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

Chapter 204 Betting on Dogs
Night falls.

The north wind was howling, carrying snow particles that slapped the sable fur coat. Li Yi jumped onto his horse and tightened the silver fox fur around his collar. Fifty light cavalrymen followed behind him and mounted their horses.

"Don't make any noise and go quietly into the village."

He tightened his sable coat and mounted his horse.

We must catch them all tonight.

Gaojiabao is just downstream of Luojiabao, also backed by Shenheyuan and facing Zhongnan Mountain. Most of the villagers live in caves dug on the cliffs behind the plateau, and the cliff has collapsed before.

There is a winding path in the village that leads to the plateau.
Gaojiabao also built a weir and a water channel for irrigation on the Luojiabao side.

There are several water holes along the banks of the Duanhe River in Gaojiabao, and water flows all year round, even in years of drought. In general, Gaojiabao is very similar to Luojiabao in many aspects.

Nowadays, most villagers work for Li Yi's workshops and farms. They have made some money this year and can have a good New Year.

But after Chaoshan from the village brought back a group of people, the place became a mess.

Gao Chaoshan is the son of Gao Fu, a wealthy man in the village. When Gao Fu was alive, he was a very shrewd and stingy landlord. Originally, the Gao family also had more than 300 acres of land. However, during the war a few years ago, one dark and windy night, bandits from Nanshan broke into the yard.
The Gao family was robbed, the women were raped, and the son was kidnapped. Gao Fu, who always licked the bowl clean when eating and was reluctant to add salt when cooking, only used salt water to dip the vegetables, had to sell his land to redeem his son.
The Gao family was ruined.

All that remains is a row of cave dwellings to show that the place was once prosperous.

Gao Erlang later went to Chang'an to make a living. He started out as a shop assistant, but later on he became a gangster and a scoundrel.
He was an expert at gambling, cockfighting, dog fighting, and even quail and cricket fighting. Not only was he good at it, he was also good at raising fighting cocks. He was also proficient in pitching pots, dice, backgammon, and horse racing.

He even learned how to cheat due to long-term gambling.

I was going to come back to visit my old father at the end of the year.
As a result, after hearing about the changes in the village, especially some villagers and neighbors who boasted to him about how much they had earned by finding a good job at Qianshuibo's house this year,
Gao Erlang, who had been mocked and despised by his neighbors before, decided to teach them a lesson, so he called some of his accomplices.
So he started gambling in his cave home.

At the beginning, I deliberately let the villagers win some money.

The winner was very happy and proud, so he continued to play. The other onlookers also got itchy and excited.

So in just three days, many people had lost their fortunes, and some even owed a large amount of debt without realizing it, and were forced to put their fingerprints on the debt.

Gao Erlang is very cruel.
He lured these villagers into gambling, not because he was interested in the little money they earned from working for Li Yi, but because he was interested in their fields.
Under his manipulation, these people lost more and more, and they were determined to make up for their losses, so he borrowed money at the gambling table.

In fact, it is loan sharking.

Nine out and thirteen back, borrow on the same day and return on the next day,

In one day, if you borrow 10,000 yuan, you actually pay 9,000 yuan, and the next day you have to pay back 13,000 yuan, which means the daily interest rate is 1330,000 yuan. What's more terrifying is that he will definitely not let you really make back your money, but instead ask you to continue borrowing.

By the time you have lost a lot and he no longer lends you money, you can no longer afford to pay it back.

If you can’t pay it back the next day, you will have to pay the interest.

Then he will force you to pay off the debt with your land, house, belongings, and even your wife and children.

Gao Erlang is a ruthless person.

In one night, he made Gao Dayan owe him 100,000 yuan by lending money non-stop. The interest for one day was 30,000 yuan. On the second day, the interest was compounded and it became more than 170,000 yuan. On the third day, it was 230,000 yuan.

Once you enter his gambling game, no matter what you play, whether it's dice, cockfighting, half quail, backgammon, or horse racing, you always lose more than you win, making him fall deeper and deeper into it, unable to extricate himself.

Every time you lose money, he will happily lend you money. All you have to do is put your fingerprint on the IOU. When you come back, you have nothing left and it is difficult to make a comeback.

In a cave of the Gao family,

There were several charcoal fires burning, and the door was half open.

The oil lamp flickered in the wind that leaked through the broken window, and the sounds of dice and coins clattering echoed throughout the cave. Gao Erlang stroked the rhino horn dice holder at his waist, his eyes glancing over the villagers who were gambling like crazy. Gao Qi, nicknamed "Donkey," was putting his last string of coins into the dice holder, his hands trembling slightly.

A group of people were gambling with red faces and sweat all over their bodies.
Gao Erlang stood there in a long robe, inspecting the place. He also asked someone to make tea and noodles, and prepared walnuts and dried fruits, so that people could drink when they were thirsty and eat when they were hungry.
Let you keep gambling.

Li Yi and his group of fifty people soon arrived at Gaojiabao.
There are people on duty at the entrance of the village.
It's still the Unity Camp.

He noticed a large group of people appearing, so he turned around and started to leave. However, after taking a few steps, he was blocked in front of him.

"Where are you going to tip off?"

This man was a villager from Gaojiabao, assigned to the Unity Camp, taking turns guarding the village. He accepted benefits from Gao Erlang and helped to keep watch.

"Village Chief Wang, tie this guy up and gag him, and we'll deal with him later."

Liu Heizi and Zhao Yongan disappeared into the night again.
The village is blocked at both ends.

Then they surrounded Gao Erlang's house.

In front of Gao Fujia's cave, a man was knocked unconscious on the ground. He was arranged by Gao Erlang to keep watch.

"Catch them, don't let anyone escape."

Torches were lit,

The retainers raised their shields,

The knife is unsheathed.

"Anyone who dares to resist arrest will be chopped off."

The cave door was kicked open by Heizi.

bang bang,
Everyone was trapped in a few caves.

Not one escaped.

There were dozens of people.
The moment Liu Heizi kicked the door, the torchlight cast a distorted silhouette on the earthen wall. Before Gao Erlang could pull the dagger from his boot, he was pinned to his knees by a grip like an iron clamp. He looked up and saw the silver fish pouch on Li Yi's waist. That pouch symbolized a fifth-rank nobility, and in the eyes of this scoundrel, that person was already a very important figure.

Li Yi glanced at everyone,
"Who is Gao Chaoshan, the second grader?"

Li Yi, accompanied by the village head, village assistant, and a group of people from the Unity Camp, suddenly appeared, carrying bows and swords, shocking everyone.

Silent as a cicada,

No one dared to say a word.

"Who is Gao Er? Stand out." Gao Erlang, who had a smug look on his face just now, was now pale and trembling all over.

In fact, he was just a low-level rogue in Chang'an. He knew how to gamble and cheat, but he was not particularly cunning. He was just a country boy with no experience and was easy to be deceived.

He may secretly look down on the village head or the neighborhood chief in normal times, but if he really meets him, he will have to greet him politely.

Not to mention that Li Yi, who was a founding earl, was also a fifth-rank official.

"I'm Gao Er, the younger one. I'm here to meet Uncle Qianshui." Gao Er, who was still pinned to the ground, had no choice but to respond with all his might.

I knew Li Yi in my second year of high school, but I didn't expect to interact with him in such an occasion.

Liu Heizi lifted him up and then kicked him.
Gao Er knew a little bit of boxing and kicking, but he was no match for Liu Heizi, who was as strong as an ox. He was kicked away and fell to the ground.

He couldn't even get up from the kick.

"Damn you dog slave! Anyone who dares to plot against Qianshuibo is tired of living."

When Liu Heizi was hanging out with the gangs, he also liked to gamble and lost a lot. He also hated those who set up schemes and cheated.

Guo Er brought a stool for Li Yi.
"Sit down and talk,"

Actually, there is nothing much to say.

Liu Heizi just kicked him once, then dragged him in front of Li Yi and made him kneel down and confess honestly.

This scoundrel confessed everything clearly and honestly in front of Li Yi.

"Where's the IOU you tricked those people into signing?"

"They are all on me," Gao Er quickly took out a wallet from his pocket, which contained a large stack of IOUs with red handprints on them.

Each one is a loan with high interest rate.

Nine out of 13 are returned, and all are paid back the next day. If the full amount is not paid back the next day, the interest will be returned as the principal, which is compound interest.

There are also a few pictures of people like Gao Dayan, who have been forced to sign a document to mortgage their family's land to Gao Er.

"Humph, you're really brave, Gao Er, just based on these, you deserve to be exiled three thousand miles away. You really have no humanity at all.
Not only did you cheat, you also cheated your fellow villagers."

At this time, many people who participated in the gamble had actually understood it long ago, but many of them were trapped in it and could not extricate themselves, so they fantasized about borrowing money to make up for their losses.

Now I see the end of high school,

Finally, I let out a long sigh.

Many people sat down on the ground, gasping for breath, their faces as pale as paper, as if they had just woken up from a dream.

Suddenly, a gambler who was slumped on the ground let out a suppressed whimper. These men who worked hard in the farms and workshops during the day seemed to have their backbones pulled out.

They are basically ordinary people in the village, and some are children of wealthy families.

In these three days, I don't know how many people have been deceived and how many people have been trapped in the quagmire of hell.
If no one cares anymore,

I guess none of these people can escape.

Perhaps their fate will be that some will hang themselves, some will jump into a well, some will sell their land and houses, pawn their wives and daughters, or even become slaves of others.

In fact, they are not pitiful.
Because they were greedy, they were set up by others.

These people came to their senses,
They gathered around Li Yi one by one, kneeling down and begging him for help, hoping that Li Yi could return the money they had been cheated of, or even give them the IOUs.

Li Yi took the bag of IOUs,

I shook my head at these people.

They were all from the same village, and many of them still worked in his workshop and farm. Some helped him collect persimmons, some helped him collect firewood, and some helped him sell bean curd sheets, soap, and persimmon wine.
A moment of greed will lead you into hell.

"Nine out of ten gambling cases involve fraud. Don't think you can get something for nothing. You can use your hard-earned money to buy some cloth for your wife and daughter, and some meat for your family during the New Year. Isn't it better to have a happy New Year?

You will all go to the village head Wang, the village chief Feng and others to take notes, and then go back first. Once the government has handled it, the money you were cheated of will be returned if possible.

If you can't retreat, you can only blame yourself for your bad luck and learn this lesson.

Of course, I will also do my best to help you get the money you were defrauded of. Even after recording the evidence, those IOUs will not be counted."

Although everyone is anxious,
But he dared not disobey Li Yi's words.
I can only kneel down and kowtow to beg,

But Li Yi waved his hands and ignored him.
Liu Heizi cursed, "Get out of here, don't you understand what I'm saying?"

"Hang Gao Er and his accomplices outside on the tree to cool down and sober up."

More than a dozen people were dragged out and hung on trees.

The deceived villagers will naturally not let them off.

Last time, they just beat me up with fists and kicks. Fortunately, there were servants from the Unity Camp watching over me. They could teach me a lesson, but they couldn't take my life.

"Okay, that's enough. If you kill someone, you'll have to pay with your life."

"Go home and reflect on yourselves."

Before leaving, everyone thanked Li Yi again.
"Well, we are all neighbors, I can't just stand by and watch you get into trouble without helping you. Every failure is a lesson learned. I hope you won't gamble with others again.
Remember, nine out of ten gambling cases involve cheating, and nine out of ten gambling cases result in losses. If anyone dares to gamble in groups again, you must report them to Wang Xiangzuo, Wang Lizheng, and the respective village heads, and the township will punish them severely.”

Township Chief Wang quickly declared his stance, "Tomorrow I will lead a thorough investigation of the entire township. If I find anyone still gambling, I will immediately lead the Tuanjie team to arrest them."

"We should do more publicity and propaganda in our daily lives, foster a new style and positive morale, and resolutely prohibit gambling."

"Yes Yes Yes."

Li Yi stood up and said, "Pack up the team and go home."

When the night watchman's clappers drifted from the other side of the He River, the scoundrels hanging from the trees were already shivering with cold. Li Yi rode his horse through the frosty aqueduct, followed by a group of villagers who had just woken up from their dreams. If it weren't for Li Yi, these people would probably have ended up with their families destroyed.

(End of this chapter)