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

Chapter 516 Li Yuan Lets Sigh

Tongguan.

It was already early March.

Crown Prince Li Jiancheng was still in Tongguan, while the rebellion in Hebei had been quelled.

An angel arrived on horseback and read out a decree.

"I have heard that the Crown Prince Jiancheng has been alerted, and the barbarian cavalry has invaded the borders. In the prefectures of Dai and Xin, beacon towers are seen everywhere, and the border people are terrified. The Crown Prince Jiancheng is the only legitimate heir, and his loyalty is to the country. He has a broad vision and far-reaching understanding, and his strategic acumen has been evident since ancient times."

He was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the Hedong Army, overseeing all military affairs in Hedong, and commanding the troops of the six general administrations of Pu, Jin, Lu, Xi, Bing, and Dai, to defend against the Turks…

Li Jiancheng stepped forward to receive the imperial edict, and he also learned of the death of Prince Dingxiang, Li Da'en, in Shuozhou.

Wang Gui, the Crown Prince's advisor, stepped forward and asked the angel, "Does the angel know how things are arranged in Hebei?"

"The rebellion in Hebei has been completely quelled, and His Majesty has rewarded Minister Li and Duke Peng, among others."

Shuang Shilu and Dugu Kaiyuan were both recalled to the capital. Li Xuantong was appointed as the new governor of Yizhou, Qin Wutong was appointed as the governor of Hengzhou, Wang Jun'e was promoted to governor of Tanzhou, and Wang Junkuo was concurrently appointed as governor of Jizhou.

All eight deputy commanders under Li Yi's command were promoted based on their military achievements.

Su Dingfang and Liu Heita were both promoted to the rank of General of the Central Army, a fourth-rank lower-level general. The eight deputy commanders were also promoted to the rank of General of the Chariots and Cavalry, a fifth-rank lower-level general.

Su Dingfang was not promoted to the position of Prefect of Shenzhou.

Of Li Cunxiao's four lieutenant generals, two were granted the title of Third-Rank General of the Cloud Banner, and two were promoted to General of the Upper Palace Cavalry.

The three generals, Su Dingfang, Liu Heita, and Li Cunxiao, were each granted the title of Founding Viscount.

Li Jiancheng listened with growing impatience as the angel recounted Li Yi's achievements and the rewards he and his men had received.

Zheng Shanguo was also annoyed by that name, so he interrupted the angel and asked about the situation in Hedong.

"His Majesty suspended court for three days in remembrance of the Prince of Dingxiang, posthumously granted him the title of Grand General of Bingzhou, bestowed upon him the posthumous name of Xiang, and issued an edict to build the Minzhong Shrine in Daibei for his worship..."

"Dugu Sheng, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, was guilty of being late and should have been executed. After eight deliberations, his death sentence was reduced and he was exiled to Dunhuang."

Sending off the angel,

Li Jiancheng frowned.
Although he had been vying with Li Shimin for the opportunity to command troops, now that the opportunity to fight the Turks was actually in front of him, he hesitated and became fearful.

"This time, the Turkic Khaganate Jieli came with great force. I never expected that Li Da'en's 20,000 men would be completely wiped out in the new city of Shuozhou."

Li Jiancheng interlaced his fingers and asked, "Do you think the generals of Daibei can withstand Jieli's attack?"

He's starting to regret it.

If I get the opportunity to personally lead an expedition to Hebei before the new year, I should immediately send troops, and the credit for quelling the rebellion in Hebei will be mine.

This delay led to a sudden and dramatic change in the situation in Hebei.

Originally, he wanted Wang Junkuo and Li Yi of You and Ming prefectures to wear down Gao Kaidao and let Gao Kaidao penetrate deep into the central and southern parts of Hebei. In this way, he could win a decisive battle once his troops entered Hebei.

Unexpectedly, Li Yi disobeyed the Crown Prince's order not to attack lightly, and instead launched a surprise attack on Dingzhou without prior notification. Gao Kaidao, who seemed very arrogant and fierce, did not dare to fight Li Yi and fled without a fight.

Li Yuan dared not launch an attack, but Wang Junkuo swept through Tanbing and pacified the three prefectures.

By the time Li Jiancheng heard the news, everything had already been settled.

Gao Kaidao and the more than 10,000 Turkic soldiers who had invaded Hebei all fled to Hedong, and the rebellion in Hebei was quelled.

He stopped abruptly at Tongguan, but in the blink of an eye, the situation in Hedong changed drastically.

Now, an imperial edict
He's being transferred to Hedong; Hebei is no longer relevant to him.

"The situation is not good," Zheng Shanguo said. Four imperial delegations sent to the Turks for peace talks are still being held captive. Last winter, the Turks besieged Yanmen Pass with their army, and this spring they invaded Hebei. Add to that the continuous incursions from Shuofang, Liangzhou, and Lingzhou.
The Turks suffered a great white disaster last winter, and this year they will only intensify their invasions and plundering.

"Can't Liu Shirang, Li Gaoqian, and Dou Cong hold the line?"

"We may not be able to hold out. This invasion will be even more ferocious than the previous invasion led by Liu Wuzhou and the Turks."

Upon hearing this, Li Jiancheng gasped. Liu Wuzhou's invasion of Hedong had prompted court officials to petition for the relocation of the capital, and the emperor himself had considered abandoning the area west of the Yellow River.

Can he handle Jieli?

Li Jiancheng felt a chill run down his spine and couldn't help but scratch his head.

"Minister Zheng, Minister Pei, His Majesty has appointed me to govern Hedong at this time to defend against the Turks. Isn't that putting me in a difficult position?"

Pei Shiju had been observing this Crown Prince.

He is now the Right Vice Minister of the Crown Prince, but after spending some time with him, he found that the Crown Prince is generally good, but compared with Li Shimin, Li Yi and others he has met, he feels that something is missing.

This became even more obvious at this point.

Previously, when the Gao Kaidao rebellion broke out in Hebei, the Crown Prince thought it would be easy to quell, so he competed with the King of Qin for the opportunity to lead the expedition. After he seized the command, he procrastinated and missed the opportunity. When he heard that more than 10,000 Turks had entered Hebei, he procrastinated even more.

He only thought about letting Wang Junkuo, Li Yi, Shuang Shilu and other generals take the lead in wearing down the rebels and Turks, without thinking that he should hurry to Hebei to meet the enemy.

And now,
The emperor entrusted him with the task of defending Hedong against the Turks, but he clearly showed fear and retreated.

Ugh.

The Crown Prince Jiancheng is far inferior to Yang Guang in his youth.

Zheng Shanguo also noticed the Crown Prince's hesitation. "Your Highness, it's a pity we missed a golden opportunity during this rebellion in Hebei."
The Turkic invasion of Hedong presents both a crisis and an opportunity.

"Khan Jieli is much stronger than Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang. He has hundreds of thousands of archers under his command. If he launches a large-scale invasion, he will have at least 200,000 cavalrymen heading south."

"What can we use to fight? We can't win." Jiancheng sighed, already intimidated before the battle even began. Military affairs were always his weakness, and facing such a powerful enemy, he had absolutely no confidence. "Your Highness,"
Think of Li Yi. Back when Li Yi was in Haozhou, Hedong, what a difficult situation he faced, yet he managed to stabilize the situation.

Even if Jieli had 200,000 cavalry, they were nomadic tribes of the grasslands, skilled in riding and archery, but not in attacking fortified positions.

We must not repeat the mistake Li Da'en made. We should not initiate open battles with them; instead, we should defend our fortified cities. Jieli will have little chance then.

"Last year, when Jieli besieged Yanmen, Li Da'en defended the city with more than 10,000 men. Wasn't Jieli helpless?"

Zheng Shanguo was not skilled in military affairs, but his words were still quite prudent.

Li Jiancheng, however, was already terrified by Jieli's hundreds of thousands of cavalry. "Pei Qing, do you think we can hold out like this? What if Jieli defeats us one by one? What if Jieli bypasses the city and marches straight in?"

Pei Shiju was one of the five nobles of Yang Guang's great cause. He was best at diplomacy and much better at military affairs than Zheng Shanguo.

"What Your Highness says is all possible, but for now, defense is the best strategy against the Turks. If the Turks advance unimpeded, it might not necessarily be a bad thing. If the enemy penetrates deep into Zelu or the Fenjin area, we will have a better opportunity to fight."

However, this would likely bring calamity to countless people in Hedong.

Li Jiancheng was really unwilling to face Jieli Khan, but fortunately the emperor did not send him to Taiyuan to take charge, but only sent him to Puzhou.

Pei Shiju actually felt that Li Jiancheng now had tens of thousands of troops, as well as fierce generals such as Li Yi, Sang Xianhe, and Xue Wanche. The best course of action would be to immediately head north to Taiyuan and use this important city to block the Turks in the north of Dai, preventing them from advancing south.

If even the important border towns dare not fight, how can the prefectures and counties in the heart of Hedong resist the Turkic army?

Especially those basins and plains east of the river, which are now important grain-producing areas for the imperial court. If the Turkic army were to come and wreak havoc, the losses would be incalculable.

Hebei has just been ravaged by disaster and is experiencing famine.

If Hedong is seized by the Turks again,

That court suffered a severe blow.

Ke Jiancheng never mentioned going north to Taiyuan.

In Chang'an, Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin and General of the Heavenly Strategy, had submitted several memorials to the emperor requesting permission to fight, but the emperor ignored them all and issued an edict ordering the Crown Prince, who was stationed at Tongguan, to be stationed in Puzhou, to command the armies of Hedong and to direct the defense against the Turks.

Li Yuan sighed.

He also knew that the best way to fight the Turks was to send Erlang.

However, he dared not send Erlang into battle again unless absolutely necessary. After pacifying Xue Ju, he was promoted to Grand Chancellor of the Shaanxi East Circuit. After pacifying Wang Shichong of Luoyang, he was promoted to Grand Commandant, Minister of Works, Chancellor and Grand Secretary, and General of the Twelve Guards. After pacifying Dou Jiande of Hebei, he was promoted to General of the Heavenly Strategy, a position above princes and dukes, in charge of national campaigns.

If he were to fight against the Turks again and achieve great merit, how much more reward would he be given?
Is he really being promoted to Grand Chancellor?

Li Yuan stood up.

With his hands behind his back, he walked to the screen and looked at the map of Hedong.

Gao Kaidao rebelled, and Hu Da'en died.

In a way that no one could have predicted, most of the territory of the three kings of the northern frontier was taken back by the imperial court.

But the situation didn't improve; it got worse instead.

Gao Kaidao, along with the two prefectures of Beiyan and Wei outside the Great Wall, were completely subjugated by the Turks.

Hu Da'en was killed in battle, 20,000 soldiers were lost, Weizhou was lost, and the defense line of Daizhou was also breached.

Although he had previously ordered Li Gaoqian to garrison Xinzhou, north of Taiyuan, and Liu Shirang to garrison Daizhou, he has now transferred Zhang Lun to garrison Wuzhou.

But it still didn't stop.

None of the generals dared to block it.

One hundred thousand Turkic cavalrymen have poured down, flooding into Dailan, Wuxin, and other prefectures.

Northern Shanxi is in chaos.

Although the important cities were still in the hands of the Tang Dynasty, most of the strategic passes and passes had been lost.

While Jieli launched a major invasion, the Tang Dynasty sent envoys to Chang'an to request a marriage alliance, demanding a princess from the Tang Dynasty as a bride.

Nowadays, none of the prime ministers in the court believe Jieli's nonsense. This man is untrustworthy, greedy, and his repeated attempts to make peace have yielded no results.
The only option now is to fight first and then make peace.

At the very least, we must withstand this major offensive by the Turks, and ideally achieve some victories before we can negotiate peace. Only then might Jieli be willing to truly sit down and talk.

Li Yi defeated several Turkic armies in Hebei. Although he beheaded a little over a thousand and captured a little over a thousand, totaling only about three thousand, it was clearly not enough.

During a court meeting, Grand Secretary Feng Deyi recommended Li Yi to serve as the Grand General of Bingzhou or the Military Commander of Bingzhou, so that he could lead the various armies to fight against the Turks.

But Li Yuan did not agree to this proposal.

Li Yuan has now realized that Li Yi has a good personal relationship with the Prince of Qin, but has never been close to the Crown Prince. Li Yi is now highly respected for his achievements, and if he were to be given command of troops and make great contributions again, it would disrupt the balance that Li Yuan has worked so hard to maintain.

Standing in front of the map for a long time,
Li Yuan let out a long sigh.

It's difficult. I thought the world was about to be unified and things would be much easier, but now we're beset by internal and external troubles, and the situation is even more critical than before.

a long time.

Li Yuan returned to Yu'an and picked up his pen.

Li Shenfu, the Prince of Xiangyi, was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Bingzhou; Dou Cong was reassigned as the Grand Administrator of Jinzhou; Huang Junhan was transferred to Luzhou as the Grand Administrator; and Liu Shirang was appointed as the Grand Administrator of Daizhou.

Li Daoxuan, the Prince of Huaiyang, was appointed as the Grand General of Youzhou, while Li Yuan was reassigned as the Prefect of Luozhou.

Li Yi was appointed as the General Commander of the Hebei Road Army, with Li Daoxuan and Wang Junkuo as his deputy commanders. Qin Wutong, Li Xuantong, Wang Xingmin, Xue Zhong, Liu Jun, Wang June, Li Cunxiao, and others were appointed as commanders. They were to command the troops of You and Ding prefectures in Hebei, under the command of the Crown Prince, to jointly defend against the Turks.

(End of this chapter)