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

Chapter 356 Recommendation for Commander of the Eastern Expedition
The emperor sent an envoy to Shengyefang to summon Li Yi to the palace to accompany him.

"His Majesty is boating on the lake today and has summoned the Duke of Jin to join him."

Li Yi changed into a purple robe and turban, fastened a gold and jade belt, and wore a gold fish-shaped pouch before entering the palace with the eunuchs. They entered the palace through the Xuanwu Gate and arrived at the sea pool.

Near Xuanwu Gate in Taiji Palace are three artificial lakes: East Sea Lake, North Sea Lake, and South Sea Lake, each with its own unique characteristics.

The emperor was boating on the South China Sea Pond when his guards rowed Li Yi to the emperor's dragon boat.

Once aboard the boat, Li Yicai saw that today's dragon boat carried not only the emperor, but also the crown prince, Pei Ji, Feng Deyi, and the Prince of Guiyi.

"Wu Yi is here. Did you bring your six-stringed zither?"

Li Yi took the guitar off his back and said, "I have brought it here as ordered."

“This barbarian’s Six Yi Qin is indeed different. Quickly play a piece for me and the King of Guiyi.”

Li Yi picked up the guitar and began to play.

A beautiful melody begins, a love story unfolds.

This was the first piece he learned, taught to him by an ex-girlfriend. He remembers it vividly, and it became the best piece he later played.

Li Yuan was skilled at playing the pipa and loved music.

As soon as the guitar music started, Li Yuan was immersed in it, gently tapping his fingers to the beat, as if he had entered a memory.

After a long while, the song ended.

Li Yuan clapped his hands and cheered.

"The melody is beautiful and the emotions are rich. I can hear the joy, sorrow, confusion and despair in it. All kinds of emotions are displayed vividly."

"The music is excellent, and your technique is quite good too. I didn't expect you to be not only a skilled general on the battlefield, but also possess such extraordinary talent in music."

"What's the name of this piece?"

"The person who taught me this song was a wandering poet from the East. The song should be translated as 'Romantic Love Story'."

Li Yuan laughed heartily, "Could it be joy, sorrow, confusion, and despair? This must be heartbreak, loving someone you can't have."

Li Yuan raised his cup.

He took Guiyi Wang Daman's hand and toasted him, "Let's drink."

Li Yi joined in the drinking, but for a moment he didn't understand what kind of gathering this was.

He wasn't actually familiar with that former Western Turkic Khan. He had seen him before at a palace banquet, but he was just a figurehead of the emperor.

Previously, there was also a Tuyuhun prince named Murong Shun. Later, when the Tang Dynasty wanted to attack Li Gui, they sent Murong Shun back. There was also the son of Cuan Wan, the leader of the Cuan clan in Yunnan. He was captured and beheaded when the Sui Dynasty sent troops to attack him, and his head was displayed in Chang'an.

After Li Yuan became emperor, he pardoned Cuan Hongda, son of Cuan Wan, who had been captured and enslaved in Chang'an for many years, as well as other members of the Cuan clan, and released them back to Nanzhong, appointing them as governors of Kunzhou. Cuan Hongda escorted the coffin back to his hometown and, being pragmatic, persuaded the various Cuan tribes to submit to the Tang Dynasty, sending envoys to pay tribute. The court also rebuilt the Nanning General Administration in Cuan territory, using the Cuan clan to exercise indirect rule over the Yunnan region.

Many kings and chieftains were captured and brought back to the Central Plains by the Sui army. The barbarian king Kelidou of Liuqiu Island in the East China Sea refused to submit to the Sui rule and was captured by the Sui army when they sailed east. The Lin-yi Kingdom refused to pay tribute and also invaded the capital, taking their ancestral golden elephant back to the Central Plains.

However, many of these barbarian kings, chieftains, or hostages from various countries have now been released by Li Yuan in exchange for their support, such as Cuan Hongda and Murong Shun.

When this Prince Guiyi submitted to the Sui Dynasty, his tribe was divided into three parts. His brother, Quedushe, led more than 10,000 old and weak people to live in Huining. Teqin Ashina Danai led the remaining people to live in Loufan, and Daman led 500 cavalry to accompany the emperor on his tour.

Now, the Western Turkic Khaganate's leader, Yabghu Khan, is powerful, and Daman is old; there's no going back.

Drinking and chatting.

Playing the pipa.

Li Yuan played the pipa, Li Yi accompanied him on the guitar, and Guiyi Wang Daman, Pei Ji, and Feng Deyi danced as companions.

Li Yuan drank quite a bit of wine and was eventually helped away by Qian Jiulong.

Crown Prince Jiancheng said to Feng Deyi, "Send Prince Guiyi to the Inner Secretariat to rest and sober up."

Feng Deyi and Pei Ji both withdrew, and the guards helped the heavily drunk Daman away.

Li Yi was also about to leave when Jiancheng called him back.

"Let's have a cup of tea at the lakeside palace to sober up before we go. You've been on vacation since you returned to the capital, and I haven't had a chance to talk to you yet."

Li Yi had no choice but to disembark and go to Linhu Palace.

"Knowing you like loose tea, I have specially collected quite a few good loose teas, including Xishan Bailu from Hongzhou, Cactus from Yuquanshan in Jingzhou, and Shihua Huangya from Mengding in Sichuan. Which one would you like to drink?" Jiancheng asked with a smile.

"These are all good teas, any will do."

Jiancheng then instructed his attendant, Ren Can, to brew Xishan Bailu tea, saying, "This year's pre-Qingming Xishan Bailu tea has tender buds and leaves, and tastes great."

The fine white porcelain cups produced by Xing kiln
Paired with this year's pre-Qingming new tea,

They complement each other perfectly, and the aroma of tea fills the air.

In fact, Li Yi has now gotten used to the way Tang Dynasty people brewed tea, and he can accept the addition of salt, milk, sugar, and even scallions and orange peels.

It's actually not bad to drink it as an energy drink; it really replenishes energy.

"You fought very well in the battle in Hedong this time, but unfortunately, Chuluo Khan used a divisive tactic. You were too cautious. You could have simply submitted a memorial explaining the situation, but you went straight back to the capital. In the end, the Prince of Qin took the credit for the victory."

What a pity.

Jiancheng, holding a teacup, spoke up for him, "Last year's battle was so dangerous. Li Zhongwen was defeated, and you did your best to salvage the situation. Pei Ji suffered a major defeat, and Yuan Ji abandoned the city. It was you who turned the tide and single-handedly supported the city."

You have repeatedly defeated the Wu Zhou rebels, but in Haozhou, the more you fight, the more your army grows.

To be honest, I don't think Erlang did much work or made any great contributions. You did all the dirty, tiring, and dangerous work.

What did he do?
He led 30,000 elite troops and stayed in Baibi for half a year, but failed to keep an eye on Song Jingang and Yuchi Gong, leading to the great defeat of Yong'an King in Xia County.
Finally, Liu Wuzhou borrowed Turkic troops to march south to Luzhou, and it was you who recovered Bingzhou, intercepted Wuzhou's supply lines, and blocked his retreat.
Finally, Erlang ran out and picked the peaches, but all the credit went to him.

Li Yi sipped his tea without replying.

“Actually, your achievements are more than enough to warrant the title of Prince of Fenyang. You are also a member of my royal family and have made great contributions.”

“Your military skills are in no way inferior to Shimin’s.”

Li Yi said, "I have never studied military strategy, nor do I know how to fight, let alone how to ride and shoot. I was just forced into this role at the last minute."

They only know how to build strongholds and fight protracted battles.

Li Jiancheng laughed and said, "A good warrior does not achieve great feats. Your way of fighting is the safest. You like to take risks like Erlang, marching two hundred miles a day and pursuing for two or three days without stopping. This is actually very dangerous."

Ultimately, war isn't about showing off or looking good; it's about winning. Winning is all that matters.

While sipping tea, Li Jiancheng also spoke with a smile about Daman.

"Do you know why His Majesty drank with Daman today?"

Li Yi shook his head.

"Khan Chuluo sent Liu Wuzhou's head, expressing his willingness to negotiate peace with our Tang Dynasty. However, he has three conditions: first, Daman's head must be sent; second, our Tang army must not cross Shiling Pass; and third, the Hetao and Fengsheng prefectures must be ceded to the Turks." Li Jiancheng smiled and said, "Khan Chuluo supported Liu Wuzhou's southward advance, but in the end, he lost more than he gained."

Enraged, he turned and beheaded Liu Wuzhou.
Now, Liu Wuzhou's territory in Daibei and his former troops have been brought under the command of Yuan Junzhang and have submitted to Yang Zhengdao, the Prince of Sui in Dingxiang.

Exchanging the head of Daman and the two prefectures of Feng and Sheng for a return to friendly relations with the Turks is a very worthwhile deal.

Li Yi had no idea what Jiancheng was so proud of.

Even if the Tang Dynasty wanted to pacify internal strife before resisting external aggression, it still had to fight, rather than simply compromise.

Even if you have to sacrifice Daman, you can't still laugh.

Moreover, the Hetao and Fengsheng prefectures should not be ceded.

"Your Highness, I believe that the two prefectures of Hetao and Fengsheng must not be given to the Turks. Otherwise, they will only become more demanding. Moreover, if Hetao is lost, the Shuofang border defense of our Great Tang will lose a thousand-mile buffer zone. At that time, the Turks will be able to enter the north of the capital at any time, and even trample Guanzhong and drink from the Wei River."

Jiancheng waved his hand, "It's not as serious as you say. Besides, Zhang Changxun of Fengzhou and Guo Zihe of Yulin have only nominally submitted to the court. They were both regional warlords at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Zhang Changxun swore brotherhood with Moheduoshe, the brother of the Turkic Chuluo Khan, and was granted the title of Geli Teqin."

Guo Zihe once called himself the Yongle King. He sent his brother to the Turks as a hostage and was bestowed a wolf-head banner by Shibi Khan. He was once granted the title of Emperor Pingyang, and later changed to Wulishe.

Although he is now the Duke of Cheng and the Governor-General of Yunzhou in our Great Tang Dynasty, these people are completely untrustworthy.

"What's wrong with ceding Feng and Sheng prefectures to the Turks in exchange for temporary stability in the northern frontier?"

"Your Highness, since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, there have been many people like Guo Zihe and Zhang Changxun who raised troops and held sway over their regions. Even now, our Great Tang still has many local governors and prefects who are like them."

Regardless of the past, they are now all subjects of the imperial court, the land they govern is imperial territory, and the people on that land are all subjects of the imperial court. How can they be easily abandoned?

Jiancheng was a little unhappy.
Let's not talk about this anymore. "I just received news that Wang Shichong sent his nephew Wang Honglie to lead troops, with the assistance of Doulu Bao and Su Shichang, to seize Dengzhou of our Great Tang, and then Xiangyang, which is under the jurisdiction of Suizhou General Administration."

Yang Shilin, the Circuit Intendant of Xianzhou, not only refused to come to Wang Honglie's aid, but also secretly sold him provisions.

Dengzhou is located in the Nanyang Basin southwest of Luoyang, and was part of the Nanyang Prefecture during the Sui Dynasty.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, this area was repeatedly contested. Li Yuan was first sent to pacify it, and then Zheng Yuanzhu and Ma Yuangui were sent. Ma Yuangui later successfully persuaded the Sui general Lü Zizang to surrender and defeated Zhu Can several times. However, the two later fell out and both were defeated and died.

The emperor then dispatched Zheng Yuanzhu to lead troops to attack Zhu Can, while powerful figures from the four commanderies of Handong, including Yang Shilin and Tian Zan, rose up in rebellion against Zhu Can, allowing the Tang Dynasty to recapture Dengzhou.
Later, the Dengzhou General Administration was established, which governed seven prefectures: Deng, Xi, Li, Wan, Yu, Xin, and Hong.

The Dengzhou General Administration, along with the Huangzhou General Administration, Xianzhou General Administration, Guangzhou General Administration, Suizhou General Administration, and Anzhou General Administration, were all subordinate to the Xianzhou Circuit Administration.

These six general administrations were basically local separatist forces at the end of the Sui Dynasty. They had submitted to the Tang Dynasty, so the emperor integrated them to restrain Wang Shichong of Luoyang, Xiao Xian of Jiangling, and Lin Shihong of Jiangnan.

Now that the Battle of Hedong has ended, the emperor is preparing to take action against Xiao Xian and Wang Shichong simultaneously. Therefore, he specially promoted Yang Shilin's official rank from Assistant Minister of the Imperial Secretariat to Minister of the Imperial Secretariat.

Unexpectedly, this guy was still exchanging glances with Xiao Xian and Wang Shichong, and even tacitly allowed Wang Shichong to attack Dengzhou and capture Xiangyang while the main force of the Tang army was still in Hedong.

In addition, last year, Wang Shichong took the opportunity to launch another attack on the Tang general in Yizhou, killing him and seizing Yizhou, Luzhou, and Ruzhou. This allowed Wang Shichong to open up a route from Luoyang to Xiangyang.

"I intend to request permission from the Emperor to personally lead the army eastward to conquer Luoyang, passing through Tongguan. You will be the deputy commander, passing through Wuguan."

First, you should recover Dengzhou and Xiangyang, then eliminate Yang Shilin and others, cut off Wang Shichong's southwestern arm, and then attack and take over his southeastern Huaixi region.

We surrounded them from both sides, eventually besieging Luoyang and capturing and destroying Wang Shichong.

Li Yi hadn't expected Jiancheng to have such grand ambitions.
They even tried to seize the command of the Eastern Expeditionary Force.

“Your Highness is the Crown Prince, the heir apparent to the throne. He should be in charge of the central government, assisting the Emperor in governing the country and overseeing the overall situation. As for military campaigns, that can be left to the generals. Why should you personally lead the troops?” Li Yi said frankly.

(End of this chapter)