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

Chapter 346 Heroine

The frozen Fen River, like a jade belt, winds around the east of the city from north to south. Several wide and magnificent bridges span the river from east to west. The Jin River flows into the moat, which is 40 meters wide, through the Zhibo Canal at Jinci.

The city wall was four zhang high and twenty-seven li in circumference. The three cities of Daming Palace, Xincheng and Cangcheng stood majestically in the northwest of Jinyang City in a triangular shape. The city was well-organized with orderly neighborhoods and crisscrossed by rivers and canals.

One can imagine that in the summer, this place must be a picturesque water town, with shady trees and boats dotting the moat and canals.

This is a fortified city.
Li Yuanji commanded 30,000 troops and had enough provisions for ten years, yet he abandoned the city and fled; he was truly a spendthrift. Liu Wuzhou wasn't much better; he abandoned Taiyuan and went to Zelu instead.

They're all brainless.

Historically, the Northern Han Dynasty only had Taiyuan left. Emperor Taizu of Song mobilized the entire nation's army to attack it several times, using various methods such as flooding, tunneling, ant-like sieges, and earthen platforms, but he could not take Taiyuan. In the end, he died without capturing the city of Taiyuan.

He strode over and climbed the tall city tower.

"It's too windy here, and there's a lot of sand. What's there to see? It's desolate and barren, and there aren't many people around," said Shibobi.

"This desolation is all thanks to you," Li Yi said bluntly.

"Brother, the main culprit in looting Jinyang was Yu Sheshe, that kid. Chu Luo ordered him to lead troops to guard Mayi, but he ran off to Taiyuan to plunder. And Lun Teqin, he was originally supposed to assist in guarding Taiyuan, but he also looted."

They're all grabbing it, I can't just stand by and watch.

The robbers even have a reason now, and they're even acting with righteous indignation.

"By the way, brother, you used my name to force the surrender of Yuci City, but you didn't give me any benefits. That's not very righteous. My wolf cubs aren't happy about it."

Li Yi turned to look at him, "Nibushe, are you here to collect a debt from me? What, you want to rob Taiyuan again?"

"Hehe." Shibobi laughed.

Li Yi pointed solemnly at Jinyang City, "I, Li Yi, have recovered Taiyuan and am now stationed here with troops. Anyone who dares to plunder my territory is provoking a war."

Shibobi's face turned grim.

Seeing the atmosphere become tense, Li Yi patted his arm: "I called Nibushe here not to invite you to starve, but because I want to talk to you about a business deal."

Didn't you plunder a lot of money and people before?

"What, you want to go back? No way, the spoils have all been distributed to your wolf cubs."

“When you were looting, this place was still occupied by Liu Wuzhou. I am not an unreasonable person. You can keep the money and silk, but you should return the women to me.”

"No."

“I won’t take it for free; I’ll redeem it with silk money.”

“It’s not impossible,” Shibobi’s tone changed when he heard that Li Yi was willing to redeem them. “It’s just that the population has already been distributed, so I can’t force them to do it. They will only be willing if you offer a reasonable price.”

“There’s another condition,” Nibushe said with a smile. “I can redeem the people I’ve robbed, even the Han people in my tribe, but you have to continue trading tea, wine, salt, and sugar with me. I’ll trade you warhorses, cattle, sheep, camels, and wool.”

"We both made money from this deal, I don't know why you suddenly stopped it."

Li Yi couldn't reveal the real reason, only saying that he didn't have any stock on hand.

"I'm currently out of tea bricks, salt, and sugar, but I do have a little persimmon wine. I can use the persimmon wine to trade for horses first, and then I'll try to find a way to purchase some tea, sugar, and salt in the Central Plains."

"I'll take as much as you have, and the price is negotiable." Shibobi had a big appetite. The war had disrupted border markets, but the demand for tea and salt on the grasslands remained strong, while the nobles had a great demand for sugar and wine.

The war made these goods even scarcer and more expensive on the grasslands, and also increased the profits from trade.

Unlike his uncle, Chuluo Khan, Nibushe had little interest in interfering in the unification of the Central Plains; he only wanted to enjoy himself.

If there's an opportunity to rob, that's fine, but if there's a way to maintain the market and make big money, it's much easier, so why bother with fighting and killing?

"There is a severe shortage of horses in the Central Plains right now, especially good horses. If you trade my horses for tea, salt, sugar, and wine, you will definitely make a fortune."

Shibobi has no shortage of horses; horses are not rare on the grasslands. On the contrary, tea, sugar, and wine are rare and sought-after.

···
Li Wenxiang led 3,000 troops eastward.
The great river is frozen over, its torrents suddenly silenced.

They arrived in Huazhou and set up camp at the foot of Baima Mountain on the south bank of the Yellow River.

Li Wenxiang summoned his personal guards and prepared to go to Liyang on the north bank to see his sworn brother Xu Shiji. A strong spring wind suddenly broke the newly erected banner of the commander in the camp.

Seeing this, Li Wenxiang's mother, Madam Huo, felt uneasy and pulled on her son's horse, saying, "I'll go with you."

"The march was arduous, so my mother stayed in the camp to rest. There were still nearly a hundred miles to go to Liyang, and the spring winds and sandstorms were fierce."

"Although I am a woman, I am skilled in riding and archery, and I can also wield a lance. I have been leading troops and fighting battles all these years since you started your army. What is this little bit of hardship?"

Li Wenxiang was only eighteen years old, nicknamed "Shang Hu" because, like Wang Shichong, he had non-Han ancestry and looked quite non-Han. He was of mixed Han and Sogdian descent, originally from Weizhou. His mother, Huo, was also of mixed Han and non-Han descent from Weizhou. She was tall and skilled in riding and archery. During the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the young Li Wenxiang raised an army, and his mother Huo fought alongside him. Later, they led their troops to join Wagang, and Wenxiang also became sworn brothers with Xu Shiji.

He later followed Xu Shiji to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, and was then forced to submit to Dou Jiande.

The mother and son had 5,000 soldiers stationed at Zhongtan City, a town on the Yellow River between Luoyang and Heyang.

“I have a bad feeling about your sworn brother summoning you here this time.”

“Mother, it’s not that I look down on Dou Jiande, but the mandate of heaven is in the Tang Dynasty, and the trend is inevitable. Since my sworn brother has made up his mind, I will naturally go to great lengths to help him.”

Huo ordered someone to bring his horse, mounted it, and led a group of female riders to accompany him.

She was only in her early thirties, with a dashing and heroic air. Everyone in Henan and Hebei knew of the heroine, Chief Steward Huo. "I agree that you want to return to Tang, but you must be careful. Dou Jiande is powerful now, but we are isolated and helpless. You must be cautious at every step."

“Mother, when we raised tens of thousands of men, Dou Jiande was just a village head. What’s there to be afraid of?”

The mother and son, leading a hundred horsemen, crossed the Yellow River on ice, galloping through the wind and sand, and arrived at Liyang City. Xu Shiji, upon hearing of their arrival, personally came out of the city to greet them.

"Mao Gong, I fully support you and Wen Xiang in your grand scheme. Dou Jiande is wicked and bullies us; how can we serve him?"

Now that the Li Tang dynasty has suffered repeated defeats against Liu Wuzhou in Hedong, the war in Hedong is about to end, and the Li Tang dynasty will inevitably return to Shandong next.

We had previously submitted to Chang'an, and the Emperor treated us very well, bestowing upon you the imperial surname, listing your names in the imperial register, and enfeoffing you and your son as Dukes.

My son returned to Tang with you and was also appointed as the governor-general and given the title of county duke.

"But Dou Jiande treats us even worse than Li Mi. Although you are still guarding Liyang, you only have one city and a few thousand soldiers. My son has been sent to guard Zhongtan City in Mengjin River, where Wang Shichong has attacked repeatedly. This is clearly Dou Jiande's way of using us as a tool to kill us."

Xu Shiji comforted her, saying, "Mother, don't worry. Jiande will be killed in less than a month."

What are your plans?

“I previously wrote to Dou Jiande, urging him to send troops south to attack the two prefectures of Cao and Dai under Meng Haigong, and then take Xu and Yan. At that time, the whole of Henan would belong to him.”

Dou Jiande repeatedly attacked Youzhou but failed to defeat it. Now, the area south of Youzhou and north of the Yellow River all belong to him. Many people south of the Yellow River have also surrendered to him. However, there are also those like Meng Haigong who refuse to surrender, and Xu Yuanlang and Wang Bo who have always been outwardly allied but inwardly disloyal.
Jiande had long intended to march south, and now that I am willing to be the vanguard, he has decided to launch a southern expedition.

He sent his brother-in-law, Cao Dan, with 50,000 men to cross the river to the south first, and also sent me and Wen Xiang, among others, to lead troops to join him. He will soon follow them south.”

Xu Shiji revealed his plan: once Dou Jiande arrived in Henan, he and his former brothers, including Li Wenxiang, would lead troops to launch a surprise attack on Dou Jiande's central camp, kill Dou Jiande, seize the land, and then surrender it to the Tang Dynasty.

This plan is very bold.

However, the Huo family, who had carved out a name for themselves as General Huo during the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, were not afraid at all. Instead, they praised Xu Shiji for his courage.

“Alright, then we’ll wait until Cao Dan and Dou Jiande cross the river, then seize the opportunity to ambush them, and then surrender the land to Tang.” Huo readily agreed to Xu Shiji’s plan.

Major decisions were made.

They were just waiting for Dou Jiande to head south.

Xu Shiji specially prepared a fine feast to welcome Huo and her son.

"This is a three-ingredient soup with dried bean curd, wood ear mushrooms, and vegetables, it's very delicious. This is stir-fried bamboo shoots with cured pork, it's also very tasty."

And this is persimmon liquor I brought back from Chang'an. It's stronger than regular liquor; Mother will definitely like it.

Wen Xiang chimed in, "Speaking of this wine, it has quite a history. Mother, do you know whose family brewed it?"

"How would I know?"

"This wine was brewed by Li Wuyi, who is now winning battle after battle and making a name for himself on the battlefield in Hedong. It is said that there is only one of its kind in the whole world, which is very special."

Huo took a bite and found it very much to her liking. "Is he Wei Zheng's junior brother, the one who was enfeoffed as the Prince of Fenyang after the Battle of Hedong? I heard he's only seventeen years old this year?"

"Yes, it's him. He's an extraordinary young man," Xu Shiji said with a smile.

"It's just that times create heroes. You and Shang Hu both started your rebellion when you were sixteen or seventeen. Which one of you didn't command thousands of troops and fight far more battles than Li Yi? You, Mao Gong, even commanded hundreds of cities in Henan and had hundreds of thousands of soldiers."

“Those are the troops and cities of Lord Wei,” Xu Shiji said.

When Li Mi was mentioned, they all shook their heads and sighed.

"Come on, cheers." Mr. Huo raised his glass, displaying a bold and domineering spirit, and downed it in one gulp.

"You are still young, and your achievements are rare. Why envy others? Once this great undertaking is completed, and you take Jiande's head and return Hebei and Henan to Tang, the Emperor of Chang'an will reward you with titles and honors that will be higher than Li Yi's."

Hedong.

Wang Xingmin, the general commander of the Luzhou campaign, urgently reported that Liu Wuzhou, with the help of the Turks, had advanced all the way into Luzhou, and had successively captured Changzi and Huguan. Guo Ziwu, the governor of Luzhou, was unable to resist and secretly accepted Liu Wuzhou's persuasion to surrender.

Wang Xingmin rushed to Luzhou City and beheaded Guo Ziwu to resist Liu Wuzhou. Then, using Guo Ziwu's name, he lured Liu Wuzhou to Luzhou.

Before Liu Wuzhou set off, he was so angered by the news of the fall of Taiyuan that he vomited blood and could not go. Instead, Zhang Wansui led his troops to Luzhou City.

As a result, they were ambushed in the city by Wang Xingmin, and more than 2,000 were beheaded, resulting in a great defeat for Zhang Wansui.

"Your Majesty, another victory report has arrived."

Feng Deyi, the Imperial Secretary, rushed to the Emperor's presence to deliver another piece of good news.

"The King of Qin personally led 8,000 infantry and cavalry to ambush Yuchi Gong and Xun Xiang again at Anyi. He successfully beheaded 1,000 and captured 3,000. Yuchi Gong was stabbed off his horse by Qin Shubao but was rescued by Xun Xiang. The enemy army suffered a great defeat."

Li Yuan's smile blossomed, and he burst into laughter.

"Good news! Good news keeps coming! Heaven blesses the Tang Dynasty. Feng Deyi, you shall immediately draft an edict appointing Wang Xingmin as the General Governor and Prefect of Luzhou, with the authority to hold the imperial seal and command the military affairs of the four prefectures of Luzhou, Zezhou, Hanzhou, and Gaizhou."

"Feng Qing has rendered meritorious service in offering this plan and deserves a great reward. I hereby bestow upon you the title of Marquis of Bohai County, promote you to the position of Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and grant you an additional thousand bolts of silk."

"Qin Shubao repeatedly defeated Yuchi Gong, truly a valiant general. He was granted the title of Duke of Licheng County and the title of General of the Vanguard. Cheng Yaojin followed the King of Qin in defeating Liu Bei several times and was granted the title of Duke of Dong'e County."

The emperor laughed heartily and shouted happily, "Bring me my pipa! I want to play a tune and then bestow upon you a dance."

Upon receiving the title of Marquis and the promotion to Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Feng Deyi immediately began to dance with joy. Despite being over fifty years old, he felt no embarrassment whatsoever and acted entirely naturally.

The emperor played the pipa.

Watching Feng Deyi dance, the more I looked at him, the more pleasing he seemed to me.

Better than Pei Ji.

(End of this chapter)