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

Chapter 562 The Crown Prince Heads North

June 20th,

As we enter the middle of the dog days of summer, the southeast winds blow in gusts, bringing the most unbearable high temperature and humidity.

Even if you don't move, you can break out in a sweat.

Fortunately, the war ended; otherwise, marching and fighting in such weather would have been even more deadly. Perhaps, Jieli withdrew his troops because he couldn't bear the sweltering heat.

Li Yi is currently stationed at Yanmen, and he only goes out when it is cool in the morning and evening; otherwise, he stays at the camp and is unwilling to go out.

"Including yesterday's batch, of the 40,000 troops from Dingzhou, Hebei, that entered Shanxi, 20,000 have already withdrawn. Currently, 12,000 are still stationed in Yingzhou and Wuyubao in Hengshan, north of Hengshan, and another 8,000 in Pingxingguan and Weizhou."

Yun Hongsi, Li Yi's brother-in-law who had joined the army, reported to Li Yi.

After the war was over, troops naturally had to be withdrawn one after another. Tens of thousands of troops were in Shanxi, and the cost of food and supplies had to be brought over from Hebei.

"Are Weizhou and Yingzhou really going to be handed over to the Daizhou General Administration?"

Li Yi sipped his chilled plum juice, wearing only a light, cool, and breathable gauze half-sleeved garment indoors, and constantly fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

It was too hot, so all he could do was put two bowls of ice in the room and keep fanning himself. This was a cooling treatment that only a prince could enjoy. Storing ice in winter for summer was a luxury.

“Weizhou and Yingzhou are both west of the Taihang Mountains, and they were never under the jurisdiction of our Dingzhou Grand General’s Office. Now that the war is over, they should be handed over.”

Yun Hongsi actually represented many of the Dingzhou military officials.
It took a lot of effort for everyone to launch a surprise attack and seize Weizhou by sending troops through Feihu Pass and Puyin Pass.

Moreover, everyone has stockpiled a lot of land in Weizhou, and the autumn harvest will be in two months.

Li Yi said, "The profits from this year's military farms will still belong to our Dingzhou Prefecture. Chief Steward Liu has already expressed this intention."

Liu Shirang was also very grateful to the Dingzhou army for sending troops to relieve the siege, so he naturally would not attack the military farms for profit. In fact, Liu Shirang also pleaded with Li Yi to continue stationing troops in Wei and Ying, so that his pressure would be much less.

After being besieged for nearly half a year, he also suffered heavy losses. The Daizhou General Administration was only able to hold two cities after being attacked by the Turks, and its strength was greatly damaged.

Lacking soldiers and food,

Even if we reclaim Yanmen Pass, we'll still be afraid the Turks might launch a surprise attack.

With the help of the Dingzhou army in defense, they were able to get a good night's sleep.

"I have truthfully recorded and recorded the merits of the brothers in this battle in Shanxi, and have reported them to the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Personnel of the court. After verification, the relevant authorities will confer honors and land, promote those who deserve promotions, and reward those who deserve rewards. No one will be shortchanged."

The Dingzhou army contributed a lot of effort, but also made great contributions.

Moreover, the casualties were very small.

They mobilized 40,000 troops in total, and were able to capture Weizhou. They fought Gao Kaidao, Sijie, and Zhishiyan Ashina Simo at Pingxing Pass, and captured Yingzhou. In total, they killed 60,000 to 70,000 enemies, beheaded more than 10,000, and captured nearly 40,000.

Even exchanging over eight thousand prisoners with the Turks was still an astonishing achievement.

Many soldiers earned six or seven ranks of merit, and some officers were promoted two or three ranks directly.

There were still rewards from the imperial court, and Li Yi had also rewarded the soldiers at the military camp several times. The Dingzhou army was getting more and more excited and fiercer with each battle, and they were the ones who least wanted the Turks to withdraw.

When Li Yi sent troops to garrison Yingzhou, not a single person objected.

Now that they hear that Wei and Ying are to be handed over to the Daizhou General Administration, they are both reluctant to leave. They are reluctant to give up the income from the military farms, but they still want to stay in Daibei to earn military merits.

The soldiers of the Fubing (府兵) all wanted to fight.

Especially considering that they followed Li Yi into Shanxi and won so many battles with very few casualties, it was practically a sure-fire way to make money, so who would want to withdraw?

Moreover, officials like Wang Xingmin and Yun Shiduan were appointed as inspectors of Wei and Ying prefectures, while officials like Ji Sizhong and Ma Zhou were appointed as acting county magistrates. These were all real benefits.

"Minister, many soldiers in the army want to march straight to Mayi, kill Yuan Junzhang, and take over the two prefectures of Yun and Shuo in Daibei."

Li Yi smiled and gently fanned himself with a palm leaf fan. "I also want to take this opportunity to eliminate Yuan Junzhang, recover Yunshuo, and fight my way to the outer Great Wall."

However, the imperial court has already reached a peace agreement, and Jieli has withdrawn his troops. If we leave our troops on the banks of the Hun River and forcibly carve out Yingzhou, we are already somewhat disobeying orders.”

Li Yi insisted on staying in Yingzhou, which was located in the Hunhe Valley, as a backup plan. This served both as a shield for Weizhou and as a direct threat to Mayi.

The Turks and Yuan Junzhang have sent people to protest several times, demanding that Li Yi immediately withdraw all troops from the Hunhe River Valley north of Hengshan and return the city.

Li Yi kept giving evasive answers.

Sending troops to Yunshuo would be going too far, and the imperial court would certainly not allow it, given the heavy losses suffered this time and the difficulty in forcing the Turks to retreat. If the attack on Yuan Junzhang were to provoke Jieli into sending troops again, it would be difficult to deal with.

The Dingzhou army was in high spirits and unafraid of the Turks, but the court was willing to pay such a high price to seek peace, so of course it did not want to fight.

As the Chief Secretary of the Marshal's Office of the Hedong Campaign and concurrently the Commander-in-Chief of the Hebei Road Army, he also had to consider the overall situation.

Li Yi had cursed the officials of the court countless times in his heart, but he couldn't act too recklessly.

"Next, of the 12,000 people in Yingzhou, 10,000 will remain temporarily, and the 8,000 people in Weizhou will be evacuated back to Hebei in batches as soon as possible."

The 30,000 men who withdrew were all laid off and allowed to rest and recuperate.

From sending troops to Hengding last winter to sending troops to Shanxi after the New Year, the war has been going on for quite a while now, lasting from winter to almost autumn.

They also need a good rest. Fortunately, the battle results were gratifying. The soldiers earned merits, received rewards, and also received a lot of spoils of war, so morale is still very good.

Otherwise, the soldiers' campaigns would have lasted for nearly a year, which would have indeed delayed the farming season at home and affected their income.

Now everyone has returned home with a full load, having made a fortune.

After discussing official business, Li Yi also chatted with Yun Hongsi about his concubine, Yun Shi, and the daughter she bore.

"Has Sikong named Xiao Wu yet?"

"My nickname is A-Wu, but I haven't decided on my formal name yet," Li Yi said with a smile. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, people traditionally named girls with names emphasizing virtue and morality. They also continued the Northern Dynasties tradition of using Buddhist names such as Gārī, Avalokiteshvara, Dhāraṇī, and Pāramitā.

Li Yi's first few daughters were named Shuwan Xiuyu.

"You're the uncle, what do you think of the name Li Li?"

"Li Li, that's a very good name," Yun Hongsi praised. The character "Li" in classical Chinese is composed of a deer and two animal skins. Originally, it referred to the beauty of deer skin, but later it also came to mean beauty, and also to being a pair.

Therefore, when they got engaged, the man had to give the woman a pair of wild geese and two deerskins.

"This year, you've made many military achievements by clearing the way from Pinggao to rescue Daibei and fight the Turks. What are your plans for the future? Do you want to pursue a military or civilian career?"

Li Yi had previously arranged for Yun Hongsi to accompany Liu Heita on his campaign. Liu Heita commented that Yun Hongsi, a scholar, was very brave, skilled in riding and archery, knowledgeable in military strategy, and most importantly, fearless and able to get along well with the lower-ranking soldiers.

"I will follow Sikong's arrangements."

"If you prefer clerical work, I can arrange for you to be a county magistrate, right here in Daizhou. Currently, there are many vacant official positions in the counties of Xin and Dai, so arranging a county magistrate of the eighth rank is no problem."
The situation here is quite chaotic now after the war, but if you can clean up the mess, you're more likely to achieve results and get promoted quickly.

If you are willing to pursue a military career, I can arrange for you to serve as an eighth-rank military advisor in the General of the Cavalry's office.

Yun Hongsi is currently a ninth-rank military advisor in the General's Office. Whether he were to serve as an eighth-rank clerk in the General's Office or an eighth-rank county magistrate,
These are all level ups of several rank.

After all, the nine ranks not only have principal and subordinate ranks, but also upper and lower ranks. The difference between the lower ninth rank and the lower eighth rank is actually four ranks.

His father, Yun Shiduan, is now the Inspector of Yingzhou. He was originally a general with no real power, but now he has become a powerful frontier official who actually governs a prefecture.

Although the General of the Cloud Banner is a third-rank official, while the Prefect of Yingzhou is only a fourth-rank official, one is a nominal title and the other is a real position. Everyone would rather be the Prefect, even if it has the title of Inspector, or even if it is a border prefecture. After all, a real position means real power.

Yun Hongsi thought about it carefully for a while.
“I am willing to stay in Daizhou as a county magistrate.”

Although the county magistrate was only an eighth-rank official, he was second only to the county magistrate in the county. He assisted the county magistrate in managing all the county's affairs. Don't underestimate him because of his low rank.

Now that the Tang Dynasty has reopened the imperial examination system, newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) can only start as county lieutenants or registrars after passing the selection process by the Ministry of Personnel; they cannot even become county magistrates.

Li Yi has always been righteous in recommending capable people from his own circle, regardless of personal relationships.

When will Sikong return to Hebei?

"Let's give it a while."

Li Yi also wanted to return to Mingzhou immediately to see his newborn children, but he had to stay and help stabilize the situation for the time being.

After all, the Hedong Road military camp had not yet been disbanded, and Li Yi was still the chief secretary of the military camp's marshal's office.

Yun Hongsi looked at his brother-in-law with a hint of admiration.

Although he was a few years younger than him, the achievements he made were enough to be recorded in history, and his official rank and title were something he could only look up to.

"Will the imperial court summon the Minister of Works back to the capital to bestow rewards upon him?"

Li Yi smiled, "That's how it should be."

The news of the Turks' retreat had already reached Chang'an, and perhaps the court was currently discussing how to reward the meritorious soldiers.

Even though this war was actually a complete defeat for the Tang Dynasty, with the Turks launching a massive invasion and looting, and the court ultimately having to cede territory, pay reparations, and marry off a princess,

However, it is a long-standing tradition to turn funerals into celebrations.

The imperial court naturally had to vigorously publicize how it repelled the Turks, how many heads it had taken, how many prisoners it had captured, how many horses it had seized, and so on.
This was also to stabilize public sentiment and boost morale. We couldn't very well say that the Turks had captured so many cities, looted so many villages, abducted so many people, and killed so many soldiers.

They will definitely publicize how Liu Shirang's 20,000 men withstood a siege by Jieli's 200,000-strong army for half a year, and how Li Yi led the Hebei army to seize Weizhou and Beiyan prefectures in Shanxi.
How to completely annihilate and behead the traitor Gao Kaidao?
They would publicize how Li Yi repeatedly defeated the Turks, and even how Li Gaoqian beheaded hundreds of Turks under the walls of Xinzhou.

Tongzhou, Changchun Palace.

Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, the Marshal of the Hedong Expeditionary Army, received his command seal and military tally at Tongguan, and now the Turkic leader Jieli has led his troops to withdraw from Yanmen Pass.

Li Jiancheng, the commander, did not personally go to the front line. Instead, he moved from Puzhou in Hedong to Changchun Palace in Tongzhou in Hexi.

However, upon hearing that Jieli's troops had withdrawn from Yanmen Pass and returned to the Khan's court at the foot of Yinshan Mountain, Li Jiancheng immediately summoned all his subordinates.

"I have decided to set off north tomorrow for Yanmen."

Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words, Pei Shiju, the Crown Prince's Right Vice Minister, almost lost his composure. "You're here to nurse the dead child? You're going north after the war is over? Where were you before?"

He had previously advised the Crown Prince to go north to Taiyuan, personally go to the front line, and command the various armies to resist the Turks. However, Li Jiancheng instead moved from Puzhou in Hedong to Changchun Palace in Tongzhou on the west bank of the Yellow River.

Sigh, it's like eating shit before it's even hot. Pei Shiju was very disappointed in this crown prince.

(End of this chapter)