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

Chapter 689 Please Affix the Throne to the Crown Prince

Imperial Censor Ma Zhou moved to a new residence.
After moving into Wubenfang, Li Yi made a special trip to congratulate them after finishing his shift.

"The oriole moves to a tall tree, the swallow enters a high building, congratulations!"

People are always in high spirits when they have good news. Ma Zhou stood at the door with a big smile on his face. At the age of twenty-two, he owned his own house in Chang'an, covering an area of ​​eighteen acres, in Wubenfang.
This place is a gathering place for meritorious officials and relatives.

The Imperial College was also located in the neighborhood.
The area is strategically important, and the land is valuable, with prices reaching tens of thousands of coins per acre.

Ma Zhou's house costs two million.

Ma Zhou loved this place very much; the Imperial College was right next door, and he especially liked the atmosphere there.

He was born into a poor farming family. His father died early, and his mother supported the family. He was intelligent from a young age and would sit outside the school to listen to his early lessons.

With his background and age, how could he possibly afford such a luxurious mansion in Chang'an?

It was also a stroke of luck that he was originally an assistant teacher at a local school in Hebei, earning a meager salary. However, he was summoned by Li Yi and entered Li Yi's staff. Within a few years, he actually entered the capital and became a sixth-rank censor.

Now they have such a large house.

The land alone costs 30,000 coins per mu. His house occupies 18 mu, so the land price is 540,000 coins. This house was originally the residence of Lu Jie, a fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Works. The construction and decoration were very good. The rockery, strange rocks, trees and flowers in the garden alone are worth a lot.

I got it for two million; that was a friendly price.

"I still feel like I'm dreaming. I can't believe I actually have such a large mansion in Chang'an," Ma Zhou sighed.

The previous owner of this house was Lu Jie, a senior official in the Ministry of Works. He was arrested and executed by being cut in half at the waist at Gouji Ridge in the East Market for falsely accusing Li Yi. His family and property were confiscated and then given to Li Yi.

Li Yi then sold it to Ma Zhou.

Of course, Ma and Zhou couldn't come up with that much money right away.

He, a sixth-rank Imperial Censor, had just received the fifth-rank title of Grand Master of the Palace. The Crown Prince appreciated him greatly and rewarded him with a thousand strings of cash to buy a house.

Li Yi then sold the newly acquired house to Ma Zhou for two million.

Ma Zhou paid 1,000 strings of cash upfront, and would pay the rest back slowly.

Actually, even at three million, people would fight over this mansion; Lu Jie really built it very well.

"If you like the servants and maids in the Lu family's original residence, you can keep them all. If you don't, I'll replace them with a new batch," Li Yi said with a smile.

Ma Zhou invited Li Yi into his home.
He had just obtained the fifth-rank loose rank, so Lu Jie's residence hardly needed any changes, and he could move in directly without any overstepping of his bounds.

The height of the gate and the depth of the main gate were all in accordance with his rank.

"There are far too many servants and maids in this mansion, including Kunlun slaves, Silla maids, and Persian dancers. I can't possibly afford to keep up with them."

"Sikong, you may take them all. I have an old servant and a young page to bring; that should be enough."

"Now that you are an official in the capital, you should bring your mother here. Such a large residence needs no staff, not even a gatekeeper, a coachman, a groom, servants to guard the courtyard, a cook in the kitchen, maids to do laundry, maids to serve tea and water, attendants, pageboys, gardeners to tend the garden, and so on."

In addition, there are also internal and external managers, as well as accountants, who are indispensable.

I think you should keep all the servants in this mansion. If any of them become unsuitable for you in the future, you can replace them.

Ma Zhou smiled wryly, "There are so many people in this house, to be honest, I can't afford to use them. There are dozens of people, and just providing for their food and clothing would be a huge expense."

My salary as a Supervising Censor is not high.

"When you were in Hebei and Daibei, didn't the army give you quite a lot of rewards?"

“Sent back to my hometown, built a house and bought land, and even bought a few servants for my mother.”

In the mansion,
It turned out that the Lu family's servants, maids, and the singing and dancing girls and musicians were all standing in the courtyard, watching their arrival with trepidation.

The Lu family members were all taken away.

The men were exiled to Lingnan, while the women were given to Li Yi as slaves.

Li Yi came before them.
Lu Jie used to live a relatively luxurious life, far exceeding the level of a fifth-rank official in the capital. This was also because he was a native of Taiyuan and a member of the Lu clan of Fanyang.

Although not a direct descendant of a major clan, they still bore the name of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, and their foundation was incomparable to that of a young man like Ma Zhou, who came from a poor farming family.

Now, all of this has benefited Ma Zhou.

Li Yi was very generous to Ma Zhou, which also showed his appreciation for this former subordinate.

He has sponsored many people, including his fellow student Sun Fujia, his fellow student Wei Zheng, and now Ma Zhou, among others.
"From this moment on, you are no longer my people, Li Yi's people. From now on, you will be the servants of Imperial Censor Ma Zhou."

Be loyal to Censor Ma.

Ma Zhou looked at the large number of servants and maids and said, "For now, let's continue with the previous arrangements and each do their own job. I'll talk to you all separately when I have time later."

Now, have someone come to the study to serve you and brew a pot of tea.

Lu Jie's study was spacious and elegantly decorated, with a large bookshelf against the wall filled with all kinds of books.
The scrolls alone number no less than a thousand, and are worth a considerable sum of money.

"I will organize these books and send them to the Minister's residence later."

Ma Zhou loved books, but he also knew they were valuable, so he didn't intend to keep them.

"Keep it and take a look. I have a library in my mansion, which now contains tens of thousands of books, but to be honest, I don't have much time to read them now."

"This is not good, these books are very valuable."

"Haha, they say that rouge is given to a beautiful woman and a fine sword to a hero. These books are just right to give to a book-loving scholar like you."

The maid who came in to brew tea was young and beautiful.

Upon inquiry, she was indeed a Silla maid.
She wasn't some fake Silla maid from Goguryeo, Buyeo, or Japan; she was a genuine Silla woman, gentle and obedient.

"I have been in the Tang Dynasty for six years, coming from the east of the sea."

She was trafficked here when she was ten years old, and six years have passed in the blink of an eye. Now she can speak fluent Mandarin, and her tea-making skills are quite proficient and professional.

The movements were fluid and graceful.

Exquisitely beautiful. Beautiful maidservants and fine tea.

After the tea was served, Ma Zhou waved for her to leave first.

"Sikong, I found out that Lu Jie is Pei Ji's in-law. One of his daughters married Pei Ji's illegitimate son, and the two have always had a good relationship."

Lu Jie's false accusation against the Minister of Works seems to be related to Pei Ji.

Li Yi held a white porcelain teacup and slowly sipped the tea. The traditional method of brewing tea was somewhat similar to that of Song Dynasty matcha.

The flavors are all richer.

"Pei Ji is just not content with being alone."

Ma Zhou said, "There is no concrete evidence yet that Pei Ji is involved, but as an imperial censor, I can report this matter based on hearsay."

Li Yi shook his head.

"To deal with someone like Pei Ji, we need to see how things go and when the time is right. It's not the right time yet, so let's not make a move against him for now."

When the wind picks up,

"Play him again."

Li Shimin had only just become the crown prince; he hadn't even ascended the throne yet.

It's already quite good that they've managed to kick Pei Ji out of the Council of State; if they were to completely deal with him, it would have a bad influence.
It is not conducive to overall stability.

Therefore, even if Ma and Zhou did have evidence, it is not appropriate to take action now, let alone without evidence.

At this stage, stability is paramount.
We must unite.
Try to avoid creating conflict between the old and the new.

Those who serve as censors should be even more adept at grasping the political winds; they are the emperor's sword, and cannot be used indiscriminately.

"When will the Crown Prince ascend the throne?" Ma Zhou asked a question that countless citizens of the Tang Dynasty wanted to know.

Li Yi chuckled.

"His Highness has just been appointed Crown Prince, so there needs to be some time to adjust and streamline the central government, and even to appease and reassure the local areas."

That will be the time when His Majesty abdicates and His Highness ascends the throne.

“How long will it take? I think it’s better to do it sooner rather than later. The sooner we ascend to the throne, the sooner people’s hearts will be at peace, and there will be no more opportunities for others to have other ideas,” Ma Zhou said.

"Well, we'll see. It could take two months at the latest, or as little as one month."

Li Yi and Li Shimin had already discussed this matter. In fact, after the palace coup succeeded, Changsun Wuji had been clamoring for Li Shimin to ascend the throne, wishing that Li Shimin would become emperor in the Taiji Hall on the very day of the coup.

However, Fang Xuanling, Du Ruhui, and others still felt that a buffer period was needed and that they should not rush things.
Of course, it can't be delayed for too long.

Only if Li Shimin became emperor sooner could the world be more stable.

As long as Li Yuan was still the emperor
Perhaps there will always be people whose hearts are unsettled.

···
In front of the Taiji Palace gate,
Pei Ji was dressed in a white robe.
Zhang Anan, the gatekeeper general dressed in purple robes, came over.

"Is Pei Sikong going to the palace?"

"Yes, go to the palace to meet the Emperor."

As he spoke, Pei Ji handed over a warrant, which was the Crown Prince's warrant, granting him permission to enter the palace to meet the Emperor.

Zhang Anan was somewhat surprised and carefully examined the warrant.

"General Zhang, please rest assured, I do not have the audacity to forge the Crown Prince's decree. I just came out of the Eastern Palace, and I have already met with the Crown Prince and obtained his permission."

After carefully examining the area, Zhang Anan said, "I will escort Minister Pei inside."

He escorted Pei Ji to the Ganlu Palace, where the emperor resided.

nowadays,
The Tang emperor could not leave the Taiji Palace, and even his daily activities were limited to the Ganlu Hall complex. If he wanted to go boating on the North Sea, he had to first send someone to inform Zhang Anan and obtain his permission, and Zhang Anan would personally lead troops to escort and serve him.

Inside the Ganlu Hall,

Li Yuan raised his eyes and coldly sized up the two of them.

"General Zhang, why have you invited my old buddy here?"

Li Yuan asked his old friend with a smile, "Why are you dressed in white? Where's your purple robe? It's only been a few days. Pei Ji, have you been stripped of your official rank?"

Pei Ji said, "Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has granted my permission to retire and return home, and I will no longer serve in the court." After saying that, he turned to look at Zhang Anan, "Today I have come to visit Your Majesty, to chat and catch up with you. Would General Zhang like to join me?"

Zhang Anan glanced at the two men, the emperor and his minister.
Su Rong said, "Your Majesty, I shall take my leave now and wait outside the palace. Please give me your instructions if you have anything to say."

After Zhang Anan withdrew,
Only the emperor and his minister remained in the hall.

Li Yuan sighed deeply.
Pei Ji also sighed.

"Your Majesty, Lu Jie is dead. He impeached Li Yi for embezzlement and other crimes. The Crown Prince was furious and executed him in the East Market without trial. None of his family members were spared either. The men were exiled to Lingnan, and the women were given to Li Yi as slaves."

As he spoke, Pei Ji burst into tears.

“Your Majesty, Lu Jie was one of the first to follow Your Majesty in raising an army in Taiyuan. He was a staff member of the General’s Mansion. Now he is seventy years old and retired at home, but he still ended up like this.”

Li Yuan sighed again.

"Is Erlang really that domineering?"

Pei Ji wiped away his tears, "Your Majesty, now, for the sake of the world, for the court, for the imperial family, and also for Your Majesty's own sake..."

"I urge you to abdicate the throne to the Crown Prince as soon as possible."

Li Yuan stared wide-eyed at his old friend for a long time.
"I thought Pei Jian was here to visit his old friend today, but I never expected him to be here to persuade me to abdicate on behalf of the Crown Prince."

Pei Ji, I truly never imagined that one day you would come to persuade me to abdicate on behalf of Erlang!

(End of this chapter)