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

Chapter 108 Du Yan's sacrifice of his relatives for the sake of justice
Luoyang.

Du Yan, who had been promoted to the Minister of Personnel, returned home exhausted and was greeted by his wife Guo.

"A letter from Duqu's mother."

Du Yan hummed in response, his mind still full of the complex situation in the Central Plains. After Li Mi defeated Yu Wenhuaji, not only did a large number of Jianghuai soldiers surrender to Li Mi, but many of the imperial guards also surrendered to Li Mi.
Even Wang Shichong's brothers, nephews and nephews fell into Li Mi's hands.

When Wang Shichong was ordered to lead an army from Jiangdu to suppress the bandits, he only brought his two sons and some nephews and descendants with him, and the rest of his family members stayed in Jiangdu. After Yu Wenzhi killed the king, he went north and also took Wang Shichong's family members with him. They were left in Huazhou after the Battle of Tongshan.

When Shiji was defeated, Huazhou fell into the hands of Li Mi, and Wang Shichong's family also fell into Li Mi's hands. Although Wang Shichong had seized power in Luoyang through a mutiny, he was powerless against Li Mi.

Wang Shichong had already been defeated by Li Mi several times, and now his brothers and nephews had also fallen into his hands.

Du Yan had a headache. He didn't know how long Luoyang could hold out.

"Alang, the eldest wife came to borrow food today."

Many members of the Jingzhao Du family lived in Luoyang. When Yang Guang moved the capital to Luoyang, many members of the Du family served as officials in Luoyang. When the world was in chaos, Du Yan and others stayed in the Central Plains.

The "big house" that Guo mentioned was the eldest son of Du Yan's father's ex-wife. His half-brother was deceased and had three sons. The eldest and third sons were in Luoyang. Only the second son was sent to a local area as a county lieutenant at the end of Daye, and later resigned and returned to his hometown in Duqu.

Because of his mother, Du Yan had always had a bad relationship with his eldest brother's branch. Although the two nephews lived in Luoyang, they rarely interacted with each other.

But now there is a famine in Luoyang, and it is impossible to buy food. Only a small amount of food is for sale, but each stone is already expensive at 80,000 or 90,000 coins.

In fact, most of the coins on the market in Luoyang are white Daye coins, which are whitened due to excessive lead and tin content, and weigh only one or two kilograms for one thousand coins. There are even many privately minted counterfeit Daye coins, with one thousand coins weighing only one kilogram. This has made the grain prices in Luoyang even more chaotic.

Du Yan was the Minister of Personnel, one of the Eight Seats in the court, so he would naturally be given priority.

But his two nephews were only minor officials.

Du Yan did not immediately reply to his wife's request to borrow grain. In fact, Du Yan's family did not have much grain, and the whole Luoyang City was now suffering from famine.

Especially after Li Mi defeated Yu Wenhuaji and Wang Shichong rebelled and started an internal conflict, people were in a panic. Those who had food hid it everywhere and would not sell it. Everyone knew that there might be another big battle in Luoyang.

No matter how expensive the food price is, money is not as valuable as life at this time.

Some of the food on the black market in Luoyang now is actually secretly traded between the defenders and Li Mi's men.

Du Yan opened the letter sent by his mother.
Nowadays, the Central Plains is in a state of frequent wars, and correspondence is very inconvenient.

This letter home was also delivered with great difficulty.

After reading the letter from home, Du Yan looked gloomy.

"Alang, what happened? Is mother not feeling well?" Guo asked worriedly. Guo was both her mother-in-law and her aunt, and they always had a good relationship.

Du Yan's chest heaved, filled with rage.

"Shi Niang fell in love with a country boy, a young Taoist who had just returned to secular life," Du Yan slapped the table.

"How is this possible? Doesn't mother care?" Guo asked anxiously, "Didn't Alang write to mother before, saying that he wanted to marry the second son of Duke Shu Yi of the Wei family?"

Du Yan loved his second legitimate daughter very much, but knowing that his old mother also loved her granddaughter, he deliberately kept her at home to accompany her mother.

But who would have thought that this would happen now.

What’s even more infuriating is that Erlang from the first wife’s side also intervened, disobeyed his grandmother, and took the confined Shi Niang to Chang’an.

"Du Ruhui is so arrogant! He actually dared to take charge while Liu Lang and I were not at home. When will it be his turn to be the head of Fengxiang Marquis' Mansion? The old lady is still here. Even if she is gone, it won't be his turn as a junior!"

"Shi Niang's marriage is arranged by me as her father. It is not his turn to interfere."

Du Yan was very angry, especially when Guo complained to her son and exaggerated the situation, saying how disobedient and unfilial her grandson was and how he had forcibly taken Shi Niang away.

She had originally asked Sanlang to deal with Tian She'er, but Du Ruhui actually obstructed it and even brought up the King of Qin, making both the Wei and Du families look bad.

"hateful!"

Du Yan was very filial to his mother and loved his daughter very much. However, at this time, his 79-year-old mother and 15-year-old daughter were bullied by his nephew Du Ruhui at home.

He did not think that Shi Niang went to Du Ruhui's house in Chang'an voluntarily. She must have been taken there by force. He just dared to take the initiative because he saw that he could not return to Luoyang.

His mother said that Du Ruhui had a good relationship with that peasant Li Yi, so he had reason to suspect that his daughter was framed by Du Ruhui, who deliberately used that peasant to seduce the inexperienced Shi Niang.

The purpose is naturally to suppress his lineage or to fight for the family inheritance.

His daughter, Du Yan's legitimate granddaughter, ended up marrying a wild Taoist priest and a small village chief. If this matter were to get out, how would Du Yan have any face left?

He, Du Yan, will become the biggest joke in the eyes of all the aristocratic families in Guanlong.

At this moment, he wished he could fly back to Chang'an, but unfortunately he couldn't leave.

"Evil creature," Du Yan slammed the table again.

After reading the letter, Guo was also very angry. The two families had been entangled in grievances for decades and had always been at odds. But now the eldest wife was targeting her daughter and she was disobeying her aunt. This was too much.

Du Yan pondered at home all night.
The next morning he rushed to the Taiwei Mansion to meet Wang Shichong.

Today, Wang Shichong was appointed as the Grand Marshal and established the Grand Marshal's Office. All court affairs, no matter how big or small, were decided by the Grand Marshal's Office. It can be said that he completely controlled the power of Luoyang.

"General, I have something important to report." Du Yan said hurriedly.

After listening to Du Yan's report, Wang Shichong was also a little surprised. "Are you serious?" "General, although Du Dalang is my nephew, he is secretly colluding with his brother Du Ruhui in Chang'an, and is determined to betray the general and sell out the court. Although I am his uncle, I cannot sit idly by after knowing this.

I can only sacrifice my relatives for the greater good."

Wang Shichong sighed deeply. "I've been kind to Du Dalang. Considering him your nephew, I didn't hold him accountable for his previous allegiance to Yuan Wendu and others, and even gave him the position of Deputy Minister of Works. I never thought he would betray me and be so rude. What do you think I should do with him?"

"kill!"

Du Yan gnashed his teeth and said, "There are rumors everywhere in Luoyang City now. Many people are playing both sides and even colluding with the enemy. Some are secretly communicating with Chang'an, and some are secretly communicating with Li Mi.
If we don't kill one person to serve as a warning to the rest, I'm afraid that when we go to war with Li Mi, someone will open the city and surrender."

"He is your nephew."

"Taiwei, even if he is my own son, if he dares to disrespect the king and father, I will kill him for the sake of justice."

Wang Shichong looked at Du Yan seriously.
"Okay, I'll leave this matter to you personally. Give him some respect and give him three feet of white silk."

"General, Du Ruhui's third brother, Du Chuke, is also in Luoyang. He is also suspected of collaborating with the enemy. Please imprison and interrogate him."

Wang Shichong thought about it seriously and said, "Well, I'll do as you say."

After dealing with this matter, Wang Shichong asked Du Yan, "Now that Li Mi has defeated Yuwen Shiji and is gaining great momentum, and Luoyang has just experienced a civil strife, the people are now in panic. What should we do?"

"Taiwei, although Li Mi defeated Yu Wenhuaji, many of his best soldiers and horses died in the battle of Tongshan, which seriously damaged his vitality and made his soldiers tired and sick. Moreover, our Dongdu troops have been defeated by him several times. Li Mi must be arrogant now.
I suggest that the Grand Commandant reward his soldiers generously, repair their weapons, and secretly gather strength."

"What else?" Wang Shichong asked again.

"The biggest problem facing the Eastern Capital right now is food shortages. Li Mi owns several large granaries, but the weather is getting colder, and Li Mi's army is short of clothing. However, we have a large supply of silk cloth stored in Luoyang. I suggest that we ask Li Mi to exchange the cloth for rice."

"It's impossible for Li Mi to be replaced, right?" Wang Shichong said.

"In fact, the two armies have been secretly exchanging grain and silk. Even when the fighting was fierce, the trade did not stop. Now, Li Mi is still the Grand Marshal of the Great Sui Dynasty, the Minister of the Chancellery, the Minister of the Southeast Road, and the Duke of Wei.

The Grand Commandant, bearing Your Majesty's decree, sent men to demand that silk cloth from the Eastern Capital be exchanged for grain from Li Mi's warehouses, so that each could take what he needed."

"Then let's give it a try." Wang Shichong had no other choice at this time. The problem of food shortage had been plaguing Luoyang. Now everyone knew that Li Mi would have a battle with him, but after all, both of them now supported Emperor Huangtai and were both Taiwei of the court.

Let's treat a dead horse as a living horse doctor.

"As soon as we can exchange food for it, we will fight Li Mi to a decisive battle. This time, I will take the initiative and defeat him while his soldiers are still exhausted from the battle of Tongshan."

Wang Shichong had no way out. If he waited for Li Mi's army to recover, he would be trapped between Li Mi and Li Yuan and would have no way out. If he fought now, there might be a glimmer of hope.

Du Yan got Wang Shichong's imperial warrant.
He led his troops directly to the homes of his two nephews.

A piece of white silk was thrown in front of Du Dalang. "I have specially asked for three feet of white silk for you. I will keep your body intact and save you from pain. Now, go on your way."

Du Dalang cursed Du Yan,
Du Yan waved his hand, and several soldiers came forward and strangled him to death with a white silk thread.

Du Sanlang Du Chuke was stunned when he saw his uncle killing his elder brother.

"Capture this traitor and put him in jail pending execution!"

Two nephews, kill one and imprison the other.

Du Yan asked Du Chuke to write a letter to his brother Du Ruhui in Chang'an, saying that his brother was executed for collaborating with the enemy and treason, and he was imprisoned.

The letter was not long and did not mention anyone else.

But Du Yan believed that he would understand once the letter reached Du Ruhui.

Now Du Ruhui disobeyed the old lady and took away his daughter Shi Niang, so he killed Du Dalang and imprisoned Du Sanlang.

If Du Ruhui wanted to protect his younger brother, he had to send Du Shiniang to Luoyang or send her back to Duqu.

This is Du Yan's cruelty.

He showed no mercy when he struck, and killed the enemy with one sword.

"Li Yi,"

Du Yan murmured this name. A small peasant, foolishly dreaming of getting close to the Jingzhao Du family, dared to use such a despicable means.

Then die.

Du Ruhui made some arrangements.
That day Du Chuke's letter was sent to Chang'an.

Another group of people also quietly headed to Guanzhong.

Chang'an,

night is deep,
In Anminfang, the lights were still on in the guest room in the west wing of Du Ruhui's house.

Du Shiniang lay on the couch, her eyes fixed on a portrait hanging on the wall.

The painting shows a young handsome man riding a white horse, looking back and smiling.

She stared at the portrait of Wu Yi that she had spent so much time and effort to draw, and her soul was lost.

(End of this chapter)