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

Chapter 667 Spending the Night in the Imperial Palace
It was a long day.

The sun rose high in the east, but soon a torrential downpour began. The rain came quickly but also went quickly, and soon the sky cleared and the sun shone brightly.

But soon the whole city was placed under martial law.
Panic gripped the people. Li Yi had left behind a number of servants in the Prince of Dai's mansion, most of whom were veterans who had survived the battlefield. Although many of them were missing limbs, they were all confident in guarding the mansion, which covered a hundred acres.

The women and children were all gathered in the inner courtyard, and the strong women of the household guarded the inner gate and the courtyard wall with sticks.

The veterans, accompanied by their servants, patrolled different sections of the courtyard wall.

In the afternoon, Princess Du Shiniang changed her attire, specially donning a narrow-sleeved, fitted long robe, over which she wore her husband's fish-scale armor, and tied a red headband around her head.

She brought all eight sons and five daughters of her family to the north hall and personally took them under her wing.

Ji, Zheng, Dugu, and other concubines and mistresses were also gathered here.

Balang's mother, Lady Dugu, approached Du Shiniang and said, "Your Highness, there may be great chaos in Chang'an today, and the Prince's residence may also be affected."
The concubine worried that the servants wouldn't be able to protect them properly.

"Speak your mind," Du Shiniang said. Beside her was a slingshot with its cartridge case already drawn, and two bags of pellets.

Dugu had experienced the destruction of her family.

Although the situation today is different from what her family went through back then.
But she also had some idea in her mind.

"Your Highness, just in case, we can't put all our eggs in one basket. Our son has eight sons and six daughters, and besides one adopted daughter, the other one is with us."

The rest are all here; if anything happens to them, it could be dangerous.

It would be best to separate the eight young men a bit.

After hearing this, Du Shiniang's gaze swept over the dozen or so children. The eldest, Li Shu, was her adopted daughter, who was only five years old.

Ji Lingyi's eldest son, Ping An, was only four years old.

The other children were all young.

Du Shiniang knew more about what was happening outside than Dugu Shi; she knew her husband was currently in the palace.

The husband said not to worry, everything was under control.

But what Dugu said makes some sense; we should be wary of any unforeseen circumstances.

In case the soldiers rush in
What if the plan with the King of Qin fails?

After thinking about it,
He beckoned to the mothers of his eight sons and told them to take their children elsewhere.

Scatter,
If any mutinous soldiers or ruffians take advantage of the chaos and rush in, they can at least avoid being wiped out in one fell swoop.

Four-year-old Li Cong, a peaceful young man, was leading his little yellow dog and challenging his older sister Li Shu's raccoon dog, Ahua.

Ahua lay there, not even lifting her eyelids, completely ignoring the little yellow dog.

Ji Lingyi beckoned to him.
“Auntie,” Li Cong led Xiao Huang to his birth mother.

Ji Lingyi took his hand and said, "You and Silang come with me to the West Courtyard Library. Your aunt will show you some picture books."

Li Cong looked at Du Shiniang, "Mother?"

Du Shiniang reached out and rubbed Li Cong's head, then rubbed Si Lang Li Gui's little head, "Ping An and Yuan Bao, you two go to the library with Aunt Ji."

"Can I ask my older sister to come with me?" The child had no idea what was going on.

"can."

quickly,

The children were taken away by their birth mother and temporarily separated.

Du Shiniang remained in the hall.

All the dozen or so children left at once, and suddenly it felt a little empty. These past few years, I've observed mourning for my grandmother and father for several years in a row; now that the mourning period is over, the mourning period is over.

Her husband came back too.

Once things settle down this time, I need to get pregnant and have a baby as soon as possible.

With twelve illegitimate sons and daughters, plus two adopted daughters, the family has fourteen children, yet the legal wife has no children of her own. This is unacceptable.

Even though family rules dictate that children born out of wedlock can only call him "mother" and their biological mothers "aunt," they are ultimately not his biological children.

The sun is setting in the west.

Song Yi returned to the Prince's Palace, bringing back good news.

The matter is settled; it has been accomplished.

Du Shiniang finally smiled and breathed a sigh of relief.

Changquan City under martial law

Li Yi's residence was in Shengye Ward, near the Imperial City. Soon, more soldiers patrolled the streets there, and even more military officers guarded the streets.

Wannian County also specially dispatched a county constable, along with a legal officer, a leader of the Bad Guys, and a team of Bai Zhi and Bad Guys to assist in guarding the Prince's Mansion.

News from Chang'an is always very timely.

By the afternoon, those who were well-informed had basically learned about the major events that had occurred that day.

Heaven has changed.

The crown prince was deposed, and the King of Qin became regent.

Prince Li Sikong of Dai was the mastermind behind the coup.

Wannian County must perform well and absolutely not allow anyone to offend the Prince of Dai's Mansion.

No one dared to offend the Prince of Dai's residence!
The Yongzhou Prefecture quickly dispatched a military officer to lead a team to stand guard.

Then the generals and commanders of the Left and Right Guards, Left and Right Valiant Guards, Left and Right Martial Guards, and other guards also sent some of their troops to Shengye Ward.

This is how Yuanmou supported the meritorious officials.

at dusk,

Chen Fu, the Junior Supervisor of the Palace, has arrived.

Leading a long caravan of horse-drawn carriages.

"The King of Qin praised the Prince of Dai for his great contribution to stabilizing the state, and therefore bestowed upon him all the gold, silver and utensils of the Qi Kingdom."

Chen Fu paid his respects to Du Shiniang with great courtesy.

The cargo consisted of dozens of cartloads of valuables, including gold ingots and silver coins, various gold and silver artifacts, as well as many valuable porcelain, lacquerware, glass, crystal, ivory, jade, emerald, coral, various spices, silks and satins, copper coins, and more.

Prince Qi, Li Yuanji, was very wealthy. He seized a hundred shi (a unit of dry measure) of black pepper alone, as well as five hundred taels of stalactite.

Black pepper was brought from the distant Western Regions by Sogdian merchants along the Silk Road. In previous years, due to war and disruptions to the Silk Road, the price of black pepper was extremely high.

Spices brought from the Western Regions by Sogdian merchants were generally classified into four grades, with pepper being the cheapest and camphor a grade higher.

At its peak, one tael of camphor in Chang'an sold for twenty-five strings of copper coins, three times the price of black pepper.

Therefore, at that time, a tael of black pepper could sell for as much as seven or eight strings of cash, which was roughly equivalent to a tael of gold for a tael of black pepper.

It was known as "black gold spice." However, although the Silk Road has long since resumed trade and the price of black pepper has gradually recovered, a pound of black pepper can still be worth an ounce of gold.

A hundred bushels of black pepper is worth more than ten thousand taels of gold.

One pound of black pepper can be exchanged for two or three cows.

The fact that Li Yuanji's mansion had a hundred bushels of black pepper stockpiled suggests that he may have monopolized the black pepper business in Chang'an.

Now, this black pepper, worth ten thousand taels of gold, was all bestowed upon Li Yi with a single word from the King of Qin.

If you add other gold and silver items, gold and silver wares, silk, porcelain, etc.,

This is truly a huge fortune.

Du Shiniang was secretly surprised and dared not accept it for a moment.

"Your Highness, please rest assured, this was a gift from the King of Qin to the Prince of Dai. The Prince of Dai has already expressed his gratitude and accepted it. Now, Your Highness, please send someone to verify and receive it." Chen Fu said, while taking out a detailed list.

There are thousands of gold and silver artifacts alone.

Upon hearing this, Du Shiniang took the booklet, but the more she read, the more alarmed she became. She decided to stop reading and handed it over to Ji Lingyi and Luo Sanniang to receive.

We just finished receiving it here.

Everyone in the mansion was in shock.

As a result, the King of Qin sent someone again.
This time, 12,000 bolts of raw silk were delivered.

Ten cartloads were loaded.

"The King of Dai has rendered great service to the state, and the King of Qin has bestowed upon him a special reward..."

Li Yi's wives and concubines, seeing all this, were momentarily speechless.

Lady Dugu, holding her son's hand,

I can finally relax.

These rewards signify that the dust has settled.

My husband bet correctly and won.

The winner takes all.

The Li family doesn't actually lack gold, silver, utensils, spices, silk, or the like, but these things represent the Li family's increasingly stable status.

Before the gates of the palace were closed, Li Yi sent Chen Lingjiao to deliver a message home, informing him that he would be temporarily on duty in the palace, and that everything was fine and he should not worry.

Du Shiniang and the others took turns asking Li Yi about his condition, whether he was injured, whether he had eaten, and where he would be staying that night.

"Quickly get Ah Lang some clean clothes, a blanket for him to sleep under at night, toiletries, and tea leaves. Bring them all."

"Ask the kitchen to prepare some more food for her to take with her," Du Shiniang instructed.

Tell Ah Lang that everything is fine at home.

Little Chili pulled the raccoon cat Ahua over, "Isn't Father coming back tonight? He promised to tell me a story tonight."

Jin Yushu pulled her into her arms, "Your father has something to do tonight and can't come back. I'll tell you a story tomorrow night."

Night came,

Li Yi was on duty in the imperial city.
In the courtyard of the provincial government office, a charcoal stove is lit and a pot of tea is brewed.

Ma Zhou and Liu Shiche accompanied him on duty.

The night sky is dotted with stars.

The imperial city was very quiet.

During the day, countless officials from various government offices worked in the imperial city, but at night, only a few remained on duty.

But tonight is a bit special.

"Prince Bin, would you rather stay in the Secretariat or go to the Censorate?"

Li Yi asked Ma Zhou.

Once a down-on-his-luck, impoverished scholar, he has finally made a name for himself these past two years by following Li Yi.

“I will follow Sikong’s arrangements,” Ma Zhou said readily.

Li Yi nodded, "The Censorate will definitely need to make adjustments as well. You are a meritorious official who supported the establishment of the new regime, and you are a trustworthy member of our own people."

"Should we go to the Imperial Academy, the Palace Academy, or the Censorate?" Ma Zhou asked.

As a supervisory body, the Censorate was also an important government office, with more than one hundred officials. It was divided into three departments, each with different responsibilities.

"You will go to the Imperial Academy as a Supervising Censor."

The Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate was of a lower rank, only eighth grade. The Attendant Censor of the Imperial Censorate, however, was of the sixth grade.

The Imperial Censorate had four Attendant Censors. The most senior was the Attendant Censor in charge of miscellaneous affairs, also known as the Miscellaneous Censor. He was in charge of all affairs of the Imperial Censorate and was like the head of the Imperial Censorate, hence he was also called the Imperial Censor. The second Attendant Censor under the Imperial Censor was called the Attendant Censor in charge of impeachment, and the third and fourth Attendant Censors were called the Attendant Censors in charge of promotion.

The main duties of the Imperial Censor of the Imperial Academy were to investigate and prosecute legal cases, impeach officials, and oversee public affairs.

When the imperial court tried cases of great importance or those involving officials of the fifth rank or above, the Ministry of Justice, the Court of Judicial Review, and the Censorate would jointly handle the cases, a practice known as the Three Departments' Trial.

Impeaching corrupt officials is a basic function of the Imperial Censor. Officials of the fifth rank and above, especially those in the capital, are usually impeached by the Imperial Censor.

In this special period
It was absolutely necessary to appoint Zhou Jin, one of his own men, as a Supervising Censor in the Censorate.

Who dares to disloyalty to the new crown prince?

Who dares not cooperate with the court's new policies?

Then impeach him, remove him from his position, or even eliminate him.

The Censorate was controlled by its own people.
Even if nothing is done, it is like a sharp sword hanging over the heads of every official, making them think twice before acting.

Liu Shiche was assigned to the Secretariat and given the position of Secretariat Attendant.

This is a very important position, known as the future prime minister.

The Secretariat Attendants were fifth-rank officials, and there were six of them.

Six secretaries of the Imperial Secretariat reviewed memorials and drafted their opinions according to the six divisions of the Ministry of Personnel. They signed their names in the Five Clouds Style cursive script, creating a variety of documents.
The six secretaries of the Secretariat were responsible for the administration of the six departments of the Ministry of Personnel. After being reviewed by the Vice Director of the Secretariat and the Director of the Secretariat, the documents were submitted to the Chancellery for revision and finally handed over to the Ministry of Personnel for execution.

"Such an important position is beyond my ability to accept." Liu Shiche was very surprised. Although he came from a prestigious family with generations of high-ranking officials, his father being a minister and prefect in the Sui Dynasty, and he himself had raised an army at the end of the Sui Dynasty and established himself as the governor of Northern Xuzhou, he was still a man of great importance.

Moreover, he joined Li Yi earlier and has made many contributions in Henan, Hebei and Hedong in recent years. However, before that, he had only served as a military advisor, acting magistrate, and military officer in the general's office.

The position of Zhongshu Sheren was a truly powerful and important post, and it was also a fifth-rank official position.

"This is also the arrangement of the King of Qin. As the Secretary of the Imperial Secretariat, you will be responsible for reviewing and approving the memorials from the Ministry of War."

Li Yi poured tea for the two men, saying, "This is not only a reward for your merits, but also an important responsibility for you. The positions of Imperial Censor (rank 6) and Imperial Secretary (rank 5) in the Secretariat are both very important. Once you go there, you must do your job well."

(End of this chapter)