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

Chapter 366 Lantian
"Nanyang was the backbone of the nation, and during the Han Dynasty it was called the Southern Capital."

Riding alongside the central army, Li Yi discussed matters with Li Daliang and the others. Li Daliang had recently returned from Ankang, Jinzhou, in the middle reaches of the Han River; he had taken the Lanwu Road back to the capital. "The Lanwu Road, like the Baoxie Road, has a long history of construction," he said.
It is the only way from Guanzhong to Shannan, but every summer floods cause it to collapse and make travel difficult. In the previous dynasty, there was a plan to open a Lanwu side road, starting from Lantian and ending in Neixiang in the east, which was more than 700 li long. However, the road was blocked by many mountains, and it would require more than 100,000 laborers to build bridges, roads and government offices. In the end, it could not be built.

There was also a plan to open a mountain road from Shangzhou westward to Shimen in Lantian, diverting the Dan River from the south of the Qinling Mountains to Shangzhou via a canal. From Shangzhou, the road would exit through Shimen and reach northern Lantian, creating a passage for transporting goods. However, the construction of the mountain pass resulted in many deaths, and heavy rains and mudslides destroyed the road, so the new Shimen road project was abandoned.

It's June now.

It is summer, the season with frequent heavy rains and mudslides.

They have to march hundreds of miles through Lanwu Pass, and it would be very troublesome if they encountered torrential rain or mudslides.

"Does Chief Secretary Li know about the weather? Is there going to be heavy rain soon?" Li Yi asked.

If we really encounter such a rainstorm, it will be troublesome. The rainstorm will turn into a flash flood, and may even trigger a mudslide. Even if there is no mudslide, it is common for flash floods to wash away mountain roads or flood roads, which will delay the march.

“This season is prone to summer floods,” Li Daliang said, though he couldn’t say for sure.

Along the Lanwu Road, from Chang'an Baqiao Post Station to Yangcheng Post Station, there are more than twenty post stations, and more than a thousand post horses are provided.

They arrived in Lantian County that day.

They set up camp just outside the county town, and local officials, along with their servants, brought them sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks, vegetables, millet, and other items, which Li Yi had his soldiers pay for.

When they arrived, they didn't need to set up camp.

The five thousand auxiliary soldiers from Guanzhong, who were conscripted in advance, were all able-bodied young men from the capital region. They had already assembled here and built temporary camps for the soldiers.

Li Shiji and the others were all veteran generals, and they were also very experienced in setting up camps. Li Yi didn't need to worry about them; the various generals could make the arrangements themselves.

Outside the military camp,
Local vendors and residents of Lantian, as well as merchants who came with the army, all started setting up stalls, creating a lively scene.

Li Yi was already used to the merchant caravans accompanying the army. Their existence wasn't entirely a bad thing; they also had considerable uses.

"After dark, no one is allowed to enter or leave the military camp, and no noise is permitted. Anyone who disobeys will be executed."

"Tonight's password: Snow blankets the Blue Pass."

Guo Xiaoke was puzzled as to why the military order was for snow-covered Lantian Pass in the middle of summer. Nevertheless, he agreed and went to arrange the duty shifts and patrols.

As soon as it gets dark,
The military markets outside also closed down, and the vendors either set up tents or made do with a makeshift shed for the night, as they would have to continue carrying their goods and following the army the next day.

Even after some vendors lay down, they were still calculating in their minds how much goods they had sold and how much money they had made that day.

It's easier to make money from soldiers accompanying the army, but there's no war yet. The real money-making opportunity will come after a victory.

They especially profited from the spoils of war, bypassing middlemen and earning first-hand profits. Their goods, in turn, were sold to the soldiers who had made a fortune, fetching even higher prices.

I heard that last year, when the Duke of Jin was in Hedong, those who did business with him made a fortune. Especially the powerful families in Haozhou, who made an unknown amount of money just from taking in several waves of prisoners of war, numbering twenty or thirty thousand.

It was just getting dark.
Li Yi wasn't going to rest that early either.

He summoned his generals to a meeting and brewed them some herbal tea.

Herbal tea may taste a little bitter at first, but it has a sweet aftertaste, and most importantly, it can relieve internal heat.

"I have already sent men ahead to scout the roads and see if there are any side roads after leaving Wuguan. If there are, we will go through Shangnan to Neixiang and then head straight for Nanyang."

Neixiang, which is now the seat of Xizhou, was built in the valley of the Xishui River, a tributary of the Danjiang River. After Zhu Can captured Dengzhou in Nanyang, he once attacked Xizhou. Later, Zheng Yuanzhu led 10,000 infantry and cavalry to repel him.

At this time, Neixiang in the Tang Dynasty was not the same place as Neixiang in later times; the present-day Neixiang is in Xixia in later times.

Sima Li Hongjie reminded Li Yi: "The cities of Nanyang have been repeatedly plundered in recent years, resulting in a severe loss of population and a large amount of abandoned land, leading to a persistent famine."

Even if the off-road route is feasible, the issue of food supply still needs to be considered.

We cannot expect supplies to be replenished in Neixiang, Jutan, Xincheng, or other places.

Neixiang was formerly known as Jutan City, located on the banks of the Jushui River, a tributary of the Tuanshui River. Last year, Zhu Can was defeated and fled to Jutan to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. The court bestowed upon him the title of Prince of Chu and allowed him to appoint his own officials. Later, Duan Que was sent to appease him, but Duan Que, in his drunken state, insisted on asking Zhu Can if human flesh tasted good.

Zhu Can said that eating drunkards was like eating fermented pork. Duan Que scolded Zhu Can for being nothing more than a servant chieftain even after entering the court. So Zhu Can simply cooked him and dozens of his men, then slaughtered the city of Jutan and went to join Wang Shichong.

Jutan Town is still almost like a ghost town.

It was precisely because of Zhu Can's repeated attacks that the Nanyang region was weakened, which allowed Wang Shichong to take advantage of the situation and capture Xiangdeng.

"We still have to rely on the Danjiang River to transport grain, fodder, and equipment supplies; we can't expect to eat from the local food sources in Nanyang."

Li Yi didn't think Nanyang was really out of food.

Indeed, the people of Nanyang had suffered greatly from the misdeeds of Zhu Can and others in recent years. A large number of people fled to Guanzhong, leaving fields barren and people starving, but it did not mean that there was no food at all.

There are still many fortified villages in the Nanyang area, which were defended by powerful and wealthy families. These families had many sons and grandsons who, during times of chaos, would lead their relatives, retainers, and tenant farmers to defend the fortified villages. Even in peacetime, they would still cultivate the land.

When the enemy came, they would retreat to their fortified villages; if the enemy was strong, they would hand over some money and food, or even send some hostages.

These fortified villages were sometimes even harder to conquer than county towns and prefectures. Even a bandit like Zhu Can sometimes didn't want to attack them. He thought that if he tried to take them by force, he would break his teeth, and in the end, he wouldn't have much manpower or resources to spare, so it wasn't worth the effort.

"I think we can first send people to the seven prefectures of Nanyang, or even the thirty-five prefectures under the Six General Administration of Xianzhou, to make contact and spread the word that the imperial army is about to arrive."

Especially to communicate with the powerful and wealthy families in various regions,

Tell them that regardless of whether they were previously allied with Zhu Can, Yang Shilin, Wang Shichong, or Xiao Xian, that is the past, and the court can overlook all of it.

Now that the imperial army has arrived, all officials in various prefectures and counties who welcome the army and surrender will have their original positions retained by this governor.
I even have the power to kill those stubborn and unyielding county officials. I, the Grand Administrator, will use the power of appointment and conferment granted to me by the Sage to recommend them for the positions of Prefect, Magistrate, etc., and I will also reward them handsomely.

Capture and kill one bandit auxiliary soldier, reward three bolts of silk; capture and kill one bandit armored soldier, reward ten bolts of silk. Capture a bandit gang leader, reward twenty bolts of silk. Capture a bandit squad leader, reward fifty bolts of silk. Capture a bandit brigade commander, reward seventy bolts of silk; capture a bandit captain, reward one hundred bolts of silk.

If you capture the commander of his camp, you will be rewarded with 200 bolts of armor; if you capture the commander who commands more than 1,000 men, you will be rewarded with 300 bolts of silk.

Capturing and killing are counted separately as merits; accumulated merits may lead to the awarding of honors.

Niu Jinda and Wu Heita, two generals from the Prince of Qin's mansion, felt that the reward proposed by Li Yi was somewhat unreasonable. Three bolts of silk for a minor soldier was too little. On the other hand, three hundred bolts of silk for a commander-in-chief who led more than a thousand men seemed a bit too much.

"Don't worry about the rewards. Once we take Xiangdeng and Xianzhou, we'll confiscate the rebels' treasuries. Are we really going to be short of silk to reward them?"

How much money and food does an army of tens of thousands consume in a single day?
Of course, the real point of Li Yi's bounty was not how much reward one could get for capturing or beheading a bandit, but rather to encourage the local strongmen in the south of the mountains to stand up and defect. If they could capture a county, Li Yi would appoint them as county magistrates; if they could capture a prefecture, Li Yi would recommend them as governors.

Not only did they forgive past transgressions, but they also bestowed such generous rewards. This was the most powerful move when the Tang army pressed in with overwhelming force.

After all, Wang Shichong had only captured Luoyang for two months, so what kind of foundation of rule could he have? In the end, the most influential people in the region were still the local powerful families.

Even though Yang Shilin, Tian Zan, Zhang Zhenzhou, Zhou Faming and others in Xianzhou Road were the most powerful local families, they still had other powerful local families under their command.

"Should we send someone to persuade Yang Shilin to surrender?" Li Hongjie asked.

Li Yi thought for a moment, "Yang Shilin is a two-faced man, completely untrustworthy, and there's no need to persuade him anymore. However, his chief secretary Tian Zan also serves as the governor of Suizhou, so I think we can try to win him over."

He looked at the map. The Suizhou General Administration governed three prefectures: Sui, Chang, and Xiang. Xiangzhou had been taken over by Wang Shichong. Changzhou was actually the former Zaoyang County of Suizhou, which was later incorporated into Huyang and Shangma cities.

Tian Zan's territory was actually the Handong Commandery and Chunling Commandery of the Sui Dynasty, while Yang Shilin's base of operations was the Sui Dynasty's Huai'an Commandery and Yiyang Commandery to his northeast.

They are adjacent to Xiangdeng and backed by mountainous areas.

They all took advantage of the chaos of the Sui Dynasty to kill officials, rebel, and establish their own independent regimes. They were both powerful local families and government officials, but their strength was not particularly great. They had survived to this day only by wavering and vacillating. Li Miqiang then submitted a memorial to Li Mi to submit to him.

When Zhu Can was powerful, they submitted to him. But when Zhu Can was defeated by the Tang, they immediately turned against him again.

Now that Wang Shichong and Xiao Xian are by his side, he is exchanging glances with them.

Yang Shilin and Tian Zan were actually only allies, not superiors and subordinates.

“However, Tian Zan is no good either. It would be difficult to directly turn him to the enemy. It would be better to use a plan,” Li Yi said with a smile.

Li Shiji was curious about Li Yi's scheme. "Does the Grand Steward perhaps want them to fight amongst themselves?"

"Yes, Chief Secretary Li, write a letter to Tian Zan for me, saying that the court has long seen through Yang Shilin, this traitor, but still believes that Tian Zan did not participate in the rebellion."
If Tian Zan is able to send troops to attack Yang Shilin and cooperate with the imperial army in the attack, then the imperial court will not only not punish him, but will also...
Instead, they should promote him to a higher official rank and title.

This chief official recommended him for the position of Left Vice Minister of the Xianzhou Circuit and requested that he be granted the title of Duke.

Li Shiji felt that such a promise might not be useful.

"Don't worry, Duke Cao, there's another brilliant idea," Li Yi continued with a smile. "Write another letter to Yang Shilin with similar content, telling him that the court is willing to give him a chance to redeem himself. He believes that it was his chief secretary, Tian Zan, who instigated the rebellion. As long as Yang Shilin sends troops to destroy Tian Zan, the court will forgive him and even grant him a royal title."

Li Shiji couldn't help but marvel at Li Yi's wicked plan.

"Send the letter to Tian Zan to Yang Shilin, and the letter to Yang Shilin to Tian Zan."

As soon as this word comes out,
Even Li Shiji couldn't help but admire him.

This isn't about turning Tian Zan against his cause; it's about forcing them to start a war.

After receiving Li Yi's letter, could Yang Shilin still trust Tian Zan as an ally? Even if Tian Zan didn't intend to take action after receiving the letter, Yang Shilin might.

"Duke of Jin never expected Tian Zan to be turned, did he?" Li Shiji asked.

“Ordinary methods may not work, but unconventional approaches may have surprising effects,” Li Yi said. After all, it’s just a matter of writing two letters, and it doesn’t take much effort.

If it works out, great; if not, it can still sow suspicion between the two and destroy their alliance.

If the two of them really do attack each other because of this, that would be the best outcome.

After listening for a while, Huo couldn't help but ask, "Why not just send a letter to Tian Zan to persuade him to defect? ​​Perhaps he would really be willing?"

“If Tian Zan could really be turned to the side with just one letter, he wouldn’t have remained indifferent when Zhu Can attacked Xiangyang, Dengzhou, and Xizhou, nor would he have stood still when Wang Shichong sent troops to seize Xiangyang and Dengzhou, and even sold grain to the puppet Zheng army,” Li Yi explained to the female general.

"The task of sending people to contact the powerful families in various prefectures and counties will be left to the Chief Secretary and the Military Advisor. It's hot today, so we need to get up early to travel. Let's end the meeting here and everyone go and get some rest."

The generals rose and departed.

Standing there, Huo asked Li Yi, "Will Yang Shilin and Tian Zan really fight?"

I think so.

"Would local powerful families in Nanyang also rise up to kill Wang Shichong's prefects and magistrates?"

"Probably too."

Huo chuckled: "The Grand Steward is quite confident."

"Let's wait and see; we'll know the result soon."

"Hmm, I'm really looking forward to it. The head steward should get some rest too." Madam Huo swayed her hips as she left; her legs were really long.

(End of this chapter)