself, sent?

But when he opened the mailbox and read the secret message inside, he broke out in a cold sweat.

"hiss,"

"Guizhang, look," the emperor handed the secret memorial to Qian Jiulong.

Qian Jiulong was also shocked.

"Your Majesty, I will immediately go and capture Dugu Huaien."

"Wait a moment, first escort me away from here to the military camp."

The emperor secretly left the government office and arrived at the Imperial Guard camp. Then Qian Jiulong began to lead his troops to arrest people. He first controlled Dugu Huaien's brothers, nephews, relatives and other members of the guards, and then arrested Dugu Huaien. He acted on both sides at the same time.

The operation was swift and successful. Dugu Huaien was arrested in his sleep, along with his confidants Yuan Junbao and his followers, as well as his disciples.

The emperor appointed Pei Ji to be in charge of the interrogation.
Yuan Junbao quickly confessed, admitting that Dugu Huaien had plotted a rebellion. Although Dugu Huaien himself stubbornly denied it, Li Yuan would not give his cousin a chance.

There was no more formal trial.
He was beheaded that very day, his property was confiscated, and his associates were executed.

After killing Dugu Huaien, Li Yuan was also very frightened.

He never imagined that someone he had always trusted and was close to would plot against him like this.

Fortunately, Li Yi discovered his treachery.

Lu Kuan, the palace attendant and relative of the emperor, exclaimed, "The Prince of Fenyang is Your Majesty's lucky star, and Your Majesty is also protected by Heaven. This is truly a case of a king who never dies."

Indeed, Li Yi always manages to surprise me.

"He recaptured Taiyuan, persuaded Yuci to surrender, cut off Liu Wuzhou's retreat, and now he's even saved the emperor's life. This fellow has been repeatedly requesting to be granted a princely title, submitting several memorials of resignation. Although he's not a close relative, his achievements are more than enough to warrant such a title."

The emperor sent someone to Baibi to meet the King of Qin and inform him of the death of Dugu Huaien for plotting a rebellion.

Li Shimin was greatly alarmed and sent Feng Deyi to visit the emperor.

The emperor issued an edict posthumously granting Li Xiaoji the title of General of the Left Guard and the posthumous name Zhuang. Since he had no son, his elder brother Li Shao, the Prince of Dongping, had his son Daoli succeed him and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Gaoping.

Feng Deyi paid homage to the emperor and offered a plan.

"Dugu Huai'en plotted a rebellion and secretly colluded with Song Jingang. Now that his plot has failed and he has been killed, the news has not yet spread. Your Majesty can send a letter to Song Jingang in Huai'en's name, saying that he has received Your Majesty's decree to take control of Puban."
"Send Song Jingang to lead his troops here."

Li Yuan had to admit that Feng Deyi's move was quite clever.

Previously, Li Yuan disliked Feng Deyi, but upon hearing that he had served as the Grand Secretary of Shaanxi Province under Li Shimin and had performed exceptionally well, and that he had now offered a good strategy, the emperor was pleased and appointed him as the Inner Historian.

From the Grand Secretariat Attendant to the Palace Attendant, both were fifth-rank positions.
However, their powers and responsibilities can differ greatly.

The Imperial Secretary was a future prime minister known as the "Five-Flower Judge".

The emperor immediately acted in accordance with Feng Deyi's plan.

At the same time, an imperial edict was issued appointing Yuwen Shiji as the Pacification Commissioner of Bingzhou Circuit, to go to Taiyuan to comfort the soldiers and civilians. He was also tasked with conveying a decree of commendation to Li Yi, and the emperor directly bestowed all of Dugu Huaien's family property upon Li Yi.

Liyang, Hebei.

Li Shiji, the Duke of Cao of the Tang Dynasty, became Xu Shiji, the Duke of Donghai of the Xia Dynasty.

Inside the governor's mansion,

Xu Shiji and his confidant Guo Xiaoke were drinking tea.

"You've seen the situation in Hedong recently, haven't you?" Xu Shiji asked.

"Yes, Liu Wuzhou's offensive last year was so fierce, sweeping southwards like a whirlwind. The Tang army suffered repeated defeats and was on the verge of being driven into Guanzhong. Who would have thought that Liu Wuzhou would be on the verge of collapse now?"

"Yes, Liu Wuzhou will soon be defeated and killed. He is too ambitious. If he had proceeded step by step, seized Bingzhou, stopped at the north of Queshu Valley, taken Haozhou first, and then resisted Queshu Valley to the south, and accumulated strength, he could have marched south again in a year or two, or even wiped out Zelu and Xici."
That was in no way inferior to Dou Jiande today.

He stretched his battle lines over a thousand miles, yet he couldn't sweep through Haozhou behind him and open up the Sparrow Rat Valley; his defeat was inevitable.

Guo Xiaoke laughed and said, "I guess Liu Wuzhou never expected that he would be defeated by a seventeen-year-old."

Speaking of which, this Li Wuyi does bear some resemblance to you, Chief Steward. He is also a military genius who achieved fame at a young age.

"It's truly unbelievable that in just over a year, he could rise from a Taoist priest to the Prince of Fenyang."

"I can't compare to him," Xu Shiji shook his head. He often said that when he was twelve or thirteen, he was a rogue bandit who killed anyone he met. At fourteen or fifteen, he was a difficult bandit who killed anyone who displeased him. At seventeen or eighteen, he was a good bandit who killed in battle. At twenty, he became a great general who used his troops to save lives.

Guo Xiaoke was born into a peasant family in Xuzhou, Henan. In his youth, he was considered a rogue because he did not engage in production. He knew that Xu Shiji's family was originally a powerful family in Caozhou, but later moved to Huazhou. Xu Shiji was good at making friends and had good relationships with Zhai Rang, Shan Xiongxin, Huang Junhan and others.

At the age of seventeen, he joined Zhai Rang and Shan Xiongxin in establishing Wagang, becoming its third leader. He persuaded them to plunder goods from merchants along the Grand Canal in Song and Zheng, and quickly amassed a force of over ten thousand men.

"General Manager, your reputation is renowned throughout Henan, yet you are only twenty-one years old this year," Guo Xiaoke said.

"The 21-year-old King of Qin destroyed Xue Ju and defeated Song Jingang; the 17-year-old Li Yi was able to single-handedly support half of Hedong."

Although I, Xu Shiji, joined Wagang at the age of seventeen, I have fought in countless battles since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, and I once surrendered ten prefectures in Henan to the Tang Dynasty.
But Dou Jiande routed them, and they escaped with only a hundred cavalrymen. Even his father fell into the hands of the bandits. Alas!

“Xiao Ke, I want to return to Tang,” Xu Shiji said.

Guo Jing advised, "I believe that the world will ultimately belong to the Li Tang dynasty. Although the general has captured several cities for Dou Jiande and gained his trust, firstly, Xu Gong is still in Dou Jiande's hands, and secondly, we can't just return to Chang'an empty-handed, can we?"

"Dou Jiande had previously swept through Hebei, and many prefectures and counties in Henan surrendered to him. However, Dou Jiande levied heavy taxes and provisions on Henan, which aroused dissatisfaction among many former rebel leaders."
Meng Haigong, who occupies the two prefectures of Cao and Dai and commands an army of 30,000, proclaims himself King Yi of Song. He neither allies with Zheng nor surrenders to Xia. The general could write to Dou Jiande, stating that the two prefectures of Cao and Dai have a large population and that if a large army were sent to conquer them, they could be taken in no time.
After acquiring Cao Dai, if they then advance on Xu and Yan, the area south of the Yellow River will completely belong to the Great Xia.

Dou Jiande now controls almost the entire Hebei province except for Youzhou. He will certainly be willing to march south. When Dou marches south, he will surely order his general to lead his army to join him. At that time, we can seize an opportunity to ambush his camp, kill him, and rescue Xu Gong. We can then return Dou Jiande's head and his land to the Tang Dynasty.

At that time, wouldn't the merit of the general be greater than that of Li Wuyi in guarding Haozhou?

The Emperor of Chang'an will surely bestow a title of nobility upon the Grand Administrator as a reward.

Li Yi was not a true member of the imperial family, but was also listed in the imperial register. Xu Shiji had previously returned to the Tang Dynasty with ten prefectures in Henan, the former territory of Li Mi, and the troops of Liyang. He was also granted the imperial surname and registered as the head of the imperial clan, with the same status as Li Yi.

Luo Yi was granted a surname and made a king in Youzhou, and Li Yi was also made a king for guarding Haozhou, but Li Shiji was not made a king for killing Dou Jiande.
Xu and Guo both survived the chaos of the late Sui Dynasty, and with their keen insight, they had already discerned that among all the forces in the world, the one most likely to unify the country was Li Yuan of Guanzhong.

“Alright, I will write to Dou Jiande right away.”

Guo Jing then suggested, "Most of the tribes in Henan are former subordinates of the General Manager. We can secretly make contact and then rise up together."

Xu Shiji thought for a moment, "Li Wenxiang is my sworn brother. He is currently leading 5,000 men to defend Zhongtan City in Heyang. You should contact him first. When Dou Jiande marches south, he will surely follow orders to lead his troops to join him. Then we can take action together."

(End of this chapter)