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

Chapter 291: Buddha Banner Lowered to the City
sunset.

The evening drum of Longquan Temple in the north of Jiexiu was booming. Although the city had been under siege for two months, Longquan Temple seemed to be unaffected.

The morning bells and evening drums are still very punctual every day.

On the city wall, Zhang Xun, the governor of Jiezhou, was frowning. The fourth-rank governor rubbed his hungry belly and looked at the enemy camps outside the city. He knew that if he couldn't get any more food, the enemy would fall without attacking the city.

"Go to Longquan Temple!"

Zhang Xun walked down the tower with his sword in hand. He decided to come out in person.

The blades of the Mingguang armor rustled with every step.

He gathered three hundred armored soldiers and headed straight for the big temple in the north of the city.

Longquan Temple is very popular. The temple covers a large area and has several granaries. It is said that the stored grain can feed a thousand monks for ten years.

The setting sun shines on the yellow temple walls,
Zhang Xun led his troops to the temple and was able to occupy a large area of land in the north of the city. This temple had strong connections. If it weren't for the last resort, Zhang Xun didn't want to provoke them.

The soldier stepped forward and explained his purpose to the monk.

The monk glanced at Zhang Xun and the three hundred soldiers behind him, then turned around and hurried in to report.

quickly,

Abbot Daocheng appeared in purple robes.
One hundred warrior monks, armed with iron-wrapped sticks reaching their eyebrows, poured out and lined up outside the temple gate.

"Amitabha!"

"Master Daocheng, the enemy has been besieging the city for a long time and the army is short of food. Governor Zhang wants to borrow some food from Longquan Temple." The military officer stepped forward and said.

Dao Cheng's bald head shone brightly. "We at Longquan Temple also have many monks and nuns to support. The siege lasted two months, and Longquan Temple hasn't received any summer grain rent. We haven't even recovered the grain we loaned out previously, so we have no grain to lend to Governor Zhang now."

"Master Daocheng, I hope we can help each other and lend you some food."

"Inspector Zhang brought so many soldiers here, are you here to steal food? Do you know what the law says about robbing temple property?"

Behind him, a hundred monks raised their iron-clad sticks and slammed them heavily on the ground, making a murderous sound.

The brigade commander took a few steps forward, holding his sword, and stood in front of Dao Cheng. "I only know that this is wartime. Anyone who disobeys military orders will be executed!"

A monk stepped forward, "Who dares!"

The brigade commander drew his sword,

The sword was swung across, and the monk who stepped forward had blood splattered from his throat. His throat was cut and he fell down with his eyes wide open.

Dao Cheng's eyes suddenly widened.

"This is a pure land of Buddhism, how dare you murder a monk!"

The commander flicked the blood off his sword and spat viciously at the temple gate, "Anyone who dares to stop me will be killed immediately!"

Daocheng's body began to tremble involuntarily.

Zhang Xun came over at this time.

"Master Daocheng is well. I am borrowing 3,000 shi of millet from Longquan Temple. I will repay you with principal and interest after the war." As he said this, he took out a promissory note and handed it over.

Dao Cheng looked at the IOU handed over by Zhang Zhang for a long time without taking it.

The brigade commander swung his sword and chopped down another monk.

"Since you don't want to drink my toast, don't blame me for being heartless!"

"stop."

Dao Cheng stretched out his trembling hands and took the IOU from Zhang Xun. "I am taking Governor Zhang's men to move the grain. I am lending you three thousand dan of Sengqi millet. The customary rate is ten percent interest per month for a six-month period.

The profit will be returned after half a year."

When Zhang Xun heard the interest, he narrowed his eyes, but still held back.

If you borrow 3,000 dan of millet, the interest will be 300 dan per month, and 1,800 dan per half year. If you don't pay it back, you will have to pay compound interest, which means the principal is 4,800 dan, and the interest will be 480 dan per month.

"Okay, the monthly interest rate is 10%, and the term is half a year. If the loan is not repaid after half a year, the interest will be returned as the principal." Zhang Xun agreed.

The grain storage at Longquan Temple was opened.

Zhang Xun lent out three thousand shi of millet.

When the grain was transported back to the military camp, the warehouse officer found that it was mostly stale grain, and only the few bags he looked at at the beginning were good.

"How dare these bald asses tamper with our millet, some of which is three or four years old."

Zhang Xun came over to take a look and said, "Although it's old millet, it's still food. As long as it's edible, it's fine. Let's distribute it to everyone."

"Evenly distribute 500 dan to the people."

"Governor, there are several granaries in Longquan Temple, and there is still a lot of grain stored."

Zhang Xun didn't respond.

The interest rate is very high. It is easy to borrow this grain but difficult to repay it.

"Let's finish this first. Perhaps reinforcements from the imperial court will arrive soon. We might even defeat Liu Wuzhou in Taiyuan, and the siege of Jiexiu will naturally be lifted."

at night,

The hungry guards in Jiexiu finally had their meal again. The corn porridge made from stale millet didn't taste good, but at least it filled their stomachs.

In the north of the city, in Longquan Temple.

Daocheng chanted sutras to pray for the souls of the two killed monks, which made the monks in the temple extremely dissatisfied.

He usually has a high status and has no worries about food and clothing. How could he have suffered such humiliation?

"Abbot, Zhang Xun has taken away 3,000 dan of grain today. Once this grain is eaten, what will he do if he comes back to borrow more?"

"Yes, these people are so rude and cruel. They kill people if you don't lend them food."

"If we lend them food, they might never return it."

"We have to think of a solution. Otherwise, even if we can defend Jiexiu City, our Longquan Temple will go bankrupt."

A monk said in a hateful voice: "If you ask me, we should just open the city and let the Han army in. Who cares about the Tang Dynasty or the Han Dynasty? Whoever rules the world will take care of Jiexiu. As long as it doesn't affect us, it's fine."

"Yes, if we can lead the Han army into the city, we will have made great contributions. Wouldn't it be even better if we could reward them with money, silk, and land?"

Longquan Temple has many farmlands, many of which were granted by successive imperial courts. For example, when Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty was on a northern tour, he once stayed in the Longquan Temple in Jiexiu and awarded the temple ten hectares of land in one go.

Dao Cheng's expression was uncertain.

The flash of sword from the commander-in-chief under Zhang Xun today really frightened him.

The next day, the gates of Jiexiu were opened.

Some old and weak people went out of the city to chop firewood and pick wild vegetables.

Although the Han army besieged the city for two months, both sides continued the wartime custom and allowed some civilians to leave the city to collect firewood, wild vegetables, and water, etc. As long as the army did not come out, the besieging army would not care.

However, there are certainly people who want to take the opportunity to sneak out of the city to deliver letters for help, and there are even officials who take the opportunity to escape. The chance of success is not small, but the besieging army will generally have cavalry patrols to intercept them.

Generally, only inhumane bandits like Zhu Can would indiscriminately massacre civilians.

The Han army camp was ten miles outside the city.

The patrol officer brought a commoner to the tent where the commander was looking for the prime minister.

The tent for searching for the photos was set up under a big tree. In the hot summer, the shade of the tree provided a lot of coolness.

Xun Xiang and Huang Ziying had previously led 8,000 people south. After the two captured Pingyao, Xun Xiang continued to attack Jiexiu, while Huang Ziying led his troops further south.

It was originally agreed that he would besiege the city and Huang Ziying would attack the reinforcements.
After defeating the Tang army reinforcements, Huang Ziying returned to Jiexiu and broke the city together, and then continued to capture another city, Lingshi or Haozhou City.

Unexpectedly, the Jiexiu garrison commander was very difficult to deal with and defended the city impenetrably. He had limited troops and lacked siege equipment, so he had no way to take Jiexiu City and could only surround it.

Huang Ziying was also trapped in Queshu Valley.

Earlier, a Tang army was coming to attack, but fortunately, that army was small in number and not elite enough, so he blocked them and forced them to retreat to Zhangbi Fort, 20 miles away.

During this period, Xun Xiang sent his troops to plunder the countryside, capture able-bodied men and steal food and fodder, while at the same time he ordered craftsmen and able-bodied men to build siege weapons.

"General, this man claims to be from Longquan Temple in Jiexiu City. He said that the abbot Daocheng sent him to help our army capture Jiexiu City."

Xun Xiang heard this and suddenly looked up.

The man who looked like a woodcutter wearing a straw hat and tattered clothes, took off his hat to reveal a shiny bald head.

"I am a disciple of Master Daocheng of Longquan Temple. Master is willing to help the general enter the city."

Xun Xiang was a little shocked. They had been besieging the city for two months and had not been able to break it, but suddenly a pie fell from the sky.

"Why did Master Daocheng help me enter the city?"

After a long time,
Xun Xiang was very excited. "Okay, Master Daocheng's choice is right. When our Han army enters Jiexiu, we will never treat Master Daocheng and Longquan Temple unfairly."

He even patted his chest and said on the spot that as long as they could help him capture Jiexiu, he would reward Longquan Temple with ten hectares of fertile land and return the three thousand shi of grain to them.

After some secret discussion, the monk dressed up as a woodcutter and was sent away by the rangers.

"General, can these bald donkeys be trusted?"

"I think it's credible. All crows are black, and all bald donkeys are bad. Jiexiu is out of food, and they dare to attack the bald donkeys. Naturally, these people are capable of anything."

"Then can we really break into the city?"

"With internal support, the city will naturally fall. In this world, there is no impenetrable fortress. No matter how strong a fortress is, it is often broken from the inside." Xun Xiang smiled and said, "It's just like the Sui Dynasty that ended the three hundred years of division between the north and the south. How amazing it was. Thousands of cavalry and millions of soldiers stretched west to Yiwu, south to Linyi, north to Tiele, and east to Goguryeo.

Who can defeat the Sui Dynasty?

But why did the Sui Dynasty end in the second generation? Was it destroyed by the Turks or the Goguryeo people? No, it was because the people all over the world rose up in rebellion.

Finally, whether it was Li Mi or Li Yuan, there were also Wang Shichong, Yu Wenhuaji, Xiao Xian, Li Gui, Xue Ju, etc., all of them were noble officials and generals of the Sui Dynasty...”

Night came,

Xun Xiang was fully armed. He used a piece of deerskin to gently wipe the polished Mo Dao. He was also a soldier of the Sui Dynasty. Like Yuchi Gong, he was from Daibei. He made a living by working as a blacksmith in his early years. He was very strong and had a burly figure.
Later, when civil unrest broke out all over the country, he was summoned by the court to suppress the bandits, and gained some fame for his bravery.

When Liu Wuzhou raised the flag of rebellion in Mayi, he heard of their bravery and recruited them under his command and appointed them as generals.

The two men lived up to Liu Wuzhou's high expectations. Whether it was the previous resistance against the encirclement and suppression by the imperial army or the current invasion of Bingzhou, they have repeatedly made military achievements.

The Mo Dao in his hand was forged by him personally. He had used it to chop off countless horses' legs and split countless pieces of armor.

"After we take Jiexiu, our next target will be Lishi City. I want to see how powerful that 17-year-old young steward Li Yi is. Is he really a supernatural being?

It was actually able to trap Huang Ziying so tightly."

"He can endure loneliness so well in Lingshi, he doesn't look like a 17-year-old boy."

Taking advantage of the night,

Xun Xiang led several thousand men and horses to quietly leave the camp,

People hold their tongues in their mouths, horses wrap their hooves,
Quietly approached the city of Jiexiu.

Arriving at the agreed location, the sound of the clappers came.
A night owl cried,

In the southwest corner tower there are lanterns swaying,

Three lanterns, the agreed signal.

Xun Xiang gripped his Mo Dao tightly, his heart beating faster.

He stared at the corner tower,

quickly,

A long Buddhist banner hangs from the corner tower.

A long Buddhist banner hung from the top of the city wall to the bottom. The elite Han army, who had quietly reached the base of the city wall as agreed, immediately grabbed the banner, and the people on it pulled the people up with force.

One after another, the Buddhist banners were lowered.
One after another, elite Han soldiers were pulled to the top of the city wall.

Dozens of elite Han soldiers, armed with steel knives and carrying bows and crossbows, climbed up the southwest wall.
The night is dark,

The wind is high.

In the silent night, the sound of killing suddenly broke out.
Soon, the west gate was opened, torches were waving,

Xun Xiang excitedly jumped up from the ground, brandished his sword and shouted, "Kill! Enter the city!"

Xun Xiang led his personal soldiers to rush into the city.

The battle began in the dark night,

Jiexiu defended for two months, but was eventually broken because Monk Daocheng was an accomplice. Jiexiu's raised city walls and reinforced city gates were ultimately useless.

one day later,

In Lingshi City, Li Yi received the news of defeat sent back by Li Zhongwen from Zhangbi Fort. In the middle of the night, the Jiexiu monk Daocheng lowered the Han army into the city with a Buddhist banner and seized the gate. Jiexiu City was broken, the governor Zhang Xun was killed in the battle, and the defending army was wiped out.

The war ultimately developed in a very bad direction.

(End of this chapter)