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

Chapter 427 Death by Crashing into Prison
More than 8,000 shi of grain were confiscated from Xiaoyun Temple. Li Yi kept his word and instructed Zhang Gongjin to return some money and grain to the surrounding people according to the account books and debt contracts found in the temple.

Finally, four thousand bushels of grain, along with a great deal of money and silk, were distributed.

The villagers who received the grain could hardly believe that such a windfall had actually fallen from the sky.

"The royal army!"

"I never imagined there were such good soldiers."

Since the beginning of the Daye era, there have been more than ten years of famine and war. I have seen all kinds of armies, all of which demand grain and money. When have they ever given money and grain to the people?
Not to mention, they also helped them forgive many of Xiaoyun Temple's debts.

Looking at the bags of grain, Lao Bai, in his excitement, made a surprising decision.

"Offer half of the grain to the imperial army."

"what?"

The villagers of Baibaozi were puzzled; with the harvest season coming to an end, this grain was a lifesaver.

Old Bai said, "If it weren't for Li Sikong, we wouldn't have been able to get back a single grain of food. In fact, after the summer harvest, most of the wheat we harvested would have to go to Xiaoyun Temple."

Now that we have so much grain, we don't need to give any more grain to the temple after the summer harvest, which greatly reduces our burden.

One should know how to be grateful.

"If we give half to the imperial court, won't we still have half left?"

Under the old leader's decision, the Baibaozi tribe finally agreed to give half of the grain they had just received to the government troops.

Old Bai also approached the clan chiefs and elders of other fortresses and proposed that they donate grain.

A group of old men sat together chewing on millet porridge, and they also felt that what Lao Bai said made sense.

Therefore, they all decided to donate half of the grain they had just received to the imperial court.

Li Yi was somewhat surprised when he heard the news.

In times of chaos, food is more valuable than gold.

These old men are quite wise; by offering this grain, they are repaying a great favor.

"Take it,"

Li Yi asked Song Yi to bring some paper.
Lay out the paper and grind the ink.

Li Yi wrote a banner for each of these village elders, which could be made into a plaque to commend their loyalty and righteousness.

Of the four thousand shi of grain sent out, two thousand shi returned.

Li Yi hunted in the wild near Xiaoyun Temple and obtained six thousand shi of grain.

Each soldier receives six dou of rations per month, so six thousand shi of grain is enough to feed ten thousand men for a month. If this six thousand shi of grain were to be transported from the rear, it would consume a great deal of grain for both the people and the horses.

Make a lot of money.

"Where is Xu Yuanlang's army? Why haven't we seen them yet?"

Li Yi led his army into Yanzhou and captured Jinxiang and Fangyu counties along the He River, but he did not see Xu Yuanlang's army.

"He probably knew he was no match for Sikong."

"Since he won't come, then we'll go find him. We'll go upstream along the Si River and head straight for Yanzhou."

Tanzhou and Pingling City.

Li Yiman received an order from the military commander Sheng Yanshi to go to Xuchang for a meeting.

“Uncle, you can’t go,” Li Wuyi advised.

"I have to go this time." Li Yiman could ignore Wang Bo, but he had to go when Sheng Yanshi summoned him.

"I will select a thousand men to escort my uncle there."

Li Yiman shook his head, "I went to explain to Steward Sheng that we are not going to fight a war. What is the point of taking so many soldiers? Right now, we are short of food and there is no grain in the prefecture. Sending a thousand soldiers to Xuchang will consume too much food on the way. It is really unnecessary."

"But what if they intend to harm my uncle?"

"I believe that Steward Sheng is not an unreasonable person."

Li Yiman led only twenty horsemen to Xuchang City.

From Pingling to Xuchang, it was more than 300 li. Li Yiman, who was quite old, traveled day and night and it took him five days to arrive.

When he arrived at Xuchang City,

It was discovered that Xuchang City had been captured.

"Zhang Qing did not see Xu Yuanlang send troops to reinforce him; instead, he was met with his son, who was left to guard Jizhou, being brought to the walls of Xuchang to be persuaded to surrender."
Zhang Qingte then broke through the encirclement and escaped in the middle of the night.

After meeting with Sheng Yanshi, Sheng Yanshi explained why Xuchang was captured so quickly, mainly because Liu Lancheng, the governor of Zizhou, was quite capable.
He led his troops north to Jeju Island and quickly defeated Fu De and Zhang Qingte's sons and generals.

"Although Governor Liu was originally a clerk, he was indeed a skilled military commander."

Li Yiman was of course aware of a mad scholar named Liu Lancheng. This guy was originally a clerk in Poyang County during the Daye era, but later returned to his hometown in Beihai County.

Just then, the bandit leader Qi Gongshun led his troops to attack. Thirty thousand bandits attacked day and night, and the city was on the verge of falling. Liu Lancheng took the initiative and selected more than one hundred brave and strong men to form a suicide squad. They went out of the city in the middle of the night to launch a surprise attack on the enemy camp.

The bandits caused chaos, and the city's garrison seized the opportunity to attack, forcing Qi Gongshun to flee in disarray.

Afterwards, he should have been rewarded for his merits, but instead, Liu Lancheng was envied, and someone even suggested killing him. Although he was not killed in the end, he was stripped of his military power.

In a fit of anger, Liu Lancheng fled the city alone, caught up with Qi Gongshun, and became his strategist, offering him advice and plans. He then led Qi Gongshun back to Beihai. He only had a suicide squad of a little over a hundred men, and they used this feint to successfully plunder thousands of livestock in Beihai.

A month later, he captured Beihai City with only twenty men. However, after capturing the city, he did not massacre or retaliate against those who had previously ostracized him. Instead, he gave them money and food and politely sent them away.

Later, Zhang Junxiang, the bandit leader of Hailing, led 50,000 troops to fight for Beihai. Qi Gongshun was so frightened that he wanted to run away, but Liu Lancheng persuaded Qi Gongshun to select 5,000 elite troops to launch a surprise attack.

Fifty miles from the enemy camp, Liu Lancheng, with audacity, led twenty men, disguised as enemy soldiers, to help the bandit army, which was out looting, transport goods back to their camp. After learning about the enemy camp's situation, they stormed in at midnight, heading straight for Zang Junxiang's command tent. Zang Junxiang was almost killed, and although he eventually escaped, his 50,000-strong army collapsed and was captured by Qi Gongshun, who seized many of their spoils, thus strengthening Qi Gongshun's power all the way.

What makes Liu Lancheng so remarkable is his background as a scholar.
Although I was just a clerk before

Knowing military strategy gives you courage.

He loved leading small groups of daredevils to raid enemy camps and was known as Crazy Liu or Crazy Bookman.

He used the same tactic when attacking Jeju.
First, he led his troops to approach, then took a few dozen men to sneak in and scout. At midnight, he personally led a suicide squad to infiltrate the enemy camp, killing and setting fires, capturing the thieves and their leader.

In several consecutive battles, he won with fewer troops, leading his men to the front and risking his life.

Zhang Qing was stationed in Xuchang, but his hometown was lost, and his son was taken to the city walls to be persuaded to surrender. He dared not continue to hold out, so he had no choice but to flee in the middle of the night.

"Lord Li, you know why I summoned you here, right? Please give me an explanation in person!"

"Reporting to Chief Steward Sheng, Tanzhou is a small and sparsely populated region. Currently, there is a food shortage, the state granaries are empty, and the people have no surplus grain in their homes."
The steward ordered me to requisition 5,000 shi of grain and transport it to Xuchang, but I, Li, am truly unable to do so.

Sheng Yanshi was not satisfied with this explanation.

"You know this is wartime, and I'm giving you a military order, right?"

"I know, but there is indeed no food available."

“Lord Li, you have submitted to the Tang Dynasty for a long time, three years now. But there is no room for jokes in the army. Once a military order is issued, no matter what difficulties there are, we must find a way to solve them.”

I ordered you to transport grain; this concerns the sustenance of tens of thousands of soldiers, and the success or failure of suppressing the rebellion. You think you can just dismiss it with a simple "no grain"?

"Chief Steward Sheng, Xuchang City has now been captured, and Jeju Island has been pacified."

Sheng Yanshi waved his hand to interrupt him, "This has nothing to do with you disobeying military orders and refusing to pay grain. If everyone were like you, ignoring military orders, how could we fight this battle?"
Some say you're secretly colluding with Xu Yuanlang, which is why you're deliberately withholding military rations.

"My lord, you are wise. I, Li Yiman, was first an official of the Sui Dynasty, and then returned to the Tang Dynasty. I hate rebels and bandits the most, and I have been fighting them for many years. I have also fought many battles with Xu Yuanlang."
These slanderous accusations must be against that thief Wang Bo; he was a thief before.

Sheng Yanshi waved his hand to interrupt him.

"I'll have to trouble Governor Li a bit, but I'll send someone to investigate thoroughly. Whether he's innocent or not will be determined in due time."

"Men, take Li Yiman to prison and detain him for investigation."

Li Yiman stood up angrily, "Chief Steward Sheng cannot imprison me based on the one-sided story of that traitor Wang Bo. I am the Prefect of Tanzhou and Duke of Pingling, appointed by the Emperor himself. You have no right to imprison me."

"I want to see Minister Li, I want to explain things to him in person, I want to confront Wang Bo!"

Sheng Yanshi didn't like the old man and waved for someone to take him away.

They demanded 5,000 shi of grain, but didn't receive a single grain. No matter what the reason, it's unacceptable.

"Investigate thoroughly."

After giving his instructions, Sheng Yanshi picked up his pen and wrote a report of the victory to Li Yi.

Yunzhou and Jizhou were recovered. Zhang Qingte was defeated and Fu De was beheaded. Liu Lancheng was commended, and Li Yiman's crimes were also reported.

Xuchangcheng, prison.

Wang Bo, dressed in purple robes and a jade belt, arrived at the prison.
Li Yiman was imprisoned.
The dungeon was dark, damp, and musty, and never saw the light of day.

"Bring someone to commit the crime."

Wang Bo gave the order, and the jailer opened the cell door and pulled Li Yiman out.

"Tell me, how did you collude with Xu Yuanlang?"

Li Yiman looked at Wang Bo and said, "Don't be so smug, you little thief. You won't have a good end."

Wang Bo punched Li Yiman in the stomach.

The intense pain caused Li Yiman to curl up into a ball.

"Old dog, you never thought you'd fall into my hands one day, did you? Back then, in Diaowo Valley of Changbai Mountain, you led your troops in and massacred the families of our righteous army."

"Your hands are stained with the blood of our rebel army, do you really think we'll let you off?"

It took Li Yiman a while to catch his breath.

He spat out a mouthful of blood at Wang Bo, "You little thief, it's a pity I didn't kill you all back then."

Wang Bo wiped the blood and foam from his face, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

“Come on, kill me, do you dare?” Li Yiman shouted.

"Kill you? Would I let you off so easily? Now that you're in my hands, I'll make you wish you were dead."

The grudges of many years are difficult to resolve.

In the dungeon, Wang Bo tortured Li Yiman in various ways, saying, "Aren't you high and mighty? Don't you look down on our righteous army? You old thief, do you like my piss?"

Does it hurt when you pull out your nails one by one?

"Don't rush, I still have many tricks up my sleeve. Let's take it slow. We'll settle this ten-year grudge point by point, leaving no stone unturned."

night.

Li Yiman woke up
He was in excruciating pain all over his body, and his clothes were soaked with urine.

The physical pain was nothing compared to the mental humiliation he had suffered. Knowing that Wang Bo would not let him go, Li Yi was filled with despair.

He's so old, how could he bear such an insult?

Filled with boundless resentment towards Wang Bo, Li Yiman got up and smashed his head against the wall in the prison, dying instantly.

(End of this chapter)