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

Chapter 583 One Death, One Exile
Li Yi went to take a bath before entering the house, and Du Shiniang personally served him.

In the bathtub, she scrubbed her husband while carefully examining every inch of his body, only feeling relieved after confirming there were no scars.

“When I fight in the north, I don’t charge into battle. I always sit in the rear and command. Unlike the King of Qin and the King of Huaiyang, I don’t lead the troops bravely at the front. So how could I get injured?”

Li Yi grabbed her hand.

"Your skin has become fuller and even whiter."

Du Shiniang blushed and said softly, "I still have more than a year before I can finish my mourning period."

"My heart aches for you, having to observe two major funerals in a row."

With fourteen children in the family, including eight sons and four daughters, Du Shiniang naturally couldn't remain indifferent. However, given the social customs, how could she conceive and give birth while her father was still in mourning?

We can only endure and wait.

In a little over a year, after the winter of the sixth year of Wude is over, the mourning period will be over.

"Is everything alright at home?"

"She's doing well," Du Shiniang actually doesn't manage the household much these days. She usually lives in the old Du family residence in Wubenfang, where she devotes herself to vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting.

In the Prince's Mansion in Shengyefang, Ji Lingyi and Luo Sanniang were in charge of the household. Ji Lingyi was in charge of the property, Luo Sanniang was in charge of the money, Shuying was in charge of the accounts, and Nazha was in charge of the kitchen and catering.

The concubines managed to take care of the children while keeping the household in a very organized manner.

Luo San Niang also managed the shops and farmland outside, and frequently went to inspect them. With Luo San and others helping to manage the property, everything was indeed going very well.

Although the Li family is a newly wealthy family

But Li Yi is now incredibly powerful, and as long as he doesn't fall from grace, the Li family will only continue to prosper.

After showering,

Mr. and Mrs. Li arrived at the Gongzi Hall together.

His concubines and children in the capital were naturally also waiting for him here.
“Father brought gifts for all of you,”

Li Yi had the gifts brought from Hedong brought out and distributed to everyone. He gave his wife, Du Shiniang, a mink fur coat, pearls, and some gold jewelry.

Concubines such as Ji Lingyi, Luo Sanniang, and Nazha also possessed gold and silver jewelry and furs.

The eldest son, Li Cong, was already three years old. He had two small braids on his head, looked chubby and cute, and stayed around his father, watching as the gifts were distributed.

"what do you want?"

“I want a pony,” Ping An shouted.

Can you ride one?

“I can learn, and in the future I want to be like my father, riding horses and fighting battles to become a great general.”

"Haha, okay, I'll buy you a short-legged horse later."

Li Yi brought jade as a gift for his sons, pearls for his daughter, and also some mink fur.

My eldest daughter, Little Chili, who is over four years old, really likes pearls. These pearls are quite large and shiny.

"These kids have grown up so fast."

Du Shiniang said, "Once a child is born, it grows as soon as it's exposed to the wind."

She, as the legal mother, didn't actually put much effort into raising the children. Although the children were all under her name, there was also a large group of people, including the biological mother, wet nurse, and nanny, and there was also a family doctor at home who was always on call.

Li Yi hugged Ping An Lang one moment and Tai Ping Lang the next, while the maids were lifted high in the air, making the children giggle.
The father was away from home most of the year, but as soon as he came back, he would play with them, and the children quickly became inseparable from their father.

The third son of the family, Li Lin from Beiping, was of mixed race, with fair skin and big eyes, and was very cute.

Li Wan, the twin daughter of Ping An, looks very much like him; they truly are twins. Li Yan, the second son of Luo San Niang, is also a little over a year old. He speaks very well, but his habit of drooling hasn't changed.

Shuying's third daughter, Li Xiu, and Ji Lingyi's fourth son, Yuanbao, Li Gui, are both chubby and very cute.

Having many wives and concubines

He has many children.

Sitting there, Li Yi couldn't help but think that his current life was already quite fulfilling.

With vast wealth and thousands of acres of fertile land, they have no worries about food or clothing.

Life goes on like this, isn't that wonderful?

With his current power, status, and wealth, he could easily retire and live a comfortable life as a wealthy and idle prince.

They were having a great time playing with the children.
People from the palace have arrived.

The emperor bestowed upon Li Yi 5,000 mu of land and 50 slaves.

After the eunuch finished reading the imperial decree, he handed over the land deeds and slave deeds to Li Yi, and the household registration was completed. "These lands and slaves originally belonged to Li Gaoqian, the Duke of Jiangxia, who has now been exiled to Lingnan,"

The eunuch lowered his voice and said, "I heard that it was he who submitted the memorial accusing the king of treason, but it has now been found that it was a false accusation."

When the young eunuch left, he tucked a small booklet into his arms, containing a thousand-character essay and thin gold leaves, totaling five taels of gold.

Li Yi's smile vanished as he looked at the land deeds and slave deeds on the desk in his study.

The eunuch delivering the imperial decree would never dare to leak important information privately; these words could only have been conveyed to him on orders.

It's not a formal announcement, but rather this method; it seems Li Yuan still wants to save face.

After all, Li Gaoqian's accusation of Li Yi's rebellion was probably at the Crown Prince's behest, and Li Yuan must have known this, yet he still used it as a pretext to summon him back to the capital and dismiss him from his positions as Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Army.

Now that he wants Li Yi to go back to the front lines to clean up the mess, Li Yuan is indeed a little embarrassed.

Li Gao's desertion at Mayi and subsequent abandonment of Yanmen, while possibly driven by the Crown Prince's will, required Li Yuan to protect the Crown Prince's reputation.
The only option was to exile Li Gaoqian to Lingnan.

Now, someone will tell Li Yi that Li Gaoqian made a false accusation, and then send over the five thousand mu of land and fifty slaves that were originally under Li Gaoqian's name.

They just wanted to let the matter of summoning Li Yi back pass.

Li Gaoqian's exile to Lingnan was not entirely innocent, but the wronged should have their culprits. Li Yi, who had rendered meritorious service on the front lines, was not rewarded but instead dismissed and recalled to the capital. The mastermind behind this was Crown Prince Jiancheng, who was supported by Emperor Li Yuan.

It would be far too frivolous to place all the blame on Li Gaoqian now.

Just moments ago, Li Yi was dreaming of returning to Beijing, settling down, and living a leisurely and wealthy life with his wife, children, and a warm bed. But now, this cruel reality has jolted him awake.

It's lonely at the top.

In his current position, he appears high and mighty to outsiders, but they don't know that he is walking on thin ice, and who knows when the ice will break.

Liu Shiche and Li Gaoqian, comrades who had fought side by side not long ago and won the great victory at Huanghualing, were both commanders-in-chief and generals.

Now one is dead and the other exiled. Every step is fraught with danger.

The emperor may still rely on him, but the crown prince has definitely given up on winning him over and has started thinking about how to bring him down.

The death of Liu Shirang serves as a cautionary tale.

Maybe,

Only by overthrowing Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and putting Li Shimin on the throne can we be safe.

Five thousand acres of land, fifty slaves

Li Yi no longer cares about such things; he has tried his best to stop acquiring land in the past two years.

Especially in the capital region, families are basically not allowed to buy [their own goods].

The Li family now owns thousands of acres of land, which is already quite a lot.

A tall tree catches the wind, and farmland is an important means of production; occupying too much land easily attracts covetous eyes.

He preferred to have his family establish merchant settlements in sparsely populated, fertile border regions under the guise of a trading company. They would employ and raise slaves to cultivate grain, taking advantage of the current high grain prices, especially the grain shortages in the border areas. These merchant settlements were quite profitable.

The grain stored up can be sold at a good price, making a profit. It can even be used to obtain purchase orders for military supplies and spoils of war in the border areas. It can also be used to exchange grain for mining rights in the border prefectures and counties. You can make money in several ways.

Merchant settlements were essentially just land leasing. The frontier regions had abundant land but few people, and the demand for food was high due to war and other reasons, while the cost of transporting food was also high.

At this time, establishing merchant settlements on the frontier would be highly profitable, but also extremely risky. In the event of an enemy invasion, not only could the laborers and slaves of the settlements be captured, but the produce from the fields could also be robbed or trampled.

Farming can also be affected by disasters such as drought, floods, and locusts, all of which can lead to poor harvests or even total crop failure.

However, this model is well-suited to the powerful Li family.

They have ample capital and strong connections in border regions.

Li Gaoqian, ah.

In Huanghualing, he began to side with Crown Prince Li Jiancheng, but ended up being exiled to Lingnan.

The emperor wanted Jiancheng to continue leading the army and overseeing the Hedong battlefield, and also wanted Li Yi to assist the crown prince.

Li Jiancheng remained in Puzhou, while ordering Li Yi to go to the front lines in Daibei.

If they actually manage to defeat the Turks, the main credit will go to Li Jiancheng's leadership, something Li Yi would never want.

This Turkic invasion,

That is an opportunity,

Li Jiancheng bears undeniable responsibility, after all, he was in Yanmen when Jieli invaded. As a result, he retreated from Yanmen Pass to Yanmen City, from Daizhou to Bingzhou, and from Bingzhou all the way to Puzhou.

If we retreat any further, we'll reach the Yellow River and the Guanzhong Plain.

Now from Yanmen to Jinzhou

For hundreds of miles along the route, including Sparrow and Mouse Valley, the entire area was filled with Turkic troops.
The crown prince did nothing.

Now, who in the court can't see the Crown Prince's military incompetence?
at this time,

Supporting the King of Qin to take command is the perfect opportunity.

At this time, the King of Qin,
We should also be able to see opportunities.

This night,
Li Yi did not sleep well.
Sitting alone in the study all night,

Ji Lingyi, Luo Sanniang, Du Shuying, Nazha, and other concubines all longed to serve Li Yi in bed, but seeing that the light in Li Yi's study was always on,

No one dared to disturb them.

Only Du Shiniang would bring her a bowl of ginseng soup in the middle of the night.

Watching Li Yi finish drinking the ginseng soup,

She massaged Li Yi's head for a while, then lit an incense stick and left with the ginseng soup.

As dawn approached, Li Yi lay down fully clothed and dozed off for a while.

The sun rises,

People from the palace have arrived.

The emperor held a court meeting in the Wude Hall, summoning the prime minister and some important officials.

Li Yi was summoned by the emperor to participate in a court discussion.

"I'm really busy every moment. I just got back to Chang'an and was thinking of spending more time with my wives, concubines and children before going back to Yusu Township to stay for a while."

Du Shiniang had her maid iron Li Yi's official robes and helped him change. "My lord is an important minister of the court. Now that the Turks have invaded, we should naturally invite my lord, a capable minister who has repeatedly defeated the Turks, to go."

Li Yi quickly washed up, ate some breakfast, changed his clothes, and went out.

Today's court meeting should see the emperor decide who will lead the defense against the Turks.

In front of the palace gate,
Li Yi encountered Li Shimin.

The two looked at each other and smiled.

Li Shimin, wearing a black soft-brimmed turban and a purple robe, smiled and said, "I heard that as soon as you returned, the court found out that Li Gaoqian falsely accused you of treason and was jealous of your military achievements."

"Yes, the Emperor sent people yesterday to give me 5,000 mu of land and 50 slaves from Li Gaoqian's property."

Li Shimin nodded; this was a very good sign.

What are your thoughts on the renewed Turkic invasion?

"If you want to fight, I'll fight you to the bitter end."

"how to spell?"

“Naturally, the King of Qin must lead the army. Only the King of Qin can shoulder this responsibility and defeat the Turks,” Li Yi said frankly.

Li Shimin smiled and said, "Let's go to the palace."

This brief conversation,

This gave him a clear understanding and put his mind at ease.

today,

With Li Yi's support, he was determined to win the opportunity to lead the expedition to Hedong!

(End of this chapter)