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

Chapter 384 I defeated ten thousand enemies with thirteen horsemen.
The autumn wind is blowing.

Li Shimin led 50,000 infantry and cavalry to garrison at Mangshan, north of Luoyang, setting up camps for ten miles to press the enemy.

The various commanders also led their troops to approach from all sides. The general commander Shi Wanbao advanced from Shou'an to Longmen, south of Luoyang, while Liu Dewei led his troops out of Taihang to besiege Henan.

The governor of Huai Prefecture attacked Luoyang from Heyin, and Wang Junkuo, the Duke of Shanggu, fled to Luokou.

The brave and fierce soldiers and cavalry charged forward together.

On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, in the main camp of Beiman Mountain, Li Shimin was also preparing mutton wine and sesame cakes for his soldiers to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival.

"Report!"

"Reporting to the King of Qin, Huang Junhan, the governor of Huai Prefecture, sent his colonel Zhang Yacha with a naval force to cross the Yellow River, attack Huiluo City, capture it, and take its garrison general Daxi Shanding prisoner. Huang Junhan led his troops to destroy the Heyang South Bridge, and more than twenty surrounding fortresses surrendered."

Li Shimin received the victory report written by Huang Junhan himself, and the more he read, the happier he became, slapping his thigh in excitement. Huang Junhan had also been a general of Wagang, but he started out as a jailer. He came from the Jiangxia Huang clan, and his great-grandfather had even served as a prefect.
His ancestors were officials in the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties, but by the Sui dynasty, his family had already declined. When Huang Junhan was young, he volunteered for the Eastern Expedition and was awarded the title of Lixinwei for his merit in being the first to scale the walls. However, at the end of the Sui dynasty, he was still just a jailer in Dongjun.

Zhai Rang, a legal officer in Dongjun, was sentenced to death for a crime and happened to be imprisoned in the jail under Huang Junhan's jurisdiction. Huang Junhan secretly released Zhai Rang and later joined Wagang himself.

After Li Mi's defeat and surrender to the Tang Dynasty, Huang Junhan also submitted a memorial of allegiance in Hanoi and was granted the titles of Grand Pillar of State, Governor-General of Huaizhou, and Duke of Fenyin County. However, the court had been preoccupied with fighting Xue Ju and Liu Wuzhou and could not attend to Hanoi. Moreover, Hanoi was extremely important to Luoyang, no less so than Hulao Pass, hence the fierce competition for it.
Huang Junhan, the governor of Hanoi, was forced to retreat to Baiyabao after being attacked, where he struggled to hold on.

The Tang Dynasty court had never really taken Huang Junhan seriously.

Who knew that Huang Junhan, after holding back for two years, would be so fierce now.

"Do you know how fierce this Yaksha is? He led only seventy-odd men, crossed the Yellow River at night on sheepskin rafts, and then sneaked into Huiluo City and captured it in one fell swoop."

More than seventy men! The traitorous Song king Wang Tai, along with his valiant generals, launched a fierce attack. Zhang Yacha and the other seventy-odd men fought valiantly without retreating, finally waiting for Huang Junhan to arrive as reinforcements.

Li Shimin praised them highly, saying that seventy-two men had captured Huiluo City in a night raid, which was truly remarkable. Huiluo City was one of the six major granaries of the Sui Dynasty, and although it was now out of grain, it was still a strong fortress.

"By order of my commander, Zhang Yacha is to be immediately promoted to General of the Cavalry and sent back to Luoyang to defend the city!"

Luokou City is located northeast of Luoyang. In this battle, Huang Junhan and Zhang Yecha defeated the enemy, captured their general, burned the Nanheyang Bridge, severely damaged the morale of the Zheng army, and severed Wang Shichong's connection between Luoyang and the north bank of the Hanoi River.

Shi Wanbao and Li Shiji severed Yique.

The rope around Luoyang's neck was getting tighter and tighter.

"Report,"

"Wang Shichong left Luoyang and led his army to occupy Qingcheng Palace in the northwest of Luoyang."

Wang Shichong arrayed his troops outside Qingcheng Palace.
Li Shimin laughed and said, "Wang Shichong wants to finish the war before the Mid-Autumn Festival? Then let's keep him company. Order the troops to assemble."

The war drums sounded, and the Tang army assembled.

The army advanced westward and stopped on the east bank of the Chan River.

Wang Shichong had also led his army to the west bank of the Chan River long ago.

The two armies stood facing each other across the Chan River, their banners obscuring the sun.

Wang Shichong, clad in golden armor, rode his horse to the riverbank and shouted across the river, "The Sui Dynasty has fallen, the Tang Emperor ruled Guanzhong, the Zheng Emperor ruled Henan, but I, Shichong, have never invaded the west!"
Why did the King of Qin suddenly raise an army and march eastward?

Li Shimin did not want to engage in a verbal battle with Wang Shichong, so he sent Yuwen Shiji to answer.

Yuwen Shiji rode his horse to the shore and replied, "The whole world admires the imperial way, but you alone obstruct the spread of the teachings, and that is why I have come!"

Wang Shichong looked at the continuous army formations on the east bank and gritted his teeth.
"Why don't we cease hostilities and make peace with each other? Wouldn't that be better?"

"We were ordered to take Luoyang, but we were not given any orders to make peace."

Wang Shichong was trapped in mid-air and had no chance to get down.

And so the two sides lined up in battle formation across the Chan River.

Wang Shichong dared not cross the river to attack, but Li Shimin was not in a hurry. The two sides remained in a stalemate until dusk, when Wang Shichong had no choice but to order a retreat to Qingcheng Palace.

Li Shimin waited for a while and saw that Wang Shichong's army retreated in a very orderly manner, leaving no opportunity to take advantage of the situation. He was also worried about being attacked while crossing the river, so he ordered a retreat back to the Beiman Mountain camp.

Wang Shichong also gained a lot of experience from being besieged. He was arrogant because he was confident that no one could break through his defenses by relying on Luoyang. However, he could not just defend. He had to look for opportunities. As long as he found an opportunity, he could turn the tide. But today, Li Shimin was very calm.

Even though he deliberately only brought half of his troops out of the city to form ranks today, Li Shimin did not have the urge to attack.

This is not a good thing. If Li Shimin doesn't make mistakes, how can he have a chance to win?

Li Shimin was not in a hurry. He had learned his lesson from Cijian once, and now he was as steady as an old dog.

He was waiting, waiting for the outer perimeter to continue its advance and completely cut off Luoyang's supply and reinforcements.

"If we hold back Wang Shichong's main force here, Li Yi's side can sweep away all enemies. Perhaps not only will Bianhuaguan and Zhengzhou be captured, but even Wulaoguan can be seized."

Southwest of Luoyang, on the banks of the Yi River.

The three chief stewards, Shi Wanbao, Li Shiji, and Wang Junkuo, spent the Mid-Autumn Festival here.

The next day, the three generals divided their forces.

Shi Wanbao continued to guard Yique Longmen, while Li Shiji moved eastward to conquer the land south of Songshan Mountain, and advanced towards Yingyang and Dengfeng as planned, with his target being Zhengzhou.

Wang Junkuo marched eastward north of Mount Song, his target being Luokou Granary near Hulao Pass.

"May you all have great success in your military endeavors!" Shi Wanbao, the great hero of Chang'an, saw them off at the city gate. Wang Junkuo and Li Shiji drank the farewell wine and led their respective troops forward separately.

At the foot of Xuanyuan Ridge on Mount Song, lies Xuanyuan Pass.

This is an important pass leading from the Luoyang Basin to the south of Mount Song. Going south to Dengfeng, one can follow the Ying River south to Xuzhou, Chenzhou, Bozhou, and finally reach the Huai River.

Once you reach Dengfeng, you can travel east to places like Zhengzhou and Bianzhou.

night,

Wang Junkuo led a small cavalry unit to the foot of the mountain discreetly. He only had thirteen men with him, and they took a roundabout route up Xuanyuan Mountain before rappelling down the cliff using ropes. No one could have imagined that this Duke of Shanggu would have such audacity.

Thirteen men dared to attack the pass.

They bypassed the main gate of the pass and rappelled down from the cliff into the pass inside Xuanyuan Valley.

Wang Junkuo was from Shiai in Bingzhou. He was orphaned and poor from a young age and made a living by selling horses. He was notorious in the village for his bad character and often stole. Everyone in the village was worried about him. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he planned to gather people to start an army. His uncle disagreed, so he falsely accused his aunt of having an affair with the neighbor. He and his uncle killed the neighbor, and his uncle was forced to become a thief.

Wang Junkuo, who had gathered more than a thousand men, was also known for his fickleness and lack of integrity. He once pretended to accept the prefect's offer of amnesty, but secretly ambushed the prefect with troops.

Later, he joined forces with several other groups to attack Yuxiang. When they were besieged by Song Laosheng, Wang Junkuo was unable to defeat them and surrendered. When Song Laosheng lowered his guard, he fled in the middle of the night.

After occupying Jingxing, Li Yuan sent someone to pacify him, and he outwardly agreed. However, he launched a surprise attack on other rebel armies that wanted to join him, seized their horses and supplies, and then ran away to join Li Mi. But he was not valued by Li Mi, so he ran back to Li Yuan.

Fortunately, Li Yuan was always open to all comers, so he accepted his official titles and ranks, granting him the title of Grand Pillar of State, Duke of a Commandery, and Governor. Ultimately, it was because he had troops under his command.

Wang Junkuo, who grew up in the Taihang Mountains, was bold and ruthless. No one would have thought that he would sneak into the pass in such a way. After entering the pass, he did not rush to seize the gate, but went straight to the residence of the pass's garrison commander.

He made his way directly to the garrison commander's residence, easily killing several soldiers along the way, and finally sat down on the commander's bed.

After sizing up the guard, Wang Junkuo slit the guard's throat with a single stroke. Then, he calmly searched the area, taking away the valuables, before heading to close the north gate of the city.

Murder and robbery,
Send a signal.

They led the light cavalry ambushed to the north of the pass into the pass, massacred Xuanyuan Pass, and looted all the money and grain in the pass.

He deliberately let several of the guards escape.

Upon hearing the news, Wei Yin, the garrison commander of Goushi City to the north, immediately led his troops to attack Xuanyuan Pass.

Unexpectedly, Wang Junkuo had already laid an ambush of troops in Xuanyuan Gully north of the pass. When Wei Yin hurriedly led his troops into Xuanyuan Gully, Wang Junkuo's ambush troops sprang up from all sides, and arrows rained down like rain.

Wei Yin suffered a major defeat and was captured alive by Wang Junkuo.

After capturing Wei Yin, Wang Junkuo forced him to write a letter summoning the remaining troops in Goushi City to come and reinforce them. He then stamped the letter with his seal and sent Wei Yin's son to deliver it.

"If you dare to leak this information, you can expect to be collecting your father's corpse!"

Wei Yin's son had no choice but to take the letter back to mobilize troops.
As a result, the remaining troops in the city were ambushed and defeated by Wang Junkuo.

Wang Junkuo then escorted Wei Yin and his son back to the city disguised as a defeated Zheng army, and thus captured Goushi City in one fell swoop.

After entering Goushi City, Wang Junkuo allowed his troops to plunder the city. They looted everything they saw, whether it was public or private property. Except for prohibitions against raping women, killing indiscriminately, and requiring that two-thirds of the looted property be handed over, there were no other restrictions.

The city of Goushi was in chaos.
Wang Junkuo sat in the government office writing letters to the King of Qin in Beiman Mountain and the Emperor in Chang'an. Since he was illiterate, he asked the prisoner Wei Yin to write them for him.

He dictated it, and Wei Yin recorded it.

"Your subject, Wang Junkuo, Duke of Shanggu, Governor of Liaozhou, and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, paid homage to the Emperor from afar at Goushi City in Luoyang. With thirteen horsemen, I defeated ten thousand enemy soldiers..."

Wei Yin could barely write anymore, pen in hand. "Thirteen riders defeated ten thousand men? How dare you boast like that? He was ambushed at Xuanyuan Gully, where there were at least five thousand men."

Xuanyuan Pass only had a few hundred soldiers, and Goushi City had only three thousand men, so where did the ten thousand come from?

"Write it!" Wang Junkuo glared at him angrily while drinking his wine. "Don't think that your father is illiterate. There are plenty of literate people around him. If you dare to write even half a word wrong, I'll twist your head off and use it as a football!"

Wei Yin quickly picked up his pen and wrote it down verbatim.
Wang Junkuo made him read it aloud, and although it was written exactly as he had instructed, Wang Junkuo frowned in dissatisfaction, saying, "Have you ever read a book? Do you know how to write a memorial? Can't you use proper language to fully display the might of this Duke..."

South of Mount Song
Yangcheng County, located on the banks of the upper reaches of the Ying River,

Although this city is small

However, in historical records, he has a remarkable background. Emperor Shun enfeoffed Yu in Yangcheng to establish the Xia Dynasty. According to historical records, when Emperor Shun reigned for thirty-three years, he abdicated the throne to Yu. Later, Shun died during a southern tour. After the three-year mourning period, Yu went to Yangcheng to live in seclusion and passed the throne to Shun's son, Shang Jun.

However, all the feudal lords in the world left Shangjun and went to Yangcheng to pay homage to Yu. With the support of the feudal lords, Yu officially ascended the throne and established the Xia Dynasty.

At that time, however, Songshan was just a small town.

Magistrate Wang Xiong looked at the intelligence reports gathered before him, the truth of which was hard to discern. Some reports claimed that Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin of Tang, had decisively defeated Emperor Zheng in Luoyang.

Some say that Li Yi, a Tang Dynasty official, has already captured Hulao Pass.

There are also reports that Wang Junkuo, the Tang general in charge of the army, has already captured Xuanyuan Pass and is heading towards Dengfeng City.

It is also said that the army commander-in-chief, Li Shiji, has already come east along the Ying River valley.

Among these intelligence reports were several letters of surrender, one of which was from Wang Chang, a member of the same clan. Wang Chang was from the Langya Wang clan, but unlike Wang Chang, who was originally just a clerk in the Ministry of Personnel in Luoyang and bought his way into the position of magistrate of Ye County, Wang Chang had risen through the ranks to become the magistrate of Yangcheng County step by step.

It's unbelievable that Wang Xian has now become the governor and prefect of Yezhou in the Tang Dynasty. He only bought his position as magistrate of Ye County a little over a hundred days ago.

Wang Xian wrote a letter urging Wang Xiong to surrender to the Tang Dynasty. He also said that Li Jin, the Chamberlain, had said that if Wang Xiong was willing to surrender, then Songzhou would be established with the three counties of Yangxian, Dengfeng, and Yingyang, and Wang Xiong would be appointed as the governor and prefect of Songzhou.

If one becomes the magistrate of Yangcheng, and then the governor or prefect of Songzhou, one can rise to prominence just like Wang Xian.

“Ah Lang,”

The scouts sent out to gather information returned, drenched in sweat. "Xuanyuan Pass, north of Mount Song, has indeed been captured by the Tang general Wang Junkuo. It is said that Goushi City has also fallen. Now, everyone in Dengfeng City is living in fear. Some people who fled from the north say that Wang Junkuo defeated ten thousand men with thirteen horsemen..."

"Furthermore, Tang general Li Shiji is besieging Yingshui City in the west."

Wang Xiong panicked.

Without further hesitation, he quickly picked up his pen and began to reply to Wang Xian, expressing his willingness to lead his people to surrender the city and submit to the Tang Dynasty.

After Xuanyuan Pass was breached, and especially after the news of Wang Junkuo's thirteen riders defeating ten thousand men spread throughout the area south of Songshan, not only did Wang Xiong surrender, but the castles of Dengfeng and Yingyang also surrendered to Li Shiji one after another.

Wang Xiong surrendered faster than anyone else, and Li Yi also fulfilled his promise, appointing him as the governor and prefect of Songzhou.

As a result, everything south of Mount Song came under Tang control.

(End of this chapter)