Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 271 Dazhong Bandits
"kill!"

"Boom bang bang-"

In late summer in June, when Longyou was back on track and the Tang Dynasty was busy suppressing the rebellion.

However, war broke out in the Xishan area west of Xichuan. Shang Moyan, the lord of Duomiwei Prefecture, led his troops south with an army of 100,000 to attack Xishan.

Nine countries including Dongnu, Gelin, Baigou, Buzou, Nanshui, Ruoshui, Xidong, Qingyuan and Duba jointly garrisoned in the northern Pingkang City.

The eight nations had more than 100,000 troops, but less than 6,000 soldiers.

Although they relied on the terrain to hold their ground, Shang Moyan's attack was fierce and Pingkang City was in imminent danger.

If Pingkang City was breached, Shang Moyan would be able to take over Xichuan with an unstoppable force.

The Eastern Women's Kingdom sent light cavalry to Chengdu for help, but when the light cavalry arrived in Chengdu, it was already mid-June.

"I already know about the matter at Xishan. Please leave first."

In the main hall, Xiahou Zi, the governor of Xichuan, the prefect of Chengdu and the co-prime minister, and the inspector of the eight countries in Xishan, waved his hand to disperse the envoys from the Kingdom of Eastern Women.

The envoy had no choice but to leave the main hall, and after he left, Xiahou Zi looked at Yang Fugong and others.

"The Western Mountain states once submitted to the imperial court, but later, as Tubo grew in power and Nanzhao gained more troops, they rebelled again."

"Now that Shang Moyan has invaded, I have finally thought of the imperial court."

"Shangmo Yanhao has 100,000 soldiers, while Xichuan only has 60,000 soldiers, 30,000 of whom need to guard against Nanzhao and Liu Jilong."

"In my opinion, this matter can be reported to the court for the Supreme Lord to decide."

Xiahou Zi didn't want to care about the fight between Xishan monk Mo Yan.

Not to mention that Xichuan had no extra money and food, even if it did, he didn't want to care about it.

If Shang Moyan was defeated, the Tang Dynasty would not gain any land in Xishan.

If they failed to repel Shang Moyan, they would become his enemy, giving him an excuse to invade Xichuan.

I have just experienced a disastrous defeat in Yanchuan. If I suffer another disastrous defeat in Xichuan, I really don’t know how I will face the imperial court.

Do more and make more mistakes; do less and make fewer mistakes; do nothing and make no mistakes…

These twelve words are Xiahou Zi's current mantra. He would rather have no political achievements than make mistakes.

His attitude is also the attitude of most generals in Xichuan.

In this kind of unity, Yang Fugong frowned and said:
"If we want to submit a report to the court, it will take nearly a month to go back and forth. By then, even if the Supreme Lord sends troops, I'm afraid there won't be enough time."

Seeing him say this, everyone was speechless.

What they want is to delay time so that the issue of Xishan can be resolved during this period of time.

Everyone knew this, but Yang Fugong insisted on pointing it out.

Since he singled him out like this, Xiahou Zi had to express his attitude.

"The Western Mountain countries have steep terrain and strong fortifications and heavy military forces. How could they be conquered in such a short time?"

"But what Supervisor Yang said does make sense. How about this..."

Xiahou Zi took a deep breath and continued:
"There are still 500 elite cavalry and 5,000 horsemen in Chengdu."

"I ask General Yang to lead 500 elite cavalry and 3,000 horsemen to Yizhou. Once the imperial edict arrives, we will rush to Xishan to provide assistance."

"In addition, I heard that Shang Moyan and Liu Jilong were friends. How about asking General Yang to write a letter and ask Liu Jilong to mediate?"

"I'm afraid Liu Jilong won't show up." Yang Fugong frowned and responded, bowing:

"But I will take over the task of leading the troops to Yizhou."

"That's very good." Xiahou Zi was very satisfied and stroked his beard.

Upon seeing this, Yang Fugong took the seal and then, along with the envoy of the Eastern Women's Kingdom, led 3,500 soldiers and horses to Yizhou.

Xiahou Zi also sent a letter to Chang'an, but when the letter arrived in Chang'an, it was already mid-June.

The government and the people seemed to be very indifferent to the affairs of the Western Mountain countries, and all this was because of the emperor and Guandong.

Since June, the emperor's condition has worsened and he has not attended court for half a month.

Since the emperor stopped attending court, the struggle between the Southern Court and the Northern Court has become more and more obvious, and everyone is busy taking sides.

At the same time, due to the court's increase in taxes, the people in Jingnan, Shannan, Jiannan and other places were burdened with heavy burdens. Some fled to Longyou, while others gathered in the mountains.

Linghu Tao, Xiao Ye, Jiang Shen and others were busy with these things.

Fortunately, the summer tax collected from the increased tax rate was nearly three million strings of cash, which provided sufficient money for both suppressing Wang Shouwen's rebellion and suppressing Qiu Fu.

After Pei Xiu's management, a large number of Puzhou people fled, and only less than 200,000 people and Wang Shouwen defended the city.

As the counties were captured one after another, Wang Shouwen, Wu Wei and others were left with only 800 elite cavalry and 30,000 soldiers to defend Puyang.

To the north of Puyang is the Yellow River, and the other three directions are surrounded by heavy troops and trenches.

There are nearly 80,000 people in Puyang City, and the daily consumption is astronomical, especially firewood.

Because of this, on the twentieth day of the siege, the soldiers in Puyang City were running out of firewood. They had to demolish houses and take wood to burn in order to have a hot meal.

"We haven't finished eating the food yet, but we're running out of firewood..."

Inside the Puyang government office, Wu Wei couldn't help but speak.

In response to this, the already promoted Zhu Huai also looked at Wang Shouwen who was in the main seat and bowed:

"General, we still have more than 30,000 troops. Instead of waiting to die, we should try our best to break through!"

"Yes!"

"Let's break out..."

All the generals supported the breakout because continuing to stay in Puyang would only lead to death.

How could Wang Shouwen not know this?

"I also want to break out, but my army has 30,000 soldiers, but only 3,000 of them are armored."

"The government troops are outside, with more than 60,000 soldiers in armor, and there are nearly 6,000 elite cavalry from Pingxia, Xuanwu, Yicheng, Zhaoyi and other garrisons patrolling outside."

"If our army breaks through, I'm afraid..."

Wang Shouwen did not elaborate, but the result is imaginable.

"But it's not a solution to keep defending like this!"

Zhu Huai was a little anxious, but Wang Shouwen said:

"I heard that Qiu Fu has caused a lot of trouble in Liangzhe. If he can defeat the troops led by Cui Xuan, the court will certainly dispatch troops to Liangzhe, and our army will be able to seize the opportunity to break out."

"How long will that take?!" Zhu Huai's eyes widened, and the others also complained:

"Most of the houses in the city have been demolished. We will probably have to demolish the towers and gates in half a month at the latest."

"Yes, the city gates have been demolished, so why not fight to the death? It's better than being humiliated here."

"Ugh……"

Faced with the complaints, Wang Shouwen was also very helpless.

If Pei Xiu hadn't been so smart, how could he have been trapped in Puzhou?
Of the 3,000 elite cavalrymen, countless were killed or wounded, leaving less than 800 men.

If we can break out successfully, there will be great potential given the situation in Henan and Huainan where there are refugees everywhere.

But the problem was that they failed to break out several times and wasted the good situation.

Thinking of this, Wang Shouwen couldn't help but clench his fists.

"Go back all!"

Wu Wei saw that Wang Shouwen was unwilling, and immediately asked everyone to leave.

Seeing this, everyone left with complaints. When they walked out of the main hall, many people looked at Zhu Huai.

"Zhu Zuoxiang, if Marshal Jie and Envoy Wu can't come up with an idea, what should we do?"

Faced with the situation of being trapped in Puyang, even the old brothers of the former Tianping Army felt a little nervous, not to mention that there were less than 300 old Tianping Army soldiers still alive in the army, and they were all stationed on the city walls.

The person who could surround Zhu Huai and ask this question was either a Hu general from Hedong or a rising general from Puzhou.

They supported Zhu Huai, who was from Hedong, as their leader, hoping that Zhu Huai could show them a clear way forward.

Although Zhu Huai had some thoughts in his mind, he didn't dare to speak them out, so he could only appease everyone:
"Don't worry, you two will come up with a solution. If you really can't think of one, I will naturally tell you."

After he finished speaking, Zhu Huai and everyone else walked out of the yamen and returned to their homes.

At the same time, outside the city of Weinan County in Huazhou, 20 miles away from Puyang, Pei Xiu, the governor of Xuanwu Army, was sitting in the tent, quietly listening to the reports from the governors of various towns in the tent.

After the generals finished their reports, he slowly opened his eyes and said:
"Within 20 miles of Puyang, there are all our troops. In addition, all the trees outside the city have been cut down. The rebels can only hold out for a month at most before they run out of firewood and have to eat cold rice."

"People who eat cold rice for a long time will get sick. Within three months, the rebels will be defeated!"

Pei Xiu looked calm and composed, while the generals sent by the towns of Xuanwu, Yicheng, Zhaoyi and others who were sitting in the tent congratulated him one after another.

As for the military governors of each town, they basically maintained the encirclement at the front line to prevent the rebels from breaking out.

In the eyes of the generals of various towns, the merit of defeating Wang Shouwen was enough for Pei Xiu to return to Chang'an and serve as prime minister again.

If he could become familiar to Pei Xiu, it would be convenient for him to be transferred to another place in the future, or be promoted to the governor of this town.

Pei Xiu didn't care about the flattery from the crowd. What he cared about was the civil unrest caused by the tax increase by the court.

In addition, he heard that the emperor had not attended court for a long time and was afraid that there was something wrong with his health.

If the emperor can get through this safely, then there will be no problem. But if the emperor... then there will be a big problem.

If the matter between Li Wen and Li Zi is not handled properly, it will be another major disaster, and the Tang Dynasty can no longer withstand the disaster.

The rebellion of Wang Shouwen and the rebellion of Qiu Fu completely disrupted the court's arrangements in Helong, Henan, and Liangzhe.

Coupled with the court's increase in taxes and the rise of bandits, the Tang Dynasty was now in decline.

If there is another foreign invasion, the situation will be difficult to control...

Thinking of this, Pei Xiu couldn't help but sigh deeply.

As he sighed, the contradictions between the Southern Court and the Northern Court became increasingly prominent, and even Zhang Yichao, Zhang Yitan and their descendants were among those being tried to be won over.

To this end, Zhang Yichao organized a family dinner on Zhang Yitan’s birthday to discuss this matter.

"Let's go to the West Flower Hall and play. The elders have something to talk about. Just have fun."

After dispersing more than a dozen children from the third generation, Zhang Huaiquan walked into the inner hall, closed the door and turned to look inside.

Inside the hall, Zhang Yichao, Zhang Yitan, Zhang Huaiding and others sat in their respective seats, quietly waiting for Zhang Huaiquan to sit down for discussion.

After Zhang Huaiquan sat down, Zhang Yichao spoke:

"Zhang's descendants should not get involved in this matter, especially you two..."

Zhang Yichao looked at Zhang Huaiquan and Zhang Huaiding. Zhang Huaiquan nodded, while Zhang Huaiding frowned and said:
"If we do this well, it will at least be a credit to the Dragon."

"Aye, you are in charge of the Right Divine Martial Army. In addition, the Right Divine Martial Army is well-trained and can play a decisive role in the critical moment. Why do you need to remain neutral?"

Zhang Huaiding was exposing his ambitions all the time, which made Zhang Yichao frown and scold:
"Your brothers are all incompetent. If you get too involved in the government, you will surely get into trouble."

"What I did this time was to protect you, you..."

Before Zhang Yichao finished speaking, Zhang Huaiding retorted, "Father, I admit that I am not as good as Liu Jilong and my elder brother, but you don't have to belittle us like this!"

"Are we your children, or is Liu Jilong your child?"

Although Zhang Huaiding said it was Liu Jilong, everyone present knew that he was talking about Zhang Huaishen.

Obviously, Zhang Huaiding was very dissatisfied with his father's decision to leave Hexi to Zhang Huaishen, and he still holds a grudge against him.

In response, Zhang Yichao slammed the table and stood up: "Get out of here!"

"Erlang..." Zhang Huaiquan also lowered his voice to signal Zhang Huaiding to give in, but Zhang Huaiding also got angry, and he also slammed the table, stood up and looked at Zhang Yichao.

"What's wrong with what I said?!"

"Liu Jilong can manage Longyou, but I, Zhang Huaiding, can't manage Shazhou?!"

"Ahem..." Zhang Yitan couldn't help coughing twice, then looked at Zhang Huaiding:
"Erlang, your father and I both understand what you mean, but the situation in Hexi is like this, and you have heard a lot about it these days."

"Your father just doesn't want you to tie your heads around your waists. He's worried about your safety."

"If you are unwilling, I will send a letter to summon Huai Shen to Chang'an today and order you to take over Hexi."

Logically speaking, Zhang Yitan should not have spoken. After all, in the game in Hexi, it was his eldest son Zhang Huaishen who gained the greatest "benefit".

However, in Zhang Yichao's view, the man is innocent unless he is in possession of a treasure.

None of these children of mine can manage Hexi well. If we hand Hexi over to them, not only will Hexi suffer, but they will also be beheaded.

Therefore, in his opinion, Zhang Huaishen actually made sacrifices for the entire Zhang family, but his Erlang was ungrateful.

"Uncle, you know that's not what I meant."

Zhang Huaiding said something with a different mind, which made Zhang Yichao furious.

If Zhang Huaiding responded openly, even if he lacked talent, he would have enough magnanimity.

But now that he had brought things up, when his eldest brother wanted to pass the burden to him, he became indecisive again.

Such behavior made Zhang Yichao very angry.

"you……"

"Father, someone came to visit us from outside the palace. He said he was Yang Xin from the Longyou Jinzouyuan!"

When Zhang Yichao was about to continue teaching Zhang Huaiding a lesson, a voice came from outside the inner hall, interrupting his outburst.

Seeing this, Zhang Huaiquan quickly stood up and said, "I'll go and greet Yang Yaya first. Father, please wait a moment."

After he finished speaking, he walked out of the inner hall and left the door open, allowing the younger generations to see what was going on inside and avoid a quarrel.

Sure enough, in front of the younger generations, Zhang Yichao did not scold Zhang Huaiding in the end, but held back his temper.

A quarter of an hour later, Zhang Huaiquan came back with a gift list.
"Where is Yang Yaya?"

Zhang Yitan looked at the empty back of Zhang Huaiquan and couldn't help asking.

Zhang Huaiquan presented the gift list and explained:
"Yang Yaya gave the birthday gift and left. I heard that he was going to see his friend off."

"Um……"

Zhang Yitan nodded. These days, Yang Xin often brought his friend to his house for tea, and they became familiar with each other after a few visits.

In order to prevent Zhang Yichao from continuing to scold Zhang Huaiding, Zhang Yitan took this opportunity to say:

"That Mr. Huang is indeed a wonderful man, but he was born at the wrong time and failed the imperial examinations several times."

"Humph!" Zhang Huaiding snorted coldly, and then said: "I see that he has achieved nothing in his forties. Yang Ya Ya invited him several times, but he refused."

"Even if such people return home, they are destined to be forgotten by the common people. Why should uncle worry about them?"

Zhang Yitan shook his head and said, "I think he is just arrogant. In terms of talent, I am afraid he is not inferior to your elder brother."

Facing Zhang Yitan's comments, Zhang Huaiding got angry. It seemed that he couldn't stand others talking about the word "talent" the most.

Especially after he admitted that he was not as talented as Zhang Huaishen and Liu Jilong, and his uncle even said that the man who had been eating for free these days was also quite talented, he was completely defeated:

"Uncle, do you think he can compare to my elder brother and Liu Jilong?"

Zhang Yitan shook his head and explained: "In some aspects, he is not inferior to your elder brother, but he is definitely not as good as Mu Zhi."

"Haha..." Zhang Huaiding said sarcastically, "Then I want to see what earth-shattering things this person can do after returning to his hometown."

While he was mocking, Yang Xin outside the mansion drove to Chunming Gate near Xuanyangfang.

Chunming Gate is one of the three city gates leading east from Chang'an to Guandong. It is located in the center, and tens of thousands of civilians and merchants enter and exit through it every day.

Before noon, Yang Xin took a carriage out of Chunming Gate and arrived at the market outside the city.

After passing through the bustling market, his carriage stopped in front of a tavern on the outskirts of the market.

After he got off the car, before he even entered the tavern, he saw a familiar figure walking out of the tavern.

"Thank you for the trouble, Mr. Yang."

Huang Chao came over from a few steps away and bowed, and Yang Xin bowed back, then said with regret:
"Does Mr. Huang really not consider going to Longyou?"

"With your talent, and with Chen Ying and I recommending you, I can at least get you a lieutenant."

Faced with Yang Xin's repeated invitations, Huang Chao still shook his head firmly.

"Longyou is naturally good, and I also admire Liu Jieshuai's righteous deeds... But now I just want to return to my hometown to fulfill my filial piety, and I will talk about other things later."

"Okay..." Yang Xin sighed, then turned around and took a wooden box from the coachman and handed it to him.

"In this box there is a letter from Chen Ying and me, and also some certificates from both of us."

"If Mr. Huang suddenly decides to go to Longyou in the future, he can bring this with him."

Faced with Yang Xin's kindness, Huang Chao did not refuse this time, but stretched out his hands and solemnly accepted it.

After he took it, Yang Xin finally felt relieved at the heavy burden. He bowed to Huang Chao and said nothing more.

Huang Chao took the box and returned the greeting, then handed the box to the servant behind him.

After the servants brought the horses, he and the servants mounted the horses and rode away under the watchful eyes of Yang Xin.

Yang Xin bowed from a distance until Huang Chao and others disappeared on the official road, then he sighed and returned to the carriage.

At the same time, a famous servant who was accompanying Huang Chao on his journey home also looked at Huang Chao.

"Why don't you accept Young Master Yang's invitation and go to Longyou?"

"With your talent, even if you can't be a captain, you can still be the commander of a brigade."

The servants were puzzled by Huang Chao's actions. Huang Chao had a complicated expression when he heard this and said bitterly:
"Many people have invited me in the past, but I have rejected them time and again, just to prove that I can pass the imperial examination."

"I have failed the imperial examination for more than ten years. If they knew that I failed and went to Longyou, I wonder how they would laugh at me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Huang Chao stopped his horse, turned his horse's head and looked at the Chang'an City in the distance.

He was so ambitious when he went to Beijing to take the imperial examination in the past, but he failed repeatedly for more than ten years.

Now that he is nearly forty years old, he has ended up with nothing.

Is it that Huang Chao is incompetent, or is it that the imperial examination system of the Tang Dynasty is unfair?
Thinking of this, Huang Chao’s mind flashed through the scenes of failing the imperial examinations over the years. He took a deep breath and looked towards Chang'an City.

"When autumn comes and September th, I will kill the flowers after they bloom."

"The incense formation soaring to the sky penetrates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor."

"I don't believe that if I fail the imperial examination, I, Huang Chao, will achieve nothing!"

"Chang'an, I, Huang Chao, will come back..."

(End of this chapter)