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

Chapter 664 The Secretariat
In the afternoon,

The cicadas chirped incessantly.

Ma Zhou brought lunch to the inner palace corridor beneath the palace gate.

The mutton stew, with bones and all, was cooked last night; the broth was clear and the meat tender. It was served with chilled locust leaf tea and a few lotus leaf buns.

A few simple dishes, on this special afternoon, were a special treat for our stomachs.

"Everything is fine at home; Chang'an is still under martial law."

"It has been announced to the people of the capital."
The Eastern Palace and the Qi Prince's residence are both under control; the capital is stable and there is no chaos.

Li Yi wiped his hands clean and asked, "What about the prisoners released from Yongzhou Prison?"

"In the morning, Gao Zhizhong released them from prison, opened the armory and distributed weapons, and then headed straight for Fanglin Gate."

Liang Guogong Xinggui, the Right Martial General guarding Fanglin Gate, did not stop them.

Everything went smoothly in the palace and the capital today.
The other places also went smoothly.

Li Yi is now somewhat worried that with so many prisoners released, they might take advantage of the chaos to loot. Although some of the prisoners in Yongzhou Prison were actually his own people whom he had sent in beforehand.

However, many of the prisoners were truly desperate criminals, or even death row inmates awaiting execution in the fall.

“An Xinggui and Gao Zhizhong were at Fanglin Gate, restraining the prisoners, and no one took the opportunity to enter the market to loot or cause trouble.”

Those prisoners were just a surprise force.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly today. There were no guards from the Eastern Palace or the Prince Qi's mansion, and no war broke out outside Xuanwu Gate. These special troops were thus kept at Fanglin Gate to await orders.

"Gao Zhizhong slaughtered a sheep and stewed meat at Fanglin Gate, providing these people with good food and drink, and promised a general amnesty, which appeased them."

"The Prince of Qin's residence is also fine; it has not been disturbed or attacked."

Li Yi nodded, in a great mood, and even found the cicadas chirping in the courtyard trees to be quite beautiful and pleasant to listen to.

"Minister Pei, Minister Xiao, Lord Feng, Lord Yang, and Chen Da Diao, you must be hungry too. Today's meal in the corridor was arranged by Princess Qin. There is mutton soup, which smells delicious and looks fresh."

Six small tables were set up in the corridor of the inner palace under the palace gate.

Six prime ministers

Each person has their own table and a set meal in the restaurant.

Today's meal was not prepared and delivered by the Minister of the Imperial Household, but rather prepared by the Prince of Qin's residence and delivered by Ma Zhou.

This was specially supplied to several prime ministers.

The other soldiers of the Qin Prince's Palace in the palace also had their lunches prepared and delivered by the Qin Prince's Palace; they did not eat the food served in the palace.

They were very cautious, and it was better to be safe than sorry until they had complete control of the situation.

Li Yi gestured for the group to sit down.

I drank a bowl of mutton soup first.

Pei Ji watched Li Yi drinking with relish, hesitated for a moment, then scooped up a bowl of soup and drank it too. Even if it was truly poisoned, there was no other choice at this point.

He had a vague feeling that since the King of Qin and his coup had succeeded and they hadn't even killed the Crown Prince and the King of Qi, there was no reason for them, the prime ministers, to be killed as well.

It was already afternoon. After so many things had happened today, the prime ministers were also hungry, so they all lowered their heads and ate in silence.

Li Yi was young, and he ate with extra relish, having a particularly good appetite.

Like a whirlwind sweeping away the clouds,
It was quickly sold out.

June is the perfect time to eat mutton soup.

After finishing his meal, Feng Deyi started chatting with Li Yi, saying, "This mutton soup truly lives up to its reputation as a delicacy of Guanzhong in June."
It's currently the height of summer, with abundant water and grass, resulting in goat meat that is firm, with a perfect balance of fat and lean, making it incredibly delicious when cooked.

Moreover, from a medical perspective, mutton is beneficial for replenishing qi and nourishing deficiency, warming the stomach and strengthening the spleen; regular consumption can also prolong life.

Pei Ji was still drinking his soup.

Listening to Feng Lun's somewhat ingratiating words, she secretly despised him, but also admired his quick adaptability.

In the third year of the Wude era, he followed Yuwen Shiji to Chang'an to submit to the emperor. The emperor began to dislike him and did not give him an official position. However, he was still able to gain the emperor's favor in a very short time and quickly became a fifth-rank Zhongshu Sheren, then Zhongshu Shilang, and Zhongshu Ling.

right now,

After the King of Qin seized power through a coup, he quickly sided with the victor. In fact, this man had previously maintained a good relationship with the King of Qin and was able to gain the trust of both the emperor and the crown prince, which shows his true abilities.

It's no wonder it remained standing from the Sui to the Tang dynasties.

Feng Deyi picked up the water jug, came to Li Yi's desk, and poured Li Yi a cup.

Compared to mutton soup, the tangy and refreshing fermented vegetable broth is actually the real favorite among the people of Guanzhong.

Lamb was expensive, and ordinary people couldn't even afford to eat rice, let alone lamb, let alone lamb soup.

Fermented water is much simpler to make. It's a natural fermented food, a great way to cool down in the summer. It may look ordinary, but it's actually quite particular about how to make it.

Wild vegetables such as shepherd's purse and bitter lettuce can be used to make this drink, which is loved by people from all walks of life, from peddlers to nobles.

"This fermented vegetable juice is quite good today, refreshing and tangy."

Li Yi nodded, picked up the bowl and drank it slowly. The mutton soup was clear and not greasy, but in the middle of summer, having a bowl of this soup after a meal was especially refreshing and appetizing.

"Speaking of this mutton soup, it was originally called mutton soup during the Qin and Han dynasties, and later it was called mountain boiled mutton."

There's another story. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, amidst constant warfare, a man from Guanzhong named Mao Xiuzhi was captured and taken to the Southern Song Dynasty. He was an excellent cook and presented Emperor Wu of Song with a soup of mutton stew. The soup was fresh and delicious, earning the emperor's praise.
He went from being a prisoner of war to the Grand Steward of the Imperial Kitchen, and later even rose to the rank of Duke of Nanjun—a truly legendary feat.

"Mao Xiuzhi also left behind the recipe for mutton soup in a casserole. The mutton is cut into pieces and placed in a casserole. In addition to scallions and peppers, there is a secret method: just crush a few kernels of real almonds and boil them in running water until the bones are tender."

"The way of eating mutton soup is rustic, but the preparation method is quite delicate and particular. The mutton must be mountain goat, with a good balance of fat and lean, low in fat and without any gamey smell. The mutton is freshly slaughtered in the middle of the night. It must first be soaked in cold water for more than an hour, and then stewed for another hour or so without any seasoning. First, it is cooked over high heat, then over low heat, and then over high heat again. After the meat is cooked, it is taken out to drain and cool. The soup must continue to be simmered for two hours until the bone marrow is extracted. After sixteen processes such as poaching and boiling, you can enjoy this delicious mutton soup soup."

Li Yi laughed, "Prime Minister Feng is truly learned; he even knows so much about a simple dish like mutton soup." "I know a little bit," Feng Deyi replied, "This mutton soup is best enjoyed with lotus leaf pancakes."

Amidst the chirping of cicadas
Eating meat and chatting under the eaves

The atmosphere became very relaxed.
It's hard to believe that Chang'an has just undergone a complete transformation.

After dinner,

Li Yi convened a meeting of the five prime ministers in the Hall of State Affairs.

Of the seven prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, Li Shimin, who was concurrently the Grand Secretary and Chancellor, had already ascended to the throne and was now heading to the Eastern Palace to take over the reins.

Upon entering the Hall of State Affairs, which houses the inner chambers of the Chancellery,
Pei Ji, the Left Vice Minister who usually presided over the meetings of the Council of State Affairs, was unwilling to sit in that position today.

He took the initiative to speak, "Minister Li, please take a seat. You shall preside over the meeting."

Li Yi smiled and said, "Lord Pei is the Minister of Works and the Left Minister of Works, while I am only the Minister of Works and the Attendant-in-Ordinary. I have always been outside the central government and have never served in the central government. I am also not familiar with the deliberation process of the Council of State Affairs."

Let Lord Pei preside over this.

The Hall of State Affairs, originally the Ministry of Personnel during the Sui Dynasty, was located within the Ministry of Personnel. Several prime ministers would discuss matters together, with the Minister of Personnel naturally serving as the prime minister. However, due to the Minister of Personnel's growing power, this position was often left vacant, and the Ministry of Personnel was instead headed by the Left and Right Vice Ministers.

Within the capital province, the Left Minister of Works was also the head.

The Tang Dynasty moved the capital province to the gatehouse province and renamed it the Hall of State Affairs.

This was also to strengthen the power of the Secretariat and the Chancellery, while weakening the power of the Department of State Affairs, especially since the Chancellery had the power to review and reject proposals.
Therefore, the establishment of the Council of State Affairs in the Secretariat made it more convenient for the review of imperial edicts. Major decisions of the court could be discussed by the prime ministers in the Council of State Affairs and then reviewed directly in the Secretariat. If a decision was rejected, it could be further discussed and adjusted, thus avoiding the problems of wrangling and entanglement among the three departments and improving efficiency.

For this reason, the Secretariat and Chancellery of the Tang Dynasty had more power than those of the Sui Dynasty.

However, due to Pei Ji's special relationship with the emperor, he had always been the chief scribe of the Council of State Affairs, presiding over the prime minister's meetings, keeping records, and directly receiving imperial orders.

This placed him above other prime ministers.

Now Pei Ji is going to step down.
Li Yi did not answer.

He sat down next to Chen Shuda.

However, Li Yi also called Ma Zhou and Liu Shiche in, "Let them introduce themselves to you gentlemen."
The two men were originally the Chief Clerk and the Military Advisor in the Grand General's Office of Bingzhou, but the King of Qin appointed them to the Secretariat.

The "Directly Subordinate to the Gate" was someone who served in the Gate Province and was a liaison officer or supervisor sent by Li Shimin.

Ma Zhou and Liu Shiche bowed to the prime ministers.
Then each of them took a roll of paper and a pen and sat behind Li Yi.

Pei Ji sat in the most senior seat.

He looked down at the pen in his hand.
It was originally a fairly ordinary pen, but because it was held by the prime minister, it became extraordinary and was called the "political pen."

He thus became the chief scribe.

He was always the one who took notes during the prime minister's meetings in the Council of State Affairs.

Once you hold the pen, you naturally gain power.

But now,
Although Li Yi did not sit in his seat.

However, two people were arranged behind him, each with a pen to take notes.

Pei Ji's expression was rather unpleasant.

He picked up his teacup, only to find that his favorite Huzhou purple bamboo shoot tea was not available, which drew a furious rebuke from the steward behind the hall.

Li Yi calmly watched as Pei Ji raged for over ten minutes, verbally abusing the clerk in the back hall.

He couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

This is a veiled attack, using the situation as a pretext to criticize.

Li Yi was too lazy to pay attention to this old guy. Li Shimin once commented on Pei Ji, saying that he was incompetent and jealous of talent.

Liu Wenjing was far more capable than Pei Ji, yet she was ultimately framed and killed by Pei Ji.

However, both Li Shimin and Li Yi knew very well that Li Yuan's trust in Pei Ji was not merely out of gratitude for the armor, weapons, and beautiful women he had gifted him from Jinyang Palace.
It wasn't because the two had many shared interests,

It was simply because Pei Ji was indeed very loyal to Li Yuan. For Li Yuan, appointing a loyal prime minister was definitely better than appointing a capable but not absolutely loyal person.

The mediocre but loyal Pei Ji was, in fact, an extension of the emperor's will.

And now,
Emperor Li Yuan was stripped of his power.
If the hair is gone, where will it attach itself?
Pei Ji is now just an old dog who has lost power, but we can't touch him for the time being; we still need him to sit in this position.

After he had been cursing for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea,

Li Yi remained silent, but Feng Deyi, seeing this, stepped forward and said, "Prime Minister Pei, calm down. Don't get angry and ruin your health."
Let's discuss the matter first.

The King of Dai must have received the latest instructions from the King of Qin!

Yang Gongren also said, "Yes, such a big thing has happened, and we need to sort things out from top to bottom."

Even Xiao Yu waved for the clerk below to leave, saying, "Let's discuss the matter first."

Li Yi remained silent, drinking his tea the whole time.

Pei Ji was panting heavily.

He glared angrily at the clerk below, who was sweating profusely from the scolding, and shouted, "Get out!"

After that unfortunate clerk left,
Li Yi then put down his teacup.
"Lord Pei, shall we begin our meeting?"

Seeing his posture, even though he was sitting at the back, Pei Ji could only suppress his anger and nod, "Let's begin!"

(End of this chapter)