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

Chapter 739 Don’t save me until you die
In Dali Temple prison,
Li Yizong was completely sober.

He was in a state of utter panic, but on the surface he pretended to be nonchalant and shouted loudly at the jailers outside.

"Get Yeye a different cell. This place is damp and moldy, and it's teeming with rats."

"They're all dead, but Grandpa is the founding duke of Pingkou County of the imperial court. Quickly prepare wine and food for Grandpa, he's hungry."

···
No matter how much he shouted, not a single jailer paid him any attention.

In general,

The prison guards were always very polite to these prisoners of status, no matter how serious their crimes were; even a starved camel is bigger than a horse.

Providing them with some conveniences can bring them a lot of benefits in return.

Even the prison guards rely on this to make money.

But now,

No one wanted to talk to Li Yizong, because that arrogant fellow wouldn't live past today.

At noon, he was to be beheaded in the East Market.

Besides, this guy has a foul mouth.

at last,

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review has arrived.

He read the emperor's decree to Li Yizong, ordering his immediate execution.

Today, at this very moment.

"Open the cell, take the prisoner away, and immediately escort him to the execution ground at Gouji Ridge in the East Market!"

Li Yizong was terrified.

A look of disbelief.

"I only killed a county official and a few runners, a few worthless lives. What crime did I commit that warrants death?"

"I am the Duke of Pingkou County, and my father is the Prince of Yi'an. He presented Yongfeng Granary to welcome His Majesty into Guanzhong. Grand Tutor and Prince Li Yi of Dai are my brothers..."

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review looked at this fellow with disdain.

Is this as simple as killing a few people?

You killed officials who were carrying out the new policies of the imperial court and were tasked with surveying and measuring land. You were going against the emperor and leading the charge in defying his decree.

Besides, Wang Lingshi was a member of the Taiyuan Wang clan, one of the five surnames and seven clans. You think you can just kill him like that?
"Stop wailing."

When the jailer went in to take him away, Li Yizong was truly terrified, and his face turned deathly pale.

"I want to see my father, I want to see Minister Li, I want to see the Emperor!"

Unable to bear his struggles and screams any longer, a jailer delivered a knee strike, leaving the spoiled brat breathless.

The jailers dragged him out like a dead dog.

"I haven't had my last meal yet. Didn't they say there would be a drinking session before the execution? I want to drink!" Li Yizong exclaimed.

The Vice Minister of the Court of Judicial Review sneered twice.

"Your Majesty's decree must be carried out immediately. The time has come, it's too late. We'll have to eat in the next life."

They were dragged out of Dali Temple Prison, locked in a prison van, and taken directly to Gouji Ridge in Dongshi.

Officials were already beating drums and gongs in the East Market.
The execution was announced to the merchants and the common people.

Everyone was astonished to hear that the person to be executed was a county magistrate, who was also the son of a prince of the imperial clan.

But when they heard about his crimes, everyone applauded.

Some people were whispering among themselves, discussing the hidden information behind the case.

"It seems that the court is serious about the policy of paying two liters of grain per mu for the public granary, especially the policy of officials and gentry paying grain together."

"Indeed, they executed a county magistrate directly."

"I don't think it's that simple."

"Oh?"

"I think the imperial court will definitely conduct a comprehensive survey of land ownership this time, and the nobles will not be able to escape it either."

"This is a good thing! Seven or eight tenths of the land in the world has been seized by nobles and powerful families, yet they are exempt from taxes, grain levies, and corvée labor."
Now they're supposed to collect grain from the granaries by the acreage, but they've hidden most of their land. If the amount isn't tallied, they'll still try to evade it.

"If they pay more, the burden on us ordinary people will be less."

Amid the discussions,

More and more people gathered to watch.
at last,

Li Yizong was taken to the execution ground in a prison cart.
"The time has come,"

Verify identity.

cut.

A burly executioner entered the arena carrying a large sword.

Li Yizong looked at the large sword with extreme fear.

He was forced to kneel down by two prison guards, and his head was pressed against a wooden block.

The wooden stump was dark red, and who knows how much blood of condemned prisoners it had been stained with.

Li Yizong smelled a foul odor.
The smell of blood was accompanied by a foul stench.

It shot straight to the top of the head.
He finally realized he was going to die.

He regretted it.

He regretted killing those seven people in a fit of rage.

His family owned thousands of acres of fertile land. Even if each acre yielded two liters of millet, it would only amount to two thousand shi of millet a year. There was no need for him to lose his head.

"Execution!"

"cut!"

With the order given by the Ministry of Justice official overseeing the execution,
The executioner raised his broadsword high.

Li Yizong urinated.

incontinence.

He begged for mercy in a panic, tears streaming down his face.

Unfortunately, it was all too late.

The broadsword fell,

Heads fell to the ground.

The blood soaked the severed head mound once more.

Li Yiyu finally managed to squeeze through the crowded throng to the execution ground.

But all they saw was the head that had fallen to the ground, its eyes wide open, dead but with its face filled with terror.

The food box in his hand fell to the ground.

"Brother!" In the end, it was too late; the elder brother died without ever having this farewell meal.

Li Yiyu cried as he tried to step forward to collect his deceased brother's body for burial.
"The imperial court has decreed that Li Yizong has defied the imperial order and committed murder, a heinous crime. He shall be beheaded and his head shall be displayed at the south gate of Chang'an."

The body must not be placed in the coffin.

Officials of the Ministry of Justice

They took Li Yizong's head and fried it in oil so it wouldn't rot quickly.

They were placed in a small cage and sent to the south gate of Chang'an.
Hanging on the city wall
Officials, gentry, and commoners entering and leaving Chang'an could all see this severed head. Below the head, a large notice was posted, announcing his crime of disobeying the imperial order and committing murder.

Even his headless corpse was dismembered into eight pieces and hung above the gates of Chang'an.

In the end, Li Yiyu only brought back his brother's blood-stained clothes and a lock of hair.

He had just gotten home.
Then the government officials arrived.

They came to confiscate Li Yizong's property, taking his wives and concubines to the Yeting Palace, and confiscating all his houses, fields, slaves, cattle, and horses.

Faced with these bureaucratic officials who only followed official procedures,
And behind them followed the soldiers of the Martial Guard.

No one from the Prince of Yi'an's mansion dared to stop them.

Li Xiaochang hid in his study and refused to show himself. He asked his second son, Li Yili, to deal with the officials. "My eldest son has never separated from the family. We have always lived together and shared property. He has no private property."

Li Yili relayed his father's words.

“We are here by imperial decree to search and confiscate your property,” the official in scarlet robes said without any politeness, showing no respect for the Prince of Yi’an’s residence.

“The Prince of Yi’an has seven sons, so we will take away one-seventh of the Prince of Yi’an’s property.”

The official was directly ordered to help Li Yizong divide his family property.

"Please cooperate with the Prince's Mansion."

Li Yili angrily went to report to his father.
Li Xiaochang, who was hiding in his study and refusing to show himself, gritted his teeth as he listened.

“Li Er killed my eldest son and wanted to seize my family business. He has no regard for our past friendship and merits.”

"What a heartless and ungrateful Li Lao Er!"

anger,
But after the anger subsided,

Li Xiaochang could only swallow his anger and swallow his pride. Yi Yu returned and relayed Li Yi's words to him.

Some people in the court wanted to frame Emperor Yoshimatsu's case as a treason.
If they were truly guilty of treason, the entire clan would be doomed.

"Let them copy it."

"Father, what about my brother's children? They're still so young."

Li Xiaochang's face was ashen. "When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. Dalang's branch has fallen, and we can't protect them anymore."

"Could we ask Wu Yi for help? At the very least, we need to protect my nephews and nieces."

“If Li Yi were willing to help, he would have done so long ago. We can’t count on him.”

Li Yiyu said, "I will go and ask Xia Wuyi again. He can't protect my brother, but he can protect these children. His Majesty has always favored him, so he will surely give him this much face."

Li Xiaochang gritted his teeth,
"Go ahead,"

We can't just stand by and watch our grandchildren suffer the same fate.

"Let's see if we can save Dalang's wives and concubines as well."

After thinking for a moment, Li Xiaochang added, "When you see Wuyi, tell him that the Yi'an Prince's Mansion will not only truthfully hand over one-seventh of its wealth and property, but also..."

Furthermore, they were willing to fully cooperate with the imperial court in assessing land ownership, and before winter, all the land under their name would be subject to a tax of two liters of millet per mu (unit of land area) to be paid to the public granary.
Furthermore, I am willing to donate 10,000 mu of fertile land to the imperial court.
And they donated 10,000 shi of grain.

Li Yili was shocked. "Father, we can just pay the grain from the granary. Why do we have to donate 10,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of grain?"

"Money is just an external thing; let's protect the family first," Li Xiaochang said unwillingly.

Li Yili said, "It would be better to give 5,000 mu of land to Wuyi and ask him for help than to give it to the imperial court."

"Is Wu Yi lacking land? He recently sold off several thousand acres of land all at once, and we bought several hundred acres from him. Are you going to give it to him now?"

"Then give it to someone who's willing to help. I don't believe that all the important officials in the court look down on five thousand acres of land."

When Li Xiaochang heard his son say this, his eyes lit up.

"Find Changsun Wuji; he likes fields."

"But Changsun Wuji is currently without a position."

Li Xiaochang sneered twice, "Even though Changsun Wuji no longer holds any official position, he is still the Empress's younger brother and His Majesty's confidant. He can still frequently enter and leave the palace and even the Emperor's bedroom."

On the same day,

Li Xiaochang then arranged for his second son, Li Yili, to go to Changsun Wuji, offering to donate 5,000 mu of fertile land in the hope of saving his grandchildren.

He then sent his sixth son, Li Yiyu, to find Li Yi.
They were also willing to donate 5,000 mu of land, hoping that, for the sake of their family, he would spare his poor nephews and nieces.

Although it is somewhat inappropriate to seek help from two different sources for the same matter.

But Li Xiaochang can't care about those things now.

This is not only about protecting your grandchildren, but also about protecting yourself.

Li Yili rushed to the Duke of Qi's mansion.

Make a home visit.

He presented a gold-embossed business card, requesting an audience with the Duke of Qi.

The gatekeeper nodded to Li Erlang and took the name card into the mansion.

Li Yili waited in the lobby for a long time.

The gatekeeper of the Duke of Qi's mansion had just returned and said that the Duke of Qi was not in the mansion.

Li Yili wanted to stay and wait, but the steward had a cold and unapproachable expression on his face. He endured it and had no choice but to say that he had important business to discuss.

"I'm so sorry, but the Duke is not in the manor. If the young master has something to attend to, please leave a note, and I will definitely pass it on when the Duke returns."

Li Yili had no choice but to do so.

As soon as he left, the steward took the invitation inside.

"gone?"

"Yes, he said he had something important to discuss and left this message."

Changsun Wuji took it, opened it, and read it.

He stroked his long beard.

Five thousand acres of land—Prince Li Xiaochang of Yi'an was indeed very generous.

Changsun Wuji did want those five thousand acres of land, but Li Yizong had acted recklessly this time, making such a big fuss about it.
Now, the head is hanging at the south gate of Chang'an, and the rest of the corpses have been dismembered and hung at other city gates.

The emperor is making an example of someone to scare others.
This incident of Li Yizong killing the officials of Liangtian County can be used to deter those who oppose the new policies.

Changsun Wuji closed the invitation and tossed it aside.
It seems the emperor's brother-in-law is serious this time, so he'd better not get involved in this mess for now.

Given the current climate, it's unnecessary for him, the emperor's brother-in-law who has been severely overstepping the land quota, to defy the rules and add another 5,000 mu of land.

Li Yi is truly ruthless; he can even stand by and watch his own brother die.

(End of this chapter)