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

Chapter 698 Excessive Favoritism
The emperor suspended court for three days in memory of Princess Pingyang Zhao.

Feng Deyi and Xiao Yu were demoted from the government office and sent to serve as prefects in other provinces.
Feng Deyi was quite unwilling to give up, so he sought help from Li Yi.

He also prepared many gifts, which Li Yi did not accept, but reminded him of why he was dismissed and demoted as prime minister: "When he was appointed prime minister, he should not have accepted ten cartloads of gold and silver from the commoner Yuanji, and he should not have spoken up for Jiancheng when the retired emperor wanted to depose him."

The words were left unsaid.
Feng Deyi was distraught.
He thought he had made multiple bets and kept his actions secret, but little did he know that the new emperor already knew.

"Prime Minister Feng, His Majesty still cherishes old friendships. Otherwise, if it were any other emperor, what do you think his fate would be now?"

The fact that Li Shimin allowed you to retain your title of Duke and even included you in the list of meritorious officials shows that he was indeed a good person.

If it were any other monarch, and you dared to be so two-faced, being given a death sentence or a pot of poison would be considered merciful and a dignified punishment.

Having weathered many storms, Feng Deyi panicked this time as well.

"Your Majesty, I should not have been greedy and accepted Yuanji's ten cartloads of gold and silver. I should not have spoken up for Jiancheng. I regret it now."

I implore Your Majesty to put in a good word for me in court in the future.

"I secretly sent the ten cartloads of gold and silver that Yuanji gave me to the King's mansion."

"No, please don't."

Li Yi waved his hand. Ten cartloads of gold, silver, and silk were estimated to be worth several million coins, or even more, but Li Yi was not short of money.
This money is still too hot to handle.

"Why is Lord Feng still so stubborn? Do you think the court and His Majesty don't know about those ten cartloads of gold and silver, including the gifts Jiancheng gave you before?"

It would be best for the Duke to hand over all of these money and silk intact.

Furthermore, Feng Gong has acquired a considerable amount of land in the capital region in recent years, and it is said that he has had many disputes with the people in some areas, with people still filing lawsuits against him to this day. In particular, Feng Gong's family owns seven millstones, and every year they have to compete with the people for water.

As the governor of Yongzhou, I have already received quite a few complaints.
If you demote me, even more people will come forward to file complaints, and even censors and officials might seize the opportunity to impeach me.
So you'd better clean up the mess as soon as possible.

Those who should retire should retire, and those who should donate should donate.

Don't let small things cause you to lose big.

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Majesty. I will rely on Your Majesty's help after I am granted the title of Fenglun."

Feng Deyi adopted a very humble attitude.

Actually, this person was never disliked. When he came to Chang'an with Yuwen Shiji to join the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan disliked him and refused to give him an official position. He then went to Li Yi's house, presented him with generous gifts, and was very respectful.

Later, when he gained power, he served as a secretary in the Imperial Secretariat, a vice minister of the Imperial Secretariat, and even the Grand Secretary. However, he always treated Li Yi with courtesy and never missed sending him gifts during festivals.

This person is quite adept at interpersonal relationships.

He's a bit cunning; he likes to say one thing to someone's face and another behind their back.

Having only been partners with Xiao Yu in the Ministry of Personnel for a short time, he had already driven Xiao Yu to the brink of collapse, and several times he was ready to roll up his sleeves and beat him up.

Li Shimin also disliked his two-faced nature, but he did indeed help Li Shimin a lot, especially by providing crucial information, which enabled Li Shimin to escape several major calamities.

"Lord Feng is still young. If he stays in Jiangzhou for a few years and makes some achievements, he will still have the opportunity to return to the court in the future."

Feng Deyi smiled bitterly.
He knew his political career was over; it was uncertain whether he could even remain a stable governor of Jiangzhou. What if the emperor wanted to settle scores with him?

Then he might be demoted again and again, further and further away, and his official rank would become lower and lower, until he was finally demoted to death in the remote borderlands.

Feng Deyi seemed to want to say something but hesitated.
He wanted his son, Feng Yandao, to become Li Yi's disciple, but he knew that given his current status, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

In the end, all he could do was sigh.

“Speak frankly, Lord Feng,” Li Yi said with a smile.

"It's nothing, it's just that my son is young and I would like to ask Your Majesty to take care of him."

Feng Yandao is the legitimate son of Feng Deyi and Yang Su's cousin, and he is only eight years old this year.

Despite his young age, he was already engaged to his aunt's daughter, Princess Li Chengxia of Huainan, who was just conferred the title of Princess earlier this year.

She was the twelfth daughter of Li Yuan and Consort Yang.

Although the Emperor Emeritus has abdicated and Feng Deyi has been demoted, this marriage will not be called off.

Eight-year-old Feng Yandao was also Li Shimin's prospective brother-in-law. With this relationship, there should be no need to worry.

Feng Yandao was also lucky; Li Chengxia was made Princess Huainan at the beginning of the year, and not long after, Li Yuan betrothed her to Feng Yandao.
The engagement was arranged not long ago.
Li Shimin seized the throne in a palace coup, and Li Yuan became the retired emperor. Not long after Feng Deyi was promoted to Right Minister, Li Shimin discovered his two-faced nature.

If it had been six months later, Feng Yandao would not have been able to get engaged to Princess Huainan.

In the beginning, Li Yuan arranged marriages with Pei Ji, Feng Lun, Dou Dan, Doulu Kuan, and others in order to improve his relationship with the prime ministers.

Feng Deyi had previously mentioned to Li Yi the idea of ​​a marriage alliance between the two families, with either a daughter of the Feng family marrying a son of the Li family, or vice versa. However, Li Yi said that his children were still young and that there was no rush to discuss marriage.

now,

There's no way to talk anymore.

"I must leave the capital today and travel by expressway. I have had my family take stock of all the money, land, and millstones. I would be grateful if Your Majesty could pass them on to the court and His Majesty."

In the beginning,
Feng Deyi was willing to offer Li Yi a large sum of money in exchange for his protection.

But now I understand.
They simply and readily gave away their money.

Money is ultimately just an external thing. When Feng Deyi was appreciated by Yang Su, he was not only promoted and given important positions, but also married his cousin to him. This was not only due to his own superior intelligence, but also because he was good at understanding people.

"You should have your family contact the Yongzhou government office about this matter, and I will arrange for an official to take over."

Xiao Yu and Feng Deyi were banished from Chang'an.

They left so quietly.

Amidst the sound of the morning drum,

As soon as the gates of Chang'an opened, they left the city.

As officials who are demoted, they are usually subject to strict time limits. Some even have to set off immediately upon receiving the demotion order, without even being allowed to go home to say goodbye to their families or pack their bags.

Under normal circumstances, departure is required within three days.

Moreover, they needed to travel through ten post stations every day, covering three hundred li (approximately 150 kilometers) in a single day.

This is extremely dangerous.

But when one is demoted, what good treatment is there to be given?

One exited through the west gate, and the other through the south gate.
They each traveled with only one loyal servant and a few officials.

Looking back at Chang'an,
Majestic and towering, this is our farewell.
I wonder when I'll be able to return to Chang'an.

Li Yi sent people to deliver some dried meat and a pot of wine to the two former prime ministers who had been demoted from the capital.

He didn't deliver it himself.
My current identity is not suitable.

On days when court was suspended, Li Yi didn't have to get up so early.

In the morning, I would first go to the Hall of State Affairs to discuss state affairs with the prime ministers, and then return to my office in the Secretariat to take my shift.
This afternoon we're going to the Crown Prince's Chamberlain's Residence.

Every two or three days, he would also visit the Yongzhou government office and the Ministry of War in the west of the city.

Holding too many important positions, they simply can't manage it all.
Fortunately, Li Yi disliked seeking power.

He also deliberately slacked off.
As the governor of Yongzhou, he was in charge of the Yongzhou Prefecture, which included Chang'an City and twenty-two counties in the capital region. He delegated all matters, big and small, to the Prefect and the Chief Administrator. He only went to the government office once every few days to listen to their briefings.

As the Left Guard General, he only went there once every ten days and didn't get involved in anything.

Even the affairs of the Crown Prince's Palace were mainly handled by the Junior Grand Master Yuwen Shiji and the Chief Clerk Wang Gui.

He was used to being a hands-off manager.

He was relatively more serious about the Secretariat and the Council of State Affairs.

Li Yi's performance,
Many people disapprove of it.
Some believe that Li Yi wielded excessive power and favor, holding multiple important positions. Others believe that Li Yi became arrogant due to his favor, neglecting his duties and committing malfeasance.

But Li Yi continued to do things his own way.
Unlike Changsun Wuji, who was power-hungry and became Right Minister, he didn't try to handle everything, big or small, requiring him to oversee and manage every single matter.

They are unwilling to relinquish even a little power.

Even now that he has been promoted to Right Vice Minister, and the position of Minister of Personnel has been handed over to Du Ruhui, the Attendant-in-Ordinary, he still interferes in personnel matters.

Among the six prime ministers in the new government council, Li Yi and Changsun Wuji were both highly favored by the emperor, but their styles of doing things were completely different.

Li Shimin couldn't stand Li Yi's carefree attitude.

He was specifically summoned for a face-to-face meeting.

The meeting took place in Li Shimin's bedroom.
In such conversation settings,
This highlights the emperor's trust in Li Yi.

This was Li Yi's first time returning to Li Shimin's bedroom.

Only after going inside did I realize that...
In fact, the emperor's bedroom was decorated quite simply, and it was even a rather small room.

The emperor himself wore only a cool and light floral nightgown.

"Look at this!"

Li Shimin placed a stack of memorials in front of him.

Those memorials were all kept in soap bags.

Li Yi, now the prime minister, naturally recognized it as a sealed document at a glance.

That is, a secret performance.
These sealed documents were confidential memorials submitted by officials to the emperor. To prevent leaks, they were sealed in black silk bags.

It was presented directly to the emperor, who could only open it; hence the term "presenting a sealed document."

Unlike ordinary memorials, which actually passed through the Three Departments and were not directly delivered to the emperor, memorials from officials went through the Six Ministries of the Ministry of Personnel, then the Secretariat and the Chancellery, passing through many hands.

There's no secrecy about the contents.

Moreover, ordinary memorials had to be reviewed by the three ministries and the prime minister, who would even provide corresponding opinions on how to handle them. Most of them were not qualified to be sent to the emperor for approval.

But the memorials to the throne are relatively special.

Generally, only officials of the fifth rank or above are qualified to submit memorials.

Even Li Yi, the Minister of Works and Attendant-in-Ordinary, was not allowed to examine these sealed documents.

Now, the emperor directly showed it to Li Yi.

He picked up a letter and opened it.

Some people impeached him for being too powerful and favored.

Open another letter,
Someone impeached him for neglecting his duties.

More than a dozen memorials in a row,

All the impeachments against him revolve around two main points: Li Yi's power and influence were excessive, his official rank was too high and his authority too great, and he held multiple important positions but neglected his duties and failed to perform his responsibilities.

So many people think that Li Yi is just holding a position without doing his job.

How could the imperial court bestow such a public office upon Li Yi, allowing him to occupy a position without fulfilling its duties?

These impeachers were all officials of the fifth rank or above in the imperial court, and many of them were familiar names.

There were civil officials and military generals.

There were former officials of the retired emperor, and even some of the new emperor's men.

Has this provoked public outrage?
Do people feel that he has taken too much of the pie, infringed on everyone's interests, and become the target of public criticism?
Be mentally prepared.

I just didn't expect the emperor to show him these.

Even the names of those who impeached were not concealed in the slightest.

Li Shimin betrayed those people in this way.
This naturally indicates his absolute trust in Li Yi.

"Your Majesty, the things these officials have accused are indeed true. I am deeply honored to have Your Majesty's trust, but I am young and inexperienced, and holding multiple positions makes it difficult for me to attend to everything. I am deeply apprehensive."

Your Majesty, I request permission to resign from my positions as Governor of Yongzhou, Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince, and General of the Left Guard.

Li Shimin pulled Li Yi to sit on the dragon bed.

"I summoned you here today and showed you these things not to ask you to resign, but because I have complete trust in you."

I was able to gain this empire because you served me with utmost loyalty, contributed the most, and made the greatest contributions.

I am twenty-four years old this year, and you are two years younger than me. We, as ruler and subject, are both young, and it is the time to roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Don't forget what you told me.

"We must create a prosperous era under the Zhenguan reign!"

(End of this chapter)