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

Chapter 707 Dismissed from Office and Deployed to a Foreign Region
"The Three Edicts Minister? Haha."

Within the Ministry of Personnel, Li Yi was having tea with his senior brother Wei Zheng when Wei Zheng pointed out to him that he was known as the "Three-Decree Minister," but Li Yi wasn't embarrassed at all.

Wei Zheng was somewhat helpless with Li Yi. He also knew that Li Yi was young, yet he had become the Grand Chancellor of Three Decrees, which was actually intentional.

"After the great chaos, everything needs to be rebuilt. As you hold a high position, you should take the lead in making progress."

"Senior brother, you should plan for your own safety first."

"It seems Wang Gui is going to become prime minister, succeeding Gao Shilian," Li Yi remarked.

Inside the Lizheng Hall, Lady Changsun spent a long time trying to persuade her brother, but Changsun Wuji wouldn't listen. After he left, Lady Changsun pondered for a long time.

"Go to Prime Minister Gao's residence."

···
Located in the southwest corner of Chongrenfang, north of Pingkangfang in the east of the Imperial City, is the residence of Gao Shilian, the Grand Secretary.

Gao Shilian was suspended from his post by the emperor for several days to reflect on his actions.

I practice calligraphy at home every day without leaving the house.

"Your calligraphy of the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion is so graceful and flowing, it makes your son sigh in admiration. Your calligraphy is becoming more and more superb."

Gao Shilian placed the pen on the pen holder, carefully examined the calligraphy, and shook his head.

"I was in a state of unease while writing."

Qianniu Bei Gao Lixing said with a smile, "I think Father's copy of the Lanting Preface is so good it could be mistaken for the real thing."

As the father and son were talking,
The steward came to report, "Cui Dunli, the Imperial Secretary, has come to deliver an imperial decree. It is His Majesty's decree to confer the title of Duke on one of the sons of the eight meritorious officials. Our eldest son is also among those to be conferred the title of Duke of Le'an. Ah Lang and Da Lang, hurry up and receive the decree."

They set up an altar, burned incense, and prepared to receive the imperial edict.

Cui Dunli stood facing south and read out the imperial edict.

Gao Shilian's eldest son, Gao Lixing, was granted the title of Duke of Le'an County for his father's merits and was also promoted to the position of Director of the Ministry of Rites.

"Congratulations, Prime Minister Gao! Congratulations, Young Master Gao!" Cui Dunli said with a smile.

Gao Lixing smiled broadly. As the eldest son of the Gao family, he was still young. He had previously served as the treasurer of the Prince of Qin's mansion. After the successful coup at Xuanwu Gate, he was quickly appointed as the Imperial Guard of the Crown Prince. When the emperor ascended the throne, he became a backup Imperial Guard.

did not expect,
So quickly he was granted the title of Duke of the County and promoted to the rank of Gentleman of the Palace.

The Director of the Sacrificial Rites Department was the head of the Sacrificial Rites Division under the Ministry of Rites. He was a fifth-rank official, wearing a scarlet robe. The Sacrificial Rites Division was responsible for deliberating and formulating the rituals and regulations for suburban sacrifices and ancestral temples, as well as managing temples, monks, and nuns.

Although the position of the Director of the Ministry of Rites did not have much power, it was a substantive fifth-rank post, and it was also a very important step for someone to advance from the sixth rank to the fifth rank.

Especially for a prime minister's son like Gao Lixing, becoming a fifth-rank official with real power before the age of twenty, and even a physician, was a very important promotion.

Gao Shilian held the imperial edict and read it carefully several times.
There wasn't much joy on his face.

He himself, the prime minister, was only the Duke of Yining, but now his teenage son has been granted the title of Duke of Le'an.

Duke of Le'an

His father was the Prince of Le'an in the Northern Qi Dynasty.

My son was previously a sixth-rank Qianniu Beishen, but the position of Qianniu Beishen is more like a guard officer, and frankly speaking, there is a huge gap between him and a fifth-rank Cibu Langzhong. In normal promotions, it is not just a matter of one rank.

It's possible that it will take ten years before one becomes a doctor.

Lady Xianyu, the county magistrate, had her steward bring a gift as a token of gratitude, which Cui Dunli accepted with a smile.

Gao Shilian invited him for tea and inquired about Wang Gui.

"Because of his meritorious remonstrance, Prince Wang has been promoted by His Majesty to the position of Gentleman Attendant at the Palace Gate, concurrently serving as Right Vice-Chancellor to the Crown Prince. He has also been granted the title of Baron of Yongning County. His Majesty has also betrothed the Third Princess to Prince Wang's youngest son, Jingzhi."

Hearing this,

Gao Shilian accidentally knocked over his teacup, spilling the freshly poured tea everywhere.

Cui Dunli sat for a while, then took his leave.

Gao Shilian stood in his study, lost in thought.
The Gao family outside were overjoyed. Lady Xianyu was delighted that her son had been promoted and given a title. In her happiness, she rewarded everyone in the household with money and planned to give them extra meat for dinner that night.

Gao Xingli also went out happily, eager to lose money and receive his official complaint, and to have a scarlet official robe made to order.

Lady Changsun arrived amidst the joy of the whole family.

"Uncle!"

After exchanging pleasantries with his aunt and other relatives, the eldest grandson spoke privately with his uncle, Gao Shilian.

“My uncle and His Majesty are not only old friends and relatives by marriage, but also ruler and subject. My uncle should not have made such a mistake in Wang Gui’s secret report this time.”

Now that things have escalated, Uncle should take the initiative to resign, or better yet, request a transfer to a local post. He should serve as a local official for a few years, establish some real achievements, and then return to the capital.

Gao Shilian stroked his beard, lost in thought and dejection.

He was actually still young, only forty-seven years old this year. He was famous for his talent when he was young and was a close friend of the literary masters Xue Daoheng and Cui Zujun, despite their age difference. Many officials appreciated and praised him at that time, but he lived in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain until the Daye era, when he was appointed as a ceremonial official. In the ninth year of Daye, when the Minister of War Husi Zheng fled to Goguryeo, he was implicated and demoted to the position of registrar of Zhuyuan County in Jiaozhi.

During the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, Gao Shilian assisted Prefect Qiu He in leading troops to resist Ning Changzhen's invasion. Later, he submitted a memorial to the Tang Dynasty and finally returned to the court.

In recent years, he helped plan and supported the Qin king's successful usurpation of the throne, and he himself was appointed prime minister.

This journey has not been easy.

But now, after his niece said that, Gao Shilian realized that he had indeed made a big mistake.

Actually, when Cui Dunli mentioned that the emperor had bestowed upon Wang Gui the title of Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and concurrently Right Vice Minister to the Crown Prince, and also granted him a noble title and arranged a marriage alliance, he had already understood the situation.

At this point, his niece bluntly told him to resign and be transferred to another post, and he could only give a bitter laugh.

"I will write my resignation letter in a moment!"

"Uncle, please persuade my brother. He's being watched by many people right now, so it would be best if he resigned from his position as prime minister."

Li Yi returned home after court.

The family had already received the imperial edict, and the second son, Li Yan, the Prince of Taiping, was promoted to Duke of Anding County.

Li Yi's eight sons already held the titles of Duke of one state, Marquis of two counties, and Baron of five counties.
Li Yan already held the title of Marquis of Qianshui County, but this time, when he was enfeoffed as Duke of Anding Commandery, the title of Marquis of Qianshui County was given to the fourth prince, Li Gui.

Erlang's birth mother, Luo Sanniang, was the most excited. Her son had recently been promoted to county marquis based on his father's merits, and now he had been promoted to duke.

Ji Lingyi, the birth mother of Silang, was also beaming. Her eldest son, born out of wedlock, had long since been granted the title of Duke of Rongguo, and now Silang, whom she had given birth to, had also been granted the title of County Marquis.

He had two sons, one the Duke of Rongguo and the other the Marquis of Qianshui.

The matriarch, Du Shiniang, who was acting as the acting princess, was also very happy.

The family now has eight sons, each holding the titles of Duke of a State, Duke of a Prefecture, Marquis of a County, and Baron of a County. Including her husband's title of Prince of Dai, they are not as numerous as the Li brothers, Li Shentong and Li Shenfu, who have seventeen princes.

But I heard that while the two brothers could retain their titles of Prince, their fifteen sons' titles of Prince would all be downgraded to County Duke.

at night,

Extra meal.

Roasted Lamb.

Du Shiniang took two bites but couldn't help vomiting.

And he vomited violently.

"Quickly call a doctor." The Li family has a family doctor, after all, the Li family is now in the pharmaceutical business, and their Qianjin Pharmacy and Wuji Medical Hall have become chain stores, with many branches from Chang'an to Luoyang, from Guanzhong to the Central Plains.

They even have specialized training schools for doctors and pharmacists.

The Li family has a long-time doctor on staff.

Ji Lingyi said to Li Yi, "My lord, I believe the princess is not unwell, but rather pregnant."

“Yes, this looks like morning sickness,” Luo San Niang added.

They have all given birth before. Some women experience pregnancy reactions and morning sickness in the early stages of pregnancy, while others experience none or very mild reactions.

"Some newly pregnant women can't stand the smell of oily food and are prone to vomiting."

The doctor arrived quickly.

"It's a slippery pulse. Congratulations, Prince Dai, your princess is pregnant."

Du Shiniang wept with joy.

The whole family gathered around to congratulate him.

Li Yi has been back for two months now, and he has been working very hard at Shi Niang's place.
recent,
Several of the concubines in the mansion have become pregnant one after another. Du Shiniang is happy on the surface, but she is anxious in her heart.

Now, it's finally my turn to be pregnant.

She got married in the first year of the Wude era, but by the sixth year of the Wude era, she still had no children. Although she observed mourning for her grandmother and father for four years, she still had no offspring, which made her extremely anxious.

She's finally pregnant.

Du Shiniang cried her heart out.

Li Yi comforted her for a while, and she finally calmed down.

We can't finish the whole roasted lamb.
We took them back to their room, away from the greasy smell, and had some millet and sweet potato porridge first.

The next day,

Li Yi miserably got up at the fourth watch, changed his clothes, and went to court.

Although Shengyefang is very close to the East Palace, unlike some minor officials who live in the south of the city and have to travel ten miles to attend court, they can't sleep in late.

Fortunately, there wasn't much nightlife in this era.

Go to bed early,
I got up at four in the morning, having had enough sleep.

Outside the East Palace gate,
A waiting room for the leak has been set up.

This was a rest area prepared for officials waiting for the palace gates to open before the morning court session. As the prime minister, Li Yi also had a private rest room inside.

Water clock with copper spout.

Officials strictly adhered to the times for court assemblies.

Upon entering, he saw Changsun Wuji.
The chubby imperial brother-in-law looked haggard today, with lifeless eyes and dark circles under his eyes.

"Did Lord Changsun engage in several rounds of fierce battle with his beautiful concubine last night?" Li Yi greeted him with a smile.

Changsun Wuji looked up and saw it was Li Yi. He shook his head with a wry smile, "I barely slept a wink last night."

"What's troubling you?"

“My dear in-law, to be honest, I’m planning to resign as prime minister, and my uncle will also resign and request to be transferred to a post outside the capital.”

Li Yi was not surprised to hear this.

"Has Lord Changsun really made up his mind?"

"Ah."

Changsun Wuji was weak and unwilling to resign as prime minister. However, his sister persuaded him first, and then his uncle called him to his residence and persuaded him for a long time.

After his uncle's analysis, Changsun Wuji finally understood how unfavorable the current situation was for both of them.

Wang Gui was promoted to Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat and concurrently Right Vice Minister to the Crown Prince, precisely to replace his maternal uncle as Chancellor.

However, he still harbored a sliver of hope, thinking that his sister and uncle were overthinking things.

Today he is preparing to submit his resignation letter with his uncle.

He believed that the emperor would try to persuade him to stay, and that by declining a few times, he could stay and put an end to those people's attacks on him.

Li Yi smiled.

“That’s perfect. I also wrote a resignation letter last night. Let’s resign together.”

Changsun Wuji was surprised, "You also want to resign as prime minister?"

"I have been resigning from my position as prime minister to His Majesty, but His Majesty has not granted my request. However, I feel that I am indeed not suitable to be prime minister. I have heard that people now call me the Three-Decree Prime Minister. Hahaha."

Changsun Wuji couldn't bring himself to laugh.

Although he had mocked Li Yi for being a "three-decree minister," even though Li Yi was merely a figurehead in the Hall of State Affairs, the emperor trusted him implicitly.

The time has come.
The palace gates opened.
The morning court session began.
As expected, Li Yi was the first to resign from several positions, including Attendant-in-Ordinary, Minister of War, Governor of Yongzhou, and General of the Left Guard.

The emperor forbade it, and he refused in the palace.

Then Changsun Wuji stepped forward and presented two letters of resignation.

One letter was from Gao Shilian, the emperor's maternal uncle, who apologized for his failure as prime minister and requested to leave the capital. The other was a letter of resignation from Changsun Wuji, who also requested to resign from his position as Right Minister of Works.

Li Shimin accepted the two letters of resignation and examined them for a long time on his throne.

at last,

The emperor raised his head.

He slowly began to speak, “Gao Shilian and I are not only ruler and subject, but also old friends, relatives by marriage, and meritorious officials. He has made a grave mistake this time and has requested to be transferred to a post outside the capital. I have granted his request.”

"Gao Shilian was dismissed from his positions as Chancellor and Right Vice-Chancellor of the Crown Prince, and demoted to Governor of Anzhou."

Li Shimin looked at Changsun Wuji.

“Fuji is my brother-in-law and a trusted confidant. Now he has repeatedly requested to resign from his position as prime minister, and the empress has also tried her best to persuade him. I am very helpless.”

An imperial edict was issued, removing Changsun Wuji from his positions as Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel and concurrently Left Vice Minister to the Crown Prince.

He was appointed a first-rank official, granted the title of Grand General of the Palace Attendants, and later appointed Minister of Works.

When Changsun Wuji heard that he had been dismissed from his position as prime minister, his face fell. He had not expected that the emperor would actually dismiss him from his post.

"His Majesty,"

"I dare not accept the title of Minister of Works. If a relative of the empress is appointed to one of the Three Dukes, it will invite criticism from Your Majesty. Please withdraw your decree."

Changsun Wuji repeatedly requested to resign.

Much later, Li Shimin revoked the title of Minister of Works.

Changsun Wuji was promoted to the rank of Grand Master of the Palace and concurrently held the first-rank official position, but he was not granted any other substantive post.

(End of this chapter)