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

Chapter 390: A Brief Romance
It was late autumn night, and the first frost had just fallen.

The moon hid behind the clouds, appearing hazy and indistinct. In the backyard of the former residence of King Jing, Wang Xingben, at Hulao Pass, the persimmons on the tall persimmon tree had already turned red.
Li Yi sat in the pavilion in the courtyard, playing his guitar and singing.
"My heart follows the heavens and earth, my will is led by cattle and sheep..."

This is an adapted version of the song "Chilichuan". The original song is called "Gao Huan's Settlement Song", which is a famous Northern Dynasty song, just like "Lanling King's Battle Song".

"The campfire illuminates our faces as we ride across the Chule River. The Chule River lies beneath the Yin Mountains; the sky is like a vast dome, covering the boundless plains. The sky is blue, the plains are boundless, and the wind blows the grass low, revealing cattle and sheep..."

In this quiet late autumn night, Li Yi's guitar accompanies this song, starting gently, then tenderly, and finally passionately.

Legend has it that when Gao Huan attacked Yu Bi but failed to capture it, he returned to Jinyang vomiting blood. He asked his old buddy Xiao Jinzi to sing "Chilichuan," and Gao Huan joined in the singing. After singing, he died.

After the song ended, Li Yi seemed to be somewhat immersed in it, and his emotions were difficult to calm down for a long time.

Huo Yu leaned against the wall.

"This poem, 'Chilichuan,' is different from the ones I've heard before. Your revised lyrics, paired with this Dongyi six-stringed zither, have a different feel to them. They're less bold and more gentle."

"You've been here for a while?" Li Yi asked.

"I was doing my eyebrows when I heard your singing, so I came right over. I've been leaning against this wall listening for ages, didn't you notice?"

"He was so engrossed in singing and playing the guitar."

Huo Yu nimbly scaled the wall and landed as silently as a cat.

There was no one in the garden; Liu Heizi, Chen Lingjiao, and other guards were all stationed outside.

This is a moonlit night that belongs only to the two of them.

"We've brewed tea and have some pastries too," Li Yi said, pointing to the stone table.

Huo Yu rubbed one eyebrow and said, "Your song is so enticing that I haven't even finished drawing half of my eyebrows yet. Sing it for me again."

"it is good."

"...At the ends of the earth, chatting with the moon, the campfire reflecting on my face, drunk on the lasso..."

Li Yi's lyrical low singing,

The moon peeked out from behind the clouds, its cool light shining on Huo Yu's face. She listened, completely absorbed, and unconsciously wrapped her arms around Li Yi's waist, resting her head against his back.

When the singing stopped
Huo Yudu was reluctant to let go for a long time.

"If Huli Jin had sung this song for Gao Huan back then, Gao Huan might not have died of grief and coughing up blood."

If Gao Huan hadn't died, perhaps Yuwen Tai wouldn't have unified the north.

"I really don't want to let go, and I don't want to part with you. I wish time could stop right now, and we could stay like this forever."

Huo Yu said, "Do you think I'm being too greedy?"

"I also don't want you to go to Liyang."

Huo Yu released her hand, sat down on the other side of the stone table, and poured milk tea for the two of them.

"It's a pity that although our meeting was wonderful, it was like morning dew. No matter how crystal clear and beautiful the dew is, it will disappear when the sun rises." Huo Yu held Li Yi's hand. "I was originally a carefree person, but I didn't expect to become sentimental now."

Huo Yu took a big gulp of milk tea.

"I can't sing or play the piano, so I'll let you dance with a sword. It's a pity that I don't have a sword with a mechanism, so I can't make any beautiful sounds or melodies."

Huo Yu, who had been promoted to Lady of Wen State based on her military merits, stepped out of the pavilion, drew Li Yi's sword, and began to dance under the moonlight.

She was agile and powerful, her sword dance carrying a hint of murderous intent, yet still retaining its gracefulness.

This was indeed a fleeting romance.
Li Wenxiang has now been granted the title of Duke of Pingyuan, and he certainly wouldn't want his mother to be with Li Yi for so long. He would definitely object if he found out.

In the military, Li Yi and Huo Yu somehow hit it off. Perhaps it was her carefree attitude, or perhaps it was Li Yi's boldness.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Neither of them had ever thought about any outcome from the beginning.

After the sword dance ended, Li Yi praised it repeatedly.

"Is there some deeper meaning behind Chang'an's decision not to let you go to Luoyang this time?" Huo Yu asked.

As Li Yi sipped his tea, he could vaguely sense that perhaps because he had made significant contributions this time, the emperor no longer wanted him to go to Luoyang to share the credit.

Qin King Li Shimin is in command in Luoyang, and now the emperor has sent Qi King Yuanji and Dou Gui, the Right Vice Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, to Luoyang to assist him.

Rather than using Li Yi's troops, we would rather go to the farthest place.

If it were merely to prevent Dou Jiande of Hebei from advancing south, or to take advantage of the victory to seize Xuzhou, it would not be sufficient.

"Is it because you've accumulated too many merits, are too young, and aren't a close relative of the royal family?"

Li Yi smiled and said, "You don't need to worry about these things. In fact, the current emperor is a very generous and magnanimous person."

As long as it doesn't threaten Li Yuan, he doesn't mind sharing more.

You can tell by looking at Li Yuan's attitude towards Pei Ji and Liu Wenjing. Both of them were meritorious officials. Pei Ji had obvious shortcomings, namely, he was not good at military affairs. However, even though Pei Ji suffered such a crushing defeat in Hedong, the emperor did not really investigate him.

He remains the Right Minister.

Liu Wenjing, however, had already turned into a handful of dust. In the end, it was Pei Ji who was loyal to the emperor, while Liu Wenjing made the emperor feel threatened.

Does Li Yi pose a threat to the emperor now?

will not.

Li Yi was astute and accomplished, but he lacked a strong political foundation and was considered half-royal. Furthermore, Li Yi was neither a local military leader nor a warlord who carved out a territory at the end of the Sui Dynasty.

They were quite different from King Wu Li Fuwei and King Yan Li Yi.

Right now, the emperor is more than happy to have Li Yi.

However, there must have been some reason why he was not allowed to go to Luoyang this time. It can only be said that the emperor was taking precautions, whether intentionally or unintentionally. This is a basic practice of emperors throughout history and is not surprising.

"Actually, I don't want to go to Luoyang either." "Why?"

"Because I feel I've done enough this time,"

Li Yi fought his way from Shannan to Henan in just over a hundred days, managing to capture twenty general prefectures and dozens of states for the Tang Dynasty.

Whether it was taking Xiangdeng, stabilizing Xianzhou, or sweeping across southeastern Henan and capturing Hulao Pass in one fell swoop, all of these were great achievements.

No matter how easily Li Yi won, it was still a remarkable achievement.

Seeing his confident demeanor, Huo Yu chuckled, "Then I'm relieved. What do you think should be done with Minister Wen after this battle? Should he return to Hebei to seek a position as a general, or should he stay in Henan?"

Li Yi thought for a moment, "Personally, I think it's difficult for Hebei and Henan to be truly stable in the short term, and there will definitely be some ups and downs."
Especially in Hebei, although your family is in Weizhou, I personally suggest that you, Minister Wen, first go to the capital and serve as a general in one of the Twelve Guards, so you can rest and recuperate for a while.

Huo Yu hadn't considered Li Yi's suggestion. "Why?"

"Chang'an is vast, and it is the capital. After all, Wen Xiang is from Hebei and came from a rebel army. He also surrendered to Dou Jiande while following Li Mi. So, he should spend a few years in the capital to gain experience. With this experience, he will be more likely to gain the court's trust when he is sent to a local post."

"If I continue to serve in the Kanto region, it will be detrimental in the long run, and I will hardly gain their trust," Li Yi said frankly.

"After the war, you should return to Chang'an and become the Lady of Wen, enjoying the peace. Let Minister Wen take care of things like holding office and bringing glory to the family. You should tell Minister Wen to quickly marry a principal wife, take several concubines, and have more children. It's more appropriate for you to help manage the family business."

Huo Yu laughed and said, "Aren't you afraid that if I stay in Chang'an for a long time and come to find you, your wife will find out?"

“It’s normal for men to be philanderers, and she won’t care about that.”

"Pah, you stinky men," Huo Yu said with a laugh.

Li Wenxiang is only eighteen years old, yet he already holds the title of Duke of Pingyuan. Although he experienced some hardships in the past few years, he has now achieved considerable success. Huo Yu never imagined that she, following Li Yi, would also attain the title of Lady of Wen.

"How long do you think it will take to capture Luoyang? Will Dou Jiande march south?"

"It's hard to say. If everything goes smoothly, given the current situation, I estimate that we can take Luoyang this year. But it also depends on Wang Shichong's ability. If he is determined to defend it to the death, he might be able to hold out for another six months or even a year with Luoyang."

How long it would take to capture Luoyang depended primarily on whether Li Shimin could annihilate Wang Shichong's main force in open battle, or at least the majority of it. Secondly, it depended on Wang Shichong's defensive capabilities; if his main force was destroyed in open battle, even the most skilled defender would be unable to hold out.

Of course, no matter how capable he is, given the current situation, Luoyang is now just one city left. He can only hold out for a year at most, and the food supplies will only last that long. In fact, half of the population might starve to death.

"Dou Jiande may head south, but if the King of Qin moves quickly, Dou Jiande may not have time to go south."

The battlefield is ever-changing, and anything is possible.

But the final outcome was already predetermined. No matter how many times Wang Shichong made a tactical breakthrough, it could not change the entire campaign, much less his complete strategic failure.

"Wen Xiang went with Guo Xiaoke to attack Xuzhou, he should be alright, right?" Huo Yu asked.

“Wang Shibian, the governor of Xuzhou, is currently trapped in an isolated city, and his situation is even worse than Wang Shichong’s. There’s no need to worry. If you’re really concerned, I’ll transfer him to Wulao Pass.”

The moon appeared and then disappeared again.
Huo Yu took Li Yi's hand. "It's getting cold, let's go back inside."

Tomorrow she will cross the river to the north, and tonight she hopes for more tenderness and intimacy.

······
Luoyang.

When Li Shimin saw the imperial edict that Yuwen Huaji brought back from Chang'an, he also became somewhat impatient.

Li Yi's conquest of cities and territories is a remarkable feat, taking a hundred cities in a hundred days. Although he was a little late in launching his campaign, it has been more than two months, but the progress seems to be slow.

Although everything was proceeding according to his plan, the results even exceeded his expectations.
But the emperor felt it was too slow.
Especially in contrast to Li Yi's offensive,

The officials in Luoyang all felt that things were moving too slowly.

But he was facing Wang Shichong, an opponent who was very good at seizing opportunities and had rich experience in military operations. He dared not underestimate his opponent.

The only option is to gradually eliminate the outer defenses, ideally luring Wang Shichong into a field battle outside Luoyang to annihilate his main force.
Li Shimin did not want to actually wage a siege, as that would drag the city into a prolonged stalemate.

During this period, both sides were cautiously observing and probing, looking for opportunities, but neither revealed any weaknesses.

In fact, if Li Shimin can simply stall for time, the situation will become increasingly favorable for him.
But the emperor couldn't wait, and neither could the imperial treasury.
The soldiers of the garrison were also unwilling to continue this stalemate.

Li Shimin frowned as he looked at the sand table.

How to break the game?

Li Shimin had considered contacting people inside Luoyang to act as spies and seize the city, but during this period, thirteen groups of spies had attempted to seize the city but failed and were killed.

Wang Shichong's caution was an eye-opener for Li Shimin; this guy guarded the area perfectly.

Knowing that Wang Shichong had no more than 30,000 elite troops, it was still very difficult to annihilate those 30,000 men.

If they directly attack Luoyang, with such an elite force, Li Shimin's side will expose many weaknesses during the siege, and Wang Shichong might seize the opportunity to defeat them.

After hesitating for a long time,

Li Shimin still refused the request to immediately attack Luoyang.

"Luo Shixin will move with me to Jinyong City, and Qu Tutong will replace Luo Shixin to guard Qianjin Fort." Li Shimin moved a small flag on the sand table.

His main force and Luo Shixin's troops moved eastward to Jinyong City, while Qu Tutong went to garrison Qianjin Fort.

"Your Highness, with the main force moving east to Jinyong, Qianjin Fort north of Luoyang is becoming somewhat isolated and vulnerable. Wang Shichong's troops could easily attack Qianjin Fort if they leave Qingcheng Palace," warned Dou Gui, the Duke of Zan, who had come from Yizhou.

Li Shimin laughed and said, "I deliberately created this opportunity to make it seem like we were going to concentrate our forces to attack Yanshi City, east of Luoyang, so that Wang Shichong would leave Qingcheng Palace to attack Qianjin Fort."

"Then why replace General Luo with Qu Tu Pushe to guard the fortress?"

"Because General Luo is brave and skilled in field battles, while Qu Tu Pushe is good at defending cities."

Will Wang Shichong attack Qianjin Fort?

"If I were Wang Shichong, and saw that Qianjin Fort had few soldiers and an opportunity to attack, I would definitely come to attack,"

Since we are now invincible, we must lure the enemy into a corner to find an opportunity to strike.

(End of this chapter)