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

Chapter 500 Li Shimin's Disappointment
Changan.

Li Yuan held a family banquet in the palace, with his sons, daughters-in-law, daughters-in-law, sons-in-law, and a host of grandchildren and great-grandchildren all in attendance.

The candlelight flickered in the Liangyi Hall.

The emperor leaned back on the brocade couch, his fingertips lightly tapping the table.

A group of young and beautiful concubines sat on either side of the emperor. Consort Yin held a Persian luminous cup filled with wine from Gaochang in the Western Regions and affectionately fed it to the emperor. Consort Zhang peeled open a tangerine from Jiangnan, removed the pith, and fed the emperor the golden, sweet segments.

Inside the hall,

Twelve Western Region women twirled in to the sound of drums, their pomegranate skirts sweeping across the floor, the silver bells adorning them ringing crisply, and their gold-embroidered shawls fluttering like flames.

The musicians began to play Kucha music.
Qin King Li Shimin watched as the wine in the gilded goblet before him rippled.

What a scene of peace and prosperity!

The Gao Kaidao rebellion in Hebei has already seized six prefectures: Pingji, Tanbei, Yanyi, and Wei. The prefectures of Dingmo, Yingyan, and Youyou are also suffering from the flames of war.

The Turks were still besieging Yanmen.

The Tuyuhun people were also raiding the Youzhou region of Longyou.

Looking at the young concubines and her younger siblings, she couldn't help but think of her deceased mother, Empress Dou Mu. She bore her father four sons and one daughter. In their early years, her father was often away serving as an official, while her mother stayed home to manage the household and raise her children.

But he never got to see his father rule the world.

His gaze fell upon Consort Yin and Consort Zhang nestled close to the Emperor, one feeding him wine and the other oranges, and he couldn't help but frown.
His gaze shifted and met that of his elder brother Jiancheng. The Crown Prince's gaze was cold and somewhat hostile. Then he looked at his fourth brother Yuanji, his ugly younger brother from the same mother, but he also glared at him with a cold face.

Father and son, brothers
That's how it is.

He let out a long sigh and couldn't help but shed tears.

Seeing Li Shimin weeping, Consort Zhang tugged at the emperor's robe and whispered, "Your Majesty, look at the Prince of Qin."

Li Yuan looked up and saw that on this joyous occasion of family reunion, his second son was actually sighing and shedding tears. He couldn't help but put away his smile and became very unhappy.

Taking the opportunity, Consort Zhang said, "Your Majesty, the New Year is approaching, and it is a rare occasion for families to reunite. On such a wonderful day, we should enjoy ourselves. However, the Prince of Qin is sighing and weeping all by himself. It is such a spoilsport."

Fortunately, the world is at peace, Your Majesty is advanced in years, and the King of Qin's behavior is precisely because he hates us.

"After Your Majesty's long life, my concubine and my son will certainly not be tolerated by the King of Qin, and I fear there will be no survivors."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuan flew into a rage and roared...
"Shimin, what are you doing?"

Li Shimin said, "Your Majesty, I just suddenly thought of my mother. It's a pity she's no longer here."

Li Yuan was enjoying himself with women on both sides when his son's words spoiled the mood.

Seeing his father's angry expression, Prince Qi Yuanji's eyes darted around, and he stood up and said, "Father, my elder brother was just sighing and saying it's a pity that Mother can't see Father."

A sentence can be interpreted in many ways.

When Li Yuan heard what the fourth prince said, he felt that the second prince was mocking him, implying that he was surrounded by women and had long forgotten his deceased wife.

Zhang Jieyu's words just now made him feel that his second son hated these concubines.

"disappointed!"

Li Yuan was so angry that he glared and slammed his hand heavily on the table.

Princess Pingyang, Li Shimin's elder sister from the same mother, stepped forward, came to her father, gently patted his back, and softly advised, "Father, Erlang has no other intentions. He just missed his mother at this family reunion banquet. Erlang is a filial son."

Li Yuan was panting heavily.

"Third Sister, it's been almost ten years since your mother left. Do you think I don't miss her? Don't your eldest brother and fourth brother miss her too?"

He just happened to be there when everyone was happy, sighing and shedding tears, spoiling the mood.

Still not satisfied, Li Yuan smashed the cup and yelled, "Get out!"

This concludes the family dinner.

Li Shimin had no choice but to retreat.
The crown prince glanced at his brother, then walked towards the emperor, supporting Li Yuan, and said, "Father, please calm your anger."

"Come with me, young master."

Li Yuan took the crown prince for a walk under the corridor, looking at the snow in the palace.

"Erlang is getting more and more outrageous. He opened the Academy and appointed eighteen scholars, but after studying for half a year, he hasn't learned anything."

“I know he wants to go to war, and he’s unhappy that I won’t let him go.”

Jiancheng took the opportunity to express his confidence to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please rest assured that the situation in Hebei has been temporarily stabilized. The troops and supplies for the expeditionary force are being prepared, and we can set off immediately after the Lantern Festival following the New Year."

Li Yuan nodded.

"I'm not too worried about Hebei. Gao Kaidao won't cause any trouble, especially with Li Yi in charge in Mingzhou."

My biggest worry right now is Yanmen Pass and the King of Dingxiang.

The Turkic steppe was ravaged by white disasters, and Jieli amassed more than 100,000 troops to invade Daizhou, while the Lingzhou and Liangzhou regions were also in turmoil.

If Li Da'en also becomes half-hearted, the area north of Bingzhou will be utterly ruined.

He sighed a few times.
Li Yuan said to Jiancheng, "I have issued an edict to appoint Li Gaoqian, a meritorious official and Left General of the Martial Guard, as the Prefect of Xinzhou, to lead troops to guard Shiling Pass, Chitang Pass, and other places. In case Yanmen is lost, there will be a buffer."

"In addition, your brother-in-law Yang Shidao is not good at military affairs. I summoned him back to the court to serve as the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, and sent Prince Daozong of Rencheng to take over as the Governor of Lingzhou."

Although Daozong is young, he performed well under Li Yi in Hedong. Although he is not as fierce and brave as Daoxuan, he is excellent in commanding defense. Li Jiancheng nodded. In fact, he did not really support the appointment of Prince Rencheng, Li Daozong, as the governor of Lingzhou. Like Li Daoxuan, Li Daozong had a good relationship with Li Yi, and they were both close to Shimin.

Yang Gongren and Yang Shidao were brothers, and at least he had a pretty good relationship with them.

But since the emperor had already made his decision, he did not object further.

“Father, Shuang Shilu, the governor of Dingzhou, has seriously neglected his duties this time. He lost Yizhou and even caused the governor Murong Xiaogan to be killed. I believe that Shuang Shilu should be replaced.”

Shuang Shilu was originally the Right Second Protector of the Prince of Qin's Palace. Li Yuan had previously transferred him away from the Prince of Qin's Palace and appointed him as the Governor of Dingzhou.

This performance was indeed poor. Not only did they lose Yizhou, but their governor was also killed, and Shuangshiluo was unable to come to their rescue in time.

"Your subject recommends Dugu Kaiyuan, the governor of Liaozhou in Hedong, to succeed as the governor of Dingzhou. The Turks have recently invaded Hedong several times. Dugu Kaiyuan led his troops to reinforce the area and has repeatedly made meritorious contributions. He is capable of undertaking this important task."

Dugu Kaiyuan was Li Yuan's cousin. He was the son of Dugu Luo, the eldest son of Dugu Xin. Li Yuan's mother was Dugu Kaiyuan's aunt.

Li Yuan knew his cousin quite well. Compared to Dugu Xiude and others who had falsely claimed to be the Prince of Qin and had killed Wang Shichong, Dugu Kaiyuan was much stronger.

Li Yuan also knew that Dugu Kaiyuan was close to the Crown Prince.

“Then transfer Dugu Kaiyuan to be the governor of Dingzhou, and demote Shuang Shilu to the prefect of Yizhou.”

Li Yuan suddenly asked about the Xue brothers under Li Yi's command, "The Xue brothers under Li Yi are all known for their military prowess. I heard that you have brought them into the Eastern Palace?"

Jiancheng replied, "Previously, Your Majesty transferred a thousand Youzhou cavalrymen from the Prince of Yan to the Eastern Palace. I then borrowed the brothers Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun from the Prince of Yan to command these thousand armored cavalrymen in the Eastern Palace."

Li Yuan said, "The five Xue brothers are all exceptionally brave, especially the third brother Wan Jun and the fourth brother Wan Che."

I issued a decree to formally transfer Xue Wanche to the Eastern Palace as a deputy commander. He paused, then continued, "Xue Wanjun was appointed as the Right Second Protector General of the Prince of Qin's Palace, and Xue Wanshu as the Right Second Protector General of the Prince of Qi's Palace."

The eldest son, Xue Wanshu, was transferred to the garrison as a lieutenant general, while the fifth son, Xue Wanbei, was transferred to the Prince of Wu'an's residence as a deputy commander.

Of the five tigers of the Xue family, Li Yuan was transferred from Li Yi's command and assigned to five different positions.

Li Jiancheng hesitated. Xue Wanche and Xue Wanjun were the two most formidable among the five Xue brothers. Although he said it was a temporary loan, he was actually bringing the two into the Eastern Palace to lead the thousand Youzhou cavalry for him. He relied on them as his confidants and had put a lot of effort into winning them over.

Now the emperor wants to send Xue Wanjun to the Prince of Qin's residence, isn't that just helping the second son gain power?

On the day.

The imperial edict was sent to the Hall of State Affairs, requesting the prime minister to sign and affix his seal.

Shuang Shilu, the governor of Dingzhou who came from the Qin Prince's mansion, was demoted to governor of Yizhou, while Dugu Kaiyuan, who was related to the crown prince, was promoted to governor of Dingzhou.

Then the emperor enfeoffed eighteen members of the imperial clan as princes, and Li Daozong, the Prince of Rencheng, was reassigned as the governor of Lingzhou. Yang Shidao was summoned to the court to serve as the vice minister of the Ministry of Personnel.

In a series of personnel changes,

Even without Li Yi, he remained the Grand General of Mingzhou. When Gao Kaidao rebelled and the Turks invaded Hebei, the emperor still did not appoint him to command troops.

Even when the Crown Prince personally led an expedition, Li Yi was not appointed as a deputy commander.

···
New Year's Eve.

Li Yi is still in Mingzhou City.

After returning from Chang'an, Li Yi took charge of the military and political affairs of these three prefectures, issued bonds to borrow money and grain from powerful families, recruited former subordinates of the rebel Dou Jiande, and pacified mountain bandits and outlaws...
New Year's Eve,
Of course, they had to eat dumplings. Whether the people of the Tang Dynasty ate them or not was none of Li Yi's business; he had to eat them himself.

Together with his concubines, everyone pitched in to make dumplings of all shapes and sizes.

Zheng Rou Niang's belly was already slightly protruding.

After returning to Hebei, all the concubines she had brought with her became pregnant: Zheng Rou Niang, Jin Yu Shu, Na Zha, and the two maids, Pei and Yun.
Before setting off from Chang'an, Dilraba and Ji Lingyi were pregnant again.

Li Yi also admired her own ability to conceive seven children in one year.

Indeed, after finding no use for his skills in Hebei, he turned to this field and reaped great rewards.

My senior fellow apprentice, Wei Zheng, wrote to me. His wife, Pei, is also pregnant, and he is going to be a father. Wei Zheng, who is over forty years old, is finally doing well. After a life of wandering, he now holds a fourth-rank official position in Chang'an. He has a fifteen-acre house given to him by Li Yi, and his wife is pregnant. However, his official duties are somewhat leisurely.

The Left Vice Minister of the Grand Secretariat could only stay in Chang'an, taking turns to give lectures at the Prince of Qin's residence as a scholar of the Prince of Qin's literary academy. Fortunately, the Prince of Qin was not a playboy like the Prince of Qi. Although he had many shortcomings in his eyes, he was able to listen to advice and was a good student.

Another senior fellow student, Sun Fujia, also wrote a letter. He was about to take the imperial examination in the fifth year of the Wude era. Dong Xiucai's grandson, Dong Qilang, would also be taking the exam. Judging from the confident tone in his letter, they all seemed to have a great chance of passing.

In fact, Li Yi already knew that the two of them would win, and he had already spoken to them about it.

If nothing unexpected happens, Sun Fujia, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice, will be the top scholar in the first imperial examination of the Tang Dynasty, and Dong Qilang will also become a new Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination).

As usual, the number of candidates for this imperial examination was basically predetermined before the exam, and even the preliminary candidates were predetermined.

This isn't cheating; it's just the set of rules.

The current imperial examination system is no longer a grand ceremony for selecting talents, but rather a supplementary mechanism for arranging seating and distributing rewards, valuing family background more than ability.

The quota for the imperial examinations was actually more intended to appease the Shandong gentry outside the Guanzhong aristocratic group than to give ordinary people from poor families a chance.

This is similar to the Imperial Academy, which mainly enrolled the sons of nobles and officials. The Four Schools also enrolled some commoners, but those were almost entirely monopolized by the sons of powerful local families. Ordinary commoners only had a very few spots available.

Li Yi took boiling water and scalded the three Kaiyuan Tongbao coins—one gold, one silver, and one copper—before wrapping them in dumplings.

"Let's see who's lucky enough to get these three Tongbao coins today."

"When you eat dumplings later, don't swallow them whole or bite too hard, or it won't be good."

The concubines all laughed.

(End of this chapter)