A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Starting from the Village Chief

Chapter 196: Knife Hidden in the Skirt
The day I found my daughter was the Great Cold, the 21st day of the twelfth lunar month.

Li Yi regarded this day as her birthday.

"I heard you became the emperor?" Li Shimin walked into Wuji Castle with a smile, "Quickly bring your daughter here to see her."

The little girl was brought in by her wet nurse Zhang Fengshi. She was wearing a tiger-head hat and tiger-head shoes. The well-fed and well-drinking little girl slept soundly, not being disturbed by the outside world at all.

"What a lady," Li Shimin praised with a smile, "Have you chosen a name?"

"My nickname is Little Pepper, and I also have the Buddhist name Qian Guang Zhao. I haven't chosen a full name yet. Why don't you, Your Majesty, help me choose one."

The second king said, "Why not name her Shu, Li Shu, our royal lady."

"I thank the king for the name given to my daughter."

"Wuyi, you are now a member of the Zongzheng clan, and are also a member of my royal family. In terms of seniority, you are my cousin. From now on, you can call me brother."

Li Shimin had no objection to Li Yi becoming a member of the royal clan. He didn't like Li Xiaochang very much, but Li Yi was quite to his liking.

Li Yi invited Li Shimin and his party to the hall.

The room is warm because of the stove, and you can make tea around the stove and roast some red dates, walnuts, etc. Unfortunately, it has just been completed and it will take two or three days before it can be used.

In addition to the entourage of Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui, and the guards Hou Junji and Xu Luoren, Li Shimin also brought a fat man today.

He wore a round-necked robe, a black wool felt hat, and a sable fur coat.

When he entered the house, he took off his fur coat because it was hot, revealing his fat body, a big belly, and a big beard. The most special thing was that he had braids.

"Who is this?"

"This is my brother-in-law, Changsun Fuji,"

It turned out to be the famous Zhangsun Wuji, an old coin. But now he looks doughy and muddle-headed, like a brother-in-law who eats and drinks for free around his brother-in-law.

Du Ruhui formally introduced it from the side.
This eldest grandson's brother-in-law was originally a clerk in the Qin Palace. He is currently the Langzhong of the Bibu Department of the Shaanxi East Road Daxingtai, a fifth-rank official.

Fang Xuanling, the recorder of the Prince of Qin's Palace, now also serves as the Langzhong of the Examination Office, a fifth-rank official.

Du Ruhui naturally also served as a Langzhong of Sixun, which was also the fifth rank.

These three are all future prime ministers.

Although Changsun Wuji's image is not very good, you can't judge a person by his appearance. He is a ruthless character.

Li Shimin has not returned to Changchun Palace recently. He is building Changning Palace for Empress Dou Mu in Shenheyuan.

"Li Mi is dead, just as you expected." Li Shimin took a cup of hot tea and looked at Li Yi eagerly.

Hearing this news, Li Yi didn't care at all.

Changsun Wuji also stared at Li Yi, "Li Mi's death is just as you expected."

"In fact, Your Majesty and the King had long anticipated Li Mi's fate. Character determines destiny. If Li Mi had been content to serve as the Minister of Imperial Household, he would have enjoyed a lifetime of wealth and honor. However, he was destined not to be content."

Li Mi was a great hero, but he died a miserable death.

Or it could be said that his rebellion this time did not cause even a single wave. He took Wang Bodang and a few others out of Chang'an and gathered more than 10,000 of his old subordinates who had entered the pass. As soon as he arrived in Tongzhou, the emperor issued an edict asking him to leave half of his troops behind.

Li Mi endured it and left Tongguan with several thousand people.

As soon as they left Tongguan, the emperor sent another envoy to chase them, asking Wang Bodang to lead the troops eastward and let Li Mi return to Chang'an, saying that he had other important positions.

Li Mi couldn't tolerate this. He had finally left Chang'an, so how could he go back to be a Guanglu Qing who served food?

He found Wang Bodang and Jia Runfu to discuss the rebellion, but Jia Runfu firmly opposed it. His father was Jia Wuben, Zhang Xutuo's deputy general in the past, and Jia Runfu was also a member of the government army. Now that the world situation has been determined, how could Jia Runfu be willing to rebel again?

He said frankly that you had killed Zhai Rang, which had chilled the hearts of the people throughout the world. Now the Tang Emperor treats you well. If you rebel again, everyone in the world will know that you are ungrateful. Then who will follow you in the future?
This touched Li Mi's sore spot, and he was so angry that he drew his sword to chop him. Fortunately, Wang Bodang held on to him desperately, allowing Jia Runfu to escape on horseback.

Wang Bodang also knew that Li Mi had no chance, but he came from a humble background and was the most loyal. Even if Li Mi wanted to commit suicide, he decided to share life and death with him. But in the end, he also said that it would be meaningless to die for this matter in the future. Unfortunately, Li Mi didn't listen. He was thinking about starting a second business and creating greater glory.

Li Yuan's surname is Li, and my surname is also Li. If he fulfills the prophecy, I should also fulfill the prophecy. He gets Guanzhong, and I get Shandong. If I don't take what is given by heaven, I will suffer disaster in the future.

Li Mi killed the messenger, tore up the imperial edict, and led his troops directly to Taolin County, Shanzhou, which was nearby.

Li Mi did have some plans. He specially selected a group of elite soldiers, dressed them in women's skirts, wore veils, hid knives in their skirts, and brought these dozens of fake women to Taolin County, saying that they were ordered to return to the capital. The accompanying family members temporarily stayed in Taolin County.

They tricked the city gate open and headed straight for the county government office. The county magistrate came to meet them. The woman in the lead pulled out a sword from under her crotch and killed the county magistrate with one blow. The other women also pulled out swords from under their skirts. They all became brave warriors and immediately occupied the county government office, seized the money, grain and weapons from the treasury, and plundered the people. They headed east.

He also sent people to Xiangcheng to inform the general manager Zhang Shanxiang and ask him to provide support.

But to the outside world, he announced everywhere that he was going to Luoyang.

Jia Runfu fled to Xiongzhou alone and reported the incident to the Right Guard General and former Duke Shi Wanbao.

Shi Wanbao believed that Li Mi was a powerful hero and Wang Bodang was brave enough to fight against ten thousand men. Their men were determined to return to the east, so he was afraid that they would be difficult to resist. It would be better to defend the city.

However, the general manager Sheng Yanshi did not take Li Mi seriously. He asked Shi Wanbao for 5,000 soldiers. Instead of pursuing Li Mi in the direction of Luoyang, he went south to Xiong'er Mountain and ambushed in a dangerous place.

He had long seen through the fact that Li Mi's trip to Luoyang must be fake. Wang Shichong in Luoyang was his mortal enemy. He must be going to Xiangcheng to get along with his old subordinate Zhang Shan, and to go to Xiangcheng he had to pass through Xiong'er Mountain.

really,

Not long after, Li Mi and Wang Bodang only brought a thousand or so people, and most of the rest were sent to Luoyang to attract attention.

Unexpectedly, while the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it, Master Sheng Yan had predicted everything.

When more than a thousand of them were passing through a narrow valley, an ambush suddenly appeared from above, arrows rained down, and soldiers with swords and spears followed from all sides to intercept them. In the end, more than a thousand people including Li Mi and Wang Bodang were all killed. The heads of the two were chopped off and sent to Chang'an.

"It's a good thing for that Sheng Yanshi. He was just the mayor of Chengcheng County at the end of the Daye period. Before that, he was just the general manager of the march and a fourth-rank general of cavalry.
After beheading Li Mi and Wang Bodang, His Majesty directly appointed him Duke of Ge and General of the Wuwei Army, allowing him to continue guarding Xiongzhou."

Li Yi was envious after hearing this.
The fourth-rank General of Cavalry got such a great bargain that he was conferred the title of Duke and promoted to the third-rank position.

Zhang Sun Wuji also said, "If I had known earlier that I would have borrowed 3,000 soldiers from the King of Qin and went to Xiongzhou to intercept them, I would have been a Duke by now."

Changsun Wuji's father was Changsun Sheng, who was not only a good archer but also an outstanding diplomat. However, when Changsun Sheng died in the fifth year of Daye, Changsun Wuji and his siblings were still young, and their mother remarried, which led to them being driven out of the house by their brother.
He was eager to achieve success.

If he could earn the title of Duke, how could the drunkard and scoundrel Changsun Anye, the third son, dare to act like an elder brother in front of him?
"Since you, Li Yi, had predicted Li Mi's rebellion, and even predicted that he would rebel in Shanzhou, why did you advise the king not to interfere in this matter?

If the King of Qin kills Li Mi and Wang Bodang and puts down the rebellion, wouldn't that also be a great achievement?"

Li Shimin smiled,
"Shanzhou, Xiongzhou, and Guzhou are not under my jurisdiction. The current Shandong Daoxingtai only governs Hedong."

"It would be better to change the name to Hedong Dao instead of Shandong Dao Daxingtai?" Changsun Wuji complained dissatisfiedly.

"If it is called the Hedong Daoxingtai, then you, Lord Changsun, a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, will only be of the fifth rank, not the fifth rank." Li Yi said with a smile.

"Your tea has no flavor. Add some milk, some salt, some mint, and some orange peel."

"There's no fresh milk from cows in this rural area. How about giving Changsun Gong some ghee?"

Everyone drank tea,
Everyone admires Li Mi, who was once a hero, but in fact, if you count carefully, it was only six years from the time Li Mi started his army to the time he was defeated and killed.

Of course, in comparison, Li Tang started his rebellion in May last year, and it has only been a year and a half so far, which is the easiest time to gain the country.

Even Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui felt that the prophecy that Li would become the emperor was indeed fulfilled in Li Tang, and it was the destiny.

"Wang Shichong led 30,000 men to besiege Guzhou. Just as you predicted, Wuyi, Ren Gui defended the city. Wang Shichong was completely helpless and had no choice but to retreat."

Dugu Huai'en continued to besiege the Puban City that Wang Xingben was defending, but there was still no progress.

"Xu Shiji was quite loyal. When your senior brother Wei Zheng persuaded him to surrender, he gave the county and county household registers and the roster of soldiers to Guo Xiaoke to take to Chang'an, but he actually gave it to Li Mi, who presented it to the court.

Now that Li Mi had rebelled and been executed, Your Majesty sent his head to Liyang and informed him of the details. Xu Shiji, facing north, prostrated himself and wailed, requesting that Li Mi be buried. Your Majesty issued an edict to give Li Mi's body to Xu Shiji, who wore mourning clothes, following the proper etiquette between a monarch and his subjects. The entire army wore mourning, and Li Mi was buried south of Tongshan.

It is said that many of Xu Shiji's soldiers still missed Li Mi and cried until they vomited blood.

When Li Shimin said this, he admired Xu Shiji's loyalty very much, but he also felt that it was fortunate that Li Mi was quickly killed after his rebellion, otherwise if he had really been allowed to return to Shandong, who knows what the situation would have been like.

However, Li Yi felt that Xu Shiji's performance was more of a performance. In the past, Xu Shiji, Zhai Rang and Shan Xiongxin swore brotherhood to establish Wagang. Later, Li Mi staged a mutiny to seize power, killed Zhai Rang, and also chopped Xu Shiji. Shan Xiongxin knelt down and begged for mercy.

How could Xu Shiji not bear a grudge?

You must know that in the Battle of Yanshi, Shan Xiongxin might have deliberately retaliated against Li Mi, so he did not intercept Wang Shichong even though he knew he was crossing the river. Later, he directly led his troops to surrender to Wang Shichong, which dealt a fatal blow to Li Mi.

Why did Li Mi flee to Hulao Pass and Heyang after his defeat, but did not dare to go to Xu Shiji, the most powerful man? His subordinates had already made it clear. If you go to Xu Shiji now, aren't you afraid that he will stab you twice to avenge the death of Zhai Rang?

Xu Shiji's performance was very good.

Even Li Yuan in Chang'an admired him very much. It is not clear whether the admiration was true or not, but the emperor seemed to be highly praising his loyalty.

The emperor issued an edict to appoint Xu Shiji as the Right General, changed his title to Duke of Cao, and gave him the surname Li, and made him a member of the imperial clan. He was also given 5,000 acres of fertile land and a top-notch house in Chang'an, and ordered him to lead his subordinates in Henan and Shandong to assist Huai'an King Li Shentong in resisting Wang Shichong.

Even Xu Shiji's father, Xu Gai, was granted the title of Prince of Jiyin and the surname Li for his son's return to the country.

Li Gai refused the title of king, and the emperor instead granted him the title of Duke of Shu, and appointed him as Palace Attendant and Governor of Lingzhou. Li Jing's two sisters were also granted the title of Princess.

When Li Mi died, Xu Shiji petitioned for a burial, and the entire army wore mourning, earning praise from the world for his unparalleled loyalty. Li Yuan also demonstrated his magnanimity by granting Xu Shiji, a general loyal to his former master, the title of Duke, a surname, and a nationality to both father and son, thereby demonstrating to the world his magnanimity.

Li Mi's death was caused by his own surrender and subsequent rebellion, and had nothing to do with Li Yuan. After Li Mi's death, the emperor treated Li Mi's former subordinates better and did not involve them in any purge or other activities.

In short, Li Mi's death removed the thorn between the Tang Dynasty court in Guanzhong and Li Mi's former subordinates in Shandong.

I have to say that Li Ji was a good actor, but Li Yuan was even better. This was the real imperial power struggle, not Li Mi's trick of having dozens of his men put on women's skirts, wear veils, and hide knives in their skirts to rob the county.

Changsun Wuji sighed repeatedly,

"Your Majesty, how long will it take for the Changning Palace to be completed? Your Highness, please ask His Majesty for permission to personally capture Puban City.

After we take Puyang, we will attack Luoyang and fight Wang Shichong."

The young Changsun Wuji could no longer contain his excitement as he watched others being granted the title of Duke and promoted to the third rank one by one.

Li Shimin had become more sophisticated after his last conversation with Li Yi.
You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry.
The more anxious you are to fight for something, the harder it will be to get it. It is better to take a step back.

"Wuyi, how long do you think it will take to build Changning Palace?" Li Shimin asked with a smile.

"Changning Palace was built by the king for Queen Mu. It must be perfect to express filial piety. There is no need to rush." Li Yi replied.

Li Shimin, the current Grand Chancellor of the Shaanxi East Circuit, actually has no control over the Hedong Circuit. Bingzhou is ruled by Prince of Qi Li Yuanji, and Hedong has the Minister of Works Dugu Huai'en. Li Shimin is now sidelined in the Changchun Palace.

It would be better to use the excuse that my mother is renovating Changchun Palace and ignore everything else.

Of course, if it's not true, then don't bother or argue about it.
But now I can’t fight.
Li Yi knew that Wang Shichong of Luoyang was a tough guy. Li Shentong could not deal with Wang Shichong, and Li Shiji and Li Xiaoji were even less capable.
Now the relationship between the Tang Dynasty and the Turks is becoming increasingly tense.

The Turks increased their support for Liang Shidu, Liu Wuzhou and others, and even went south to harass the border many times. Sooner or later, something bad would happen in Bingzhou.

When the emperor found that if he replaced Li Shimin, the others would not be able to handle it, he naturally had to use Li Shimin again.

(End of this chapter)