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

Chapter 601 The Birth of a Legend

Zheng Yuanzhu and Li Chen were treated coldly by Jieli in Taiyuan.

Every day it's either sheep liver or horse lungs, mostly offal, but thankfully I don't have to sleep in the pen with the sheep anymore.

The two endured humiliation and hardship, being insulted by Jieli several times a day.

The negotiations did not go smoothly. Jieli made exorbitant demands, and they had to bargain little by little.

"The Great Tang and the Turks are separated by the Great Wall. The Turks must immediately withdraw from Yanmen Pass. Xin, Dai, Wei, and Beiyan must all be returned to the Great Tang. In return, the Great Tang agrees to return Shuozhou and Yingzhou to Yuan Junzhang."

After the Turks withdrew their troops, the Tang Dynasty would send the princess to the Khan's court, and the two families would be united by marriage.

The annual imperial gift consisted of three thousand taels of gold and three hundred thousand bolts of silk.

"The two sides exchanged prisoners, one for one."

"The Tang Dynasty bestowed 100,000 bolts of silk upon the Turks."

The autumn breeze is cool.

Jinci became the temporary Khan's court of Jieli Khan.
Jieli was preparing a deer, a magnificent and beautiful deer he had hunted himself. He held a knife and was skillfully skinning it.

He is very patient.

After Zheng Yuanzhu finished explaining the peace terms of the Tang Dynasty,

Jieli ignored him and proceeded to peel off the complete deer hide bit by bit without causing any damage.

"This deerskin can be made into a nice fur coat, and a good pair of boots."

"We'll have venison tonight. The venison heart and liver are also quite delicious. The two ambassadors should try something different."

The mere mention of heart, liver, intestines, and lungs made Zheng Yuanzhu and the other man feel nauseous.

"Great Khan, as long as the peace agreement is reached, the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Wu'an will be recalled to the court, and the 50,000 Turkic tribesmen, including Tuyuhun Xie, who were captured around this year, will be sent to Taiyuan and Yanmen in batches to exchange prisoners."

Jieli chuckled coldly a few times, then tossed the skinned deer hide aside.
He held the knife, cut open the deer, gutted it, took out the heart, and ate it raw, his mouth full of deer blood.

Then he cut off a piece of his liver and gave it to Zheng Yuanzhu and Li Chen.

"If you want peace, then follow my terms. If you don't agree, then let's continue the war. I, the Khan, am not in a hurry."

"This Jinci Temple is wonderful; even the Khan himself didn't want to leave."

Jieli seemed to be enjoying eating raw deer heart, but Zheng and Li couldn't stand raw deer liver. However, Jieli, holding a piece of deer heart, kept eating while urging them to eat quickly.
In the end, the two could only endure their nausea and eat a few bites of raw deer liver.

While eating, he cursed Jieli in his heart, calling him a barbarian who ate raw meat and drank blood.

Back at their lodgings, the two quickly rinsed their mouths, but still felt a strong fishy smell.

"What exactly is Jieli planning?" Li Chen sighed.

“The Turks are arrogant and domineering, as they always have been,” Zheng Yuanzhu said. “However, I think Jieli also intends to withdraw his troops. He has already sent people to recall tens of thousands of troops who marched south, presumably to wait for them to return.”

They're just putting on a show so they can extort another penny from my Great Tang."

As a veteran envoy who had been sent to the Turks several times, Zheng Yuanzhu could see through Jieli's true colors, but so what? Jieli was aggressive and arrogant, but he had the right to be arrogant.

The northern border defenses of the Tang Dynasty were as flimsy as paper in the face of the Turkic cavalry, who could come and go as they pleased.

If you can't win on the battlefield, you can only be slaughtered by others.

"The King of Qin hasn't really hurt Jieli yet. If the court could make up its mind to let the King of Qin fight another battle, we wouldn't have to eat liver and lungs here every day," Li Chen sighed.

Zheng Yuanzhu smiled wryly, "The court has already made a decision to negotiate peace with the Turks as soon as possible, so that the Prince of Qin can go to Jiangnan to quell the rebellion."

Li Chen said indignantly, "My brother is more than capable of suppressing the rebellion in Jiangnan. Why would we really need the Prince of Qin to go to Jiangnan?"

Zheng Yuanzhu didn't respond to this question, though he was well aware of the true intentions behind the court's decision.

However, the Zheng family of Xingyang had long been tied to the Crown Prince, so of course they had to fully support him and guard against and suppress the King of Qin.

At dinner,
Jieli was in a good mood and ate two extra pieces of grilled venison.

Only Princess Khedun Yicheng remained expressionless, but Jieli didn't seem to mind and even took the initiative to talk to the princess about the progress of the negotiations.

"Judging from Zheng Yuanzhu and Li Chen's reactions, Li Yuan is really anxious this time. He is eager to make peace and dares not fight against our Turks again. He thinks he has a bargaining chip because Li Shimin and Li Yi won a surprise attack."

“As long as I don’t back down, Li Yuan will have no choice but to back down.”

He even revealed his bottom line in negotiations to the Khatun: "Xindai can be returned to Li Yuan, but it must be redeemed with gold and silk."
With Yanmen Pass as the boundary, Yunshuo will still be handed over to Yuan Junzhang, and a promise will be made that no more troops will cross Yanmen Pass.

The annual tribute is five thousand taels of gold and five hundred thousand bolts of silk; not a single bit less is acceptable.

This year, due to the Tang army's breach of faith and attack, Li Yuan was required to pay double the annual tribute.

The princess didn't care at all and ate the roasted venison steak with great elegance.

Jieli smiled. Although he cursed the princess as a crazy woman in his heart, he still had to maintain a good relationship on the surface. This woman had been on the grassland for many years and had married four Khans of his father and son as Qatun. She had a strong influence on the grassland.

He needs her support, and although he won't revive Yang Sui for her sake, Yang Sui is still a good bargaining chip.

After wiping his mouth, Jieli asked Zhishi Sili, who was standing to the side.

"Where are the Tang troops now, especially Li Yi and Li Shimin?"

"Reporting to the Great Khan, Li Yi and Li Shimin previously met at Lingshi, then Li Shimin moved to Jiexiu, while Li Yi moved to Fenzhou."

Jieli seemed more relaxed upon hearing this, saying, "Fenzhou is 220 li from here, and Jiexiu is 260 li from here, which is still far."

Light cavalry can march 160 li in a day and night, but even a spent crossbow cannot penetrate silk.

"Great Khan, do not underestimate the enemy. Li Yi's tactics are unpredictable, and he is most skilled at surprise attacks. Li Shimin, on the other hand, is most skilled at pursuit."

Although the distance from Fenjie to Taiyuan is over two hundred li, it is flat and easy to launch a surprise attack; therefore, we must be wary.

Jieli, who had also studied Han military books, laughed loudly and said, "Princess, you are a woman and know nothing about military affairs. Sun Tzu's Art of War says, 'Therefore, when you are fully armored and rushing about, without stopping day or night, doubling your speed and speed, and fighting for advantage for a hundred li, you will capture the generals of the three armies; the strong will go first and the tired will come later, and this method will achieve one in ten.' May I ask, what is the meaning of this sentence?"

The princess put down the silver knife in her hand.
"This passage says that if soldiers remove their armor and march day and night at double speed for a hundred miles to gain an advantage, the strong soldiers will arrive first, while the exhausted soldiers will fall behind. In the end, only one-tenth of the entire army will reach the battlefield, which will result in a loss of fighting power and the capture of the entire army by the enemy."

"Yes, the princess's explanation is the same as that of the Han Chinese teacher who taught me Sun Tzu's Art of War." "To fight for profit from a hundred miles away is tantamount to courting death. Besides, I have an army of 100,000 here. If they come from a hundred miles away and are exhausted in the end, wouldn't they be like lambs to the slaughter?"

"Hahaha, I actually hope they take such a risk. If they can capture Li Shimin or Li Yi, or even just one of them, I will make Li Yuan cede Taiyuan to me."

Princess Yicheng picked up a silk handkerchief and wiped her lips. "If the Great Khan can truly capture any one of them, I urge him to execute them immediately."

Their value far exceeds that of the city of Taiyuan.

Jieli chuckled, “I need to make Li Yuan cede Taiyuan first, and then kill them. I can also keep that Li Yi and take him to the grasslands to herd horses. He’s so young, I can toughen him up for ten or eight years, and then marry him to my noble daughter Ashina, and give him a position in the south, like Li Ling of the Han Dynasty, hahaha.”

Princess Yicheng snorted coldly, got up and left.

Wenshui County, southwest of Bingzhou, is 160 li away from Taiyuan.

Li Yi's five thousand cavalry set off from here, heading towards Taiyuan. He planned to cover 160 li in a day and night, aiming to pierce the enemy's heart with his sword and tear out Jieli's heart.

Military advantage is dangerous; military competition is profitable.

Using military force to seek advantage has both dangerous and advantageous aspects.

Ordinary people rarely travel a hundred li, let alone a hundred and sixty li in a day and night.

Even if they reached the battlefield, their troops would be exhausted and in great danger.

But opportunities are hidden within danger.

For this surprise attack, Li Yi and Li Shimin boldly conceived, carefully planned, and actively prepared.

One person and three horses. Each person carried fried rice, dried meat and water, and the horses were also equipped with fine feed such as oats, black beans, millet and salt.

Five thousand men, charging straight into the heart of a hundred thousand.

This is putting oneself in a desperate situation to gain a chance of survival.

At this time, Jieli was at the height of his pride and arrogance, and the Tang Dynasty had taken the initiative to seek peace.

During the peace negotiations, he never imagined that the Tang army would attack.

Li Shimin and Li Yi shared the same idea: the Turks fought and negotiated every year, and the peace talks were worthless. In the eyes of the Turks, the so-called peace talks were not even good enough to wipe their own ass.

Therefore, the conventional approach cannot be used with the Turks.
As long as it can kill or inflict casualties on the enemy and hurt them, it is more effective than negotiating peace.

As for the Turkic retaliation...
If we don't hit him, will he stop harassing us?

Since he's going to invade whether we talk or not, whether we fight or not, then let's fight.

Moreover,

The message from Feng Deyi

They had no other choice.

If Li Shimin pulls off a major operation in Daibei, he will have more leverage when he returns to Chang'an, and may even gain more support, especially from military generals.

The crown prince was appointed commander of Hedong, but he was cowardly and incompetent, and fled eight hundred li in one breath.

Meanwhile, the King of Qin advanced triumphantly, marching from Longmen to Taiyuan, capturing and killing tens of thousands, and even striking deep into enemy territory.

Such a comparison makes the difference quite obvious.

This battle
Just like in the battle at Yunzhong City where Li Daoxuan fought, he charged straight into the enemy army of 50,000 with 5,000 cavalry.

the difference is,

Wang Junkuo, who was behind Li Daoxuan, deliberately put him in a deadly situation, and then led his troops away.

Behind Li Yi's 5,000 cavalry were Li Shimin's 20,000 elite infantry and cavalry, right behind him. He would never abandon the vanguard of 5,000 cavalry.

The autumn wind is blowing.

Five thousand cavalrymen headed north.

Li Yi dared not imagine the extent of the damage that would occur if all five thousand cavalry were wiped out.

Li Yi, Li Daoxuan, Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, Duan Zhixuan, Niu Jinda, Wu Heita, Qiu Xinggong.

Almost all of the generals of the Prince of Qin's mansion are here.

The most elite Xuanjia cavalry are all here.

If these 5,000 troops were lost, Li Shimin would lose the confidence to compete for the throne.

It got dark.
Take a break.

How far is it from Taiyuan?

"It is still sixty li away from Jinci, where Jieli was stationed."

Li Yi nodded. Sixty li, the last sixty li.

Under the cover of night, the Tang Dynasty launched its most ferocious counterattack.

Li Daoxuan walked over.

“Brother Wang, you stay here with your personal guards. I’ll lead the brothers to storm in, find that old bastard Jieli, and bring back his head.”

Li Yi chuckled as he chewed on some jerky, "What, you look down on me? Afraid I'll hold you back?"

Li Daoxuan chuckled, "I was just worried about something going wrong; we can't risk losing everything."

"Tonight's battle is a fight to the death. If I wanted to stay here, why did I come? I could have just stayed in Fenzhou."

"Tonight is a battle that will go down in history, how could I be absent?" Li Yi laughed loudly.

After finishing his jerky, Li Yi patted his behind and said, "Let's go, the historic moment has arrived!"

"From now on, every step we take will be the birth of a legend!"

(End of this chapter)