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

Chapter 751 The Wine and Meat Monk
The autumn wind was a bit chilly in the early morning.

The morning drums of the Sixth Street resounded.
As soon as the south gate of Chang'an City opened, Li Yi left the city.

As dawn broke, the area outside the city gates was already bustling with activity. People lined up to enter the city, some bringing firewood, others vegetables, and still others herding live sheep, pigs, chickens, or ducks. Some even slaughtered animals outside the city before transporting them inside.

The vast city of Chang'an consumed enormous amounts of resources every day, and countless villagers on the outskirts of Chang'an relied on this city for their livelihood.

Many people in the city also rushed out early in the morning.

People come and go in an endless stream.

Not far from the city gate, many thatched huts and stalls were set up along the road.

There were stalls selling breakfast and dry food, as well as tea and even a simple little market.

Li Yi dismounted and strolled around casually for a while.
"Ah Lang, the people have arrived," the steward, Li Shouyi, reminded him.

Li Xiaochang and his family came out.
A group of officials escorted them to Lingnan, a long and arduous journey of thousands of miles. However, the officials seemed to be in good spirits today.

All because they hadn't even had a chance to curse their mothers after receiving the mission.

The people from the Prince Dai's Mansion found them, explained the situation, gave them a generous reward, and promised an even greater reward after they properly escorted the Yi'an Prince's Mansion family to safety.

They couldn't afford to offend the Prince of Dai, and there were even rewards to be had, so this difficult task had turned into a lucrative one.

No one cared about the long journey and the hardships, since in addition to the reward money, the Prince's Mansion would also send stewards and servants to accompany them. They would not only help with the escort tasks, but also provide security along the way, food and supplies.

They've gone off to enjoy their retirement.

With a nephew like Li Yi managing things, Li Xiaochang and his group's journey to exile won't be too difficult.

The large family, consisting of dozens of people, rode in many carriages. They no longer needed to wear shackles or handcuffs. Although their fine clothes had been replaced with coarse cloth, at least with Li Yi's promise, the journey was much more secure.

Li Yi stepped forward.
The escorting officials quickly stopped and stepped forward to pay their respects.

"My uncle's family has been in a lot of trouble with you all along the way."

Li Yi asked them their names, and the minor officials were flattered. It was quite an achievement for Li Pingzhang to remember their names.

They quickly patted their chests and promised to do their best on the road.

"Thank you. I'd like to say a few words to my uncle and the others."

The officials wisely stepped aside.

Li Xiaochang was dressed in coarse linen clothes, but he was dressed very cleanly and tidyly.

Everything had settled down, and he was very calm.

"Your grandfather was born from an affair between the Duke of Hua and a maid. He was not recognized and served as a slave in the household of Emperor Taizu of Sui. Later, when Emperor Wen established the Sui Dynasty, he and his entire family rose to prominence. As for me, I was originally just a county magistrate, but by chance, I became a prince of the Tang Dynasty."

Now, the long journey to Lingnan has come to nothing; perhaps it was all fate.

Li Xiaochang glanced around and whispered a location.

“I buried a batch of gold and silver artifacts there, about a thousand pieces, as well as silver ingots, some jade artifacts, gemstones, etc. Find an opportunity to dig them out quietly.”

Li Yi never expected that Li Xiaochang had hidden so many treasures. Back then, Madam Guo of the Du family had also hoarded a batch of gold and silver artifacts, which she eventually used to exchange for her grandson's life with Li Yi.

"Uncle, you can keep it."

“I am going to Lingnan and I will never come back in this lifetime. My children and grandchildren will never come back either. I will give all these things to you. If it weren’t for you, my family of dozens of people would have been beheaded at Gouji Ridge long ago.”

Without power and status
Such a huge treasure,

On the contrary, it will only bring disaster and trouble.

The sun is about to rise.

Li Xiaochang led his entire family away.

The treasure was in Xinghuafang, but the land wasn't under the Li family's name, so they didn't find it during the search.

These were buried several years ago. At that time, the political situation was uncertain, and Li Xiaochang was worried about the future failure of the Li Tang dynasty. Therefore, he buried a large number of gold and silver artifacts, gold ingots, jade objects, and gemstones in advance, in case another force came to power in the future.
With these gold and silver artifacts, the Li family still has a chance to rise again.

Now tell Li Yi,
All because Li Xiaochang realized that he had been branded with the crimes of treason and wanting to become emperor, and that he would never have the chance to return. Neither he nor his children and grandchildren would be able to come back.

Throughout their journey to Lingnan, and even there afterward, they would still rely on Li Yi's help. Having experienced great ups and downs, Li Xiaochang came to accept and realize that wealth is merely an external thing.

What's the use of all that money they've amassed over the years? If it weren't for Li Yi, this whole family would be dead.

The eldest son, Yizong, lost his life because of a few hundred acres of land in a village on Bailuyuan and a little grain in the granary.

Erlang, dissatisfied with the new policies and heartbroken over the land and property confiscated because of Dalang, dared to stage a coup, hoping to restore the retired emperor and completely destroy the Yi'an Prince's Mansion.

He figured it out.
From now on, his family can only rely on Li Yi, not on the gold and silver buried underground.

He rode back to Chang'an.

Back at the Eastern Palace Council Hall,
The scribe below brought over a booklet.
"This is the confiscation of the property of the criminals involved in Li Xiaochang's treason case,"

Li Yi took it and looked through it.
The five main culprits, Li Xiaochang, Liu Deyu, Changsun Anye, Wang Junkuo, and Du Caigan, were all either princes or dukes, with the lowest rank being duke, and all holding official positions of the third rank or above.

It wasn't just five people whose property was confiscated, but five large families. Their fathers, sons, and brothers were all among those whose property was seized.

The confiscated assets were quite substantial.

The Li Xiaochang family and their nephews had several thousand hectares of land confiscated, and this was after he had already suffered losses once before.

In addition to fields and houses, a large amount of money, silk, grain, slaves, cattle, and horses were also confiscated.

The Liu Deyu family and others are in a similar situation, each owning at least several hundred hectares of land.

Changsun Anye was the Empress's elder brother. His father was Changsun Sheng, a famous general of the Sui Dynasty and a nobleman from Guanzhong. He owned a lot of land, silk, and slaves.

Wang Junkuo was originally a rogue and thief, but he was also a local armed leader since the end of the Sui Dynasty. This guy was always cunning and greedy, and he had amassed a very large fortune.

Du Caigan was from the Du clan of Jingzhao. He was able to marry into the Lu clan of Fanyang and rose to the rank of governor. Of course, he was not short of money.

Unfortunately,
Now they have all had their homes confiscated and been exiled.

All that wealth was confiscated.

Looking at the land these people had seized, it was clear how serious the land annexation by nobles and powerful families was.

And there was so much grain confiscated from their house.
Previously, when there was a food shortage and prices were so high in Chang'an, these people hoarded a large amount of grain but refused to release it, only selling it little by little to maintain high prices.

So much land was confiscated at once, much of it of which was fertile land belonging to the two capitals.

However, these fields will not be allocated to landless people; Minister of Revenue Pei Ju has already proposed this.
These lands should be prioritized for allocation to officials and meritorious soldiers who have not received enough permanent land and meritorious land previously.

The imperial court is also seriously lacking in this regard.
Not only were the permanent land grants and meritorious land grants for officials and soldiers insufficient, but the allocation of official land in the capital region was also inadequate.

In addition, there is a shortage of public land, school land, and military land in various government offices and military garrisons.

In fact, Li Yi felt that there should be no public land or official land. The people already had insufficient land to be allocated, and the court had to allocate a large amount of public land as public land or official land, so where would there be any public land left to be allocated to the people?

There are also medal fields where soldiers were awarded medals.

Nowadays, it's becoming increasingly difficult to fulfill these promises. After meritorious service and the awarding of medals, soldiers can only be assigned to border regions, and the actual rewards they receive are significantly reduced.

It is gradually becoming a mere shell of its former self.

When rewards and honors became difficult to implement, the system of self-sufficient soldiers and their own armor and horses inevitably collapsed.

Li Yi closed the booklet and got up to report to the emperor.

···
The sun is shining in the sky,
Dust billowed and shouts echoed incessantly from the martial arts training ground in the backyard of Huadu Temple.

This place, which should be a quiet Buddhist sanctuary, is devoid of the sounds of chanting and worship; instead, it is filled with an overwhelming, untamed energy.

Two hundred monks, shirtless, with their bronze skin glistening with sweat and their muscles bulging, stood out.

These two hundred monks, though bald...

However, they were arranged in the battle formation of the Tang Dynasty's imperial guards, with fifty men in each squad, led by fierce warriors, followed by standard bearers and flag protectors.
Then came the spearmen, swordsmen, and crossbowmen.

These monks were well-trained and fully equipped with standard-issue gear.

Gunfire was everywhere.

A bright sun,

The sound of something cutting through the air was sharp and piercing.
This is no Zen monastery, it's clearly a military camp.

courtside,

Under the old elm tree,

The leader of this warrior monk camp, the eminent monk Faya of the Third Rank Sect of Huadu Temple, was sitting there drinking.
There was also a plate of sliced ​​mutton on the table.

Xuan Ya wore a purple cassock bestowed upon her by the retired emperor.

He was enjoying a sip of fine wine and a bite of cold-cut lamb, thoroughly savoring his meal.

He was tall and strong, exuding a sense of shrewdness. Although he had a monastic scar on his head, he didn't look like a high-ranking monk at all.

Put down the wine bowl,

His gaze swept over the martial monks training on the field.

His face was expressionless.
"Not enough, still not enough. You are the martial monks' camp that I petitioned Emperor Wude to establish. You are the elite martial monks who were drawn from major temples in Chang'an to protect the temples."

Is that all you've got?

"Bring me my bow!"

Falla's voice wasn't loud, but it drowned out the noise in the room.

The burly warrior monk standing nearby immediately bowed and presented a metal bow and three feathered arrows with both hands.

Faya stood up and took it.

He slowly and deliberately nocked the arrow and drew the bow.
His arms were so steady that there wasn't the slightest tremor.
He gradually pulled open the iron bow with a draw weight of 300 jin, and a faint creaking sound rang out.

A hundred paces away,

A bird is singing in a tall elm tree.

Faya's eyes narrowed, and she loosened her grip.

The arrow pierced the air and flew away.

The monks only saw the arrow, like a shooting star, shoot down the bird on the treetop a hundred paces away.

After Faya fired one arrow, he didn't stop and fired two more in quick succession.

Three arrows

Shoot down three birds.
They were all a hundred paces apart, three-thirds of the way through.

The training ground was completely silent.

Only the heavy breathing of the monks remained.
This eminent monk, who received a golden fish charm as a reward from Emperor Wude and could freely enter and leave the Taiji Palace, was indeed incredibly powerful.

When the Turks invaded Hedong, this man petitioned the emperor to select warrior monks from various temples in Chang'an to form a monk army to march north.

Later, due to opposition from various temples, only two hundred warrior monks could be transferred. Then Li Yi achieved a victory in Hebei and repelled the Turks.

His plan to build a monk army was thus abandoned, but the two hundred warrior monks that had been established remained at Huadu Temple and were not disbanded.

"The Zen Master can not only draw a 300-jin bow, but his archery skills are also unparalleled. I heard that the Right Guard General is known for his superhuman strength and skill in riding and archery, but he can only draw a 150-jin bow."

A monk praised it repeatedly, which made Faya laugh heartily.

"Haha, well said. You can roast those three birds you shot down."

A tinkling sound of jade pendants drifted over.

Everyone looked at it,

Several beautiful young women, dressed in gorgeous ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) and with their hair piled high in the clouds, led a few young children and a group of young maids dressed in fine silks and satins.
Walk straight ahead.

A fragrant breeze wafts through the air.

This drew the attention of the martial monks.

"Husband!" the leading, beautiful woman called out with a smile from afar, her voice soft and gentle, "Husband, aren't you coming home for lunch?"
Why are you only eating cold mutton?

I've brought you some mulberry wine and a few snacks to go with it.
Today we also have a dish of water-refined calf sent from the estate outside the temple. Ah Lang, please try it.

Several beautiful women beside the woman were also calling out to her husband in sweet voices.

The little boys came over and hugged Faya's legs, calling out "Yay, yay!"

As a high-ranking monk of Huadu Temple,

Faya was also a guest of honor of Emperor Wude, frequently entering and leaving the palace. He not only received the emperor's permission to organize a force of two hundred warrior monks, but also...

Moreover, the emperor also bestowed upon him palace women as wives and concubines.

Faya presided over Huadu Temple, a large temple of the Three Stages Sect, which had two hundred warrior monks and a large amount of land. The land directly managed by the monks was called the Merit Field, while the land entrusted to lay practitioners was called the Blessing Field.

The Three Stages Sect encourages believers to give alms. The Inexhaustible Treasury Dharma allows one to give one cent or one he of millet daily, totaling thirty-six cents, three dou, and six sheng of millet per year. Secondly, donors can only give sixteen cents of money daily, while donors can give thirty cents of money daily, whether they are from the general or individual sect.

During the Sui Dynasty, Xinxing founded the Three Stages Sect, which took asceticism and forbearance as its tenets. He ate only one meal a day, which he begged for, and considered eating food from temples to be illegal. When walking on the road, he would bow to everyone he met, regardless of gender. He vigorously promoted almsgiving and placed his body in the forest after his death to feed birds and beasts, which he called "giving alms with his body." He opposed the Samadhi of reciting the Buddha's name and advocated not reciting Amitabha Buddha's name, but only reciting the name of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva. He said that all Buddha images are clay shrines and do not need to be respected, but all sentient beings are true Buddhas and therefore should be respected.

But nowadays,
The Three-Tier Cult has long since changed.
It became the richest sect in the world.
For example, the Fallas people married wives and concubines, had children, and did not abstain from meat or fish.

And all of this is public knowledge.

Huadu Temple owned a large amount of land. Its inexhaustible treasury accepted a lot of donations and used the money from donations to buy land, rent out properties, and lend money, making a fortune.

The beautiful woman opened the food box.

The aroma of wine and meat immediately filled the air.

At this time,

A fat monk came over and whispered in his ear, "Master, Minister Pei has sent someone to pay his respects."

"Where is the man?"

"Over there in the Endless Treasury of Longevity."

“Yes, I’ll go see him.” Faya stood up. Pei Sikong was naturally Pei Ji. Faya had always had a good relationship with this old friend of Emperor Wude.

Arriving at the Longevity Treasury,
This is where Huadu Temple lends money through mortgages.
Despite its appealing name, Changshengku, it's essentially a pawnshop, characterized by small amounts, short terms, and high interest rates.

"Master!" The person who came from the Pei residence was someone Fa Ya recognized. He remembered that the person's name was Gong Ming, and he was a trusted servant of Pei Ji.

"What's wrong, does Pei Sikong miss home?"

"Well, my master sent me to ask the master when he will enter the Taiji Palace?"

(End of this chapter)