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

Chapter 556 Changsun Enters Yanmen

Changsun Shunde arrived alone at the foot of Yanmen City.

"I am Changsun Shunde, the Left Valiant Guard General and Duke of Xue. I wish to enter the city to see Chief Steward Liu in person!"

On the south gate of Yanmen City, several guards poked their heads out, staring expressionlessly at the newcomers.

A dappled horse, a purple silk robe,
The gold plaques and jade rings around his waist were very eye-catching.

Someone leaned against the city wall and sneered disdainfully, "Here we go again to persuade them to surrender?"

A man nearby was carefully polishing his sword with a whetstone. "How many people has Jieli sent to persuade us to surrender during this time? Doesn't he get annoyed?"

Another one-eyed veteran with a black cloth wrapped around his left eye spat out of the city. "Purple robe, jade belt, and dappled horse, General and Duke, what a grand display of power! You're from a Guanzhong military family, yet you're here to persuade the Turks to surrender. What a disgrace to the gods!"

The Changsun clan is very famous in Guanzhong.

"I heard that the Changsun clan are Xianbei people, or a branch of the Northern Wei royal family?" an archer asked.

“I know that, my family used to be from Henan,” the crossbowman quickly chimed in. “The Changsun clan were indeed Xianbei, descended from the Tuoba clan of the Northern Wei imperial family. During the reign of Emperor Xiaowen, Tuoba Song was granted the surname Changsun for his territorial expansion.”

It is said that Tuoba Yulu, the great-grandfather of Emperor Daowu of Northern Wei, had two sons. The eldest son, Shamoxiong, was the Southern Grand Master and was known as the Tuoba clan. The second son, Shiyijian, was the grandfather of Tuoba Gui. After Tuoba Gui established Northern Wei, because Shamoxiong was the eldest son of his great-grandfather, he bestowed the title of Changsun upon his son, Tuoba Song.

This Tuoba Song later rose to the position of Grand Commandant and was enfeoffed as the Prince of Beiping. His descendants inherited the royal family of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and even after the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang Dynasties, they remained a powerful and aristocratic family.

The Duke of Xue, who lives below the city, is not only the Grand General of the Left Valiant Guard, but also a meritorious official who helped establish Taiyuan. His niece is the Princess Consort of Qin.

The Changsun clan now has two branches: the Jihe branch and the Henan branch.

Changsun Shunde was from the Changsun clan of Henan. He settled in Luoyang after following the Northern Wei dynasty south.

"So, although the Changsun family are Xianbei, they have lived through several dynasties in the Central Plains and enjoyed wealth and honor. They are also part of our Chinese nation."

The soldiers guarding the city walls showed little respect for Changsun Shunde below, as they had been trapped there for almost half a year, lacking food and clothing, and suffering considerable casualties.

They were all seething with anger inside.

Changsun Shunde, who came to persuade the Turks to surrender, was naturally despised and even resented by them.

But despite the criticism
However, the captain on the city wall still relayed the message to the barbican across the moat, informing the people inside the city.

"Changsun Shunde wants to come into the city to see me?"

Liu Shirang frowned. He didn't want to see him at first, but after thinking for a moment, he called out to his personal guards, "Never mind, bring Changsun Shunde up to the city wall."

"General, they must be here again to persuade Jieli. In the past six months, the four envoys detained by Jieli have been sent in turn to try to persuade them to surrender," a cavalry general said from the side.

“They were also caught up in the situation, and besides, they never really tried to persuade Jieli; they were just going through the motions.”

"Does the steward still want to see him?"

“I have a feeling that the Turks outside the city have been acting strangely lately. They seem to be moving around frequently. We’ve been trapped here and don’t know what’s going on outside. We’ve been cut off from news for a long time. It would be good if we could get some news from Changsun Shunde,” Liu Shirang sighed.

The General of the Flying Cavalry also sighed, "We've been holding out for over a hundred days now, why haven't the imperial reinforcements arrived yet?"

"Has the imperial court truly abandoned us? Over ten thousand of our brothers have fought valiantly here, with thousands already wounded or killed."

Liu Shirang remained silent.
With information being scarce, it's not wise to make wild guesses.

Perhaps the imperial court sent troops, but they were blocked by the Turks.

Or perhaps, the reinforcements that came were besieged and defeated by the Turks.

"Hopefully, Changsun Shunde can reveal some good news."

They were surrounded like an iron barrel.

They wanted to send people out to seek help or gather information, but they couldn't get them out at all.

Even if there were legendary carrier pigeons, don't even think about sending messages by carrier pigeon. The Turks had gyrfalcons and eagles, and they would capture all the birds that flew out of the city.

Fortunately, Li Da'en had previously used Yanmen as his base and had stockpiled a lot of grain and fodder. Liu Shirang was ordered to garrison Yanmen and brought with him a lot of grain and fodder.

With over 20,000 troops, they were able to hold out for more than 100 days after being besieged.

But even now, standing atop the city wall,

You can also see the towering siege engines in the Turkic camp in the distance, being built more and more, and getting bigger and bigger.
When those siege weapons are completed, that may be the time when Yanmen City falls.

Reinforcements

Where are the reinforcements?

The garrison of Yanmen City did not open the city gates. Even though he came alone, they simply lowered a basket and hoisted him up the city wall.

Liu Shirang met him on the south gate tower of Yanmen.

Changsun Shunde wore a purple robe and jade belt, though it was somewhat wrinkled and dirty. During his time trapped by the Turks, he had been herding sheep for them, hence the tattered sheepskin robe.
His purple silk official robe and jade belt had been taken away long ago, and were only given to him again today when he was persuaded to surrender. There was no time to wash or iron them.

Liu Shirang deliberately wore a suit of armor, not silk armor, but bright armor, which was not so gorgeous, but carried a bit of murderous intent.

"Duke of Hongnong,"

Changsun Shunde took the initiative to greet him by crossing his hands in a gesture of respect.

Liu Shirang nodded and returned the greeting.

"Please sit down, Duke Xue. This border city of Yanmen has been besieged by Jieli for over a hundred days, and supplies in the city are scarce. Please forgive any shortcomings in our hospitality."

There was no tea, no alcohol, and certainly no fruit or pastries.
Naturally, there would be no singers, dancers, or musicians.
Inside the south gate tower, there were two small tables and two prayer cushions.

Everyone sat facing each other.

There was a large contingent of soldiers outside.

There was only a pot of plain water on the table.

Changsun Shunde poured himself a glass of water. "I know I've been a laughingstock to the Duke of Hongnong these past few days, but I had no choice. But at least the clouds have parted and the moon is shining through."
I came to the city today specifically to see Lord Liu, not to act as an intermediary for Jieli, nor to persuade him to surrender.

Instead, upon hearing the good news, he couldn't resist coming into the city to tell everyone in person.

Liu Gong,

Please persevere a little longer.
Reinforcements will arrive soon.

Upon hearing this news, Liu Shirang's spirits lifted, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Duke Xue, please explain in detail." He turned to the personal guard captain standing not far away and shouted, "Go and get a jar of my treasured persimmon liquor, and also get some snacks to go with the wine. Call a few courtesans from the city's brothels as well."

Changsun Shunde did not show any change in expression despite Liu Shirang's sudden change in attitude, and continued to drink water from his ceramic cup.

"Even Chief Steward Liu might not believe it, but right now, the Prince of Wu'an is in Fanshi City, eighty li to the east,"

"Lord Li has arrived in person! Yanmen is saved!" Liu Shirang was overjoyed upon hearing that Li Yi had come.

"Not only that," Changsun Shunde excitedly recounted everything he had heard, such as the sudden deployment of troops across the Taihang Mountains, the surprise attack to seize the two prefectures of Gaokaidao and Beiyan, and the complete capture with almost no casualties.

Then, at the Bottle Pass, they ambushed Gao Kaidao and defeated his 30,000 troops in a day and a night.

"Did you know that Gao Kaidao led 30,000 troops to attack, but after only one day and one night, he managed to escape back to Yanmen with only 800 light cavalry?"

The remaining troops and supplies all fell into the hands of Prince Wu'an.

"Wusui, son of Sijielifa Awen, who seized Fanzhi, led three thousand cavalry to try and take advantage of the situation. He thought Li Yi and Gao Kaidao had both suffered heavy losses, but they never returned, and even Wusui became a prisoner..."

One by one,

Changsun Shunde's words were all spittle flying.

Liu Shirang listened with even greater excitement.

“How could it be that Zhishi Yan and Ashina Simo, with 20,000 troops, were utterly defeated by Li Yi just 60 li east of Yanmen City, with nearly half of them captured or killed?” Liu Shirang exclaimed in astonishment.

“That’s right. What’s even stranger is that Ashina Simo insisted that the Tang army that raided the city that night numbered at most four or five thousand light cavalry,” Changsun exclaimed.

The food and drinks were served.

The courtesans from the brothel also came.

Liu Shirang selected the two youngest and prettiest girls and had them sit on either side of Changsun. He then personally poured wine for Changsun.

"Quickly sing a song and dance to entertain Lord Changsun."

A courtesan played the pipa, and another played the xiao (a type of vertical flute).

Female prostitutes danced gracefully.

The somber atmosphere on the south gate of Yanmen City suddenly became much more cheerful.

"I heard that the Emperor has issued an edict."
Prince Wu'an was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Hedong Road Military Command and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Hebei Road Army, giving him command over all the armies.
After obtaining the power of this military governorship, the Prince of Wu'an led his troops out of the pass and directly approached Yanmen Pass, and also ordered all the towns to send troops out.

Now, Prince Huaiyang, Daoxuan, and Prince Wang Junkuo are leading the Youzhou army to attack Yunzhou, while Li Sikong has also divided his troops to cross the Hengshan Mountains to attack Shuozhou.
Even the governor of Xizhou led his troops out of Loufan to attack and capture the new city.

Even Li Shenfu, the Grand General of Bingzhou and Prince of Xiangyi who had remained silent until now, had already sent troops to the foot of Shiling Pass.

General Li Gaoqian of Xinzhou also sent troops to cooperate.

Now, all routes are advancing, and more than 100,000 troops are closing in on Yanmen.

The imperial court had already agreed to Jieli's marriage proposal, bestowing upon him the title of Princess Changping, the sister of the King of Xiangyi and the King of Hejian, as a marriage alliance.

The Sijie tribe has now lost several thousand men and has retreated back to the northern desert.

Gao Kaidao lost both territory and troops, becoming a homeless dog. Yuan Junzhang's Yunshuo territory was under fierce attack from three armies.
Do you think Jieli can continue the siege?

He was about to lift the siege and withdraw his troops.

Changsun Shunde picked up the wine Liu Shirang had poured, took a large gulp, and felt a strong, burning sensation from the persimmon liquor, yet he found it incredibly refreshing.

The humiliating experience of this mission, and the long-standing bitterness in my heart, were all relieved by this wine.

Liu Shirang was lost in thought.
He couldn't believe it.

But Changsun Shunde's reaction didn't seem fake.

It's impossible for Jieli to have Changsun Shunde fabricate such an outrageous story to persuade him to cheer up and continue defending the city. What would Jieli be after?
But if all of this is true,

That's really surprising.

It is quite possible that the Prince of Wu'an would take advantage of the high altitude to open up the road to Daibei and seize Weizhou and Beiyanzhou.

It's possible that he later defeated Gao Kaidao at Pingxing Pass and even annihilated Sijie's three thousand cavalry. After all, he had fought alongside Li Yi in Hedong and served under him for a period of time. Li Yi's achievements in Hebei were even more impressive.

What he found most hard to believe was that Zhishi Yan and Simo's 20,000 troops were captured and half of them were killed by the Tang army sixty miles east of Yanmen.

Of the 20,000 troops, 9,000 were lost.

How did they manage to do this right under Jieli's nose?

But if it's true,

Then Yanmen City can truly be saved.

"Now that the peace agreement has been reached, and the Prince of Wu'an has forcefully launched an encirclement, Jieli has no choice but to break the siege and leave the border." Changsun Shunde also greatly admired Li Yi, believing that Li Yi didn't truly intend to fight Jieli.
It was merely a show of force to encircle and compel Jieli to immediately withdraw his troops in accordance with the peace treaty.

"Lord Hongnong, the siege of Yanmen is about to be lifted, and I can finally return to Chang'an. Come, let's drink!"

"Cheers." Liu Shirang raised his glass and drank it all in one gulp.

His gaze was fixed on the eastward-facing, bustling area, his eyes bright and alert.

(End of this chapter)