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

Chapter 476 Scholar's Spirit
With his departure from the capital imminent, Li Yi visited Yongxingfang to bid farewell to his senior brother, Wei Zheng.

This fifteen-acre house was a gift from Li Yi to Wei Zheng. There was an old man with white hair guarding the gate, and after entering, he found that the house had not changed much.

"Didn't you renovate your house, senior brother?"

Wei Zheng welcomed him inside, saying, "This house is quite nice. I had the roof repaired; it just needs to be leak-proof when it rains."

Fifteen mu of land is actually quite large, with not only corridors and halls, but also a garden. However, the garden had long been neglected and was overgrown with weeds. Now, Wei Zheng's wife, Pei, along with her servants, has turned the soil into a vegetable garden.

"Senior brother, are you settling in well in Chang'an?"

"Living in Chang'an is not easy," Wei Zheng sighed. Three years ago, when he came to Chang'an, he stayed at Li Yi's house and didn't have to worry about anything. Now, he came to Chang'an with his wife. Although Li Yi gave him a house, the seven necessities of life—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea—all cost money.

"The supply of goods in the east and west markets of Chang'an is quite abundant, and prices are much lower than in Hebei, but they are still quite expensive."

The cheapest rice costs 100 Kaiyuan Tongbao coins per dou, while the best quality rice costs 150 coins per dou, and flour costs 200 coins per dou.

A pound of good mutton costs seventy-five qian, which is the price of half a dou of rice.

Li Yi took out the wine he had brought, "This is newly brewed sweet potato liquor, made from sweet potatoes, senior brother, please have a taste."

Wei Zheng loved wine, and upon hearing that there was new wine, he couldn't wait to grab a cup.

"The prices in Chang'an are much better now than they were a few years ago. Grain prices are also declining, and the prices of other goods are gradually returning to what they were at the beginning of the Great Cause."

Wei Zheng picked up the wine cup, brought it to his nose to smell it, and then slowly sipped it.

"Sweet, smooth, and soft, with a slightly bitter aftertaste, and a nice aroma."

Wei Zheng gave sweet potato liquor a good review, but thought it was inferior to persimmon liquor, especially since persimmon liquor aged for three years was far superior.

"During the Kaihuang era, a dou of rice in Chang'an cost only twenty or thirty coins, and when the new grain from Qingqi came to market, it cost only about ten coins."

Nowadays, a bushel of rice costs over a hundred coins, which is still too expensive.

You know, last time I took your sister-in-law on a trip to the countryside for the Double Ninth Festival, there were still starving people and beggars outside Chang'an City, and some people were even openly buying and selling people.

A young woman or girl is only worth ten pounds of pork. A younger girl or an older woman is worth only two pounds of pork.

A pound of mutton costs 75 coins, while a pound of pork costs 50 coins.

Ten catties of pork are worth only five hundred coins, and ordinary rice can only buy five bushels.

“A cow that is a little over a year old is only worth five bushels of rice, but a cow can be exchanged for ten young women or virgins.”

Grain prices are the benchmark for commodity prices these days.

A young woman in her early twenties, or even an unmarried girl of fifteen or sixteen, is only worth ten catties of pork or five pecks of rice. It's hard to say that these days are a good life.

Those young girls were only worth a peck of rice or two pounds of pork.

"Only when the people are prosperous can the country be strong," Wei Zheng said bluntly. "If the people readily sell their wives and daughters, it can never be called a prosperous age. We must keep wealth among the people and put the people first."

"Although Dou Jiande has been unambitious and short-sighted in recent years, he has been able to implement benevolent policies in Hebei, and the lives of the people have gradually become more stable."

I've heard that many people in Hebei have started to rebel, and Dou Jiande died suddenly after entering Beijing. I'm afraid Hebei will be thrown into chaos again.

In particular, the imperial court should not have allowed Li Kaidao to return to Hebei. This man, a former bandit, is unlike Dou Jiande; he is a completely fickle person. I dare say, Li Kaidao will definitely cause trouble again.”

"In order to protect his territory and power, this person may collude with the Turks to invade Hebei."

Li Yi admired Wei Zheng's deduction. As a time traveler, he naturally knew that Gao Kaidao later rebelled, inviting the Turks to invade and causing chaos in Hebei for several years.

"More?"

"Hmm, this sweet potato fritter actually has a pretty good aftertaste," Wei Zheng said with a smile.

Refill the glass.

Wei Zheng, drinking wine, became very talkative and passionately discussed the state of the nation.

"Although the imperial court recovered Hebei smoothly, I think the court is making a big mistake. Even though there have been years of war, it needs to recuperate and rebuild."

The South also needs unification.

But now is not the time to rest and recuperate; we need to seize the time.

Does taking Hebei guarantee a worry-free future? No, there's still Yuan Junzhang, Liang Shidu, and even Li Kaidao and Li Da'en cannot be fully trusted.

In particular, the Hetao region needs to be harvested immediately. In order to compete with the Turks, it is necessary to defend the Yinshan Mountains.

Ideally, we should establish six garrisons north of the Yin Mountains, just as the Northern Wei Dynasty did, and set up defenses beyond the Yin Mountains, instead of surrendering the Hetao region and retreating to the Great Wall.

If we retreat to the Great Wall, we can forget about containing the Turks; we'll only be busy dealing with their incursions.

"The imperial court should immediately send troops to Daibei, out of Yanmen Pass, and recapture Shuozhou, Yunzhou, and Weizhou to defend the outer Great Wall."
If we can send troops to Shuofang and destroy Liang's army in Yanxia, ​​then we can advance into the Hetao region, recover Fengsheng, build cities to defend the border, and then take Yinshan.

Only by recovering the area south of the Yin Mountains and stationing troops north of them for defense can the balance of power truly shift, allowing for a decisive battle with the Turks.

Li Yi nodded repeatedly.

Who says scholars don't understand military affairs?
Wei Zheng was quite knowledgeable about this. He might not have understood tactics and command, but he had a broad perspective and understood strategy.

Wei Zheng's words sounded like drunken ramblings, and were quite radical.

But Li Yi now understands some strategy and tactics, and given his identity as a person from the future, he naturally knows that Wei Zheng is right.

But the problem is,

Many things are not so simple. Military and politics are inseparable. In addition to the country, there is also the emperor. Sometimes the interests of the country conflict with the interests of the emperor.

If national interests are paramount, then Li Shimin should be stationed in Taiyuan and lead troops on a northern expedition. He should first take over Daizhou, controlled by Li Da'en, and then march out of Yanmen Pass to capture Shuoyun, controlled by Yuan Junzhang—the vast area between the Inner and Outer Great Walls.

Ideally, we should also take over the Huai Rong Mountain area controlled by Li Kaidao, as well as the Tan and Ji areas along the Yanshan line. Only by taking over these border regions can the Tang Dynasty stabilize Hedong and Hebei, defend against external enemies, and prevent the Turks from advancing unimpeded and plundering at will.

Similarly, Li Yi has made outstanding military achievements in recent years, second only to the King of Qin. Therefore, Li Yi should also be assigned to Lingzhou, where he can lead troops to destroy Liang Shidu of Shuofang. This way, he can protect Guanzhong and Weibei, and also plan for the Hetao region.

They advanced northward step by step, defending against external enemies, and eventually drove the Turks north of the Yin Mountains.

With Prince Qin (Li Shimin) and Prince Wu'an (Li Yi) leading the army once again, most people believed they could defeat the Turks.
But the emperor would not agree.

Li Shimin was a capable warrior, but the emperor was always wary of the Prince of Qin. Similarly, Li Yi was also a capable warrior, but the emperor preferred to have Li Yuan govern Youzhou and Yang Shidao govern Lingzhou rather than let Li Yi go to the front line again.

They all didn't want to give them more opportunities to make contributions.

"After two years of recuperation and building up strength, our punches will be even more powerful. The north is almost pacified, so it's not wrong to focus all our efforts on pacifying the southeast now." That was all Li Yi could say.

"If we miss this opportunity now, we'll have to pay a much higher price later," Wei Zheng lamented.

Li Yi poured him another full glass of wine. "When I return to Hebei, it will also be to restore production and reward farming and weaving. My senior brother also said that only when the people are prosperous can the country be strong."

It is essential to first ensure that the people of Hebei can settle down, at least be able to fill their stomachs, and no longer have to sell their wives and daughters or wander around aimlessly.

Otherwise, no matter how vast the territory the Tang Dynasty conquered, the people would not feel particularly proud or happy.

"You're right," Wei Zheng nodded, his face flushed and reeking of alcohol.

"The most important thing is to fill one's stomach. What kind of prosperous and well-governed world is it if the people are hungry?"

"When the price of grain in all the hundreds of prefectures and thousands of counties of the land can drop to twenty or thirty coins per dou (a unit of dry measure), that will be the true arrival of a prosperous era."

Wei Zheng had only been in Chang'an for half a month.
He had to submit a memorial to the court almost every day, offering advice and suggestions. He could see many shortcomings of the Tang Dynasty, from the emperor down to the lowest officials, from the court to the local level, problems kept emerging.

Unfortunately, his memorials received almost no response, as if they had sunk without a trace.

His current official positions are Right Vice Minister of the Grand Secretariat of Shaanxi East Circuit, Secretary of the Tian Ce Mansion, and one of the Eighteen Scholars of the Qin Prince's Literary Academy. However, he is currently in Chang'an, and Wei Zheng feels quite lost.

The Grand Chancellor of Shaanxi East Circuit and the Tian Ce Mansion were both in Luoyang, while he was in Chang'an. He could only take turns going to Qin King to lecture him on the classics. After getting to know him, he realized that the famous Qin King actually had quite a few flaws.

Sometimes I feel that the King of Qin is not as easy to get along with as Li Yi.

"I want to go back to Hebei with you, whether it's as an assistant in your Wu'an Prince's Mansion or as an official in the Mingzhou Grand General's Mansion, it's fine. I just want to do something. I feel very uneasy as things are now." Wei Zheng spoke his true feelings after drinking.

He felt that he did not have the trust of the King of Qin in the King's residence.

"Senior brother has just returned to Chang'an. He should assist the King of Qin well and spend more time with his wife. Now that you've settled down and started a family, you should hurry up and have children," Li Yi said with a smile.

Wei Zheng remained silent for a moment.

I do feel somewhat indebted to my wife.

After chatting with Wei Zheng for a long time, Li Yi left behind a cartload of wine and ten maids when he left. They were all maids from Dugu Huai'en's household back then; the Li family now had a large number of servants.

Wei Zheng's family was so simple, with such a large mansion, yet they only had a few old servants and women.

Wei Zheng declined.

"Why are you being so polite with me, senior brother?"

After leaving Wei Zheng's residence, Li Yi went to visit another senior brother, Sun Fujia.

Sun Fujia has now been transferred to the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. He is indeed preparing for the imperial examination, picking up the Nine Classics again to study, and also pondering poetry and prose.

Compared to Wei Zheng, Sun Fujia was not so polite to Li Yi.

Li Yi gave him gifts such as bamboo paper, soap, and wine, which he accepted without question.

"It's good that you stay in Mingzhou. You've risen too quickly these past few years. Although the Emperor trusts you greatly, there are many who are envious of you. Besides, you've offended quite a few people along the way, and now you've offended the Zheng family of Xingyang and the Cui family of Qinghe."
"Just stay in the local area and settle down for a few years, get things done. I believe you have the ability. There's not as much backstabbing and infighting as in the imperial court; it's much more comfortable there."

Sun Fujia revealed to him that although Li Yi had been invincible in leading troops and had made outstanding achievements in the past two years, he had been impeached and attacked by people, and the number of people was increasing.

However, the emperor kept these memorials in the palace and did not issue them.

In times of national crisis, good generals are needed.
Li Yi repeatedly turned the tide, so the emperor naturally protected such a capable and meritorious official. However, the higher one climbs, the colder it gets; great achievements are hard to reward. Once the country is at peace, it might be time to discard him after he has served his purpose.

Li Yi is currently staying in Mingzhou, which seems like he's being suppressed, but Sun Fujia thinks it's a good thing.

The moon wanes when it is full, and water overflows when it is full.

"Senior brother is now a fourth-rank official, so why do you still insist on taking the imperial examination? Besides, you were a Jinshi in the previous dynasty."

Sun Fujia gave a bitter laugh: "It is precisely because I am a Jinshi from the previous dynasty that I have to take the Jinshi exam again in this dynasty. I come from a poor family and started as a minor official. Although I am now appreciated by the emperor and hold the rank of fourth grade, do you know how many people in the court ridicule my background? I cannot compare to you in terms of your substantial achievements."

Everyone regarded Sun Fujia as a favored minister, and everyone mocked his humble origins.

The Jinshi degree from the previous dynasty is useless in the current dynasty. Sun Fujia cannot change his background, so he has to take the Jinshi exam again and pass it to prove his ability.

Don't be fooled by the fact that many slaves and minor officials in the Tang Dynasty transformed into founding heroes, receiving titles of duke and marquis. Even eunuchs and musicians were granted titles of duke and marquis.

In reality, the Tang Dynasty also placed great importance on one's background. Being born into a poor family and a minor official outside the official ranks was an indelible mark on Sun Fujia. Even when he rose to the rank of fourth-grade vice minister, others always used this to ridicule him.

Even if he is extremely professional in the legal field, he cannot change those stereotypes.

“I’m quite envious that your uncle was able to be appointed as the governor of Xiangzhou this time. If I had the chance, I would also like to be appointed as the governor of a prefecture.” A fourth-rank vice minister is not unusual in Chang’an, but a fourth-rank governor is the top official in a prefecture.

"If you really have this intention, I'll help you think of a way later," Li Yi promised directly.

"Let me finish the imperial examination next spring and pass the Jinshi examination first."

Li Yi smiled and said, "I dare say that Senior Brother will definitely pass the imperial examination next spring. With your talent, you may even be the top scholar!"

(End of this chapter)