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

Chapter 438 Hebei's Warrior of Ten Thousand Men

On the canal,
Li Yi was fishing at the bow of his boat when Huo Yu, who had come from Luoyang, sat beside him and peeled zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) for him.

People say that once you have a wife, you forget your mother; but Huo Yu, on the other hand, has a lover and forgets his son. Li Wenxiang and Li Yi both went to Hebei to fight, one in Yecheng and the other in Weizhou, but Huo Yu came directly to Weizhou.

"Isn't it good to stay in Luoyang?"

"It's so boring. I used to think that staying in Chang'an was boring, but now I realize that it's not Chang'an or Luoyang that's boring, it's Chang'an and Luoyang without you that's boring."

Li Yi laughed heartily.

Huo Yu pinched his waist, "You're so heartless."

"I miss you too, but I'm leading troops out there."

The zongzi were a gift from the emperor. Last time, Li Yi wrote to the emperor and mentioned that the zongzi he was given as a reward were delicious, especially the ones with salted egg yolk filling. As a result, the emperor sent another box of them this time.

Chen Lingjiao rowed over in a small boat. "My lord, here's some military intelligence from Chief Steward Niu."

Huo Yu moved a little distance away.

"Dou Jiande actually withdrew? I thought he would stay and fight me." Li Yi shook his head after reading the intelligence sent back by Niu Jinda.

Dou Jiande was so frightened by Li Shimin's drumming outside Mingzhou that he shrank back.

"They left behind Liu Shishan and Su Dingfang with 13,000 men. They're looking down on us."

Huo Yu reminded Li Yi from the side: "Liu Shishan is Liu Heita's younger brother, and he's quite brave, but he's brave without strategy. He's not much to fear, but you have to be careful of that Su Dingfang. Although he's only in his early twenties, he started fighting alongside his father when he was fifteen."

Countless rebel armies have fallen to him; both Wen Xiang and I have suffered losses at his hands. Su Lie is both brave and resourceful, and should not be underestimated.

Su Dingfang, Li Yi had heard of this name before.

Among the founding generals of the early Tang Dynasty, he was not particularly famous, but he was a late bloomer. During the reign of Emperor Gaozong of Tang, he rose to become a military leader and was known as the one who single-handedly destroyed three kingdoms and captured three kings.

Yes, he was also Li Jing's disciple. In the early years of the Zhenguan era, he served as Li Jing's vanguard, together destroying the Turks and capturing Jieli. Later, for some reason, he was sidelined for many years.

A person capable of capturing three kings and destroying three kingdoms, even if he is only twenty-one years old now, is indeed not to be underestimated.

"Am I not as good as him?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

“You are still more powerful. You are only nineteen, but you are already famous for your martial arts. No matter how powerful Su Dingfang is, he can only fight some bandits.” Huo Yu took his hand and said.

I fished for half a day.

Not a single fish was caught.

woman,

Sure enough, it not only affects a man's speed in drawing his sword, but also his fishing skills.

However, Li Yi didn't like eating fish either; he was just killing time.

Go ashore

He summoned the generals for a discussion.

Everyone looked at Li Yi. Earlier, Dou Jiande had secretly led an army of 50,000, but Li Yi advanced instead of retreating.

Now that Dou Jiande is gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Although Li Yi has a great reputation, they really felt that Li Yi had underestimated his opponent.

That was Dou Jiande, who almost unified Hebei.

"Have Niu Jinda, Wu Heita, and Liu Lancheng station their troops outside Weixian City and wait for us to arrive. We can also test Su Dingfang in Weixian. It would be best if we could lure him out, but it's okay if we can't."

Li Yi was very relaxed.

"Master, should we still head north? Dou Jiande left 13,000 troops in Weizhou, which, together with the original troops in the city, amounts to nearly 20,000. Weizhou is a fortified city and difficult to attack. Why don't we bypass Weizhou, head east to attack Shenzhou, then go north along the Yellow River to Bozhou, and then attack Zongzhou and Beizhou?" Du Caigan suggested.

Yuwen Shiji went even further and suggested that they also go to Ye City to join forces with the King of Qin.

“The time for the decisive battle in Ye City has not yet come. Going to Ye City now is a poor strategy. Our army should play to its strengths and avoid its weaknesses. Taking Weizhou is the proper course of action,” Li Yi said.

"But with so many troops in Weizhou, we don't have much of a chance of winning if we attack the city."

"To take Weizhou, we don't necessarily have to launch a full-scale attack on the city. We can lure the enemy out first, annihilate their main force, and then attack. At that point, taking Shikong City will be easy."

Everyone thought Li Yi's explanation was too simplistic, but it's not that easy.

“I heard that Liu Shishan and his brother Liu Heita were just vegetable farmers. He is brave but reckless, so we can deal with him.”

At this point, the benefits of Li Yi's numerous military achievements became apparent.

During the military council, his plan was eventually accepted by everyone, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was a one-man show.

The troops continued their northward march.

Two days later, they arrived at the city of Weixian.

The three generals Niu, Wu, and Liu led three thousand cavalry to challenge the city for three days. Su Dingfang also had three thousand men in the city, but they refused to leave.

“We don’t camp at night, and this guy can still stay indoors. He’s like a turtle reincarnated.”

"That's right. Yesterday, when I challenged Su Dingfang at the city gate, I sent someone to deliver a set of women's clothes to mock his wife. But that bastard actually accepted the clothes and put them on, and even stood on the city wall to thank me."

Liu Lancheng joked that the old ox had failed to steal a chicken but lost his clothes. "I must say, that Su Dingfang is quite handsome. After changing into women's clothes, he actually looks pretty good. If I could capture him, I would really like to sleep with him."

As soon as these words came out,
Even fierce generals like Niu Jinda and Wu Heita felt a chill and quickly retreated. "Do you scholars have something wrong with you? Isn't it good to be a real woman? Why do you like men?"

"You don't understand, this is called sharing a peach, cutting off a sleeve, and homosexual relations."

"Get lost, disgusting." Old Niu couldn't stand it anymore and even regretted becoming sworn brothers with Liu Lancheng.

Old Liu laughed heartily, "Don't worry, although I, Old Liu, am bisexual, I only like handsome young men with delicate skin and tender flesh. I don't like big, burly men like you."

Li Yi quickly interrupted their wild conversation.

"Su Dingfang is quite famous in Hebei, known as a warrior capable of defeating ten thousand men. Let's not provoke him for now. Let's continue towards Weizhou City." "Isn't Sikong afraid Su Dingfang will ambush us from the rear?"

"If he dares to come out, it will save us trouble. What's there to be afraid of?"

Li Yi didn't actually intend to launch a full-scale attack on Weizhou City; he only wanted to lure Liu Shishan out of the city.

Even Huo Yu knew that Liu Shishan was brave but lacked strategy, so a little provocation would surely lure him out. Being a vegetable farmer meant Liu Shishan hadn't studied military strategy, and his deputy, Zhang Junli, was also said to be illiterate and a salt worker.

As for Cui Lixing, the governor of Weizhou, he was a member of the five noble families and the Cui family of Boling. However, Li Yi had long heard about his use of the Yin Gate Formation to defend the city, so he was not someone to be feared.

One day later,

Li Yijun bypassed Wei County and arrived at the city of Weizhou.

Su Dingfang still did not leave the city.

Weizhou City was quite large, one of the few cities in Hebei that housed two counties within a single city: Guixiang County on the left and Yuancheng County on the right.
The city was built on the east bank of the canal.

Li Yi rode his horse to observe Weizhou City. Weizhou is located on the Hebei Plain, with a very advantageous geographical location. In particular, it is adjacent to the Grand Canal, making transportation convenient. It has always been an important military town, and after the Grand Canal was built in the Sui Dynasty, it became a commercial center.

This prefecture city has thirty-two wards, making it a proper metropolis.

The city has two markets and three military camps.

After the An Lushan Rebellion, the military governor of Weibo rose to prominence here, and the Weibo soldiers became famous throughout the land, with the emperor of Chang'an and the Weibo soldiers.

The most ferocious group of soldiers: while the eunuchs of Chang'an could depose and install emperors, the soldiers of Weibo could depose and install military governors.

If a military governor doesn't like someone, he'll replace him with another one.

These guards were originally the personal troops of the military governor, but in the end, they were able to arbitrarily depose and install military governors.

Weibo Town did not truly decline until the massacre of its 8,000 soldiers during the Five Dynasties period.

At this time, Weizhou City had eight city gates: one in the south, two in the north, three in the west, and two in the east.

Within the outer city lies the inner city, and within the inner city lies the outer city.

The city's perimeter is astonishing.

By the late Tang Dynasty, it had been expanded into four layers: Luocheng, Dacheng, Zicheng, and Yacheng, with a circumference of seventy-two li.

Even now, the city seems a bit too big; no wonder there are two counties within it.

"The city is defended by nearly 20,000 troops. Without 50,000 to 60,000 elite soldiers, a large number of laborers, and sufficient siege equipment, this city simply cannot be taken," Yuwen Shiji sighed.

For such a large city, a combination of tunneling and gunpowder explosions might be worth trying.

However, Li Yi did not intend to launch a direct attack.

Let Liu Shishan attack him.

"Do you have any good ideas on how to lure the enemy into attacking?"

Each of the generals expressed their own opinions.

"We can deliberately delay the completion of the camp and stockade to lure the enemy into a night attack."

"Attack the city directly, then feign defeat and retreat."

"By bypassing Weizhou and heading north, we will deliberately leave our auxiliary troops and supplies behind to lure them into an attack!"

······
There seem to be quite a few ways to lure a brave but reckless general into attacking.

Upon hearing this, Li Yi decided to launch a probing attack before nightfall. Weizhou City was once known as the largest city in Hebei and the third largest city in the world.
It had been under Dou Jiande's control for two years, and the city's defenses were complete, with moats and stakes outside the city. Li Yi directly ordered the drums to be beaten and attacked, sending out squads of soldiers to start cutting down the stakes.

The Tang army of 20,000 men, both warriors and auxiliary troops, did not set up camps or fortifications. Instead, they carried swords and axes and began clearing the perimeter of Weizhou by chopping down plum blossom stakes in preparation for the attack on the city.

On top of the city.

General Cui Lixing and generals Liu Shishan and Zhang Junli stood on the city wall to watch.

"That Li Yi is so arrogant!"

"They dare to attack Weizhou City without building siege equipment?"

"Such a big city, even if they cut down all these plum blossom stakes, could they still fly in?"

"Perhaps they're planning a surprise attack; I've heard that Luoyang was captured by such an attack."

"Wasn't the city wall of Luoyang destroyed by an earthquake?"

"You believe that? Could an earth dragon turning over only happen in the outer city of Luoyang and a corner of the imperial city, giving the Tang army two breaches?"

The generals discussed it among themselves.

Liu Shishan looked at the Tang army below the city, then looked up at the sky.

"Are they not planning to set up a camp?"

"Yes, it's getting late. They're so bold."

"They're not taking us seriously."

Liu Shishan sneered, "You callous brat, you're asking for death!"

The Tang army continued cutting down plum blossom stakes until sunset before retreating to a point two miles southwest of the city, where they set up tents along the riverbank.

There were no strong fortifications.

His completely unguarded demeanor was like that of a young prostitute in a brothel, stripping off her clothes to seduce an old patron. How could Liu Shishan resist?

He completely disregarded Dou Jiande's words forbidding him from leaving the city to engage in reckless battles.

(End of this chapter)