The Leisurely Life of the Prince of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 406 Young Talent
After the child left, Shangguan Yi put away his smile and put down his bowl and chopsticks.

Li Yifu said solemnly, "Prince Bin is the son of the Qingzhou County Magistrate. Even if he has fallen to this point, he shouldn't be running around everywhere."

Shangguan Yi sat up straight and asked, "Is his father a good official?"

"Ah."

"Then why is it so?"

After traveling in Lianghuai for half a year, Li Yifu talked about the child's past. These things were all told by Luo Binwang himself. As for his mother... she did not mention a word about the past.

From the child, we learned that his father was an honest official, and that when Luo Binwang was a child, he even wrote a poem about a goose.

This poem is very well written, but even though he was from a county magistrate's family and was poor, he was still a child from a hard and humble background.

After his father passed away, his mother had no choice but to take him around, and his family was poor and did not have much money.

Now Luo's mother can only do some idle work to make a living.

After hearing Li Yifu say that he had been supporting Luo Binwang and his mother these days, Shangguan Yi let out a long sigh.

Li Yifu said: "After this meal, we will get down to business."

Shangguan Yi sat aside in silence, watching him eat quietly.

Who made the current Majesty's favorite thing to do is to catch the bugs in the country.

At that time, Li Yifu, as the imperial censor, came to Yangzhou with only five officers and soldiers to investigate Cui Renshi's case.

The death of the mute still made Li Yifu feel guilty, and it was a knot in his heart that he could not let go.

Because of the several children of noble families who were captured in Luoyang, Li Yifu learned a lesson and should be more thoughtful in doing things.

It was precisely because of this caution that the mute lost his life while handling a case in Bozhou.

Shangguan Yi whispered, "It was not your fault that the mute died. He took revenge and killed Cui Renshi."

Li Yifu quickly finished the food in the bowl.

Shangguan Yi knew that it was useless to persuade him now, as the anger in his heart had already been ignited.

After the meal, Li Yifu put on the official uniform of the censor again. The uniform was neat and quiet, with creases on it, which seemed to have been folded and stored for a long time.

When I opened the door, I saw Luo Binwang scolding a few older children.

Seeing this, Li Yifu laughed and said, "This child hates evil as much as he hates it."

Shangguan Yi asked, "You taught me?"

Li Yifu shook his head and said, "He seems to have been like this since he was a child."

Shangguan Yi said again: "Let me tell you a story."

"what story?"

“A story about Liang Zhu.”

The story unfolds as two people are walking on the streets of Yangzhou. It is dusk and their shadows are stretched out.

A story about family background, clan power, and marriage came to my ears.

Li Yifu asked, "Is this the story of Chang'an's prosperity now?"

Shangguan Yi shook his head and said, "Most people in Chang'an don't like this story."

"I see."

Shangguan Yi asked again: "Do you think there really was such a couple after the Jin Dynasty? This story sounds like it's true."

Li Yifu said, "Since the reigns of Wude and Zhenguan, hasn't the emperor been preventing marriages between the aristocratic families? But what can a decree change? After all, it is the wise Majesty today who has sent five hundred censors to the south of the Yangtze River. The aristocratic families are the most righteous and honest, but righteousness and integrity are the most useless things to them. We still have to use knives and fire to deal with them."

This person still uses the same rhetoric, Shangguan Yi has long been accustomed to it.

After nightfall, the two men came to a county government office in Yangzhou, where mountains of files were placed in front of several imperial censors.

The county magistrate's surname was Xie, and he stood there with an extraordinary upright demeanor.

Du Zhenglun said: "This county magistrate claims to be a descendant of Xie Lingyun."

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yi nodded in understanding. Xie Lingyun was a famous official recorded in the Book of Jin, and was also the descendant of a famous official.

Li Yifu said: "It's not the same king as before when the king and Ma shared the world, and it's not the same now as before."

County Magistrate Xie smiled and said, "My family is indeed not as well-off as the great families of the past."

Li Yifu's smile stiffened a little, and he asked, "Do you have a family tree?"

"I have some at home." The county magistrate said, "Actually, when we heard that the imperial censor was coming, people in Yangzhou were very nervous. I don't know what you are doing here, and what is the purpose?"

Shangguan Yi said with a smile: "Of course it is to investigate the case. Cui Renshi died inexplicably back then, and the land tax in various places in Jiangzuo is unclear, so of course we have to investigate it thoroughly."

County Magistrate Xie added: "I heard that Chang'an and Luoyang are now wealthy, so the court should not be short of these taxes. We in Lianghuai are naturally loyal to the emperor."

Du Zhenglun flipped through the files and said, "But His Majesty has ordered us to come."

"My subordinates, I heard that the new emperor has ascended the throne and that he is very close to the Prince of Hejian?"

Du Zhenglun was surprised and asked, "You know this too?"

"I was able to get some news from Chang'an. When Li Xiaogong governed Shannan Road, I was an official in Bashu. In order to command all parts of Bashu, Li Xiaogong used a lot of gold and silver to bribe me, and I also received a lot."

As he spoke, the county magistrate smiled again.

Du Zhenglun had a general understanding in his mind, but those were all things that happened during the Wude period. The world was still in chaos at that time, and it could only be said that he was trying to win people's hearts for the sake of a temporary situation.

Seeing that the imperial censors in front of him ignored him, Magistrate Xie walked to the backyard of the county government office, looked up at the night sky and said, "Yang Guang went to Yangzhou three times in the past, and the current emperor has sent so many imperial censors to Yangzhou. When will Yangzhou be peaceful?"

This group of censors were very efficient people. They only slept for three or two hours a day, and ate and lived in the county government office. They took turns reviewing files from previous years without stopping for several days.

Du Zhenglun received the summarized account and hesitated, "Is that correct?"

"Replying to Minister Du, at first glance, the land register and tax receipts and expenditures do appear to be correct, but we will be able to find the problem with the new payment and receipt accounting method used by the court."

Du Zhenglun said loudly: "Come here, arrest this county magistrate!"

"Here!"

Several officers and soldiers stepped forward and subdued Magistrate Xie. Magistrate Xie continued to yell that these accounts had nothing to do with him and that he was transferred to Yangzhou in the fifth year of Zhenguan.

Du Zhenglun didn't care about that. He continued to order: "Yangzhou Wang family, arrest him!"

"Here!"

Li Yifu led a group of people and walked out of the county government office quickly. He ordered loudly: "Tell His Royal Highness the King of Wu to take down the gates of Yangzhou. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will."

"Here!"

Li Ke, who received the news, was actually well prepared. He arranged people to record the people entering and leaving Yangzhou City every day.

The defense of Yangzhou is now in the hands of Li Ke, who is currently sitting on the city wall, confronting a general from the Wang family.

There was a severed arm on the ground, covered in blood.

Li Ke asked: "General Wang, I want to ask you, are you the garrison general of Yangzhou, or a retainer of the Wang family?"

The opponent's arm had been chopped off, and he only had the strength to breathe. Li Zhi and Li Shen, who were standing in the back, were also frightened by the sudden action of Wu Wangxiong, but they were not so scared after thinking about it. Wu Wangxiong had fought on the battlefield before, so this was nothing.

"Report! Your Highness, King Wu, all officers and soldiers in Yangzhou have been captured."

Li Ke smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Outside the city of Yangzhou, Li Yifu and a thousand soldiers had arrived at a farm of the Wang family.

The Wang family originated from the Wang family of Langya, a branch of Wang Xizhi, and has been aristocratic families for generations.

It was also the most prominent family when Wang and Ma shared the world.

The Wang and Xie families were powerful families in the Six Dynasties.

Perhaps more than a hundred years later, when Liu Yuxi comes to Wuyi Lane again, I wonder if he will still write the line "The swallows that once flew in front of the halls of the Wang and Xie families now fly into the homes of ordinary people."

It’s just that the Zhuangzi in front of him is just a branch of the Wang family. Li Yifu knows very well that he will have to stay in the two regions of Jiangnan for a long time.

Under the cover of night, everyone rode their horses to the front of the farm.

But as soon as the troops arrived here, they were stopped by a group of militiamen.

Li Yifu pulled the reins, holding the emperor's edict in one hand and a long sword at his waist. He stopped the horse and shouted, "Everyone, we are only taking the Wang family, it has nothing to do with you."

Unexpectedly, all the villagers knelt on the ground, and an elderly man stepped forward and said, "General, the Wang family cannot be offended. Without them, how can we live?"

Hearing this, Li Yifu's eyebrows jumped. He turned over and dismounted and said, "Old man, they have annexed land, concealed taxes, and even murdered people. We are officials from the court. After we deal with the Wang family, we will return the land to you."

But the old man still knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously.

Hundreds of villagers were kneeling behind.

Li Yifu shouted, "Stop knocking!"

Then several officers and soldiers came forward and pulled the old man up.

Li Yifu kicked over the kneeling people one by one and said, "Who told you to kneel? We are here to check your land, why are you complaining for the thieves?"

Suddenly, a strong man stood up from the crowd, holding a harpoon, and rushed forward, ready to stab the leading official.

Li Yifu looked at the opponent's harpoon stabbing at him, and the warmth in his eyes gradually disappeared, and his pupils also turned cold.

The sound of an arrow came from behind, and the arrow whizzed through Li Yifu's back, piercing into the shoulder of this strong man with a sharp whistling sound.

The other person fell to the ground in pain.

Li Yifu looked back at the soldier shooting the arrow behind him.

The soldier saluted and said, "We are following military orders to protect Li Yushi."

Looking at the people kneeling on the ground in front of him, Li Yifu looked up and saw the mansion built on a high place. It was an extremely luxurious mansion.

Taking a deep breath, Li Yifu kicked away another man kneeling on the ground and waved his sleeves, saying, "We have surrounded the house, but if anyone still tries to stop us, we will kill them all."

"Here!"

The Tang army responded in unison, and they rode past on horseback, ignoring the group of villagers who were still kneeling on the ground.

In the cover of night, just as the Tang army was about to approach the house, powerful crossbows were fired, and the army narrowly avoided the attack.

Li Yifu shouted, "Dare to assassinate the imperial court, it is tantamount to treason! The Wang family has rebelled."

The army roared up and rushed forward. In those days, the Tang army swept across the Tianshan Mountains and marched east to Liaodong. The blood on the swords had not yet dried. Mercy had never been a quality that the Tang army should have.

Tonight, shouts and cries of killing rang out in the Wang family's mansion. All the soldiers they hired were hacked to death. Blood flowed out from the high threshold of the house and into the black soil outside the door.

When it was daybreak, Li Yifu walked back into the house and listened to the story told by a young man who was in the lead.

Li Yifu said coldly: "Your family master went to Lingyin Temple to become a monk?"

"Yes, it is."

Seeing that the Tang army was about to swing their swords, Li Yifu stopped them and said, "It would be a waste to kill them. Your Majesty needs people to plant trees in the Western Regions. Take them all to Yangzhou City and wait for your fate."

"Here."

Since the Jin Dynasty, the struggle between the emperor and the aristocratic families has lasted for hundreds of years. Every struggle was brutal, with three entire clans being exterminated at any time, and every struggle left corpses everywhere.

The city of Yangzhou was a little more desolate than when the censors first arrived.

Shangguan Yi looked at the seal in front of him. The entire Yangzhou city was in his hands. The first city in the south of the Yangtze River was captured by the censor. From then on, Yangzhou became a place where the censor had the final say, for the time being.

In fact, it was expected what would happen when someone like Li Yifu took action. The luxurious house outside the city was demolished and he was charged with treason.

Di Renjie sat outside the government office and wondered, "Who on earth is so bold as to fire a powerful crossbow at the Tang army?"

Li Zhi said: "They must be one of their own."

Fifteen-year-old Di Renjie shook his head. He said, "Everyone knows that the censor has gone to the south of the Yangtze River. The prominent families in various places should protect themselves and should not offend the censor at this time. If they really want to rebel, they should not let us enter Yangzhou City. There must be other reasons behind this."

Li Zhi said: "Or... they are just idiots."

Li Shen put his hands behind his head and said, "The prominent families will also fight against each other."

Di Renjie nodded and said, "Prince Ji is right."

Li Zhi scratched his head and said, "It's too complicated."

After Li Yifu finished reporting the matter, he walked out of the government office again. The three boys shut up at the same time, because there was a strong smell of blood on this man.

When he returned to his home, Li Yifu saw Luo Binwang sitting at the door again.

"what are you doing here?"

"Sir, the Cui family is here again."

Li Yifu opened the door of his home and saw that there were also people from the Cui family in Qingzhou, but they had nothing to do with Cui Renshi.

The Cui family in Qingzhou are descendants of Cui Ji, from the Qinghe line, the Qinghe Qingzhou branch of the Cui family.

The fact that Luo Binwang has been wandering until now is somewhat related to their lineage.

Luo Binwang said: "My mother quarreled with them, and they wanted to compensate us with gold and silver."

Li Yifu took off his bloody official robe and asked, "Did you accept it?"

"My mother said they were bad people. Even if we starve to death, we would never beg for food from bad people."

"Well, very good." Li Yifu patted the child's head and said, "You have a good mother."

He could still faintly hear sobbing from next door. Li Yifu sat down tiredly. He sat on the chair, closed his eyes, and listened to the faint sobbing from next door.

Every time someone from the Cui family came, the woman would cry.

Fortunately, she was a very determined woman. She would rather wander around with her son than bow to the Cui family.

"King Bin..."

"The students are here."

Li Yifu said slowly: "You have been smart since you were young, and you could write poems at the age of seven, but you must know that it is useless to use words and morality to deal with bad people."

(End of this chapter)