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

Chapter 385 Read and Burn
After the Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the soldiers' morale was indeed greatly boosted.

Songshan surrendered one after another with Nanyang City, Dengfeng, Yingyang and other cities. Following closely behind, the officials in charge of Mizhou and Qinzhou under the Guanzhou General Administration in the east also surrendered their cities. Li Yi then established the Qinzhou General Administration, which governed Qinzhou and Mizhou, and appointed the surrendered officials as general administrators and governors.

Xingze.

Prince Zheng, Wang Xuanying, stationed his troops here.

This Prince Zheng suffered three defeats in battles west of Luoyang, and now he has sent troops out of Hulao Pass to defend against Li Yi. Facing Li Yi, who has swept through forty prefectures in two months, he has no confidence at all.

Where is Li Yijun now?

General Zhang Zhenzhou stepped forward and reported, "Your Highness, the Prefect of Bianzhou, Wang Yaohan, has sent an urgent report saying that Li Yi's army is heading towards Bianzhou City, with tens of thousands of men and horses, and a marching column that stretches for dozens of miles. He requests that the Crown Prince send troops to rescue them."

Dressed in a purple robe and jade belt, Wang Xuanying turned to Zhang Zhi, the Right Valiant Guard General, and asked, "Mi County and Xinzheng have both submitted to the enemy. Won't Li Yi come north from Xinzheng to attack Guanzhou?"

Zhang Zhi was the son-in-law of Duan Da, the Duke of Chen, the Minister of Works.
When Lu Chuyuan and Wen Du plotted a coup to kill Wang Shichong, Duan Da secretly had his son-in-law Zhang Zhi report the matter to Wang Shichong. Later, Duan Da took the lead in urging Wang Shichong to ascend the throne. The father-in-law and son-in-law were deeply trusted by Wang Shichong.

Zhang Zhi also held the position of Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince. Looking at the map, he said, "Li Yi's troops are not many. He has divided his forces into four routes in Xiangcheng, with only 10,000 soldiers in each route. Even if he has recruited some local troops and incorporated them into his army, he should only have 20,000 to 30,000 soldiers."

Now that Wang Yaohan, the governor of Bianzhou, has reported that tens of thousands of troops are heading to attack Bianzhou, Li Yi must first take Bianzhou, then advance along the Grand Canal to attack Guanxing, and finally reach Heyin and Hulao.

Wang Xuanying panicked. "Li Yi has tens of thousands of troops. I'm afraid Bianzhou can't be defended. What should we do?"

Having lost all three battles, Prince Zheng is now completely lacking in confidence. Facing Li Yi, who has never been defeated before, he is very flustered.

"Now the only option is to deal with whatever comes our way, send an army to Bianzhou as reinforcements, and draw troops from Xing, Zheng, and Guan prefectures. We also summon Bing Yuanzhen, the governor of Huazhou, and Qi Wang Shibian, the governor of Xuzhou, to lead their troops to our aid."

Wang Xuanying had no idea what to do, so he simply followed Zhang Zhi's advice.

Zhang Zhenzhou, clad in armor, spoke up, "Your Highness, I think this is inappropriate. Li Yi has advanced into Bianzhou, and I believe we should not rush to its aid, otherwise we may fall into an ambush and help them besiege the city and attack the reinforcements."

It could even be a ploy to lure the enemy away from their stronghold; perhaps Li Yi's attack on Bianzhou was a ruse, and his true intention was to seize Guanzhou.

Wang Xuanying nodded repeatedly, "General Zhang's words are very reasonable."

Zhang Zhi retorted, "Li Yi only has so many troops. Since he has appeared near Bianzhou, it is impossible for him to have any more troops to attack Guanzhou."

Moreover, I believe that although Li Yi conquered forty prefectures, he merely took advantage of their weakness and did not fight any real battles. Li Yi would certainly not abandon Bianzhou, which had few troops, to attack Guanxing. Wouldn't that be like walking into a trap?
General Zhang is overthinking it.

Zhang Zhenzhou was from Shuzhou in Huainan, and was considered a southerner by those in the court. During the Daye era, he and Chen Ling led 10,000 soldiers from Dongyang across the sea from Chaozhou to conquer Liuqiu. They killed the Liuqiu king, Kelidou, and captured more than 10,000 people before returning.

Later, he rose to the rank of General of the Left Guard and was stationed in Shannan. After Wang Shichong killed Lu Chu and others and seized power, he sent his nephew Wang Tai to Shannan and summoned Zhang Zhenzhou, Su Shichang and others to lead the Shannan army back to Luoyang to defend against Li Mi. Zhang Zhenzhou stayed in Luoyang after that.

Now he is the General of the Left Guard. He has spent half his life on the battlefield, is very experienced, and has a knack for governing civil affairs.

Unfortunately, he was not trusted by Wang Shichong.

He intuitively felt that something was wrong with Li Yi's attack on Bianzhou.

"Your Highness, I suggest that we ask General Zhang to lead two thousand men to reinforce Bianzhou," Zhang Zhi said.

Zhang Zhenzhou frowned. "Your Highness, two thousand men are a drop in the ocean. How can they possibly alleviate the crisis in Bianzhou? Moreover, I am worried that Li Yi will besiege the city and attack reinforcements. My two thousand men will be even more insignificant then."

"General Zhang, His Highness the Crown Prince doesn't have many troops at hand right now. Giving you two thousand would be quite generous. Besides, you're not the only reinforcement; the Crown Prince will soon order the governors of Huazhou and Xuzhou to send troops to reinforce Bianzhou. As long as you're cautious, Li Yi won't be able to ambush you."
"If we lead our troops into Bianzhou and defend the city, can't we withstand Li Yi's rabble?"

Zhang Zhenzhou wanted to say that although Li Yi was young, he had never been defeated in battles in Hedong, pacification of Shannan, and attacks on Henan. Could his troops be considered a rabble?
But Crown Prince Wang Xuanying had already spoken, "I will give General Zhang three thousand men. You must go to Bianzhou immediately to reinforce him. I will also send troops to reinforce Bing Yuanzhen in Huazhou and the Prince of Qi in Xuzhou."

Zhang Zhenzhou had no choice but to accept the order.

When Zhang Zhenzhou saw the three thousand soldiers Zhang Zhi had assigned to him, he was even more furious. Only eight hundred of them were armored, and the rest were newly recruited young men from the prefectures and counties. They were poorly trained and poorly equipped, just a group of young civilians.

Does carrying a spear make you an army?

Zhang Zhenzhou was confident that he could suppress small groups of bandits and outlaws, but taking such a small force to Bianzhou was a journey of nearly two hundred li.

There were no cavalry, only infantry.

If they were to encounter an ambush by Li Yi, they wouldn't be able to escape.

"General, the Crown Prince orders you to immediately march south to reinforce Bianzhou." A guard from the Crown Prince's side relayed the order.

They hadn't even had a meal before setting off.

Zhang Zhenzhou led his men and troops onto their horses and marched out of the camp.

After the troops had traveled ten miles, Zhang Zhenzhou reined in his horses.

"Turn south and march."

"General, we should travel southeast along the Grand Canal to reach Bianzhou."

Zhang Zhenzhou stroked his beard. "How could Li Yi not know that reinforcements would travel along this route? If he besieges the city and attacks the reinforcements, then we will be in grave danger."

This makes a lot of sense, and the officers all nodded in approval, praising the general's brilliance.

Set up camp at night.

Zhang Zhenzhou called his son over and said, “I see that Wang Shichong’s fate is coming to an end, and the mandate of heaven belongs to the Tang Dynasty.”

"Is Father going to surrender to Tang?"

"Well, this Wang Xuanying knows nothing. Our journey is fraught with danger, so we have no choice but to surrender to the Tang. You take a light cavalry force south to Xinzheng and Mixian. If I'm not mistaken, Li Yi's main force is definitely not in Bianzhou; they are most likely heading north from Xinzheng."

Find the Tang army and deliver my surrender document to them.

"What if Li Yi isn't there?"

"Then go to Mi County or Xinzheng City. Both cities have surrendered to Tang. Li Yi's men will definitely come to recruit soldiers and collect grain. Tell them that I have brought troops to surrender and ask them to send someone to take you to see Li Yi."

By now,

Zhang Zhenzhou had no choice but to find his own way out. He had served Luoyang because it was under the banner of the Sui Dynasty, but now it had become the State of Zheng, and the State of Zheng was about to perish. What was the point of holding on to it? "Father, do you really think Li Yi is going to launch a surprise attack on Guanzhou?"

"I have studied Li Yi's battles in Hedong. This young man is capable of using both orthodox and unorthodox tactics. If it were an ordinary person commanding troops, they would indeed attack Bianzhou first."
But Li Yi cannot be treated like an ordinary person. Since Prince Zheng is in Xingze, he will definitely come.

"Does Father think Li Yi can win?"

Zhang Zhenzhou glared at his son. "Don't you know what that Crown Prince Zheng is like? He's not bad looking, but he knows absolutely nothing about military affairs. He'd be lucky to have even two or three times the skill of his father."
Wang Shichong insisted on using him to command the troops east of Hulao Pass, and sent an idiot like Zhang Zhi to assist him. An incompetent general can lead to the downfall of an entire army. Without him, they might have been able to hold out a little longer, but with them around, I dare say they wouldn't last two months under Li Yi's command.

"Does Father think so highly of Li Yi?"

"Overestimating? Do you know how many of Li Tang's generals were killed or captured in the Battle of Hedong last year? Yet only Li Yi and Li Shimin won."

Furthermore, this year, he swept through more than forty prefectures in southern Shanxi and Henan in a short period of time. Do you really think he got away with it by doing so easily?

"Alright, hurry up and go. I'll claim you were ordered to sneak around to Bianzhou to deliver a message."

···
Xingzhou, Xingyang City.

Wei Lu, the governor who came from Wagang, looked worried when faced with the troop mobilization order from Crown Prince Wang Xuanying.

He doesn't have many soldiers left, and today Wang Shichong is trying to transfer them, tomorrow Wang Xingben is trying to transfer them, and now the Crown Prince is trying to transfer them again.

Xingyang is located west of Luoyang, south of Mount Song, north of the Yellow River, and east of Zhengzhou.

It is known as the gateway between two capitals and the throat of Shaanxi.

During the Sui Dynasty, Xingyang Prefecture was established here, governing Sishui to the west, Xinzheng to the south, Daliang to the east, and Suanzao to the north.

But nowadays, Xingzhou only governs Xingyang County.

His position as governor was limited by the small territory and the small number of soldiers.

The former Xingyang Prefecture is now the Guanzhou General Administration, which includes Guanzhou, Zhengzhou, Xingzhou, Mizhou, and Qinzhou.

Despite having the smallest territory and fewest soldiers, he had a lot of problems to deal with.

Wang Xuanying spoke lightly, sending someone with a decree from the Crown Prince, ordering him to send a thousand soldiers and three thousand bushels of grain.

"I only have one city, where am I supposed to conjure up a thousand soldiers and three thousand bushels of grain for him?" Wei Lu slammed his fist on the table in anger.

"My lord, a man claiming to be Sixth Sister's servant has delivered a letter."

Upon hearing the name Liu Niang, Wei Lu immediately knew that it was the female steward, Huo Shi. That woman had once been a member of the Wagang Gang, and she was fierce and ruthless. Although she was tall and beautiful, she was a thorny flower, and most people dared not provoke her. Countless people had been killed by her blade.

Wei Lu opened the letter, read it carefully, and looked surprised.

Burn after reading.

Wei Lu got up, changed into civilian clothes, went out through a side door, arrived at Xingyang Market, and entered a shop.

"Wei San came to Huo Liu Niang's invitation."

A strong woman said to him, "Please come with me."

In the backyard of the inn,

Huo Yu sat under the osmanthus tree, drinking tea.

"Brother Wei, it's been a long time. How have you been?"

Wei Lu smiled and sat down across the stone table. “Sixth Sister is still as charming as ever, even more so than before. Your setback in Huazhou at the beginning of the year turned out to be a blessing in disguise.”

"Hahaha, you were in a terrible state when you fled back then, but you're actually doing quite well now. That's why I think of my old brothers when good things happen. After all, we gathered at Wagang back then. You must be in a bit of a predicament now, right?" Huo Yu held a handful of osmanthus flowers in his hand and smelled them.

"Sigh," Wei Lu sighed.

"What are you still hesitating about, Third Brother? I explained Li Shizhong's promise to you in my previous letter. What else do you have to hesitate about?"

Wei Lu was a straightforward man and spoke the truth: "I am caught in the middle. Even if I want to, I am powerless. If I make the slightest move, I will be attacked from both sides by Zheng's army. Even Li Shizhong will not be able to come to my aid in time."

"Don't worry, the wind has changed."

Wei Lu looked at Huo Yu and asked, "Could it be that Li Shizhong has already captured Bianzhou and captured Wang Yaohan?"

"Not yet. The Chamberlain said that there is no rush to attack Bianzhou and that we should give Wang Yaohan some more time to consider. However, the Governor of Guanzhou has already surrendered."

"Guo Qing has surrendered to the Tang Dynasty? That's impossible! The Emperor Zheng married his niece to him."

"So what? Guo Qing can even change his surname back and forth. He doesn't care about his ancestors. Why would he care about a wife?" Huo Yu sneered.

Wei Lu was extremely shocked, but upon closer reflection, he realized that Yang Qing was originally a prince of the Sui Dynasty. However, in recent years he had surrendered to Li Mi, returned to Luoyang, and then attached himself to Wang Shichong. He changed his surname from Yang to Guo at different times. Such a fickle person could easily have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

"Your Li Shizhong is truly remarkable; he persuaded Guo Qing to surrender so quickly."

Huo Yu asked with a smile, "Then what about you, Third Brother? Are you still hesitating?"

"Since Guo Qing has surrendered Guanzhou to the Tang, I have nothing to hesitate about. However, can Minister Li fulfill his previous promise?"

"Of course, you will remain the Prefect of Xingzhou, and you will be promoted to Governor-General of Xingzhou, governing Xing and Zhengzhou. Guo Qing will remain the Governor-General of Guanzhou, governing Guan and Bianzhou."

Wei Lu hadn't expected Li Yi to promote him this time, and he excitedly said, "I'll switch sides right now!"

"Wait a minute, the Chamberlain told you not to announce your surrender to Tang yet, but to temporarily retain your position as the Prefect of Xingzhou, as you still have a great use for him."

Wei Lu was puzzled.

(End of this chapter)