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

Chapter 270 Don’t Take Advantage of an Opportunity

Early in the morning.

Li Yi went to pay for the house.

Shengyefang is located east of the Imperial City and north of the East Market, diagonally across from Pingkangfang where Li Yi currently lives. It's not far away, and you can reach it in just a short walk without having to ride a horse.

The housekeeper Fu'an, the accountant Ping'an, and Sanniang followed him.

There is no need to enter the block, just go directly to the northwest corner of the block. The big house has a gate on the north wall of the block. The black-headed gate is two meters high, showing the glory of its former owner.

The official from the Ministry of Works, who was wearing a crimson robe, had been waiting there with Fang Zheng and a few others. When they met, they came forward to greet them politely and then took out the house deed.

"The previous owner of this house was Yu Shiji, a powerful nobleman in the previous dynasty. He loved luxury, and his second wife, Sun, was even more arrogant and lustful, and indulged in extravagance." The old official from the Ministry of Works talked endlessly when he mentioned the previous owner of the house.

What's more, the brothers Yu Shiji and Yu Shinan were famous for their talent since childhood. When they entered the Sui Dynasty, they were even called the Two Lus by people of their time, and were compared to the brothers Lu Ji and Lu Yun of the Jin Dynasty.

Yu Shiji was a man of extraordinary talent, rising to the rank of Shangshu Zuocheng during the Chen Dynasty. After the Chen Dynasty was conquered and surrendered to the Sui Dynasty, he settled in Chang'an, where he could only work as a clerk to support his family. However, he rose rapidly to prominence during the Daye Dynasty, sharing responsibility for selecting officials within the Ministry of Personnel along with Su Wei and Yuwen Shu. These officials were known as the Seven Nobles of the Selection Office, with Yu Shiji holding even more power than most.

Later, he participated in the confidential affairs of government as the Minister of Internal Affairs and became the prime minister.

"Thinking back to the days here, the gates were like a market, and gold and treasures were piled up. Yu Shiji openly sold official positions and bribes, and lived an extravagant life.

This house covers an area of 48 acres and costs 5,000 strings of cash, which is definitely a great deal.

Just talking about this garden, it is full of the scenery of the Jiangnan water town. The artificial lake alone is 36 acres, called Little West Lake. It is said that the decorative rockery was transported from Taihu Lake by thousands of ships.

The pavilions and terraces are not only elegant and exquisite, but also made of the best materials.

The twelve pillars in the main hall were all made of golden nanmu wood, supporting the triple hip roof. The column bases were inlaid with jade-carved Chiwen animal heads, and even the copper bells hanging from the eaves were gilded.

These could only be used with the special permission of Emperor Yang.

Even the windows of the I-shaped hall are not made of ordinary oyster shells, but polished giant clams from the South China Sea."

"Back then, even the stable troughs in the Yu Mansion were carved from green jade."

This minor official from the Ministry of Works must have participated in the construction and decoration of this mansion. Li Yi followed him to visit the entire house.

Compared with this, Du Yan's 17-acre waterscape garden in Wubenfang is really a small thing.

Yu Shiji's family directly dug a small West Lake of 36 acres. There is an island on the lake and a long embankment. The pavilions and terraces make people feel as if they have suddenly arrived in the misty Jiangnan region.

There are only two houses, but both have three spans and three entrances.

There are also some houses such as libraries, warehouses, etc. scattered around, and even a small polo field.

Yu Shiji was killed in Jiangdu by Yu Wenhuaji, and he went to the underworld to accompany Yang Guang.

"Five thousand strings of cash is really worth it. The construction and decoration cost much more than five thousand strings of cash back then."

"This Little West Lake draws water from the Longshou Canal's West Canal. It's all fresh water, sweet enough to drink directly."

Eight rivers surround Chang'an, and there are five canals in the city.

The Longshou Canal draws water from the Chan River into the canal, and is divided into two channels, east and west, at Changlepo. The east channel flows north to the outside of Tonghua Gate, then goes around the northeast corner of the outer city and turns west into the east inner courtyard, where it merges into the Longshou Pool. It then flows northeast through the Ningbi Pool and Jicui Pool and flows northwest into the Taiye Pool.

The West Canal flows southwest to Tonghua Gate and enters the city, passes through Yongjiafang, flows west through Shengyefang and Chongrenfang, enters the imperial city and then goes north into the palace city. After reaching Taiji Palace, it merges into Shanshui Pool and Donghai Pool.

Yu Shiji diverted the Longshou Canal to flow westward to his home, creating his own small West Lake. It was so awesome.

Although the small West Lake occupies 36 acres of the 48-acre house, Li Yi thinks it is worth it.

This is in Chang'an City, east of the imperial city known for its wealth in the west and nobility in the east.

"I've bought it, let's sign the deed and take delivery." Li Yi was very happy.

The ginkgo tree in front of the I-shaped hall, which is as thick as a man's embrace, has sprouted new buds, and its branches are rustling in the spring breeze.

"The flowers, plants, and trees in this garden are worth more than a million dollars. Many of them are rare species transplanted from various places."

The clerk invited Li Yi aside and said in a low voice, "I admire County Lord Li very much. Since you have taken a fancy to this house, I am willing to help you.

I can help you with that, and it only costs three million yuan."

The man stopped talking at this point.
Li Yi immediately understood what he meant from his greedy eyes.

"Speak directly if you have anything to say."

The old official smiled slightly and said, "One million yuan, and I can help the county magistrate take care of everything."

This house originally cost five million yuan, but now he said that for one million yuan, he would help Li Yi make the house cost three million yuan, which means he would earn one million yuan and Li Yi would save one million yuan.

Li Yi smiled.

The old official quickly said, "This one million is not a small amount of greed, but since I have to take care of everyone, I can't get much."

No matter how you look at it, Li Yi is a good deal.

But Li Yi did not nod immediately.

The old official continued, "Don't worry, County Magistrate. You can get the red deed right away. All the formalities are complete. There won't be any problems at all."

"You guys do this a lot, don't you?"

The old official said frankly: "Living in Chang'an is not easy. We are just clerks with meager salaries. Prices are so high now. It is really difficult. We have no choice but to do this."

"Aren't you afraid of being investigated by the higher-ups? Five million in government assets have suddenly become three million. No matter how you manage it, the court will ultimately lose two million."

"Whether it is worth five million or three million, it actually needs to be evaluated. It may have been worth five million before, but now it is worth three million." said the old official.

This is not five million coins in the warehouse. It has become three million, which means a deficit of two million.

"This house has not been taken care of for a long time. Many places are damaged and the gardens are deserted. It is definitely not that valuable." The old official said. He even revealed to Li Yi that this was not done privately by him, a non-official from the Ministry of Works. He had someone above him who could protect him, so Li Yi didn't need to worry.

"I have already prepared the money, why are you talking about this now?" Li Yi laughed, "I think this house is very good, it is definitely worth five million, let's do it as we agreed before, five million, immediate delivery, exchange of deeds!" The smile of the old official Wang Ren froze.
It took me a long time to come back to my senses.

"Mr. Li, please think carefully. This is a difference of one million yuan. Don't worry, nothing will happen."

Li Yi shook his head.
They dared to accept it, but Li Yi didn't dare to give it to them. It was true that he could save one million yuan, but it was also equivalent to asking him to pay a bribe of one million yuan. Those officials wanted to take a bite of the fat meat, but Li Yi didn't need to get himself into trouble.

"I'm not short of money!"

There was no smile on Wang Ren's face anymore, and he almost wanted to walk away.

Li Yi may not be short of the thousand strings of cash, but he really wants to earn the million. Although he can only get a small portion in the end, it is still a lot for him.

"Lord Li, there's a polo field next door, covering 24 acres. It's very well maintained, and there are also many houses, warehouses, stables, etc. The polo field and the house on it were originally worth two million. If you want it, Lord Li, I can help you buy it for one million."

Forty-eight acres of garden, plus this twenty-four acres of polo field,

Li Yi only had to pay four million and give them another one and a half million coins, while it was originally worth seven million.

This house, garden and golf course occupy the northwest corner of Shengyefang, which is one sixteenth of the entire district.

The layout of Shengyefang is that the big cross street divides the block into four parts, each part also has a small cross street, and each small area also has alleys and curves.

Now if Li Yi buys these two places, then the northwest corner of the block will all belong to him.

"Two million for this stadium?"

"It was originally two million, but the county magistrate wants it. You only need to pay one and a half million, and I'll help you save another five hundred thousand."

Li Yi waved his hand.

"Then I'll buy the house, the garden, and the golf course together. I'll hand over the seven million coins and silk to you today, and we'll transfer the ownership and the deed."

"County Lord, even if you have money, there's no need to waste it like this."

Li Yi sneered at him twice. Wang Ren suddenly felt his scalp tingling and didn't dare to say anything more.

Ignore this old official.

Li Yi called Sanniang and others,
"I'll go get some more money and buy the polo field next door too. It'll be seven million in total."

For Li Yi now, seven thousand strings of cash is a large sum of money, but he can afford it.

There is no need to leave yourself with big hidden dangers for things that can be solved with money. Bribing 1.5 million just to save 1.5 million is too risky and too low in return, so the cost-effectiveness is extremely low.

The old official was just a clerk of a lowly rank, so of course he was willing to take the risk.

Li Yidu was already a founding county duke and a Silver and Green Guanglu doctor. Would he allow himself to be held responsible just to save 1,500 strings of cash?

Li Yi has so many ways to make money, so why would he take such a risk?

To mobilize 7,000 strings of cash in one day, Li Yi didn't need to scrape together the money, let alone borrow money from others.

He didn't need to use the gold and silver utensils and gold he had accumulated.
Last time, the property of Guo's third mother was confiscated and the emperor gave it to Li Yi. It was worth tens of millions, including a lot of money and silk. Li Yi used all the copper coins in his family and in Shi Niang's hands.

The imperial court will target these messy copper coins when the new coins come out.

Historically, after Li Yuan issued new coins, he banned the circulation of old coins, especially those with bad currency, which were severely cracked down on, forcing the people to exchange the bad currency for new currency from the government. Often, five bad coins could only be exchanged for one new currency.

Anyway, the imperial court will not suffer any loss. No matter how much it changes, the people will suffer. It is better to change it now than to let it rust in the pigsty.

The price of silk is relatively high now. As prices gradually drop, it is impossible for the price of silk to remain at more than 300 coins per piece. In a few years, it will basically only be around 200 coins per piece.

Only gold is worth collecting.

Other copper coins and silk cloth should be circulated. Whether it is used to buy land, slaves or livestock, it is better than hoarding them.

The subsequent transaction went smoothly.

The housekeeper and his men counted the money and silk they had taken away one by one.

All the various old coins were sorted into different categories and converted according to the normal market price. Wang Ren and other officials who handled the matter did not make things difficult for them.

They did not dare to make things difficult for him. Although Li Yi did not let them get a piece of the fat meat, Li Yi was now very popular and could meet and talk to the emperor and the prince at any time. They did not dare to act recklessly.

Even before they could eat the meat, they still had to worry about Li Yi turning around and reporting them.

Not only did Wang Ren not neglect it, he also made special arrangements to expedite the formalities and delivered the red deed, without even asking for a penny more of the deed tax.

"Mr. Li, this house and the golf course now belong completely to you."

Li Yi saw the man's cautious expression and knew what he was worried about. He took out a small gold ingot and put it in his hand: "Thank you for your hard work, Wang Lingshi. Don't worry, I'm not someone who meddles in other people's business."

Wang Renchang breathed a sigh of relief and quickly thanked him.

When he returned to the yamen, Wang Ren found that his clothes were soaked with sweat.

"This Li Wuyi is really extraordinary," he sighed in his heart, sat for a while, then stood up and went to the warehouse.

"Where's the money?"

"They're all here, but haven't been put into storage yet. Brother Wang, are we still following the old rules?"

"Of course. If you don't get to eat the fat meat and drink a few sips of the soup, then all your work would be in vain," said Wang Ren.

Several people began to get busy. They brought the copper coins that Li Yi had used to buy the house and replaced all the official Kaihuang Wuzhu and Daye Wuzhu coins with privately minted ones.

Although they looked similar, the privately minted coins were of much lower quality than the official coins, with some even being worth less than half the official coins. Privately minted goose-eye coins and white coins were also replaced with even inferior ones.

After all this busy work, exchanging private goods for public goods, inferior goods for good goods, and then depositing the money, the few people easily made a lot of money.

(End of this chapter)