Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 473 Flying Tiger's Lack of Strategy (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words
"Xiao Ye, the military governor of Jingnan and prefect of Jiangling, has been diligent in his duties to the emperor, which greatly pleases me. I hereby summon him back to the capital and appoint him as the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently as the Chancellor. He shall depart immediately."

"Your subject, Xiao Ye, Military Governor of Jingnan and Prefect of Jiangling, receives the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude..."

In early June, as the autumn harvest came to an end, the imperial envoy arrived in Jiangling and read out the imperial edict.

Xiao Ye, who controlled Jingnan and Jiangling, respectfully bowed and accepted the imperial edict. At the same time, he ordered the passes in Zigui, Yiling and other places to be opened so that Geng Ming could lead his army into Jiangling.

Just as Liu Zhan and Xiao Gou had predicted, Xiao Ye cared more about his own family, and he was also aware that he was caught between Liu Jilong and Gao Pian, and would be swallowed up by one of them sooner or later.

Liu Jilong was stronger than Gao Pian, so he naturally chose Liu Jilong.

When the news reached Yuezhou, Gao Pian, though somewhat prepared, still felt a bit breathless.

"Geng Ming, the military governor of Dongchuan under Liu Jilong, has now been transferred to the position of military governor of Jingnan and prefect of Jiangling, while Liu Yingyan has been promoted to the position of military governor of Dongchuan."

"Liu Yingyan is not a threat. In our previous encounters, I have not seen any talent in him."

"Geng Ming is good at defense. In the past, when our army launched several counterattacks against Bashu, Geng Ming managed to build Dongchuan like a tortoise shell, making it very difficult to attack."

"Now that he has gone to Jiangling, he will probably repeat the same actions he took in Dongchuan."

Wang Zhongren's words made Gao Qin's face turn pale. He turned to Gao Pian and bowed, saying, "Father, if Liu Jilong takes Jiangling, his navy can continuously sail down from Jiangling to compete with our army for Dongting Lake."

Faced with Gao Qin's self-inflicted chaos, Gao Pian remained calm and continued to strategize.

He got up and walked towards the sand table, finally pointing to the northeast corner of the Jianghan Plain and saying, "Wuchang, Hanyang and Hanchuan are in our hands. We can deploy a large number of catapults here to restrict their navy."

After he finished speaking, he placed his hand on Lizhou and Langzhou in the western part of Dongting Lake.

"What worries me most right now is that Liu Jilong, using his position as the military governor of Jingnan, will demand that our army cede Lizhou and Langzhou in the future."

The Jingnan Military Governor governed Guizhou, Xiazhou, Lizhou, Langzhou, and Jiangling Prefecture. Guizhou and Xiazhou represented the area north of the Yangtze River, including the strategically important Zigui and Yiling areas of Badong, while Lizhou and Langzhou were two key locations south of the Yangtze River and west of Dongting Lake.

These two places are the later Changde. However, because the Dongting Lake area was very large at that time, the two prefectures were mostly mountainous with few plains. Many plains were still swamps and could not be considered granaries.

That's why Xiao Ye had no intention of sending troops after Xiang Gui and Lei Man rebelled, which allowed Gao Pian to reap the benefits.

After Gao Pian recovered the two prefectures, Xiao Ye also tried to take them back, but Gao Pian's attitude was slightly tougher, so Xiao Ye did not continue to demand the two prefectures.

Unexpectedly, Xiao Ye was so weak. As soon as Liu Jilong opened his mouth, he offered up one prefecture and two states.

Thinking of this, Gao Pian felt a surge of anger. If only Xiao Ye had given him a little time to stall, he wouldn't be in such a passive position...

Taking a deep breath, Gao Pian turned to look at everyone: "Wang Lang and Forty-Third Lang are going to Hongzhou. If they receive my military orders, they will advance eastward to Jiangxi."

"Sun Lang is to go to Qianzhou. Upon receiving my military orders, he shall advance eastward to Fujian!"

"Your subordinates obey!" The generals bowed in response, while Gao Pian exhaled a breath of stale air and looked down at the fiery red banners on the sand table.

If the world were divided into ten parts, Liu Jilong would have three parts, while he would only have two. The remaining five parts would depend on who had the stronger methods.

"Drive! Drive..."

While Gao Pian was deep in thought in the south, fast horses from all over the country were galloping towards Luoyang.

As the summer grain harvest came to a close, the influence of Liu Jilong's recapture of the eight towns in Northeast China began to spread.

On the second day of the sixth month, Yang Xingmin led his army to attack Xuan and She, but the military governor Cui Xuan defended Xuancheng.

Seeing this, Yang Xingmin led 3,000 infantrymen to launch a strong attack on Xuancheng, and sent 2,000 troops to sweep through the cities outside Xuancheng, isolating Xuancheng.

Yang Xingmin launched a fierce attack on the city for three days but failed to break through. He then left Li Shenfu and two thousand soldiers to continue besieging Xuancheng, while he personally led more than two thousand infantrymen to attack Shezhou.

Wang Dao, the general of Shezhou, led 5,000 troops out of the city. Yang Xingmin pretended to retreat. When Wang Dao's troops were exhausted from the pursuit, Yang Xingmin turned his troops around and engaged Wang Dao in a fierce battle.

Yang Xingmin shot and killed Wang Dao in the midst of the battle. Upon seeing this, the soldiers of Shezhou fell into chaos. Yang Xingmin then incorporated the Shezhou soldiers into his own forces and subsequently occupied Shezhou.

Upon learning of the loss of Shezhou, Cui Xuan immediately led his troops to break through the encirclement and head north. Li Shenfu led his troops in pursuit and captured Cui Xuan alive at Baimadang.

Upon learning that Song Wei had sent troops to Xuanzhou and Shezhou, Dong Chang immediately assembled his troops and marched north to Huzhou. After joining forces with Qian Liu, they defeated Zhang Zimian in northern Deqing County. Zhang Zimian fled north to Wucheng with only 3,000 soldiers.

Although Zhang Zimian suffered a major defeat, Yang Xingmin occupied Xuan and She counties and gained hundreds of thousands of people, making Song Wei's gains outweigh his losses.

Overjoyed, Song Wei, citing Cui Xuan and Dong Chang's disrespect for the court and refusal to transport money and grain, proposed to lead troops to attack them and appointed Yang Xingmin as the military commissioner of Xuan and She provinces. At the same time, he ordered the transport of 20,000 strings of cash and 50,000 shi of grain north to Luoyang.

In contrast to Song Wei's shrewdness, Dong Chang didn't care about the court at all, only focusing on consolidating the two counties of Huzhou that he had just occupied, and re-recruiting soldiers to equip them with the captured armor.

Song Wei's strength in Jiangnan has greatly increased, while Dong Chang has also gained a lot. The two sides have completely broken off relations and are now locked in a life-or-death struggle.

Upon receiving the news from the north, Zhu Wen immediately dispatched troops to attack Wei Zhou, the military governor of Pinglu, on the grounds that Wei Zhou refused to transport summer grain.

Zhu Wen appointed Zhang Guiba as the vanguard and Ge Congzhou as the rear guard, while he himself led the three armies to attack Pinglu from Mizhou.

Wei Zhou was strict in his military discipline, but he did not expand his army. He could only defend the four prefectures of Pinglu with less than 15,000 troops.

Zhu Wen first captured Laizhou, then ordered Zhang Guiba to attack Laizhou, while he, along with Ge Congzhou, Zhang Guihou, and others, launched a strong attack on Qingzhou.

Wei Zhou sought help from Zhang Sitai, the military governor of Tianping Army, but Zhang Sitai refused to send troops, considering that Zhu Wen had previously returned Puzhou and Caozhou to him.

Left with no other choice, Wei Zhou fled to Qingzhou and then to Luoyang.

After Wei Zhou fled, Zhu Wen occupied the towns of Pinglu and Yanhai, commanding an army of 40,000.

After occupying the two towns, Zhu Wen immediately submitted a memorial to the court, ordering the transport of 50,000 shi of grain to Luoyang.

The destruction of Xuanzhou and Pinglu was enough to shake the world, but even more shocking news came from Hebei...

"Urgent! Urgent! Hebei!!"

On June 22, when the fast horse carrying the fish tally and military warrant rushed into the courtyard of the Prince of Han's mansion, Liu Jilong, who was discussing Zhu Wen, Song Wei and other matters with Gao Jinda and others, looked up into the courtyard.

"What is it?" Liu Jilong had a slight idea in mind, but he still asked first.

Upon seeing this, Kuai Ma immediately took out the military document and presented it with both hands to the official who came to forward it.

The official presented the document to Liu Jilong. After Liu Jilong took it and examined it, his expression remained as calm as usual. However, his next words caused an uproar among the officials in the hall.

"Li Guochang, the defense commissioner of Datong, and his son Li Keyong led their troops through Weizhou and into Yizhou. They have now occupied Louting and Bancheng counties and are estimated to be attacking Yi County."

"what?!"

"The three towns of Hebei are a means for the imperial court to control the three towns of Hebei. If Li Guochang and his son attack Yiwu, it may cause turmoil in Hebei!"

"Your Highness, we must stop them immediately. After all, the three towns of Hebei suffered heavy casualties when they were suppressing the Yellow bandits in the Central Plains. They are probably no match for this father and son."

"Your Highness, our army should take this opportunity to condemn Li Guochang and his son as traitors, and then march north."

“That’s right. We can take this opportunity to take back Beidu and Hedong first, then Datong, and maybe even Yiwu.”

The ministers in the hall had different opinions. Lu Guimeng and Zhang Yanhui felt that the main focus should be on maintaining stability in Hebei, while Gao Jinda and Luo Yin felt that they should take this opportunity to recover the entire territory of Hedong and extend their reach into Hebei.

Faced with the various opinions held by the people, Liu Jilong did not immediately express his opinion, but instead picked up the memorial and continued to read it.

"Song Wei, Dong Chang, Zhu Quanzhong, Li Guochang, Li Keyong..."

He murmured the names of those who had instigated the chaos in the towns, then looked at Gao Jinda:

"How is the summer grain harvest going in Zhudao Town? How much grain have the people in the three towns in Henan harvested?"

An army's movement is predicated on its provisions; the state of the provisions determined the order in which Liu Jilong attacked the various individuals.

Gao Jinda understood Liu Jilong's thoughts, so he said, "Although the taxes on the three towns of Zhongwu, Yicheng, and Xuanwu in Henan have been exempted, a rough record of the summer harvest taxes has been made."

"Currently, the three towns have a population of less than 500,000, of which 70,000 were exiled from places like Hebei and Shaanxi, and missed the summer harvest."

"Therefore, this summer harvest only had 420,000 people, cultivated more than 2.2 million mu, and yielded less than 1.6 million shi, which was not enough to feed the people, let alone supply the army to advance eastward."

Production in the three towns of Henan will not be so easy to restore.

Seeing that Liu Jilong had taken it to heart, Gao Jinda continued, "This year's summer tax revenue for the court was 5.84 million shi of millet and wheat, and 2.42 million guan of silver in exchange for silk, hemp, money, and other goods. I believe..."

Before Gao Jinda could finish speaking, Liu Jilong raised his hand to interrupt him, then stood up, paced back and forth silently a few times, before speaking to the people in the hall:

"Now that Jingzhou and Xiangyang have been recovered, thirteen prefectures in Shannan East Road belong to our army."

"The number of officials in Kansai is still somewhat insufficient, but the number of clerks is absolutely sufficient."

"We can first send two thousand officials to the five prefectures of Jing and Xiang to conduct a thorough survey of the population and land of Shannan East Circuit from bottom to top. It will not be too late to dismiss or transfer officials later."

He first spoke of the affairs of the five prefectures of Jing and Xiang, and then continued:
"Although our army is in a peaceful state, the people are not living a prosperous life."

"I didn't mention this matter before because of the shortage of money and grain, but now that we have tens of millions of strings of cash, it is time to change the tax system."

Liu Jilong was well aware that most ancient dynasties relied on direct taxes from agriculture rather than indirect taxes from commerce.

Of course, this is also because state capital is unable to control all aspects of society, so it can only focus on things like salt, iron, wine, and tea.

However, since its rise to prominence, many industries in Longyou have been dominated by government-run businesses, resulting in substantial profits and indirect taxes for these businesses.

Direct taxes are taxes levied directly, so people can clearly know how much tax they pay each year.

Indirect taxes are levied on goods. Although people know that goods are expensive, they do not know how much of that is tax.

Liu Jilong still needs to collect direct taxes on agriculture, but he hopes to reduce direct taxes and then increase indirect taxes on commodities.

Trades such as firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, and various ironware products will be brought under government control in the future, but private shares will be allowed as appropriate.

Economically, Liu Jilong emulated the Song Dynasty, but the Song Dynasty had too many of the heavy taxes and levies left over from the Five Dynasties. In addition, the emperor and big merchants cooperated to monopolize goods, raise prices, and increase the burden on the people. Therefore, Liu Jilong needed to refine and improve upon the Song Dynasty.

Commodity prices must rise within a range acceptable to the people, while agricultural taxes can be reduced as appropriate.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong said to everyone, "At present, the prices of government-run businesses will be increased by five cents each, and will be increased by another five cents after winter. At the same time, taxes will be reduced to one-fifth."

"Let's try this autumn harvest first. If it doesn't work, we can adjust it later."

Reducing direct taxes by five percent and increasing indirect taxes by ten percent may seem like a tax increase, but the imperial court can only control major economic commodities; it cannot regulate small workshops and small commodities.

Therefore, the income from increasing indirect tax by ten percent is likely to be less than the income from increasing direct tax by five percent.

However, Liu Jilong's original intention was to reduce the burden on the people, so reducing taxes slightly was also within his consideration.

While Liu Jilong was deep in thought, Gao Jinda and the others, though unaware of the reason, still bowed respectfully to the imperial court.

With the tax issue settled, Liu Jilong returned to the previous topic: "Hezhong and Heyang have ample grain supplies, and are garrisoned by 20,000 new soldiers and 50,000 veteran soldiers."

"Now that Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong are causing trouble, the court will surely quell the rebellion."

"An imperial edict ordered An Pohu, Wang Chongrong, and Cao Mao to lead 30,000 troops from Jinzhou northward to Datong, and Wang Chongrong to lead 20,000 troops from Zezhou northward."

"Cao Mao led 3,000 cavalry and 7,000 infantry and cavalry to Shengzhou to attack Datong."

"At the same time, an imperial edict ordered Cui Xuan, the Prefect of Taiyuan, the Garrison Commander of Beidu, and the Military Governor of Hedong, to go south to Luoyang and serve as the Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Cui Shu, the Director of the Imperial Library, was appointed as the Prefect of Taiyuan, the Garrison Commander of Beidu, and the Military Governor of Hedong."

Liu Jilong continued to use the same old tricks, but compared to Xiao Ye, Cui Xuan's attitude was more tough and he also had many methods, so it was unlikely that he would directly hand over Hedong.

Although Liu Jilong was somewhat uneasy, he could not always control the three armies in battle, and when necessary, he would have to delegate responsibilities to his generals.

An Pohu, Cao Mao, and Wang Chongrong joined forces with 60,000 troops. Even if they could not easily pacify Hedong and Datong, it would not take too long.

Thinking of this, he composed himself, and Luo Yin took the opportunity to ask, "Your Highness, what should be done with Zhu Quanzhong, Dong Chang, Song Wei, and the others?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong immediately said, "We are too far away to intervene. We need not express our opinion on the three of them for now. It is not too late to send troops to punish them later."

"Furthermore, if our army begins its northern expedition, Gao Pian in the south will definitely take the opportunity to attack Fujian, Jiangxi and other places."

"If Gao Pian uses the excuse that the two towns refuse to transport the grain, then order Gao Pian to transport all the grain and money owed by the two towns to the imperial court. If the amount transported is insufficient, then issue an imperial edict to reprimand him."

The prerequisite for obeying the emperor to command the disobedient is that one is powerful enough; otherwise, even if one obtains the emperor's favor, it will be of little use.

Liu Jilong is powerful enough now to force Gao Pian to transport the money and grain. Even if Gao Pian doesn't transport them, there's no need to worry. With this pretext, Gao Pian will naturally be at a disadvantage compared to the court, making the southern expedition more justifiable.

"Your subject obeys the order..."

Gao Jinda and the others respectfully agreed, and seeing that Liu Jilong had no further instructions, they immediately left the Prince of Han's residence.

Shortly after they left the Prince of Han's residence, the imperial cavalry sped off in all directions, but the most concentrated routes were to the towns of Hezhong and Heyang north of the Yellow River.

As soon as the decree was issued, many more people in the various prefectures of the two towns began to cheer and wave flags.

"During the Datong Rebellion, Governor An recruited 60,000 laborers to accompany the army northward, paying them 20 coins per day!"

"The rebellion in Datong, Governor An..."

In Linfen County, Jinzhou, streets that were once dilapidated due to the earthquake have now been renovated.

Moreover, the chaotic state of the streets has been rectified, and now the streets are not only smooth and clean, but also have a more vibrant feel.

The city of Linfen has a population of over 50,000, most of whom are casual laborers.

However, with the arrival of the Han army, the land in the Hezhong region was re-planned and redistributed, so even the citizens each had two or three acres of land.

Despite repeated warnings from the Han army that land could not be bought or sold, many citizens would still try to take advantage of the situation and rent their land to others for five, ten or even more years.

After receiving the money, they continued to seek odd jobs within the city and took on many jobs repairing the city walls, dredging waterways, and building embankments.

But work always comes to an end. Since the river itself was well-maintained, after half a year, the number of official duties issued by the government decreased, and the citizens gradually became anxious.

As a result, as government officials waved flags and shouted slogans in the streets, many citizens ran out of their neighborhoods and onto the main street.

However, after hearing that the recruitment was for laborers heading north, many of them, who were initially delighted, immediately considered leaving.

"Has Datong in the north rebelled?"

Where is Datong?

"It's north of Taiyuan, and I heard that the local population is mainly of mixed Hu and other ethnicities."

"Those are the Hu people? The imperial court is going north to fight the Hu people?"

"Not a barbarian... never mind! You think so?"

The men in the crowd were whispering amongst themselves, but few dared to step forward.

However, in this market where odd jobs cost seven or eight coins, the daily price of twenty coins still attracted many poor citizens.

Gradually, more and more people stepped forward, and these people were also notified to go to the military camp outside the city on July 15.

Scenes like this are constantly happening in Heyang, Hezhong and other prefectures.

When the military report reached An Pohu, he was in the Linfen County government office coordinating the movement of grain and fodder.

"Governor, half a month has passed and we have already conscripted more than 54,000 laborers. We can gather enough laborers in three days at most."

Inside the yamen, a civil official in his thirties was reporting to An Pohu. Upon hearing this, An Pohu took the military report and looked at the man with a satisfied expression.

This man was named Sikong Tu, and he was famous in Hezhong for his writing. After An Pohu was appointed to govern Hezhong, he personally visited him and finally persuaded him to come out.

Sikong Tu came from an unremarkable background, but he was renowned in Hezhong.

With his help, Anpohu also managed the river region very well, and after coming into contact with the Han army, Sikongtu was less resistant to Liu Jilong's control of the court.

At least before Liu Jilong marched east, the people of Hezhong were often bullied because of the arrogance of his soldiers and generals, and even he had to be careful.

Now that Liu Jilong has advanced eastward, An Pohu has invited him to serve as the Chief Secretary, which has brought some peace to Hezhong. Therefore, he has chosen to take up an official post.

Looking back now, choosing to enter officialdom was arguably the best decision Sikong Tu ever made.

Thinking of this, Sikong Tu said to An Pohu, "The terrain in Hedong is complex, especially Taiyuan, which is protected by mountain passes and fortifications."

"In this battle, Commander, it is best to proceed cautiously and steadily, and avoid taking any risks..."

“Yes!” Anpo Hu nodded in agreement and smiled, “That’s what His Highness said too.”

"However, Li Guochang and his son Li Keyong, whom I fought alongside His Highness to reduce to only a few hundred cavalry in the past, are still not necessarily a match for my army, even though their strength has increased today." "Once news arrives from Wang Chongrong and Lord Cao, my army will begin its three-pronged advance!"

Anpohu stretched out his hand and planted the Han army's banner on the city wall of Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, as news spread northwards that Hezhong was recruiting laborers and that a large army would soon be marching north, Cui Xuan, the military governor of Hedong, indeed chose to fortify the city and adopted a defensive stance.

Cui Xuan commanded 35,000 troops from Hedong, with a population of one million. In addition, Taiyuan was surrounded by passes to the north and south, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. Therefore, he divided his troops into 10,000 to garrison Yanmen Pass and other places to guard against Li Guochang and his son, and divided his troops into 25,000 to garrison Yindi Pass and Shihui Pass in the south to guard against An Pohu and Wang Chongrong.

In addition, he continued to recruit 15,000 soldiers and relied on the armor left in Taiyuan to continuously train his troops, clearly not intending to obediently hand over Hedong.

As a result, the situation in Hadong Province suddenly became volatile...

"kill!!"

"put!"

"Boom bang bang-"

On July 15th, while 50,000 Han troops split into two routes to march north, Yi County in Yiwu Town, Hebei Province, was surrounded by a massive army of over 10,000.

More than 20,000 abducted civilians are currently operating more than 100 catapults, using them to launch a fierce attack on Yi County.

Ten thousand Tatar and Shatuo soldiers drove civilians to brave catapults to push chariots and cloud carts against the walls of Yi County before beginning their assault on the city.

The land of Hebei in July was incredibly hot, but Li Keyong, under his great banner, did not stop his offensive at all.

Facing Yi County, which had been holding out for more than half a month, he turned to Kang Junli and asked, "Has there been any news from Datong?"

"No." Kang Junli shook his head, then said to Li Keyong:

"Our army has already captured all the counties in Yizhou, only Yi County remains to be captured."

"It seems that the Marquis is holding firm in Dingzhou and has no intention of launching an offensive."

Kang Junli smiled broadly, but Li Keyong said with certainty, "No matter where he hides, Yiwu will definitely belong to me!"

“Yes…” Kang Junli nodded in agreement, while at the same time, the Datong troops, under Li Keyong’s watchful eye, continued their fierce attack on Yi County.

Yiwu was not weak, but it suffered heavy setbacks when it marched south to attack Huang Chao and Qin Zongquan. Most of its elite veterans were in Dingzhou, and the military governor Hou Gu did not have the courage to attack Li Keyong. Therefore, Yizhou was captured so quickly.

"Wuhuhu——"

Suddenly, the banners of the Datong Army were raised on the city walls of Yi County. Upon seeing this, Li Keyong ordered: "Take Yi County, and all the warehouses within the city will belong to you!"

The general's order was delivered to the front lines by fast horse. Upon learning of this, the soldiers of Datong could not help but grit their teeth and fight again.

Under Li Keyong's watchful eye, the flags of Yi County gradually began to change to those of Datong, and the shouts of battle grew fainter and fainter.

Before long, several generals rode up from Yi County and dismounted in front of Li Keyong: "My lord, our army has captured Yi County!"

"Very well, the county's official granaries and treasuries belong to you all!"

Li Keyong waved generously. Although he had a bad temper, he was never stingy with rewards for generals who had made meritorious contributions.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Excellency!!"

The generals bowed deeply, and Li Keyong laughed heartily, "Now that Yizhou belongs to me, it's time to march south and attack Dingzhou..."

His laughter didn't last long before Kang Junli saw a fast horse galloping from the west, which soon arrived at the front of the battle line with a military report.

"My lord, the court has accused you of being a traitor, and Liu Jilong has ordered his generals An Pohu and Wang Chongrong to march north and attack you!"

The fast horse bowed respectfully, but the words it uttered made Li Keyong's blood boil.

"That scoundrel Liu Jilong! I am a member of the imperial clan recognized by the late emperor. How dare he use this to deceive me?!"

Li Keyong was furious, but Kang Junli quickly advised him, "My lord, the most urgent task now is to march south to pacify Dingzhou, and then withdraw to Datong."

Faced with Kang Junli's words, Li Keyong became somewhat anxious. He was thinking of heading south to pacify Dingzhou, but he was also worried that he would not be able to capture Yizhou in a short time.

After much hesitation, Li Keyong gritted his teeth and said, "The Dingzhou troops under Hou Gu's command are all elite Yiwu soldiers. If I go south now, I'm afraid I won't be able to take them easily."

"Kang Lang, you lead 5,000 troops to garrison Yizhou, while I will lead the remaining troops to retreat to Datong."

“If Liu Jilong marches north, he will inevitably attack Hedong. If he gains control of Hedong, our army will face dire straits.”

"I intend to take advantage of their attack on Taiyuan to send troops to seize Daizhou and Xinzhou."

"At that time, relying on Chitang Pass and Shiling Pass, I will surely be able to carve out a territory in Daibei and engage in a tug-of-war with Liu Jilong!"

Although Li Keyong had never forgotten revenge over the years, he was also well aware of the strength of the Han army.

Although Liu Jilong did not personally lead the troops this time, An Pohu was also a valiant general in the Han army, so he had to make multiple plans.

However, upon hearing his words, Kang Junli's eyes widened, and he quickly bowed and said, "My lord, most of Dingzhou has been captured by our army, leaving only a few counties."

"As long as your army surrounds Anxi City, Hou Ding will inevitably be unable to withstand it and surrender. How can we abandon all our previous efforts now?"

Upon hearing this, Li Keyong waved his hand impatiently and said, "Dingzhou is just a few counties, how can it compare to Daizhou and Xinzhou?"

"Fine, since you have something to say, I will leave all my infantrymen to you. If you can conquer Dingzhou, then you will have accomplished a great feat!"

Before Kang Junli could refute his words, he turned his horse around and rode away.

Helpless, Kang Junli could only withdraw his infantry to rest in Yizhou. When Li Keyong broke camp and returned to Daibei the next day, he led more than 8,000 infantrymen south to attack Dingzhou.

While Li Keyong returned to reinforce the area, the towns of Lulong and Chengde kept a close eye on the situation in Yiwu.

Zhang Yunshen of Lulong was old and had no intention of taking any action against Yiwu, while Wang Jingchong of Chengde kept sending out garrison troops to patrol Dingzhou, putting a lot of pressure on Kang Junli.

Li Keyong, however, did not care about this. He led the Shatuo and Tatar cavalry who had returned from their plunder to Daibei and sent a fast horse to inform Li Guochang that he should continue to draw men from the Tatar tribes that were heading south to prepare for an attack on Daizhou.

As he prepared to head south, An Pohu and Wang Chongrong's 50,000 troops also came north from Jinzhou and Zezhou.

Since Liu Jilong entered Luoyang, Cui Xuan had sent people to build many passes to the south, so Yindi Pass was almost entirely made of stone, making it difficult to attack.

The pass is flanked by high mountains, stretching for about a mile from east to west, and is situated near the Fen River, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack.

Cui Xuan deployed 10,000 infantrymen at Yindi Pass. After An Pohu led his army there, he immediately ordered the construction of catapults and waited for the laborers to bring gunpowder.

On July 18th, An Pohu launched a fierce attack on Yindi Pass with catapults, but Yindi Pass was extremely strong, and even when An Pohu used shield carts and gunpowder packs to blow it up, he could not break it.

Compared to An Pohu, Wang Chongrong of the eastern route marched north and captured the entire territory of Qinzhou in less than five days, with his army pointing directly at Shihui Pass.

Military reports from the front lines kept arriving in Luoyang. When Liu Jilong learned that Cui Xuan had completed the fortifications at Yindi Pass, he knew that An Pohu would likely find it difficult to quickly breach Yindi Pass.

"How is the artillery making progress in Linzhou?"

Inside the Prince of Han's residence, Liu Jilong looked up and questioned Zhao Ying. Zhao Ying shook his head after hearing this: "Although a six-foot cannon has been made, the caliber can only be about one foot, the cannon is two inches thick, and it weighs 1,700 catties."

"How far can it fire?" Upon hearing the cannon's caliber and weight, Liu Jilong frowned, but still asked.

"Less than three hundred paces." Zhao Ying's words forced Liu Jilong to suppress his thoughts, and he urged, "With the world in turmoil right now, all the towns will surely be reinforcing their city walls."

"The cannons in Linzhou must be produced at a faster pace. If that's not possible, we should settle for the next best thing: only cast five-foot cannons, but the caliber ratio must be increased to more than ten times."

As Liu Jilong finished speaking, Zhao Ying opened her mouth, then finally said, "If we used bronze cannons, it should be faster..."

"Then let's use bronze!" Liu Jilong didn't want to waste too much time facing these fortified cities.

The process of pacifying the world should not be too fast, nor too slow; three years is a reasonable pace.

Because in three years, the first batch of students recommended for study in Kansai will graduate.

They are not good enough to be officials, but they are more than qualified to be clerks. Moreover, they are mostly in their twenties, so they can completely undermine the officials of those powerful families from the bottom up.

However, this is only the beginning, because it is easy to pacify the world but difficult to govern it, especially since the world has been in turmoil for a hundred years, making it even more difficult to govern.

"I accept your order!"

Seeing this, Zhao Ying withdrew, while Liu Jilong buried himself in handling government affairs.

Before he could deal with it for long, Gao Jinda approached him and bowed respectfully, saying, "Your Highness, the Ministry of Justice has sent someone to inquire about the appropriate course of action against Qin Zongquan."

"I had almost forgotten about him." Upon hearing this, Liu Jilong remembered Qin Zongquan, who had been imprisoned for more than half a year.

After much deliberation, Liu Jilong said, "Execute him on the anniversary of the late emperor's death."

“Yes…” Gao Jinda bowed in agreement and then left the palace.

As he left, Li Keyong, who had returned to Daibei, also headed straight for Mayi.

On July 26, when Li Keyong arrived at Mayi with more than 8,000 elite cavalry, Li Guochang had already gathered more than 10,000 Tatars who had marched south and stationed them there.

After Li Keyong arrived, Li Guochang immediately told him about the current situation.

"Dad!"

Li Keyong addressed Li Guochang, who, with his hands resting on the sand table, frowned as he looked at the weary Li Keyong and asked, "Why didn't you take Dingzhou before coming back?"

"I think Daizhou and Xinzhou are more important than Dingzhou. Besides, I have already acquired most of Dingzhou, leaving only a few cities. It wouldn't hurt to hand them over to Kang Lang to attack."

Li Keyong's words aroused dissatisfaction among many people in the yamen, but fortunately Li Guochang stepped forward in time to smooth things over:
"Most of Yiwu Town is in our hands. As for the remaining counties, even if we don't capture them now, they won't cause any trouble."

"Feihu is right. Our army must take Daizhou and Xinzhou now. Cui Xuan has 5,000 troops stationed at Yanmen Pass, 3,000 at Loufan Pass, and only 2,000 troops at the passes and cities behind Chitang."

"In addition, most of the troops in Hedong were in the south resisting Liu Jilong's northward advance, leaving the two prefectures of Dai and Yi without any reinforcements."

"Therefore, as long as our army captures Yanmen Pass or Loufan Pass, we can easily replace Yi and Yi."

Li Guochang's words stirred up a lot of people's interest.

Although Daizhou and Xinzhou are not as wealthy as Dingzhou and Yizhou, they are easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once captured, they can be well held.

They are not like Cui Xuan, so once Liu Jilong gains control of Daizhou and Xinzhou, it won't be so easy for him to conquer and destroy them.

"Our army's food supplies, including what Flying Tiger brought, will only last for two months at most."

"Therefore, we must take over these two states within two months!"

As soon as Li Guochang finished speaking, before Li Keyong could respond, Gai Yu frowned and said:

"That being said, Cui Xuan is currently defending our army against Liu Jilong's troops in the south. As the ancients said, if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. We should not send troops to help Cui Xuan resist Liu Jilong's northward advance, but we should also not kick him when he is down."

"Hmph..." Li Guochang couldn't help but snort, "The troops in Hedong are weak and helpless. If Cui Xuan wants to protect himself, he should take the initiative to cede Daizhou and Xinzhou. In that case, I will help him."

“If he is unwilling to cede the territory, I will send troops to occupy it myself. At that time, with Daizhou and Xinzhou in my hands, I will surely be able to stop Liu Jilong.”

After learning that Li Keyong had captured Yizhou, Li Guochang couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Seeing this, Gai Yu looked to Li Keyong for help, but Li Keyong said irritably, "Don't boost Liu Jilong's morale and diminish our army's prestige!"

"What merit or ability does Cui Xuan, a mediocre man, have to occupy Beidu?"

"Both father and son are legitimate, and this Hedong region should rightfully belong to them!"

Gai Yu could only sigh inwardly upon hearing this, while Li Guochang nodded in satisfaction and asked Li Keyong, "How much armor did you bring back from Yizhou?"

"Four thousand six hundred sets!" Li Keyong responded without hesitation, and Li Guochang's eyes lit up: "Great!"

"Tomorrow our army will march south and we will surely capture Yanmen Pass!"

"This subordinate obeys..."

All the generals agreed and then withdrew from the government office.

The following morning, Li Guochang and his son led more than 18,000 troops south, but only 60% of them were armored; the majority were Tatars dressed in coarse cloth and animal skins.

Even so, when they marched south and forced thousands of people to work as laborers, building weapons outside Yanmen Pass and threatening to attack it, the garrison commander of Yanmen Pass still hurriedly sent a message to Taiyuan for help.

The following day, Li Guochang and his son launched a fierce attack on Yanmen Pass, while the messenger did not deliver the message for reinforcements to Jinyang until dusk the next day.

"Asshole!!"

In Taiyuan City, the Jinyang Palace, which should have been the emperor's temporary residence, has now become Cui Xuan's residence.

If this had happened a few years ago, it would have been considered an act of usurpation. However, starting from the time Li Cui died, when the Tang Dynasty was in turmoil and Liu Jilong entered Luoyang, Cui Xuan moved into the Jinyang Palace.

"These scoundrels from Daibei! I'm here to stop Liu Jilong's northward advance, and instead of offering help, they attack me and demand the two prefectures of Dai and Yi!!"

Choi Hyun really couldn't understand what Li Guochang and his son were thinking.

Don't these two understand the principle that they share both prosperity and adversity?

"My lord, should we send troops north?"

The two generals standing in the hall asked, but Cui Xuan rubbed his temples after hearing the question: "What effect can more than 10,000 new soldiers who have been training for less than half a month achieve?"

"Fine, I'll send a letter to the north. If Li Guochang and his son still don't know what's good for them, then I'll surrender to Liu Muzhi and see how they get dealt with!"

Cui Xuan's letter arrived at Yanmen Pass the following evening, and Li Guochang was so angry and agitated when he saw it.

"You incompetent scoundrels, how dare you threaten me?!"

Li Guochang, who was sitting in the tent, slammed his fist on the table and stood up. After everyone read the letter, they couldn't help but curse.

Despite their cursing, they were still somewhat worried that Cui Xuan would hand over Hedong to Liu Jilong. Thinking of this, someone couldn't help but speak up:

"We haven't taken Dingzhou in the east yet. Why not turn our troops around and attack Dingzhou, so that Cui Xuan doesn't actually hand over Hedong to Liu Jilong?"

"yes……"

Seeing everyone say this, Li Guochang couldn't help but feel uneasy. Gai Yu, seeing this, delivered the fatal blow.

"General, our army has suffered over 800 dead and over 1,000 wounded today, while the number of soldiers from Hedong killed on the city walls is at most 1,000."

"If this continues, even if our army captures Daizhou and Xinzhou, it will probably be difficult to resist Liu Jilong."

"Why not ask Fei Hu to lead his army eastward, take Dingzhou completely, and then find a way to move south to Hedong?"

Gai Yu did not support attacking Hedong at all; in his view, they should immediately take Yiwu.

It's a pity that he didn't go to Yiwu with Li Keyong back then, otherwise he would never have let Li Keyong return to Daibei and make the decision to attack Hedong.

“Since that’s the case…” Li Guochang was somewhat conflicted, and at that moment the sound of horses’ hooves rang out outside the tent.

All the generals looked outside the tent, and then they saw a colonel dismount his horse, panting as he quickly walked to the gate and knelt down.

"Urgent report from Dingzhou: Wang Jingchong, the military governor of Chengde, led his army to attack Dingzhou. Kangdu was defeated and Hougu surrendered to Wang Jingchong."

"Not only is Wang Jingchong currently occupying Dingzhou, but he is also making moves to march north and attack Yizhou..."

"You dog-and-rat Chengde, you mother-and-mother thief!!"

When Li Keyong learned that Chengde had launched a surprise attack on Dingzhou and was also going to attack Yizhou, which he had just acquired, he immediately became restless.

Li Guochang hesitated for a moment, then looked at Li Keyong and said, "Chengde's military strength is formidable, perhaps..."

"Does Chengde, who is a pig or a dog, still think this is a hundred years ago?"

Li Keyong cursed loudly, then looked at Li Guochang, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, and said, "Father, I will lead 8,000 cavalry back to Yizhou, and we will surely crush these scoundrels, Chengde!"

“This, this…” Li Guochang did not want to make enemies on all sides, but considering that Li Keyong almost took Yiwu Town in less than a month, he finally nodded.

Upon seeing this, Gai Yu immediately said, "I will go with you, sir!"

He wasn't worried that Li Keyong couldn't defeat Chengde, but rather that Li Keyong would be indecisive again, attacking here and there without any real progress, and ultimately failing to achieve anything.

"Alright." Li Guochang readily agreed, while Li Keyong walked out of the command tent with a gloomy face and ordered the three armies to break camp and advance eastward at dawn the next day...

(End of this chapter)