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

Chapter 531 Wise Ruler and Tyrant
The first rays of sunlight in the morning pierced through the thin mist and shone on the city wall of Lingqiu.

Li Yi strolled along the city wall.
A flock of egrets flew southwest, under a blue sky and white clouds, a scene of tranquility.

In the southwest of the county lies King Wuling of Zhao, who reformed the country by adopting nomadic dress and cavalry tactics. He was a brilliant military reformer who destroyed the state of Zhongshan, unified the northern and southern borders of the state of Zhao, subdued nomadic tribes such as the Linhu and Loufan, expanded the territory northward to Yunzhong, Yanmen, and Daijun, and built the Yinshan Great Wall of Zhao.

Yet this remarkable figure made a fatal political mistake, abdicating in his prime and handing the throne to his second son. He then proclaimed himself the "Lord Father" and took charge of military affairs, sparking a power struggle between his eldest and second sons.

During the Dune Rebellion, he tried to mediate the conflict between his two sons, but was instead besieged in the palace for more than three months and eventually starved to death.

He was posthumously honored with the title Wuling, signifying unparalleled martial arts skills, but "ling" is a highly derogatory posthumous title.

A gentle breeze caressed my face.

Li Yi thought of the current emperor Li Yuan, Crown Prince Jiancheng, and Prince Qin Li Shimin. The relationship between the Crown Prince and Prince Qin had already affected the Tang Dynasty court.

Li Yuan, however, had strayed further and further down the wrong path.

If the emperor hadn't been so determined to suppress the Prince of Qin, he would have had the Prince of Qin stationed in Taiyuan much earlier. With Li Shimin's abilities, he could have easily led a northern expedition against the Turks and captured Jieli, if not captured alive. At the very least, he could have defended Yanmen Pass and protected the inner Great Wall.

Li Yuan made the same mistake as King Wuling of Zhao, which not only ruined himself but also harmed Jiancheng and the country.

As a military nobleman, Li Yi was very grateful to Emperor Li Yuan, who treated him very well. However, between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin, if he had previously simply admired the future Emperor Taizong.

Now, he is on the frontier, facing repeated invasions by the Turks, watching the land crumble and the Turkic iron hooves trample the borderlands.
He increasingly favored Li Shimin, who was more capable in battle.

If Li Shimin were the Marshal of Hedong, he would have already arrived in Taiyuan, or even Xinzhou, and I would certainly have immediately sent troops to cooperate.

But now,
He led the Hebei army to capture Weizhou and Beiyanzhou in succession, raided Gao Kaidao's stronghold, and fought such a brilliant battle over so many days.

Li Jiancheng, the Marshal of Hedong,

Not a single letter arrived, nor was a single person sent over; there was neither commendation nor any further orders for action.

Ignore it.

Li Yi hoped that this marshal could play his due role, coordinate various troops, mobilize the overall forces, and fight against the Turks.

Instead of letting each fight its own battle,
Fighting alone, like a disorganized mess, they are easily defeated one by one.

Not to mention, the Crown Prince, as marshal, has received no support whatsoever in terms of money, provisions, or equipment.

Without provisions, how could Li Yi dare to send troops to Daizhou alone?

Jieli has over 100,000 troops in Daizhou. If Li Yi were to go there alone, wouldn't he be besieged and attacked by reinforcements?
The situation in northern Xinjiang is already very bad.
While the soldiers on the frontier fought valiantly, the crown prince, the central brain, seemed to have suffered a stroke.

I walked around the city wall.
Li Yi thought about many things, and the more he thought about them, the more upset he became.

After descending the city wall, we returned to the headquarters.

Today we have Lingqiu yellow sesame seed cakes, a local specialty. They are golden in color, thin as bronze, and characterized by their thinness and crispness.

The generous amount of flaky pastry made the pastry crispy and fragrant, while its thin thickness made it even crispier. When Li Yi took a bite, the pastry crumbled into several pieces—it was so crispy.

You have to bite it gently, and you have to hold it in your hand.

Sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds, so fragrant!

Then I'll have some Lingqiu smoked chicken, buckwheat jelly, and a bowl of mutton soup. I'm full.

The world is vast, but having a full stomach is the most important thing.

After a satisfying meal, Li Yi led his troops to Pingxing Pass.

Bottle-shaped Pass is located on the Taixi Mountain Pass between Hengshan and Wutaishan. The mountain is shaped like a bottle, hence the name Bottle-shaped Ridge.

There used to be a military camp on the ridge, where soldiers were stationed to guard the pass.

The original garrison was small, only about eight hundred.

The village isn't very big.

After Liu Heita's surprise attack and capture of Pingxing Village, he has been reinforcing and expanding the village.

To the north of Pingxing Village, Magu Village and Meihui Village were newly built.

Sanzhai is one of the eighteen passes of Yanmen, blocking the passage from Yanmen to Weizhou.

Controlling the Taihang Mountains to the east and protecting the Yandai Mountains to the west.
North of the pass, Mount Heng stands tall like a screen, while to the south, Mount Wutai rises majestically. Both mountains are steep, and between them lies a narrow graben-like lowland. Pingxing Ridge is located on this strip of lowland, with a raised central section and a treacherous terrain.

Precisely because of its prominent location and strategic terrain,
When Li Yi launched his troops from Dingzhou, he listed this pass as his primary target.

Liu Heita lived up to his mission, rushing 420 li to seize the pass.

After this period of emergency repairs and reinforcements, transportation and storage of food and military supplies, and reinforcement of troops,

The purpose was to wait for Gao to clear the way and launch a counterattack.

This was the battlefield that Li Yi had planned before he set out with his troops.

It's a 60-mile journey from Lingqiu County to Pingxingzhai.
Li Yi arrived with his army, where Liu Heita and Qin Wutong came to greet him. Li Yi had been here twice before and was familiar with the place.

The pass is narrow, the surrounding mountains are treacherous, the terrain is rugged, and there are crisscrossing streams, making it a good place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Three thousand cavalry, five thousand infantry, two thousand auxiliary troops, and three thousand newly recruited soldiers from the former Weizhou army.
Li Yi has a sufficient number of troops at his disposal.
These thirteen thousand men might not be enough to satisfy the Turks in Daizhou, but they would be more than sufficient to guard Pingxing Village and the Meihui and Magu villages on Pingxing Ridge.

The Tang River and the Hutuo River both originate from this watershed. One flows southeast from Weizhou into Dingzhou, Hebei, while the other flows southwest, passing through Daizhou and Xinzhou before exiting into Hengzhou, Hebei.

"Will Gao Kaidao really come?" Liu Heita has been busy these days reinforcing the fortress and building many beacon towers on the two peaks.

He knows this place inside and out now.

It is also very clear that this place is so easy to defend and difficult to attack.

If Gao Kaidao really attacks, he will be courting death.

“Pingxingzhai is the only way to enter Weizhou from Daizhou, and it is also the shortest route. Gao Kaidao is eager to reclaim the territory, so this is the priority.”

Gao Kaidao could also choose to first exit Yanmen Pass, enter Shuozhou, follow the Sanggan River down, pass through Yunzhou, and then go to Weizhou and Beiyanzhou.

But it would take several hundred miles to get around.

How could he possibly choose the more distant option? Besides, attacking Pingxing Village would mean facing Yanmen Pass, which would be backed by over 100,000 Turkic troops.

Even if Gao Kaidao was just a salt merchant, most people would have come to attack Pingxing Village.

Li Yi and his generals inspected the pass.

This place is 130 li away from Fanzhi County in Daizhou. After being expanded and reinforced, three single-story gate towers were built on the gate tower platform, and a barbican with a square diameter of 100 meters was built on the inner side.

After the gate closes, you'll find Bottle-Shaped Village.

The Great Wall, which was rebuilt during the Sui Dynasty, meanders along the mountain ridge. At the top of the mountain, it bends sharply, essentially forming two walls along the slope. Two more walls were then built at the lower part of the slope to connect them, thus forming an irregularly shaped castle guarding the Great Wall pass. Because the surrounding terrain resembles a bottle, it is called Bottle-shaped Village.

About two miles southwest of this bottle-shaped village, there is another fortified village, with a circumference of over nine hundred zhang and covering an area of ​​several hundred mu. It is said that it was originally built during the Sui Dynasty when the Great Wall was constructed, and the craftsmen and laborers who built the Great Wall lived here.
Later, troops were stationed there, and land was cultivated.

Now, after being captured by Liu Heita, it has been repaired and reinforced, and has become the outer castle of Pingxingzhai, a pass on the Great Wall.

The castle was garrisoned by troops, with gates on all four sides. There were also barbicans outside the north and south gates, and each gate had a large gate tower and two small corner towers.

Although this fortress is not as treacherous as Bottle-Shaped Village, it is still built according to the terrain, situated on high ground, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Bottle-shaped fortresses and stockades provide double defense.

Outside the fortress, Liu Heita, taking a break from his busy schedule, organized people to quickly sow buckwheat, millet, and other crops in the newly reclaimed wasteland.

“We have sown about two thousand acres of land,” Liu Heita said, pointing to the fields. Due to limited time, they could only do rough cultivation.

After tidying up the fields and sowing the seeds of hope, we expect to reap some harvest in the fall.

After inspecting various places,
Li Yi was full of confidence.

That night, he stayed in Pingxing Village and ate buckwheat bowls, which were just as good as bitter buckwheat jelly.

"It's vibrant green, with a chewy yet tender texture, and it tastes amazing! How was it made?"

"It's quite simple. We grow a lot of buckwheat here. We remove the husks from the buckwheat, grind it into grits, and then soak, pound, stir, filter, and steam it to make bowl-shaped noodles."

However, after steaming, you should stir it vigorously with chopsticks to make it more chewy. Finally, let it cool, then cut it into small strips and it's ready to eat. It's even more delicious with minced garlic and some vinegar from Hedong.

Li Yi ate one bowl but still wasn't satisfied, so he had another bowl.

While they were eating, the family retainer Song Yi rushed in.

"Ah Lang, the fortress of Guancheng has been lit with beacon fires; the enemy is attacking!"

Li Yi continued eating his bowl of rice cakes. "How many beacon fires?"

"The Four Pillars!"

“Only when more than ten thousand enemies arrive will four pillars of fireworks be lit. It seems that Gao Kaidao has finally arrived.” Li Yi quickly finished the rest of his buckwheat bowl, wiped his mouth, and got up to head to the city gate tower.

Under the night,
A fiery dragon meandered from the south, its end nowhere in sight.

At the fortified village two miles from the pass, countless torches were lit, and preparations for battle had begun.

"Gao Kaidao came here so late at night, and with so many torches, to show off his large army?"

Li Yi wronged Gao Kaidao. In fact, Gao Kaidao was wronged because Li Yi had quickly captured Pingxing Village and blocked the passage.

Only a few soldiers escaped from Gao Kaidao's garrison. As a result, the roads were impassable, so they had to flee to Yunzhou first, then along the Sanggan River to Shuozhou, and then out of Yanmen Pass to find Xinzhou.

This has wasted too much time.
When Gao Kaidao received the news of his home being robbed, Li Yi had already finished planting all the crops in Weizhou.

Gao Kaidao hurriedly led his troops back, traveling day and night, even at night.

He truly just wanted to return to Weizhou and Beiyanzhou as soon as possible and reclaim this last territory.

He led his troops here and arrived at nightfall. Without resting, he planned to take Pingxing Village in one fell swoop and fight through the night.

Countless torches gathered in front of Tunpu.

They incited a siege.

Even from two miles away on the city gate tower, Li Yi was somewhat dumbfounded.

Gao Kaidao, you are, after all, a rebellious king from the late Sui Dynasty. To have survived until now, you must have some skill to have survived the test of time.

Is this all you've got?
After traveling for so many days, it's already past midnight, and you're not resting? You have no siege equipment, yet you're going to attack from all sides like this.

Even though this fortified village only covers a few hundred acres, it is still a castle, not a village.

The fortress walls, over three zhang high, and the two barbicans, along with the deep moats surrounding them, were no mere decorations.

Moreover, there are now three thousand guards in the castle, with Liu Heita personally overseeing the defense.

"Minister of Works, Gao Kaidao has arrived in person, with at least 20,000 men attacking. Should we send troops to reinforce the fort?" Li Xuantong and other generals also rushed over, fully armored.

Li Yi looked at the countless flames and sneered a few times.

"Gao Kaidao is either crazy or stupid. This attack on the city is just suicide. Let them attack. They'll crash and burn and then they'll know the pain."

Li Yi didn't send any reinforcements at all.
In this pitch black, sending troops out would make them vulnerable to interception and ambush.

Li Yi wasn't worried at all that Gao Kaidao's wild punches could kill the old master. This was a castle, not a temporary military camp, which could be breached simply by having more people.

"Song Yi".

"What are your orders, Ah Lang?"

"Have someone bring over a table and a stove. I'll sit here by the stove, brew some tea, and watch Gao Kaidao put on a good show."

Since I can't sleep anyway, I'll just sit here on the city gate tower and watch the performance from above. The countless torches twinkling like stars are quite lively.

Seeing Li Yi so calm, Li Xuantong, Wang Xingmin, Yun Shiduan, and other generals relaxed a lot. Wang Xingmin even laughed and said, "Just sitting around the stove brewing tea isn't very interesting. Why don't we slaughter a sheep and grill some skewers, then watch the show while we eat the grilled mutton skewers!"

Li Yi readily accepted the advice, saying, "Yes, go slaughter a sheep and bring over some kebabs."

The evening breeze carried the sounds of war drums, shouts of battle, and the firing of crossbows—truly a grand spectacle was about to unfold.

(End of this chapter)