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

Chapter 409 Seventy-Two Military Prefectures

Early February,
Yin Ashu and the others happily went to take up their posts, and Consorts Yin and Zhang finally returned to Luoyang.

Li Yi looked at the list Lu Chengqing handed him; they had taken all the treasures from the treasury with them when they left. "They also took quite a bit more privately," he added.

"It's alright, just make a list of those items and submit it to the Emperor."

Yin and Zhang coveted the land outside Luoyang owned by Li Shentong and several other meritorious officials, but of course no one was willing to give it to them, and the two left with dissatisfaction.

They didn't have much dissatisfaction with Li Yi, after all, he had done practical things for them, so they could only vent their anger on the Prince of Huai'an's mansion and others.

"Judging from their expressions, this matter is probably not over even after they return to the capital," Lu Chengqing said.

"Let them fight it out, it has nothing to do with us."

It's February, and spring plowing will begin soon. Li Yi is more concerned about the equal distribution of land and spring plowing.

"The benevolent rule of the Chamberlain is still appreciated by many people. Nowadays, many people are choosing to settle down and be granted land, and are engaging in mutual assistance in the form of five groups and bao (units of land)."

The implication of this statement is that many ordinary people, especially displaced people, choose to become servants, tenants, or even slaves of nobles, powerful landlords, and wealthy landowners.

Especially those former powerful tenant farmers, few of them were willing to come out and give away land this time. Of the thirty-odd tenant farmers who owned two thousand acres of land along the Chan River, none of them left after the land was transferred to Li Yi's name.

Especially after Li Yi lent each of them a bushel of grain, they became even more convinced that Li Yi, their new employer, was kind and benevolent, and were even more reluctant to leave.

Settling down and receiving land meant uncertainty and the return to the burden of taxes and corvée labor. Many bankrupt farmers had no means of production, even though the government said that the imperial court would lend them some and organize them to cooperate and help each other.

"As long as the policy is properly publicized, there's no need to force it."

Li Yi was certainly aware that household registration represented taxes and corvée labor, and political achievements, but now that the great war had passed, things had to be more lenient. He couldn't always stand from the perspective of the court or the officials, saying that this was for your own good or that was for your own good.

Ordinary people do indeed have their own concerns and difficulties.

Another issue is the government. At present, it doesn't have the organizational capacity to guarantee the rental of seeds, farm tools, oxen, etc. for too many newly settled people.

At this point, it wouldn't be a bad thing to let some people who were willing to continue following the powerful landlords or even the temples attach themselves to them.

This is a great opportunity for ordinary people, but only those with a firm will and a long-term vision can seize it.

Such opportunities are rare.
The policy of equal land distribution requires that there be land to distribute, and only during periods of dynastic change like now can so much land be distributed.

But after this wave,
Most of the land would be seized by nobles and powerful families, government officials and armies, temples and monks, leaving only a small portion for the common people.
After this round, the land basically had owners again, and ordinary people would never have thought of such a good thing as land redistribution.

Don't be fooled by the fact that farmland is worthless now, and that there seems to be a lot of wasteland. That's because of war and other factors. Once things stabilize,

Nobles, officials, powerful figures, and monks would immediately seize all of these lands.

Li Yi also tried to persuade the tenants in Chanhe Village to divide the land, but they themselves were unwilling. No matter what the reason, they were the ones who refused.

“Those who have been allocated land lack seeds and farming tools. The local government must find ways to help them get spring planting done.”

The war ended last winter, and some fields were planted with wheat, but much of the land is still barren. This spring, millet, sorghum, and other autumn crops will be planted.

From the court's perspective, Li Yi could disregard who owned these lands for the time being, but these lands had to be restored to cultivation and planted with grain as much as possible.

"We can call Liu Rengui back now,"

Lu Chengqing thought of Liu Rengui's courage to draw his sword against Consort Yin's father, and he admired him but also thought he was too impulsive. "It would be better to let Military Advisor Liu stay with Chief Steward Li in Xuzhou. He is too impulsive. Although he is upright, this kind of temperament can easily cause trouble for the Grand Councilor."

“I really need someone like him by my side right now. As long as I don’t run into someone like Yin Ashu again, I don’t need to worry.”

Dealing with local powerful figures, monks, even gentry families, as well as meritorious officials and newly rich, can be quite a headache. But with a formidable person like Liu Rengui, many things become much easier.

The entire province of Henan is currently busy with internal restructuring.

The General Administration Office was abolished, prefectures and counties were merged, displaced people were appeased, and land was distributed equally.

The clash of interests involved is enormous.
Regardless of Cao Yan's situation, the seven chief stewards here are all busy reorganizing internal affairs and addressing the biggest conflicts of interest.
The victorious Tang Dynasty court will undoubtedly begin to parachute in officials to take over local prefectures and counties. The former warlords or officials sent by the Luoyang court will face a major replacement and purge.

Each of the seven chief stewards commanded troops, possessing formidable military strength as a guarantee.

If local authorities refuse to cooperate, fighting will inevitably break out eventually. Of course, such a final showdown is relatively rare; more often, both sides will use various methods, probes, and compromises.

The eight immortals cross the sea, each showing their magical powers.

Power must always be earned, and how much one can gain depends on their own abilities.

In any case, many things are a matter of one rising while another falls, and often involve twists and turns, rather than being achieved in one step.

The powerful clans and noble families of Guanzhong, along with the newly wealthy military figures of Shandong who had pledged allegiance to the imperial court, were engaged in a contest with the powerful local magnates of Henan.
The last time was a military contest, in which the Tang Dynasty won a great victory. This second half of the contest, though without the smoke of gunpowder, will not be easy either.

Li Yi received a reward of 15,000 mu of land in Henan and another 5,000 mu in Shannan. He was a representative figure of the vested interest group of the Guanzhong clique under the imperial court.
In the eyes of the local powerful families, they were outsiders, invaders, but also victors.

Faced with this situation, many local powerful figures would choose to adapt to the times, turn around and embrace the victors, either by seeking refuge or through marriage alliances; in short, they would have to get back on the dinner table. Those who couldn't get on the dinner table would become food on it.

Nobody wants to be served at the table, so even if it means paying a price, they have to squeeze onto the table.

For thousands of years, powerful clans and wealthy families have been very familiar with this system. There are no dynasties that last for thousands of years, but there are clans that last for thousands of years.

Even if they have to give up some benefits now, as long as they can continue to sit at the table, they can replenish and recover by exploiting the lower classes.

Unless they encounter figures like Hou Jing or Huang Chao, powerful clans have no fear of dynastic changes, war, or famine.

War and famine can wipe out many people, but some powerful families have also perished as a result.

"During the Daye era, before the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, Henan Province had 1.4 million households and a population of 8.8 million."

Li Yi sighed, noting that the current registered population of Henan Province is only 300,000 households, with a total population of less than two million.

Li Yi knew that this number was likely exaggerated. Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, Henan Province, as the center of the country, had suffered the most severe war and famine, and the period of turmoil had lasted the longest.

But it wouldn't mean losing over six million people all at once.

Many people became unregistered migrants and tenants, dependent on powerful families and temples, and many even became slaves. These people were not counted. Li Yi estimated that there should still be one or two million households in this group.

Less than ten years of war and turmoil,
Henan Province lost five million people, more than half of whom died, while some fled to surrounding areas.

Only about 20% of the registered population remains.

“Once things settle down, the population can double in thirty years,” said Lu Chengqing, who came from the Lu clan of Fanyang, one of five surnames and seven families, and was well aware of this cycle of order and chaos.

After the war, the imperial court and powerful families were vying for population; whoever controlled the most people would naturally gain more resources.

Li Yi produced an imperial edict.
"The Emperor decreed that seventy-two military prefectures be established in Henan. Now, the seven general prefectures east of the Grand Canal will have twenty prefectures in Luozhou, and the remaining six general prefectures will each have fifty-two prefectures."

The imperial guards remained the most reliable military force in the eyes of the court.

Now that we've taken over Henan, we naturally need to extend this strategy there as well.

After the establishment of the military government, soldiers and their families were moved to the local garrison, and land was allocated to them. The old army was also reorganized from the local area, or new soldiers were selected from good families in the upper class.

The military government consisted of the General of the Cavalry and the General of the Chariots, which were originally the Eagle Banner Prefecture of the Sui Dynasty. When the Tang Dynasty was first established, it was renamed the General of the Army. Later, the larger prefecture was renamed the General of the Cavalry and the smaller prefecture was renamed the General of the Chariots, each commanded by a General of the Cavalry and a General of the Chariots.

"Our Luozhou General Administration has twenty military districts, ten cavalry districts, each with 1,200 men, and ten chariot and horse districts, each with 800 men."

Luozhou, the center of Guandong, was highly valued by the emperor, who allocated 20,000 troops to it.

The soldiers under Li Yi's command will now become the backbone of the approximately 70,000 soldiers in the 72 military prefectures of Henan Province. With them as the framework, 72 military prefectures will be established, and local troops will be reorganized and new soldiers recruited to fill the 72 prefectures.

Once these seventy-two prefectures are completed...
Then Henan Province won't be able to cause any trouble.

"Fortunately, as the Chamberlain instructed, a lot of land was reserved in advance. Otherwise, if Luozhou suddenly had twenty new military prefectures and 20,000 soldiers, even if each soldier had 100 mu of land, that would still require 2 million mu of fertile land."

Li Yi laughed and said, "This was expected long ago. The military farmland of these new military garrisons cannot be discounted. They must choose good farmland, with each person receiving a full 100 mu."

Furthermore, the official lands and public lands of each military prefecture must be guaranteed in full; this is the foundation of the imperial court's power in Henan and cannot be compromised.

Lu Chengqing nodded.

Later, Li Yi summoned the Luo family from Luojiabao, as well as Li Cunxiao and his group.

He told them about the imperial court's plan to establish a military prefecture in Henan.
"This is also an opportunity for you. Hei Zi, you are now a General of Chariots and Cavalry, and you have moved to Henan with the army. You will be promoted to General of the Cavalry soon. Da Fu, you are both Generals of Chariots and Cavalry and Generals of the Cavalry. You will also be promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry soon."

Li Cunxiao's four Qiang generals are now all Langjiang (a military rank). "Are we going to be demoted to Piaoji General?" they laughed. The four of them now speak Mandarin without any accent, and you can't even tell from their attire.

"That's definitely not the case. It's just that according to the Emperor's decree, while seventy-two military prefectures are to be established in Henan, the Henan military camp must also be maintained with 20,000 troops. The four of you will stay behind to command the cavalry as chief officers and cannot return to Guanzhong for the time being."

“We couldn’t be happier to follow Ah Lang, as we can both earn merit and receive rewards,” Cunxiao said with a smile.

Liu Heizi and the others hesitated. They were reluctant to leave Chang'an and wanted to stay in Yusu Township as neighbors with Li Yi.

“Your ancestral home is still in Wannian Yusu Township, right? I, Li Yi, am now an official in Luoyang, but my home is still in Wuji Fort.”

Officers were different from ordinary soldiers. Soldiers had to move their families to the military prefecture's location to settle down. Officers, however, could be transferred but retained their original residence.

"Ah Lang, is war about to break out?" Liu Heizi asked.

"Be prepared, always be prepared," Li Yi replied.

Intelligent people can see from the court's arrangements that storms are brewing and war may break out at any moment.

"Is Dou Jiande heading south, or should we head north to fight him?" Dafu asked.

(End of this chapter)