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

Chapter 501 Jade Capital Immortal

Even without the Spring Festival Gala, we still eat dumplings on New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new.

"Hmm, I found a coin in my dumpling!" Hongxiao had only eaten two dumplings when she bit into something hard, and she mumbled with delight.

“Let’s see if it’s gold, silver, or copper coins,” Jin Yushu said from the side.

Hongxiao spat half a dumpling into the plate in front of her, revealing a golden hue.

When you pry it open with chopsticks, you find a copper coin.

Although the Kaiyuan Tongbao coin is made of bronze, it was golden yellow when it was first minted, and this color was also known as auspicious gold.

“Ah, it’s a copper Kaiyuan.” Jin Yushu said from the side.

Hongxiao laughed and said, "I've won the lottery."

When this copper coin is steeped in tea, it turns a brilliant golden color. There is also a crescent moon pattern on the back, which indicates that the coin came from one of Li Yi's three coin-making furnaces. When making the wax coin sample, Li Yi specially pinched it.

A crescent-shaped mark remained, a unique identifier of the Li family's coin-minting furnace. All Kaiyuan Tongbao coins minted by the Li family bear this crescent-shaped mark.

Although the coins are otherwise identical to the Kaiyuan Tongbao coins minted by the imperial court, they have this extra crescent moon.

Li Yi deliberately left this crescent moon for anti-counterfeiting purposes. The coins he minted in his three mints were made with alloy ratios strictly in accordance with the imperial court's regulations. However, to differentiate them from coins minted in other mints, he included this crescent moon. In case there were any Kaiyuan Tongbao coins with incorrect purity, it would be easier to verify them.

Hongxiao washed the copper coin clean, dried it with a handkerchief, tied it with a five-colored rope, and hung it around her neck, intending to treasure it carefully.

"There are still two coins left, let's see who can get it," Li Yi said with a smile.

Continue eating dumplings.

Pork filling, mutton filling, beef filling, egg filling, as well as fillings with chives, green onions, cabbage, and vermicelli, plus various other styles, make it impossible to tell where the two coins are.

Homemade dumplings always taste the best.

Li Yi ate a whole plate of dumplings, but didn't find any coins.

Jin Yushu was already full, but in order to have a lucky bite, she ate several more, but still didn't get one. Pei Shi, on the other hand, bit into one with one bite.

“Yin Kaiyuan too.” Jin Yushu looked at Pei Shi with envy as she picked up a sliver of silver.

The last gold coin was eaten by the Dugu clan.

This daughter of Dugu Huaien was not even a concubine in the Li family, and had never even been favored by Li Yi. Unexpectedly, she ended up eating that Golden Kaiyuan.

Zheng Rou Niang smiled and said, "Fifth Sister is quite lucky, she won the jackpot. Tonight you will serve Ah Lang."

Dugu was the fifth child in her family, usually called Fifth Sister. Her given name was Qiong, and her courtesy name was Yujingxian. Her father, Dugu Huaien, was Li Yuan's cousin, and Fifth Sister was also Li Shimin's cousin. Unfortunately, Dugu Huaien felt that all three of his aunts had been made empresses.

I feel it's time for a man from the Dugu family to be emperor.
The result was that he was beheaded, and his wife and children were also implicated.

Zheng Rou Niang and the others came to Hebei with Li Yi. Princess Du Shiniang also arranged for more than twenty young and beautiful women from noble families who had now become servants of the Li family to come along.

However, in the past six months, Li Yi has only taken in Pei Renji's daughter and Yun Dingxing's granddaughter.

Li Yi had given Dugu Wu Niang and the others a choice: they could return to the Dugu family. After all, Dugu Huai En was gone, but Dugu Xin had so many sons and even more grandsons. Li Yuan did not implicate his other cousins ​​from his maternal uncle's family.

But she didn't leave.

Whether it was because she herself did not want to return to her family, or because her uncle Li Yuan asked her to stay, Li Yi did not know. However, since the emperor bestowed the women of Dugu Huaien's family upon him, and none of these women left, it was highly likely that the emperor had ordered them to stay in the Li family.

Li Yi didn't care. At his level of merit and status, it was normal for the emperor to place some people around him.

Dugu Wu Niang blushed and secretly glanced at Li Yi. She had been in the Li family for two years.

Li Yi smiled.
Her given name was quite beautiful: Yujing Xian. Li Yi noticed that since the Northern Dynasties, people had a strong preference for using Buddhist names.

For example, Li Jing's courtesy name was Yaoshi, his elder brother was Yaowang, and his younger brother was Keshi; these are all Buddhist names. Another example is Li Jiancheng, whose courtesy name was Vaishravana; his wife's name was Zheng Guanyin, while Li Shimin's wife, Changsun, had the nickname Guanyinbi.

For example, Empress Dugu, wife of Emperor Wen of Sui, was named Jiaming, and Emperor Yang of Sui was nicknamed Amo, both of which are Buddhist names.

Zheng Rou Niang also had a Buddhist name, Prajna Mi.

He had also heard of many women whose names carried Buddhist or Taoist meanings, such as Zhenruhai, Qiandengzhao, Qingjingzhi, Sumita, Danpala, Wuliangshou, Wuliangli, Haiwuliang, Banaluo, Baozhenkong, Rulianhua, and so on.

"I just received news that your cousin, Dugu Kaiyuan, has been promoted from governor of Liaozhou to governor of Dingzhou," Li Yi said to Dugu Wuniang.

When he thought of "Jade Capital Immortal," he was referring to the Jade Capital in the heavens. The Jade Capital must be a celestial palace, like the Moon Palace, so this Jade Capital Immortal would be similar to the Moon Palace Fairy.

She didn't react much after hearing that.

It seems that after her father was executed for treason and her family's property was confiscated, she had no further connection with the Dugu family.

Although it still bears the surname Dugu,

They were no longer relatives of the emperor, nor members of the prestigious Guanzhong aristocratic clans.

···
"When Dugu Kaiyuan entered Dingzhou, he was attacked by the Turkic army led by Gao Kaidao. He fought hard and was seriously wounded, and was forced to retreat to Dingzhou City."

He sent men to break through the siege and seek reinforcements in Mingzhou, requesting the Minister of Works to send troops to rescue Dingzhou.

The eighth day of the Lunar New Year

Before the year was over, news of another defeat came from the north, and the situation, which seemed to have temporarily stabilized before the end of the year, suddenly deteriorated.

After capturing Yizhou, Gao Kaidao deliberately sent only small groups of troops to harass Dingzhou and other places, creating the illusion that he was unable to launch a large-scale offensive.

Then, taking advantage of the New Year, they launched a surprise attack on Dingzhou, catching the Tang army completely off guard.

Dingzhou City almost fell. Although the newly appointed Dingzhou governor, Dugu Kaiyuan, managed to defend the city temporarily, he was seriously injured and suffered heavy losses.

Several cities, including Tang County and Hengyang, fell.

Meanwhile, new reinforcements arrived from the Turks. They traveled from Weizhou through the Hengling Road, directly crossing the Taihang Mountains into Hengzhou territory.

This Turkic cavalry force's invasion of Hengzhou is not only a threat to Hengzhou or a means to outflank Dingzhou, but more troublesome is that if they capture Jingxing Pass, also known as Tumen, they can then cross the Taihang Mountains and reach the rear of Taiyuan in Hedong.

Of course, one could also use Hengzhou as a springboard to continue south to places like Zhaozhou and Xingzhou.

In short, the situation deteriorated rapidly.

Consultant Qi Shanxing continued to report: "Dugu Kaiyuan was seriously injured. The messenger from Dingzhou who came to ask for help said that Gao Kaidao was also seriously injured in that battle."

"But now the Yan army and the Turkic army that Gao Kaidao led are still besieging Dingzhou City, and some of them continue to plunder other counties in Dingzhou, while the Turkic soldiers who came from Weizhou are plundering Hengzhou on a large scale."

Dingzhou is in grave danger; we hope you can send troops to its aid immediately.

Furthermore, Dingzhou is experiencing a food shortage and famine. The Dingzhou General Administration hopes that our Ming Prefecture can open the border and allow the starving people under the jurisdiction of the Dingzhou General Administration to come and seek food.

Yun Dingxing looked at the map in front of him.

"Wang Junkuo has been unable to recapture the Juyong Pass of the Great Wall for so long. Not only has he failed to block the Turkic invasion route, but now the Turks have also captured Dingzhou Tangxian, Hengyang, and Xingtang in Hengzhou, allowing them to open up the Hengling Road, which leads directly from Weizhou to Hengzhou."

Now the Turks can come and go as they please.

Li Keshi, the chief secretary of the Prince of Wu'an's mansion, also frowned. He had previously served as a military advisor in the Youzhou General Administration under Luo Yi and was quite familiar with the Yanshan defense line.

If Beiyan Prefecture falls into Gao Kaidao's hands again, it would already be a serious dereliction of duty on Wang Junkuo's part. If Juyong Pass is lost, then the gates are wide open, allowing the Turks to advance unimpeded.

The fall of Tanzhou allowed Gao Kaidao to lead the Xi people south again.

Now Yi Dingheng's situation has deteriorated again.

This battle is truly difficult. Taking Gao Kaidao would be manageable, but now the Turks are launching a large-scale southward invasion, which is troublesome. "We must send troops out. At the very least, we must immediately defend Hengzhou and block the Hengling Road," Li Keshi pointed out.

Yang Gongdao, the chief secretary of the Grand General's Office, frowned and said with some difficulty, "But the Crown Prince previously ordered us to guard our own territory and not to cross the border to attack without authorization."

"Hengzhou is under the jurisdiction of the Dingzhou General Administration, not our defense zone."

Li Keshi bluntly stated: "In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures must be taken. Right now, we are in dire need of action, so how can we worry about such things?"
"Let's send troops first to stabilize Hengzhou, and then submit a memorial to the court explaining the situation. The Emperor and the Crown Prince will likely agree."

A group of officials were discussing it animatedly.

Li Yi looked at Zhang Liang, the Grand Marshal of the Chief Administrator's Office, and asked, "Marshal Zhang?"

Zhang Liang sighed, "We really have to save the situation, but with the Crown Prince's order in place, we can't just send troops without authorization."

What's more troublesome is that the Dingzhou General Administration has already looted several prefectures, and famine is already emerging before spring has even begun.
If the situation in Dingfu cannot be stabilized immediately, the famine will worsen under the onslaught of the Yan army and the Turks, and many starving people will inevitably migrate south.

We've barely managed to maintain food supplies and ensure the livelihoods of the people in the three prefectures of Mingfu. If a large influx of refugees from Dingfu were to migrate south, we would also face famine.

The officials from both the Grand General's Office and the Prince of Wu'an's Office finally reached a consensus: they had to send troops to save Dingfu. Otherwise, even if the Turks and the Yan army did not march south, the large number of starving people who went south would drag Mingfu into the abyss.

The biggest obstacle to sending troops was the lack of an imperial edict.

Even if we were to submit a memorial now requesting the dispatch of troops, it would take at least four days for the urgent message to reach Chang'an. Even if Chang'an agreed to dispatch troops directly, it would still take eight or nine days to receive the order to send troops back and forth.

In eight or nine days, even if Dingzhou had not yet fallen, Hengding would have been ravaged by the Turks and rebels.

"We can't wait any longer, let's send troops." Li Yi finally made the decision, even though he knew there were hidden dangers, and the Crown Prince and the others might use this as an excuse, but now he really couldn't wait any longer.

"Liu Heita, Su Dingfang," Li Yi called out.

"Your subordinate is here." Two fierce generals from Hebei stepped forward.

"You two will serve as the left and right vanguards, each leading a thousand cavalry. Tomorrow, head north immediately towards Hengzhou. First, defend Jingxing Pass, and then reinforce Jingxing City."

Subsequently, Generals Wang Xingmin, Qin Wutong, and Li Xuantong will gather troops and march north to Hengding.

···
Dingzhou, located forty li northwest of Tang County, is the former city of Zuoren. It was once the ancient city of the Bai Di Xianyu people at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period. At the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Xianyu Xiuli, Ge Rong and others led the refugees from the northern garrison to revolt here.

The river outside the city was still frozen in the first month of the lunar calendar.

King Gao Kaidao of Yan was in a sorry state, with an arrow stuck in his cheek.

"Quickly pull out the arrow for me!"

The medic went to check and found that the arrowhead was deeply embedded in the bone, and the arrowhead was still barbed. He said it couldn't be pulled out, so Gao Kaidao killed him directly and called for another one.

The man didn't dare to make a move after seeing this.

"What are you still standing there for?" Gao Kaidao roared.

"Your Majesty, the arrowhead is deeply embedded in the bone and has a hook; I dare not pull it out."

"Why not?"

"I fear that Your Majesty will be in unbearable pain."

"How do you know I can't tolerate this if you don't pull it out?" Gao Kaidao, who had failed in his third attack on Dingzhou City, was seething with anger. "Drag him out and behead him too. What use is such a piece of trash?"

Then another doctor arrived.

"Can this arrow be pulled out?"

Having learned from past mistakes, the man mustered his courage and said, "It can be removed, but I need to first cut open the face with a knife, then chisel open the bone with an axe, drive in a wedge, and crack the bone more than an inch wide before I can remove this barbed arrowhead."

Gao Kaidao laughed loudly, "As long as you have a way, just pull it out."

"Your Majesty, this will hurt a lot."

"I crawled out of a pile of dead bodies, I'm not afraid."

So the doctor opened his medical kit and took out tools such as knives, axes, chisels, hammers, needles, and thread.

Gao Kaidao shouted to his adopted son, "Bring me persimmon liquor and some good dishes, including braised beef and braised donkey meat. I will eat and drink as I please."

"Summon my musicians and geishas as well, and we'll drink and eat meat while listening to songs and watching dances!"

The doctor got ready. "Your Majesty, I am about to begin."

"Come on," Gao Kaidao said calmly, "fill my cup!"

The doctor cut open Gao Kaidao's face with a knife, but he remained calm and composed, drinking and watching the dance, while recounting past events to his adopted son and subordinates.

"Back then, when I first arrived at Douzigang and joined Geqian, I was just a lowly soldier. Once, we were surrounded and captured by the Sui army and fell into an ambush. Geqian scattered to the left and right, and no one came to our aid."

Only by charging into the encirclement alone, fighting single-handedly, and killing dozens of Sui soldiers, could I carve a bloody path for Ge Qian and successfully escape.

Afterwards, I was also promoted to general by Ge Qian.

"Back in that battle, I charged forward with a shield in my left hand and a sword in my right, unstoppable!"

The doctor cut and chiseled at his face for a long time, and Gao Kaidao's face was covered in blood, but he was still drinking persimmon liquor and talking about his past glories.

at last,

The arrowheads, with barbs embedded deep in the bone, were removed.

The doctor began stitching him up, threading the needle as if mending clothes, but Gao Kaidao didn't even flinch or utter a sound of pain.

After the stitches and bandages are finished,

Gao Kaidao smiled and ordered that the doctor be rewarded with two hundred bolts of silk, then said, "Continue playing the music, continue dancing."

"Your Majesty, that damned Shuang Shilu dared to wound you with an arrow! We must tear him to pieces!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, please send troops to attack Dingzhou again. This time, we must take Dingzhou and kill Shuang Shilu, Dugu Kaiyuan, and the others!"

Gao Kaidao took a big gulp of persimmon liquor. "That's strong! Damn, this liquor is just my cup of tea."

His gaze swept over his generals.
"Has there been no movement from Zhao Prefecture yet?"

"No, Li Xuantong from Zhao Prefecture, Qin Wutong from Xing Prefecture, and Wang Xingmin from Ming Prefecture have all remained silent."

Li Yi never left Yongnian City in Mingzhou.

"What great general, what twin heroes of the Tang Dynasty? They're nothing but this. Just like King Junkuo of Youzhou, they wouldn't even dare to show their faces in front of our king!" someone laughed loudly.

Gao Kaidao simply took another sip of the persimmon liquor. He had met Li Yi several times, and the man gave him the impression that although he was young, he was as deep and unfathomable as a bottomless, ancient pool.

"Send more light cavalry to the border of Zhao Prefecture, and send some spies to Ming Prefecture to keep a close eye on Li Yi and the troops of Ming Prefecture. Report back immediately if there is any disturbance."

"Your Majesty, Li Yi is so frightened that he doesn't even dare to show his face. Why should we be afraid of him?"

"A great reputation is not undeserved. Li Yi fought in Henan and Pingshan South, and then moved on to fight in Henan and Hebei. He pacified more than a hundred prefectures by himself. Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and others were all defeated by him. How could he be a person with an undeserved reputation?"

"Then why hasn't he made any move at all?"

The high road is a bit strange, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

(End of this chapter)