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

Chapter 492 Muddy Waters

The city wall of Mingzhou looked majestic in the winter morning light, while the withered reeds by the wetland swayed in the cold wind.

Li Yi strolled along the city walls of Mingzhou in the afternoon sunlight; the New Year was just around the corner.

The situation in Hebei is relatively good. The rebellion of Dou Jiande's former subordinates has been contained, especially in the three prefectures of Mingfu. Li Yi's few decisive moves have poured cold water on that small flame.

It's freezing cold.

There are many things I can't do.

"My lord, the wind is strong on the city wall, you should go back soon." Song Yi came over to remind him, the winter sun was no match for the biting north wind.

"Ah."

Li Yi also felt a bit cold; the sunlight didn't warm him at all.

Back in the backyard of the Grand Steward's mansion in the north of the city, Pei greeted him with good news: "My lord, Madam Zheng vomited badly this morning. We called a doctor to examine her, and he said that her pulse is slippery and she is pregnant."

Li Yi went directly to Zheng Rou Niang's courtyard. She was sunbathing under the eaves in the courtyard. She was overjoyed to learn that she was pregnant, and even a little surprised and caught off guard.

When Zheng Rou Niang saw her get up, she immediately got up as well, and told Li Yi with a happy expression that she was pregnant.

"You've just gotten pregnant, so you need to be careful to protect the baby. You need to be extra careful when you walk, and try not to be exposed to the cold wind outside. When the sun is out, take a walk in the yard. When it's cold, make sure the kang (heated brick bed) is warm."

Li Yi smiled and gave her instructions, and Zheng Rou Niang nodded like a chick pecking at rice.

"I'll copy down a recipe for you later. It'll help with your pregnancy and health. You can cook for yourself in the yard and have the people in the yard prepare it for you."

"Pay attention to your diet and have the doctor come to check you up every ten days."

Zheng Rou Niang listened with a happy expression.

These days, there's no advanced prenatal testing technology to screen for birth defects, but since both of them are young and healthy, the baby should be relatively healthy too.

After chatting with Madam Zheng for a while, Li Yi returned to his study.

Jin Yushu brought him some stewed chicken soup, her face showing some resentment.

Li Yi sipped the chicken soup that had been simmering over charcoal and laughed, "I treat you all the same. Don't blame me if your stomach doesn't cooperate."

"My love, you're rubbing salt into my wounds. I don't want to live anymore." Jin Yushu looked like she was about to cry.

Li Yi laughed heartily.

"My lord, I have been with you for four years, and there is still no sign of pregnancy. Is it because I am infertile?"

"You're so young and healthy, how could you not be able to have children? Didn't you already have a doctor examine you and they said you're very healthy?"

"Then why is there no sign of pregnancy? She came to Hebei with Zheng Shi this time, and she got pregnant, but I haven't had any signs of pregnancy yet. She has only been with A Lang for a few months, but I have been with A Lang for several years."

"Just let nature take its course."

Jin Yushu acted coquettishly towards Li Yi, but eventually revealed her true colors. While massaging Li Yi's shoulders, she said that she wanted to serve Li Yi that night.

"Okay, come to my room tonight."

The pitiful Silla maid who had just been standing there immediately broke into a smile.

"Alright, you go and rest first, I still have official business to attend to."

"My lord, you must keep your word. I'm going to take a bath."

Li Yi slapped her on the butt and chased the vixen away.

The bond issuance is progressing fairly smoothly, just a bit slowly. Li Yi had Luo San arrange for the Li family's various businesses to subscribe to 10,000 strings of cash worth of bonds in Mingzhou.

Moreover, the money and silk have already been delivered to the Grand Steward's warehouse.

As the first to pay, they naturally received the best treatment: all customs duties within the three prefectures of Mingfu were waived. They also obtained mining rights to several large mines, and Luo San's application for a commercial settlement was approved.

They directly obtained the commercial and military rights to 10,000 mu of land, with a five-year lease. The first two years were rent-free, and the remaining three and a half years were rent-free.

In fact, the mining rights for those mines are already very valuable; as long as they are mined, there's a guaranteed profit. As for farming in Shangtun, leasing 10,000 mu of land is also worthwhile, given that grain prices will remain high in the future, and Hebei's proximity to the border means even greater demand for grain.

Moreover, the Li family has gained entry qualifications in many fields such as raw medicine, processed medicine, salt, tea, and wine this time, which is with the support of the Grand Steward's Mansion.

This year has a leap month in October, giving us an extra month, but Li Yi still feels like he doesn't have enough time.

Many things seem simple, but in reality, they are complex and slow to progress.

For the Tang Dynasty, this winter the court annihilated Xiao Xian of Jiangling in one battle, pacifying the area from Shannan all the way to Lingnan with a single proclamation.

Li Jing traveled down the Xiang River, crossed the Five Ridges, and arrived at Guilin. He was appointed as the Governor-General of Guizhou and led troops to pacify Lingnan. In reality, he was using the prestige of defeating Xiao Xian to patrol Lingnan.

Anyone who disagrees will be destroyed.

Faced with this powerful dragon crossing the river, all the powerful chieftains of Lingnan surrendered without a second thought.

Feng Ang, Li Guangdu, Ning Changzhen and others all sent their sons to seek an audience and voluntarily sent their sons as hostages to show their allegiance. Li Jing also granted them official titles and ranks, acknowledging their status and appointing them to positions such as governor and prefect.

They conquered ninety-six prefectures in Lingnan, gaining more than 600,000 households, and pacified the entire Lingnan region.

There wasn't a single troublemaker among them. Regardless of how the powerful clans of Lingnan fought amongst themselves, they showed a natural fear of the Central Plains forces. They had previously submitted directly to Xiao Xian and Lin Shihong.

Now an even more formidable Tang Dynasty has arrived, and no one dares to say no.

Li Jing was generous enough to accept the offer of hostages and surrender documents, even though Lingnan was only a dozen or so prefectures during the Sui Dynasty. Now, various warlords had established ninety-six prefectures, and Li Jing accepted them all.

For example, when Feng Ang controlled eight prefectures, Li Jing appointed Feng Ang as the governor-general, and all eight of his sons were appointed as governors.

The other powerful chieftains followed suit, and the governors, prefects, magistrates, chief clerks, military advisors, and other officials all acknowledged their authority. The situation in the south was extremely favorable.

The ninety-six prefectures of Lingnan were pacified by a single proclamation.

In Jiangnan, Du Fuwei and Li Zitong finally reached a decisive battle. In November, Li Fuwei sent his adopted son, Wang Xiongdan, to attack Li Zitong. The two sides fought at Dusong Ridge. Li Zitong was defeated, burned his camp, and retreated to Hangzhou. Wang Xiongdan pursued him to Hangzhou and defeated Li Zitong again at the city walls.

Emperor Li Zitong of the Wu Kingdom, having reached the end of his road, had no choice but to surrender. Li Fuwei, the King of Wu of the Tang Dynasty, sent men to escort Li Zitong, his minister Le Botong, and the Vice Minister of the Interior Li Baiyao, among others, to Chang'an.

After Li Fuwei destroyed Li Zitong's Wu Kingdom, he turned around and sent troops to attack Wenren Suian in Kunshan, forcing him to open the city gates and surrender.

Today, Li Fuwei controls the entire Huainan and Jiangdong regions, extending south to the Five Ridges and east to the sea. His title as the Grand Administrator of the Southeast Circuit of the Great Tang Dynasty is truly well-deserved.

Wang Xiongdan was also appointed as the governor of Shezhou and the duke of Yichun for his merits.

Now the entire South,

That left only one separatist force, namely Lin Shihong, the Chu Emperor of Jiangxi. Although Feng Ang and Gao Facheng of Lingnan had once relied on Lin Shihong, Lin Shihong had a brilliant start but then suffered a crushing defeat in recent years.

Zhang Shan'an, the bandit leader of Yanzhou, moved his forces to Huainan. After capturing Lujiang County, he crossed the river and surrendered to Lin Shihong. However, Lin Shihong accepted him but did not trust him, which caused Zhang Shan'an to harbor resentment. He then launched a surprise attack on Lin Shihong and burned down Yuzhang.

Lin Shihong had no choice but to retreat to Nankang.
After that, Xiao Xian sent troops to repeatedly defeat Lin Shihong and seize much of his territory. By this time, most of Yuzhang, Poyang and other places had been taken over by Zhang Shan'an.

Lin Shihong's actual territory was limited to what would later become southern Jiangxi. Even the bandit leader Zhang Shan'an, who was stronger than him, controlled five prefectures.

It can be said,
Since the chaos of the Sui Dynasty,

The fragmentation of the Central Plains is nearing its end.

Although there are still a few people in Jiangnan such as Du Fuwei, Zhang Shan'an, and Lin Shihong, it is believed that within a year, they will either surrender to the court or be wiped out.

Historically, Li Fuwei was to enter the capital the following year, leaving his brother Fu Gongshi to guard the city. However, Fu Gongshi was unwilling to submit and rebelled under the banner of Du Fuwei. Instead, he caused Du Fuwei's death in Chang'an. This sudden death marked the end of the reign of this king who had dominated the Jianghuai region since his youth. However, Fu Gongshi's rebellion did not last long and was suppressed by a group of people including Li Xiaogong, Li Jing, Li Shiji, and Zhang Zhenzhou.

Zhang Shan'an seems to have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty first, then rebelled, and also met a tragic end.

However, history has changed.

The latest news he received was that after Du Fuwei escorted Emperor Wu Li Zitong to Chang'an, he was also preparing to go to court. He would rush to Chang'an at the end of the year to participate in the grand court assembly on New Year's Day in the fifth year of the Wude era.

This happened earlier than in history. Historically, it would have been the following year when Li Shimin quelled Liu Heita's first rebellion, dealt with Xu Yuanlang in Shandong, and then led his army to flex his muscles on the banks of the Huai River, forcing Li Fuwei to go to court to show his loyalty. However, Li Fuwei never returned.

When Li Yi thought of Liu Heita, he remembered that when Liu Heita went to Zhao Prefecture with Zhang Zhiang, he had patted his chest and promised that he would definitely persuade Liu Wei and others from Fenglong Mountain to surrender and that he would definitely bring back Assistant Instructor Liu.

The original historical timeline,
At this time, Liu Heita had already raised the banner of rebellion against the Tang Dynasty and was wreaking havoc in Hebei, attacking cities and breaking through enemy lines, defeating a number of Tang generals, and was invincible.

He raised an army in July, proclaimed himself a general, and successively beheaded Wang Xingmin and Li Xuantong, defeated Li Shentong and Li Yi. In just six months, he recovered all of Dou Jiande's territory. Historically, Li Shimin was forced to be reinstated by Li Yuan the following year. He then led an army to Hebei and, after three months, decisively defeated Liu Heita at Mingzhou, leaving him with only a thousand men who fled to the Turks.

And now,
Liu Heita was the military commander of Li Yi's Wu'an Prince's personal affairs office. Now, he was ordered by Li Yi to go to Fenglong Mountain in Zhao Prefecture to recruit Liu Wei, a former subordinate of Dou Jiande who had raised an army to rebel against the Tang Dynasty.

I wonder if the kite string will break when Liu Heita goes to Zhao Prefecture this time.

On Fenglong Mountain in Zhao Prefecture.

The merchant left behind ten warhorses and departed, promising to deliver weapons and equipment three days later.

Ten fine horses.

“These are warhorses, well-trained.” Liu Wei carefully inspected the ten horses, all of them Turkic horses, castrated, and clearly trained, ready to be used immediately.

For a horse to become a qualified warhorse, it needs to undergo a long period of various trainings. It cannot be used just by bringing it in. It must undergo many trainings such as preventing fright and fire.

Liu Xian looked at the horses from the side and said, "Such fine horses must cost tens of thousands of coins each. This is a gift of hundreds of thousands of coins."

Liu Wei asked, "Secretary Liu, what do you think of these people's background? Are they trustworthy?"

Although Liu Xian was once a down-on-his-luck scholar, he had traveled to Chang'an and gained considerable experience. "Steward, I don't think these people are merchants at all."

Liu Wei nodded. "Which merchant could produce a thousand knives and spears, three hundred bows, ten thousand arrows, and a hundred suits of leather armor? And they even offer to pay after use. I think they were either sent by the Turks or by Lord Zhang of Daibei."

Liu Xian shook his head.

"No, I don't think it was sent by the Turks or Yuan Junzhang. They are too far away from Zhao Prefecture, especially since they are blocked by the Tang army. How could they have the ability to send so many weapons to Zhao Prefecture?"

After hearing what he said, Liu Wei felt that it made sense.

"So who do you think is behind them?"

Liu Xian thought for a moment, "Zhao Prefecture is geographically far from the border. The most likely person I can think of with this ability is the Li family of Zhao County."

"Huh?" Liu Wei exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible?"

"Yes, I also think it's impossible. The Li family of Zhao County is one of the five surnames and seven clans. Although some of their sons served under Dou Gong, most of them served as officials in Chang'an and Luoyang, while others lived in seclusion in the countryside."

Now that Lord Dou is dead, they are even less likely to support us, the remnants of Lord Dou's forces.

"But besides them, I can't think of anyone else with such ability."

That was the Zhao County Li clan, one of the five surnames and seven lineages. During the Western Jin Dynasty, Li Kai, the Minister of Agriculture, settled in the south of Pingji County in the Zhao State. Later generations divided into three major branches: the Eastern Ancestor, the Western Ancestor, and the Southern Ancestor. The Zhao County Li clan was active in various counties of Zhao County. During the Northern Dynasties, the Zhao County Li clan had many famous figures recorded in history. They were known for their high status and were the most prominent aristocratic family at that time.

The Li family of Zhao County had three ancestors, and no further branches were established after them, unlike the Lu family of Fanyang and the Cui family of Qinghe, which had many branches. However, the Li family of Zhao County still enjoyed great prestige, status, and strength.

The merchant promised them weapons and equipment, and Liu Wei thought they could definitely provide them. But the question was, how could they possibly support Dou Gong's remaining troops, especially at this time?
I don't understand.

"Maybe I'm wrong." Liu Xian shook his head, also thinking it was impossible.

Liu Wei tentatively said, "Perhaps the Li family of Zhao County just wants to use us to muddy the waters of Hebei?"

(End of this chapter)