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

Chapter 524 Capture
Li Yi was stationed at Mashangang.
Before my eyes was a sea of ​​purple, a purple floral expanse stretching across the mountains.

The mountains and fields are covered in purple, and the natural flower waterfalls on the mountainside make this place look like a fairyland.

These are all Bauhinia flowers.
They bloom on Zijing Ridge.

And amidst that beautiful sea of ​​flowers lies a formidable pass, the White Wall Pass. During the Han Dynasty, it was called the Five Ruan Pass, but in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had a more prestigious name: the Bauhinia Pass.

Located at the seventh of the eight passes of Taihang, Puyin Pass has been a vital transportation route in and out of Taihang since ancient times, connecting Weizhou Feihu and Yizhou, and is known as the fourth of the nine strategic passes in the world.

Su Dingfang rode over and stopped beside him.

"A single pass stands majestically in the middle, flanked by numerous dangerous peaks. The rugged valleys make it easy to defend; one man can hold the pass against ten thousand."

In his eyes, there was only the earthen and stone fortress, completely oblivious to the beautiful sea of ​​Bauhinia flowers.

The fortress overlooks the Juma River and sits majestically atop Zijing Mountain.

To reach this pass, one must make five turns and bends, hence it is also known as the Five Turns Pass.

"I must find a few beautiful Bauhinia trees and transplant them to the backyard of the Grand General's Mansion in Dingzhou," Li Yi said, clearly enamored with the sea of ​​purple flowers.

"Master Sikong, do you already have a brilliant plan to take this pass?" Su Dingfang asked.

Originally, the three of them planned to seize the three passes of Weizhou by taking the Lingqiu Road, then first going to Feihu County, and then splitting into three groups.

However, before setting off, Li Yi changed his plans again.

Liu Heita and Li Cunxiao's two forces first set off from Tang County, passed through the Tang River Valley and took the Lingqiu Road to Daoma Pass. After capturing the pass, Liu Heita headed northwest along the Tang River Valley, heading straight for Lingqiu and then towards Pingxing Pass.

Li Cunxiao, on the other hand, took the Feihu South Road to Feihu County, and then headed north to Zhigu Pass.

Su Dingfang did not follow them. Instead, Li Yi led two thousand men to accompany him. They first traveled north from Dingzhou to Yizhou, then through Puyin Pass, through Zijing Pass, and then to Feihu County. They then took the Feihu North Road, passing through the forty-mile-long Black Wind Cave, and finally to Beiyu Pass.

Li Yi did this to prevent the entire army from being blocked east of Taihang if they couldn't capture Feihu Pass, Daoma Pass, or any other pass in a short time. This would give him a better chance of success if he split his forces and took Puyin Pass.

Of course, what he didn't tell Su Dingfang was that he had already planted spies at Zijing Pass. Before setting out with troops, he also arranged caravans for both Daoma Pass and Zijing Pass.

His spies were all in this caravan.

In war, it's always good to use a variety of tactics.

"Send up three pillars of black smoke!" Li Yi ordered Liu Heizi.

Soon, three plumes of black smoke rose from the hillside, shooting straight into the sky.

Su Dingfang stared at the fortified gate on Zijin Mountain by the Juma River in the distance, and a startling idea suddenly arose in his mind.

Could it be that Sikong has already turned the general guarding Baibi Pass against his will and persuaded him to surrender?

Not long after,

Sure enough, three plumes of smoke rose from the fortress surrounded by countless purple flowers, but they were only blue smoke.

Li Yi smiled and said, "Let's go through the pass."

Su Dingfang was shocked. "How did Sikong do that?"

"Actually, it's nothing. Ever since Gao Kaidao was defeated and fled to Shanxi, I've arranged for people to contact the garrison commanders of these passes and secretly try to persuade them to defect and be recruited."

The defection of the garrison commander at Baibi Pass went quite smoothly, but the defection at Daoma Pass was less successful.

That's why I specifically arranged for you to go this way.

When Su Dingfang accompanied Li Yi on horseback to the city gate, he still couldn't believe it.

There are three gates to the south of Baibi Pass.
But now the Tang army's vanguard has successfully passed through three gates and entered the city.

The garrison commander in the pass also came out of the pass to surrender.

"Such a formidable pass, if we were to launch a direct assault, even if the enemy had a thousand or so elite soldiers, we would still find it difficult to take it quickly, even if we had ten times the number of troops."

"Those who follow the righteous path gain much support, while those who stray from it find little. Gao Kaidao was willing to be the dog of the Turks, but not all of his soldiers wanted to follow suit."

The garrison commander of Zijing Pass was Feng Borang from Jingzhou.

He led the Guanzhong garrison out of the city to surrender.
Li Yi readily accepted the offer, and secretly turning this man to his side didn't take much effort. He was originally from Jingzhou, which is now part of Hengzhou. He was a powerful local clan who had once served under Dou Jiande as a cavalry general in the Xia army.

Later, after retiring from the military and returning to his hometown, he was purged by local officials. When Gao Kaidao attacked Hengzhou, he rallied the crowd to support him and was appointed as the governor of Jingzhou.

But unexpectedly, Li Yi sent troops north, Gao Kaidao withdrew without a fight, and Feng Borang had no choice but to lead his troops to flee as well.

Finally, Gao Kaidao assigned him to guard Baibi Pass.

He had long regretted it, especially after hearing that Jingxing had been merged into Hengzhou, and now that Dingming and Mingzhou had been combined, Li Yi was treating them, the former subordinates of the Xia King, and the powerful families of Hebei, very well. He also saw that Gao Kaidao had gone to become a vassal of the Turks, while he was stuck guarding this Zijing Mountain.

We have neither grain nor pay.

The Feng family, having abandoned their home and business, are filled with deep regret.

Li Yi sent an envoy to hide in the caravan and secretly contact him. He was swayed on the first meeting. After several attempts to persuade him, he was determined to defect.

But Li Yi told him not to rush into changing sides.

now,

Li Yi personally arrived.

He could finally openly and legitimately change his allegiance.

“I am very pleased that General Feng has abandoned the darkness and embraced the light,” he said, handing Feng Borang a red edict.

He was awarded the title of Guerrilla General.

Although he was only a fifth-rank general with a nominal title, it still represented recognition from the Tang Dynasty.

Baibi Pass is said to have 6,000 soldiers, but in reality, that includes both the old and the young. There are only about 3,000 able-bodied soldiers, most of whom are new recruits such as Feng Borang's relatives, tenants, and servants in Jingxing, as well as many able-bodied men who were brought in during the retreat.

These people were abandoned here and couldn't even afford food. They barely survived by hunting, fishing, and digging for wild vegetables, and they couldn't go home.

right now,

These people can finally return to their hometown in Hebei.

Li Yi selected one thousand soldiers from the troops stationed at Baibi Pass and kept them, while dismissing the rest.

After enjoying a hot meal and a night's rest in the fortified city, Su Dingfang led two thousand cavalrymen, full of energy, on their continued northward journey the next day.

Heading north along the Puyin Path, one reaches the Feihu County Basin, where there are no further obstacles. In Feihu County, one can then turn onto the Feihu Pass North Road, leading directly to Beiyu Pass. Li Yi rested briefly here before continuing his journey to Feihu County.

Of his two thousand infantrymen and Feng Borang's one thousand infantrymen, one thousand remained to guard the pass, while the remaining two thousand went to Feihu to join the eight thousand infantrymen led by Qin Wutong and his men.

"I wonder how things are at Daomaguan Pass, and whether everything went smoothly?"

"Don't worry, even if we encounter setbacks at Daoma Pass, it doesn't matter. I can fight my way from Baibi Pass to Feihu County, and then attack from behind to the north of Daoma Pass. I can still take Daoma Pass, it will just take a little more time."

"In that case, it will be difficult to launch a sneak attack on the bottle-shaped pass."

Su Dingfang was a little worried about Daoma Pass, but Li Yi was not. Although the general guarding Daoma Pass was Gao Kaidao's adopted son and had not accepted the defection, there was still a high chance of success in taking the pass by using Tu Li's caravan.

Patting his chest, Su Dingfang led his troops northward at breakneck speed.

On Zijing Ridge, purple flowers stretch along the mountainside, so bright and dazzling.

Talking with Feng Borang, I learned that there were not many soldiers in Feihu County.

"Daoma Pass and Baibi Pass are each defended by three thousand soldiers. Gao Kaidao probably thought that by controlling these two passes, he also controlled Feihu Pass and Puyin Pass. One man can hold the pass against ten thousand. Feihu City actually doesn't have many soldiers."

"Gao Kaidao had previously received the order from Jieli Jinlang and hastily led 20,000 troops to attack Li Da'en. There were not many troops left in Beiyan Prefecture and Wei Prefecture."

They're all stationed on the frontier, leaving the interior relatively empty.

The information he mentioned was similar to the intelligence that Li Yi had gathered during this period.

Gao Kaidao suffered a major defeat and retreated to Shanxi, losing the three prefectures of Tan, Ji, and Ping. However, he still had 30,000 to 40,000 troops, which Jieli summoned to assist in the battle, but he also took away 20,000 elite troops.

What remained were the elderly and the weak, and another 10,000 troops were deployed in the inner three passes.

Thus, the cities of Weizhou and Beiyanzhou were mostly inhabited by the elderly and weak, and their numbers were very small.

Li Yi indeed chose a good time to send troops.
Gao Kaidao is still in Daibei and won't be back for a while. Perhaps he never expected that Li Yi would send troops at this particular time.

Even if he comes back now, it's too late.

Regardless of the situation at Daomaguan,
Now that Zijing Pass has been surrendered and the Puyin Pass is open, we can directly advance into the Feihu Basin, and Weizhou is already in our grasp.

Feng Borang surrendered and received a red certificate with the rank of a fifth-grade guerrilla general. Not satisfied, he wanted to advance further.

"Lord Sikong, there are only a thousand or so old and weak soldiers in Feihu County. This humble general is willing to take Feihu City for you."

"How do we take it? By deceiving the city?"

Feng Borang nodded. The garrison in Feihu County was still unaware of the surrender at Baibi Pass. He would lead about a hundred men to Feihu City.
He could easily find any excuse, and the garrison might not stop him.

“I have some acquaintances in Flying Fox City, so they should be able to enter. Once inside, I can take the city gate with just a hundred men.”

Li Yi patted him on the shoulder, "Very good, worth a try. If we take Flying Fox City, I will remember your great contribution."

If it fails, Li Yi won't suffer any loss, but if it succeeds, he'll make a fortune.

Feng Borang took on the risk, but he could also reap higher rewards.

Traveling west along the Juma River Valley for about 120 li, you will reach Feihu County, which is the later Laiyuan.

The mountain road is difficult to travel.
But this is already a relatively convenient passage across the Taihang Mountains. The majestic Taihang Mountains stretch for eight hundred miles, but there are only eight such passages, known as the Eight Passes of Taihang.

Feihu County connects the two passes.

That small town beyond the Great Wall was accessible by five roads.

It connects to Taiyuan via Daizhou in the west, Yunzhou and Datong in the north, and Beiyanzhou and Bashang Grassland via Feihuyu in the northeast.

The southwest route goes through Daomaguan and follows the Tanghe River valley to Dingzhou; the eastern route goes through Zijingguan to Yixian; and the southeast route goes through Wuhuishan to Shunping.

Feihu County, though small,

The basin it occupies is small, but it is a transportation hub, and Li Yi must take this city first.

Feng Borang, along with several of his sons and a hundred elite personal guards, hurriedly headed towards Feihu County, while Li Yi led two thousand men behind him.

"Can Feng Borang take down Feihu?" Liu Heizi asked.

Li Yi glanced at the scene and remarked, "Look how confident he is, he's sure to win."

The Bauhinia flowers along the way were breathtakingly beautiful. Li Yi never expected that he would be able to enjoy such a beautiful view during this military expedition.

Everything went as he expected.
Feng Borang did not disappoint him.

His group spent two days traversing the 120-li Puyin Pass and Juma River Valley before arriving at Feihu City in the Laiyuan Basin.

The town of Feihu was suffering from famine and was nearly deserted. Most of the thousand or so elderly and weak soldiers who remained in the town had gone out to hunt, dig for wild vegetables, and fish.

He led a hundred men to the city walls, where the officer on duty was an acquaintance of his. He greeted him and let him in without any obstruction.

Feng Borang didn't stand on ceremony and told this fellow villager about his allegiance to the Tang Dynasty, urging him to join him.

“Heba Township, we are not only from the same hometown but also relatives. I’m just trying to help you out.”

Upon hearing this, Hebatong immediately switched sides without hesitation, saying, "Damn it, I've long since stopped working with that scoundrel Gao."

Hebatong, accompanied by Feng Borang, stormed into the city's military camp, first capturing the garrison general, and then arresting the county magistrate in the government office.

There was little resistance.
The officers of this ragtag, old and weak detachment who remained behind were not elite troops either, and they surrendered one after another upon seeing the situation, not to mention the county officials.

The soldiers readily defected.

Smoke signals were raised from the city walls.

Li Yicai had just led his troops out of the valley.

"We've captured Feihu County," Liu Heizi reported happily, watching the fireworks.

Li Yi smiled as he looked at the wisps of smoke.

It went even more smoothly than expected.

Liu Heizi flattered him from the side, "You sent those three generals to seize the three passes, but it was you who personally took action and seized one pass and one county first."

"When Ah Lang takes action, one man is worth three."

(End of this chapter)