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

Chapter 451 Li Yi's One-Hit Kill
The sun is westward.

A gust of wind suddenly rose.

Tang flags began to flutter atop the city walls.

Niu Jinda, Sheng Yanshi, and other generals all rushed to the south gate tower.

"Sikong, it's our turn to strike."

Li Yi watched the fierce battle raging in the distance outside the city.

"No rush, it's not the right time yet."

Niu Jinda was puzzled. "The King of Qin has already sent his entire army up there. What are we waiting for?"

"Wait for the opportunity to strike a fatal blow."

Li Yi pointed to the rear guard of Dou Jiande's army outside the city and said, "Look, Dou Jiande's rear guard formation is still intact."

"So what?" Niu Jinda asked.

"So we have to wait a little longer. Xia Jun's central army is already in chaos. Judging from the situation, Dou Jiande's central army can't hold out. He will soon have to transfer troops from the rear to support them."

"Once Xia Jun's rear guard moves, it will be time for our troops in Mingshui City to attack. We will then charge straight at their rear guard, disrupting it and leaving Dou Jiande with absolutely no chance of turning the tide."

Li Yi spoke calmly, even though the battle below the city was fierce and countless people were falling every minute.

But Li Yi is no longer a battlefield novice; he has some experience in command.

That rear guard was Dou Jiande's reserve force.
Li Yi learned a trick from Li Jing, Li Shimin and others: always keep a reserve force on the battlefield.

If you deploy your reserves too early, you'll have no ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

The battlefield is ever-changing; without reserves, you've already lost half the battle.

Just like on the battlefield right now, Dou Jiande's central and vanguard troops are already in chaos, making it difficult for Dou Jiande to mobilize these troops.

The only force he can still use, the force capable of changing the course of the battlefield, is the rear guard.

"You go and prepare first. We should be ready to go in no more than half an hour."

More than 100,000 troops fought fiercely.
On such a large battlefield, victory or defeat cannot be determined so quickly.

The battlefield situation unfolded as Li Yi had predicted.
Yuchi Gong's Xuanjia heavy cavalry finally got tired. They couldn't break through to the end and eventually broke out from the side under the cover of light cavalry, temporarily disengaging from the battle and retreating to the rear to rest.

A thousand heavy cavalrymen, charging fearlessly.

In the end, only about eight hundred riders were able to be withdrawn.

The casualties were quite high, and Li Yi felt heartbroken seeing them. One heavy cavalryman was worth thirty armored infantrymen, so this was equivalent to losing three or four thousand elite armored soldiers.

Fortunately, Li Shimin's tens of thousands of infantrymen, led by generals such as Liu Hongji and Li Shiji, were advancing rapidly.
The Xia army, scattered by the cavalry, was simply no match for the Tang army advancing in these square formations.

Like a boulder crashing into waves,

Waves splashed everywhere, and the Xia army's vanguard and central forces were also splashed.

Some of Dou Jiande's generals couldn't even find their troops before they could return to their own lines.

The several thousand cavalrymen that Dou Jiande had mobilized were also hindered by the chaotic state of his own troops.

Dou Jiande stood guard under the Golden Guard Banner.
Despite the advice of his court officials, he insisted on not retreating.

He knew that once the great banner was withdrawn, the Xia soldiers who were still fighting at the front would collapse and flee.

The banner must not be moved.
He couldn't move either.

"The troops transferred from the rear must stabilize the central army and gather all the scattered troops."

Dou Jiande, wielding his broadsword, issued orders one after another, remaining calm despite the dire situation.

Unfortunately,
At this point, it's not so easy to quell the chaos and regroup for another battle.

His messengers couldn't even find the commanders of the various units.
Some troops hadn't even left the central command area before their path was blocked by the Tang army.

Dou Jiande could no longer issue most of his orders, especially to the vanguard and central armies, which were now fighting independently.
Only the messenger sent to the rear successfully delivered the order.

The rear army commanders dared not delay and immediately dispatched a large number of troops to reinforce the central army.

Although the Xia army was numerous,

Most of them fought alone, were scattered and cut off, and struggled to hold on.

Although the central army banner was still fluttering in place,

However, some Xia soldiers had already lost their fighting spirit. They were terrified by the armored cavalry and their morale was shattered by the light cavalry's arrows.
Faced with the overwhelming swarm of Tang infantry,
Ultimately, they chose to flee in disarray.

More and more soldiers are losing their will to fight and deserting.

They scattered and fled, wanting only to escape this meat grinder as quickly as possible.

Three plumes of smoke rose from the battlefield.

This was the signal agreed upon by Qin King Li Shimin and Li Yi. As the smoke rose, Li Yi dispatched troops from Mingshui City to attack, heading straight for the rear of the Xia army.

This was also to prevent Dou Jiande from escaping.

The 80,000-strong Xia army had grown somewhat tired by this point, especially the cavalry.

Li Yi turned his head and looked at Niu Jinda, Liu Lancheng and other generals who were full of anticipation.

"It's our turn to make a move."
Liu Lancheng, Niu Jinda, and Wu Heita, each of you will lead one thousand light cavalry out of the south gate and directly outflank Dou Jiande's rear.
The Xuanjia Army has already told us how to attack: flank, charge in from the side, charge out, then turn around and charge in again. Your task is to be as fast as possible, taking advantage of the Xia army's rear guard's movement.

Cut into the enemy lines and disrupt their formation.

Next, Sheng Yanshi, Jiang Shanhe, and Du Caigan, you will lead the infantry to follow up and further cut off, encircle, and annihilate the Xia army!

"The general will obey the order!"

The generals received the order with great enthusiasm and ran excitedly down from the city wall.

quickly,

The south gate of Mingshui City opened, and Niu Jinda and his three riders charged out first, followed closely by three thousand light cavalry.

They appeared at the southern city wall through the narrow moat passageway, but they did not head straight for Dou Jiande's crumbling Golden Guard banner.

Instead, they launched a flanking attack on the Xia army's rear, which was to the east.

A lightning strike.

At this time, many of Xia's rear guard troops were transferred to the central army as reinforcements, and the original army formation was disrupted, with many gaps appearing in the formation.

There hasn't been time to adjust or fill in the gaps yet.
The three generals have already arrived.
Horses thundered with hoofbeats, and red flags fluttered in the wind.

They attacked from the left flank.
They charged in, then charged out again. They adjusted their horses, charged in again, and charged out again.

The eight thousand infantrymen led by Sheng Yanshi in white robes, General Du Caigan, and Prefect Jiang Shanhe have also broken out of the city.
Similarly, it involves a detour to the east.

They charged towards the scattered Xia army in battle formation.

Cavalry attacks from the flanks, repeatedly charging in and out, while infantry pushes forward horizontally.

Tang banners fluttered high in the wind, appearing in the rear of the Xia army.

These Tang banners,

This threw Xia Jun into a panic.

The Xia army, especially the one still fighting fiercely in the central army, was under tremendous pressure on the front, but still held onto the hope that it would receive support from the rear.

But has the rear guard been defeated as well?

Many soldiers' psychological defenses collapsed.

They felt they were surrounded by Tang troops on all sides, with red Tang flags fluttering in all directions. The addition of eleven thousand fresh troops...
The timing was extremely precise, even during the rear guard mobilization.
Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin, leading four thousand light cavalry, were still charging ahead, while Liu Lancheng and Niu Jinda, leading three thousand light cavalry, had already reached the rear.
At this time, Zhang Shigui led 3,000 infantry and cavalry to attack the flank and rear.

The army was defeated like a mountain.

Xia Jun collapsed.

The central army's defenses completely collapsed. Dou Jiande did not want to retreat, but his brother-in-law Cao Dan, who had just returned from the front lines, had already pushed him onto a horse.

"Brother-in-law, it will be too late if we don't leave now."

"I won't leave, I won't leave!"

Dou Jiande refused to leave. Where could he go? His retreat meant utter failure.

Whether he leaves or not is no longer up to him.
With the defensive line collapsing, Qin Shubao, wielding his horse spear, charged towards the central army banner.

Gao Yaxian, his eyes bloodshot, rode his horse to meet Qin Qiong in battle.

After only a few rounds, he was lifted up by Qin Shubao with a spear, which pierced his waist and abdomen.

Xia Jun's general Gao Yaxian was killed in battle.

"Dou Jiande, don't run!" Qin Qiong spurred his horse and charged forward, unstoppable.

Dou Jiande fled amidst the chaos of battle, protected by Cao Dan and others. He didn't even have time to take the Golden Guard banner with him. Qin Qiong cut down the flagpole and seized the banner.

The Xia emperor's banner fell to the ground.

The morale of the Xia army on the battlefield had completely collapsed. From this moment on, no one persisted in fighting and resisting; everyone was fleeing for their lives.

The armies clashed, and dust rose everywhere.

Dust filled the sky.

The ensuing battle turned into a capture of prisoners.

The Tang army pursued them for thirty li.
night,

Li Yi led the people of Mingshui City to carry loads of steamed buns, hot soup, and other treats out of the city to reward the troops.

Li Shimin didn't even have time to remove his armor.

He picked up a bowl of vegetable soup in one hand and grabbed a few steamed buns in the other, then stood there wolfing them down. This King of Qin was still in his usual style, always preferring to lead from the front in battle, even though he was stopped from joining the initial cavalry charge today.

But later, he still led his personal guard of a hundred cavalrymen and fought his way in and out of the battlefield seven times.

Until dawn.

The results of the battle are being tallied one by one.

Eight thousand were killed in battle, and more than fifty thousand were captured.

Where is Dou Jiande?

"They haven't been found yet, but Fan Yuan, Dong Kangmai, Cao Zhan, Liu Ya, Wang Xiaohu, and others have all been captured."

"How many casualties did our army suffer?"

"My unit lost 180 armored cavalry, 800 light cavalry, and 2,000 infantry. The Duke of Jin's unit lost over 100 light cavalry and over 300 infantry."

Li Shimin sighed, "In this battle, we have actually lost more than three thousand men."

Li Yuanji chimed in from the side, "We killed over 8,000 enemy soldiers and captured over 50,000. Our casualties of over 3,000 are nothing to brag about."

The King of Qin glared angrily at the fourth son.

This battle in Hebei has lasted for over a hundred days. Initially, there were few casualties due to the stalemate, but from the Battle of Lieren City to the current Battle of Mingshui City, the total casualties have exceeded seven thousand. Adding to this the casualties suffered by Li Yi at Chanyuan, and the losses incurred by Luo Shixin and his forces during their previous attacks on Xingci and other places...

The casualties were no less than eight thousand.

If we add up the casualties of Li Yi's northern army and Li Daliang's troops, the Tang army suffered at least tens of thousands of casualties this time.

"Why are you glaring at me? If you care about the casualties, then just kill all 50,000 prisoners."

Li Yi said, "Your Majesty, after this battle, regardless of whether Dou Jiande escapes or not, he will not be able to cause any more trouble. Soon, the various prefectures in Hebei will be pacified one after another."

However, the most important thing is how to stabilize the situation after the war and prevent further unrest. I believe that the soldiers from Hebei must be properly resettled.
For example, among these 50,000 prisoners of war, ordinary soldiers below the rank of officer could be given some travel expenses and rations and sent home. The local authorities should then distribute land to them equally, and their original land and property must be preserved.

They were indeed Dou Jiande's troops before, but from now on, they are the people of Hebei under the Tang Dynasty.

Li Shimin nodded in agreement. More than 50,000 prisoners could not be killed, nor could they be kept imprisoned, as it would consume a lot of food every day.

"What should be done with the civil and military officials of the pseudo-Xia?"

"I think the priority should be appeasement, and recruitment should be based on the amount of money available."

Officials of the fifth rank or above under the pseudo-Xia regime were initially granted their nominal ranks and sent to Chang'an to participate in the selection process, where they were appointed based on their abilities and given official positions.

Those below the fifth rank, civil officials could first remain in local posts, while military officials could first be incorporated into the imperial army.

Li Yi's suggestions were actually the result of much deliberation after he entered Hebei.

Historically, the Tang dynasty captured Dou Jiande at the Battle of Hulao Pass, and Dou's wife, Lady Cao, and Minister Qi Shanxing surrendered immediately, thus pacifying Hebei without a fight.

Later, when the Tang Dynasty killed Dou Jiande, the Tang officials sent to various prefectures in Hebei treated the aristocratic families very well, but they treated Dou Jiande's old comrades, the core group of people who came from the grassroots and powerful families of Hebei, with no kindness whatsoever.
Ultimately, it was Liu Heita's rebellion that garnered widespread support. Even after Liu Heita's first rebellion was quelled, the Tang army did not change its policies, so Liu Heita later returned and again received widespread support.

It can be said that the people of Hebei have never submitted to Chang'an. Later, when An Lushan raised an army, Hebei was completely rebelled. Even after the An Lushan Rebellion was quelled, the three towns of Hebei still obeyed orders but not proclamations.

Li Yi felt that the Tang Dynasty's policy of appeasement towards Hebei had a major problem. It should not only treat the powerful families and scholars of Shandong with preferential treatment, but also the common people and even those from humble backgrounds who were the true backbone of Dou Jiande's Great Xia Dynasty.

Liu Heita, Su Dingfang, Wang Xiaohu, Fan Yuan, and others, though mostly from humble backgrounds, had, after all, nearly unified Hebei with Dou Jiande since the end of the dynasty, and had implemented relatively good policies, gaining the support of many people in Hebei.

These people are the representatives of public opinion in Hebei. How can we completely ignore them or even suppress and purge them?

The best solution would be to include them in the ruling class of the Tang Dynasty, grant them official titles and ranks, and then transfer them to the court or to other places.

As for those in the middle and lower classes, staying in Hebei for some of them won't have a significant impact.

In short, we cannot engage in confrontation now, otherwise these Hebei people will deal a heavy blow to the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yuanji sneered from the side, "What? We suffered so many casualties in today's battle, and we still didn't win? The people of Hebei won?"

“King Qi, in the past, the world was in turmoil and everyone was fighting for their own master. Now that Dou Jiande has been defeated, as long as they do not continue to resist and rebel, and are willing to submit to the court, they will also be subjects of the court from now on. We will employ them according to their talents. They will also serve the court. Why make such a big difference?”

Li Shimin felt that Li Yi's words made some sense.

One can conquer the world on horseback, but one cannot govern it on horseback. Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, warlords and heroes have risen up in various places, with many declaring themselves emperors and many declaring themselves kings. The Li Tang Dynasty defeated one force after another, but it cannot always be so clearly divided.

"Report!"

A lone rider galloped in.

"Reporting to the King of Qin, good news! Generals Bai Shirang and Yang Wuwei pursued Dou Jiande. Bai Shirang wounded Dou Jiande with his spear, and Yang Wuwei injured him with an arrow. Wounded, Dou Jiande fled a short distance, fell from his horse, and hid in a ditch."

Discovered by General Liu Heizi and General Luo Dafu, Dou Jiande brandished his spear, ready to stab them. Dou Jiande then revealed himself as the King of Xia, saying, "Don't kill me, I can make you rich and powerful."

He was then captured by Generals Liu and Luo. Bai Shirang and Yang Wuwei pursued him, and when they encountered him, the four generals vied for credit, jointly capturing Dou Jiande and bringing him to claim the reward.

Li Shimin laughed heartily upon hearing this, "Truly, Heaven blesses the Tang Dynasty! Dou Jiande ultimately could not escape. As for the four generals Bai Yang, Liu, and Luo, there's no need for them to vie for credit."
All four were credited with capturing the king, and all received merits for their leaping and bounding. They were awarded three promotions, advanced two ranks in their honorary titles, and were promoted one rank in their official positions.
In addition, each person was awarded two horses, three hundred bolts of silk, and ten thousand coins.

The skill of leaping and bounding is something everyone envies; it's the highest honor in battle. For battles with fewer than 10,000 soldiers, only ten can be awarded the skill at a time. For battles with more than 10,000 soldiers, one more slot is awarded for every additional 1,000 soldiers.

Moreover, each leaping feat must be a meritorious act such as being the first to charge into battle, slaying enemy generals, and capturing flags.

Bai Shirang and Yang Wuwei were the Generals of Chariots and Cavalry of the Prince of Qin's Mansion. Li Shimin vaguely remembered Liu Heizi and Luo Dafu. "Generals Liu and Luo, are they your subordinates?"

Li Yi was also surprised by Liu Heizi and Luo Dafu's good luck, "Exactly."

"Quickly summon the four generals; I want to personally reward them."

(End of this chapter)