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

Chapter 176: Returning Home in Splendid Clothes
afternoon.

In Wuji Castle, a pig-killing banquet begins.

"The first dish is here!"

Now Dafu, the owner of Wuji Bean Curd Shop in Chang'an East Market, wears an apron, holds a tray in his hands, and shouts loudly with a loud voice.

Wuji Primary School Vice Principal Dong Qilang, dressed in a long gown, asked with a smile, "What is the first dish?"

"Principal Dong, what do you think this butchering knife is?"

“It’s pig’s blood, of course!”

"That's right. We're having a pig-killing feast at Wuji Castle today, and this first dish, the first cut of vegetables, is made with pig blood."

The sun is very warm today.

Inside the fortress surrounded by high walls, there was no wind but warm sunshine, and a few tables were set up directly.
The guests at the table are all honored guests.
As for the workers, tenants and servants of the Li family, there were naturally not so many tables and chairs, so they just squatted down and ate their meals.

The first dish is served.
Dong Qilang looked at the steaming dish.

The pig's blood turns dark red after being cooked, and is stewed with tender green leeks and sauerkraut.

"Everyone, eat,"

Li Yi came over to toast. There were two bottles of wine on the table, one bottle of persimmon wine and one bottle of millet yellow wine.

Everyone wanted to try the persimmon wine. They all knew that Li Yi had recently sent people to collect persimmons everywhere, saying that persimmons could be used to make wine, and good wine could be made without grain.
Everyone doesn't believe it.

I finally got to drink it today, so of course I had to try it.

"Wuyi, does your persimmon stew really not require grain?"

"Hahaha, it uses persimmons, so it's called persimmon stew. Village Chief Wang, try it and see how it tastes."

Mr. Dong also put the cup in front of him and motioned Wuyi to give him a cup.

"Everyone, drink slowly. This is a strong drink."

Village chief Wang was not convinced. "No matter how strong it is, how much stronger can it be? I am the best at drinking. Even three or five bowls won't make me drunk." As he said that, he picked up the cup and took a big sip, but immediately choked.

Although persimmon wine is not spicy, it is 40 to 50 degrees after all. This is the second pot of wine that Li Yi used. If he used the first pot directly, it would be more than 70 degrees, which would be even more unbearable for him.

"Wow, you're so drunk!" Village Chief Wang's face immediately turned red.

Upon hearing this, the others also hurried to taste it.

They all exclaimed how powerful it was.

"That's intense!" Dong Qilang laughed.

Dong Xiucai was a little uncomfortable with it, he still preferred rice wine.

"Everyone, hurry up and eat the food. Boil the pig's blood in boiling water first, then fry the fat in the pot to extract the oil, add the chopped green onion and ginger, then add the blanched pig's blood, simmer for a while, then add the leek and pickled mustard greens, stir-fry until hot, and it's done.
How about giving it a try! "

The first dish received unanimous praise, and there was no reason not to. On this snowy day, the fresh pig's blood was incredibly smooth, and the fat from the fresh fat added a fresh, fragrant flavor. Adding leeks and pickled mustard greens also relieved the greasiness and whetted the appetite.

The hot first-cut vegetables taste so good when they enter your stomach.

The second dish is garlic pork, which is fatty but not greasy and melts in your mouth.

"Pork bone stew with sauerkraut is here."

The pig's dragon bones are stewed with sauerkraut and blood sausage. The pig's neck is chopped into large pieces, stewed, and then cut into large slices and stewed together with the sauerkraut and bones. The meat is tender and the soup is delicious, smooth and appetizing.

"Braised pork,"

“Pork rib soup!”

Today we have all broadened our horizons. We didn't expect that slaughtering a pig and having a banquet would be the right thing to do. The dishes from the slaughtered pig are so delicious, and each one is a classic.

Even the village head Wang, Feng Xiangzuo, Dong Xiucai, and village head Guo all said it was delicious.
Not to mention the tenants, workers, and servants of the Li family,
I guess many people will never forget this meal.

"This braised pork is as red as agate, a translucent red, yet soft yet not mushy, and fatty yet not greasy. How is it done?" Dong Xiucai likes this dish best. The large, square pieces are half fat, half lean.

"Grandpa, I think the skin of this vegetable is the most delicious. I didn't expect pork with skin to be so delicious." Dong Qilang exclaimed.

Li Yi thought that the taste would not be good if only the skin was on, so he made this dish himself and used rice wine, sugar and soy sauce, which are all very expensive seasonings nowadays.

I also used ginger slices and green onions.
The most important thing is to boil the casserole over high heat first, then simmer over low heat for two hours. Take another small clay pot, put in the braised meat, and steam it in a steamer for half an hour.

It takes a lot of time and ingredients, and rice wine, sugar, and soy sauce are not cheap.

Li Yi was reluctant to use his own stock of rock sugar, otherwise the taste would be even better.

"I am back!"

Xiao Shisan returned in the snow.

Li Yi greeted him with surprise, "How come you came back at this time and it's already done?"

"Well, it's done."

"My senior brother is back?"

"Not yet. I came to Chang'an with Guo Xiaoke."

Li Yi pulled Xiao Shisan to the table and poured him some persimmon stew. "Eat some food first, drink some hot soup, and have a glass of wine to warm yourself up. We'll talk later."

Li Yi sent someone to call Yu Youniang over.

Xiao Shisan was also hungry. After finishing his business in Chang'an, he returned to his Pingkang residence. Only then did he learn that Yu Youniang and Li Yi and his wife had returned to the countryside, so he hurried over again.

“These dishes are really good,”

wolf,

He took a big gulp of wine and didn't choke.

"I finished the few pots of persimmon wine I brought to Hebei a long time ago. I missed it so much back in Hebei, and Secretary Wei kept talking about it too."

"Tell me how this happened?"

"It went quite smoothly. Secretary Wei and I bypassed Wang Shichong's territory quite smoothly. After leaving Tongguan, we went through Shanzhou to Xiongzhou, detoured to Yizhou south of Luoyang, then turned to Yongqiu, passed Bai Ma, and arrived at Liyang." Shanzhou, east of Tongguan, is now ruled by Li Xiaoji, the prince of Yong'an, a member of the royal family, as the general manager and governor. Xiongzhou, further east, was where Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin, brothers, sent troops to Luoyang at the beginning of the year. When they returned, they conquered Xin'an and Yiyang, and the newly established Xiongzhou was garrisoned by the former Chang'an hero, former Duke Shi Wanbao, and the general manager Sheng Yanshi.

Further east, Yizhou, which is the area around Linru and Jiacheng in the Ru River Basin, was the territory of Zhang Shanxiang, an old subordinate of Li Mi. He was sealed by Li Feng as the Duke of Xiangcheng.

After Li Mi surrendered, he also submitted a petition to surrender and was appointed as the governor of Yizhou.

Wei Zheng and Xiao Shisan's journey to Yizhou was actually quite safe and smooth. Zhang Shanxiang was originally from Xiangcheng. He had raised troops to defend his hometown at the end of the Sui Dynasty and later defected to Li Mi. Now that he had defected to the Tang Dynasty, he was very polite to Li Mi, treating him well and providing him with food and drink, and even sending soldiers to escort him.

He even made a special trip to greet Li Gongyi of Yongqiu in Bianzhou in the east.

Li Gongyi, who had rebelled in his hometown of Yongqiu, was the first to recommend Li Mi along with Wang Bodang, Wang Dangren, Zhou Wenju and other leaders of the rebels. However, after Li Mi's defeat, he chose to submit to Wang Shichong.

After all, Wang Shichong was between Li Tang's territory and his.

Wei Zheng came to Yongqiu and secretly met with Li Gongyi. He took out the emperor's edict to recruit Li Gongyi, appointed him as the governor of Qizhou, conferred him the title of Duke of Yangxia County, and appointed Li Shanxing as the governor of Qizhou.

But Li Gongyi hesitated again and again and still did not accept it. He also did not arrest Wei Zheng and hand him over to Wang Shichong. Instead, he gave them travel expenses and sent someone to send them away quietly.

Although Wei Zheng failed to pacify Li Gongyi, he successfully crossed the Yellow River and arrived in Liyang.

Before crossing the river, Wei Zheng wrote a letter to Xu Shiji and asked Xiao Shisan to deliver it.

After receiving the letter, Xu Shiji discussed it with his confidant Guo Xiaoke. They both felt that now that Li Mi had fled west to Chang'an, many of the Wagang generals had brought their soldiers or counties to join Wang Shichong.

Only a small number of people like him remained who had not yet submitted their allegiance to Chang'an or Luoyang.

But they can't keep going like this forever. Once Wang Shichong is free, I'm afraid they will find it difficult to hold on any longer.

Xu Shiji also favored Chang'an Li Tang, but he said to Guo Xiaoke, "We are the subordinates of Duke Wei, who has already surrendered to the Tang Dynasty. The land and people here belong to Duke Wei. If I had listened to Wei Zheng's advice and directly submitted them to the court in Chang'an,

I would not be ashamed to profit from the master's setbacks, to take credit for myself, and to gain wealth and honor.

So he told Xiao Shisan that he hoped Wei Zheng would cross the river to meet him.

When Wei Zheng arrived in Liyang to meet him, Xu Shiji said that he would register the county population, the number of soldiers and horses, and send Guo Xiaoke to Chang'an to report to Wei Gong Li Mi, who would then present it to the court.

Then he expressed his willingness to transport grain from Liyang Warehouse to supply Huai'an King Li Shentong, the Shandong Road Pacification Ambassador appointed by the court, and asked Wei Zheng to help escort the grain.

So Wei Zheng sent Xiao Shisan and Xu Shiji's chief secretary Guo Xiaoke back to Chang'an, and he escorted grain to Weizhou to meet Li Shentong.

Xiao Shisan and Guo Xiaoke quietly returned to Chang'an along the same route they came. After arriving in Chang'an, he submitted Wei Zheng's memorial.

Li Yuan only knew Xu Shiji's thoughts after receiving Wei Zheng's letter, so he summoned Guo Xiaoke. After learning the details, he praised Xu Shiji for being grateful for his master's kindness and refusing credit, saying that he was a loyal minister.

A special decree was issued to appoint Xu Shiji as the governor of Liyang, Shang Zhuguo, and grant him the title of Duke of Lai. He was also granted the title of General You Wuhou, 5,000 acres of fertile land, and a high-quality house in the capital.

Guo Xiaoke was granted the title of Governor of Songzhou and Duke of Yangdi County.

He gave Wei Zheng, the Secretary, a golden urn, 300 pieces of silk, and a house in Chang'an.

Li Yuan also pardoned Xiao Shisan's previous crimes, and appointed him as the ninth-rank military officer of Weizhou, and gave him two horses and a hundred pieces of silk.

"Are you going back to Liyang?"

"Well, I might stay in Chang'an for another day or two, and then return to Liyang with Guo Xiaoke."

Although Guo Xiaoke was granted the title of Governor of Songzhou, he still served as the Chief Clerk of the Liyang General Administration Office.

Li Yi did not expect that their trip to Hebei would be so smooth, but it was still very difficult. In Yongqiu, if Li Gongyi wanted to use them to ask Wang Shichong for the reward, he and Wei Zheng might lose their lives, or they might have to surrender to Wang Shichong.

"Congratulations, it's worth the trip," Li Yi raised his glass. "Come, let me toast you."

"I should respect Lord Qianshui. If you hadn't recommended me to Duke Wei, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to achieve merit and regain my life, let alone obtain an official position."

Being a military officer in Weizhou, a rank below the ninth, was just a minor official, but for Xiao Shisan, who had been hiding from place to place for ten years, this was a true rebirth.

Joining the military in Weizhou was just the starting point of his rebirth.

He believed that with his own abilities, he would definitely be able to excel.

"Are you going to take your daughter with you this time?"

Xiao Shisan shook his head, "I came back in a hurry this time, but I have already obtained my status and official position. I want to hold a wedding with You Niang.

After the wedding, I will return to Hebei."

He wanted to give Li Yi the two horses and one hundred pieces of silk awarded to him by the emperor, saying that it was part of the repayment for the two hundred strings of cash he had used to redeem your daughter.

"Why are you being so reserved? You can leave this money to your daughter and buy some land or a house in Chang'an."

Yu Youniang rushed over after hearing the news, and when she saw Xiao Shisan, she threw herself into his arms.

"Brother Thirteen, why don't you propose to me now? We will all be your witnesses." Li Yi laughed.

Xiao Shisan stood up and took Yu Youniang's hand. "Youniang, I want to marry you formally. Will you marry me?"

Yu Youniang was so excited that she burst into tears.

Li Yi said with a smile, "Hurry up and agree. Thirteenth brother has made great contributions during his trip to Hebei. His Majesty has granted him the title of Weizhou Military Assistant."

Yu Youniang finally nodded under Xiao Shisan's loving gaze.

After going through so much,

She also completely abandoned the idea in her heart. She used to think that she was no longer worthy of him, but after this separation, she realized that she only wanted to grow old with him in this life and had no other requests.

"Well, I do."

Everyone cheered. They didn't expect to witness such a happy proposal at the pig-slaughtering banquet.

"It is better to wait for a day than to wait for a day, and we will get married tomorrow.
I acknowledge You Niang as my godsister. Tomorrow You Niang will get married in Wuji Castle.
I will send someone to take you to Xiao Wuji Fort to set up the Qinglu, and tomorrow you can bring your young mother to Wuji Fort to get married, how about that? "

Xiao Shisan was very grateful for this arrangement, and You Niang also bowed to Li Yi.

Then,
Li Yi asked Dong Xiucai to help him and Yu Youniang write a sworn brotherhood, and the two became sworn brothers.

Xiao Shisan also became Li Yi's adopted brother-in-law.

(End of this chapter)