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

Chapter 530 Having a Son
The Dragon Boat Festival is approaching.

Luo San traveled a long way from Chang'an to Weizhou with good news. Despite being weary from the journey, he greeted Li Yi with a smile as soon as he entered Lingqiu City.

"Congratulations, my lord, on the birth of another son."

"Uncle, you must have had a long journey."

The letter from home, carrying the good news, arrived a few days earlier than Luo San via the express post station. He already knew that his Persian concubine, Reba, had given birth to a son for him.

Li Yi had already thought of a nickname for Sanlang in the past few days: Beiping Lang, and his formal name would be Lin.

Judging by the time, Ji Lingyi is about to give birth.

"Sanlang is fair-skinned and chubby, weighing over seven pounds at birth, and looks a lot like Alang." Luo San was especially happy to see that Li Yi had more and more children and a thriving family.

Li Yi could only listen to Luo San's description.
It sounds like he has strong genes. Although his mother is a Persian woman, Sanlang was born with black hair but very fair skin and a high nose bridge.

Li Sanlang was born with a pair of blue eyes.

Black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin—a mixed-race individual. However, Chinese people value paternal lineage, so it doesn't matter if one's maternal lineage is of non-Han descent or be of mixed Han and non-Han descent.

Just like since the Northern Dynasties, the Xianbei people have become Sinicized and intermarried with the Han people. Many famous families also intermarried with the Xianbei, such as the Dugu family, Dou family, Yuwen family, Yuan family, Changsun family, etc., all of whom were Xianbei.

Li Yuan's mother, Lady Dugu; Li Yuan's wife, Lady Dou; and Li Shimin's wife, Lady Changsun, were all of Xianbei descent, but no one would say that Li Yuan was Xianbei, nor would anyone say that Li Shimin was Xianbei.

No one would even say they are of Xianbei descent.
They are Han Chinese.

This is no laughing matter; anyone who dares to say such things will face serious consequences.

Dilraba is a Persian princess, but the son she married, Li Yi, and had, though he has black hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, is still a member of the Li clan of Longxi, China.

"When Sanlang was born, it just so happened that Alang led the troops of Youding across the Taihang Mountains, seized Weizhou and Beiyanzhou, and raided the lair of the bandit Gao Kaidao. When the emperor received the report, he was overjoyed."

A special imperial decree was issued, bestowing upon Sanlang the title of Founding Baron of Lingqiu County, along with 500 mu of land and a grant of 30,000 coins.

Just three days after his birth, Li Xiaosan was granted the title of Baron of the Founding County. He was truly born with a silver spoon in his mouth.

The Turkic Khaganate, led by Jieli Khan, launched a major invasion, plunging Hedong into crisis.
Prince Li Da'en of Dingxiang was killed in battle, and his 20,000 troops were wiped out. Subsequently, several prefectures in Daibei were invaded, and Daizhou, Yanmen, and Xinzhou were besieged.

The Turks also divided their forces to attack Lingliang and Yanzhou prefectures.

Li Yi led his troops into Shanxi, capturing two prefectures in one fell swoop with almost no casualties, and raided Gao Kaidao's last stronghold.

When this news reached Chang'an,
It caused a great stir in the court and among the people. Even the prime ministers were initially hesitant to believe it and had to repeatedly verify information from various sources before they dared to believe it.

This battle was fought under Li Yi's command, and even without the Crown Prince's command, so the credit naturally belongs to Li Yi.

Li Yi is currently the Minister of Works, concurrently serving as the Grand Chancellor, Prince of Wu'an, and Grand General, so it's not appropriate for him to bestow any further titles. It would be perfect to grant his newborn third son the title of County Baron.

Li Yuan's edict of commendation was delivered to Lingqiu City by Yesen Luosan. Although the emperor appointed Li Yi to command the troops of You and Ding prefectures in Hebei, he was under the control of the crown prince.

But the emperor valued the result more.

As long as we can win, nothing else matters.

The imperial envoy sent by the emperor also brought the emperor's oral decree, hoping that Li Yi could assess the situation, seize the opportunity, and make persistent efforts to send troops to Daizhou to rescue Yanmen and protect Taiyuan.

However, the emperor did not issue a formal edict directly, but conveyed it orally, so that Li Yi could make arrangements more flexibly.

If there's an opportunity, I'll take it; if not, I won't force it.

Luo San also brought some zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) from Chang'an. "The zongzi were made by the princess and several ladies. They've been on the road for so many days, and I specially added ice, so they're still fine."

Bringing these zongzi (sticky rice dumplings) took a lot of effort. Luo San even brought a specially made refrigerator with an ice-storage compartment to keep them warm at low temperatures. However, the ice needed to be replaced along the way, which was very costly.

Basically, only large cities and powerful local families store ice. With Li Yi's power and reputation, it wouldn't be a problem to ask for some ice.

"Uncle has gone to so much trouble for these zongzi."

"It's all thanks to the Princess and the others. Shuniang and her younger siblings also made some for Alang themselves."

Thousands of miles apart, Li Yi felt warm inside because his wife and children missed him so much and specially sent him zongzi for the Dragon Boat Festival.

He arranged for Luo San to take a bath and change clothes first, and then personally cooked a meal to welcome Luo San back.

They also summoned Liu Heizi, Luo Dafu, and other officers and soldiers from Luojiabao.

Compared to the war-torn region of Bingdai,
Weizhou is now peaceful. Li Yi has moved from Feihu County to Lingqiu County, which is closer to Daizhou. The Lingqiu Basin is also much larger than the Feihu Basin.

"I've been to Lingqiu City a few times before, trading wine and horses with Tuli Khan. It used to be quite desolate and quiet, but now it's so lively?"

"This is now the main base of my Hebei headquarters, and military supplies are being continuously transported here."
People settled here to cultivate land and mine, which greatly increased the population and made the area much more lively.

Lingqiu City, also known as Zhao State City, is named after King Wuling of Zhao, who was buried here. It was officially established as a county during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, and has a long history.

Like Flying Fox, Lingqiu City is also a beautiful place with stunning mountains and clear waters.

This is the source of the Tang River, with Weishan Mountain standing here. It was formerly known as Zhaoyi, connecting Youyan to the east, controlling Yanyun to the west, and controlling Xinfu to the south.

The beacon tower stands tall, a strategic location fought over by military strategists since ancient times; the plank road, suspended in mid-air, has always been a bustling thoroughfare for merchants.

To secure the northern frontier and contend with the Turks,

The first step, of course, is to firmly control these border areas within the Great Wall. This involves not only stationing troops but also relocating people to the border regions, restoring land reclamation, and ensuring self-sufficiency as well as thriving commerce and industry. Only in this way can we have the resources to wage a protracted war against the Turks on the border, instead of relying solely on inland transport routes, which would be too costly and unsustainable.

After receiving Li Yi's notification,

Liu Heizi, Luo Dafu, Luo Wu, and a group of officers and soldiers from Luo Family Fort arrived early.

"Hey, pick a fat sheep, slaughter it, and clean it up."

"Da Fu, Da Gui, you help me make blood sausage and stew bones."

"Fifth brother, clean up these pheasants."

"Cunzhong and Cunyi, you two are in charge of skewering and grilling the skewers." ...
Li Yi assigned tasks to everyone, and he was in charge of cooking: mutton soup, cold pot with locust leaves, and of course, cold roasted mutton and pheasant stew.

He also picked out two tender domestic chickens and made a poached chicken dish for everyone.

Finally, we made buckwheat jelly, a local specialty of Lingqiu. Buckwheat is widely grown here, and the buckwheat tastes slightly bitter, but it is smooth and refreshing, making it a local specialty.

It's comparable to the locust leaf cold pottery that people in Guanzhong love to eat.

Wild vegetables with dried tofu, wood ear mushrooms with dried bean curd, cold lamb, poached chicken, plus mutton soup, lotus leaf pancakes, roasted lamb, and roasted tofu.

Although it wasn't anything fancy, the atmosphere was great as we ate and chatted in the backyard gazebo.

Hei Zi and the others all came to pay their respects to Luo San.
They're all generals now: General of the Flying Cavalry, General of the Chariots and Cavalry, General of the Guerrilla Force, and General of the Rangers.

"Since there are no outsiders here today, I'll take the liberty of not standing on ceremony with you," Luo San said with a smile.

After three rounds of drinking,

Liu Heizi couldn't help but ask Li Yi, "Brother, we've been in Shanxi for so long now, and all we do is train and farm. I heard the fighting is fierce in Daizhou. When are we going to send troops?"

"Yes, those Turkic wolf cubs are very vicious. I heard they've been burning, killing, and looting all over Daibei."

The Hebei army captured Weizhou and Beiyanzhou.

Many people from Daizhou and Xinzhou are now fleeing here. Li Yi only ordered strict checks, but did not turn away those war refugees.

Anyway, buckwheat, millet, and sorghum can still be planted in this season. When disaster victims arrive, they will be relocated and resettled, and organized to cultivate the land. This can be considered as work relief and self-help through production.

The able-bodied men were either tasked with clearing land for farming, fortifying cities and fortresses, or transporting supplies to Hebei. Separating them from the women, the elderly, and the weak was a fundamental solution, thus preventing young refugees from causing trouble or spies from instigating unrest.

The influx of refugees from Xindai has ironically made them part of the current construction force in Weizhou.

After the refugees arrived, they were able to accept the resettlement in Weizhou and were very grateful, but they also became increasingly resentful of the Turkic wolves.

Even the refugees hoped that the Hebei soldiers in Weizhou could reach Daizhou and Xinzhou as soon as possible, defeat the Turkic wolves, and drive the invaders away.

Liu Heizi and his officers had been hearing about the atrocities committed by the Turks every day, yet they themselves spent their days either training troops, cultivating land, and building fortifications.

I really couldn't hold it in any longer.

Not only them, but now all 20,000 Tang troops from Dingzhou in Weizhou are hoping to launch a counterattack on Daizhou.

In particular, the last operation to invade Weizhou went too smoothly and easily, which made many people a little complacent.

Li Yi devoured several skewers of roasted lamb kidneys wrapped in lamb tail fat before replying, "The time isn't right yet."

“Alang, the brothers are eager to send troops. We can’t let those Turkic wolves wreak havoc on Daibei like this.”

"Yes, we have 40,000 troops, we can't just sit idly by."

Li Yi has been closely monitoring the current situation in Daibei and understands it better than they do.

"Our Hebei campaign has 40,000 men in the two prefectures of Wei and Yanbei, that's true, but Jieli now has 200,000 men in Daibei, of which 150,000 are Turkic troops."

Two hundred thousand, do you know what that means?

This means that even if we send 40,000 troops to Daizhou, one wrong move could lead to utter annihilation.

He paused, then continued, "The most important thing is not just the disparity in troop strength, but the supply of provisions. Last time we went out to war, we relied on the batch of grain we brought from the Jianghuai region."

"Our operations in Daizhou and Xinzhou will continue, and food supplies will remain a major problem."

Besides, the most important point is that to fight the Turks, the entire war situation must be considered as a whole, and overall coordination must be carried out.

Instead of fighting each other.

Currently, only the Emperor of Chang'an and Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, who is still stationed in Puzhou, can make overall arrangements. He is the Grand Marshal of the Hedong Road Army, while Li Yi is only the General Commander of the Hebei Road Army under the Crown Prince's command.

Facing a Turkic army of 200,000, it was necessary to coordinate the overall situation, ensure cooperation among all units, and solve problems such as the supply of food, fodder, and equipment.

They rushed forward without any preparation.
That's not bravery, that's recklessness.

The 400-mile supply line from Dingzhou to Weizhou, especially the section that crosses the Taihang Mountains, was extremely difficult to traverse, and food supplies were scarce.

If the battle line were extended to Daizhou and Xinzhou, it would be seven or eight hundred li.

Especially after passing through the Bottle Pass, the safe transport of grain and supplies would be difficult to guarantee. How could they deal with the interception and plundering by the Turkic cavalry?
Weizhou sent troops.

How should the other troops coordinate?

Li Yi had no authority to handle these matters; he had to wait for arrangements from the Crown Prince of Chang'an or Puzhou.

Li Yi picked up the wine pot and refilled everyone's cups.

"I understand the brothers' desire to fight, to achieve merit, and to kill the enemy for the country, but let's all prepare patiently."

Actually, we don't need to wait long. If I'm not mistaken, Gao Kaidao should be leading his troops back by now.

"Let's hold Weizhou, wait in comfort, and then annihilate them, leaving them utterly defeated!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Heizi and the others' eyes lit up, revealing expressions of excitement.

"Gao Kaidao dares to come back?"

“He will definitely come back. If he doesn’t, he’ll be a complete homeless dog. There’s no place like home. Gao Kaidao will definitely come, and he should be here in the next few days.”

Gao Kaidao charged back, and Bottle Pass was the first obstacle he faced.

Li Yi had been preparing here for a long time.

(End of this chapter)