Chapter 41: A Long Howl (I)

Thanks to the concerted efforts of both soldiers and civilians, the fortification upgrades in the eastern part of Tangzhou were finally completed.
Li Kuo could finally relax a bit and devote more attention to military training and scout missions.
Nan Jiyun’s angry departure dealt a significant blow to Li Kuo. Though he knew his decision was right, being misunderstood by his elder brother still caused him pain.
Being misunderstood by close friends was often more painful than being insulted, as such pain could only be borne in silence, with no one to confide in.
In fact, Li Kuo refrained from sending troops to Yongqiu for two reasons: one was concerns regarding Tongguan, and the other was his belief that An Lushan’s rebels wouldn’t spend much effort expanding their territory at this stage. After all, a minor county like Yongqiu didn’t matter much—losing it wouldn’t make a difference.
Now that An Lushan had declared himself emperor and challenged the Tang Dynasty, his greatest goal was likely to launch a decisive attack on Guanzhong and capture Chang’an, thereby completely crushing the confidence of the Tang rulers. From this perspective, Xiao Zhang and Nan Jiyun were temporarily safe.
With the Tang army under pressure, Li Kuo had to use his limited soldiers where they were most needed. If Nan Jiyun resented him, so be it…
“Qilang, Qilang!”
Zhou Wucui rode swiftly from not far away and leaped off his horse in front of the camp.
“What’s the matter? You look so anxious!”
Li Kuo wiped the sweat from Zhou Wucui’s forehead and smiled gently.
“Come and take a look at this quickly!”
Clearly anxious, Zhou Wucui hurriedly pulled out a piece of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Li Kuo.
Li Kuo took the paper, unfolded it slightly, and frowned after reading it for a while. “Where did you get this?”
Zhou Wucui shrugged. “Do I need to look for it deliberately? These papers are everywhere these days. Even kids know that Gao Shuai and Feng Que were executed by that foolish emperor!”
Li Kuo crumpled the paper up. “How could this happen? Didn’t the emperor trust those two generals just moments ago? Why would he suddenly execute them on the battlefield?”
Zhou Wucui sneered. “How should I know? But an emperor’s heart is unpredictable. If there are traitors around inciting him, who knows if your so-called wise emperor might make a mistake? Apparently, his reason was that Gao and Feng surrendered without fighting, thus disgracing the nation. Heh, if that counts as disgracing the nation, then what about those who voluntarily handed over their cities to An Lushan’s rebels?”
“Stop talking nonsense. Are you sure this is true? When did it happen?”
Li Kuo shook his head and pressed further.

“How could there be any deception? If you don’t believe it, you can take a few men and go to Tongguan to check for yourself. I guarantee General Er’s head will be hung on the city walls as a warning!”
Zhou Wucui was extremely angry, waving his fists frantically. Though he didn’t particularly like Gao Xianzhi and Feng Changqing, they had served together in the Anxi Army for many years, and some feelings had developed between them. Now, as they fought bravely against An Lushan’s rebels, they were executed by the emperor on such a baseless charge—how could this not shock the soldiers of Anxi?
“Then it must be true!”
Li Kuo shook his head with a bitter smile, inwardly lamenting the emperor’s foolishness.
Regardless of whether Gao and Feng were at fault or not, even if they were, they shouldn’t have been executed in front of the two armies. Such an action would surely demoralize the troops. By now, the rebel general Cui Qianyou must be celebrating triumphantly!
Trying to resist An Lushan’s massive army with just 50,000 new recruits gathered from Chang’an and other places, without Gao and Feng to lead them? It was pure delusion!
“I heard the emperor urgently recalled that old fox, Geshu Han, from Hexi, and has him lead the main forces of Hexi and Longyou, along with the troops guarding Tongguan, to fight the rebels!”
Zhou Wucui grew angrier as he spoke, even mentioning news of Li Kuo’s arch-rival.
Geshu Han was cunning by nature. To win the trust of the powerful Yang Guozhong, he had even killed Li Kuo to silence him. Naturally, Li Kuo had no good impression of such a man. Hearing that he would be in charge of the troops at Tongguan, Li Kuo frowned.
“If that’s the case, things will be difficult. Geshu Han is too obsessed with fame and profit, always thinking only of his own interests, ignoring the lives of his soldiers. If he leads the troops, he might fall for An Lushan’s schemes.”
Li Kuo analyzed the situation objectively, outlining all possible outcomes.
Zhou Wucui nodded. “That guy is indeed notable. The problem is his excessive desire for fame might disrupt proper military strategy. If An Lushan gives him a chance, he might actually chase after it!”
“What’s the news from the scouts?”
Li Kuo tapped his forehead and spoke solemnly.
“What else could there be? Now, An Lushan’s main forces are concentrated at Tongguan, along with 20,000 elite troops guarding Luoyang. The central part of Henan Province is completely flat—perfect for battle. I wonder if General Li still has the courage to take on such a challenge.”
Zhou Wucui chuckled, revealing dimples of different depths.
“If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you get its cub? I’ll join him in this adventure!”
Li Kuo clenched his fists, his voice filled with determination. …

The central region of Henan Province mentioned by Zhou Wuzei referred to the area located northeast of Dengfeng and southwest of Xingyang. Although this plain, spanning about 300 li in circumference, had no major towns, it housed a world-famous granary—Luokou Granary (Note 1). In the second year of the Daye era of the former Sui Dynasty, Emperor Yang Guang built Luokou Granary southeast of Gongxian, storing there all the grain transported from the south via the Grand Canal. This large granary, covering 20 li in area, had 3,000 storage pits, each holding 8,000 dan of grain, and was guarded by 1,000 soldiers.

Later, during the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, warlords rose up across the Central Plains. Following Li Mi’s advice, Zhai Rang captured Luokou Granary and used it as a base for the Wagang Stronghold. This enabled the once-unpromising Wagang Stronghold to gain a foothold at the end of the Sui Dynasty. It is said that even after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Luokou Granary, which had been depleted over the years by the Wagang Stronghold, still held ample supplies, and the grain from the former Sui Dynasty was used by the Tang people right up to the Zhenguan era, demonstrating its vast reserves.

Of course, during the reign of Emperor Gaozong, Luokou Granary was reactivated and, along with Hanjia Granary, became an important reserve for supplying the Central Plains region of Guanzhong. This remains true to this day.

After An Lushan captured Luoyang, he naturally also took control of Luokou Granary, located 200 li away. Under normal circumstances, the area around Luokou Granary would be heavily guarded by rebel forces. With only 10,000 troops, Li Kuo would never risk everything in such a desperate attempt.

But the scouts had just reported that An Lushan intended to besiege Chang’an and had assigned most of his troops to Cui Qianyou. As the capital of the Great Yan State, Luoyang naturally needed to be protected as well. Given this, the defenses around Luokou Granary would likely be weak.

This was an opportunity—a fleeting one at that!

“Luokou Granary is built at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Luo River, adjacent to Luoyang, and located in the strategic area of Heishi Pass and Beimang. It is indeed crucial; they say that whoever controls Luokou Granary controls the world. At first, I didn’t believe it, but seeing it with my own eyes today, I realize the ancients were indeed right!”

Zhou Wuzei gazed at the faint city walls dozens of li away and sighed deeply.

“I didn’t expect you to have knowledge of such matters. Then tell me, why could Li Mi, despite controlling Luokou Granary and recruiting heroes from all over the land, fail to seize control of the world?”

Li Kuo, clearly in high spirits, asked while holding the reins in one hand.

Zhou Wuzei shrugged and said, “Well, half is fate, and half is strength!”

Seeing Li Kuo puzzled, Zhou Wuze explained, “It’s true that Luokou Granary was the largest granary during the Sui Dynasty, but you also need to consider who controls it. Although Li Mi is ambitious, he’s a man of great ideals but limited ability. He might be able to incite Zhai Rang’s Wagang rebels to capture Luokou Granary, but he can’t stop those scoundrels from plundering endlessly. An army without discipline can’t seize power even if all the world’s granaries are right in front of it. His inability to control his troops shows his weakness. As for the second point, it’s obviously bad luck. Don’t forget that Luoyang is a hub of the whole country. If you were Yang Guang facing bandits all over the land, whom would you suppress first?”
“Of course, Li Mi!”
Li Kuo sighed and replied without hesitation.
“That’s not convenient.”
Zhou Wuze shrugged and said, “So this place is by no means suitable for establishing a base. We shouldn’t expect to stay here for long either. At most, we can take some grain back; the rest can just be burned!”
“What!”
Li Kuo was shocked and quickly said, “The grain in Luokou Granary has been stored since the Gaozong era. It must represent the hard work of countless farmers. Are we really going to burn it all?”
Zhou Wuze gave Li Kuo a disdainful look and said, “Do you really think you can transport all the grain from Luokou Granary with just five thousand horses? The rebels currently only control Hebei and Henan provinces, and the land in Hebei is notoriously barren and produces little grain. If the rebels want to wage a long-term war against the Tang Dynasty, Luokou Granary is crucial. As for our Tang Dynasty, we have the Jianghuai region as our granary, so burning just one Luokou Granary has no significant impact. But if that granary falls into the hands of the rebels, that would indeed be a serious problem.”
“Those who achieve great things don’t care about trivial matters! If we show excessive mercy and don’t burn this granary, who knows how many more granaries will be destroyed!”
Zhou Wuze held the reins in one hand and spoke slowly, emphasizing each word.
Note 1: Luokou Granary: Also known as Xingluo Granary, it was the birthplace of Wagang Rebellion during the Sui Dynasty and the largest granary at that time.