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

Chapter 283: Ambush from Ten Sides in Queshu Valley
early morning,

Li Yi, who had only slept for two hours, was awakened by Song Yi.

Li Yi, with bloodshot eyes, looked out the window and saw that it was already bright. He rubbed his face and forced himself to cheer up.

"What's the weather like today?"

"It looks like it will be a sunny day today. From the city, we can see the vast mountains to the east and west."

Li Yi walked out of the courtyard and saw towering mountains to the east and west from Huoyi City. "To the west is the majestic Luliang Mountains, and to the east is the towering Taiyue Mountain."

Huoyi is located on the east side of Huoshan Mountain. Although it is the throat of southern Shanxi, it is just a small mountain town.

One river, two bridges, four city gates, and a cross street.

Although the city is small, its walls are high and wide.

At the beginning, Song Laosheng led 20,000 soldiers to defend Huoyi and resist Li Yuan's 30,000 troops advancing south. In the end, the army was defeated because he went out of the city to fight.

Han Da prepared pigs and sheep to sacrifice to the Huoshan God.

"When the sage led his army south, he was stopped at Huoyi and could not advance. Furthermore, heavy rains hit him for several days, and his army ran out of food and fodder. His morale was shaken. Rumors also spread that the Turks were about to attack Taiyuan from the south, and many soldiers advised him to retreat.

At this time, an old man in white quietly appeared outside the camp.
The graceful old man introduced himself, saying that he was sent by the Huoshan God to pay a visit to the Tang Emperor. The mountain god asked him to tell them that the rain would stop in August and that they would be guided to a small path southeast from Huoyi.

Li Yi had never heard of this story, but Han Da had witnessed it.

He remembered the emperor's delight upon hearing this. "The sage said that during the Spring and Autumn Period, King Xiang of Zhao established the State of Zhao with the help of the Huoshan God. Sure enough, the Huoshan God wouldn't lie to me now. And sure enough, in August, the rain stopped. The sage led us southeast, around to Song Laosheng's rear, and we defeated him in a single battle. We captured Huoyi and then marched south to Chang'an!"

Han Da had complete faith in the Huoshan God, especially after that incident. When the mountain god sent an envoy to pay homage, he said he was visiting the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, not the Duke of Tang.

"If County Lord Li wants to lead his troops through Gaobi Ridge to Lingshi, he must first offer sacrifices to the Huoshan God!"

Legend has it that the God of Huoshan is the son of Emperor Cang.

After hearing this story, Li Yi felt that it was more likely that this was a play directed and performed by Li Yuan himself when the situation was unfavorable and the morale of the army was shaken. He found a white-haired old man to play the role of the Huoshan God's Messenger, who immediately called Li Yuan the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, implying to the officers and soldiers that this time they would surely conquer the world by marching south.

As for the so-called "the rain stops in August", it is impossible for it to rain for the next month in August, it will always stop.

As for guiding the way, it is estimated that he has mastered a small path just like Li Yi, and told it in the name of the messenger of God.

In fact, the effect was good at first. Li Yuan killed Song Laosheng in one battle and captured Huoyi.

The ancients believed in these things about ghosts and gods.
Li Yi would not refute, so he and Han Da offered three animals as sacrifices at the Huo Temple in Huoyi City.

"Back then, the Huoshan God sent his messenger to guide the righteous army south to capture Huoyi. Now, the Huoshan God will also protect our army and ensure that it can pass through Hanhou Ridge and reach Lingshi City!"

Two thousand cavalry,

It also boosted my spirits.

Huoshan God is our own god.

After offering sacrifices to the Huoshan God, Li Yi selected a thousand riders to take Hanhou Road and cross Gaobi Ridge to Lingshi City.

Li Daozon led a thousand cavalry to stay behind.

Sparrow Valley,

The entire Queshu Valley starts from Lengquan Pass in the north, Yindi Pass in the middle, and ends at Fenshui Pass in the south, with a total length of more than 120 miles. There are three passes and four post stations in the valley.

Outside the pass are plains and wilderness, while inside the pass, there are mountains on the left and rivers on the right, with only a narrow strip of land in the middle. It is a strategic location between the north and the south, with narrow and dangerous roads for dozens of miles.

In a valley more than fifty miles away from Huoyi, there is a Jiahu Fort.

This fort was named after the Sogdian merchant settlement.
When Li Yuan led his army south, he passed through Queshu Valley and encountered continuous rain, so he was forced to stop at Jiahu Fort for a long time.

This not-so-big Jiahu Fort is more than fifty miles away from Lingshi in the north and Huoyi in the south. It is built on the Hachi Ridge.

Since the Han Dynasty, countless Western Regions merchants have traveled eastward along the Silk Road to trade.

Some of these Sogdian merchants settled in the Central Plains and established many settlements along the Silk Road.

The Queshu Valley is over a hundred miles long and is the throat of the east, south, north and south of the Yellow River. The Sogdian Hu people also established settlements here, built castles, and even sold goods here.

There is also a Zoroastrian temple in Jahu Fort, which was built by Sogdian merchants who believed in Zoroastrianism.

At this time, Huang Ziying brought a group of his officers to worship Hu Tian and offer pigs and sheep.

In the Ao Temple, there are flying bulls and camels.
"This is the incarnation of our Zoroastrian god Weretragna. He is the god of war and victory and has many incarnations, including wind, bull, horse, camel, wild boar, eagle, sheep, mountain, etc." Sogdian Sarbu Yurun of Jahubao introduced.

Jahu Fort was a settlement of Sogdian merchants. Sabao was the leader of this castle. They settled here, went out to trade, and had their own armed forces.

But facing Huang Ziying's Han army, especially this Han army that ambushed and annihilated nearly 10,000 Tang troops in a valley not far away, Yu Run was very polite to these Han troops heading south after hearing the news.

He even took the initiative to open the gate of Jahu Fort.

Huang Ziying said that he was passing by and wanted to worship the Sogdian gods and borrow Jahu Fort to rest his soldiers. How could Yu Run refuse?

This small fort is good enough to deal with ordinary bandits and refugees.

But facing an elite army, they could only act tactfully.

After Huang Ziying offered sacrifices to the god of war and victory who could transform into various animals, he accepted Yu Run's invitation to a banquet.

"Invite Li Zhongwen, Wang Xingmin, Liu Shirang, Yu Yun, Fan Botong, and Zhang Dezheng to come and calm them down."

The glazed ridge of the Zoroastrian Temple glows with a cold light.

Huang Ziying's battle robe rustled in the mountain wind. He squinted his eyes and looked at the winding valley below the fort.
"The Tang army was no better than this. In one battle, we annihilated 9,000 of them and captured the Grand Secretary of the Ministry of Rites, the Duke of Zhenxiang, three provincial governors, twelve generals of the guards, and two lieutenant generals."

He stroked his curly beard, "It's a pity that there are still more than 10,000 people behind us, which will require some effort. I heard that the deputy general manager leading the rear army is actually a 17-year-old kid, and he has four 16 or 17-year-old princes from the royal family. Does Li Tang have no one left?"
Taiyuan was left with the seventeen-year-old Li Yuanji, and when reinforcements arrived, several young princes were also sent."

The sound of chains rattling,
Li Zhongwen, Liu Shirang and six other generals were pushed and pulled by the Han army.

The Junior Minister of Rites was in a very sorry state at this moment, having lost his previous high spirits.

"Manager Li, Yu Sabao of Jiahu Fort is hosting a banquet. I'm just offering you guys a favor and asking you guys to come as well."

"Kill me or chop me up, it's up to you," Li Zhongwen said, quite tough.

"As expected of a descendant of one of the Eight Pillars of the State, a son of a military family, he is tough enough. It's a pity that he is a little weak on the battlefield." Huang Ziying made a few sarcastic remarks and invited them to take their seats.

"The Sogdians' grilled lamb kebabs are quite good. They are not only good at business and trade, but they are also very skilled at grilling. You must be hungry. Let's eat more later."

The lamb skewers sprinkled with cumin were served, still steaming hot.

Li Zhongwen's stomach started to growl at an inopportune moment.

"Eat."

"Okay, I'd rather die with a full stomach." After Li Zhongwen said that, he grabbed a skewer and started eating it. The other five generals also started eating.

"Actually, you don't have to die. Our Han Emperor cherishes talents very much. As long as a few generals can surrender, no matter what official titles you held in the Tang Dynasty, you will not be treated unfairly in the Han Dynasty."

Li Zhongwen ate the mutton skewers without answering.

Huang Ziying picked up a glass of wine and sipped it slowly. "Yu Sabao said this wine is called Persimmon Shao, and it's sold from Chang'an. Is it made by that kid Li Yi, your deputy general manager?"

Li Zhongwen looked up at the wine in his hand.
"Have some too. This wine is really good and strong." Huang Ziying smiled and asked his men to pour a glass for each of Li Zhongwen and the others.

"I believe that Chief Steward Li will be able to meet with the Deputy Chief Steward soon. He is on his way."

Li Zhongwen looked surprised.

"Why, it's strange that he still dares to come when your entire army has been wiped out?" He smiled, "That kid is indeed quite courageous, but he is not too naive after all. Just relying on a little courage is just reckless.

Once he enters this Rat Valley, he won't be able to escape even if he has wings!"

Li Zhongwen and Liu Shirang looked at each other.
Both of them had dim eyes. This time they suffered a terrible defeat. If Li Yi had come as well, he would probably have been defeated as well, or even captured.

In the hall full of Sogdian barbarism, there are faded murals on the walls.
A Sabao led a Sogdian merchant group on camels across the desert, and there were scenes of them fighting against horse bandits, settling in the Central Plains, building castles, and developing markets.

"General Manager Li, once I have surrounded Li Yi and his rear army, I will ask you to come forward and help persuade them to surrender. I do not wish to cause any more bloodshed."

Li Zhongwen took a big sip of the persimmon wine and couldn't help but say, "I advise General Huang not to be too complacent too soon. I underestimated the enemy, but although Li Yi is young, he is very capable."

"Amazing? How amazing is that? I heard he was originally a Taoist priest? He just returned to secular life less than a year ago. I don't know how he could have gone from being a commoner to a founding county duke, and even become the deputy commander-in-chief of the march, in less than a year.

I guess he's good at flattery, right?
"Back then, Li Jing, the Magistrate of Mayi County, was in Chang'an. He heard that Li Yuan had only appointed him as a General of the Central Guards. What ability did Li Yi have to be a Champion General?"

"General Huang, you'll know if he's capable when you give him a try," Liu Shirang said. He recalled that when he first met Li Yi in Jingzhou, Li Yi was only a military officer, while he was already the general manager of a march.

"Come, fill up the glasses for the generals. I know you are not convinced of your defeat. Hahaha, I will make sure you accept your defeat sincerely.
Let me show you how I captured Li Yi alive and annihilated his rear army of more than 10,000 soldiers.

Huang Ziying was laughing triumphantly.

A personal guard came in hurriedly,
"Report,"

"Report to the General, Lingshi City, Lingshi City,"

"What happened to Lingshi City?" Huang Ziying glared in dissatisfaction.

"Tang Army, Tang Army reinforcements have entered Lingshi City. Moreover, they have quickly divided their forces and stationed at Yindi Pass, thirty miles north of us."

"The Tang army has entered Lingshi City and is now heading towards Yindi Pass?" Huang Ziying was stunned for a moment, then he cursed, "Bullshit! We have thousands of troops guarding Queshu Valley and stationed in Jiahu Fort. Do you think the Tang army can fly with wings?"

A general nearby asked, "Did Liu Zhan, the governor of Haozhou, send out his troops?"

"How many soldiers does Liu Zhan of Haozhou have? How dare he send troops to reinforce Lingshi and Yindi Pass? He can barely take care of himself!"

The personal guard quickly said: "They are not the troops of Liu Zhan, the governor of Haozhou. They are coming from the south. They are the Tang army led by Li Yi."

"Bullshit! Li Yi can fly. Did he fly from Huoyi to Lingshi?"

"General, this is the news that the cavalry reported back. They said that the Tang army suddenly appeared in Lingshi City, and then suddenly appeared in Yindi Pass."

Huang Ziying heard some key information from this, "Are you saying that Li Yi arrived at the Lingshi first, and then appeared at Yindi Pass?"

The guards nodded.

"Then they didn't go through Sparrow Valley. Could they have taken a small trail?"

Generals Li Zhongwen and Liu Shirang were greatly encouraged by what they heard.

(End of this chapter)