Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 382 Tongguan and Pujindu
Li Chong's hometown is not far from Luoyang. After escorting his father's coffin back to his hometown for burial, Li Shengui did not stay in his hometown to observe mourning, but followed the messenger arranged by Su Ze to Tongguan without stopping.

Li Shengui ran all the way from his hometown to Tongguan without taking off his clothes. After revealing his identity, he was warmly received by the commander of Tongguan.

Because Li Shen, the garrison commander of Tongguan, was an old subordinate of Li Chong.

At that time, Xiao Yan sent guerrilla general Zhao Zuyue to attack and occupy Xixiashi. Then Zhao Zuyue built an outer city and forced the people along the Huai River to move into the city.

Li Chong was ordered to go on the expedition and dispatched his generals to confront the various Liang troops. He secretly equipped more than 200 ships and taught his soldiers how to fight on water in order to wait for the Liang army.

Li Chong sent Li Shen with more than a hundred warships to attack along the Huai River, and joined forces with Li Ping and Cui Liang to attack Xishi. Li Shen's navy captured the northeast outer city of Xishi, and Zhao Zuyue was defeated and surrendered.

After this battle, Li Chong's name as a crouching tiger became famous throughout the country.

Li Chong recommended Li Shen many times, but because Li Shen was born into a military family and had a humble background, he was never valued by the court.

When Li Chong was already the General of Cavalry, Li Shen was still wandering around, serving as a general in a prefecture or county, and had been serving as an official in various remote border states of the Wei Dynasty.

Later, when Li Chong returned from the campaign against the Rouran, he remembered this old subordinate and recommended him as the garrison commander of Tongguan, which allowed him to settle down in the capital area.

Li Shengui knew this veteran who had followed his father in battles all over the country. After seeing Li Shengui, Li Shen cried loudly:
"I have been ordered by the military to go to Luoyang to support the old general's coffin. This is a great regret in my life!"

Then Li Shen knelt down in the direction of Li Chong's hometown and kowtowed several times.

Li Shengui had also met this old subordinate of his father, but he did not expect that Li Shen would be so respectful to his father. Now he felt more confident when explaining his own affairs to Su Suan.

Li Shengui was welcomed into the inner hall.

These days, many nobles went from Luoyang to Guanzhong. Li Shen knew the reason why Li Shengui appeared here. He took the initiative to point the way and said:

"After passing Tongguan, the young general will enter Guanzhong. Since the Duke of Gaoping occupied Huazhou, public security has improved a lot. The young general only needs to go north to reach Yongle City."

Li Shengui looked at Li Shen, took his hand and said:
"When my grandfather was alive, there were only a handful of generals that my brother and I praised, but the one he mentioned the most every year was General Li."

Li Shen was somewhat flattered. Li Shengui continued:

"Grandpa often said that the court had failed the general."

Hearing this, Li Shen also burst into tears.

He is already in his fifties and is too old to participate in intense battles.

The position of Tongguan Guardian was a retirement position before the unrest in Guanzhong.

Later, when Guanzhong was in turmoil, Tongguan gained some strategic value, but its official rank was still not high.

Li Shen has always been a hard-working person. Although Tongguan faced tremendous pressure when Huazhou fell into the hands of Hu Chen, he did not complain to the court, and no one spoke for him in the court, so he always served as the defender of Tongguan.

Li Shengui was also good at observing people's expressions. He said to Li Shen:

"General Li, I heard that the commander of Pujindu was also an old subordinate of my grandfather and an old friend of yours. Can you invite him to Tongguan to reminisce about the past?"

If the court authority was still there, such a request would definitely be rejected outright.

The commanders guarding strategic passes are all shouldering important military missions and it is impossible for them to leave their posts without permission.

But now the world is in turmoil, the laws of the court are lax, some garrison commanders simply start doing business, and even become robbers on the road, and the court turns a blind eye to it.

It was not a big deal at this time just to invite the garrison commander of Puzhindu, which was not far from Tongguan, to come as a guest.

Puzhou, as the side gate of Guanzhong, is located behind Tongguan and is known as "the first key to enter Guanzhong from Hedong and Hebei land routes."

There are many ferry crossings on the Yellow River, but the most famous one that can accommodate large armies is Puzhou Ferry.

Although Longmen Ferry, which is opposite Yongle City, can also be used for navigation, the area where Longmen Ferry is located is where the Yellow River has just turned a corner. The water flows rapidly and only merchant ships can pass through it. It would be very inconvenient for a large number of troops to pass through.

During the Three Kingdoms period, when Cao Cao attacked Guanzhong, he pretended to attack Tongguan, then crossed the river from Puzhou to enter Guanzhong, and finally defeated Ma Chao's army, which was ruling Guanzhong at the time.

At the end of the Western Jin Dynasty, Liu Yao, the last emperor of the Former Zhao Dynasty, also crossed Puzhou to attack Chang'an and eventually captured Emperor Min of Jin.

It can be said that Tongguan and Puzhindu are controlled by others, and Guanzhong is like a state with the door wide open.

In order to complete the strategy of taking full control of Guanzhong, Su Ze not only had to occupy the entire Guanzhong area, but also had to take control of Tongguan and Pujindu, two important strategic nodes for entering and exiting Guanzhong, to truly "take full control of Guanzhong."

After receiving Li Shen's invitation, Guo Quan, the defender of Puzhindu, immediately led his troops to Tongguan.

Li Shengui and the two had a good chat about the old times in Tongguan. Because Li Shengui was in mourning, he could not drink or hold a banquet. The three of them could only prepare some tea and snacks and talked for a long time in the secret room.

When Li Shengui left Tongguan, several followers with ordinary looks stayed in Tongguan, and several others followed Guo Quan, the defender of Puzhindu, to Puzhou.

Guo Quan was also an old subordinate of Li Chong. He was one of the few naval generals in the Northern Wei Dynasty.

After Guo Quan returned to Pujindu, his eldest son Guo Shoutao looked at his father worriedly and said, "Grandpa, have you really decided?"

Guo Quan sighed and said:
"Have you heard about what happened in Luoyang? The general served the country all his life, but ended up like this in his later years. It was all thanks to the Duke of Gaoping who helped with the funeral."

"I, your grandfather, have been wandering around for my whole life, and finally got the position of the commander of Pujindu. You are not as good as me. How can you have a place in this world?"

Guo Shoutao lowered his head and said:
"It's my son who is incompetent."

Guo Quan patted his son on the shoulder and said:

"It's not that you are incompetent, it's that I, as your father, am incompetent. I am already half buried in the ground, and now is the time to fight for my descendants."

"You must treat and serve the people your father brought back this time well, and try your best to satisfy any requests they have."

Guo Shoutao nodded quickly in agreement.

These ordinary followers who were brought back to Puzhindu by Guo Quan, led by Guo Shoutao, strolled around Puban City.

Guo Shoutao was also very confused. He knew that these were spies planted by the Gaoping County Public Security Bureau in Puzhindu, but they were not like ordinary spies. After entering Puban City, they began to wander around. However, they did not go to important places such as military camps and shipyards, but wandered around in and outside the city.

This also made it hard for Guo Shoutao, as he had to accompany these people and stroll around Puban City all day long.

On the third day after this group of strange guys arrived in Puban City, they actually left the city early in the morning and headed straight for the Yellow River.

After walking along the river bank for a long time, they finally stopped on a riverbank.

Standing by the Yellow River, Guo Shoutao listened to their conversation but could not understand what they were discussing.

The leader asked, "Is this the place where King Zhaoxiang of Qin built the floating bridge as recorded in the ancient books?"

Another person replied: "The historical records are unclear, and the Yellow River has changed its course many times, so it is impossible to verify. But from my observation, this is the most suitable place to build."

Another guy who looked like a craftsman said:

"The river bank here is high, the river is narrow, the riverbed slope is small, and the water flow is slow. It shouldn't be a problem to start construction from here."

Another craftsman objected:

"If we build it here, the floating bridge will be easily washed away once the water rises. We should choose a place downstream where the river bank is higher."

"But the riverbed over there is so shaky that it can't hold up at all."

Under the scorching sun, these guys started arguing here.

Guo Shoutao had no idea what they were discussing. He wondered why the Duke of Gaoping sent these people to Puzhindu. Weren't they here to incite his father to rebel?

Since he was here to incite his father to rebel, then wasn’t the navy of Puzhindu more important?
After the group of people argued for a long time, the leader finally made the final decision and said:
"Stop arguing. This is indeed the most suitable location. The master has already come up with a plan. We just need to cast a heavy object to pull the floating bridge, and then we can ensure that the floating bridge will not be washed away when the water rises."

The two craftsmen who were arguing just now said quickly: "My Lord is wise! Why didn't we think of such a good idea? As long as we cast iron bulls on both sides of the river and use them to pull the bridge to suppress the river water, we can ensure that there will be no danger!"

The group observed by the river for a long time, and then came to a temple near the river bank.

This temple was built on a mountain near the Yellow River. Due to its remote location, it is not very popular.

The abbot of the temple knew Guo Shoutao and warmly entertained everyone.

The group of people wandered around the temple for a while, and finally the craftsman-like guy said:

"This is it. The place where the master said to build the building."

"It overlooks the Yellow River and can monitor nearby passages. It is the most suitable location."

"If you want a better view, the height of six floors is still conservative. If you want to see farther, you need to go up to a higher level, at least nine floors."

"Nine floors are too high. We will have to demolish the entire temple to have space to build it."

Everyone was talking at once, and it sounded like the temple supervisor and Guo Shoutao were both very confused.

Finally, the middle-aged man who was in the lead said:
"Temple Supervisor, our Lord Guo is devoted to Buddhism and would like to invite all the eminent monks to build a temple in Puban City to worship Buddha. The Garrison is willing to donate money to build a Buddhist temple in the city."

"what?"

Guo Shoutao was stunned for a moment. Facing the abbot's questioning look, he remembered his father's instructions and immediately said:
"Yes, yes, my grandfather wants to build a Buddhist temple in the city and invite monks to spread the Dharma."

Hearing this, the temple abbot was also very happy. Who would be willing to guard this temple in the mountains? Being able to be a monk in the city is definitely much better than being a monk in the mountains.

The abbot agreed without any hesitation.

(End of this chapter)