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

Chapter 52 I have a plan

Gaocheng City is in danger.
After Xue Ju failed to capture Jingzhou City after a long siege, he simply led the main force to bypass Jingzhou and head straight for Gaocheng City. This was a risky move. The Jingchuan River Valley was already dangerous. If he could keep Jingzhou City intact, he would go south.

This means that Xue Ju's army's logistical supply lines are blocked. If Gaoqiao and Changwu cannot be quickly captured, Xue Ju's army will be stuck in a dilemma.

This is a fight to the death.

Xue Ju was gambling that Li Shimin's army was no match for his elite troops from Longyou. As long as he defeated Li Shimin, he could march into the Guanzhong Plain, where he could then rely on the enemy for food and would not have to worry about food supplies.

Received an emergency call,
Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan, who temporarily took charge of the military power, immediately led their troops to reinforce Gaocheng City.

Countless Longyou troops arrived one after another and set up camp southwest of Gaoqiong City, stretching for ten miles.

The Tang army generals stood on the city wall, looking at the extremely arrogant Longyou military camp from afar.

General Gao Shijing, who was heading to Fengzhou, was also blocked in Gaoqiong City. Looking at the enemy army, he couldn't help but mention the emperor's will to Liu and Yin again.

"Your Majesty ordered His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin to launch a swift attack, but unexpectedly, he is now suffering from malaria and unable to lead the troops. Are we just going to watch Xue Ju show off his power?"

"Prime Minister Liu, now that His Highness has handed over the military power to you, you must make the decision."

Yin Kaishan also said: "If we don't fight, we will be despised by the enemy. The morale of the city is low now. Simply defending the city is not a good idea."

Xue Ju's army arrived at the city of Gaoqiao and sent people to the city to announce that Jingzhou City had been captured and the defenders had resisted stubbornly and were all slaughtered after the city was captured.

The defenders of Gaocheng City were forced to surrender, otherwise they would suffer the same fate as the Tang army in Jingzhou City after the city was captured.

Liu Wenjing and others naturally did not believe this.

However, some soldiers and civilians in Gaocheng City were skeptical, after all, Xue Jugang had just led a large army from Jingzhou to reinforce.

Facing the Longyou Army, which was several times larger than the defending army,

The morale of the defenders was indeed falling rapidly.

"We should take advantage of the enemy's recent arrival and fight outside the city to weaken their fighting spirit."

Yin Kaishan and Gao Shijing were both persuading Liu Wenjing to send troops. The reason why they were so eager to fight was because the emperor was urging them to do so.

Gao Shijing even said that Xue Ju was just a captain in Jincheng.

Yin Kaishan also said that the last time Xue Rengao invaded Fufeng, he was defeated by him and Li Shimin and fled all the way to Longshan. Xue's army was no better than that.

Liu Wenjing pondered,

He was both the chief military officer and the prime minister's advisor.

He was also a strong supporter of the second prince Li Shimin.

Yin Kaishan suggested going out of the city to fight. Since they had Gaoqiong City behind them, they could retreat after the battle.

The purpose of this battle was not to completely defeat Xue Ju, but to dampen his fighting spirit and boost our own morale. As the saying goes, to defend a city, one must fight in the field.

At this time, the news that the commander-in-chief, the King of Qin, was seriously ill and unable to lead the troops had spread among the army.

If we can't win a battle, even a small one, it will be difficult to defend the city with the current morale.

Furthermore, from Gao Shijing to Yin Kaishan, to the main defender of Gaocheng City Liu Shirang, as well as the general managers Li Anyuan, Murong Luohou and others, none of them took Xue Ju and his son seriously.

Of course, Yin Kaishan also had another worry.
Xue Ju was so arrogant that he directly ignored the military tactics and bypassed Jingzhou City. Would he also bypass Gaoqiao City and head straight to Changwu?

Even rush all the way to the Guanzhong Plain?

Since he can go around one city, he can probably go around two cities. Although normal people would not do this, it is not impossible.

Although Changwu has been reinforced, the main force has been transferred to Gaoqiong City. The King of Qin is seriously ill and has few people around him. If Xue Ju is really allowed to attack Changwu, wouldn’t that put the commander-in-chief in danger?

"Before we came here, the King of Qin repeatedly told us not to leave the city to fight, but to hold our ground and not go out." Liu Wenjing said slowly.

"Prime Minister Liu, the situation in the Central Plains can't wait any longer, and Liu Changxun in Hetao may not be able to wait any longer either,"

"The situation has changed. We can't afford to delay. Before I came, His Majesty repeatedly instructed His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin to make a swift decision without delay," Gao Shijing said. "Prime Minister Liu, fight. Let's test Xue Ju's strength. If the enemy is truly strong, we can retreat to the city and hold our ground," Yin Kaishan urged again.

"Okay, then all eight stewards will come out and fight in the southwest."

The eight generals, each commanding 5,000 men, led the 40,000 infantry and cavalry gathered in Gaoqiong City and marched out together, leaving only a few thousand people behind in the city.

The war drums are beating,

The horns blew in unison.

The eight general managers were all wearing helmets and armor, riding tall horses, and leading their troops out of the city in a line.

Battalion after battalion of soldiers marched out of the city.
They set up their battle array outside the city,

It took more than an hour for the 40,000 men to form their battle formation and slowly advance towards the enemy in the southwest.

Xue Ju, who was roasting a whole lamb in the camp, heard the drums and horns. Seeing that the Tang army had finally come out of the city to fight after a month, he excitedly kicked the roasted lamb away and shouted, "Give me my horse spear."

The Qin army assembled,

array,

Xue Ju was ready to personally lead the elite cavalry to defeat the Tang army in one fell swoop.

"His Majesty,"

Xue Ju and Prime Minister Hao Yuan came rushing over.

"Your Majesty, wait a moment."

"What's the matter, Prime Minister Hao?"

He Yuan was originally the magistrate of Jincheng County. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, famine struck Longyou and Hexi, leading to unrest and widespread banditry. He Yuan recruited several thousand young men and prepared to assign them to Lieutenant Xue Ju to lead an expedition to suppress the bandits.

Unexpectedly, at the oath-taking ceremony, Xue Ju and his son led thirteen servants to kidnap Hao Yuan, forcing him to open the granary to release the grain, and then raised an army to rebel.

Both Xue Ju and his son were extremely brave. They always charged into battle and were invincible. They even gave themselves the nickname "Overlord of Western Qin".

He Yuan simply followed Xue Ju and became his trusted military advisor.

Hao Yuan advised Xue Ju to expand eastward and seize Chang'an first to establish the foundation for his hegemony. However, Xue Ju wanted to attack Li Gui first and seize Hexi to eliminate future troubles. However, the attack on Hexi was not only defeated, but Li Gui also launched a counterattack, and both Xiping and Fuhan counties were captured by Li Gui.

This caused Xue Ju's capital Jincheng to be directly exposed to the enemy's attack, forcing him to move the capital to Tianshui.

This time Xue Ju finally learned his lesson and followed He Yuan's advice to head east. After arriving in Fufeng, he fought a fierce battle with the bandit leader Tang Bi. It was He Yuan who suggested that Xue Ju surrender Tang Bi with high positions and generous salaries.

Tang Bi originally supported a puppet emperor, Li Hongzhi. After he failed to defeat Xue Ju, he killed Li Hongzhi and took his men to join Xue Ju.
Who knew that Xue Ju was so dishonest that he took the opportunity to attack Tang Bi and swallowed up most of his troops. Tang Bi escaped with only a few hundred people.

This unethical behavior made no one willing to join Xue Ju anymore.

It can also be said that this allowed Li Yuan to enter Guanzhong first and capture Chang'an.

At the critical moment, it was Hao Yuan who stood up and made a suggestion. He proposed to unite with Liang Shidu of Shuofang, bribe the Turkic Khan with a large sum of money, and attack Guanzhong with the combined forces.
It’s a pity that the plan to win over the Turks ultimately failed. Li Yuan received support from the Turks at the beginning of his uprising and always had good relations with them.

"Your Majesty, the Tang army has come all the way to fight. This is the perfect opportunity to destroy them in one fell swoop, but we can't just engage in such a simple confrontation. If the Tang army is defeated, they will retreat back to Gaocheng City and won't be able to show up again."

"What's Prime Minister Hao's plan?"

Hao Yuan smiled and said, "I have a plan that can destroy the Tang army. Your Majesty can lead the army out of the camp and form a battle line. Then advance and fight the Tang army. All you need to do is hold them back."

"Your Majesty, send the Crown Prince to lead the elite cavalry to circle around the Tang army and cut off their retreat. Then, attacking them from both sides, the Tang army will have no way to retreat and will be completely annihilated. Gaocheng City will then be easily captured."

Xue Ju asked doubtfully, "Is it that simple?"

"The fact that the commander of Gaocheng City is willing to lead the entire city to fight proves that he is a fool. This strategy will definitely work."

"Hahaha, Prime Minister Hao is smart. Let's do as he says."

(End of this chapter)