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

Chapter 253 Borrowing Generals
In early spring in February, the rain is as soft as butter.

Outside the Xuanwu Gate, the garrison cavalry generals Tian Liuan and Liu Demin stepped forward with a smile, "In compliance with the Holy Saint's order, we each lead 500 infantry and cavalry to obey your orders."

Li Yi felt much better as he looked at the 1,000 Yulin soldiers behind the two of them. The emperor was so generous, so kind to our little Li. He was afraid that he would fail again, so he specially allocated 1,000 Yulin soldiers to help him.

"This time, Si Zhuyuan needs the full support of the two elder brothers."

"We have to thank you, Wuyi, for giving us the opportunity to make a contribution. As the saying goes, if you have no achievements, you will not be able to stand up in the camp."

A thousand Yu Lin lined up in the North Garden.

"Please inspect it, General Manager!"

Li Yi rode Ye Zhaobai and walked slowly in front of the queue. They were worthy of being the emperor's imperial guards. Maybe their combat effectiveness was not the strongest, but their treatment was definitely better than that of the other troops in the Southern Court, and even their equipment was much stronger.

Go to that station, neat and solemn.

Although the Left and Right Garrison Camps were also under the jurisdiction of the Southern Court, they were actually a relatively independent force, and they were the direct descendants of the emperor.

Six hundred infantry, four hundred cavalry, all fully armored.

Among the six hundred infantrymen, there were one hundred crossbowmen, one hundred archers, one hundred Modao soldiers, and three hundred spearmen, swordmen and shieldmen.

Li Yi looked at those iron-tower-like Modao soldiers and their Modao swords that were cold and filled with murderous intent, and couldn't help drooling.

Among these one thousand guards, all of them, whether infantry or cavalry, were equipped with spears, bows, and swords.

Li Yi couldn't understand why He Panren and Zhao Qin had failed before. He now agreed with the evaluation of He Panren and Zhao Qin by Crown Prince Li Jiancheng: idiots, very stupid.

Such an elite imperial guard went to suppress a group of bandits, but ended up losing three generals in a row.

Even if it was the third rank at the beginning of the founding of the country, it was a real position. It sounds like a deputy commander of a large military region with the rank of lieutenant general at the beginning of the founding of the country, but he suppressed a bandit group of hundreds of people, but was defeated. Then two deputy commanders came, and they were defeated again.

Just outrageous.

Li Yi made some mobilization, which was nothing more than suppressing bandits and making meritorious deeds.

After the disbandment, several cavalry officers came over.

"Meeting, Alang."

"Cunxiao, the four of you are here too?" Li Yi saw his four former Qiang slaves, who were now brigade commanders.

"We heard that Alang will lead the troops this time, so the four of us brothers made a special request for it. We will definitely be rewarded for following Alang. How can we four brothers miss such a good opportunity?" Cunxiao laughed. After not seeing these guys for a few months, their appearance has not changed much, but they can speak Tang dialect fluently now.

Cunxiao said that in order to participate in this bandit suppression campaign, they also gave a generous gift to their superiors.

"Hahaha, don't worry, I won't let you suffer any loss this time."

Li Yi went to the Ministry of War to obtain the military order.

Holding the emperor's edict in his hand, Li Yi showed his fish token and official seal. The military official took out the file and checked it carefully. Only after confirming that it was correct did he take out the military token.

A copper fish symbol, only about six centimeters long, with the word "contract" engraved on it.

Li Yi took out the left half of the talisman granted to him by the emperor and matched it with the right half of the talisman kept by the Ministry of War. The two words "contract" and "contract" matched perfectly, and the numbers on the talismans also matched.

An official from the Ministry of War also took out a document that stated the time limit, scope, and authority for his troop deployment. He also had to sign a document promising to act only in accordance with the imperial edict.

"Lord Qianshui, please be sure to mobilize and deploy troops according to the imperial edict, otherwise you will be punished for treason."

"Thanks for the reminder."

After leaving the Ministry of War, Li Yi returned to the Eastern Palace again.

"Is the matter done?"

"I have received the imperial edict and military tokens. Your Majesty has also allocated a thousand imperial guards to me."

Li Jiancheng smiled and said, "His Majesty holds you in high regard."

"I would like to borrow another person from His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"Oh, didn't I promise that Luo Shixin, Li Junxian, and Chang He would accompany you? Who else do you need to borrow?"

Li Yi glanced at Wei Ting. The guy was smiling on the side, as if he expected that it would be difficult to suppress the bandits this time, and was waiting to see Li Yi make a fool of himself.

"Your Highness, I would like to ask Wei Huqi to accompany me,"

Jiancheng hesitated.

"The last time I had a brawl with Wei Huqi in the palace, Wei Huqi was stripped of his title and honors. He was originally a pillar of state, a county marquis, but now he has neither title nor honors. I feel deeply sorry. This time, I would like to invite Wei Huqi to accompany me in suppressing the bandits, so that he can make new contributions."

"What Wuyi said makes sense. Xiuming, just go with Wuyi. I hope you two can put aside your past grudges."

The smile on Wei Ting's face froze.

He could easily tell with his toes that Li Yi had no good intentions in transferring him to the army. But since the Crown Prince had already agreed, he could only agree with a sense of discomfort, like swallowing a fly.

"Wei Huqi, I hope we can work together to quell the bandits as soon as possible."

Wei Ting's face was grim, as if he had lost his parents. He had originally set a trap for Li Yi. Zhu Shanhai could kill three third-rank generals, so if Li Yi was pushed into the trap, this immature boy would probably be defeated. If he was killed by bandits, that would be a great relief. He took Wei Ting out of the Eastern Palace.

Li Yi rode his horse to Shenheyuan.
"Where is Li Lu going?"

"Meet the King of Qin."

"To see the King of Qin?" Wei Ting's voice became a little higher, and he even sounded a little excited. You, an official of the Eastern Palace, are going to see the King of Qin?

"Ask the King of Qin to borrow a general." Li Yi didn't even turn his head.

He rode all the way to the construction site of Changning Palace in Shenheyuan.
The construction site is still in full swing and has made considerable progress.

Li Shimin was quite confused when he saw Li Yi coming with Wei Ting.

"I have been ordered to go to Sizhu Garden to fight against the bandits. The bandit leaders, Zhu Shanhai and Zhang Zihui, are ferocious and have already killed three of our generals and defeated our army twice. I am young and inexperienced, and I am very worried, fearing that I may miss important matters for the court. Therefore, I have come to borrow a few generals from the King of Qin."

"How did you get this job?" Li Shimin asked.

"It was Wei Huqi who kindly recommended me to the Crown Prince, hoping that I could achieve meritorious service and receive a higher rank and rank. The Crown Prince also specifically recommended me to the Saint himself, so the Saint entrusted me with this task."

Li Shimin stared at Wei Ting with eyes as sharp as lightning, which made his scalp tingle.

"Who do you want to borrow?"

"I'll borrow the four generals Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Niu Jinda, and Wu Heita. I've partnered with them before in Guzhou, so we have some tacit understanding."

"Okay." Li Shimin withdrew his gaze from Wei Ting, "The bamboo forest over there is dense, making it easy to hide. The terrain of Heishui Valley is dangerous, so be careful of ambushes.
Generals He Panren and Zhao Qin underestimated the enemy and lost their lives. You must be careful."

Li Shimin called Qin Qiong and the other four generals to explain the situation. The four were very willing to join the expedition. Coming to the Tang Dynasty would give them the opportunity to prove themselves on the battlefield, which they were eager for.

"I will also give you a thousand infantrymen. Be careful and listen to the advice of Shubao and his men. They are experienced and have fought many battles."

Li Shimin even told Li Yi some of the intelligence he had gathered, "Zhu Shanhai was originally a charcoal worker in Sizhuyuan, and Zhang Zihui was a bamboo shoot digger.

Last year, Lü Baosheng gathered tens of thousands of people in Zhouzhi and broke through the county seat. Later, General Zhao Qin led his troops to attack and defeated more than 7,000 enemies in one battle, beheading more than 100 of them.

Zhao Qin was also promoted to General Yiwei for his merits, but unexpectedly he underestimated the enemy and was defeated in Sizhu Garden.

Officials were sent to manage the Sizhu Garden in all dynasties. The hundred-mile forest not only provided the court with bamboo for making bamboo utensils, but also burned bamboo charcoal and dug bamboo shoots to supply the palace every year.

Zhu Shanhai and Zhang Zihui, one used to burn bamboo charcoal and the other used to dig bamboo shoots. They also participated in Lu Baosheng's rebellion last year, and later fled into the mountains. Unexpectedly, they rebelled again so quickly.

"The capital was just pacified and the people had not yet firmly attached themselves to it. Common people were displaced and the years were numberless. At the entrance of Zhouzhi Sizhu and Lantian Valley, bandits gathered in large numbers," Fang Xuanling added.

It is now well known that there are many thieves in Sizhu of Zhouzhi County and Gukou of Lantian County. Firstly, these two places are dangerous, and secondly, many of the thieves in these two places are actually from outside.

There is the Lanwu Road in Lantian, which leads directly to the Shangluo area in Shannan. When Zhu Can was wreaking havoc in Shannan, many people entered Guanzhong along the Lanwu Road. There is a Luogu Road along the Heishuiyu River Valley in Zhouzhi, which leads to Jizhou in Hanzhong.

Lantian has Lanwu Road and Lantian Pass, Zhouzhi has Luogu Road and Luogu Pass,
A large number of refugees poured into Guanzhong, and many of those who could not survive but were brave enough simply became bandits.

In Zhouzhi Sizhuyuan, last year Lu Baosheng gathered tens of thousands of people and captured Zhouzhi County. This year Zhu Shanhai raised the flag again.

This is no ordinary bandit.
Similar to the war-torn country during the Daye period at the end of the Sui Dynasty, there was a momentum of bandits, which was completely different from ordinary bandits who occupied the mountains and became kings and went down the mountains to rob. These bandits were constantly absorbing and coercing the people, and then attacking prefectures and counties and moving around.

To the imperial court, these bandits were the most dangerous.

Qin Qiong was dismissive of this, not because he was frivolous or arrogant, but since the Daye period, when the bandits in Henan were at their most powerful, he had been following Zhang Xutuo to suppress the bandits. He had defeated countless bandits, even bandits claiming to have a force of 100,000 or 400,000, but they were all defeated time and again.

But in the end, Dahai Temple was defeated by Wagang.

Qin Qiong is the most experienced in fighting bandits.

"Is Shi Xin also coming along this time?"

"Well, I have borrowed all nine of your generals." Li Yi said with a smile.

Cheng Yaojin laughed heartily when he heard this. "Wuyi, you're really using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. You've recruited so many bandits, but they're not even enough to fill our teeth. We're the most experienced in fighting bandits."

In the past, Lao Cheng was a powerful man in the village. When bandits were rampant, he organized local militia and formed a team to fight against bandits everywhere. In the end, the bandits became more and more numerous. He had no choice but to lead his team to Wagang.

If you can't beat them, just join them and become the biggest rebel group in the world.

"Why did the government troops fail so quickly the last two times, and why didn't even the commander escape?" Li Yi wondered. Generally speaking, a third-rank general would be surrounded by elite personal soldiers, household guards, and even horses. If the situation was really bad, escaping should be no problem.

"That only means that they are surrounded, and the commander has nowhere to run even if he wants to." Qin Qiong said affirmatively.

Apart from this, there is no other possibility.

The Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace gave 2,600 men to the Right Rear Army, and also gave them four generals: Luo Shixin, Li Junxian, Chang He, and Wei Ting. His former subordinates Qiu Shenyan, Li Dejiang, Ji Sigong, Wu Junya, etc. were also there.

Now the emperor gave another thousand Yu Lin and allocated them to the two generals Liu Demin and Tian Liuan.

The King of Qin then borrowed four generals, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Wu Heita and Niu Jinda, and also borrowed a thousand infantry and cavalry from the King of Qin's palace.

Li Yi has 4,600 men under his command, including nine Shandong warriors, who are incredibly strong.

He felt that he had no chance of losing this time. How could he lose?
With such a lineup, let alone fighting against the bandit Zhu Shanhai with more than a thousand people, even if they go directly to Luoyang to fight Wang Shichong, they can fight back and forth.

(End of this chapter)