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

Chapter 436 Playing with Fire
The moon sets and the stars fade.

The outskirts of Weizhou were shrouded in a gray mist. Suddenly, crows in the trees took flight and flapped their wings across the post road.

A fast horse galloped from afar along the post road and sped past.

Ferry crossing on the east bank of the canal

Inside the collapsed, abandoned, and overgrown courtyard of the post station, Cheng Mingzhen, the Chief Clerk of Weizhou under the Tang Dynasty, received an urgent report delivered by a knight. His gaze swept over the report, and his expression changed drastically.

His spies in Mingzhou City discovered shocking news: Dou Jiande had secretly transferred 50,000 troops from the front lines in Ye City and was quietly advancing towards Weizhou.

Xia general Liu Heita led 3,000 elite cavalry as the vanguard.

Cheng Mingzhen took out a map from his pocket and studied it carefully for a while. "Liu Heita has already crossed Yuancheng in Weizhou and is heading towards Weixian. It seems he intends to ambush near Weixian, south of Weizhou, and wait for Li Sikong to lead his army to the walls of Weizhou before Dou Jiande leads his main force to attack."
When Li Sikong was outnumbered, he retreated.
"If we retreat to Wei County and Liu Heita attacks again, oh dear, our army will be in grave danger!"

Cheng Mingzhen didn't even bother to rest. He immediately led out his warhorse and headed south.

Chang Le, Weizhou, is only seventy li away from Weixian.
After a three-day siege, Li Yi's Tang army successfully captured the county town. They used the same old tactic of besieging three sides and leaving one side open, sending arrows and letters to persuade the town to surrender, and promising official positions and rewards to the officials and powerful families in the town. The tactic was old, but it was still very effective.

There weren't many soldiers in Chang Le City, just a few hundred local militia and no generals.

They held out for only three days before abandoning the city and fleeing under cover of night. However, Li Yi had already laid an ambush, and they still couldn't escape.

Officials and commoners in the city came out to welcome him respectfully.

This was the seventh city Li Yi had captured since entering Weizhou. All of them were easy. Although the King of Qin had been in a stalemate in Yecheng for nearly two months, the cities south of Changle were already being held back by Lizhou and Huazhou on the King of Qin's flank and rear. The Xia army was only focusing on defending Weizhou and had not dispersed its forces to these small cities in the south.

"Duke of Jin, an imperial envoy from Chang'an has arrived!"

The emperor's envoy arrived from Chang'an, "Please, Duke of Jin, receive the imperial edict!"

"The Emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty issued an edict: Your Excellency, it is said that the Book of Changes states that the 'Master's steadfastness brings good fortune, and the Ministry of Personnel upholds the tradition of rewarding merit. Therefore, you, the Left Grand Master of the Palace, the Inspector of the Ministry of Works, and the Grand Pillar of the State, are all of the highest rank and honor. You possess a magnanimous and profound character, and your conduct is upright and righteous."

In the past, when an ominous star invaded the constellations, causing unrest in Xu and Yan, you wielded the yellow battle-axe to pacify the six directions and held the white banner to calm the three states. You slew the whale and the salamander on the south bank of the Si River and collected the battlements in the fields of Heze.

His achievements in quelling rebellions surpassed those of other vassal states, and his strategies for managing rebellions are illustrious.

The Minister of Works oversees all affairs of state, while the Attendant-in-Ordinary is in charge of offering advice and suggestions.

Today, you are appointed Minister of Works and concurrently Attendant-in-Ordinary, and promoted to General of the Right Guard and Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel of the Shandong Circuit. Your positions as General of the Banners, Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, and Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince remain unchanged.

He was granted two thousand bolts of silk, ten imperial horses, two coin-casting furnaces, and ten acres of land in Hebei.

Zheng Shanguo's daughter Roujia Weize and Cui Shishu's daughter Wanmian Chengxiu were both virtuous and beautiful, and were specially granted the title of concubine to serve in the harem of the Duke of Jin.

Alas! In the past, Zhou Bo secured the Liu family's rule, his merits benefiting the state; may you, too, fulfill your ambitions and ensure the dynasty's stability forever…”

Li Yi listened calmly to the various rewards bestowed upon him.

In Yanzhou, he submitted a memorial of over ten thousand words to the emperor, taking responsibility and pleading guilty. He also pleaded for leniency for Sheng Yanshi and for merit for Liu Lancheng. He also requested to resign from his positions as Inspector General of Works and Inspector General of the Palace Attendants, as well as Minister of War.

The emperor had already replied in less than half a month.

The result was somewhat unexpected.

He did not resign from his post as Inspector-General of Works and Inspector-General of the Palace Attendants; instead, he removed the title of Inspector-General and officially became one of the Three Dukes and concurrently Chancellor and Grand Councilor.

The four positions of Minister of War, General of the Banner, Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and Commander of the Left Guard of the Crown Prince were all filled by him, and he was relieved of the position of Minister of War.

The governor-general, prefect, and pacification commissioner of Luozhou who had not resigned were all gone.

The Left Vice Minister of the Shaanxi East Circuit was replaced by the newly established Left Vice Minister of the Shandong Circuit, which is a demotion.

Li Yi was somewhat confused about the emperor's thoughts.

He left Chang'an last June, at which time he was the Left Vice Minister of the Yizhou Circuit and concurrently the Acting Minister of the Xianzhou Circuit, and then the Pacification Commissioner of the Shannan Circuit.

Later, he marched into Henan and became the Pacification Ambassador of Henan and Hebei Province.

That year, he traveled from Shannan to Henan and then to Hebei, through Yizhou Road, Xianzhou Road, Xiangzhou Road, Shaanxi Road, and Shandong Road, changing five different administrative regions.

He was doing well in Henan, everything was going smoothly, but when he came to Hebei to provide support, he became the military and political leader of Hebei.

Li Yi is useful, but the emperor can't just keep taking advantage of him.

Furthermore, Zheng Shanguo and Cui Shishu wanted to marry their daughters to him as concubines, but that was his private matter. He had already fallen out with the Zheng family and had never agreed to the Cui family's request.
Why did the emperor insist on getting involved, arranging a marriage for him?

I asked the angel,
Sheng Yanshi escaped death but was relieved of his post, retaining his title of Duke of Ge. He was then transferred to serve under Li Yi.

Liu Lancheng, whom he recommended for merit, was granted the title of Duke of Pingyuan County and transferred to the position of Prefect of Fuzhou.

Li Yi was a little reluctant to see such a fierce and eccentric scribe leave. Liu Lancheng had recently become very close with Niu Jinda and Wu Heita, and they had gotten along extremely well along the way. They had even sworn brotherhood by cutting off chicken heads and burning yellow paper.

Jiang Shanhe was transferred to Longyou as the governor of Fuzhou, where he would deal with the Qiang people. Li Yi didn't care. Jiang Shanhe had some insight, but no ability, and they couldn't get along.

He didn't take it seriously that his one-and-a-half-year-old son, a duke, had received a fifth-rank honorary post.

The emperor also sent an envoy from afar to bring him gifts such as salted duck eggs and zongzi (sticky rice dumplings).

Everyone congratulated Li Yi on his promotion.

The visiting troops who came to provide assistance have now become the commanders-in-chief of Hebei.

Cheng Mingzhen, covered in sweat, rushed over from the north, still breathless, and handed the urgent military intelligence to Li Yi, while also stating his deductions.

"Dou Jiande's 50,000 elite Xia troops are heading our way? Liu Heita's 3,000 elite cavalry are the vanguard?"

Li Yi was startled by the news. "Is the news reliable?"

“It was sent by my spies in Mingzhou City. I can’t say it’s absolutely reliable, but it’s very likely,” Cheng Mingzhen said, panting heavily.

Li Yi immediately convened a military meeting.

"It seems that Dou Jiande is also afraid that we will threaten his flanks and wants to defeat us first. Fifty thousand elite troops, that's quite an honor for us."

Dou Jiande confronted Li Shimin in Ye City for a long time, claiming to have 300,000 troops, but Cheng Mingzhen said there were only about 120,000.

The fact that they're sending 50,000 troops to beat him up means they really think highly of him.

"Lord Sikong, I think we should temporarily avoid the limelight and retreat back to Liyang," Cheng Mingzhen suggested.

Liu Lancheng, however, said, "Since we know about their conspiracy, why don't we play along, ambush Dou Jiande, and swallow up his 50,000 men?"

“Lord Pingyuan, these are Dou Jiande’s elite troops.”

Liu Lancheng scoffed, "Elite? I specialize in taking down elites."

Yuwen Shiji dared not be so radical. He felt that Li Yi's 20,000 men had little chance of winning against Dou Jiande's 50,000 elite troops. "Minister," he said, "I suggest we head west immediately to Ye City to join forces with the Prince of Qin."
"Let's join forces with the King of Qin's army to first defeat Dou Jiande's garrison in Ye City, and then annihilate Dou Jiande's 50,000 troops."

The generals each had their own suggestions.

What they said makes a lot of sense.

Liu Lancheng's plan to ambush Dou Jiande was too audacious. Twenty thousand men ambushing fifty thousand men, especially on away ground, was not an easy task.

They retreated to Liyang, adopting a relatively conservative approach.

Going to Ye City to join forces with Li Shimin would be quite interesting.

"First, send someone on horseback to Ye County to report that King Dou Jiande of Qin may have transferred 50,000 troops away from the opposite side of the county, and warn him to be careful."

Li Yi looked at the map.

He continued, "Send more scouts to Yuancheng, Weixian, and along the Grand Canal to investigate the enemy's situation. Liu Heita's three thousand cavalry are coming from the west bank. As long as we are careful, we will be able to find them."

If they can't find those three thousand cavalry, then they will surely be able to find Dou Jiande's fifty thousand infantry and cavalry.

"Minister, we are only seventy li from Wei County. Should we retreat now?" Yuwen Shiji asked.

"Withdraw?" Li Yi looked up at him. "Why withdraw?"

"Issue my military order: Generals Liu Lancheng, Niu Jinda, and Wu Heita, each lead a thousand cavalrymen to Wei County immediately."

“Sikong, this is too risky. Dou Jiande has 50,000…” Even Lu Chengqing, Liu Rengui, and Zhang Gongjin couldn’t help but advise against it.

"If we retreat now, wouldn't that be blatantly telling Dou Jiande that we've discovered them? The battle hasn't even started yet; how can we expose all our cards to the enemy?"

One hundred and fifty li west of Chang Le City in Weizhou, southeast of Ye County in Xiangzhou, lies the Tang army camp.

Li Shimin looked at the urgent military intelligence in his hand.
“I was saying that something was off about the other side these past two days. Dou Jiande actually pulled this trick right under my nose, reinforcing troops during the day and withdrawing them at night. It looked like he was reinforcing troops, but in reality, he transferred 50,000 men away.”

"Someone, summon the generals to a meeting."

When the generals arrived, Li Shimin informed them of the urgent military intelligence sent by Li Yi.

Everyone was somewhat incredulous that Dou Jiande dared to deceive everyone.

"Your Majesty, since Dou Jiande dares to play with fire, then let's set him on fire! While he's mobilizing 50,000 elite troops, let's charge straight in, trample his camps, annihilate his remaining forces, and march all the way to Mingzhou City, flattening his Wanchun Palace!"

Yuchi Gong shouted loudly.

Cao Guogong Li Shiji was relatively cautious, after all, he had suffered a great loss under Dou Jiande, and his father was still in Dou Jiande's hands. "Your Highness, this news has not been confirmed yet. Perhaps it is a trick by Dou Jiande, deliberately making a transfer to lure us into attacking?"

I didn't think it was time for the final battle yet.

When Li Shimin led the expedition against Hebei, he had a large number of generals under his command. After several initial probing battles, Li Shimin and his generals believed that the Hebei army was relatively elite and had a large number of troops. They could not underestimate the enemy and were not adventurous. They should proceed steadily and cautiously. It would be best to send Li Yi from Youzhou, Liu Shirang from Bingzhou, Li Yi from Henan, and other forces to attack from all directions at the same time.

They drew away Dou Jiande's main force, keeping them tied up near Mingzhou, while the rest of their troops pressed forward. This was the same tactic they used to defeat Wang Shichong, and it was a relatively safe approach.

First, take care of the outer perimeter, then make the final battle in Mingzhou.

Now Li Shimin has two choices. One is to take advantage of Dou Jiande's transfer of 50,000 main forces, leaving him with about 70,000 troops. In that case, he can try to launch an attack. If he can defeat these 70,000 troops, he can take Mingzhou in one fell swoop, or at least cripple Dou Jiande.

This is a relatively aggressive approach.

The other option was relatively safer: let Dou Jiande know that he was aware of his actions, and then adopt an offensive posture. In reality, this would force Dou Jiande to lead his troops back to continue the standoff, allowing Li Yi, Li Yi, Liu Shirang, and others to attack the outer perimeter as originally planned.

Luo Shixin, the governor of Shanzhou and Duke of Tan, stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I have an idea. I request that you grant me 10,000 infantry and cavalry to march directly to Mingzhou. If Mingzhou is undefended, I will seize it when the opportunity arises."

If successful, our army will be invincible.

Even without the opportunity, I can still frighten Dou Jiande into returning to his aid.

"It can be used for both offense and defense," Li Shimin nodded repeatedly.

Wang Junkuo also stood up. "Your Majesty, no one but me is qualified to lead the army in a surprise attack on Mingzhou. Previously, when we attacked Luoyang, my thirteen men captured Xuanyuan Pass and defeated 10,000 reinforcements from Goushi!" He patted his chest and competed with Luo Shixin for the opportunity to command the troops.

Luo Shixin scoffed disdainfully: "You ambushed a rabble of ten thousand enemy soldiers with five thousand elite troops. What's there to brag about? Was it thirteen horsemen defeating an army of ten thousand?"

(End of this chapter)