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

Chapter 405 New Elite of Luoyang
After the Lantern Festival.

Li Yi went to receive his bestowed land. The King of Qin granted him fifty qing of land in Henan, and the Emperor granted him fifty qing each in Henan and Shannan.

The 10,000 mu of land granted to Henan is entirely located in the Luoyang Basin, within the former capital region of Luoyang.

In the first month of spring in the fourth year of the Wude era, snow covered the earth and water froze instantly.

Today, the Luozhou General Administration of the Tang Dynasty governed nine prefectures, including Luo, Zheng, and Ru, and Luozhou itself governed nine counties, including Henan and Luoyang.

They rode out of the city.

After the snow, Luoyang was covered in a blanket of white, and laughter could be heard from the streets and alleys.

After the great war, Luoyang enjoyed a rare period of peace, free from the threat of war, the blockade of the city, and even the shortage of supplies.

The governor's office opened its granaries to provide relief, and government officials and powerful clans set up tents to distribute porridge.

Although the Grand Canal and the Yellow River were frozen over, caravans of camels and horse-drawn carriages continued to pass through. As the center of the world, its locational advantages quickly came into play once the threat of war was gone.

The people of Dongdu have finally come back to life and are starting to look human again.

Many powerful nobles and former officials from Luoyang moved to Guanzhong, hoping to escape these sufferings. Many nobles and powerful families from Guanzhong also sent their sons and managers to Henan during the first month of the lunar calendar.

Those who returned to Guanzhong wanted to escape the war, to live a peaceful and prosperous life, and no longer want to live in fear and eat coarse food.
Those who came to Henan, on the other hand, came to enjoy the spoils of war.

Some old nobles came to re-inventory and take back their old properties, while new nobles came to accept the land, houses, slaves, and livestock they had been rewarded with.

Even more businessmen, sensing an opportunity, come here to seek their fortune.

As long as there is no war, Luoyang is a hotbed of activity.

In the cold wind,
People and carriages came and went on the official road outside the city.

There were also many people in the fields.

The wheat in the field is green.
Local officials and village clerks are busy measuring land and confirming land rights.
Many fields changed hands after the war.
Among those who received land through equal distribution were commoners and displaced people, as well as meritorious officials and soldiers who received rewards.
Li Yi's 10,000 mu of land was scattered across nine counties in Luozhou, including Luoyang, Henan, Yanshi, Goushi, Gongxian, Yangcheng, Songyang, Luhun, and Yique.

The plots of land were all relatively neat, originally the estates of the royal family and ministers of the pseudo-Zheng Dynasty in Luoyang, and now they all belonged to Li Yi.

This is what is known as "the victor is king, the loser is villain" and "meritorious officials receive bonuses."
In the struggle for control of the Central Plains between Tang and Zheng, Tang won, and its soldiers became heroes. Zheng lost, and Zheng was labeled a usurper and a false dynasty, and its officers and generals became traitors and collaborators.

Those who are blacklisted will be sentenced to death.

The remaining officials and generals were either stripped of their titles and made commoners, or sent to Chang'an to wait for re-selection.

A new emperor chooses his own ministers.

Li Yi remembered someone saying that, in fact, the population of just one county was enough to establish a feudal dynasty. When the last dynasty was established, the so-called "meritorious groups" of a certain region were not because that place possessed divine aura or produced many strategists and generals, but simply because that group had won.

For example, at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Daibei Six Garrisons, which had long been neglected and abandoned, staged a major uprising, overthrowing the Northern Wei and producing a group of powerful figures such as Erzhu Hun. Later, Gao Huan and Hou Jing from Huai Shuo Garrison established the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi, while Yuwen Tai and Dugu Xin from Wu Chuan Garrison established the Western Wei and Northern Zhou.

The people of a small military town can establish a dynasty.

During the Han Dynasty, there was the Pei County Meritorious Service Group; during the Ming Dynasty, there was the Huaixi Meritorious Service Group.

Whether you're a dog butcher or a trumpet player, if you follow the right person, you can become a founding hero and rise to the rank of king or nobleman.

When Li Yuan raised his army in Taiyuan, many of his seventeen key figures were originally of low status, including county magistrates, township heads, military officers, and military commanders. After Li Yuan became emperor, his servants Qian Jiulong, Fan Fang, Fan Shixing, and his daughter's groom Ma Sanbao were all granted the titles of dukes and marquises.

At the end of the Sui Dynasty, a powerful group had also formed in Luoyang. However, after Wang Shichong usurped the throne and purged a number of people, the remaining civil and military officials in Luoyang included former Sui Dynasty officials, nobles from Guanzhong, gentry from Shandong, and even powerful families from Jianghuai. They were no less capable than the Li Tang faction, but they were eliminated simply because their leader lost.
So now they are being trampled underfoot by the Li Tang Group.

Downstream of the Chan River, there are two thousand mu of land belonging to Li Yi, and local officials have already measured all the land for him.

"These lands are distributed along both banks of the lower reaches of the Chan River, only ten miles north of Luoyang City."

Looking at the newly erected boundary markers, Liu Heizi saw green wheat seedlings still sprouting in the snow. "Whose land was this originally?" he asked.

"These lands have changed hands several times in the past few years. They were originally owned by the Yuan family, and a few years ago they were under the name of Yuan Wendu."

Liu Heizi asked, "Who are Yuan Wendu?"

Lu Chengqing, standing nearby, explained with a smile, "Yuan Wendu was no ordinary man either. He was a descendant of Emperor Jingmu of the Northern Wei Dynasty. During the reign of Emperor Yang, he served as Imperial Censor and Governor of the Eastern Capital. Later, he supported Emperor Taizong and was appointed Grand Secretary and Duke of Lu. He once suggested pacifying Li Mi, which offended Wang Shichong."

Later, Wang Shichong staged a coup and killed Yuan Wendu and others.

Hei Zi chuckled, "I didn't expect him to be a descendant of royalty."

Lu Chengqing pointed to Beiman Mountain, not far upstream, and said, "Do you know how many emperors and generals are buried in Beiman Mountain? Luoyang, the capital of so many dynasties, the former royal descendants, is worthless."

Let alone the Northern Wei imperial family, even the Sui imperial family wasn't worth much.

The official in crimson robes smiled obsequiously, “Later, this land was transferred to Pei Renji and his son Pei Xingyan. Pei Renji came from the Pei clan of Hedong. After his defeat, he joined Wagang. After Li Mi’s defeat, he submitted to Wang Shichong. Wang Shichong valued the bravery of the father and son and even specially married his elder brother’s daughter to Pei Xingyan.”

After acquiring this land, Pei Xingyan annexed some neighboring lands. However, Pei Xingyan later conspired with Yuwen Rutong and others to kill Wang Shichong and return power to Emperor Huangtai. The plot was exposed, and Pei Xingyan and his son were executed.

This land was taken by Pei Xingyan's father-in-law, Prince Qi, Wang Shiyun, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat. He also annexed some surrounding land and acquired some fields from Baima Temple, making up the total of two thousand mu.

They were all connected together, forming manors and workshops.

"I know Wang Shiyun. He's the one who was killed along with Wang Shichong by the seven brothers, including Dugu Xiude?"

"Yes," before the fall of Luoyang, Wang Shiyun had already been promoted to Grand Commandant, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Prince of Qi.

When Wang Shiyun died, none of the land under his name became official property. When the Prince of Qin and the Emperor bestowed 10,000 mu of land upon Li Yi in Henan, they naturally had to prioritize plots that were neat, large in size, fertile, and easy to irrigate.

These two thousand acres of land are located on both banks of the Chan River, making them an excellent choice.

"In the upper reaches of the Chan River, on the Beiman Mountain, there are the famous Big and Small Cherry Valleys. Wang Shiyun originally owned a piece of land there, with valleys and mountains, as well as a manor and villas." The official asked Li Yi if he wanted to buy it, as these properties were currently selling for relatively low prices.

"OK,"

Li Yi casually agreed.

Liu Heizi envied Li Yi's good land, which was already planted with wheat and would be ready for harvest in the summer. Most importantly, many tenant farmers had originally occupied these two thousand acres of land, and now, naturally, the land had become Li Yi's tenant farmers as well.

I walked around the field.
Anyway, everything is in place: boundary markers, the boundaries of the fields, and land deeds are all in place.

"Let's go to the village and take a look."

The village was located by the roadside, with about thirty households. The two thousand mu of land were all rented by them. The men farmed and the women wove; they did not own any land themselves.
Although it has the most fertile farmland, the chaos of war in Luoyang in recent years has...

These people also live hand to mouth; in fact, the people in this village have changed several times. Only a very few are old tenants who have lived here for a long time and have had several different owners.

After entering the village, Li Yi wandered around.
The houses were low, with rammed earth walls and thatched roofs; some were even sheds built directly from firewood. The houses were low and cramped, and on snowy days it was very cold. Tenant families would huddle together, warming themselves by a small fire. They couldn't afford to burn much firewood; fuel was scarce in Henan.

Li Yi originally wanted to gather around the fire to warm up and chat, but he found that there was no fire at all, and he couldn't even feel any temperature; there was just a little bit of charcoal in the ash.

"Have you eaten yet?"

The tenant farmer was terrified, but the head of the farm helped him answer, "There's nothing to do in the winter, so one meal a day is enough. Eating more would be a waste."

This meal was just a haphazard cooking of wheat bran and wild vegetables, neither porridge nor soup, with hardly any grains of rice.

As long as they don't starve to death, that's fine.
For these tenants, having a shelter from the wind and snow in the cold winter, a little fire to bring warmth, and a few bites to eat every day was already enough.

These tenant farmers mostly cultivated several dozen acres of land along the Chan River. Cultivating several dozen acres of land should have been enough to feed their families.
However, due to the war in recent years, Luoyang has been short of food, so most of the grain produced was taken away by landlords, and they were lucky if they could avoid starvation.

"Now Luoyang belongs to the Tang Dynasty, and the Luozhou General Administration is redistributing land. Did you know that?"

The headman answered for them again, “We know. The county and township officials have come and announced it with gongs. We have also been reorganized according to the township, village, and security system. They have also told us about the equal distribution of land.”

"So, are you willing?"

A moment of silence,
After a long while, the old man from the village said, "It's good as it is now. There's no more fighting, and renting out land is not bad. Life will get better and better."

"You don't want the land to be distributed equally?"

The group remained silent.

“Being a tenant farmer or servant is better than being a registered citizen under the government,” the old man said.

The equal land system was tied to the rent, labor service, and tax system. To receive land through the equal land system, one had to register a household and obtain land. Once registered and allocated land, one had to pay rent, labor service, and tax.

Since the Sui Dynasty, the people have been most afraid of taxes and corvée labor. Many people would rather mutilate their own hands and feet to avoid labor service. Some even abandoned their land and fled their registered residence to become servants or slaves of wealthy and powerful families in order to escape taxes.

Ultimately, it comes down to the imbalance between power and obligation.

The burden on the government's good citizens was greater than that on the powerful landlords and tenant farmers; the people made their choice with their feet.

It's not that we're being masochistic; we're just trying to survive.

Alive,

That's their simplest request.

When the officials told the village head that the two thousand acres of land now belonged to Li Yi, who was the Attendant-in-Ordinary and Minister of Works of the Emperor in Chang'an, and the Governor-General and Prefect of Luozhou,

They didn't show much reaction. In recent years, the farm has changed owners almost every year, and sometimes even before a crop is harvested, the farm has changed owners two or three times.

It doesn't matter who you farm for.

Seeing their somewhat numb expressions, Li Yi had already gotten used to it.

“You are now my tenants, and the rent will be reduced. My family’s land rent has always been split 50/50. In the summer wheat harvest, the tenants and I each get half. In the autumn, you can plant some beans or something, and we won’t charge you rent.”

Li Yi's words excited them; this was a real and tangible benefit.

"Also, if you don't have enough food, you can borrow from the estate. This year is special, so the borrowed grain will be interest-free. In normal years, the interest rate for borrowing grain is five sheng per month for every shi (a unit of dry measure)..."

After touring this village with only thirty-odd households, Li Yi felt quite heavy-hearted; their lives were far worse than those of Luo Family Fortress.

“Hei Zi, when you get back, send one shi of grain to each household in this village. I’ll lend it to them, interest-free.”

"Ah Lang is truly kind; these people have only just become Ah Lang's tenants and they are already receiving such good treatment."

Li Yi said to Liu Heizi, "You have also been rewarded with several hundred acres of land in Henan this time, which you will definitely rent out to tenants. Although you have all become generals and commanders, don't forget that you also came from humble backgrounds. Be kinder to your tenants."

Liu Heizi thumped his chest loudly, "Ah Lang is right, we will definitely remember it. We've all suffered together. Ah Lang's family splits the rent 50/50, so we will definitely do the same."

Ah Lang lent grain to the tenants, and I will reciprocate by lending grain to them in return.

When Luo Dafu and Luo Wu saw Li Yi looking over, they immediately patted their chests and said they would do as he said.

"Are you really willing to spend so much, or are you saying one thing and doing another?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

“What’s there to be reluctant about? If we follow Ah Lang, we can earn fame and fortune, and maybe even a noble title in the future. These rents and interest are nothing.” Hei Zi said readily.

As a dignified sixth-rank general, how could he care about such a small gain? Of course, he must follow his master closely.

Liu Heizi asked Li Yi, "Now that I've saved up some money, do you think I should take this opportunity to buy some land in Henan?"

“Yes, if you have the means, you could set up an estate, grow wheat and mulberry trees, raise silkworms and weave silk, or even run some livestock farming and other small workshops like mills. That would be quite good,” Li Yi said.

He treated his followers relatively well, saying, "When you have money, buy land, set up workshops, and ideally, establish a private school to educate the children. Put some land under the clan school's name, making it 'school land.' Also, remember to get a family cemetery and some burial plots."
"With these school lands and burial plots secured, even if something unexpected happens in the future, these lands will not be affected; it can be considered a safety net."

Luo Dafu laughed and said, "Ah Lang's Wuji Academy is growing bigger and bigger. Surely he wouldn't stop our son from studying there."

"Of course your children can study at Wuji Academy, but you can also run a private school. There's no conflict between the two."

Li Yi didn't mind helping Liu Heizi and Luo Dafu. They had always performed quite well. Although they came from humble backgrounds and hadn't received much education, their strength was that they trusted Li Yi completely and obeyed his every word without question. No matter how much he managed or understood them, they would follow his orders without hesitation.

"Now that you've risen in status, there are two things you shouldn't forget. One is that you should naturally acquire some property. Otherwise, if you don't acquire any property and rely on your salary to support your family, you'll inevitably embezzle, accept bribes, and make mistakes sooner or later."

Secondly, you must also read and study regularly to keep up with your cultural level. Although you are in military positions, you still need to read, not just military books, but also the works of Confucianism, Taoism, and other sages.

"I get a headache just thinking about studying. I already know quite a few characters and can write some, so why should I study anymore?"

"Of course, if you want to go far in the future, you must keep learning and improving. Now that you have the means, you can hire one or two scholar retainers."

"Ah Lang, if you arrange one or two for each of us, it will save us a lot of trouble," Liu Heizi said with a chuckle.

"Hmph, you certainly know how to save trouble and be lazy. Read more classic texts and listen to more advice. Your achievements today are due to a confluence of circumstances. Don't think it's all your own ability and become arrogant and conceited," Li Yi especially reminded him.

"We have no special skills; we are all thanks to Ah Lang's support. Without Ah Lang, we are nothing."

Li Yi didn't mean that, but seeing their chest-thumping expressions of loyalty, he didn't bother to say anything more.

"Let's go back to the city,"

Today, after visiting this farm, I truly felt the immense suffering the people of the Central Plains have endured since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)