LFHYB -Chapter 180 All Tactical Strategies Change at Home

Li Xuanba was furious but powerless, while Li Shimin and Li Jing also had their reasons.

They didn’t intentionally go so far; the area nearby was too desolate. They had merely gone to the nearest major commandery to gather intelligence and unintentionally traveled farther.

Moreover, a hundred or two kilometers wasn’t far. At a full gallop, two hundred kilometers could be covered in two hours.

It was taxing on both horses and men, so Li Shimin wouldn’t normally push this, except during rapid pursuit. Even so, it only took half a day.

Half a day’s travel isn’t outside the scope of reconnaissance.

Li Shimin seemed to have anticipated Li Xuanba’s anger and first sent a verbal message, followed by a handwritten letter the next day.

Li Xuanba felt the letter was worse than useless! Second Brother must have written it specifically to make him angry!

The Deputy of Nan Commandery worried: “Should we call for reinforcements now?”

Li Xuanba drew a deep breath and said expressionlessly: “No need. That petty Xiao Xiane—I don’t even take him seriously.”

Seeing Li Xuanba’s confidence, the Nan Commandery governor relaxed slightly.

Li Shou, standing nearby, felt some sympathy for Li Xuanba.

Li Shimin and Li Jing each led a fierce general with several dozen guards hundreds of kilometers away. Li Xuanba had just entered Nan Commandery when Xiao Xiane struck.

With both commander and deputy absent, only Li Xuanba could face Xiao Xiane.

Fortunately, only men fled; they didn’t take their troops, or else Li Xuanba would have had to retreat in despair.

Though Li Xuanba rarely led troops alone, he had a terrifying record in Yanmen Commandery. When he said they could fight, the soldiers had complete confidence.

The city walls of Nan Commandery had not been repaired for a long time. They were not very sturdy and could not be relied upon for a defensive stand. Moreover, their own forces were roughly equal in number to Xiao Xian’s. So Li Xuanba directly set up camp outside the city and arranged his troops, putting on the appearance of preparing for a head-on field battle with Xiao Xian.

Li Xuanba also sent an envoy to visit Xiao Xian, asking whether he knew that the Prince of Longxi and the Prince of Taiyuan had already arrived for this campaign. Had he run into them head-on by accident, or was it intentional?

If it was accidental, then he should hurry up and get lost. The Princes of Longxi and Taiyuan were here to eliminate Yuwen Huaji and had no time to deal with him for now.

If it was deliberate, then the two armies would fight it out properly.

Li Xuanba spread out a map and compared the geomantic map from the commandery office with the map in his own memory.

The situations in Longxi, Guanzhong, and the Central Plains had changed drastically, but the separatist powers in the south were no different from those in the original course of history.

Using the Yangtze River as the boundary: the rebel king Zhu Can wandered between Hubei and Henan, mainly active in the Nanyang Basin and the Han River Plain; Xiao Xian was near Dongting Lake, with Baling Commandery (modern Yueyang, Hunan) as his capital, trying to unify Hunan and attack Bashu; Lin Shihong was near Poyang Lake, plotting to seize Fujian and the two Guangs.

The seat of Nan Commandery was in Jiangling County. In the original history, Xiao Xian captured Nan Commandery and made Jiangling his capital this very year. Li Xuanba had run into him by coincidence.

“Tietou, you will serve as the vanguard commander this time,” Li Xuanba said.

Chen Tieniu really wanted to continue serving as Li Xuanba’s bodyguard, but Qin Qiong and Zong Luohu had both left, and there were no strong generals left in the army. He could only accept the order.

“Young Master, be careful. Don’t get too close to the battlefield,” Chen Tieniu said.

Li Xuanba waved his hand helplessly. “Stop nagging.”

Chen Tieniu felt aggrieved. The young master said that Second Young Master always did things his own way—wasn’t the young master the same?

“Nan Commandery has many waterways. Their supplies should be transported by water. You will hold Nan Commandery. I’ll take men to raid their supply lines,” Li Xuanba said. “Xiao Xian and his generals may not be any better at commanding troops than the Turks or Tuyuhun. You know what to do.”

“Young Master! This…” Chen Tieniu exclaimed.

Li Xuanba cut him off. “This is a military order!”

Chen Tieniu could only clasp his fists helplessly. “I obey.”

Li Xuanba then summoned Li Shou and the deputy magistrate of Nan Commandery. He told the deputy magistrate to cooperate with Chen Tieniu in battle, while Li Shou would pacify the people and arrange logistics.

“Before troops move, supplies must come first,” Li Xuanba said. “Whether we win or not depends on whether we can gather enough provisions in Nan Commandery. Uncle, I’ll have to trouble you.”

Li Shou replied solemnly, “Please rest assured, Prince of Taiyuan. I’m very good at extracting supplies from local magnates.”

After all, he was someone who had built an army from nothing. His fighting skills were average, but his ability to gather provisions was outstanding.

After accepting the order, Li Shou changed his form of address and said worriedly, “Sanlang, won’t it be too dangerous for you to raid their supplies alone?”

Li Xuanba laughed. “I won’t personally fight on the front lines. With my strength, I couldn’t even cut through an enemy’s bones.”

Li Shou chuckled and joked, “It’s good that you know yourself.”

After making all the arrangements, Li Xuanba selected five thousand elite troops to raid Xiao Xian’s supply routes.

He had already sent scouts to investigate Xiao Xian’s movements. When he dispatched the envoy to reprimand Xiao Xian, he also set out at the same time.

Since he had long known that Xiao Xian was in Baling Commandery, and remembered that Xiao Xian would advance upriver this year, Li Xuanba had made preparations early.

Previously, Li Xuanba and Li Shimin had discussed on the ship: if Xiao Xian, upon hearing of their arrival, obediently stayed in Baling, they would first eliminate Zhu Can and then persuade Xiao Xian to surrender.

Who would have thought that while Li Shimin and Li Jing were out gathering intelligence, Xiao Xian would arrive at precisely that time?

If he didn’t know that this era had no telephones or internet for real-time communication, Li Xuanba would have suspected that Xiao Xian had deliberately chosen the moment when his second brother and Li Jing were absent to intercept him.

Of course, he wasn’t afraid of Xiao Xian anyway.

Before leaving, Li Xuanba informed his subordinates of the names and backgrounds of Xiao Xian’s generals.

Xiao Xian had not risen in rebellion himself. Instead, mid- and low-ranking officers of the Yingyang Guard, such as Dong Jingzhen of Yuezhou, had rebelled against the Sui. Feeling that their status was too low to command popular support, they sought out Xiao Xian, a member of the former Liang royal house, and pushed him forward as emperor.

Therefore, from the very beginning of his reign, Xiao Xian’s regime was filled with internal political struggles—very much in line with the stereotypical image of the Southern Dynasties.

Relying on political maneuvering, Xiao Xian sowed discord among his more powerful subordinates and executed several who outwardly submitted but inwardly rebelled. He had now basically gained control over his forces.

However, his talents lay mainly in political infighting. Because he had not raised troops himself and his subordinates had joined him with their own armies, he lacked a sense of security. On the surface he was generous and mild, but in reality he was highly suspicious.

Later, after he had basically occupied the lands south of the Yangtze and begun to show the bearing of a hegemon ruling in parallel with the Tang, he made a shocking move. When the Tang massed troops on the northern bank and prepared to advance south, he actually tried to dismiss all his generals and disband all his soldiers, sending them home to farm.

Despite having the natural barrier of the Yangtze, when Li Jing and Li Xiaogong led troops against him, it was almost like an armed parade—the Tang army arrived, and the enemy simply surrendered.

Analyzing Xiao Xian’s mentality, Li Xuanba believed that as a descendant of the Liang royal house, even though he had fallen on hard times, he still regarded himself as an aristocrat. He both looked down on and feared his bandit generals, always thinking they were the real threat to his safety. In contrast, someone like Li Yuan—also from a distinguished Sui family—might treat him generously after his surrender.

At that time, there were many members of the Xiao clan in the Tang court. Xiao Xian probably thought that if he went to Chang’an, Li Yuan would treat him as an honored guest.

But he misjudged.

Li Yuan was extremely narrow-minded toward rebel kings. Whether they were captured or surrendered voluntarily, he spared none of them.

However, if Xiao Xian surrendered to him and his second brother, and did so decisively enough, they could probably spare his life this time.

“Does this count as psychological profiling?” Li Xuanba said with a chuckle, putting down his brush. “Most of Xiao Xian’s generals are former Sui officers. There’s a good chance they can be persuaded to surrender, but first we need to put some pressure on them. If Second Brother were here, we could just send him out… sigh…”

Li Xuanba shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

Leading troops in battle wasn’t his strength; he had to meticulously plan every step before daring to act. If his second brother were here, even with a blank mind he could easily crush Xiao Xian—let alone now, with Li Jing on their side.

Yet in this situation, both Li Shimin and Li Jing—his own allies—weren’t even on the battlefield!

Li Xuanba, thinking about it, began to get angry again.

“Strategist, I see the enemy ships! Tch, tch… why do these ships look like civilian vessels? And the soldiers and laborers on them are so disorderly—not like a proper army at all.”

The general reported excitedly.

Li Xuanba calmed down from his anger and said, “The main generals under Xiao Xian were once officers in the Sui Dynasty’s Yingyang Headquarters. They are capable of commanding troops in battle—do not underestimate them.”

He rose, smiled, and continued, “But there’s no need to worry. To us, they are truly a disorganized rabble. As long as you carry out the tasks I’ve assigned, victory will be easy.”

The general cupped his fists: “Strategist, rest assured! This subordinate will not make a mistake!”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Go give them a warning.”

Following his order, soldiers lowered a row of small boats chained together from upstream, blocking the supply ships’ path.

The enemy, taken by surprise by such an obvious act of piracy, merely cursed about which blind bandits dared to do this.

Only when the rockets set the small boats ablaze, creating walls of fire that blocked their way, did some veteran soldiers who had fought the Southern Dynasties feel a twinge of familiarity.

At that moment, Li Xuanba’s ships, anchored in the tributary, sailed downstream to block their retreat.

Catapults on the shore launched gunpowder charges, and small boats quietly drifted close to the supply ships with oil-soaked hay, igniting intense flames.

Attacking wooden supply ships with fire had always been effective.

Li Xuanba didn’t even need to check the wind—he only had to set fire in all directions: front, back, sides, and above.

Mounted on his horse, he watched the river blaze red with fire from the shore.

This was almost too easy.

“If this were a regular army, it wouldn’t be this simple,” Li Xuanba said to those behind him. “There would be scouts near the supply ships observing everything—there’s no way our large ships could boldly enter the tributary before they even notice. Yet they acted as if they were blind.”

“They really are blind,” Li Jing said, “but this is all thanks to the brilliant tactics of the Prince of Taiyuan.”

Li Xuanba, sounding slightly annoyed, said, “Xiao Xian’s troops are unorganized and not fully integrated. Besides, he just executed a commander, and morale is unstable. If they capture Nan Commandery and consolidate their victory, then I’ll need to use some strategy. Right now, there’s no need.”

He glanced at the river again and sighed, “I overestimated them… wasted gunpowder.”

Li Jing couldn’t help but chuckle.

Mianyang had originally been within Xiao Xian’s area of operations, but later he temporarily settled in Baling, leaving Mianyang mostly abandoned. Moreover, Xiao Xian favored Baling locals and paid little attention to the bandit cavalry in Mianyang. The local powers in Mianyang were dissatisfied with him.

After learning this, Li Jing risked revealing his identity to persuade them to surrender—and succeeded.

Once the surrender was secured, Li Jing learned of Xiao Xian’s plan to attack Nan Commandery and hurried back.

On his way, he first detoured to scout the enemy.

Otherwise, he couldn’t have returned over a hundred kilometers in half a day.

Having gathered intelligence on Xiao Xian’s army, Li Jing was brimming with confidence, eager to demonstrate his leadership.

Who knew that upon returning to Nan Commandery, he found Li Xuanba had already led the troops in a surprise attack.

At Chen Tieniu’s request, Li Jing rushed to assist.

But he arrived a step too late—Li Xuanba had already set the fires and was watching the blaze along the riverbank, lamenting the wasted gunpowder and oil.

“I thought Xiao Xian’s commanders were mostly Yingyang Headquarters officers, so they might be tougher than ordinary bandits. Turns out, they haven’t really fought—they didn’t even anticipate a naval fire attack,” Li Xuanba shook his head, still feeling the sting of wasted resources.

Although one must go all out like a lion hunting a rabbit, underestimating the enemy can lead to disaster—but gunpowder and oil are really expensive. As the chief logistics officer, Li Xuanba felt the pain keenly.

Seeing Li Xuanba wincing, Li Jing couldn’t help laughing: “Better hurry and persuade them to surrender. If they give in quickly, putting out the fire on the supply ships, the loot we gain could offset some of your loss, Prince.”

Li Xuanba said, “You go. I won’t. The smoke will make me cough.”

Li Jing knew Li Xuanba was intentionally letting him take the credit and respectfully complied.

After Li Jing rode off, Li Xuanba frowned, looking north.

Li Jing is back… so where’s my brother? Doesn’t he know Xiao Xian is coming? Impossible. Xiao Xian, that fool, not only doesn’t know we’re here, but his marching plans weren’t even secret. My second brother should already know.

Although he disliked Xiao Xian, Li Xuanba knew it was normal for the enemy’s marching to be sloppy.

Xiao Xian’s forces were newly raised this year, still disorganized, like loose sand. His own troops, back in the height of the Sui Dynasty, had been elite soldiers. With careful planning and a bit of luck, catching Xiao Xian off guard was natural.

Xiao Xian was probably now frustrated, wondering where the Prince of Longxi and the Prince of Taiyuan suddenly appeared from.

But just because Xiao Xian is weak doesn’t mean the second brother can abandon the main army and go fight by himself! Where’s the commander? Leaving the army and running off with the younger brother? Are you crazy, brother?!

…

“Achoo.”

Li Shimin rubbed his nose and said to Qin Qiong and Zong Luohu, who had rushed over from Li Jing, “Li Xuanba must be scolding me.”

Zong Luohu said, “Xiao Xian is probably almost here. Lord, you really won’t go back?”

Li Shimin smiled, “When Li Xuanba was in Yanmen Commandery, he didn’t scare off hundreds of thousands of Turks—he first nearly executed Khagan Shibi before forcing their retreat. Now, Li Xuanba has elite soldiers no fewer than Xiao Xian’s, and Xiao Xian doesn’t even know we’re here. Li Xuanba can easily deliver a crushing blow.”

Qin Qiong sighed helplessly: “Lord, the strategist can certainly win, but that’s no excuse for you to abandon him and the army.”

Zong Luohu nodded repeatedly.

Li Shimin sighed. “I really have no choice. I just arrived in Xiangyang, and Zhu Can has already attacked. I can’t just abandon Xiangyang, can I? The officials in the city are all on their knees, begging me. I’ll defend Xiangyang for a few days first…”

Zong Luohu asked, “And then return to help the strategist?”

Li Shimin’s face turned serious, and he spread his hands. “Then I’ll urge A-Xuan to finish off Xiao Xian quickly and come to rescue me.”

Zong Luohu: “…”

Qin Qiong: “…”

Han Gou, perched on Li Shimin’s shoulder, let out a heavy sigh.

It suspected that this time the leader had replaced Wudi with him just to prevent Wudi from complaining.

Li Shimin looked at the two loyal generals with their faces full of disbelief and laughed loudly. “Don’t worry, don’t worry. Xiangyang is strong, and the city has plenty of supplies. Defending it for a month or two is easy. A-Xuan will definitely arrive in time to rescue us!”

Qin Qiong said bitterly, “My lord, defending the city isn’t the problem, but why not let Luohou bring more troops? We only have two hundred men now.”

Li Shimin reclined with his hands behind his head, chin slightly raised, smiling brightly. “There are soldiers in Xiangyang already; we’re just here as generals. We don’t need many people. Besides, if I bring too many, A-Xuan will know I’m defending Xiangyang. He’ll split his forces. Splitting forces could still win, but we wouldn’t be able to completely annihilate Xiao Xian’s troops.”

…

“Knowing my brother, even if Xiao Xian is weak, he wouldn’t just leave me and the army to fend for ourselves,” Li Xuanba said after counting the supplies. While continuing to send envoys to persuade Xiao Xian to surrender, he told Li Jing and Li Shou, “The Second Brother is being suspiciously quiet. He must be plotting something big!”

Li Shou and Li Jing exchanged glances, full of confusion.

Suspiciously quiet? Plotting something big?

Li Xuanba took a deep breath, clasped his hands under his chin, and ground his teeth. “I’d say eight or nine times out of ten, Zhu Can is attacking Xiangyang, and our Second Brother is helping the Xiangyang prefect defend the city!”

Li Shou drew a sharp breath, incredulous. “It’s already a coincidence that we ran into Xiao Xian head-on. Erlang… the lord goes north to Xiangyang and we run into Zhu Can as well? That’s way too coincidental!”

Li Jing also smiled bitterly. “The strongest rebel kings in the Jianghan area are Zhu Can and Xiao Xian. To run into both at the same time?”

Li Xuanba internally cursed. Envoys of replacement bodies naturally attract each other, so the heroes of the late Sui era could also be drawn together.

However, Xiao Xian was going to attack Nanjun this year anyway. Rather than calling it coincidence, it’s more like deliberately provoking trouble. Zhu Can, on the other hand, pillaged randomly without strategy, so Second Brother running into him really was coincidence.

“Uncle, Master Li, if I leave with ten thousand men, can you completely destroy Xiao Xian?” Li Xuanba asked.

Li Shou smiled wryly. “You know me. I’m not very good with troops; you should ask Master Li.”

Li Jing thought for a moment, shook his head. “Winning is easy, but annihilating them is hard. This area is full of rivers and streams, with dense forests. If he flees into the mountains, it’ll be difficult for us to track him.”

Li Xuanba said, “Then what if I give you twenty thousand men and send you to attack Baling?”

Li Jing’s eyes lit up.

Li Xuanba continued, “A few days ago you scouted Baling City. I’ll hold Xiao Xian in place; can you take Baling in a few days?”

Li Jing smiled. “Counting the march, three days is enough. I can give a formal military pledge!”

Li Xuanba said, “No need for a military pledge. Do your best. I will hold off Xiao Xian’s army until you take Baling.”

Li Jing saluted. “I will not fail the strategist’s trust!”

Li Shou almost bit his tongue.

This… is this like the strategy of ‘Besiege Wei to Rescue Zhao’? Wait, no—the purpose of that strategy is to rescue, but Li Xuanba isn’t letting Xiao Xian retreat at all.

Li Shou was confused, but seeing that Li Jing understood, he pretended to understand too and promised to assist Li Xuanba in defending Nanjun.

Then, Li Shou watched as Li Xuanba dismantled the gates of Nanjun. Not only did he bring along surrendered officials and their families, but even the citizens of Nanjun were relocated. It took a full day to reach Mianyang.

Li Shou: “?!” What is he doing?!

Xiao Xian’s army, having their supplies burned and morale shaken, could only camp temporarily to regroup.

The officers argued heatedly—some wanted to retreat, some suggested raiding surrounding villages for supplies, and others insisted on advancing regardless of consequences, only to be scolded with “don’t go to your death” and dragged away.

Xiao Xian was already frustrated when a soldier reported that the Taiyuan Prince had taken his 100,000-strong army to Mianyang.

“Why abandon Nanjun for Mianyang?” Xiao Xian couldn’t understand.

The soldier said, “According to the scouts, the Longxi and Taiyuan Princes are marching south this time to avenge the late Sui emperor and eliminate Yuwen Hua. The Sui emperor is urging them to reach Jiangdu quickly.”

“Is that so?” Xiao Xian was still puzzled. “So the Longxi and Taiyuan Princes are really loyal ministers of Sui, obeying the Luoyang court?”

Xiao Xian still suspected something was off. Li Xuanba’s departure seemed unnatural. But with supplies cut off and the army running low, he had to make a plan. Since Li Xuanba had left Nanjun, he decided to enter the city first and plan after replenishing supplies.

Then he saw the empty gates of Nanjun.

Then he saw the empty granaries.

Finally, he realized that even the city’s residents were almost gone—any wealthier citizens who could be extorted for food had fled.

Xiao Xian: “???” So the Taiyuan Prince not only took his troops but also the people with him?

Nanjun had already suffered through chaotic times and had a small population. Li Xuanba had taken everyone he could from the city, leaving Xiao Xian’s troops dumbfounded.

Even if they wanted to live off rations of human food… there’s no one left!

Thus, Xiao Xian’s troops were in uproar, urging a retreat back to Baling.

Xiao Xian ordered a day’s rest in the city, then planned to raid nearby villages for supplies the next day, sending people to Baling to transport more food.

Although Nanjun’s gates were dismantled, he had nominal control of the city. With no residents left, he simply relocated citizens from elsewhere.

That night, just as Xiao Xian entered his chamber, he suddenly heard a commotion outside. He quickly got dressed and asked, “What’s going on?!”

A bodyguard rushed over, carrying armor, shouting, “The Prince of Taiyuan has returned with his army! Master, put on your armor immediately!”

Xiao Xian: “???” Didn’t Li Xuanba just leave?!

…

“Sanlang… ah, no, Prince of Taiyuan… no no, Military Advisor,” Li Shou stammered, “what kind of tactic is this?”

He couldn’t hold back his embarrassment. He really didn’t understand!

Li Xuanba said, “Huh? Tactic… uh, let me see… this tactic is called ‘The Master of All Tactical Conversions.’”

Li Shou was dumbfounded. “W-What tactic?”

Li Xuanba explained seriously, “‘The Master of All Tactical Conversions’ means changing locations. I left the empty Nan Commandery to him, sent Li Yaoshi to raid the well-supplied Baling, and then, while they were stunned, trapped them at Nan Commandery city.”

“Right now, we only have ten thousand elite soldiers, plus about fifty thousand conscripted peasants. They claim to have a hundred thousand troops, with maybe twenty or thirty thousand elite soldiers.”

“But Nan Commandery city is small, with only two large gates. If we block them at the gates, it’s like defending a fortress—we only need archers and crossbowmen to hold them off.”

After explaining his tactic, Li Xuanba pinched his chin like his brother: “Nan Commandery city is small and sparsely populated, so we can evacuate the civilians and leave nothing for them; Xiao Xian’s forces are still disorganized, and their scouts are inexperienced, so I can play tricks on them. Only then can this plan work.”

He glanced at Xiao Xian’s troops, who had almost charged into the city, and said with a strange expression, “But I overestimated him. If I had known his troops had such poor combat ability, I wouldn’t have hurriedly evacuated the civilians, wasting provisions and rewards.”

Without rewards, the civilians wouldn’t have followed. Even if he threatened them that Xiao Xian would massacre the city, the civilians would stay put if they could, unwilling to leave their homes. Only after distributing the provisions seized from Xiao Xian could he persuade them to leave.

Li Xuanba pounded his chest in frustration again.

What a waste! The provisions we seized from Xiao Xian all gone!

Li Shou had originally been amazed by Li Xuanba’s “location-switching” tactic, thinking it utterly unreliable—but in the end, it actually worked!

Not only did it stall Xiao Xian’s army, but judging by the enemy’s lack of morale, Xiao Xian himself might have surrendered without leaving the city!

Now, seeing Li Xuanba muttering about “waste,” “painful,” and “my provisions,” Li Shou’s astonishment faded, replaced by amusement.

Li Shou laughed, “The provisions were Xiao Xian’s to begin with. Winning quickly and supporting you, Master, is still worth it.”

Li Xuanba said, “Exactly! All of this is Second Brother’s fault! The wasted gunpowder and provisions are on your head!”

Li Shou: “…” That’s not what I meant.

“Let’s go, it’s time to persuade him to surrender,” Li Xuanba said. “Xiao Xian was only forced into rebellion by the traitor general; he didn’t start the war himself. We’re rescuing him.”

Li Shou chuckled, clasped his hands, and said, “Your words are wise, Military Advisor. I am ready to enter the city and persuade the surrender!”

Li Xuanba nodded. “Go, I await your good news. Tell Xiao Xian that Baling has already fallen to our army, and Mianyang Commandery has surrendered. He has nowhere to go except surrender.”

Li Shou: “Yes!”

Li Shou led a team of guards and left. Li Xuanba looked at the temporarily quiet city gates, then turned north.

“Wudi.”

“Chirp.”

“Tomorrow morning, send a letter to Second Brother—tell him to wash his neck and wait. I’m going to kill my brother.”

“Chirp chiu chiu!”

“Not now. You’re night-blind! You can’t see the way at night!”

“Chirp?”

Wudi tilted his head.

Really? I don’t believe it!