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

Chapter 293: Someone, take Li Yi down

Kuixing in the sky, Zhangbi on earth.

Li Zhongwen looked at the thick city walls and tall fort towers as the Turkic cavalry went away and wiped the sweat off his face.

It was a scorching June day. Wearing armor weighing dozens of kilograms, I was soon drenched in sweat.

"Damn Turkic wolves," Li Zhongwen cursed with gritted teeth. Although there were only a few hundred of these Turkic cavalrymen, they almost blocked the connection between Zhangbi Fort and the outside world.

night,

Outside the city, shouts of killing were heard again.
Li Zhongwen climbed up the city wall to check.
A small group of cavalry rushed to the city, claiming to be sent by Liu Zhan, the governor of Haozhou, to ask for help.

"Put down the basket and hoist them up."

Li Zhongwen refused to open the gate of the fort.

After some effort, several injured cavalrymen were pulled up. The Turkic light cavalry rushed to the front of the fort. Li Zhongwen drew his bow and shot a Turkic cavalryman who was in the front off his horse with one arrow.

The Turks rushed past and shot a volley of arrows at the top of the city.

"Are you from Haozhou?"

"The enemy army surrounded Xicheng in Haozhou. Governor Liu requested General Li to rescue them."

Li Zhongwen sighed,
"Jiexiu City has fallen, and I am now trapped in Zhangbi Fort."

"General, Haozhou is in danger. If we don't send troops, it will fall at any time." The knight who asked for help called himself Ren Zhi, who was from Xicheng. The Ren family was the most powerful family in Xicheng. His grandfather was the chief clerk of the state, and his father was a military officer in Youzhou's warehouse.

Li Yuan started an uprising in Taiyuan, and Ren Zhi responded actively. As he advanced into Chang'an, he was granted the rank of fifth-rank imperial doctor.

The Ren family of Xihe can be traced back to the Yellow Emperor's youngest son who was granted the title of Ren. Later, the Ren family was granted the title of Xue. During the Western Han Dynasty, a branch of the Ren family migrated to Xihe and was called the Xue branch clan, with Xihe as their fief.

Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Ren family has been a family of officials. Ren Zhi, along with five other brothers, joined the army together, made outstanding contributions, and were all granted official positions. Ren Zhi returned to his hometown. During the Tang Dynasty, Xihe Commandery was reorganized into Haozhou and Jiezhou, and Ren Zhi was appointed a military officer in Haozhou.

"General Manager, Haozhou is in a critical situation. Please lend a helping hand."

Li Zhongwen looked at the Turkic cavalry galloping and shouting outside the city. "Xun Xiang defeated Jiexiu and left a group of troops here. He should not have many troops to attack Haozhou. Haozhou will not be in danger."

Ren Zhi sighed, "What the General Manager doesn't know is that the Hu and Liu families of Lishi have rebelled again."

Lishi is located west of Xihe River and is adjacent to the Yellow River on one side.

In the 800-li Shanxi-Shaanxi Valley on both sides of the Yellow River, there are many descendants of the Xiongnu, called the Jihu tribe.

In the tenth year of Daye, Liu Long'er, the chief of the Lishi Hu tribe, rebelled against the Sui Dynasty and proclaimed himself the emperor. Tens of thousands of Jihu tribes responded. The Sui Dynasty sent troops to suppress him but failed several times. Later, Liang De, a general of the Tiger Guards, attacked and killed Liu Long'er.

"Liu Long'er's son Liu Jizhen and his brother Liu Liu'er rebelled again, calling themselves the Crown Prince. This time they led Liu Wuzhou's troops, attacked Yinshi Prefecture, and killed the governor Wang Jian.

After Liu Jizhen captured Shizhou, he proclaimed himself Tuli Khan and appointed his brother Liu Liuer as King of Tuoding. He sent Jihu troops to Haozhou to join forces with Xun Xiang.

At the gates of Haozhou City, the armies of Liu Wuzhou, the Turkic army, and the Jihu army already number tens of thousands."

When Li Zhongwen heard the news, his face changed drastically.

The Jihu, descendants of the Xiongnu, were scattered in Lishi, Loufan, Longquan in Hedong, as well as Yan'an and Diaoyin in northern Shaanxi, and often caused chaos.

Previously, Liu Long'er rebelled and proclaimed himself emperor, but it took three years to be suppressed.

Unexpectedly, his two sons, now supported by Liu Wuzhou and the Turks, rebelled again, captured Lishi so quickly, killed the governor, and sent troops to Haozhou.

Xicheng of Haozhou and Jiexiu of Jiezhou originally belonged to Xihe County of the Sui Dynasty. The Fen River separated the east and the west. The Tang Dynasty divided Xihe County into two states.

They are all built on the plain south of the Taiyuan Basin.

Jiexiu and Pingyao were lost, and the eastern road to Taiyuan was cut off. If Haozhou was lost as well, it would be useless for Li Yi to guard the spirit stone, as he would still be trapped in Queshu Valley and unable to get out.

"I only have 3,000 people now, including no more than 1,400 government soldiers and only 400 cavalry. Once we leave Zhangbi Fort, we can't even defeat the bandits outside. How can we rescue Haozhou?" Li Zhongwen sighed.

"General Manager, doesn't Deputy General Manager Li Yi still have more than 10,000 troops in Lingshi? At this time, it is important to rescue Haozhou first. General Manager, quickly order Deputy General Manager Li to lead the troops. There are more than 10,000 people. Add the soldiers under the General Manager's command and the defenders of Haozhou, and there are more than 20,000 people.

We can always rely on Haozhou for a fight!"

Li Zhongwen looked at the twinkling stars in the night sky and thought that the Han Tu soldiers outside the city were too arrogant.

"Okay, I will send someone to Lishi right now to pass on the order, asking Li Yi to mobilize troops north to first destroy the several thousand bandits outside Zhangbi Fort, and then rescue Haozhou."

Ren Zhi was overjoyed after hearing this, Xihe was saved.

When Li Yuan first started his army, he ordered Jiancheng and Yuanji to lead the troops to attack Xihe.

Xihe surrendered after only three days of resistance, a decision agreed upon by the Ren and Guo families. But the situation was different now. The powerful Xihe families looked down on Liu Wuzhou, and even more so on the Lishi Hu.

Lingshi City.

Under the escort of cavalry, Li Zhongwen's messenger broke through the Turkic blockade under the cover of night and galloped all the way to the foot of Lishi City.

Brought Li Zhongwen's military order.

"The General Manager orders Deputy General Manager Li to lead 10,000 troops to Zhangbi Fort in Jiexiu within three days. If he fails to arrive by the deadline, he will be subject to military law!"

Li Yi looked at the military order with the bright red seal of the marching commander.
He took it, looked at it twice, and then threw it aside.

"Deputy Manager Li?" The messenger stared at Li Yi with wide eyes.

"I refuse to send troops. Jiexiu has already been lost. General Li will defend Zhangbi Fort. If I go there now, what will happen to Lingshi, Yindi Pass, and the thousands of Huang Ziying's men surrounding Queshu Valley?"

"Deputy Chief, Haozhou is in danger."

"Let Governor Liu hold on a little longer. I believe the imperial reinforcements will arrive soon. Jiezhou held out for two months, only to be breached by the evil monk colluding with the enemy. If Haozhou is more careful, it should be able to hold out for three to five months, right?"

The messenger was anxious.

"Just tell the steward what I said."

"Deputy Chief Li, are you going to disobey the Chief's orders?"

Li Yi ignored him.

The messenger looked at the other people around Li Yi. The four emperor's nephews were sitting there, and no one said a word.

The messenger left helplessly. "Is the county magistrate really not going to send troops to rescue?" Dao Zong asked.

"You are all aware of how much wealth we have now. If we send troops now, we will just be sending them away. The tactic of adding fuel to the fire is not a viable option.

We must be resolute and wait until the imperial reinforcements arrive before we act together."

"What if Haozhou is lost again? Who will be held responsible?"

"If we lose, it won't just be the loss of Haozhou," said Li Yi.

the next day,
Li Zhongwen's messenger traveled sixty miles overnight to Lingzhou to ask for help.

Ren Zhi, the military officer of Haozhou, also came in person to plead for mercy.

Li Zhongwen's order was even more severe.

But Li Yi was unmoved, and the officers under him only listened to Li Yi. Ren Zhi looked at the result in surprise.

Li Zhongwen suffered a terrible defeat before, and all the generals under Li Yi were his men. No one was willing to take risks. With Li Yi in the front, naturally no one would listen to Li Zhongwen anymore.

"Are you really going to watch someone die without helping?" Ren Zhi asked.

Li Yi replied, "If we really want to rescue someone, then we should head north to Taiyuan. Our mission is to reinforce Taiyuan."

Ren Zhi was speechless.

"General Ren, please tell Governor Liu of Haozhou that it's not that Li Yi will not help, but given the current situation, Li Yi is powerless and can only defend Lingshi Huoyi and block Queshu Valley.

Haozhou, I also ask Governor Liu and all the prominent families of Xihe to work together with the military and civilians and persevere. I believe that with unity, we can resist the enemy's siege."

Li Daozong also spoke on Li Yi's behalf: "General Ren, if we go north, Lingshi will be empty and easy for the enemy to take advantage of. Once Lingshi is lost, Haozhou will become an isolated city. Even if the court sends reinforcements, they will be blocked in Luzhou and unable to get through."

Ren Zhi returned disappointed.

On the morning of the third day,
Li Zhongwen's warhorse's hooves shattered the tranquility of the early morning. He led dozens of riders, tearing through the morning mist and appearing at the foot of Lingshi City.

"Is Deputy Chief Li determined to disobey orders?"

Lingshi County Government Office,

Li Zhongwen slammed his seal on the table, then took out the military token from his goldfish bag and slammed it there as well.

"Is this any use?

Is this also useful?"

"Butler, please stay calm and don't act rashly. The situation is already bad enough, and we must remedy it. If we make the same mistake again, how will you explain it to the Saint?"

"How do I explain this to the court?"

Li Zhongwen was furious: "I was ambushed in Queshu Valley. I did make a mistake first, but now I am trying my best to make amends and save the situation.

You refused to send troops and watched Jiexiu City fall. Now Haozhou is under siege again. Do you still want to watch Haozhou fall again?"

"The fall of Jiexiu was an accident."

"Even without that evil monk, Jiexiu wouldn't be able to hold out for long. Jiexiu City has no food."

"As far as I know, there is still food in Jiexiu City. Longquan Temple alone has a lot of food. It will be no problem to hold out for another month or two."

The two of them were talking back and forth, and the atmosphere was full of tension.

Li Zhongwen saw that Li Yi ignored his military orders.
Extremely angry,

He slammed his waist knife on the table and said, "Can I order you this?"

"I advise the steward to calm down!"

Li Zhongwen sneered, "Okay, since you insist on doing this, don't blame me for being ruthless. Come, arrest Li Yi and remove him from his position as deputy general manager. I have the final say here."

Li Yi stood up and stood there.

Look around.

Li Zhongwen's personal guards came forward,
Li Boyi shouted, "Who dares?"

Li Zhongwen said to Li Boyi, "Your Majesty, this is the army, and military orders are as heavy as a mountain. I am still the chief steward, and the deputy chief steward Li Yi must obey my orders!"

"What a bullshit order you gave! If you had listened to Wu Yi, all nine thousand of our brothers in Queshu Valley would not have been wiped out.

Do you think the imperial court would let you continue to command the troops after knowing that you suffered such a defeat?

If you have any self-awareness now, you should voluntarily hand over the General Seal and Military Token, and let Wuyi take temporary command of the entire army. You should wait patiently for the court's order."

Li Zhongwen blushed, "As long as the court hasn't relieved me of my position as chief steward, I still have the final say here."

"Bullshit, I don't recognize you as the chief steward, I only recognize Deputy Chief Steward Wuyi."

The two sides were on the verge of a fight.

"Report,"

"Reporting to the deputy general manager, the cavalry reported that Cui Jishi, who stayed behind in Huoyi, sent someone to bring the Chang'an angel over Hanhou Ridge to announce the decree. It's only ten miles away from Lingshi City!"

Everyone looked at Li Yi's personal soldier Liu Heizi who came in to report.

Li Yi turned to look at Li Zhongwen and said, "Master Li, how about we welcome the angel together and wait for the court's decision?"

Li Zhongwen snorted, feeling a little flustered.

It had been so long since his defeat, but there was no result from Chang'an. As time went by, he almost forgot about it, but now he suddenly woke up.

Very guilty.

He felt that he might not be able to escape the punishment of being recalled to the court or even dismissed from his post, but he still had a glimmer of hope, hoping that the emperor would allow him to continue to serve as the general manager and make meritorious contributions while serving his sentence.

(End of this chapter)