Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 369: Preparing for the Battle of Long
"Damn it, the Shen Ce Army hasn't been seen in Tianjie and Dongxi Market recently. It seems that the court is really training troops and preparing to send troops to pacify Longyou."

"Longyou has strong soldiers and horses. If the imperial court rashly sends troops, wouldn't it be asking for trouble?"

"What's more, Xichuan Jiedushi Gao Pian is not a good person. If he waits for a good price, won't the imperial court be attacked from all sides?"

"In my opinion, the imperial court's military training this time may not be aimed at Longyou. It may be to guard against Gao Pian..."

On the eve of New Year's Eve, in a tavern in the East Market of Chang'an, dozens of diners were talking to each other, but the topic finally converged on one thing.

As the court's actions became more and more aggressive, the focus of the people in Chang'an gradually shifted to Longyou.

However, since some time ago, the argument that Gao Pian was plotting to seize Sanchuan gradually emerged, and then evolved into the argument that all the actions of the court were to prevent Gao Pian from causing chaos.

"Beware of Gao Pian? That's the opinion of a fool!"

A diners at a certain table could not help but speak, and everyone looked over and saw that he was about forty years old, had a full beard, was tall, and had a heroic demeanor.

Without waiting for anyone to ask, the man took the initiative to speak:

"Gao Pian was born in the imperial army. If he wanted to cause chaos, he should have done so long ago when Xichuan was invaded by the southern barbarians and Tubo. Why would he have to wait until now?"

"It is Longyou that first invaded Liangzhou, which is under the jurisdiction of Hexi, and now occupies the northwest gate of Jiannan Road."

"If the imperial court continues to ignore this, there will be endless troubles in the future."

The man's words attracted a lot of people's attention, but facing his words, many people were worried:
"Longyou is not easy to mess with. If a fight really breaks out, the people in Guanzhong will have a hard time..."

"Yes, Longyou has strong soldiers and horses, and has a geographical advantage. In the past, when Xue Ju occupied Longxi, the court could not advance an inch, and even Emperor Taizong fell ill and was defeated because of this."

"If Xue Ju had not passed away, Emperor Taizong might have needed a long time to completely pacify Longxi."

"In the past, Emperor Taizong was young and Xue Ju was old. Now Liu Jilong is still young and strong, but most of the generals in the court, whether Gao Pian or Wang Shi, are in their forties or fifties."

"Liu Jilong is far superior to Xue Ju. Where can the court find a person like Taizong?"

"Longyou is strategically located and has a strong army. If the imperial court is not absolutely sure, it will not act rashly."

"Completely confident?" The bearded man sneered, picked up the wine glass, took a sip and put it down: "The court is always fully prepared, but the results are disappointing."

"Although the rebellion was suppressed every time, countless people suffered in the process."

"I traveled from Huainan to Chang'an. There were many refugees along the way. Many refugees even sold their clothes and made clothes out of straw to keep warm. The money and food they earned from selling their clothes was only enough to feed themselves for three to five days."

"If the imperial court really wants to pacify Longyou, it must end the war as quickly as possible, then exempt the taxes in the Hehuai area, and then dismiss the poorly-trained imperial guards. Only then can it concentrate money and grain to provide relief to the hungry people in the Hehuai area and quell the unrest in the Hehuai area."

"If not, then the court will have to think about how to deal with the anger of the hungry people in Hehuai..."

He picked up the wine glass and gulped down the wine, but everyone in the tavern didn't know what to say.

It is normal for men to talk about everything after drinking, but if the things they talk about are related to themselves, they have to be more cautious.

Seeing that no one spoke, the bearded man threw down a string of money, then stood up and walked out.

He was tall and sturdy. He walked out of the tavern in seven or eight steps and gradually disappeared in the crowd of people in the East Market.

After he left, someone couldn't help but ask, "This guy teased the Imperial Guards like this, isn't he afraid of retaliation from them?"

"The Imperial Guards are retaliating against him? He is not afraid." Someone who knows his identity could not help but say:

"This man is Xin Dan, the grandson of the late Grand Commandant Xin Yunjing and the son of Shouzhou Governor Xin Hui. If it weren't for Grand Commandant Xin's help, the Northern Division would not have been able to suppress the rebellion of Pugu Huai'en."

"This favor is here. Even if Bei Si wants to deal with him, he has to think carefully..."

As these people spoke, everyone got to know Xin Dan.

Many people wanted to make friends with him, but while they were still hesitating, someone had already found Xin Dan.

"Mr. Xin, please stay!"

Dou Yun stopped Xin Dan in the East Market of Chang'an. Xin Dan frowned and looked at Dou Yun behind him: "What do you mean, my lord?"

Dou Yun did not reply immediately, but looked at Xin Dan with satisfaction, and then recommended himself: "I am Dou Yun, the clerk of the Jinzouyuan in Chang'an, Longyou. Today, I heard your profound remarks, so I want to keep you."

"My dear sir, you have the ambition to help the people, and you show sympathy for the people in your words. Why don't you come to Longyou? I will find you an official position where you can realize your ambitions!"

During his years in Chang'an, Dou Yun often hung out in the taverns in the East Market, but not for fun. Instead, he took advantage of the drunken remarks of many officials' sons to gather a lot of information.

In addition, many people who failed in the imperial examinations often lingered in taverns. Dou Yun also often selected those commoners who had real talents but failed in the examinations because of their poor family background in taverns.

For most commoners with no background, if they cannot obtain official positions through the imperial examinations, then unless they are extremely talented, they can only recommend themselves to serve as minor officials in some local government offices.

Therefore, when faced with the olive branch thrown by Longyou, they usually just considered it for a moment and then immediately agreed.

Over the years, the number of people recommended by Dou Yun was at least fifty, if not a hundred, and most of them were officials of the eighth and ninth ranks.

But Dou Yun was very happy today because he felt that he seemed to have found a talent, a talent that was even more amazing than those failed scholars in the past.

"Longyou?" Xin Dan looked at Dou Yun and couldn't help laughing, "You are a young man of twenty-seven or twenty-eight, and you dare to call yourself a yamen supervisor?"

"Haha..." Dou Yun chuckled a few times, then bowed solemnly and said:
"In Longyou, we only look at real talent and knowledge, not family background."

"At 28 years old, I am still only an eighth-rank official, which is considered middle-aged in Longyou."

Seeing Dou Yun like this, Xin Dan couldn't help but say, "I just said in the tavern about dealing with Long You, but you changed your mind and invited me. Are you looking for revenge?"

In response to his remarks, Dou Yun said, "My commander-in-chief once said that people should do their job well. Young master cares about the court, so it's natural for him to make suggestions for the court. Why are you angry?"

Dou Yun's words made Xin Dan look at him with a higher regard, but in the end he still shook his head and said:
"If I want to be an official, I can be a county magistrate, not to mention a provincial governor."

Xin Dan was not lying. Although his family had long been in decline due to constant divisions, with Ye Ye's reputation, it would not be difficult for him to become a county magistrate.

The reason why he did not do it was not because he disliked the official position was too low, but because he knew that many county magistrates in states and counties were also helpless.

The imperial court kept increasing taxes. If the county magistrate ignored the matter, he would be held accountable by the court. If he collected taxes according to the court's instructions, he would force the people to become refugees.

He was unwilling to force the people to become refugees, and even more unwilling to be scolded, so he chose to be a knight-errant, traveling around with a sword every day, helping the poor people when he met them, and fighting the robbers with his sword.

With his six-foot-tall body and superb swordsmanship, there were few bandits who could make him feel like a formidable enemy.

Dou Yun didn't think he was bragging, so after thinking it over, he said, "If I were to recommend him, I would at most recommend him to be an eighth-rank county magistrate or an eighth-rank brigade commander."

"However, with your talent, I believe it won't be long before you become a talented person under the command of the commander."

"I heard that you were from the Xin family of Longxi, and Yeye was born in Jincheng, Lanzhou."

"If you want to go and see the current situation in Longxi, I can write a letter for you. As for whether you are willing to serve as an official, it depends on your decision after seeing what you have seen."

Dou Yun came straight to the point, which caught Xin Dan off guard.

He originally wanted to refuse Dou Yun, but Dou Yun had already mentioned this point, and he had indeed never been to the northwest and had never seen the scenery there, so he nodded and said:
"It's fine to go to Longyou. Please ask the yamen to write a letter for me."

Xin Dan bowed respectfully in return. Dou Yun was very happy to see this. He immediately called a carriage and took him to the Chang'an Jinzouyuan in Longyou.

Half an hour later, as the carriage stopped in front of the Jinzouyuan gate, Xin Dan immediately looked at the group of soldiers in front of the Wutou gate.

Although they were not wearing armor, judging from their muscular bodies and the roughness on their hands, they were definitely rare elite soldiers.

"Lord Xin, these are my tiger warriors from Longyou. You have traveled all over the country for many years. I wonder what you think of them?"

Dou Yun introduced and asked questions openly, which attracted the soldiers from Longyou to look at them with curiosity and scrutiny in their eyes.

Xin Dan was very clear about that look.

These soldiers were trying to judge whether they could defeat Xin Dan in a single combat, but in the end they gradually put away their unscrupulous gazes.

Although they were also athletes who were five feet seven or eight inches tall, Xin Dang was big and sturdy, with terribly thick arms, and was obviously a tough guy.

If they fight alone, they are probably no match for him. "Very majestic!" Xin Dan couldn't help but say after taking a look at him:
"I started traveling with a sword at the age of seventeen, and it has been twenty-six years now. It is not uncommon to see soldiers from various towns and guards, but only the elite Lulong soldiers from Youzhou and the elite Shatuo soldiers from Daibei can be compared with such a majestic one."

Xin Dan was not exaggerating. Compared with the late Tang Dynasty, many vassal states had been silent for many years without any war, and lax military preparedness was the norm.

Not to mention anything else, just talk about the guards of Wei Bo and Chengde. No matter how others brag about them, Xin Dan has seen them and they are not as brave and elite as the rumors say.

The threshold for becoming a warrior in Wei Bo is indeed high. One must be proficient in martial arts, and basic skills such as archery while wearing armor are also necessary. If one can also shoot while riding, and is good at using a lance, then one can become a knight.

Even so, these warriors could only become state soldiers rather than guards, because there were only so many positions for guards and most of them were passed down from father to son.

If there is no civil unrest in the town, there will basically not be many positions available to recruit new people.

However, if one has outstanding personal martial arts skills, naturally there will be people among the 8,000 Wei Bo soldiers who admire him. Then, if he marries his daughter and recruits a yamen soldier for his son-in-law, it will be stable and he will not be afraid of not having a position.

If one's personal fighting power is average, one can only go to other states and counties except Weizhou to recruit state soldiers. Although the treatment is not bad, it is still not as good as that of the guards.

Since most of the guardsmen inherited their father's skills, they did not practice martial arts as hard as ordinary warriors, nor did they study commands carefully.

Because of this, whenever there was unrest in Wei Bo Town, many warriors with superb martial arts would hide and take advantage of the situation, taking the opportunity to join the side with the advantage and then kill the other side.

As long as you kill enough people, there will be enough positions for you as guards.

But the guards were not stupid, they also knew what ordinary warriors were thinking, so they tried to win over those they could, and for those they could not win over, they would find a way to expel them or kill them together.

Over time, one can imagine the quality of Wei Bo's soldiers.

Tian Chengsi’s old guard soldiers were indeed good at fighting, but the guards after Tian Chengsi were just so-so.

The main reason for their great reputation is that they love to make trouble and rebel.

In terms of bravery and fighting skills, not to mention comparing with the Youzhou Lulong Army, even many border towns in Daibei can defeat them if the number of people is the same.

"Although I have never met Lord Liu, from this I can tell that the military management in Longyou must be strict."

Xin Dan had seen so many soldiers from the vassal states, and indeed there were few who were as disciplined as those in Longyou.

Maybe you can pretend it on the surface, but you can't pretend it in small actions.

"Hehe, please come in."

Dou Yun was very happy and pretended to invite him into the Jinzouyuan. He then made tea and talked with him. After giving him a handwritten letter, he sent Xin Dan away.

After Xin Dan left, Dou Yun returned to the Jinzouyuan, where two recorders were already waiting patiently.

"how?"

Dou Yun walked into the hall to ask, and the two recorders shook their heads one after another.

“Many of them are not our people.”

"If it wasn't Gao Pian's enemies who were fanning the flames, then it was Gao Pian's people who were exaggerating."

Dou Yun frowned at what the two said. He didn't expect that the rumor would spread easily, but it became bigger and bigger in the past few days. The commotion caused by it was obvious to everyone that someone was trying to sow discord.

Thinking of this, Dou Yun said, "Stop for now and see how the court reacts."

"Yes!" The two bowed in response and then left the main hall.

After they left, Dou Yun also wrote a letter to tell Chen Ying, who was far away in Longzhou, about Xin Dan and the rumors in Guanzhong.

Soon, a fast horse carrying the letter galloped out of Chang'an westward.

However, when the express horses left Chang'an, the two memorials were delivered to the Daming Palace one after another and were sent to the Xianning Palace by the eunuchs.

The two memorials were sent from Xichuan and Shannan West Road respectively, and were written by Gao Pian and Wang Shi.

In the memorial, Gao Pian did not explain the recent rumors, but instead described the results of his recent military training and how much money and grain had been spent.

In addition, Gao Pian also sent the construction drawings of Luocheng in Chengdu.

Although Li Yi was lazy and extravagant, he was not that sensitive and suspicious, so he did not suspect Gao Pian because of these rumors.

"As long as I use someone I value, there will be rumors circulating in the market. This method is too despicable."

Li Yi talked freely and did not take the matter to heart. Instead, he picked up Wang Shi's memorial.

Compared with Gao Pian's performance, Wang's performance is much richer in content.

In addition to the news that Shannan West Road had trained 25,000 soldiers and horses, Wang Shi also sent people to collect information on the sales of goods by merchants from Longyou in Sanchuan, Guanzhong and other places.

Li Yi frowned secretly, not understanding why Wang Shi wrote all this. It was not until Wang Shi reported that the value of the commercial goods sold in Longyou was close to 1.5 million strings of cash and the profit was no less than one million that Li Yi could not help swallowing his saliva.

"Longyou currently occupies only 20 middle and lower states, how can it have such strength?"

Li Yi was a little bit unbelieving, but then he reacted.

The tax output of the Helong region during the Tianbao period was indeed not high, but the output of the Silk Road was too high.

Although Liu Jilian and Zhang Huaishen did not completely open up the Silk Road, being able to trade with a few countries in Hezhong and Tianzhu was enough for them to make a fortune, so Wang's estimate is well documented.

"The money and grain that Liu Muzhi has seized should have belonged to me..."

Li Yi was very jealous. After all, commercial goods were often only a small part of the output, while the bulk of the output was taxes.

Over the years, Liu Jilian relocated countless people to open up cultivation in Longyou, not only restoring Longxi's status as a granary, but also selling grain to Guanzhong.

All these facts indicate that Longyou is a piece of fat meat, and its value is no less than the money and grain saved after the complete disbanding of the Shence Army.

If we can take over Longyou, many problems will be solved easily.

As long as Longyou is taken, the eight towns in the northwest of Beijing can be reduced to four towns, namely Longyou, Shuofang, Tiande and Zhenwu, and the court can also collect two to three million in taxes to ease the conflict.

Thinking of this, Li Yi continued reading and saw that Wang Shi gave many more examples, such as the advantages of Longyou, such as its abundant military forces, sufficient food and fodder, and dangerous terrain. In the end, he actually suggested that the court should temporarily postpone sending troops to Longyou.

Seeing Wang Shi’s final conclusion, Li Yi was so angry that he clenched the memorial in his hand.

"Wang Shi, this fellow, initially promised me to conquer Longyou, but now he suggests temporarily suspending the use of troops in Longyou!"

"I think the rumor that Gao Pian is causing chaos is false. What is true is that Wang Shi wants to use the army to gain power!"

"Your Majesty, please calm down..." Tian Yun advised respectfully, and Li Yi gradually calmed down.

This is his strength. He calms down quickly and rarely makes decisions when angry.

After calming down, he remembered what Wang Shi had said at the beginning, that it would be best not to use military force, so he was not so angry anymore.

However, all preparations have been made now. In addition, Gao Pian is on guard against a great gift, Duokang Tubo was "severely damaged" by Gao Pian, and Hexi and Longyou have been cut off from each other. Many favorable conditions have been gathered for this battle, and it would be a pity not to fight.

Thinking of this, Li Yi calmed down and said to Tian Yun:
"Draft an imperial edict and reply to Wang Shi, saying that the situation is like this, and that the troops, horses, and food supplies are all ready. Now we have to eliminate Longyou first, so that we can subdue Duokang Tubo, and then we will have money and food to attack the Nanman and recover the lost territory."

"If we pacify Longyou, we can get millions of money and food in a short time. This is the most important thing and we have to do it!"

"Tell Wang Shi that I don't want him to tell me how difficult this battle is. I just want to know how much money and food he needs, and how many troops he needs to pacify Longyou!"

"I obey your order!" Tian Yun bowed respectfully and then began to draft an order to be sent to the Northern Ministry of Finance and the Southern Yamen.

Looking at Tian Yun's hurriedly leaving back, Li Yi took a deep breath and glanced at the table.

On the case, many officials reported the situation of the starving people in the Hehuai area, hoping to reduce the tax increase.

Facing these memorials, Li Yi let out a sigh of relief:

"How can we allow others to occupy the Guanzhong area..."

(End of this chapter)