Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 390 The Yellow Heaven Should Stand
"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

In the Longxi River Valley, Wang Shi's army was still launching a fierce attack on the Longxi fortifications, and only twenty-five days had passed since the imperial court issued the "Imperial Edict to Punish Liu Jilong".

In such a short time, no one could have imagined that Shuofang Town, an important force that restrained Liangzhou and Lanzhou, would be destroyed in just 25 days.

The military governor Zhou Bao and the military commissioner of Pingxia, Li Sigong, have disappeared without a trace, and of the four prefectures of Shuofang, only Yanzhou remains.

Before the war, Shuofang Town had 17,000 soldiers in the inner and outer towns, but now only 2,000 state soldiers remain.

More importantly, Liu Jilong only rested for two days before personally leading his troops to surround Xiaoguan.

"Zhou Bao, you dog and rat, with so many troops, couldn't even hold out for half a month!"

In front of Xiaoguan City Tower, Zhu Xie Chixin couldn't help but curse Zhou Bao, while Zhu Xie Yisheng standing beside him stared intently at the outside of the city.

Xiaoguan is located on a plateau in the northern part of the Qingshui River Valley. The terrain here is characterized by loess gullies that are high in the east and west and low in the middle.

Xiaoguan Pass is situated on a high vantage point, relying on the loess hills to the west, overlooking the river valley plains of the Sichuan Plateau.

The plain here is eight li wide from east to west and two hundred li long from north to south.

During the Kaiyuan era, this place was not affected by war. Tens of thousands of people cultivated tens of thousands of acres of farmland here, which was only a corner of the Qingshui River Valley Plain.

If there is a sufficient population, it is not difficult to cultivate millions of acres of farmland.

Unfortunately, they later invaded the Hexi Corridor and Longxi region, and the area north of Xiaoguan and west of Yanzhou became the grasslands of the Tibetans. Most of the people of Yuanzhou also died in the forced labor and war.

Such fertile land became uncultivated grasslands.

If Liu Jilong had not recovered Longyou, and if grain prices in Guanzhong had not soared, this place would not have welcomed the people.

However, as the imperial court decided to punish Liu Jilong, several villages outside Xiaoguan were forcibly relocated, and even the crops planted in the spring were destroyed by fire.

All that remained were the few villages that had been burned down, and the thousands of acres of farmland that had been abandoned not long ago.

The Longyou army, led by Liu Jilong, joined forces yesterday and stationed themselves here.

Their encampment was located in the middle of this valley, with Xiaoguan City three miles to the left and the Qingshui River to the right.

Perhaps in future generations this place will be a barren wasteland, but at this time it is still a place of green mountains and clear waters, with the Qingshui River as wide as seven or eight zhang (approximately 33-40 meters), enough to irrigate hundreds of thousands of acres of farmland.

"Sorry..."

"Be careful, keep a close watch on Xiaoguan, and keep the cavalry in the south at a safe distance!"

Inside the camp, thousands of infantry and cavalry, along with thousands of elite riders, were stationed, but there were no civilian laborers accompanying them, which seemed quite strange.

The captains and lieutenants were all directing the expansion and repair of the camp, and it was clear that a larger number of troops would arrive here in a few days.

The soldiers of the Longyou Army were chatting and talking. Some were reminiscing about their fallen comrades, while others were thinking about their wives and children back home.

In this situation, Liu Jilong, who was in the yamen, also received some good news.

"General, Cao Mao has sent someone to report that the three counties of Lingwu have surrendered, and the entire territory of Lingzhou is now in the hands of Longyou."

"There are currently over seven thousand surrendered soldiers in Lingzhou. What should be done with them?"

Husi Guang, who had retreated from northern Chengji to Xiaoguan, was reporting on the military situation, while Liu Jilong, sitting in the main seat, was looking at the three-foot-long and three-foot-wide sand table in front of him.

Upon hearing Husiguang's question, Liu Jilong did not rush to deal with the surrendered soldiers, but instead asked, "How many brothers and horses have our army lost?"

Upon hearing this, Husiguang looked behind him, where Li Yangchun and Gao Shu were standing.

The two should have been officials, but with the outbreak of war, they could only fight as military officers.

It wasn't just them; almost all of the first batch of graduates from Linzhou were like this.

"Reporting to Commander..." Li Yangchun was clearly more attentive, so when Husiguang looked at him, he immediately replied:
"Our army has fought eight battles in succession. There were 1,746 elite cavalrymen, 2,357 cavalrymen, and 952 wounded and retired soldiers."

"Two thousand nine hundred and fifty-two military horses were lost, and four thousand four hundred and sixty-one riding horses were lost. In addition, four thousand four hundred and twenty-three Turkic horses were captured. Only one thousand two hundred and thirty-nine of them could be used as military horses, and the rest were used as riding horses."

"In addition, 797 soldiers and civilians were lost in Liangzhou, Lanzhou and other towns, 1,765 civilians were killed in battle, and 724 were maimed."

In one battle, Longyou lost more than 5,055 soldiers, more than 3,304 garrison troops and civilians, and countless military horses. The horses captured were far from enough to compensate for the casualties of the dead and wounded horses.

That's how wars are; after a single battle, much of what has been accumulated over many years is depleted.

"How much have our troops captured?" Liu Jilong looked at Li Yangchun, while Li Yangchun looked at Gao Shu.

Upon hearing this, Gao Shu bowed to Liu Jilong and said, "General, our army has recovered three prefectures and nine counties, capturing no fewer than 70,000 people, nearly 370,000 shi of grain, and more than 74,000 guan of cash, as well as 200,000 guan of silk, spices and other valuables."

"More than 14,000 sets of weapons and armor were seized, and countless houses and residences were also captured."

"In addition, there are 572 military horses, more than 2,000 riding horses, and nearly 10,000 draft horses and oxen in the horse farm of Shuofang Town."

"The draft horses have been left behind, and Military Advisor Cao is organizing laborers to transport grain and fodder. The oxen have been distributed equally among the local people for farming."

“Except for Lingwu, Baojing and Huaiyuan counties, the local strongmen in the other counties were all eliminated for their rebellion, and more than 300,000 mu of public land were seized.”

After Gao finished answering, the removal of the local tyrants who were causing trouble was actually just the confiscation of their property at Liu Jilong's behest.

If the three counties of Lingwu had not surrendered, the powerful local magnates and military officers in those counties would have had their homes ransacked.

But the fact that they are not confiscating property now does not mean that they will not be confiscated in the future.

Only by distributing the land equally among the people of Shuofang will they support Longyou in resisting the imperial court.

Talking about equality and fairness is all nonsense. People only care about who benefits them and who makes their lives comfortable.

The imperial court's policies toward the people of Shuofang were not too harsh, because Shuofang was, after all, a border town, and if there was unrest, it would easily give others an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Even so, the people of Shuofang did not live well. The trend of land annexation was not only present in the interior of the pass, but also on the border.

The military generals had seized a considerable amount of land, even more than the local strongmen. Therefore, although the three counties of Lingwu belonged to Longyou, land annexation still existed in the area, and the people were far less "loyal" to the Longyou Protectorate than to the people of the other prefectures and counties.

"Send an order to Cao Mao that all the surrendered soldiers who belong to the Han people should be sent to Ganzhou along with their families."

"Then send another order to Yishan, instructing him to personally travel to Ganzhou and deliver a message to Zhang Huaishen, offering this group of people in exchange for the Hexi army."

"If the war in the Western Regions is not urgent, then send some elite cavalry to assist me."

Liu Jilong never overlooked any resources, especially the Han Chinese population.

Of the more than 7,000 surrendered soldiers in Lingzhou, less than 3,000 were Han Chinese, and many of them were imperial guards, so it is estimated that they had no family members to migrate with.

In total, the number of people who will be relocated is only five or six thousand.

These five or six thousand men should be able to replenish the army in Longyou, allowing the cavalry that won the battle in Longyou to return to their pre-war numbers.

Of course, it would be best if Zhang Huaishen had not been campaigning against Yanqi and Kucha, but instead had been willing to send cavalry to assist him.

"The last general takes command!"

Husiguang bowed in agreement, and Gao Shu and Li Yangchun also noted down Liu Jilong's instructions.

Only after they agreed did Liu Jilong bring up the matter of compensation.

"All the money, grain, and goods seized this time will be converted into cash. Fifty percent will be used to reward ordinary soldiers, twenty percent will be used to reward officers of the rank of squad leader and above, and the remaining thirty percent will go to the treasury."

“If a general is killed in battle, he will receive three times his military pay as a form of compensation; ordinary soldiers will receive 100 strings of cash as compensation; and each laborer will receive 50 strings of cash as compensation.”

As soon as Liu Jilong finished speaking, Li Yangchun and Gao Shuzheng's pens, which were recording the events, swerved, and Husiguang couldn't help but ask, "General, isn't this too much?"

After recovering Shuofang, the value of the spoils they obtained was less than 600,000 strings of cash, and only 30% of it went into the treasury.

It can be said that, apart from the horses and houses captured in this battle, the Protectorate could only obtain tens of thousands of strings of cash and grain, while the compensation alone amounted to nearly eight hundred thousand strings of cash.

The government office still has a lot of money, but it can't afford to spend it all.

If they really follow this standard, Hu Siguang estimates that they'll collapse after another two months of fighting.

"We can't be careless with compensation. Right now, we need manpower. If we're stingy with compensation, how can we gain the trust of our brothers?"

"The reason why we did not capture much money and grain in this battle is because the Guannei region is vast and sparsely populated. Now that our army is stationed at Xiaoguan, whether we recapture Jingyuan or go south to recapture Qinlong and Xichuan, we will capture a lot of people. There is no need to worry."

Guannei Dao was indeed very poor, with the three counties of Lingwu being the richest. However, because the other party surrendered and Liu Jilong wanted to set an example for the powerful families in other prefectures and counties, their property was not confiscated.

Otherwise, given the power and influence of the local magnates in the three counties of Lingwu, it wouldn't be surprising if they seized two or three hundred thousand strings of cash.

Moreover, the heavy casualties were mainly due to the fact that the Tangut, Shatuo, and Shuofang elite cavalry were indeed difficult to deal with.

Now that two of the three elite cavalry units have been wiped out, with only the Shatuo elite cavalry hiding in Xiaoguan remaining, there is naturally no need to worry.

The safety of Liangzhou and Lanzhou is no longer a concern, and there are only two and a half months left until the autumn harvest.

Before the autumn harvest, I need to find a way to take over Qin Prefecture.

Thinking this, Liu Jilong looked at Husiguang and continued:

"The spies are keeping a close eye on the situation in Qin Prefecture. If Wang Shi returns to reinforce, inform me immediately."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Husiguang replied, and then led Li Yangchun and the others out.

Half an hour later, the news of the compensation spread throughout the military camp, and the soldiers who were originally worried regained their confidence and their morale suddenly became strong.

At the same time, news that Liu Jilong had personally led 6,000 elite cavalry and 5,000 infantry to surround Xiaoguan Pass quickly spread to Guanzhong, Qinlong and other places.

Heading south from Xiaoguan, no matter which route you take, you'll be blocked by at least five or six passes and cities.

Therefore, apart from Xiaoguan, Fangqu, Pinggao and other places located at the front line, there were no signs of unrest in the remaining cities and passes.

However, the speed at which Liu Jilong captured Shuofang on the 23rd still made the officials uneasy.

Fortunately, in the following days, Liu Jilong did not attack Xiaoguan or head south to Pinggao, but instead rested outside Xiaoguan.

As July arrives, the season transitions into autumn.

The imperial court mobilized another 20,000 troops from Guandong and Hedong to reinforce the western front. The number of troops and government troops on the western front also increased to about 90,000 Longyou soldiers and garrison troops, and about 130,000 government soldiers.

If the 20,000 reinforcements from the Kwantung region arrive on the western front, the government army will recover to its original strength of 150,000, which is significantly less than before the war.

Under these circumstances, the imperial edict issued by Chang'an half a month ago to confiscate the property of merchants related to Longyou was also transmitted to various prefectures.

Caozhou, which is only about 900 li away from Chang'an, naturally also received the news.

The lingering heat wave in Henan Province continues, with drought and flooding particularly severe in certain prefectures and counties, resulting in an additional 100,000 displaced people in the province.

Outside Yuanju County, thousands of refugees squatted in the corner of the wall, gazing longingly at the city gate and its surroundings.

The Three Stars Banner and the Five-Colored Banner of the Tang Dynasty were flying high, but not a single grain of rice porridge could fill their stomachs. The emaciated people eked out a living by carrying grass in their beaks, but the flow of people coming and going in and out of the city never stopped.

"Father, has Lord Huang stopped providing food...?"

Beside the official road, a child with slender limbs and an alarmingly large belly and head asked his father a question.

The man in his forties sitting next to him had cracked lips; he opened his mouth but couldn't say anything.

The younger man in his thirties next to him was naked, with only a grass skirt covering his body, and still had some strength.

"Even Master Huang has run out of food, and the nobles in the city are unwilling to provide supplies. Master Huang can't save us either..."

"But I'm hungry..."

The children couldn't help but cry, and their crying spread to everyone.

At this time, the Huang family had long since run out of food, and Huang Chao, as the head of the family, was sharpening his sword in the mansion.

The clanging sound of sharpening knives echoed in the courtyard, but was quickly broken by hurried footsteps.

"Brother! Brother!"

Huang Kui's hurried voice rushed into the courtyard. As he rushed in, his foot slipped and he fell.

Even so, ignoring the pain, he got up and looked at Huang Chao: "Brother, the government has posted a notice that the court has ordered all prefectures and counties to detain all commoners related to Longyou, brother..."

"Brother, did you already know about this, which is why you had Huang Zhou send Xijun and the others away?!"

Huang Kui was extremely flustered, but he managed to remain calm despite his panic.

He was able to remain so calm because Huang Chao had arranged for Huang Zhou to escort their wives, concubines, and children away from Yuanju County several months earlier.

The original agreement was to escort them to Chang'an, but now it seems that this is probably not the case.

"Why are you panicking..."

Huang Chao had his back to Huang Kui, his tone calm, but he sharpened his knife much faster.

The clanging of the blades echoed continuously, sending chills down one's spine.

After a long while, Huang Chao slowly stopped sharpening his knife and examined it in the twilight.

The blade reflected a blurry figure. Huang Chao examined it carefully, then sheathed the blade after a moment and stood up to look at Huang Kui.

"Have you brought everyone in?"

"I brought it in..."

Huang Kui swallowed hard, while Huang Chao nodded and said, "Bringing him in will make things easier."

“I’ve been raising those dozen or so sheep in the barn for about a year now, and it’s time to slaughter them.”

"Send men to slaughter the animals and take all the money from the mansion. We will have a meal in the main hall an hour later."

“Okay…” Huang Kui nodded, then walked out with unsteady steps.

An hour is not a long time, but as night fell, nearly a hundred people were already seated inside and outside the main hall of the Huang family courtyard, filling the courtyard outside the hall.

Each person has a piece of lamb chop or lamb meat in front of them, as well as a full pot of lamb soup.

They were dressed in coarse linen clothes, but their clothes were bulging underneath, each carrying a bow and arrow, with a long spear beside them.

As the time came, Huang Chao donned a reddish-yellow coat, underneath which he wore a breastplate secured with a fire rope.

His attire, whether it was the reddish-yellow overcoat or the armor underneath, was enough to warrant exile or execution.

Yet he swaggered around like this, sitting arrogantly in the main seat.

He picked up his wine bowl and gestured to the crowd.

Everyone inside and outside the hall raised their wine bowls and drank them down with Huang Chao.

After everyone had finished drinking, Huang Chao slowly spoke:

“Since I reached middle age, I have often bestowed favors upon the people within my borders, but the only people I can truly trust are you.”

"Now the court is wicked and has even sent troops to attack Longyou, calling our commander a traitor. They will not even spare lowly people like us in the whole country."

"The county government has already dispatched troops, who will arrive here within half an hour at the latest and capture me."

"You have suffered because of me, which is an undeserved calamity. If you wish to leave now, you may take the money here and go."

Huang Chao spoke, and Huang Kui, Huang Ye, Huang Cun, and Lin Yan came out dragging a wooden tray on which were placed the Huang family's remaining hundred or so strings of cash.

Faced with money and silk, no one wavered; they all raised their bowls, drank the wine in one gulp, and then tore open their clothes.

Beneath the bulging garments lay pieces of breastplates.

Once they're all dressed in armor, how can they possibly leave?

"In that case, please follow me to the city gate!"

Huang Chao didn't offer any further explanation, but instead picked up his sword and walked outside.

Huang Kui, Huang Ye, and others put down the plates holding the money and silk and followed Huang Chao outside, followed by nearly a hundred armored soldiers wearing breastplates.

The Huang residence is very close to the south gate, only about three hundred steps away.

Since it was already night and the entire city was under curfew, there was no one else around except for the state soldiers and watchmen patrolling the streets.

At this time, hundreds of people walked out of the Huang residence and swaggered towards the south gate.

The defenses of Yuanju County were lax, and the guards at the city gates only reacted when Huang Chao and his men approached.

"who?!!"

"Form ranks and attack!"

Huang Chao shouted angrily, and nearly a hundred armored soldiers immediately took up their spears, formed a battle formation, and charged toward the city gate.

"Beep--"

"Enemy attack!!"

However, the dozens of poorly trained soldiers could not even form the simplest straight formation in the Six Flower Formation, and could only be attacked and killed by Huang Chao's troops in formation.

"Dang Dang Dang..."

The alarm bells had already rung, but Huang Chao remained calm. He led his men to seize the city gate and then opened it.

As the city gates slowly opened, all he could see were refugees from Henan Province.

"Is it Young Master Huang?"

"Young Master Huang?"

"Young Master Huang, what's wrong...?"

Many refugees who had eaten Huang Chao's porridge recognized him and saw the fighting taking place behind the scenes.

But these starving refugees didn't care about any of that. All they wanted to know was what Huang Langjun, the only man in Yuanju County willing to give them porridge, was up to.

Looking at them, Huang Chao thought of what happened ten years ago.

He asked Chen Ying at the tavern how Liu Jilong, despite being a slave, had become the Protector-General of Longyou, a position supported by the people of Longyou.
Chen Ying smiled at Yang Xin, then said to him:
Emperor Taizong once said, "The people are like water; water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it."

"The general once said that if the people are driven, the flood can break the dikes and go a thousand miles away, and after destruction, a new dynasty will be established... Therefore, the sage governs the people to determine the rise and fall of the dynasty."

Lost in thought, Huang Chao ended his reminiscence, glanced at the refugees, and finally asked slowly, "Are you hungry?"

hungry?

No one expected that when faced with countless questions, Huang Chao would actually ask them if they were hungry.

Are they hungry? Of course they are!
"Hungry……"

The young refugees, still quite young, spoke one after another. Their voices were soft, but enough to stir the emotions of those around them.

"Hungry!"

"Hungry! Hungry!"

Thousands of refugees cried out for hunger, their voices initially chaotic but gradually becoming more unified.

Amidst the shouts, they couldn't help but cry out, howling about their hunger. Huang Chao didn't react until the shouts of battle rang out again from inside the city. He knew then that the officials had arrived.

The shouts of battle rang out again, and the cries of hunger from the refugees gradually subsided.

Facing them, Huang Chao turned away expressionlessly and walked into the city, coldly saying:
"Let's go, I'll treat you all to a good meal..."

Upon hearing this, countless refugees followed him. They no longer cared what they would face next; all they knew was that they were hungry and needed to eat.

Anyone who prevents them from eating is their enemy.

Footsteps echoed in unison through the passageway, and Huang Chao led them out of the passageway.

"Huang Erlang, you wretched killer, today is your death day!!"

Familiar voices, familiar faces.

Wang Shizhi, the magistrate of Yuanju County, donned armor and was leading the state troops in battle against Huang Kui and his men.

He spotted Huang Chao, brandished his sword at him, and cursed him fiercely, just as he had done years before, equally repulsive.

Huang Chao drew his sword, recalling the two poems he had written in Chang'an and the group of people who mocked him for writing nothing more than pretentious poetry.

Whether his poems are sentimental or not, he will show those people through his actions, but before that, he needs to deal with the people in front of him first.

"When autumn comes on September 8th, I will kill hundreds of flowers after they bloom!"

"The fragrance of incense permeates Chang'an, and the whole city is covered with golden armor!"

In the midst of the seven-character quatrain, Huang Chao charged toward Wang Shizhi. Huang Kui and others instinctively blocked the government troops for him, and he also rushed to Wang Shizhi's side.

Faced with Wang Shizhi's terrified gaze, Huang Chao raised his sword, his expression as terrifying as an Avici Hell demon.

"I am Huang Chao, the one who will take your life!!"

(End of this chapter)