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

Chapter 636 The golden sword is presented to Chang He

Chang He received the transfer order.

He was transferred to the position of Lieutenant General of the Left Guard Guard.

When he received the transfer order, Chang He was stationed in Yuanzhou in the northwest. He was from Bianzhou, Henan. During the turbulent years of the Daye era, he also joined Wagang. Because of his bravery and skill in battle, Li Mi appointed him as Shangzhuguo and Leizegong.

Later, he was persuaded to surrender by Li Yi in Guzhou, and was still granted the titles of Shangzhuguo, Leizegong, and Qingyifu Piaoqi General.

However, when Gu Zhou and Qin Qiong and the other nine generals returned to Tang, they even swore brotherhood with Li Yi. But in the years since they entered Tang, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Luo Shixin and the others have been following the King of Qin, fighting against Liu Wu, Zhou Pingwang, Shichong and Dou Jiande, and have accumulated merits to become dukes.

Chang He, on the other hand, has been in the Eastern Palace for the past few years, accompanying Liu Hongji, Yuwen Ying and others on expeditions, but he has not made many contributions and his official position has not changed much in recent years.

However, I have gained a lot of weight.

Four years ago, when he first surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he weighed less than 200 jin (100 kg), but now he has gained dozens of jin (10 kg).

to be frank,
Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, and Cheng Yaojin were all granted the title of Duke, and Chang Heting was happy for his old comrades. He himself had had opportunities to be granted the same title in recent years.

After all, while Shubao and the others entered the Prince of Qin's mansion, he entered the Eastern Palace.

The Crown Prince has had many opportunities to lead troops in recent years, but every time the Crown Prince takes command, he follows along with high expectations, only to fail to achieve any merit in the end.

This is true in Hebei, but not in Hedong, and it is still true in Yuanzhou.

Chang He came from an ordinary background, not even from a poor family, just a commoner from a small household, similar to Zhang Liang's background.

Amidst the chaos of the world, the daring man volunteered to join the Wagang Army. Through his bravery and fighting prowess, he earned himself the title of Duke of Leize County and posthumously conferred upon his deceased father the rank of Fifth-Rank Official.

His father toiled in the fields his whole life, never owning a single plot of land and working as a tenant farmer his entire life.

When he was young, Chang He was unwilling to spend his whole life farming, and even more unwilling to be a tenant farmer for the rest of his life, busy all year round but not even able to fill his stomach.

Most of the harvest had to be used to pay rent to the landlord, and the farmers also had to do a lot of manual labor for him every year. If a natural disaster or illness struck, they would have to borrow money. They would have to kowtow to the landlord and beg for mercy, and in the end, they would be burdened with heavy interest.

Chang He was unwilling to accept this.
During the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, he watched his father, who had farmed all his life, starve to death, clinging to a small bag of seeds he refused to eat. He was also forced to sell a bushel of millet for his young sister.

Chang He finally made a tough decision and joined the bandits.

More than ten years have passed in the blink of an eye.

Chang He, once the frail son of a tenant farmer, is now a general.

He had just been promoted to the rank of General of the Palace Guard, a fourth-grade official, and was being transferred back to Chang'an.

When he was farming, Chang He almost never ate his fill. He had two thin meals a day, and during busy farming seasons, he could have a dry meal.

Having grown accustomed to eating all sorts of wild vegetables, I had never seen refined grains or white flour.

Later, after joining Wagang, he fought desperately and gradually gained status. He no longer lacked steamed buns made of white flour, and even meat was no longer a problem.

He also grew bigger; he was already quite tall, and with the extra flesh, he became even more robust.

In recent years,

He was quite relaxed, so he gained even more weight, even developing a lot of fat.

Previously, I ate a maximum of two meals a day.
Now Chang He eats four meals a day.

And there was meat with every meal.

If we don't compare him to the nine brothers who surrendered to the Tang Dynasty with him in Guzhou, he could be considered to have achieved great success.

He was the Duke of Leize County, the General of the Left Guard, and also held the title of Pillar of State.

One wife and several concubines,
I've been idle these past few years, but I've had a bunch of kids.

The family also acquired some land and property, so they can be said to be financially secure for the rest of their lives.

However, occasionally, when it's late at night and everything is quiet...
When Chang He couldn't sleep, he would think, what if he had entered the Prince of Qin's mansion with Shu Bao and the others?
I may not be granted the title of Duke of the State now, but I can certainly be promoted to the title of Duke of the County.

Seeing that Luo Shixin had already been promoted to chief steward and Cheng Yaojin had become governor, I figured I could just become governor myself.

I originally thought that by entering the Eastern Palace and serving the Crown Prince, my future would be brighter.

who knows,
These past few years have been wasted.

The crown prince was not his benefactor.

Looking back on these years, my first benefactor should be Li Mi. It was Li Mi's appreciation that made me a general and granted me a noble title.

Who was the second benefactor?
It's definitely not Wang Shichong, nor the crown prince.

It should be Li Yi. During the Battle of Guzhou, I was still under Wang Shichong's command. Li Yi was not a high-ranking official at that time. Everyone was persuaded by Li Yi to abandon Zheng and return to Tang.

In just a few years,

While Chang He remained stagnant, Li Yi rose rapidly through the ranks, now holding the titles of Prince of Dai (within the Imperial Clan Court), Minister of Works (one of the Three Dukes), Left Vice Minister of the Shaanxi East Circuit, and Grand Governor of Bingzhou.

The sworn brothers of Guzhou back then are now figures he can no longer reach.

Chang He packed his things, preparing to return to the capital to take up his new post.

The Left Guard General of the Imperial Guard has finally been promoted.

Chang He longed to become a prefect. When he was young, he had seen the prefect travel along the official road in his hometown, and the scene was so impressive.

He thought to himself at that time,
If one could become a servant who carries the cane and clears the way for the governor in this lifetime, that would be incredibly prestigious.

Who would have thought that amidst the chaos of the world, he, a commoner, would one day become the founding county duke?

As a General of the Cavalry, he had 1,200 soldiers under his command.

Now, the Left Guard, who has returned to Chang'an, has become the General of the Imperial Guard. The Imperial Guard under his command consists of sons of nobles and high-ranking officials, and will be responsible for guarding the palace.

It became part of the emperor's ceremonial retinue.

"General, there is someone outside claiming to be from your hometown and requesting an audience."

Chang He didn't pay much attention when he heard this.

Before he became wealthy, he was very poor, and his relatives were naturally poor as well.

After he became wealthy, many of his poor relatives came to him for help, or to beg for his money. Chang He didn't mind and helped them as much as he could.

But now that he is in Yuanzhou in the Northwest, how come some of his old friends have come looking for him here?

He sent his personal guards to bring the man to him.

"Go get a few bowls of soup noodles, and chop some minced meat into them."

When the guards brought the man in, he was an unremarkable-looking man, probably in his early thirties.

Chang He poured him water, invited him to sit down, and asked if the other person was a fellow villager or a relative.

"Please dismiss those around you, Master Chang."

Chang He looked at the person in front of him with some doubt.

The man lowered his voice, "I am a retainer of Li Sikong."

Upon hearing this, Chang He immediately ordered his personal guards to withdraw and stand watch outside, forbidding anyone from approaching or disturbing him.

Only the two people remained in the room.

Chang He stared at the man.

"I am Song Yi, a retainer of Minister Li. I have come to deliver a letter to Lord Chang on the orders of Minister Li."

Song Yi produced his official document, which was his identity certificate from Hedong to Yuanzhou.

"Mr. Chang, read the letter first."

Chang He took the letter he was handed over. It was a silk scroll, but Chang He didn't know many characters. Although he had learned some characters over the years, he still couldn't understand the letter.

"This letter is encrypted. Let me translate it for General Chang first."

Many words in this letter have been replaced with other words, so reading it directly makes no sense.

But when Song Yi converted those characters again,

The chaos immediately subsided.

Seeing how cautious Song Yi was, Chang He realized that this letter was not simple.

"Could you read this for me? I don't know many characters."

The letter was written by Li Yi to Chang He. It began with a simple reminiscing about the past and mentioning the oath of brotherhood in Guzhou.

Chang He sat there listening with a smile on his face. Over the past few years, Li Yi and he had maintained a close relationship. Although they did not meet often, they had kept in touch through letters. During festivals, the women of both families would visit each other and exchange gifts.

Even some of Li Yi's businesses included Chang He, allowing the Chang family to make a considerable amount of money as well.

As Chang He continued listening, his smile faded.

Li Yi said he was being transferred back to the capital this time.
It wasn't arranged by the Crown Prince, nor by the imperial court; it was arranged by him in secret.

He also told Chang He that the reason for his transfer back to Chang'an was specifically to appoint him to the Left Guard and the position of Assistant General, which meant he was to be assigned to the Left and Right Guards.

After returning to the capital, he will serve as a guard at the north gate of Taiji Palace, while also serving as the head of Xuanwu Gate.

The belief is complete.
Song Yi then handed Chang He a jade token and a password.

“There is a shop called Gaochang Jili in the West Market of Chang’an. With this jade token and that password, Lord Chang can get one hundred ingots of gold at the shop. Each ingot weighs two taels.”

"What does Minister Li mean by this?" Although Chang He is now a county duke and a fourth-rank general, two hundred taels of gold is still a huge fortune. At the current price of gold, it is worth at least 1.6 million coins, and that is for newly minted Kaiyuan Tongbao coins. It can be exchanged for Sui Kaihuang Wuzhu coins, which can be exchanged for 2 million coins.

"Sikong said that when Chang Gong returns to Chang'an to serve as a General of the Central Army, he should make more friends."

Give him two hundred taels of gold so he can make friends.

His position as a Lieutenant General was given to him by Li Yi, and it was an important post for guarding the palace gates.

Chang He had already keenly sensed some problems.

They are all generals who have fought their way through chaotic times; they wouldn't be so slow-witted.

He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

If this person were in front of Li Yi, he would certainly be able to speak frankly, but this person is just one of Li Yi's retainers.

Song Yi was also sizing up Chang He.

After observing for a while,

He took the initiative to say, "This money doesn't belong to Sikong; it belongs to the King of Qin."

Chang He finally understood everything.

Li Yi, Prince Qin, Left Guard General of the Imperial Guard, Chief of the Xuanwu Gate...
Everything is connected.

"What does Wu Yi want me to do?"

"Sikong said that he and Chang Gong were sworn brothers who drank blood wine in Guzhou. Now that there is a rare opportunity for wealth and honor, he naturally cannot forget Chang Gong."

If great things come true,

The King of Qin will certainly not mistreat Chang He; he will undoubtedly be granted the title of Duke.

Why do I often feel my heart racing?
I've had a comfortable life for several years, and I haven't felt this way in a long time.

He already knew what Li Yi and the King of Qin were planning.

"Chang Gong,"

"This golden knife was originally worn by the King of Qin, and he specially instructed the Minister of Works to give it to you."

This golden knife, also known as a pair of two-ounce golden scissors, was hung on the belt for warding off evil spirits.

The King of Qin's golden knife was even more exquisite, and it was inlaid with gemstones.

This golden knife is worth at least ten taels of gold.

But now, giving it to myself means it's not just worth ten taels of gold.

Accepting the golden knife and the hundred ingots of gold meant that he had accepted Li Yi's arrangement, accepted the King of Qin's offer of enticement, and boarded that ship.

The people on that boat were plotting something that, if it failed, would result in their families being wiped out.

Chang He swallowed.

Even though he had experienced many ups and downs, he felt a little nervous at this moment.

He didn't hesitate for long.
Chang He took the jade pendant and the gold knife.

"Go back and tell Wu Yi to count me as one of Chang He's people."

(End of this chapter)