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

Chapter 150 Senior Brother Wei Xuancheng

As the Deputy Inspector of the Palace and the Earl of Qianshui County, Li Yi was also qualified to attend the palace banquet today.

Today's palace banquet was extravagant. Many of the dishes were new to Li Yi, and he had never even heard of them. The names of these dishes were all very nice. He sat in a corner of the palace, leisurely enjoying the delicacies.

That red sheep branch staff makes people drool.

This is a roasted whole lamb dish, and the lamb is from a red sheep, also called ibex or northern goat.

This sheep is a kind of goat with a pair of long curved horns that are up to one and a half meters long.

The whole sheep was roasted on a rack, and when it was finished, it was lifted up, with the long horns still there, looking very majestic.

Li Yi looked at the red sheep not far from him and estimated that its wool weighed about 250 to 260 kilograms.

Next to him was Wu Shiling, the Duke of Xuancheng County and the Junior Minister of Agriculture. Although he was dressed in a purple robe, he looked like an old man who had just returned from the fields to look after the wheat and had put on new clothes to attend the banquet.

"This red sheep has extremely delicious meat, but it's also very difficult to catch. We're in for a treat today."

Looking at this old man, he really didn't look like a dignified county lord. Li Yi saw that he was not arrogant, so he chatted with him while eating. "This wine is not very tasty. I brought some homemade persimmon wine. Would you like some, Lord Xuancheng?"

"Persimmon-smoked? I've never had it before. Give me some." Wu Shiling said with a smile.

Seeing that the old man started drinking before the dishes were served, he also liked wine, so he took out a bottle of wine from his arms.

"Hey, your wine vessel is really beautiful. It's not only crystal clear, but also bright blue. It must be carved from the finest crystal."

Li Yi is new wine in old bottles.
This bottle is Wuliangye's Blue Diamond bottle, with a diamond shape, which is really beautiful. I received this as a gift from someone during the Chinese New Year, and after drinking it, I put it on the wine rack because it looks so good.

Today, he specially brought this old bottle filled with new wine, and he also wanted to show his persimmon-smoked wine at this palace banquet. If there are people who like to drink it, then he will have customers.

Li Yi opened the bottle cap,

Lao Wu sniffed a few times, "What a strong fragrance."

He looked at the wine poured into the glass. It was clear and transparent, different from the wine he usually drank.

"This is different from soju, it's so clear?"

Although Shaochun wine is also called sake, it is actually rice wine. The longer it is stored, the darker its color will be, from light yellow to reddish brown.

Ordinary white wine is raw wine that has not been heated at low temperature, also called raw spring wine.

Lao Wu also likes to drink. He drinks both turbid wine and liquor, but he has never seen wine as clear as water. But when he picked it up and smelled it, the aroma of the wine was elegant and pure.

He couldn't wait to take a sip.
It was as if a warm current flowed down my throat and into my stomach.
This impact was too strong.

If you smack your lips and savor it carefully, you can taste a hint of persimmon sweetness besides the spiciness and burning sensation.

I took another sip, this time I was prepared and didn't drink too much.

Savor it slowly,

"The taste is delicate and long-lasting. Hiss, it's strong!"

Lao Wu has never drunk such wine.

"Is Duke Xuancheng used to drinking?"

"Well, not bad, not bad."

He held the small cup and tasted it slowly. The more he drank, the more intoxicated he felt. It was obviously very spicy, but it had a unique charm that he couldn't let go.

After taking a sip, I always want another one.

Wu Shiling is over sixty years old. In his hometown of Wenshui, Bingzhou, he was actually just a country landlord. Although his ancestors were rich, his grandfather and father were only insignificant officials, and at most they were considered a poor family.

He was a landlord in the countryside, and occasionally went to the frontier to do some business, selling cattle and horse furs, and when he went, he brought back some silk cloth, needles and thread, salt, etc.

Life was pretty good.
Later, the fourth brother Wu Shigui joined the Duke of Tang in an uprising, and the brothers had no choice but to take their children and servants with them. Unexpectedly, they soon entered Chang'an. He was therefore granted the title of Duke of Xuancheng County and Shaoqing of Sinong, and his second brother Shiyi was also granted the title of Duke of Anlu County.

As for the fourth brother, he was even granted the title of Duke of Yiyuan County and the Imperial Court Minister.

In fact, Wu Shiling had not really made any remarkable achievements, but Wu Shigui was Li Yuan's confidant, and the children of the Wu family followed him in the uprising, so they were all followers of the uprising.

When Li Yuan first started his army, all of his 30,000 followers were granted the seventh-rank official titles of Xuanhui Wei and Suide Wei. And the sons of local powerful families like the Wu family who served in the army and supported the army were granted the fifth-rank official title of Chao San Daifu.

In a few months, from Taiyuan to Chang'an,

Wu Shiling also helped with logistics, and then according to his merits, he was rewarded with the title of Duke of a county and the fourth-rank official of the Ministry of Agriculture.

In comparison, Li Yi's current titles of county earl and nine-turn honors, as well as his sixth-rank official and seventh-rank casual positions, can all be considered earned through hard work.

Lao Wu grabbed the chopsticks and started eating, looking very heroic.

This dish, Zhutouchun, is actually roasted quail, but it is roasted to a golden color, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.

Lao Wu took a sip of wine and chewed a few bites of quail, it was delicious.

"Is this persimmon cake of yours really made with persimmons?"

"It is indeed brewed with persimmon as the main ingredient. This wine is newly brewed. If it is stored in a cave or cellar for more than three years, it will taste better."

"I never thought that you could not only write the Three Character Classic and write "Slimming Muscles", but also fight in the camp, offer strategies to defeat the enemy, and make bean curd sheets and brew persimmon cakes. What a talent." Old Wu looked at Li Yi. "I can't understand why the Jingzhao Du family would treat you like that. They have been so arrogant for too long."

Li Yi took a sip of the wine.
It seems that this special marriage between him and Shi Niang has finally been known to everyone in Chang'an.
Lao Wu also stood up for him, but it is estimated that Lao Wu may have suffered discrimination from famous families like the Du family. After all, in the eyes of those famous families, the Bingzhou Wenshui Wu family is just a small tyrant in the northern border area.

Even though we are rich now and have three officials in the family, we are still nouveau riche.

Li Yi is now just like Lao Wu's family. In the eyes of the lower class, he is a newly-minted upstart, but in the eyes of those powerful families, he is just a nouveau riche.

No matter whether you are a county lord or a county earl, people will still look down on you.

"When I was your age, I would rather not marry than go to them and spend two million dollars. It's really precious. How many acres of land would I have to buy, how many big houses would I have to build, how many cattle and horses would I have to buy?
Even if it means taking concubines and buying maids, he can buy a hundred of them."

Li Yi saw that his glass of wine was empty and quickly filled it up again.

"Mr. Wu, I respect you."

"Hah," Lao Wu was also very free and easy. After finishing the roasted quail, he picked up the soft-shelled turtle and started to eat it. This thing was actually just boiled soft-shelled turtle, but it tasted really good. I guess the soup was very particular.

One old and one young,
You drink a glass, I drink a glass,
Lao Wu didn't know the power of persimmon fire, and after a few cups, he got drunk. He waved his hands and fell asleep on his stomach.

Li Yi held up the wine glass, feeling a little lonely as snow. He drank for a long time, but actually only drank a small glass.

At this time,

Emperor Li Yuan laughed heartily with joy, and was drinking with his hand on Li Mi's shoulder.
The emperor, in his joy, waved his hand.

Then an official took out a brocade box.

"Your Majesty has a decree!"

The emperor bestowed upon Li Mi the titles of Guanglu Qing, Shangzhuguo, and Xingguogong, and returned his old residence in Chang'an to him.

"We two drink this wine together to show our shared aspirations. I am deeply moved by your coming to Chang'an to seek refuge with you. I extend my sincere heart to you and am willing to act as a matchmaker for you and marry you to my uncle's daughter, Dugu."

Li Mi's smile was somewhat forced.

The reward given to him by the emperor was not to his liking. He had thought that he would at least be appointed as a Shangshu, but in the end he was only a Guanglu Qing.

Although this is a third-grade position, it is a sinecure with little authority.

But in front of the emperor, at today's palace banquet, she couldn't lose her temper and could only smile stiffly.

Wang Bodang, who followed Li Mi to surrender to the Tang Dynasty, was his loyal confidant, but was granted the rank of General of the Left Guard by Li Yuan.

Another confidant of Li Mi, Jia Runfu, a military officer and secretary of the Marshal's Office, was originally under Zhang Xutuo. His father was Jia Wuben, Zhang Xutuo's deputy, and was named the deputy governor of Xiongzhou by Li Yuan.

Recorder Xu Jingzong, son of Minister of Rites Xu Shanxin, abandoned Yuwen Shiji and surrendered to Li Mi after the Battle of Tongshan. Now he has returned to Tang and been granted the title of Deputy Governor of Lianzhou.

The reward list is very long.

However, he did not hear Wei Zheng's name. He was wondering why Wei Zheng came to him on his own initiative.

"Wu Yi?"

Li Yi looked at him suspiciously.

"You didn't recognize me. I haven't changed much in the past six years. But you've changed a lot. I almost didn't recognize you."

Li Yi blinked, he really didn't recognize him.

"Six years ago, in Zhao County, Hebei Province, on the banks of the Hutuo River, in Gucheng, at Ziyun Temple, Taoist Guangliang and his disciples Xuancheng and Xuanji,"

Some relevant information suddenly flashed through Li Yi's mind.

"Are you Senior Brother Xuancheng?"

"Hahaha, you kid, you really thought you'd forgotten your brother just because you were rich. But I've long since returned to secular life, and now I've resumed my secular name, Wei Zheng."

Wei Zheng took the initiative to sit cross-legged beside him.
Sniff your nose.
"What a nice wine,"

He directly picked up the bottle and poured himself a glass of wine, and couldn't wait to taste it. He didn't care much about the exquisite bottle.

Li Yi didn't expect that Wei Zheng was actually his old friend.

This is a long story.

Six years ago, a mudslide occurred in the upper reaches of the He River, causing a great disaster. People had to flee their homes. Taoist Li of Wuji Temple took the ten-year-old Wuyi with him and began to travel around.

They went from Guanzhong to Hedong, then crossed the Taihang Mountains and arrived in Hebei.

There is an estuary of the Hutuo River in Gucheng, Zhaojun, which is called Zihekou. It is said that there is a Hanjing Temple here, which once buried the corpses of 100,000 Yellow Turban Army.

Later, during the Kaihuang period, a Taoist priest named Guangliang came from Dingzhou. He raised funds and collected bones from all over the place, and built a Taoist temple, Ziyun Temple, on the site of the old Jingguan.

Taoist Guangliang later recruited disciples here.

Wei Zheng, whose family lived nearby, also had a father who was an official. However, he was a late-born son of his father, who died of illness when he was young. Wei Zheng liked reading but had no business acumen, and soon he could not make ends meet.
At that time, the imperial court imposed heavy taxes and labor service. In order to avoid taxes and labor service, Wei Zheng simply ran to Ziyun Temple and became a Taoist priest with the Taoist name Xuancheng.

Six years ago, Taoist Li brought Li Yi here from Hedong and stayed at Ziyun Temple for a while.

Taoist Li and Taoist Guangliang got along very well, and the young Wuyi also got along well with Xuancheng. Xuancheng also taught Li Yi to read, and the two of them called each other brothers.

Half a year later, Taoist Li took Wu Yi to continue traveling around the world and said goodbye.

Unexpectedly, we met again six years later.
Taoist priest Xuancheng became Li Mi's military recorder, and Taoist boy Wuyi actually became the founding earl of Qianshui County and deputy inspector of the palace gardens in the Tang Dynasty.

"Good wine,"

Wei Zheng stroked his beard and said, "I saw you today on Chunmingmen Street. I felt that you looked familiar, but I didn't recognize you."

Li Yi looked at Wei Zheng and remembered that when Wu Yi met him, he was already 33 years old. Now six years have passed in the blink of an eye.

"Now that you have returned to secular life, can you marry and have children?"

Wei Zheng held up his wine glass and said, "With the world in turmoil, how can I have time to get married?"

Oh, it turns out he is still a bachelor.

At the age of 39, I am a real bachelor.

"Not long after you left, I also left Ziyun Temple. Wuyang County Magistrate Yuan Baozang hired me as a secretary. Later, Yuan Baozang defected to Wagang, and Li Mi recruited me as a secretary. I've been running around for the past few years, but unfortunately, I haven't achieved anything."

"Wuyi, tell me how you suddenly became the Earl of Qianshui County. Also, where is your master, Master Li? Why did you return to secular life?"

"Alas, my master and I returned to Guanzhong at the beginning of summer this year. However, just a few days after returning to Wuji Temple, a heavy rainstorm caused the cliff to collapse, the cave house collapsed, and my master was gone. The imperial court was investigating monks and Taoists without ordination certificates, so I had no choice but to return to secular life."

The two chatted until the palace banquet was over, but neither of them was satisfied.

"Brother, you are here in Chang'an. Where are you staying?"

"I am still waiting for the court's arrangements."

"Then why not stay at my place first? I live in Pingkangfang, and my house has eight acres of land with plenty of rooms. We should have a good chat when we meet as brothers."

"Okay." Wei Zheng was actually quite depressed. He was not valued by Li Mi. When he came to Chang'an, many people were awarded official positions, but he was not.

(End of this chapter)