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

Chapter 522 Roadblock

The fifth year of the Wude era, the fourth month, the day of Jiwei.

In the upper reaches of the Tang River valley, a caravan is traveling along the Feihu Pass, and peach blossoms are just beginning to bloom in the mountains.

The bells on the mules and horses in the caravan jingled and echoed through the valley.

They set off from Tang County in Dingzhou, traveled along the Tang River valley, and walked along the southern route of Feihu Pass, one of the eight passes of Taihang.

The caravan consisted of over two hundred mules and horses, laden with various goods. The caravan leader was a Turk with a spiky hairstyle, and he led about fifty men. The caravan leader was Turkic, and there were also Sogdian merchants traveling with them, as well as their respective Turkic and Sogdian companions and guards.

"We've traveled over a hundred li from Tang County. Not far ahead is the famous Daoma Pass, a treacherous mountain road where horses often fall over," said a guide from Hebei in the group.

"Daomaguan, what an unlucky name!" exclaimed a Sogdian merchant with deep-set eyes, a high nose, and thick curly hair, wearing a tall felt hat, a green long robe, and dressed in a traditional Chinese dress. "Couldn't they have chosen a more auspicious name?"

The guide laughed and said, "Daomaguan is not its original name. It was originally called Hongshangguan a long time ago, Changshanguan during the Han Dynasty, and Tieguan during the Northern Dynasties. But people are used to calling it Daomaguan. If you say Hongshangguan, Changshanguan, or Tieguan, many people will not know it."

"Let's rest here for a while. Daomaguan is not called that for nothing. It is built against a cliff and beside a deep ravine. Half of it is in the valley and half on the mountain. The Tang River flows around it from the west, north and east."

The Turkic merchant leader dismounted and asked, "Are there still troops stationed at Daoma Pass for inspection and tax collection?"

"Yes, Daoma Pass is located on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. It originally belonged to Tang County of Dingzhou and was the boundary between Hebei and Hedong. To the north lies Feihu County of Weizhou in Hedong."

However, due to Gao Kaidao's previous rebellion, Daomaguan was occupied by the Yan army and is still in their hands.

The fortress is currently garrisoned by Yan troops, who rigorously inspect passing caravans and levy heavy taxes, taking one-tenth of the total.

Upon hearing this, the Sogdian merchant immediately exclaimed, "One-tenth? Is it really that ruthless? Right now, in Dingzhou Prefecture, Hebei, the likin tax levied for temporary fundraising for the war is only one-hundredth of the value. They're demanding one-tenth of the value—isn't that robbery?"

The foreign merchants were extremely dissatisfied.

The men and guards were also talking amongst themselves, but a Turkic guard with a sword and bow on his back just stood in the corner without saying a word.

This tall, bearded guard was none other than Liu Heita, the Viscount of Zhangnan County and General of the Cavalry. His assigned mission was to raid the Pingxing Pass between Wei and Dai, a distance of 420 li.

But the first obstacle in his path was the Daoma Pass in Dingwei.

Daoma Pass is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It is 120 li away from Tang County, Dingzhou. He must take this pass first, and he must do so quickly.

Fortunately, before setting off, Prince Wu'an arranged this caravan for him.

The caravan consisted of several Turkic and Sogdian merchants. The Turkic merchant in the lead was particularly distinguished, as he possessed a token bestowed by Tuli Khan.

This caravan was transporting a lot of salt, wine, silk, cloth, sugar, tea, and some pots, pans, and porcelain back to the grasslands beyond the Great Wall.

Even when Gao Kaidao led his army to attack Yiding, this Turkic merchant was still trading goods, because he had both a token given by Tuli Khan and connections with Li Yi.

This man was a profiteer, and his business dealings were with Li Yi.

He would transport cattle, horses, sheep, camel hides, furs, mushrooms, and medicinal herbs southwards, and then bring back tea, wine, salt, grain, porcelain, silk, and other goods, making a fortune. Even if there was another war, he was unwilling to stop this business.

The merchants were cursing and swearing.
They travel thousands of miles, shuttling between war zones, all for the sake of making money. But if they have to pay one-tenth of the cost to pass through a single checkpoint, what about the other checkpoints they have to pass through? Will they also have to pay one-tenth of the cost then?

If we do it this way, how are we supposed to make money?

Within the Dingzhou Grand General's Mansion, a temporary tax called "lijin" is now levied on merchants, which is only one percent of the total value.

Liu Heita grabbed a handful of fried rice and chewed it.

Some guards also approached.

This time, he brought twenty elite soldiers from Wei and Zhao under his command, who disguised themselves as Turkic guards. Dressed in Turkic clothes, they were indistinguishable from the real Turks. After so many years of the Northern Dynasties, Hebei had become quite infiltrated by non-Han peoples, with a large number of intermarriages between Han and non-Han peoples.

Back then, Yuwen Tai, a Xianbei, went to Guanzhong to start his own business. Since most of his subordinates were Han Chinese, he promoted Sinicization.

Gao Huan, a Han Chinese, started his business in Guandong. Because most of his subordinates were Xianbei, he actively assimilated them into Xianbei culture.

The people of Hebei are generally tall and robust, and his soldiers are mostly of mixed race. When they put on Turkic clothes, it is indeed difficult to tell them apart without careful observation.

After resting for about half an hour, the merchants ate some dry rations, fed the horses and mules, and then loaded the goods back onto the horses and mules and continued their journey toward Daomaguan.

Liu Heita patted his backside and mounted his horse.

He turned his head to look back at the path he had come from; the mountains and forests were silent, and there was nothing there.

But he knew that not far behind him were his hundred personal guards, and behind them were two thousand light cavalry.

After walking for a while, the guide shouted from the front, "Everyone, pay attention! The treacherous Eighteen Bends Ridge is just ahead. Be careful of the horses and mules. The road is narrow and steep. If you're not careful, the horses and mules will fall and fall into the ravine. You'll lose both the horses and the goods."

Everyone dismounted again, spread out some distance, and slowed their pace.

Liu Heita surveyed the road.
The road they are now traveling on is called Lingqiu Road. During the Taihe era of the Northern Wei Dynasty, 50,000 people were mobilized to repair this road. It starts from Pingcheng in Yunzhou in the north, crosses Hengshan Mountain in the south, and from Lingqiu downwards, it follows the Tanghe Valley Road out of Taihang Mountain, reaching Dingzhou in the south.

This is a vital passage. Daomaguan Pass is located in the Tanghe Valley east of Taihang Mountain. It is an essential route and can be called the throat of Lingqiu Road.

After carefully traversing the Eighteen Bends Ridge, we finally arrived at Daoma Pass.

This fortified pass is divided into upper and lower sections.

Xiaguan Pass is located in a valley, guarding the main road, while Shangguan Pass is situated on a steep mountain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Liu Heita observed for a long time and concluded that this pass could only be taken by strategy, not by force.

The two cities, one above the other, are about three miles apart and support each other.

Gao Kaidao retreated from Dingzhou via the Lingqiu Road, and after passing Daomaguan, he left 3,000 men to garrison the area.

Therefore, the pass was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and Li Yi had not yet sent troops to capture it.

And now,
Daomaguan became an obstacle to Liu Heita's success.

He looked toward the Turkic caravan, hoping to get cover from them.

The Tang River makes a sharp bend here, with a valley nestled between two mountains, and the pass is located on the only road through it.

During the Warring States period, the State of Zhongshan built the Chizhi Pass here to defend against the invasion of the State of Zhao in Shanxi, but in the end it still failed to stop the State of Zhao. After the State of Zhao captured the pass, it was renamed Hongzhi Village.

Back then, the Bai Di and Xianyu people migrated eastward from northern Shaanxi, crossed the Taihang Mountains, and entered the North China Plain to establish the Zhongshan State, also taking the Tang River route. There are actually two routes north of Daoma Pass: one is along the Tang River valley, taking the Lingqiu Road northwest all the way to Lingqiu County, and the other is north to Feihu County.

There are two roads: one is Lingqiu Road, and the other is Feihu Road.

Feihu County is a small basin nestled in the mountains. Although the area is small, it is well-connected in all directions, with Feihu Pass and Puyin Pass, two of the eight passes of Taihang, leading to it.

Liu Heita's target this time was the Bottle-shaped Pass between Wei and Dai. In fact, he could have bypassed Feihu County, passed Daoma Pass, and gone straight to Lingqiu City along the Tang River Valley.

This road has a section that is more difficult to travel, but the advantage is that there are no dangerous passes at the northern exit, while if you take the Flying Fox Road, there is a fortified pass to the north.

There are still several miles to Xiaguan.
Several riders then galloped over.

The Yan army at the pass was very vigilant.
The leader of the Turkic caravan waved, and the whole caravan stopped. He stepped forward to greet them.

“I am a man of Tuli Khan, and I have been ordered by the Khan to purchase a batch of goods in the Central Plains.”

As he spoke, he took out his waist tag and other items.

When the Yan army saw that the man was a Turk, and that he immediately announced the name of the Turkic Khan Tuli, they did not dare to be arrogant and their attitude became much more polite.

The territory that Gao Kaidao originally occupied was right next to Tu Li.

One was south of the Yanshan Mountains, and the other was north of the Yanshan Mountains. They had frequent exchanges. Fortunately, Tuli Khan had been busy with trade in recent years and had little interest in raiding southwards, which made Gao Kaidao's life much easier.

In the past, the people of Tuli Khan traveled south and north for trade, and the Gao Kai Road was generally well taken care of, with taxes levied relatively low.

It's the same this time.

As soon as the name of Tuli the Little Khan was mentioned, the Yan soldiers immediately became very polite, casually inspected the caravan, and did not dare to ask to inspect the goods.

The tax was levied based on an arbitrary estimate of the number of horses and mules.

The tax on goods from one horse or mule is estimated at fifty coins; even two hundred loads would only amount to ten thousand coins.

"Do you have any salt, tea, or cloth? We can use those to offset taxes." The Yan army officer even said to the Turkic caravan leader with a hint of flattery, "It would be even better if you had any grain."

It's quite difficult for them to stay here.

It was during the spring famine, and there was a shortage of food, and even more so of supplies such as salt and tea.

The small fortress was garrisoned by three thousand men.

Everyone was suffering terribly.

The famine in Weizhou was worse than in Dingzhou, and grain prices were even higher.

The Turks said, "We didn't bring much grain, but we can share some salt with you. The price of grain in Dingzhou is now 500 coins per dou of rice, and 1 jin of salt per dou of rice. For 10,000 coins, I'll give you 20 jin of salt. How about that?"

The customs duty of 10,000 yuan can be offset by 20 jin of salt.

The Yan army defenders were not unhappy at all; in fact, they were quite pleased.

Since the defeat at Dingzhou and the retreat north, the once bustling Lingqiu Road has become increasingly deserted.

The caravans that used to come and go in front of Daoma Pass are now rarely seen. Although the Tang army did not come to retake Daoma Pass, they set up checkpoints and garrisoned troops in the south, so ordinary caravans could not pass through.

As for grains, salt, iron, and other essential commodities, forget about them.

The caravan was lured into Xiaguan by the Yan army.
Liu Heita focused his entire army on finding an opportunity.

The two passes are about three miles apart. The upper pass is on a mountain, easy to defend and difficult to attack, while the lower pass is in a valley. If we can capture the lower pass, we should immediately set off a signal fire so that our personal guards can arrive and hold the pass before the defenders of the upper pass arrive.

Once the main force arrives, the garrison at Shangguan will be no threat. They may even only need to leave one or two hundred men to hold Xiaguan temporarily until the central army arrives to take over. Once the main force arrives, Shangguan will be lost.

The town doesn't look very big from a distance, but you'll find it's actually quite large when you get closer.

During the conversation between the Turkic merchants and the Yan army, it was learned that the circumference of Xiaguan was five li, the city wall was two zhang high and three zhang wide, the city wall was made of rammed earth and brick and stone, and there were three city gates in the east, west and north.

Although the lower pass is not as dangerous as the upper pass.

But with only two thousand light cavalry, it's really impossible to take it by force.

The entire Xiaguan city is surrounded by water on three sides, with one side leaning against a cliff. The mountains, water, and city walls create a natural barrier for each other.

The two mountains face each other, flanking a deep valley, making it an unavoidable and necessary route.

Amidst the ringing of mule bells,

Liu Heita led twenty elite soldiers and swaggered into the gates of Xiaguan City, where the sturdy stone gates stood wide open.

Many of the Yan soldiers on duty immediately surrounded the caravan, asking what goods they had and wanting to buy some.

These Yan soldiers had previously plundered Hebei and had money, silk, and even gold and silver in their hands, but they could not get replenishment here. They lacked living supplies, including grain, salt, tea, wine, and cloth.

Looking at the unsuspecting Yan army, Liu Heita sneered and reached for the hilt of his sword.

"Do it!"

Liu Heita drew his sword, shouted, and slashed down a Yan army captain who was buying tea cakes from a Turkic caravan. He was caught off guard and fell to the ground.

Chaos broke out at the East Gate.

Soon, the fireworks signal went up into the sky.

Liu Heita led twenty personal guards in a sudden attack, quickly cutting down the guards at the East Gate and capturing the East Gate of Xiaguan in one fell swoop.

The Turkic caravan leader was completely bewildered.
At this time, the Sogdian merchants who had joined them on the way in Dingzhou also drew their swords, and their Sogdian companions and guards also drew their swords or drew their bows.

Only the Turkic leader and his ten men remained, stunned on the spot.

What are you doing?

(End of this chapter)