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

Chapter 348 Chuluo Khan Sends Wolf-Head Banner

afternoon.

Li Yi invited Nibushe Ashina Shibobi to the governor's residence.

A silver kettle sits on the charcoal stove, used to boil water and brew tea.

Nibu She recently reached several cooperation agreements with Li Yi, which made her very happy.

"When does Nibu plan to return to his camp north of Youzhou?"

"Not ready yet."

Li Yi poured him a cup of tea. "Now that the New Year is over and spring plowing is just around the corner, it's not appropriate for your three thousand Turkic tribesmen to stay here indefinitely."

“I discipline my men, and they don’t steal or rob. I can even help you keep order here. My reputation is quite prestigious. Brother, you’ve recently recaptured many cities, and you’ve used my name, haven’t you?”

Li Yi smiled.

"No matter what, you can't stay here forever."

"Are you trying to kick me out?"

"I have a suggestion for you."

"You said."

Nibushe sipped his tea, genuinely reluctant to leave. It was convenient to trade with the Tang people here, and there was even a chance to plunder.

He had previously gone south to Jiezhou, and later they robbed Taiyuan together, making a fortune. Li Yi ransomed the people he robbed, exchanging them for a considerable amount of silk and cloth. His dealings with Li Yi in the wine and horse trade yielded even greater profits.

I don't want to leave, I really don't want to leave.

“Yushe is in Mayi, and Lunteqin is in Xinzhou. They are living very comfortably over there. You should go west instead of staying in Taiyuan.”

"West?"

"Yes, going up the Fen River, straight to Lanzhou, north of Lanzhou, on the shore of Tianchi Lake in the Fen Mountain, there is the Fenyang Palace, built during the reign of Emperor Yang of Sui. Although Liu Wuzhou presented many treasures and beauties from there to Shibi Khan when he conquered Loufan County,..."

However, after he became emperor, he also used Fenyang Palace as his summer palace. It is said that he would spend his summer vacation there every year, and he kept many beauties and a lot of gold and silver decorations.

Why don't you take advantage of Liu Wuzhou's current location in Luzhou and make a trip to Lanzhou, then visit the Fenyang Palace?

Nibu looked at Li Yi.
"Brother, are you trying to get me to conquer Lanzhou for you?"

“Lanzhou is currently vulnerable; I must reclaim what was settled by issuing a proclamation,” Li Yi said.

Nibu smiled and said, "It's not impossible for me to help you take Lanzhou. I can lead three thousand elite cavalry, but you will also have to send troops to cooperate. Otherwise, I will be powerless to deal with the city and fortresses."

Furthermore, how will the spoils be divided after capturing Lanzhou?

This guy is very clever; he saw through Li Yi's plan to use one enemy to devour another at a glance.

"Second brother, if you go to Lanzhou by yourself, whether you conquer the city or seize the spoils, won't it all be yours alone?"

Nibu shook his head, "We brothers act together, we share the benefits, don't worry, I don't want more."

Li Yi thought that although this guy was quite greedy, he was also quite smart.

"If I send troops, the city, land, and people will naturally belong to the Tang Dynasty, and the money and silk seized will be split equally between us."

Nibushe shook his head like a rattle drum, "How can that be? The Tang Dynasty will take all the benefits. Money, silk, and people will be mine, and cities and land will be yours."

"How about this, the Qihu people belong to you, the Han people belong to the court, and the money and silk are split equally."

"After you take Lanzhou, go visit Fenyang Palace, then go to Mayi from Loufan Pass. You can continue to plunder there."

"Wu Yi, you really don't treat me like a brother. You couldn't even hire mercenaries to meet these conditions."

Li Yi picked up his teacup and sipped, "Alright, even if the deal falls through, we can still be on good terms. Let's just forget about it. You can leave tomorrow."

Don't blame me for not warning you, bro.
Seven days later, all Turkic troops still south of Shiling Pass will be considered invaders. If a real battle breaks out then, brother, your three thousand cavalry might not be able to return to the grasslands.”

Nibushe glared at her, "What do you mean by this?"

"I'm asking you to leave. You can go to Lanzhou or Xinzhou, but you can't stay in Bingzhou any longer."

"Discarding a used tool after it has served its purpose?"

"Chuluo Khan disregards the abruptness and unfriendly actions, and now he is supporting Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu in invading our Great Tang, while also trading with Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong."

"Nibu, you were also an ally of Liu Wuzhou in his invasion of our Great Tang, don't forget that."

“That was before, now I’m your ally,” Shibobi immediately said. “Besides, we’re sworn brothers.”

"It's precisely because we're brothers that I advised you to leave. You've already received plenty of benefits, so you should be content. The King of Qin is about to destroy Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou, and could head north at any moment. You don't really think you can defeat the King of Qin, do you?"

Nibushe blushed, "How could you abandon me after using me?"

"Nibu She, that's all I have to say. If I were you, I'd either head straight back to my camp through Shiling Pass now, since we've already plundered a fortune this time. If that's not enough, I'd go to Lanzhou, Shuozhou, or Daizhou and Weizhou, and rob Liu Wuzhou again."
Taiyuan is not a place for you to stay for long.

Nibu sat there, his face flushed and panting heavily.

After a while, he poured Li Yi a cup of tea.

"Let's talk about how to take Lanzhou together. As you said, once we capture Lanzhou, the city and land will belong to you, and the livestock, money, and grain will be split equally between us. As for the population, as you said, the Han people will be yours, and the Qi Hu will be ours. What do you say?" Nibushe seemed like a completely different person.

This made Li Yi very certain that his demeanor just now was three parts genuine emotion and seven parts acting.

“Alright, I will send three thousand combat soldiers and four thousand auxiliary soldiers.” Li Yi agreed readily this time.

However, the three thousand soldiers and four thousand auxiliary soldiers he mentioned were actually newly recruited good men from Bingzhou. The auxiliary soldiers were young men from displaced people, and recruiting them into the army was considered a form of relief.

As for whether or not they can take Lanzhou...
Li Yi wasn't too worried.

The area in Lanzhou, nestled in the Lüliang Mountains, is relatively remote and impoverished, and is inhabited by many Hu people from the Jihu tribe. Liu Wuzhou, after capturing Loufan County, hadn't put much effort into developing this region. Now that Liu Wuzhou has gone to Luzhou, his rear forces have been completely depleted, leaving virtually no garrison.

But Li Yi still managed to persuade Nibushe to send troops to Lanzhou.

It's also because he really had no soldiers left.

Zhang Lun led 20,000 men south.

Li Zhongwen had previously led 20,000 troops north, but suffered a defeat and lost more than 2,000 men. Now, Li Yi has replenished his forces, and they are divided into two groups to attack Yushe and Shihuiguan.

Li Daozong then led several thousand men to pacify and subdue the cities in the east.

He still had to leave troops to besiege Jiexiu.

He was then assigned to defend Bingzhou.

Li Yi had a large number of new recruits, many of whom were able-bodied auxiliary soldiers. They lacked equipment and supplies and had little ability to attack fortified positions.

But Lanzhou is indeed very vulnerable now, which is a good opportunity to retake it.

Sending Nibushe to Lanzhou could drive away this Turkic army. Although they are sworn brothers, Li Yi cannot trust this guy.
If he suddenly decides to plunder while the Tang army is moving around, that would be troublesome.

It would be best to send him away as soon as possible. If possible, it would be even better to have him do some work to help take over Lanzhou.

The several thousand men sent to Lanzhou were all newly recruited sons of powerful families and a new army. Going to Lanzhou would not only allow them to train their troops, but also to cut off the enemy's supply lines and prevent trouble from arising in the rear.

Two seventeen-year-old commanders,

Each had their own calculations.

The abacus was clanging loudly.

"Brother, I hope our tea, wine, sheep and horse trade will continue when I go back. You can't supply this persimmon wine to others."

"Don't worry, as long as you provide good horses, my persimmon wine will be supplied to you first," Li Yi agreed with a smile. "Come, I'll toast you with tea instead of wine."

Once the matter was settled, the atmosphere became relaxed again.

Nibushe also earnestly reminded Li Yi: "You really slapped Chuluo Khan in the face this time. I, as his uncle, am not a magnanimous person."
You need to be careful; he might actually launch a large-scale southward offensive to settle scores with you.

Although you are quite capable and good at recruiting soldiers, if Chuluo Khan really launches a large-scale attack, you'd better flee.

Also, you must be wary of Princess Yicheng, the Khatun. She's a madwoman, single-mindedly focused on restoring the Sui Dynasty to the Yang family. This woman is extremely cunning. My father used to listen to her a lot, and now that Chuluo Khan has ascended to the throne with her support, he's even more obedient to her.”

"Thank you for reminding me," Li Yi said gratefully.

"I don't want anything to happen to you, and I hope that we brothers can cooperate for a long time."

In the next few days,
The various armies gradually departed from the walls of Jinyang.

Duke Li Boyuan of Loufan County led 10,000 Ji Hu out of Yuci to attack Yushe.

Li Zhongyuan, the Duke of Zhenxiang, also led 10,000 auxiliary troops out of Taigu to attack Shihui Pass and Guyao Ridge Village.

Meanwhile, Prince Li Daozong of Rencheng led 3,000 troops to pacify Liaozhou and other places.

Prince Li Daoxuan of Huaiyang returned with his injuries. Upon hearing that they were to join forces with Nibu to take Lanzhou, he insisted on leading his troops into battle. In the end, Li Yi asked the army doctor to examine his injuries again. The doctor found that Li Daoxuan, who had been riddled with thorns last time, was actually not seriously injured, thanks to the protection of his three layers of armor. Although his injuries looked frightening, they were not actually that serious. Otherwise, he would not have come to volunteer for battle.

In the end, he was put in charge of those seven thousand men, who were actually mostly sons of powerful families, new recruits, and young and strong refugees who served as auxiliary troops.

Li Yi didn't expect to be able to recapture Lanzhou in one fell swoop on this trip.
Even if we can't take the city, we can still plunder and sweep through the countryside, which will at least allow these 7,000 people to find food in Lanzhou and reduce the pressure on food supplies. If we can take advantage of the situation to seize Lanzhou and persuade it to surrender, that would be even better.

Regarding Chuluo Khan

Li Yi didn't have time to deal with it for the time being; whether or not he wanted to retaliate was not something he could decide.

Whether to strike first was not within his consideration. Although the Lunteqin at Shiling Pass only had a few hundred cavalry, Li Yi had no intention of launching an offensive.

It's one thing for the Turks to come to Hedong and be defeated by him, but it's quite another for Li Yi to take the initiative to attack Shiling Pass.

From the time Li Yuan raised his army
Shiling Pass, north of Taiyuan, is actually the tacitly agreed-upon boundary of power between the two sides.

Taking the initiative to attack the Turkic army at Shiling Pass would mean starting a full-scale war with the Turks, which the imperial court certainly wouldn't allow now.

However, allowing Nibushe to attack Lanzhou was a risky move, since Lanzhou was not garrisoned by Turkic troops and would not directly clash with the Turks.

Li Yi was quite eager to fight the Turks.

But he also knew that the Tang Dynasty now only controlled a small corner of the world, and that Liu Wuzhou, a dog raised by the Turks, had invaded Hedong and almost reached Guanzhong.

Under such circumstances, how could the imperial court possibly wage a full-scale war against the Turks?

The court was satisfied with defeating Liu Wuzhou and recovering the lost territory of Hedong.

Just as Li Yi launched an attack on all sides,
A troop of Turkic light cavalry arrived at Shiling Pass and went straight to the walls of Taiyuan.

"Listen up, Tang people on the city wall! I am the special envoy of the Turkic Chuluo Khan, Rehan Teqin, here on the Khan's orders to see Grand General Li Yi."

This group of Turks came from the Khanate of Baidaochuan.
Li Yi let them into the city.

Upon meeting, the Hot and Cold Special Forces immediately produced a wolf-head banner.

"When Chuluo Khan heard that the Grand General had become sworn brothers with Nibushe, the Khan said that Nibushe was his own nephew, and since the Grand General had become sworn brothers with Nibushe, he was also the Khan's nephew."

Therefore, I have been specially dispatched to bestow upon the Grand General a wolf-head banner and to grant him the title of Southern Governor of the Turkic Khaganate.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi's expression changed drastically.

Why didn't Chuluo Khan send troops to attack him directly, but instead resorted to underhanded tactics? Was this a scheme to sow discord?
He was given a wolf-head banner and a south-facing flag. Did they think he was Liu Wuzhou, Liang Shidu, or Zhang Changxun, Guo Zihe, Wang Xuba, or any of those people?

(End of this chapter)