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

Chapter 148 Don’t you know that things change over time?
Tongzhou,

Changchun Palace,
Du Ruhui accompanied Li Shimin on a high tower on the city wall, where they looked out over the Taihua and Zhongtiao Mountains, and the Yellow, Luo, and Wei Rivers.

"Who could have imagined that the situation in the Central Plains would actually turn out as Li Yi predicted long ago, with Li Mi suffering a crushing defeat and Wang Shichong making a desperate counterattack and achieving a resounding victory?"

Li Shimin looked at the surging Yellow River with great emotion.
The Changchun Palace in winter looks even more majestic amidst the depression.

This city was built by Yuwen Hu fifty years ago. It was originally named Jincheng. It has cliffs on three sides, faces the Yellow River to the east, and faces Puzhen Pass. Later, because it is like spring all year round, it was renamed Changchun Palace. During the Kaihuang period of the Sui Dynasty, palaces were added. The palace alone covers an area of more than 300 acres.

The Grand Secretariat of the Eastern Shaanxi Road was stationed here, and all the troops east of Tongguan were under the control of Li Shimin.

"I thought the battle between Li Mi and Wang Shichong would last until the end of the year, but I didn't expect it to be over so soon."

Du Ruhui also said: "Yes, it's exactly as Li Yi said at the beginning. Although this kid has never learned the art of war, his saying that the art of war is like the art of chess is really good."

"Wang Shichong is a formidable enemy," Li Shimin sighed.

During this Central Plains War, Li Shimin was stationed in Changchun Palace and sent many scouts to closely monitor the battlefield, but the Tang army had no intention of getting involved and deliberately showed no interest in Henan, just to let them fight without scruples.

Wang Shichong did seize this opportunity.
While Li Mi's troops were still resting after the Battle of Tongshan, he secretly organized a counterattack.

Wang Shichong did several things. First, Zhang Yongtong, a sergeant of the Left Guard, dreamed of Duke Zhou. Duke Zhou asked Zhang Yongtong to tell Wang Shichong that he should mobilize his troops to help fight the enemy. This news spread throughout Luoyang.

So Wang Shichong built a temple for Zhou Gong and offered sacrifices and prayers every time he gathered for training.

He also called in a wizard, who said that Duke Zhou had ordered General Wang to attack Li Mi urgently, and that he must achieve great success, otherwise the soldiers would all be infected with the disease and die.

At this time, most of the soldiers under Wang Shichong's command were from Jianghuai and Chu. They believed what the wizard said, and under the leadership of Wang Shichong's confidants, they all asked to fight.

So Wang Shichong reorganized 20,000 elite troops and 2,000 elite cavalry, and took the initiative to attack Li Mi. The military flags were all inscribed with "Yongtong", and morale was high.

Facing Wang Shichong's troops approaching Yanshi City,

Li Mi's general, Pei Renji, suggested dividing the army to guard the key roads, preventing Wang Shichong from advancing eastward. He also suggested selecting 30,000 elite troops and advancing on Luoyang, forcing Wang Shichong to return for reinforcements. If Wang Shichong returned, the Wei army would retreat. If he came out again, we would advance on Luoyang again. This cycle would repeat, leaving us with spare strength and the enemy army exhausted and low on food, bound to be defeated.

Li Mi also agreed with Pei Renji's words at first, saying that Wang Shichong's army in Luoyang was well-armed and had no food or fodder. They were heading straight for our granary to seize food, and their morale was high, so it was not advisable to fight hard.

But Shan Xiongxin and others said that Wang Shichong had been defeated by them many times, and now he had few soldiers, so he was not worth mentioning at all.

Chen Zhilue and Fan Wenchao, who had just surrendered after the Battle of Tongshan, also said that the newly surrendered soldiers wanted to make new achievements and hoped to show their skills. As a result, most of the generals clamored to send troops and enter Luoyang.

Finally, Li Mi wavered again and decided to send troops to fight.

Pei Renji's persuasion was fruitless. Wei Zheng, the military secretary, also told the chief secretary Zheng Ting that our army had suffered heavy casualties after the battle and the soldiers were exhausted both physically and mentally. Wang Shichong was short of food in Luoyang and was determined to fight to the death to seize the food. His fighting spirit was no less than that of Yu Wenzhi's brave army last time.
We can't fight them head-on now, so we have to dig deep trenches and build high fortifications, just like Li Shimin did when he fought Xue Ju and his son. In less than ten days or half a month, Wang Shichong will run out of food and be forced to retreat. Then we can seize the opportunity to pursue them and we will surely win."

Zheng Ting was Li Mi's confidant, and mocking Wei Zheng was a cliché.

Li Mi led the inner camp and stationed Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Pei Xingyan and other generals of the cavalry on the northern Mang Mountain.
Shan Xiongxin led the foreign cavalry to camp north of Yanshi City.
Wang Shichong sent hundreds of elite cavalry to cross the river to attack Shan Xiongxin's camp. Li Mi sent Cheng Yaojin and Pei Xingyan to lead cavalry to help defend. The elite cavalry of Luoyang fought desperately and shot Pei Xingyan. Cheng Yaojin rushed into the encirclement alone, killed several people, and rescued Pei Xingyan. While trying to break through the encirclement, he was pierced in the abdomen by the enemy's horse spear.
At the critical moment, the extremely brave Cheng Yaojin turned around and broke the horse lance, killed the enemy general, and finally escaped with the seriously injured Pei Xingyan.

Li Mi underestimated the enemy and set up camp on Beimang Mountain without building any barriers. At night, Wang Shichong sent more than 200 elite cavalrymen to quietly climb the mountain and ambush in the valley.

Tianming,

Wang Shichong swore to his troops, "If we win, we will share the wealth and glory; if we lose, none of us will escape."

He led his troops to attack Li Mi directly.

Before Li Mi's army could form a battle line, Wang Shichong led his troops to attack fiercely. Not long after the two armies fought fiercely, someone came out with a man tied up and shouted that Li Mi had been captured.

This person was a substitute that Wang Shichong had found in advance, who looked very similar to Li Mi. He hid him in the army and pushed him out at the critical moment. It really worked very well.

The Luoyang army shouted "Long live the emperor" and their morale was greatly boosted, while the Wei army was a little panicked.

At this moment, more than 200 elite cavalrymen who had quietly ambushed on the mountain last night rushed down from the high ground behind them, rushed into Li Mi's camp in the rear, and set it on fire.
Li Mi's army was routed.
Yuan Yuwenhua and the surrendered generals Zhang Tongren and Chen Zhilue, who had clamored to attack, make achievements and show their skills before the war, directly led their subordinates to defect and surrender to Wang Shichong.

Li Mi retreated to Luokou with more than 10,000 defeated soldiers.

Wang Shichong took advantage of the victory and besieged Yanshi City at night. Zheng Ting was defending the city, but his men opened the city gates to welcome Wang Shichong in. After Wang Shichong captured the city, he not only obtained a lot of food and weapons, but also found his brothers and nephews who had followed Yu Wenhuaji north and fell into Li Mi's hands.

They also captured Li Mi's general Pei Renji, as well as the chief secretary Zheng Ting, the recorder Zu Junyan and dozens of others.

Wang Shichong captured the wife of Bing Yuanzhen, the defender of Luokou, and others, comforted them generously, and allowed them to secretly contact their fathers, brothers, and husbands.

After Guo Qing, the King of Xun of the Sui Dynasty, learned about this, he reported it secretly to Li Mi. Li Mi did not make it public, but instead wanted to use the opponent's strategy against him. He discussed with everyone and decided to wait until half of Wang Shichong's army had crossed the Luo River and then attack them when they were halfway across.

Then what was very funny was that when Wang Shichong led his army to Luoshui, Li Mi's scouts did not discover it in time. They only discovered it after Wang Shichong's troops had crossed Luoshui.

When Shan Xiongxin saw Wang Shichong's army crossing the river, he not only did not stop them, but instead led his troops to retreat and protect himself. Li Mi, realizing he had missed the opportunity to attack halfway across the river and lacking the courage to hold on, fled directly to Hulao Pass on horseback. Bing Yuanzhen surrendered Luokou Granary to Wang Shichong, and Flying General Shan Xiongxin also surrendered to Wang Shichong with his troops.

Wang Bodang, who stayed behind to guard Jinyong City, also abandoned the city and retreated to Heyang City on the north side of the Yellow River. Li Mi fled from Hulao to Heyang and discussed with the generals. Li Mi still wanted to rely on the Yellow River to defend, guard Taihang in the north, and connect with Liyang in the south.

Someone said to Li Mi, when Zhai Rang was killed, Xu Shiji was also stabbed twice and almost died. Now that he has failed, he has surrendered to him. Will he not give us two stabs?

Especially now that Shan Xiongxin has surrendered to Wang Shichong, maybe Xu Shiji has also surrendered. Back then, Zhai Rang, Shan Xiongxin and Xu Shiji jointly built Wagang and were sworn brothers.

It was then that Li Mi realized that although he had many people and great power before, they were all a motley crowd with a complex composition and different hearts. As a result of this defeat, many people surrendered. Li Mi drew his sword and wanted to commit suicide.

Liu Xie, the official in the government, suggested fleeing west to Guanzhong.

"Your Excellency and Duke Tang are of the same clan, and have a long-standing friendship. Although you did not join the rebellion, you blocked the Eastern Capital and cut off the Sui army's route back, allowing Duke Tang to capture Chang'an without a fight. This is also your achievement."

The panic-stricken subordinates also said at this time,
"Of course."

Li Mi looked around and found that only Wang Bodang was left who could fight. The rest of the brave generals, such as Qin Shubao, Cheng Yaojin, Shan Xiongxin, Pei Renji, Pei Xingyan, Xu Shiji, etc., either surrendered to the enemy or were seriously injured. None of them were around.

This time, there was no Qin Qiong to turn the tide for him and help him win.

Li Mi looked towards Wei Zheng, the secretary.

Wei Zheng said nothing.

Li Mi sighed, "I regret not listening to Xuancheng's advice."

Wei Zheng also saw that when the tree fell, the monkeys scattered. Ultimately, the complete defeat was due to the two commanders. Wang Shichong was aggressive and fought to the death, while Li Mi ignored the advice and, when the fighting finally started, fled at the first sign of defeat.

If Li Mi had lost the first battle and was able to hold on to Yanshi, the avalanche would not have been so severe.

But it's too late to say anything,

Li Mi is just like Yu Wenzhi. He can never recover after being defeated once. But Wang Shichong can always make a comeback no matter how many times he is defeated. That's the difference.

So Li Mi led his troops from Heyang and passed through Hedong to enter Guanzhong and surrender to Li Yuan.

Along the way, more and more subordinates gathered and followed him. After entering the Tang territory, there were more than 20,000 of them.

Changchun Palace,
A messenger from Chang'an arrived.
Li Mi brought the emperor's order and led his troops back. The King of Qin personally welcomed and entertained him, comforted him in Changchun Palace, and then sent troops to escort him to Chang'an.

"Li Mi is a man who is good at making plans but lacks decision-making power. He is indecisive, has great ambitions but little talent, and is stubborn and self-righteous," Li Shimin commented.

Du Ruhui also said: "If the army is too numerous but its divisions are unclear, and the generals are arrogant and their policies are inconsistent, even if the territory is vast and the food is abundant, it will eventually be defeated."

"Do you think Li Mi is truly loyal?"

"Li Mi has only come to us out of desperation. If we accept him, we can recruit him into our ranks. However, we must also be wary of Li Mi turning against us again."

The envoy from Chang'an also brought some family letters.
After reading it, Du Ruhui's face changed drastically.

"Is there something wrong at home?" Li Shimin asked with concern.

“It’s Wuyi.”

"What kind of trouble could that brat possibly get into? Shouldn't he be married to your younger sister, Keming, and on their honeymoon now, inseparable?"

The day before Li Yi's wedding, Du Ruhui received an urgent summons from Li Shimin and had to rush to Changchun Palace. At that time, there was a great battle in Luoyang.
He could only regretfully miss Li Yi and Shi Niang's wedding.

"Oh, I didn't expect that my old lady would treat Li Yi like this,"

"Is there anything more outrageous than asking for one million as compensation and one million as a betrothal gift?" Li Shimin asked.

Du Ruhui told Li Shimin in shame that he had already agreed with Guo that the Du family would give Shi Niang a grand wedding and a dowry worth no less than one million, including a farm of several hundred acres, a house in Chang'an, and a villa in Zhongnan Mountain.

As well as gold and silver jewelry, furniture, clothing, various silks, cattle, horses, slaves, etc.

"I never thought that the old lady, who used to treat Shi Niang like her sweetheart, would be so heartless this time. Not only did she not give her the promised million-dollar dowry, she didn't even invite relatives and friends, and there was no wedding banquet. She even let Shi Niang get married alone in a commoner's dress.
This marriage has now spread throughout Chang'an and has become a laughing stock in the capital."

Li Shimin was shocked.
"Your grandmother is really old and confused. She's too much of a bully. Doesn't she know that things change over time?"

"It's all my fault. I didn't handle this properly." Du Ruhui was filled with anger. He knew that Guo was not only targeting Li Yi, but also him. "I'm sorry Wuyi."

Li Shimin consoled him, "Don't feel sorry for that kid. The real disgrace is for your Du family."

(End of this chapter)