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

Chapter 128 Du Ruhui takes action
Li Yi led Du Shiniang back.

At the bridge, I was about to let go of her hand, but she held it tightly and refused to let go.

"Aren't you afraid they'll laugh at you?"

"Don't be afraid." Shi Niang bit her lip and said with a firm look.

"Row."

Li Yi took her hand and walked across Luojia Bridge. Fortunately, he did not destroy the bridge yesterday, otherwise it would take a lot of effort to rebuild it.

The villagers were packing up their belongings.
Some people were crying while cleaning up.

For the villagers of Luojiabao, this was the second disaster in just three months.

The last time a heavy rainstorm caused a plateau collapse, it destroyed many cave dwellings, wiped out seven families, and injured many people. And this time, the Qiang bandits were looting and setting fire.

Fortunately, many villagers lived in dilapidated earth caves, and the Qiang bandits who came at night only set some random fires. For many families, only the straw huts and firewood piles in front of the caves were burned, and the caves were not damaged.

The biggest losses were suffered by wealthy families like Li Yi and Guo Erlang. Li Yi's two courtyards were burned beyond recognition, and more than a dozen thatched houses in front of Guo Erlang's five-hole cave were also burned.

The tens of thousands of pounds of firewood that Li Yi's workshop bought were also burned to ashes.
In everyone's eyes, most of the newly harvested grain from Li Yi's more than 200 acres of land was stolen.

Holding Shi Niang's hand, I came to the thatched cottage.

Xiuzhi had already changed out of her seven-flowered-tree-shaped hairpins and green phoenix-colored robe, and put on a thorny hairpin and a plain robe again. She brought the two brothers, Mensuan, to help her pack.

Ji and the others are also helping,
Li Yi looked at the yard and realized that it was not suitable for living there for the time being.

"Don't pack up, just follow me back to Chang'an, Heizi,"

"Alang,"

Li Yi patted Heizi and said, "You and your new wife stay and look after it. There's still a lot of food in those three caves. Keep them sealed for now. The Shaofu Supervisor will send craftsmen to rebuild the house and school in the next day or two. I'll take everyone back to Chang'an to stay for a few days."

Anyway, the crops in the fields have been harvested.

Liu Heizi said, "Alang, after the crops are harvested, we need to plow the land quickly. It's not cold yet, so we can plant another crop of wheat."

"I don't grow wheat on my land, I grow rapeseed."

"Are you all growing cold vegetables?"

"Well, the workshop uses a lot of oil every year, so we grow rapeseed and press the oil ourselves."

Brassica rapa, also known as cold vegetable and Hucai, has an oil yield of up to 40% from its seeds, so it is also called rapeseed.

Although turnip is also called rapeseed, there is still a difference between them. Turnip is planted in March and April every year, while rapeseed can be planted after the autumn harvest. It can withstand frost and snow and is very cold-resistant.

Brassica rapa is very similar to modern rapeseed, but its leaves are smaller. The tender stems and leaves can also be eaten as vegetables, but the texture is not as crisp as rapeseed and is relatively tough.

Li Yi had already made a good deal.

After the autumn harvest, a crop of rapeseed is planted, which is harvested in early summer and used to extract oil, followed by rice planting.

"On the plateau?"

"We plant wheat on the plateau. The soil moisture is good this year, so we plant wheat."

chatting,
Luo Er, Luo San, Luo Shigou and other village chiefs came, and even Li Cunxiao and the other four newcomers came to listen.

Everyone talked about post-disaster reconstruction and autumn sowing.

The autumn harvest was mostly completed, and the remaining ones were not coming up soon. The villagers of Luojiabao did not suffer any injuries this time, and the losses were not great.

There were also some people who ordered the rice that had not been harvested yet.
When Li Yi told everyone that the emperor had promised to exempt the villages affected by the war from rent and taxes for this year and next year, and exempt them from military service for two years,
Everyone was excited.

Although most of this year's service has been completed, and some have even served beyond the term, such as Luo Dafu, who was originally entitled to 20 days of free service, they served more than 100 days. Not only can the 30 days of excess service be used to offset this year's rent and tax, but there are also more than 50 days left, which can be used to offset next year's rent and tax.

"Everyone should first count the losses they have suffered and report them in a couple of days. The township, village, and township authorities will also verify the losses. Finally, the county authorities will also verify the losses. After verification, there should be some compensation."

As Li Yi stood there talking, Du Shiniang held his hand tightly and stood next to him, her face flushed red but she refused to let go.

Everyone also looked at this bold girl from time to time.

The six new disaster-stricken families recruited by the school are now tenants of Li Yi's army. Each of them rents 50 mu of school land, which is basically 30 mu of rice fields below the plateau and 20 mu of wheat fields above the plateau. The land above the plateau is used to grow mulberry and hemp, raise silkworms and weave cloth.

"I'll buy the rapeseed and wheat seeds in the next couple of days. I'll also arrange for the farming tools you need. Before the house is built, everyone can build a straw hut to live in. The house will be completed soon."

Li Yi now has five horses, four mules, one cow and three donkeys.
There are still fewer cattle.
There are too many things to be busy with,
The general camp is more than ten miles away. Li Yi has just acquired a thousand acres of land there. Whether it is renting it out or doing some other thing, he has to make plans early. After all, the time for autumn sowing is limited and he cannot miss the season.

There are still 500 acres of land, all of which have been transferred out of Guanzhong and granted in Shangzhou.

He still has a hundred acres of land in Dujia Guabao.

"Alang, we can recruit soldiers from the disaster victims to farm the one hundred acres of land in Guabao and the one thousand acres of land in the general camp. They are close to each other anyway." Liu Heizi suggested again.

"Okay, I'll make arrangements as soon as possible."

"The workshop will be closed for the time being,"

Luo Er felt that the pot and stove were still there, but the workshop had lost its roof. It could still be used temporarily by covering it with straw. It was a pity that the workshop had stopped operating.
A row of straw huts at the bridgehead of Luo Sanniang was also burned down, but she also planned to rebuild it immediately and continue her business.

"You guys can handle it," Li Yi acted as a hands-off manager. He handed over the 20 strong slaves, ten men and ten women, that he had brought back from Chang'an to Liu Heizi, Luo Er and Luo San to help manage them.
He took Shi Niang, Ji, Yu Shu, Hong Xiao, and ten people from the three families of Afu, Awei, and Agui, as well as Xiuzhi and her two daughters, back to Chang'an.

Everyone is full of envy for Xiuzhi.

I was even more envious when I heard that I would enter the palace to be the prince's tutor.

But the rumor soon changed. Some people said that Xiuzhi was going to enter the palace to be a concubine.

"Let's go,"

Compared to the chaos in Wuji Thatched Cottage,
The matter with Shi Niang is the real test.

When the group returned to Chang'an, Li Yi asked Ji to take everyone back to his house in Pingkangfang, and he hurried to Du Ruhui's house in Anminfang with Du Shiniang.

"Is Lord Du still in the capital?"

"My uncle has been ill these days and has lost a lot of weight. He has been recuperating at home." Du Shiniang didn't know that her father had killed Du Ruhui's eldest brother, imprisoned Du Ruhui's younger brother, and wanted Du Ruhui to exchange Du Shiniang for Du Chuke.

Du Ruhui was not sick, but was hurt by anger.

Li Yi was still a little nervous when he arrived at Du Ruhui's house on horseback.

However, the servants of the Du family breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Du Shiniang coming back. This rich girl had disappeared early in the morning, not even taking her personal maid Shuying with her, leaving the whole family in a panic looking for her everywhere. Finally, she came back.

The two men dismounted.

Du Shiniang took his hand directly, clasped their fingers together, and walked towards the house.

In front of the Wutou Gate,

The Du family servants were stunned, and waited for the two figures to go away.

"Did I see things just now?"

"I saw it too. Shi Niang took Li Daizhao's hand."

"Oh my God, what are they doing?"

Du Shiniang held Li Yi's hand and walked through the Wutou Gate, into the main gate, into the middle gate, and all the way to the hall in the inner courtyard.

Du Ruhui was reading in the hall.

When I looked up and saw the two of them coming in hand in hand, I was stunned.

"Brother, Wuyi and I are back."

"Mr. Du," Li Yi wanted to let go, but Shi Niang held on tightly. It seemed as if she wanted to announce their relationship in front of everyone.

Du Ruhui's pale face suddenly turned red.
He laughed heartily and stood up. "Isn't this Li Lang, the man who knows where there are beautiful women? How come after not seeing you for a few days, you're holding hands and secretly getting married?"

Du Shiniang said to her cousin, "Yes, we have already secretly agreed to spend our lives together. Today I came to ask for your help."

"Have you really thought it through?" Du Ruhui asked with interest.

Li Yi nodded. "I can't let Shi Niang down. Although I know the road ahead will be bumpy, I have decided to move forward together. I hope Mr. Du can help us."

"This isn't difficult," Du Ruhui said with a smile. He suddenly felt much more relaxed. "All it takes is the old lady's nod, and it will be done."

"But my grandfather won't agree." Shi Niang said worriedly.

"Don't worry about this. I came to tell the old lady that I was planning to take her to live in the capital. The recent rebellion and looting by the Qiang cavalry has made me very worried about her. Although they didn't harass Fanchuan this time,

But my fourth and sixth uncles are not in Guanzhong, so as their grandson, I have to fulfill my filial duty."

Li Yi felt that Du Ruhui's attitude did not conform to the concept of aristocratic families. He vaguely felt that something was not right. After thinking about it, he thought it might be related to the internal strife within the Du family.

Perhaps Du Ruhui wanted to use the matter between him and Shi Niang to attack Madam Guo and Du Yan.

the next morning,
Du Ruhui actually took people to the Marquis' Mansion in Duqufeng Township, Fanchuan.

"Grandson greets grandmother,"

Guo didn't even raise her eyes.

"Today, my grandson has come to tell me two important things. First, Shi Niang and Li Yi from Yushuchuan have secretly decided to spend their lives together. They are now seen together, holding hands openly in front of outsiders. Judging by their intimacy, they may already be married."

"Shut up," Guo was furious. "How dare you slander your own sister like this? You're throwing dirty water on the Jingzhao Du family. What's your intention?"

Du Ruhui stood there and said calmly: "I just told my grandmother the truth."

"The second major incident was when that beast Du Yan killed my elder brother in Luoyang and imprisoned my third brother?"

There was also a flash of shock in Guo's eyes.
"Don't slander me. You were the one who called me Du Yan. He's your uncle."

"Even a tiger won't eat its own cubs. Brothers quarrel within the walls, but we must defend ourselves from external insults. Even if there's a small grudge, we must not abandon our righteous parents. Du Yan is my father's half-brother, yet he murdered his own nephew. Can he still be considered a human being? He's worse than an animal!"

Guo said, "I believe Silang would not kill his nephew for no reason. It must be your brother who committed a crime that deserves death."

Du Ru was extremely unhappy and laughed.

"Grandma, what you said is very good. I came here today not only to tell you these two things, but also to take you to Chang'an."

"I dont go."

Du Ruhui stepped forward and looked down at the old woman. "I wonder if Grandmother is concerned about the current situation? Luoyang is in danger. Du Yan is dependent on Wang Shichong, but now Li Mi has defeated Yu Wenhuaji and has a strong army. Although Wang Shichong has seized power in Luoyang through a mutiny, he is short of food and soldiers and will not survive the winter.
Even though Du Yan is now Wang Shichong's confidant, when the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact?

If my grandmother were to go with me to Chang'an now and agree to the marriage between Shi Niang and Li Yi, then when Luoyang falls in the future, she might be able to ask the King of Qin to help her get an amnesty for Shi Niang's sake.
Otherwise, I will ask for permission to kill him."

"You dare!" Guo's face flushed.

"He can kill my brother and imprison my younger brother, so why shouldn't I dare to kill him?"

"I will never agree to Shi Niang marrying that peasant boy. How can a daughter of the Jingzhao Du family marry down like this? She will become a laughing stock in the entire capital."

Du Ruhui snorted coldly.
"I'm willing to facilitate this matter because I want to preserve the dignity of the Jingzhao Du family's Fengxiang Marquisate. Do you really think that in a few months, when Shi Niang's belly gets bigger, I'm afraid the Du family will become an even bigger joke in the capital, right?"

"How dare she?" Guo was furious.

"Shi Niang is now always with Li Yi, holding hands wherever they go. What do you think she is afraid of?"

Guo was so angry that her whole body was shaking, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted from anger.

(End of this chapter)