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

Chapter 277: Conferred the title of Champion General
"Liu Wuzhou appointed Song Jingang as the Grand Administrator of the Southwest Road, commanding 20,000 troops and leading 10,000 Turkic cavalrymen. He attacked and captured Yuci City and then laid siege to Jiexiu."

In the Taiji Hall,

Li Yuan looked at the map with a frown on his face, his old face as worried as a chrysanthemum.

Yuci is to the east of Taiyuan, and Jiexiu is to the south of Taiyuan.

After defeating Yuci and besieging Jiexiu, Liu Wuzhou was determined to capture Taiyuan. Once Jiexiu was captured, the reinforcements from Taiyuan would be blocked in the south.

"Are the Turks determined to be enemies of the Tang Dynasty?" Li Yuan sighed.

The atmosphere in the hall was heavy, and even Pei Ji did not dare to say a word. The court had always misjudged the situation. Pei Ji firmly believed that the Turks would not really invade on a large scale.

Especially in the intercalary February, not long after Shibi Khan led his troops to Xiazhou to meet up with Liang Shihui, he suddenly fell ill and died. At that time, people in Chang'an were still saying that this was God's blessing on the Tang Dynasty.

Some people also said that as soon as Shibi Khan arrived in Xiazhou, his Golden Wolf Tent was blown down by the wind. They said this was a bad sign and that Shibi would not live for more than a hundred days. Then he died soon after. The story sounded very convincing.

When the news of Shibi Khan's death came, Li Yuan was so happy that he asked Pei Ji to play the pipa and got drunk, thinking that the Turks would retreat back to the grassland.

Pei Ji even sent an express horse with a speed of 800 miles to Shuofang to ask General Gao Shijing, who had previously been sent as an envoy to the Turks, not to give the 30,000 pieces of silk to the Turks. He also did not mention the original plan to cede Fengzhou and Shengzhou to the Turks in exchange for Shibi Khan's continued support for the Tang Dynasty.

After Shi Bi's death,

The Turks were in chaos for a while, but it didn't last long.

Shibi Khan's son Shibobi was young, so Princess Khatun Yicheng joined forces with other ministers to support Shibi Khan's younger brother Shilifushe as the new Khan, named Choro Khan.

After Asina Xichun, the Khan of Chuluo, ascended the throne, he immediately married Princess Yicheng of Sui, who had been married to his father Qimin Khan and his brother Shibi Khan, as Khatun, in accordance with Turkic custom. He also appointed Shibobi, the son of Shibi Khan, as the ruler of Nibushe and settled him in the eastern part of the Turkic region, north of Youzhou.

Hearing that the Tang Dynasty had originally sent an envoy with 30,000 pieces of silk, but now that Shibi Khan was dead, the Tang envoy did not come, Chuluo was furious and immediately ordered Liang Shidu to lead his troops to attack Lingzhou.

Zhang Changxun, the governor of Fengzhou, quickly asked Gao Shijing to bring 30,000 pieces of silk to meet the new Khan.

At that time, although Choro Khan seemed to have calmed down, he was actually becoming more and more dissatisfied with the Tang Dynasty.

He immediately contacted Wang Shichong in Luoyang and Dou Jiande in Hebei, and listened to Khatun's advice. He sent Turkic cavalry to Dou Jiande in Hebei to bring Princess Yicheng's sister-in-law, Empress Xiao, and Yang Guang's grandson, Yang Zhengdao, to the northern frontier.

They settled in Dingxiang City, established Yang Zhengdao as the King of Sui, and assigned all the officials and civilians from the Central Plains who remained in the territory of Eastern Turkestan to Yang Zhengdao for governance. They re-established the "Great Sui" regime, which had more than 10,000 followers.

Choro Khan even openly declared that his father had lost his country and was only able to become Khan thanks to the Sui Dynasty, and that such a great favor could not be forgotten. He said he would send troops to help Yang Zhengdao restore his country and even said he would seize Bingzhou to settle Yang Zhengdao.

But when this news reached Chang'an,

Pei Ji still believed that Choro Khan was just bluffing and wanted to continue blackmailing him for a major defeat. He even thought that Choro Khan had just become Khan and did not have the extra energy to move south.

He does not have the ability and prestige of Shibi Khan, so he is not to be feared.

As a result, after repeated misjudgments, Liu Wuzhou finally sent Song Jingang with 20,000 Mayi troops and 10,000 Turkic troops to invade Bingzhou.

Even Pei Ji knew that he was wrong this time.

In February, Shibi Khan died of illness in the army of Xiazhou. The whole Chang'an was in jubilation.

In March, the Sui Dynasty was restored in Dingxiang. When news of this restoration reached the Tang Dynasty, few took it seriously. Prince Yang Zhengdao of Sui was merely the posthumous son of Prince Yang Li of Qi, a two-year-old infant. How could he restore a new kingdom? He was merely a puppet used by the Turkic Khan Chorok to blackmail the Tang Dynasty.

But now in April, 10,000 Turkic cavalrymen accompanied Liu Wuzhou to officially attack Bingzhou, broke through Yuci and besieged Jiexiu. Now no one dared to say that the Turks were not serious.

"It seems that what Shimin and Li Yi said a long time ago was right. The Turks are ambitious and do not want our Tang Dynasty to unify the Central Plains." Li Yuan sighed.

It was thought that after Shibi Khan's death, the Turks would no longer be a threat for the time being, but who knew that this Chuluo Khan would succeed him and be even more vicious than Shibi Khan.

Liu Wenjing stepped out.

"I believe that Choro Khan is merely trying to use the Tang Dynasty to establish his own power. Now, we can only fight back against the enemy with our troops and flood with them with earth. The King of Qin had long anticipated that the Turks would join forces with Liu Wuzhou and Liang Shidu to invade the south.
Now that Liu Wuzhou is coming with great force, there is no need to worry too much. Your Majesty has already dismissed the King of Qi. Now we only need to send His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin, who is stationed in Changchun Palace, to lead the army north to Taiyuan to lift the siege of Jiexiu and recapture Yuci.

They could even take advantage of this conflict to recapture the states north of Bingzhou and eliminate Liu Wuzhou, the border threat.

Otherwise, if the area north of Bingzhou is not under the control of the Tang Dynasty, it will ultimately be a hidden danger."

To the north of Shiling Pass in Bingzhou, Xinzhou, Lanzhou, Daizhou, Weizhou, Shuozhou, and Yunzhou were all out of the hands of the Tang Dynasty, allowing the Turks to come and go as they pleased.

In the past two years, Li Tang has not crossed Shiling Pass, and even gave up important border passes such as Yanmen Pass and Loufan Pass. This is because he had the support of the Turks at the beginning of his uprising, so he had never broken the old situation.

Even though they knew that Liu Wuzhou was a dog raised by the Turks, they never touched him.

I just don't want to conflict with the Turks.

But now that the Turks have broken off relations, it would be better to simply recapture the states north of Bingzhou and destroy Liu Wuzhou.

Liu Wenjing was very familiar with the Turks and had been sent there many times as an envoy. He had a say over them, so the suggestion he put forward was quite pertinent.

But Pei Ji objected.

He advocated sending troops to rescue Jiexiu, reinforce Taiyuan, recapture Yuci, repel Liu Wuzhou, and return to the pre-war state. It was not appropriate to directly go to war with the Turks.

"Liu Wuzhou only sent his brother-in-law Song Jingang to lead 30,000 people to the south. There is no need to mobilize the King of Qin. He can just send a general to lead troops to the north to reinforce." Pei Ji suggested.

Li Yuan still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.
After all, Choro Khan had not yet officially declared war on the Tang Dynasty, but only sent 10,000 people to accompany him south.

After some thought,

Li Yuan decided not to use Li Shimin yet.
Erlang is a good fighter, but after the battle of Jingzhou, Li Yuan would not use Erlang if possible.

"Does Pei Jian have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

"I recommend Li Zhongwen, Junior Minister of Rites, as the commander-in-chief of the army, to lead 20,000 troops north to lift the siege of Jiexiu and reinforce Bingzhou."

Li Yuan was a little hesitant about this candidate.

Li Zhongwen was Li Mi's uncle. Li Bi, one of the Eight Pillars of the State, had six sons, all of whom were skilled in warfare, brave, and resourceful. Among them, Li Zhongwen's father, Li Yan, was a particularly skilled fighter. Born into a military family, Li Zhongwen was a skilled fighter, and his son was a natural match for his father.

Influenced by Li Mi's rebellion at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he could only raise his flag in Guanzhong, where he also gathered a group of people. Later, he was recruited by Princess Pingyang and now held the position of Junior Minister of Rites. "Li Zhongwen had been an envoy to the Turks and was quite familiar with them," Pei Ji said, giving another reason for employing him.

The subtext is that the Turks can still be won over, and it is not necessary to launch an all-out war. Let Li Zhongwen go north to reinforce Bingzhou, fight Liu Wuzhou, and try to win over the Turks.

"Okay, let Li Zhongwen be the commander-in-chief and lead the troops north to Taiyuan."

"Your Majesty, I would like to recommend another person. Li Yi, the Duke of Qianshui County and the left guard of the Crown Prince, can be the deputy commander-in-chief of the army." Pei Ji continued with a smile.

"Li Yi?"

"Your Majesty, Li Yi is a fortunate general. He accompanied the Prince of Qin in the battle against Xue Ju in Jingzhou and the Crown Prince in the battle against Wang Shichong in Guzhou, both of which he achieved great success. He also previously led troops alone to suppress the Sizhuyuan bandits, performing an even more impressive feat. If he weren't so young, I would have directly recommended him for the position of Commander-in-Chief!"

Li Yuan stroked his beard and said, "Li Yi also has the job of minting coins."

"Your Majesty, the new Kaiyuan Tongbao coins have been minted. Now all we need is the copper supply. Li Yi doesn't need to monitor them personally.

Li Yi is young, but brave, resourceful, and quick-witted. Accompanying Li Zhongwen and leading 20,000 troops north would be better than sitting idle in Yishou Palace. Pei Ji repeatedly recommended him.

"Well, this kid is really lucky. Then I will appoint Li Yi as the deputy commander of the Bingzhou Road Army and give him the title of champion general."

Champion General, this is a general rank that the court recently introduced.

There are ten ranks in total, from the second-rank General of the Auxiliary State to the fifth-rank Guerrilla General.

These ten ranks of generals with random titles were also given because the titles of casual positions and casual officials had been abused at the beginning of the country, but many people still surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and many military generals did not have suitable official positions to be arranged, so they were granted generals with random titles.

Li Yi held a position: Prince's Left Guard Commander, a fourth-rank official, and Supervisor of Fengyi Palace and Yishou Palace. Apparently, Li Yuan felt this position was too low, and gave him the rank of Champion General, a third-rank general. After all, with an army of 20,000 men, as deputy general manager, his subordinates likely held third- or fourth-rank official titles and generals. He couldn't be a lower-ranking general than his subordinates, right?

Li Yi played chess with Du Shiniang at home to relieve his boredom.
The emperor's order has arrived.

He was awarded the title of Third Rank General and was appointed Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Bingzhou Road Army.

He was dismissed from his posts as Supervisor of Fengyi Palace, Supervisor of Yishou Palace, Acting Supervisor of Yishou Money, and Magistrate of Zhouzhi County.

Take the order,

Li Yi frowned.

Follow Li Zhongwen, the Junior Minister of Rites, and lead 20,000 troops north to reinforce Bingzhou?

For Li Yi, he doesn't like fighting.

Different from the sons of military nobles such as Li Dejiang and Qiu Shenyan, they were eager to go to the battlefield and make military achievements. Even Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Cheng Yaojin and other military generals who came from local powerful families were also eager to go to the battlefield.
In this era, this path is the brightest path.

These guys are not afraid of death,

This is a brave age.

But Li Yi did not like fighting. Although he also wanted to be granted the title of Duke, there was no need for him to gain fame and honor on the battlefield. Not to mention that marching and fighting were hard and tiring, the key was that it was very dangerous.

Li Yi was very depressed.

I cursed in my heart, who gave birth to a son without an anus? There are so many generals in the court and they are not using them, why are they always thinking about me?

I am only seventeen years old this year, not yet an adult, at most a middle-aged man.

You keep sending middle-aged men to the battlefield. Is this moral? Is this righteous? Doesn't your conscience hurt?

He hasn't had time to enjoy the Reba and Nazar that the Li Boyi brothers gave him.

"Mr. Qianshui, congratulations! At this age, you are already the deputy commander-in-chief of an army, helping to command an army of 20,000. How many people can't wait for this opportunity to lead troops to the north." The person who announced the decree was an old acquaintance, Cui Dunli, the interpreter.

The real Bo Ling Cui, the son of the Five Surnames.

This guy is feeling very sad now, as he has watched Li Yi rise from a mere farmer to the current position of Silver and Green Guanglu Doctor, Champion General, Prince's Left Guard, and now Deputy Chief of the Bingzhou Road Army.

And he, a man of the Five Surnames, was still a sixth-rank Tongshi Sheren for more than a year and had never moved.

"Brother Cui, do you also want to go to the battlefield?"

"What man doesn't desire to achieve great things?" Cui Dunli said truthfully.

Li Yi said with a smile: "If Cui Sheren really wants to go, I can help you. How about recommending you to be the military secretary?"

"Okay." The guy agreed excitedly without any hesitation.

Are the Five Surnames also so brave and warlike? Li Yi was shocked again.

"I am truly grateful to Lord Qianshui. If I could go to Bingzhou with you, I would be doing you a great favor."

at night,

Li Yi sighed alone.

After he received the order during the day, many well-informed people came to him.

They all wanted to follow Li Yi, the lucky general, to Bingzhou to gain some merit.

Needless to say, Qiu Shenyan and Li Dejiang, several old subordinates, are here. This time, Qiu Shenyan's elder brother Qiu Yingqi also wants to go with them. His brother-in-law Ji Siwen, the head of the Ministry of Personnel, doesn't want to do his job anymore and wants to give up his pen and join the army to go to the battlefield with his brother-in-law.

Many of the Du family's disciples also came to see him.

Today, gifts from people known and unknown to each other filled half of the room. They all wanted to use Li Yi, the deputy commander-in-chief, as a backdoor link to join the expedition to Bingzhou.

It seems that just by taking this trip, one can be awarded honors and promoted.

(End of this chapter)