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

Chapter 572 Will Li Sikong Disobey the Order?

Blood stained the setting sun.

On the golden sand beach, the victorious Tang soldiers were busy searching for prisoners, collecting heads, and gathering warhorses and weapons.

There were also people specifically assigned to send their own wounded soldiers to the temporary sick children's camp, where they were treated and cared for by military doctors and attendants.

Soldiers sang cheerful tunes as they fetched water and started a fire, stewing the meat cut from dead horses on the battlefield.

Tang Lin and Xue Wanche's group walked through this camp.
Although the smell of blood was strong, the joy felt throughout the army was infectious, even among them.

Along the way,
Enemy corpses lay scattered for thirty miles.
They were greatly shocked.

It was initially thought that Li Yijun, with his smaller force, could achieve a great victory, but he would inevitably suffer significant losses as well.
But what we see now is unexpected; the casualties don't seem to be that great.

In particular, their morale is exceptionally high.

Arriving under the central army banner,

The Minister of Works, Li, was wearing rhinoceros-hide armor and sat on a small stool, with his officers sitting to his left and right.

As soon as they arrived,

Then I heard about the astonishing result of beheading over three thousand and capturing over thirty-two thousand.

Tang Lin stared wide-eyed, momentarily forgetting to greet Li Yi.
Xue Wanche, the Duke of Wu'an who had fought his way out of the mountains of corpses and seas of blood, was also deeply shocked.

Many eyes turned to them.

Tang and Xue then came to their senses.

Tang Lin stepped forward and bowed, “This humble official, Tang Lin, Military Advisor of the Right Guard of the Eastern Palace, pays his respects to Minister Li.”

"The Crown Prince's Left Guard, General of Chariots and Cavalry Xue Wanche, pays his respects to Your Majesty." Xue Wanche also stepped forward to bow.

Li Yi looked at the two of them.

"You two have worked hard,"

"General Xue, how is your fifth brother feeling?"

Xue Wanche's fifth younger brother, Xue Wanbei, had previously followed Li Yi to the court and was appointed by the emperor as the deputy commander of the inner court of the Prince of Wu'an's palace.

However, the third son, Xue Wanjun, accepted the transfer order and went to the Qin Prince's Mansion to serve as the Right Second Protector General. The fourth son, Xue Wanche, also went to the Eastern Palace as the General of Chariots and Cavalry. The eldest son, Xue Wanshu, went to the garrison as the General of the Central Army. The second son, Wanshu, went to the Qi Prince's Mansion as the Right Second Protector General.

However, the fifth prince, Xue Wanbei, was appointed as the deputy commander of the Wu'an Prince's Palace, but he never came to take up his post.

The reason given was that he broke his leg while playing polo and was recuperating in Chang'an.

Li Yi didn't believe that the fifth of the Xue family's five tigers would break his leg playing polo and spend more than half a year recuperating in Chang'an.

He was more convinced that Xue Wanbei simply didn't want to work for Li Yi.

Xue Wanche hadn't expected Li Yi to ask this question so soon after they met, so he could only say, "The doctor said that Wu Lang's leg has broken a bone and needs to be rested to avoid any future problems."

Li Yi nodded, "Then take good care of yourself."

Tang Lin produced the Crown Prince's Decree.
"Chief Secretary Li, now that the Tang and Turkic Khaganates have reached a peace agreement, and Khan Jieli has withdrawn his troops as promised, the two sides have finally turned hostility into friendship."

His Highness personally traveled north to inspect the border, rewarding meritorious officials, providing relief to the wounded and injured, and pacifying the people to resume production.

Upon arriving in Taiyuan, they heard that the Prince of Huaiyang had disobeyed the order to retreat and had started another border conflict in Yunzhong without authorization, which led to him being surrounded and almost resulted in the annihilation of 20,000 Youzhou soldiers.

Although the chief clerk came to the rescue in time, this still seriously damaged the alliance between the court and the Turks.

Now Chief Clerk Li has again sent troops outside the pass without authorization.

This was far too hasty and reckless, completely disregarding the bigger picture.

The Crown Prince decrees that Li Yi be immediately dismissed from his post as Chief Secretary of the Hedong Military Command.

The order was given to Li Yi to return to Taiyuan and explain to the Crown Prince in person.
The troops that left the pass were immediately led back to their respective towns by their generals.

Upon receiving this order, withdraw your troops immediately without delay, and absolutely no further disobedience or unauthorized attack is permitted!

"The peace agreement between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks was hard-won and must not be undermined."

···
Li Yi remained expressionless after listening to Tang Lin read out the Crown Prince's decree.

The other generals, including Liu Shirang, also frowned.

a long time.

Li Yi spoke slowly.
"Tang Kai Cao is from Taiyuan?"

"Exactly."

"When you arrived, the Crown Prince only knew that I had led troops out of Yanmen, but he could not have imagined that I had already defeated the enemy army here at Huanghualiang, could he?"

Tang Lin remained silent.

"The Crown Prince was completely unaware that this battle would result in a great victory, with over three thousand beheaded, over thirty-two thousand captured, and countless warhorses and weapons seized."
To their surprise, the enemy's 50,000-strong allied army was so easily defeated. Although 15,000 escaped, many others had already fled in panic.
There are probably less than ten thousand people who were able to escape back to Yunzhong City with Yuan Junzhang and Bu Lishe.

The Crown Prince probably never imagined how weak Cloud City is right now.

Now, with over 30,000 troops, I am heading north to Yunzhong, and I have a great chance of capturing Yunzhong.

"If we capture Yunzhong, then our Great Tang will have recovered the two prefectures of Yun and Shuo in one fell swoop, pushing our defensive line hundreds of miles north from Yanmen Pass to the outer Great Wall."

Tang Lin crossed his hands.

"When I arrived, the Crown Prince truly hadn't expected the battle to end so quickly."
However, the Crown Prince also instructed his subordinates, emphasizing repeatedly that this was not a matter of fighting for the gains or losses of a single city or town, but rather a matter of considering the overall situation.

Now, a rebellion has broken out in Jiangnan, and the war is at a stalemate.

We finally reached a peace agreement with the Turks in the north, forcing Jieli to withdraw his troops. If another border conflict breaks out, Hebei, Daibei, and Shuofang will all be vulnerable.

Without a strong army or sufficient food reserves, how can we fight?

If we are greedy for short-term gains and incur Jieli's wrath, and he sends another army to attack, how will we respond then?

"At that time, countless lives were lost, and the people were suffering in misery. Could Sikong bear this responsibility?"

Li Yi put his hands behind his back.
Looking directly at Tang Lin, the young confidant of the Crown Prince, he spoke bluntly without any politeness: "Does the Crown Prince really think that marriage alliances, rewards, or even ceding territory can satisfy the Turks?"

The reason for Jieli Khan's withdrawal was not because of the marriage alliance, but because his siege equipment was burned. He could not capture Yanmen City or Xinzhou, so he dared not advance his main force.

"It was only after the imperial army from all directions surrounded Yanmen Pass, and after the Turkic army suffered several defeats, coupled with the scorching weather, that Jieli finally agreed to the peace treaty and withdrew his troops." "The area outside Yanmen Pass is also our Han homeland; how can we cede it?"
Now that we have the opportunity to severely damage the enemy and reclaim Yunshuo, why do we tie our own hands?
Do we really have to wait until the autumn harvest and the horses are fat before heading south again?
What will we offer to appease Jieli then? How will we sue for peace with him?

Xue Wanche said from the side, "Minister Li, the Crown Prince's order is very clear: withdraw the troops immediately."

"Xue Cheqi, you are also a general. You should know that opportunities in war are ever-changing. Now that we have finally found an opportunity, are we going to waste it like this?"
Yunzhou City is now within easy reach.

"We can take over the entire Yunshuo in one fell swoop, and you're giving up?"

"This is the Crown Prince's decree. Does the Minister of Works intend to disobey it?" Xue Wanche's voice was low.

"Are you threatening me?"

"I was merely relaying the Crown Prince's decree!"

The two were at loggerheads. Xue Wanche was merely a charioteer of the Crown Prince's Palace, yet he showed no fear of Li Yi.

At this moment, Li Gaoqian stepped forward to smooth things over, saying, "Tang Kai Cao and Xue Che Qi, it's not wrong for you to come and deliver the Crown Prince's decree, but the situation has changed drastically."

The opportunity to seize Cloud City is indeed rare.

Why don't you send someone back to Taiyuan by fast horse and report the details of the situation to the Crown Prince? Perhaps the Crown Prince will make a different decision?"

Liu Shirang went even further and said,

"The Crown Prince has just come from Changchun Palace and is not yet familiar with the situation on the Daibei front. Now, having finally captured Mayi and defeated the enemy coalition forces..."
Cloud City only has about ten thousand defeated soldiers. If we don't take it now, we'll regret it later.

You should first consult the Crown Prince. We should take Yunzhong City first, and not miss the opportunity to win the battle.

Once we conquer Yunzhong City and execute Yuan Junzhang,

"It's not too late for the Crown Prince to consider his decision then!"

Xue Wanche snorted coldly.
"Are you all going to disobey orders?"

Liu Shirang's face darkened, and he cursed at Xue Wanche: "Fuck your mother! I'm speaking to you nicely, don't you understand?"
"This mere chariot general, wielding a chicken feather as an imperial command and a leopard skin as a banner, comes here to flaunt his power?"

Xue Wanche narrowed his eyes. He was even taller than Liu Shirang. He stared at him coldly. "The Crown Prince orders that Liu Shirang, the governor of Daizhou, must immediately lead the Daizhou army back to Yanmen Pass. Liu Shirang, will you obey the order or not!"

Right Martial General and Duke of Jiangxia, Li Gaoqian, quickly pulled Liu Shirang away, saying, "Calm down. General Xue was just following orders. Why are you angry with him?"

Li Gaoqian, as a meritorious official in Taiyuan, was not only a confidant of the emperor but also had a good relationship with the crown prince.

At this moment, Liu Shirang took the initiative to step forward and ease the atmosphere, but his stubborn temper flared up, and he pointed at Xue Wanche's nose and cursed loudly.

He even recounted how the Xue brothers fought against Dou Jiande in Youzhou, were captured, and had their heads shaved on the battlefield.

This was Xue Wanche's Achilles' heel, and he regarded it as a great humiliation.

Although the two brothers were quite brave back then, they still managed to find an opportunity in the enemy ranks and fight their way back.

But being captured and having one's head shaved was indeed a disgrace.

He'll get angry with anyone who dares to say it.

But Liu Shirang deliberately picked on this scar.

"Old Xue, you only have a good father. Otherwise, what merits have you made for the country that would allow you to be granted the title of county magistrate and the privilege of riding in a carriage?"
Although I was born into a humble background, I earned my titles of Duke of Hongnong and Governor-General of Daizhou through my own hard work and skill. Your official rank and title are far below mine, so what makes you dare to be so arrogant towards me?

Li Yi allowed Liu Shirang to point at Xue Wanche's nose and hurl insults at him.
He needs someone to cause trouble.

Unfortunately, Tang Lin seemed to have seen through his plan.
He stepped forward again to reiterate the Crown Prince's decree.

"Minister Sikong, please immediately hand over the seal and military tally of the Chief Clerk of the Expeditionary Army, and return to Taiyuan to meet the Crown Prince."

"The troops here shall be handed over to the generals to lead back immediately."

Li Yi remained silent, his gaze sweeping over the generals.

Liu Shirang was extremely dissatisfied and was even rolling up his sleeves, ready to beat up Xue Wanche.

Wang Xingmin and Yun Shiduan, the two prefects, were Li Yi's men. At this moment, they did not back down and clearly stood on Li Yi's side, following his lead without question.

But Li Gaoqian was there mediating.
Clearly, he did not want to disobey the Crown Prince's order.

As the heir apparent, the Crown Prince is also currently the Marshal of the Hedong Expeditionary Army, and he commands the troops of all the towns, thus possessing the supreme command authority over the troops of all the towns.

He ordered all troops to withdraw.
Li Gaoqian did not want to disobey the order.

The mid-level generals below them, such as Su Dingfang, Liu Heita, and Li Cunxiao, all looked grim. This amazing victory had not brought them praise, but instead, they were ordered to withdraw their troops immediately.

They even wanted to remove Li Yi from his post as the chief clerk of the military camp and confiscate his military tally, which was going too far.

This is not just the camaraderie forged through shared life-and-death battles,
Furthermore, because Li Yi was the commander-in-chief, he made the decisions and directed the battle. If Li Yi had not achieved anything, would he still be at fault?

That would negate the contributions of all of them, and even make them feel that they had no merits but were guilty of wrongdoing.

We share both prosperity and adversity.
This involves the vital interests of everyone.
Who would willingly do that?
Li Yi glanced at Gao Manzheng. In fact, Gao Manzheng hoped that Li Yi would attack Yunzhong City immediately, preferably capture Yunzhong City in one battle and kill Yuan Junzhang, so that he could secure his position as the governor of Shuozhou.

But now the Crown Prince has also ordered him to immediately lead the soldiers and civilians of Mayi to retreat into Yanmen Pass.

Then what is the point of his position as the governor and prefect of Shuozhou?
But the person he had just surrendered to was not a powerful regional official like Liu Shirang, so how could he dare to defy the Crown Prince's order?

"Master, our victory at Huanghualiang has been a great one, with 35,000 captured or killed. The results are quite substantial. Why don't we call it a day?"

To avoid the possibility that if Cloud City proves too strong to be captured quickly, it might attract Jieli to lead a large army to its aid, which would then reignite the war and cause further trouble.

"It would be better to stop while you're ahead," Li Gaoqian advised from the side.

Gao Manzheng could only helplessly agree, "Why don't we retreat for now?"

With some backing out and morale low, continuing the attack on Cloud City will likely be difficult.

Moreover, Li Jiancheng sent Tang and Xue to directly relieve Tang of his post as the Chief of the Camp, take away his military seal, and prevent him from giving orders.

If he were to advance into Yunzhong again, it would indeed be a violation of military orders.

Judging from Xue Wanche's attitude, it seems that if Li Yi disobeys orders, he still has a backup plan.

"To refuse a gift from Heaven is to suffer the consequences!" Li Yi's heart burned with rage; he was utterly disappointed in his crown prince, Li Jiancheng.

If Li Shimin were the crown prince, would he have been so foolish?

(End of this chapter)