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

Chapter 703 This child must not be kept
The Duke's Mansion of Qi.

Duke Gao Shilian of Yixing County brought his wife and children to visit his nephew, Changsun Wuji.

"Take a look at this."

Gao Shilian handed a sealed document to his nephew.

The chubby eldest grandson has been in a good mood lately, having been promoted to Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, with a fief of 1,300 households. He also took advantage of Feng Deyi's demotion to buy 10,000 mu of land from the Feng family at a low price.

This 10,000 mu of land is better and cheaper than the land Li Yi bought. The Feng family practically sold it for free, just to gain the protection of the emperor's brother-in-law.

When people are happy, they gain a lot of weight.

Upon seeing the sealed document in a black pouch, Changsun Wuji laughed and asked, "Is this a sealed document that Uncle is submitting to His Majesty?"

"You take a look first." Gao Shilian frowned, his expression serious.

Changsun Wuji opened the secret memorial, and as he read it, the smile on his face vanished.

This official letter was not written by his uncle, Gao Shilian.

"How did Wang Gui's secret memorial end up in his uncle's hands?"

Wang Gui was originally a confidant of Jiancheng and once served as the Crown Prince's advisor. Later, he was exiled because of the Yang Wengan incident. After the fourth day of the sixth month, he was pardoned and recalled. He was first appointed as the Crown Prince's chief clerk and then just promoted to Right Grand Counselor.

He was also granted the privilege of accompanying the prime ministers to court meetings, and his numerous remonstrances were all adopted.

The Grand Master of Remonstrance was an official who offered advice and criticism, and was a mid-level official in the system of remonstrance officials. Although he was not as high as the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace (a third-rank official), he was much higher than the Remonstrance Official (a seventh-rank official) and the Remonstrance Official (an eighth-rank official), and was an official position of the fifth rank or above.

Now, the Grand Master of Remonstrance has also gained the qualification to participate in court discussions, and his authority is very significant.

The remonstrating officials of the Tang Dynasty, like the censors, were a group of people who were not easy to offend.

In the Tang Dynasty, remonstrance officials and censors were separate entities.

The remonstrance official was in charge of offering advice and remonstrance; it was said that those who offered advice would not be punished, and the remonstrance official would not be guilty.

However, there are also rules for those who offer advice: they must not reveal their opinions.

When officials offer advice, they should do so secretly and offer what they have heard.

In the Tang Dynasty, remonstrance officials were assigned to the Secretariat and the Chancellery. The Left Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and the Left Grand Counselor belonged to the Chancellery, while the Right Attendant Gentleman of the Palace and the Right Grand Counselor belonged to the Secretariat.

Wang Gui was the Right Grand Counselor, therefore he was a subordinate of Gao Shilian, the Grand Secretary.

Nowadays,

He had a secret memorial to submit to the emperor, and coincidentally, the Grand Secretary Gao Shilian was going to meet the emperor, so he asked Gao Shilian to help him submit it to the emperor.

“I heard from an old official in the province that Wang Gui has recently been investigating matters related to you. I suspected that his secret report was detrimental to you, so I read it privately, and it turned out to be true.”

Changsun Wuji looked at the letter in his hand, feeling both angry and troubled.

Wang Gui had just been promoted to Grand Counselor when he was targeted and submitted a secret memorial accusing him of many things.

For example, he recently acquired over 10,000 mu of land from Feng Deyi's family at half price; another example is his large-scale land purchases and annexations in Guanzhong, even constructing numerous millstones on the canals and waterways of Guanzhong; some even accuse him of forming cliques and appointing his own people, having promoted many of his own people when he was Minister of Personnel, and now, as Right Vice Minister and in the Council of State Affairs, this is even more evident…

"That damned Wang Gui should be kept in Xizhou forever. Why didn't Dou Gui kill him like Wei Ting?"

Gao Shilian said, "Now that you are the Right Minister and the Prime Minister of the State, you should be more careful in your actions in the future."

The duties of remonstrating officials were primarily to advise the emperor on his mistakes and to advise on the merits and demerits of the government.

Wang Gui's letter now involves Changsun Wuji, but it does not overstep his authority, because Wang Gui lists many problems with Changsun Wuji, saying that these are all due to the emperor's improper use of people, his heavy reliance on his brother-in-law, and his nepotism.

He not only advised the emperor, but also impeached the ministers, and further criticized the current shortcomings of the government.

Changsun Wuji's face was grim. "This traitor must not be allowed to live. He must be driven out of the court."

He never imagined that Wang Gui, this henchman of the deposed crown prince, who should have been like a stray dog ​​with its tail between its legs, would still dare to bark at him.

"His Majesty is too lenient with these people."

Changsun Wuji was so angry he wanted to grind his teeth.

“You should learn more from Li Yi,” Gao Shilian advised his nephew.

Changsun Wuji disagreed, saying, "If you ask me, His Majesty has listened to too much nonsense from Li Yi, Wei Zheng, and others, which is why he has forgiven Jiancheng and Yuanji, and is even so lenient towards Wang Gui and other members of the palace faction."

Li Yi's actions were simply a case of womanly compassion.

"Jiancheng and Yuanji should be killed, and their children should all be executed as well, to nip any future trouble in the bud. Even if Wang Gui and Tang Lin aren't killed, they'll be exiled to the remote borderlands!"

Gao Shilian also felt that Li Yi was being a bit too generous.

"I heard that Li Yi invested the money from selling land in Lingnan?"

"Yes, he wants to build a shipyard in Guangzhou and start a maritime trade business with his sworn brother Li Jing, that Kunlun slave. He says he wants to transport spices from the South China Sea."

ridiculous,

Everyone knows that the spices in Chang'an, and indeed the spices of the entire Tang Dynasty, were basically monopolized by Sogdian merchants. These spices were all brought from the Western Regions, thousands of miles away.

Spices were traded by sea in Southeast Asia?
I think this is completely unreliable. Li Yi even said he wanted to keep slaves in Lingnan to reclaim wasteland, plant sugarcane and cotton, and make sugar and spin cotton cloth. Haha.

Changsun Wuji heard some news and brought it up with Li Yi. Li Yi then extended an invitation to him, asking if he would be willing to invest some money in Lingnan together.

Changsun Wuji naturally refused and even advised Li Yi not to waste his money.

He thought Li Yi had something wrong with his head.

They actually sold thousands of acres of fertile land in the Central Plains and went to Lingnan to reclaim wasteland, and even built ships to trade by sea. How risky was that?
Gao Shilian stroked his beard.

He was once demoted to Jiaozhi and served as a county clerk, where he stayed for a long time and had a relatively good understanding of Lingnan and maritime trade.

"I think Li Yi is planning his escape route."

Lingnan was a wild and untamed land, rife with miasma and plague, but also an undeveloped region. Far from the reach of the emperor, the three most powerful clans in Lingnan today—the Feng clan of Gaoliang, the Ning clan of Qinzhou, and the Chen clan of Longzhou—were all gentry families who had migrated south six or seven generations ago.

The Feng clan of Gaoliang were originally members of the Northern Yan royal family. One branch crossed the sea from Goguryeo and landed in Guangzhou. They later served as officials in the Southern Dynasties and lived in Gaoliang for generations. They also intermarried with the powerful Li ethnic chieftain, the Xian clan.

This led to them becoming the most powerful clan in Lingnan.

Li Yi's current strategic moves in Lingnan may also be a way of securing a backup plan.

Changsun Wuji was taken aback. "Li Yi is deeply favored by the Emperor. When Lu Jie impeached him, the Emperor didn't even allow the officials to investigate and directly issued an edict to execute him. Lu Jie was not only a retired fifth-rank official, but also a senior official of Taiyuan, and even more so, a relative by marriage to Pei Ji. His Majesty just ordered his execution."

Li Yi was even able to directly enter and leave the sage's bedroom, and even sleep in the same bed as the sage.

He holds several important positions.
Who can compare to his power and favor?

Gao Shilian shook his head, "As the saying goes, prosperity inevitably leads to decline, and things reach their extremes before reversing. Although Li Yi is young, he is very mature in his actions. His Majesty offered him the position of Minister, but he firmly declined; he offered him the position of Left Vice Minister, but he still refused. Now, although he holds several important positions..."
But do you see, besides sitting in office at the Secretariat and attending meetings of the Council of State Affairs, does he usually manage the affairs of the Yongzhou government, the Ministry of War, or even the Court of Imperial Sacrifices?
Even now, during meetings of the Council of State,
Li Yi also rarely spoke.

He neither vied for power nor sought to seize it; in fact, he became lazy and negligent in his duties.

But you should understand what kind of person Li Yi is. He is a person whose ability to lead troops into battle is second only to His Majesty.

All of this is something he did on purpose.

Whether it's selling land, laziness in governance, or strategic planning in Lingnan,

These are all long-term plans.

You could also say that he was deliberately showing his intentions to the sage.

Changsun asked, "What message are you trying to convey?"

"Li Yi has made great contributions and now holds a very high position in the court, but he is two years younger than His Majesty, and is only in his early twenties."

However, he had already been granted the title of Prince of the Commandery and held the rank of one of the Three Dukes.

He naturally had to guard against the ruler's suspicion.

What does the emperor fear most?
What is taboo is powerful ministers who have made great contributions and are highly respected.

Yang Su of the previous dynasty assisted Emperor Yang of Sui in his struggle for the throne, helping him ascend to the throne and even personally leading the army to quell the rebellion of the Prince of Han.
He rose to the positions of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and Minister of Works, and was later enfeoffed as Duke of Chu, with a fief of 2,500 households.

But what happened to Yang Su?

He held a high position in the court and was deeply suspected. He died in the second year of the Daye era. Yang Su was bedridden. While Yang Guang sent doctors and medicine, he would secretly ask the doctors when he would die.

When Yang Su learned of this, he refused to take the medicine, and his condition eventually worsened, leading to his death.

He died when he was only in his early sixties.

"Without Yang Su, it can be said that Yang Guang would have had a very difficult time seizing the throne."

The current emperor also told the court officials that Li Yi was the one who made the greatest contribution to his ascension to the throne, and that Li Yi was the one who made the greatest contribution to his rule.

"Li Yi doesn't want to end up like Yang Su."

Changsun Wuji did not quite agree with his uncle's opinion. "Li Yi is so young, how can he have such deep thoughts, and even have such great courage to let go of these things?"

"Some things have nothing to do with age. His Majesty took command of troops at the age of sixteen and has been fighting in the east and west since the age of eighteen without ever being defeated. Many generals who have fought all their lives cannot even catch up with him."

Li Yi, adopted by a Taoist priest at a young age and trained under him, joined the army at sixteen. He possessed an extraordinary talent for commanding troops, fighting in Guzhou, defending Haozhou, pacifying Shannan and securing Guandong, battling in Hebei and conquering Daibei. Look at his resounding victories, one after another!

"Back then, Yang Su was also capable of serving as both a general and a prime minister, and Li Yi is no less capable in this regard. However, Yang Su was already sixty-one when Yang Guang ascended the throne, while Li Yi is only twenty-two when he assists His Majesty in ascending the throne."

Changsun Wuji chuckled a few times.

"This guy is too timid and hesitant, acting like an old man at such a young age. We assisted His Majesty, risking the execution of our entire families back then, and now that we've finally succeeded, His Majesty has been rewarded with a high-ranking position. It's time for us to make our mark,"

"How can you act like Li Yi?"

"We've risked our lives, haven't we? All for this power we hold now."

"If someone is like Li Yi, then why take such a big risk in the first place?"

"Uncle, let's think about how to take down this damned Wang Gui first."

Wang Gui's memorial
When Gao Shilian left, he stayed in Changsun Wuji's study.

After the morning court session the next day

When Wang Gui met Gao Shilian in the Secretariat, he asked him if Gao's memorial had been forwarded to the emperor.

"I have already forwarded it to His Majesty!"

"Thank you, Lord Gao."

A few days later, Wang Gui noticed something was wrong and, while serving the emperor, asked him directly why the emperor had not responded to his memorial to the throne.

"His Majesty said that only when the ruler and his ministers are in harmony can the world be at peace. He said that Emperor Gaozu of Han conquered the world through military prowess and was able to maintain the dynasty for a long time because he employed virtuous ministers. He also said that he hoped his ministers would speak frankly and accept advice so that the world could be stable."

"Now that I have submitted a memorial with ten thousand words of direct advice, why has Your Majesty not responded at all after so many days?"

Is it possible that simply because the matter involves the Emperor's brother-in-law, Your Majesty will show favoritism and ignore my remonstrances?

Li Shimin looked at Wang Gui, who was filled with indignation, with suspicion.
"A lengthy memorial? I have not received it."

“I personally handed the memorial to Lord Gao for him to forward. Afterwards, I asked Lord Gao about it, and he said that it had been presented to Your Majesty. How could Your Majesty not have received it?” Wang Gui did not back down, feeling that the emperor was just making empty promises.

"If Your Majesty can broaden the channels of communication and humbly accept advice, we will do our utmost. However, if you only say one thing and do another, wouldn't that discourage us from offering our advice?"

Li Shimin frowned.
He got up and paced back and forth with his hands behind his back.

“Minister Wang, please explain this matter in detail. I did not receive the remonstrance that Gao Shilian forwarded to you. There must be something wrong with this.”

The matter is not complicated.
After hearing this, Li Shimin immediately summoned Gao Shilian.

"Prime Minister Gao, what's going on?"

Gao Shilian hadn't expected things to go wrong.

He hesitated for a moment, denying that Wang Gui had given him that sealed document. But to his surprise, Wang Gui had another copy of the manuscript, and even when he handed the sealed document to Gao Shilian for forwarding, two clerks in the Secretariat saw it.

The truth came to light.

Li Shimin was very disappointed in Gao Shilian, who first withheld the secret memorial and now deceived the emperor again.

"Prime Minister Gao, you are hereby suspended from your post and sent home to reflect on your actions and await further punishment." Li Shimin sighed, waved his hand, and dismissed Gao Shilian.

Looking at the draft of the memorial handed over by Wang Gui, and at the remonstrances concerning Changsun Wuji and Gao Shilian,

Li Shimin fell into deep thought.

(End of this chapter)