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

Chapter 550 Li Yi's Appetite
I sat alone for a very long time.

My mind is still somewhat unsettled.

Today, having received military power from the emperor, he immediately mobilized troops from all directions, showing an attitude of not hesitating to fight a major battle, which caused concern among his generals.

Li Yi was neither a warmonger nor the kind of border general who liked to create border conflicts to gain merit.

He simply understood that
Unconditional compromise will not bring peace.

Seeking peace through struggle leads to peaceful existence, and seeking peace through compromise leads to peaceful end.

Wolves will only retreat when they feel threatened, or even when they are injured.

This is not a simple psychological game.

Instead, peace can only be sought through war.

Sooner or later, we will plow the courtyard and smash the cave, truly destroying the dragon's lair!

Li Yi clenched his fist. The repeated invasions by the Turks brought even greater annihilation to the people who had already suffered from the chaos of the Sui-Tang transition.

Countless people on the frontier were captured and enslaved by the Turks.

Many more died under the hooves of the Turks, their bodies left unburied.

This has resulted in countless orphans and widows.

These are all blood debts, and they will all have to be repaid in blood in the future.

"My lord, Zhang Sima has arrived."

Zhang Liang entered the room, remaining silent and his face was very dark.

"Sit down." Li Yi looked up and, seeing his expression, already understood somewhat.

Zhang Liang stood without sitting, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Li Yi ignored him and continued looking at the map in front of him. If all the armies marched out together to encircle Yanmen, they wouldn't even need to meet at Yanmen. Just advancing outwards would put immense pressure on Jieli.

Li Daoxuan, Wang Junkuo, and Zhang Shigui led the Youzhou army out of Yunzhou; Yun Shiduan, Liu Heita, Su Dingfang, and Li Cunxiao led the Yingzhou army out of Shuozhou; Zhang Lun of Xizhou garrisoned Loufan Pass in Wuzhou; and Li Shenfu of Bingzhou attacked Shiling Pass.
Li Yi stationed his troops at Fanzhi and dispatched light cavalry to approach the vicinity of Yanmen.
These troops, combined, numbered nearly 100,000.

Doesn't this give them the strength to fight? Doesn't this put some pressure on Jieli?

If the King of Qin could obtain true command and control of the war effort in Yuanzhou, then with the troops from Liangzhou and Lanzhou in Hexi, and from Shuofang, Lingzhou and Yanzhou, plus the troops from Jingzhou and Binzhou, they could march towards the Hetao region and perhaps even recover Fengzhou in one fell swoop.

Without needing to launch a major offensive, or even a direct confrontation, this show of force will give Jieli pause for thought.

"Sikong."

Zhang Liang finally couldn't hold back any longer. He took two steps forward, stood there like a pillar, and stammered, "I heard... I heard..."

"You heard that Madam Li slept at my place last night, is that what you wanted to talk about?" Li Yi looked up.

Zhang Liang's dark face instantly turned red.

Many people knew about his feelings for Li Rulian, but many others just thought it was a joke. Zhang Liang, a country bumpkin from Xingyang, took advantage of the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty to join Li Mi at Wagang, then returned to Chang'an in Guanzhong, and then worked under Li Yi. With Li Yi's help, he now held the position of Chief Secretary of the Fifth-Rank Grand General's Office.

Barely qualifying as one of the elite, one could be considered a rising star in Northeast China.

However, in the eyes of the powerful clans and noble families of Chang'an and Guanzhong, he was still a peasant who had just washed his feet. In the eyes of the five surnames and seven families of Guandong, he was not even worth a second glance.

No matter how much Zhang Liang fawned over them, no one believed he could succeed.

Even Li Rulian, who was privately called a harlot and a whore, was still a woman of the Li family of Zhao County and a daughter-in-law of the Lu family of Fanyang. How could a peasant like Zhang Liang possibly lay a finger on her?

Zhang Liang's face turned red.

He collected a batch of grain from Dingzhou and transported it to Fanzhi with great difficulty.

Just as they had transported several thousand bushels of grain into the city, news broke that Li Yi had slept with Ru Lianhua. He initially thought it was just a rumor and angrily argued with the official in question.

But the result was that everyone mocked them.
Wang Xingmin, the governor of Weizhou and general of the Right Guard, came over and pulled him away, and bluntly said that Li Sikong slept with her only because that person sent five thousand shi of grain; otherwise, Li Sikong might not have been willing to sleep with her.

In the rear office of Li Sikong in Dingzhou, there was a woman from the Zheng family of Xingyang who had just given birth, and he had even directly divorced a woman from the Cui family of Qinghe.

Zhang Liang's mind nearly exploded, and he wanted to beat up that bandit Wang Xingmin with bloodshot eyes.

But the expressions of the officials told him that this might not be just a rumor, so he angrily went to find Li Yi.

He wanted a negative answer from Li Yi.

Even if he might have overslept, he wanted to hear him say no.

Little did he know, Li Yi's words would plunge him into an icy abyss.

"Sit down. You've delivered five thousand shi of grain along the way; it must have been quite a journey."

Zhang Liang stood there, utterly dejected. "Was it... was it Lian Niang who took the initiative?"

Li Yi chuckled, "Zhang Liang, in my heart, you were a very ambitious and carefree person. How come you're like this now?"

"Regardless of who initiated things between me and Madam Li, you don't need to be so distraught, do you? I've never heard her mention that you're her lover. Could it be that you two are lovers?"

Zhang Liang shook his head, his face flushed.
He wanted to be her lover, but in reality, they only met a few times under the guise of official business.

"She is a young widow. You are neither her lover nor her husband's or her own family. You are meddling a bit too much."

"You're not even a registrar or military advisor in the Dingzhou Grand General's Office, are you going to monitor me?"

"Sikong, that's not what I meant. I... I just..."

"But what? You admire her so much that you won't allow anyone else to have a chance with her?"

Zhang Liang's face turned bright red. He was originally quite good-looking and tall. Apart from being a bit dark-skinned and of humble origin, he was a heroic and handsome strong man.

Li Yi stood up, went over and patted Zhang Liang's arm, "Sit down. There are plenty of fish in the sea. To tell you the truth, Li Niangzi, you can't hold on to her."

Zhang Liang opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head in dejection.

What does Zhang Liang have to compare with Li Yi?

"Was it her who initiated it last night?"

"Ah."

Zhang Liang let out a long sigh. "Once the supplies are handed over, go take a shower and get some rest."

Zhang Liang left somewhat lost and dejected.

All the way back, his mind was filled with images of lotus flowers. Upon returning to his lodgings, Zhang Liang took a shower and lay on the tatami mat, lost in thought.
He came from a humble background, and a woman of the five noble families like Lianhua was someone he could only look up to, someone far above him. Perhaps it was the aura of being a woman of the five noble families that made her special, or perhaps it was simply that she was beautiful.
Zhang Liang became infatuated with her after meeting her, and those bad reputations actually gave him the courage to have those thoughts.

He also harbored the ambition that if he could win the favor of a beautiful woman, he could gain the support of the Li family of Zhao County in the future.

But now,

My dream is shattered.

He longed for something as unattainable as a lotus flower, yet he voluntarily sent Li Yi five thousand bushels of grain and even offered himself up as well.

But Li Yi remained remarkably calm.

Just like back in Henan, when Cui Shishu of Qinghe Yanling wanted to betroth his legitimate daughter to Li Yi, Zheng Shanguo of Xingyang also took the initiative to give his concubine's daughter to Li Yi as a concubine, and Li Yi also had the same detached attitude.

There was a knock on the door.

Then push it away.

A young woman with her hair styled in double buns and wearing a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) stood at the door.

"Zhang Sima, I am here to serve you on the orders of the Minister of Works."

Looking at the beautiful woman, with her breasts like gathered waves and raging torrents, Zhang Liang couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement. "Then I'll gladly accept her," he said, pulling the maid inside.

Fanzhi City Gate

Another convoy of grain transport vehicles arrived.
County Magistrate Ma Zhou and Registrar Liu Hong led three hundred armored soldiers into the mountains to borrow grain from the temples and manors, and the results were quite good.

Ma Zhou made two preparations.

They decided to try a polite approach first, then resort to force. They approached the temple in a friendly manner to borrow grain, but if the temple refused, they would bring up past grievances. They specifically chose a large temple for this trip, as the temple had been very unfriendly when Liu Hong had visited to borrow grain last time.

Knowing they wouldn't lend it to him, Ma Zhou still went to them first.

As expected, they still refused to lend him the money, and wouldn't even let Ma Zhou enter the mountain gate. So Ma Zhou started sending people to beat drums and gongs and conduct an on-site investigation.

Many old cases involving this temple were brought up and retried on the spot. Many of these cases were not without evidence, but had simply been suppressed in the past.

Now that Ma and Zhou are to be tried, the evidence is naturally irrefutable.

No need for anyone from the temple to come out.

Trial in absentia.

The verdict was announced on the spot, and soldiers were sent into the mountains to arrest the people and seal off the temple.

The temple had ample food supplies, including the Changsheng Treasury and Xiangji Kitchen where they lent money, as well as the pawnshop where they had pledged loans. A lot of money and grain were confiscated.

Ma Zhou then took these ledgers and canceled the excess portion for those exceeding 6% monthly interest and total interest exceeding 100%, with the maximum interest repayment being 100%.

This earned them the gratitude and praise of many local villagers.

Those monks in the temple who have ordination certificates and have no criminal record are allowed to go to other temples, but those without ordination certificates, regardless of whether they are monks, martial monks or any other kind of monk, must all go down the mountain and return to secular life.

Ma Zhou only took one day.
They uprooted the largest of the thirty-two temples on Mount Wutai, killed several monks, arrested a number of others, sent the remaining monks with certificates to other temples to become monks, and forced all those without certificates to return to secular life.
The temple's property was also confiscated, including money, silk, land, cattle, horses, workshops, and so on.

Ma Zhou confiscated thousands of bushels of grain from this temple alone, not even counting money, silk, cattle, horses, slaves, or debts owed to the temple by others.

have to say,

This mouse hole is really fertile.

With this good start,
Magistrate Ma's life went much more smoothly from then on.
First, send someone to visit the temple with a letter, asking to borrow grain while also delivering a letter mentioning that some old cases at the temple have been reopened and require further investigation.

Ma Zhou's posts are very useful.
These large temples are so big not only because of the large number of devout men and women, but more importantly because of their management. Everyone involved in usury has their share of disputes over land and water, and some have even had conflicts with the people over debt collection, land occupation, and water disputes.

That largest temple disappeared in the blink of an eye.

This is wartime.

These officers who control troops are the most terrifying.

Magistrate Ma was a confidant of Minister Li, so at this time he had nowhere to file a complaint.

The only way to avoid disaster is to spend money.

Fortunately, Ma Zhou was not an unreasonable person. What he needed most right now was food. He knew how much grain each temple had stored, and he didn't need it all.

If we borrow half the grain and some money, we can get through this temporarily.

As the sun sets,

The fiery clouds on the horizon were absolutely magnificent.

A knight, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, galloped back to Fanzhi City.

"Report: 20,000 Turkic troops are heading towards Fanzhi City from Yanmen, and they are still 40 li away from Fanzhi City."

"General Qin Wutong is currently stationed at the mouth of the Mayu River on the north bank of the Hutuo River, about 20 li away from the Turkic army."

"Today, our cavalry engaged in a skirmish with the Turkic vanguard cavalry, deploying over two hundred riders and beheading more than ten enemy soldiers!"

I heard that the Turkic army has finally arrived.
Li Yi's spirits lifted.
But when he heard that only 20,000 had arrived, Li Yi was somewhat disappointed.

The fact that Jieli sent troops at this time can probably explain two things: this Turkic wolf had no intention of abiding by the peace agreement; otherwise, he would have been withdrawing his troops, so why would he send them to Fanzhi?

Another point is that Jieli's focus was clearly still on Yanmen City.

Only 20,000 men were transferred out, and with the 10,000 men of the Sijie tribe withdrawing, there were still more than 100,000 men under Yanmen City.

Liu Shiche, standing nearby, said, "Sikong, Jieli is indeed untrustworthy. He's determined to break through Yanmen Pass."

"Liu Bingcao, since Jieli only sent 20,000 men, it shows that he is still very arrogant and overconfident. You are good at strategy, do you have a way to make us annihilate these 20,000 Turkic soldiers?"

Liu Shiche stroked his beard. "Sikong has quite an appetite."

"The bold get rich, the timid starve. Let's think of a way. Even if we can't eat all 20,000 of them, we should at least inflict heavy damage and behead 3,000 to 5,000 of them. Let Jieli know the pain at Yanmen!"

(End of this chapter)