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

Chapter 423 Fire in the Backyard
Li Yi released his military commanders with a cup of wine.

After a banquet at the military camp outside Caozhou, 50,000 troops were dismissed.

Most of the soldiers in the four prefectures of Hua, Pu, Cao, and Yun chose to retire and return to farming.

The clerks, who were temporarily transferred, set up tables and desks in various camps outside the city and kept registering and compiling records until their wrists ached from writing.

Li Yi spared no expense to dismiss these soldiers.

Officers could retain their rank or retire. Soldiers below the rank of deputy captain who retired received ten bolts of silk, two thousand coins, and six bushels of wheat.

Once the severance pay was announced, the soldiers were all willing to lay down their arms, especially since they would have 100 acres of land back home and be exempt from rent and taxes for two years.

Countless soldiers lined up,

Especially after the first batch of soldiers registered and handed over their weapons and equipment, they immediately received their severance pay: ten bolts of silk, two thousand coins, and six bushels of wheat, not a penny less, paid on the spot, all they had to do was sign and put their fingerprints on it.

They also received an official document from the Henan ambassador, proving their status as veterans, which allowed them to register their household registration and receive land equalization upon returning to their hometown, as well as be exempt from rent and taxation for two years.

This severance pay,
Li Yi actually felt that the amount given was too little. He believed that the normal allowance should be twelve shi of grain and seven bolts of silk, which was the annual allowance for the Sui army's border troops. The Xiaoguo Army, on the other hand, received three times the allowance of the border troops, with thirty-six shi of grain and twenty-one bolts of silk per year.

Li Yi thought that disbanding these soldiers and providing them with the same amount of clothing and rations as the Sui border troops for a year would not be too much.

However, Yuwen Shiji complained to Li Yi that he couldn't afford that much money.

Although the four prefectures of Hua and Cao have been recovered, the treasury is not full of money and grain. Now, the army needs to be reduced and a campaign needs to be launched.

In the end, they settled on ten bolts of silk, two thousand coins, and six dou of grain.
The grain was given the least, because grain was the most scarce right now. Ten bolts of silk were given to be used as money, and the two thousand coins were mostly five-zhu coins.

The imperial court has been minting Kaiyuan Tongbao coins for more than two years, but due to limitations in copper resources, the minting volume is very low.

Li Yi himself had a coin-minting furnace, but he was also short of copper, so he could only mint one or two thousand strings of coins a year, earning only a few hundred strings a year.

In Henan, Kaiyuan Tongbao coins are very rare to find.

Li Yi felt that the amount given was too small.

But these soldiers who had been dearmed felt that they had been given a lot.

I've never seen anyone so generous.

Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, they have surrendered to this and that, so there has been no such thing as severance pay or resettlement allowance. The best reward they could receive was being allowed to plunder after winning a battle.

The army was reduced by 50,000 men, and the severance pay for the soldiers alone amounted to 500,000 bolts of silk, 100,000 strings of cash, and 30,000 shi of grain.

Zhang Liang kept sighing with heartache.

Li Yi felt that no matter how you looked at it, they hadn't lost out. After all, this troop reduction and severance payment didn't come from the national treasury; it was obtained by taking money and grain from the government treasury after taking over the eight prefectures from Cao Cao, and even confiscating the property of traitors like Meng Haigong and Han Hong.
not to mention,
The 50,000 troops were disbanded, but a considerable amount of weaponry and equipment was confiscated, even if it wasn't high-quality equipment.
But that's still a force of 50,000, not to mention the warhorses, draft horses, pack horses, carts, boats, and so on. All these things, along with weapons and armor, add up to...
It's quite valuable.

Even a ruined family is worth a fortune.
The equipment of these 50,000 troops is worth far more than a million strings of cash. So much equipment, used to replenish the Henan army, support the suppression of the rebellion in Henan, and supply the war in Hebei, is equivalent to real gold and silver.

Fifty thousand local soldiers were dismissed and received severance pay. They were able to return home and share land. With money and provisions in hand, these people could settle down and become self-employed farmers, instead of turning into bandits and becoming the source of unrest.

While not paying severance pay may save money in the short term, it could come at a greater cost later.

"Minister, most of the officers above the rank of deputy captain will be retained. Apart from the five thousand state soldiers left in the local areas, what will be done with the remaining officers?"

The deputy captain already held a military rank of the ninth grade.
In a team of fifty people, there are two people with official ranks: the team leader and the deputy team leader.

Further up the ranks were brigade commander, colonel, lieutenant general, and so on.

Meng Haigong had 30,000 men, and those who commanded more than 500 men were given the title of general. There were several hundred generals of all kinds.

Retaining so many officers is indeed a problem.

"Lower-rank military officers below the seventh rank can be directly assigned to the government troops in this suppression of the rebellion as deputy positions. The squad leader will be changed to deputy squad leader, the brigade commander to deputy brigade commander, and the deputy squad leader can be changed to flag bearer."

As for mid-level military officers of the sixth or seventh rank, they can be temporarily assigned to the various cavalry and chariot garrisons in Henan for a trial period.

Those of the fifth rank and above will first serve as military advisors in my headquarters. After this battle, they will either remain in local positions or be selected for official posts in Chang'an.

Keep them on first, let them test their skills, and then we'll make sure they're hired based on their abilities.

Li Yi appointed Du Caigan and Jiang Shanhe as the four prefects and allowed them to choose the troops to retain. Du Caigan, as the commander-in-chief, was given two thousand soldiers, while the other three prefects were given only one thousand each.

The four of them stayed for several days in a row.
They were all carefully selecting soldiers and officers; the number of soldiers was smaller, but the number of elite troops was significantly higher.

Li Yi even replenished and upgraded their weapons, equipment, and horses, enhancing the combat effectiveness of these 5,000 soldiers.

Du Caigan commanded two thousand soldiers, comprising five hundred cavalry and one thousand five hundred infantry, including five hundred archers and one thousand spearmen and swordsmen/shieldmen.

Jiang Shanhe and his two men had a thousand soldiers under the governor's command, consisting of three hundred cavalry and seven hundred infantry, including three hundred archers and four hundred spearmen, swordsmen, and shieldmen.

Cavalrymen rode two horses and wore leather armor, while infantrymen wore armor up to 60%.

Of course, Li Yi also placed many officers in charge of these 5,000 local soldiers.

"Is Steward Du satisfied?"

Two thousand soldiers is a bit too few. Although the three thousand soldiers are nominally under his command, compared to before, there are indeed far fewer soldiers, but they are also much more elite.

Du Caigan said, "Thank you very much, Minister Sikong, for providing so many horses, armor, bows and arrows, and for sending us so many experienced and brave officers."

"As you know, the Tang Dynasty implemented the Fubing system (a military system based on the military strength of the local officials), and this will gradually continue in the future. Although the prefects (刺史) are given authority over military affairs, their military power is limited."

The Generals of the Cavalry and the Generals of the Chariots commanded their troops, but the power to mobilize troops rested with the Ministry of War of the Imperial Court. The authority to command troops belonged to the Twelve Guards, and the selection of generals was determined by the Emperor. Without an imperial edict, the Ministry of War would not issue a warrant, and without a warrant, troops could not be mobilized.

Governors, generals of the Flying Cavalry, and generals of the Chariots and Cavalry could not mobilize troops without military tallies. Governors primarily served as supervisors; in actual battles, the imperial court would dispatch generals with tallies to mobilize troops for campaigns.

"What Sikong says is true." Du Caigan had also come to understand. Territory and troops were so important during times of chaos; now that the world was gradually being unified...
Which unified dynasty would still allow those who wield military power to act independently?

"You are Shi Niang's cousin, so I'll call you brother too. I won't treat you like an outsider, and I'll speak frankly. For example, before, I knew that when the imperial court was conquering Hebei, Dou Jiande would definitely send people to Henan to instigate a rebellion."
I specifically summoned you to Luoyang to help you avoid this calamity. Now you've escaped a disaster and even gained merit, receiving a promotion and a higher rank.

This is why you've been able to keep up with the court's lead. Going forward, I hope you can recognize the current situation.

Du Caigan was very grateful for his frankness and quickly replied, "I thank you for your reminder, Minister. I will always be loyal to the court, and I will obey any future arrangements made by the court."

"Yes, it's good to have this idea. Times have changed, and our thinking must also change. This is no longer an era of holding military power and being self-reliant, nor is it possible to be a regional lord anymore."

Du Caigan is very sensible, which is a good thing, saving Li Yi a lot of trouble.

"In a few days, you will lead five thousand well-organized troops from Huazhou back to garrison the four prefectures, and in particular, you must guard the Baima Ferry in Huazhou."

Huazhou was originally Lizhou, but it has now been incorporated into Weizhou and is under the jurisdiction of Huaizhou General Administration. It was a bridgehead for the Tang army in Hebei.

Li Shimin has already crossed the Yellow River and headed north, and has begun fighting with the Xia army. Dou Jiande should not be able to come to Henan for the time being, but we still have to be wary of him.

"Send a thousand soldiers back to guard Huazhou, and I can spare three thousand men to accompany the Minister of Works in the campaign against Xu Yuanlang and the other rebels!"

“No need. Just guard your own prefectures.” Li Yi reminded him, “I know you each have some soldiers in your respective territories. When you go back this time, dismiss those who should be dismissed. Don’t overstaff again.”

The issue of disbanding soldiers and distributing land equally must be implemented as soon as possible.

Du Caigan agreed to everything.

"Xu Yuanlang is fickle, but he is quite capable. Sikong should be careful."

That very evening,

News then came that Xu Yuanlang, in alliance with Zhang Qingte and Fu De of Jizhou, had launched an attack on Yunzhou.

Jiang Shanhe led his troops to Caozhou, but his own hometown was left undefended.

There weren't many soldiers left to guard the area.

The three forces joined forces and captured Xuchang, the capital of Yunzhou, in one fell swoop. They then quickly took Shouzhang, Yuncheng, Juye and other cities, and divided up Jiang Shanhe's Yunzhou among themselves.

Upon hearing the news,

Jiang Shanhe rushed to see Li Yi, his eyes bloodshot. His family was still in Xuchang City, but now his family was gone.

"Please, Minister Sikong, save Yunzhou!"

Xu Yuanlang acted swiftly, and as a result, the cities of Yunzhou fell with almost no resistance.

Li Yi remained calm. War is not about the gains or losses of a single city or town; the important thing is the overall situation.

"Prefect Jiang, do not worry. Xu Yuanlang and his ilk are just being arrogant for a while."

Jiang Shanhe requested a temporary demobilization of the troops in Yunzhou and Caozhou, and he led these troops back to Yunzhou.

"Generalissimo Chiang, the quality of an army is more important than its quantity. The demobilization order has already been issued, and the brothers have already laid down their arms. We cannot change the order again and bring them back."

"But don't worry, I will immediately send troops to retake Yunzhou."

The generals gathered to discuss matters.

"I have decided to first send an army down the Baigou River to counterattack Yunzhou, while I will lead the main force out of Heze and into Yanzhou along the He River."

Li Gong, the governor of Xuzhou, was responsible for leading troops down the Si River to quell the rebellion in Haizhou.

The words fell,

Sheng Yanshi, the governor of Bozhou, general of the Left Guard, and Duke of Ge, immediately stood up.

"Minister, this humble general is willing to lead the army to immediately storm Yunzhou and twist Zhang Qingte's head off."

Li Yi said, "Zhang Qingte's head isn't urgent. Let's take Xuchang City first. In the east, Wang Bo, the governor of Qizhou, Qi Gongshun, the governor of Qingzhou, Liu Lancheng, the prefect of Zizhou, and Chunyu Nan, the prefect of Dengzhou, are also loyal to the court."
I will send someone to order them to send troops to cooperate with Zhang Qingte and Fu De in the counterattack on Jeju.

Several other generals also wanted to go to Yunzhou, but in the end Li Yi allowed Sheng Yanshi to lead the army after he requested to do so first.

Sheng Yanshi was, after all, the governor of a prefecture, the Left General of the Martial Guard, and also the title of Duke. He was granted the title of Duke because he ambushed and killed Li Mi and Wang Bodang.

Although this man was Shi Wanbao's deputy, he was able to accurately break through the fog created by Li Mi, calculate his route to the north, and ambush him in advance to kill him. He was quite capable.

"Sheng Yanshi, the General Manager of Bozhou, is appointed as the General Manager of the Liangshan Road Army; Jiang Shanhe, the Prefect of Yunzhou, is appointed as the Deputy General Manager; and Liang Jianfang and Gao Zhensheng are appointed as their subordinate generals."

I will allocate you four thousand soldiers, plus one thousand Yunzhou soldiers from Governor Jiang, making five thousand combat soldiers, supplemented by three thousand auxiliary soldiers.”

Sheng Yanshi and Jiang Shanhe stepped forward to receive the order.

"Remember, do not underestimate the enemy. Also, try to appease them if possible, and avoid attacking cities by force. If there are tough enemies holding out, take other cities first."

"Furthermore, it is essential to strictly enforce military discipline. You are the imperial army, not those bandits and rebels. Do not disturb the people."

(End of this chapter)