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

Chapter 406 What has Li Yi been doing lately?
"Your Majesty, a messenger from the Governor-General of Bingzhou has arrived with urgent news from 800 li away."

Palace eunuch Lu Kuan hurriedly delivered an urgent report from Taiyuan. Li Yuan shook his head. Last night was the Lantern Festival.
The emperor was in a good mood when he held a palace banquet, and inevitably drank a few more cups than usual.

Still somewhat hungover, upon hearing the urgent report from Bingzhou, he quickly shook his head, wondering, "Could it be that the Turks have moved south again?"

Lu Kuan handed the sealed memorial to the emperor.

Li Yuan's hands trembled as he opened the letter; his greatest fear now was news from the Turks.

Finally opening the envelope, Li Yuan handed it to Lu Kuan, saying, "Brother Sengnu, please read this."

The emperor's relative by marriage took the letter, glanced at it quickly, and said with delight, "Your Majesty, this is good news. Hu Da'en, the Minister of the Imperial Secretariat under Dou Jiande, has surrendered with Da'an Town."

"What?" Li Yuan looked up abruptly.

"The King of Xiangyi said that Hu Da'en, who is currently stationed in Da'an Town west of Feihu Pass, has offered to surrender!"

Li Yuan took the letter and read it several times.

"Hahaha,"

The emperor laughed loudly, "Good! First Gao Kaidao surrendered, and now Hu Da'en has also surrendered. It seems that with Chuluo Khan dead, his alliance is also over."

"Your Majesty, it could also be a feigned surrender. Hu Da'en said he wants to move his troops to Yanmen," Lu Kuan reminded him.

Li Yuan waved his hand, not taking it to heart.

"Quickly pour me a cup of tea. I drank too much wine last night and I'm a little thirsty."

Lu Kuan personally poured the emperor a cup of honey water.

"Whether Hu Da'en has truly surrendered or not, it doesn't matter. If he wants to move his post to Yanmen, let him have his way."

Yanmen belongs to Daizhou and is still controlled by Yuan Junzhang, a former subordinate of Liu Wuzhou. Previously, when Li Yuan sent Liu Shirang north, he only managed to seize Shiling Pass in a surprise attack.

"Hu Da'en is hereby granted the title of Prince of Dingxiang and Governor-General of Daizhou, and is given the imperial surname Li. He is also granted the title of Pillar of State and is permitted to move his post to Yanmen, where he will continue to guard Feihu Pass."

"Issue another decree to Liu Shirang to immediately capture Xinzhou, north of Bingzhou. Then issue another decree to Zhang Lun to besiege the rebels in Shizhou and march north to recover Lanzhou."

Huai Rong's Gao Kaidao was enfeoffed as the Prince of Beiping and the Governor-General of Weizhou. Now, Hu Da'en is enfeoffed as the Prince of Dingxiang and the Governor-General of Daizhou.

Regardless of whether Hu Da'en and Gao Kaidao's surrender was genuine or not, Wei and Dai are both occupied by Yuan Junzhang, so let them fight like dogs.

The Tang army could take this opportunity to recover Xinzhou and Lanzhou, and consolidate Bingzhou.

If the two of them really surrender, that would be even better.

"Is there still no news from Li Yi?" the emperor asked.

He was referring to Xuzhou. After the fall of Luoyang, the Zheng state was left with only Xuzhou.

But now Xuzhou is an isolated city, and Wang Shibian is still putting up a stubborn resistance.

"not yet."

Li Yuan nodded. "What has Li Yi been doing lately?"

Unaware of this, Li Yuan summoned Qian Jiulong.

What has Li Yi been doing lately?

"After New Year's Day, the Duke of Jin summoned the generals and governors of Henan to Luoyang to meet and discuss matters such as garrisoning troops, provisions, and land distribution."

"Was it all smooth sailing? Were there any of those chief stewards and governors who didn't go to Luoyang, especially Meng Haigong, Xu Yuanlang, Wang Bo, Zhang Qingte, and others from east of the Grand Canal?"

"Almost all the governors and prefects of Henan have arrived, but Meng Haigong and Xu Yuanlang have not come due to illness."

Li Yuan sneered a few times, "This shows he's still half-hearted."

"Is the merger of the General Administration Office and the Prefecture of Luozhou by Li Yi proceeding smoothly?" the Emperor asked again.

"So far, everything is going smoothly."

Luozhou, formerly Wang Shichong's Sizhou, is now established as Luozhou by the Tang Dynasty, with a General Administration Office. This differs from previous General Administration Offices in that...
The Luozhou General Administration now governs nine prefectures: Luo, Gu, Xiong, Yi, Ru, Lu, Zheng, Guan, and Song.

Among them, Guzhou and Xiongzhou were originally Xin'an County and Shou'an County, which were established after the Tang army captured them during its first eastern expedition.

The three prefectures of Yi, Ru, and Lu were originally the territory of Zhang Shanxiang, a former general of Li Mi. After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, the Yi Prefecture General Administration was established there. After Li Yi's last attempt to persuade them to surrender, Zhang Yin, Wang Xian, and others established the Yi and Ye Prefectures, which comprised four prefectures.
The current plan is to abolish the two governorates of Yi and Ye and Ye Prefecture.

The General Administration Offices of Songzhou, Qinzhou, Xingzhou, Zhengzhou, and Guanzhou, as well as Mizhou, were all abolished, and the prefectures of Mizhou, Qinzhou, and Xingzhou were also abolished.
Only Zhengzhou and Guanzhou will be retained.

This means that seven governorates will be abolished and four prefectures will be eliminated at once.

Although this adjustment did not involve the entire Henan province, but only the Luozhou General Administration, it was still a very clear indication of the direction of the situation, and could even be described as a test.

Previously, in order to eliminate Wang Shichong, he was extremely generous to those who surrendered, granting them titles such as governor, prefect, and duke. Some who only had a prefecture were promoted to governor, and those who only had a county were forcibly promoted to prefecture and made prefect.

However, such chaotic zoning can only be a temporary expedient.

It's impossible for nine out of ten sheep to be shepherds.

Let's start with Luoyang.
This has a hint of discarding a useful tool after it has served its purpose, which Li Yuan was quite concerned about.

Of course, at this stage, the officials of the former governorships and prefectures who have been dismissed will not be directly removed from their posts or demoted. Instead, they will be transferred back to Chang'an or reassigned to other governorships or prefectures at the same level.

A chief steward is at least a third-rank official. After entering the court, he can first be appointed as a general in one of the Twelve Guards, or directly given a general title. For example, the Champion General is a third-rank official, and the tenth-rank general title is specifically set up for military officers without official duties.

"I still have more faith in Li Yi's abilities. I had originally considered having Minister of War, Duke Jiang, Qu Tutong, garrison Luoyang, but most of Henan was recruited by Li Yi, so it would be more appropriate for him to stay and garrison the area."

I'm a little worried that he's too young and inexperienced to handle these things.

"I have observed that Li Yi, in his administration of Hedong and his efforts to pacify Henan, has acted with great prudence."

Li Yuan nodded. "Give Li Yi a secret decree: if Meng Haigong, Xu Yuanlang, and the others continue to outwardly comply but inwardly defy you, they may be executed if the opportunity arises." Luoyang.

Li Yi would take time every day to meet with one or two chief stewards and three or five prefects.

It was also a rare occasion. The various chief stewards and governors lined up to see him, but the meetings were short. They were asked to bring their chief clerks or military commanders to report on the basic situation of their respective jurisdictions and then discuss the next steps.

The Tang Dynasty's victory over Wang Shichong in a single battle, along with the news of Chuluo Khan's assassination, won over the military leaders and powerful clans of Henan.

Especially now, the news of Chuluo Khan's death is spreading like wildfire in Luoyang. According to this rumor, Chuluo Khan originally summoned 400,000 Turkic archers and also recruited a group of heroes such as Dou Jiande, Yuan Junzhang, and Liang Shidu, intending to launch a five-pronged attack on Tang and take Chang'an in one fell swoop.

As a result, he was in Mayi.

He was assassinated by Zheng Yuanzhu, an envoy of the Tang emperor, who was ordered to do so.

The most astonishing part of the rumors was that the newly enthroned Khan, Jieli, was supported by the Tang Dynasty. These rumors were so detailed and convincing that they seemed almost true.

The Tang emperor could kill Chuluo Khan, who commanded 400,000 archers, at will, and install a new Khan whenever he pleased.
Which of these warlords and powerful figures in Henan did not fear?

The establishment of the Luozhou General Administration Office and the abolition of the seven General Administration Offices proceeded smoothly and without incident.

The two cousins, Wang Xian, the governor of Yezhou, and Wang Xiong, the governor of Songzhou, were the first to express their support. Wang Xian was originally just a clerk in Luoyang, and Wang Xiong was merely a county magistrate.
They were a bit confused when they first took office as chief stewards. Now that Li Yi wants to abolish these two chief stewardships, he has explained to them that the court has granted them the title of Silver Seal Grand Master, a third-rank honorary position.

The gold and purple grades can still be retained.

They can return to Chang'an to wait for selection. When there is a vacancy for the chief steward, they will be considered.

Of course, one could stay in Luozhou, but then one could only serve as the governor for the time being.

Li Yi gave them time to consider it.

I saw the two of them again today.

"What's your decision?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

Wang Xiong said, "I am willing to stay and serve under the Attendant-in-Ordinary of Luozhou."

"The position of Prefect of Songzhou is now vacant."

"This humble official will follow all arrangements made by the court and the Grand Councilor." Wang Xiong replied without hesitation.

This attitude pleased Li Yi and would also please the imperial court.

Wang Xian knew his own situation, so he never even dared to dream of becoming the governor. He wisely agreed to step down and give way to a more capable person, saying, "This humble official is willing to go to Chang'an and follow the arrangements of the court."

Given Wang Xian's situation, even if he were to arrive in Chang'an, it would be impossible for him to be given any real position. He would most likely be appointed to a temporary post such as a local pacification commissioner.

"Minister, the Duke of Wuyang of Xuzhou has sent news of victory," Liu Heizi reported as he entered.

"Xuzhou has surrendered?"

"Sikong Shensuan, Cunxiao escorted Wang Qiong to the city of Xuzhou to persuade him to surrender. After seeing his father, Wang Shibian finally believed that Luoyang had fallen and Wang Shichong had surrendered. So he led Guo Shiheng and his troops to open the gates of Xuzhou and surrender."

Wang Shibian was the son of Wang Qiong, the Prince of Chen and uncle of Wang Shichong. He was enfeoffed as the Prince of Qi and the governor of Xuzhou.

Wang Qiong and Wang Shichong's father were half-brothers, sharing the same mother but different fathers. Wang Shichong's ancestors were originally from the Western Regions and were surnamed Zhi. Later, his grandfather, Zhi Tuiru, moved to Xinfeng County. After his early death, his wife remarried into the Wang family of Jingzhao and gave birth to Wang Qiong. Wang Shichong's father, Zhi Shou, also remarried into the Wang family along with his mother and changed his surname to Wang.

Wang Shou later rose to the position of governor of Huai and Bian prefectures, which shows that Wang Shichong actually had a very good foundation.

The Wang family of Jingzhao still provided him with considerable assistance.

Wang Shibian, as Wang Shichong's cousin, was considered one of the more capable members of the Wang clan. He had previously led troops to defeat the two generals, Li Gongyi and Zhang Shanxiang, and was later stationed in Xuzhou.

Upon seeing the news brought by his own father that Luoyang had fallen and Wang Shichong had surrendered, Wang Shibian had no choice but to surrender as well.

Li Yi was not surprised by this result. It was impossible for Wang Shibian to continue to hold Xuzhou. Even if he wanted to, his soldiers would not.

Victory in Chang'an!

This can be considered a belated Lantern Festival gift to the emperor.

The swift horse arrived in Chang'an in triumph.

Soon after receiving the report, the emperor issued an edict appointing Li Daliang as the governor of Xuzhou, while Ren Gui, the prefect of Guzhou, would succeed Li Daliang as the governor of Anzhou.

In the Henan region, the General Administration Offices were reorganized again, retaining Luozhou, Shanzhou, Huaizhou, Yuzhou, Bozhou, Xuzhou, as well as Qingzhou, Qizhou, Caozhou, Haizhou, Yanzhou, and Bianzhou, for a total of twelve General Administration Offices.

The Luozhou General Administration Office was the Upper General Administration Office.

Two-thirds of the General Administration Office was abolished at once, and a large number of prefectures and counties were also merged or abolished.

Many former governors and prefects received orders from the imperial court to come to the capital immediately after their governorships and prefectures were abolished or merged.

Of the twelve governors—Li Yi of Luozhou, Luo Shixin of Shanzhou, Huang Junhan of Huaizhou, Shi Wanbao of Yuzhou, Li Daliang of Xuzhou, Sheng Yanshi of Bozhou, and Li Shiji of Bianzhou—seven are now officials of the imperial court.

At this time, Meng Haigong, the governor of Caozhou, Xu Yuanlang, the governor of Yanzhou, Wang Bu, the governor of Qizhou, Zang Junxiang, the governor of Haizhou, and Qi Gongshun, the governor of Qingzhou, were still relatively independent local separatist forces.

Li Yi felt that the emperor was getting a little impatient. Although these things needed to be done, it wasn't the right time.

In the evening, he soaked in the hot water pool, while Huo Yu, wearing a gauze dress, went into the water.

"What are you daydreaming about? Are you reluctant to see me leave?"

"Yes, I really can't bear to part with it."

Huo Yu is returning to Chang'an. The Lizhou General Administration Office has been abolished and merged into the Huaizhou General Administration Office. Huo Yu is returning to the capital, and his son, Li Wenxiang, is now the Duke of Wen and the Prefect of Weizhou. Li Wenxiang's promotion to Duke is attributed to Huo Yu. Huo Yu has become the Dowager Lady of Wen, relinquishing power and retiring.

Huo Yu was very satisfied with Li Yi's reply, "Then cherish it while you still have time before you leave."

(End of this chapter)