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

Chapter 513 When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away
Shuozhou, the new city.

The bleakness of late winter had not yet completely faded when 100,000 enemy troops, like dark clouds pressing down on the city, surrounded this small border town completely.

The Tang army's red flags fluttered in the north wind atop the city walls.

North of the city, the wolf-headed banners of the Turkic army stood facing each other.

"Let's retreat. The enemy is gathering more and more, numbering at least 80,000 if not 100,000. Once Yuan Junzhang's siege equipment arrives, we won't be able to hold out."

A general behind Li Da'en said.

The other person immediately said, "The city's food supplies won't last until then."

Li Da'en stood there, his hand on the hilt of his sword, as solemn as a statue.

"Wait a little longer. We're very close to Loufan Pass. Reinforcements should arrive soon."

One general also opposed breaking out now, still holding some hope for reinforcements: "The imperial court will not sit idly by and leave us to fend for ourselves; reinforcements will arrive soon."

"Yes, now we need to break through. How do we get out of their trap?"

The generals were arguing amongst themselves.
They were all hot-tempered, or had already lost their composure and were restless.

Dugu Sheng's failure to arrive on time cast a shadow over everyone's hearts. Was it a delay on the way, or was there some other conspiracy?
A large contingent of cavalry approached the foot of the new city.
A knight carrying a flag stepped forward and said, "I have come on the orders of the King of Yan to invite the King of Dingxiang to speak."

Li Da'en stared blankly at the Yan-character flag.

Two months ago, in Chang'an, he, Gao Kaidao, and Li Yi were the three kings of the northern frontier of the Tang Dynasty. They were all granted the imperial surname, and the emperor held their arms and sat on the imperial couch together, calling each other brothers.

And now,
Li Kaidao, the Prince of Beiping, became Gao Kaidao, the Prince of Yan, and they turned against each other with swords and spears.

He placed his hand on the battlement, revealing half of his body, and shouted down towards the city walls: "Gao Kaidao, the Emperor of Chang'an has treated you well, why have you rebelled?"

Gao Kai rode forward on his horse, standing several dozen paces away.

He looked up at Li Da'en on the city wall from his horse.
"Prince of Dingxiang, tell me why I rebelled? Hahaha, well said. If I didn't rebel, would I just wait for Li Yuan to kill me?"

When the birds are all gone, the good bow is put away; when the cunning rabbit is dead, the hunting dog is cooked!
Didn't the King of Dingxiang see that when we went to court to meet the emperor, Li Yuan detained Luo Yi in the court and made his incompetent nephew Li Yuan the Grand Governor of Youzhou?

I have done some good for the Li Tang dynasty, helping to quell Dou Jiande and recover Hebei, but how did Li Yuan treat me?
When I first submitted to them, they bestowed upon me the title of Prince of Beiping and appointed me as the Governor-General of Weizhou. Once Hebei was pacified, they immediately changed my appointment to Governor-General of Yingzhou and seized Beiyanzhou and Tanzhou directly.

They also want to take away my military power and transfer my elite troops. If I don't rebel, the next step will be the same as Luo Yi's, and I will be summoned to the court.

Then, just like your former master Dou Jiande, you met a violent end, dying suddenly in Chang'an!

Gao Kaidao stroked the scar on his face from the attack on Dingzhou, "King Dingxiang, don't be so stubborn. Why do you think you're trapped here today?"

"Where are your reinforcements? Why haven't they arrived?"

"Why did Dugu Sheng fail to arrive on time? Don't you really understand? Dugu Sheng is the son of Li Yuan's maternal uncle. How could a mere Junior Supervisor of the Palace dare to fail to arrive on time?"

Li Da'en's face was ashen. "Gao Kaidao, stop trying to sow discord. Dugu Shaojian was just delayed on the way and will be here soon."

"Hahaha, Prince Dingxiang, stop deceiving yourself. Li Yuan doesn't even trust a brilliant strategist like Li Zhongwen, so why would he trust you and me?"

Why did Li Yuan send troops to Mayi, but instead ordered Liu Shirang, the governor of Wuzhou, to lead troops to Yanmen?
Why did you wait so long for Dugu Sheng's troops in Mayi? You even retreated to the front of Loufan Pass, but you didn't see a single soldier from Dugu Sheng.
Reinforcements?

Haha, don't wait, there will never be any reinforcements.

You already know the truth, but you just don't want to admit it. However, as a former subordinate of Dou Jiande, someone who, like me, came from humble beginnings, how could Li Yuan possibly trust us?

He'd discard his bow after the birds were all gone, and use someone else to kill him—that guy's heart is black.

Yanmen Pass and Loufan Pass have long been heavily guarded by Tang troops, yet they refuse to send a single soldier out. They intend to use us to kill you.

Wake up!
Let's rebel against that damned Li Yuan together! Khan Jieli promised that you would be the Prince of Dai from now on. With one Prince of Yan and one Prince of Dai, plus the Prince of Sui of Dingxiang and the Prince of Liang of Shuofang, let's join forces to take down Li Yuan.

With the Turks as our backers, we can carve out our own territory and live a carefree life. Why should we put up with that jerk Li Yuan?

"Come on, let's join forces, storm Yanmen Pass, and plunder money, grain, and women. No one will be able to take away our territory or our troops!"

Gao Kaidao's words are very persuasive.

On the city wall,
The expressions on the faces of Li Da'en's generals revealed their inner thoughts. Most of them agreed with Gao Kaidao's words that the Tang emperor did not treat them as his own people. The so-called failure to meet the deadline was a ploy to kill someone with a borrowed knife. They sent troops to Mayi, but Dugu Sheng was guarding Loufan Pass, and Liu Shirang entered Yanmen.

The Tang army stationed a large number of troops at Loufan and Yanmen Passes to block their retreat.

Li Da'en's original surname was Hu, and he came from humble beginnings. He didn't initially follow Dou Jiande; instead, he gathered a group of refugees and robbed wealthy families in the Shanggu area to survive. Later, he joined the ranks of Wang Xuba, the "King of the Sky."

Wang Xuba's forces once swelled to over 100,000 men, and he established the state of Yan, also known as the Mantian Kingdom. Later, he was killed by an arrow while attacking Youzhou. His troops were then led by his second-in-command, Li Shanfei Wei Dao'er, and Hu Da'en continued to follow him in battles around Yiding.

He also accompanied Wei Dao'er's subordinate general Zhen Zhai'er to plunder Hedong, and fought several battles with Li Yuan. Once, he even surrounded Li Yuan in Queshu Valley, forming multiple encirclements. If Li Shimin hadn't arrived at the crucial moment, they would have almost killed Li Yuan.

Dou Jiande killed Wei Dao'er, and the remaining troops scattered. Song Jingang surrendered to Liu Wuzhou of Mayi, while Hu Da'en surrendered to Dou Jiande and was appointed as a military commander, operating in the Weizhou area.

His troops, mainly composed of bandits from Shanggu, were neither Dou Jiande's direct subordinates nor those of the Tang Dynasty. They were not highly regarded by Dou Jiande; although he was given the title of "Xingtai" (military commander), they were essentially still the same group of men.

This is why he surrendered to the Tang Dynasty before the Battle of Hebei.

Li Da'en looked at the enemy army, which seemed like an impenetrable fortress.

His resolve wavered.

Having come from a background as a bandit in Shanggu, he had witnessed too much deceit, infighting, and betrayal over the years, and he had long been tired of this kind of life.

He submitted to the Tang Dynasty, was granted the imperial surname, was enfeoffed as a prince, and appointed as a general. In fact, he was very satisfied.

This is also why he was able to fight for more than a month without retreating when he was besieged by the Turks while guarding Daizhou for the Tang Dynasty, and why he is now taking the initiative to attack.

Having come from humble beginnings, what more could one ask for in terms of current status?
Even his men under his command were granted titles such as soldiers, officers, and even noble ranks.

"Brother," a military officer couldn't help but call out.

Li Da'en turned his head and glared at him, "Shut up."

He knew what his brothers wanted to say.

"What Gao Kaidao said is only one side of the story."

"However, we waited for Dugu Sheng for seven days on the banks of the Sanggan River in Mayi, and then it took us another eight days to retreat from the banks of the Sanggan River to the new city."

We've been holding out in the new city for three days now.

Where is Dugu Shengren?
What about his 20,000 troops?
Even if you climbed from Loufan Pass, you would have gotten here long ago.

"Yes, brother, those people didn't treat us as their own people at all. Last year, when Daizhou was besieged, we fought a bloody battle for over a month and lost many of our old brothers. But General Li Gaoqian was in Xinzhou and Liu Shirang was in Wuzhou. They just watched from the sidelines and refused to come to our aid!"

Everyone had been complaining for a long time.

Especially since the imperial court had previously planned to reorganize the troops in Daizhou and install imperial officials there, those things were tolerable.

However, after more than a month of bloody fighting at Yanmen, the imperial troops were only on the outskirts. Now that they had agreed to attack Mayi together, they did not come.

Last year, the Tang army was besieged at Yanmen by 100,000 troops of the Turkic Khaganate. Fortunately, Yanmen was well-defended and had food reserves, so it was able to hold out. The Tang army was on the periphery and could also contain some of the enemy.

But now,
This is within Shuozhou territory, which is enemy territory. This new city is just a small city, and these 20,000 people have little food left.

There was no sign of reinforcements.

Those who survived years of chaotic warfare only wanted to continue living.

"Brother, we can't just sit here and wait to die!"

"Either surrender or retreat; staying here is tantamount to waiting for death!"

Hu Da'en gritted his teeth,
"hold on."

"Just wait and see."

···
Dingzhou.

In March, the grass grows long, kites fly, and peach blossoms bloom.

Li Yi has been extremely busy lately, busy comforting war victims, busy with spring planting, and even busier sourcing food from all over the place to tide them over the spring famine.

"Your Majesty, Cui Renshou of the Anping branch of the Cui family in Boling has sent the last batch of grain promised to be delivered to the Changping granary. It is 1,000 shi of grain, and it has been inspected. It is the full amount and there is no problem with the grain."

Ma Zhou reported this to him.

Li Yi looked up and said, "This Cui Renshou is quite pragmatic."

"Yes, this time we subscribed to a total of 10,000 strings of bonds, which are three-year bonds. We also sold 8,000 shi of grain to the Ever-Normal Granary. We are keeping our word."

Li Yi just smiled. Who told Anpingfang to produce a Cui Yuanxun who refused to serve as an official in the Tang Dynasty and instead became a general under Dou Jiande and Gao Kaidao? If he hadn't died, it would have been better if he had surrendered. But instead, he was killed by Su Dingfang and Zhuge Dewei in Raoyang, and was completely nailed to the pillar of shame of traitors.

Hebei is currently short of money and grain, so if Li Yi uses this as an excuse to deal with the Cui family, it will be perfectly legitimate. Completely destroying the Cui family of Boling is of course impossible, but dealing with the Anping family and making them suffer heavy losses is definitely not a problem.

Fortunately, Anpingfang was pragmatic and offered 10,000 strings of cash and 8,000 shi of grain.

Li Yi was very satisfied with Anpingfang's attitude.

The 10,000 strings of cash were used to purchase bonds, which the government would repay later. There would also be 1,500 strings of cash in interest over three years. The 8,000 shi of grain were also purchased from the Ever-Normal Granary at the market price of 1.4 shi, which was worth 32,000 strings of cash.

The Dingzhou Grand General Administration directly paid 32,000 strings of cash in bonds, also for a three-year term, with 4,800 strings of cash remaining as interest upon maturity.

Although the Cui family seems to have suffered a huge loss this time, they actually didn't pay much and were able to gain Li Yi's forgiveness, which is quite a bargain.

He picked up two documents.

"This is my document appointing Cui Renshou as a ninth-rank military advisor in the Wu'an Prince's Mansion. This is my document petitioning the court to transfer his younger brother, the newly appointed Jinshi Cui Renyuan, to the Dingzhou Grand General's Mansion as a military advisor. Give these to him."

“I am very grateful to the Cui family of Anping in Boling for taking such responsibility during this difficult time.”

Just then, Liu Shiche came in, his expression somewhat grave.

"Minister, I have just received an urgent report that Li Da'en, the Prince of Dingxiang and Governor of Daizhou, has made an appointment with Dugu Sheng, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, to jointly attack Mayi."

When Li Da'en's army arrived at Mayi, Dugu Sheng failed to arrive as scheduled. Jieli Khan then dispatched tens of thousands of cavalry to join Gao Kaidao in besieging Da'en.
Li Da'en retreated to the new city outside Loufan Pass.

With reinforcements failing to arrive and supplies exhausted, Da'en attempted a night breakout, only to be ambushed by the Turks. Da'en's army was routed and killed in battle, with several thousand of his men perishing. The rest were either captured or surrendered, and all 20,000 men were lost in the Daibei region.

Li Yi was stunned and lost in thought. After a long while, he finally asked, "Why did Gao Kaidao go to Mayi?"

He had something else he didn't say: Gao Kaidao, this defeated general, was able to run all the way from Hebei to Mayi in Daibei to help the Turks annihilate Li Da'en's 20,000-strong army. What about the generals and soldiers of the imperial court on the Hebei border?

Right Valiant Guard General and Governor of Xinzhou, Li Gaoqian; Right Commander-in-Chief General and Chief Secretary of the Bingzhou Grand General's Office, Dou Cong; Left Martial Guard General and Governor of Wuzhou, Liu Shirang; Duke of Xihe and Governor of Xizhou, Zhang Lun.

What are these people doing?
Especially that Dugu Sheng, wasn't he ordered to lead 20,000 troops to attack Mayi with Li Da'en? Why haven't we seen him from beginning to end?
The bad news doesn't stop there.
A few days later, more news of Daibei's defeats came.

Gao Kaidao's adopted son led the Turks from Weizhou, across Pingxing Pass, into Daizhou, bypassing the formidable Yanmen Pass. Liu Shirang defended Yanmen City in Daizhou, and the city of Yanmen Pass was lost.

The Turkic army crossed the Juju Mountains and plundered the two prefectures of Dai and Xin.

The Turkic army was too powerful. Generals Li Gaoqian and Liu Shirang could only defend the city. Dugu Sheng, who had not appeared before, also failed to hold Loufan Pass and retreated to Wuzhou. Large numbers of Turkic troops rushed into Lan and Shi and looted extensively.

This was even fiercer than the siege of Yanmen Pass by Jieli last year.
This time, Jieli's target is actually Taiyuan.

And it's not just Taiyuan.

"One hundred thousand Turkic troops have poured into the prefectures of Xin, Dai, Wu, Lan, and Shi, and the Turkic vanguard cavalry has appeared in Taiyuan territory."

Gao Kaidao was defeated by Li Yi in Hebei and fled to Daibei to rely on the Turks to stir up trouble. He helped Jieli kill Dingxiang King Li Da'en. Jieli then rewarded him with Weizhou. Although he has now lost the three prefectures of Tanping and Ji, he still retains Weizhou and Beiyanzhou outside the Great Wall.

"I heard that Jieli is so arrogant that he sent people to Chang'an to ask for a marriage proposal, and even said that if His Majesty does not marry the princess, he will personally lead 400,000 iron cavalry to Chang'an to welcome the princess."

"Jieli also took the four imperial envoys he had detained—Zheng Yuanzhu, Li Chen, Su Gui, and Changsun Shunde—to various cities of the Tang Dynasty to persuade them to surrender."

Upon hearing this, Li Yi couldn't help but slam his fist on the table.

From the beginning of Jieli's reign, the court had been trying to negotiate peace with the Turks, even if it meant enduring some humiliation, in order to first cease hostilities.

But that scoundrel Jieli accepted all the benefits offered, and every time he said he would cease hostilities, he would turn around and send troops to plunder the border again.

They break their promises and even escalate their behavior.

Last year's siege of Yanmen Pass can be seen as a rehearsal, but this time, Li Yi feels that he is going to play for real.

The Turks have been fighting and making peace with the Tang Dynasty for the past few years, and they are increasingly losing ground.

Seeing that the Tang Dynasty was about to completely unify the world, the Turks naturally could no longer sit still.

Everyone knows that a decisive battle is inevitable sooner or later, and Jieli clearly wants to bring it forward so that he has more advantages.

"Has Wang Junkuo not taken Juyong Pass yet?" Li Yi asked Liu Shiche.

"No, ever since Lu Shijun died at Juyong Pass and Tudiji fled back to Yanzhou, Youzhou has never attacked Juyong Pass again. After Wang Junkuo pacified the three prefectures of Tan, Ji and Ping, I heard that he was busy plundering money and grain everywhere and extorting those powerful families, and he didn't care about Juyong Pass at all."

Li Yi snorted coldly, "That son of a bitch Wang Junkuo, if he weren't so selfish, how could he have failed in the attack on Juyong Pass? If Juyong Pass had been taken long ago, would Gao Kaidao have dared to go and attack Li Da'en?"

"The situation in Hedong is not good, and we cannot sit idly by. Summon all the generals. I plan to launch a surprise attack on Weizhou via Feihu Road, attack Beiyanzhou, and seize Gao Kaidao's stronghold."

Liu Shiche was surprised, "Is the Grand Commandant planning to relieve the siege of Wei by attacking what he must defend?"

(End of this chapter)