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

Chapter 10 Conquest of Ding Paifu
Li Yi moved into an unfinished house that didn't even have doors, windows, or furniture.

New houses are built with materials such as loess, logs, and yellow grass. There is no need to worry about formaldehyde or other things, and there is no peculiar smell.

Compared to the straw shed by the canal, this new house with walls made of mud and a thatched roof is much more comfortable. It is not only cooler, but also has fewer mosquitoes.

Luo San and the others helped Li Yi move. Although it was called moving, there was actually not much to move.

In the straw shed, a few wooden planks were put together to form a bed, and there was an old mosquito net that Guo Cunzheng had given him. There was also a set of cooking pots, clay pots, ceramic basins, and wooden barrels, all of which were also old items that Guo Cunzheng had given him.

The only thing that was truly valuable in the house was the three-year-old female ox and the one and a half stone of leftover grain.

"Uncle San, why don't you move to my place first? This thatched hut by the canal is so hot during the day and full of mosquitoes at night. I have plenty of rooms anyway." After spending some time together, Li Yi liked Luo San's family very much.

"I'll stay here for now. After a while, I'll go back to the foot of the cliff and dig a cave. Caves are warm in winter and cool in summer, and they're comfortable to live in."

Lanxiang, Gousheng and Shitou, three siblings, wanted to move to Li Yi's place, but Luo San was unwilling to go because that was Li Yi's home.

A nest of gold or silver is not as good as your own nest of grass.

Seeing this, Li Yi didn't try to persuade him any further, but offered to leave a stone of grain for him.

Luo San nodded and said, "Okay, consider this grain as a loan from uncle. I'll return two dan of grain to you when the time comes."

"Uncle San, are you trying to stab me in the back? You dug me out of the collapsed cave, and you've helped me so much lately. Do we still have to be so formal? You're out of food at home, so take this grain first. We'll find a way later if it's not enough."

"If you borrow, you must return. It won't be difficult to borrow again. Since it's a loan, there must be benefits. The rules cannot be broken." Luo San insisted.

Li Yi said, "The autumn harvest is only about three months away. How about this: I'll borrow the coarse grains and I'll pay you back the fine grains. After you harvest the rice, just return me one dan of rice."

Luo Santou shook his head like a rattle. "How can that be possible? I'm lending you a bushel of millet now, and then I'll return you a bushel of rice. I'll be drowned in the saliva of my fellow villagers."

One dan of unhulled rice is equivalent to six dou of rice, which is exactly the same as one dan of millet.

The two argued back and forth, neither willing to give in. Sanniang happened to come by and, after hearing this, proposed a compromise. "Wuyi, just charge some interest. Otherwise, Second Uncle won't lend you grain. The monthly interest will be one dou, and after the autumn harvest, I'll pay you one dan and three dou of millet, principal and interest."

"I'll pay you back one dan of rice when the time comes," Luo San said, raising the interest rate to two dou of millet per month. "If you don't agree, I won't lend you the grain."

Li Yi had no choice but to agree. He knew that if Luo San didn't lend him the money, he would be broke tomorrow and would have to borrow from Guo Er or Wang Lizheng in Nianwan, but the interest rate would be much higher, so he would have to pay back at least two times the amount he borrowed.

Luo San asked Li Yi to leave the cow here and let the brothers Gousheng and Shitou help to herd it. After all, the two brothers were young, did not study and could not do any work, and it was not the busy farming season.

Lanxiang offered to help Li Yi look after the two ducks.

"Wuyi, I have something to ask you." Sanniang said.

Luo Sanniang's family was originally a large family. Her father had been making and selling tofu for half his life. He was frugal and married and started a family. He had nine children in his life, three of whom died young, and he still raised six, three sons and three daughters.

The three sons all got married and had children, and the two eldest daughters also got married early.

Originally, the family rented land and made tofu to sell, and their life was bearable. However, since the Sui Dynasty, life has become difficult. The second and third sons were conscripted a month ago, leaving the eldest son at home.

But a while ago, the cliff collapsed and the cave dwelling of my eldest son, his wife, and their three children collapsed, killing all five of them.

Luo Er's wife almost cried her eyes out and fell seriously ill.

"My second and third brothers were conscripted by the imperial court for military service. They were supposed to serve for twenty days, but they've been away from home for a month and haven't returned. What's going on?"

Her father was old, her mother was seriously ill, and her eldest brother's family had passed away. Now she and her two sisters-in-law were the only ones supporting the family. In order to take care of the funeral arrangements for her eldest brother's family, all the family savings had been used up.
The tofu business is not doing well nowadays. Several women have to raise silkworms, weave textiles, make tofu, and take care of the fields. The family is hoping that the two pillars of the family can come back soon.

Naturally, I have to ask the village chief about this matter.

The last time the troops were assigned was by the former village chief, but now Li Yi is the new village chief.

Luo San said from the side, "Zhu Zi and the others left on the first day of May. It's already been a month. When the government recruited soldiers, they said it would take twenty days. Can you help me find out about the situation?"

The court's labor service required that every male aged 21 to 60 years old must serve the court for 20 days a year free of charge. If he was doing miscellaneous labor in the local area, it would be 40 days.

All households and laborers who were required to pay taxes had to serve in the army. Only those who were fifty years of age or older were exempted from the labor service, which was equivalent to paying three feet of silk every day.

Li Yi was a Taoist priest before, so he didn't know much about these taxes and labor service. He agreed to go to Guo Cunzheng to ask. After moving the few things in his thatched hut to Wujiyuan, he went to Guozhuang next door.

Guo Erlang was very close to Li Yi now. After hearing his purpose, he said nonchalantly, "Although the regular service for each adult male is twenty days, if the court needs it, it can be increased.

If the labor service is increased by fifteen days, the rent and tax are exempted; if the labor service is increased by thirty days, the rent and tax are exempted altogether. Generally, regular labor service shall not exceed fifty days. "Twenty days of free labor per year for a man of ordinary age can be added, and an additional month of labor can be added."

The additional labor service is paid and can be reduced or exempted from rent and taxes on a daily basis.

If the service is extended by one month, then the rent and transfer for this year will not have to be paid.

"They are being forced to serve in the army, so they will definitely not be able to return soon. You came just in time, because I was looking for you. The imperial court is going to go to war with Xue Ju in Longyou, and they are selecting soldiers and conscripting able-bodied men. The county magistrate has already sent a letter to our village, asking for able-bodied men.
Our village needs to send 20 able-bodied men, which means one man for every five households. Your Luojiabao has four baos, so this time we need to send four able-bodied men to serve. In addition, we need to conscript four middle-aged men to serve in the county for 20 days of miscellaneous labor service."

"This time, the men will definitely have to serve in additional military service. They might have to do it for a full month, and they won't be able to return for fifty days. Please explain this to them in advance."

"This matter is urgent. You must send these four able-bodied men and four middle-aged men to Wangqu Township within three days."

Collecting rent and assigning labor service are the tasks of the village heads.

"Are we going to fight again?"

"Well, but don't worry. We fought once last year and won." Guo Erlang told him about Xue Ju in Longyou. In April last year, Xue Ju, who was the Yingyang captain of Jincheng in the Sui Dynasty, and his son Xue Rengao killed the Jincheng magistrate and rebelled, calling themselves the Overlord of Western Qin.

Afterwards, he advanced with unstoppable force, successively capturing Fuhan, Longxi, and other places. With an army of 130,000, he then captured Tianshui, proclaimed himself Emperor of Qin, and moved the capital to Tianshui. By November, he had defeated Li Hongzhi, who proclaimed himself Emperor of Chu, and Tang Bi, who proclaimed himself King of Tang, and annexed their troops. His prestige was immense, and he boasted an army of 300,000.

They became the biggest threat to Li Yuan in Guanzhong. Last December, Xue Ju ordered his son Xue Rengao to lead an army of 100,000 to attack Fufeng. Li Yuan immediately sent his son Li Shimin to meet Xue Rengao. At the same time, he sent another force from Sanguan to attack Xue Ju's base in Longyou. He also ordered Li Xiaogong to lead an army across the Qinling Mountains to seize the Bashu area.

At the end of December,
Xue Rengao, who was known for his ability to defeat ten thousand enemies, was defeated by the genius Li Shimin. More than ten thousand of his men were annihilated in Fufeng, and he retreated all the way to Longshan.

However, another army sent by Li Yuan to attack Longyou was ambushed by Xue Ju on Changdao Road, and Dou Gui and Jiang Mo were defeated.

The two sides, each having won a victory or loss, temporarily ceased fighting, with Xue Ju occupying Longyou and Li Yuan occupying Guanzhong.

Xue Ju was unwilling to give up and had been plotting to attack Guanzhong. He sent envoys to ally with the Turks. Fortunately, Liu Wenjing, who was sent to the Turks by Li Yuan, accidentally learned of the plot. He hurriedly sought an audience with the Turkic Khan and explained the pros and cons, thus thwarting Xue Ju's plot to ally with the Turks in the north and attack Chang'an.

Xue Ju had Li Gui to the west and Li Yuan to the east. Li Yuan had also taken over Bashu in the south first. If he did not resist, he would have to wait for death. That was why Xue Ju made a comeback.

This time, Xue Ju personally led the army to attack Jingzhou.
Faced with the aggressive Xue Ju and his son, Li Yuan decided to send Li Shimin, who had won the last battle, to lead the eight generals and send out 100,000 troops to fight.

In this battle, both sides dispatched more than 100,000 troops, and the outcome of this battle determined the ownership of Guanlong.

The Tang Dynasty dispatched 100,000 troops, so naturally a lot of civilians were needed to be responsible for transporting food, fodder and equipment.

There are 500 households in Yusu Township, and this time 100 able-bodied men will be conscripted. More than 10,000 able-bodied men will be conscripted in the entire Chang'an and Wannian counties.

A large number of able-bodied men were drafted, and local governments could only conscript middle-aged men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one to perform some duties.

Li Yi said helplessly, "We originally had 24 households in Luojiabao, with a total of 30 adults. Ten of them were conscripted before, and the last landslide wiped out six households, leaving eight adults without us.

Now there are only twelve men left in the whole village, five of whom are over fifty years old, and only seven are under fifty years old.

This time they are going to take four more men, so there will only be three able-bodied men left in the entire village. If they also want to take four more middle-aged men, then only women, children, the elderly and the weak will be left in the village.”

Guo Erlang said, "It's not the busy farming season yet, so we shouldn't delay it. Besides, there's no other way to fight this war. If we can't defeat Xue Ju this time and they come after us, it will be even more devastating."

Do you know where Jingzhou is? It's just 500 miles northwest of Chang'an. If we lose the battle, the Western Qin army can march straight up the Jinghe River valley. Once we pass Binzhou and reach the plains, there will be no safe havens.

The Western Qin army may not be able to capture Chang'an City, but the surrounding countryside will be devastated."

Guo Erlang invited Li Yi to have a meal. He still made steamed buns, but Li Yi did not like the taste.

"My wife has a cousin who works as a military officer in the Zhao Guogong government. Last time, when we settled you down, we asked Tian He to arrange for you to be the village chief. It was also thanks to him that he helped to contact Wannian County. His birthday is coming up, and I want to find a gift, but I can't find anything suitable. I wonder if you have anything good like the mithril pot last time?

As long as you have it, the price is negotiable." Guo Erlang said eagerly.

Li Yi had heard him mention this Du Bingcao several times. Last time, he seemed to have heard it was called Du Keming. Li Shimin, Duke of Zhao, served as Bingcao of the shogunate. Li Yi felt that this name seemed familiar.

"I wonder if my second uncle has ever heard of Du Ruhui?" Li Yi asked.

Guo Erlang laughed heartily. "Du Ruhui is none other than my wife's cousin, Du Keming. His given name is Ruhui, and his courtesy name is Keming. He's a man of true learning and talent. Even Gao Xiaoji, the Sui Dynasty's Minister of Personnel, praised him as a pillar of state and recommended him for the position of county lieutenant. As soon as the current emperor entered Chang'an, the Duke of Zhao personally traveled to Duqu to invite him out of retirement to serve as a military officer in his shogunate."

Li Yi didn't expect that the Du Keming was actually the famous Du Ruhui.

"My dear nephew, you must do me a favor. To be honest, I want to get closer to him."

(End of this chapter)