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

Chapter 582 No one but the King of Qin

Follow the eunuch into the palace.
Along the way, Li Yi had not expected the situation to deteriorate so much, but it was all Li Yuan's own fault.

In order to protect the crown prince, he distorted the truth and executed the meritorious official Liu Shirang, thus sowing the seeds of his own downfall.

Now, he has to bear the bitter fruit of his actions.

Li Yuan summoned Li Yi to the Linhu Palace in Haichi, but only summoned him; Li Daoxuan, who had returned with him, was not summoned.

"Li Yi, the Grand General of the Right Guard, Minister of Works, and Prince of Wu'an, is hereby granted an audience!"

The eunuchs called out names outside the palace.

Li Yuan walked out of the palace, dressed in a purple robe. "Wu Yi, you're finally back," the emperor said warmly, taking Li Yi's arm.

"minister···"

Just as Li Yi was about to bow, Li Yuan pulled him into the hall, saying, "Let's not be so polite, there are no outsiders here."

"Wu Yi, I haven't been able to sleep these past few days. I'm so worried that my hair is falling out in clumps. I've been hoping that you could arrive in the capital soon."

Li Yuan pulled him to sit on the imperial couch, holding his hand and refusing to let go.

"Wu Yi, last time we were fortunate to have repelled Jieli, but I didn't expect Jieli to attack again so quickly, and this time the attack is even more fierce."

Jieli besieged Taiyuan and attacked Jinzhou. The vanguard of Yusheshe and Shaboluoshe even reached Longzhou, capturing Dazhen Pass and breaching the gates of the Guanzhong Plain.

Li Yuan was indeed getting a little anxious.

Li Yi saw that the emperor was agitated, with mouth ulcers and several sores on his lips.

"Your Majesty, the Turkic barbarians have always been untrustworthy, fearing power but not gratitude. Their invasion is not surprising to me."
But why were they able to go so deep this time?

In particular, why was Yuanzhou completely undefended, allowing the Turks to pass through Lingliang, Yuanzhou, and Longzhou, even breaching Dazhen Pass?

Li Yuan sighed helplessly, which aggravated the ulcers in his mouth, causing him pain that he could only rub with his hand.

"No one expected that Jieli would change his mind so quickly after the peace agreement was reached."

Li Yuan did not mention Li Yi's instigation of Gao Manzheng in Mayi or the ambush of the Turks at Huanghualing. The most urgent task now was to defend against the Turkic attack, not to talk about those things.

Li Yuan was well aware that although the Turks' invasion was ostensibly due to the Li Tang dynasty's breach of alliance, whether or not this actually happened would not change Jieli's invasion plan.

"Wu Yi, do you have any good strategies to repel the enemy?"

"Your Majesty, although the Turks are arrogant and aggressive, they are only outwardly strong but inwardly weak. Their only advantage is their fast horses."

"The only way forward is not to negotiate peace. If we are to negotiate peace, we must first fight. We must first crush their arrogance on the battlefield and drive them back before Jieli will agree to peace talks and withdraw his troops."

"How should we fight?" Li Yuan asked.

"When water comes, earth will dam it; when soldiers come, generals will block them. I believe the Turks are not so terrible, and it is not difficult to defeat them."

First and foremost, we must be united in purpose, without wavering or wavering, and with unwavering resolve to fight the Turks.

Li Yuan touched his lips and nodded. In this situation, there was no other way but to fight; he had no choice but to bite the bullet and fight.
This is why Li Yuan summoned Li Yi immediately upon hearing that he had returned. Originally, Li Yuan used the flimsy excuse of someone accusing Li Yi of treason to summon Li Yi back to the capital, intending to give him a warning, and perhaps even to sideline him for a while.

But who could have predicted that the Turks would attack again, this time with such fierce force, while the crown prince at the border would behave so poorly, only concerned with running away.

Li Yuan was too preoccupied with anything else at that moment.
Let's hold off the Turks first, otherwise they'll really besiege Chang'an.

The biggest difference between Li Yuan and the Crown Prince was that Li Yuan was more cunning and adaptable.

That time was different from this time.
As the situation changed, Li Yuan quickly adjusted his strategy. The Turks were the biggest crisis at present, so he naturally had to focus on defeating them first.

"anything else?"

"Your Majesty, the most important thing is that the court is willing to fight, the soldiers are willing to fight, and the generals are capable of fighting. Other things, such as food and weapons, are secondary."

"Please forgive my boldness, but in the current situation, Your Majesty must first make the decision to fight the Turks, and then make peace."

Secondly, the soldiers must be willing to fight, and the generals must be capable of fighting.

His Highness the Crown Prince is not skilled in military affairs. Given the current situation, it is imperative to immediately replace him with a general who is adept at military matters and has extensive combat experience.
In my opinion, the battlefield in Hedong belongs to none other than the King of Qin.

Please send the Prince of Qin to Puzhou to replace the Crown Prince, and to command all the armies under unified command. When Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang launched a massive invasion of Hedong, and the situation was extremely critical, it was the Prince of Qin who led the troops to attack and ultimately defeated the enemy.

Li Yuan did not immediately express his opinion.

"This Turkic invasion was sudden, and the Crown Prince was caught off guard," Li Yuan said hesitantly, looking at Li Yi. "Changing commanders in the midst of battle is a major taboo in the army. I intend to send you back to Hedong to assist the Crown Prince in defending against the Turks, just as before."
The Crown Prince is the Marshal, and you are the Chief Secretary.
"The Crown Prince will be stationed in Puzhou; you will go to Taiyuan to command the various armies. What do you think?"

Li Yi remained silent.

He had no intention of cleaning up the Crown Prince's mess again. Besides, the situation was so bad that even if the Emperor appointed him as the Marshal of Hedong,

Li Yi was also not confident that he could win this battle.

The Crown Prince was not good at military affairs, and Li Yi was not very good at military affairs either.

The one who truly excelled in military affairs was Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin.

"Your Majesty, I am not skilled in commanding troops. If you were to order me to defend a city, I could manage it. But to allow me to command the armies of Hedong now is beyond my capabilities. I dare not jeopardize the important affairs of the state."

Li Yuan had a headache.

"Besides the Prince of Qin, is there no one else in the Tang Dynasty who can lead troops to resist the Turks?"

“Li Jing, the Duke of Yongkang and Governor of Guizhou, is a suitable candidate for commander, and Li Shiji, the Governor of Qizhou, is also capable of defending Taiyuan,” Li Yi recommended two people.

However, the emperor did not think highly of these two men.

After Li Jing went to Shannan, he assisted Li Xiaogong in pacifying Jingxiang, conquering Jiangnan, and taking over Lingnan. However, Li Yuan believed that there were no worthy opponents in the south.

Even if the south is pacified,
However, this does not necessarily mean that they were good at military strategy. When Li Yi pacified Shannan, conquered Henan, and fought in Hebei, he also captured more than a hundred prefectures. His opponents were much stronger than Xiao Xian and others.

As for Li Shiji, he had more defeats than victories, and Li Yuan had even less faith in him.

Faced with the immense pressure of this Turkic invasion,
Li Yuan only had three generals he could rely on: Li Shimin, Li Yi, and Li Yi. The rest of the generals were those who had not proven themselves.

Li Yuan had learned a great lesson from the battle when Liu Wuzhou attacked Hedong, where he had appointed a general who was not good at commanding troops. Now he dared not act recklessly.

The two Turkic armies marched in opposite directions, one to Jinzhou and the other to Longzhou. It's possible that the two armies will eventually meet at the gates of Chang'an.

"Princess Pingyang's husband, Chai Shao, the governor of Qizhou, also fought very well in the previous battle against the Dangxiang Qiang." Li Yuan sighed.

Chai Shao did not demonstrate much military talent, or rather, he had not experienced any major battles. He felt that Chai Shao was not qualified to be a regional commander, but he was better suited to be a general in charge of a route.

"Is it only the King of Qin who can lead the army in Hedong?" Li Yuan picked up a cup of tea, but drinking tea made his ulcers hurt.

"Your Majesty, even a lion uses its full strength to hunt a rabbit. Now, facing the massive invasion of the Turkic Khaganate, we can no longer hesitate."

We must defeat the Turks as soon as possible.

If Jieli were to capture Taiyuan, the consequences would be unimaginable; the entire Hedong region would be devastated. Conversely, if the Turkic forces in Longzhou and Yuanzhou were not defeated, Guanzhong and Longyou would also fall apart.

We must act quickly, and we must win this battle in one fell swoop.

Li Yuan recalled the Battle of Hedong when Liu Wuzhou invaded. He first appointed Li Zhongwen as commander, then Pei Ji, and then Li Xiaoji, but in the end, the battle almost led to the relocation of the capital.

The situation is worse than last time. If we lose again, Chang'an will be shaken.

Li Yuan wanted Li Yi to assist the Crown Prince in stabilizing the situation in Hedong, which would also help maintain the Crown Prince's prestige. However, Li Yi's attitude was quite clear: he did not support it.

If the generals and commanders are at odds, this battle certainly cannot be fought.

"I regret that I summoned you back to the capital because someone accused you of treason. I did not believe the false accusation, and I summoned you back to personally clear your name. But unexpectedly, it led to the collapse of the situation in Daibei."

Li Yuan held Li Yi's hand and sighed.

Li Yi wouldn't believe the emperor's nonsense.

If it weren't for Jieli's renewed and fierce offensive, Li Yi wouldn't have received such treatment after returning to Chang'an.

It's estimated that there will be a joint investigation by the three judicial departments, and he might even end up in Dali Temple prison or the Secretariat for a few days.

Then the emperor would pretend to appease him, and finally he was left idle.

In times of national crisis, good generals are needed.
Now Li Yuan realizes how good he was.

Li Yuan did not stay in Linhu Palace for long. He sent someone to escort Li Yi home, and specially dispatched the imperial carriage to take him back, along with many cartloads of gifts and rewards.

A pair of gold urns and six silver bottles were given, filled with gold, silver and copper Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. In addition, a hundred bolts of various high-grade silk brocades made by the emperor were bestowed as a reward, and 100,000 newly minted Kaiyuan Tongbao coins were also given.

He also bestowed four palace maids upon them.

In addition, there were fourteen estates, each 500 mu in size. This was for his eight sons and six daughters, one estate each in the capital region, which not only had 500 mu of fertile land, but also estates, workshops, and ten households of slaves.

There were eight sons and six daughters, including two adopted daughters, each receiving one share.

Li Yi and Huo Yu hadn't even told their families about Xiao Yu'er, who they had adopted, but the emperor already knew about it and had given them a copy.

Sitting in the imperial golden chariot,

The Imperial Guards were stationed on the left and right sides for protection.

The procession was grand and the spectacle was astonishing.

Li Yi, sitting in the golden carriage, felt very uncomfortable.

He had just boldly suggested to the emperor that the Prince of Qin replace the Crown Prince as commander-in-chief and be stationed in Hedong to defend against the Turks, but the emperor did not respond.

Li Yi estimated that the emperor ultimately had no other choice.

He did recommend the combination of Li Jing and Li Shiji, but the emperor clearly didn't have much confidence in them.

Since Li Yi was unwilling to take on the important task, the only option left was for Li Shimin to take the lead.

The golden carriage was very luxurious and extravagant.
Inside the carriage were four palace maids newly bestowed upon him by the emperor, who were brewing tea for him. It wasn't traditional boiled tea, but loose-leaf tea, indicating they had received some special training beforehand, all tailored to Li Yi's preferences.

The tea was excellent, and the palace maids were young and beautiful.
There was no incense burning inside the golden carriage.
That's ambergris.

The grand procession arrived at Shengyefang Street. Without needing to enter the ward, the Wu'an Prince's Mansion, which occupied one-sixteenth of the ward, had a gate directly opened in the ward wall.

In front of the Prince's mansion, a group of people who had received the news in advance...

They were already queuing up outside the Wutou Wall.

When the gatekeeper Lao Wang saw the procession approaching, he quickly called his two sons to bring over firecrackers and set them off.

Specially processed bamboo tubes crackle and pop when burned in a brazier.

Loud bangs, bangs, bangs

They welcomed the head of the household home.

Li Yi got out of the car.
Then his wife, Du Shiniang, came up with her concubines and children.

"My lord, you must be tired from your journey." Shi Niang stepped forward, dressed in plain clothes, with one year left in her three-year mourning period for her father.

Li Yi left Beijing after the start of winter before the Lunar New Year, and it's been almost a year since he left home.

"You've worked so hard taking care of things at home, and the children have all grown up. Come here and let your father give you a hug."

Du Shiniang asked her husband, "My lord, you're not leaving again before the New Year this time, are you? When will the concubines and children in Mingzhou, such as Jin and Zheng, return?"

"We're already on our way. It's a beautiful autumn day, so the journey won't be too tiring," Li Yi said.

"Then I'll send the steward and servants to Luoyang to welcome them. There are several little children there, so I'd rather the journey be slower," Shi Niang said considerately.

Li Yi hugged all the children, lifted them high in the air, and kissed them on the cheek.

Finally, he took Du Shiniang's hand and said to Ji Lingyi, Luo Sanniang, and the others, "Come on, let's go inside and go home!"

Upon entering the house, I first went to take a bath and change clothes.

After changing into a comfortable cotton outfit, Song Yi came over and said, "My lord, I just received news that Li Gaoqian, the Right Martial General, Governor of Daizhou, and Duke of Jiangxia, has been stripped of his official rank and title and demoted to a commoner and exiled to Lingnan by imperial decree for deserting in battle at Mayi and losing Xin and Dai, resulting in heavy losses of troops."

Li Yi was not surprised by this.

Somewhat poignant is that of the last three governors of Daizhou, Li Da'en died in battle in Shuozhou, Liu Shirang was unjustly killed by the court, and now Li Gaoqian has only been demoted to a commoner and exiled to Lingnan, which is not bad at all.

(End of this chapter)