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

Chapter 221 Thief Your Mother

Hebei,

Shandong Daoan sent ambassador Huai'an King Li Shentong to defeat the regicide who usurped the throne in Weizhou, and Yu Wenhuaji retreated to Liaocheng in Bozhou.

During the New Year, the people of Emperor Yu Wenhuaji of Daxu could not even get enough food to eat.

The Tang army followed closely and surrounded Liaocheng, but they were slaughtering pigs and sheep outside the city to celebrate the New Year.

Most of the troops in the two armies came from Guanzhong. The Xiaoguo Army stood on the not-so-high city wall of Liaocheng, exposed to the northwest wind and shivering with cold.

The wind brought the aroma of Tang army stewed meat and roasted lamb under the city.
They had killed the king in March of last year, and then traveled north and returned west. As a result, they had been on the journey home for almost a year, but were still 1,600 miles away from home.

The end of the road.

Emperor Daxu Yuwen Huaji and his brother Prince Qi Yuwen Zhiji were both drunk.

Drunk, the brothers started arguing again.

"At the beginning, I was unaware of the situation. You were the one who orchestrated the plan, killing Yang Guang and then forcing me to succeed you. Now, I have achieved nothing, my men are scattering, and I am now branded a regicide. The world is vast, but there is no place for me to remain. The disaster that has wiped out my clan today is all because of you!"

Yuwen Zhiji angrily retorted, "In the third year of Daye, we accompanied the emperor to Yulin and engaged in smuggling with the Turks. When the matter was exposed, you blamed all the crimes on me, and Aye only pleaded for you.

Although I was the mastermind behind the Jiangdu incident, you were completely unaware of it. When we won, you happily accepted it, but now that we're about to lose, you're trying to blame me.
If I had known earlier, I shouldn't have supported you. I would have proclaimed myself emperor in the north and tried being emperor for a few days to see what it's like."

The two brothers no longer cared about age, and were no longer the ruler and his subjects.

After the quarrel,

Keep drinking.

"Shiji went to Jibei to collect grain, but now the grain has not been collected, but a lot of soldiers have been taken away. This New Year, everyone is hungry. The smell of wine and meat wafts outside the city, and the soldiers are very resentful," Huaji sighed.

Zhiji also said, "After the defeat at Tongshan, the Third Brother urged us to surrender to Li Yuan in Guanzhong, but you refused. Now that we are surrounded by Li Shentong, we are at our wit's end. It's better to surrender."

Huaji looked up at his brother.

Among his three brothers, he and Zhiji had the best relationship. They had been like-minded since childhood and had always been used to doing evil things. When they were in Jiangdu, everyone wanted to return home. Yang Guang killed many brave men who escaped. Zhiji then conspired with a group of people to assassinate the king. He was extremely bold.

This brother is not only bold and reckless, but also greedy.

Sima Dekan, the mastermind of the regicide, was feared by Yu Wenzhi, so he promoted him to the Minister of Rites and made him Duke of Wen, actually depriving him of his military power. Dekan gave all the rewards he received to Zhiji, and Zhiji actually spoke well of Sima Dekan and asked him to let Dekan command the army.

Later, Dekan indeed conspired with Zhao Xingshu and others to rebel, but fortunately Zhang Kai and Xu Hongren reported them.

"Your wife, Zhangsun, and the wife of Emperor Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty are half-sisters. If you surrender to the Tang Dynasty, you will not lose the wealth and honor of a duke."

Yuwen Zhi and his wife Changsun were born to Changsun Sheng's first wife, and Li Shimin's wife was born to his second wife Gao.

At that time, Yuwen Shu, the father of Yuwen Huaji, married the daughter of Dugu Xin, and was a brother-in-law to the fathers of Yang Jian and Li Yuan. He also became one of the Five Nobles of Daye for his contribution in supporting Yang Guang. He was powerful in the court and chose good marriages for his three sons.

The eldest son Huaji married his wife's family, Dugu. The second son Zhiji married the legitimate daughter of General Changsun Sheng. The third son Shiji married the eldest daughter of Emperor Yang Guang, Princess Nanyang.

Zhiji actually disliked his wife Changsunshi very much. She was too jealous. In the past, Zhiji liked to have affairs with many women and even stole his father's concubine. Changsunshi told Yuwen Shu directly, causing him to lose half his life.

"Lord Tang now controls half of the country and is most likely to win the world. He is also our cousin. If we submit to him, how can he refuse?" Zhiji said.

Yu Wenzhi sighed repeatedly. Li Yuan might be able to accept his wisdom and talent, but he would never accept him who killed the king and proclaimed himself emperor.

"Well," he sighed, "Send someone out of the city to see Li Shentong and tell him I'm willing to surrender."

"Let Zhao Xingshu go and talk."

Zhao Xingshu was originally a member of the Imperial Household, but his wealth reached millions. He attached himself to Yuwen Shu, whom he called his son. Yuwen Shu recommended his bravery to the emperor, and he was awarded the title of General of the Breaking Thrones. Later, Zhao Xingshu also became very close to Zhiji and his brothers, and was one of the masterminds of the regicide in Jiangdu.

Later, Sima Dekan was dissatisfied with Yu Wenhuaji's seizure of his military power, so he sought advice from Zhao Xingshu in private. Zhao Xingshu instigated Sima Dekan to rebel, depose Yu Wenhuaji and establish himself as the emperor, while at the same time he asked Zhang Kai to report the matter to Yu Wenhuaji.

Afterwards, Sima Dekan, Yuwen Daoshi, Li Xiaoben, Li Xiaozhi and others were all killed.

However, Zhao Xingshu was rewarded and now becomes the prime minister of Emperor Xu.

A Taichang musician, originally a lowly family with his descendants inheriting the family fortune, ended up with a fortune of billions in the Sui Dynasty, was able to make friends with the most powerful official in the court, Yuwen Shu, who became his adoptive father, and even became the prime minister of Yuwen Huaji. It has to be said that this person is also a very remarkable figure.

Heroes emerge in troubled times, and he is also a trend-setter.

The person who conveyed the imperial edict to him was Yuwen Chengji, the crown prince of Yuwen Huaji. When Zhao Xingshu heard that the emperor wanted to surrender, he did not hesitate at all. In fact, after the Battle of Tongshan, he knew that the Xu Dynasty was over.

Zhao Xingshu quickly picked up a box of valuable jewelry, gold and silver, and then went out of the city to surrender.

Li Shentong is eating meat, beef.

The beef stewed in a big pot tastes especially delicious.

"Surrender? You said the Regicide is going to surrender?"

Li Shentong saw Zhao Xingshu kneeling and offering surrender, and then looked at the box of jewels. "I accept the New Year's gift, but I will not allow the regicide to surrender."

With this remark,
Everyone was shocked.

Even Cui Mingan, the Deputy Envoy of the Shandong Province and the Imperial Court Assistant Minister, found it incredible. "Your Majesty?"

Li Shentong ordered his men to drive Zhao Xingshu away. If it weren't for the box of jewels, he would have directly detained the person who participated in the regicide.

"Yuwen Huaji's army has been defeated here. Liaocheng is small and has low walls. Yuwen Huaji's morale is completely low and he has run out of food. This is a good opportunity for our Tang soldiers to make a contribution. As long as we make a concerted effort, we can break through Liaocheng and capture Yuwen Huaji and others.

When the time comes, the large amount of treasures he carries will be shared among the soldiers.

How can we accept surrender when victory is right before our eyes?"

Cui Mingan said bluntly, "Yuwen Huaji's brother Shiji is now in Jibei, south of Liaocheng, just across the Yellow River. He could arrive with food reinforcements at any time. Moreover, Dou Jiande of Hejian has already sent troops south. Your Majesty must not be greedy and miss the important opportunity."

Li Shentong used a knife to cut meat from the cow bones and said nonchalantly: "Dou Jiande? He is just a village head, a farmer, leading a group of bandits. It's just right if he comes. I will go find him and deal with him together. Then I can issue an order to settle the matter in Hebei." Wei Zheng was sitting in the tent and couldn't bear to listen any longer.

How can people be so arrogant?

"Your Majesty, Wei Zheng has something to say."

"Oh, Secretary Wei, what do you want to say?"

"Your Majesty, although our army has been defeated, we are still short of troops. Dou Jiande is a powerful figure in Hebei and has a strong army and strong horses. We must be careful. Luo Yi of Youzhou was a famous general in the previous dynasty, but he can only defend himself against Dou Jiande."

Li Shentong raised his head and asked, "Are you saying that I am not as good as Luo Yi and Dou Jiande?"

"That is not my intention. I just think the overall situation is the most important. Dou Jiande and Wang Shichong are the real enemies. Yu Wenhuaji is at the end of his rope now. Since he has surrendered, I will accept him. I will first take over Liaocheng, then take Jibei, Xuzhou and other places. I will first consolidate my business, and then seek to advance..."

"That's enough. It's not your turn to call the shots here."

"Today is New Year's Day, everyone eat and drink well. Tomorrow morning, we will attack the city and enter Liaocheng for breakfast."

Wei Zheng's liver ached slightly because of Li Shentong's anger, but he could do nothing about it. He returned to his tent and wrote a letter to the emperor, accusing Li Shentong.

the next morning,
The Tang army assembled and launched an attack on Liaocheng.

"The first one to reach the summit should be credited with the first merit."

"Whoever enters the city first will receive half of the city's treasures!"

Li Shentong, wearing Ming Guang armor, rode his horse in front of the formation and announced loudly that the morale of all units of the Tang army was high.

At this time, under Liaocheng, there were thousands of elite soldiers brought by Li Shentong from Guanzhong, thousands of soldiers drawn from eastern Shaanxi, and troops from the Weizhou Governor Yuan Baozang and Beizhou Governor Zhao Junde.

Yuan Baozang and Zhao Junde were both local separatist forces at the end of the Sui Dynasty. Some of them were local officials of the Sui Dynasty, and some were peasant armies. Most of them had been affiliated with Li Mi, and now they turned to the Tang Dynasty.

The governor of Jizhou, Fude, the governor of Cangzhou, Wang Xiaode, the governor of Qingzhou, Qi Gongshun, the governor of Zibo, Zheng Qianfu, and others, each led their own troops to come under the command of Li Shentong.
There are quite a few soldiers, but as Wei Zheng said, this army is very mixed. Facing a downtrodden man like Yu Wenzhi, there is naturally no problem. However, if they face a hero like Dou Jiande, there will probably be problems.

A group of provincial governors and general managers who were born as bandits, upon hearing Li Shentong's reward, patted their chests and said that they would be the first to attack the city and take half of the treasure with their brothers.

Yu Wenzhi killed the king and went north, but he took with him countless treasures of Yang Guang. Who wouldn't be jealous?

Even Wang Bo, the leader of the refugees from Qizhou, who started the uprising in the seventh year of Daye by singing the song "I will never die in Liaodong", was tempted by treasures and led thousands of his men into Liaocheng and became a general of Yu Wenzhi.

The war drums beat and the trumpets blew.

The Tang army attacked from all sides and rushed forward without paying any attention to order or tactics.

Soon, the governor of Beizhou, Zhao Junde from Qinghe, was the first to jump onto the top of the city wall, swinging his iron sword and slashing left and right, and no one could stop him.

Behind him, more and more troops followed him to the top of the city wall.

outside the city,

Under the Central Army Flag,

Li Shentong narrowed his eyes and looked at the troops fighting in the cold wind.

"My lord, our army has reached the city!"

"It's Zhao Junde, the governor of Beizhou. Zhao Junde will go first!"

Several soldiers shouted excitedly, but Li Shentong's face turned gloomy.

"Sound the horn, withdraw the troops, and stop attacking the city." Li Shentong shouted.

The soldiers around him were all stunned.

"Your Majesty?"

"Sound the horn, retreat, didn't you hear?"

"But why? We have already reached the top of the city and are about to break it."

Li Shentong snorted coldly, "Zhao Junde is just a bandit who has just been recruited. How can we let him be the first to attack and capture the city? Wouldn't that mean giving him half of the city's wealth?"

"what?"

Although he was puzzled, he still ordered the troops to retreat.

Zhao Junde was fighting desperately when he heard the call to retreat.
Turning my head,

The troops that were attacking the city fiercely also began to retreat one after another.

Advance when you hear the drum, retreat when you hear the gong, this is the most basic order on the battlefield.

Zhao Junde looked around in confusion.
He and many of his brothers risked their lives to climb to the top of the city wall, but now they want to withdraw their troops?
why?
Zhao Junde was puzzled.
But the other troops had already retreated, and the city defenders had surrounded them.

"Marshal, let's retreat. If we don't, we won't be able to leave."

Zhao Junde stood solemnly on the top of the city wall, covered in blood, and hurled a thunderous curse at Li Shentong's banner below the city: "Li Shentong, you bastard, you thief, you idiot slave, you are raised by a servant..."

Wei Zheng ran to the central army flag angrily and asked, "Why did the king sound the gong? Why did he sound the gong? Why did he sound the gong?"

"It's getting late. The soldiers have been fighting for half a day. It's time to have breakfast." Li Shentong said lightly.

"This boy is ruining the country!" Wei Zheng could no longer restrain himself after hearing this reason and cursed.

Li Shentong turned his face and said, "Come here, take this beast away and detain him until he is punished."

Wei Zheng was dragged away and cursed all the way. He regretted it very much and thought he should have listened to his junior brother Li Yi. Hebei was a quagmire and Li Shentong would be even less capable of doing anything. He should have returned to Chang'an long ago.

(End of this chapter)