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

Chapter 363 The Prince’s Golden Sword
The beacon fires from Taiyuan reached Chang'an.

Li Yuan was shocked and furious.

Li Yi, who was preparing to return to his hometown of Yusu before setting off on his campaign, was also urgently summoned to the palace by the emperor.

"His Majesty is in the Shenlong Hall to the east of the Ganlu Hall. Please, Duke of Jin, come with me." General Qian Jiulong, the Right Gatekeeper, personally greeted him at the palace gate.

Li Yi had already heard about the raids in Chuluo, Bingzhou, and was somewhat surprised by Li Zhongwen's leniency towards the Turks. He was even starting to worry about him; although Li Zhongwen's actions had avoided direct conflict with the Turks,
However, as the Inspector General of Bingzhou, his inaction in the face of Chuluo's invasion was unacceptable to the court.

Even now, at this crucial moment of abrupt peace talks, as the general guarding the frontier, you cannot back down. If you do, you'll be even more passive at the negotiating table.

really,

Li Yi took off his boots outside the Divine Dragon Hall, and as soon as he entered the hall, he felt that the atmosphere was very solemn.

Those summoned were all high-ranking officials, including the six prime ministers. Except for Yang Gongren, who was in Hexi, all the others had arrived, including Li Yuanji, who had not appeared for a long time.

The emperor entered the palace with a displeased expression.

"My lords, you may rise from the formalities. You all know about Chuluo's plunder of Taiyuan, don't you?"

Before the emperor arrived, Lu Kuan, the palace attendant, had already briefed everyone on the detailed course of events.

"The General of the Cavalry of Taiyuan Prefecture, Kezhuhun Dingyuan, submitted a memorial reporting that Li Zhongwen colluded with the Turks and attempted to take advantage of the Tang Dynasty's war against Wang Shichong to lead the Turk army south to Hedong and attack Guanzhong."

When the emperor said this, Li Yi already knew that Li Zhongwen might not escape his fate this time.

Sure enough, Tang Jian, the Vice Minister of the Chancellery, then listed four major crimes committed by Li Zhongwen to the emperor.

"Li Zhongwen was in Taiyuan and became close to the evil monk Zhijue. The evil monk Zhijue said that Li Zhongwen had five-colored light on his body and was protected by a golden dog."

"Li Zhongwen once claimed to those around him that he was possessed by the dragon and that he was the one who was 'the fruit of the peach and plum tree'. In order to fit this prophecy, he even married a woman from the Tao family in Taiyuan as his second wife."

"Thirdly, during the short period of Li Zhongwen's tenure as the Inspector General of Bingzhou and the Acting Governor of Shizhou, he accepted bribes on a large scale, committed embezzlement and corruption, and also seized a large amount of land in Hedong."

Tang Jian’s crimes were announced in court one by one: “Li Zhongwen colluded with the Turks, secretly made an oath with Chuluo Khan, accepted the wolf-head banner bestowed by Chuluo Khan, accepted the title bestowed by the Southern Khan, and wanted to become king in Hedong.”

Tang Jian fought alongside Li Shimin to Taiyuan and was a key figure in the campaign. Now that he has stepped forward to announce these four major crimes, it means that the emperor has obtained some evidence.

Or rather, the emperor already had the intention to kill him.

"I have treated Li Zhongwen well. He suffered two defeats in Hedong, but I did not hold him accountable. After Wuyi returned to the capital, I entrusted him with important responsibilities, appointing him as the inspector of the Bingzhou General Administration and the acting governor of the Shizhou General Administration. I never expected him to repay me in this way."

Li Yuan slammed his fist on the imperial desk in anger.

Li Yi lowered his head in thought. Based on his understanding of Li Zhongwen, he felt it was possible that Li Zhongwen had accepted bribes, embezzled funds, or even seized land.

It's normal for officials to be greedy; even the Tang Dynasty's militia enjoyed looting.

People like Li Yi, who are neither short of money nor willing to be greedy, are a minority. Generally speaking, as long as high-ranking generals do not go too far, the emperor will not care too much about these things.

He didn't quite believe the claim that Li Zhongwen colluded with the Turks.

Especially after the incident involving the Southern Khan and the Wolf Head Banner, he increasingly sensed a familiar formula. Wasn't this just the same divisive tactic used by Chuluo Khan?
He led tens of thousands of men into Taiyuan. Li Zhongwen was caught off guard and dared not intercept or attack, which was not surprising. After all, the court and the Turks were negotiating peace, so it was understandable that he was cautious.

The problem was that they treated Luo Kehan ​​to good food and drink and sent him money and gifts. Perhaps he didn't want to start a war rashly, but in the eyes of the court, this was an act of treason.

Now that military officers from Taiyuan have come forward to report this, there's no way to clear my name now.

As for the sorcerer monk Zhijue and his association with Taolizi, such things may or may not exist. It is more likely that Li Zhongwen sometimes spoke carelessly in private, and someone exposed it, or that he had the emperor's spies around him.

Just like when Liu Wenjing got drunk and pulled out a knife to chop a pillar, saying that she would kill Pei Ji in the future, the matter was reported and it was taken to a major level.

"Wu Yi, Li Zhongwen was originally your subordinate. He has succeeded you as the governor of Bingzhou. What is your opinion on this matter?"

How Li Yin sees it is crucial, but the most important thing is how the emperor sees it. If the emperor thinks you are plotting a rebellion and colluding with the Turks, then you can no longer stay in Taiyuan.

"Your Majesty, I believe this matter is of great importance. Li Zhongwen should be summoned back to court immediately and the relevant officials should be ordered to conduct a thorough investigation. We must not let a bad person go unpunished, nor should we wrong an innocent person. We must examine the evidence."

Li Yuan nodded.

Both Li Yi and Li Zhongwen received a wolf-head banner and were granted official titles by the Turkic Khan Chuluo. Li Yi immediately brought the Turkic envoy and the wolf-head banner back to Chang'an to meet the emperor, while Li Zhongwen did not submit a memorial to the court.

This caused the emperor to lose trust in him. Moreover, Li Zhongwen was Li Mi's uncle and a descendant of the Eight Pillars of State. It was quite normal for such a Guanzhong nobleman to have ambitions.

"What I am worried about now is what if Li Zhongwen refuses to return to the capital as ordered?"

Tang Jian stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, I believe we can first send a secret envoy to Taiyuan to give General Kezhuhun a secret edict to Dingyuan, so that he can first control Li Zhongwen and then read the edict to the officials and generals of Bingzhou.”

Li Yuan thought for a moment, "Alright, after Kezhuhun Dingyuan controls Li Zhongwen, he will immediately lead troops to escort him to Chang'an." The emperor paused, "Assess the situation in Hedong, abolish the Bingzhou General Administration Office, and let Yuwen Shiji be stationed in Taiyuan to pacify Bingzhou."

Li Yuan looked at Li Yi. In fact, he wanted Li Yi to return to Taiyuan, but Li Yi had already been ordered to lead an expedition to Shannan, and he could not change commanders on the eve of battle.

Li Yuan was extremely disappointed with the performance of the Bingzhou General Administration Office and simply abolished it. In this way, the seven prefectures of Bingzhou were directly under the jurisdiction of the Shaanxi East Circuit Grand Secretariat, with seven prefects each in charge of military and political affairs. Even if someone rebelled, the harm would not be so great.

Moreover, the Shizhou General Administration Office was not under the jurisdiction of the Bingzhou Prefecture.

The three governors, namely Li Daoxuan, the Prince of Huaiyang, who was in charge of Xizhou, Zhang Lun, the Duke of Xihe, who was in charge of Shizhou, and Li Daozong, the Prince of Rencheng, who was in charge of Jinzhou, supervised the seven prefectures of Binghao.

"Your Majesty, there is another piece of news. Chuluo Khan went south to Taiyuan. Although he returned, he sent several hundred cavalry to escort two thousand horses and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep to Luoyang. Your son suggests that we send Li Xiyu, the governor of Luzhou, to ambush them halfway and intercept all these horses and cattle and sheep."

As the saying goes, "It is impolite not to reciprocate." Chuluo Khan dared to invade Taiyuan and plunder people during the peace negotiations, and now he is even using the peace talks as an excuse to trade with Wang Shichong via the Zelu River. How can this be tolerated!

Prince Qin, Li Shimin, stepped forward and angrily declared that he would retaliate in kind. Right Minister Pei Ji stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, Chuluo Khan has already returned north; it is not advisable to provoke another conflict. The eastern expedition is imminent; we cannot afford to go to war with the Turks again.”

Li Shimin glared at Pei Ji: "Right Minister, you are mistaken. Chuluo Khan is deliberately provoking us and testing us. If our Great Tang really swallows his anger, he will surely take advantage of us."

"Our Great Tang must retaliate, so that Chuluo Khan will know that the Great Tang is not to be trifled with, and the nobles and chieftains within his Khanate will no longer follow him in invading the borders and provoking us."

The two started arguing again.

Li Yuan frowned, his mind in turmoil.

"Wu Yi, what do you think?"

"Your Majesty, since Chuluo Khan is unrighteous, then don't blame our Great Tang for being unjust. If he does the first thing, we will do the fifteenth. If he dares to lead his troops south to invade and plunder, how can we allow him to pass through our borders and send warhorses, cattle and sheep to Wang Shichong?"
We must intercept these warhorses and cattle; we must let Khan Chuluo know that our Great Tang is not to be trifled with.

Not to be outdone, Crown Prince Jiancheng also stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to personally go to Taiyuan to oversee the situation. If Chuluo dares to invade our borders again, I am willing to lead troops to repel him!"

Li Yuan looked at Jiancheng and admired his courage, but he didn't think Jiancheng was suitable to go to Taiyuan.

After thinking about it,
"Draft an edict ordering Li Xizhi, the governor of Luzhou, to intercept all two thousand horses and more than ten thousand cattle and sheep that Chuluo was sending to Wang Shichong."

"The Crown Prince was stationed in Puban, ready to deal with any invasion by the Turks."

"Yu Wenshi, Duke of Xincheng County, and Liu Shirang, Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Pacification Commissioner of Hedong, and Inspector of Bingzhou, Duke of Hongnong."

“Li Shenfu, the Prince of Xiangyi, was appointed as the governor of Taizhou, Fan Botong as the governor of Shouzhou, and Zhang Dezheng as the governor of Jiezhou.”

"But Zhu Hun Dingyuan has been promoted to Prefect of Yuzhou!"

"After Li Zhongwen returns to the capital, he will be jointly tried by Pei Jian, Right Vice Minister; Feng Lun, Chancellor; Xiao Yu; and Chen Shuda, Attendant-in-Ordinary."

As the emperor finished speaking,

Li Zhongwen's fate was sealed, and Li Yi felt that the handling of the case was somewhat hasty. A guilty verdict was reached based solely on a subordinate's accusation and Tang Jian's brief investigation.

Once Li Zhongwen returns to the capital, he will most likely be executed for plotting a rebellion.

Having spent a year together in Hedong, Li Yi had a good impression of Li Zhongwen. Although he initially had a bit of an aristocratic air about him, his military talent was quite good.

After the defeat at Sparrow Valley, he respected and obeyed Li Yi's orders and made many contributions. He was one of the contributors to Li Yi's achievements.

But now, Li Yi couldn't help him either. He could only suggest that the emperor summon him back to the capital for questioning first, rather than issuing a secret edict ordering the Taiyuan generals to kill Li Zhongwen directly.

Given the Emperor's current attitude, Li Zhongwen is doomed even if he returns to the capital. I wonder if Tang Jian has some grudge against Li Zhongwen; this collusion with the sorcerer monk, with all those prophecies about peaches and plums, five-colored light, dragon protection, and golden dog guards—it's like he's afraid Li Zhongwen won't die fast enough.

The matter of the wolf-headed banner and the Southern Khan was also something Li Zhongwen couldn't extricate himself from.

Hey,
A fierce general on the battlefield, a descendant of the Eight Pillars of Guanzhong, is still not cautious enough.

Of the four major crimes, only embezzlement is relatively minor; the other three are punishable by death.

The court meeting concluded.

The emperor wasn't even in the mood to invite his ministers to eat in the corridor.

Jiancheng invited Li Yi to dine at the East Palace. Li Yi really didn't want to go. Jiancheng, on the other hand, still had a very friendly smile on his face. But thinking about how he had made the marriage alliance with the Zheng family's daughter a big scandal, Li Yi was quite annoyed with him.

The meals at the Crown Prince's Palace were quite sumptuous.
After the meal, the prince clapped his hands.

The Imperial Kitchen Attendant, Ren Can, brought over several more trays and unveiled the red cloth covering them.

It was a dazzling golden expanse.

"These are thirty gold knives, each weighing six ounces. They are engraved with floral and bird patterns, made of pure gold, and are exquisitely crafted. They can be hung on a belt to ward off evil spirits."

Made of pure gold, it serves both as decoration and as a form of hard currency. Even if judged solely by the gold content, this gold knife is worth six taels of gold, equivalent to tens of thousands of coins.

Li Yi looked at the golden knife, which was actually just a pair of scissors.

"I know that Erlang likes to give people golden knives, so I specially had a batch made. Here are thirty for you. When you go to Shannan to fight, you will be surrounded by familiar generals and officers. You can also distribute them to everyone."

"I have also prepared thirty ingots of gold for you."

Three ounces a piece, that's ninety ounces.

The total was 270 taels of gold; the Crown Prince was certainly generous.

Clearly, this was both an attempt to win him over and a way to use him to win over Li Shiji, Guo Xiaoke, Li Wenxiang, Li Daliang, Li Hongjie, and others.

"Your Highness, I cannot accept these."

"What, are you still being so formal with me? You are the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince and the Left Guard Commander of the Crown Prince's Palace. Now you want to take the Crown Princess's cousin as a concubine, so we are brothers-in-law."

"I have few people I can truly rely on, but Wu Yi, you are skilled in both literature and martial arts; I consider you my right-hand man."

"I just told Zuo Shuzi yesterday that once you return victorious from Shannan, I will send Rou Niang to the Duke of Jin's mansion."

"This time when you go on the expedition, I will send Chang He and Li Junxian to accompany you, each leading one hundred elite cavalry from the Eastern Palace."

(End of this chapter)