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

Chapter 352 The Rich Man

At dusk,

Outside the east gate of the Huayin Jincheng Imperial Palace, in the area designated for the estates of meritorious officials, the emperor sent a plaque with his own calligraphy to the Duke of Jin's residence.

The angels also brought fourteen imperial halberds.
They were tasked with placing seven halberds inside the main gate and seven on each side of the corridor; this was an honor reserved for officials of the second rank or above.

The emperor even sent twelve sheep from Tongzhou Shayuan.

Huayin is still in Guanzhong, next to the Yongfeng Granary, a large granary. The Sui Dynasty built six large transshipment granaries, the largest of which could store tens of millions of shi of grain, and the smallest could store several million shi of grain.

Li Yi's family didn't lack twelve sheep, but these sheep were a special gift from the emperor, making them quite extraordinary.

Liu Heizi and the others offered to help slaughter the sheep, but Li Yi laughed and said, "You are guests today, how can I let you get your clothes dirty? Let the kitchen clean up."

The mutton from Shayuan is of the best quality and is the favorite of people in Guanzhong.

Li Yi ordered several sheep to be slaughtered for a whole sheep feast, and also ordered more flour to be mixed to make flatbread and noodles.

"My lord, the messenger from the Fengling government has delivered a letter and a lot of gifts, including sheep, wine, chickens, ducks, and silk." Luo San handed him the gold-embossed letter.

Feng Linggong,
This refers to Feng Deyi, the Grand Secretary.

Who would have thought that Feng Deyi, who had accompanied Yuwen Shiji on his return to Chang'an, was disliked by the emperor and refused to be employed, and Feng Deyi had to ask Yuwen Shiji to help him get in through Li Yi's connections.

At that time, Li Yi introduced Feng Deyi to the King of Qin and arranged for him to serve as a fifth-rank official in the Grand Secretariat.

Today, this person somehow gained the emperor's favor, first being promoted to Inner Secretariat Attendant, then to Inner Secretariat Vice Minister, and now to Grand Secretary, becoming prime minister in one leap.

He is indeed a capable person.

Zhang He warned Li Yi to be careful of Feng Deyi, "Although that person always has a smile on his face, I can tell that he is a treacherous person who hides a knife behind his smile. Such seemingly harmless people are actually the most cunning. You have to be careful."

"I see."

Zhang He thought Li Yi hadn't paid attention, "Feng Deyi followed Yang Su and Pei Shiji, and also served Yang Jian and Yang Guang. He gained their trust, which shows that he is no ordinary person."

Moreover, although the Feng family of Bohai was not as powerful as the Five Families of Guandong, it was still a top-tier local family.

He told Li Yi about the Feng family.
"Back then, when Lou Dingyuan, the son-in-law of Feng Deyi's uncle Feng Zihui, was appointed as the prefect of Yingzhou, he passed by the Feng family in Bohai. Feng Deyi's father, Feng Zixiu, hosted a banquet for him. After Lou Dingyuan got drunk, he made some slightly disrespectful remarks to the Feng family's wife and daughters."
Feng Zixiu was furious and beat the drums to gather the crowd.

A moment later,

Several thousand soldiers and a thousand horses surrounded Lou Dingyuan.

Who was Lou Dingyuan? He was a powerful minister related to the emperor, the son of Lou Zhao, the Grand Marshal, Minister of Works, Governor of Dingzhou, and posthumously granted the title of Grand Tutor, Grand Commandant, and Prince Wu of Taiyuan. Lou Dingyuan held prominent positions from a young age, was enfeoffed as Prince of Linhuai, and was selected as a regent minister by Emperor Wucheng on his deathbed, holding the position of Minister of Works.
Although he was transferred to Yingzhou as governor at the time, the Lou family was the most prominent maternal relatives.

In a fit of rage, Feng Zixiu could summon thousands of soldiers with just three drumbeats, forcing Lou Dingyuan to remove his hat and confess his crimes.

Li Yi was also moved upon hearing this.
The Feng family of Bohai was truly powerful back then. When his nephew-in-law, Lou Dingyuan, made disrespectful remarks to women while drunk, the Feng family, without any regard for Lou's status as a Minister of Works and a Prince, summoned thousands of their soldiers and retainers to surround him and force him to remove his hat and apologize.

"The two prominent families of Bohai, the Feng and Gao families, are now being appointed prime minister by His Majesty. Perhaps this is a preemptive move to make arrangements in Shandong," Zhang He said.

Last year, Li Gui of Hexi was defeated, the rear areas of Longyou and Hexi were pacified, and the southern Sichuan and Chongqing areas were basically brought under the rule of the Tang Dynasty.

After a hard-fought battle in Hedong, the war is finally coming to an end, and Hedong will be restored.

Last year's biggest failure was probably the complete rout in Hebei and Henan, leaving only Li Yi of Youzhou and Deng Song of Yingzhou.

The current prime ministers of the court are Li Shimin, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; Pei Ji, the Right Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; Xiao Yu and Feng Deyi, the Grand Secretaries; Chen Shuda and Yang Gongren, the Attendants-in-Ordinary; and six other prime ministers.

It turns out that Dou Wei and Dou Kang were also prime ministers in the Dou family. Dou Wei died of illness, Dou Kang was dismissed from his post, and another prime minister, Liu Wenjing, was executed last year for treason.

However, Yang Gongren, the Chamberlain, was appointed as the Governor-General of Liangzhou and sent to govern Hexi.

Li Shimin, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, holds multiple positions, and his main role now is to oversee the Shaanxi-Eastern Circuit and command the Hedong battlefield.

The court was actually composed of Pei Ji, Xiao Yu, Chen Shuda, and a newly appointed Feng Lun.

Li Yi didn't really care much about the prime ministers at the core of the court, nor did he have the right to care.

He just wants to relax now and doesn't plan to go back to Hedong.

Even though the fruit in Hedong was ripe, Li Yi had no intention of going back to pick it. He had made many contributions in the Battle of Hedong, but the rewards he received were also much greater.
There's no need to keep clinging to it.

Smart businessmen know not to try and make the last penny.

at night,

The welcome banquet was very lavish.
Whole lamb feast.

Li Yi invited his uncle Zhang He to sit at the head of the table.

Liu Heizi and ten other military officers from Luo Family Fort, along with Li Yi's thirty-six retainers, were all the main guests today. They had all bathed and changed into new clothes.

"I won't say anything more. Once we're home, let's eat and drink to our hearts' content and enjoy ourselves."

Today, there's unlimited mutton and plenty of alcohol. Eat and drink as much as you like, and don't leave until you're completely drunk!

Far from the battlefield and no longer needing constant vigilance, everyone was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation, and with so much good food and wine, they were naturally very happy. Hand-pulled lamb, roasted lamb skewers, stewed lamb spine...
There was even mutton tail fat that Li Yi found very greasy.
Cut off a strip of white mutton tail fat, place it in your palm, and slurp it up. Everyone feels incredibly satisfied with the mouthful of oil.

Li Yi, however, only took a small taste.

It was really too greasy and had a strong gamey smell. For someone like him who doesn't lack fat, he couldn't eat it at all.

But these rough men like Liu Heizi seem to always lack fat in their bodies; even the greasiest mutton tail fat tastes incredibly delicious to them.

When grilling lamb skewers, they even put a piece of lamb tail fat between two pieces of lamb leg meat, saying that this makes it tender and juicy.

Li Yi agreed with this, but he found it hard to accept eating mutton tail fat directly.

Li Yi likes thinly sliced ​​mutton for hot pot, which is delicious after being dipped in the boiling broth.

During the meal, the topic of the battle in Hedong inevitably came up again.

Just as things were about to come to a close in Hedong, Li Yi said he wouldn't be going back. Liu Heizi and the others felt a little disappointed, but they all unconditionally supported Li Yi.

Wherever Li Yi goes, they're willing to go too.

"I won't be going back to Hedong."
"If you want to go back and earn more merit, I can arrange for you to go there again. Once you're back, you can go to Li Zhongwen's court or any of the princes' courts."

Hei Zi waved his hand, "If A Lang isn't going back, then we won't go back either. This expedition has lasted so long, and thanks to A Lang, we've received a lot of merit and rewards, as well as a considerable share of the spoils. We've made a fortune. Now we're just thinking about returning to Luo Family Fort tomorrow."
"Meet the bride and children, and let them be happy too."

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements for you. Consider this an early end to your campaign and go home for your leave. You are all military officers now, and after your leave, you'll be assigned to your respective cavalry headquarters."

Li Yi's thirty-six retainers had all received honors and honorary titles, but they were willing to follow Li Yi.

"What are your plans for the future?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

Liu Heizi handed the roasted lamb shank to Li Yi, saying, "This is very nourishing," then rubbed his hands together, "Now that I have some money, I'm thinking of buying some land first."

Luo Dafu then said, "We'll buy land, expand our cave dwellings, install stone joints for the doors and windows, enlarge the yard, and build some new houses."

Li Yi ate the lamb stew while it was still hot, but Shu Ying beat him to it upon his return. However, he still had a wife, a concubine, and two mistresses at home. He also brought Reba and Nazha back from Hedong.

He hasn't performed his duties for over a year.

I reckon I'll be so exhausted from paying all that grain tax that my legs will give out, so I'd better hurry up and make up for it.

“I think it’s right for you to buy land and property since you have money. If you have extra money, you can also consider buying land or houses in Chang’an, or shops in the East and West Markets. You won’t lose money on these investments.”

Li Yi is very wealthy now.

After Dugu Huaien's rebellion was exposed, the emperor directly bestowed all of Dugu Huaien's property upon Li Yi.

Dugu Huaien was the son of the emperor's brother-in-law. The Dugu family was a powerful family that served as maternal relatives during the Northern Zhou, Sui, and Tang dynasties. Dugu Huaien's father was the seventh son of Dugu Xin, born to a woman surnamed Guo from Taiyuan.

Dugu Xin's three daughters became empresses, making him his first father-in-law.

During his lifetime, he was one of the Eight Pillars of State of Western Wei. In the Northern Zhou Dynasty, he was promoted to Grand Protector, Duke of Wei, and granted a fief of ten thousand households. After the establishment of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian posthumously granted his father-in-law the titles of Grand Tutor, Military Governor of Ten Provinces, and Duke of Zhao.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan posthumously conferred the title of Prince of Liang upon his maternal grandfather.

Although Dugu Huaien was only a county magistrate at the end of the Sui Dynasty, his father, Dugu Zheng, had served as the governor of Youzhou and the Marquis of Pingxiang. During the Tang Dynasty, Dugu Huaien successively served as the magistrate of Chang'an County, the Minister of Works, and was appointed the Duke of Wei.

The confiscated property and rewards given to Li Yi were worth tens of millions, including tens of thousands of acres of farmland.

Li Yi now forbids Du Shiniang from buying land in the capital region anymore. He even wants to exchange some of her scattered land for land outside the capital region, or even for land in Longyou, Shannan, and Hanzhong outside Guanzhong.

Li Yi was also a little confused at the moment.

He will turn eighteen this year, but he is already the Duke of Jin, with a fief of a thousand households. He has also earned the title of Duke of Rong for his son and the title of County Princess for each of his two daughters.

At a young age, he held the honorary title of Right Grand Master of the Palace (a second-rank official), the title of Pillar of the State, and was also appointed as the Governor-General of Bingzhou. The emperor also appointed him as the General of the Banner and the Left Guard of the Crown Prince.

Needless to say, the family business...

He had made a considerable fortune himself, and he had also taken over the multi-million yuan family fortune of the Du and Guo families of Jingzhao, as well as the multi-million yuan hoard of the Guo family.

Now he has also acquired tens of millions of dollars of Dugu Huaien's assets.

Last year alone, Li Yi made a fortune selling cured meat in Hedong and exchanging persimmons and wine for horses in Nibu.

It seems like I've suddenly lost the motivation to strive.

This status,
This wealth,
That's more than enough for him to lie down comfortably.

Unlike Liu Heizi and his ilk, who would be overjoyed to acquire one or two horses or a few dozen bolts of silk, and feel immensely proud to own a few dozen acres of land.

Now, a thousand or eight hundred acres of land, or a million or so coins, are no longer of much concern to Li Yi.

Could it be that

He stayed at home and worked hard to have children with his wives and concubines, having twenty or thirty children like a machine.
(End of this chapter)