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

Chapter 278 Pig teammates
At three o'clock in the morning,

In the Imperial City's Ministry of War, the Minister of War, Duke Jiang, Qu Tutong, stood in the hall, wearing a purple robe, jade belt, and a goldfish bag. Seeing him,
Li Yi thought of a Chang'an saying: I would rather eat three dou of onions than offend Qu Tutong, and I would rather eat three dou of mugwort than see Qu Tugai.

These two brothers are notoriously ruthless. Don't fall into their hands, or they will show no mercy.

This man has a white beard, is tall and strong, and holds half a military token in his palm. He has an intimidating aura as he stands there, and his eyes are bright and sharp.

"In compliance with the Holy Spirit's instructions, Li Zhongwen, Junior Minister of Rites, is granted the authority to mobilize troops with the power of the Imperial Guard!"

Li Zhongwen, the Shaoqing of Taichang, was about fifty years old. He was dressed in gilded silk armor, had a tall and sturdy figure, and had a beautiful, well-groomed beard.

Li Yi felt that this boss was a little too sophisticated.

Li Zhongwen took off the goldfish bag from the belt around his waist and took out the other half of the military token he had received from the emperor.

Two military officers stepped forward.

Combine the two pieces of fish into one.

The two and a half talismans fit perfectly.

A gilded bronze fish talisman was placed horizontally on the ebony table. The scales were outlined with gold inlay, and the fish eyes were crimson.

The back of the right talisman is engraved with the words "Military Department Marching".

The head of the Ministry of War held jute paper and copied the military token numbers for filing.

Li Yi was also granted the fish token of deputy commander-in-chief of Bingzhou Road and an imperial edict.

After receiving the military token,

Qu Tutong also left in a hurry, while Li Yi and Li Zhongwen went to the west hall.

"The county magistrate is so young, he is truly a young hero." Li Zhongwen played with the military token in his hand and smiled at Li Yi.

"The Duke of the County is a descendant of the Eight Pillars of the State, and his family has been generals for generations. He is also a founding hero of this dynasty. It is a blessing for Li Yi to be able to follow the Duke of the County on the expedition."

Li Zhongwen laughed heartily.
"The military order has been issued, and 20,000 troops are being assembled. We can officially set out within three days." He put the military order into the goldfish bag, hung it back on the belt around his waist, and sat down. "Song Jingang was originally just a bandit from Yizhou. In his early years, he was connected with Wei Daoer.

Wei Daoer was killed by Dou Jiande, and Song Jingang was also defeated. He had to take a few thousand remnants and flee west to Liu Wuzhou.

Liu Wuzhou was only a lieutenant in Mayi at the end of the Sui Dynasty, and he was able to occupy the Daibei area by serving the Turks like a dog.

Song Jingang surrendered to Liu Wuzhou, who thought he had found a treasure and married his sister to him. Song Jingang also divorced his first wife...

Li Zhongwen's words were full of disdain for Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang.

"The only trouble this time is the Turks, but I have been to the Turks many times and am very familiar with all the Turkic nobles.
In fact, all the Turks want is money and gifts. Give them some benefits and they will retreat."

"The steward is very familiar with the Turks?"

"I remember that I drank with Shibi Khan in the Golden Wolf Tent in Dingxiang, and we drank happily with Shilifushe, Moheduoshe, Shijinzhishishili, Jiabiteqin and others, and we were all brothers.
"Shilifushe is the current Choro Khan. He's a drunkard, a womanizer, and a gambler. He made a bet with me back then and still owes me ten Turkic slave girls."

Li Yi looked at the steward's attitude and couldn't help but feel a bad feeling in his heart.

Too underestimated.

Li Yi clearly remembered that in history, Liu Wuzhou led the Turks to the south and almost swept across the entire Hedong area. Li Shimin was forced to station his troops in Baibi and defend it, and the confrontation lasted for more than half a year.

If you underestimate the enemy, you're courting death.

When Li Yi was having a headache,
Four young men dressed in gorgeous silk armor walked in.

The two people in the lead were none other than the brothers Li Boyi, the King of Longxi, and Li Fengci, the King of Bohai.

"Brother Wuyi, we brothers have finally obtained the emperor's approval, and we can now go with you to the battle."

Li Boyi showed the imperial edict with some pride.

The emperor appointed Li Boyi, the Prince of Longxi, as the commander-in-chief of the army.

Li Fengci was also the commander-in-chief of the army.

Li Yi looked at the fact that both of the brothers had the title of Shangzhuguo in their titles, and he couldn't help but feel that it was even more ridiculous. Shangzhuguo was originally the highest military merit.
But these two brothers had never been on the battlefield, and had never even been in the army, yet one of them was given the title of Shang Zhuguo. Li Yi used to think that his Shang Zhuguo title was nothing special, as he would get a few rotations of honors every time he went around in the army, and eventually he became Shang Zhuguo. But compared to them, it was already quite prestigious.

"You, the marching commander?"

"Well, this time there are 20,000 troops, so we have to organize them into seven armies, with seven generals. My brother and I will each take one." Li Boyi said proudly.

"You are the deputy chief steward of the march, and we are the chief stewards, one level lower than you."

At this time, Li Yi saw two younger people following behind them. "Who are these two?"

"Oh, I forgot to introduce them to you. They are my cousins, the Pillar State, Right Thousand Oxen Attendant, Huaiyang Prince Daoxuan, sixteen this year. The Pillar State, Lueyang County Duke, Left Thousand Oxen Attendant Daozong.

Don't look at my two younger brothers' youth, but Daoxuan is a master of riding and shooting, and Daozong is well-versed in military books. They are now serving as Qianniu in the Zuoyou Mansion and also want to follow you to Bingzhou to take a look. Your Majesty has also agreed and appointed them as the sons' general stewards."

Li Daoxuan and Li Daozon were both great-grandsons of Li Hu and nephews of Li Yuan. They were about the same age as Li Yi, but they were tall and strong, full of heroic spirit.

There are four brothers, three are princes and one is a duke. No one knows why Li Daozon is only a duke, but Li Yi remembers that in history, Li Daozon was a member of the royal family with great achievements. He had never heard of the other three before.

Li Zhongwen had no objection at all to the four emperor's nephews joining the army, and was even very polite.

"Li Shaoqing, I plan to bring my family soldiers with me on the expedition. Is that okay?" Li Boyi asked.

"Bringing your sons and daughters and followers to volunteer for the expedition has always been a tradition among our Guanlong generals. Don't worry, the camp will provide you with food and fodder. If you can achieve merit, you will still be recognized and rewarded."

Li Boyi was very satisfied with the answer: "Then I'll bring more, maybe 300."

Li Fengci said he also brought 300 soldiers.

The other two said they would bring two hundred.

Li Yi was a little stunned. The last time Li Jing went to war, the three of them, father and son, only brought fifteen troops. You four brothers only brought a thousand private troops?

Does the imperial court allow so many private soldiers?
"Brother Wuyi, how many parts do you have?"

Li Yi felt that it was enough for him to lead ten or eight soldiers, as he also had his own personal soldiers.

"How about we lend you some horses first? Each of us can lend you a hundred horses."

"You said one man with 300 men is cavalry?"

"You can't call them cavalry, they're just mounted troops. They usually go on horseback hunting trips, so they can cooperate with us. They're pretty good at horseback archery."

Listening to Li Boyi's light-hearted words, Li Yi gained a deeper understanding of the strength of the Tang Dynasty's royal princes.

Even these two young princes who are so dissolute not only have hundreds of beauties, but also have so many private soldiers.

Still riding a horse.

"We can't compare with the King of Qin and the King of Qi. The King of Qin and his men have tens of thousands of troops."

"Yes, Princess Pingyang also has 30,000 direct subordinates."

Shortly after,
Several more generals came forward,

They were all transferred to the camp by order of the Ministry of War.

One of them is an old acquaintance.

"Liu Shirang pays his respects to the chief steward and the deputy chief steward!"

Liu Shirang, one of the eight generals, was captured in the battle of Qianshuiyuan. Xue Ju asked him to persuade the city to surrender, but he stayed in the city and won the praise of Li Yuan. He had previously served as the governor of Pengzhou and was now the general of the Left Guard in Beijing. He was appointed as the military commander.

The chief officer of the camp was General Wang Xingmin of the Left Tunwei. He was originally the leader of the rebel army in the Shangdang area. After returning to the Tang Dynasty, he was appointed as the governor of Luzhou and then summoned to the court as General Wang Xingmin of the Left Tunwei.

In addition, General Yu Yun of the Right Guard, General Fan Botong of the Central Army, and Zhang Dezheng were also ordered to join the expedition.

Li Yi looked at these generals. No wonder Li Yuan wanted to give him the title of Champion General. The Chief Clerk Wang Xingmin and the Sima Liu Shirang had both served as third-rank provincial governors and were now third-rank generals of the Twelve Guards.

Yu Yun, as soon as you see his surname, you can tell that he is from the Yu family, the core of the Guanlong aristocratic family. He is also a third-rank general.

Fan Debo and Zhang Dezheng were also fourth-rank Generals of the Central Army.

If the two stewards, Li Boyi and his brother, were counted, his rank as the deputy steward and the Prince's Left Guard was indeed too low.

Li Zhongwen was also the commander-in-chief of the central army, Yu Yun was the commander-in-chief of the left front wing army, Li Yi was also the commander-in-chief of the right rear wing army, and Fan Botong and Zhang Dezheng were the commanders-in-chief of the left and right guard armies.

The brothers Li Boyi and Li Fengci were the chief stewards of the left rear wing and the right front wing respectively.

Li Yi looked at the candidates for the commander-in-chief of the seven armies and felt that something bad had sneaked in, and the chance of defeat had increased again.

In Tai Chi Palace.

The smell of sheepskin mixed with the scent of ambergris,

Emperor Li Yuan stood on a huge map.
The whole world is at his feet.

Li Yuan stood in Chang'an, Guanzhong, and looked around.

In the north, Li Yuan's strategy towards the Turks has always been to take it slow, first to make friends, repeatedly sending envoys to the Turks, giving them money, silk and prostitutes, trying his best to satisfy the Turks, and buying Turkish horses with a large sum of money. But now this strategy has failed. The Turks are becoming more and more demanding and it is becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy them, so they are now launching a direct large-scale attack.

Western Front,

At the beginning of the founding of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan sent troops to attack Xue Ju of Longyou. Later, Xue Ju launched a large-scale invasion, and Li Yuan sent Shi Min to fight. Although there were some setbacks, he eventually destroyed Xue Ju and seized most of Longyou. Now, Li Gui of Hexi was also in civil strife, Jiancheng left Yuanzhou, and allied with Tuyuhun, and the entire Hexi region was about to be incorporated into the Tang Dynasty.

This was the most successful route and also solved the problem.

On the southern front, at the beginning of the founding of the country, Huangtai Gong Li Yuan was sent to pacify Shannan, and Duan Lun was sent to manage Yizhou. Now Li Xiaogong defeated and surrendered Zhu Can, and his old classmate Xu Shao came to surrender again. Li Yuan sent Li Jing and others to reinforce Shannan to launch an offensive against Jiangling Xiao Xian.

On the Eastern Front,
At the beginning of the founding of the country, Jiancheng Shimin was sent to lead the army. After capturing Xin'an and other places, he withdrew his troops and sat on the mountain to watch the fight between Wang Shichong and Li Mi. After Li Mi's defeat, he sent Li Shentong and Wei Zheng to pacify Shandong, and also won over Luo Yi of Youzhou and Deng Song of Yingzhou.

Unfortunately, Li Shentong missed the good situation and was now defeated and had to retreat to Li Shiji in Liyang. Most of Li Mi's old subordinates and old territories were either given to Dou Jiande or Wang Shichong.

Even Guzhou, the key place in eastern Shaanxi to deal with Wang Shichong,

They had just suffered another attack from Wang Shichong. This time, Shi Wanbao was defeated and suffered heavy casualties. Ren Gui could only continue to struggle to hold on.

If Liu Wuzhou had not invited the Turks to invade,

Then Hedong, the birthplace of the Tang Dynasty, will become the source of money and grain for the Tang Dynasty to conquer the world.

Although Wang Xingben of Puban was still resisting, he would not be able to hold out for long as the Tang Dynasty continued to besiege the city.

But now Liu Wuzhou invited the Turks to attack, and the situation changed instantly.

Shandong can no longer be taken care of.
Even the Guzhou line west of Luoyang had to be defended.

We must stabilize Hedong.
Taiyuan must not be lost, Jiexiu and Yuci must be recovered immediately.

Only after stabilizing Bingzhou can we plan for Luoyang.

Only by taking Luoyang and the two capitals in hand can I have the whole world.

The emperor's eyes fell on Bingzhou Taiyuan, and then moved to Changchun Palace in Tongzhou. It was undoubtedly the best to replace Yuanji with Erlang to sit in Taiyuan.

But Li Yuan's mind was echoing with some of the words Pei Ji said to him: Liu Wenjing was the confidant of the King of Qin and had close relations with the Turks.

Li Yuan had to use Erlang with caution. If Erlang was placed in Taiyuan, what he was most worried about was that the Turks would support Erlang, which would be a real disaster.

The Sui Dynasty liked to use this trick against the Turks. Now the Turks have also begun to use the Han to control the Han. If the Turks support Shi Min, who can guarantee that he will not waver?
(End of this chapter)