Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 209 Zizhou Shangyin
"How about six strings of cash for men and five strings of cash for women?"

"My dear, this price is too low..."

"If you agree, I will buy at least 200 horses!"

"Okay, okay...then I'll do as you say."

Around the time of the Great Cold, while common people were busy preparing for the New Year, Zizhou, the seat of Dongchuan, also in Jiannan, was not having a good time.

The essence of Jiannan Road is in Xichuan, and Dongchuan is not as prosperous as Xichuan in terms of population or business. Even the Zizhou and Li County, the seat of Dongchuan, is not as big as Shuzhou and Hanzhou, not to mention Yizhou.

The commodities of Dongchuan are mainly fruits, cotton cloth, silk and horse products.

Most of the Kouma were Liao people, but as the government became increasingly corrupt, many people had to sell themselves as Liao people to Kouma merchants in order to survive.

Some officials inevitably feel heartbroken about this.

"Aye, what are you looking at?"

The childish voice rang in Li Shangyin's ears, causing his eyes to flicker as he looked at Koumaxing, and he gradually came back to his senses.

"nothing……"

Li Shangyin turned to look at his child. Seeing his confused look, a look of relief appeared on his old face: "Let's go home and have dinner."

"Yes!" The child agreed, and then walked towards Zhongchao's home under the guidance of Li Shangyin.

The population of Pi County is 60,000 to 70,000, and there are many people on the streets, but compared with cities like Chang'an and Chengdu, the people are obviously not as wealthy.

Here you can see people mending clothes. Many of them look pale and thin, but the straightforward people in the city still come to them and ask them to pay taxes.

The common people had no choice but to sell their winter clothes and collect money to pay the taxes.

It is basically difficult for these people who sold their winter clothes to survive until the spring, so the only way to survive is to sell themselves as human horses. At least the human horse traders will not let them freeze to death.

Li Shangyin looked at all these scenes and wanted to govern, but he did not have the status to do so.

Although Li Shangyin had been good friends with Linghu Chu, and even had a good relationship with the current Prime Minister Linghu Tao when they were young, he was regarded as a betrayer by Linghu Tao and others because he had supported Li Deyu's political program.

Linghu Tao regarded him as a traitor, and although he did not target him everywhere, many officials in the officialdom knew about their conflict, so it was difficult for anyone to promote him.

Even though he was often invited to take up positions by local governors and military governors, the official positions he held were mostly low.

Now he lives in Zizhou because he accepted the invitation of Liu Zhongying, the governor of Xichuan, to serve as a military officer. He has spent four years in depression.

But this year Liu Zhongying was transferred back to the capital to take up a post, and he could no longer keep his position as a military officer.

Without his military position, Li Shangyin didn’t know where to go for a while.

Thinking of this, he and the child walked to the gate of a courtyard. After knocking on the door, the gate opened.

"Join the army, you are back."

"Um"

Behind the courtyard gate was a maid. She was only fifteen or sixteen years old, but she took care of the daily life of Li Shangyin and his son Li Gunshi.

Li Shangyin and Li Gunshi walked into the courtyard. The courtyard was not very big. The outer courtyard only occupied one-third of the area, and the inner courtyard might be even smaller.

Of course, compared with ordinary people, Li Shangyin's courtyard can be considered a "luxury house".

"Soldier, the food is ready. Shall we serve it to you and the young master?"

The maid asked, and Li Shangyin nodded and said, "Bring it out."

"Yes," the maid replied, and soon brought three dishes and a soup to the dining table in the main hall.

A simple meal for the father and son consisted of fried pork, two unknown wild vegetables, and a bowl of cabbage soup.

To ordinary people, pork is still meat, even if it doesn’t taste good.

However, for Li Shangyin, such meals were the result of his poverty.

Before the two men started eating, the maid said, "Military officer, the great monk from Dongshan Temple just came. We hope you can donate money to print Buddhist scriptures."

Hearing that the monks from Dongshan Temple had arrived, Li Shangyin turned to look at the maid and asked, "How much did you give?"

"Five hundred coins." The maid asked, but Li Shangyin sighed and said, "It's a little less."

"But there is not much money and food in the mansion..." the maid spoke in a low voice, but Li Shangyin remained silent.

Although Master Li Gun was still young at the dinner table, when he saw that his father and his sister Hongliu were silent, he stopped swallowing and looked at the two of them tentatively.

"Although Governor Liu has returned to the capital, he arranged a position for me as the Salt and Iron Procurator. Although the rank is low, the salary is relatively generous."

"I'll go to his house tomorrow and see if I can get this job done."

Li Shangyin sighed and spoke, Hongliu nodded when she heard it, and seeing this, Master Li Gun also lowered his head and continued to eat carefully.

The salt and iron magistrate was only of the ninth rank, and although his salary was generous, it was precisely because of this that many people targeted him.

After Liu Zhongying had been in Beijing for a long time, he would not be able to keep his position as the Salt and Iron Procurator of Zizhou.

It’s just that whether we can protect it or not, it is more important to solve the current problem of food and clothing, and live one day at a time.

Thinking of this, Li Shangyin ate his meal in silence.

A quarter of an hour later, Li Shangyin, who had no appetite, put down his bowl and chopsticks, and Li Gunshi had almost finished eating.

Seeing this, Hongliu poured the leftover food together, took the bowl back to the kitchen, and then took the leftovers to the kitchen to eat.

Just as he was enjoying his meal, someone suddenly knocked on the gate.

Hongliu quickly put down her bowl and chopsticks, wiped her mouth and went to open the door.

Outside the door stood a fat man in a brocade robe and with a big belly, followed by seven or eight servants, who were leading a tall horse.

Hongliu was stunned. After all, when her family joined the army, they only rode a mule. It was obvious that this group of people were either rich or noble.

"Excuse me, is this General Li's residence?"

The fat man asked with a smile. Hong Liu was alert at first, but when she thought about the situation in the mansion, she relaxed and said, "That's right, may I ask what's the matter, sir?"

"That's good." The fat man breathed a sigh of relief and then handed over a letter:

"I am Wang Tao, a merchant from Longyou. I am here to deliver a letter under the order of Liu, the governor of Longyou. Besides, this horse and these things are gifts from Liu, the governor, to Li Canjun."

Wang Tao introduced himself and then showed what was behind him.

The price of a riding horse in Zizhou was as high as twenty strings of cash, and the other gifts mentioned by Wang Tao were actually two pieces of brocade and a small box of money.

Although the box was not big, it contained at least a dozen strings of cash, while the salary for joining the army was only a few dozen strings of cash.

These gifts were enough to cover nearly a month’s salary for his military service.

Thinking of this, Hong Liu took the letter and then bowed and said, "Please wait, my lord."

"Okay, okay..." Wang Tao nodded with a smile, and Hong Liu closed the door and went straight to the inner courtyard with the letter.

Soon, she appeared at the door of the study in the inner courtyard and saw Li Shangyin who was teaching Master Li Gun to read.

"General, Liu, the governor of Longyou, sent you a letter. Also, there are some Longyou merchants coming to the main gate to give you gifts."

"Liu, the governor of Longyou?"

Li Shangyin was stunned. He certainly knew Liu Jillong. After all, Liu Jillong recovered the eleven prefectures in Longyou at a young age. Such achievements at such a young age made a poor man like him feel ashamed.

Fortunately, Li Shangyin had suffered enough blows, so after he woke up, he took the letter and opened it.

There was not much content in the letter. It mainly said that Liu Jilong felt sorry when he heard about his experience. In addition, there was a shortage of talent in Longyou, so he wanted to invite him to go to Longyou and temporarily serve as the Beijia of Linzhou.

Although he knew that Liu Jilian would inevitably have conflicts with the court in the future, when Li Shangyin saw the official position of "Linzhou Beijia", he couldn't help but be moved.

He was caught in the middle of the Niu-Li factional struggle throughout his life. He was very frustrated and depressed all year round. The highest official position he held was only a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works, and it was an honorary title, with his actual position lower than that.

Even so, he was the highest-ranking official in his family for five generations.

Now Liu Jilong suddenly wanted to appoint him as the Linzhou Beijia, a fifth-rank official, which made him unconsciously clench the letter.

After only a moment of excitement, he became suspicious and paced back and forth.

He was just a military officer in Zizhou. Although he had the title of Inspector General of the Ministry of Works, it was just an honorary title.

Now that Liu Jilong had suddenly appointed him as a powerful fifth-rank official, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.

"This Liu Jilong... is he planning a rebellion?"

Li Shangyin's heart skipped a beat. Although he wanted to show his strengths, he was unwilling to follow Liu Jilian in a rebellion. After all, the Tang Dynasty today was far from being able to collapse at the slightest push.

Then, Li Shangyin reacted: "I know that the court is still strong, so how could Liu Jilong not know it?" Thinking of this, he breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't think that such a hero like Liu Jilong would not see the overall situation clearly.

He looked at Master Li Gun and said, "Practice your calligraphy well here."

After saying that, he and Hongliu walked towards the main hall, motioning Hongliu to bring Wang Tao in for a talk, while he sat in the main seat in the main hall.

Because the yard was too small, Li Shangyin saw Hongliu opening the door.

Not long after, he saw Hongliu walking into the yard with Wang Tao, who was pregnant and wearing a brocade robe, and two servants.

Wang Tao looked around and was surprised that the person favored by the Marshal actually lived in such a shabby place.

After realizing what was happening, Wang Tao followed Hong Liu's footsteps and walked towards the main hall. He bowed from a distance and said, "I am Wang Tao, the dental dealer. I am honored to meet Li Canjun."

"I am no longer a soldier now." Li Shangyin first stated his status as an opposition member, and then asked:
"I am very curious. I hold a low position in Zizhou, but Envoy Liu appointed me as a fifth-rank official. I wonder what talent I have that Envoy Liu values so much."

"Haha..." Wang Tao laughed heartily:
"My envoy does not look at background, but only at ability. Although Li Jun came from a poor family and held a low position, my envoy believes that this is not Li Jun's fault. It's just that the world is too corrupt and he has not been able to display his talent."

Facing Wang Tao's words, Li Shangyin shook his head: "I still want to know why."

Seeing this, Wang Tao was also stunned. Obviously, he did not expect Li Shangyin to be so difficult to deal with.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The military officer's rank is not high, but he is well-known among the officials."

"When the Tibetan cholera broke out in Longyou, those who could speak Mandarin were considered outstanding, not to mention writing."

"If my envoy can get the help of the teacher and recommend more poor scholars, then the literature of Longyou will flourish again."

"So that's how it is..." Li Shangyin sighed, but couldn't help feeling relieved.

It's a pity that Liu Jilong just wanted to use his fame to attract talents, but it's a relief that Liu Jilong didn't try to win me over to get killed.

"Don't worry about joining the army. It's true that my envoy wants to join the army for his reputation, but he won't leave the army idle, otherwise he wouldn't have been promoted to the position of Linzhou Beijia."

Wang Tao persuaded Li Shangyin, and Li Shangyin naturally understood.

How could a Beijia, an assistant official to the provincial governor, be left idle? He must do something to prove his worth.

Thinking of this, Li Shangyin bowed to Wang Tao and said, "I still need to discuss this matter with Governor Liu before I can leave with peace of mind."

"Of course, of course!" Wang Tao saw that Li Shangyin was interested, and he quickly agreed with a smile, and then said to the two servants: "Bring the gifts in."

"Yes!" The two servants agreed and soon brought in horses and gifts.

The horses in Longyou are very strong, so Li Shangyin was naturally very happy when he saw them.

If his yard wasn't too small and located in the county town, he would have wanted to go up and try the feeling of this Longyou horse.

"I will accept the gift. When I have news, where can I find you?"

Li Shangyin bowed to Wang Tao, who smiled and said, "You can find me in the Three Immortals Tower in the city."

After that, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries before leaving.

Wang Tao returned to Sanxian Tower, while Li Shangyin went to Dongchuan Yamen.

Now that Liu Zhongying has not left yet, no one dares to make things difficult for Li Shangyin, who is so popular among the people.

However, Liu Zhongying was about to return to Beijing, and after Liu Zhongying left, Li Shangyin was forgotten.

While thinking about this, Li Shangyin came to the inner hall and met Liu Zhongying, who was now in his sixties.

"Greetings, Envoy..."

"Yishan, have you thought about the matter of the Salt and Iron Magistrate?"

When he met Li Shangyin, Liu Zhongying felt sorry for Li Shangyin's lack of recognition for his talent, but he put on a smile on the surface, for fear of irritating Li Shangyin.

Li Shangyin nodded when he heard this, then shook his head and said, "Your Excellency has been very kind to me, but there are countless eyes in the government office eyeing this position, and I dare not accept it."

"Alas..." Liu Zhongying couldn't help but sigh, and Li Shangyin took the opportunity to hand over Liu Jilong's letter.

"This is a letter sent by Liu Jilong, the governor of Longyou, asking me to go to Longyou and serve as the deputy governor of Linzhou."

Then, Li Shangyin repeated Wang Tao's words again, wanting to see what Liu Zhongying thought.

In response, Liu Zhongying smiled solemnly and said, "This is a good thing. You can go to Longyou without any worries."

"I know those people in the court well. Although they don't want to see a strong vassal in Longyou, they can't make up their minds to mobilize troops."

"If you can display your talents and be noticed by the Supreme during your trip to Longyou, you may be transferred back to Beijing to take up an important position in the future."

"Even if the court ignores you, you can still show your strengths in Longyou and rise to prominence."

Liu Zhongying was still very satisfied with Li Shangyin's talent. Although Li Shangyin was deeply loved by Linghu Chu, he was able to see the benefits of Li Deyu's new policies to the Tang Dynasty, instead of attacking and impeaching him like other members of the Niu Party.

Just talking about this point, Li Shangyin still had a certain foresight.

Just based on this point, Li Shangyin would not be unknown even if he went to Longyou.

All he lacks is an opportunity, and Longyou can give him this opportunity. It would be a real waste not to go.

Li Shangyin obviously knew that he was missing an opportunity, so he didn't want to give up this opportunity.

He has wasted half his life and is now forty-two. How many years can he live?
If he had not seized this opportunity, people in the future would only know about his poems written by Li Shangyin, but would not know that he also had strategies.

"In that case, I will go to Longyou soon."

"Yes!" Liu Zhongying nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "I will go to Chang'an on the tenth day of the first lunar month. You and I should have a good drink and chat in the next few days. I don't know when we will meet next time."

"I dare not refuse your request." Li Shangyin smiled, and a smile finally appeared on his bitter gourd-like face.

Seeing him laughing like that, Liu Zhongying couldn't help stroking his beard and started laughing too.

Over the next few days, the two drank and talked happily, discussing articles, poetry, and the situation in the world.

On the day Liu Zhongying left for Chang'an, Li Shangyin wrote "Farewell to Envoy Liu from Zizhou" to bid farewell to him.

Two days later, he sold his property and went north to Longyou with Wang Tao.

At the beginning, the team heading north was normal. Li Shangyin brought Li Gunshi and Hongliu, while Wang Tao brought livestock, poultry and tea tree seeds, as well as more than 20 servants and more than 120 slaves.

Although there were many slaves, they also carried a lot of goods, so Li Shangyin did not think much about it at first.

It was not until they arrived at Jianmen Pass on Shannan West Road that Li Shangyin realized something was wrong.

Because as they came here, many dental merchants under Longyou also came here.

There were more than ten well-known dental dealers under Liu Jilian, and each of them had a number of traveling merchants under his command, totaling sixty to seventy people.

These sixty or seventy people led sixty or seventy merchant caravans through Jianmen Pass into Lizhou, and then went to Wuzhou in Longnan from Beishan. The team was huge, with thousands of people.

Seeing this, Li Shangyin couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. He thought he would be stopped by the Lizhou soldiers, but he didn't expect that the Lizhou soldiers only checked the identities of Wang Tao and others and waved their hands to let them go.

After passing the customs, Wang Tao returned to the caravan and saw the stunned Li Shangyin. He couldn't help but laugh and said:

"The Shangshu of Shannan West Road and my family's Jieshuai are father-in-law and son-in-law. Most of the governors of the states in the West Road are related to my family's Jieshuai."

Li Shangyin was not stupid, and he quickly turned his gaze to the slaves behind the caravan.

Wang Tao also laughed when he saw this and said, "Li Biejia has guessed it too, right?"

"General Jie is using you to smuggle civilians into Longyou?"

Li Shangyin frowned, and Wang Tao admitted with a smile: "These people were starving people and slaves in Bashu, but they became common people after they went to Longyou."

"My commander is respectful to the wise and humble, so all the soldiers and civilians under his command are devoted and willing to die for him."

Li Shangyin did not refute Wang Tao's praise, but he couldn't help shaking his head in his heart.

Although he was down and out in recent years, he still served in many states and counties and met many officials who were "popular with the people."

But in the end he discovered that these officials were trying to win the hearts of the people under the guise of "benevolence", but in fact they were doing dirty things.

He had heard that Longyou was in ruins, and now these people were being taken to Longyou as slaves. He was afraid that after arriving in Longyou, what awaited them would be endless exploitation.

Thinking of this, Li Shangyin couldn't help but sigh, thinking that if Liu Jilian was two-faced, he would work under him for a few years and then find an excuse to leave.

Anyway, with the experience of serving as Beijia in Longyou, it will be easier to find an official position in the future.

Thinking of this, Li Shangyin shook the reins of his horse and headed towards Longyou...

　The content has been modified. Li Shangyin's actual position was not high, but his honorary title was a fifth-rank doctor of the Ministry of Works.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)