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

Chapter 823 Princess Chang Le
South of Tianjin Bridge

There once stood the Gaochang Prince's Palace in the Shangshanfang area east of Dingdingmen Street.

However, due to the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the luxurious palace built by Emperor Daye had long been looted, and even the pillars and roof tiles were dismantled, leaving only some broken walls and ruins.

Qu Wentai and Queen Yuwen Yubo stared at the dilapidated mansion, stunned and afraid to go inside.

Yuwen Yubo was even more moved by the scene.

Twelve years ago, in the eighth year of the Daye era, the Sui emperor, to commend the loyalty of Qu Boya, the King of Gaochang, who accompanied him on the expedition against Liao, bestowed upon her the title of Princess Huarong and arranged her marriage to the King of Gaochang.

The highly respected Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial was specially appointed to preside over the wedding.
The wedding was held in a large house in Shangshanfang, which is located next to the Luo River, south of Tianjin Bridge, and separated from the imperial city by only one bridge.

At that time, all the civil and military officials came to offer their congratulations, and the emperor himself came to bestow jade plates and other gifts.

Not long after her marriage, she returned to the Western Regions with the King of Gaochang. The former queen abdicated, and she became the queen. Twelve years passed in the blink of an eye.

The old king also passed away, and she married the old king's crown prince according to custom, becoming the queen of the new king.

She never imagined she would have the chance to return to the Central Plains.

The Tang emperor returned the former Gaochang royal palace to them, but only ruins remained.

“Your Majesty, we should use the money to recruit craftsmen, purchase materials, and rebuild this mansion,” Yuwen Yubo said.

"Yes, I will immediately petition the Emperor."

Rebuilding a royal palace would require a lot of money, but the Kingdom of Gaochang was wealthy. Although it was a city-state, it had one capital, three prefectures, four counties, and eighteen districts, with a territory of about 8,000 households, a population of 37,000, and a military force of 7,000 to 8,000.

It seems that the population is less than that of a single county in the Tang Dynasty.

But they were situated at a crucial point on the Silk Road.
It was a city-state with highly developed trade, and its handicrafts such as brewing and textiles were also very famous.

Gaochang also had a large number of slaves, as well as merchants who came there to do business.

Gaochang was prosperous.

However, it was still a small country, and since its founding, it had gone through several regimes. In terms of foreign relations, it basically relied on powerful forces and successively submitted to the Rouran, Gaoche, Tujue, Tiele and others.

Over the years, Gaochang has been vassals of the Turks on one hand and paying tribute to the Central Plains dynasties on the other. It tries to appease both sides and avoid offending either, hoping to maintain its status as a Silk Road trader and make a lot of money from trade.

Gaochang has always been an important transit point for Silk Road trade. Many merchants from the Western Regions brought goods and sold them directly in Gaochang, while many Han and non-Han merchants brought goods from the Central Plains and sold them directly in Gaochang.

Gaochang imposed taxes on the spot.

The tax collection method in Gaochang was quite interesting. It involved weighing the goods and collecting taxes, which was called weighing the price, and the measurement was based on Persian silver coins.

One silver coin weighed about the same as one Tang Dynasty Kaiyuan Tongbao coin.

For every pound of raw silk traded, both parties must pay one coin of silver. For every pound of silver traded, one coin of silver is paid. For every four to four and a half ounces of gold traded, one coin of silver is paid.

The tax jin levied in Gaochang still used the jin system from the Wei and Jin dynasties, with approximately three jin equaling one jin in the Tang dynasty.

The actual tax rate in Gaochang Kingdom was approximately two percent.

It may not seem high, but it was a vital route on the Silk Road, where goods from the East and West converged and circulated, resulting in a huge volume of trade. The people of Gaochang collected taxes until their hands were sore and counted money until their hands cramped.

Therefore, although the population of Gaochang Kingdom was only 8,000 households according to its household registration, it had nearly 10,000 soldiers.

This Gaochang was somewhat similar to Lijiapo in later times. Despite its small size, it occupied a key maritime route and made a fortune, becoming extremely wealthy.

After strolling around the ruins of the royal palace, the couple returned to the embassy that the emperor had arranged for them.

Just came back,
The emperor then sent someone to deliver the reward.

The emperor bestowed upon the King and Queen of Gaochang high-grade silk fabrics woven by the workshops of the Imperial Household Department.

Ten bolts of twisted silk are folded and dyed to create a unique texture.

A set of shimmering robes bestowed upon the Queen employed a two-color printing technique, using black ink to outline the figures and floral patterns, orange-red as the background, and natural white to highlight the depth and texture of the designs.

These all demonstrate the superb dyeing and printing skills of the Tang Dynasty's official workshops.

The cloud-patterned brocade shoes, made of twill weft brocade, present a magnificent effect with a four-color precious flower pattern.

They also bestowed upon him high-grade silk fabrics such as double-layered brocade and woven gold-embroidered cotton.

They are all absolute luxury items.

These techniques were only mastered by a select few top craftsmen in the official workshops.

However, among these gorgeous silk fabrics, there were also some cotton fabrics.

Qu Wentai recognized it at a glance. Although the dyed colors were beautiful, it was their Gaochang white quilted cloth. Only the cloth was finer and the dyed colors were even more beautiful.

"This must be the cotton cloth woven and dyed by Situ Liyi's family. It seems to be even more exquisite than the one we saw in Gaochang before."

Qu Wentai frowned as he looked at the cotton cloth.

The Gaochang Kingdom has white rose flowers, which can be spun into yarn and woven into cloth, which is then transported to the Central Plains and sold for five or ten times the price of silk.

The white cotton cloth of Gaochang Kingdom was in short supply every year, and the country made a lot of money every year. Not only did Gaochang Kingdom make a lot of money, but the people of Gaochang who grew white cotton and wove white cotton cloth also made a lot of money.

But a few years ago,

Suddenly, the Central Plains also began producing white quilted cloth, and the quantity was increasing. Most importantly, their quality even surpassed that of the white quilted cloth from Gaochang.

In just a few years,

The flagship export products of the Gaochang Kingdom were no longer selling in the Central Plains, forcing them to lower prices repeatedly, ultimately resulting in significant losses.

Just like the wines from Gaochang in the past, they made a lot of money, but now they can't outsell the wines produced in the Central Plains.

"What does the Tang Emperor mean by this?" Qu Wentai asked, holding the cotton cloths in confusion.

Queen Yuwen Yubo was also amazed by the exquisite beauty of these Tang Dynasty cotton fabrics, saying, "Perhaps His Majesty is simply bestowing upon us the finest and most luxurious silk fabrics from the Tang Dynasty, nothing more."

"I don't think it's that simple."

Not long after,
The emperor sent someone to bestow gifts again, but this time the gifts were wine.

These are all famous wines from the Tang Dynasty, including Xinfeng wine, Sangluo wine, Shidongchun, Jiannanchun, as well as persimmon liquor, grape wine, mulberry wine, and so on.

Upon seeing that the complimentary wine included red wine, Qu Wentai revealed an expression of "I knew it."

"His Majesty has issued an oral decree."

The eunuch relayed the emperor's edict, and the couple remained silent for a moment after hearing it.

Unexpectedly, Situ Li Yi actually wanted to recognize the Queen as his elder sister.

Tomorrow, a family recognition ceremony will be held at Li Yi's residence. After the ceremony, the Queen will become a member of the royal family, and the Emperor will bestow upon her the title of Princess Chang Le of the Tang Dynasty.

After the angels left,
Qu Wentai frowned and asked his wife, "Among the silks and wines bestowed by the Tang Emperor, there are white quilted cloths and wines produced by Li Yi's family. Those were originally specialties of Gaochang. In recent years, due to Li Yi's large-scale production, our Gaochang products have been squeezed out of the Central Plains and can no longer be sold."

"Now that the Emperor has made you and Li Yi sworn siblings, is this to help mediate?"

"You requested the Empress to be included in the Tang Dynasty's imperial family register, so why did the Emperor of Tang go through all this trouble?"

Yuwen was also puzzled.

But she felt the result wasn't bad.

"Li Yi was the most trusted and powerful minister in front of the emperor. He was one of the Three Dukes and the prime minister, and he was also the head of the imperial clan."

The Queen believed that the final result was what they wanted: bestowing upon her the surname Li and granting her the title of Princess Chang Le.

In this way, their Gaochang Kingdom completely removed the past barriers between itself and the Tang Dynasty, the current master of the Central Plains, and they also got rid of their relationship with the Sui Dynasty.

The Tang Dynasty had already unified the Central Plains, even conquering the Turks, and had also established a marriage alliance with the Western Turks.
Trade along the Silk Road between East and West will only get better and better. The Kingdom of Gaochang must seize the opportunity and improve relations with the Central Plains.

The Silk Road did not necessarily require transit through the Kingdom of Gaochang.

Previously, there was another Silk Road that went through Dunhuang and Loulan, and then to Yanqi, bypassing Gaochang entirely.

That Silk Road was abandoned during the Sui Dynasty due to the war against the Tuyuhun.

In the event of a falling out with the Tang Dynasty, if the Tang Dynasty were to restore the southern route of the Silk Road, and perhaps even the northern route at that point...

That would drastically reduce Gaochang's trade volume, which would be unbearable for the Gaochang Kingdom.

Qu Wentai sighed, "Fine, since it's the Emperor's decree, we'll obey. Your Majesty, do you think we should pay a visit to Li Yi's house later and bring some gifts?"

Yuwen Yubo was only in her early thirties. She wasn't particularly beautiful, but she had a great presence.

"Since we're going to recognize each other as siblings, we definitely have to go. Li Yi is a high-ranking official in the court and a confidant of the emperor. Although it's the emperor's will for me to recognize him as my brother, if we can get along well with him, we'll have someone to speak on our behalf in the Tang court in the future."
This relationship that came knocking on our door must be nurtured well.

Qu Wentai nodded. "Then what kind of gifts does the Queen think should be prepared?"

The Queen chuckled, "It's never wrong to be overly polite."

(End of this chapter)