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

Chapter 209: The Golden Palace Poem Replaced by Hu Ji
Among the bunch of princes and nobles, although Li Yi was also a member of the Zongzheng clan, he still looked a little out of place in his scarlet robe.

Fortunately, after witnessing Li Yi's Five Thunders Righteousness, the brothers Li Boyi and Li Fengci became close, calling each other brother. The two brothers studied at the Hongwenguan in Menxia Province, but they were only versed in literature and only enjoyed cockfighting, dog racing, horse riding and hunting all day long.

But after chatting for a long time, Li Yi felt that the two brothers were not bad people. They grew up in the Duke of Tang's Mansion and were Li Yuan's nephews. Because his father died early and his mother doted on him, Li Yuan was often an official outside and did not discipline him strictly.
He developed a arrogant and frivolous personality.

They don't look bad, they are very straightforward. The two brothers are even a little vulgar, but they don't pretend.

It has a bit of a middle school boy vibe.

Good.

He hates people like Dou Zhiyuan, Ji Wen, Wei Ting, and Yang Hongwu who like to pretend.

"This palace music and dance makes me sleepy, not even as good as the Hu Ji in the West Market," said Li Boyi.

"Brother, you're right. The Sogdian Huji from the Stone Kingdom dances the Huxuan dance beautifully, especially since they wear so little clothing. When they spin in circles, their skirts flutter, revealing their long legs and even their underpants. It's so interesting."

"Hey, Brother Wuyi, do you have any Persian girls or Sogdian girls at home?"

Li Yi shook his head.

"Then you are really at a loss. Although those Hu girls are tall and strong, they are also plump, especially white," Li Boyi became excited.

"Brother, you still have to choose Hu Ji. It's not enough to just be plump. Some have a strong smell and a lot of hair. You have to choose carefully. We brothers have experience in this area. Come with us and you will be satisfied.

There was a bar in the West Market called Alia, owned by Kangpo, a prominent Sogdian bartender. There were many barbarians there, from Persia, Byzantium, Egypt, Franks, Goths, Mecca, the Nine Surnames of Zhaowu, and people from Kucha, Shule, Gaochang, and other countries in the Western Regions. "

The two of them became more and more excited as they talked.
From the height of the noses of these Huji from different countries to the color of their eyes, to the thickness of their skin, and even to their body odor,

They look only about fifteen or sixteen, but unexpectedly they are veterans in the world of love.

The two brothers not only like to go to the flower market to admire orchids, but also keep many at home, and they both have a collecting habit.

"More than a hundred concubines?" Li Yi exclaimed.
Can you handle it? At this age, playing outside is not enough. I have collected more than a hundred in the mansion.

"Well, my brother is 103, and I am 105."

Each of them costs more than 100 yuan, and the two brothers are still competing. They not only compete in quantity, but also in quality. They can't just buy anything casually. The items must be beautiful enough and have talent.

For example, some people are good at Huxuan dance.

Some people play the flute well,

Some people play the pipa well.
Some of them sing well.

Li Yi was really worried that the two brothers would lose their lives, and the emperor didn't care about his two nephews.

However, they did not force women to marry, most of them were bought from foreign women, to put it bluntly, they were slaves. Not only did the two brothers not force buying or selling, they were even willing to pay a high price for the women they liked.

The two were very welcome guests among the slave traders in Chang'an, as well as in the brothels, wine shops and other entertainment venues.
He is a top figure on the list and extremely popular.

As they were chatting, the two brothers wanted to give Li Yi a few Hu Ji.
The eldest brother Boyi said that he would give Li Yi a Persian girl, the second brother Fengci immediately said that he would give Li Yi a Byzantine girl, the eldest brother said that he would give Li Yi a Tocharian girl, the second brother said that he would give Li Yi a Khazarian girl.

"I'll send another one from Gaochang,"

"Then I'll give you one from Kucha."

"I'll add Kangguo,"

"I'll add a Stone Country."

Seeing that the two brothers were about to fight, Li Yi quickly tried to stop them, "Drink, drink."

long night,

Waiting for the early morning,
I don't know who was bored after eating and suggested that all the ministers present poems to celebrate the New Year.

A group of civil officials cheered and wanted to perform a poem in front of the emperor. The military generals said yes on the surface, but cursed them in their hearts, saying that this was putting things in a difficult position for them, the uncouth people.

Li Boyi cursed, "These civil officials must have been put to sleep by the music. Why are they writing such crap poems when drinking is not enough?"

But the emperor has already issued an order,
Each person was asked to compose a poem that suited the occasion.

The two brothers immediately became discouraged. Although they had been studying since they were young, none of them had ever studied seriously. They could barely read and write, but composing poetry was a death sentence for them.

"What should we do?" Li Fengci asked his elder brother. He could ask his subordinates to write his homework for him so as to deceive the teacher and his uncle.

But they don't have any followers with them at this time.

"Brother Wuyi, you are the one who wrote the Three Character Classic and the Disciple Rules. My brother and I were forced to memorize them for a long time. You are so talented, please help us write one."

Li Boyi picked up the wine pot and poured a glass of the pepper wine specially provided for New Year's Eve to Li Yi. "Brother Wuyi, if you can help me in an emergency, don't worry, I will definitely reward you handsomely."

"Yes, for one poem, I'll give you two Hujis, or three."

Li Yi shook his head. "I can't do that in a hurry. It's really impossible."

"Are you afraid of your wife at home and don't dare to bring Hu Ji back? By the way, your wife is the daughter of the Jingzhao Du family. I didn't expect Brother Wuyi to be henpecked."

Of course Li Yi didn't admit it, but the two brothers became more and more convinced that he was afraid of his wife.

"How about we give you another courtyard and place Hu Ji there? Just don't let Mrs. Du know about it."

Li Yi kept shaking his head.

"I heard that Brother Wuyi loves such vulgar things as gold. How about ten taels of gold and a poem?"

Seeing that he still refused, Li Fengci immediately raised the price, "I'll pay fifteen taels of gold for each song."

It's just that the people are stupid and have a lot of money.

At this time, the eunuchs had come over to hand out paper and pens.
The Li Boyi brothers were a little anxious. When they were asked to write, they couldn't write a single sentence even if they bit the pen off.

"Brother Wuyi, please help me. Just ask for what you want."

"It's not that I don't want to help the two kings, but I'm afraid that if I write it down and your majesty finds out, it will be even more embarrassing."

But the two of them simply refused to listen and just wanted Li Yi to help write a poem to get by. Perhaps the emperor wouldn't even see the poems of so many people.

"Qianshui Bo previously sent us auspicious gifts, giving us a golden potato for fifteen taels of gold. Now he is also sending us a New Year poem for fifteen taels of gold. Thank you for your help. I will take you to visit the West Market and play with the Hu Ji later."

Fifteen taels for writing a poem is a very good price.

"Okay, then I'll tell you guys to write and pay attention to your surroundings." Li Yi lowered his voice.

"This year and this night ends, and next year and tomorrow is coming. The cold goes away with one night, and spring comes at five o'clock in the morning."

Li Boyi took the lead in writing,
The handwriting is quite stiff, but still neat.

After copying, Li Boyi's face flushed with excitement, but Li Fengci was anxious, "Hurry up and write one for me too."

"Tonight is New Year's Eve, and tomorrow is New Year's Day. The wind and frost hasten the end of winter, and the plum and willow trees usher in spring."

Li Fengci quickly finished copying it and breathed a sigh of relief. The two brothers didn't care what the poem meant. They just thought it was a New Year's poem that was appropriate for the occasion and absolutely in line with the intention.

The two were about to turn themselves in, but Li Yi quickly stopped them.
"Wait until everyone has finished writing and then hand it in together so as not to draw attention to themselves."

"Yes, yes, don't attract His Majesty's attention," Li Fengci chuckled.

"Wuyi, you should also write one quickly and we will hand it in together later." Li Boyi said.

Li Yi picked up his pen and wrote a poem as well.

"North wind blows snow at the beginning of the fourth watch, auspicious signs from heaven mark the end of the year, half a peppercorn lamp is still unlit, I write poems and essays in front of the lamp."

A cup of pepper wine and three New Year poems.

The Li Fengci brothers applauded, "Wu Yi is a great talent, amazing."

Soon, the eunuch came to collect the poems.

The emperor asked several prime ministers and important officials to comment on the poems, pick out the best ones, have the eunuchs recite them, and reward them.

Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Wenjing held up a poem and said, "This poem is good, appropriate and festive."

"So it was written by the King of Qin."

Li Yuan stretched out his hand, "Oh, let me see Erlang's poem."

"The evening light slants across the fragrant palace, the new year is a magnificent palace. The cold leaves the winter snow, and the warmth of the spring breeze arrives. The steps are filled with the fragrance of plum blossoms, and the flowers on the tray are curled with red candles. The joy of the new year and the old year is welcomed and bid farewell in one night."

"Well, it's good. It describes the joyful scene of the palace staying up on New Year's Eve. The winter is gone and spring is here, the plum blossoms are fragrant, and the candles are red. It shows the joy of the emperor and his ministers at the turn of the old year and the new year. It's a good poem." So the eunuch followed the order and posted Li Shimin's New Year's poem on the screen.

"Yi, these two poems are not bad." Minister Chen Shuda held the two poems.

These were the two poems that Li Yi wrote for Li Fengci and his brother.

"Tonight is New Year's Eve, and tomorrow is New Year's Day. The wind and frost hasten the end of winter, and the plum and willow trees usher in spring."

"This year and this night ends, and next year and tomorrow is coming. The cold goes away with one night, and spring comes at five o'clock in the morning."

After hearing this, Li Yuan also nodded, "The artistic conception of these two poems is very similar, both are excellent, but it feels like they are unfinished."

Xiao Yu said, "The artistic conception of these two poems is good, but it feels like they were written by the same person."

As soon as this word comes out,
Li Fengci's face looked unhappy, and Li Boyi's face was also tense.

Li Yuan asked, "Who wrote these two poems?"

Chen Shuda read the title on the paper, "Prince Boyi of Longxi and Prince Fengci of Bohai."

When these two names were heard, whispers were heard in the hall.

Li Yuan's face was not looking good either. He knew very well what abilities his two nephews had. He had raised them in his mansion since they were young. How could these uneducated and uncultured dandies write such poems?

"Thirteen, Seventeen, come up." Li Yuan shouted.

The two brothers looked at Li Yi for help. Li Yi didn't expect that among so many people who were ordered to write poems, how could these two poems that he had randomly put together be chosen?

Neither of them is a complete poem.
It’s unbelievable that it was also selected for comment. What a weird thing.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Li Yi could only signal the two brothers to stay calm.

The two stepped forward.

Li Yuan pointed at the two poems.

"You did it?"

Li Boyi nodded,
Li Fengci glanced at his elder brother and nodded.

"Okay, then explain to me what you were thinking when you wrote this poem. What exactly do you want to express?"

The simplest question,

But the two brothers just stared at each other.

"talk?"

Li Boyi gritted his teeth and said, "Tonight is New Year's Eve, and tomorrow is New Year's Day. The wind and frost have blown all the wintersweet flowers off the trees. The plum and willow trees are the first to know about the news of spring."

Li Yuan asked, "Is it the winter plum blossom that brings the end of winter quickly due to wind and frost?"

"Ah."

"Plum blossoms and willows come before spring. What do plum blossoms and willows refer to?"

"It's a kind of willow tree called plum willow."

Finally one of the ministers below couldn't help laughing out loud.

Li Yuan's face turned grim. "The wind and frost hasten the end of the twelfth lunar month. Doesn't that mean the wind and frost hasten the end of the twelfth lunar month?"

Li Boyi lowered his head and dared not say a word, knowing that he had messed up.

Li Yuan then asked Li Fengci, "The cold fades away overnight, and spring arrives at dawn. Did you write this?"

Before he could speak, Li Yuan said, "Think it over carefully before you speak. Don't try to deceive the emperor."

Li Fengci was frightened by the words "deceiving the emperor". To them, Li Yuan was both a kind father and a sage emperor.

"Yes, I asked Qian Shuibo to write it for me."

Countless eyes were cast at Li Yi. He had knocked out Wei Ting, the Marquis of Yifeng County, in the first half of the night and had Wei Ting stripped of his title and dismissed from his post. Now he had written two poems for the two dandy princes.
He is both civil and military.

Li Yuan chuckled twice, turned to Chen Shuda and said, "Find Li Yi's poems."

"Found it,

The north wind blows snow at the beginning of the fourth watch, auspicious signs from heaven mark the end of the year, half a peppercorn lamp is still unlit, and I write poems and essays in front of the lamp.

"Li Yi, come forward," Li Yuan waved.

Li Yi had no choice but to stand up. If he had known this would happen, he would not have bothered himself with trouble.

"As expected of Li Wuyi, the man who wrote the Three Character Classic and the Rules for Disciples, you composed three poems in a short time. However, I see that they were written a bit hastily and carelessly. I'll give you another cup of tea to finish all three poems. If you do a good job, I won't hold you accountable."

Everyone looked at the young man.

Knowing Taoism and martial arts,

I didn’t expect there was such a poetic talent.

Unbelievable.

"This year ends tonight, and next year approaches tomorrow. The cold goes away with one night, and spring arrives at five o'clock in the morning."

Li Yi took a step forward and recited the first half of the poem.
After a pause, he took another step forward. "The complexion changes in the air, and the appearance returns in the dark."

Those in the hall who understand poetry are already savoring this line and connecting it with the previous two lines.

"anything else?"

Chen Shuda asked.

"No one notices the beautiful scenery, but the plum blossoms in the back garden have already bloomed."

When the last line was read, Chen Shuda clapped his hands and cheered, "Yes, yes, that's it. Time flies, years are fleeting. Even with this last line, time hasn't passed yet, but it has already caused the plum blossoms in the back garden to bloom. Wonderful, absolutely wonderful. This poem will definitely be passed down to future generations."

If only the first half of the poem is included, it would be very ordinary, but with the second half, the whole poem would be immediately elevated, involving time, seasons, people and nature, time and life.

"Another one?"

"The north wind is blowing snow at the beginning of the fourth watch, and Jiarui Tianjiao is about to die. Half the Tusu lamp has not yet been lifted, and peach symbols are written on the grass in front of the lamp."

"This is a good change. It rhymes, and the Tu Su and Tao Fu also highlight the good wishes for the New Year. It's even better after the change."

"There's one more, and one more." Chen Shuda followed up.

"My inspiration has dried up, sorry."

Li Yi's answer actually made many people in the hall feel relieved. If the third poem was also changed into a famous poem that would be passed down through the ages, it would be too unacceptable.

Now I have two and a half good poems, which is enough to make them jealous.

Li Yuan asked Li Yi to write another poem, but Li Yi said that his inspiration had dried up and he could not write another one.

"Give Li Yi two and a half jars of pepper wine," Li Yuan said the reward with a laugh, and the matter of writing poems on behalf of the two kings was over.

However, Li Yuan punished the brothers Li Boyi and Li Fengci.
They were punished to copy Li Yi's three poems and the poem just now by the King of Qin, each one a hundred times.
"Copy the Disciple Rules one hundred times, and finish them before the Lantern Festival. I will personally inspect them!"

The two brothers frowned and complained secretly, thinking that they were really shooting themselves in the foot. If they had known earlier, they would not have asked Li Yi to write for them. Maybe they would not have been punished so severely.

The three returned to their seats.

Li Boyi quickly regained his spirits and said, "Brother Wuyi, don't worry. I will have thirty taels of gold delivered to your house tomorrow. We brothers keep our word."

"That's right, I'll give you another Persian girl!"

"I'll give you a Fulinji."

"Forget it, my two kings,"

"Don't refuse. You must accept it. If you don't, it means you don't treat us as brothers or friends. Come, have a drink."

Li Fengci poured a glass for Li Yi and said, "If I had asked you, Wuyi, to explain the meaning of this poem to us, we wouldn't have been discovered."

Li Yi admired the two brothers' bachelor appearance.

(End of this chapter)