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

Chapter 353 Left Minister

Three poles in the sun,

Li Yicai opened his eyes on the bed.
I yawned and realized I'd been indulging myself a bit too much lately.

Having one wife, one concubine, two maids, and three servants is a bit too much for me.

As soon as he got out of bed, Shuying, the maidservant from the outer room, came in to help him dress and comb his hair. Li Yi looked at himself in the bronze mirror.

He looked somewhat haggard and had lost weight.

We can't keep indulging like this.

After washing up,

Li Yi then practiced martial arts in the courtyard. He also took out a bow that he hadn't practiced for a long time. He first practiced his strength by drawing the power bow, and then switched to the foot bow to shoot at the grass target.

I finished shooting a whole quiver of arrows; my aim was pretty good.

Then he switched to the mace given to him by Li Jing. Although the mace only weighed seven and a half pounds, he was already feeling the strain after wielding it for a while. Li Yi then switched to a horizontal sword weighing more than two pounds, and immediately felt that his movements became much more graceful.

One set
He had worked up a sweat when Yu Shu came to call him for breakfast.

Sweetened tofu pudding, peppered mutton offal soup, and two flatbreads make for a simple meal.

"What are your plans for this morning, Ah Lang?"

"I'm going to go horseback riding; it's been a long time since I've ridden a horse."

"Then this servant will inform the front courtyard to arrange for servants and attendants."

Li Yi turned to look at her stomach, "Are you pregnant?"

"The due date was a few days ago, but it hasn't come for quite a while. I don't know if I'm pregnant or not." Although Jin Yushu said this, there was still some excitement in her tone. After her husband returned, she had been counting the days. During those three days, she specially asked the madam for the opportunity to serve her, trying her best to please her in various ways and even using a lot of folk remedies, hoping to take this opportunity to get pregnant as soon as possible.

"I'll ask Yang Fengyu to come and take your pulse later."

"They're still not going to be able to cry at this hour?"

Li Yi chewed on a sesame flatbread, secretly hoping that they would get pregnant. If one of them did, he could get a year and a half of rest.

A well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man, but a starving man doesn't know the discomfort of a well-fed man who is so full he feels like vomiting.

Eat and drink

Li Yi went out of the middle gate and came to the front yard.
The servants and retainers were waiting, wielding stone chains or practicing with spears, clubs, and bows.

The ten men from Luo Family Fort had already returned to their village and, after resting for a few days, had gone back to their respective cavalry headquarters to assume their posts. The original thirty-six officers, after taking a half-month long leave, had also returned.

Chen Lingjiao was reading a book when she saw Li Yi come out, and immediately stood up to greet him.

What book are you reading?

"It's Sun Tzu's Art of War."

Li Yi took a look and found it was still Cao Cao's annotated version. Although Cao Cao seemed to be bad at military strategy in the later novel, with his burning of the Red Cliffs, cutting off his beard and abandoning his robe, and his frequent humiliating defeats, it always highlighted the brilliant strategies of the strategist Zhuge Liang.

However, in this day and age, Cao Cao, the Emperor Wu of Wei, is still quite respected, and his commentary on Sun Tzu's Art of War is also quite famous.

"We just received a message from someone in the inner courtyard saying that Alang is going horseback riding soon, and we have already prepared the horses."

"Let's go then."

It was already late April.
As the weather gets warmer, everyone takes off their padded jackets and puts on light shirts.

Before he knew it, Li Yi had been back for over a month, but he was still staying at the foot of Mount Hua, which was actually quite nice.

He has never climbed Mount Hua.

Riding on the White Horse, I led my troops on a slow jog across the fields, heading towards the mountains.

Hunting in the mountains for several hours
As the sun sets in the west,
Li Yi and his men returned with a full load of game, including pheasants, rabbits, and even a wild boar and a deer.

Back home,
I saw Xiao Shisan, whom I hadn't seen for a long time.

"When did you come back?"

"He just arrived yesterday. He came back on the orders of Attendant-in-Ordinary Yang." Xiao Shisan has changed quite a bit. He is now the Registrar of the Liangzhou General's Office, a seventh-rank official.

"Congratulations, Alang. When I was in Hexi, I always saw your achievements in Hedong in the imperial edicts and reports. It's just a pity that you didn't get to fight this last battle."

The war in Hedong has ended.

When Li Yi returned, the victory was already secured. Liu Wuzhou boldly marched south to Luzhou, intending to join forces with Wang Shichong to open up the Zelu River and revitalize Song Jingang's besieged army.

But in the end, he himself was trapped and died in Luzhou.

Song Jingang waited in Huizhou for Liu Wuzhou but could not find him. When his food supplies ran out, he had no choice but to break out of the encirclement.

This retreat turned into a major rout, with Li Shimin in hot pursuit, chasing them for over two hundred li in a single day and night. Song Jingang circled around, finally plunging headlong into the Wuling Mountains to the east.

Li Shimin persisted relentlessly, engaging in eight battles in a single day in the Wuling Mountains, where Song Jingang was utterly routed.

Originally, there were more than 30,000 troops in Huizhou, but after they fled in disarray to Changzi, Luzhou, less than 10,000 remained.

Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang did successfully join forces, but it was merely a matter of jumping from one encirclement to another.

They've all run out of food.

The two men went out of the city and formed ranks, gathering 20,000 remnants of their defeated army, ready to fight to the death.

Li Shimin did not remove his armor for three days and did not eat for two days.

However, he didn't take Liu Song's 20,000 men seriously, and didn't want to waste any more time with them. He sent Li Shiji, who had been defeated in Hebei and entered Guanzhong, to lead Liu Hongji, Yu Yun, Liu Shirang, and other generals in a frontal attack.

He himself, along with Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Duan Zhixuan, Zhai Changsun, and others, led the elite Xuanjia cavalry in a surprise attack on Song Jingang and Liu Wuzhou from behind.

They defeated the enemy in one fell swoop, killing three thousand on the spot.

Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang suffered another defeat, abandoning Changzi City and fleeing. The Tang army pursued them for dozens of miles, and most of the defeated Wuzhou soldiers surrendered.

Meanwhile, Generals Yuchi Gong and Xun Xiang, who were besieged in Changzi City, were later persuaded to surrender by Tang Jian.

Li Shimin greatly appreciated and valued this fierce general of the Wu Zhou dynasty who had been defeated by Qin Qiong four times. Upon hearing of his surrender, he immediately appointed him as the Right First Army Commander and allowed him to lead his old troops of eight thousand men alongside Xun Xiang.

Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang each led dozens of light cavalry and fled separately in the mountains and fields, successfully escaping into the Turkic territory.

Upon hearing the news of the victory, Li Daoxuan informed Zhang Wansui at the gates of Jiexiu, successfully persuading him to surrender. The 10,000-strong garrison of Jiexiu opened the city gates and surrendered. All the former Tang Dynasty territories in Hedong were recovered, and the Tang Dynasty even gained Lanzhou as an additional territory.

"It's a pity that Liu Wuzhou and Song Jingang escaped. Those two are really good at running away; they managed to escape even under those circumstances," Xiao Shisan sighed.

Li Yi just chuckled and said, "What's the use of escaping alone? Before, they had tens of thousands of troops and occupied several prefectures in Daibei. The Turks were even willing to support them as watchdogs."

But now that they've lost their troops, how will they defend Daibei?

The court won't even need to lift a finger; the Turks will soon behead the two men and send their heads to the Tang Dynasty.

Xiao Shisan was somewhat skeptical. "Impossible, right? They were so supportive of them before, and they even sent a lot of troops."

"Chuluo Khan has invested a lot of resources in Liu Wuzhou this time, but many of his Turkic tribes have been lost. If he doesn't kill Liu Wuzhou, how will he explain it to his subordinates?"

How then can we improve our relationship with the Tang Dynasty?

“That makes some sense,” Xiao Shisan said, looking at him. “It’s a pity that Alang didn’t participate in this final battle, which means he lost a lot of military merits, while Li Zhongwen and the others benefited.”

Li Yi waved his hand dismissively.

"Is the Hexi Corridor still stable?" he asked.

"On the surface, things seem fine, but there are undercurrents. After Li Gui was captured and beheaded in Chang'an last year, the nine provinces of Liangfu were not peaceful. There were several rebellions by the Hu tribes, as well as incursions and raids by the Turks. The Tuyuhun and Qiang tribes also plundered quite a bit."
However, in Liangzhou, Prime Minister Yang used both suppression and appeasement, and with the support of powerful clans such as the An family of Wuwei, he was still able to maintain control.

Now, Prime Minister Yang has also trained a considerable number of new troops in Liangzhou, established military towns, built fortresses, restored beacon towers, opened trade with the Western Regions, recruited displaced people, and developed military farms; things are getting better and better.”

Li Yi sighed that Yang Gongren was indeed quite capable. He was able to stabilize the complex situation in Hexi so quickly. On the contrary, last year when Crown Prince Jiancheng went to Yuanzhou to meet him, he forcibly conscripted local powerful men and used hunting as an excuse to train troops and requisition grain and fodder. He was too aggressive, and as a result, most of them fled. Yang Gongren even went so far as to complain to the emperor.

Xiao Shisan said that he also took the opportunity to acquire some land in Hexi, bought some slaves to cultivate on the manor, and privately participated in some Silk Road trade. Now he has accumulated some wealth.

"Are you planning to take Youniang to Hexi?"

He shook his head, "How can officials sent by our imperial court bring their families?"

The laws of the Tang Dynasty clearly stipulated that officials serving outside the capital were not allowed to have their relatives or guests stay at their posts, nor were they allowed to request the occupation of land or houses, or to build mills or grindstones, thereby competing with the common people for profit.

This "outside post" refers to a local official outside of the capital. The main reason for not allowing family members to accompany officials to their new posts is the concern that family members might abuse their power for personal gain and compete with the people for profit.

Of course, for high-ranking officers and generals, not being allowed to bring their families was also to prevent them from becoming difficult to control.

In such cases, local officials would typically bring along maids or concubines, or take concubines in the local area.

"Didn't you take any more concubines in Liangzhou?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

“You Niang often wrote to me urging me to take a concubine, but how could I do that?”

When the two talked about Wei Zheng, Xiao Shisan felt quite guilty. "My father asked me to protect Lord Wei, but in the end, I followed Prime Minister Yang to Liangzhou for my own future, which led to Lord Wei being captured in Hebei. I had no choice but to submit to Jiande."

"This isn't your fault. Senior Brother Wei had the opportunity to return to Chang'an earlier, but he chose to stay in Hebei, which led to this whole mess."

Li Yi felt sorry for Wei Zheng. He was already forty years old, and all he thought about was building his career, yet he was still a bachelor. He had originally been a fifth-rank secretary in the Tang Dynasty, but now, working for Dou Jiande, he was only a sixth-rank court attendant.

That evening, Li Yi entertained Xiao Shisan at his home. When Xiao Shisan learned that Liu Heizi was a seventh-rank general of the General of the Cavalry, and that Luo Dafu, who sold tofu, had also become a seventh-rank captain of the Cavalry, he couldn't help but sigh. He wished he had known earlier that he would have followed Li Yi and participated in the Battle of Hedong, and perhaps he could have gained more merits.

He had been in Hexi for almost two years, and had only risen from a seventh-rank military officer to a seventh-rank registrar.

The next day.

The emperor summoned him to return to Chang'an together.
With the pacification of Hedong, there was no need for the emperor to remain in Huayin any longer.

In fact, the emperor had already traveled to and from Chang'an several times during this period.

Li Yi was summoned to the emperor's presence, and Li Yuan ordered him to ride back to the capital with him.

"Wu Yi, you've rested for so long, shouldn't you have recovered enough?"

The emperor laughed and said, "The court is going to establish a new Yizhou Circuit Governorate, and you will be the Governor-General of the Circuit."

Li Yi quickly refused, “Your Majesty, such an important position as the Grand Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, who oversees several generals, should be held remotely by a prince or a close relative of the imperial clan. I am too young and not a close relative of the imperial clan, so I am not suitable to hold such an important position.”

Li Yuan sighed.

“I previously appointed Duke Dou Jin of Deng as the governor of Yizhou and Duke Huangfu Wuyi of Hua as the chief secretary of the governor’s office. However, the two of them were at odds and often slandered each other. How can I let them guard the region?”

Now that Hedong has been recovered, the next step is to move east to Luoyang and south to pacify Xiao Xian. Yizhou, the land of abundance, is of utmost importance in terms of its finances, provisions, and military strength.

Therefore, I decided to establish the Yizhou Circuit Administration, under which the six generals of Yi, Li, Hui, Fu, Jing, and Sui were placed.

The Yizhou Circuit Intendant must be replaced. I originally wanted Shimin to concurrently serve as the Yizhou Circuit Intendant, but he is currently holding several positions. Next, we need to prepare for the eastward capture of Luoyang.
After much deliberation, I've decided that you will be appointed as the Circuit Intendant of Yizhou.

After hearing about the six general administrations under the jurisdiction of Yizhou Daoxingtai, Li Yi was somewhat puzzled. Weren't the general administrations of Hui, Fu, and Jing in Guanzhong? Jingzhou was in the Jingchuan River Valley north of the Wei River, northwest of Chang'an, and Fuzhou was in the Fuxian and Luochuan area north of Chang'an.

There was also the Huizhou General Administration Office. Huizhou was located northwest of Jingzhou, outside Xiaoguan Pass, between Lingzhou and Lanzhou, in what later became Jingyuan.

How come these three general administrations are still under the jurisdiction of the Yizhou Circuit Administration? Yizhou is Chengdu, and the Lizhou General Administration is in Shannan Circuit.

This newly established Yizhou Circuit Administration is quite impressive. It spans from northern Shaanxi all the way to western Sichuan, including Hanzhong, and even the Chongqing area in eastern Sichuan.

From this perspective, although it only governs six general administrations, it is really not much worse than the Shaanxi East Circuit Grand Administration. Perhaps the Yizhou Circuit Grand Administration should be called the Jingxi Circuit Grand Administration. These six general administrations west of Chang'an only exclude Longyou, Hexi, and Shuofang.

While he was still marveling at the task, Li Yuan patted his hand and told him to take on the mission.

Li Yi repeatedly declined the offer; he truly didn't want to go to Shu. It was so far away; Chang'an was far better.

"In that case, you will serve as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat of Yizhou, and I will send Dou Gui to Sichuan as the Right Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. As for you, you can stay in Chang'an for a while longer."

Li Yi breathed a sigh of relief; this meant he would continue to lead remotely, which was good.

The Yizhou Circuit Intendant has a rather broad scope and a lot of power, so Li Yi really doesn't dare to accept it. If it were just a remote appointment, that would be fine.

"I request Your Majesty to appoint a prince or a close relative of the imperial clan as the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, while I will serve as the Left Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat."

Li Yuan's first choice was actually Li Shimin, and he even considered transferring Li Shimin to Yizhou to take up his post. However, after the defeat in Hedong, Li Yuan did not dare to go too far. After all, in critical moments, it was still his second son who was reliable and truly capable of fighting.

Now that Shimin has been transferred to Yizhou as Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, who will attack Luoyang? Who will attack Dou Jiande?
Since Shimin can't go, let the fourth son, Yuanji, go instead.

However, the emperor also knew that Yuanji's performance in Taiyuan last time was too poor, and if he were to be appointed as the Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, the entire court would probably oppose it.

Finally, they thought of sending Li Yi. Firstly, Li Yi was quite capable in combat, and secondly, Li Yuan felt indebted to Li Yi for having made such great contributions but declining the title of king.

"Then you shall be appointed as the Left Vice Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, and Dou Gui, the Duke of Zan, shall be appointed as the Right Vice Minister and concurrently the Governor-General of Yizhou. Let Dou Jin return to serve as the Secretary Director, and Huangfu Wuyi, the Duke of Hua, shall be appointed as the Minister of Personnel of the Circuit and concurrently the Chief Secretary of the Yizhou Governor-General's Office. We shall transfer Wei Yunqi, the Duke of Yangcheng County, to serve as the Governor of Suizhou and the Minister of War of the Circuit."

The emperor summoned Feng Deyi.
"You shall immediately draft an edict appointing Wu Yi as the Left Vice Minister of the Yizhou Circuit, while retaining his previous positions as Governor-General of Bingzhou, Right General of the Martial Marquis, General of the Wannian Circuit, and Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince."

(End of this chapter)