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

Chapter 361 Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince
Inside the Ministry of War in the Imperial City,
In a side hall, Li Yi met the main generals of his army camp, and then Yin Kaishan, the Vice Minister of War, entered.

"By His Majesty's decree, the Duke of Jin is allocated 30,000 troops, and the Ministry of War, in accordance with the decree, has mobilized 21,000 combat troops and 9,000 auxiliary troops."
The fighting force consisted of 18,750 infantry and 2,250 cavalry.

"The cavalry has 4,500 warhorses, and the soldiers are assigned one pack horse for every ten men, totaling 2,100 mules and horses."

Six points for armor, 12,600 sets allocated; four points for battle robes; ten points for rifles. Two points for leather badges; four points for cavalry badges.

The crossbow has two parts string and three parts bowstring, one hundred parts crossbow bolts, totaling four thousand two hundred crossbows, twelve thousand six hundred bowstrings, and forty-two hundred thousand crossbow bolts.

Twenty-one thousand bows, sixty-three thousand bowstrings, one million one hundred thousand arrows…

Li Yi listened to the Ministry of War's instructions regarding the personnel and equipment they were given.

There are too few cavalrymen; out of 30,000 troops, there are only 2,250 cavalrymen. If it were a standard field army of 20,000, with 4,000 in the central army and 2,800 combat soldiers, including 800 cavalrymen, then there would be 400 cavalrymen each in the left and right wings, and 400 cavalrymen each in the four flanks.

Originally, with 20,000 men, there should have been at least 3,200 cavalry. He should have had 4,800 cavalry with his 30,000 men, so he was only given half.

There weren't many armored soldiers, and only 60% of the combat soldiers were armored; there were no auxiliary soldiers.

There were plenty of bows and crossbows; everyone was equipped with a bow, and crossbows had an equipment rate of 20%, even if the entire army consisted of 30,000 men.

Unfortunately, there were no heavy cavalry; all two thousand or so cavalrymen were light cavalry.

They didn't even assign him heavy infantry or allocate him a long sword; they only gave him some clubs and flails.

The number of packhorses provided is a bit too small; it's a ten-packhorse system instead of six, meaning there's only one packhorse for every ten soldiers, and even then, it's one packhorse for every ten soldiers.

Li Shiji was more concerned about the 21,000 soldiers. "May I ask, Minister Yin, where did these 21,000 soldiers come from?"

There are several types of soldiers. The most elite are the Guanzhong Prefecture Soldiers, followed by the newly established Prefecture Soldiers in Shannan and other places, and then the local prefecture and county soldiers. Many of them were originally from various separatist forces, or even some powerful local militias. Their equipment was poor.

The soldiers of Guanzhong Prefecture, especially the Yuan imperial guards, basically all had horses. They not only had warhorses, but also had their own pack horses, bows and arrows, and even brought their sons and retainers to fight.

But the local soldiers were not only lacking in armor, but also in bows and crossbows, and even more so in horses and mules, and they had no troops.

The quality and morale of the soldiers also vary greatly.

Yin Kaishan replied quite politely: "Of these 21,000 soldiers, 12,500 will be drawn from Guanzhong, including 10,000 Guanzhong garrison soldiers and 2,500 imperial guards. The remaining 8,500 soldiers will be recruited from Shannan, Jinzhou General Administration, Shangzhou and other places."

Li Shiji frowned slightly upon hearing this.

This means that of their 30,000 troops, the main force was actually only the 12,500 from Guanzhong. And the cavalry all came from the Yuan imperial guards.

Li Shiji glanced at the commander-in-chief, Li Yi, who was several years younger than him—almost too young. He couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. However, Huo Yu, the only female commander among the generals, readily replied, "We have ten thousand veteran soldiers from Guanzhong, and over two thousand imperial cavalry."
With a victorious general like the Duke of Jin leading the charge, I think this will be a breeze.

Huo Yu was more concerned about the equipment: "Can the imperial court really allocate so much armor and weapons?"

In particular, if the 12,600 suits of armor, several thousand crossbows, more than 20,000 bows, and more than 2,000 cavalry could be supplied in full, Huo Yu felt that their legion would be quite formidable if they went to Shannan.

The area south of the mountains and west of the Huai River was already lacking in cavalry. When Zhu Can roamed south of the mountains and west of the Huai River, he only had a mule cavalry force under his command.

Even powerful local chieftains like Yang Shilin lacked bows and crossbows.

"Of course, the Imperial Guard will quickly allocate armor and equipment to you according to the Ministry of War's orders."

"Where are the provisions?"

"We will allocate grain to you from Yongfeng Granary."

Huo was very satisfied and smiled slightly at Li Yi: "Grand Steward, I think this battle will be easy to win."

Li Daliang was originally the Sima of the Jinzhou General Administration Office. Jinzhou is Ankang, located on the upper reaches of the Han River, which was originally the hometown of Li Xiyu and the place where he gathered troops to start his rebellion.

After Li Yuan, the Prince of Lujiang, lost his position as the Governor-General of Xinzhou, the emperor appointed Li Xiaogong to take over. This year, to avoid using the taboo name of his maternal grandfather, Dugu Xin, the position of Governor-General of Xinzhou was changed to Governor-General of Kuizhou. Li Yuan was also reassigned as Governor-General of Jinzhou.

In the Shannan area
Li Xiaogong was appointed Governor-General of Kuizhou, stationed in Fengjie. Xu Shao was appointed Governor-General of Xiazhou, stationed in Yichang, while Li Yuan was appointed Governor-General of Jinzhou, located on the upper reaches of the Han River.

These three formed an iron triangle, which not only blocked the Three Gorges passage to Sichuan, but also prevented Xiao Xian from advancing into Hanzhong.

The three of them had a completely commanding view of the Jianghan Plain.

If the Tang Dynasty hadn't been short of resources and Li Xiaogong and Li Yuan hadn't been inexperienced, they should have already sailed down the river and captured Jiangling.

It was precisely because Xiao Xian had been holding Jiangling and blocking the three chief administrators that the Tang Dynasty had insufficient control over the lower reaches of the Han River in Shannan East Circuit and the Nanyang Basin.

He was now transferred to the army headquarters and suggested to Li Yi: "When we send our troops out of Wuguan to attack Xiangdeng, it would be best to ask the court to send troops simultaneously, including the governor of Xinzhou, Prince Xiaogong of Hejian, the governor of Tongzhou, Marquis Li Jing of Yongkang, the governor of Jinzhou, Prince Li Yuan of Lujiang, and Xu Shao, the governor of Xiazhou."

They could also order Tian Shi'an, the governor of Qianzhou, to lead troops down the Yuan River.

In this way, Li Xiaogong, Li Jing, and Xu Shao could sail down the Yangtze River through the Three Gorges, Tian Shi'an could sail down the Yuan River, and Li Yuan could sail down the Han River. This would not only restrain Xiao Xian in Jiangling, but also threaten Wang Honglie, the nephew of Wang Shichong in Xiangyang.

We can first concentrate our efforts on recapturing Dengzhou.
This would sever Xiangyang's connection with Luoyang, turning it into an isolated city, allowing for a more leisurely sweep of the surrounding areas before attacking Xiangyang.

After capturing Xiangyang, we can sail down the Han River and directly seize the prefectures east of the Han River and west of the Huai River.

Looking at the map from the Ministry of War, Li Yi thought Li Daliang's plan was quite good.

Li Yi and Li Xiaogong launched simultaneous attacks, supporting each other. They attacked Xiao Xian, while Li Yi attacked Xiang, Deng, and Xianzhou. This made it difficult for the enemy to coordinate and provide assistance.

The Xiangdeng region has been repeatedly contested and its ownership uncertain for the past two years. Furthermore, it was devastated by Zhu Can's actions. Even if Wang Shichong were to seize it now...
This was not enough to cause Li Yi excessive worry.
In peaceful times, the Nanyang Basin was considered a decent place, but in recent years, Zhu Can has ruined it into something like a hellish prison.

Wang Shichong's reign was short-lived, and he had little foundation for establishing a stable rule, so he didn't send many troops.

The only thing they could rely on was the city.

But what use is a city without a foundation?

The Tang Dynasty was also unstable in the south of the mountains. Several pacification commissioners failed to stabilize the situation, and the local officials and powerful families that it recruited were constantly changing their allegiance or were attacked and destroyed by Zhu Can, Wang Shichong and others.

It cannot be destroyed or established,

Ultimately, it was up to the Tang Dynasty to send troops to conquer the area, then garrison troops and appoint officials.

Otherwise, it would be useless to bestow surnames, grant titles of kings, or appoint high-ranking officials like Yang Shilin and Zhu Can.

Although the Ministry of War only transferred 12,500 soldiers from Guanzhong, Li Yi was already satisfied. He then entrusted the detailed procedures to Li Shiji, Li Daliang, and Li Hongjie, and sent the three chief stewards, Guo Xiaoke, Li Wenxiang, and Huo Yu, to receive the troops.

Ren Can arrived at the Ministry of War.

"The Crown Prince requests that the Duke of Jin go to the Eastern Palace."

Li Yi, who was also serving as an official in the Eastern Palace, had no choice but to go.

During the competition for the title of commander in the Golden Hall, the Crown Prince winked at Li Yi, signaling him to step forward and nominate him as commander. Li Yi pretended not to see it, but Li Jiancheng must have been very unhappy about it.

In the end, the King of Qin recommended Li Yi to lead the army in Shannan, and the Crown Prince would probably feel even more that Li Yi was in cahoots with the King of Qin.

But Li Yi was as stubborn as a mule.
It's impossible for him to be with the Crown Prince.

Upon entering the East Palace,
The Crown Prince stepped forward to greet him, his face beaming with a warm smile, which surprised Li Yi.

"Does Wu Yi know why I am so happy?"

"I truly do not know."

"Firstly, I am happy that you have finally been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. Although His Majesty left me to assist in governing and could not personally lead the troops to the east, I am still very happy that you can take command and pacify the southern mountains."

"Furthermore, Li Gang has retired."

Li Jiancheng made no attempt to hide his dissatisfaction with Li Gang. Now that the old man had finally resigned, the emperor had agreed to relieve him of his posts as Minister of Rites and Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince.
He was appointed Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent.

"Although Li Gang has been appointed Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince, he will not come to the Eastern Palace often in the future, and he will not be in charge of the affairs of the Eastern Palace. With the old pedantic man gone, I feel much more at peace."

"His Majesty has already appointed Dou Kang as the Crown Prince's tutor, and Wu Yi, you will serve as the Junior Tutor."

Dou Kang, Duke of Chen, was the emperor's brother-in-law.

At the beginning of the Wude era, he was appointed as a chancellor and was ranked first in merit for his role in the suppression of Xue Ju. However, after the suppression of Xue Ju, he was dismissed from his post as chancellor and reassigned as the Left General of the Martial Guard, leading the Left and Right Thousand Cavalry Guards.

Li Jiancheng's first Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince was Dou Gui, then Li Gang, and now it's Dou Kang.

Li Yi never expected that he would be appointed as the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince's Chamberlain is the chief steward of the Eastern Palace, while the Junior Chamberlain assists him. Both are of the fourth rank, one rank higher than the Left and Right Junior Chamberlains, who are of the fourth rank.

"Your Highness, how could I possibly be qualified to serve as the Crown Prince's Junior Tutor?"

"Don't refuse, just take it on for now." Jiancheng took his hand and led him into the hall. "You're about to go to war, I wish you a great victory and a swift success."

"I hope you can recover Xiangdeng and quell Yang Shilin as soon as possible. Then I will directly recommend you to lead the eastern expedition to Luoyang."

Faced with the Crown Prince's direct attempt to win him over, Li Yi could only smile.

If I weren't a time traveler, I might actually have been dragged there by the Crown Prince.

“Wuyi, you are now a Duke, yet you only have one wife, one concubine, and two mistresses. You should take advantage of your youth to take more concubines and have more children.” Li Jiancheng changed the subject and brought up the topic of concubines.

"My Crown Princess comes from the Zheng clan of Xingyang, one of the five noble families and seven prominent clans in Shandong. Zheng Shanguo, the Left Vice-Minister of the Crown Prince and Duke of Xingyang, is the Crown Princess's cousin. You have met him a few times, and he speaks highly of you."

The Duke of Xingyang has a daughter, whose courtesy name is Boluomi and nickname is Rou Niang. She was born intelligent and studied poetry and literature from a young age. Now she has just reached the age of marriage.

"I'll make the decision myself. How about the Duke of Xingyang marry his precious daughter into the Li family as your concubine?"

Jiancheng also made a point of boasting about how illustrious the Zheng family was, for example, Zheng Shanguo's mother was from the Cui family of Qinghe, and his wife was from the Lu family of Fanyang.

Although Rou Niang was not born of the legitimate wife, she was still a member of the Five Clans and, in terms of seniority, was the Crown Princess's cousin.

Li Yi took Zheng Rou Niang as a concubine, thus becoming the son-in-law of the Zheng family of Xingyang, one of the five prominent families in Shandong, and also the brother-in-law of the crown prince.

In Jiancheng's view, such a good thing was something that many people longed for.

(End of this chapter)