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

Chapter 285 Prison Break
The evening breeze blows and the water flows gently.

The Dragon Boat Festival is coming soon. It is still very hot in the sun during the day, but it is very cool in the mountains at night.

Li Yi listened to the faint shouting and cursing of the Han army outside, smiled slightly, turned over and fell asleep.

It was a very deep sleep.

During this period of time, we have been marching and marching, especially in the past few days, the marching has been rapid, and we have been overdrawing our bodies. Last night I had the most peaceful sleep in the past month.

After waking up, I feel particularly comfortable.

another beautiful day.

"Alang," Song Yi, the leader of the family soldiers, stood up immediately after hearing the noise.

"Is Huang Ziying still in front of the customs?"

"Well, his men were yelling and cursing in front of the gate all night, but no one paid any attention to them."

"Didn't they try to attack?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

"They are not stupid. If they rush through the pass with light cavalry, they are courting death."

"Hahaha."

Li Yi climbed to the top of the hundred-foot building, stood on the high hill, and looked out at Dongshan Mountain in the distance.

The rising sun casts a thousand rays of light.

Looking down at the Fen River, the waves are sparkling, and on both sides of the river, willows are swaying, full of vitality.

This summer scene is indeed beautiful.

Unfortunately, there were two thousand enemy soldiers blocking the door, which was really a depressing sight.

There are many courtyards on the top of the hill, and some of them are even built like forts. It is really a big fort within a small fort, and a courtyard within a courtyard.

It can be seen that there must have been frequent wars and banditry here in the past, so the people built houses like this.

After a walk on the top of the hill,
Li Yi went down the mountain.

It was also the first time for him to seriously look at the Hundred-foot Tower.
This fortress is built against a cliff, as if embedded in it. It has four floors, but is actually about 40 meters high.

The second floor is a three-hole kiln, the third floor is a four-hole kiln, and the fourth floor is a cloud hall. The tower is five zhang long, more than ten zhang wide, and more than ten zhang high.

It's like a maze in there.

But from the outside, it looks as if it has merged into one with the cliff.

There is a gate at the bottom of the Baichi Tower, facing the Fen River directly. From the gate, you can go straight up to the top of the hill.

Li Yi really admires the people here for being able to come up with such a building plan and even realize it.
Compared with this, Wuji Fort in Yusu Township is too simple.

We had millet rice for breakfast.

Served with mutton soup.

The soup is made from yesterday's sheep bones.
Li Yi only asked for millet rice, not soup. Although the soldiers drank it with gusto, Li Yi was reluctant to drink the soup again, as everyone had already gnawed and sucked the mutton bones yesterday.

Liu Heizi said the mutton soup was delicious, "I even broke out in a sweat after drinking it."

The mutton bones were stewed overnight, some mutton fat was added, and then sprinkled with salt and some green onions. They looked quite white, but Li Yi knew that it was just because of the oil.

However, for the soldiers, they would not expect to eat mutton and drink mutton soup frequently. It would be delicious if they could stew the bones with some mutton fat, sprinkle some salt and put some green onions.

"Huang Ziying has sent someone to challenge us again, saying that he wants to fight a duel with us." Li Cunxiao ran over with an expectant look on his face.

Li Yi asked with a smile, "Do you want to fight on horseback?"

"I think those so-called Han generals are nothing special. I am confident that I can pick off three or five of them." Li Cunxiao now speaks fluent Chinese and no longer looks like a Qiang slave.

"No need. Let him shout. We're guarding this pass, why should we care about him? After breakfast today, we'll continue building the wall. We've only built one of the four walls."

Li Daoxuan actually wanted to go out and kill the enemy.
This young general, a prince of the royal family, had just left the capital and was heading north, and had not yet fought the enemy. He could no longer contain his excitement.

Li Yi finished the millet rice in his bowl and said with a smile: "We just need to defend the city gate. The one who is anxious is Huang Ziying. He previously bypassed the city gate with a light force and successfully ambushed Li Zongguan, but he is now blocked by us in Baili Queshu Valley. He has thousands of troops and it is impossible for him to carry much food and grass.
Now that the food supply route has been cut off, we are caught in a dilemma. Who do you think is anxious and panicking?
We don't have to do anything, just surround them like this, and within ten days, they will definitely run out of food."

"But there are still many villages within a hundred miles of Queshu Valley. Even if he robs the people, he can still hold on."

"How long can he sustain his power by simply plundering the people? His thousands of troops have already become dead."

Li Daoxuan held the Qianniu Sword and still wanted to kill the enemy and make merit.

Li Yi had to remind the young prince: "It was because General Li underestimated the enemy that he was ambushed. Nine thousand soldiers were annihilated and the commander was captured. The prince must learn from this."

"We will be invincible if we fight with our backs to the city wall," said Li Daoxuan.

"Haha, remember when the Saint's rebellion army marched south, Song Laosheng led 20,000 soldiers to station in Huoyi City. Originally, he could have been invincible by simply defending the city, but he insisted on fighting outside the city. Then, he was attacked from behind by the Saint's troops and was ultimately defeated and killed."

Li Daoxuan's face flushed.

"But if Song Jingang breaks through Jiexiu and moves south, what should we do?"

"We only have five or six thousand soldiers now. It would be great if we can stabilize the formation first. We should first defend Lingshi and Huoyi. If we can trap Huang Ziying's several thousand men, it will be a great achievement.

As for Song Jingang and Jiexiu, we are unable to take care of them for the time being."

After finishing his meal, Li Yi came to the stone wall that had been repaired yesterday. In the distance, two thousand Han soldiers had set up camp on the riverbank last night without any defense. It was obvious that they wanted to lure the Tang army to attack.

But Li Yi had no intention of taking any risks.

He now has only 1,100 men here, and 300 of them are local garrison troops.

Huang Ziying was able to annihilate Li Zhongwen's main force of 9,000. The soldiers under his command must have been elite soldiers, and there might even be Turkic cavalry mixed in.

No need to take risks.

He guarded this place and concentrated on building the wall.

As long as it drags on, it will be beneficial to him.

His subsequent troops can also keep up. If the 13,000 auxiliary troops from Huoyi, Lingshi, Yindi Pass can all be in place, they will still have a good defensive force.

Huoyi sent two thousand combat soldiers and three thousand auxiliary soldiers to garrison, and Lingshi sent three thousand combat soldiers and two thousand auxiliary soldiers to garrison.

Send another thousand auxiliary troops and another thousand combat troops to Yindi Pass.

Li Yi felt that he should have no problem defending the city for three to five months. Such a long time would be enough for Chang'an to mobilize another wave of reinforcements.

As for Jiexiu, Pingyao and Yuci, he has no plans to take care of them for the time being, as they are beyond his reach. As for Taiyuan, let Li Yuanji, that naughty kid, take care of it.

Li Yi was still very clear about his abilities. He was not Li Jing or Li Shimin, nor was he Qin Qiong or Luo Shixin. He was still a novice in military affairs. Now that his commander was captured, he had to take on the task of temporarily filling the gap, and all he could do was defend.

If he takes a radical and risky approach, he might end up in the same disastrous situation as Li Zhongwen.
The key states of Jie, Hao and Lu will no longer have the support they need. With the weak defenders in these states, they will most likely be defeated one by one by Song Jingang.

These two roads leading to Taiyuan were taken away.
Then Taiyuan can only wait to be conquered.

In history, Song Jingang swept across Hedong. Now all Li Yi can do is to hold on as much as possible.

He is not a real sixteen-year-old boy like Li Daoxuan, and he does not have such fantasies of making achievements on the battlefield. After all, he is a middle-aged man at heart and as steady as an old dog.

Huang Ziying's men challenged him in every possible way.
Even when they took off their pants and peed and shit on the newly built stone wall, no one paid any attention to them.

Let them insult you in any way they want, even if they become hoarse, it will be of no use.

Huang Ziying even deliberately set up camp in front of the pass last night, simply setting up some tents without any protection, hoping to lure the 17-year-old deputy general manager of the march to attack.

Even Li Zhongwen, one of the Eight Pillars of the State, could not withstand his provocations several times. Can this young man do it?

But the fact is, last night more than 2,000 of them were all wearing armor and hiding in tents, on high alert. As long as the Tang army came out of the pass, he would lead his troops to fight them out. He even thought of driving the defeated troops back into the pass in one fell swoop.

unfortunately,

After waiting for a whole night,
The Fen River surges,
Two thousand men, wearing armor, worked tirelessly, but the Tang army inside the pass remained silent all night. Early in the morning, Huang Ziying was listless and kept dozing off. He hadn't slept well these days.

"General,"

Several sub-stewards came forward and asked him about his plan.

Huang Ziying had no plan. What kind of plan could he have with two thousand light cavalry facing this dangerous city wall?

"Do we need to cut down trees to build siege engines?" asked an officer.

Huang Ziying asked angrily, "Can you build it or can I build it? Among our army of 2,000 cavalrymen, who is a carpenter and who knows how to build siege equipment?"

He grew angrier as he spoke. "Besides, even if someone could build a siege engine, it would take days. Can we, two thousand men, wait that long?"

What he hasn’t said yet is, can we take the city with siege equipment?
This damn place has a cliff on one side and a rapid on the other, with a road only four or five feet wide in the middle. The Tang army has built a high wall to block it. The cliff is also embedded with the hundred-foot-high fortress of Yindi Pass, and there is also a castle on the hill.

Most importantly, they didn't have much food.

Huang Ziying got a headache.

He rode south on his horse, bypassing Jiexiu City, Lingshi City, Yindi Pass, etc. It went smoothly at first, and no one dared to stop him.

He successfully lured the enemy into an ambush on the main force of the Tang army.

But who knew that he was now trapped in the Queshu Valley.

Looking at Yindi Pass in front of him, Huang Ziying looked at his men again.

I spent the whole day hunting geese, but unexpectedly, a goose pecked my eye.

Is this Li Yi really only seventeen years old?

A soldier came and reported that there was a shortage of food and fodder.

The soldiers' dry rations were enough for a few days, but the horses needed a bundle of grass and three liters of fodder every day. A bundle of grass weighed fifteen pounds, and the fodder consisted of millet, beans, wheat, and other grains, with salt added.

In wartime situations like this, the supply of fine feed for war horses must even double, at least five pounds of millet and beans, and one or two ounces of salt.

Huang Ziying went south this time with two thousand cavalry and three thousand mounted infantry. His mobility was very fast, but now he is trapped here, and the problem of food and fodder has become a big problem.

His original plan was to annihilate Li Zhongwen's troops, then use the same trick to lure and annihilate Li Yi's troops, and then attack Huoyi and Lingshi, or withdraw to the city of Jiexiu to join the main army.

But unexpectedly, Li Yiqi was one step ahead of him and put him in a difficult situation.

There are two thousand riders, each with three horses, so there are six thousand horses in total. Each horse consumes fifteen pounds of grass, five liters of fine feed, and one ounce of salt a day. In total, the horses consume ninety thousand pounds of grass, three hundred stones of millet and wheat, and more than three hundred pounds of salt a day.

Two thousand soldiers need dozens of stones of food a day.

He rushed from Jahu Fort and only brought enough food and fodder for three days.

War horses are much more valuable than soldiers. If they are hungry for a day or two, they will basically be unable to run and the cavalry will be useless.

Gritting his teeth, Huang Ziying had no choice but to order, "Return to Jiahu Fort."

Jahu Fort,
Li Zhongwen and other generals were captured and imprisoned in Jiahu Fort.

"Brother, our wounds are festering and stinking. Please help me. I want to go out of the camp and wash in the river."

The Han army on guard had also become familiar with Li Zhongwen and the others. Li Zhongwen was a descendant of a noble family, but he had always been very polite to these Han soldiers from the border areas. He immediately agreed and helped these Tang generals out of the fort and went to the Fen River to wash.

Huang Ziying's grooms also drove a few horses to the river to wash them.

Li Zhongwen and others washed their wounds in the Fen River and took a bath. When they returned to the camp, the guards came to support them.

"I'm so sorry to have troubled you all this time. I'm really seriously injured and I don't have any strength left."

The horse servant beside him said, "It's too much trouble to support him, why don't we just ride back to the castle."

"That won't work." Li Zhongwen said quickly.

"This horse is meant to be ridden. It's too much effort for brothers to support it."

The guards were unwilling to support the group all the way back, so they also said, "Let's ride horses. We have horses."

Li Zhongwen pretended to say that he didn't dare, but in the end, the few people were helped onto the horse.

The horse servant also mounted his horse and walked towards the camp with several generals, while several guards followed behind.

As the sun sets,

The scenery along the Fen River is beautiful.

Unconsciously, the horse servant drove the horse faster and faster, slowly leaving the guards behind.

When we get to Jahu Fort,
Ma Pu and Li Zhongwen looked at each other and smiled knowingly.

"drive!"

The horse servants whipped the horses and started them galloping. The six generals, Li Zhongwen, Wang Xingmin, Liu Shirang, Yu Yun, Fan Botong and Zhang Dezheng, also kicked the horses' bellies and sped up.

The seven riders turned at the foot of the fort and galloped south.

At this time, several guards who were far behind also found something wrong.

He shouted in panic, but the seven men had already galloped away on their horses.

When a few people ran to Jiahu Fort and shouted that Li Zhongwen and others had escaped, the generals who stayed behind quickly sent people to pursue them, but the cavalry had been taken away by Huang Ziying, and only the infantry were left in the Jiahu Fort camp.

Quickly dispatch the infantry and horsemen to pursue,

But infantrymen on horseback were not cavalrymen. It was dusk at this time, and they had chased them for more than ten miles without catching up. When it got dark, they completely lost track of the seven people.

The seven of them ran non-stop all night long.
At dawn, the horse foamed at the mouth and fell to the ground. The seven men abandoned their horses and walked, moving like frightened birds. Fortunately, they successfully arrived at Fenshui Pass at noon.

At this time,
The Tang flag was still raised at Fenshui Pass.

When they saw the red flag, they all felt relieved and finally escaped.

When the seven people appeared in front of the gate and knocked on the door,
The soldiers guarding the pass did not believe the identities they claimed and quickly called the commander.

In Guanzhong, Cui Dunli was discussing with the former Guanzhong town commander about strengthening the defense of the pass. When they heard that General Li Zhongwen and other generals had fled back to the pass, they were all shocked.

"Has Chief Li escaped, or was he being held captive by the enemy to persuade him to surrender?"

"They escaped back, only seven of us, without any horses."

Cui Dunli led his men to the city gate and recognized Li Zhongwen and other generals at a glance.

Looking behind them, there was no enemy.

So they quickly opened the city gate and welcomed the seven people into the city.

Six of the seven people are acquaintances.

After entering the pass, he finally escaped. Li Zhongwen was also surprised to see Cui Dunli in Fenshui Pass.

"Isn't Secretary Cui following Deputy Chief Li? Why is he here?"

"It's a long story. When the deputy general manager heard the news of our defeat, we were still in Zhaocheng..."

"Where is Deputy Chief Li now?"

Cui Dunli said, "Deputy General Li and the Prince of Huaiyang are currently at Yindi Pass, Duke Lueyang is in Lingshi City, and the Princes of Longxi and Bohai are in Huoyi. As planned, I will lead a force to Fenshui Pass to reinforce them."

"Yindiguan?"

Li Zhongwen was shocked. "In Jiahu Fort, I heard Huang Ziying's men report that Li Yi led his troops to Lingshi and Yindi Pass. I didn't believe it at all. I didn't expect it to be true!"

(End of this chapter)