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

Chapter 637 Keep a close eye on Yang Wengan

Grain Rain in mid-March.

Spring is coming to an end and summer is approaching. Grain Rain is the last solar term of spring, when rain nourishes all grains.

The willow catkins have all flown away, and the cuckoo cries in the night.

Peonies are in bloom, cherries are ripe.

Li Yi inspected the Daibei garrison and offered his condolences to the border soldiers every day. The emperor, far away in Chang'an, sent him cherries grown in the royal cherry orchard on Bailuyuan in Chang'an by express horse.

The freshly ripened cherries were transported by fast horses and arrived in Taiyuan from Chang'an in just three days.

Along with the basket of fresh cherries, some newly opened peonies were also delivered.

Peony flowers are also called Grain Rain flowers.

People use the blooming seasons of these flowers to manage household affairs.

By Qingming Festival, the snow has stopped; by Guyu Festival, the frost has ceased.

The weather is getting hotter every day, and there is more rainfall.

The million-mu military farmland in Daibei was cultivated smoothly thanks to the addition of tens of thousands of Turkic prisoners and able-bodied men, as well as more than 100,000 Han Chinese people who returned from the Turkic lands.

Millet, sorghum, and buckwheat were all sown.
This year, some new crops such as potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes were also planted in the ten northern prefectures.

Luo San was wearing a cotton-padded shirt and still looked like a very simple farmer.

He smiled and reported to Li Yi on the Li family's land reclamation efforts in Daibei.

“You told us not to buy too much land, so in the ten prefectures of Daibei, our family only bought five thousand mu of land in each prefecture. Since it is a border area with a large land area and a small population, the local government was very welcoming of our willingness to buy land and cultivate it.”

We established an estate, hired long-term and short-term laborers, and also brought in some slaves.
Each village has 1,000 mu of land, all contiguous plots. This year, each village planted 100 mu of new crops: 20 mu of sweet potatoes, 30 mu of yams, 50 mu of corn…

The Li family acquired even more land in the commercial settlements of Daibei.
Each prefecture received 20,000 mu of land for commercial settlement, all under contracts signed with the prefectural government for ten years. The policy was quite favorable; the land rent was almost free, requiring only a minimum annual payment of five dou of grain per mu, which was purchased centrally by the prefectural government.

The price was a pre-agreed unified purchase price, but the grain price in the entire Tang Dynasty was still relatively high, and the grain price in Daibei was even higher, so the profits from the merchant settlements were still very high.

In order to achieve self-sufficiency as soon as possible, the Bingzhou Grand General Administration, presided over by Li Yi, and the Shaanxi East Circuit Grand Administration introduced preferential policies for attracting investment and land reclamation, reducing rents and taxes, and welcoming these powerful clans, merchants and other groups to come and settle down for farming.

This is much more cost-effective than transporting grain from the south.

The various businesses under the Li family's name bid for and contracted land reclamation in Daibei. Although they acquired the land under the names of their respective businesses, the Li family managed the land in a unified manner.

A total of 200,000 mu of land,
Because they actively responded to the policy, they acquired some of the better land, and a yield of one shi per mu per year is definitely not a problem.

This year, the Li family started planting new crops in Daibei, with one-tenth of their land planted with new crops.

There were 50,000 mu of private land and 200,000 mu of commercial farmland, which were planted with a total of 5,000 mu of sweet potatoes, 7,500 mu of potatoes, and 12,500 mu of corn.

Luo San originally wanted to grow cotton in Daibei, since cotton can be spun into yarn and woven into cloth, and its advantage over hemp and silk lies in its good warmth retention, while Daibei has cold winters.

Growing cotton can provide the border troops with excellent winter clothing, which is just as important as military rations.

However, Li Yi rejected the plan to grow cotton in Daibei, as cotton requires long hours of sunshine and a warmer climate.

The large temperature difference throughout the year in Daibei makes it unsuitable for cotton cultivation.

However, it is possible to grow cotton in the Jinzhong area south of Taiyuan, but Jinzhong is an important grain-producing area and there is not enough arable land to grow cotton.

It would be quite good if the Li family could cultivate and plant all 250,000 mu of land this year. Even if the yield was low due to extensive planting and low yield in the first year, it would still be a profitable business at the current grain price.

Moreover, in order to attract investment and land reclamation, the Grand General's Office not only waived land rent for the first three years, but also set a decent price for grain purchase in the contract. More importantly, it also provided mining rights and salt sales rights.

In addition, in border markets with the Turks, many livestock hides and other goods, as well as merchant guilds in trading settlements, can also obtain priority access to some trade quotas.

The only risk,
It wasn't natural disasters like floods, droughts, or locust plagues, but war.

If the Turks invade again as they have in recent years, and Daibei cannot be defended and is plundered at will, then even the best policy of military farming will be in vain.

If the Turks seize all the laborers, slaves, cattle, horses, plows, and hoes used for farming, then all our resources will be lost.

Because of this,

The conditions offered by Shangtun were excellent, but many people still hesitated when it came to attracting investment. At this point, it all came down to who had the courage and boldness.

High risk naturally comes with high returns.

The Li family's entry was the most decisive. Although Luo San also felt there were risks, Li Yi had confidence in himself.

In recent years, the Li family has also acquired a lot of land in Hebei and Henan, and has reaped many benefits from it.

Although there is a threat from the Turks in Daibei, Jieli has been captured and taken to Chang'an to be a court dancer. There is no need to worry about any large-scale invasions in the future. The land reclamation in Daibei will definitely be profitable.

While cultivating land and selling grain, they could also obtain mining rights for coal and iron ore, the right to sell salt from Jiechi, and a share of trade in the border market.

With so many benefits, you'd be missing out if you were even a little slow.

The Li family's bold move of acquiring 250,000 mu of land shocked many. His intervention as the Grand Commander also gave others confidence, prompting them to follow suit and lease land for cultivation.

The original plan was for 400,000 mu of commercial settlement, but the actual area far exceeded that.

Seeing that Li Yi was investing so heavily, the top clans like the Wang family of Taiyuan naturally realized that there was profit to be made, and they all rushed to expand their territories.

The booming commercial settlements also spurred the slave trade in Daibei. For large clans to settle down and cultivate land, it was naturally the most profitable way to use slaves.

Now, not only are Turkic slaves, Tiele slaves, Sogdian slaves, and Khitan slaves selling well in Daibei, but...

People from the south, such as the Wuxi slaves, Wuling slaves, Qiang slaves, and Liao slaves, were also in high demand.

Daibei was incredibly hot this spring.

Everywhere, people are busy reclamation and farming.

The Li family imported a large quantity of potato, sweet potato, and corn seeds, which resulted in another booming sales and substantial profits. In recent years, the Li family has been continuously expanding the cultivation of these new crops, promoting them from Guanzhong to various regions, earning a considerable amount just from selling the seeds.

Li Yi attached great importance to military farming.

The military settlements were fundamental to Daibei. Without food, it was impossible to maintain a sufficiently strong garrison, and without enough troops, Daibei would be insecure.

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn are all good choices for farming now.

"The Liao people of Longzhou and Fuzhou in Lingnan rebelled. The imperial court ordered Li Guangdu, the governor of Nanyin Prefecture, and others to send troops to suppress the rebellion. The campaign to quell the rebellion went relatively smoothly, and a large number of Liao barbarians were captured."
These barbarian tribes are being transported north in large numbers. Third Uncle, could you arrange for someone to buy a batch of them?

He rode back to Taiyuan City.
Taiyuan has fully recovered and, thanks to its status as the most important town east of the Yellow River, it is thriving once again.

Carriages and horses came and went in a constant stream at the city gate.

Once the border troubles were resolved, Taiyuan immediately prospered.

Since the founding of the Tang Dynasty
Taiyuan City has never been very stable.

Before Li Yuan raised his army, the Turks had entered Taiyuan, but Li Yuan used the Empty City Stratagem to scare them away.

However, after he captured Chang'an, he left Taiyuan to Li Yuanji to guard. Li Yuanji acted recklessly and aroused resentment throughout the city. Finally, Liu Wuzhou attacked, and the powerful families of Taiyuan opened the gates to let Wuzhou's army into the city, and Taiyuan fell.

After the Tang army defeated Liu Wuzhou,

Although Taiyuan was recovered, the Turks invaded almost every year for the next few years, and each time the Turkic cavalry raided the vicinity of Taiyuan.

Although Taiyuan City was not captured, its suburbs were repeatedly plundered. Moreover, every time the Turks came, Taiyuan had to be sealed off, roads were blocked, and merchants could not travel.

Back at the Grand Commander's Mansion,

Sima Zhangliang came forward to greet them.

"The King of Qin sent a letter saying that he had returned to Chang'an."

Li Shimin's journey back to Chang'an went smoothly, but Li Yi knew that Chang'an was a den of dragons and tigers, fraught with danger at every turn.

The gun is easy to hide, and the dark arrow is hard to prevent.

“Your Highness, I have been keeping an eye on the Eastern Palace and the Qi King. I just received news that Da Kezhi, the Right Commander of the Eastern Palace, has secretly transferred three hundred Youzhou cavalrymen from Li Yi, the Prince of Yan who is stationed in Jingzhou. He has placed them in several wards east of the Eastern Palace in preparation for their appointment as senior officials in the Eastern Palace.”

Yuwen Bao, the guard of Prince Qi's residence, has recently been recruiting men everywhere, many of whom are outlaws and criminals. Prince Qi is offering them extremely generous rewards...

Li Yi nodded.
These reports are not surprising.

"I asked you to keep an eye on Feng Deyi, the Grand Secretary. Have you found anything?"

"King Qi secretly gave Feng Deyi ten cartloads of gold, silk and treasures, which Feng Deyi accepted. King Qi also gave a lot of gold and silk to Consort Zhang and Consort Yin in the palace, and arranged official positions for the sons of the two families of the local magistrate."

Zhang Liang asked curiously, "Feng Deyi has always been close to the King of Qin and has tipped him off on several occasions. Why is he now accepting a generous gift from the King of Qi?"

"Feng Deyi is not as simple as he seems; he is quite formidable. Everyone thinks he is close to the King of Qin, but in reality, he has also maintained secret contact with the Crown Prince, who considers him one of his own."

Feng Deyi even had a good relationship with the King of Qi.

But in reality, Feng Deyi was the emperor's confidant.

Zhang Liang was shocked. "So two-faced?"

"What do you think? Feng Deyi initially rose to power by relying on Yang Su, then on Pei Shiji, and after the Jiangdu Incident, he followed Yuwen Shiji. Later, he came to Chang'an and even tried to get my help."

When he first arrived in Chang'an, Li Yuan disliked him greatly and refused to grant him an official position, sending him back to his hometown. However, Feng Deyi was able to change the emperor's mind and even gain his trust in a very short time; this ability was extraordinary.

He outwardly appears to be close to the Prince of Qin, while secretly maintaining good relations with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qi. In reality, however, he is Li Yuan's confidant.

He even managed to convince the King of Qin, the Crown Prince, the King of Qi, and Li Yuan that Feng Deyi was loyal only to them.

He can juggle four boats without capsizing.

"How did the Prince of Dai discover that Feng Deyi had a problem?" Zhang Liang asked curiously.

Li Yi certainly couldn't claim to be a time traveler. Feng Deyi was extremely well-hidden; after his death, Li Shimin still believed him to be a loyal minister and posthumously conferred upon him the title of Minister of Works. It wasn't until later, when someone exposed his two-faced nature and his close private dealings with Jiancheng and Yuanji, that Li Shimin discovered his true colors and was so angry that he wanted to strip him of his official titles and posthumous honors.

"Go to Chang'an yourself and tell the King of Qin these things in person."

"There's something else. I heard that Yang Wengan has been transferred to be the governor of Qingzhou?"

"Yes, he was only recently appointed as the Governor of Qingzhou."

Yang Wengan was originally a bodyguard of Crown Prince Li Jiancheng and rose to the rank of fourth-grade guard commander in the Eastern Palace. There is nothing wrong with his current appointment as governor of Qingzhou.

"Place more people in your camp to keep an eye on this Yang Wengan," Li Yi instructed.

"And the Minister of Agriculture, Yuwen Ying, should also be kept an eye on."

Although Zhang Liang didn't know why he needed to keep an eye on these two people, he agreed to it anyway.

"I previously asked you to contact the heroes and valiant men of Guandong. This time when you go to the capital, also secretly bring some reliable people with you. Remember to keep it a secret."

“What if you mess up?” Li Yi looked at Zhang Liang.

Zhang Liang immediately patted his chest and said, "If we fail, I will take full responsibility and will never implicate anyone."

(End of this chapter)