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

Chapter 812 The sword is still young

"An army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one."

“We are not old yet, we can still wield swords and ride horses, and we can still fight. The Tuyuhun are just bandits, how can we make peace with them through marriage?”

Not all the men of my Great Tang Dynasty have died, and certainly not all the soldiers have.

At Li Yi's residence, the other members of the ten sworn brothers from Guzhou, who had all come to the capital at the end of the year, gathered together at their old brother's house.

They said they were getting together to catch up and reminisce.

But after a few words, the second brother, Qin Shubao, couldn't help but slam his fist on the table.

"Second Brother, don't get agitated," Luo Shixin reassured him. "Have some tea. Wuyi is an old brother of ours. We brothers can speak our minds freely, there's no need to hold back."

"Let's not worry about whether Wu Yi is one of the Three Dukes or a prime minister; today we're just a group of old brothers catching up and chatting."

This short, thin young man was a fierce general who could defeat ten thousand men.

Ten years ago, at the age of fourteen, he was just Zhang Xutuo's servant.

He requested to fight, wearing two layers of armor, and became famous in one battle. He fought for ten years afterward, and now at the age of twenty-four, he is already a duke.

He was just appointed by the imperial court as the governor of Luozhou, succeeding Qu Tutong.

Six months ago, Luo Shixin was appointed to a critical post in Hexi to replace Yuwen Shiji and take charge of Liangzhou. Not long ago, Li Jing pacified Shuofang and was transferred to the position of Governor of Liangzhou, while Luo Shixin returned to the capital.

after come back,
Luo Shixin was quite unconvinced.

He was previously the governor of Jinzhou in Hedong. He was transferred to Liangzhou in Hexi. Although he was only there for a short time, he believed that he had figured out the situation there. He also fought several battles with Tuyuhun on the border and won.

When the imperial court decided to attack Tuyuhun, he wholeheartedly agreed and even volunteered to be its commander.

"The Tuyuhun are like wolves, even more unruly than the Turks. They must be subdued by force. If marriage alliances were effective, why didn't the Sui Dynasty marry a princess to the Tuyuhun? What was the point?" Duke Cheng Yaojin of Suguo said bluntly.

“We have to fight those wolf cubs. Second Brother is right. Isn’t this the time to put our troops to use?”

Cheng Yaojin, the Right General of the Martial Guard, Left Guard of the Crown Prince, and Duke of Su, also received a new appointment: to be the Military Governor of Luzhou, Rongzhou, and Rongzhou.

Cheng Yaojin was not happy with this appointment.

It wasn't that he longed for the prosperity of Chang'an and Luoyang, but rather that he felt Rongzhou was too remote and he preferred to go to Longyou and Hexi to fight the Tuyuhun people.

Li Yi looked at the nine generals of Wagang.
He smiled and poured them tea.

General Niu Jinda of the Right Guard bluntly said, "Let's drink, this tea is too weak."

"Alright, let's drink." Li Yi called over Li Enze and asked him to fetch some good wine. "Bring me my treasured wine."

"Wu Yi, why did the court suddenly transfer me to Shu to be the governor of Luzhou? I don't even know where Luzhou is. What am I going to do in that barbarian land?" Old Cheng complained.

"Luzhou is indeed a bit far. During the Western Han Dynasty, the Jiangyang Marquisate was established, and Emperor Wu of Liang in the Southern Dynasties established Luzhou. Although this place is remote, its location is important."

A crucial hub connecting Yizhou to the south.

During the reign of Emperor Renshou of the previous dynasty, the Luzhou General Administration was established. In the third year of the Daye era, it was renamed Luchuan Prefecture.

This area is located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, where the Tuo River and Chishui River converge, making it an important waterway and land passage connecting the Sichuan Basin and the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau.

Since the Han and Wei dynasties,

The southwest, especially the central and southern regions, was practically a state of separatism and independence.

After the Sui Dynasty unified the country, it re-entered the southern region, but it also fought many battles with the local Cuan clan. In the end, it captured the Cuan clan leader and brought him to Chang'an as a slave. The Cuan clan outwardly submitted, but in reality, they remained relatively independent.

The southwest was also almost entirely under a system of appeasement and control.

Once the Daye Dynasty fell into chaos, it was like a kite with a broken string.

After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, although the sons of the Cuan clan were released back to the south and were even granted titles such as governor and prefect, control over the Cuan clan remained weak.

The continuous rebellions by the Liao and Man tribes in the southwest have never stopped.

There is a mountain called Tieshan in Luzhou, where the Liaoman tribe is located. They are quite powerful and are called Tieshan Barbarians by the imperial court. They have never submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

Now, the Tieshan barbarians are no longer just defying the king's rule in Tieshan, but have begun to attack the surrounding areas and even plunder roads.

The Tieshan barbarians have already threatened the Tang Dynasty's rule in the Shu region.

Next year, there will be another famine in the Guanzhong Plain and Central Plains, and we are still hoping that Sichuan and Chongqing can transport grain down the river to provide some support.

At such a time, the Shu region must not be allowed to descend into chaos.

Although Dou Gui was somewhat cruel in the past, his ruthless methods were enough to intimidate the barbarians.

However, after Dou Gui was recalled to the capital for killing Wei Yunqi, Wei Ting, Guo Xingfang, and others,

Former Prime Minister Gao Shilian went to take over as Chief Secretary of the Grand General's Office, while Li Shimin's son, the Prince of Shu, who was quite old, held the position of Grand General remotely.

Although Gao Shilian had served as an official in Jiaozhi and even commanded troops to defeat the invasion of Ning Changzhen of Qinzhou in Lingnan.

However, the situation in Sichuan is also quite complex.
He was ultimately a civil official, and the Tieshan barbarians were far from Yizhou, so the situation became somewhat out of control.

After discussing the matter with his ministers, the emperor...

It was Li Yi who recommended Cheng Yaojin, the Right General of the Martial Guard, to go to Luzhou to take charge.

Old Cheng was a good soldier. Although he wasn't a military genius like Li Jing or Li Ji, he was more than capable of guarding a region and serving as a governor.

Old Cheng was experienced in combat and could be ruthless when necessary. Also transferred to the southwest was his old partner, General Niu Jinda of the Right Guard, whose new appointment was Governor of Songzhou.

Luzhou, where Lao Cheng lives, is in the north and one is in the south.

Niu Jinda was sent to guard against the Qiang and Di tribes, as well as the Tuyuhun and Tubo. Songzhou was an important passage from Yizhou to western Sichuan.

I picked a jar of persimmon liquor.

Li Yi poured wine for his brothers.

"Brother Yaojin, don't look down on Luzhou for being remote. You'll be fighting right there. Besides, the imperial court will give you special privileges."

You can fight the Tieshan barbarians without hesitation; the imperial court trusts your abilities.

If you're capable, it would be best if you could uproot the Tieshan barbarians completely.
The Council of State Affairs even allowed you to enslave all those captured Iron Mountain rebels.

"The soldiers will certainly receive a substantial reward for capturing prisoners."

These words surprised Lao Cheng.

"The Iron Mountain Barbarians are also called the Iron Mountain Raiders. Do you know why they are called that?"

Old Cheng shook his head.

"Because the mountain where they live is called Tieshan (Iron Mountain), which got its name from the iron it produces."

The imperial court's decision to send Cheng Yaojin to Luzhou was not merely to suppress the Tieshan Liao rebellion, but to deliver a devastating blow to this unruly and active group that had been active since the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
Defeat those barbarian tribes, capture them as slaves, sell them in Shu for money, buy grain and transport it to the Central Plains, or develop the iron mines of Tieshan, turning the Tieshan barbarians into Tieshan mine slaves to mine copper and iron for the imperial court.

The Tieshan area has been renowned for its thriving iron smelting industry since the Han Dynasty. Even Zhuge Liang, at the end of the Han Dynasty, established an ironworks there.

The Eastern Jin Dynasty also established Yeguan County here to specifically manage iron smelting production in the Tieshan area. This administrative system continued until the Northern Zhou Dynasty.
It was later abolished due to the rebellion of the Tieshan Liao people. It can be said that from that time onwards, the rich land of Tieshan was occupied and controlled by the Liao barbarians.

The central government suffered enormous losses.

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, everything was in ruins and needed to be rebuilt. Money was scarce everywhere, and iron was also in short supply.

The Tieshan Liao are now in serious rebellion again.
The imperial court was determined to punish them severely and, incidentally, restore the iron smelting industry in Tieshan, turning it into a treasure trove and a money tree.

"In the second year of the Baoding era of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, the Tieshan Liao Rebellion broke out due to a conflict between the control of the mining and metallurgical resources of Tieshan and the imperial court. They cut off the shipping and post road transportation on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in an attempt to resist the imperial court and seize the profits from the mining and metallurgical resources of Tieshan."

At that time, Lu Teng, the governor of Longzhou, adopted a surprise attack tactic, successively conquering three strongholds of the Liao people, killing their leaders, capturing more than 3,000 people, and recruiting 30,000 households to surrender.

However, the Liao and Man rebellion later escalated and eventually spiraled out of control.

It has been more than sixty years since then.

The Tieshan Liao people are now numerous, numbering over 100,000 households in Tieshan and its surrounding areas.

The leader of the Tieshan barbarians even called himself king for generations.

Your mission to Tieshan this time is very important. Can you defeat the Tieshan Liao?
If that doesn't work, I'll speak to His Majesty on your behalf and ask for a different general.

Old Cheng didn't know anything about Luzhou and Tieshan Liao. He originally just thought it was too remote and didn't want to go, but he didn't expect this situation. He blushed and said, "These mere Liao barbarians, I, Old Cheng, have been fighting for more than ten years. Would I be afraid?"
Let alone tens of thousands of households, I wouldn't be afraid even if it were a million households.

I've taken on the role of Governor of Luzhou.

I, Lao Cheng, am making this clear today: if I don't capture 100,000 barbarian tribes and enslave them, I won't be considered a capable person.

As for the Iron Mountain mine and metallurgy, I guarantee that the imperial court will regain control and restore it.

Li Yi's provocation tactic was very successful.
He smiled and said, "Sending you to govern Luzhou and suppress the Tieshan Liao tribe is not only to deal with this Liao barbarian force in the southwest that has been independent and separatist for over a hundred years, but also..."

They still needed to generate revenue for the imperial court and raise grain for disaster relief.

So fighting is only the most basic thing; the key is that you have to be able to get grain from the southwest and then transport it down the river to the Central Plains.

The imperial court is now extremely poor.
All I can give you is an army, but after entering Sichuan, you'll have to solve all the problems related to military expenses, rewards, and compensation yourself.
You must not only capture Tieshan and subdue the Tieshan bandits, but also become self-sufficient and even supply grain to the imperial court.
Can it be done? "

Old Cheng frowned; this task was indeed not simple, but he still nodded in agreement in the end.

"I, Lao Cheng, have never been afraid of hardship or complained. Wang Shichong, Liu Wuzhou, Dou Jiande, Jieli Khan, and all those..."
"We've never been afraid of tough guys, so why would we be afraid of a bunch of barbarians? In my eyes, they're just a bunch of uncivilized savages. I'll send tens of thousands of young barbarian slaves to the court, and sell the rest for grain or send them to mines and smelt iron."

Qin Shubao heard this,
Unable to contain himself, he said, "Wu Yi, I've been resting at home for more than half a year. Since the imperial court is willing to use troops against the Tieshan Liao,
Why not simply launch a military campaign against Tuyuhun as well?
I, Qin Shubao, dare not ask for the commander's seal, but only wish to be the vanguard.

"Defeat the Tuyuhun, seize their pastures and livestock; wouldn't that also provide support to the imperial court?"

“Second brother, although the Tieshan Liao are numerous, numbering over 100,000 households, these Liao barbarians are composed of many branch tribes and are relatively loosely organized. Moreover, as Lao Cheng said, these tribes are indeed very backward, so we don’t need many soldiers.”

Li Yi reassured Qin Qiong, "But the Tuyuhun are a nomadic tribe. Their territory stretches two thousand li from east to west, with the Great Snow Mountain to the south and the vast desert to the west."
These nomadic tribes can't defeat us; they'll run away, driving their livestock and sheep to escape. In desperation, they might even abandon their animals and flee to the snow-capped mountains or deserts.
We can't wipe them out; as soon as we withdraw, they come out again.

Unlike the Tieshan Liao people, whose tribes live in the mountains, they are not like the monks who can run away but the temples that can't.

We mobilized a large army and spent a lot of money and supplies, but Tuyuhun avoided fighting. What could we do?

The current situation is not suitable for a major battle against Tuyuhun.

Therefore, a marriage alliance is the only option for now.

Since the decision has been made not to send troops for the time being, then peace talks can be negotiated. Agreeing to the marriage proposal and trade with Tuyuhun can temporarily stabilize the border, and the court can even use this trade to exchange for livestock and meat.

"Come on, brothers, this is my five-year-old persimmon liquor, with tiger bones soaked in it. This liquor is really potent, everyone have a taste."

Upon hearing this, Wu Heita, Li Junxian, and others became interested.
These fierce warriors were also all fond of drinking.

Even Qin Qiong, who had just been feeling quite disappointed, couldn't help but sniffle.

(End of this chapter)