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

Chapter 683 Please accept my bow

East Palace,

Li Yi accompanied the Crown Prince on a walk.

"I wonder how long this sweltering summer will last," Li Shimin thought. The initial excitement of taking over the Eastern Palace had worn off, and he now felt mostly tired, even somewhat displeased. He wanted to leave the Eastern Palace.

Go to the imperial palace to escape the summer heat and go hunting.

Li Shimin enjoyed riding and archery, and also loved hunting; he hadn't gone hunting for quite some time.

But he dared not indulge himself and tried his best to restrain himself to be a good crown prince, which made him very haggard lately.

"When we fight Liang Shidu, I'd like to appoint Wuji and Chai Shao as joint commanders-in-chief. What do you think?"

Li Yi realized that the emperor wanted to give Changsun Wuji a boost in his career. Changsun was Li Shimin's brother-in-law and a trusted confidant, skilled in political maneuvering. Although he held an important official position, he lacked military achievements.

The Tang Dynasty placed the highest value on military merit.
Without military merit, one cannot speak with authority in the imperial court. Even though Changsun Wuji is now the Left Vice Minister of the Crown Prince, Minister of Personnel, and General of the Left Martial Marquis, people behind his back say that he has all of these positions only because his sister is the Crown Princess.

If Changsun Wuji wants to gain a foothold in the court and even become prime minister, he will definitely need to have a certain amount of military merit.

Just like Li Yi,
He held several important positions, including Minister of Works and Attendant-in-Ordinary, Governor of Yongzhou and General of the Left Guard, as well as Junior Guardian of the Crown Prince and Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince. Who would say that Li Yi was not suitable?
"Your Highness, either Chai Shao or the Duke of Qi should be appointed as the chief steward. There cannot be two chief stewards at the same time."
I suggest that the Duke of Qi serve as the Chief Clerk of the Army this time, accompanying Chai Shao to quell Liang Shidu. After the victory, the Duke of Qi can be appointed as the Commander-in-Chief for the next campaign against Tuyuhun.

"That's fine too." Li Shimin didn't actually have much confidence in his brother-in-law's military abilities. And the Battle of Liang Shidu was the last battle for the unification of the Tang Dynasty, so it couldn't be lost.

Not only do we have to win, but we have to win quickly and beautifully.

"How confident are you in sending Feng Ang to quell the rebellion in Lingnan?"

"In my opinion, Feng Ang is a man of both military prowess and strategic vision. During the Kaihuang era, he assisted the Sui court in quelling the rebellion of Wang Zhongxuan. During the Daye era, he was summoned to the court and served as a prefect in the interior and as the Left General of the Martial Guard in the central government."
His vision and perspective are far superior to Ning Changzhen's; he is a man who can recognize the times.

Ning Changzhen, Feng Xuan, Tan Dian, and others were short-sighted and delusional, attempting to establish a separatist regime in Lingnan, while Feng Ang was relatively clear-headed.

Therefore, as long as the imperial court treats Feng Ang with leniency, Feng Ang will send troops to suppress the rebels for the court. Moreover, there are many others like Feng Ang in Lingnan, such as Chen Longshu of Longzhou. Their Chen family is known as one of the three major chieftains of Lingnan, along with the Feng and Xian families of Gaoliang and the Ning family of Qinzhou.
However, the Chen family was destroyed by a rebellion during the Sui Dynasty, and Chen Longshu was forced to take refuge in Qinzhou and rely on Ning Changzhen. Now, Chen Longshu has been appointed as the governor of Nanfuzhou by the court and has returned to the Chen family's ancestral home.

However, most of the Chen family's former territory was occupied by Tan Dian, the chieftain of the Li Liao barbarians, and Feng Xuan of the Feng family.
In the years since Chen Longshu returned to his hometown, he has raised the banner of our imperial court high, establishing prefectures and counties in the areas controlled by the Li Liao barbarians, and devoting himself to territorial expansion.
However, this also led to constant conflicts with Tan Dian, Feng Xuan, and others.

Although Feng Xuan was Feng Ang's elder brother, the two had been at odds for many years. Towards the end of the Daye era, Feng Xuan allied with Xian Zhichen and others, but ended up fighting Feng Ang, resulting in a bloody battle.

Ning Chun of the Ning family, whose father Ning Xuan is Ning Changzhen's uncle, also had a falling out due to internal turf wars.

"The court promoted Feng Ang, Chen Longshu, and Ning Chun, and ordered them to form a coalition to quell the rebellion of Feng Xuan, Tan Dian, Ning Daoming, and others."

Taking advantage of the internal conflicts among these powerful clans in Lingnan,
Winning over one faction while suppressing another.
Feng Ang was the most powerful. In the fifth year of the Wude era, he accepted Li Jing's proclamation of surrender and led his troops to submit. The court then established eight prefectures, namely Gao, Luo, Chun, Bai, Ya, Dan, Lin, and Zhen, in his territory and appointed him as Shangzhuguo and the governor of Gaozhou. He was enfeoffed as the Duke of Wu and later as the Duke of Yue.

The governors of the eight prefectures were all his brothers, sons, and nephews.

His territory is quite large, including Hainan Island and Gaoluo, among other places.

Hainan Island was the territory of the Xian family, the chieftains of the Li Liao tribe, with whom the Feng family had intermarried for generations.

In recent years, the Feng family has had Feng Xuan, and the Xian family has had Xian Baoche and Xian Zhichen, among others, who are not convinced by Feng Ang, making things very chaotic.

“Strip Feng Xuan of his post as governor of Luozhou and give it to Feng Ang’s son. Then summon one of Feng Ang’s sons to the court and grant him a high-ranking official position and a generous title.”

···
Using local people to control local people, quelling the rebellion first, and supporting Feng Ang, Chen Longshu, and Ning Chun as proxies, the court will not suffer any losses.

Suppressing the rebels in Lingnan will only enhance the prestige of the imperial court in the Lingnan region.

It's not too late to move forward with things like stationing troops and levying taxes later.

There was absolutely no need for the imperial court to send a single soldier.

Li Shimin stared at the map of Lingnan for a long time.

"The title of Duke of Yue, Feng Ang, was changed to Duke of Geng. He was appointed as the military governor of the eight prefectures of Gaoluo and the governor of Gaozhou. His eldest son, Feng Zhidai, the governor of Chunzhou, was summoned to the court to serve as the vice minister of the Imperial Guard."

"Chen Longshu of Poyang County was granted the title of Duke of Songping, and appointed as the military commander of Nanfu Prefecture and other military affairs, and the governor of Nanfu Prefecture. His eldest son, Chen Jiyuan, was summoned to the court to serve as the Crown Prince's Imperial Guard."

"Ning Chun was granted the title of Duke of Hepu, and appointed as the military commander of Nanyue Prefecture and other military affairs, and the governor of Nanyue Prefecture. His son, Ning Xiaojie, was also summoned to serve as the Crown Prince's bodyguard."

The Feng family was located in the southeastern coastal area of ​​eastern Lingnan, while the Ning family was located in the southwestern coastal area of ​​Lingnan.
The Chen family lives in the middle and lower reaches of the Pearl River.

As long as a suitable agent can be found among these three major families, Lingnan can be brought under control.

Of course, the central dynasty had always maintained direct control over several places in Lingnan, namely Guangzhou, Guizhou, and Jiaozhou.

Guizhou is Guilin. Since Qin Shi Huang built the Lingqu Canal to enter Lingnan, Guizhou has been the first stop for the central government entering Lingnan. Guangzhou, due to its maritime trade, has always been economically developed from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Sui and Tang dynasties.

Jiaozhou controlled the Red River Plain and also benefited from maritime trade.

The governors of Guizhou and Jiaozhou were both appointed officials by the imperial court at the end of the Sui Dynasty. After surrendering to the Tang Dynasty, the governors of Jiaozhou, Qiu He, and Guizhou, Li Xizhi, were still appointed to guard these posts.

"Your Highness, the position of Governor of Guangzhou is currently vacant. Guangzhou is the key to controlling the eastern part of Lingnan and must be firmly held in the hands of the imperial court."

Controlling Lingnan would not only deter local powerful families but also facilitate the development of maritime trade. Maritime trade could bring significant profits, including the import of goods and the export of Tang Dynasty porcelain and silk, thus opening a maritime Silk Road.

"Do you have any good candidates to recommend for the position of Governor of Guangzhou?"

"I have two candidates. One is Liu Lancheng, the governor of Fengzhou and the Duke of Pingyuan. He is from Beihai and once served as a clerk in Poyang County. He is familiar with the rivers and seas and would be suitable to serve as the governor of Guangzhou."

The other is Zhang Gongjin, the Left Martial General, the Crown Prince's Household Steward, and Duke of Dingyuan. He comes from the Zhang clan of Dunhuang, whose ancestors settled in Hebei. In his youth, he served in the Jianghuai region, and later became the Prefect of Weizhou. Both Generals Liu and Zhang rose through the ranks from local government, possessing both literary and military talents, and are utterly loyal to His Highness. Both are suitable to be the Governor of Guangzhou.

Li Shimin said, "The Right Minister Feng Deyi recommended Feng Li to be appointed as the Governor of Guangzhou."

Feng Li was originally the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Eastern Palace Guard of Crown Prince Jiancheng. He was highly regarded by Jiancheng and was very capable, but after all, he was a man of the former Crown Prince.

“Feng Li has always held a military post and is from Guanzhong; it’s somewhat inappropriate for him to be appointed Governor of Guangzhou,” Li Yi said. He had recommended Liu Lancheng and Zhang Gongjin, both of whom were close to him, especially Zhang Gongjin.
Those were recruited by him when he was pacifying Henan, and they have been under his command for the past few years.

A close confidant, someone you know inside and out.

The position of Governor of Guangzhou is an important one. Li Yi also plans to cooperate with Zhang San on the maritime spice trade in Southeast Asia. Having its own governor in Guangzhou Port would be the best option.

As for Jiaozhou Port, there are already people there.

The governor of Jiaozhou, Duke Tan, Qiu He, was the grandfather of his concubine, Qiu.

"Then let Liu Lancheng go to Guangzhou. Zhang Gongjin has just been appointed as the Crown Prince's Household Steward, so it's not good to transfer him again so soon," Li Shimin decided.

The two walked to a pavilion under the shade of a large tree and sat down.

Li Yi took out two pieces of paper and presented them to the Crown Prince.

Li Shimin took it and was very surprised after reading it.

There were two pieces of paper. One was Li Yi offering 1,000 hectares of land to the Crown Prince, and the other was Li Yi offering 1,000 hectares of land to the imperial court.

"Wu Yi, what do you mean by this?"

They acquired 200,000 mu of land in one go. Although it wasn't all in Guanzhong and Henan, the amount was still considerable.

Li Yi smiled and said, "In the past few years, the world was not at peace, countless people were displaced, and a large amount of farmland was abandoned. So I bought some wasteland and recruited displaced people to cultivate it."
They not only provided relief to the people, but also reaped a considerable amount of food themselves.

Now that the world is unified and things are gradually becoming more stable, people have returned to their hometowns. The imperial court has distributed land to the people on an equal footing, allowing them to live and work in peace and contentment.

However, after the great chaos, land consolidation became quite serious.

The imperial court's equal-field system, especially in the Guanzhong Plain, Henan, Hebei, and Hedong regions, was not implemented effectively, as these areas experienced rapid population recovery after the war.
Limited land and large population

Especially since a large amount of farmland is in private hands,

There wasn't much government-allocated land, so it was practically very difficult to grant a man 100 mu of land.

Of the twenty-two counties of Yongzhou Prefecture,
This situation was particularly serious. Originally, each adult male was entitled to 100 mu of land, but in the early years of the Wude era, the people were still entitled to 50 mu of land, which was half of the full amount.

However, in the past two years, it has often been the case that only half of the students can be awarded.

In some places, there was no more government-owned land to be granted, so people could only wait, but it was already very difficult to wait until there was land available to be granted.

A household with three or more able-bodied men might have a hundred acres of land, while a household with only one or two able-bodied men might have only twenty or thirty acres.

This amount of land is barely enough to support a family's basic needs, let alone the rent, taxes, and military service.

In peaceful years, they can barely make ends meet. But if a natural disaster or illness strikes, they have to borrow money. Debt can make many people unable to hold their heads high, and some are even crushed by it and go bankrupt, losing even the little land they own.
They can only become fugitives or hidden residents.

Holding the two pieces of paper, Li Shimin listened to Li Yi's words and fell into deep thought.

The Equal Field Law stipulated that land should be allocated according to the number of adult males, with each adult male receiving 100 mu (approximately 6.7 hectares). This was an ideal situation, but in reality, only in remote border areas with vast land and sparse populations could such land be allocated. However, the land allocated was often uncultivated or wasteland.

But in such a central and heartland region, where would there be so much land to grant?

Li Yi said, “In the past, due to war, many fields were abandoned and no one cultivated them. I took over the land and cultivated it. In times of chaos, grain was more valuable than gold, and it was a lifesaver.”

Planting an extra acre of land could yield an extra seven or eight bushels of grain, potentially saving several lives.

Now that everyone has recovered, many people have no land to cultivate.

I don't want to occupy so much land, so I plan to give away some of it, especially in the densely populated central areas. I'll reduce my share and give more land back to the people to cultivate.

Of these two thousand hectares, one thousand hectares will be given to the Crown Prince, and the harvest can be used to fund the Eastern Palace's internal treasury. The other thousand hectares will be handed over to the government and distributed to landless people in accordance with the Equal Field Law.

"I will also sell most of the remaining land in my family, giving priority to those who have no land or insufficient land."

After hearing this explanation, Li Shimin was greatly surprised and impressed.

"His Majesty previously bestowed upon Pei Ji a thousand acres of fertile land, yet Pei Ji did not seem to think of the common people at all. I am truly moved that you, Wu Yi, can think of me in this way,"

After speaking, Li Shimin stood up and said, "Please accept my bow."

"Give me this thousand acres of land, and I will not keep a single acre for the imperial estate. I will give it all to the local people who have no land or insufficient land!"

"Not only that, I will also allocate some of my land to the people."

"Wu Yi, I think what you just said makes a lot of sense. The poor have no place to stand, while the powerful and wealthy own vast tracts of land."

Land consolidation is indeed a major problem. Do you have any good methods to limit it?

(End of this chapter)