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

Chapter 60: Waiting for the Imperial Court

"That Li Yi is so ungrateful."

In the Chongxian Hall of the Eastern Palace, Li Jiancheng spoke to Wang Gui about Li Yi with an unhappy look on his face, which was completely different from his attitude when he met Li Yi before.

"Do you think he has already wholeheartedly joined Shimin?"

Wang Gui thought for a moment and said, "He must be too young, only sixteen. There's no reason for him to leave the Eastern Palace and go to the Prince of Qin's Palace. Besides, he had refused the Prince of Qin's previous summons."

"I was really pissed off by him today, and I'm still upset."

"Your Highness, why should you care? The world only knows that Li Yi is young and frivolous, and arrogant because of his talent, but Your Highness is tolerant and generous, and he really values talent. Even if he resigned from the position of Crown Prince, Your Highness recommended him as Imperial Censor. It is he who is not up to the standard."

"Alright," Li Jiancheng finally felt more relaxed, "but we have to keep an eye on this boy. If he really does join Shimin, then don't be polite."

······
Daningfang,
Sun Fujia's house.

The two brothers chatted and drank tea, which was very pleasant.

The tea sets of the Sun family were not as extravagant as those of the Du family. They were all quite simple, with a small red clay charcoal stove, a ceramic pot for boiling water, and ceramic teacups.

The tea we drank was also very interesting. It was not the tea cakes that the nobles drank, nor was it the famous tea from Shu or Huzhou.

It's tea made from elm leaves.
"This tea is made by steaming young locust leaves, then drying them and grinding them into powder."

This tea is also easy to brew. Just wrap some tea leaves in gauze and cook. The tea soup is a light golden yellow and has a unique taste. It tastes bitter at first, but then has the unique sweetness and light green fragrance of locust leaves.

It tastes bitter and is cold in nature. It has the effects of clearing the liver and purging fire, cooling blood and stopping toxins. It can treat red and swollen eyes and prevent hemorrhoids.

However, people with weak spleen and stomach should drink less.

"This is what my mother picked, steamed, and dried at home and sent to me."

Sun Fujia was from Hebei and had been in Chang'an for many years, but his mother had always been reluctant to come to Beijing and still lived in his hometown with his brothers.

Over the years, he passed the imperial examination and became an official. He sent money home, bought some land, and improved his family's living conditions. However, his official position was not high before, and he could not save much money living in Chang'an.

My mother always said that she didn't want to trouble him. It's not easy to live in Chang'an.
He later worked as a lawyer for ten thousand years and bought a house worth more than 100,000 yuan in Xicheng before bringing his wife and children over.

"The old man is old and reluctant to leave his hometown, and he is also afraid of adding burden to you." Li Yi could understand.

"Um,"

Sun Fujia is now a fifth-rank Imperial Censor, which means he has entered the threshold of a senior official and his income is still considerable.

The annual rice allowance increased from 70 dan to 200 dan, and he also received 3,600 coins per month for food and other expenses. He also had 600 mu of official land to collect rent, which was the land he had been assigned while in office, and he could yield 6 dou of millet per mu.

His 600 mu of official land could yield 360 dan of rice a year, which was higher than his regular salary.

As a fifth-rank official, Sun Fujia was also allocated 800 mu of permanent farmland, which he could manage himself or rent out, but the rent would be much higher, usually one dan per mu, which meant at least 800 dan in rent per year.

A fifth-rank official was given a lot of supplies, such as rice, flour, wine, soy sauce, vinegar, salt, fermented black beans, ginger, onions, leeks, firewood, charcoal, and mutton.
Free lunch every day, silk gifts every New Year's Day and Winter Solstice, and a full set of clothes for different occasions.
This is just the apparent income.

Each government office also had its own treasury, public land, public money, rent and interest. These revenues were used for canteen and office paper and pen expenses, and were also used to provide subsidies such as money and food to officials.

It can be said that a petty official outside the officialdom had a meager income and had to rely on illegal income and other gray income to supplement it. However, an official within the officialdom actually had a considerable income. One official could support an entire family.

And if you reach the fifth level, you basically don’t have to worry about money anymore.

A fifth-rank official was provided with nine sheep every month just for mutton.

"County Magistrate Xin is very considerate of me. He said he and my senior brother were classmates?"

"Ah."

When mentioning Xin Chujian, a trace of sympathy appeared on Sun Fujia's face.

"I've been to Wannian County twice and both times I saw him ignoring his duties and drinking in broad daylight. Is there no one to stop him?"

"No one dares." Sun Fujia shook his head.

"What?"

"This is a long story. Actually, my classmate was originally a gifted child."

Xin Chujian was born into the Xin family of Didao, Longyou, which was also a prominent family like the Li family of Longxi. Another branch of the Xin family moved to Jinyang and also became famous during the Northern Dynasties.

The Xin clans of Longxi and Jinyang produced many prominent figures during the Western Wei, Northern Zhou, and Sui dynasties. For example, Xin Wei, Duke of Suguo and a renowned general, was a renowned warrior and unrivaled in his bravery. Another example is Xin Deyuan, a renowned scholar of the Northern Qi dynasty who later served in the Northern Zhou dynasty and was ranked among the Eighteen Scholars.

There are also Xin Gongyi and Xin Yanzhi, both of whom were very famous during the Sui Dynasty.

"Xin Chujian's grandfather was none other than Xin Yanzhi, who served as the Imperial College's Chief Academician and Minister of Rites in the previous dynasty, and was granted the title of Duke of Wuyuan County."

Xin Chujian came from a prominent family and was the son of a nobleman. He had a smooth life in his youth. He took the imperial examination in the same year as Sun Fujia. Sun Fujia was an unexpected dark horse, but Xin Chujian had already reserved a place as a Jinshi.

After passing the imperial examinations, the two men had different career paths. Sun Fujia started as a minor official, then worked his way up to county lieutenant and then to Wannian Facao. Xin Chujian, on the other hand, started as a proofreader in the Secretariat, then became a censor, and finally to the Prince's Sheren, all of which were high-ranking officials.

He also married a beautiful wife. Not only was she from the Cui family of Boling, a woman of one of the five surnames, she was also extremely beautiful and was known as Little Xishi.

His life was originally happy and satisfying, but then Li Yuan led his troops to attack Chang'an, took a fancy to Xin Chujian's wife, and forcibly took her away. To appease him, he promoted Xin Chujian to the fifth rank of Wannian County Magistrate. "There is such a thing?" Li Yi was greatly surprised. This emperor openly took the wife of his minister, which was the behavior of a complete tyrant.

It has some of the style of Emperor Wu of Wei, Cao Cao.

“So the ancients said, the three biggest taboos in life are having too much money without power, having a beautiful wife despite being poor, and being weak but having precocious wisdom.”

Li Yi felt that this statement was a bit twisted, but it was indeed the fact.

Xin Chujian had a high family background and status, and he was not Wu Dalang who sold sesame cakes, but he still could not keep his beautiful wife.

Xiao Xishi was too famous, and Li Yuan himself was also a lustful person.

"Wu Yi, you are a young man who loves freedom. I understand that, but from a long-term perspective, a real man cannot live without power. Although you have the title of county baron now, it is just an empty title without power."

“Without power and influence, there is no true freedom.”

Xin Chujian, once the darling of heaven, now has a green head and has become a joke in the entire Tang Dynasty officialdom. He is in his thirties and in the prime of his life, but now he can only drink to drown his sorrows every day.

Li Yi silently sympathized with County Magistrate Xin for a few seconds.

Tai Chi Palace.

Li Yuan leaned on the table, closed his eyes and listened to Cui playing the pipa, clapping his hands to the beat.

Cui played the pipa very well, and Li Yuan was also a pipa master. When Li Yuan snatched Cui into the palace and forced Xin Chujian to divorce his wife, it was not only because of Cui's beauty, but also because she pleased Li Yuan with her pipa playing.

Cui Shi also came from a prominent family, the Boling Cui clan, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Noble Houses. She was the eldest child in the family. She was actually Li Yuan's sister-in-law, as her third sister, Cui Shuzhen, was married to Li Yuan after he entered Chang'an and was granted the rank of Sixth Rank Baolin.

Once, Cui came to the palace to visit her younger sister. The sisters played the pipa and sang, and Li Yuan happened to come. Li Yuan immediately fell in love with this sister-in-law, who was both beautiful and good at playing the pipa. This is how he forced Xin Chujian to divorce his wife.

Now, Aunt Cui is the imperial concubine, and Aunt Cui Sanniang is Baolin.

The Tang Dynasty followed the Sui Dynasty system, with a harem consisting of one queen, three wives, and nine concubines.

There are 27 concubines in the imperial family, divided into three categories: 12 imperial concubines, 15 beauties, and talented women.
There are three ranks of female imperial concubines: twenty-four Baolin women, twenty-four imperial concubines and thirty-seven Cai women. There is no limit on the number of lower-level servants.

The Cui sisters, one named Baolin and the other Yunu, were of low rank, but were very favored by Li Yuan. Their uncle, Cui Mingan, held the important position of Huangmen Shilang in the court.

After the song is finished,
Li Yuan opened his eyes and clapped his hands in applause.

"Both the Crown Prince and the King of Qin have submitted letters recommending Li Yi. What do you think of this man, Duke Jiang?"

Duke Chen Shuda of Jiang, holding a bunch of grapes, immediately said upon hearing this: "Since both the Crown Prince and the King of Qin have strongly recommended this man, I believe he should be given an official position."

"The position of Assistant Censor is not suitable for Li Yi." Li Yuan said bluntly.

"I think Li Yi can be appointed as a proofreader in the Secretariat and serve as an attendant." Chen Shuda recommended a position.

The Prince's Secretary is of the ninth rank, and the Proofreader of the Secretariat is of the ninth rank, which is a promotion of two levels.

As for the waiting officials in the Menxia Ministry, they were seconded to the Menxia Ministry and were ready to respond to the emperor's orders at any time.

As one of the three central ministries, the Menxia Province was mainly responsible for reviewing imperial edicts, signing memorials, and had the power to seal and reject them.

As a proofreader in the Secretariat, his actual job was to review imperial edicts and proofread texts.

"Are you also interested in this guy?" Li Yuan said with a smile.

Chen Shuda is the younger brother of Emperor Chen Houzhu. He is currently serving as the Imperial Court Assistant Minister. A few days ago, he was appointed as the Minister of Justice. This means that he is temporarily in charge of the affairs of the Ministry of Personnel as the Deputy Chief of the Ministry of Personnel.

"He is a talent praised by both the Crown Prince and the King of Qin, and the Imperial Censor Sun Fujia also strongly recommends him, so he must be an extraordinary talent." Chen Shuda said with a smile.

The proofreader belongs to the order of upright officials. The proofreader of the Secretariat is one level higher than the proofreader of the Eastern Palace and the two libraries.
The position is leisurely, the salary is generous, promotion is fast and the future is bright.

It is regarded as a good choice for scholars to start their careers and has a high social status. It is not easily granted to those who do not have high scores in the imperial examinations, or are outstanding in writing and judgment, or have clean intentions and conduct.

The requirements are all extraordinary talents.

As for those who are waiting to be promoted, they must be extremely talented.

Li Yi's conditions in all aspects are pretty good. First, he is now quite famous. Second, he can write the Three Character Classic and has a lean body that was praised by the emperor. He is excellent in this area.

But after all, he had never been an official before, so it was good enough to be given a ninth-rank proofreader at the beginning. How could he be directly given a seventh-rank assistant censor?
The position of Menxia Daizhao is based on the noble status of a proofreader, but with additional requirements.

Li Yuan nodded, "Okay, then I'll give this guy to you. He should be satisfied this time and won't complain about his lowly position anymore."

"Duke Jiang, you've been holding this bunch of grapes for so long, why aren't you eating any?"

"My mother suffers from dry mouth and wants to eat grapes but cannot. I want to take some home for her to eat."

Li Yuan was deeply moved when he heard this. Thinking of his mother Dugu who had passed away long ago, he said with tears in his eyes: "You still have your mother to bring you food."

Li Yuan was so moved that he sent a basket of grapes to Chen Shuda's mother.
"By the way, announce the imperial edict to Li Yi and grant him an official position. Also, give him a basket of grapes."

(End of this chapter)