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

Chapter 639 King Qi's Ferocity
When the King of Qin returned in triumph into the city...
While half the people of Chang'an went to the imperial street to welcome him, Pei Xuanyan was selling his house.

His house was neither in the east nor the west of the city. The east was rich and the west was noble, and even a low-ranking official like him couldn't afford a house. His house was in the south of the city.

It has a typical courtyard layout, with an outer courtyard that is long and narrow, an inner courtyard that is square, and a side courtyard for raising horses and storing miscellaneous items.

It was quite far from the palace; in the past, it would take him half a day to ride a donkey to the Prince of Qi's residence. But there was an advantage to this place: the Yong'an Canal was right next door, flowing northward.

He spent a lot of money and pulled strings to bring water from the Yong'an Canal into the backyard of his house, creating a pool of flowing water there.

I've lived in this house for ten years. Although it's only about two acres in size, it's very well maintained. Especially the trees in the yard—they're growing very lushly.
Persimmons are golden in the east, pomegranates are silver in the west, and locust trees and jujubes stand in front, while apricots and elms are behind.

Not only is there a lush old elm tree under the backyard wall, but it also stands like a solid mountain providing support.

The persimmon trees on the east side and the pomegranate trees on the west side are both beautiful and have auspicious meanings.

In summer, pomegranate flowers bloom, fiery red and beautiful; in autumn, pomegranates are laden with fruit.

There is also a tall osmanthus tree in the courtyard, and every year around the Mid-Autumn Festival in August, the osmanthus blossoms fill the air with fragrance for half a month.

"Three hundred strings of cash, the transfer can be completed at any time." The broker had toured the entire house and was quite satisfied with it. "Three hundred strings of cash, including the furniture inside and the trees in the yard."

Pei Xuanyan frowned.
"I bought this house ten years ago for five hundred strings of cash. And look how new it is. Over the past ten years, I've added a lot of furniture. The ten or so trees in front and behind it alone are worth a lot of money."

"And look at that flowing water brought in from the Yong'an Canal..."

Before he could finish speaking, the broker interrupted him, "The location is too remote. It takes almost half an hour to get to the capital from here, and the courtyard is too small."

“Pei Dianqian, you’re in such a hurry to sell, this price is already pretty good. Why don’t you give me some more time, and I’ll help you find a buyer slowly? Maybe we can get tens of thousands more coins,” the broker said with a smile.

Pei Xuanyan was disheartened upon hearing this; he had no time to wait any longer.

Cheers echoed from outside the city walls.
Pei Xuanyan knew that everyone was welcoming the King of Qin's triumphant return.

He did not go to welcome the Prince of Qin back to the capital. In fact, he had just been dismissed from his position as an eighth-rank official in the Prince of Qi's mansion and was forced to sell his house and leave Chang'an. All of this stemmed from the Prince of Qin who was being cheered by the masses.

grit your teeth,
Pei Xuanyan decided to sell the house and leave Chang'an, this place of trouble, as soon as possible.

“I’m in a hurry to return home and don’t have time to slowly find a suitable buyer. I’ll sell it for 300 strings of cash, but there’s one condition: I need cash. Also, it’s inconvenient to carry money and grain back home, so gold and silver are preferred.”

The broker nodded with a smile as he saw that a deal had been struck.

"If converted into gold, then ten gold ingots from Chen Erlang in the West Market would be worth thirty-seven and a half taels according to the current market price. Would a small gold ingot of one tael each be feasible?"

"can."

“Then I’ll arrange for the buyer to come. We’ll go to the government office to sign the deed, transfer the property, pay the taxes and brokerage fees, and that’ll be all done.”

Pei Xuanyan felt a toothache upon hearing this.

Originally, they were in a hurry to sell, so they sold the house at a bargain price. It was originally worth at least 500 guan, but now they are only selling it for 300 guan. As a result, they still have to pay 5% of the property deed tax, which is 15 guan, and they also have to pay the broker's fee. Tens of thousands of guan are gone just like that.

But he dared not linger in Chang'an any longer.

All of this stems from the King of Qin who has just entered the city. The King of Qin has once again made great contributions in Daibei, which has caused the Crown Prince great concern, while the King of Qi is jumping up and down in a frenzy.

Pei Xuanyan, as a clerk in the Prince of Qi's mansion, had access to confidential information despite his low rank.

He and Rong Jiusi, the secretary of the Prince of Qi's mansion, both discovered what the Prince of Qi was plotting: that he had sent the guards Yuwen Bao and others to secretly recruit fugitives and hide them in various neighborhoods of Chang'an.

King Qi also put Pei Xuanyan in charge of these people's expenses and sent them money and grain regularly.

Pei Xuanyan was born into the Pei clan of Hedong, specifically the middle branch of the clan. However, due to the chaos of the Sui Dynasty, his branch of the family also declined.

But he is, after all, from a prestigious family.
When Pei Xuanyan realized that the King of Qi was recruiting fugitives in order to assassinate the King of Qin, he became frightened and did not want to get involved in such matters.

After several discussions with his secretary Rong Jiusi, he advised Prince Qi, Yuanji.

Unfortunately, Yuanji wouldn't listen, so Pei Xuanyan had no choice but to resign.

Enraged, Yuanji dismissed him from his official post.

Pei Xuanyan had served as an official in the Prince of Qi's residence for three years and had some understanding of the Prince of Qi. Rong Jiusi had secretly commented on the Prince of Qi, saying that he was fierce, mad, and fond of chaos.

Li Yuanji's ruthlessness was on full display when he was stationed in Taiyuan. He would order hundreds of servants and concubines to fight each other in armor, resulting in heavy casualties. He would also shoot arrows indiscriminately in the streets for amusement, and sneak into people's homes at night to molest and rape women. These were just some of the countless things he did, which aroused resentment throughout the city.

His fondness for chaos refers to his deliberate attempts to sow discord between his two elder brothers, the Crown Prince and the King of Qin.

Rong Jiusi believed that Yuanji also harbored ambitions to become the heir apparent, but knew he couldn't compete with the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin through normal means. Therefore, he deliberately instigated a conflict between the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin.

That way, we can seize the opportunity amidst the chaos and have a slim chance of victory.

Both Rong Jiusi and Pei Xuanyan thought that the Prince of Qi was a brainless idiot.

Xue Shi, the guard of the Prince of Qi's mansion, once told Yuanji that the name of Your Majesty, when combined, forms the character for Tang, and that Your Majesty would ultimately rule the Tang dynasty. Li Yuanji actually believed this and was very happy. After drinking, in front of Pei Xuanyan and others, he said that eliminating the Prince of Qin and taking the Eastern Palace would be as easy as turning one's hand.

This completely exposed their ambitions.

It's not just about supporting the crown prince and betting on the future; it's about seizing the throne amidst the chaos.

It was after hearing these words that Pei Xuanyan was so frightened that he decided to leave the Qi Prince's residence.

It's hard to say who will win between the Crown Prince and the King of Qin, but a fool and a madman like the King of Qi has no chance of winning. Following him will only lead to being implicated in the end.

With an insatiable and restless mind, what wouldn't one do?

Not long after,

The broker led a man in, who casually glanced at the house before nodding in agreement to the deal.

Small gold ingots, each weighing one tael.
The man counted out thirty-eight.

"This house is nice, I like it very much. Keep the change, and I'll also pay your share of the deed tax and brokerage fee."

"This house, if it weren't for the urgent need to sell, might not even be worth five hundred strings of cash."

After signing the white contract, go to the government office to get it stamped together, and it becomes the red contract.

The contract fee and the brokerage fee were indeed paid by that man.

This saved Pei Xuanyan tens of thousands of coins, and he was very grateful to the man.

"We'll vacate the house in three days." The man smiled and invited him aside. "May I come to your place for a cup of tea?"

"it is good."

After greeting the broker, the two headed towards the Pei residence in the south of the city.

One person rode a horse, and the other rode a donkey.

In the main hall of the Pei residence, which consisted of three rooms and five shelves,

Pei Xuanyan ordered his maid, Pu Tao, to brew tea, and then called his servant, Sheng Nu, to fetch wine.

The host and the guest sit down separately.

The man smiled and said, "My name is Yun Hongyi."

Upon hearing this name, Pei Xuanyan tentatively asked, "What is your relationship with Prince Youyun of Dai?"

“That was my ancestor. My father was the Prefect of Yunzhou, whose given name was Yunxia Duan.”

Pei Xuanyan never expected that the person who bought his house would be Yun Dingxing's grandson and Yun Shiduan's son.

A thought struck him.
Both of them were very close to Li Yi, and everyone knows that Li Yi is now the standard-bearer of the King of Qin.

The sale of this house is probably not that simple.

Yun Hongyi took out the house deed he had just obtained and pushed it in front of him.

"Brother Yun, what do you mean?"

“The Prince of Dai is my brother-in-law; he's the one who sent me to buy this house.”

Pei Xuanyan was even more puzzled.

"But my brother-in-law asked me to buy the house and then give it to you."

"Why?"

“I don’t know the specific reason, but he said you’ve hit a snag and need someone to help you out.”

I told you that you don't actually need to leave Chang'an, so there's no need to worry.

"If you can't stay in the Qi Prince's residence, I can recommend you to the Qin Prince's residence, where you can serve as a seventh-rank military advisor in the Qin Prince's granary."

Pei Xuanyan felt somewhat uneasy.
It felt like I had been stripped naked, with no privacy at all.

Looking at the property deed in front of him,
As long as he nods
The house he had lived in for ten years would be back in his hands.

To be honest, he was also very reluctant to leave this place.

When he bought this place, he had just gotten married, and their first child was born here. Now, ten years later, he has one wife, two concubines, and seven children.

Ten years of life, every little detail...
After ten years, he only managed to become a minor official of the eighth rank, but his life was still quite comfortable.

Leaving is truly difficult.

His wives, concubines, and children were also reluctant to leave.

"What does the Prince of Dai want me to do?"

When Yun Hongyi saw him say this, he knew that he was tempted, so he smiled and took out a money bag from his pocket, from which he poured out twelve small gold ingots.

Return the property deed to him.
He had already given away the thirty-eight taels of gold he had spent on the house purchase, and now he was given another twelve taels, bringing the total to fifty taels of gold.

The Kaiyuan Tongbao copper coins issued by the imperial court today are the most popular and readily accepted currency among merchants and ordinary people; fifty taels can be exchanged for four hundred strings of cash.

"I heard that the Prince of Qi ordered the military commanders Yuwen Bao and Xue Shi to secretly recruit fugitives. Most of these people are criminals, and they are currently hiding in various wards of Chang'an City."
Brother Pei must know something about these things, right?

Pei Xuanyan gave a wry smile, "Doesn't the Prince of Dai already know everything?"

“That’s different. It’s different for the Prince to know, and it’s different for you, the person involved.”

"Does the King of Dai want me to come out and denounce the King of Qi?"

"No,"

Yun Hongyi smiled and pushed the twelve small gold ingots in front of him. "You don't need to come forward to report this. Just stand up and testify at the right time."

Pei Xuanyan hesitated for a moment.
He wants to go back to his hometown.

“Brother Pei, you have served Prince Qi for three years, so you should know his character. Now that he has dismissed you from your post and expelled you from Prince Qi’s residence, he may not be at ease with you.”

Even if you sell your house and return to your hometown in Hedong, you may not find peace.

It would be better to stay and take a position in the Qin King's palace, where the Qin King will protect you.

I've heard that Brother Pei is a man of great learning, yet he isn't given a prominent position in the Qi Prince's household, which is truly a pity. Come to the Qin Prince's household; the Qin Prince highly values ​​talent.

With your talent, I believe this position as a low-ranking military advisor (equivalent to an eighth-rank official) is merely a stepping stone. You'll soon rise to a higher position, wearing scarlet and purple robes—your future is limitless!

Pei Xuanyan asked, "Does the King of Qin know about the Prince of Dai's arrangements?"

"Of course, otherwise you would be the granary clerk of the Prince of Dai's mansion, not the granary clerk of the Prince of Qin's mansion. As long as you agree, the official document will be sent over this afternoon."

"You don't need to worry about the King of Qi's retaliation. I will leave a few people here for you. They are all veterans who have been through many battles."

After some thought, Pei Xuanyan finally nodded in agreement.

really,

In the afternoon, someone from the Ministry of Personnel came to inform him to go and collect the official document, "Remember to bring money to pay for the red glue and silk scroll!"

Pei Xuanyan went out,
Several burly men walked in through the door, startling him.

The leader, a burly man with a long scar on his face and a fierce look, cupped his hands in greeting. “I am Su Yi from Taiyuan. Yun Jiulang arranged for me to come. You can call me Su San, Pei Lang. From now on, I will be Pei Lang’s attendant. The duties of attendant, guard, and protecting the house will be left to me and my brothers.”

(End of this chapter)