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

Chapter 486 Finally waiting for you

Mingzhou.

A famous city located in a depression of nearly 50,000 mu, surrounded by a moat that is ten miles long and a hundred meters wide, with wetlands outside the moat.

The depressions are filled with water all year round and are known as the "Little Jiangnan".

This is an enlarged version of Mingshui City. Dou Jiande chose this as his capital because it was easy to defend and difficult to attack, and the surrounding agricultural and transportation conditions were also good.

Li Yi actually visited this place in later generations as well. The Yongnian City of Mingzhou was later known as the Guangfu Ancient City Scenic Area of ​​Handan.

The present-day Yongnian City of Mingzhou is not much different from the Guangfu City of later generations, except that the city walls are now made of earth, but were expanded during the Yuan Dynasty and covered with bricks during the Ming Dynasty.

The Mingshui River, Fuyang River, and Zhizhang River surround the Yongnian depression.

At the Mingzhou Wharf, Li Yi, accompanied by Ma Zhou, made an incognito visit.

The aroma of sesame oil wafted from the docks outside the city at midday.

"Fried and grilled tofu, persimmon liquor, come and have a taste if you're passing by."

Li Yi felt that the voice sounded somewhat familiar, so he looked in the direction of the sound.

A gust of autumn wind blew, causing the banners of a stall on the dock to flutter.

A cart with a stove and an iron griddle on it, and several square tables with small stoves on them.

There's a grill on the small stove, where tofu is grilling. Guests sit around the table, turning the tofu themselves while drinking persimmon liquor and chatting.

This scene looks so familiar.

Isn't that Madam Wang from the Wang Family Shop in the East Market? Her father was the owner of Old Wang's Fried Dough Twist Shop in Jingzhou. Li Yi met this old man when he first went to the battlefield with the army and later ate fried dough twists in Jingzhou. Old Wang recognized Li Yi as being from Chang'an and asked him to deliver a message and some things to his daughter who had married and moved to Chang'an.
Li Yi stepped forward, and the figure did indeed seem somewhat familiar.

"Madam Wang?" Li Yi called out.

Behind the cart, a woman in simple clothes was frying on an iron griddle, her wrists trembling as she fried the golden-brown, round sesame seeds on top.

It is large and round, thin and hollow, and famously disappears in the wind.

The woman turned her head.

A look of surprise appeared on his face when he saw Li Yi.

"Ah, Lord Li, you've finally returned from Chang'an?"

"What are you doing in Mingzhou?" Li Yi asked in surprise. He had returned to Chang'an from Jingzhou and found Wang Shi. Wang Shi's husband had passed away, and she was struggling to keep her fried dough shop in the East Market afloat.

Later, Li Yi gave her an idea: sell roasted tofu, and also sell persimmon fritters, wheat wine, and other snacks.

The Li family provides her shop with specially made tofu.
Later, business indeed became very good. When Li Yi was in Chang'an, he would often visit her small shop, traveling incognito to explore it. He would sit in the shop, eat grilled tofu and drink persimmon liquor, share a table with the restaurant, and experience the everyday life and hustle and bustle of the city.

Wang wiped her hands with her apron, picked up a ceramic bowl, and put two freshly fried pancakes on Li Yi's plate. "These are freshly fried, have a taste."

Li Yi was feeling a bit hungry.
She picked one up and started eating. Her cooking skills were just as good as her father's; the frying and pan-frying techniques were passed down from her family and were extremely exquisite.

There are many vendors selling fried dough, but even in Chang'an, few can match the skill of the Wang family. The Wang family's fried dough is specially known as "disappearing in the wind".

"When did you come to Mingzhou?" he asked.

"It's a long story."

"Then speak slowly."

The Wang family has been in Hebei for a long time, probably since when Li Yi went on a campaign in Shannan.

"I once knew a scholar in Chang'an, a native of Zhao Prefecture in Hebei. He was a down-on-his-luck scholar who traveled to Chang'an to study, but his talents went unrecognized, and eventually he couldn't even afford to pay for his inn..."

It's a pretty interesting story.

A young widow selling tofu in the East Market of Chang'an, and a down-on-his-luck scholar whose talents are not recognized—by chance, the scholar is attracted by the roasted tofu and persimmon dishes in her shop.

That day, he praised the grilled tofu and persimmon stew, but later he started to cry alone while drinking. In the end, he got very drunk, but he didn't have enough money for the drinks, and he even passed out in her shop.

"And then what? Did you report him to the authorities, or tell the military commander or the Bad People, or just throw him out on the street?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

Ma Zhou also perked up his ears. He had once been a down-on-his-luck poor scholar, and he found the story very relatable.

"Would you like some grilled tofu? I've been doing the same old business since I came to Hebei. You taught me how to make grilled tofu, Sikong, and it's quite popular here."

"Alright, bring us a plate of tofu and we'll grill it ourselves. Also, don't call me Sikong anymore. I'm just wandering around today. You can just call me Wuyi."

"Then I'll still call you Master Li."

Wang arranged an empty table for Li Yi, Ma Zhou, and Zhou, and prepared the charcoal.

Enjoying self-grilled tofu, sipping persimmon liquor, and listening to Mrs. Wang tell her stories—it was a rare moment of relaxation in the afternoon.

Wang said that the scholar's surname was Liu, and that she didn't throw him out on the street that day, but instead took him in.

The next day, Liu was very grateful to Wang and insisted on staying at the shop to help out in order to pay off the debt for the wine. Over time, Wang took a liking to Liu, and Liu also fell in love with Wang.

The two then married.

"Then why did you go back to Hebei?"

“After the Dragon Boat Festival last year, Liu Lang received a letter from his hometown in Hebei, saying that his elderly mother was seriously ill, so he decided to take me back to his hometown.”

Wang resolutely closed her shop in Chang'an East Market, and with the money from the sale of the shop and her previous savings, she followed Lao Liu back to Zhao Prefecture in Hebei.

Upon returning home, Wang paid for medical treatment and medicine for Liu's mother and took meticulous care of her, and Liu's mother's condition improved. Later, in order to take care of his elderly mother, Liu Shusheng simply stayed in Zhao Prefecture, and at the beginning of the year, he even asked someone to find him a job as an assistant teacher at the Xiangcheng County School in Zhao Prefecture.

Life was actually pretty good.
But this year, the Tang army invaded Hebei, and the Xia king was defeated...
Old Liu was also quite unlucky. He had only managed to find this teaching assistant job through connections at the beginning of the year, and it had cost Wang a lot of his savings. But after only a few months, the Great Xia Kingdom was gone.

The weather has changed.
He lost his job not long after.

That's not all the trouble. Some time ago, people from the Zhao Prefecture government caused trouble for Lao Liu. They just picked fights, demanded money, and accused him of colluding with thieves.

"My son only worked as a teaching assistant at the Xiangcheng County School in Zhao Prefecture for a few months. He had previously wandered around Chang'an for several years and was not actually familiar with the Xia King's people."
But the officials at the yamen insisted that my son was a bandit.

"Where is your husband now?" Li Yi asked. Wang's eyes reddened, and she lowered her voice, saying that he had disappeared.

The last time I saw him was half a month ago. News of Dou Gong's sudden death in Chang'an spread, rumors flew, and people were filled with fear. My son was arrested by the authorities for writing a letter on behalf of Dou Gong's subordinates, and I had to pay money to get him back.

But that night someone came looking for my son, and after he went out, he never came back.

"Have you looked for them? Have you reported the case to the authorities?"

“I searched and reported the case, but there was no sign of him, neither alive nor dead. The officials said that my brother had gone into the mountains to become a bandit with his accomplices.”

Li Yi frowned upon hearing this.

"Why didn't you come looking for me when I was in Mingzhou?"

Wang sighed, "Back then, there was chaos and poor communication. I didn't know that Li Lang was in Mingzhou."

After Assistant Instructor Liu went missing, Wang made inquiries in various places without success. Later, she heard that Li Yi was the Grand Administrator of Mingzhou, so she rushed to Mingzhou to ask him for help. However, she found out that Li Yi had gone to Chang'an. So she set up a stall here and waited for him to arrive, making a living in this way.

"I've finally waited for you." As she said this, tears welled up in her eyes.

Her life has been full of hardship.

She came from a family that ran a small fried food business. Later, she married and moved to Chang'an, where she and her husband opened a fried food shop. However, her husband died young.

He was all alone in Chang'an, and it was only after Li Yi took care of him that his life improved.

Later, she met Liu Lang and finally found someone to rely on. But when she came to Hebei, she encountered these things again.

Now her husband has also disappeared without a trace, and she, a woman, is struggling to make ends meet.

Ma Zhou may have just put himself in the role of Liu Shusheng, and now he's feeling quite uncomfortable.

Seeing Wang Shi shed tears, I couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache.

"My lord, I will send men to help find Assistant Instructor Liu's whereabouts."

"Ah."

Ma Zhou immediately stood up and went to do it.

Wiping away her tears, Madam Wang gratefully thanked Ma Zhou, saying, "Thank you so much, young man."

“I am Li Gong’s Imperial Guard. You can call me Ma Zhou. Sister-in-law, don’t worry. I will make arrangements right away and will definitely be able to find Assistant Instructor Liu for you soon.”

"Thank you, Master Ma." Wang bowed to him, her eyes red and tears welling up, making her look pitiful.

"I'll go first."

Ma Zhou left in a hurry.

“This Master Ma is truly a good man,” said Madam Wang.

Li Yi heard many questions about the Wang couple's situation. Although he had anticipated these questions, hearing them from contemporary perspectives still struck him as somewhat different.

Wang's husband, Assistant Instructor Liu, was also an official in Dou Jiande's Xia Kingdom, but he was only an assistant instructor in a county school, an unranked official without any real power.

But now, there are still people in the Zhao Prefecture government who are targeting him.

Whether it's officials transferred from the imperial court purging Dou Jiande's former subordinates or clerks taking the opportunity to extort money, these are all serious problems with officialdom.

And now, a perfectly healthy person has suddenly disappeared.

Assistant Instructor Liu was either taken away by the people of Zhao Prefecture, or imprisoned in some jail, or he was accidentally killed during interrogation.

Of course, it's also possible that, as the authorities said, he actually joined the bandits and became a thief.

Regardless of which one,

This all demonstrates that the situation in Hebei is indeed very chaotic.

Even a nobody like Assistant Liu has been dragged into this mess.

The Wang family was quite unlucky.

She remarried, and this is how it ended.

"Don't worry, I will help you find your husband."

Wang could only pin her hopes on Li Yi. Now that Li Yi had returned to Mingzhou, she felt there was hope.

Slightly fermented tofu sizzles on charcoal, turning crispy and golden brown. Dipping it in the sauce afterward is an absolute delight. Paired with persimmon liquor and a casual chat with friends, it's an incredibly pleasant experience.

But today, having tasted the same old flavor again in Mingzhou, Li Yi had no appetite for the food.

After chatting with Wang for a while, Li Yi called over Song Yi, who was secretly protecting him, and asked him to help make arrangements for Wang before returning to the city.

In Dou Jiande's city, Wanchun Palace had its unauthorized and prohibited items removed and was converted into the General Manager's Mansion. Li Yi returned with a serious expression.

"Consultant Qi, you must immediately draft an official document for me to notify all the prefectures and counties below that all former subordinates of Dou Jiande, whether they are officials who remain in office or soldiers who have returned from military service, will have their past misdeeds forgiven."

Any official in any prefecture or county who dares to disobey this order will be severely punished.

Another announcement will be drafted.
All bandits within the territory of Ming, Xing, and Zhao prefectures who accept amnesty before the end of the year will be pardoned and their past crimes will be forgiven.

Starting next year, the fifth year of the Wude era, all mountain bandits, horse bandits, and river pirates will be suppressed and wiped out.

Consultant Qi Shanxing picked up his pen and quickly jotted down these two matters.

Li Yi then ordered someone to summon Yang Gongdao, the chief secretary of the Grand General's Office, Zhang Liang, the military advisor, as well as the two sets of officials including Prince Wu'an Youyun Dingxing, Chief Secretary Li Keshi, and Military Advisor Wang Cong.

"Gentlemen, the situation is worse than we anticipated, and it is deteriorating rapidly. We must take immediate action to stop it."

I suggested that officials be dispatched to conduct inspections, both overt and covert.

Circuit courts were established, reaching deep into counties and townships to accept appeals and grievances from the people. Problems were collected and addressed promptly!

(End of this chapter)