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

Chapter 428 Chang'an Laughter, Xu Chang Blood
Changan.

At Beihai Pond, the emperor was boating on the pond, playing the six-stringed zither presented by Li Yi to the Eastern Yi people, with Pei Ji singing along. The two old friends enjoyed the coolness of early summer.

"I'm getting so annoyed by Consorts Yin and Zhang lately."

After the song ended, Li Yuan raised his wine cup and complained to his old friend.

Pei Ji smiled and said, "These were all accidents."

"That's right. Originally, the fathers, brothers, and sons of the two consorts were doing well in their positions in Chang'an. Although their official positions were low, they were quite leisurely. But they insisted on going to Luoyang and demanding official positions from Li Yi. Li Yi arranged for them to be in Luoyang, but they still complained that their official positions were too low."

Finally, they were satisfied with the appointment of a fifth-rank chief administrator, but then Meng Haigong and Xu Yuanlang rebelled and Li Yi was killed by the rebels. Now they're blaming Li Yi. Don't you think Li Yi is being wronged?" Li Yuan felt sorry for Li Yi.

Pei Ji echoed, since Consorts Yi and Zhang weren't here anyway.

Now that Li Yi has gained the emperor's favor, he has no need to speak ill of Li Yi.

"Sikong has already executed Meng Haigong and avenged Consort Yin. Xu Yuanlang will also be executed."

Li Yuan raised his cup and clinked it against his old friend's. "I like this about Li Yi; he never hesitates to act. When Meng Xu and others rebelled, Li Yi led troops to suppress them. He has already killed Meng Haigong, defeated Zhang Qingte, and captured Fu De. Now he has recovered Yunzhou and Jizhou, and is advancing into Yanzhou."

"The progress is incredibly fast!"

Pei Ji echoed, "It won't be long before we can pacify Yan and Hai."

After a few drinks, Li Yuan became more talkative. He ordered a eunuch to bring a map, spread it out, and began to point out the state of the country.

The Crown Prince has arrived in Lingzhou, and Zhang Changxun has also been ordered to go south; everything is going smoothly.

The Ji Hu people in Fu and Dan prefectures north of the Wei River have been almost completely wiped out by Sang Xianhe, who has captured more than 50,000 men and women. There is no need to worry about the Ji Hu people north of the Wei River rebelling again for the next ten years.

The 50,000 men and women of the Qihu tribe sold over a million bolts of silk, which were used to reward military merits and strengthen the defenses of the capital north of Beijing, thus saving the imperial court a considerable amount of money.

The credit goes to the Crown Prince, while Sang Xianhe bears the bad reputation of being untrustworthy, and the court reaps the benefits.

Zhang Changxun led several thousand households south to settle Lingzhou and Huizhou, and also added several thousand soldiers. Li Yuan felt that this was a great profit. As for Fengzhou and Shengzhou, he gave them up, since he had never actually controlled them anyway.

In Jingxiang,

Li Jing was building warships and practicing naval warfare, while Tian Shikang, the governor of Qianzhou, had already begun to send troops to attack and plunder five prefectures and four towns belonging to Xiao Xian.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xian was still busy with internal strife. Li Yuan in Chang'an could laugh heartily whenever he talked about Xiao Xian.

The emperor's gaze shifted to Hebei.

The King of Qin remained in Ye City, confronting the Xia army without making any move.

Even Li Yuan was getting restless.

"Liu Shi relinquished Jingxing Pass and seized Huangzhou from Dou Jiande, thus opening a breach. Now it remains to be seen when the troops of the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Beiping, and the Tudiqi army will be able to capture Yiding."

Seeing the Tang army annihilating enemy after enemy on the map, Li Yuan happily poured himself another cup of wine.

"Li Yigang's second son is named Taiping Lang?"

"Yes, he was born to his concubine, Lady Luo."

"Peaceful Lord, Taiping Lord, what a fine name! Issue an imperial decree to bestow upon Li Yi's second son, Taiping, the title of Baron of Qianshui County!"

Henan.

Li Yi received Sheng Yanshi's report of victory: Yunzhou had been recovered and Jizhou had been captured.

The speed was even faster than Li Yi had expected, and upon seeing the detailed battle report, he was even more astonished by the remarkable abilities of Liu Lancheng, the governor of Zizhou.

"This crazy scribe is really fierce."

Thugs are not scary, what's scary is thugs with education. Many peasant army leaders at the end of the Sui Dynasty, such as Wang Bo, were from humble backgrounds, such as Wang Bo, a blacksmith, Dou Jiande, a village head, and Meng Haigong, a farmer.

Liu Lancheng was originally a county clerk, but he was forced into joining the bandit gang by those guys from Beihai County.

Qi Gongshun, the general manager of Qingzhou, was originally just an ordinary bandit leader. It was only with Liu Lancheng's help that he gradually grew in power.

I heard that when Meng Haigong and others rebelled, Dou Jiande also sent people to contact Qi Gongshun and Liu Lancheng, offering them official positions and promises. However, Liu Lancheng firmly opposed joining Dou Jiande, saying that Dou Jiande would not last until this year.

Li Yi smiled as he flipped through Sheng Yanshi's report, but his smile gradually faded as he reached the last page.

Wang Bo demanded grain from Tanzhou, but the prefect Li Yiman refused to pay. Wang Bo accused him of secretly communicating with Xu Yuanlang, so Sheng Yanshi summoned him to Xuchang and then imprisoned him.
It was indeed wrong not to pay military rations.

However, since Li Yiman went to Xuchang to explain in person that there was no grain in the prefecture, it is unlikely that he would plot a rebellion.

"I remember Wang Bu and Li Yiman had a grudge?"

“Yes, Li Yiman was the prefect of Qi County in the previous dynasty, responsible for suppressing bandits, while Wang Bu was the first to rise up in rebellion at the end of the Sui Dynasty. The two were mortal enemies and had fought countless times,” Zhang Gongjin said.

"Then it's quite clear that Wang Bu is suspected of settling a personal score and falsely accusing Li Yiman of treason. This matter should be handled with caution. I suggest that Steward Sheng release Li Yiman first."
Refusing to pay taxes should be punished, but that doesn't automatically constitute treason.

Li Yiman was a prefect, and although he was no longer the general manager, he was still a duke appointed by the emperor. Without real evidence, Sheng Yanshi, who was only a military commander, had no right to directly detain or interrogate him.

Only Li Yi has such power, but Li Yi wouldn't punish Li Yiman without any evidence.

If we attack the rebels now and then act recklessly against our own people, it will have a very bad impact.

"Now that Jizhou and Yunzhou have been pacified, then General Sheng, General Wang, Governor Jiang, and Governor Liu will lead their troops along the Wen River to attack Xu Yuanlang's northern Yanzhou."

Li Yi led his army to attack from the north and south, while Sheng Yanshi and his troops led their army from the north to the south, launching a pincer attack.

On the official road leading from Yunzhou to Qizhou,

Zhi Shilang Wang Bo rode his horse, followed by a troop of light cavalry.

The setting sun, like blood, dyed Wang Bo's banner as the governor of Qizhou, a dark red.

Li Yiwu's suicide in prison was something he hadn't expected. That old bastard had given him a good laugh, but he wasn't truly happy about it.

He hasn't yet dealt with this old bastard to avenge the blood feud of the past years.

He hastily returned to Qizhou, and in Xuchang City he persuaded Sheng Yanshi that Li Yiman died in Xuchang prison. Therefore, Li Yiman must have been a traitor who colluded with Xu Yuanlang, otherwise both of them would be held accountable by the court.

It would be best to pin all the blame and crimes on a dead person.

Wang Bu persuaded Sheng Yanshi to return to Tanzhou to handle the aftermath.

This cleanup was naturally intended to confirm Li Yiman's treason and collusion with the enemy, and Wang Bu wanted to take the opportunity to eliminate Li Yiman completely and avenge the great grudge he had held for many years.

Over the years, Li Yiman was an official, and Wang Bu was a bandit. The two sides fought a fierce battle, which had long since created a blood feud. Many of Wang Bu's brothers and even his sons and nephews died at the hands of Li Yiman's government troops, while Li Yiman also lost many of his clansmen and subordinates to Wang Bu.

"We've reached Yangjiayu ahead."

"We're not far from Pingyin City now. Let's hurry and rest there tonight," Wang Bo instructed.

There is a section of Yangjiayu called Luoyingjian (Falling Eagle Ravine), which is very narrow, with a narrow strip of sky between two mountains. Upon entering Luoyingjian, it immediately becomes much darker.

A whistle rang out,
Wang Bo's expression changed drastically.

Boulders crashed down from both sides of the ravine, blocking the opening on both sides.
Li Wuyi, a military advisor from Tanzhou, stood atop a cliff, wearing mourning clothes over his armor and holding a powerful bow.

Two hundred archers drew their bows.

Wang Bo's warhorse was overturned by a tripwire.
Suddenly, a memory flashed through his mind of his first encounter with Li Yiman ten years ago in Diaowoyu, Changbai Mountain.

At that time, he sang the Song of No Return to Liaodong and rose up in rebellion, gathering a crowd in Diaowoyu. Li Yiman led his family servants and local militia to join the government army in suppressing the rebellion.

In that battle, he killed one of Li Yiman's sons, and Li Yiman killed his two younger brothers, thus beginning a blood feud.

"Wang Bo, prepare to die."

Li Wuyi roared.

Arrows rained down, and the knights around Wang Bo fell one after another, trapped in the narrow Eagle's Mace, with nowhere to escape.

Finally, Li Wuyi, knife in hand, stepped on Wang Bo's chest, which was riddled with arrows and barely clinging to life.

Li Wuyi's father had died at the hands of Wang Bo.

"You arrived quite quickly!" Wang Bo said with a smile, spitting out blood.

Li Wuyi raised his sword and beheaded Wang Bo.

This hero, who was the first to stand up and lead a mass uprising at the end of the Sui Dynasty, eventually fell.

Li Wuyi held up Wang Bo's head and shouted loudly, venting his anger.

"Tear this traitor's body to pieces and scatter it across the mountains to feed the wolves!"

The next day,

Li Wuyi, carrying a funeral banner and accompanied by a group of servants, arrived at the city of Xuchang with a carriage carrying a coffin, his hair disheveled.

"Please, Steward Sheng, allow my son from the Li family to collect my uncle's remains."

Upon hearing the report, Sheng Yanshi frowned.

Didn't Wang Bo say he could handle the aftermath? How come Li Yiman's nephew arrived with his men so quickly?

The person has already arrived, so it's not appropriate to ignore them now.

"Let them go into the city to collect Li Yiman's body," Sheng Yanshi didn't want to see them, so he only assigned one of his men to take charge.

night,

In the temple in the city where Li Yiman's coffin was temporarily placed,
Li Wuyi opened the coffin.

It was filled to the brim with armor, crossbows, swords, shields, and other weapons.

Li Wuyi took off his mourning clothes, put on his armor, and then put on his mourning clothes again.

“Uncle, I have already killed that scoundrel Wang Bo, but that is not enough. I will also kill that scoundrel Sheng Yanshi to avenge you.”

They not only forced you to your death, but also falsely accused you of conspiring with the Li family to rebel, intending to exterminate our entire Li family, all while you remained loyal to the court.

Li Wuyi led a squad of elite assassins and quietly made their way to the governor's mansion.

Sheng Yanshi vaguely heard some noise in his sleep. He got up and, sure enough, heard the sound of fighting outside.

"Somebody come!"

A soldier, covered in blood, burst through the door and rolled in.

"Duke, hurry! The bandits have broken in!"

"Where did this thief come from?"

The guards had no idea where the thieves came from. The enemy had suddenly sneaked into the governor's mansion, fully armored and fierce, with a fierce and coordinated attack using swords, shields, bows, and crossbows. They were caught completely off guard.

bang,
One of the guards was kicked into the house, followed by several armored soldiers rushing in.

These people were all still wearing mourning clothes.

"Who are you?"

"You White Impermanence who will take your life!" Li Wuyi gritted his teeth and stepped forward with his knife. Sheng Yanshi tried to resist, but the knife was already at his neck.

The knife was still covered in blood, and the smell of blood was strong.

"If you don't want to die, cooperate obediently."

Sheng Yanshi was bound hand and foot, and his personal guards were killed.

After Li Wuyi attacked the governor's mansion and successfully captured Sheng Yanshi alive, he did not linger but instead escorted him to the city gate.

Sheng Yanshi never expected this.

He would end up like this.

He secretly hoped that someone would intercept him and rescue him.

But when he arrived outside the governor's mansion, he found that the city was on fire everywhere and in chaos. He encountered some guards on the way, but they were all overrun by Li Wuyi and his men.

They did not encounter a large group of people.
At the East Gate,
The sounds of fighting came from there. Li Wuyi had already sent men to seize the gate, and the city gate was being opened.

The arriving defenders were still unable to regain control.

The drawbridge was lowered, and the city gates opened.

In the darkness outside the city,
King Lu of the Great Xia Dynasty and Grand Chancellor of Henan Province, Xu Yuanlang, clad in heavy armor, personally led his elite Yanzhou Leopard Cavalry to attack.

"Just you wait, you dog! You falsely accuse my uncle of colluding with Xu Yuanlang and the Li family of plotting a rebellion. Fine, I'll show you what I'm capable of. I'll personally open the gates of Yunzhou for Xu Yuanlang and capture you alive to hand you over to him."

"You scoundrel, are you satisfied now?"

The rebel army from Yanzhou poured in like an iron torrent.

Standing atop the city wall, Li Wuyi felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.

(End of this chapter)