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

Chapter 472 The Crown Prince Disliked by the Emperor
Double Ninth Festival.

Emperor Li Yuan was hunting on Wanshouyuan in Weibei when he suddenly saw a snow-white deer appear, carrying a sacred herb in its mouth, pausing to gaze at the emperor.

“Your Majesty, this deer is pure white, and its antlers gleam with auspicious light. It is a divinely ordained auspicious beast, a blessing upon all people,” said Pei Ji, the Right Minister.

Li Yuan looked at the very intelligent white deer.

"Issue the decree: halt the hunt and do not harm this auspicious beast!"

Wanshouyuan is located on a plateau north of Sanyuan County. It was originally named Yongkang Mausoleum because Li Yuan's grandfather, Li Hu, was buried there. After Li Yuan became emperor, he renamed it Wanshouyuan. Now, in his joy, the emperor has bestowed upon it the name Bailuyuan.

The hunt ended early, but the emperor was still in a good mood.

They spread out a felt rug and drank wine while enjoying the scenery on the plateau.

The Crown Prince brewed tea for the Emperor and took the opportunity to bring up Li Yi's disobedience to the imperial decree: "Father Emperor issued an edict bestowing the daughters of Minister Zheng and Chief Eunuch Cui upon Li Yi as concubines. This is an immense favor, yet he has repeatedly refused, and now he has become even more absurd and daring..."

Li Yuan was dressed in hunting attire.
They picked grapes, a tribute from the Kingdom of Gaochang, to quench their thirst.
The matter of Li Yi is now the talk of the town in Chang'an. How could the emperor not know about it? At first, the emperor was a little annoyed, feeling that Li Yi had become arrogant and was not giving face to the emperor who had bestowed the marriage.

Consort Zhang and Consort Yin also whispered in Li Yuan's ear, saying things like "How good is Li Yi?" and Li Yuan's opinion changed.

When he initially arranged for Li Yi to marry two women from the Zheng and Cui families, it was primarily because the Crown Prince acted as matchmaker, and Li Yi readily agreed. Secondly, he highly valued Li Yi, who had repeatedly rendered great service in Shannan and Henan. For the emperor to bestow these two women as concubines upon Li Yi was a very high honor.

Furthermore, Zheng Shanguo and Cui Shishu had only recently surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and Li Yuan's move was also an attempt to win over these two powerful Shandong families.

This can be considered killing several birds with one stone.

But later, Li Yi had a falling out with Cui Zheng, which Li Yuan didn't take to heart. Now that Li Yi has returned to Chang'an, he only urged him to bring the person over as soon as possible.

Who knew such an unexpected turn of events would occur?

Li Yi thoroughly humiliated the Cui and Zheng families, delivering a resounding slap in the face. However, upon closer examination, Li Yuan felt that this was not a bad thing.

He won over the Five Clans and Seven Clans, and the Crown Prince also won over the Five Clans and Seven Clans; there was no problem with that.

The world reveres the five surnames and seven clans, but that's not a good thing.

Now that Li Yi has done this...
After realizing what was happening, Li Yuan felt somewhat pleased. Wasn't it better for the old aristocratic families to clash with the new elites than for them to be inseparable?

This is similar to how, after the Qin King's great victory at Jingzhou, he immediately summoned Erlang back to the capital.

After the great victory at Mingzhou, Li Yuan did not leave the Prince of Qin in Hebei to handle the aftermath, but immediately summoned him back to the capital.

Why?

Isn't it because they don't want the King of Qin to take the opportunity to win over local forces and expand his influence after the great victory?
The King of Qin is a capable warrior, but he must be carefully controlled.

Similarly, Li Yi is now second only to Li Shimin in terms of fighting ability in the court, so we must be wary of him.

The crown prince was still rambling on.

Li Yuan sighed inwardly. He used to think his eldest son was quite good, very steady in all aspects, but now he was slowly discovering many shortcomings in the crown prince.
Especially when compared to Jiro, whose brilliance is becoming increasingly dazzling, his shortcomings become even more apparent.

Li Yi and Cui Zheng had a falling out. Although Li Yi didn't give face to the Crown Prince, who acted as their matchmaker, the Crown Prince didn't really need to care so much.

The real disgrace is to the Zheng and Cui families. As for the Crown Prince, how much has he actually lost? If the Zheng and Cui families are dissatisfied, they can cause trouble for Li Yi. Why should the Crown Prince get involved and make such a fuss?

Lacking self-control.

Short-sighted.

Li Yuan waved his hand, "Today is the Double Ninth Festival, a time for climbing high and looking far, let's not talk about those things."

Jiancheng was stuck there, his face turning red.

In the afternoon,

The emperor's carriage returned to the capital.

Lu Kuan, the Palace Attendant, presented several urgent memorials.

The emperor read the documents from his carriage.

The first memorial reported that the Turks had sent troops to invade Daizhou. The general commander, Wang Xiaoji, led 5,000 troops to defend the city, but the entire army was wiped out. The Turks then took advantage of the victory and besieged Guoxian.

The emperor frowned.

"Turks, Jieli, damn them," the emperor muttered under his breath.

Not long ago, Prince Changping, Li Shuliang, died in battle at Lingzhou, and now the military commander, Wang Xiaoji, has also died in battle at Daizhou. This new Khan of the Turks, Jieli, is even more ferocious than his brothers.

Let's look at the second memorial.

Du Fuwei and Li Zitong are engaged in a series of battles in Wu and Yue, while Qiu He of Lingnan and Jiaozhi surrendered to Tang, and Feng Angning, Chang Zhen, Tan Meng and others are still fighting in various places.

The emperor's brow remained furrowed throughout the journey.

Back in Chang'an,

The emperor summoned the crown prince.

"Brother, things have been quite unsettled in the northern frontier lately. The Turks have been invading our borders repeatedly. I would like you to be appointed as the governor of the northern frontier. You should first lead your troops to Jingzhou, prepare your forces, gather supplies, and strengthen the defenses of the northwest frontier."

Last time, Jiancheng made a big mistake in his campaign against the Jihu in Weibei. In the end, the emperor made Sang Xianhe take the blame for him and sent Jiancheng to inspect the border in Lingwu. Afterwards, the crown prince still felt that he had done nothing wrong. He believed that all's fair in war, and that capturing and killing 50,000 or 60,000 Jihu people could ensure that the Jihu in Weibei would not cause trouble again for 20 or 30 years. He felt that his reputation was worth it.

Li Yuan was so angry he wanted to slap him twice.

"Liangzhou has Yang Gongren, Lingzhou has Yang Shidao, and Yanzhou has Duan Decao. Your mission to inspect the Northwest this time is to integrate the Northwest frontier and strengthen the defense against the Turks," the emperor repeatedly reminded the crown prince. "Just guard the frontier; it's not time to counterattack yet."

The completion was approved.

He desperately needed military merit; Erlang had already led troops to defeat Xue Ju of Longyou, Liu Wuzhou of Daibei, Wang Shichong of Henan, and Dou Jiande of Hebei.

He had no notable military achievements to speak of, even though Wang Gui and Tang Lin advised him that the Crown Prince did not need military merits.

But since Shimin was able to achieve such great military merits, he couldn't have done so without also achieving them.

"Father, I wish to have Li Yi accompany me on my northern tour!"

Li Yuan shook his head. "Li Yi is the Grand Administrator of Mingzhou. He is currently on leave in the capital and will soon be returning to Hebei. Hebei still needs him to handle the aftermath and appease the local people."

The emperor looked at his son and said, “Here’s what we’ll do. Let Prince Li Yi of Yan accompany you to pacify the northern frontier, and I’ll also transfer a thousand heavy cavalry from Youzhou to you.”

Even a mere thousand heavily armored cavalrymen brought Jiancheng great joy.

Erlang has a force of two thousand Xuanjia cavalry, one thousand of whom are armored cavalry. Jiancheng has always wanted to take over this heavy cavalry force or bring it under the control of the imperial court, but he has never succeeded. Now, he will also have one thousand heavy cavalry.

After arranging the Crown Prince's northern tour,
Li Yuan then summoned Li Da'en, the Prince of Dingxiang, to an audience.

While drinking tea with the man who had been granted the imperial surname, Li Yuan discussed the latest situation in Daizhou. He instructed Li Yuan to return to Daizhou immediately and to make every effort to withstand the Turkic attack and defend the city.

"Yanmen Pass has been lost, but Yanmen City and Daizhou must not be lost."

In order to defend against the Turks, Li Yuan decided to recall Liu Shirang, who had been demoted, and appoint him as the governor of Wuzhou.

Wu'an, located between the four prefectures of Lan, Shuo, Xin, and Dai, roughly between the later Shenchi and Wuning, was a strategically important location fought over by military strategists.

It is located south of the Great Wall to the north, guarding Loufan Pass, and borders Yanmen Pass to the northeast.

Liu Shirang is quite capable in battle. He offended Li Shenfu, the Prince of Xiangyi, a member of the imperial clan, and Li Yuan stripped him of his title. Now he should know he was wrong, so recalling him is a good idea. He can both help defend Yanmen and advance on Mayi.

This also aligns with the principle that it's better to make mistakes than to achieve success.

"You two, one of you should block Loufan Pass and the other should block Yanmen Pass. Not only should you withstand the Turkic attack, but you should also take Mayi and destroy Yuan Junzhang if you have the chance."

One was a former subordinate of Dou Jiande, and the other was someone who raised an army in Longyou at the end of the Daye era. With these two working together, Li Yuan had no worries about anything else.

On the same day, the emperor issued another edict, appointing General Zhang Zhenzhou of the Left Martial Guard as the Commander-in-Chief of the Huainan Road Army and General Chen Zhilue of the Right Valiant Guard as the Commander-in-Chief of the Lingnan Road Army, to guard and pacify Huainan and Lingnan!
On that very day, Wang Hua, the governor of Shezhou in Jiangdong, sent his son to Chang'an to present a memorial to surrender. Since the end of the Sui Dynasty, he had controlled Shezhou and Xuanzhou, and at his peak, he owned six prefectures: Shezhou, Xuanzhou, Hangzhou, Raozhou, Muzhou, and Wuzhou. He still owns several prefectures today.

He claimed to be the King of Wu and ruled for several years, but now he has been repeatedly defeated by Li Fuwei, the King of Wu of the Tang Dynasty and the Minister of the Southeast Circuit. He only has two prefectures left. After assessing the situation, he had no choice but to send his son to the capital to surrender.

The emperor did not mind his late arrival and issued an edict appointing him as Grand Pillar of State, Governor-General of Shezhou, and Duke of Yue.

···
Along the thirty-mile stretch of the Hao River,

What was once a golden expanse of rice paddies was all harvested in the blink of an eye.

Li Yi was very comfortable living in the countryside. He felt right at home there and was invited to dinner by his fellow villagers every day, with long queues forming.

After finishing the rice harvest in Wuji Fort, he also harvested some potatoes on the plateau and took some time to teach a few classes at Wuji Academy.

Leisurely and comfortable

He finally had time to spend with his wives and concubines, but Du Shiniang still had two years of mourning to observe, so they couldn't share a room. This gave his two concubines, three maids, and four servants more opportunities to serve him in bed.

"Hongxiao, sing a song for me."

An autumn rain arrived unexpectedly, a light drizzle that made the weather suddenly much colder, so I had to put on a jacket.

With nothing to do in the fort,
Li Yi then asked Hongxiao to sing a song. When he first bought her, she looked like a bean sprout and traveled around singing with a blind musician.

In the few years she's been with the Li family, she's completely changed. She's a fresh and vibrant young woman, tall and slender. Her face isn't particularly pretty, but perhaps because she's been learning to sing, she has a certain air about her and isn't vulgar at all.

She has been singing songs for the past few years.

"Ah Lang, Hongxiao sings a song, and we dance along."

Hu Ji Dilraba and Nazha quickly joined in.

"Row."

Li Yi held his youngest daughter, An Lan, as he leaned back in the rocking chair.

His wives and concubines sat or stood around him, and his children also surrounded Li Yi, creating a heartwarming scene.

Hongxiao sang a song from Kucha, accompanied by the Li family's musical troupe playing instruments, while two Hu women enthusiastically showcased their dancing skills.
With her graceful figure, she twirled and jumped, truly a sight to behold.

This time I've been home for so long,
I reckon one or two of the concubines will get pregnant again.

The Li family has been thriving for thousands of years.

Hongxiao sang two songs, and she sang much better than before. The songs were beautiful and she was pretty too.

An envoy came from Chang'an.
They brought the emperor's edict and his rewards, including ten palace maids.

In fact, Li Yi has received many rewards from the emperor for palace women. From the initial Ji Lingyi to the present, he has received rewards for fifty or sixty palace women in total.

Most of them are around twenty years old.

Most of these palace women were quite attractive.

However, nowadays, apart from Ji Lingyi becoming Li Yi's concubine, most of the others are assigned by Li Yi to serve his wives and concubines.

When Dugu Huaien was executed, his property, female relatives, and servants were all given to Li Yi. In addition, when Luoyang fell, Consorts Zhang and De selected ten palace women for him on behalf of the emperor. Li Yi's family had more than a hundred women.

Originally, Li Yi intended for those who wished to return home to do so, and for those who did not, he could introduce them to his own people as concubines, such as Li Cunxiao, who was now a General of the Household, or Liu Heizi Luo Dafu, a General of the Cavalry, or even his friend Li Dejiang.

But they themselves were unwilling to do this, and Du Shiniang and Ji Lingyi refused to let go, insisting on keeping them.

So they were assigned to wives and concubines, who planned to be taken in like Shuying and bear children for the Li family. However, Li Yi was away from home for many years, and each campaign would last for one or two years. How could he possibly take care of them?

"His Majesty has summoned the Minister of Works to the palace for an audience tomorrow."

The messenger accepted the Li family's gift of gratitude and also revealed that rebellions by Dou Jiande's former subordinates had broken out in several prefectures of Hebei.

Although it is currently only a few small-scale rebellions, the Turks have repeatedly invaded the border. Li Yi guessed that the emperor's summons was probably to ask him to return to Hebei to take charge.

The pleasant holiday seems to be coming to an end.

When Du Shiniang and the others heard that he was going back to Hebei, they were all very reluctant to see him go.

"When you go to Hebei this time, Ah Lang, please bring Yu Shu and Rou Niang with you from home. Also, choose more maids from each household. Ah Lang needs someone to take care of him, and the family can trust you to use them. They are all young and beautiful," Shi Niang said.

Li Yi looked at her and understood the implication: family members, young people—was she referring to Huo Yu?

His affair with Huo Yu was widely publicized, and his family must have known about it long ago, but no one mentioned it, whether he was away or after he returned.

Now that she was leaving, Shi Niang finally brought it up tactfully.

Ji Lingyi, Luo Sanniang, and Du Shuying, having already given birth, remained at home. Several concubines who had not yet borne children went with them to Hebei. In addition, some of the many palace maids who had been given as gifts, as well as some of the wives, concubines, and daughters of the Dugu family, could also be chosen to go.

“Alright, you make the arrangements,” Li Yi said to Du Shiniang, without offering any explanation.

"Then Rou Niang, Yu Shu, Hong Xiao, and two Hu women will go with you. Each of them should also choose four palace maids. Once we get to Hebei, Rou Niang and Yu Shu will help manage the household affairs and serve Ah Lang in the back office." Shi Niang made the arrangements, assigning twenty-five people in one go.

"Alright, I'll do as my wife says."

(End of this chapter)