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

Chapter 776 Li Situ's Invitation
Inside the main hall of the Luozhou Governor's Office,

The bamboo charcoal in the stove was burning brightly. Qu Tutong, the nearly seventy-year-old governor of Luozhou and Duke of Jiang, sat cross-legged on a folding chair. His full beard was already white.

He sat upright, showing no trace of the Xi people from beyond the Great Wall.

"I didn't expect Situ to arrive in Luoyang in just five days. You must have had a long and arduous journey."

The tea that the old man Qu Tu served to Li Yi was just ordinary compressed tea.

Li Yi pulled out a list containing all the goods he had purchased in Nanshi, along with their prices.

"Having rushed here at breakneck speed, I was unable to bring any gifts from Chang'an. After entering Luoyang, I strolled around the South Market and bought a few things as gifts."

Qu Tutong declined.
Li Yi placed the form directly in front of him.

Qu Tutong glanced over and paused for a moment.

It wasn't the gift he had originally expected; instead, it contained everyday items like firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, wine, silk, porcelain, cloth, paper, writing brushes, and ink.
Who gives a gift like that?

He picked it up with suspicion and examined it closely.

Each item also has a price listed, but there is more than one.

It includes the price Li Yi paid today, the price of the item in Chang'an, and the price from not long ago.

The same product has three different prices.

The contrast is stark.

"I just arrived in Luoyang today and bought some steamed cakes in the South Market. They all have cross-shaped cracks, are made with fermented rice wine, and taste good, but they are a bit expensive, costing twenty coins each."

I brought four attendants, and the five of us ate fifty dishes, spending a thousand Kaiyuan Tongbao coins!

"The imperial court has explicitly prohibited private brewing, but when I strolled around the South Market, every restaurant and distillery was still brewing and selling wine."
Moreover, they all used the imperial edict banning private brewing to inflate wine prices, turning the court's decree into a tool for profit.

"Needless to say, the grain shops were the ones that raised prices the most. Not only did they raise prices, but they also deliberately hoarded goods to speculate and reduce sales, intentionally creating a buying frenzy..."

"Lord Jiang, you couldn't possibly be unaware of these things, could you?"

It is said that one would rather eat three bushels of scallions than encounter Qu Tu Tong (a legendary figure known for his shrewish tongue). One would rather eat three bushels of mugwort than see Qu Tu Gai (another legendary figure known for his shrewish tongue).

The brothers Qu Tutong and Qu Tugai were known for their integrity and incorruptibility; they would never cover up for their relatives who broke the law.

During the Kaihuang era, an imperial edict ordered an inspection of horse administration in Longyou, uncovering over 20,000 hidden horses. More than 1,500 officials were implicated in the case.
Many people were about to lose their lives, and countless people tried to bribe Qu Tutong, but he refused them all and still brought the matter to the emperor's attention.

Yang Jian was so angry that he wanted to execute all 1,500 officials, but Qu Tutong risked his life to plead for them.

This old man led the most fierce resistance when Li Yuan raised his army and marched south, but after the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, he first served as Minister of War, then Minister of Justice, and then Minister of Works.

He also became one of Li Shimin's trusted generals, and always stood guard over the Luoyang headquarters for him.

This old man from the Xi tribe was loyal to the Sui Dynasty and made contributions to the Tang Dynasty. He served both countries and his reputation grew. He was skilled in both literature and martial arts and was truly remarkable.

He was trusted by four emperors across two dynasties.

But now, Li Yi's list,
This made Qu Tutong, who was nearly seventy years old, blush.

Prices in Luoyang have skyrocketed, to the heavens, yet this governor was completely unaware of the details.

I knew prices had been rising recently, but I didn't expect them to rise this much.

Rice prices have increased more than tenfold.

Other basic necessities have seen their prices increase several times over, with some even more than ten times.

The prices of everything—firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, tea, silk fabric, and medicine—have skyrocketed.

Qu Tutong felt ashamed.

"Prime Minister Li, it is my fault for dereliction of duty."

He didn't offer much explanation, saying that he had been busy preparing to welcome the emperor these past few days and had been momentarily negligent.

In fact, he himself could not forgive such an oversight.

This was a dereliction of duty by the officials under the Governor's Office, and it was also his dereliction of duty.

"Lord Jiang,

Some people are trying to take advantage of the situation and profit from the national crisis; such unscrupulous merchants must be severely punished.

"Your humble servant understands." Qu Tutong was certainly aware of the dangers involved.

The fire crackled and popped as it burned.

The tea in the pot was bubbling with the boiling water, and Qu Tutong forgot to serve the tea.

The aroma of tea overflows.

"What does Duke Jiang intend to do?"

Qu Tu's face flushed red. "The three merchants will divide all kinds of goods into three grades according to quality: coarse, inferior, and inferior. The city government will convene the various commodity guilds to evaluate and price them once every ten days. Some special commodities, such as silk, tea, and porcelain, can be further subdivided into three grades and nine prices."

After the price is set,
Merchants of all trades must comply with this rule when selling their goods.

Anyone who dares to inflate prices will be severely punished; the amount will be determined based on the value of the goods, and they will be considered to have stolen the goods!

Qu Tutong took it seriously.

Prices are crucial to the national economy, people's livelihood, and social order and stability, and must be strictly managed.

The Han Dynasty had a monthly market system, and the Tang Dynasty also had a system of equal distribution of markets among three merchants.

In the Tang Dynasty, markets were generally concentrated in the neighborhoods of prefectures and counties, with similar industries operating together for easier management.

These markets are managed by the city government.

They not only maintain order, but also have the responsibility of setting prices.

For all kinds of goods in the market, gather merchants from all relevant industries and formulate a suitable price, which all merchants in the market must abide by.

A price is set for each ten-day period.

Merchants are allowed to make small fluctuations on this basis, but the difference cannot be too large.

At the same time, when the government deals with cases of theft, the value of stolen goods is also calculated according to the prices set by the three merchants of the official market office.

Now Qu Tutong says he wants to deal with the problem of rampant price increases in the three cities of Luoyang by implementing the "Three Markets Equalization" policy.

From a procedural standpoint, there is indeed no problem.

But Li Yi felt that such a simple method was not enough at the moment.

After all, the existence of three separate markets in Luoyang wasn't unprecedented, yet prices still skyrocketed. Furthermore...

These unscrupulous merchants hoard goods and speculate on prices. Even if you set a price, they will impose purchase restrictions or refuse to sell, which will still disrupt the market and affect people's livelihoods.

It is essential to adjust prices promptly based on the actual supply and demand relationship in the market.

But the current situation is special, and that's not enough.

"Lord Jiang,

I would like to borrow your governor's office to host a banquet, inviting the heads of all 220 trades in the three markets of Luoyang, as well as renowned merchants from each trade.

Luoyang comprises three cities with a wide variety of industries.

The various types of businesses are divided into very specific categories.

For example, the largest market, Nanshi, had 120 trades and over 3,000 shops.

The three cities of Luoyang together have a total of 220 trades, far exceeding the 36 trades.

Not only were there rice shops, meat shops, and wine shops, but also cloth shops, silk shops, firewood shops, charcoal shops, and many other shops selling flowers and fruits, sauces, gold and silver, jewelry, medicine, spices, and so on.

The silk textile category alone includes dozens of types of silk fabrics such as satin, brocade, gauze, and embroidery.

Grains are categorized into rice, wheat, flour, millet, sorghum, bran, and so on.

Guilds are also divided into large guilds and small guilds.
Regardless of the size of the guild, there is a leader. These people are neither officials nor clerks, but are usually the best in their respective trades, elected by their peers.

The head of the association will assist the city government in setting market prices and in managing the businesses within the association.

Every trade has its rules, and guilds serve as a bridge between the government and merchants.

Luoyang has three markets and 220 trades, with thousands of shops. The government does not directly manage these merchants; instead, the market administration manages them through the heads of each trade.

The heads of various guilds, especially the heads of the major guilds, were all industry leaders and prominent merchants, but in the eyes of the imperial court and government, they were still, after all, just lowly merchants.

A mere seventh-rank city magistrate had the guilds of these 220 trades completely under his control.

Moreover, he was the governor of Luozhou.

And now, Li Yi, the Minister of Works and Chancellor, who has just arrived from Chang'an.

The prime minister wanted to invite a group of merchants to dinner.
Qu Tutong was somewhat surprised.

Those people don't even deserve it?
Have the eighth-rank city administration order them to announce the decision to equalize the three markets; that will be enough to give them a warning.

“Minister Situ, I was negligent for a moment, and these unscrupulous merchants took advantage of the situation. I will deal with them.”

"Lord Jiang, I'm paving the way for His Majesty this time, but there are still 100,000 troops coming after me, and this will take at least half a year to resolve."
I'll need to deal with these merchants from the three cities of Luoyang more often in the future.
Please send them an invitation for me. I'd like to borrow your office to have a meal with them and have a good chat.
I believe these businessmen can also distinguish right from wrong.

The Minister of Works of the Court hosted a banquet.

The heads of the guilds of the three cities and two hundred and twenty trades in Luoyang, as well as some wealthy merchants, were all flattered and overwhelmed upon receiving the notification.

They were astonished that the current prime minister had invited these lowly people, even though they were merchants, they all relied on powerful officials or local tycoons for their backing.

But after the initial surprise came worry and even fear.

Prices in Luoyang have been rising three times a day recently.

At this time, Minister Li hosted a banquet for this group of Luoyang merchants.

Who knows what Li Situ is up to?

The invitation suddenly became too hot to handle.
But I dared not not go.

How to do?
Very urgent.

So they quickly contacted their respective backers to find out the purpose of Li Yi's banquet.

The eight immortals cross the sea, each showing their magical powers.

However, they soon received a reply from their backer: Li Yi's arrival was sudden, but thirty miles west of Luoyang, there were three hundred imperial guards he had brought with him.

I heard that when Li Yi came to Luoyang this time, the emperor also bestowed upon him the title of Shandong Taoist Temple Customs Commissioner and authorized officials of the third rank and below to execute first and report later.

Upon hearing this news,
The leaders of those societies were trembling with fear.

Officials of the third rank and below can be executed first and reported later.

Those lowly merchants...
That would mean losing your head with just a few words.

No matter how scared they were, no one dared to make any more excuses to refuse to go.

Each of them was pondering what clothes to wear and what gifts to give.

Merchants are of lowly status and dare not be too extravagant, lest they overshadow the master.

A meager gift won't do, but I don't dare to give anything too expensive either; it's really a headache and a lot of trouble.

The following afternoon

The heads of the 220 trades from the three cities of Luoyang, as well as some large merchants, all arrived on time.

Today, Li Yi specially transferred the three hundred imperial guards stationed outside the city into the city.

Outside the main gate of the Governor's Mansion, two fully armed Imperial Guard squads were stationed.

One hundred Imperial Guards, clad in armor and armed with weapons, exuded a murderous aura.

Many of the leaders, upon disembarking from their carriages and seeing this scene, were so frightened that their knees went weak and they could barely stand.

This is a trap.

Liu Risheng, the head of the rice trading company and also the manager of the same rice shop, looked at the scene and his legs trembled. He couldn't help but whisper to his son next to him, "What kind of Hongmen Banquet is this? I think it's a pig slaughtering feast."

"A pig-slaughtering feast?" His son asked, puzzled.

Manager Liu sighed, "We're like those fat pigs. Once we enter the Governor's Mansion, we won't get out until we've been skinned alive."

His son, who was still young, looked alarmed upon hearing this.

"Father, how about we find an excuse to go back?"

"Back?

Even if it's a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire here, we two have to grit our teeth and go for it. Even if we're skinned alive, it's better than being uprooted!

(End of this chapter)