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

Chapter 416 The Zheng Family Doesn't Give Me Face
“Xu Yuanlang of Yanzhou, Zhang Qingte and Fu De of Jizhou, Zheng Qianfu and Qi Gongshun of Qingzhou, Wang Bu of Qizhou, and Han Hong of Huazhou have all defected. What are you still hesitating about, Lord Meng?” Fan Yuan named one name after another, all of them powerful figures from the east of the Grand Canal in Henan.

These are all leaders who rose up in rebellion since the Sui Dynasty's chaos; those who have survived to this day are no ordinary people.

"They've all submitted to the Xia King?" Meng Haigong was a little surprised. These people, like him, had previously relied on Dou Jiande, but during the Battle of Luoyang, they all switched allegiance to the Tang Dynasty. Who wasn't constantly switching sides?

"Li Yuan was intolerant of people. Don't be fooled by his promises of official positions; look at how he ultimately discarded them after they had served their purpose. Xue Rengao, Li Gui, Wang Shichong, Li Mi—which of these people had a good ending?"

He even killed his own key figures, Liu Wenjing, Li Zhongwen, and Zhao Wenge, who had been granted immunity from death.

How could he possibly be truly kind to you? Li Yuan has only sent a few officials, and they've already turned your world upside down. If you were to actually submit, disband your troops, and hand over your money and provisions, you'd be well on your way to death.

The Tang army will then become increasingly emboldened, stationing troops there and summoning you to court. Once you have neither military power nor territory, killing you will only require a single courier.

Meng Haigong felt that although Dou Jiande had a reputation for benevolence, he had also killed Prime Minister Ling Jing and General Wang Fubao.

"it is good,"

After some hesitation, Meng Haigong decided to rebel.

Meng Dangui excitedly said, "I'll take men to capture that donkey-grass Yin Ashu right now, and use his blood to sacrifice to the flag so we can swear an alliance!"

Luoyang City
Li Yi needed money to study the feasibility of bonds, to provide disaster relief, to restore production, and to restore Luoyang's status as the center of industry and commerce in the world.

We need food and money, but we're stretched thin everywhere.

Currently, local officials in Luoyang do not receive any salary. They receive neither an annual salary nor a monthly salary. They are that powerful. This is not unique to Luoyang. Several years after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, only officials in the capital receive salaries; local officials do not.

The court's solution was to issue official land, giving officials more land than those in the capital, and even charging higher rents for such land. Officials could also have their family members hire tenants or arrange for others to cultivate the land, thus increasing their income.

Of course, this is only what is visible on the surface.
Officials also had ways to make some income for themselves in private, from lending money from the government office to adding extra fuel costs when collecting taxes and levies, charging a fee for transportation, and charging fees for everything they did at the government office, such as fees for paper and pen, and fees for straw sandals.

They could also collect a sum of money by assigning labor service.

As for industry and commerce, they can skim off even the smallest profits, and setting up checkpoints to collect money is the most basic practice.

In fact, it's always been the same throughout history: as long as you have power, you can always make money.

In addition to the regular national taxes, additional fees can be levied, and donations can be solicited in addition to these fees.

The difference between different places might just be which is more ruthless.

Li Yi can't make a clean break right now either.
All he can do is impose some restrictions and draw a red line.

For example, there is no standard for various fire losses, and they vary from place to place. The poorer the prefecture or county, the greater these additional fire losses are actually, and the names are not uniform. Some are called rat losses, some are called sparrow and rat grains, etc. The additional charges can be as much as 40% or 50%, or even double.

Even the lowest percentages are often 20-30%.

Even the additional fire tax will only add to the burden.

The expenses of government offices are basically passed on to the people, usually on a per capita basis.

Li Yi can't simply cut these off now because it involves too many people. To put it bluntly, officials don't receive salaries, and clerks only have a meager ration. If these people don't find some income in this way...
Officials and clerks would starve to death, and local government offices would be unable to function.

Unless the imperial court can allocate funds to solve these problems, they will not be addressed here, but elsewhere.

Li Yi could only set a standard for some of these major additional levies. For example, if you collect grain, you would add a fire loss levy of up to two dou per shi, which is equivalent to an additional 20% to make up for the actual losses and to cover local expenses.

Li Yi demanded that this fire tax be deposited into the local public account. This money was to be used for government expenses, official subsidies, etc., which was essentially a way to make a previously unclear sum of money more regulated.

After deducting normal expenses such as collection, storage, and transportation, about 10% is left, which is at least 10%. It is quite necessary to use this for government expenses and subsidies for officials.

Officials are like sheepdogs for the imperial court; they must be fed, or they will eat the sheep.

Previously, 30% to 50% of the waste was collected, or even doubled, but that's no longer allowed. Now, according to the new standard, it's 20%, with 10% used to cover normal losses and 10% used for government offices and officials' welfare.

Anyone who dares to overcharge on fire consumption will be punished by Li Yi.

No rules no standards.

First establish the rules, then investigate the responsibilities; Li Yi doesn't practice the "punish without warning" approach.

Local governments incur additional official expenses, such as for bridge and road construction, dike repair, and water conservancy projects. The shortfall beyond the funding from higher authorities and donations still falls on the shoulders of ordinary people.

However, Li Yi also requested that this fee be collected in two installments: one half based on the number of people, levied only on adult males, and the other half based on the amount of land, levied per mu (unit of land area).

This is actually a way of indirectly reducing the burden on ordinary people. After all, the poll tax is a heavy burden on the poor, but it is relatively insignificant for the rich.

Half of the tax is allocated to the fields; those with more land are taxed more, while those with less or no land are taxed less or not at all.

This approach makes taxation relatively fairer while also making it easier to collect the money. After all, it's incredibly difficult to squeeze much money out of the poor, while the rich can easily get away with just a little bit.

"The Zheng family of Xingyang only agreed to pay two liters of grain per mu and refused to donate more. They said that after years of war and famine, the Zheng family had no surplus grain and that the family had a large population and they had to buy and transport grain from other places at high prices."

The Zheng family is showing no respect.
Of course, it was Li Yi who didn't give them face first.

The Crown Prince intervened, arranging for Li Yi to take Zheng Shanguo's daughter as a concubine. However, Li Yi refused, so the Crown Prince publicized the matter, and everyone knew about it.
Li Yi couldn't refuse directly, so he started to stall.

He kept putting it off from last year until this year, using his constant absence as an excuse.

Originally, the Zheng family of Xingyang felt it was a real injustice that their daughter, from one of the five prominent families, was being given to Li Yi as a concubine, out of respect for the Crown Prince.
But Li Yi was still unwilling, and now the Zheng family was being ridiculed by some well-informed aristocratic families.

The Zheng family of Xingyang has now boarded the big ship of the Tang Dynasty.
Zheng Shanguo was enfeoffed as Duke of Xingyang and Left Vice-Chancellor of the Crown Prince, concurrently serving as Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Zheng Yuanzhu was enfeoffed as Duke of Xin and Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. The Zheng family also produced a Crown Princess.

If Li Yi doesn't give them face, they dare to do the same.

"Are they unwilling to lend either grain or money?" Li Yi asked. "If the Chamberlain personally visits and discusses the matter, I estimate they will lend some."

If Li Yi were to come to their door, the Zheng family would probably force him to take Zheng Rou Niang away. He was very unhappy about being forced into this situation.

"In that case, let's ignore the Zheng family for now."

“But if the Zheng family of Xingyang sets a precedent, other major clans will follow suit,” Zhang Liang whispered to Li Yi, offering a plan. “I can arrange for someone to hide some armor, crossbows, and shields in their manor, and then claim that someone reported it and lead a search party to find them.”

Possessing armor and crossbows is a serious crime.

According to the laws of the Tang Dynasty, possessing a crossbow was punishable by two and a half years of imprisonment, while possessing three crossbows and a suit of armor was punishable by exile for two thousand li.

Anyone who secretly possesses three armor plates and five crossbows shall be hanged without exception.

A powerful clan like the Zheng family of Xingyang would have their own fortified villages and certainly possess many weapons such as long spears, crossbows, and arrows, but strictly according to the law, they were not allowed to own armor and crossbows.

However, during times of war, the Zheng family must have secretly kept crossbows and armor.

Zhang Liang doesn't need to find the crossbows they hid; he can just frame some of them.

Li Yi looked at this guy; he seemed honest and kind, but his scheme was quite ruthless.

Doing this would mean a complete break with the Zheng family of Xingyang, a fight to the death.

Li Yi wasn't afraid of the Zheng family, but if they really went head-to-head, he might not be able to gain the upper hand.

“There’s no need to resort to such underhanded tactics,” he chuckled. “Back in Sishui, the two most prominent families in the county were the Wenren and Zhou families. One was very pragmatic and cooperative, while the other, like the Zheng family, ended up like that. Do you know what happened to the Zhou family later?”

Zhang Liang was naturally aware of this matter. Li Yi's investigation of the Zhou family was merely a routine matter, investigating their numerous illegal activities, including encroaching on land, engaging in market manipulation, usury, forcing women into slavery and prostitution, and so on.

They dug up all the Zhou family's past disputes with others, found the original victims, and reopened these cases.
Finally, one crime after another, the Zhou family was burdened with a mountain of crimes, and ended up with their property confiscated and them exiled.

There's no need to be so harsh on the Zheng family of Xingyang. Just investigate one or two things they did, send one or two members of the Zheng family to jail, or even just convict one or two of the Zheng family's stewards.

Zheng learned of Li Yi's attitude.

Li Yi believed that the Zheng family wouldn't dare to confront him so directly for a little money and grain. After all, he was the Pacification Commissioner of Henan and Hebei, and the Governor-General of Luozhou.

The current official is more powerful than the one in charge; they should understand this principle.

“Then should I go and talk to the Zheng family again? Perhaps there’s no need for that at all,” Zhang Liang couldn’t help but say. “I heard that the Duke of Xingyang wants to give his daughter to the Chamberlain as a concubine. If the Chamberlain accepts her, wouldn’t everyone be happy?”

Zhang Liang came from a farming family.

His hometown is Xingyang, and he has looked up to the Zheng family of Xingyang since he was a child.

For a commoner like him, the Zheng family of Xingyang was like heaven.

Zheng's daughter, Zheng Shanguo's daughter, even if not born of the principal wife, is still a legitimate daughter of one of the five prominent families, a noble lady of a major clan.

Zhang Liang once dreamed that if he had the chance to enter the Zheng family manor in Xingyang and become a minor steward, and marry a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch of the Zheng family, he would be extremely satisfied. He only dared to think about it in his dreams.

Li Yi actually rejected Zheng Shanguo's daughter.

If he had such an opportunity, he would agree to any condition.

“Taking Zheng Shanguo’s daughter as a concubine is not a big deal, but I don’t like their way of doing things.”

Zhang Liang smiled wryly, finding it hard to understand.

“Zhang Sima, don’t underestimate yourself. Work hard and one day you will become a prime minister. Not to mention the daughter of the Zheng family, you will have the opportunity to marry the daughters of the five noble families of Cui, Lu, Li, Zheng and Wang.”

“Impossible. The five major surnames in Shandong do not marry into poor families.” Zhang Liang shook his head.

“What’s impossible? Three years ago, I proposed marriage to the Du family of Jingzhao, but they absolutely refused. But look, three years later, the Zheng family of Xingyang, whose family is even more prestigious than the Du family of Jingzhao, has already offered their daughter to me as a concubine.”

"Keep trying, anything is possible. Do a good job as the Sima of the Luozhou General Administration Office. In a few years, if you have enough political achievements, I will help you become the governor."

Zhang Liang's face flushed red, his eyes gleaming with excitement. Li Yi's words had successfully ignited his ambition.

I vow to marry a woman from one of the five surnames in this lifetime!
at night,

After Huo Yu and Li Yi finished their lovemaking, they cuddled together in the same blanket and slept.

"You didn't touch the women who were confiscated from Dugu Huaien's family and not given to you before. And you didn't touch the ten palace women from Luoyang that Consort Yin and Consort Zhang selected and bestowed upon you on behalf of His Majesty last time."

"This Zheng woman from Xingyang is still a virgin, how can you still be so disdainful of her?"

"I've never looked down on any of them, okay? I don't lack women now, so what's the rush?"

"Don't men all like to possess and conquer?"

"I don't have a hobby of stamp collecting."

Huo Yu didn't understand the meaning of stamp collecting and was puzzled.

"For the sake of those starving people, are you really willing to offend those powerful and influential families? Is it worth it?"

“I am not doing this for the sake of those starving people. I am simply acting according to my conscience. As the Pacification Commissioner of Henan and Hebei, and also the Governor-General and Prefect of Luozhou, I must fulfill my duties in this position. Besides, many people will benefit from doing this, including myself, so what is there to hesitate about?”

"I admire you more and more; I just love you the way you are." Huo Yu's almond-shaped eyes were misty.

(End of this chapter)