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

Chapter 489 The thigh muscles have regenerated
Liu Heita got up in the morning and sat there sighing deeply.

His concubine, Yuan, wrapped her arms around his waist from behind. "Why do you sigh, my lord?"

"I am a general who fights on horseback. I ride horses all year round, never leaving the saddle, and all the flesh on my thighs has gone away. Just now I suddenly discovered that the flesh on my thighs has grown back."

Yuan reached out to touch it and smiled, "It's quite nice."

As the woman spoke, she moved her hand, and the cavalry general Liu Heita was furious. "Hey, what kind of lowly general are you, daring to try and take my spear? I'll kill you until you're utterly defeated!"

Having not had a chance to fight for a long time, Liu Heita displayed his prowess at the hands of Yuan, the beautiful concubine given to him by Li Yi, defeating her so badly that she begged for mercy and surrendered.

After Madam Yuan went to take a bath,

Liu Heita lay alone on the couch, his eyes lifeless.

Now he lives a life of good food and drink, with beautiful women and fine wine, carefree and relaxed. But this comfortable haven has worn away his will.

He couldn't help but ask himself, is this the life I want?
He was always by Li Yi's side, and at best he was just a high-ranking bodyguard.

Now that Dou Gong's former subordinates are starting uprisings in various places, should I just sit idly by and watch?

Yuan ran back, saying sweetly, "It's so cold, my lord. I want to buy you a mink coat, okay?"

"Buy it," Liu Heita replied casually, still staring at the roof beams.

Yuan crawled into the quilt again and coiled around him like a snake. "My love, I want a child."

"pregnancy."

···
Liu Heita received a message from Song Yi that Sikong had invited him for tea.

Inside the Grand General's Mansion in the north of Mingzhou City, in the White Tiger Hall, was once the Golden Palace of Wanchun Palace of King Dou Jiande of Xia. After renovation, the unauthorized and prohibited parts were removed.

Before Liu Heita arrived, he took a bath. He had spent the whole day with Yuan Shi and his body was covered in the smell of perfume.

Outside the main gate of the festival hall,
Liu Heizi wore a bright armor, a brocade robe, and a cloak.

"Brother Heita, what have you been busy with all day? I haven't seen you all day," Hei Zi said with a smile.

"It's cold and snowing heavily, so I've been sleeping in the house since I finished my shift." Hei Ta smiled at him. The two of them were both surnamed Liu and had the character "Hei" in their names. They were also both fifth-rank military officers in the Prince of Wu'an's personal office. So, under Li Yi's joking, they exchanged birth dates and became sworn brothers.

Liu Heita didn't look down on Liu Heizi for being a farmhand, after all, he wasn't from a prestigious family either, and in his early years he was considered a scoundrel for his fondness for drinking and gambling. Besides, he knew that Liu Heizi was Li Yi's true confidant.

"Sikong has treated you very well, sending you four beauties at once. But brother, you'd better take it easy. There's no such thing as land that's been over-cultivated, only oxen that have died from exhaustion."

That "fairy cave" is also a coffin seam, remember that.

Liu Heita smiled. "Thank you for the reminder, brother. Why did Sikong suddenly invite me for tea?"

"You'll see when you get there. Sikong's tea is all top-quality; most people can't even get their hands on it."

Liu Heita entered the gate.
There were also imperial guards at the second gate, and the one on duty was Qiang general Li Cunxiao. He heard that this man was originally a prisoner of war slave from Longyou who was given to Li Yi by the emperor. Later, he made meritorious contributions and became an imperial guard. In just a few years, thanks to Li Yi, he went from being a prisoner of war slave to a fourth-rank imperial guard general.

"Hello, General Li." He took the initiative to greet him.

Li Cunxiao reached out and patted him on the shoulder. "Sikong is waiting for you. Go on."

Liu Heita nodded, stepped over the threshold, and entered the inner courtyard through the White Tiger Hall.

Looking at that hall,
He felt a pang of emotion. This used to be the Golden Palace of the Xia King, but now the Xia King and the Great Xia Kingdom were gone, and sitting inside was Li Yi, who was much younger than him.

However, he dared not underestimate this young man in the slightest. During the time he followed him, he learned more about him and admired him more and more.

After taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, Liu Heita stood outside the hall and loudly registered.

"Liu Heita, the military commander of the Prince of Wu'an's personal affairs office, pays his respects to the Minister of Works."

"Enter."

Liu Heita straightened his clothes, took off his boots, and entered the hall.

The hall was warm.

Li Yi used silver charcoal to start a fire in the stove and set up a silver kettle to boil water.

"General Heita has arrived. Please have a seat."

A tea tray sat before him, upon which rested a purple clay teapot, only slightly larger than a fist, and several teacups the size of wine cups.

"I'm opening a jar of Da Hong Pao tea today and I'd like to invite you over to taste it together."

Li Yi picked up a silver jar and opened it, inside which were stored Da Hong Pao tea from Wuyi Mountain.

Put the tea leaves into the Yixing teapot, pour in the boiling water from the silver teapot, and rinse the teapot with boiling water as well.

About two minutes later, Li Yi picked up the teapot and poured tea.

Liu Heita was a rough man with little education. He was good at drinking and gambling, knew nothing about tea, and had never even tasted tea before he was twenty.

He knelt opposite Li Yi, watching Li Yi pour tea. He first poured a little into each teacup, then poured it evenly around the teacup, and finally poured the last little bit into each teacup.

Liu Heita looked at the six teacups in front of him.
Some doubts,

Are there four other people coming to have tea?
"Try this Da Hong Pao. It's a type of rock tea, semi-fermented," Li Yi said with a smile.

Liu Heita picked up a small cup and drank it all in one gulp, without even having a chance to savor it.

"No rush, savor it slowly. When you savor tea, you appreciate the flavor of the tea leaves, the quality of the water, and the quality of the teaware. More importantly, it's a way to pass the time and a refined pursuit."

Liu Heita picked up another cup of tea and sipped it slowly this time.

It lacks the richness of wine, but it does have a unique flavor. At first, it seems to only taste charcoal and smoke, as if it were burnt, but upon closer tasting, it seems to have a sweet aftertaste, fragrant, clear, and sweet.

"Are you getting used to life in Mingzhou?" Li Yi asked with a smile.

“It’s alright,” Liu Heita replied carefully. “Coming back here feels both familiar and strange. Things have changed, and everything seems different.”

Li Yi sipped his tea.
The taste is quite good. The family specifically set up a tea plantation in Wuyishan, and they maintain strict standards from tea picking to processing. This method of tea making is still relatively rare, belonging to a niche market. However, because of Li Yi's special appreciation and recommendation, it has become quite famous among the nobles of Chang'an, and due to its limited quantity, it has become quite popular.

The one he's brewing now,

One tael of tea leaves is divided into six small packets, each wrapped in silk cloth, then stored in a silver jar and packaged in a sandalwood box. One tael of tea leaves like this sells for 12,800 coins.

A small package costs more than two thousand yuan.

A pound of tea is worth more than 200,000 coins, but the tea is sold by the ounce; you can't buy a pound even if you have the money.

Originally, it was just that Li Yi liked to drink it, but he insisted on turning it from a niche product into a synonym for luxury. Anyway, many noble families don't really like a certain tea; they just want the luxury attribute behind the famous tea to show off their status.

"Drinking tea can cultivate one's character and temperament. General Heita can drink more tea in the future."

Liu Heita sat there, wondering what Li Yi meant by inviting him for tea and saying all these cryptic things, but he still couldn't figure it out after a long time.

"Master Sikong, is there something wrong with Heita lately? Please enlighten me, Master Sikong. I am a rough man, uneducated, and dull-witted."

"I don't know anything about tea. In the past, when I drank tea, I never minded using large teaware, with a pot that could hold ten dou (a unit of volume), and I would drink tea directly from a rice bowl."

The tea we drank was all coarse, large-leaf compressed tea cakes, first ground into powder, then boiled in a pot, with salt, chopped green onions, and other seasonings added. So, Sikong just said what he wanted to say, to save me the trouble of figuring it out.

Li Yi laughed heartily.

“Drinking tea from a large bowl has its own kind of boldness. Actually, I’m used to drinking tea cakes boiled with salt, scallions, or even milk. Especially when marching or fighting, a bowl of strong tea with salt and milk can quench my thirst and replenish my energy.”

Liu Heita nodded repeatedly.

"I invited you here for tea today because I wanted to ask if you're still settling in. I know you're a capable general, and you might be finding it a little strange to be idle these days."

"Fortunately, I suddenly discovered that my thigh muscles have regrowed."

Li Yi looked at Liu Heita and saw that he did indeed seem to have gained a lot of weight.

"Do you know about Fenglong Mountain in Zhao Prefecture?" he asked.

"I know, that's also called Feilong Mountain, a famous mountain in Zhao Prefecture. The mountain isn't actually that big, only about twenty miles long, but it's very famous. There are many temples and Taoist monasteries, even academies, as well as villas and manors belonging to some nobles and powerful families."

The valley is steep and the scenery is beautiful, but when you reach the top of the mountain, it is very flat with large grasslands.

Towards the end of the Daye era, many people went up the mountains to become outlaws, establishing themselves as mountain kings, and also cultivating land, raising sheep and pigs on the mountains.

Li Yi nodded. "Do you know Liu Wei of Zhao Prefecture?"

Liu Heita shook his head.

He explained, “In my early years, Dou Gong followed Gao Shida of Gaojibo, while I joined Hao Xiaode of Pingyuan County. Later, I followed him to Shangwagang. After Wei Gong’s defeat, I surrendered to Wang Shichong and led troops to garrison Xinxiang. I was captured by Li Shiji of Liyang and then followed Dou Gong. I was under Dou Gong’s command for less than two years.”

I know all the generals under Dou Gong, but I've never heard of Liu Wei.

Li Yi then told Liu Wei about his background, saying that he had heard he was originally just a junior officer, and Liu Heita said he had never heard of him before.

"Liu Wei had previously retired from the army and returned to his hometown to buy land, hoping to become a landlord. However, he got into a conflict with a prominent family in the village, which escalated to the point of involving the authorities, resulting in his imprisonment."

In short, Liu Wei later went up Fenglong Mountain in anger again, and now he has gathered several hundred of Dou Gong's former subordinates. He has already issued a proclamation against the Tang Dynasty, calling on Dou Gong's former subordinates in Hebei to rise up in rebellion.

What's your opinion on this?

Liu Heita was silent for a while.

"Just say it."

“I think Liu Wei and the others were forced into it. The local powerful families colluded with the county clerks to extort and plunder, taking the opportunity to oppress people and drive them to ruin. Liu Wei had no choice but to rebel.” Liu Heita said, “At the end of the Sui Dynasty, most local officials were like that, and many people were forced to rebel.”

Li Yi nodded.

“You’re right, things were quite chaotic a while ago, so my first priority upon returning is to rectify official conduct and eliminate those bad apples.”

Liu Wei is not an isolated case; many similar cases have emerged recently.

I can understand him, but I don't want Liu Wei to go astray and go further astray. I issued a surrender order to various places, saying that as long as they are willing to surrender, their past transgressions will be forgiven.

They can appeal to the inspection team and the circuit court if they have any grievances or injustices.

Recently, Su Lie has been helping General Manager Liu in Dezhou to suppress bandits in Douzigang. He has performed remarkably well, eliminating many bandits who refused to accept amnesty.

General Tian of Weizhou personally took action, and the bandits of Gaojibo were killed so badly that they had nowhere to hide.

However, I still advocate for appeasement as the primary approach, since there was a reason for the situation, and we can give them a chance to repent and return to the right path.

Since you are amazed that your thigh muscles have returned to normal, then in a couple of days you should go back to Zhao Prefecture with Zhang Zhiang, the governor of Zhao Prefecture, and assist him in going to Fenglong Mountain to persuade him to surrender.

After all, you are from Hebei and were once a trusted brother of Dou Gong. If you step forward to offer amnesty, Liu Wei and others might be able to trust you.

I have another task for you. I have an old friend from Chang'an who married into a family in Hebei. Her husband was originally an assistant teacher at the Yuanshi County School in Zhao Prefecture, but he has now been taken to the mountains by Liu Wei. Please help me bring him back.”

Liu Heita hesitated for a moment.

"Minister Sikong, what if Liu Wei and the others refuse to accept the offer of amnesty?"

Li Yi poured tea, first Guan Yu inspected the city, then Han Xin mustered his troops.

"I've given them the opportunity; if they don't cherish it, they can't blame anyone else. If people don't save themselves, even Heaven can't help them."

If someone is solely focused on being a thief, then the only option is to eliminate them.

He's a bandit, you're a soldier; you know what to do.

Liu Heita nodded. "I will try my best to persuade them to surrender and accept amnesty."

"You should explain things clearly to Liu Wei. He has been wronged, and the court will uphold justice for him. Justice may be delayed, but it will not be absent."

Hopefully, he won't go further down the wrong path, and more importantly, he won't drag others down with him.

(End of this chapter)