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

Chapter 817 Brothers
On the day the deal was settled,
Ni Shu insisted on inviting Li Yi for drinks.

“You’ve come to the Tang Dynasty as a guest, and I’m the host. How can I let you treat me? I’ll treat you,” Li Yi said with a smile.

Nishu held a very prestigious position in the Western Turkic Khaganate. He was the great-grandson of Datou Khan, who was the son of Midianshi Khan, who expanded the Western Turkic Khaganate.

The current Western Turkic leader, Yabghu Khan, is Nishu's uncle by seniority.

The Mud family has held the hereditary title of Moheshe for generations.
The Turkic position of governor-general was equivalent to a regional military commander, similar to a vassal king or governor-general in the Central Plains dynasties. They wielded real power. Li Yi remembered that the historical Yabghu Khan was now arrogant and incompetent, and within a few years he would be deserted by his followers.
He was eventually killed by his uncle, Mohe Dushe.

After Tong Yabghu was killed, Mohedu declared himself Khan, but the Nushibi tribes refused to accept him and elected Nishu as Khan. However, Nishu declined and instead installed Tong Yabghu's son, Dili Teqin, as Si Yabghu Khan. Dili Teqin then led the tribes in a fierce battle for several years and defeated Mohedu.
However, he was eventually forced into exile in Yanqi after being feared by Si Yehu.
Si Yehu distrusted his meritorious officials, forced Nishu to flee, and then executed Yili Xiao Khan. In the end, he was abandoned by his followers and fled to Kangju, where he died in grief and indignation.

The Western Turkic tribes once again supported Nishu as the Dulu Khan, and Nishu eventually received investiture from the Tang Dynasty.

However, this Khan only reigned for three years before dying of illness, and was succeeded by his brother Tong Eshe. After the death of the Western Turkic leader, the left and right wings were locked in a long-term standoff, resulting in a situation of two separate governments.

Anyway,
Nishu is now Moheshe, and may become Dulu Khan in the future.

Li Yi hosted a banquet at his home.

"We have distinguished guests visiting today, so let's slaughter a sheep, chop up a few ducks, and bring plenty of fresh vegetables from the greenhouse."

Pick out some good wines from the cellar.

Butler Li Shouyi wondered, "Ah Lang has been so frugal lately, reducing the family's meals to two a day, and eating only coarse grain buns every day."
"What distinguished guest is this, slaughtering sheep and ducks?"

“The chief envoy of the Western Turkic delegation is Moheshe Ashina Nishu,” Li Yi explained.

"They're just Turks, what's so noble about them? In the last two years, Turkic nobles have been everywhere in the capital. Before, many of them were called She, Tegin, or Daggan."

Li Yi waved his hand, "Just go and prepare. Why are you making so many excuses? Let me tell you, when the guests arrive, be polite and courteous."

Because there is a curfew in Luoyang at night,

Therefore, the banquet was actually held at noon.

In the New Year,
The city of Luoyang was also filled with a festive atmosphere.

The emperor and his ministers in the imperial court were filled with anxiety, fearing impending disaster and famine, but the common people could hardly think that far ahead.
I just feel that this winter is warmer than in previous years, and I don't hear any news of neighbors or beggars freezing to death when I wake up in the morning.

Because the imperial court has maintained good control, grain prices in Luoyang have not risen much so far.

It's Chinese New Year!
Everyone put on new clothes and exchanged New Year's greetings.

Muddy came to the door.

I also specially selected a few gifts.

A Ferghana horse from the Kingdom of Kangju in Transoxiana, a Sassanid Persian beauty, the daughter of a nobleman, and another beauty from the Byzantine Empire, also a descendant of nobility.

There was also a belt inlaid with jewels and gold.

"This is just a small token of my appreciation; I hope Lord Situ will not find it offensive."

Li Yi looked at the gifts he had brought.

BMW, beautiful women, and gold belts.

Although not like gold or silver,
But these are far too expensive.

"Moheshe, these are too valuable, I can't accept them."

"We are extremely grateful for Situ's support. These are nothing but a token of our gratitude. Please accept them no matter what."

Unable to refuse,

Li Yi didn't want to drag things out like this, so he welcomed the people in, accepted the gifts, and planned to report to the emperor later.

Moheshe from the Western Regions

His family held the hereditary title of Moheshe, and their territory was located on the banks of the Chu River.

When the Han Dynasty drove out the Xiongnu, it established the Protectorate in the Western Regions. The area west of the Tianshan Mountains and the Mesopotamian region were all under the rule of the Han Dynasty.

One of the two rivers is located in the middle reaches. The Han army built a city there and stationed there. Because most of the soldiers stationed there were from the Chu region, they called the river the Chu River and the city they built the Chu City.

future,

The Tang Dynasty entered the Western Regions.

On the site of that ancient Chu city, the new city of Suyab was built, where the great poet Li Bai was born.

Li Yi longed for that place.

Chu River and Han Border

That will be the place where the sons of Han will go; those sons of Han in history are known as the Long March Warriors.

Ni Shu praised Li Yi's ducks highly.

"The Chu River is lush with aquatic plants and teems with plump wild ducks. I never imagined that duck could be so delicious, and that there could be so many ways to cook it: roast duck, braised duck, pressed duck, salted duck..."

"Oh my god, I can't even remember my own name!"
These braised duck, ginger duck, dry pot duck, and what's that called... Master Situ, could you perhaps spare some of your chef's talents?

"I'd trade ten slaves, no, twenty, for just one of your cooks."

Li Yi smiled. This guy really likes to eat duck, but it seems that no one has been able to resist his ducks so far.

According to popular belief, Prime Minister Wen Yanbo lost his position because he loved to eat ducks from the Li family.

Today, besides duck, there was also mutton and pork. The mutton was from Tongzhou Shayuan, the fattest and most tender sheep in Guanzhong, a favorite of nobles. But Ni Shu didn't even try it. After eating the duck, he didn't eat anything else.

He didn't even eat the carefully prepared fresh vegetables picked from the greenhouse, even though in Chang'an and Luoyang, these fresh fruits and vegetables were much more expensive than mutton and duck meat during the New Year.

“If Moheshe really likes this way of cooking duck, I can give you a duck recipe book. Moheshe can also send someone to my kitchen to learn. There’s no need to take my kitchen away.”

"I was presumptuous. If I were the chef, I would never part with such a delicious duck." Ni Shu laughed heartily.

Of all the fine wines in Li Yi's family, Ni Shu particularly loved persimmon liquor.
This liquor feels strong and potent.

"A man should ride the fiercest horse, drink the strongest wine, and play with the most beautiful women—that's true style." Ni Shu ate a bite of duck and sipped his wine, thoroughly satisfied. "This wine is really good. May I order some from Lord Situ? Some Sogdian merchants brought some 'Persimmon Wine' back from the Central Plains before, but they don't call it 'Persimmon Wine'; they call it 'Lord Li's Wine.'"

This wine is extremely rare in the Western Regions. Before coming to the Central Plains, I had already decided to take this opportunity to order a lot, but I never expected it to be brewed by the Situ family.

"I'll send a batch to Moheshe later."

Ni Shu blushed and refused, insisting on buying it.

They also expressed their hope that they could continue to place orders in the future.

"Gold, silver, or precious gems, or even orchids and fine horses, whatever Master Situ says we will use for the transaction, no matter the price."

The Western Turkic delegation brought five thousand horses, along with precious belts, beautiful women, and other state gifts, but besides these,

In fact, the entire delegation was carrying a considerable amount of goods, which were the personal belongings of the delegation members. Upon arriving in the capital of the Tang Dynasty, these smuggled goods were to be sold off privately.

Such missions carrying their own agendas are very common, and have been so throughout history.

The mission members could even make a fortune from this.
Even ordinary staff members and soldiers in the mission would carry a lot of goods. However, ordinary staff members usually did not have the financial resources to purchase a lot of personal goods. So, it was usually merchants who would take the opportunity to come to them and provide goods. The staff members of the mission would use their status to help carry the goods.

However, one cannot carry too much or too much of this kind of smuggling. Different ranks and statuses can carry different quantities of goods; there are unspoken rules about this.

The biggest advantage of missions carrying goods is that they do not have to pay customs duties along the long distances they travel.

This tariff, especially for cross-border transportation, accounts for a large portion of the cost due to the numerous tariffs along the route.

The tariffs waived by the mission were all turned into profits.

Nishu also brought back a batch of smuggled goods, along with a considerable amount of gold and silver, to purchase fine items from the Tang Dynasty. He planned to resell them in the Western Regions and make a profit.
You can make a lot of money by going back and forth.

Mud is very clever.
Buying wine from Li Yi not only allows you to build a relationship with him but also provides a chance to profit. If you establish a long-term business relationship, you can generate a continuous stream of profits.

Regarding Muddy's request,

Li Yi agreed.

Back when he was leading troops in Hedong, he even took the time to do trade with Tuli Khan.

Ni Shu drinks very heartily.
There's no need for anyone to urge them to drink; they just keep drinking one glass after another, finishing one glass before having another.

But I'm really not a big drinker.

Perhaps the Turks' brewing techniques were lacking, or perhaps this persimmon liquor was indeed quite potent, causing Ni Shu to get himself drunk.

A drunken mud-covered man

The more I talked with Li Yi, the more I felt we clicked.
Then he grabbed Li Yi and tried to kowtow to him to become sworn brothers.

I heard that Ni Shu was sent as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty a few years ago. He hit it off with Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin, and after drinking together, he pulled Li Shimin aside and they became sworn brothers.

right now,

He insisted on dragging Li Yi along to become sworn brothers.

Then,
And so Li Yi and he became sworn brothers.

Ni Shu was about ten years older than Li Yi, so he was naturally the elder brother.

The mud-covered man, reeking of alcohol, took Li Yi's hand and said, "I'm older, so I'm the eldest brother. Emperor Tang is the second oldest, so you're the third brother."

Li Er is a fool no matter where he is.

"I am a person who likes to make friends. On the grasslands, from the two sides of the ten tribes of the Turks to the thirty-six kingdoms of the Western Regions, I have friends and brothers everywhere."

According to him,

He would become sworn brothers with anyone he clicked with.

Anyway,

Those from both the north and south of the Tianshan Mountains in the Western Regions are all brothers.

He Nishu had influence everywhere in the Western Regions because he had many brothers and friends.

Now he has two brothers in the Central Plains. One is the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, who is his second brother, and the other is the Grand Minister and Grand Councilor of the Tang Dynasty, who is his third brother.

Since they're sworn brothers,
If Nai Shu wants to place long-term orders for Li Yi's wine, tea, sugar, cotton cloth, and other goods, that's no problem. He can even ask his brother Li Yi to help him purchase other items like silk, porcelain, and ironware.

He traded horses, camels, furs, gold, silver, and slaves for them.

His Moheshe family was quite wealthy.

After a drinking session,

The muddy water swept away several ducks and consumed two or three pounds of persimmon liquor.

He also became sworn brothers with Li Yi and reached an agreement on long-term business dealings.

Finally, satisfied, it lay down and fell asleep, snoring loudly.

Looking at the fast-sleeping Nishu, Li Yi couldn't help but admire him. No wonder this man would become the Great Khan of the Western Turks in the future.

He was able to be elected Khan twice by various tribes, which shows his great personal charisma.

It's this kind of carefree and bold spirit that...

This is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

Their enthusiasm and straightforwardness make them hard to refuse.

However, for the Tang Dynasty...

Such an emperor's sworn brother,
If necessary, giving him a push and supporting him to stand up and become the leader of the Western Regions would obviously also be beneficial to the Tang Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)