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

Chapter 402 Zhang Jieyu's Pillow Talk

Changan.

The news of victory in Luoyang reached the Taiji Palace.

"Hahaha," the emperor was overjoyed, his eyebrows dancing with delight, and he couldn't help but start dancing.

"Pei Jian, let's dance together!"

Pei Ji clasped his hands and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, on the recapture of Luoyang and the pacification of Wang Shichong. The Central Plains are now at peace."

"Come dance!" Li Yuan pulled Pei Ji to dance.

After dancing a lively dance, Li Yuan calmed his excited emotions somewhat. He picked up the proclamation and read it carefully. It said that the Heavenly Blessing of the Tang Dynasty had caused the earth to turn upside down and collapse in three places in the southeast corner of Luoyang's outer city, which enabled the Tang army to break through the outer city.

Then, another section of the ground collapsed in the southwest corner of the imperial city, aiding the dynasty's attack on the capital...

Li Yuan looked at his son's familiar handwriting, but could hardly believe it.

Is Heaven so kind to help us?

Li Yuan picked up another secret memorial from the King of Qin. After reading it carefully, he realized what the "earth dragon turning over" was all about. It turned out to be gunpowder produced by Taoist alchemy, which was presented by Li Yi.

I never imagined that this kind of elixir used by Taoists would have such great power.

The fact that the Luoyang city wall, with its six-zhang-wide foundation and forty-eight-zhang-high walls, could be blown up made Li Yuan feel a greater respect for Taoism.

"Send men to escort Wang Shichong and his entire clan back to Chang'an,"

Li Yuan was filled with excitement.

That night, Li Yuan was aroused and displayed his prowess to Consort Zhang. Consort Zhang was also very eloquent, which made Li Yuan even more satisfied.

When Li Yuan finally lay down,

Consort Zhang then lay down beside the emperor and began to whisper in his ear, "Your Majesty, Luoyang was the former capital of the Eastern Dynasty. It must contain many concubines and beauties, as well as numerous imperial treasures and precious artifacts. Your Majesty must quickly send someone to select palace women to replenish the Taiji Palace in Chang'an."
Those precious artifacts from the imperial treasury, and the royal collection of books, also need to be transported back to Chang'an.

Li Yuan, panting heavily, finally succumbed to his old age. "What you say makes sense,"

"Your Majesty, your concubine and Consort Yin are willing to personally travel to Luoyang to select palace women and transport precious items back to the imperial treasury. This matter cannot be delayed; if it is, I fear the soldiers will have ravaged it all."

"The New Year is just a few days away. We can send someone to deliver an imperial edict to Li Yi in Luoyang to handle this matter."

“Your Majesty, how can we entrust the selection of palace women in Luoyang to an outside official? If there are any stunning beauties involved, wouldn’t that lead to someone making a mistake? Besides, even the generals might not be able to handle these matters of selecting palace women properly.”

Consort Zhang used all her skills to make Li Yuan feel all tingly and numb.

"Tell me, what are your plans?" Li Yuan slapped his hand hard. Five years had passed since Pei Ji offered him two beauties from the Jinyang Palace, and Li Yuan still hadn't grown tired of them.

Of course, there are certainly more beauties in the Luoyang Palace, and Li Yuan would be happy to give the Taiji Palace some new faces.

Even if one cannot use that much, many palace servants can be used to reward members of the imperial family and ministers, which is also an important resource.

Consort Zhang clung tightly to the Emperor's arm. "Your Majesty knows that my family is of humble origin. I only wish to go to Luoyang and, while I'm at it, buy some land for my family."
My family can't afford to buy more fertile land in the capital region, but Luoyang has just been pacified, so there must be a lot of vacant land. I was thinking of buying some for my family.

"And while I'm at it, I'll see if I can find some jobs for my brothers, nephews, and cousins ​​in Luoyang. It's all about serving the country, after all."

He wanted land and official positions, yet he phrased it in such a refined and unconventional way.

Li Yuan laughed heartily, not taking it to heart. Both Consort Zhang and Consort Yin were favored by him; however, Consort Yin had given birth to a prince, and thus rose in rank to Consort De. Consort Zhang, having not yet given birth, remained a Consort for the time being.

Li Yuan thought it was perfectly legitimate for his own woman to want to acquire some land for the family or even seek an official position, as long as it wasn't too outrageous.

"Henan has experienced many wars, and now it has a small population and a lot of land, with many fields lying fallow. Why would it need to make special purchases?"
I will write a handwritten edict for you and Consort Yin. Take these to Luoyang, speak to Li Yi, and then select the land.

How many do you want?

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your kindness. I am willing to accept whatever reward you may give me."

The elated Li Yuan immediately and generously said, "Then I'll give each of you fifty qing of land."

When Li Yuan first captured Chang'an, he rewarded Pei Ji with a thousand acres of land. Now, he is giving each of his two favorite concubines fifty acres, which is not worth mentioning.

In postwar Henan, was there any fear of not having land?
"Thank you, Your Majesty," Consort Zhang said excitedly, and immediately prepared to serve Li Yuan well once again.

The following day, Li Yuan received another report from Luoyang.

The King of Qin has already led 50,000 infantry and cavalry north to Taiyuan as ordered, while the King of Qi, Yuanji, and Dou Gui have also led 30,000 infantry and cavalry back to Guanzhong as ordered.
Li Yi was ordered to lead 20,000 troops from Guanzhong and to command troops from Henan and Shannan to remain in the garrison.

"Wang Shichong is dead?"

Upon seeing Li Shimin's secret report that Dugu Xiude and other members of the Dugu clan falsely conveyed his teachings and killed Wang Shichong and his four sons, as well as Du Yan and his sons.

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised.

But I wasn't angry.

After Xue Rengao was defeated and surrendered, Li Yuan still insisted on bringing him to Chang'an for execution. Li Gui was also defeated and surrendered in Liangzhou, and the emperor also ordered him to be brought to Chang'an for execution.

Wang Shichong, who usurped the throne, should have been executed.

He hadn't considered that Li Shimin would secretly kill Wang Shichong; there was no need, and they had no personal grudge against each other. Wang Shichong was quite capable, and although Li Yuan felt it was a pity, he wouldn't raise a tiger to cause trouble.

Of course, it wouldn't be right for the seven Dugu brothers to kill so indiscriminately.

There are no rules.

After some deliberation, Li Yuan issued an edict dismissing all seven brothers, including Dugu Xiude, from their posts.

As for Wang Shichong's clansmen, they were all relocated to Xizhou in Sichuan, which was essentially an exile.

Li Yuan drafted a list of officials who were part of Wang Shichong's puppet Zheng regime.

In addition to the five people already beheaded by Li Shimin, Duan Da, Wang Long, Yang Wang, Meng Xiaoyi, Yang Gongqing, Guo Shizhu, Dong Rui, Zhang Tong'er, and Guo Shancai were also sentenced to immediate execution.
There's no need to escort them back to Chang'an; they can be executed directly in Luoyang.

"As for the other officials who served in the Zheng regime, they were all sent to Chang'an for selection and investigation by the relevant authorities. Those who were loyal and virtuous were employed according to their abilities."

"Now only Xuzhou remains. Let Li Yi take Xuzhou as soon as possible."

“East of the canal, we should also appease the powerful local lords and station troops there to prevent Dou Jiande from taking over Henan.”

Not long ago, Li Yuan even took the initiative to approach Dou Jiande, sending his nephews and nieces to establish a kinship ties, proposing to become Dou Jiande's cousins, and promising to give him Youzhou and Xuzhou. But now, with the sudden arrival of Luoyang...
Li Yuan stopped pretending.

Since you, Dou Jiande, and Chuluo Khan are planning to attack my Great Tang from five directions, then I don't need to pretend with you anymore.

Let's unleash our swords!

"Li Yi's merits in this eastern expedition are equal to those of the Second Prince. I will first reward him with 100 hectares of farmland each in Henan and Shannan."

The New Year is approaching,

Just then, Luoyang fell and Henan was pacified.

But Li Yuan's joy was short-lived. News came from Bingzhou in Hedong that Liu Shirang had been ordered to go north and launched a surprise attack on Lunteqin at Shiling Pass, winning the first battle and capturing him alive.

Liu Shirang led his troops north to Yanmen and began to garrison troops for defense.

However, Liu Shirang sent back an urgent report that Yuan Junzhang had led Liu Wuzhou's former troops out of Loufan Pass, into Lanzhou, and harassed Shizhou. This was to take the right wing of Taiyuan first.

Meanwhile, Yusheshe, the son of Chuluo Khan, had already led his troops to Yanmen Pass.

Not only that,

Dou Jiande dispatched his general Hu Da'en through the Feihu Pass of Yizhou, across the Taihang Mountains, and into Weizhou in Daibei. Dou Jiande also established the Weizhou Xingtai (military headquarters) with Hu Da'en as its head. This was clearly part of a joint attack on the Tang army by Dou Jiande and Chuluo Khan.

Storm is coming.

The smile on Li Yuan's face vanished.

His worst fears came true: the Turks were no longer commanding those warlords to attack the Tang Dynasty, but were going to intervene directly, and launch a full-scale attack.

This time, even Dou Jiande joined forces with them.

The only good news was that Dou Jiande sent Hu Da'en into Feihu, which threatened Gao Kaidao and Huai Rong's flank and rear. Gao Kaidao thought that Dou Jiande was targeting him.

Gao Kaidao had previously held sway in Beiping. Later, he fought against Luo Yi, Deng Song, and even Dou Jiande. He once surrendered in disgrace to Tan Sheng, the Buddhist emperor of Huai Rong behind the mountains, and accepted the title of Prince of Qi bestowed by Tan Sheng. However, he killed Gao Tan Sheng three months later, annexed his troops, and thus occupied the Huai Rong area outside Jundu Pass.

When Dou Jiande attacked Luo Yi this year, Luo Yi asked Gao Kaidao for help, and Gao Kaidao led two thousand cavalry to his aid. Now that Dou Jiande has sent Hu Da'en into Feihu, Gao Kaidao is convinced that this is aimed at him.

After some deliberation, he sent an envoy to Chang'an through Li Yi of Youzhou to surrender.

This was unexpected by Li Yuan. Regardless of whether the surrender was genuine or not, Li Yuan still issued an edict, appointing the Prince of Yan, Gao Kaidao, as the Grand Pillar of the Tang Dynasty, the Governor-General of Weizhou, the Prince of Beiping, and bestowing upon him the imperial surname Li.

In fact, Li Yuan also sent envoys to appease Yuan Junzhang, bestowing upon him the titles of Prince of Yanmen, Grand Pillar of State, and Governor-General of Shuozhou, granting him the imperial surname Li, and even bestowing upon him an iron certificate. However, Yuan Junzhang ignored these offers, preferring to submit to Yang Zhengdao, the Prince of Sui, and willingly become a lackey of the Turks.

Li Yuan picked up the tea.
If only we had more capable ministers and generals like Li Yi.

The emperor took a few sips of tea and then took out Li Xiaogong's memorial.

This summer, Li Yuan originally intended to attack Xiao Xian, but due to the threat from the Turks, he had no choice but to concentrate his forces on dealing with Wang Shichong, and even considered withdrawing his troops at one point.

Many soldiers from Shannan and Bashu were transferred to the Luoyang battlefield and to reinforce the northwest border defenses.

Now that Luoyang has been pacified, Li Xiaogong and Li Jing jointly submitted a memorial, believing it was time to send troops to wipe out Xiao Xian in one fell swoop. The two listed many reasons for sending troops to Jiangling.

Luoyang has been pacified, and Du Fuwei has long since surrendered.

This is indeed a good time to attack Xiao Xian.

But that damned Chuluo Khan made Li Yuan unable to attend to Jing and Xiang, and he had to concentrate all his efforts on fighting Chuluo. He also had to guard against Dou Jiande's southward advance and those opportunists turning against him in Henan, which he had just captured.

He is now worried that Li Shimin will not be able to withstand the five-pronged attack of Chuluo Khan.
They were also worried that Li Yi wouldn't be able to control Henan.

There's still Xuzhou in Henan that we haven't captured yet.

The emperor looked at the huge sheepskin map at his feet. Where were Erlang's troops now? And from which direction would Dou Jiande launch his attack?
Should we first cooperate with the Turks to seize Bingfen, or should we send troops out of the Fu River to attack Shangdang and Changping first? Then join forces with the Turks in Jinjiang? And then head straight for Guanzhong, or cross the Yellow River to first conquer the Cao, Yan, Ji, and Qi states of Meng Haigong, Xu Yuanlang, and others who have defected to the Tang Dynasty?

Looking at the enormous map, Li Yuan sensed that it was riddled with flaws.
It seems that any place could become a target of attack for the allied forces of the Turks and Dou Jiande, especially Hanoi and Henan, where they might not be able to stop the Xia army.

Previously, Dou Jiande had swept through the surrendered Tang prefectures in Hebei and Henan, a feat still fresh in Li Yuan's mind. Li Shentong had even been taken prisoner. Now that Li Yi was in charge of Henan and Hebei, could he stop Dou Jiande?
Li Yuan sighed, his heart heavy with worry.

Now, we can only place all our hopes on Shimin and Wuyi.

The 27th day of the twelfth lunar month,
Daibei, Mayi City.

A large golden wolf banner was erected in the city.

The Turkic Khan, Chuluo Khan, was in the city at this time. He had been there for more than half a month and had hardly shown his face since arriving in Mayi.

In a house in Mayi City,

Zheng Yuanzhu, Li Chen, Changsun Shunde, Tang Jian,
The four delegations of ambassadors sent by the Tang emperor to negotiate peace were all trapped here. Chuluo Khan refused to negotiate and would not let them go back. They became Chuluo Khan's prisoners and were forced to follow his army south.

"I think something must have happened to Chuluo Khan, maybe he is seriously ill."

"They may even have died from the disease."

Zheng Yuanzhu, the Minister of Ceremonies, expressed his guess.

"How do you know?" Changsun Shunde asked.

“I had been secretly observing and discovered that quite a few Turkic shamans had come to Mayi.”

Tang Jian perked up, "If Chuluo Khan is really seriously ill, or even dies, then this war may not be able to be fought. Once Chuluo dies, a new Khan must be chosen. Yusheshe is young and certainly cannot win the support of the people. At that time, how will the Turkic nobles still have the mind to march south?"

Li Chen said to Zheng Yuanzhu, "I remember that you, Duke of Xin, are also well-versed in medical books and skilled in medicine. You can not only prescribe medicine, but also perform acupuncture?"

"know a little."

Upon hearing this, Tang Jian said, "I have a plan. We can send Zheng Gongjin with the Golden Wolf Banner to investigate the situation."

"What brilliant plan does Minister Tang have?"

"I pretended to fall seriously ill to lure the Turkic guards over. Then Zheng Gong treated me, giving me a few acupuncture needles or massage, and I immediately recovered. Such miraculous medical skills!"

If Chu Luozhen were seriously ill, they would certainly not miss the opportunity; they would definitely invite Lord Zheng to go.

The group thought it sounded good and immediately decided to give it a try.

(End of this chapter)