Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 107

Whether it's real or not, the grain and fodder allocation should be calculated at around 100,000 units. However, all the prefectures under Shuofang's jurisdiction are barren and have sparse populations, so they simply cannot produce that much grain. In addition, according to custom, the court should also distribute military uniforms and cloth every year, but under the current circumstances, the court simply cannot afford it... Therefore, it is permitted to supply all the salt produced in Ling, Yan, You, Xia, Feng and other prefectures to Shuofang, so that they can exchange the salt for grain and cloth themselves.

Even so, the Shuofang Army still complained to the court about being poor every year. Under such circumstances, it was highly unlikely that they would share some salt with the Hu tribes in Qing and Jing prefectures.

Upon hearing Li Ding's explanation, Li Ji immediately waved his hand and said, "Although I have not consulted the old records, I know that since the salt from Qinzhou still needs to supply the Binning Army, then Fengxiang must also be in short supply. How can we supply the barbarians?"

Ban Hong interjected, "What if the Dangxiang people purchased salt from Fengxiang Prefecture?"

Li Ji curled his lip: "If it's not a free gift, but a purchase, then they can simply go to Shuofang to sell it."

Shuofang certainly has a surplus of salt, which is precisely what they need to trade for grain, cloth, and other goods. There's a market and demand, so isn't that much more convenient than buying salt from us?

Li Ding smiled and said, "I just used the same thing to question Tuoba Chaoxian..."

Li Chaoxian replied that the Shuofang army had already opened up trade routes with the Uyghurs, and large quantities of salt were being transported to the grasslands. There was probably not much left for the Qing and Jing tribes, so his brother had no choice but to send him to Fengxiang Prefecture to plead with Li Ding.

After listening, Li Ji pondered for a moment, stroked his beard, and slowly said, "I'm afraid that's not their true intention. They're probably trying to coerce me..."

Fighting north from Qingzhou is extremely unprofitable, as the vast lands are sparsely populated and offer little opportunity for plunder. Therefore, if the Dangxiang Qiang want to raid people and supplies, they will have no choice but to continue their previous strategy: attacking Fuyan to the east, or heading south through Binning, or perhaps bypassing Jingzhou to attack Fengxiang Prefecture. At this point, requesting the sale of salt from Fengxiang Prefecture would be tantamount to haggling with a knife in hand…

Li Ding sighed softly and said, "What Erlang said is true, and I know that, but... it's really inconvenient for me to refuse..."

If you close the door to trade and resolutely refuse to sell salt, the Hu people will lack salt and will surely cause trouble again. When they raise an army again, our troops and food will be exhausted and it will be very difficult to resist. "I am especially afraid that the barbarian bandits will invade Longyou again this autumn... We must temporarily stabilize the Hu people in Longyou and wait for the barbarian bandits to retreat, or for our army to recover its strength."

Li Ji apologized sadly, saying, "It is my fault for poor command, which has put the commander in a difficult position..."

He currently commands less than five thousand soldiers, whose quality is still quite poor. Even after more than a month of training, the results are not significant. If the various Hu tribes of Longxi were to take another risk and gather fifty or sixty thousand, or even more—and if the Tuoba tribe were to join them, the number would certainly be considerable—he would have no chance of winning in open battle. Unless he could train his five thousand Fengxiang soldiers to be as elite as the Fuyan army, but even then, if the entire army were to attack, who would defend the city?

Li Ding waved his hand, comforting Li Ji, "It's not that I don't know about military affairs. It's really difficult for Erlang to lead such a weak army like the Fengxiang Army. Besides, even if Erlang has the talent for wind and musical instruments, it's not something that can be mastered in a few months—it's not Erlang's fault." He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "The fault lies with Binning!"

The Binning and Fuyan armies were originally established to guard against the various Hu tribes in Longxi. However, Jingzhou is located west of Binning's defense zone, and the Hu tribes from Qingzhou invaded southwards through this area. The Binning army was unable to stop them and instead shifted all the responsibility to Fengxiang. This is outrageous!

Li Ji sighed, "Alas, Binning has no leader..."

The military governor of Binning was Prince Zhao, Li Si, the eleventh son of Li Heng, and only fourteen years old… It's obvious he couldn't actually lead troops like Li Tan; it was just a nominal position, a leisurely residence in Chang'an. Besides, Binning had two deputy military governors. One was Guo Ziyi, who had briefly been stationed in Binzhou, but was soon ordered to march directly from Shuofang to Fanyang and pacify Hebei. The old general then went to Lingzhou to oversee the campaign. This plan was ultimately thwarted by Yu Chaoen, and Guo Ziyi had already reported back; it's unknown whether he had even reached Chang'an yet…

Another was Sang Rugui, the prefect of Binzhou, who also served as the deputy military governor of Binning. He was mainly responsible for civil administration and was not very good at fighting.

The Danyan Army of Fufang also lacked a military governor, with only the deputy military governor, Du Mian, residing there, who was also a scholar…

Li Jizhen felt that the emperor's bizarre actions were utterly baffling... Since he knew the Hu tribes in Longxi might become a problem, and established the two garrisons of Binning and Fuyan, shouldn't he at least have left behind a capable general? If he feared Guo Ziyi's growing power would be difficult to control, then let him lead one garrison; it would be better than giving him the empty title of deputy commander of two garrisons. First, he confined him to Chang'an, preventing him from leading troops, and then he sent him to Binzhou just to intimidate the Hu tribes...

Li Ding sighed, "Therefore, there is no other way but to grant Tuoba's request."

Ban Hong blinked thoughtfully beside him and reminded him, "Did Tuoba Chaoguang come to request salt with the intention of controlling the various Hu tribes in order to become the dominant power?"

Li Ding and Li Ji frowned almost simultaneously: "You are right!"

Recently, the various Hu tribes have been unable to obtain salt. Since salt is sold by the government, merchants have almost stopped trading. After most of the Hu tribes rebelled, local salt officials no longer actively transport salt to the Hu. If the Tuoba tribe could seize this opportunity to obtain a channel for salt, they could take this opportunity to either bribe or coerce the other tribes, and gradually grow into the leader of the Hu!

Li Ji hurriedly said, "The various barbarian tribes are divided and leaderless, and our Tang Dynasty can still control them. However, if they unite as one, it will be difficult to control them and they will surely cause a great disaster!"

Li Ding casually picked up a palm-leaf fan from the table and fanned himself for a long time before finally saying slowly, "Only he can... Commanding the various Hu tribes is not something that can be accomplished in a day. Before that, I must first have the power to counterattack." If the Fengxiang army is capable, or if the Binning army gains a capable general, then even without the assistance of the Fuyan army, they can interrupt Li Chaoguang's process of unifying the various Hu tribes at any time and eliminate his ambition. Otherwise, even if he is not given salt, he may still have other opportunities.

For example, by using the Tang family's refusal to supply salt as an excuse, and by raising a large banner, it is possible to gather all the Hu people together in one place.

Li Ji was at a loss and could only grit his teeth in silence: I'll remember this debt! He turned to Ban Hong and asked, "How much salt is left in the manor?"

Ban Hong replied, "Not much, less than a thousand bushels. However, the commander can send a letter to the Qinzhou prefecture to request additional supplies..." As he spoke, he looked at Li Ding and said, "There is certainly much to be done in this matter."

Li Ding nodded knowingly: "My Fengxiang Prefecture was previously attacked by bandits, so we should train our troops to protect the western capital. We have recruited 30,000 soldiers, but we do not have enough money and food, so we can only rely on salt."

"It is best to be vague and not give the remonstrating officials any ammunition."

Li Ding nodded: "I know. Then I will leave the matter of trading with the Dangxiang to you, Ban Jun. I don't want any of the special products from Qiangzhong, I only want cattle and sheep, which can relieve the famine in the prefecture."

Li Ji also suggested: "I wonder how the harvest is in Shannan this autumn. Since the military governor is in charge of Xingzhou and Fengzhou, we can try to buy wheat and grain from the south with cattle and sheep." Because the sheep from Longshang are quite famous, with plump and delicious meat, while the western part of Shannan does not produce good sheep.

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That autumn, the harvests in Fengxiang, Qin, and Long prefectures were indeed very poor. Fortunately, Ban Hong obtained three to four thousand bushels of salt from the Changdao Saltworks and traded a lot of cattle and sheep—mainly meat sheep—with the Dangxiang Qiang Tuoba tribe, intending to transport them south to Shannan West Road and even Shannan East Road in exchange for some grain to eat.

After careful consideration, there is still a shortfall, but it should be manageable until the turn of next spring or summer.

Of course, this is all on the premise that nothing else goes wrong this winter.

However, as Li Ji, Li Ding and others had predicted, in September, Ma Chongying, the Tubo Grand Master, led a large army to invade Longyou.

The fast horse galloped into Fengxiang City at the end of September. When Li Ji saw the envoy from Longyou, his face looked familiar—wasn't that Jia Huai?

Li Tan knew that Li Ji was in Fengxiang Prefecture, which is why he sent Jia Huai to ask Li Ji to help him speak to Li Ding through their acquaintance.

Therefore, Jia Huai first visited Li Ji, and his first words upon meeting him were: "The situation in Shanzhou is very bad!"

Li Tan held firm in Longyou, suffering repeated defeats, but the imperial court not only failed to send a single soldier to reinforce him, but recently even the two prefectures of Qin and Cheng were placed under the jurisdiction of the Fengxiang military governor. In addition, the southern part of Longyou—Shan, Kuo, Lan, and Wei prefectures—was also suffering from famine this year, resulting in a significant decline in his military strength.

It is not as good as when Li Ji first arrived in Longyou.

In contrast, Ma Chongying had a thorough understanding of the situation in Guandong this time. He knew that the main force of the Tang army was still tied down in the Henan region and that Longyou could not receive large-scale reinforcements. Moreover, after last year's feigned attack on Linfan City, he had a pretty good grasp of the Tang army's deployment in Shanzhou. Therefore, this time he personally led an army of 60,000 to 70,000 to invade Longyou again, and his momentum was extremely arrogant.

Li Tan ordered Jia Huai to come and pay his respects to Li Ding, and made three requests: first, he hoped that some military provisions could be supplied to Longyou; second, he hoped that troops from Qin and Cheng prefectures could be mobilized to assist in the defense of Shanzhou; and third, he asked to borrow Li Ji for use.

Li Ji brought Jia Huai to see Li Ding and reported everything in detail. Li Ding naturally wouldn't give an immediate answer. As usual, he first sent Jia Huai away to rest, and then invited Li Ji and Ban Hong to have dinner together, where they discussed the matter.

Li Ji naturally hoped that Li Ding would accept all of Longyou's requests. However... the first request would not be approved. Ban Hong said, "Fengxiang Prefecture and its subordinate prefectures are all short of grain. Even if they wanted to use cattle and sheep from Qiangzhong to trade for rice and grain in Shannan, they would still be en route. How could they possibly have the resources to support Longyou?"

Li Ji emphasized the importance of Shanzhou: "If Shanzhou is lost, Lanzhou and Weizhou will also be indefensible, and Qinzhou and Chengzhou will surely fall to the enemy; moreover, the barbarian bandits may threaten Liangzhou, cut off Hexi, and leave the Western Regions isolated outside of China... Commander, we must save it!"

Li Ding shook his head: "How could I not know what you said, Erlang? But I am truly powerless to help." He paused, then said: "King Qi wants to mobilize troops from Qin and Cheng provinces. Since they are of no use to me for the time being, I will grant his request—but the soldiers guarding the salt fields along the long road cannot be separated from their men and horses!"

As for temporarily borrowing Li Ji, Li Ding was even more displeased: "Second Brother is a sixth-rank official, appointed by the Emperor to guard Fengxiang. How can he be borrowed without authorization?"

In these times, if we were to rank officials by their rank, those of the sixth or seventh rank would be considered mid-level bureaucrats, while those of the fifth rank and above would be high-ranking officials, capable of serving as governors in the provinces or ministers in the provinces. So, he's not a low-ranking clerk, so how could there be any reason for him to be privately transferred? If you, Li Tan, want him, go to Chang'an and compete for him yourself.

"Moreover, Erlang is training troops in Fengxiang and also has to deal with the various Hu tribes in Longxi. How can he abandon me?"

Chapter Seven, Left and Right Supporting Each Other

Li Ji repeatedly pleaded for a trip to Longyou in the near future, but Li Ding resolutely refused, leaving Li Ji with no other options. Ultimately, of the three requests made by Li Tan, Li Ding only agreed to one, and Jia Huai left dejectedly. Before his departure, Li Ji instructed him: "Please have His Highness Prince Qi keep Fengxiang Prefecture informed of the situation at the front, in case of any unforeseen circumstances..."

A few days after Jia Huai left, an urgent report arrived. The Tibetan army launched a fierce attack on Linfan City. No matter how capable Hun Rijin was, he was ultimately outnumbered and short of supplies. After holding out for twelve days, Linfan City fell, and no fewer than a thousand Tang soldiers died. Fortunately, although Hun Rijin was seriously wounded, he managed to escape with his life.

Hun Rijin's steadfast defense gave Li Tan and Hun Shizhi time to relocate the residents of Shancheng. Shancheng, which Guo Xin had been defending so hard, was ultimately forced to be abandoned... The Tibetan army then advanced to Xiaoxiakou, where Guo Xin and Li Yuanzhong used the treacherous terrain to hold out desperately.

After occupying Shancheng, Ma Chongying divided his troops to move north and south, bringing the entire western part of Shanzhou under his control. Furthermore, the Tibetan army even invaded Kuozhou in the south and besieged Dahua City.

The situation in Longyou was now extremely precarious.

Li Ji hurriedly went to see Li Ding and requested permission to lead troops westward.

Of course, he knew that Li Ding wouldn't let him go to reinforce Shanzhou. Besides, with only a few thousand weak soldiers under his command, going there would be useless; it would just be sending them to their deaths. Li Ji simply stated, "If Shanzhou falls, the barbarian bandits can advance straight down the Huangshui River and reach Jincheng. I was previously in Longyou when I learned that His Highness Prince Qi was gradually transferring troops from the rear to the front lines. Although Jincheng is the capital of Lanzhou, it only has a few thousand garrison soldiers, which certainly cannot withstand the barbarian bandits' advance. If Jincheng falls, or if the barbarian bandits bypass the city, they may very well harass Qin and Long. I must go to survey the terrain, inspect the soldiers, and choose a location to build a pass to block them; otherwise—Fengxiang will be in danger!"

From Shanzhou to Jincheng is three hundred li, from Jincheng to Chengji, the capital of Qinzhou, is over four hundred li, and from Chengji to Fengxiang is another nearly four hundred li. Frankly, Li Ji didn't believe the Tibetan army could advance so far after capturing Shanzhou. Based on his assessment of Ma Chongying's strategic deployment, even if they advanced with unstoppable momentum, the most likely course of action would be to stop at Chengji, and then, this year or next autumn, head north to attack Guzang, the capital of Liangzhou. Once Guzang was captured, the Hexi Corridor would be completely cut off.

However, one should be prudent in assessing the enemy; as the saying goes, "those who calculate more win, those who calculate less lose." Perhaps the smooth progress of the military operation will embolden Ma Chongying, leading him to plan a direct assault on Chang'an. In fact, it's not necessary to reach the walls of Chang'an; simply threatening Xijing (Fengxiang) would give him complete strategic dominance, and perhaps even force the Tang Dynasty to sign some unequal treaty…

Since arriving in Fengxiang Prefecture, Li Ji has mostly wandered around the city's outskirts, his furthest journey being to Longzhou in search of fleeing Hu (Tibetan) tribes. He is quite unfamiliar with the geography of the entire Fengxiang military governor's jurisdiction. Therefore, he intends to venture west to conduct a field survey, hoping to contain the Tibetan army outside the capital region, specifically west of Longzhou, should an enemy be encountered.

We can't just let the enemy troops into Fengxiang Prefecture and only focus on how to fight a defensive battle...

Furthermore, he had another purpose in requesting to go west: when Li Tan's Longyou army was truly defeated and even the refugees and civilians were fleeing eastward, he could try to provide some support and assistance.

After listening to Li Ji's request, Li Ding took out a map from his box, spread it on the table, frowned and looked at it for a few moments, then asked, "Second Brother, in your opinion, if Lanzhou falls and the barbarian bandits advance towards Wei and Long, where is the best place to fortify the area?"

Li Ji pointed to the map: "Xiangwu".

Xiangwu was the capital of Weizhou, and had been a famous city on the western frontier since the Han Dynasty. Li Ji, who had been well-versed in the history of the Han and Jin Dynasties in his previous life, was very familiar with this location. Mapmaking was of very poor quality in those days. Even the military maps kept by the government were not very detailed. It was difficult to determine whether a certain area was a strategic location for military competition or whether a certain city could be defended against the enemy simply by looking at the map without conducting on-site surveys. Therefore, he could only roughly delineate a location based on what he had learned in his previous life.

As a famous city with a long history, it must have had a reason for its long-term existence. If it were not a strategically important location, it must have been a vital hub. If it was the former, it could have been used to deter foreign invaders. If it was the latter, it would have shown that it could not be easily abandoned.

Upon hearing this, Li Ding shook his head: "Just say it's within my Fengxiang jurisdiction."

I admit that Xiangwu City is important, but that is ultimately Li Tan's responsibility, and it is really inconvenient for me to interfere.

After a moment's thought, Li Ji pointed eastward and said, "Shanggui is also an important place."

Back when the Three Kingdoms were in a state of tripartite division, Zhuge Liang and Jiang Wei led their troops on several northern expeditions, often engaging in fierce battles with the Wei army around Shanggui, demonstrating that this was a crucial geographical point that needed attention.

Li Ding thought for a moment, then raised his head, stared into Li Ji's eyes, and slowly said, word by word:

"My dear Erlang, I know you are worried about the King of Qi and your comrades who fought alongside you in Longyou. You wish you could grow wings and fly to Shanzhou to help them. However, the enemy has nearly 100,000 troops. Even if you were to bring the entire army of Fengxiang to their aid, it would be like a drop in the ocean, and would be of no benefit to the country."

"To be loyal and courageous in killing the enemy is indeed the nature of a man, but one must also obey the orders of the court. Otherwise, if everyone fights alone, how can there be any chance of victory? Erlang is also a seasoned general, so I don't need to give him any instructions. Only with military discipline can one be considered a soldier; otherwise, one is nothing more than a country bumpkin. Even if the barbarian bandits break through Longyou and head towards Hexi, we must guard our defense zone and not recklessly go to their aid."

"You may allow Erlang to go west, but he may only go as far as Shanggui to survey the terrain and deploy troops. Under no circumstances should he cross the border!"

Li Ji crossed his arms and bowed deeply, saying, "I will obey the commander's orders and dare not disobey."

Seeing Li Ji's expression, Li Ding realized it wasn't just a casual remark, so he granted his request. Even if he didn't consider the country and its people, he still had to consider his own position. If the Tibetan army were to break into the Fengxiang military governor's territory and seize cities and towns, Li Ding's position would certainly be in jeopardy.

So Li Ji selected a thousand or so soldiers who were somewhat capable from the garrison and led them out of Fengxiang Prefecture, heading west. He basically followed the main road on the north bank of the Wei River, because if the Tibetan army wanted to penetrate deep into Tang territory, a large army would have to take the main roads.

However, after leaving Longzhou and entering Qinzhou, he crossed the Wei River and headed south because several important cities ahead, such as Qinling, Shanggui, and Fuqiang, were all located on the south bank of the Wei River. The furthest westward region under the jurisdiction of the Fengxiang Military Governor was Qinzhou, and the westernmost county of Qinzhou was Fuqiang. But Li Ding had already made his promise, and although Li Ji also had his own ulterior motives, he could not go against his word.

Therefore, upon finally arriving at Shanggui, they temporarily rested their horses within the city, only sending their subordinates westward to Fuqiang to investigate the city's defenses, draw maps of mountains and roads, and report back to him.

This journey covered over three hundred li, after which the army was stationed at Shanggui to inquire about the situation in Longyou. The wild winds grew colder, and winter was gradually approaching. Fast horses from Shanzhou frequently traveled west to report on the battle situation at the front. Li Ji would meet them on the way. They all said that the defense of Xiaoxia was quite difficult, and Li Tan had committed almost all of his troops there, leaving Shanzhou practically an empty city.

It is said that Yang Yan and others had repeatedly advised Li Tan to temporarily leave Shanzhou and go to Lanzhou to take refuge. Hun Shizhi also said, "With someone stationed in Shanzhou, it is acceptable to perish with the city. Your Highness is of noble status and should not reside in a dangerous place." However, Li Tan gritted his teeth and resolutely refused to leave, saying, "I will share life and death with you all and will never retreat first!"

Li Ji couldn't help but secretly applaud Li Tan—this was more like the descendant of Li Yuan and Li Shimin! Li Heng and his ilk were nothing but pigs and dogs!

However, before he could receive news of the fall of Xiaoxia or the retreat of the Tibetan army, he received an urgent order from Li Ding to return immediately—because the Dangxiang and other Hu tribes had attacked again!

Upon hearing the report, Li Ji was greatly surprised—"These ungrateful wolves! I've already promised to supply you with salt, and they still dare to harass me! If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have allowed a single grain of salt to be transported into Qingzhou!"

He hastily led his troops back, and upon entering Longzhou territory, he found the villages desolate, often with no sign of human habitation for dozens of miles—the people had either been taken away by the chaotic barbarians or had fled their homes earlier. However, the several county towns along the way showed no signs of attack.

When they returned to Fengxiang, they learned that tens of thousands of barbarian tribes had marched south from Jingzhou, looting and pillaging along the way. They had already broken through Longzhou and Fengxiang, burned down Dasanguan Pass, and were heading straight for Fengzhou.

Li Ding was ultimately different from Cui Guangyuan. He didn't spend his days idly in the government office. He constantly sent people to investigate the movements of the Hu people and planned the defense of the cities within his territory. Therefore, during this Hu uprising, although he entered Longzhou and Fengxiang, he dared not attack the already defended counties, and he plundered very little in the wilderness. It was only then that he was forced to take a risk and head south to Fengzhou.

The crucial point is that Fengzhou is now under the jurisdiction of the Fengxiang military governor, but Li Ding never expected that Fengzhou, which originally belonged to the Shannan West Circuit, would encounter the enemy...

Li Ji apologized to Li Ding, saying that it was because he had been far from Fengxiang Prefecture that he was unable to stop the rebels' advance, allowing the barbarians to penetrate deep into the territory. Li Ding shook his head: "It's not Erlang's fault. Even if Erlang were here, these several thousand troops could only defend the city, with no hope of defeating the rebels in open battle..." He then sighed: "It's all because we fed them too much!"

Ban Hong hurriedly rose from his seat to apologize: "It was truly the fault of this lowly official..."

The decision to exchange salt for cattle and sheep from the Tanguts was originally Li Ding's, but he entrusted the specific implementation to Ban Hong. Because the granaries in the prefecture were empty and the people needed relief, Ban Hong had made several transactions with the Tuoba tribe and found them to be quite honest, so he opened up the supply, only hoping to get more cattle and sheep to make up for the deficit in the prefecture's treasury.

In fact, the supply should have been adjusted according to the needs of the Hu people, with a slight reduction, and a gradual, long-term approach, so as not to nurture a tiger that could later cause trouble. However, this cannot be blamed on Ban Hong. Firstly, the exact number of the various Hu peoples was a murky matter for the Tang Dynasty, which had always implemented a policy of appeasement and extensive management; no one could possibly calculate it accurately. Secondly, Ban Hong was ultimately considering the grain reserves in the government and the livelihood of the people.

Therefore, Li Dingyi waved his hand and said, "Please get up, Mr. Ban. I have no intention of blaming you."

Li Ji felt that this Commander Li was truly a good superior, willing to consult with his subordinates on matters—even though it was only Li Ji and Ban Hong, his right-hand men—and never shifting blame when things went wrong. In a sense, he was even more worthy of serving under Li Tan than Li Tan. Li Tan, after all, couldn't shake off his playboy ways; in both military and political affairs, he was somewhat ambitious but incompetent, a mere armchair strategist—though after several years of experience, he should be better now—while Li Ding, at least, possessed considerable maturity in military strategy.

Li Ding's wise opinion was: "The rebels are currently very powerful and cannot be stopped." If they went out to chase and fight now, the soldiers in Fengxiang Prefecture could be wiped out in a heartbeat.

But the barbarians eventually have their own strongholds. Once they've plundered enough, they'll want to go home. When they're dressed in silk and tucked with copper coins at their waists, they'll think the Tang army won't dare to stop them. Everyone will be thinking of returning home and will have no will to fight.

Li Ding then said, "We should avoid their morning's sharp edge and strike when they are exhausted and retreating!"

He ordered Li Ji to lead troops south to garrison north of Dasanguan Pass and guard Chencang City, a strategic pass between the mountains and the river. At the same time, he sent a letter to Binning, ordering Sang Rugui, the deputy military governor of Binning, to send troops to Fengxiang Prefecture. He said, "When the previous dynasty ordered you to rescue Fengxiang, you suffered a defeat and had to turn back halfway. Then the Hu bandits marched south again, passing right next to your defense zone, and you couldn't stop them. How are you going to explain this to the court, Mr. Sang?"

Don't think that the civil war in Fengxiang Town has nothing to do with you. Come to our aid quickly, and I will be able to speak well of your Binning Town in the future when I report to the imperial court.

Li Ding's plan was to wait until the Hu tribesmen turned back, then Li Ji would send troops from Chencang to pursue them, while the Binning army would send troops from Fengxiang to intercept them from the waist, thus ensuring a great victory.

Li Ji was ordered to march south to Chencang. Before the rebellious Hu tribes had even returned north, he received news of the fall of Xiaoxia... Li Ji felt as if he were being attacked by two masters, one punch barely finished before the other came, leaving him clumsy and unable to defend himself. Although he couldn't really help with the war in Longyou, and he couldn't possibly engage the Hu tribes in a decisive battle beforehand, he was still anxious and frustrated.

With the loss of Xiaoxia, the barbarian army marched straight to the walls of Shanzhou. Li Tan and Hun Shizhi rallied their defeated troops and held on desperately. Meanwhile, urgent memorials were sent to Chang'an, but unfortunately, Chang'an could not send a single soldier to the west to provide relief.

This was also related to the internal war in Fengxiang Prefecture. The barbarian tribes were rampant and approaching the heartland. The Tang Dynasty dared not mobilize the armies of Fuyan, Binning, and Fengxiang to go far away to rescue Longyou. Besides, a large army needs enough food and supplies to move out, right? After the autumn harvest, the price of grain in the capital dropped slightly, but it still cost two thousand coins to buy a bushel of rice. Where was there any surplus to mobilize troops?

This crisis was not relieved until after the New Year – the Tibetan army was away and supplies were not readily available. Ma Chongying besieged Shanzhou for nearly three months. Hun Shizhi's defenses were very strong, and seeing that it would be difficult to capture the city, he was finally forced to retreat in late January.

Although this expedition failed to capture all of Shanzhou, it inflicted heavy losses on the Tang Dynasty's Longxi army and seized all the key passes west of Shanzhou. It was believed that after a year of preparation, a return next year would surely secure victory. Indeed, after the battle, Li Tan was forced to move the military governor's residence eastward to Longzhi, a hundred miles away from Shanzhou and south of the Huangshui River.

As for the Hu people in Longshang, they looted and plundered Fengzhou, captured the prefecture government, killed the governor Xiao Zhai, and then drove a large group of Tang people northward in a clamor.

Standing atop the walls of Chencang, Li Ji watched the chaotic, unruly mob passing by in droves. His hand pressed against the city walls, his teeth clenched, and his eyes widened in fury.

Chapter 8, Killing the Bandits and Eating Their Flesh

At this time, they had received definite news that the southern invaders in Fengzhou, although a mixed group of tribes, were not mainly of the Dangxiang or other Qiang ethnic groups, but rather of the Nuci.

The Nuci were originally a subordinate tribe of the Tuyuhun, but after the Tuyuhun's former territory was conquered by the Tubo and most of its people migrated eastward, the Nuci gradually became more powerful and subtly surpassed the Murong clan, the main tribe. Most of the Nuci lived in Jingzhou, with some also residing in Qing, Yuan, Hui, and Liang.

Li Chaoguang, the chieftain of the Dangxiang Qiang, had previously established a salt trade route with Fengxiang Prefecture, obtaining several thousand bushels of salt. He distributed this salt to various tribes to win their hearts and minds, attempting to gradually annex them. However, he refused to sell it to Nurhaci. When Nurhaci's chieftain went to plead with him, Li Chaoguang said, "The salt I obtained from the Tang Dynasty is limited. I have no surplus to give to your tribe. If your tribe needs salt, why don't you go and ask for it yourselves?"

Lord Nurla sent an envoy to Fengxiang, but was ambushed and killed by Li Chaoguang on the way. Nurla suspected that the attack was carried out by the Tang people, so he angrily gathered the surrounding tribes and went south to plunder.

Upon hearing the inside story, Li Ji couldn't help but exclaim angrily, "The slave's crime is heinous, but the Tuoba clan is also unforgivable!"

At the same time, he wondered to himself, with both Tanguts and Tuyuhuns involved, just how many Hu people were being harbored in these various prefectures of Longxi? With all these Hu people so close at hand, how could the man in Chang'an still be sleeping soundly?