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

Chapter 477 One punch to ward off a hundred punches
North Sea.

Li Yi took the guitar from the emperor.

On the dragon boat, he started by playing chords, having deliberately chosen a piece with a very rhythmic intro.

The tone is bright and clear, and a harmonious and tranquil atmosphere is immediately apparent.

It is said that music knows no borders. Emperor Li Yuan was skilled at playing the pipa, but the sound of the six-stringed yiqin immediately drew him into a certain mood.

"The sky above is a man's sky. The boy who once dreamed under the starry sky didn't know how high the sky was, or how far the sea was..."

Li Yi sang while strumming the guitar strings.

Singing and playing the guitar,

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised; the singing was quite pleasant, but he couldn't quite understand it.

Li Yi spoke Mandarin, which the founding emperor of the Tang Dynasty naturally couldn't understand. It was neither the Guanzhong dialect nor the Luoyang reading pronunciation. The Mandarin spoken in later generations was vastly different from the language of the Tang Dynasty at that time. If you compare words, there might be some similarities, but if you were to hear a Mandarin song in plain language for the first time, you wouldn't understand it at all.

However, his self-accompanied singing and playing had a strangely charming melody and voice.

Li Yuan's eyes lit up, and he listened with great enjoyment.

Pei Ji and Feng Deyi, standing to the side, also tapped their hands on their legs to keep time. Their eyes were fixed on Li Yi; this kid was truly multi-talented. Even if he didn't know anything about warfare, just his skill with the Dongyi six-stringed zither and his rendition of Yi folk songs alone...
He could be compared to several renowned musicians in the palace, and since those musicians had previously been granted titles, Li Yi could naturally be as well.

Gold shines wherever it is.

When the song ended,

Li Yuan was still not satisfied.

"The song you just sang?"

"Your Majesty, this is a little tune I learned from the sailors of the Eastern Yi people when I traveled with my master to Lingnan and encountered their ships along the coast."

What's the name of the piece?

"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" is a six-stringed zither piece created by sailors on a Dongyi ship who, while sailing at sea, saw the twinkling stars in the night sky.

Voyages are often fraught with storms and rough seas, and just as everyone encounters moments of discouragement, uncertainty, and helplessness in life, this song was sung by sailors to encourage themselves.

Li Yi translated this poem, "Stars and Lights," into the Tang Dynasty language.

Although the pronunciation is different, Li Yuan liked it very much.

He pulled Li Yi and a few others together to sing the Tang Dynasty version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star".

The emperor had a good ear for music; he could play instruments and sing, and he quickly sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" quite well.

He sang with increasing joy, as if he had become a boy under the starry sky.

The starry sky ignites the flames of hope.

The sky isn't actually that high, and the sea isn't that far. The stars are like lights, illuminating my future.

"I'm becoming more and more interested in this barbarian country to the east of the sea," Li Yuan remarked.

“Yes, I used to think that only Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, Japan and Ryukyu were in the East Sea. I never imagined that there were so many foreign countries in the East Sea. There are all kinds of seafood such as sailing ships, maritime merchants and spices,” Pei Ji also exclaimed.

“Pei Ji, play a piece of Kucha music,” Li Yuan said.

Pei Ji then picked up the pipa and played a piece of Kucha music that he had mastered.

Compared to the mysterious and unknown Eastern Barbarian Kingdom, the Tang Dynasty people undoubtedly had a better understanding of the Western Barbarian Kingdoms. After all, Zhang Qian's mission to the Western Regions, the establishment of the Anxi Protectorate by the Han Dynasty, and the centuries-long Silk Road trade routes all contributed to this.
The Western Regions were both remote and prosperous.

The emperor didn't specifically invite Li Yi to the party today.
Li Yi was about to leave the capital and return to Hebei, and the emperor specifically asked him to come and talk.

"You and Wei Zheng both submitted memorials proposing that the court should take the initiative to send troops to recover Shuodai north of Yanmen Pass, as well as Shuofang, Xiayin, and other places north of Baiyu Mountain in Weibei," Li Yuan said, getting down to business.

"Your Majesty, the best defense is offense. There is no such thing as a thousand days of guarding against a thief. Jieli's wolfish ambitions have long been revealed. Since he succeeded to the throne, he has frequently instigated the Turks to invade, even more so than the previous two Khans, Shibi and Chuluo."

We can't stay on the defensive forever; we have to fight back.

If you hit with one punch, you can avoid hundreds of punches.

First, we must eliminate Liang Shidu and Yuan Junzhang, the two puppet warlords supported by the Turks. It would be best to also take down Yang Zhengdao of Dingxiang.

At the very least, it can create a buffer zone.

Li Yuan also wanted to fight.
But there's no suitable candidate right now.

He knew that Li Shimin and Li Yi were both capable of being sent up, but the emperor had his own considerations. He didn't want to use them unless absolutely necessary, especially Erlang.

"Years of fighting have exhausted the soldiers and depleted the national treasury, and they need to recuperate."

Moreover, the court's current focus is on pacifying the south before settling accounts with the Turks.

Li Yi sighed inwardly.

These are just excuses.

The emperor simply doesn't need Li Shimin or Li Yi to lead the army right now, because he doesn't have enough generals he can trust. After all these years of fighting, it has proven one thing: the only one who can truly stand alone, fight big battles, and win is Erlang (Li Shimin). In addition, Li Yi has never lost a battle.

But others, at least, haven't been verified yet.

When they attacked Xue Ju, Erlang fell ill, and Liu Wenjing and Yin Kaishan took command, resulting in a great defeat for the Eight Generals.

When fighting Liu Wuzhou, Li Zhongwen, Pei Ji, the Prince of Qi, Tang Jian, the Prince of Yong'an, Dugu Huaien, and others took turns fighting, but all of them suffered great defeats.

Li Xiaogong and Li Yuan had suffered repeated defeats before reaching Shannan. Duan Lun and Dou Jin performed poorly in Yizhou.

"Let's rest and recuperate first." Li Yuan said with a hint of helplessness, realizing that things had turned out this way without him noticing.

"Your Majesty, it is good to allow the people to recuperate and stabilize the situation, but I have a suggestion: Prince Li Kaidao of Beiping and Prince Li Da'en of Dingxiang should remain in the court, and experienced generals should be dispatched to guard the borders, along with elite troops."
Otherwise, if they continued with the same troops and command structure as the two kings, they would likely be unable to defend against the Turks.

Li Yi didn't say that Gao Kaidao would rebel or surrender to the Turks; he only said that they couldn't stop the Turks.

The emperor might not listen to such advice, just as he wouldn't listen to his advice to quickly send troops to attack Yuan Junzhang of Daibei and Liang Shidu of Shuofang.
But he still had to bring it up.

Especially this Prince of Beiping, Li Kaidao,
Although his current official title is Governor of Weizhou, which is under the jurisdiction of Hedong Circuit, his actual territory is mainly in Hebei Circuit.

From Huai Rong outside Jundu Pass to Tanzhou and Jizhou north of Youzhou, it's basically along the Yanshan Mountains, a fairly large area.

He had fought many battles with Luo Yi before, but was forced to surrender to Tang due to circumstances.

After pondering for a moment, Li Yuan ultimately did not agree to summon Li Kaidao and Li Da'en to court like Li Yi.

In Li Yuan's eyes, Li Kaidao and Li Da'en were no match for Li Yi, whether in terms of reputation or strength. Li Yi's control of the important town of Youzhou was what truly worried the emperor. Keeping him in the court and having Li Yuan govern Youzhou was the most urgent task.

However, Li Kaidao was a salt merchant, and Li Da'en was just a bandit who followed Dou Jiande to join the outlaws. The two had some strength, but not much.

Let the two of them continue to lead their old troops and guard the frontier.

The emperor also intended for them to resist the Turks, and even to use the Turks to weaken them. On the other hand, he was also worried that if all three kings were summoned to court at once, it would cause turmoil on the border.

We'll take it one step at a time; I don't want to rush things.

Li Yi felt somewhat disappointed.

To be honest, Li Yuan was definitely above average in ability as the founding emperor, but at times, his performance was quite poor.

Although the emperor had his reasons for not using Li Shimin, as Wei Zheng said, missing an opportunity would come at a greater cost.

Historically, Jieli was ultimately able to drink from the Wei River and reach the foot of Chang'an City, which can be said to be the result of his current decision-making errors.

“If Your Majesty does not intend to summon the Prince of Beiping and the Prince of Dingxiang to court, then I have another suggestion.”

Weizhou was placed under the jurisdiction of Daizhou General Administration, but remained under the jurisdiction of Hedong Circuit.

The territory under the jurisdiction of the Prince of Beiping, including the area outside Juyong Pass where Beiyan Prefecture was established, and Tan Prefecture north of Youzhou, were both placed under the jurisdiction of the Grand General Administration of Youzhou.

The two prefectures of Ji and Ping to the east of Youzhou, and Yingzhou outside Yuguan, were each established as the Yingzhou General Administration Office. Li Kaidao, the Prince of Beiping, was appointed as the General Administration of Yingzhou, overseeing the three prefectures of Ying, Ping, and Ji.

Li Yuan glanced at Li Yi.

Li Kaidao originally controlled four prefectures along the east-west line of the Yanshan Mountains, with his territory mainly in Hebei. However, the imperial court had previously appointed him as the governor of Weizhou, which was under the jurisdiction of Hedong.

Now, Weizhou is incorporated into the Daizhou General Administration and handed over to Li Da'en.

Li Kaidao was appointed as the General Administrator of Yingzhou, but he incorporated Beiyanzhou and Tanzhou, which are located in the west and north of Youzhou, into the General Administrator's Office of Youzhou. These two prefectures were also an important passage for the Turks to invade Hedong and Hebei.

The three prefectures of Wei, Beiyan, and Tan exchanged camps and Ping.

Li Yuan realized that Li Yi believed Li Kaidao was untrustworthy, and with this adjustment, Li Kaidao would no longer be able to interfere in the affairs of Hedong.
He no longer even stood at the forefront of the Turkic invasion.

Li Kaidao remained in the local area, but there were significant adjustments. If Li Kaidao refused to obey the imperial edict, it would prove his disloyalty. If he obeyed the edict, the court would gain control of the three prefectures of Wei, Beiyan, and Tan, which would undoubtedly allow for better deployment and defense when facing the Turks.

“Pei Jian, Wu Yi’s suggestion is good. Before the Prince of Beiping returns, let’s discuss with him and make adjustments accordingly.”

Next, they discussed the matter of the Grand General's Office in Mingzhou.

Li Yi proposed that of the eight prefectures under the jurisdiction of the Mingzhou Grand General's Office, some could be merged or abolished, and only Ming, Xing, and Zhao prefectures could be retained.

Similarly, the Xiangzhou General Administration Office could simply retain the three prefectures of Xiang, Wei, and Li.

The Huai Prefecture General Administration only needs to retain Huai and Yin Prefectures.

Further merging and reducing the number of prefectures and counties, and streamlining the bureaucracy, can save on government expenditures and reduce the burden on the people. Eliminating so many government offices and officials will also free up a large amount of public land, official land, and permanent land for officials, which can be distributed to the people.

He made all the necessary points regarding the defense of the northern frontier against the Turks and the defense of the Gao Kaidao.

Next, he needed to focus more on the Mingzhou Grand General's Office under his jurisdiction. His task was simple: he had obtained a special decree granting a one-year rent and tax exemption, and there was no immediate war.
The people could focus on restoring production, while the army both suppressed bandits and cultivated land.

He plans to bring more potato, corn, and sweet potato seeds from Guanzhong to Hebei. Although the planting season has passed this year, he can cultivate the land first and start planting next spring.

Even in fields where wheat isn't planted, rapeseed can still be sown and harvested next spring.

The Grand General of Mingzhou will only be in charge of the three prefectures of Ming, Xing, and Zhao. He will also serve as the Prefect of Mingzhou. The Emperor will still appoint Chen Junbin, the former Prefect of Xingzhou, as the Prefect of Xingzhou. The Prefect of Zhaozhou will be Zhang Zhiang, the former Grand General of Zhaozhou.

They were all local officials from Xing and Zhao during the Daye era, and had long since submitted to the Tang Dynasty. Later, they were defeated and captured by Dou Jiande, and now that they were returning to serve as prefects, they had a solid foundation. When Li Yi was in Hedong, they had followed Zhang Daoyuan there and assisted Li Yi for a period of time, so they knew each other well and could cooperate effectively.

The Chief Secretary of the Grand General's Office was Yang Gongdao, the younger brother of Chancellor Yang Gongren, who had previously served in the imperial court in Luoyang. The Chief Military Advisor of the Grand General's Office was still Zhang Liang, whom Li Yi was quite used to.

As Li Yi was about to leave the capital
Good news came from Shannan: not long after Li Xiaogong and Li Jing besieged Jiangling City, Xiao Xian, following the advice of the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat Cen Wenben, opened the city gates and surrendered.

After Xiao Xian surrendered, people from all over Liang surrendered in response, and Liang was destroyed.

The emperor issued an edict to abolish the Xiangzhou Circuit Administration.

The Jingzhou Grand General Administration was established, with Zhao Junwang Li Xiaogong appointed as the Jingzhou Grand General.

Li Jing was granted the title of Duke of Yongkang and appointed Pacification Commissioner of Lingnan Circuit and Inspector General of Guizhou, with the authority to bestow these titles by imperial decree. Li Jing traveled down the Xiang River, crossed the Five Ridges, passed the Ling Canal, and arrived directly at Guizhou. Xiao Xian, the Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and Liu Ji, who had previously been sent as envoys to Lingnan, had acquired more than fifty cities. Upon Li Jing's arrival, these fifty-odd cities surrendered.

Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, the only people who remained independent and did not submit to the Tang Dynasty were Yuan Junzhang of Daibei, Liang Shidu of Shuofang, Lin Shihong of Nankang, Li Zitong of Yuhang, Wenren Suian of Kunshan, and Feng Ang and Ning Changzhen of Lingnan.

(End of this chapter)