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

Chapter 242: Fighting for the Golden Palace
In the Tai Chi Hall.

Pei Ji opened his eyes.

Green smoke emanates from the mouth of the gilded Suanni incense burner, and incense blocks made of precious Amo incense burn quietly, turning into winding mist bands suspended between the pillars of the temple.

Merchants from the Western Regions brought a kind of incense, also known as ambergris, thousands of miles away. Legend has it that it was made from the saliva of a sleeping dragon at sea. In Chang'an, one ounce of ambergris fetched 20 ounces of gold, enough to buy a house there today. During the Kaihuang era, even one ounce of ambergris could be exchanged for 1,000 dan of rice.

Li Gang, the Prince's Secretary and Minister of Rites, stepped out. The voice of this white-haired and white-bearded Eastern Palace Master was still powerful. In last year's assessment of all officials, only Li Gang and Sun Fujia ranked first. The Emperor said frankly that the Sui Dynasty lost the world because of its arrogant rulers and flattering ministers. I humbly sought advice, and only Li Gang could be loyal to the utmost. Sun Fujia was honest and upright, but the others still followed the bad habits of the previous dynasty and were not as free-speaking as Li Yi and Wei Zheng.

The seventy-three-year-old Crown Prince Secretary interrupted Li Shimin, the Prince of Qin. "Your Majesty, you are wrong," Li Gang's white beard trembled slightly. "The six commanders of the Eastern Palace have never been appointed to the rank of Qi. Excellent generals like Luo Shixin and Qin Qiong should be transferred to the Eastern Palace to protect the crown prince."

"His Majesty!"

Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Wenjing stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, please understand that the Shaanxi East Circuit has been short of officers for a long time. Liu Wuzhou of Daibei is mobilizing troops and is ready to march south at any time. This time, there is a high possibility that Turkic cavalry will invade. The Shaanxi East Circuit urgently needs reinforcements, especially brave generals like Luo Shixin and Qin Shubao..."

Xiao Yu stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, Li Shentong, the pacification ambassador of Shandong Province, has been defeated and retreated to Liyang. Li Ji has urgently reported to the court, saying that the situation is critical. Huang Junhan, the governor of Huaizhou, has also lost Huaizhou City under attack from Wang Shichong's troops and has been forced to retreat to Baiya Fort.

There was also Zhang Liang, the governor of Zhengzhou, who also lost Zhengzhou.

Now that the prince has lifted the siege of Guzhou, the west of Luoyang is temporarily stable, but the situation east of Luoyang and north of the Yellow River is devastating and out of control.

Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, and nine other generals are all from Shandong and were once Li Mi's old subordinates. They are familiar with Shandong. It is appropriate to leave these nine generals in Shandong, under the command of Prince Huai'an, to reinforce Liyang, Hanoi, and other places to save the situation.

Your Majesty,

Suddenly it split into three undercurrents,
Li Gang, the Prince's Secretary and Minister of Rites, was already old, but he was still fighting for the prince, wanting to transfer all nine generals to the Eastern Palace.

Li Shimin personally took the lead, followed closely by the Minister of Civil Affairs Liu Wenjing, who requested that the nine generals be transferred to the Shaanxi East Road Executive Office.

However, Prime Minister Xiao Yu proposed to leave the nine generals in Shandong and put them under the command of Li Shentong to save the chaos in Guandong.

Pei Ji, the Zuo Pushe, held up his purple official robe and coughed lightly, and all the ministers looked over at him.

Li Yuan tapped his fingers lightly on the imperial couch, taking in the expressions of all his ministers.

"I am a little sleepy. We will discuss this matter tomorrow."

The emperor ended the court discussion.
Li Yuan summoned several prime ministers to accompany him for a walk.

The four prime ministers in the court are Li Shimin, the Minister of the Secretariat, Pei Ji, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Xiao Yu, and Chen Shuda, the Minister of State.

The emperor also called for the palace supervisor Lu Kuan and the senior official Yuwen Shiji to accompany him.

Liu Wenjing, who had served as the Minister of Justice, was not called.

The emperor's deerskin boots stepped on the snow under the corridor, and he took the six people for a walk in the snowy palace.

"Qin Shubao's twin maces can break an enemy formation, Luo Shixin's horse spear can destroy a city, and Li Wuyi's words are more powerful than ten thousand soldiers." Li Yuan chuckled. "Back then, the Wagang Army was full of fierce generals. Shan Xiongxin was known as the Flying General. Xu Shiji, Wang Bodang, Wang Dangren, Li Gongyi, Zhou Wenju, Huang Junhan and others were all heroes of their time.
Later, Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, Cheng Yaojin, Pei Xingyan, and Pei Renji all joined as brave generals. Liu Dewei, Cui Yixuan, Wei Zheng, Xu Jingzong, and Fang Yanzao, along with many other heroes, joined the army.”

"But Wagang has become a thing of the past, and those brave generals and counselors have all gone their separate ways."

The emperor paused.

Everyone stopped as well.

"The world has not yet been unified, and there is an urgent need for manpower everywhere. What you just said makes sense. I will try to distribute it to everyone, so that everyone can benefit equally."

"Given the bravery of Luo Shixin, Qin Shubao and others, it would not be excessive for me to confer upon them the title of Duke, the title of Pillar of the State and the title of General Manager. However, rewards and punishments must be clearly defined.

The nine generals who surrendered only led 1,800 men each, and they could not be compared with Xu Shiji of Liyang, Huang Junhan of Huaizhou, Zhang Shanxiang of Xiangcheng, and Wang Junkuo of Jingxing.

Li Yuan made it clear in his words that Xu Shiji and his men had all come to surrender with their own territories and troops, some of them controlled several states, some a county, and they had tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of troops under their command. Of course, these people had to be granted high positions and generous titles.

People like Wang Bodang and Liu Dewei had previously followed Li Mi to surrender, and because they had surrendered early, Li Yuan also gave them high titles and ranks. After all, there were still many of Li Mi's old subordinates in Henan at that time who were willing to pay a thousand gold coins for horse bones.

Qin Qiong's nine generals are famous for their bravery, but they only have a thousand men under their command, and their families are still in Luoyang. Li Yuan cannot fully trust them yet. He still has to observe and test them, and even needs them to make meritorious contributions before rewarding them.

Zhang Liang, an old subordinate of Li Mi, was originally appointed as the governor of Zhengzhou, but he lost Zhengzhou, so the court only gave him the position of deputy governor of Dingzhou.

Among the nine generals who surrendered,
Luo Shixin was the first to surrender, with 1,500 old men under his command. He also assisted Li Yi in capturing the Three Forts and Five Strongholds, and persuaded the eight generals of Qin Qiong to surrender.

"Luo Shixin's loyalty and bravery deserves a generous reward. He should be appointed Governor of Jiang Prefecture, granted the title of Marquis of Jiang County, promoted to Pillar of the State, and given 5,000 pieces of silk."

Li Yuan looked at his second son and asked, "Is it possible for Luo Shixin to serve under the command of the Grand Chancellor of the Eastern Shaanxi Province?"

······
Early morning the next day.

Cui Dunli, the Tongshi Sheren, read out the imperial edict.

"The emperor, I have received the map and the imperial decree, and have nurtured the people. Li Yi, the commander-in-chief of the Gushui Road Army and the Marquis of Shallow Water, is a man of loyalty and courage, and a master of military strategy. In the first month of the second year of Wude, he led a small army to attack the dangerous pass of Guzhou, destroyed the enemy and captured the forts, and successively captured three forts and five strongholds, persuaded them to surrender, and captured all the nine generals.

He cleared the passes of Qiao and Han, and intimidated Heluo.

The imperial edict said, in the past, Huo Qubing rushed to attack Mobei, and Wei Qing attacked Longcheng directly, both of them used the combination of strange and regular tactics to defeat the enemy.

I am now promoted to the Founding Duke of Qianshui County, with a fief of 1,500 households, and the rank of Pillar of the State, and the Inspector of the Crown Prince's Left Guard."

·····
Luo Shixin was appointed Governor of Jiangzhou, granted the title of Marquis of Jiang County, and given the honor of General, and concurrently served as Deputy Commander of the Left Guard of the Crown Prince.

Qin Qiong was awarded the title of Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Cavalry of the Eastern Shaanxi Road. Cheng Yaojin was awarded the title of Grand General and Commander-in-Chief of the Left Army of the Prince of Qin's Palace.

Wu Heita and Niu Jinda were appointed Generals of Cavalry in the Palace of the Prince of Qin.

Li Junxian and Chang He were appointed Lang Jiang of the Crown Prince's Right Guard, while Tian Liuan and Liu Demin were appointed Generals of Chariots and Cavalry in the Garrison.

All six generals were granted the title of Kaifu Yitong Sansi, the seventh promotion, and were regarded as the upper fourth rank.

Among the nine surrendered generals, Luo Shixin had the highest official rank and was the only one to be granted a title, which was a county marquis. He was appointed as the governor of Jiangzhou and was affiliated with the Qin Wang's Shaanxi East Road Grand Secretariat, but he also served as the deputy commander of the Prince's Left Guard and was a member of the Eastern Palace.

The remaining eight generals, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Wu Heita and Niu Jinda were assigned to Li Shimin, Chang He and Li Junxian were assigned to the Eastern Palace, and Tian Liuan and Liu Dewei were assigned to the Imperial Guards.

At the same time, the emperor ordered that four generals, Tian Liuan, Liu Dewei, Wu Heita and Li Junxian, be transferred to the command of Li Shentong, King of Huai'an in Shandong, to support the situation in Liyang.

If Li Yi, the Inspector of the Crown Prince's Left Guard, is included, the throne would be divided almost equally between the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Qin.

No one should leave altogether.

Except for Li Yi and Luo Shixin, the other eight generals did not hold high positions, only fourth or fifth grade positions, and their honors were not high either.

Compared with Wang Bodang, Xu Shiji, Huang Junhan, Zhang Shanxiang and others under Li Mi's previous command, there is indeed a big difference.

Wow,

The gate of Li's house in Pingkangfang opened to welcome the angel into the house.

Du Shiniang, along with her concubine Lingyi and her adopted daughter Li Shu, set up an incense table to welcome the imperial edict.

"The founding duke of Jin Qianshui County, with a fief of 1,500 households, 15 hectares of permanent farmland, a pair of silver bottles, and 1,000 pieces of silk..."

A decree was read,
The eunuch took out another decree,
However, now Li Yi's official title is qualified to obtain the imperial decree of a county lady for his wife, and the emperor specially conferred the title of Qianshui County Lady on Du Shiniang and granted her a certificate of official status.

"Congratulations." The eunuch smiled and congratulated repeatedly.

Only then did Du Shiniang realize that her husband had made great contributions in Guzhou. "Housekeeper, please invite the angel to the living room for tea."

The housekeeper invited the eunuch to the living room and gave him a reward.

"Didn't Alang serve as a military officer in the camp? How did he manage to capture three forts and five strongholds at night, persuade nine generals, and bring down ten thousand soldiers?" Ji Lingyi was filled with worry. "Should Alang be okay?"

Shi Niang carefully put away the imperial edict and said, "Alang will be back to the court victorious soon, so there will be no problem." Although she said that, she was still worried.

However, when the steward Fu An sent the eunuch away and came back, he mentioned that he was promoted to the title of County Duke and given the title of Pillar of the State, and the permanent farmland increased to 3,000 acres, which meant that he could apply for another 1,500 acres of permanent farmland.

"I'll trouble the housekeeper to take care of this matter."

Shi Niang was thinking about Li Yi, but she didn't care about the 1,500 acres of land, a pair of silver bottles, and a thousand pieces of silk.

Guzhou.

The Tang army is about to return and is resting.

The emperor's messenger arrived quickly and announced the reward.
The crown prince sent a record of merit to Chang'an, and the emperor ordered officials to reward him according to the record.

"Erlang is quite capable. He managed to snatch the five generals, Luo Shixin, Qin Qiong, Cheng Yaojin, Wu Heita, and Niu Jinda, all to his side.

I fought the battle, I persuaded the man to surrender, and now he has taken him away." The prince sneered.

Wei Ting said, "Luo Shixin is also the deputy commander of the Crown Prince's Left Guard, so he can be considered one of His Highness's men."

Compared to Li Yi's promotion, this time Wei Ting only restored his rank as General of the Cavalry. The title of Marquis fell on his half-brother, so it was impossible for him to be given it again. He felt sour in his heart, "Li Yi gained the most in this Eastern Expedition."

Jiancheng's face looked gloomy and ugly.

the other side,
Qin Qiong and his generals returned to camp.

Cheng Yaojin cursed, "When Zhang Liang surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he was even appointed the Governor of Zhengzhou. Wasn't I, Old Cheng, a hundred times more powerful than him when I was in Wagang?
Now he was given the title of Third Commander of the Left Army of the Prince of Qin's Palace? A mere Fourth Rank?
Not even a title?"

Wu Heita said: "I am only the lower fifth rank."

Tian Liuan and Liu Demin were even more speechless, as their General of Chariots and Cavalry was only of the sixth rank. While Tian Liuan was in Luoyang, Wang Shichong had even appointed him General of the Southern Expedition.

It was a huge difference from the official position I had originally expected. I had thought that he would at least be given the rank of a general of the third rank, and then be appointed as a provincial governor or something, and then be granted the title of a county duke or county marquis.

"Wang Shichong also gave me the title of Tiger General." Old Cheng complained.

Qin Qiong looked at his complaining brothers and said, "Well, thunder and rain are all blessings from heaven. We have just surrendered and have not done anything meritorious. Why should we be given high positions and noble titles?"
The Emperor of Tang is already very good. Didn't Shi Xin get the title of Governor and County Duke? As long as we brothers perform well, why should we worry about not being able to earn high positions and noble titles?"

"But this is too low."

"And they tore our brothers apart."

"Be careful with your words, and never complain again. If you want to be granted the title of duke or marquis, or appointed as a provincial governor or general manager, then show your true abilities. We will be back to Chang'an soon. Be careful with your words and actions." Qin Qiong reminded his brothers.

In Li Yijun's tent,

He was quite satisfied with his award. His rank was promoted one level, and he was finally made a Duke. Although it was the lowest of the three classes of Duke, a county Duke, it was still the second rank. Moreover, his honor was promoted two levels and he was awarded the title of Zhuguo, which was only one step away from Zhuguo.

Luo Wu, Luo Dafu, Liu Heizi and other Li Yi's personal soldiers, these new recruits from Luojiabao, were all smiling happily. They all won the second-level honor. After coming out for a month, they followed and guarded Li Yi without encountering any danger, and as a result, they easily got the second-level honor.

"It's good to follow the Marquis. Whether in the countryside or in the army, you will benefit from it." Luo Wu said with a smile.

Liu Heizi reminded him, "From now on, Alang is already the founding county duke, the Duke!"

(End of this chapter)