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

Chapter 370 Tai Sui’s head is in trouble
"All seven prefectures under the jurisdiction of Dengzhou General Administration have been restored, and the traitor Yang Shilin has been executed."

"The Duke of Jin, without losing a single soldier, recovered seven prefectures and executed the traitor Yang. I congratulate the sage."

Taiji Palace
During the morning court session, Pei Ji, the Right Minister, led the way in offering congratulations to the emperor.

Although Li Yi was delayed for several days by torrential rain in Wuguan, his journey was not fast, and it took him twenty days to reach Neixiang.

It was truly satisfying to be able to recapture Dengzhou without losing a single soldier and kill Yang Shilin with a single act of sowing discord.

Li Yuan stroked his beard, sat on the imperial couch, and smiled broadly.

Grand Chancellor Feng Deyi immediately replied, "Your Majesty has a keen eye for talent and knows how to use people wisely."

"Hahaha." Li Yuan laughed loudly.

"Erlang, how is the allocation of troops, money, and provisions going?"

Li Shimin was also pleased with Li Yi's success. If Li Yi fought well in Shannan, he would have no worries about his rear when he marched on Luoyang. If Li Yi could completely capture Xiangyang, he could also cut off Wang Shichong's arm, and even take the opportunity to march north to attack Yi and Yu prefectures.

"We can send out troops in another month."

"Isn't a month too long?" Li Yuan asked.

"Your subject has done so as quickly as possible."

In high spirits, Li Yuan asked Pei Ji about Li Zhongwen's rebellion.

"Your Majesty, the case has been investigated and confirmed. Li Zhongwen plotted rebellion, and all the facts are documented," Pei Ji replied.

"Hmph, I have treated Li Zhongwen well. When his nephew Li Mi surrendered and then rebelled again, I did not implicate Li Zhongwen in the slightest. After he was defeated and captured in Bingzhou, I still entrusted him with important responsibilities."

He actually plotted rebellion; he deserves to die.

The emperor issued an edict ordering Li Zhongwen to be executed and his property confiscated. His wife, Tao, was also executed.

The evil monk Zhijue was cut in half at the waist in the middle of the city, and the temple where Zhijue lived was demolished.

Luoyang.

Emperor Wang Shichong of the Great Zheng Dynasty frowned as he looked at the urgent military reports that were flying in like snowflakes.

The Li Tang dynasty is frequently mobilizing troops, preparing to launch a full-scale offensive against Zheng.

Li Yi has already taken the lead in sending troops south of the mountains, and Li Shimin is also gathering troops in Shaanxi and Guo. The traitor Luo Shixin has even been appointed as the commander-in-chief of the Shaanxi Road Army and has begun to harass the Zheng army.

"His Majesty,"

"The powerful families of Dengzhou, including the Deng, Lü, Zhang, Lu, Cen, and Han families, rebelled, killed Zhang Fen, the governor of Dengzhou, and seized Dengzhou."
Powerful local magnates in Yu, Wan, Hong, and Li prefectures also rebelled, killing officials, seizing cities, and surrendering to the Tang dynasty.

Grand Commandant Yun Dingxing arrived in haste, bringing bad news.

Wang Shichong sighed.

He knew that the rebellion in Dengzhou was caused by his withdrawal of troops from the south of the mountains. Without troops stationed there, relying solely on local powerful officials and the state army was unreliable.

However, he had to recall his troops. Although Li Shimin was young, Wang Shichong, a veteran general, was very wary of him.

Whether it was Li Shimin defeating Xue Ju and his son, or this year's destruction of Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang in Hedong, the young man's ability to command troops made Wang Shichong deeply wary and even somewhat envious.

Wang Shichong fought over a hundred battles, winning more than he lost, yet he dared not say that he could have commanded these two battles better than Li Shimin.

He had to go all out against Li Shimin.

If Luoyang cannot be defended, what use is the stability of Shannan?

Sikong Duan Da paid an audience with the emperor.

"His Majesty,
Li Xiyu, the Tang Dynasty's governor of Luzhou, ambushed the Turkic caravan delivering horses and robbed us of all two thousand warhorses and over ten thousand cattle and sheep that we had purchased from the Turkic Khan Chuluo.

Wang Shichong could no longer hold back.

He slammed his fist heavily on the table.

"Is the Li Tang dynasty going to completely turn against the Turks? Haven't they thought about the consequences?" Wang Shichong went to great lengths to obtain the Turks' warhorses.

He sent his elder brother's daughter to marry into the Turkic Khaganate, and also bought warhorses at a high price with gold and silk, as well as many cattle and sheep.

They thought that with Chuluo Khan personally coming to the walls of Taiyuan to intimidate them, and his special agents escorting cattle and sheep south through Luzhou, the Tang army would not dare to intercept them.

Unexpectedly, the Tang people actually dared to attack the Turks and even robbed them of their cattle and horses.

Two thousand warhorses and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep! Wang Shichong had spent a fortune on them, and now they had been robbed halfway through the journey. Chuluo Khan would never be able to supply them again.

Yun Dingxing chimed in, "Your Majesty, I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing. Li Yuan was incredibly audacious this time, daring to ambush the Turks and seize their cattle and horses. Although the cattle and horses belong to us, the ambush of these few hundred Turkic cavalrymen..."
This was tantamount to provoking a major power like the Tang Dynasty, and the Turkic Khan Chuluo was far from letting it go easily. He had always wanted to wage war against the Tang, but the nobles in his Khanate were unwilling. This time, Chuluo was seizing the opportunity to do just that.

In my humble opinion, Chuluo Khan may soon launch a major offensive against the Li Tang dynasty, or even a full-scale attack, from Hexi to Shuofang, then to Daibei and Youzhou.

"Congratulations, Your Majesty! This is truly a wonderful thing!"

Wang Shichong looked at Yun Dingxing. Although he despised this man, he was clearly shrewd. Yun Dingxing had once been nothing more than a merchant. He had offered his beautiful daughter to Yang Yong, the Crown Prince of Sui, and she became his favorite concubine outside the palace. She even bore him three sons, which led Empress Dugu to order her to bring her into the palace and bestow upon her the title of Zhaoxun. Yun Dingxing thus gained access to the Eastern Palace and received numerous rewards.

Later, Yang Yong was deposed, and Yun Dingxing was stripped of his official title and assigned to the Imperial Household Department. He decisively bribed Yuwen Shu with gold and silver treasures and befriended Yang Guang. In order to gain Yang Guang's favor, he took the initiative to devise a plan for Yang Guang to kill all of Yang Yong's sons, including his own three grandsons.

After Wang Shichong seized power in Luoyang, Yun Dingxing actively urged him to ascend the throne. He even forced Yang Tong to abdicate, for which Wang Shichong specially appointed him as Grand Commandant.

In fact, Wang Shichong did not like Yun Dingxing, but he did not have many supporters in Luoyang, especially among the former officials. Only a few people, such as Duan Da and Yun Dingxing, supported him, so he could only use these people to decorate his image.

“The Grand Commandant is right.” Wang Shichong thought about it and realized that it made sense.

Li Yuan seized two thousand horses and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep from him, but this thoroughly angered Chu Luo, and also allowed Chu Luo to persuade the nobles in the country to have a legitimate reason to send troops.

The Turks launched a full-scale attack on the Tang Dynasty. Could Li Yuan withstand it?

That's hundreds of thousands of archers, capable of invading from anywhere along the vast border. "Your Majesty, last year when Liu Wuzhou attacked Hedong, Li Yuan was caught off guard and almost had to abandon Hedong and retreat to Chang'an."

Now that the Turks are launching a full-scale offensive, I believe they will inevitably be able to reach the gates of Chang'an and drink from the Wei River.

By then, Li Yuan will be too busy taking care of himself to invade our Great Zheng again.

He might even have to move the capital to Longyou, or even Bashu.

Wang Shichong laughed heartily, stroking his red beard with great pleasure.

"Li Yuan has made a huge mistake this time."
However, we can't rely entirely on the Turks. At the very least, we need to be able to withstand Li Shimin's attack before the Turks invade Guanzhong.

Wang Shichong walked up to the sand table.
Looking at the terrain,

He couldn't help but frown again.
Luoyang was a place of constant warfare.
"Your Majesty, I believe we can send an envoy to Mingzhou to meet Dou Jiande, so that Zheng and Xia can form an alliance and jointly deal with Li Yuan," Yun Dingxing offered another suggestion.

But Wang Shichong could only frown helplessly.

Before Wang Shichong declared himself emperor, Dou Jiande submitted a memorial to Emperor Huangtai in Luoyang, acknowledging his allegiance. They were still separated by the territory and influence of the Li Tang dynasty, so their relationship was relatively good.

But later, Dou Jiande seized Hebei.

Fearing that Dou Jiande would invade Henan, Wang Shichong personally led troops to seize Liyang, Weizhou, Hebei, after Li Shiji fled back to Chang'an.

This angered Dou Jiande, and the Xia army retaliated by seizing Yinzhou, west of Weizhou. The two sides became enemies and ceased all contact.

Now that the Tang army is about to attack Zheng, even if Wang Shichong sends an envoy to ask for help, Dou Jiande will probably only gloat and prefer to sit on the sidelines and watch the tigers fight. Why would he come to the rescue?

It would be good if they didn't take the opportunity to attack Liyang, or even advance into Henan.

Looking at the sand table,

After much deliberation, Wang Shichong finally drafted a defense plan.

"Drafting an imperial edict."

"Wei King Wang Honglie was appointed to guard Xiangyang, Jing King Wang Xingben was appointed to guard Hulao Pass, and Song King Wang Tai was appointed to guard Huaizhou."

Wang Shichong was holding several small flags in his hand.

He planted small flags at key locations on the outskirts of Luoyang and dispatched three members of the Zheng imperial family. In crucial moments, he still trusted his own people more.

"King Qi, Wang Shiyun, is in charge of the southern city of Luoyang; King Chu, Wang Shiwei, guards the treasure city of Luoyang; Crown Prince Xuanying guards the eastern city of Luoyang; King Han, Wang Xuanshu, guards Hanjia City; and King Lu, Wang Daoxun, guards Yaoyi City."
I will personally command the entire army.

Looking at the small flags planted on the sand table, Yun Dingxing wanted to offer some advice, but in the end he held back. At this time, the emperor only trusted the Wang family, and saying too much would only make things worse.

"Is appointed General Yang Gongqing, the Left Assistant General, to command the cavalry of the twenty-eight Left Dragon Cavalry Commanderies."
Right Guerrilla General Guo Shancai commanded the infantry of the twenty-eight prefectures of the inner army.
Left Guerrilla General Ba Yegang commanded the infantry of twenty-eight outer military prefectures.
A total of 30,000 men are to be under my command in preparation for an attack by Li Shimin.

"Your Majesty, the families and wives of Tang generals Qu Tutong, Qin Shubao, and Cheng Yaojin are still imprisoned in the palace. Should we deal with them first?" asked Wei Jie, the Grand Secretary.

Grand Tutor Su Wei objected, "Your Majesty, keeping these people's wives and children in custody is more useful than killing them. If we kill them now, they will surely harbor hatred and attack with all their might. It's better to detain them, so that they will be hesitant to act against us."

"The Grand Tutor is right, keep them imprisoned. Let their wives and children write to them, urging them to surrender."

Nayan Yang Xu presented a memorial.

Wang Shichong's expression grew increasingly grim as he looked at the scene.

"Is there any other evidence?"

"Not for now, but I believe this matter should not be taken lightly."

Wang Shichong snorted coldly, "I have always regarded Du Yan as a confidant, yet he is secretly communicating with Chang'an at this time. Is he trying to arrange his escape route in advance?"

"Issuing an imperial edict to dismiss Du Yan from his post as Minister of Personnel and to replace him with Yang Wang."

The relevant authorities are ordered to thoroughly investigate this matter.

Although the evidence was not yet complete, Wang Shichong dared not disbelieve it. Du Yan's son-in-law was now the Pacification Commissioner of Tangshan South Circuit, the Commander-in-Chief of the Han River Road Army, the Left Vice Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, and the Acting Minister of the Xianzhou Circuit and Commander-in-Chief of Dengzhou. He was leading troops to attack Shannan.

They have also captured seven prefectures in Nanyang and Dengfu.

At this point, who knows if Du Yan was already preparing to defect to the Tang Dynasty?

I would rather trust it to have it than to trust it to have nothing.

Yang Wang personally went to the Ministry of Personnel to deliver the imperial edict.

Du Yan, the Minister of Personnel and Duke of Wen, was processing official documents when Yang Wang entered.

"Master Yang?"

"Lord Du, His Majesty has issued an imperial edict. Please receive it."

Du Yan and Yang Wang did not have a good relationship. Yang Wang was originally a member of the Sui Dynasty royal family. During the Daye era, he served as Dali Qing and Guoziji Jiu. When Huang Tai established the dynasty, he was appointed Minister of Personnel. Later, Du Yan became a confidant of Wang Shichong and replaced Yang Wang as Minister of Personnel.

Du Yan stood up, straightened his clothes, and had a bad feeling.

After Yang Wang finished reading the imperial edict, the emperor ordered him to be suspended from his post and interrogated. Du Yan felt dizzy.

“My son was harmed by Li Yi. How could I have secretly communicated with him? This is a frame-up. I want to see His Majesty and explain in person.”

Yang Wang merely chuckled coldly, "Lord Du, His Majesty is busy and has no time to see you. You should explain things to the Ministry of Justice first."

Du Yan took a few deep breaths, forcing himself to calm down.

"Fine, the innocent are innocent. I didn't do it, so why should I be afraid of an investigation!"

(End of this chapter)