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

Chapter 656 The bird is gone and the bow is hidden
Li Shimin reined in his horse and stopped it on the north bank of the Wei River.

At the Wei Bridge, Lu Kuan, the Palace Attendant, came to greet them as ordered.

The emperor issued an edict to commend the Prince of Qin for suppressing the rebellion.

"Please let the King of Qin, the King of Yan, and the King of Changle accompany me back to Chang'an. The rest of the soldiers will be stationed in Xianyang, north of the Wei River."

The troops sent to quell the rebellion were not allowed to cross the Wei River.

The emperor sent General Yang Mao to take command of the troops and also sent many sheep, wine, money, and silk.

Li Shimin glanced back at the troops behind him, nodded calmly, and said, "Let's go!"

···
Taiji Palace
Pei Ji entered the palace, where the emperor was playing the pipa.

"Your Majesty, the Prince of Qin, the Prince of Yan, and the Prince of Changle have already entered Chang'an City. The troops used to quell the rebellion have all remained in Weibei and have been taken over by General Yang Mao."

Li Yuan stopped what he was doing and stood there, lost in thought, holding his pipa.

Yang Wengan's rebellion has been quelled.

Prince Li Yi of Yan also came to court by imperial decree.

But Li Yuan's expression was not relaxed at all; instead, his brows furrowed even more.

There are more gray hairs at my temples.

"Where is Wuyi?" Li Yuan asked.

“The Prince of Dai crossed the Yellow River at Longmen and has entered Tongzhou in Hexi.”

"How many people did he bring back to the capital?"

“The Prince of Dai only brought fifty horsemen and several officials. However, the former Governor of Shuozhou, Yuchi Gong, the former Governor of Daizhou, Wang Xingmin, and the Governor of Jinzhou, Luo Shixin, accompanied him. The three of them, Yuchi Gong, Wang Xingmin, and Luo Shixin, each brought fifty horsemen as their attendants,” Pei Ji reported.

"but,"

Li Yuan looked at Pei Ji.

Pei Ji immediately said, "The two Turkic governorates of Dingxiang and Yunzhong have sent dozens of sons from various Turkic tribes to the capital to pay tribute. They are accompanying the Prince of Dai. These sons of Turkic chieftains have also brought some attendants."
Several foreign merchants also accompanied them, bringing the total to about three hundred people.

Li Yuan put down the pipa.

“Send someone to Chang Le Po to welcome Wu Yi. Their entourage, as well as the entourage of the Turkic nobles and the caravan, will all remain at Ba Qiao.”

"I understand."

Li Yuan shook his head. "Let Wu Yi's attendant be taken back to the capital. He is a great contributor to the court."

"He was summoned to court in haste this time, and he must have had a long and tiring journey."

Li Yuan picked up a memorial from the table. "The Right Minister said that if the dynasty is to last, it is necessary to carry out feudal practices, to enfeoff relatives and meritorious officials."

"No dynasty has lasted as long as the Zhou dynasty, which established states and lasted for eight hundred years. As for the Han dynasty, the feudal lords were able to enjoy a reign of four hundred years."

I think the Right Minister's words make a lot of sense.

The princes were appointed as hereditary governors, and the meritorious officials were appointed as hereditary governors.

The King of Qi was enfeoffed in Jiaozhi, and the state of Rinan was established there. The King of Qin was enfeoffed in Nanzhong, and the position of Governor of Nanning Prefecture was hereditary.

Prince Yuan Yi of Dai, Prince Xiao Gong of Zhao, Prince Dao Xuan of Wei, and Prince Li Yi of Yan have all rendered great service to the country, and I intend to appoint them all as hereditary governors.

Which prefecture does Pei Jian think he should be enfeoffed in?

Pei Ji said, "I believe that if meritorious officials are to be granted hereditary governorships, they should be enfeoffed in the four border regions, just like the princes."

Prince Li Yi of Dai County may be enfeoffed on Zhuyai Island in Hainan, with the hereditary title of Prefect of Zhenzhou!

Hereditary governorships were not a new thing; they were quite common before the Qin Dynasty and were known as hereditary officials and hereditary stipends.

After Qin unified the six states, officials were uniformly appointed by the central government.

In the later period of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the country weakened, and hereditary officials began to appear again.

For example, Gao Huan, the founder of the Northern Qi Dynasty, was a famous handsome man. He held the official positions of Grand Chancellor, General of the Heavenly Pillar, Grand Tutor, hereditary Governor of Dingzhou, and was granted an additional 90,000 households, plus 150,000 households.

Liang Jingrui, a founding elder of the Western Wei Dynasty, was appointed as the hereditary governor of Hezhou, and was also granted the titles of General of the Cavalry and Grand General of the Three Departments.

Yuan Tianmu, a member of the Northern Wei imperial family who suppressed Ge Rong's uprising, was also rewarded for his meritorious service in suppressing the uprising. He was appointed as the Regent of the State, the Director of the Imperial Secretariat, the Governor of Bingzhou, and the hereditary Governor of Bingzhou.

Since the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, the number of hereditary officials has increased, not only among top-ranking powerful ministers who received hereditary governorships of major prefectures.

Some of those who were granted titles for their military achievements even inherited the position of county magistrate.

Quan Jingyan, a general of the Northern Wei Dynasty, served as acting prefect of Yiyang Commandery, held the hereditary position of county magistrate, and was enfeoffed as Marquis of Danshui. His son, Quan Qi, inherited the marquisate at the age of twelve and also the position of county magistrate. By the time of Quan Qi's son, Quan Yuanli, the dynasty had changed.

However, after he made meritorious contributions, the Northern Zhou emperor still appointed him as General of the Guards, General of Chariots and Cavalry, and hereditary Governor of Luozhou.

It wasn't until later, when Emperor Wu of Zhou conquered Qi and unified the north, that the system was revised. He ordered that hereditary titles of state, prefecture, and county be changed to five ranks of nobility: state was granted the title of Earl, prefecture the title of Viscount, and county the title of Baron.

When the Sui Dynasty unified the country, it centralized the power of local officials to recruit subordinates, directly appointing them through the court. Naturally, it did not establish a hereditary official system.

Now, Xiao Yu, the Right Minister of Works, advocates that the Tang Dynasty implement a system of enfeoffment, which would enfeoff not only members of the imperial family and princes, but also meritorious officials.

Princes inherited the position of governor, and meritorious officials inherited the position of prefect.

Li Yuan's first hereditary list consisted of six people: his second son Li Shimin, his fourth son Li Yuanji, and meritorious officials Li Yi, Li Xiaogong, Li Daoxuan, and Li Yi.

Pei Ji knew that the emperor's real purpose in adopting Xiao Yu's enfeoffment policy was to protect the crown prince, completely eliminate the Prince of Qin, and incidentally purge those who were most prestigious and had made great contributions.

Xiao Yu's policy of enfeoffment was not something he only proposed now; he had mentioned it many times when the Tang Dynasty was first established.

The emperor's intention in bestowing hereditary governorships upon his sons and hereditary prefects upon his meritorious officials at this time was quite clear.

Pei Ji didn't stand on ceremony and immediately chose the most remote place for Li Yi—Hainan Island, truly the ends of the earth.
Zhenzhou was Linzhen Prefecture, one of the three prefectures established by the Sui Dynasty on Hainan Island. It was located in the Sanya area in later times, at the southern tip of Hainan Island.

In the fifth year of the Wude era of the Tang Dynasty, after the Feng and Xian families in Lingnan submitted to the Tang court, the court also declared its sovereignty over Hainan Island and established the three prefectures of Ya, Dan, and Zhen on the island, changing the three counties of Dan'er, Zhuya, and Linzhen of the Sui Dynasty into three prefectures.

However, in reality, it was entirely controlled by the powerful Feng and Xian families of Lingnan, and the island was basically inhabited by fangs and raccoons.

The imperial court established the Yazhou Governor's Office on the island and appointed the powerful Tanuki tribe, Xian, who actually controlled the island, as governor.

That was a largely uncivilized, remote overseas land. If Li Yi were to be enfeoffed in Zhenzhou and made the hereditary governor of Zhenzhou, he would be completely kicked out of the central government. He could even be allowed to do whatever he wanted on that island without posing any threat to the court, the emperor, or the crown prince.

Li Daoxuan, the Prince of Wei, who was also a close ally of the King of Qin, was enfeoffed in Yelang, located in the Dalou Mountains of Qianzhong...

The harshest rule for hereditary governors and prefects is...
After the enfeoffment, princes and meritorious officials had to go to their fiefdoms and could no longer remain in the court. They had to go to their fiefdoms to establish their own territories and guard them.
They may not leave their fiefdom without an imperial edict.

In this way, whether it's the Prince of Qin, whose achievements overshadow the emperor, or Li Yi and Li Daoxuan, whose merits are too great to be rewarded, or Li Yi, who used to rule a region, all these people whom the emperor fears can be removed from the central government.

It can be kicked directly to the most remote frontiers, or even the wilderness.
They'll be preoccupied with dealing with those barbarians all day long, leaving them no time to even look after themselves.

The hereditary governorships and prefectures were merely a pretext of Li Yuan's policy of enfeoffment, not a reward for the merits of the imperial family and officials, but a disguised form of suppression.

It is a reshuffling of power.

Since they were determined to protect the crown prince, they had to remove the King of Qin from the court and purge his faction as well.

Li Yi, who commands a large army, has made great contributions, enjoys high prestige, and is also very capable in battle, naturally has to be dealt with first.

"Well then, we'll change Li Yi's title to Prince Linzhen."

Li Yuan's list of meritorious officials with hereditary titles currently only includes four princes; his old comrade Pei Ji and the names of other prime ministers are not included.

Pei Ji, however, didn't care at all.
He didn't want to be on that list of hereditary governors.
Being on that list is a curse, not a blessing; it's a disguised form of exile, a complete removal from the central government.

This isn't even a typical external speaker.

That would mean moving the entire family to some godforsaken wilderness.
Far from the Central Plains and the central government, this family is doomed. They will soon be marginalized, and after three to five generations, they will be reduced to barbarians.

He might die in a barbarian rebellion at any time.

"Pei Ji, please make proper arrangements for this matter."

"Your Majesty, what if Li Yi and the others refuse to accept the hereditary governorship?"

Li Yuan snorted coldly. Without needing to say more, his meaning was clear: if they didn't want to be dignified, then they wouldn't be dignified at all.

June 1st

Li Yi arrived at Changlepo, on the eastern outskirts of Chang'an.

Imperial son-in-law Dou Dan was ordered to come and welcome them.

The emperor even sent a golden carriage to pick up Li Yi.

Yuchi Gong, Luo Shixin, Wang Xingmin, and their entourage were required to remain at Changle Post Station, while Li Yi's fifty riders were granted special permission to enter the capital.

"His Majesty said that since Sikong has been away from home for a long time, he should go home and rest for a couple of days to spend time with his family."

Dou Dan escorted Li Yi to the gate of the Prince of Dai's residence in Shengye Ward, then took his leave.

The family already knew that Li Yi was returning today.
They had been waiting for quite some time.

Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.

His wives, concubines, and children surrounded him, and they had endless things to talk about.

The eight sons and six daughters have all grown up quite a bit.

Scarface Su Yi is now a coachman for the Prince of Dai's residence, secretly delivering information and protecting the Prince's family.

Li Yi nodded slightly to him at the door.

at night,

Li Yi carried a pot of wine to the outer courtyard.

"Come on, have a couple of drinks."

Li Yi summoned Su Yi over.

Are you getting used to living in Chang'an?

"Chang'an is a large and prosperous city, but it also has many rules. The neighborhoods and high walls clearly divide the people of Chang'an."

Li Yi poured him a drink, saying, "Zhang Liang and Yun Hongyi both praised you highly in their letters to me; you've made a significant contribution."

"I, Su Yi, keep my word."

"I have a task for you. If you do it well, you'll be rewarded handsomely," Li Yi said with a smile.

"Just give the order, Ah Lang."

"Good, you're a straightforward person. I'll have someone arrange for you to go to Yongzhou Prison tomorrow."

"To Yongzhou Prison?"

"Scared?"

"Losing your head is just a scar the size of a bowl, what's so scary about it? At worst, you'll be a hero again in eighteen years. If you need anything, just give the order, but what if I have to go to jail to kill someone?"

Li Yi shook his head.
"It's not about killing someone in prison,"
There are several hundred people imprisoned in Yongzhou prison, many of them vicious and desperate criminals. I'll give you a few days; get to know some people and make some friends while you're there.”

Su Yi was stunned. Going into the Yongzhou prison to make friends?

"I will have someone cooperate with you. They will send you money, wine, and meat. Try to become a familiar face in there, and it would be even better if you could make some friends."

Su Yi asked, "Is there anything we need these prisoners for?"

"You'll know then."

"Okay." Su Yi didn't ask any more questions.

For Li Yi, this might be a hidden move, or just a casual pawn, but it could be very useful at a crucial moment.

Chang'an City had many prisons, including Yongzhou Prison, Chang'an Prison, Wannian County Prison, Censorate Prison, Wuhou Prison, the Labor Camp, Dali Temple Prison, and so on.
With so many prisons, there are naturally a lot of prisoners.
If arranged properly, this can be a force to be reckoned with.

People had already been planted in the Yongzhou government office and Yongzhou prison.

Su Yi is a very capable person and is quite suitable for that place.

(End of this chapter)