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

Chapter 618 Assassination
Upon hearing that the Council of State Affairs had approved Li Yi's land reclamation policy, Li Jiancheng immediately summoned Zheng Shanguo, the Left Vice Minister, Pei Shiju, the Right Vice Minister, Wang Gui, the Crown Prince's Attendant, Xu Shimo, the Crown Prince's Attendant, Tang Lin, the Right Guard Commander, as well as Xue Wanche, Feng Li, Yang Wengan, Li Anyan, and other military officers from the Eastern Palace.

The crown prince looked haggard, with dark circles under his eyes.

"Have you heard about it?" Jiancheng said listlessly.

"Is Your Highness referring to His Majesty's agreement to station troops and cultivate land in Daibei?" Wang Gui asked.

"Yes, that's the matter. I didn't expect His Majesty to change his mind so frequently. He had already issued an edict to disband the Hedong army and recall the Prince of Qin, but now he has rescinded the previous edict, allowing the Prince of Qin and his men to provoke another war against the Turks in Daibei."

We still need to station 60,000 troops in Daibei for a long period of time.

The rebellion in Jiangnan has not yet been quelled, and the Tuyuhun in Longyou are still invading. At this time, we finally managed to reach a peace agreement with the Turks, but the King of Qin deliberately provoked a border conflict; this shows he harbors treacherous intentions!

Zheng Yuanshan said, "The King of Qin must have known in advance that the court was going to summon him back to the capital to quell the rebellion in the south, which is why he was able to send troops out of the pass so conveniently."

Now that he has taken over Daibei, how could His Majesty so easily give up the two newly acquired prefectures of Yun and Shuo?

While the King of Qin used the pretext of eliminating the remnants of the previous dynasty to speak out again, the court could not accuse him.

But he was indeed creating border trouble and reigniting the war with the Turks.

The King of Qin harbors ill intentions; he merely wants to remain in Daibei, and even more so, to maintain control of the 100,000 troops in his camp.

Zheng Shanguo, having lived through several dynasties and half a lifetime in officialdom, saw through the essence of the matter at a glance. Although these judgments were only inferences, they were still quite accurate.

"How should we deal with this?" Li Jiancheng asked anxiously.

Zheng Shanguo had no good solution either; it was an open scheme, and there was no way to resolve it.

The King of Qin first repelled the Khan Jieli, then seized the two prefectures of Daibei and Yunshuo, and then launched an attack on the remnants of the Later Sui dynasty.

This series of actions was swift, especially since it was completed before the imperial edict to withdraw the troops.

The emperor was unwilling to give up Yunshuo.

Moreover, they dared not recall the King of Qin, who was focused on stabilizing the situation, while they were reopening the war with the Turks.

If the King of Qin is recalled, who should replace him?

Moreover, the Crown Prince's terrible performance two months ago is still fresh in everyone's mind.

Even if the King of Qin were recalled and only Li Yi were allowed to guard the area, the emperor would not feel at ease, let alone anyone else.

It's practically impossible to recall the King of Qin, at least not in the short term.

"Your Highness, the only way now is to find a way to make peace with the Turks. As long as the peace is reached, the war will stop, the border will be stable, and then the Prince of Qin will have no reason to stay in Daibei, and the Hedong Camp can be disbanded."

Even if Li Yi remains in Hedong at that time, he will only be the Grand General of Bingzhou.

"If we try another approach, such as replacing a few generals and governors in Daibei, we can gradually change the situation."

Li Jiancheng was somewhat disappointed.
"How can we negotiate peace under these circumstances? Li Yi and the King of Qin have been provoking us repeatedly, slapping Jieli in the face with every move. Last time, Jieli withdrew his troops directly, which was already cowardly enough."

Now Li Yi has seized Yunshuo and has even sent troops to Dingxiang.
If Jieli continues to back down, how can he command the various Turkic tribes? If he doesn't send troops, he might as well lose his position as Great Khan.

Jiancheng was somewhat irritable.

When Li Shimin was leading troops in the field, there were many things he couldn't do.

For example, the original plan was to send Li Shimin to Jiangnan to lead the quell rebellion after Li Shimin returned to the capital. Meanwhile, the Eastern Palace was to push for the abolition of the Grand Chancellor of Shaanxi East Circuit. Under the guise of abolishing the Grand Chancellor, they could either win over or send the Qin Prince's loyal civil and military officials to other posts.

We need to break them up.

But now Li Shimin has started a war with the Turks, and he can't even disband the Hedong camp. The Prince of Qin has 100,000 troops in Hedong and a large number of civil and military officials. Those people who follow him to make merits and get promoted will only become closer to the Prince of Qin.

Even while guarding Hedong, the Prince of Qin was able to deeply cultivate the land where the Tang Dynasty rose to power and win over the powerful clans and gentry of Hedong.

What worries Jiancheng most is that if the King of Qin manages to defend the northern border, or even if he defeats the Turks,
Li Shimin's personal prestige would then rise even higher, posing a greater threat to him.

However, he missed the battles of Luoyang and Hebei, and he also messed up the battle of Hedong.

In recent years, Li Shimin quelled Xue Ju and destroyed Wang Shichong, captured Dou Jiande and defeated Liu Wuzhou, while Li Jiancheng had no decent military achievements, pacified the Ji Hu in Weibei, and lured and killed 6,000 surrendered soldiers.
We must stop Li Shimin from achieving further military merits.
But he had no way.

"If all else fails, send someone to assassinate him. Once he's dead, there's nothing left to fight for," Xue Wanche suddenly said.

The room suddenly fell silent.

You can hear the needle drop.

Even Jiancheng was somewhat surprised. Although he was very angry with his brother, he had never thought of using assassination as a means.

"He is, after all, my own brother and has rendered great service to the country. If the assassination attempt is discovered in the future, how will His Majesty view me? How will the people of the world view me?"

It wasn't that Jiancheng was reluctant to let his brother die.

Rather, he didn't want to get his brothers' blood on him, didn't want his reputation to be damaged, and even less did he want to be punished by the emperor for it.

"We still need to prepare early. Humans may not have the heart to harm beasts, but beasts may have the intention to harm humans. Your Highness must be on guard. I suggest that we summon brave warriors from all directions and recruit rogue youths from Chang'an to serve as palace guards, stationed at the left and right Changlin Gates of the East Palace, and call them the Changlin Soldiers."

Xue Wanche's suggestion did indeed appeal to Li Jiancheng.

He had previously transferred a thousand Youzhou cavalrymen from Li Yi in Youzhou to Guanzhong. However, those heavy cavalrymen could not be stationed in Chang'an, much less be stationed at the Eastern Palace.

Therefore, they were stationed outside Chang'an and under the command of the Eastern Palace Guard.

In Chang'an, the soldiers of the Eastern Palace were mainly the attendants and guards of the Eastern Palace's Three Guards.

"I will find an opportunity to ask His Majesty for permission to recruit two thousand men to guard Changlin Gate. I believe His Majesty will not refuse."

Both the King of Qin and the King of Qi have their own six guards on the left and right, as well as their own personal and private guards. It's not unreasonable for me to recruit two thousand men to guard the Changlin Gate of the Eastern Palace.”

···
South of the Yangtze River, in Hongzhou.

Pacification Commissioner Li Daliang led his army to suppress the rebellion of Zhang Shan'an, the governor of Hongzhou. The two armies lined up across the water and talked to each other from afar.

"General Zhang, are you aware that not long ago, the Prince of Qin decisively defeated the Turks in Daibei? Khan Jieli was routed and fled back to the border, abandoning his golden wolf banner and armor, which were captured by our Tang army."

The King of Qin won a series of victories, not only recovering all of the territory within Yanmen Pass, but also reclaiming the two prefectures of Yun and Shuo outside the pass.

Yuan Junzhang has led the people and soldiers of Daibei to surrender the city. His Majesty has appointed him Duke of Rui and Minister of Civil Affairs of the Shaanxi Eastern Circuit.

"Now that the northern frontier has been pacified, His Majesty has ordered the Prince of Qin to return to his capital and appointed him as the Marshal of the Jiangzhou Road Expeditionary Army. He will soon lead the victorious northern expeditionary force south."
Steward Zhang, are you still going to put up a stubborn resistance?
Do you think you have more troops and greater strength than the Turkic Khaganate, and that your subordinates are more elite than the Turkic cavalry?
Why not follow Yuan Junzhang's example and surrender early, while still retaining wealth and status?

Zhang Shan'an stood at the bow of the boat.
Hearing these words, he felt uneasy. He was from Yanzhou, Henan, and came from a fishing family on the shore of Weishan Lake. He had gathered a group of thieves and wandered around Huainan. Later, he incorporated the remnants of Meng Rang's troops, crossed the river and joined Lin Shihong in Jiangxi. However, due to suspicion, he fought with Lin Shihong.

He later surrendered to the Tang Dynasty and was appointed as the governor of Hongzhou, but he soon rebelled again. He accepted the appointment from Fu Gongshi and was appointed as the Grand Administrator of the Southwest Circuit, joining forces to resist the Tang Dynasty.

Previously, he had also assassinated Zhou Faming, the governor of Huangzhou.

But now he has also heard news from the north that after the King of Qin succeeded the Crown Prince in commanding the army, he and Li Yi decisively defeated the Turks in Hedong.

He was skeptical, but Li Daliang's words now made him think it was quite possible. If Li Shimin were to march south to take command,
Then he's really doomed.

During this period, although he and Fu Gongshi had both blocked the Tang army's attack, they were powerless to counterattack. If this continued, they would definitely be the first to give out.

We're here today for a meeting and discussion.
In fact, he also had thoughts of surrendering.

Since they were originally bandits, it's normal for them to surrender when they can't win, but it's also common for them to rebel again when given the chance.

"Lord Li,
Shan'an originally had no intention of rebelling; he was misled by his subordinates. Now he wants to surrender but fears the court will not grant him a pardon.

Li Daliang looked at the burly traitorous general and reassured him, "Since General Zhang has the will to surrender, it's not too late to turn back before it's too late."

I was ordered to pacify Jiangxi. As long as Steward Zhang is willing to turn back, we'll be family.

After Li Daliang finished speaking,
They even crossed the river directly in a small boat.
He came to Zhang Shan'an's position alone.

Zhang Shan'an had not expected that this Duke of Wuyang would be so bold, and he admired him greatly, so he went forward to greet him.

Li Daliang held Zhang Shan'an's hand and talked to him warmly, trying his best to appease him and persuade him to lead his troops to surrender.

"The court will certainly forgive and forget. Look at Yuan Junzhang, when he surrendered, didn't the court bestow upon him the title of Duke of Rui and Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs?"

Zhang Shan'an smiled and said, "I don't crave the high-ranking official positions and generous rewards from the court. I just hope to stay in Hongzhou as the governor and serve the court."

"Steward Zhang's desire to serve the country is certainly beyond question."

Zhang Shan'an then smiled and agreed to submit to the imperial court.

"Lord Li, did the Prince of Qin really achieve a great victory over the Turkic Khaganate in the Daibei region?"

"How could that be false? After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Prince of Qin and the Prince of Wu'an were ordered to leave the capital and head north. You know the Prince of Wu'an, right? He is the same Li Yi who previously pacified Shannan."

“I know, I know, how could he not know? When he came to Shannan, he swept through Shannan. In a short time, he pacified dozens of prefectures in Shannan. He was truly an extraordinary figure.” Zhang Shan’an nodded repeatedly.

Li Daliang laughed and said, "Yes, when Li Sikong went north to Fenzhou, he only had 6,000 infantry and cavalry. In one day, he fought across a hundred miles and annihilated two Turkic tribes with a total of 8,000 men. Moreover, he annihilated them all."

Subsequently, the King of Qin annihilated 12,000 Turkic troops who had marched south in Jinzhou.

Immediately afterwards, Li Sikong led five thousand elite cavalry on a forced march of one hundred and sixty li in a day and night, launching a night raid on Jieli's camp, defeating him in one fell swoop, seizing their golden wolf banner, golden wolf helmet, and golden wolf tent, and even capturing his queen, the Turkic Khatun…

Li Daliang learned all of this from the imperial gazette, and when he first saw the news, he clapped and cheered excitedly.

Even now, when Zhang Shan'an and the others talk about it, there's no need to embellish it; it still leaves Zhang Shan'an and the other rebel generals from Jiangxi completely astonished.

Five thousand men marched 160 miles away, stormed into a camp of 100,000 Turks, routed a 20,000-strong army, and nearly captured Jieli alive.

Meanwhile, Jieli led 150,000 men south to invade, but they were defeated by King Qin and Li Yi and fled back to the border. Their attempts to make peace were rejected by King Qin.

"I have some confidential information to tell you."
"The Prince of Wu'an has not only recovered Yunshuo, but is also launching an attack on Jieli's Dingxiang Khanate. Perhaps it won't be long before we hear news of Jieli Khan's capture and execution."

"hiss!"

Zhang Shan'an gasped in shock, utterly horrified.

Li Yi and Li Shimin, these two together, are they already so brave? Even Jieli was beaten like this.

Surrendering would be a wise move.

No wonder Yuan Junzhang, who had the Turks as his backer, still surrendered; he was probably frightened by this battle.

Shortly after,
Zhang Shanhou then led a group of personal guards to escort Li Daliang back to the Tang camp on the other side of the river.

Entering the Tang camp,

Li Daliang took Zhang Shan'an's hand and led him into the central command tent, where they began to discuss the matters following the surrender.

"The troops of Hongji and the five prefectures must be reorganized immediately. The old and weak should be dismissed, and the elite should be selected and reorganized with the imperial troops. They will then march south down the Yangtze River to assist the Prince of Hejian and the Duke of Yongkang in suppressing the rebellion of Fu Gongshi."

Zhang Shan'an did not expect that Li Daliang would reorganize his troops so quickly, and even transfer them to quell the rebellion.

He looked troubled. He had rebelled back then because the court wanted to transfer him to the capital, but he refused.

"Lord Li,
You just promised me you'd continue as the governor of Hongzhou.

Li Daliang poured him a cup of tea. "General Manager Zhang, don't be anxious. Of course, I, Li Daliang, keep my word. You are still the General Manager of Hongzhou, and the Military Governor of Hongji and the other five prefectures."

But this doesn't prevent the reorganization of troops and the elimination of the old and weak.

The rebellion of Fu Gongshi downstream must be quelled as soon as possible. Troops from various towns along the Yangtze and Huai Rivers have been drawn upon, and the troops of the Hongzhou General's Office are no exception.

“Chief Steward Zhang, you are now an official of the imperial court, and this Jiangzhou Chief Steward’s Office is also the chief steward’s office of the imperial court. You need to change your mindset.”

Zhang Shan'an's expression was rather unpleasant.

That being said, who would be willing to relinquish their power so quickly?

“What Lord Li says is true. I will go back and reorganize the troops right away.”

Li Daliang laughed and said, "Chief Steward Zhang can stay here with me. The reorganization of the troops can be left to others."
After the troops were reorganized, General Zhang accompanied me to lead the troops down the river.

Zhang Shan'an's face instantly turned ashen.

He got up to leave.
Li Daliang put down his teacup.
The guards at the gate blocked Zhang Shan'an's way.

“Master Li?” Zhang Shan’an turned his head with a livid face.

"Chief Steward Zhang, you are now an official of the imperial court, and you must obey the imperial court's orders. Are you going to disobey the orders?"

Zhang Shan'an looked at Li Daliang's personal guard, who had already drawn his sword halfway out of its sheath.

He had no choice but to grit his teeth, turn around, and sit back down.

Li Daliang sent someone to Zhang Shan'an's camp to deliver an order that Zhang Shan'an had surrendered to the imperial court and was staying in the Tang camp. The next step was to reorganize the troops in Hongzhou.

Upon hearing the news, his subordinate officers believed that the imperial court had detained Zhang Shan'an, and some became agitated, with some even shouting for troops to be sent to rescue Zhang Shan'an.

"Gentlemen, Ambassador Li said that it was not that General Zhang was detained, but that General Zhang was loyal to the court and said that if he returned to the camp, some generals would not surrender and he would be coerced and controlled. Therefore, he stayed in the Tang camp."

Naturally, some people didn't believe this, but others felt that since Zhang Shan'an was already being held in the Tang camp, there was no point in saying anything more now, and it would be better for him to surrender to the Tang army.

As a result, the two factions started fighting amongst themselves first.

Li Daliang seized the opportunity to send troops.
Zhang Shan'an's troops collapsed, and many who refused to surrender fled. The majority of the rest surrendered directly, and Li Daliang accepted their surrender and pardoned them all.

"Report the victory to the Emperor in Chang'an! Jiangnan and Xi have been pacified!"

(End of this chapter)