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

Chapter 445 Li Yi is surrounded

night.

Li Yi and Huo Yu were enjoying their time together when there was a rapid knocking on the door.

The family retainer Chen Lingjiao shouted from outside: "My lord, the bandits are attacking! There are flames all over Mingshui City. General Liu says that Dou Jiande is leading a large army here."

Li Yi replied, "Understood."

The arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released; it couldn't be interrupted at this moment. Huo Yu locked Li Yi tightly with her scissor legs and let out a low, muffled groan.

Li Yi let out a long breath.

Huo Yu chuckled, "You just happened to be serious."

"I have to go," Li Yi said, patting the door gently.

Huo Yu reluctantly let go, "Dou Jiande really came at the worst possible time."

He turned over and got out of bed.

Li Yi quickly rinsed himself off with water, put on his clothes, and went to the outer room, where the Chen and Song families were already waiting.
I personally helped him put on his armor.

"The outside is ablaze with fire, we are completely surrounded by flames, it looks like there are at least 100,000 people."

Li Yi laughed and said, "Are you scared?"

"With Ah Lang around, we're not afraid. What big scene haven't we experienced with Ah Lang?"

"Lord Du and his men have already taken up their posts in various locations. Heavy troops are stationed at both the north and south gates, and our men are also stationed in every neighborhood of the city."

A citywide curfew is imposed; all citizens are forbidden from leaving their homes or going out on the streets, and violators will be executed on the spot.

Li Yi asked for a glass of water and hydrated while they helped him put on his armor. He was young, so the intense battle didn't really affect him.

After donning their armor, Li Yi led his soldiers to the south gate.

As they climbed the city wall along the horse path, the soldiers, illuminated by torches, all looked tense. Not everyone could remain calm when faced with the sight of countless flames outside the city.

Li Yi climbed onto the city wall.
With my hand resting on the battlements of Mingshui City, I gazed into the distance. Countless torches twinkled in the darkness, a truly magnificent sight.

Li Yi suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat similar to the dragon fruit plantation he had seen in Guangdong and Guangxi before. At night, hundreds or thousands of acres of dragon fruit orchards were lit up with countless lights, which was very similar to this scene.

Sheng Yanshi, Du Caigan, Jiang Shanhe, Liu Shiche, Liu Rengui and other generals surrounded them.

Liu Heizi reported to Li Yi, "Our scouts have discovered that Dou Jiande has come in person."

Du Caigan pointed to the flames, "At least 100,000 people."

Looking at the firelight, Li Yi wondered where the King of Qin was now.

Information was not readily available in this era. Although they were only about a hundred miles away from Li Shimin, enemy forces blocked communication.

"Good timing!" Li Yi laughed heartily, drawing everyone's attention.

He pointed to the countless enemy troops, "The 100,000 Xia troops are just the right number to annihilate them under this city. As you know, the King of Qin is leading 60,000 elite troops to the south, while the King of Yan, the King of Beiping, the King of Dingxiang, and Governor Liu also have 50,000 troops not far to our north."

Our Mingshui City has 12,000 elite troops, plus the city itself surrounded by a moat that is fifty or sixty paces wide.

Don't you think they came at the perfect time?

This greatly encouraged the soldiers on the city wall. "That's right, it's not us who are surrounded, it's the Xia army that's surrounded!"

Mingshui City is not large, with only two city gates, but this makes it more advantageous for defense at this time.

The moat, which stretches for fifty or sixty paces, has become even wider and deeper after the autumn rains caused the river to swell.

Only two dikes connect the city gate to the opposite side.

The firelight was moving.

The dense flames eventually converged eastward towards Mingshui City.

Xia Jun set up camp in the east of the city overnight.

"Why did they set up camp in the east of the city, and not in the south or north?"

There was one city gate each on the south and north sides of the city, but no gates or passageways on the east and west sides.

"I think it must be because the Qin King's army is right behind them, so they dare not set up camp in the west or south of the city to avoid being attacked from both inside and outside. Setting up camp in the east of the city can not only avoid the Qin King's army from attacking them directly, but also make it easier to attack the north and south gates," Sheng Yanshi analyzed.

Everyone stood on the city wall, pointing and nodding.

Meanwhile, the Xia army did not stop for a moment. On one hand, they set up camp in the east of the city, and on the other hand, they arranged for people to dig trenches and build palisades outside the south and north gates of Mingshui.

"These scoundrels, are they afraid we'll break through? They've even dug trenches and built fences!" Liu Lancheng cursed.

Li Yi remained completely calm.

The fact that the enemy dug trenches and erected palisades shows that they were not confident of quickly capturing Mingshui City, which is why they had to make such a siege plan. However, Li Yi and his men were not alone; Li Shimin and Li Yi's armies from the north and south were certainly on their way.

It would be even better if it blossomed in the center then.

With such a wide moat, Dou Jiande must be a tough opponent.

"Look, the rebel army is making a move again."

Night was dark.

The enemy soldiers were all carrying torches, making their movements easier to see.

Xia Jun then dispatched two more forces to attack the moat in the northeast corner of Mingshui City.

"They filled in the passageway in the moat."

A moat fifty or sixty paces wide and several feet deep was indeed a good defense, but it was not impenetrable.

Especially for an army of 100,000, filling out two tunnels was not difficult.

Soon an officer came running to report.

Xia Jun filled the river with firewood and sand to build two wide passageways directly to the city walls, so that siege ladders and other equipment could be used to launch the siege.

“They can fill in two tunnels in one night at most,” Niu Jinda reminded Li Yi.

"It's alright, I believe the King of Qin and his entourage will definitely arrive by tomorrow morning."

Besides, even if the King of Qin doesn't come tomorrow, 12,000 elite troops would be enough to hold the city for a long time.

With only two passageways to attack the city, the Xia army would suffer several times the normal casualties, and the difficulty of the siege would increase several times.

Just keep your eyes on those two tunnels and work hard.

Li Yi circled around the city wall.
The Xia army acted swiftly, setting up camp on the east side of the city and digging trenches and erecting palisades outside the south and north gates to block the passageway through which the Tang army could launch an attack.

They also sent people to fill two tunnels in the northeast corner. The Xia army did not directly use the two existing embankments outside the north and south city gates. These two embankments were only wide enough for one cart to pass through, and the water on both sides was dug very deep, more than ten feet deep, so they were not easy to fill.

On the contrary, the water in the northeast corner is only four or five feet deep, and the surface is only about fifty paces wide.

It is said that a number of people exceeding ten thousand is boundless, but this army of one hundred thousand felt even more like a vast ocean, with people everywhere.

Especially that night, with countless torches, if Li Yi and the others in the city weren't all elites, they would have been scared to death.

Li Yi summoned Li Quhuo, Li Panmai, and other generals who had surrendered from Mingshui City, and pointed to the vast ocean outside the city.

"How do you feel in this situation?"

Li Quhuo was a little flustered, his legs were trembling. They had staked the entire Mingshui Li family on this. If the city fell, it might only weaken the Tang army, but the Mingshui Li family might be completely wiped out.

"Our Li clan of Mingshui, numbering several hundred members, is willing to live and die with Mingshui City."

Li Yi patted his arm, "General Li, don't worry, you will soon see how our Great Tang completely defeats Dou Jiande here, with more than 100,000 troops from the north and south closing in."

After reassuring them for a while, Li Yi lost interest in continuing to stand on the city wall.

Although the city walls were cool on summer nights, there were mosquitoes, and wearing armor was quite uncomfortable.

"Everyone take turns on duty. You don't all need to stand here and watch. Those who need to rest should go and rest. I estimate that the bandits will attack the city tomorrow."

Li Yi divided the 12,000 people into three shifts for duty.

He swatted a mosquito that had attacked him dead, turned and went down from the city wall, back to the county office, and removed his armor.

Li Yi first went to the well and took a cold shower.

In the bedroom, under the gauze curtains, Huo Yu, dressed in a light gauze undergarment, lay asleep on a rattan mat.

Li Yi lifted the tent flap and went inside.
sneak attack.

My hand was grabbed.

Huo Yu opened her eyes. "Didn't they say Dou Jiande was coming with an army of 100,000?"

"Yes, they're all outside the city."

"At a time like this, you still have this thought in your mind?"

"We didn't get enough fun just now, let's have a second round."

"It's so hot, aren't you afraid of the heat?"

······
A second bloom,

Li Yi was finally satisfied, his body relaxed, and he quickly fell asleep.

I slept soundly until dawn.

Feeling sticky and sweaty all over, I took a cold shower in the well water and immediately felt refreshed and invigorated.

Li Yi, with a hearty appetite,
I ate six steamed white flour cakes in one go, and then made a bowl of Vermilion Bird Soup.

“Last night, the Xia army laid out two passageways, each three zhang wide, in the northeast corner of the city. On the opposite bank of our south and north gates, three trenches were dug and three palisades were built, completely blocking our two gates out of the city.”

Li Yi nodded. "Anything else?"

"Their main camp in the east of the city has also been set up. It is heavily fortified with palisades, moats, arrow towers, and watchtowers. It is a plum blossom formation."

Liu Heizi paused for a moment and then said, "We haven't seen the King of Qin's reinforcements appear yet."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Don't worry, we'll be there soon."

"Ah Lang, the Xia army has already begun assembling siege ladders and other siege equipment in the northeast corner. It seems they brought quite a lot of siege equipment with them this time. It should take less than half a day to assemble a considerable amount, and they may begin their assault along the two tunnels this afternoon."

Li Yi remained calm.

"Didn't we also bring a batch of artillery and ballista parts? Shouldn't they have been assembled by now?"

"It's all assembled."

"That means the enemy is going to attack from the northeast corner, so we should also place more cannons and crossbows in the northeast corner, and deploy more archers and crossbowmen."

When besieging a city, the cannons are definitely fired first.

When the Tang army was defending the city, they naturally prioritized using cannons and crossbows to retaliate, as these weapons had a longer range and greater power.

Many of Li Yi's crossbows and cannons were transported from Luoyang; they were disassembled from their original parts and transported separately.
It needs to be reassembled.

Two hundred and fifty men could pull the siege cannons, which could hurl fifty-pound stones hundreds of paces away. This meant that if the Xia army wanted to cross the fifty-zhang-wide moat passage, they would have to rely on the two passageways, each more than three zhang wide.

They will be the main targets.
It won't be easy for them to transport their siege equipment to the city walls.

The sun is high in the sky.

The sun was blazing hot.

The war drums thundered, and the Xia army launched its attack.

Northeast corner of the moat bank,

Countless Xia army formations were set up, with battering rams, rams, and ladder trucks already standing there.

Oh oh oh!
The sound of bugles came from afar.
"Master Sikong, look quickly! To the south of the city, there's a red flag—that's the red flag of our Great Tang Dynasty!"

Sheng Yanshi shouted loudly.

Li Yi looked south and indeed there was a high ground south of the city where red flags fluttered, clearly visible even through the distance of Dou Jiande's thousands of troops.

Li Yi called Li Quhuo over and asked, "What's the name of that high ground?"

"Reporting to the Minister, that place is twenty li from Mingshui City. There is a tomb on that high ground, known as the Tomb of King Duan."

They are twenty miles apart.

Say whether it is far or not, say whether it is close or not.

But the appearance of the Tang banners means that Li Shimin must have already arrived.

"Tell the 12,000 soldiers guarding Mingshui City, as well as the thousands of households in the city, that the invincible Prince Qin of the Great Tang has arrived with an army of 100,000!"

"At this moment, we are at the Duanwang Tomb, twenty miles south of the city."

"Brothers, we will witness another historic moment."

"Annihilate 100,000 Xia troops and capture Dou Jiande alive!"

Countless soldiers on the walls of Mingshui City shouted, their morale soaring!
(End of this chapter)