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

Chapter 339 Resigning from the Royal Title
Lunar New Year's eve,

In Ling Shi City, an angel read out the imperial edict, and Li Yi led a group of civil and military officials to set up an altar, burn incense, and receive the edict.

"Your Excellency: I have heard that the Zhou dynasty valued the vassal states as its bulwark, and the Han dynasty cherished the steadfast foundation of its dynasty. I hereby appoint you, Li Yi, Right Grand Master of the Palace and Commander-in-Chief of the Bingzhou Army, as a man of profound wisdom and strategic acumen, with a magnanimous and far-reaching character."

When Liu Wuzhou rebelled, you led the royal army to relieve the siege of Haozhou, seize the strategic pass of Lingshi, cut off the enemy's supply lines at Queshu, and crush their fierce advance at Fen and Jin. In every battle, you led the charge, your loyalty shining as bright as the sun and moon, your achievements unparalleled.

He may be granted the title of Imperial Envoy and Military Governor of the seven prefectures of Liao, Tai, Yu, and Fen, and the title of General Governor of Bingzhou. He shall be further enfeoffed as the Prince of Fenyang, with a fief of 5,000 households and a real fief of 600 households, and shall be granted a certificate of merit.

Your eldest son, Anping, is destined to inherit the family's legacy and is granted the title of Viscount of Qianshui County. Your daughter, Li, is granted the title of Princess of Yong'an County for her exemplary conduct.

Alas! In the past, when Kou Xun guarded Hanoi, Emperor Guangwu had no worries; when Yang Hu governed Jingzhou, Emperor Wu of Jin ruled with ease. Now, the key to the northern gate is entrusted to the bulwark of Hedong. You must carefully secure the borders, pacify the people, and ensure that the barbarian horses dare not graze south, so that the Tang banners may forever guard the northern frontier…”

He was made a king.
Li Yi was shocked.
When he heard that he had been granted an imperial edict and a certificate of merit, he felt a chill run down his spine.

Iron certificates are not a get-out-of-jail-free card; on the contrary, they can easily become a death warrant.

Only two years after the founding of the Tang Dynasty, two of the seventeen people who received iron certificates had already died.

It must be said that the Imperial Secretary who drafted the edict was quite talented; Li Yi could understand it, which made him think that he had become a pillar of the Tang Dynasty.

There was more than one imperial edict.

He wasn't the only one to be granted the title of king.

Li Daoxuan, who charged into the snow naked, was appointed Governor-General of Daizhou and granted the title of Pillar of State by the emperor. This Governor-General's office in Daizhou was the territory north of Jinyang under Liu Wuzhou, including Dai Xin, Wei Shuo, and Yun. Although it was still under Liu Wuzhou's control, the emperor had already appointed Daoxuan as Governor-General in advance.

Li Daozong was finally granted the title of King, becoming the Prince of Rencheng, and was appointed as a Grand Pillar of State and Governor-General of Jinzhou.

"The General Administration of Shizhou and the General Administration of Daizhou are also under the jurisdiction of the General Administration of Bingzhou, which is the superior General Administration," the angel told Li Yi.
Luzhou was reassigned to the Jinzhou General Administration Office, which was newly established. The original Jiangzhou General Administration Office was abolished, and the new Jinzhou General Administration Office was established to govern the four prefectures of Jin, Jiang, Qin, and Luzhou.

Haozhou was renamed Fenzhou, and the original sixteen counties of Bingzhou were divided into four more prefectures: Taizhou, Shouzhou, Liaozhou, and Yuzhou.

The Xizhou General Administration governed seven prefectures: Xizhou, Zhongzhou, Changzhou, Cizhou, Donghezhou, Xidezhou, and Beiwenzhou. Its territory essentially comprised the former Longquan and Wencheng prefectures, with six prefectures carved out of Longquan.
This meant that the territory remained the same, but several governors and a group of state-level officials were added, in order to appease the Buluoji Hu people there.

Li Yi estimated that the four newly established states in Bingzhou had similar purposes: to recover Bingzhou, pacify the local powerful families, and use the proceeds to reward those who surrendered.

Now, all the prefectures in the entire Hedong region have been incorporated into the various general administrations, and there are no longer any directly governed prefectures.

From south to north, they were, in order: Puzhou General Administration, governing six prefectures; Jinzhou General Administration, governing four prefectures; Xizhou General Administration, governing seven prefectures; Luzhou General Administration, governing five prefectures; Shizhou General Administration, governing six prefectures; Bingzhou General Administration, governing seven prefectures; and Daizhou General Administration, governing five prefectures.

There were a total of thirty-four prefectures and seven general administrations. Among them, Puzhou and Bingzhou were both upper general administrations. Puzhou also governed Jin, Xi and Lu prefectures, while Bingzhou also governed Dai and Shi prefectures.

Above the Pu and Bing general administration offices, there is also the Shaanxi East Circuit Grand Secretariat.

The governor-general also served as the prefect of the prefecture where he was stationed. Compared to a regular prefect, the governor-general was given the additional title of "envoy with imperial authority" and thus possessed military power.

Hedong is now a super war zone, and the imperial court has set up these seven general administrations and one grand administration to facilitate the war.

The emperor appointed Li Yi to govern half of Hedong, directly overseeing seven prefectures in Bingfu, and also acting as governor of six prefectures in Shifu and five prefectures in Daifu. He was given the authority to command the military affairs of twenty prefectures.

"Congratulations, Chief Steward, on being bestowed the title of King!"

After a series of edicts were read out, the angel immediately congratulated Li Yi with his hands clasped.

Li Yi also learned from him that the emperor had conferred titles upon twenty-three kings, three sons, four grandsons, and eighteen nephews in one go.

Li Yi was also one of those nephews.

The brothers Li Shentong and Li Shenfu were cousins ​​of the emperor and were also princes themselves. However, each of them had seven sons, regardless of age, who were all granted the title of prince. Their family produced sixteen princes.

In the two years since the founding of the dynasty, the royal family has been granted the title of princes 27 times, with nine last year and eighteen this year, and his family alone has been granted sixteen of them.

However, Li Xiaochang and Li Yi, the uncle and nephew, were a special case among the imperial clan. They were not originally within the five degrees of kinship, but because of their merits, they were listed as officials in the Imperial Clan Court and were specially granted the title of prince.

However, he is different from the five kings: Li Yi, Li Fuwei, Li Jizhen, Li Gui (who has already been beheaded), and Zhu Can (who betrayed and surrendered to Wang Shichong).

Li Yi felt that bestowing the title of king upon him was a bit too much.
However, Li Daozong, Li Daoxuan, Li Boyi, and Li Fengci all felt that it was only natural for Li Yi to be granted the title of king. They argued that since the emperor had already decreed that his name be recorded in the imperial clan's genealogy, and given his abilities, it was normal for him to be granted the title of king.

The four of them felt that being granted the title of king was nothing unusual; after all, they were members of the royal family, so it was only natural that they should be granted the title of king.

They felt it was only natural that Li Yi was officially appointed as the Governor-General of Bingzhou, and also in charge of the two prefectures of Shi and Dai.

"Why didn't you bestow a title of Prince upon Wuyi's son, Ping Anlang? At least a Duke or a Duke of the State should have been given." Li Boyi seemed a bit carefree, and the reason was naturally that the Li brothers, Shentong and Shenfu, each had seven sons, and they had all been granted the title of Prince this time.

“The Prince of Huai’an lost all his territory in Hebei and was even captured by Dou Jiande, yet his seven sons were still able to be enfeoffed as kings,” Li Fengci added.

These two brothers lost their father early and were raised by their uncle Li Yuan from a young age, giving them a rather special status within the imperial clan.

The emperor also bestowed imperial wine, which was served in gold and silver bottles.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty has another imperial edict for you."

The angel pulled Li Yi aside and delivered the decree privately.

The angel, speaking in the emperor's voice, addressed Li Yi directly as his nephew, praising his great achievements in Haozhou and saying he had turned the tide. The emperor then made a request, hoping the war could end as soon as possible. Since Liu Wuzhou was trapped in Jiexiu, could he be captured and executed quickly?

If Jiexiu cannot be captured in time, can we send troops north to recapture Taiyuan?
It was rare for the emperor to speak in a consultative tone.

However, Li Yi felt a lot of pressure after hearing this.

He originally commanded over 30,000 troops, but after Liu Dewei and others returned, Li Yi's forces surged to 50,000. However, not only did he send them to Xizhou, forcing Liu Jizhen to surrender, Li Yi then ordered Liu Jizhen and Zhang Lun to lead 20,000 men south.
Li Yi's actual troop strength still stands at over 30,000, but the number of his troops is not large. His defeat of Liu Wuzhou at Haozhou was also a rather unique case.

Currently, we can only surround, not attack, the more than 10,000 people in Jiexiu.

Heading north to Taiyuan is still somewhat risky.

The emperor said it was for discussion, but since he had given his word, Li Yi had to find a way to carry it out.

Luzhou has been transferred to the Jinzhou General Administration. Lingshi City and Queshu Valley, which belong to Luzhou, are now under the jurisdiction of Li Daozong and are no longer his territory. Li Yi's tens of thousands of troops will be divided among these three passes and two forts.

He had only 20,000 men left, 10,000 of whom were Ji Hu led by Liu Jizhen's son.

Then divide the troops to attack Taiyuan.

That's even bolder than Li Yunlong!

After talking with the angel,
Li Yi said to Li Daozong, "Can I spend the New Year on your turf?"

Seventeen-year-old Li Daozong blushed with embarrassment. "Brother Wang, aren't you slapping me in the face by saying that? Even if Luzhou is annexed by Jin Prefecture, I am still a member of the Bingzhou Road Army and still under your command."

Having accompanied Li Yi on his campaign for almost a year, Li Daozong had also reaped tremendous rewards, being granted the title of King, appointed as a Pillar of State, and granted the position of Commander-in-Chief—real military achievements.

Everyone laughed.

Li Yi also summoned all his subordinates together and read out the emperor's edict.

"Attack Taiyuan?"

Upon hearing this, Huaiyang King Daoxuan immediately became excited. His territory as the Governor-General of Daizhou was still under Liu Wuzhou's control. To truly become the Governor-General of Daizhou, he first needed to recapture Taiyuan.

"I am willing to be the vanguard. While Wu Zhou is besieged in Jiexiu, we will first take Taiyuan, and then strike straight at his stronghold in Mayi!"

Li Zhongwen also expressed his willingness to go to Taiyuan to fight.
This Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices is now the Chief Secretary of the Bingzhou General Administration Office. Li Yi has been promoted from County Duke to Prince when he went on the expedition, but he is still the County Duke of Zhenxiang. He is quite anxious.

Li Yi's maternal uncle, Zhang Daoyuan, the Duke of Fanyang, was summoned back to the capital by the emperor and retained his position as Minister of Justice. Chen Junbin, the Duke of Dongyang, was also summoned back to the capital and appointed as Vice Minister of the Imperial Treasury. Zhang Zhi'ang, on the other hand, was appointed as the Sima of the Bingzhou General's Office.

They actually wanted to stay, hoping that Li Yi would lead them back to Hebei to recover their lost territory.

“I think we need to consider this matter more carefully,” Li Yi did not agree immediately. “Today is New Year’s Eve, and we are here celebrating the New Year together. Whether to go to Taiyuan and how to fight can be discussed next year.”

Li Yi ordered the preparation of flour, meat, and vegetables, and asked the soldiers to make dumplings together so that everyone could happily bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.

After the conversation,
Li Yi submitted a memorial to the Emperor in Chang'an to express his gratitude and firmly declined the title of prince.

Zhang Daoyuan advised him on how to use his words.
"Are you really willing to resign the title of Prince of Fenyang?"

"I am ultimately not a member of His Majesty's imperial family within five degrees of kinship,"

“Didn’t Li Xiaochang receive the title of Prince of Yi’an?” Zhang Daoyuan said.

Li Yi thought to himself, "Wasn't Li Xiaochang purged during the Zhenguan era? Of all the kings enfeoffed by Li Yuan, how many were left during the Zhenguan era? Especially the kings of different surnames, who was left?"

Even the princes, whom Li Yuan had generously bestowed titles upon his cousins ​​and nephews, were mostly eventually reduced to county dukes.

Zhang Daoyuan was amazed by his nephew's composure. "Indeed," he said, "the titles of nobility in our Great Tang are mostly honorary. Even if one is granted the title of king, one cannot be granted land or establish a kingdom. Whether one is a king or a duke, there is really not much difference."

You are young and have made some contributions; it wouldn't be a good thing to bestow too high a title upon you.

Water overflows when the vessel is full; the moon wanes after it is full!

After Li Yi finished writing his letter of thanks for declining the title of prince, Zhang Daoyuan helped him check it. "Didn't you ask Ping An and Ru Yi to decline their titles of county duke and county princess?"

"It wouldn't be good to resign from both. A man strives and struggles, hoping to gain a title and a good reputation for his wife and children. I will resign from the title of Prince, but I won't resign from the title of my children."

“Hahaha,” Zhang Daoyuan stroked his beard and laughed. “That’s good too. It’s good that he was born safely as your son. He’s already been granted the title of county duke before he’s even a year old.”

Li Yi was not actually the first to decline the title of king bestowed upon him by Li Yuan.
Previously, Xu Shiji surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with the troops of Liyang and ten prefectures in Henan. Li Yuan appointed him as the governor-general and granted him the title of Duke. Later, he was granted a surname. The emperor also bestowed a title upon his father, Xu Gai, and granted him the title of Prince of Jiyin for his son's merit in surrendering the country. Xu Gai firmly declined the title of prince and was later granted the title of Duke of Shu.

However, both the Duke of Shu and Prince Li Shentong of Huai'an have been captured alive by Dou Jiande. Li Ji, having escaped after his father was captured, has returned to surrender.

There were only the uncle and nephew in the study.
“Uncle, last time I submitted a memorial to the Emperor, I brought up the matter of Nibushe and me becoming sworn brothers, but the Emperor has not responded. Do you think this matter will cause any trouble?”

"Did the Emperor send an envoy to deliver the imperial edict this time without mentioning this matter?"

"No."

Zhang Daoyuan couldn't help but worry, "This matter might really be troublesome. You have to be careful and don't have any more private dealings with Nibu Sheshe in the future."

“But I just made a deal with Nibushe, bringing persimmon wine from Guanzhong, as well as tea, sugar, and other goods, and exchanging them with Shibobi for many horses and sheep.”

The transaction was entrusted to Luo San by Li Yi through a letter. Luo San personally escorted the goods to Hedong and completed the handover in Pingyao. This trade of tea, wine, and sugar for cattle, sheep, and horses resulted in a huge profit for both parties.

Luo Wu also said that he wanted to ship the goods as soon as possible before making the transaction, as the profits from this business were really huge, especially since the war had made the profits even greater.

“You don’t lack money now, why bother?” Zhang Daoyuan shook his head after hearing this. “I’ll try my best to find a solution for you after I return to Beijing.”

"You'd better tell the sage the truth as well, and be extra careful."

(End of this chapter)