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

Chapter 566 Killing 3,000 enemies while losing 800 of your own

The morale of the Daibei troops was thrown into chaos.

Yuan Junzhang felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave; he stood there, clenching his teeth.

Seeing his right flank being overwhelmed by the surprise attack of Su Dingfang and Liu Heita's elite cavalry, with men and horses falling and horses crashing down, and what was most terrifying was that as Li Yi's banner pressed forward, some of the Daibei soldiers had already turned and fled.

He looked at the Youzhou cavalry in the encirclement. If he had just two more hours, he could annihilate all five thousand Youzhou cavalry.

But now, the meat that was almost in their mouth has flown away.

Only a few hundred cavalrymen were killed.

That damned Bu Lishe, he runs faster than a rabbit.

"That damn Li Yi, he came at just the right time." Yuan Junzhang's voice was filled with resentment, yet also helplessness. This was the man who had defeated his elder brother Liu Wuzhou and brother-in-law Song Jingang.

His voice was hoarse and filled with bitterness as he issued the military order, "Sound the retreat and withdraw to Yunzhong City!"

Faced with Li Yijun rushing towards him, he dared not order a battle. The Turks had fled, and even if he ordered a fight to the death, few would likely listen.

Yuan Junzhang dared not hesitate for a moment.
He tossed aside the half-spilled milk tea cup in his hand, stepped into the stirrups, mounted his horse, and with a sudden spur of his flanks, rode off under the protection of his personal guards.

They were the first to retreat to Cloud City without looking back.

The white wolf-head banner bestowed by Khagan Jieli, symbolizing his authority, followed closely behind under the protection of the banner guard, retreating towards Cloud City.

The banner was withdrawn.

The gong sounded.

The morale, which had already plummeted to rock bottom, finally gave way, and the Daibei army retreated en masse.

quickly,

The hasty retreat turned into a rout.

On the Tang army's side, cheers and shouts rose in waves.

The Dingzhou army outside charged forward, while the Youzhou cavalry inside the encirclement, led by Li Daoxuan, fought desperately to break out.

at last,

A large gap has been torn in the encirclement.

The Youzhou cavalry started running again.

Red flags fluttering,

The horses' hooves thundered.

The Youzhou cavalry, reborn, disregarded their exhaustion and only wanted to charge fiercely to vent their pent-up frustration.

It soothes the liver and relieves depression, and has a profound and moving effect.

The Daibei army fled towards Yunzhong City in a frenzy, wishing they had two more legs; tens of thousands even trampled each other.

No one was willing to stay behind.

After the golden crow fell to Baishan Mountain,

The sky was ablaze with the glow of sunset.

Covered in blood, as if pulled from a pool of hellish blood, Li Daoxuan led the Youzhou cavalry in a relentless pursuit of the Daibei army.
The light cavalry of Dingzhou, led by Liu Heita and Su Dingfang, were like two sharp blades on the battlefield, repeatedly cutting across the battlefield.

Li Yi's large banner guided the Dingzhou army forward.
However, they maintained their formation throughout and advanced at a relatively slow pace.

This was a short yet long half hour.
Half an hour ago, five thousand cavalrymen from Youzhou were surrounded and on the verge of annihilation. Half an hour later, the Dingzhou army descended like a divine force, and the Turkic army fled in terror, while the Daibei army dared not engage in battle.

The Youzhou cavalry have come back to life.

The Daibei army was defeated.

Not only did they lose what they were about to get, they also suffered heavy losses.

Under the banner,
Li Yi stopped his warhorse.
Gazing at that city in the clouds,
The city was small, but very fortified and dangerous.

"Legend has it that Zhao Wuhou initially tried to build a city on the west bank of the Yellow River, but the city wall collapsed shortly after it was built. Later, he decided to look for a new site to build the city on the east bank of the Yellow River. By chance, he witnessed a flock of swans soaring in the blue sky and white clouds during the day. One flock of swans circled in the same place all day long, while the ground below them shone with dazzling light."

Marquis Wu of Zhao considered this an auspicious omen, and thus decided to build a city there, naming it Yunzhong City (City of Clouds).

Li Yi listened to Yun Shiduan's explanation and nodded with a smile.

"Send the order to retreat. These wolf cubs and the Daibei soldiers are quick to withdraw."

“That is where Sikong Wei guards the border. The moment your banner appears, fifty thousand enemies will flee in terror.”

Li Yi turned his head and glanced at the billowing dust and countless banners behind him, and laughed, "This bluffing tactic is quite effective; it scared away 50,000 soldiers in one go."

"Sikong's reputation is truly impressive; otherwise, even if tens of thousands of troops came, they might not be able to intimidate the enemy," Wang Xingmin praised.

Li Yi let out a long breath.

"I rushed as fast as I could, and finally made it. Thank goodness."

“Yes, if we had arrived half a day later, those several thousand cavalrymen from Youzhou would have been wiped out, and the Prince of Huaiyang would have been in danger as well.”

"Minister Sikong, how did the Prince of Huaiyang end up in such a dangerous situation? What about the other troops in Youzhou? What about Prince Junkuo?"

Under the banner,
Seeing that the overall situation was settled, the generals relaxed, but they were all surprised that the Youzhou cavalry had fallen into such a predicament.

Of course, what everyone was more curious about was how Li Yi had so cleverly planned to arrive at this point, insisting on sending troops and arriving at just the right time.

Since the establishment of Yunzhong Commandery by the State of Zhao, Yunzhong has always been an important border town.

During the Northern Wei Dynasty, Yunzhong Town was established in Yunzhong City as an important stronghold for guarding the area south of Daqingshan Mountain. At the same time, Yunzhong Palace was built in the east of Yunzhong City for the Northern Wei emperors to rest during their northern tours.

They also built Baidao City at the mouth of a valley northeast of Yunzhong City.

Forty miles north of Yunzhong lies the Yinshan Mountain Range, a continuous mountain range also known as the Daqingshan Mountains.

In this vast land where the sky is like a vast dome, covering all the fields, the city of clouds is sixteen miles in circumference, surrounded by mountains on three sides, with the Imperial River running through it from north to south.

It truly lives up to its reputation as a vital military stronghold on the northern border.

Tens of thousands of enemy troops retreated into Cloud City, making it difficult to attack.

Previously, Wang Junkuo and Li Daoxuan's Youzhou army had taken advantage of the situation to invade, but the few garrison troops in Yunzhong still managed to defend the city as solid as a rock.

Li Daoxuan and his men could only besiege the city and attack reinforcements, sweeping away the surrounding areas.

This time, reinforcements did arrive, but they almost got themselves killed. Li Yi could only sigh helplessly as he looked at the city.

“This Cloud City is not the same Cloud City as the one built by the Zhao Kingdom. The Cloud City built by the Zhao Kingdom should be Dingxiang, the Khanate where the current Khagan Jieli is located,” Li Yi said.

"Sikong is indeed more knowledgeable and experienced."

Li Yi waved his hand.
As the gong sounded, the Tang army finally came to a gradual halt.
Li Daoxuan, covered in blood and with his armor riddled with arrows, fought his way to the walls of Yunzhong City.

He shouted insults and challenges at the city wall.

Unfortunately, the city gates were tightly closed, and the drawbridge was raised high.
The soldiers guarding the city walls completely ignored them.

They shouted and cursed for a while.
Li Yi's elite cavalry came over and asked him to withdraw his troops and come to see him.

Li Daoxuan spat a mouthful of blood at Yunzhong City, then turned his horse around and rode away.

The Tang cavalrymen cursed at the city walls and then left.

Li Yi ordered all units to gather their troops and clean up the battlefield.

Then they slowly retreated into the twilight.

They traveled south along the Imperial River, traveling through the night.

Yuan Junzhang and Bu Lishe thought that Li Yi had brought tens of thousands of troops, but in fact Li Yi only brought twelve thousand men, which were the troops he left in Yingzhou.

As dusk fell,
The troops, disregarding their exhaustion, marched swiftly south.

Li Daoxuan arrived on horseback to see him.
"Brother Wang," Li Daoxuan choked up and shed tears when he saw Li Yi.

"Quickly get the medic to remove the arrows, clean and bandage the wound first." He had no fewer than ten arrows embedded in his body, his armor was shattered, and even his young, handsome face was slashed with a deep gash that exposed bone.

Those eyes held stubbornness, resentment, and even more anger.

On the banks of the Imperial River,
The guards helped Li Daoxuan remove his armor.

The army doctor removed the arrow and treated his wound. First, he cut the arrow shaft, then he had to cut open the flesh before pulling out the arrowhead.

Some flesh had to be removed directly, while others needed to be stitched up.

Debridement, suturing, and medication application.
Li Daoxuan sat on a small stool, not uttering a sound of pain, and continued to report to Li Yi the cause and effect of the encirclement.

“Brother Wang, I will definitely kill that dog Wang Junkuo. He fled the battlefield and disregarded the lives of his comrades.”

Li Yi could tell too.

Li Daoxuan was somewhat reckless, while Wang Junkuo was deliberately flattering his superior to his death. When Li Daoxuan led his five thousand cavalry to charge straight into the enemy formation, and ordered Wang Junkuo to lead the rear guard to follow up, aiming to defeat the enemy in one battle, Wang Junkuo did not object and even praised Li Daoxuan's bravery in various ways.

As a result, when Li Daoxuan charged into the enemy's territory, he was surrounded and annihilated. However, Wang Junkuo delayed sending troops, and Li Daoxuan continued to proceed according to plan.
But eventually, when they were exhausted from their fight,

Wang Junkuo, however, led his troops away.

Li Daoxuan finally realized what was happening and saw Wang Junkuo's true colors.

My teeth itch with hatred.

After the bandage was applied, Li Daoxuan mounted his horse and continued riding.

"Brother Wang, how did you manage to arrive so just in time?" Li Daoxuan asked. Li Yi's appearance today was too timely; if they had arrived an hour later, they might have all perished.

"I sent someone to tell you to withdraw your troops. But you want to pull off another big heist. I was a little worried when I heard that."

He had been keeping an eye on Junzhang of Mayiyuan.
When I learned that he had gathered 30,000 men, and that Jieli had also sent Bulishe with 20,000 Turkic soldiers to accompany him north, I became very worried about you.

I never expected Wang Junkuo to be so despicable, so I only transferred 12,000 men stationed in Yingzhou to the north.

They had been following closely behind Yuan Junzhang.

Otherwise, what a coincidence!

Li Daoxuan fell silent.

"I was reckless. I should have obeyed my brother's order to withdraw the troops."

Li Yi nodded. "You must learn from this lesson next time. Even if Wang Junkuo didn't run away, it was still a bit reckless for you 20,000 to fight against 50,000."

This is still beneath Cloud City.

Li Daoxuan underestimated his enemy, not taking Yuan Junzhang seriously, nor even Bu Lishe's 20,000 Turkic soldiers, nor the garrison of Yunzhong City seriously.

“I underestimated my enemy and misplaced my trust in Wang Junkuo. I thought he was brave and fierce, but who knew he was so despicable.”

It's too late to say all this.

Li Daoxuan paid a heavy price, suffering more than twenty wounds of varying sizes all over his body, and most of his personal guards were killed or wounded.

Of the five thousand Youzhou cavalrymen, over eight hundred were killed in battle.

Almost everyone else was injured.

More than a thousand warhorses were lost.

It was only because Li Yi came to the rescue in time; otherwise, all five thousand cavalrymen would have perished here today.

Just thinking about it makes me feel scared.

"Learn from this,"

Li Daoxuan gritted his teeth, "I will apologize to the Sage and resign from my position as Grand Governor of Youzhou, but I will never let Wang Junkuo go. He can forget about climbing to the position of Grand Governor by stepping on me."

Li Yi comforted him, "Although this was a minor setback, the casualties were not high. We also killed quite a few enemies; we beheaded three thousand in this battle."
We won.

"I will join you in impeaching Wang Junkuo for deserting his post and framing his superior."

More than 10,000 soldiers

They retreated seventy li south, crossed the Sanggan River, and only rested briefly for an hour, including tending to their wounds, eating dry rations, and feeding the horses.
Then, without even removing their armor, they continued their retreat southward overnight.

The crescent moon is like a hook.

Li Daoxuan turned his head and looked north of the Sanggan River, gritting his teeth and vowing in his heart that he would avenge today's humiliation one day.

In the clouds,

He will come back!

(End of this chapter)