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

Chapter 577 The Yanmen Mutiny
"Prince Wu'an!"

The crown prince turned to look at Li Yi, his expression turning serious.

Li Yi thought to himself, "The Crown Prince couldn't hold back any longer."

"Your Highness?"

"The imperial court has already reached a peace agreement, so why do you still insist on sending troops without authorization and provoking conflict on the border? What is your intention?"

They label people as soon as the project is completed.

Li Yi, however, remained calm and smiling.

"Your Highness, I am acting on the imperial decree to command the troops of the various garrisons in Daibei to defend against the Turks."

"General Gao Manzheng of Mayi has abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, and is willing to return to the right path. I should accept him into the court. But Yuan Junzhang and Bu Lishe are leading 50,000 troops to attack. How can I stand by and watch them die?"
Rather than passively defending the city, it was better to ambush them halfway. In the Battle of Huanghualing, we successfully defeated the enemy, beheading more than 3,000 and capturing more than 30,000, thus lifting the siege of Mayi.

"If the Crown Prince hadn't sent Military Advisor Tang and Cavalryman Xue to take away my military tally, Yunzhong City would already be captured, and Yunshuo would be completely restored."

Li Jiancheng frowned.

"Wu Yi, haven't you realized your mistake yet? You disregarded the overall situation of the court and sent troops without authorization. Can you bear the consequences of this?"

"Consequences?" Li Yi replied coldly, "The imperial court and the Turks have fought and made peace countless times over the years."
Previously, he had been rewarded with money and silk, and ceded the Hetao region to Fengsheng. Every time, Jieli had made a good promise, but every time had he actually kept his word?

They all take the benefits, eat them up, and then turn around and harass you again.

Yunshuo was originally part of our Central Plains territory. Now that General Gao has surrendered Mayi, as the leader of the various armies in Daibei, should I sit idly by?

Li Jiancheng snorted coldly.
"The court's decision has its reasons, Wu Yi, how dare you go against them?"

Whether it's war or peace, as a general, one must act according to the imperial court's orders.

"Because of your disobedience to military orders, I hereby relieve you of your post. You shall return to Chang'an with the Prince of Huaiyang and explain to the Emperor in person."

Li Yi slowly said, "Defying an order? Your Highness, which order are you saying I defied?"

"You disobeyed military orders."

Li Yi, however, did not back down at all, "When Yanmen was in danger, Your Highness was stationed in Puzhou, a thousand miles away. The Emperor sent the interpreter Li Shouxuan to Fanzhi to deliver the imperial edict."

I was appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Marshal's Office of the Hedong Army and given command of the various armies in Daibei.

The sage also gave me an oral decree: although the court and the Turkic Khaganate had reached a peace agreement, it was necessary to guard against Khaganate breaking its word. Therefore, the Youzhou army was ordered to march out of Yunzhong, and I was ordered to advance into Yanmen. I was also granted the authority to make decisions on the spot.

Therefore, I accepted General Gao of Mayi's surrender and sent troops to Huanghualing to block Yuan Junzhang and Bu Lishe's counterattack.

No problem.

As for the Crown Prince sending Xue Wanche and Tang Lin to deliver the order forbidding me from sending troops, it was too late. By the time they arrived, our army had already achieved a great victory at Huanghualing.

Originally, we intended to take advantage of our victory to recapture Yunzhong City, but Xue Wanche forcibly seized my military seal, so I had no choice but to withdraw my troops.
Where is there any disobedience to orders?

Neither humble nor arrogant,

But to the Crown Prince, this meant that Li Yi was showing him no respect whatsoever as the heir apparent.

Your Highness,
I sent troops only because I had received an imperial edict from the sage.

When the Crown Prince arrived in Taiyuan, he sent messengers with his orders to seize our military seals and order the withdrawal of all troops. We all obeyed the Crown Prince's orders.

"May I ask Your Highness, where have I disobeyed orders, and what grounds are there for dismissing me from my post?"

"you!"

Li Jiancheng was furious.
But Li Yi's arguments were so logical and well-founded that he couldn't refute them for a moment.

If you want to blame someone,
It's all his fault, Marshal, for being stationed behind the lines in Puzhou.

This led to the emperor appointing Li Yi as the Chief Secretary of the Army Headquarters and giving him command of the various armies in Daibei. Before Li Yi, as marshal, arrived at the front lines...
All of Li Yi's military actions in Daibei were within his authority. Even if the court made peace, Li Yi still sent troops outside the pass. He had the emperor's edict to act as he saw fit.

Jiancheng's face darkened.

He hadn't expected that the emperor had previously granted Li Yi such great power.

This rendered his earlier words useless.

Li Jiancheng had neither the reason nor the right to directly dismiss a Grand Steward, since Li Yi had neither plotted a rebellion nor engaged in any treason.

However, Li Jiancheng still insisted on relieving Li Yi of his post as Chief Secretary of the Marshal's Office and did not return the military tally that had been taken from him.

"Prince Wu'an, you should return to Dingzhou as soon as possible."

"The war is over, and there's not much to do at the Hedong headquarters, so we won't keep Prince Wu'an in Daibei."

Li Jiancheng also disbanded the Hebei Expeditionary Army.
Li Yi, as the general manager of the Hebei campaign, was naturally dismissed, and he no longer had the authority to control the troops in Youzhou.

"Gao Manzheng,"

"Your subject is here." Gao Manzheng had been watching with trepidation from the sidelines, never expecting that after the army's triumphant return, the Crown Prince would be so at odds with Prince Wu'an and Prince Huaiyang.

"The court is currently in peace negotiations with the Turks and cannot afford to provoke further conflict on the border. However, since you have already defected, the court will not abandon you."
You shall return to Mayi tomorrow and relocate all the soldiers and civilians of Mayi to the interior of the pass.

I hereby appoint you as the Inspector-General of Weizhou, granting you the authority to govern the two prefectures of Wei and Beiyan.

Li Jiancheng not only ordered the abandonment of Mayi, but also the closure and abandonment of Yingzhou, which Li Yi had previously established.

The troops stationed in Yingzhou returned to Hebei.

Yun Shiduan, the prefect of Yingzhou appointed by Li Yi, was naturally dismissed.

Even Wang Xingmin, the prefect of Weizhou, was dismissed and returned to Hebei to command troops. Gao Manzheng, who had just surrendered, was appointed as the general manager of Weizhou.

Gao Manzheng looked troubled; he was very reluctant to leave Mayi.

I'd rather be the governor of Shuozhou.

But now the Crown Prince of Tang has ordered him to abandon Mayi, and he dares not disobey.

He was not like Li Daoxuan or Li Yi. Those two were members of the imperial family, princes, and meritorious officials with outstanding military achievements. He was just a surrendered general who had just returned to the capital.

Li Yi watched coldly from the sidelines.
Li Daoxuan couldn't hold back any longer and exploded, "We finally managed to reclaim Mayi, and we finally established Yingzhou. Now, with just one order from the Crown Prince, we're going to hand it all over to them. How incredibly generous!" Liu Shirang, the governor of Daizhou, also gritted his teeth and said, "Your Highness, Mayi must not be abandoned!"

Unfortunately,
Li Jiancheng wouldn't listen to a word the others said.

He also wanted to send someone to Yunzhong City to inform Yuan Junzhang that Mayi should be returned to him.

"Send messengers with gifts to the Khan's court in Dingxiang to pay homage to Khan Jieli, reaffirm the friendship between the two families, and explain that the Battle of Huanghualing was merely a misunderstanding."
"Our Great Tang Dynasty is willing to release the prisoners!"

"Wait a minute!"

Li Yi interrupted the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, the more than three thousand heads taken at Huanghua Ridge are the result of the efforts of thirty thousand soldiers."
Those 30,000-plus prisoners were also a result of the soldiers' efforts.

"These 30,000-plus prisoners cannot be released just like that. At the very least, the Turks must exchange them for the Han Chinese they have captured."

These 32,000 prisoners must be exchanged for 100,000 captured Han Chinese!

"Otherwise, if I don't agree, the 30,000 soldiers in the Battle of Huanghualing won't agree either."

Li Jiancheng stared at him coldly.
"Wu Yi, you are no longer the Chief Clerk of the Camp,"

“Those 30,000 prisoners, let the Turks exchange them for the Han Chinese they’ve captured. 100,000 people, not a single one less.” Li Yi refused to back down.

Such a hard-won war,
The prisoners that were captured with such difficulty
How could we just let him go to the Crown Prince's favor?
“I disagree,” Li Yi said again.

"I disagree too!" Li Daoxuan shouted, firmly supporting Li Yi.

Liu Shirang stepped forward as well, "Your Highness, I, Liu Shirang, also disagree with releasing these prisoners. Whether they are Yuan Junzhang's subordinates or Bu Lishe's men, they are prisoners captured by our soldiers in a desperate battle. They must not be released like this."

Wang Xingmin and Yun Shiduan also voiced their opposition, saying, "We agree."

"I object."

General Li Gaoqian, the Right Martial General, remained silent.

Gao Manzheng dared not utter a sound.

Generals Liu Heita, Su Dingfang, and Li Cunxiao, who were originally only fourth or fifth-rank officials and not qualified to speak, still stood at the back and loudly declared, "We also object!"

"be opposed to!"

"We can't let them go for nothing."

Li Jiancheng listened to those voices.

That wasn't just opposing the release of prisoners; it was opposing him and challenging the Crown Prince's authority.

Eventually broke up on bad terms.

As soon as Li Daoxuan left the tent, he turned around and spat.

"Let's go," Li Yi said, pulling him along, afraid that he might do something outrageous again.

He is, after all, the crown prince; we cannot simply defy him.

"You shouldn't have acted impulsively and returned to Chang'an on your own initiative. That's exactly what some people want."

Li Daoxuan was indignant. "I just don't understand. He's the crown prince, how could he be like this? It's truly disappointing."

"If it were the King of Qin, he would never act this way. Back in the Battle of Hedong, the King of Qin didn't remove his armor for two days, didn't eat for three days, pursued the enemy for over two hundred li in a single day and night, fought dozens of battles, and completely routed the enemy. Our Crown Prince, on the other hand, hid a thousand li behind the lines during the battle, and now that it's over, he comes here to give orders."

“We won a great victory, but we made a mistake. Now we have to hand over Mayi and release the more than 30,000 enemies we just captured. Why should we do this?”
Was this victory won in vain?

Li Yi smiled wryly; he really dared to say anything.

But he believes,

The soldiers in the army felt much the same way as Li Daoxuan.

"I refuse to accept this. I'm going back to Chang'an to complain to the Emperor face to face. So what if he's the Crown Prince? Does that mean he can act so recklessly?"

Are matters of national importance treated like child's play?

"If you can't fight, you should just stay in Chang'an."

"Brother Wang, why are you being so tolerant today?"

Li Yi said, "Struggle also requires methods and approaches. You can't just confront them in a simple and crude way. Doing so is useless."

A higher-ranking official can have absolute power over others.

Moreover, Li Jiancheng was still the crown prince.
But even though Li Jiancheng was the crown prince, there was still an emperor above him.

Li Yi didn't need to confront him directly. If there was anything, he could go to the emperor. He believed that the emperor wouldn't be as foolish as Li Jiancheng.

“Brother Wang, if the King of Qin were the eldest son of the legitimate wife, wouldn’t that be wonderful? None of this nonsense would have happened,” Li Daoxuan complained.

"Keep quiet, for words can bring disaster. Don't bring trouble upon yourself and implicate the King of Qin."

Li Jiancheng threw a tantrum in his tent.
He had initially thought that, given his status as Crown Prince, he could use the incident of Li Daoxuan and Li Yi's unauthorized attack to frame them for disobeying imperial orders and disrupting the peace negotiations.

Then he dismissed Li Yi, Li Daoxuan, Liu Shirang, Wang Xingmin, Yun Shiduan and other pro-Qin generals from their posts, and took the opportunity to install his own people in their place.

In this way, the Grand General's Office of Youzhou, the Grand General's Office of Dingzhou, and the Grand General's Office of Daizhou could all fall under his sphere of influence.

Who would have thought things would go so badly?

Disregard for the crown prince

Unscrupulous.

Just as he was burning with anger, Xue Wanche rushed in.

"Your Highness, something terrible has happened! The soldiers who just entered the pass are causing a disturbance."

Li Jiancheng was furious. "Do they want to rebel? Send men to suppress them immediately. Anyone who dares to lead the trouble will be executed on the spot and their head displayed to the public!"

(End of this chapter)