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

Chapter 473 Sudden Death in Chang'an
"Give me some corn, one basket of fresh, tender corn, and another basket of mature corn."

In the morning, Li Yi asked Luo San, the magistrate of the Wang family in Wu'an, to prepare some corn for him, but not potatoes or sweet potatoes.

The early corn on the plateau has already ripened and is not suitable for eating fresh. It can be ground into flour to make porridge or cornbread, or crushed into small cornmeal. Larger grains are corn grits, which can be used to cook porridge or rice.

Compared to their previous high-profile contribution of potatoes, the Li family has been quietly planting corn, but over the years, they have been planting more and more corn and sweet potatoes.

Riding a horse into the capital,

Surrounded by attendants, there were hundreds of men, including those for the wedding ceremony, those inside the tent, and family retainers.

Before entering the palace, Li Yi made a special check on himself, afraid that he might have accidentally brought a knife into the palace, even a dagger or a small knife was not allowed.

"His Majesty awaits the Prince at the sea pool."

Upon entering the palace gate, a palace attendant specially brought him an imperial horse. The distance from the south gate of the palace to the lake inside Xuanwu Gate was quite far, and the emperor had specially granted him the privilege of riding a horse within the palace.

Arriving at Linhu Palace,

Li Yuan was having a barbecue, and Pei Ji, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Yan, the Prince of Beiping, the Prince of Dingxiang, and others were also there.

"Wu Yi, come quickly."

Li Yuan greeted him, "You're good at grilling, you do the grilling."

Tie on an apron, pick up a skewer, and Li Yi proceeds with practiced ease. Lamb, beef, chicken, venison sizzle and drip oil on the grill. Sprinkle with cumin, brush on some oil, and flip them over.

The emperor, holding a glass of wine, stood to the side and laughed, "This skill is far superior to that of Supervisor Pei."

Pei Ji said self-deprecatingly, "I learned my grilling skills from my great-grandmother, Kang Po. However, even Kang Po's skills can't compare to those of Prince Wu'an. Prince Wu'an is good at everything he does."

Li Yi knew Kang Po, a famous wealthy man in Chang'an, a Sogdian who had migrated eastward. His ancestors had moved from the Western Regions to the Central Plains for several generations and later settled in Luoyang. In the early years of the Wude era, he ingratiated himself with the prime minister Pei Ji in Guanzhong, acting as Pei Ji's front man. Later, Pei Ji recommended him to be the head of the agricultural department of the Duke of Wei.

Not only were Kang Po's ancestors wealthy for generations, but she was also very good at making money. With Pei Ji as her backer, she became even more domineering. Back when Li Jing's sworn brother, Qiu Ran Ke Zhang San, was in Chang'an, he fought with Kang Po quite a bit, but even the wealthy merchants from the southeast could not defeat Kang Po.

At Li Yi's suggestion, Zhang San left Chang'an to search for the Spice Islands in the South China Sea to do spice business. He even sent people to India to find the latest processing technology for frosting sugar. Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and Zhang San has not returned to Chang'an. No one knows whether he has been fed to sharks at sea or has found the Spice Islands.

With no rival like Zhang San around, Kang Po became invincible in the Chang'an marketplace.

Many powerful and influential people in Chang'an, especially the newly rich, were combinations like Pei Ji and Kang Po—one a powerful official in the court, the other a wealthy merchant. Together, they made money hand over fist.

People like Li Yi, who can open up new avenues and achieve the same success, are extremely rare.

"I brought some fresh corn, which is perfect for roasting some as well." Li Yi noticed that there were also vegetarian dishes today, such as roasted leeks, roasted eggplant, and roasted potatoes.

Li Yuan had also heard that in addition to sweet potatoes, the Li family also grew some grains and vegetables from the Eastern Yi people, such as persimmons, sweet potatoes, peppers, and melons.

The emperor nodded with a smile.

The eunuch then presented the corn that Li Yi had brought, which had already been inspected by a specialist.

The tender corn still has its green husk, but the silks are already old. Normally, this corn would grow for another half a month before being harvested and preserved. But at this time, it is fresh and delicious whether stewed, boiled, or steamed.

Boil eight pieces together with some fresh milk.

Then peel some of them, cut them into pieces, skewer them, and grill them.

"This is corn?"

Li Yuan curiously picked up an ear of corn, peeled off the soft husk, and found the kernels inside were as smooth as jade, each one neatly arranged.

The tender corn kernels look fuller and shinier, glistening and moist.

"Corn, what a great name! Golden potato and corn, a perfect match!"

Li Yi explained the basic information about corn to the emperor: "Corn and sweet potatoes both come from the Dongyi people, so they have similar habits. They are both drought-resistant and can grow in barren soil. They can be grown in mountainous and hilly areas that are not suitable for growing rice and wheat."

Li Yuan was very interested in hearing this.

The great success of the golden sweet potato made Li Yuan very fond of this auspicious omen. "And what about the corn yield?" he asked.

"Your Majesty, on plains where wheat and rice can be grown, the yield of corn is not as good as that of wheat and rice. At most, it is the same as that of sorghum and millet, with a yield of only one or two shi per mu."

Hearing this, Li Yuan was a little disappointed, as the yield of potatoes per mu could reach two to three thousand jin.

"However, the advantage of corn is that it is drought-resistant and can withstand poor soil conditions. In mountainous and hilly areas, especially in water-scarce areas, it can also achieve a yield of more than one shi per mu."

Li Yuan was moved.

In such arid and barren lands, only crops such as millet, oats, and buckwheat can be grown, but the yield per mu is often only seven or eight dou.

Corn can yield more than one shi per mu, which means the yield per mu has doubled.

That's quite remarkable.

"Really?"

"In the past two years, I have had my family conduct trial plantings and research, and we have basically confirmed the results."

Li Yi talked about the planting and storage of corn, as well as how to eat it.

When fresh and tender, corn kernels can be used in cooking, but once harvested, dried, and threshed, they can be stored for a long time. They can be crushed into cornmeal or corn grits for cooking rice or porridge, or ground into flour to make cornbread or corn porridge. Dried corn kernels can be stored for two or three years without any problem. In terms of storage endurance, although they cannot be stored for eight or nine years like whole millet, if we disregard taste and nutrient loss, dried corn kernels can actually be stored for four or five years, or even six or seven years.

Normally, millet has the longest shelf life, lasting up to ten years. Next is wheat, five years; rice, three years; and soybeans, two years.

The Tang Dynasty now has a large amount of millet cultivation in the north. This is not only because many places are short of water and not suitable for growing wheat, but also because millet can be stored for a longer period of time.

Li Yuan held a corncob and liked it more and more as he looked at it.

In places where wheat and rice can be grown, it's not cost-effective to grow corn, but in places where wheat and rice cannot be grown, growing corn is very cost-effective.

The yield per mu is more than one shi, and even two shi if there is good rainfall. It is also very durable for storage. Judging from its appearance, it should not be bad to eat.

The corn boiled in milk in the pot was done in less than 15 minutes.

Scoop up the corn in its husk, peel off the husks and leaves. The cooked corn becomes even more translucent, and the aroma of corn mixed with a milky fragrance wafts over you.

Li Yi peeled one for the emperor.
Li Yuan smiled and accepted the corn. It was still a little hot, but the emperor's old hands were calloused, so he wasn't bothered by the heat.

Take a bite,
Li Yuan savored it carefully, then took another bite.

"Mmm, it has a sweet and refreshing taste, is very juicy, and has a milky aroma. It's really delicious."

Boiled corn is crisper and sweeter than steamed corn, while steamed corn is relatively drier and chewier.

The corn roasted with added seasonings has a slightly charred and tender outer skin, while the inside remains crisp, sweet, and juicy. The seasonings sprinkled on the outside make the corn taste richer and also give it a smoky flavor.

Pei Ji, Li Jiancheng, Li Yi, Li Kaidao, and Li Da'en were also eating this for the first time, and they enjoyed it immensely.

"This is really good stuff." Li Kaidao, the Prince of Beiping, devoured one in one go. His territory was north of Li Yi, mostly mountainous areas along the Great Wall, with some parts in the Huai Rong area outside Jundu Pass.

Although these areas have many mountain basins and river valleys, they lack management and mature supporting water conservancy facilities, so wheat cultivation is entirely dependent on the weather.

Most mountainous areas can only grow drought-resistant crops such as oats and millet, but the yield is low.

Gao Kaidao had been raising an army for many years, but his strength had not been able to expand. Besides having powerful neighbors such as Luo Yi, Dou Jiande, Liu Wuzhou, and the Turks, the main problem was his own territory. The population was small, and the food supply was always insufficient. This bottleneck kept his army weak and his horses weak.

If he had had crops like sweet potatoes and corn earlier, he dared say his army could have doubled or tripled, and he wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

"Send a batch of corn seeds to the palace later, and send a few corn-growing experts over to grow some in the greenhouse of the Imperial Garden."

After learning about corn, the emperor felt that sweet potatoes had a higher yield and should be promoted first. However, corn also had its advantages and was worth promoting as well.

I grilled a lot of meat skewers.

But today, the emperor, crown prince, prime minister, and princes only eat corn: boiled corn with milk, steamed corn, roasted corn...
He was happily munching on the corn.

A message was delivered by a palace attendant.

"The magistrate of Changcheng County died suddenly at home?" Li Yuan's voice was loud.

At first, Li Yi didn't realize who the Duke of Changcheng County was.

He was taken aback when he realized it was Dou Jiande.

Dou Jiande entered Chang'an with them on the first day of the ninth month, and today is only the fifteenth of the ninth month.

He didn't live for more than half a month.

"What's going on?" Li Yuan demanded.

"Your Majesty, the physician who rushed to the Changcheng County Duke's residence reported that the Duke of Changcheng had been fond of elixirs of immortality in recent years, and today he died from poisoning after mistakenly ingesting mica."

"How could he have accidentally ingested mica and been poisoned?" Li Yuan asked.

"Recently, news of rebellions by his former subordinates in Hebei has repeatedly reached Beijing. Dou Jiande, filled with anxiety and fear, increased his intake of elixirs at home, but accidentally ingested mica and suffered poisoning..."

Li Yi couldn't help but feel that the emperor and the eunuch were putting on a show, their back-and-forth banter sounding like a performance.

Dou Jiande was born a farmer, could he really have started looking for elixirs of immortality at such a young age?
Even if he was fond of elixirs of immortality, he had taken them for several years without any problems, but only half a month after arriving in the capital, he died from poisoning after accidentally ingesting mica.

Li Yi had reason to suspect that Li Yuan had killed Dou Jiande.

When Dou Jiande was brought to the capital, many high-ranking officials from Hebei went to Beijing to pay homage to the emperor. At this time, it was not a big deal for Dou Jiande's former subordinates to rebel.

But the emperor might not see it that way.

Killing Dou Jiande might have been a way to eliminate the threat from the root, but the emperor clearly didn't want to break his promise, so he fabricated a story of accidentally ingesting mica poisoning while taking an elixir of immortality. Who could verify this?
This was much smarter than Li Jiancheng's open inducement to surrender followed by execution.

However, Li Yi felt that Li Yuan's actions were unwise. In Hebei, some of Dou Jiande's former subordinates had rebelled, but they were all relatively unknown figures. Those who were famous had been appointed to official positions, and some had even come to Chang'an this time.

Those who remained were all former subordinates below the fifth rank, mere lackeys. But if the emperor killed Dou Jiande, it might trigger a negative chain reaction.

If the Tang Dynasty could tolerate Dou Jiande, then Dou Jiande's former subordinates, whether they were ministers or generals, would naturally feel at ease.

But now that Dou Jiande is dead, they're starting to suspect that they'll be next.

(End of this chapter)