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

Chapter 594 Eight Hundred Warriors
"Why is Li Yi back again?"

Hu Luda, the official of Tuyuhun, frowned upon hearing the report. He was currently at the foot of Linfen City in Jinzhou, looking at the Luo-character general's flag on the city wall.
He quickly made a decision: "Quickly send people to recall all the tribes that have gone out to plunder and assemble. We have to withdraw."

Anyway, this time he led more than 10,000 men south and had already plundered a fortune.

There was no need to attack a fortified city like Jinzhou, nor to fight to the death with a fierce general like Luo Shixin. He simply plundered villages along his southward journey and made a fortune.

"Grab enough and then leave."

Tuyuhun Xie appeared calm on the surface, but in reality, he was already trembling with fear. Urgent reports came from the north that Li Yi, who had repeatedly defeated the Turkic army, had returned to Hedong and suddenly appeared in Fenjie, where he annihilated Yilidagan and Song Xiena Sijin, who were looting in Fenjie, capturing and killing eight thousand.

Both armies were completely wiped out.

This news was simply unbelievable, but Tuyuhun Xie had no doubts.

Li Yi,
Now, the Turkic upper class is already well-known, and even has a reputation for being able to stop children from crying.

Although he had about 10,000 men under his command, he knew that his troops were not elite. Now that Li Yi had blocked the north, Li Shimin had replaced Li Jiancheng.

One in the south and one in the north, Li Shimin and Li Yi together were far superior to Li Jiancheng.

He summoned several trusted generals and informed them that Yi Li and Song Xie had been killed by Li Yi.

This led a group of people to disbelieve it.

"This must be fake news, how could that be?"

"Whether it's real or fake, we've already looted enough, let's get out of here."

Although the generals felt the news was unreliable, they still listened to Tuyuhun Xie's words.

Tuyuhun Xie held the official position of Huludaguan in the Turkic Khaganate, also known as Huludagan. Like Yilidagan, he was a close minister of the Khagan in the Khan's court and a central official of the Khan's court.

The name Tuyuhun Xie also reveals that he was not a Turk, but a Tuyuhun. He was a member of the dowry brought by Boshi, the mother of Jieli Khan, when she married into the Turkic Khaganate from Tuyuhun.

After Jieli was born, he was raised by Tuyuhun Xie. Jieli Khan and Tuyuhun Xie were as close as father and son.

Tuyuhun Xie did not only command tens of thousands of troops because he was part of Jieli's mother's dowry. He was also famous for his cunning and caution.

He moved very quickly.

They quickly recalled all the troops that had been looting and prepared to return north immediately.

···
"Want to run?"

Li Shimin was leading his army north along the Fen River when he received a message from Luo Shixin. He stopped at Shanmagang and chuckled coldly.

Qin Shubao stepped forward and volunteered for battle, saying, "Your Majesty, this humble general is willing to lead a light cavalry force swiftly northward and ensure they do not escape."

"They can't escape. Wu Yi has blocked their retreat. They're trapped like turtles in a jar!"

However, after a moment's thought, Li Shimin decided not to give the Tuyuhun tribes a chance to gather, and instead launched a swift attack to prevent them from assembling.

It's better to spread out and defeat them one by one!
Qin Shubao, Duan Zhixuan, Zhai Changsun, Shuang Shilu, Niu Jinda, and Qiu Xinggong, six cavalry generals from the Qin Prince's Palace, each led a thousand light cavalry and sped northward.

Within Jinzhou and Xiangling County,
A Turkic tribe of over a thousand people is retreating northward. They have looted a great deal: money, silk, grain, cloth, able-bodied men and women, and livestock such as cattle and horses.
For the nomadic tribes that raided southwards, everything from the Central Plains was desirable—pots, kettles, bowls, clothes, fabrics, even ceramic bowls and wooden plates.
Each Turkic soldier, along with his servants who were gathering hay, was leading a long line of prisoners, and the horses and mules they had seized were laden with all sorts of spoils of war.

There are too many things.

This slowed their march down and even disrupted their formation, making them look like nomadic herders moving their livestock.

The leader of this force,
But it was the one that grabbed the most.

As they leisurely gathered at the foot of Jinzhou City,

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves thundered.

A black tide rushed in from the south.
The bugle sounded.
The crimson Tang banners fluttered in the wind as Qin Shubao led his thousand Xuanjia cavalrymen to charge forward.

One thousand to one thousand,
But those thousand Turks didn't look like an army at this moment; they looked more like nomadic herders, carrying countless heavy belongings.
On the other side were the Xuanjia Cavalry, one of the most elite cavalry units of the Tang Dynasty, seasoned in battle.

The commander of the troops was none other than Qin Shubao, the most valiant general in the Qin King's mansion, who could take the head of a general as easily as taking something out of a bag.

The Turks, who were returning home triumphantly with their spoils, were shocked to see the Tang cavalry charging straight at them.

"Assemble,"

The leader shouted,

However, the substantial spoils of their loot severely impacted their lives.

They haven't finished assembling yet.

Qin Shubao had already led his troops in like a sharp arrow.

A sharp arrow whistled through the air.

They shot down the Turkic soldier who was still blowing the horn.
Then another arrow was fired.
Even from a hundred paces away, the arrow accurately shot down the terrified leader from his horse.

Qin Qiong's third arrow,
They shot down the Turkic standard-bearer.

Three arrows
They shot down the messenger, the flag bearer, and the commander directly from their horses.

"run!"

Someone screamed in terror.

However, the vast majority of Turks were reluctant to part with the spoils they had plundered during this period: loads of money, grain, cloth, iron pots, porcelain plates, earthenware bowls, cattle, horses, and slaves.

I can't bear to throw any of them away; they're all valuable things to bring back to the grasslands.

In their hesitation,

They missed their last chance.

Qin Qiong charged into the enemy ranks,

Like a tiger among sheep,
It's more like chopping melons and cutting vegetables.

It's too late to run away now.

More than a thousand Turkic cavalrymen,

Not a single one escaped. The spoils they had painstakingly plundered, which they hadn't been willing to part with even in their dying moments, were all seized by Qin Qiong.

More than 3,000 able-bodied men and women who had been abducted were also rescued.

Looking at the things they had looted, Qin Qiong couldn't help but curse, "These damned bandits from beyond the Great Wall!"

···
The city walls of Jinzhou under the cover of night,

Luo Shixin, the governor of Jinzhou, stood on the city wall, looking at the enemy camp in the distance outside the city.

"Those wolf cubs are well-informed; they're already preparing to leave."

When Luo Shixin came to Jinzhou to take up his post as governor, he only brought two hundred cavalrymen with him.

But looking at the Turkic camp outside the city, Luo Shixin, who wasn't very tall, still decided to pull off a heist. He simply jumped onto the parapet.

Stand facing the wind.

"The wolf cubs' camp is a bit chaotic. They're trying to retreat, but they're still acting very arrogantly. I think we can take action against them."

"Gather our troops and launch a raid on the camp tonight."

Some generals felt that this was too risky, as Jinzhou was originally a rear base and did not have many troops.

Even in Guanzhong, the heart of the Tang Dynasty, there were 261 military prefectures with 260,000 soldiers. Yet, each prefecture had only a few military prefectures, and the number of military prefectures in Hedong was far less than that in Guanzhong.

"There are only a few thousand men outside right now, are you afraid?" Luo Shixin sneered, then simply unbuckled his belt and urinated towards the enemy camp in the distance.

"Those with guts, come out of the city with me tonight; those who are afraid of death, stay and guard the city."

The captain blushed and said, "It's not that I'm afraid of death, but I'm just reminding the commander to be careful. Why don't we wait for the reinforcements from the south to arrive before launching a pincer attack?"

"Yes, your caution is correct. I take back what I just said, but I still have to take action tonight and won't just wait here."

The opportunity to fight is fleeting. Are we going to be too afraid to advance because of just a few thousand enemy soldiers?

If we have the chance, we should seize it. If not, we'll create one. If all else fails, we can at least harass the enemy. We can't let them have it easy right under our noses.

"But we don't have many soldiers."

Luo Shixin fastened his belt, jumped down, and wiped his hands on the captain's body.
"There are different strategies for fighting with a large army and for fighting with a small army."
The key isn't the number of soldiers, but whether or not they dare to draw their swords when they meet on a narrow path. If they don't even dare to draw their swords, well...

The captain lowered his head in shame.
"Stand up straight, head held high, come out with me tonight, let's fuck him."

The captain roared, "Fuck him!"

“That’s right. We have a strong wall behind us, and to the north is Li Sikong. He just captured and killed eight thousand Turks with a few thousand men, and also beheaded a Dagan and a Sijin.”

To our south is the King of Qin, and that is the General of Heavenly Strategy.

With our conditions, what are we afraid of?

The officers of Jinzhou were all fired up with passion.

There were very few soldiers in Jinzhou City. There were only a little over a thousand local soldiers, and the rest were state soldiers and local militia. Luo Shixin only selected eight hundred local soldiers.

"In war, quality is more important than quantity, especially in night raids and raids on camps, where elite troops are even more crucial."

Luo Shixin felt that eight hundred men would be enough.

This general was considered short among the generals, but he had been fighting on the battlefield since he was fourteen. He went from being Zhang Xutuo's servant to the vanguard of the campaign, and he and Qin Shubao were a golden duo for many years.

"Back in the day, Uncle Bao and I followed General Zhang and, with only five riders, defeated 20,000 bandits!"

It wasn't that Luo Shixin underestimated his enemy or was arrogant.
Rather, it's because he has the resources to do so.

Huludagan Tuyuhun Xie waited for the various tribes to return, and then they would all head north back to Bingzhou.

"These damn guys, why are they so slow? The order was passed down and only two teams have returned."

"Dagan, please calm down. It's because the various tribes have looted and seized a lot of things, which is why they are traveling a bit slower. We've finally come to such a rich place, so how can we abandon what we've plundered?"

"There's no rush, the Tang people aren't that fast either."

Fine wine, barbecue, and beautiful women.

In the autumn, the weather was fine, and to be honest, these Turks were so happy they didn't want to leave. However, some of them were reluctant to retreat north.

Tuyuhun Xie was also surrounded by women, and although he was quite old, he was still vigorous and strong, and his pear blossoms could still overshadow the crabapple blossoms.

"Han women from the Central Plains are so much better; their skin is so white and smooth, not rough at all."

"She still smells nice."

Inside the tent, a group of Turkic generals burst into laughter, each embracing and groping the women, their laughter becoming increasingly lewd.

Tuyuhun Xie was actually a Xianbei.

The Khanate of Tuyuhun, whose rulers and upper echelons were a branch of the Xianbei who migrated westward from the northeast, was led by Tuyuhun.
They later moved to Hexi and established a Khanate in Qinghai. Their descendants then took Tuyuhun as their tribal name.

When Tuyuhun Xie was young, he was part of the dowry of Jieli's mother and went to the Turkic grasslands. He stayed there for decades and had long since become a Turkicized Tuyuhun person.

A Sogdian general with a full curly beard touched the woman in his arms until she begged for mercy, "How could Yilidagan and Songxie Nasijin have been completely wiped out?"
Eight thousand people—that's eight thousand rabbits! Even if you scattered them across the grassland, you couldn't catch them all in a short time.

Tuyuhun Xie cursed directly, "Those two idiots, if they weren't so incompetent, we wouldn't have had to retreat."

"Once we get back, we'll bring their entire tribe and their families here to be slaves!"

Tuyuhun Xie suddenly put down his wine cup, silencing everyone.

He placed the arrow on the ground, then lay down and pressed his ear against it to listen carefully.

"not good,"

Suddenly, shouts of battle echoed through the night sky.
A Turkic guard ran up and shouted, "Enemy attack! Tang army raided the camp!"

Tuyuhun Xie led the charge out of the main tent, only to see countless fire arrows shooting into the camp from the darkness on all sides, accompanied by shouts of battle.

For a moment, no one knew how many enemies were attacking from the darkness.

(End of this chapter)