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

Chapter 491 Proclaiming himself king
Hearing words is not as good as observing events, and observing events is not as good as observing actions.

What you say is not important; what you do is.

Liu Heita has been behaving quite well lately. Li Yi recommended him to be the military commander of his Prince's Palace and sent him four beauties. He has been very obedient.

But his reputation is so great,

Historically, they rebelled against the Tang Dynasty twice.

Sending him to Fenglong Mountain in Zhao Prefecture this time cannot be entirely described as a test. He cannot keep him by his side forever. A formidable man like Liu Heita has served Hao Xiaode, Li Mi, Wang Shichong, and Dou Jiande. Now, if he follows him again, they are all from five different families.

When hungry, they cling to you; when full, they fawn over you; when hot, they gravitate towards you.

In terms of ability, Liu Heita is probably no less capable than Qin Shubao and Yuchi Gong, so he should be used when necessary, otherwise it would be a waste. Furthermore, if he is not given the opportunity to do things and make contributions, he cannot be satisfied with his current position as the head of the guards for long.

This trip to Zhao Prefecture is both an opportunity and a test.

It all depends on his choice.

If Liu Heita harbors ill intentions, Li Yi wouldn't mind eliminating him, but as the saying goes, one cannot kill someone without first teaching them a lesson.

There is concrete evidence that Liu Heita has rebelled and treasoned. If he is executed, the people of Hebei will have nothing to say. However, if there is no convincing evidence, but he is accused of rebellion and killed, it will only exacerbate the current dissatisfaction of the people of Hebei with the imperial court.

Li Yi was willing to give Liu Heita a hand. If he could choose the right path, he would become a formidable general in the future campaign against the Turks.

Even in the future, when they fight against Tuyuhun or conquer Goguryeo, they could shine brightly and perhaps have a different place in history.

In the afternoon,

The wind stopped, the snow stopped, and the sun came out again.

Li Yi changed into casual clothes, specially invited Ma Zhou, Liu Heita and Liu Shiche, and together they went to Wang's Fried Dough Shop in the market.

The market in Mingzhou wasn't as bustling and prosperous as the markets in Chang'an and the other two cities, but it still had a considerable number of shops. While it didn't have 270 trades, it certainly had 72.

Many businesses also operate according to market trends, and transactions are busy at the end of the year.

Wang's pancake shop is located in the food court and does good business. Her pancake-making skills are excellent; she can pancakes that are big, round, golden, and crispy.

Of course, the most popular items in the shop these days are still grilled tofu and persimmon fritters, which are popular with shoppers and vendors at the market.
When you're feeling busy, coming here to grill some tofu and have a few drinks is a great way to relax. You can even meet up with clients and chat over a meal.

Ma Zhou, familiar with the place, first lifted the curtain and entered the shop.

The shop wasn't very big; there were eight tables inside. As soon as you entered, a wave of heat hit you, and the air was filled with a delicious aroma.

“Madam Wang, I’m here again,” Ma Zhou greeted the busy Madam Wang.

"Ah, Master Ma has arrived. Please have a seat."

"Master Li has also come, and he brought a few friends with him."

Li Yi and the others then lifted the curtain and entered. When Wang Shi saw Li Yi, her expression was different from when she faced Ma Zhou. It was more friendly and natural, with less of the politeness and distance.

She quickly stepped forward to meet her.

"I hope I won't disturb your business," Li Yi said with a smile.

"Young Master Li is a distinguished guest, we would love for him to come often, please have a seat."

She cleared a table, wiped it clean, added charcoal, and soon served seven or eight plates of ingredients such as grilled tofu and lamb skewers, and also brought out some wine.

He even helped with the grilling himself.

"Let me introduce you. These people are going to Zhao Prefecture with my uncle tomorrow. I asked them to go to Fenglong Mountain. If all goes well, they will be able to bring your husband, Assistant Instructor Liu, back soon."

Wang was overjoyed and wept.

"Can I come along? I want to see my husband as soon as possible."

Li Yi could understand Wang's feelings. For women in this era, their husbands were the pillars of their lives; without them, the sky would fall.

"Just wait here for good news. Once we bring Assistant Instructor Liu out, I will recruit him as a military advisor to my Wu'an Prince's Mansion. Then you can reunite in Mingzhou."

Wang's eyes were filled with tears. At this moment, she only hoped that her husband would return safely, and she did not think about anything else.

Even if her husband lost his teaching assistant job after returning home, she could still support her family by selling grilled tofu at this shop.

Ma Zhou sat to one side, happy for Wang Shi, and in his heart, he was very envious of the assistant instructor Liu, whom he had never met. They were from similar backgrounds and had similar experiences, so how could he find such a virtuous wife, while he, Ma Zhou, was still without a wife, only a maidservant given to him by Li Gong as a concubine.

Liu Heita was somewhat curious as to why Li Yi had such a good relationship with the female owner of the fried dough shop.

Looking at Wang, she was either in her twenties or thirties, and not particularly good-looking.

During the subsequent conversation over roasted tofu, drinks, and conversation, he learned how Li Yi and the Wang family had met, and that Li Yi had been very helpful to the Wang family in Chang'an back when Li Yi was just a village head.

Liu Heita sipped his favorite persimmon liquor and thought that Wang Shi had poor taste, choosing a weak and incompetent scholar.

But I also admire Wang's kindness and loyalty.

"This grilled tofu is really good." Liu Heita liked it very much; he had never eaten grilled tofu like this before.

“Mr. Liu will come to eat here often from now on,” Wang said quickly.

"Don't worry, I will definitely bring your husband back," Liu Heita said, patting his chest. He really didn't take Fenglong Mountain seriously.

Zhao Prefecture.

Fenglong Mountain, inside the Black Dragon Cave.

The snow stopped.
But it's still very cold.
It's even colder in the mountains, and the caves are empty; even firewood can't keep you warm enough.

Recently, more people have come up the mountain to seek refuge.
Liu Wei's team already has over a thousand people.
With more people, the demand for food has increased even more. "We won't have enough food for more than a few days. It's hard to buy food even if you have money now. Second brother, why don't we go down the mountain and raid a few villages?"

"If you ask me, we should settle scores with those who wronged us, those powerful and wealthy families who bullied us. We should settle accounts with them one by one."
Let's fight back, avenge our blood feud, seize money, grain, and cloth, and have a comfortable winter."

With more people,
The sounds were also mixed up.

However, most of the people who came up the mountain were former soldiers of Dou Gong, and some were bankrupt refugees who could not survive and came to seek refuge, hoping to get a meal.

In the past few days, food supplies on the mountain have been reduced, and dry rice has been replaced by thin porridge. Everyone is hungry, and discontent is growing.

Many people were shouting that they should go down the mountain to attack the villages of powerful landlords, and some were even shouting that they should attack the county and state capitals.

Previously, there were only about a hundred people, and everyone was quite pragmatic, keeping a low profile and being cautious, fearing that government troops would come to suppress them. But now there are over a thousand people, and everyone has become bolder.

Liu Wei convened a meeting of more than thirty key personnel to discuss matters.

"What do you think we should do now, sir?" Liu Wei asked Liu Xian, who had recovered from his illness. Liu Xian's proclamation against the Tang Dynasty had attracted thousands of people to Fenglong Mountain to join him, greatly boosting their morale and making Liu Wei admire the scholar greatly.

They've already regarded him as their strategist.

Liu Xian said, "Now that Lord Liu has issued a proclamation against the Tang Dynasty, attracting countless people to join us, the most urgent task now is to organize them."

"organize?"

"Yes, just as a war requires military formations, a rebellion also requires organization, otherwise it is difficult to succeed."

Immediately, someone else seconded the motion.

"Second Brother should declare himself King, so that he can command Hebei."

Liu Xian immediately objected, "It is not appropriate to call yourself king now. You can call yourself general or chief administrator. Lord Liu can organize the mountain troops according to the army and appoint officers at all levels."

Liu Wei agreed with Liu Xian's suggestion.

Now, a mere rabble of a few hundred people has proclaimed themselves kings. Wouldn't the government immediately launch a desperate attack to suppress them?
A tall tree catches the wind.

"Then I will call myself the chief steward, with a camp of two hundred men, and I will set up captains, brigade commanders, and squad leaders, and the camp will also have chief clerks, military advisors, and so on."

Liu Wei decided to use the old methods from the military, which were both familiar and convenient.

He called himself the chief steward and appointed Liu Xian as his secretary and military advisor.

He also granted official titles to all the key personnel, and everyone was very happy.

Liu Xian, acting on orders, immediately took out paper and wrote an appointment letter for everyone, which Liu Wei then pressed his fingerprint on before distributing them to each person.

"Secretary, you'll be everyone's strategist from now on. We're organized now, but we're running out of food. What should we do next?"

Some people shouted that they should go down the mountain to rob, while others shouted that they should attack the county town.

Some even suggested that they should first sneak into Yuanshi County, then storm the city gates at midnight, loot the government granaries and wealthy households in the city, and then they would no longer have to worry about food, and could even obtain a lot of weapons and equipment.

Liu Xian looked at this group of excited people.
He couldn't help but frown.
Although Yuanshi County is not large, it has a garrison. While they have gathered over a thousand people, they are all hastily assembled, lacking coordination, and many have never fought before.
Even more lacking are bows and arrows.

It's not that easy to seize a city.

"Steward, I believe we should not rashly attack the county town. We should proceed with caution. It would be better to first target the manor of a powerful and wealthy family, preferably one with a bad reputation, such as being known in the countryside for extorting money from the people, or for their sons bullying men and women."
We can raise the slogan of acting on behalf of Heaven, raid the manor to seize its money and grain, and still win the praise of the people.”

Liu Wei also thought this method was better.
It's too risky to attack a county town when you're too weak.

"Alright, let's pick a suitable opponent."

At dusk,

Several riders came up the mountain, saying they wanted to pay their respects to Liu Wei.

"We are horse traders. We are deeply impressed by Liu Gong's uprising against the Tang Dynasty at Fenglong Mountain. We have also traded horses with Dou Gong in the past and are deeply grateful for his benevolence. We are deeply saddened to hear of Dou Gong's sudden death in Chang'an."

We are just businessmen, but we are willing to do our part.

The visitor's words to Liu Wei were quite unexpected.

"We are willing to give Mr. Liu ten fine horses."

"Thank you all." Liu Wei couldn't possibly refuse such a good opportunity.

The other party did not only come to deliver ten horses; they expressed their willingness to cooperate with Liu Wei, offering him horses, weapons, and even some provisions.

Liu Wei can't even afford to eat now, let alone buy warhorses and weapons.

But the other party said that I could pay later after using it.

“In a few days, we can send Lord Liu one hundred warhorses, one thousand swords and spears, three hundred bows, ten thousand arrows, and one hundred sets of leather armor.”

Liu Wei stared wide-eyed, eyeing the 'businessmen' with some wariness.

The merchant in the lead, who had a somewhat Sogdian appearance, simply smiled and said, "Lord Liu can use these things first. When we conquer the prefectures and counties and capture the gold, silver, and money, we can pay you back."

"In the future, we can provide Lord Liu with more weapons, equipment, and horses."

Liu Wei was incredulous. Had a windfall fallen from the sky? Could there really be such a good thing?
“We are businessmen, we are optimistic about Mr. Liu, and we believe that this deal will benefit both of us and allow us to profit.”

Liu Wei looked at Liu Xian, feeling that something was amiss.

Liu Xian was also wary, "May I ask where you're from?"

“Where we come from is not important; what matters is our willingness to support you,” the merchant said. “We will deliver ten warhorses to Lord Liu in a moment, and the agreed-upon equipment will arrive in three days at the latest. As long as our cooperation goes smoothly, more equipment will be delivered in the future.”

(End of this chapter)