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

Chapter 612 Hongmen Banquet

Mayi

When Qin Shi Huang sent Meng Tian with an army of 300,000 to attack the Xiongnu in the north, he built a city here to raise horses, hence the name Mayi.

Emperor Wenxuan of Northern Qi, Gao Yang, moved the capital of Shuozhou to Mayi City and rebuilt the city.

Mayi City is nestled against mountains and beside water, with Hongtao Mountain to its back, Yanmen Pass to its south, and the Sanggan River and the Hui River to its left and right.

Although this city is not on the border, it is located south of Yunzhong and north of Ningyan. The land is flat and open, making it easy for enemy cavalry to roam. It is a strategic location in the three Yunzhong regions and a convenient meeting point for the two towns.

Ban Chao, Zhang Liao, Liu Wuzhou, and Yuchi Gong all came from Mayi.

Located between the Sanggan River to the north and the Hui River to the south, with the city walls only one mile apart, it is situated in the angle between the two rivers, making it convenient to obtain water and also advantageous for defense.

At this time of year, it is winter, and the river is frozen over, which leaves Mayi with two less lines of defense.

It was cold, and Ashina Simo was too lazy to go out, so he stayed in the Tutun Mansion in the city, drinking tea and warming himself by the fire.

This mansion was originally the residence of the Turkic nobles who were stationed to oversee Mayi, and the place was quite spacious.

When Yusheshe, Bulishe, and others were stationed in Mayi, they all stayed here.

"Jia Bi Special Service,"

A Turkic soldier brought in Yuan Junzheng's son, Yuan Xiaowu.
Yuan Xiaowu stepped forward, bowed, and presented the invitation.

"Special Agent, my father has recently taken a concubine. He is hosting a banquet tonight and would like to invite you to have a couple of drinks."

Simo accepted the invitation. "Okay, I'll be there tonight."

After the person left,

Simo tossed the invitation aside and sneered, "You still have the mood to hold a concubine-taking banquet at a time like this?"

The curtain fell,

Simo led a group of Turkic generals stationed in Mayi to the Grand Secretariat.

Winter is a time of nothing to do, and it can be quite boring.

Attending a banquet can help relieve boredom.

No one cared what the pretext of the banquet was.

Yuan Junzhang personally came to the door to greet them.
"The arrival of special agents is an honor to my humble abode. Please come in."

The mansion was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers.

Simo asked with a smile, "The concubine that the Grand Chancellor took today must be a beauty of unparalleled grace."

"I apologize for the plight of the special agents. I just had some free time, so I took a concubine."

Invite everyone to the hall, where drinks will be served.

Yuan Junzhang walked to the backyard,
"Uncle, Simo and the other Turkic leaders, big and small, have all arrived."

Yuan Pu stroked his beard and laughed, "Those Turkic thieves are used to being arrogant and have no defenses at all. We can wipe them out in one fell swoop tonight."

"Are your subordinates, who are allied with the Turks, ready?"

"Those who insist on submitting to the Turks are mainly Guo Ziwei from Yunzhong. I have already invited them all. In a moment, I will use the breaking of a cup as a signal to take them down along with Simo and the others."

"Li Sikong's troops?"

"Don't worry, this time it's Yuchi Gong who's coming, he's an old acquaintance of yours. He'll come to the city under the cover of darkness after nightfall."
When the time comes, you signal to open the city gates, and he will lead his army into the city.

When Yuan Junzhang heard that Yuchi Gong was leading troops, he nodded. The big, dark-skinned man used to be a blacksmith from Mayi. He was incredibly strong, but his ancestors were also border generals. Although they had fallen on hard times, he was still a skilled horseman.

He later became one of Liu Wuzhou's vanguard generals.
Back then, when they marched south to Hedong, Yuchi Gong and Song Jingang fought their way to the Yellow River.

On a snowy night,
The atmosphere was lively and bustling, with toasts and laughter filling the air.
Fire and roasting meat
The orchestra played various instruments, young courtesans sang songs, and dancers twirled and leaped.

clinking glasses and exchanging toasts

It’s not lively.

"Grand Master, quickly bring out your newly acquired beautiful concubine for everyone to see!"

Guo Ziwei, the Minister of War of the Grand Secretariat, said with a hint of alcohol in his voice, "This powerful man from Yunzhong married his sister to Bu Li as a concubine."

He was the one among his subordinates who most advocated submitting to the Turks.

"Okay, I'll go call him out right now." Yuan Junzhang held a wine glass in his hand, but it was filled with water. Tonight, he seemed to have drunk a lot of wine without refusing any drinks, but in fact, he had been drinking nothing but water.

Seeing that everyone had drunk enough, Yuan Junzhang went to the back.

"Xiaowu, that's about enough. You go open the gate and help Yuchi Gong enter the city."

Half an hour ago,

Yuan Xiaowu then personally went out of the city and found Yuchi Gong.

The Tang army has arrived as scheduled.

"it is good."

Yuan Xiaowu left quietly, somewhat excited.

Yuan Junzhang stood in the backyard, watching the snowflakes fall gently, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

He recalled that his general Gao Manzheng had previously advised him to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, but he refused. Taking advantage of his absence while he was leading troops to rescue Yunzhong, Gao Manzheng launched a mutiny in Mayi, killed his eldest son Xiaowen, seized Mayi, and surrendered to the Tang Dynasty.

If he still refuses to surrender to the Tang Dynasty
I'm afraid that if Li Yi were to persuade people to surrender outside the city, some people in the city would want to mutiny and surrender like Gao Manzheng. Then, it would be Yuan Junzhang and his entire Yuan family who would be killed.

If only I had known this would happen...

They should have surrendered when Gao Manzheng persuaded them.

It wouldn't have been a pointless loss of the eldest son, Xiaowen's, life.

Putting aside his thoughts, Yuan Junzhang forced a smile and headed towards the front yard.

Yuan Xiaowu quietly arrived at the South Gate with a group of personal guards, where trusted confidants had already been arranged in advance.

The north wind howled.

Heavy snow fell.

On this cold winter night, Yuan Xiaowen personally lit the signal.

Several fires were lit on the city wall.

Soon, flames also rose on the opposite bank of the Hui River to the south.

"Open the city gate."

Yuan Xiaowen gave the order.

The heavy gate was lifted, and the iron-clad wooden door was pushed open.

The drawbridge is lowered.

The city gate, the barbican gate, and the watchtower gate were opened in sequence.

On this somber night,
It opened its mouth wide.

quickly,

Sounds came from the frozen Hui River south of the city.
Yuan Xiaowu knew that it must be the sound of Yuchi Gong's troops stepping across the ice.

The Tang army has arrived.

There were no torches, no shouts of battle.

Yuchi Gong led his 5,000-strong vanguard, arriving silently. Yuan Xiaowu personally went to the city gate to greet them.
"General Yuchi, please."

Yuchi Gong looked at this familiar city. He had been wandering south for four years, and now he was back.

"Enter the city!"

Yuchi Gong swung his arm forcefully.

A light cavalry force of one hundred men was the first to enter the city.
Yuchi Gong led his army and waited outside the city gate.

A moment later, torches flickered on the city walls, barbican, and south gate, and the light cavalry that had entered the city first returned to normal.

A smile finally appeared on Yuchi Gong's face.

“I will lead the way for General Yuchi,” Yuan Xiaowu said.

"No need, I know Mayi City very well."

Five thousand Tang soldiers,

I entered Shuozhou on a snowy night.

East of Mayi City
The confluence of the Sanggan River and the Hui River,
Qin Shubao and Cheng Yaojin led 5,000 men and hid in the darkness.

The cold wind was like a knife.

The soldiers squatted silently in the snow, relying on each other for shelter from the wind.

Do not light a fire.

It also cannot provide lighting.

And so we waited quietly.

Niu Jinda chewed on the hard jerky, "I wonder how things are going with Lao Hei."

Cheng Yaojin was also chewing on dried meat, which not only helped him pass the time but also gave him some energy. "Old Hei is quite capable. Besides, he's from Mayi and used to be a vanguard general under Liu Wuzhou. This time, he's like returning to his maternal home."

"I'm worried about the Turks in the city."

"That barbarian Ashina Simo, and his bunch of barbarian followers?" Cheng Yaojin said disdainfully, "I heard that in the last Battle of Fanzhi, Wuyi sent Qin Wutong with a few thousand men, and they defeated Ashina Simo and Zhishi Yan's twenty thousand troops."

"What use is Ashina Sima?"

"Maybe Lao Hei will just trap them all in Mayi City and capture them."

Cheng Yaojin pulled his battle robe tighter.

That's what they said, but Li Yi arranged for them to lie in ambush here, so they had to squat down no matter how cold it was.

After all, Simo had ten thousand men under his command.

Even in the dead of night, catching ten thousand sheep wouldn't be so easy.

If Sima were to break out of the city, he would definitely have to pass through here.

"Tell the brothers to stay alert. If the Turks break through, we must hold them off and not let them escape."

A strong fortress is always easy to breach from within.

Although Mayi City is not very large, Yuan Junzhang had nearly 20,000 men under his command, plus the 10,000 Simo left behind by Jieli.

Taking over this city in the dead of winter will not be easy.

The best solution is to besiege them.

However, if the siege continues for a long time, the Turkic Khaganate, which is not far away, can send reinforcements at any time. A long-term siege would also put enormous logistical pressure on the Tang army.

Therefore,

Simo thought that staying in Mayi during this cold winter wouldn't be too difficult, at most just a bit boring.

But did not expect,

A deadly trap lurks beneath the surface.

Everyone was clamoring for Yuan Junzhang to bring out his newly acquired concubine for a visit.

Yuan Junzhang has come out.

But the woman following behind him wasn't a delicate beauty.
Instead, they were fully armed, clad in armor, and wielding swords, shields, spears, bows, and crossbows.

No need to smash a cup as a signal.

The soldiers surrounded them, shouting that they would be spared if they lay down on the ground.

Half-drunk, Guo Ziwei's eyes widened. "Grand Marshal, what are you doing?"

Yuan Junzhang was surrounded by a group of personal guards.

He stared coldly at Guo Ziwei, "I have already submitted to the Tang Dynasty. If you follow me to the Tang, you will still be rich and noble. If you don't know what's good for you, don't blame me for not remembering our past brotherhood."

Simo was so shocked that his scalp tingled.

The effects of the alcohol wore off instantly.

"Yuan Junzhang, how dare you betray the Turks!"

As soon as he finished speaking,
Yuan Pu, standing behind Yuan Junzhang, raised his hand and fired an arrow.
Simo was shot in the shoulder with an arrow, and blood flowed continuously.

Simo felt the pain, but also realized his predicament. "Grand Master, you must not make a mistake."

Yuan Junzhang's voice was as deep as iron: "Those who surrender on the ground will not be killed; those who resist will be executed on the spot!"

A group of Turkic generals surrounded Simo, and several of them drew their swords and charged forward, only to be shot dead on the spot by Yuan Junzhang's soldiers.

Seeing those Turkic generals who had just been drinking and laughing together die tragically before his eyes...
Simo's face turned deathly pale.

He was the great-grandson of the founding Khan of the Turkic Khaganate, a cousin of Qimin Khan, and a cousin of Shibi Khan, Chuluo Khan, and Jieli Khan.

Although he was just a junior officer
But he didn't want to die here.

Facing those crossbows,

Simo decisively raised his hand.
"Grand Commander, I surrender!"

With Simo leading the way, the remaining Turkic generals also surrendered one after another.

Most of these people were minor leaders of Sogdian, Xi, Qi, Tiele and other Turkic vassal tribes. They may have been courageous, but none of them wanted to die here in vain.

Guo Ziwei gritted his teeth.
But seeing that Yuan Junzhang had even killed Turkic generals, and realizing that there was no turning back once the arrow was released tonight, he surrendered as well.

Yuan Junzhang finally breathed a sigh of relief as he watched his guards quickly bring the guests to a close.

It went even more smoothly than expected.

The sound of thunderous hooves came from outside.
The Tang army entered the city.
The Tang army has surrounded the Grand Chancellor's residence.
The Tang army has entered the mansion.

Holding a horse spear, Yuchi Gong, led by Yuan Xiaowu, charged in with his soldiers, their killing intent palpable.

Yuan Junzhang quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"General Yuchi, Ashina Simo and other Turkic leaders, big and small, have all been captured."

Old Hei glanced around and saw Ashina Simo and the others who were already tied up. He recognized this Turkic special agent who didn't look like a Turk at all. He had seen him a few times before.

“Very good,” Old Hei nodded, summoned a captain and ordered him to lead troops to ‘assist’ in guarding the Grand Chancellor’s residence, while he himself turned and left to lead his troops to continue clearing out the Turkic troops in the city.

The four gates of Mayi have been closed.

The Turkic soldiers, who were all high and mighty yesterday, are now trapped and being beaten. Twenty thousand Northern Army soldiers and five thousand Tang soldiers joined forces to annihilate ten thousand Turkic soldiers.

There's nowhere to escape.
They fought behind closed doors, in the dead of night. Former allies suddenly became enemies. Many Turks were sent to meet their maker before they even understood what was happening.

(End of this chapter)