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

Chapter 740 Remembering the Retired Emperor
“Feng Shihui, the prefect of Gangzhou, rebelled after taking up residence in Xinhui.”

In the Hall of Chongxian, the emperor stood among the shelves of books and couldn't help but sigh.

The rebellion in Lingnan was not over yet; on the contrary, it was showing signs of intensifying. Gangzhou, located at the mouth of the Pearl River and southwest of Guangzhou, had rebelled, which shows how intense the situation had become.

Li Yi, who was serving the emperor, was flipping through a scroll of books but didn't seem to care much about them.

"Feng Shihui is Feng Xuan's son. Feng Xuan joined forces with Ning Changzhen and others to rebel, so it was expected that his son would rebel sooner or later."

Liu Lancheng, the governor of Guangzhou, has already submitted a memorial to the court. After taking office in Guangzhou, he has already trained the naval and land troops and strengthened the city's defenses. He had long been prepared for Feng Sanguan's rebellion.

In fact, Feng Sanguan had no choice but to rebel; if he didn't act soon, Liu Lancheng would capture him. His hasty rebellion now was nothing more than a death throes.

Gangzhou is now surrounded by Liu Lancheng of Guangzhou, Chen Longshu of Longzhou, and Feng Ang of Gaozhou. It won't be long before His Majesty hears news of Liu Lancheng's victory.

Liu Lancheng didn't need to exert too much effort in dealing with the rebellions of Feng Xuan and his son Feng Sanguan; he only needed to express his support for Feng Ang and his son to send troops to quell these rebellions.

The brothers Feng Ang and Feng Xuan had been fighting for many years, and now Feng Ang would naturally not miss this opportunity.

The rebellion in Lingnan was essentially an internal conflict between the three major families of Feng, Ning, and Chen. Feng Ang and others chose to use the power of the imperial court to deal with Feng Xuan and others, while Feng Xuan and Ning Changzhen allied with the Li and Liao forces.

The imperial court has no need to rush; it just needs to stabilize the three core points of the Guang-Guang border region.

Sit tight on the Diaoyutai.

"The affairs of Lingnan must be handled gradually. First, we should strengthen control over the three prefectures of Guangxi, Guangdong, and Jiaozhou by sending officials and stationing troops, while simultaneously developing maritime trade."
Support Feng Ang and others in suppressing the forces of Feng Xuan and others who opposed the imperial court.

With this ebb and flow, the imperial court could continuously infiltrate and expand its power in Lingnan, using three key points to expand, forming lines from points and then extending to the whole area from lines.

Ultimately, the entire Lingnan region will have to submit to the king's rule. At that time, registering households, measuring land, paying taxes, and performing corvée labor will all be inevitable.

After all,
The Lingnan region, especially places like Jiaozhi,
When the Central Plains were strong, they could only obediently submit. But when the Central Plains were in chaos, they would often take advantage of the chaos to carve out their own territory, and the local powerful families would rise up in the chaos.

"Did the Prince of Yi'an plead with you?" the emperor asked.

"There definitely is. His sixth son married a woman from the Ji family in Henan, who is the younger sister of my concubine. I have a good relationship with the sixth son at the Prince of Yi'an's residence. He's been practically living at my house these past few days."

Li Yi didn't hide this matter either.
"Your Majesty, Li Yizong brought this upon himself and deserves to die. Prince Yi'an is also deeply remorseful and is willing to take the lead in cooperating with the land survey and paying grain into the granary."

Moreover, he was willing to donate 5,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of grain to the imperial court!

"We only ask that Your Majesty allow them to collect and bury Li Yizong's remains as soon as possible, and we also hope that Your Majesty will show leniency and pardon Li Yizong's wives, concubines, and young children."

Five thousand acres of land, ten thousand bushels of millet.

This was originally a favor promised by Li Xiaochang, who asked his son Yiyu to ask Li Yi for help.

Li Yi suggested presenting it to the imperial court, with the most important thing being to get them to express their support for the land restriction order and the new policy of public granaries, especially to take the lead in measuring the amount of land.

Reveal all the fields that were previously hidden, and also reveal the households that were being sheltered.

Admit your mistakes sincerely, and stand at attention when you're punished.

Only in this way can the Prince of Yi'an's mansion survive this calamity.

Li Shimin sneered, "When the rebel army marched south, Li Xiaochang, as the magistrate of Huayin, took the initiative to offer up Yongfeng Granary to welcome the rebel army, which was indeed a meritorious act. The grain from Yongfeng Granary was very timely."

The retired emperor also remembered his old friendship with Li Yuantong, and in addition to Li Yuantong's contribution to the Yongfeng Granary, he later specially rewarded him with the title of Prince of Yi'an and made him a member of the Imperial Clan Court, treating him very well.

to be frank,
Besides donating Yongfeng Granary, did Li Xiaochang achieve any other merits afterward?

He was originally just a county magistrate. He had been in charge of Lizhou for several years, but he had not achieved any political success. Instead, he had committed many illegal acts.

They spent their days hunting, frequently oppressing and extorting merchants, and even sending their troops to plunder barbarians and sell them into slavery…

The emperor glanced at Li Yi twice, "Forget it, let's not talk about those things anymore. Now that Li Yizong has been executed and Li Xiaochang has realized his mistakes..."
"Then I will make an exception and do you, Wuyi, a favor."

The emperor summoned the eunuchs.

He announced that all of Li Yizong's wives, concubines, and children, who had been confiscated and enslaved, would be given to Li Yi as slaves.

"Those confiscated fields, houses, money, silk, grain, slaves, cattle, horses, etc., I will not bestow upon you; they will all be used for national purposes."

The emperor bestowed Li Yi with Li Yi's wives, concubines, and children as slaves, essentially to gain favor for Li Yi. By transforming them from government slaves into private slaves, Li Yi would have complete control over them.

It's his business to set these people free when the time comes.

Li Xiaochang definitely has to thank Li Yi.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"No need to thank me. He has already used up all the favors and kindness Li Xiaochang had shown him in the past. He should behave himself from now on."

I will retain his title of Prince of Yi'an this time.

But this is your only chance. If you repeat the offense, don't blame the law for being merciless.

Having received the emperor's order,

Li Yi then went with the eunuch to fetch the person.

Li Yizong had many wives and concubines, and even in his thirties, he already had a large number of children.

With his death, his wives, concubines, and children were no longer reduced to government slaves; they too plummeted from the heights of power to the depths of despair, though only for three days.
But they have already tasted bitterness and despair.

When they were led out

Their eyes were filled with numbness.

When he saw Li Yi and heard the emperor's decree to bestow Li Yi as a slave, his eyes finally showed some reaction.

Li Yizong's wife also came from the prestigious Liu family, whose ancestors were descendants of Liu Yuan, a Xiongnu chieftain.

This woman was quite resilient; although her headdress of jewels and her brocade robes were long gone, replaced by coarse cloth, she still managed to maintain her composure.
But from the emperor's decree, he immediately understood that he was to escape this suffering.

She quickly stepped forward and bowed, saying, "This servant greets the Prince of Dai."

“Sister-in-law, there’s no need to be so polite. I’ll take you and your nephews and nieces back to the Prince of Yi’an’s residence first, and then I’ll write the release papers and register them with the government.”

Liu burst into tears.

The concubines of Li Yizong, who had been doing menial tasks such as sweeping and washing in the Yeting Palace for several days, and had not been able to eat or sleep well, all wept with joy. Li Yizong used to be a Duke of the Prefecture, and later he was demoted to a Duke of the County, but he was still a Duke of the County, which was a high rank. Moreover, he was the eldest son of the Prince of Yi'an.

They lived a life of luxury, wearing fine clothes and eating delicious food.

These three days,
That was so despairing that I wanted to commit suicide. If I hadn't lacked the courage and hadn't had so little time, I really would have done it.

He comforted a group of sobbing women.

Li Yi led his group of sisters-in-law back to the Prince of Yi'an's residence.

They suffered greatly from this calamity, and their original clothes, jewelry, savings, and dowry were confiscated and would naturally not be returned.

Even the personal maids and servants they were used to, and even the dowry servants they brought with them, were not returned.

They cried their hearts out the whole way.

Upon arriving at the Prince of Yi'an's residence,

Li Xiaochang had already received Li Yiyu's notification, so he quickly led his family out to greet him.

The eldest son is dead.
The corpses were still scattered and hung in various gates of Chang'an.

At least the grandchildren came back.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back." Li Xiaochang held his eldest grandson, looking at how thin his grandson had become and how he was still in a state of fear, and felt extremely distressed.

A group of people returned home.

Li Xiaochang invited Li Yi to the hall.
Liu personally brewed tea for Li Yi.

Li Yi asked for paper and pen, and immediately began to write the documents of release, granting amnesty to all the sisters-in-law, nephews and nieces whom the emperor had bestowed upon him.

Write the document well.

Liu couldn't help but cry again.

"Please keep this safe, Uncle. Have someone go to the government office to complete the formalities later."

Li Xiaochang nodded and accepted it.
Looking at the release document and the slave contracts that Li Yi sent out, he felt extremely annoyed.

A dignified prince,

The eldest son was killed without hesitation, and his wives, concubines, and children were forced into slavery for several days.

What a disgrace!
Utter humiliation
Li Xiaochang found it hard to swallow his anger.

"Uncle, let me also give you a few words of advice. You are a meritorious official, a founding hero of Taiyuan, and a member of the imperial family registered under the clan name."

Some things require leading by example.

This time, Dalang's situation was also a dangerous situation.

But Dalang has been acting this way for more than just two days. If he had been restrained earlier, he wouldn't have caused such a disaster.

Li Xiaochang sighed, but in his heart he still felt that although his son was wrong, the emperor should not be so heartless.

"I had to beg His Majesty for a long time to be able to bring my sister-in-law and nephews and nieces home this time."

Uncle, you must remember to cooperate with the new policies of the court, set a good example, report the land area truthfully as soon as possible, complete the inventory, and hand over the grain from the public granary in full as soon as possible.

"Also, Liu Lang previously said he wanted to offer 5,000 mu of land and asked me for help. We're family, so there's no need to be so formal."

However, when I pleaded with His Majesty, I offered 5,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of grain to the court in the name of my uncle.

We cannot break our promise regarding this matter.

Li Xiaochang gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle is already extremely grateful for being able to bring the person back. I will immediately arrange for someone to present these 5,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of millet to the imperial court."

Li Yi held the teacup.

“I have a small suggestion for you, Uncle: in Guanzhong and Henan, especially around Chang’an and Luoyang, you could sell some of the fertile land. It doesn’t have to be too much, just 10,000 or 2,000 mu, to farmers who don’t have enough land, or to your landless tenants.”

His Majesty is implementing new policies, and Uncle has set a good example.

Li Xiaochang's expression shifted between light and shadow.
The farmland around Chang'an and Luoyang, where one mu is equivalent to ten mu in Kuanxiang, is all high-quality land with no market value.

But in the end, he said, "Okay, then I will offer another 5,000 mu of land around Chang'an and Luoyang for sale."

"Uncle, please remember, this land cannot be sold from one hand to the other, nor can it be sold to your own relatives. Even if nobles and powerful families offer high prices, do not sell it."

They were sold to commoners who lacked sufficient land through equal distribution, or to landless tenants.

Li Yili, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore.

They just donated 5,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of grain, and now they want to give up another 5,000 mu of land in the wealthy capital region, which cannot be sold to nobles and powerful families.

"Can ordinary tenant farmers afford to buy them?"

Li Yi took a sip of tea and said unhurriedly, "Second Brother, selling these five thousand acres of land is not for making money, but to show our stance, to show that the Prince of Yi'an's Mansion firmly supports His Majesty and the court's new policies."
We must tell the world that what happened to Dalang was just him venting his personal grievances while drunk, and it was by no means an intentional act of opposing the new policies of the imperial court.

Whether ordinary people and tenants can afford to buy it is not the key point. If they don't have money, they will sell their land in smaller portions, with each household selling ten or eight acres.

If you can't pay in cash, you can write an IOU and pay it back gradually.

But one thing: don't let it turn into usury.

Li Xiaochang gritted his teeth and nodded in agreement.

This time, he lost his eldest son and one-seventh of his family fortune.

Then they were forced to donate 5,000 mu of land and 10,000 shi of millet to the court, and now they are forced to agree to sell 5,000 mu of fertile land around Chang'an and Luoyang.

He lost his son and also lost his land!
At this moment, while harboring resentment towards Li Shimin, Li Xiaochang couldn't help but reminisce about the time when the retired emperor was on the throne.
Compared to the current emperor, the retired emperor Li Yuan was truly compassionate, righteous, and generous.

If the Emperor Emeritus had handled this matter, he would never have been so cruel and ruthless.

(End of this chapter)