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

Chapter 742 The Prince and Young Master Follow in His Footsteps

Pingkang Square.

Southern music,

A luxurious carriage stopped in front of a quiet courtyard.

A servant in blue lifted the carriage curtain, and a man dressed in brocade robes stepped out.

A tall, thin man at the entrance of the courtyard immediately came forward, nodded and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings to the Duke."

Li Yili snorted coldly, "You son of a bitch, I'm no longer some damned duke, I'm just a county magistrate now."

If you spout nonsense again, I'll cut your tongue out.

"Have Yuan Dalang and Changsun Sanlang arrived yet?"

"They've arrived and are having tea. A new batch of fine tea has just arrived at the courtyard; it's loose tea transported from West Lake in Hangzhou, all of it is buds."

"Heh, when did you start drinking loose tea in your little courtyard?" Li Yili said.

Ma Wu flattered, "Minister Li has started the trend of drinking loose tea. Loose tea is rare, and it took a lot of effort for our little courtyard to get some."

"What's so rare about loose tea?" Li Yili flicked his sleeves and walked into the courtyard.

Ma Wu followed with a smile, saying, "The best loose tea in the world comes from the Li Situ family. You are Li Situ's cousin, so naturally you have no shortage of good loose tea."

In the past, people drank less loose tea and mainly drank compressed tea cakes.

The main reason is that tea cakes are easier to store and transport, while loose tea is easily damaged and prone to mold, especially green tea.

Generally, only in tea-producing areas will some people make loose tea for drinking.

In places like Chang'an, where tea is not produced, it is generally impossible to find loose tea, and no one drinks it.

Traditional compressed tea cakes also led to the practice of brewing tea, but only Li Yi preferred loose-leaf tea, and he had spent a lot of time and money on it over the years.

He bought tea gardens and built tea workshops in various places to produce loose tea, compressed tea, brick tea, etc. He himself liked to drink loose tea, so there were also green tea, black tea, etc.

In Chang'an, it gradually set off a trend.

However, loose tea was indeed quite rare in Chang'an.

"You wouldn't be trying to fool me with Gao Mo, would you?"

"How could that be? They are all top-quality Hangzhou West Lake green tea and Huzhou Zisun tea, all tender buds, all sifted, without a single broken piece, all whole, flat strips with a slight natural curve, and you can even see tiny fish-shaped leaves on the edges."

Li Yili and he walked and talked as they arrived at the inner courtyard.

This small courtyard was a brothel.

But not like those meat vendors in Northern Opera.

This is an extremely upscale place, with a small courtyard, a stunningly beautiful young woman who is skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, and only serves one table of guests at a time.

Those who came to greet and see off the guests were all high-ranking officials, nobles, and princes.

The cost is naturally extremely high.

But those who can come are all people of status; those without status, even if they are wealthy businessmen, will not be received.

The courtyard is quiet and elegant.

The sound of the piano is melodious.

"Brother Yuan, Brother Changsun, I am late."

In the hall where flowers were arranged and incense was burned,
Liu Qingqing is playing the zither.
Two young men were drinking tea and listening to music below, completely mesmerized by the beautiful woman.

"Brother Li, you're late."

“Then I’ll punish myself with three cups of wine,” Li Yili said.

The burly Yuan Dalang smiled and waved, "We're listening to Liu Qiniang play the zither. We'll have tea, not wine."

“Yes, we’ll drink West Lake green tea today, it’s light and refreshing,” said Changsun Sanlang.

Li Yili took his seat.

Liu Qingqing, meanwhile, continued playing her zither, not even glancing up at her clients.

The three of them, however, didn't care at all and continued to stare intently.

When the song ended,

The three of them cheered.

They just keep using the same few words to praise, nothing new.

Come here, beauty.

I brewed a fresh pot of tea.
A rosewood tea box, a silver tea caddy, and other silver tea sets, coupled with this beautiful woman from Jiangnan, naturally beautiful and petite, who, despite her profession, remained immaculate.

The three young masters' breathing quickened.

Li Yili stared at the beauty with fascination. He had seen and played with many beauties from the southern part of Pingkangfang, and he had even tasted the beauties from the northern part.

Perhaps the only person he was so infatuated with was Liu Qingqing, who came from the water towns of Jiangnan.

It is said that her family was originally an official family located on the shores of West Lake in Hangzhou. Her grandfather resigned from his post and retired to the lakeside, living a leisurely and comfortable life thanks to his substantial ancestral wealth. From a young age, she received instruction from renowned teachers and became proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.

No one knows what her family went through, or why she came to Chang'an and became a talented woman in Pingkangfang who performed southern opera but did not sell her body.

Despite being a newcomer, she quickly won the favor of many nobles, scholars, and literati with her beauty and talent.

She is like the misty rain over West Lake, captivating and enchanting.

Especially for Guizhou natives like Li Yili, Yuan Hongshan, and Changsun Ya, the more this is the case, the more obsessed they become.

She is like a pure lotus blooming in the world, rising from the mud unsullied.

The more unattainable something is, the more it excites them.

The three young masters all wanted to pursue Liu Qingqing and conquer this beauty, taking her as their concubine.

Unfortunately, even if they were willing to spend the money, Liu Qingqing wouldn't accept it.

The beauty brews a pot of tea.

The three of them praised it highly, as if it were fine wine.

"Please enjoy your tea, gentlemen. I'll go play another tune." After serving a cup of tea, Liu Qingqing went back to play the zither.

The three of them stared at each other for a long time.

He then came to his senses. The three were close friends with similar interests: hunting, polo, and, more importantly, fine wine and beautiful women.

"I've been dealing with some family matters lately and haven't had the time," Li Yili said.

“I understand. We’ve heard about your brother’s situation too.” Yuan Hongshan felt indignant on his behalf. “That Situ Li Yi is your uncle’s adopted son. Why won’t he help in this matter?”

“Yes, you and he are cousins ​​from the same grandfather,” Changsun Ya added.

The three纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy and powerful families) got together and started talking about everything from Li Yizong's death to Situ Li Yi's refusal to help, and then to the new policies of the court.

"Let's have some bar food," Yuan Hongshan said.

This drink is still too bland.

The maidservant who was serving nearby immediately went to fetch the wine.

With wine comes the need for snacks, so they ordered braised pork and roast goose. At this point, the three of them were in high spirits and forgot about the beautiful woman playing the zither, who remained pure despite her surroundings.

After a few drinks,
The three people's voices gradually grew louder.

"This tax is being levied on us meritorious nobles; it's outrageous."

"Sigh, if the retired emperor were still in power, how could such a thing possibly happen!"

"The Emperor Emeritus has abdicated, and all the former ministers in the court have been demoted to remote areas."
"A new emperor, a new court."

Li Yili said, "When this new emperor raises his sword, he'll cut down even his own people. How much land and grain does your family plan to donate this time, and how much land do you plan to sell to those farmers?"

Yuan Hongshan chuckled coldly twice, "Why should I donate grain and sell land? What do you mean by selling land? I'll accept the two liters of grain tax per mu in this charitable granary."

I've accepted the imperial court's order to survey and measure land, to investigate both large and small plots of land, and to identify any hidden plots.

We'll pay whatever we're owed, but asking us to donate farmland or sell our land is out of the question!

"Exactly, why should we?" Changsun Ya shouted as well.

One of these men was the Commander of the Right Guard, and the other was a Thousand-Cattle Guard; both were officials of the fifth or sixth rank.

Yuan Hongshan was born into the Yuan clan of Henan, and his maternal uncle was Liu Deyu, the Right General of the Martial Guard. Both uncle and nephew Liu Deyu surrendered to the Tang dynasty from Luoyang in the early years of the Wude era and subsequently served in the Prince of Qin's court.
After the palace coup, Liu Deyu was appointed as the Left Inner Commander of the Crown Prince and later promoted to Right General of the Martial Guard, where he was highly valued. Yuan Hongshan was also promoted to Commander of the Army.

Changsun Ya was even more extraordinary. Empress Changsun was his aunt, the emperor was his uncle, and his father was Changsun Anye, the empress's half-brother and the Right General of the Imperial Guard.

Liu Deyu and Changsun Anye were both former subordinates of the Prince of Qin's mansion.

But both of them were complaining about the new emperor and the new policies.

They even began to miss the retired emperor.

"Officials and gentry alike pay grain taxes, with each mu (unit of land area) paying two liters of grain from the public granary. Who came up with this idea? Why should we, the nobles and relatives of the nobility, also have to pay this grain tax?"

"What kind of aristocracy don't even have the privilege of being exempt from classes?"

Liu Deyu and Yuan Hongshan were both from noble families with a lot of land.

Two liters of millet were paid per mu, which meant that at least 1,800 shi of millet had to be paid annually.

For nobles like them, 1,800 shi of grain was not much. Nowadays, the price of grain was 10 coins per dou of millet, and 1 shi was no more than 100 coins.

A thousand bushels of millet is worth no more than a hundred strings of cash.

Yuan Hongshan is hosting a dinner party today at the Southern Opera House in Pingkangfang. This is not the kind of lowly prostitute from the Northern Opera House that can be visited for two hundred coins.

A reservation here costs 3,200 yuan, tea costs 3,200 yuan, and a table of food and drinks costs another 3,200 yuan.

Then Liu Qingqing's song, another three thousand two.

They also had to give money to Liu Qingqing, to the servants, and so on.

Spending money here will cost at least 20,000 to 30,000 yuan.

A bushel of millet costs no more than a hundred coins, but a single consumption here can cost two or three hundred bushels of millet.

But Yuan Hongshan came here and spent money like water, spending twenty or thirty strings of cash at a time without batting an eye. But when the court asked him to pay two liters of millet per mu, he got angry like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

Changsun Ya was also shouting incessantly.

"Some people just don't care about family ties. Your cousin Li Yi is like that, and so is my uncle Changsun Wuji."

Even my aunt, who is the Empress, is biased towards outsiders…

As the group grew more drunk, their cursing intensified.

“The Emperor Emeritus treated his subjects very well. If he were still alive, I would still be a Duke,” Li Yili said.

The retired emperor was still in power, so his elder brother certainly wouldn't be executed for killing a minor official; in fact, he would be dismembered and hung on the city wall after his death.

His family's land wouldn't suddenly wipe out 20% of their assets.

"Back then, the retired emperor conferred titles upon eighteen princes in a single day."

"The rewards for meritorious officials are even more generous. Pei Ji was granted 100,000 mu of fertile land in one go."

"But now, the emperor is trying to seize grain and land from the imperial family and meritorious officials."

The three drunken playboys became increasingly unrestrained in their speech.

not far away,
Liu Qingqing gently stroked the strings of the zither.
The music was elegant and beautiful, but it was like playing the lute to a cow.

She secretly memorized the bold remarks of the three regular customers.

After a long time,

The three drunken young masters were carried out of the house by their stepmother and her tall, strong Kunlun slaves, and put into their respective carriages, where their attendants took them home.

Although the prices at this courtyard are high, it never keeps guests.

The guests left.

The courtyard became completely quiet.
This small courtyard, covering only a few acres, is decorated with the charm of a Jiangnan water town.

"Grandma,"
Do not entertain the three of them again.

Upon hearing this, the stepmother exclaimed in surprise, "Why? These three are all noble young men from prominent families, and they are very generous. Today, they threw down five taels of gold and also rewarded me with two bolts of fine cotton cloth."

Liu Qingqing loosened her hair, letting her long black hair hang down freely.

"These three are about to face a great calamity. We should get away from them as soon as possible to avoid getting involved!"

"What terrible trouble could they possibly be in? One is the son of the Prince of Yi'an, another is the Empress's nephew, and the third is the nephew of a third-rank general. These three are young, yet they all hold official positions of the fifth or sixth rank," the stepmother exclaimed. Such people are not to be trifled with, especially since they are always so generous.

"You won't go wrong if you listen to me. Next time you come, please refuse me."

(End of this chapter)