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

Chapter 98 Rewards based on merit
The vast Jing River flows eastward.

Li Yi was riding on the official road along the Jing River and was shocked by the huge flow of the Jing River at that time. No wonder there was a legend that Wei Zheng dreamed of beheading the old dragon king of the Jing River.

Such a big river can indeed produce an old Dragon King.

The Jing River in later generations no longer has much flow, just like the He River in front of Luojiabao, which was a big river during the Han and Tang Dynasties, but later became a small ditch.

Jingzhou City is right in front of us.
The Li River, with a valley more than two miles wide, also merges into the Jing River here.

Jingzhou City is like a stabilizing force. Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, the status of Jingzhou City has become increasingly higher. Jingzhou in the Northern Wei Dynasty even governed six prefectures and seventeen counties, and the three yamen of Jingzhou, Anding Prefecture and Anding County were all under the same jurisdiction in the city.

The Qin Palace Secretary and the Field Army Officer Su Xu, and the Qin Palace Officer and the Field Army Officer Yang Cong who were traveling with Li Yi were not in Jingzhou for the first time.
"This city is seven miles long from east to west, north to south, and nearly thirty miles in circumference. At its peak, it housed 200,000 soldiers and a population of 300,000."

Although Xiaoguan is the northwest gateway of Guanzhong, Jingzhou is the most important military town in the northwest.

The southern wall of Jingzhou City is closely connected to the wide and turbulent Jing River, which is indeed a strategic point. One man can block the way for ten thousand men.

No wonder Jingzhou was able to hold its ground for so long despite the siege by the army of Xue Ju and his son.

It's really difficult to attack.

There is Jing River in front and Huishan Mountain behind.

Jingzhou was called Huizhong in ancient times. As an important road on the Silk Road, when countless people came from Hexi and stepped into Jingzhou City, it meant that they returned to the Central Plains.

Merchants from the Western Regions traveled to Chang'an in the Central Plains through this gateway to Guanzhong.

"It controls the transportation fortress of Guanlong and occupies a key position on the Silk Road. It has been a battleground for military strategists since ancient times." Su Xu praised.

Yang Cong also said of this place, "It blocks the Heshuo River on the outside and is at the mouth of Long on the inside. It borders Qin and Liang and guards the capital. The stability of Guanzhong depends on it."

"Surrounded by mountains and rivers, with water and land transportation, it connects China and the outside world, and serves as a link between the east and the west. It is truly the key point of Guanzhong."

It can be said that the Tang army was able to win the battle that lasted from summer to autumn this year, and the strong fortress of Jingzhou played a big role.

If the Longyou Army had not been unable to capture Jingzhou, it would not have been in a dilemma. It was precisely because of Jingzhou that the Longyou Army's food supply was blocked and it could not advance further.

Su Xu pointed back to the mountain.

"This mountain is also known as the Queen Mother of the West Mountain. Legend has it that there is a Yaochi in the south of the mountain, where the Queen Mother of the West held the Peach Festival to entertain the immortals. During the Yuanfeng period of the Western Han Dynasty, a Queen Mother Palace was also built on the mountain."

"Next to the Queen Mother Palace, there are the Queen Mother Palace Grottoes excavated since the Northern Wei Dynasty,"

On both sides of the Jing River, with the Nan Grottoes Temple as the center, there are more than 600 grottoes and niches of various types, forming the rare "Hundred-Li Grottoes Corridor" in the world.

More than ten emperors issued decrees to promote Buddhism in Jingzhou.

Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, Jingzhou, like Liangzhou, has had a developed Silk Road trade.

It is not only a military stronghold and the gateway to Guanzhong, but also a key route on the Silk Road and a prosperous commercial port. It is also the hometown of the Western King and a sacred place for Buddhism and Taoism.

On both sides of the road outside the city are tall and lush willow trees.

On Guanma Avenue, you can also see merchant camel caravans.
The Anding Silk Road, which had just experienced the baptism of war and had been interrupted for half a year, has been restored.

At the city gate, there are vendors selling mooncakes.

"Ah, tomorrow is Mid-Autumn Festival," Yang Cong said with some emotion. This General Yang used to be Li Shimin's next-door neighbor. After Li Yuan and his sons marched into Chang'an, Li Shimin recruited this neighbor to come to his palace to serve in the military.

And that Su Dianqian came from the famous Su family, a family of martial arts. His grandfather was Su Wei, the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty.

city ​​gate,
There are many vendors coming in and out.
A team of Tang soldiers was checking people and goods coming in and out.

Li Yi and his companions presented their fish tokens as proof of identity and were politely allowed into the city.

A city with a circumference of 28 miles is indeed very large.

Especially since the city walls are very high, there are urn cities and moats, plus there are rivers in front and mountains behind, it is very difficult to launch an attack.

It's really difficult to attack by force.

After entering the city, the layout of Jingzhou City is very similar to that of Chang'an City, with a series of blocks.

"How many wards are there in Jingzhou City?"

"Jingzhou has two cities, inner and outer, each with sixteen districts," said Su Xu.

Thirty-two wards is already quite large. A typical county town is divided into four wards, with the cross street dividing the city into four sections.

A county or a prefecture-level city might have eight wards. A larger city might have sixteen wards. A large cross street would be nested within a small cross street.

Cities that have thirty-two wards are already at the level of a general administration, such as Jingzhou and Liangzhou.

Only Chang'an and Luoyang had more than a hundred wards.

The outer city is mostly river valleys and mountainous areas, while the inner city is mainly located in river plains.

The city wall is five meters high, nearly three meters wide, and extremely thick.

The Tang and Qin armies, which had been fighting each other to the death not long ago, have now transformed themselves into the Longyou Army, changing their flags and banners and becoming the Tang Army.

Li Yi came to the General Manager's Mansion,
This is Li Shimin's temporary headquarters.
I found many unfamiliar faces and found out after asking that they were all high-ranking officials and generals of the Longyou Army.

Even Xue Rengao and his brothers were guests of honor of Li Shimin.

Li Shimin saw Li Yi coming from afar and waved to him happily.

"Your Highness."

Li Shimin's face was beaming. He had been busy dealing with the aftermath these days. Although there was a lot of work, it was already very relaxing. He also took Xue Rengao, Zong Luohou, Zhai Changsun, Zhu Liang and others to hunt every day.

"I thought you wouldn't be able to make it to the Mid-Autumn Festival celebration tomorrow. You've made a great contribution to this victory, and you're indispensable to the celebration."

Li Yi was very pleased to hear this. Although he knew that he was just a bystander, Li Shimin said that his contribution was also recorded in the proclamation of victory to Chang'an.

Li Yi's contributions mainly included making fried rice and providing his support. Fried rice played a significant role in helping Liang Shi and Li Jing hold their position on the dry high ground of Qianshuiyuan for seven days, luring the Longyou army into a fierce attack and successfully tiring the enemy.

"I have requested the third level of honor for you,"

Li Yi had previously been awarded the title of Grand Commander, which was a third-level honor. Now, if he were to receive another three levels, he would be promoted to the rank of Shang Yi Tong San Si, and be considered a fifth-rank official.

"Thank you, Your Highness!"

Li Shimin patted him on the shoulder and said, "A casual official has little authority. Don't despise me. I have already asked the court to grant you another casual official and a real position."

It took Li Yuan only two years to get rid of all the scattered officials, and the situation of scattered positions was not much better.

Whether it was the casual posts of the Nine Great Officers and Eight Commandants, or the scattered posts of the twelve ranks of Zhuguo Yitong Dudu,

Li Yuan's son had no regrets about selling his father's land, and he spent a lot of it anyway. Originally, the scattered positions were equivalent to the official ranks, and the scattered officials were equivalent to the military ranks and civilian nobility.

But now it has really depreciated seriously, is worthless, and has no real power. It is just an honor. At most, it has some insignificant powers such as exemption from taxes, the ability to take concubines, and the ability to increase the amount of land.

Although it led to an excessive number of casual positions and officials, which was almost abolished, the effect was indeed very good. After all, when Li Yuan started his army, he relied on this to grant official positions and make promises everywhere, and generously confer honors. Wherever he went, everyone was happy to submit to Li Yuan.

Just like the Longyou Army now,

In fact, the main force was not annihilated, but was temporarily defeated. However, after Li Shimin captured the bandits and the king, the rest of the Longyou officers and generals also surrendered very happily. No one really resisted.

The generals and chief officers who still controlled prefectures and counties in the rear also issued orders to take the lead.

Li Yi is not too interested in a real job now, as he feels that he does not have the ability to do it well.
But if you give me a casual position, a non-official position, or even a title, I will take them all without any burden.

Li Shimin chatted with him for a few words and then went back to his work.
"Wu Yi."

Li Jing came over to greet him with a smile,
"Mr. Li has accomplished a great deed this time."

Li Jing does have the feeling of a young man with high spirits. In the battle of Qianshuiyuan, he participated in the battle as Liang Shi's Sima, and it was a bloody battle for seven days.
In the past few days, I have participated in the subsequent battlefield cleanup.

Li Shimin personally recommended merit for him, and Li Yuan, the emperor of Chang'an, directly rewarded the generals who made the greatest contributions without going through various review procedures.

Li Jing was promoted.
Originally, he had only been working as a guard in the palace of the Prince of Qin.

This time he was granted the casual official title of Chao San Da Fu, the casual official title of Kai Fu Yi Tong San Si, and was also given a real job.

Right Wuhou Yifu Yitong.

This official position is a real job. Li Yi found it a bit confusing.
Li Shimin had just told him to apply for the third rank for him, so he had a total of six ranks, which was Shang Yi Tong San Si.
Is Li Jing's current position Yitong?

Could it be that he was higher than Li Jing? But he had a real job, while he had a casual job?
Li Jing knew that he didn't know much about official positions, so he explained it to him.

The military system of the Tang Dynasty basically followed the Sui system, with twelve guards and four offices, as well as an inner office consisting of three guards and five offices.

The three guards and five palaces mean that the left and right guards each have five palaces, namely the Qin Palace, Yiyi, Yier, Xunyi and Xuner. The other ten guards each have only one palace, namely the Yi Palace.

These inner guard offices of the Sui Dynasty all had a chief commander and two ceremonial assistant commanders.

It turns out that during the Daye Dynasty, the title of Kaifu was changed to General of the Cavalry, and Yitong was changed to General of the Chariots and Cavalry.

These inner guards are different from the outer guards, namely the Yingyang Guards.

After Li Yuan started his rebellion, he established the Left, Center, and Right Armies, each with a commander. Under the commander was a military leader. When he officially entered Chang'an and established the Tang Dynasty, he changed the rank of Eagle Strike General to military leader, and the military leader became the chief officer of the outer government. However, not long after, the military leader was changed to General of the Cavalry, and the deputy to General of the Chariots and Cavalry.

However, the Neifu still used the titles of Kaifu and Yitong. In fact, these two titles were the Zhonglangjiang and Langjiang of the Neifu during the Kaihuang period.

Kaifu is the lower fourth rank, while Yitong is the upper fifth rank.

This is the powerful general who is in charge of the imperial guards and the auxiliary guards.

Li Jing, the Yitong of You Wuhou Yifu, was the deputy general of Yiwei Mansion under You Wuhou Guard, and was still under the command of Li Shimin.

There is a world of difference between him and Li Yi, who is Shang Yi Tong San Si. He is only a fifth-rank official, and at most he enjoys the treatment of a fifth-rank official, but he has no real power.
Li Jing later actually commanded a Yifu of the Right Marquis of Wu. Even though he was a deputy general, he was in charge of thousands of people.

Li Jing didn't care about the scattered posts and the scattered officials. They were all empty and worthless now.
But he was very satisfied with this Right Wu Hou Wei Yi Fu Yi Tong, which was equivalent to General of Chariots and Cavalry. It meant that with this battle, he finally regained the trust of Li Yuan and his son, and finally did not have to sit on the bench anymore.

"I have to thank you very much. If you hadn't recommended me to the King of Qin, I wouldn't have had this opportunity to join the army."

"It's just a small effort, not worth mentioning,"

Li Jing took Li Yi to his place and asked him to have a few drinks with him.

It is very bitter to waste half of your life, especially for a child of a famous family like Li Jing. The merits of his father and grandfather and the glory of his family have always made him bear the responsibility.

Think of his elder brother Li Duan, Li Yaowang, who inherited the title of Duke of Yongkang at the age of 22, and was granted the title of Shang Kaifu Yisi Sansi. At the age of 23, he became the governor of Wuzhou. At the age of 27, he was appointed as the chief military commander of Nanning Road. He participated in suppressing the rebellion of the Cuan clan and was awarded the title of general. After that, he served as the chief military commander of Yunzhou and the chief military commander of Shuozhou.

However, he was later caught up in the court struggles and was defeated in the battle against the Turks with his uncle Han Hong, the governor of Daizhou. Yang Su took the opportunity to impeach him, dismiss him from office and strip him of his title, and he died in depression.

Li Jing, who was then a deputy minister of the Imperial Guards, was also implicated and demoted to a county magistrate.
Going around in circles for many years.

My brother had already passed away in Luoyang due to illness.
How could Li Jing be willing to accept that the Li family couldn't even keep the title of Duke of Yongkang that had been passed down through generations?

He now wants to earn back the Li family's ancestral title of Duke of Yongkang and pass it on to his descendants in the future so as not to disgrace his ancestors.

This time, although he only got the title of Fifth Rank Yitong,
But it's already a very good start.

The long-suppressed emotions are released through alcohol, and the drinker gets drunk.

Li Jing pulled Li Yi to become sworn brothers.

Li Yi was embarrassed. It was not because of the huge age difference between the two, one was 48 and the other was 16, but mainly because of Li Jing's family background and status.
He is drunk now, and he may not be willing when he wakes up.

"I, it's a pity that I don't have a daughter, otherwise I would definitely marry my daughter to you."

As Li Jing was talking, he fell asleep on the desk.

Li Yi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. It turned out that the military god Li was also a man of temperament.

(End of this chapter)