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

Chapter 119: Defense of the Manor

Li Yi looked at this motley crew.
Fighting those rebellious Qiang cavalry is like lighting a light in the toilet and looking for trouble.
"Turn around and retreat!"

While retreating, Li Yi quickly discussed with Guo Erlang and others, "Those Qiang barbarians are rebelling, burning, killing and looting all the way here. We are definitely not able to stop them. Now we can only avoid the sharp edge temporarily. Everyone should send people back to the village.

Tell the villagers to run quickly, take their valuables, run to the fields, hide in the ditches, or run to the Zhongnan Mountains.

The village cannot be defended.
They are all small villages. For example, Luojiabao has only 18 households. They live on the north bank of the Hehe River and dig caves under the cliffs of Shenheyuan. There is not even a village wall. What can stop them?

Although Fengjiabao and Wangqu are large villages with village walls and gates, they would be difficult to defend if there were hundreds or thousands of Qiang cavalry.

Might as well just run away.

After all, this is the outskirts of the capital, only forty miles away from Chang'an. What everyone needs is not a confrontation, but a temporary refuge. The court will surely send troops to encircle and pursue these rebellious Qiang people soon.
Li Yi asked Luo San to ride back to the village to inform

He asked Liu Heizi to go around to Huangliang Village and report to Chang'an. Regardless of whether the court knew about it or not, he had to report the situation he discovered here.

Dong Qilang said excitedly, "Wuyi, if we really don't attack them all at once, our militia has nearly fifty people. If we find an opportunity, we can ambush them and kill a few Qiang bandits. Wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

This guy shouldn't come to Wuji Academy to teach. He should give up his pen and join the army. He's so brave.

Li Yi had seen the elite troops of the Longyou Army in Jingzhou. The Longyou Qiang cavalrymen who followed Xue Ju were also extremely powerful.

"It's already this late, and you're still thinking about this."

Li Yi pointed at the carts of food, saying there was no need to go to Weibao to distribute porridge. "Distribute this food directly to the victims. Tell them that the Qiang soldiers are rebelling and are heading this way. Everyone should scatter and hide."

There wasn't much food, and each person could only get a few liters of food.

Li Yi didn't plan to take it back. He distributed food to the victims and hoped that they could survive this sudden disaster.

"Everyone line up, no cutting in line, no grabbing, anyone who dares to mess around won't get a single pill,"

"Those who have received food should quickly find a place to escape. Avoid the main roads and walk through the fields, preferably east and west. If you encounter a village or see people, tell them that the Qiang soldiers are rebelling, burning, killing, and looting on the Shenhe Plateau, and are heading towards the South Mountain."

Li Yi stood in front of the grain cart and shouted loudly,

Dozens of militiamen surrounded the grain cart and held down their red-cherry rifles.

Under the threat of these red tasseled spears,
Although the victims were panicking, they did not loot indiscriminately.

There were several long queues, each of them scooped two bowls of food,

"Those who have received the food should leave quickly. If you are late, it will be too late."

Although some victims thought that this might be a show and that the man from Li County in Xingshengli was deliberately tricking them into leaving, no one dared to bet on it.

After all, there are all kinds of bandits these days. If this were true, it would be fatal.

Don’t worry about anything else, just run away.

After all the carts of grain had been distributed,
The victims also fled one after another.
"You should hurry home and hide first." Li Yi said to the people pulling the carts to transport grain. These men were the male tenants that Li Yi had recruited to help him learn the new skills.

"Go quickly, take the livestock with you, don't leave them in the village."

"Food! So much food just harvested, more than 200 mu of land."

"If there's no time to transport it, move it to the cave, then dig up the cave entrance and bury it," Li Yi instructed. "If there's really no time, just leave it alone. Even if the food is gone, as long as the people are still there, it's fine."

The troops who were transporting grain also left.

Now there are only about thirty people left in the militia. Originally there were almost fifty people, and many of them were sent out to report the news.

It was obvious that everyone was in a panic.

"Let's go back and demolish Luojia Bridge first."

"Huh? Demolishing a bridge?"

"Of the seven villages we have, six are on the north bank of the Hehe River. If we demolish the bridge, perhaps the Qiang bandits won't rush directly into our villages."

The village chief of Sanjiaqiao was panicked. "Wai Zhao, our Sanjia Village is on the south bank."

"There's nothing we can do about it. Didn't you also send your son to inform the villagers to hide out?" Guo Erlang said immediately.

"But if they go all the way up the plateau from the general camp, and then go down to Guozhuang from Fengjiabao, our village will still be unable to escape," said Dong Qilang.

"Yeah, let's forget about the bridge for now and just take it one step at a time."

At this time, Li Yi was somewhat envious of the fortresses and manors of the noble families.

Each of them is easy to defend and difficult to attack. Even if an army comes to besiege some forts, they can still hold out for ten days, half a month or even longer thanks to the guards of the family servants.

"I remember that Feng Xiangzuo's family built two houses. The northern house was for living, and the southern house was a garden. The southern garden was built on the plateau, with earth piled up to form a hill and a very high wall built, occupying the highest point of the plateau?" Li Yi suddenly said.

Dong Qilang and Feng Liulang were neighbors in the same fort.
"Well, there has been a saying on the plateau in recent years: the Feng family has high mountains, the Guo family has a lot of land, and the Dong family has a large population.

The garden built by Feng Liulang is indeed very strategic. I heard that his family used to live in Hedong, where there were frequent wars, with Xiongnu, Jihu, and other barbarian bandits frequently harassing and invading. There were also many horse thieves and bandits. Therefore, the powerful families there liked to build fortresses and manors, which were easy to defend and difficult to attack. After Feng Liulang settled here, he built these two houses in the north and south, both of which are surrounded by high walls. The south garden in particular is called a garden, but it looks more like a fortress.

"How about we gather our young and strong men and retreat to Feng Liulang's Nanyuan? If the Qiang bandits dare to attack, we can then defend the dangerous position and shoot them from our high ground."

Guo Erlang said: "The walls of the Horse-Ti Temple are also very high, and the temple gate is also very strong."

"No, the Ma Ti Temple is too big. We don't have enough people to guard it, and the thieves can easily break through." Li Yi immediately denied it.

After a discussion, everyone quickly withdrew.

They agreed to go home and settle down, and then meet at Feng Liulang's Nanyuan.

Li Yi rode his horse as fast as he could, and Li Cunxiao and other servants followed behind him.

I ran across Luojia Bridge in one breath,
Luojiabao Village was already in chaos, with children crying for their parents and some people running around like headless flies.

At this time, many people are still reluctant to part with their little belongings.

He also wanted to move the newly harvested grain away, and even wanted to take away all the rags and broken bowls and pans, which made Li Yi's face twitch.

He rushed back to the thatched cottage,
It's a mess here too.
"What are you still doing here? Hurry up and go to Feng Liulang's Nanyuan first. The rebel Qiang cavalry may attack at any time."

"I haven't packed up my things yet," Xiuzhi said in a panic.
"Don't pack up, just leave now."

Li Yi ordered Ji Shi Yu Shu and the others to retreat quickly, "Keep an eye on Lan Xiang and Hong Xiao, take Zhao Cai and Wang Cai with you, and let the chickens and ducks go and leave them alone."

"Where's the food?"

"There are still a lot of bean curd sticks in the workshop,"

"What should we do with all the big pots in our workshop?"

"Don't worry about that. Just take the horses, oxen, mules, and donkeys, some clothes, and jewelry. Don't worry about anything else."

Xiuzhi cried,

I can't bear to give up this, nor that.
Finally, under Li Yi's urging, she called her two sons and together they carried eight basins of potatoes and six basins of onions. Li Cunxiao and the others were also called and each carried two large iron pots. Under Li Yi's repeated urging, everyone finally went out to escape.

Fortunately, it was only two or three miles away from Feng Liulang’s house, and it was just up a slope.

Li Yi stayed at the end.
When no one was in the thatched cottage, he began to check each room one by one, first sweeping the iron pots, bean curd sheets, bean curd bubbles, beans, etc. that he had not had time to take away from the workshop into the space,

Then collect the silk money from the storehouse at home.

Finally, there was the newly harvested grain. From over 200 mu of land, several hundred dan of rice, millet, and beans were harvested. Li Yi piled all of it onto the terrace of the space.

Fortunately, the terrace is big enough and it doesn't rain here.

Finally, I looked at the furniture, picked up some and put them away, but I couldn’t put away all the rest.

He rode his horse around the village.
Urge those who are still dawdling to leave quickly.
Everyone left with red eyes and tears, carrying large and small bags.

He rode to the door of Feng Liulang's house,
There are a lot of people gathered here.
Feng Liulang's servants refused to let anyone in.

Li Yi stepped forward and said, "I am Li Yi from Luojiabao, and I want to talk to Feng Liulang in person."

The servant refused to open the door and just hung a basket under the wall.

Li Yi frowned at this and said, "You all know that the Qiang soldiers are rebelling and are burning, killing and looting along the way. Your Feng family's Nanyuan has high walls and a large courtyard. It occupies a strategic location and can be defended. The villagers want to go in and take shelter.
The young and strong can also help defend together,
Are you shutting the door on someone like this and just watching him die without helping?

Or do you think that with just your few servants, you can defend this compound and withstand the attacks of hundreds or even thousands of elite Qiang cavalry rebels?"

"To save others is to save ourselves. In this time of crisis, as neighbors, we should help each other instead of turning people away."

Li Yi's words drew cheers from villagers from several nearby villages who had come rushing over.

quickly,

Feng Liulang was invited in and he ordered someone to open the door.

"Feng Xiangzuo, thank you for opening the door and welcoming our fellow villagers. We are in this together and will overcome this difficult time together. Let's quickly organize the young and strong villagers to guard the place."

"You are right, the county man. You have been on the expedition with the King of Qin and served in the field camp. You are in command here, and we will all obey you."

Li Yi also took the lead, "Set up a pot and light a fire, boil water and heat oil, and then boil some feces for later use."

"Prepare more stones for the wall,"

"Collect all the pot lids and wooden planks that can be used as shields."

"Also, quickly cut some more sticks and sharp stakes so that you can throw them to kill the enemy in critical moments."

"The most important thing is to unite as one. Don't be afraid. This is Chang'an. The Qiang rebels are just plundering along the way and will never stay here for too long.

As long as we can withstand one of his attacks, they won't fight any longer."

"The imperial army will surely arrive soon, so there's no need to worry too much."

"Organize all the young and strong men into teams of three, three teams into a squadron, and three squadrons into a battalion. Each group should be led by a tall and strong man. Everyone should work in groups of three and support each other."

"Old people and young people serve as the reserve team, ready to provide support at any time."

"Everyone, remember, we must hold on. Otherwise, if the rebel Qiang break into the manor and kill us, no one will be spared."

"Oh, and have the women boil water and cook, and prepare the food so that everyone can have enough to eat and have the strength to fight."

"Also, Liu Lang, do you have any medicine at home? Arrange some skilled women to prepare more gauze. If there are any injuries, apply medicine and bandage them immediately."

Li Yi said a series of words in one breath,

Feng Liulang, Guo Erlang and other village heads and wealthy families all obeyed the order.

Soon, Dong Xiucai was also taken into the manor. He was very satisfied after listening to Li Yi's arrangements.

"Prepare a few more reserve teams so that they can rush to reinforce any emergency situation. It would be best if we could prepare some red cloth flags in various places. If there is an emergency, we can quickly raise the red flags so that we can detect it in time and send reinforcements immediately."

Li Yi felt that the teacher's supplement was very good.
Finally, a village chief was arranged to lead every section of the fortress wall, followed by the heads of each group.

Li Yi, Dong Xiucai and Feng Liulang were the commanders of the central army, sitting in the center and deploying personnel at any time.

At the critical moment, Li Yi called Li Cunxiao and four other red-banded Qiang slaves.

"Now I'm giving you a mission. You're going to ride out and scout the area. If you spot any enemy, come back and report. Can I trust you?"

Li Cunxiao patted his chest and said, "Yes, I have a condition."

"explain."

"If I can bring back one enemy head, I hope to exchange it for my freedom. If we can bring back four enemy heads, I hope to give us all freedom."

This passage is very long, and Cunli helped translate it.

Li Yi said cheerfully, "As long as you bring back the heads of the rebellious Qiang people, I will give each of you freedom in exchange for one head. Not only will I be free, but I will also reward you for your merits!"

Li Cunxiao slapped his chest three times, "Just wait."

After saying that, the four of them led their horses out.

Li Yi stopped Cunli who also wanted to go with them, and said, "If you follow them, you will be a burden to them. Let them go."

Dong Qilang asked, "They are also Chipai Qiang. The rebels may be from the same tribe. Aren't you afraid that they will join the rebels after they escape, or even tell them our secrets to lure them into attacking?"

Li Yi said: "We are right here, between two main roads. The rebel Qiang are likely to pass through here. We will come here whether we lure them or not.
I don't think they are the kind of traitors who would turn against their own side in the face of adversity.
Even if they do rebel, it won't cause any trouble, and perhaps it can reduce a hidden danger. If the Qiang rebels attack, wouldn't it be even more dangerous if they suddenly rebelled and joined forces with the outside world?"

"Yeah, the principal is amazing."

Li Yi also had no one to use. He was not too confident in keeping these four red-row Qiang slaves here. It would be better to send them out for reconnaissance. They were also Qiang soldiers and knew the Qiang people better.
Even if they really rebel, there is nothing we can do.

You can't be afraid of him rebelling, so you tie up the four people now? If you do this, then these four Qiang slaves can no longer stay.
Might as well take this opportunity to test it out.
If you pass the test, you can use it with confidence in the future.

South Garden,
Everyone is busy preparing for battle.

Xu Xiuzhi suddenly couldn't find her son.
"Shuanzi, Zhuzi, where are you?"

The woman was in a panic and didn't know when she got separated from her son. She searched all over the Feng family's south garden but couldn't find him, which made her cry in panic.

When Ji, Sanniang and others heard about it, they all searched the whole manor to help look for him, but they couldn't find him.

Anxious, Xiuzhi ran to the gate and wanted to go out to look for someone.

The gatekeeper was reluctant at first, but Xiuzhi was so anxious that she wanted to jump off the high wall. There was no choice but for the Feng family servant who was guarding the gate to open the door and let her out.

Xiuzhi went out, walked down the slope and headed straight for Luojiabao. She called out anxiously all the way, but there was no response.

(End of this chapter)