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

Chapter 616 The Emperor's Dilemma

Snow and wind were blowing.

The red flag fluttered in the wind and snow.

Yuchi Gong looked at the pass before him. If Yuan Junzhang hadn't surrendered, causing the pass to fall into the hands of the Tang army, it wouldn't have been easy to pass through.

The imposing pass before him was the important gateway to the Dingxiang Khanate, the White Wolf Pass.

"The Northern Dynasties called it Canghe Pass, and the road passes through it. It is also called Canhe Pass. There are several rivers in this place, the rivers are relatively large, the vegetation is abundant, and wild geese and cranes often migrate and stay here."

The Turks were powerful, and the Khanate moved south to the foot of the Yin Mountains.
This pass is also known as Bailang Pass, and a white wolf banner is often hung on the pass.

In recent years, whenever the Turks invaded, their main force would pass through this area.

Yuchi Gong was from Shuozhou and was very familiar with this pass. When he was young, he followed a caravan westward through this pass to do business on the Hetao grassland.

He had traded cattle and horses, and also sold needles and thread.

When the Sui Dynasty was still powerful, there were no white wolf flags on this pass. At that time, the Sui army heavily guarded this place, and the Turks did not dare to act recklessly.

The area was bustling with activity, and the soldiers guarding the pass were rolling in money just from taking bribes from passing merchants.

White Wolf Pass in the wind and snow
The terrain is rugged, bordered by Tangzi Mountain to the east, Dabao Mountain to the west, and Leigong Mountain and Miaotou Mountain to the north. The Great Wall extends from the northeast to the southwest, forming a semi-circular wall that encloses Bailang Pass.

The mountains on the east and west sides are steep cliffs, and the Cangtou River flows through them from south to north.

This formed a natural barrier that was sixty or seventy zhang wide and six or seven li long.

The earthen fortress, built during the Kaihuang era of the Sui Dynasty, was two li in circumference and three zhang and five zhang high. During the Daye era, a new fortress was built. Later, a wall was built between the two fortresses, with the gates on the east and west sides, merging the two fortresses into one. It had four gates in the front and back, and a circumference of five hundred and forty zhang.

The old and new forts stand side by side, with the northern side leading to the border. They are equipped with gates and are connected to the fortified city wall of the Great Wall, making the location strategically important.

Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, Liu Wuzhou and Yuan Junzhang successively controlled Daibei, but both were subordinate to the Turks. The area was effectively under Turkic control, becoming an important border city center. The Turks even sent people here to collect taxes.

Tariffs are worth a fortune.

Yuchi Gong had traveled here many times and paid a considerable amount of taxes.

Now that I'm back
He was already the governor of Shuozhou, and now he was leading a thousand cavalrymen to attack the Turks at the western pass.

"Why hasn't the White Wolf Flag been changed yet?"

Take it down immediately and replace it with the red flag of my Great Tang Dynasty.

Also, from now on, don't call this place White Wolf Pass; keep it as Azure Crane Pass or Canhe Pass.

Liang Jianfang, one of his subordinates, laughed and said, "Since we're going out of the pass to kill the Hu, why don't we just call it Kill the Hu Pass?"

"Kill the Hu people at the mouth."

Nice name.

"Leave the pass and slaughter the barbarians!"

Li Yi's mission for them this time was to go beyond the Great Wall, enter the outer perimeter of the Turkic Khanate, circle around, and then return.

Liang Jianfang was then appointed as the garrison commander of Canhe Pass.

Li Yi dispatched a total of 5,000 cavalrymen out of the pass, commanded by the five generals who had previously raided Jinci: Qin Shubao, Luo Shixin, Yuchi Gong, Cheng Yaojin, and Duan Zhixuan.

Sending out such top-tier Five Tiger Generals of the Qin Prince's Mansion

Also, they were afraid of capsizing in a ditch.

After all, it was over 400 li from Mayi to Dingxiang Khan's court, and it was the dead of winter with heavy snow. Several thousand men had run deep into the enemy's heartland.
If things go wrong, there's no going back.

With the Five Tiger Generals, they would certainly be more confident.

It requires both deterring and provoking the Turks and being able to return safely; not everyone has that ability.

A thousand horsemen marched out of the pass.

Everyone has two horses.

Black armor, white robe.

The cold wind was biting.

But the soldiers who came out of the pass were all filled with excitement.

Even if the mission wasn't a real raid on the Dingxiang Khanate, the possibility of venturing deep into the heart of the Turkic territory would still be exciting for the soldiers.

In recent years, the northern frontier has been like a sieve, with the Turks coming and going as they please, which every Tang soldier deeply regrets.

right now,

They have passed through customs.

Along the way, they followed Li Sikong, passing through Sparrow Valley, Stone Ridge Pass, and Yanmen Pass, and now they have passed through White Wolf Pass.

Blood debts must be repaid with blood.

They were among the first Tang cavalry to cross the border.

After crossing the pass, one would be faced with a small village outside the pass. This was a place where Turks would come south to trade and rest, and where Sogdian merchants would also buy cattle, sheep and horses, and store furs and medicinal materials.

The small stopper wasn't large, and there weren't many merchants around in the cold winter. It was surrounded by a wooden fence, inside which were some wooden houses, shops, and warehouses.

In the wind and snow,
Lonely and desolate.

Yuchi Gong led a thousand cavalrymen to attack and surrounded them on all sides.

The silence was broken by the hoofbeats.

A group of Sogdians and Turks were awakened and ran out to see cavalry kicking up countless snow clouds.

I haven't had time to figure out what happened yet.

Then many arrows flew over.

A Sogdian merchant screamed, fell to the ground after being shot by an arrow, and died without ever understanding what had happened.

The foreign merchants nearby scattered in panic.

Tang Qi had already leaped over the wooden fence and jumped into the small village.

There was no attempt to persuade them to surrender.

Only cold and ruthless attacks.

Moments later, the village was destroyed.
They killed seven or eight people and captured more than thirty.

Yuchi Gong left behind a group of cavalrymen to escort the prisoners back to Canhekou, and ordered the fortress to send people to transport away the goods from the village.

After resting for a while in the village,
Continue north.

Mayi City
After Li Yi and Li Shimin dispatched five thousand cavalry...

They've been holed up in the city all winter.

The 30,000 troops that left the pass were also stationed in various places: 5,000 in Yunzhong City, 3,000 in Yingzhou, and 5,000 in Shuozhou. In addition, troops were also stationed at various passes and fortresses.

"To be honest, I'm quite worried about sending out five thousand elite cavalry in one fell swoop." Li Shimin wrote a memorial to the emperor, explaining in detail the current 'battle situation' in Daibei.

Li Yi was also writing a letter nearby.
He wrote to his wives, concubines, and children, saying that he might not be able to go home for the New Year reunion, as he had promised to return to the capital before the New Year, but he was going to break his promise.

He could understand Li Shimin's concerns.

After all, these five thousand cavalrymen were the Qin King's elite direct troops, not to mention his generals, who were all his trusted confidants. If there were even the slightest loss, Li Shimin would be heartbroken.

"No news is good news. These are all seasoned generals who have been through countless battles. It will be very difficult for them to take down Jieli."

But simply having them cause some trouble outside the Khan's court is not a difficult task.

I believe they can stir up trouble in the Khan's court and then escape unscathed.

In any case, several thousand troops were already stationed at Canhe Pass, so they would be safe once they retreated to the pass.

Those who crossed the pass were all cavalry.
There's no need to worry about being surrounded by Turkic cavalry.

"How do you think His Majesty will react?" Li Shimin asked.

Although they came up with this strategy to drag the Turks into the mess, it was uncertain whether the emperor would grant their wish.

"Even if His Majesty is truly determined to negotiate peace and insists on summoning the King back to the capital, we will simply ignore it," Li Yi said with a smile.

There is an alarm on the border.

If a general guards the border and doesn't return, will the emperor really send someone to kidnap him?

He really dares to do that.

Aren't we afraid that the Turks will break through the pass again, and then Hedong will be out of control once more?
There are precedents for this.

In the summer, Li Yi and Liu Shi had finally managed to repel the Turks, and even ambushed them at Huanghualing, capturing and killing tens of thousands.

At a time when the situation was very favorable,
The Crown Prince went north.

They managed to cause a mutiny among the soldiers, then executed the meritorious official Liu Shirang and banished Li Yi and Li Daoxuan back to the capital.
As a result, Khagan Jieli launched a surprise attack.
From Mayi to Jinzhou

The Turks marched straight in for a thousand miles.

The Tang Dynasty suffered heavy losses, and even Chang'an was in danger.

Only a few months have passed.

Would Li Yuan dare to do it again?
Changan.

Inside the Taiji Palace, Li Yuan frowned as he looked at the urgent report sent back from Daibei.

The wrinkles on the old woman's face had increased.

"Your Majesty, what is troubling you so much?"

Zhang Jieyu came in carrying a box of tangerines from Jiangnan, and snuggled up to her in a charming manner.

Li Yuan put down the memorial in his hand and grabbed a handful of Zhang Jieyu's voluptuous body.

"With the borders in turmoil, how can I not be worried?"

"Your Majesty, I will peel an orange for you. This is a honey orange from Jiangnan West. It is as sweet as honey. Your Majesty will forget your worries after eating two."

The tangerines from Nanfeng, Fuzhou are indeed delicious.

Li Yuan was fed several oranges by Consort Zhang. "Jiulang likes to eat oranges, did you save some for him?" Li Yuan asked with a smile. His ninth son, Prince Zhou, Li Yuanfang, was born to him and Consort Zhang. Last year, all five of his sons were simultaneously enfeoffed as princes.

"I saved some for Jiulang, but I didn't dare give him too much, in case he coughs."

After chatting with Zhang Jieyu for a while, Li Yuan told her to go back.
I still have to face that mess of things with a headache.

Although he had enjoyed the Nanfeng tangerines of Fuzhou in Jiangnan, Zhang Shan'an, who occupied five prefectures including Hongji, still rebelled against the court and had recently killed Zhang Faming, the governor of Huangzhou.

Li Daliang is now in charge of attacking Zhang Shan'an and restoring Jiangnanxi, but there has been no progress yet.

The battle between Li Xiaogong and Li Jing against Fu Gongshi remains deadlocked.

Li Yuan was so eager to personally lead an expedition against the Jianghuai region.
Originally, it seemed that Hedong was stabilized, and Shimin could be transferred south. This would allow Erlang to quickly quell the rebellion in Jiangnan, and Erlang could also be placed in Jianghuai to guard the area, thus preventing the brothers from fighting each other. Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?

But now the fighting has started again in Daibei.

Shimin and Wuyi led their troops out of the pass and surprisingly persuaded Yuan Junzhang to surrender, thus recovering Yunshuo.

Now, they have even sent troops to Canhekou to attack and eliminate the remnants of the previous dynasty, including Yang Zhengdao.

Li Yuan couldn't reprimand them yet.
Because when they led their troops out of the pass, it was before his imperial edict arrived in Taiyuan.

Before Li Yuan's edict for peace talks and troop withdrawal arrived, Erlang and Wuyi had already broken through the pass.

It was such a coincidence.

Yuan Junzhang had never surrendered before, but this time he surrendered directly, and the entire Daibei Yunshuo region offered no resistance.

Even the 10,000 troops of Ashina Simo that Jieli left in Mayi were wiped out.

Another great victory.

For the first time, the Daibei Yunshuo region was captured.

They also beheaded over a thousand Turks and captured nine thousand.

But Li Yuan was not happy.

Having seized the Yunshuo region, Jieli was not about to give up easily.

After a peace treaty was reached with the Turks in the summer and Jieli withdrew his troops, it was because Li Yi persuaded Gao Manzheng of Mayi to surrender that a mutiny occurred, and Mayi was seized and surrendered. This led Yuan Junzhang and Bu Lishe to lead an army of 50,000 south.

Li Yi ambushed and killed tens of thousands at Huanghualing, which led Jieli to lead an army of 150,000 south again. He also gathered 100,000 troops on the western route and even broke through Dazhen Pass in Longzhou.

Now that Jieli has withdrawn his troops, a peace agreement is on the horizon.

The fighting has started again.

It's never going to end.

Both times, the incidents revolved around Mayi, and both were instigated by Li Yi.

Li Yuan was very troubled.

Some say Li Yi disregarded the overall situation and defied orders, yet he was also a formidable fighter, repeatedly achieving great feats and defeating the Turks time and again.

Moreover, Li Yuan really didn't want to give up Shuozhou and Yunzhou, which he had finally managed to acquire.

But if they did that, they would have to fight the Turks again in Daibei.

With Erlang and Li Yi around, Li Yuan wasn't too worried about the war, but this meant his plans had to change again.

He is in a difficult position now.

I don't feel at ease letting Erlang continue to lead the troops in Daibei.

If Erlang Shen really did employ a decapitation strike tactic similar to the surprise attack on Jinci, launching a surprise attack on Dingxiang and capturing and killing Jieli,
At that point, Erlang's prestige will truly be uncontrollable.

If Erlang were to fail in his daring attempt, Li Yuan would also be unable to bear the consequences.

At this point, if Erlang were to continue quelling the rebellion in Jiangnan, he would worry that Li Yi alone in Daibei would not be able to hold out.

It's a dilemma.

The crown prince was given many opportunities to lead troops, but he was useless.

But this Erlang, every time he goes into battle, manages to achieve great success.

What are we going to do if this continues?
Li Yuan sat alone in the hall and let out a long sigh!
(End of this chapter)