Chapter 34: White Wolf Mountain Water Interval (1)

  The Great Wall winds its way through the Yanshan Mountains, standing tall and steep on the precipitous peaks and cliffs, firmly blocking the passage of northern nomadic tribes invading the Central Plains, guarding the brilliant civilization and population growth of the Chinese nation. Since Qin times, this rugged mountain range has been the most important defense line for the central government to resist the invasion of northeastern nomadic peoples, with many military strongholds and ancient fortresses set up here, becoming the first line of collision between agricultural civilization and nomadic civilization.

  From Yu Pass to the northwest for 400 miles, it is the heavy land of the Great Wall - Lulong Pass. Stationed here was Li Chengyue, a fifth-grade official and Ningyuan General. During the southern expedition, Li Chengyue served as the inspector of the eighth army in Shanhou, together with Gao brothers, commanding the Shanhou troops in Lulong Army. The Shanhou troops came from Yi State, Wei State, Yun State and other places west of Yanshan Mountains, located at the junction of Youyan and Hedong, including Xiqi, Khitan, Shiwei, Shatuo Turks, Xi, Tuhun and other ethnic groups. These people had been influenced by Han culture for hundreds of years and had become an integral part of the Han people, but they still retained the fierce spirit unique to nomadic nationalities. They have always been a force not to be underestimated in Lulong Army.

  After the defeat of the southern expedition, the Shanhou Zidi soldiers were divided into two parts during the reorganization of the Lulong Army. One branch was led by Li Chengyue and stationed at the Lulong Pass to defend the border, while Li Chengyue himself took up the post of Salt City Defense Commissioner. The other branch was led by the Gao brothers and returned to the Kongling Pass in Yizhou, the birthplace of the Shanhou Zidi, where they were reorganized into a local garrison army for Yizhou.

  Li Chengyue and the Gao brothers naturally knew that this was a move by General Liu Ren'gong to suppress the sons of Shanhou and establish the authority of the central army, but the situation was stronger than people. At this moment, the sons of Shanhou were no longer the Shanhou army when General Gao Sijiu was alive, so Li Chengyue and the Gao brothers could only obey orders and set out for the northern border.

  Besides, defending the border has always been an indispensable responsibility for military personnel. Li Chengyue himself had no great objection to this. Far away from the whirlpool of power struggles in Youzhou, the wind and sand on the border were severe, but they seemed more pure. Only... I wonder how that little girl is doing now...

  After his defeat in the southern campaign, he encountered the Lu Long army's reorganization, and his mood was not good. He went alone to the famous Mingyue Tavern in Youzhou City to drink wine. The more he drank, the more sorrowful he became, and the more easily he got drunk. Drunk Li Chengyao had no money on him, unable to pay the bill, and was ridiculed and humiliated by the shopkeeper and the waiter. In his great anger, he wanted to fight, but unfortunately, his body did not obey him, and there were no loyal guards around him. As a result, he was beaten up badly.

  At that time, Li Chengyue was lying on the big street in front of the wine house, listening to the scolding and cursing of the wine house owner, while vomiting so much that his intestines were about to come out. In the midst of shame and anger, he saw a young woman in a plain dress come out from the crowd, pay for his drinks, hire a rickshaw, and softly ask him where he wanted to rest. Later on, he fell asleep, and when he woke up the next day, his heart was filled with the smiling face of that young woman, that face... so beautiful!

  Later, he told Gao brothers and Wang Sitong a few good friends about this matter. Several friends all promised to help him find it. Gao Xingzhou also asked if he had taken a fancy to that girl, Li Chengyue blushed and explained that he just wanted to repay kindness, which led to a burst of laughter from the crowd. Wang Sitong still wanted to go find the owner of Mingyue Wine House, but was stopped by Gao Xingzhou.

  "Who knows who is the master of Mingyue Wine House?" Gao Xingzhou asked Wang Sitong with a cold smile.

  "Who does he think he is! Let's settle this later! Dares to move against my brother, I'll lead the troops to wipe them out!" Wang Si Tong said with his neck stiffened.

  Li Chengyue patted Wang Sitong's shoulder and sighed, "Fourth brother, don't be rash. I endured this anger. Besides, I was indeed in the wrong at that time."

  Gao Xing Zhou coldly scolded: "You go and suppress! Bring all your silver calabashes with you! How many people do you have? A thousand? Go see if you can defeat the righteous army!"

  Wang Si Tong opened his big mouth and ate, saying: "...... Is... is the official?"

  Gao Xinggui also came up to persuade: "Forget it, at present we are in the midst of reorganizing our troops and they are looking for an excuse to deal with us brothers. Let's endure for now and see what happens in the future!"

  Wang Sitong's father, Wang Jingrou, was a veteran general in the Lulong Army who carried great weight in his words. In those days when Liu Ren'gong had not yet achieved his ambitions, he married his sister to Wang Jingrou in order to curry favor with this old general, and she gave birth to Wang Sitong (note 1). In this sense, Wang Sitong could be considered Liu Ren'gong's nephew by blood. However, in these chaotic times, who cared about such familial relationships? Having inherited his father's power, Wang Sitong's silver gourd also became an independent mountain stronghold outside the Lulong Army, and thus he too became a target for rectification during this military reorganization. Therefore, when Wang Sitong heard that the Mingyue Wine Tower was Liu Shouguang's shop, he could only swallow his anger.

  Afterwards, Li Chengyue always wanted to find that woman at the time, to thank her in person. Also, he wanted to take another look at the beautiful face that had been lingering in his dreams. However, the military plan was set quickly and he could only leave Youzhou reluctantly.

  "Third brother, what are you thinking about? Still thinking about that girl? Haha, don't worry, I've already arranged for someone to help you find her before I left... Uh... Brother, focus, the Khitans are coming again." Wang Sichong reminded Li Chengyou as he gazed out at the large group of Khitans surging forward from atop the city gate.

  Li Chengyue hastily cast aside his distracting thoughts and ordered his soldiers to get ready.

  In recent days, the Khitan people outside the pass have become increasingly rampant, not only recklessly plundering the people outside the pass, but also repeatedly reaching the gate of the pass to provoke. With only 800 men under his command, Li Chengyue was unable to do anything due to insufficient military strength and could only tightly defend the city, watching as the Khitan people wreaked havoc outside the pass. Unexpectedly, the Khitan people gained an inch and advanced a foot, gathering thousands of people ten days ago and suddenly launching a fierce attack on the Lulong Pass. Li Chengyue saw that the situation was critical and asked for help from Wang Sitong, the military governor of nearby Hong Water.

  Wang Sidong was originally the commander of the Silver Calabaza Army, but during the military reorganization, he was reassigned as the commander of the Hongshui Garrison. The 1,000-strong Silver Calabaza Army under his command also changed to the Border Town Military and followed him to the Hongshui Pass beside the Lulong Mountain Pass. He and Li Chengyue were like brothers, and upon hearing the news, he immediately mobilized 500 elite soldiers from the Silver Calabaza Army to rush to the Lulong Mountain Pass. After joining forces with Li Chengyue, they reached a total of 1,300 men and finally stabilized the situation. The two armies repeatedly clashed near the Lulong Mountain Pass in the Yanshan Mountains, suffering significant casualties on both sides.

  After repelling the Khitan attack, Wang Sichong came to find Li Chengyue panting. Li Chengyue was counting the losses, and in this battle, nine of his mountain-backed children died, seven were seriously injured, and more than 30 were lightly injured. Among the seven seriously injured, one was seen to be dying, and Li Chengyue held the wounded man's hand for a long time without speaking. After a moment, the wounded man's head slumped, and Li Chengyue gently closed his eyelids.

  Wang Si Tong waited for a while, and after Li Cheng Yue finished his investigation, he said: "Third Brother, I also lost one man and six were injured. In these days, more than 60 brothers have been killed or wounded. If we continue to fight like this, it won't work. I carefully observed that the attackers are not only Khitan people, but also a part of Jurchen people..." Wang Si Tong's silver gourd troops were known for their archery skills, and most of them were shooters. Losing so many men in the defense was really heart-wrenching.

  Li Chengye nodded and said, "Yes, it seems that the more we fight, the more enemies there are. I suspect they may have conquered the Xianbei."

  Wang Sidong hastily said: "If that's the case, I'll take my younger brother down to the north side of the pass and set up an ambush for them. This kind of hard defense is really a bit too costly."

  Li Chengyue thought for a moment, then said: "Forget it, going out to fight is also good. However, your Silver Gourd doesn't excel at close combat, I'll give you 100 brothers, be careful!"

  Wang Si Tong smiled and said: "Don't worry! Brother can rest assured!" After that, he went down to make arrangements.

  This month, not only Yu Guan and Lu Long Pass were tight, but also the northern mouth, Zhenyuan, Jimen, Kongling and other passes along the Great Wall were fully alarmed. The Khitan people changed their previous way of fighting, which was only looting and harassing, and launched a comprehensive attack on all parts of the Great Wall.

  In the Youzhou Military Prefecture, Commander Liu Renkong sat behind his desk with his eyes closed, listening intently to the report of Judge Liu Zhiwen.

  “……According to the reports from various passes, the Khitan people have deployed 700 men at Yu Pass, 3,000 men at Lulong Pass, 2,300 men at Beikou, 900 men at Zhenyuan, 600 men at Jimen, and 1,300 men at Kongling Pass, totaling nearly 9,000 men. In addition, the tracks of Khitan cavalry have also been found in other places such as Miaozhou Guangbian Army and Longmen County.” Liu Zhongyi explained the current situation in detail, his mouth dry from speaking, he simply picked up the tea water on the side table and drank it all in one gulp.

  Liu Zhiwen was originally the military affairs officer of the Weibo Jiedushi, and he presented a plan to surrender the city during the Battle of Weibo. He was appreciated by Liu Ren'gong and after returning to Youzhou, he proposed a detailed and feasible plan for reorganizing the army. As a result, he was appointed as the Jiedushi Judge by Liu Ren'gong and became his trusted advisor.

  During the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty, the power of the Jiedushi Judge was extremely heavy, not only in terms of political and military affairs but also in participating in strategic planning and decision-making. After Liu Zhiwen became the Jiedushi Judge of Lulong Military, he worked diligently for Commander-in-Chief Liu Ren'gong. Within less than two months, he not only solidified Liu Ren'gong's position as the commander of the central army but also initially alleviated the tense financial situation.

  He paused for a moment, then continued: "What is clear at the moment is that the enemy in the direction of Yu Guan is the Khitan Pidan tribe, the enemy in the direction of Zhenyuan is the Khitan Die Lai tribe, and the enemy in the direction of Lu Long Sai is the Tu Ge tribe... there are also many Mohe people..."

  Liu Rengong suddenly opened his eyes and interjected, "The ones who broke through Zhenyuan are the Die'la tribe, right? The Die'la tribe is the strongest among the Khitan tribes. I had a battle with them several years ago... They should have at least 6,000 to 8,000 skilled archers to be able to do that. It seems that the main force of the Khitan people has not yet appeared." Five days ago, the direction of Zhenyuan Pass was suddenly broken through by the Khitan people, and Liu Rengong hastily dispatched a portion of his imperial guards there. The Khitan people then retreated from the pass, but had already pillaged the area within 30 li.

  Liu Zhiwen nodded and said: "The general is insightful. In my opinion, although this raid seems fierce, it's actually just a probe."

  Liu Rengong asked: "Do you have a good strategy to deal with it?"

  Liu Zhiwen replied, "We have discussed and plan to transfer troops from the inner city to counterattack the Khitan bandits in the north. Specifically...". The "inner city" he mentioned refers to Liu Ren'gong's second son, Liu Shouguang. Liu Ren'gong had two sons: his eldest son, Liu Shouwen, led the Yichang Military Command and was in charge of the three states of Cangzhou, Jingzhou, and Dezhou as the eastern screen for the Lulong Army. His second son, Liu Shouguang, prepared to establish the Yi'er Military Command and served as its commander-in-chief, defending the important town of Hejian in the south of the Lulong Army.

  Before Liu Zhiwen finished speaking, Liu Ren'gong shook his head: "Send Yiyu's army north? No way! We just suffered a defeat, Zhu Wen and Li Kuaiyue are eyeing us covetously, only because they are restraining each other, there is no further movement. Now the Yichang army that guards Wen has been wounded, if not for Guan Guang sitting in Hejian, the south would be empty immediately. Although we have grasped Wang Rong's heart, the clowns of Chengde Army will definitely not be reconciled! How are the negotiations with Chengde Army going?

  Liu Zhiwen said: "It has been initially agreed upon, according to the general's plan, the Chengde army will provide 100,000 strings of cash, 5,000 bolts of silk, and 50,000 stones of grain. Once we receive these things, we will return Wang Zhaozuo and Liang Gongru. From now on, the Chengde army will also send us the same amount as a military subsidy every year. At the same time, the Chengde army will completely withdraw from Shen Prefecture, and the governor's office is preparing to appoint Li Yan as the prefect of Shen Prefecture..."

  Note 1: Wang Jingrou married the daughter of Liu Rengong, and Wang Sitong is actually the grandson of Liu Rengong. The story has been modified for this reason, so please just laugh it off, everyone.