Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 344 Dismissal of the Prefect of the Capital

As the governor of the capital region, the Prefect of Jingzhao held a highly prestigious position, but the affairs he handled every day were chaotic and tedious, not fundamentally different from those of ordinary county officials.

Moreover, because a large number of princes and nobles lived in Chang'an, the Prefect of the Capital had to consider more things and expend more energy when doing his work.

Although Yuan Qianyao was mediocre as prime minister, he was highly praised when he served as the governor of the capital. He was skilled in politics and could coordinate with various parties. He did not act with force, but he was appreciated by officials and the people. That is why he was able to serve as governor of the capital for so long.

However, as he grew older, Yuan Qianyao gradually felt his energy waning. He had to sit in the government office from morning till night, and the workload was heavy. He also had to take care of more and more things. His energy was not as vigorous as before, and he could not handle some complicated matters as easily as before. Therefore, he delegated some of the miscellaneous tasks in the government office to his subordinates and no longer did everything himself.

On this day, Yuan Qianyao was busy until evening. After arranging for the people who stayed on duty that day, he prepared to go home. He also invited a few court officials to a gathering at his home, as it would be inappropriate for the host to keep his guests waiting at home for too long.

Perhaps due to exhaustion, he stumbled when mounting his horse, but fortunately a servant nearby reacted quickly and helped him, allowing him to manage to climb back onto the horse.

"After Yuwen became prime minister, the prince was pardoned and should consider resigning from his post."

Yuan Qianyao slowly rode away on horseback, thinking to himself. He was not as power-hungry as Zhang Shuo. The reason he still clung to his position was that he hoped to make better arrangements for his relatives and family, especially his eldest son Yuan Fu, who had been exiled far away, and who had become a worry for him.

He knew that his son might lack talent, but he wasn't that bad. Although he had made some mistakes in handling things in Bianzhou, he wouldn't have been punished so severely if his political enemies hadn't seized on his weaknesses and attacked him so relentlessly.

As he was making these plans in his mind, just as he was about to leave the official residence, the sound of galloping horses suddenly rang out outside. Soon after, several imperial guards escorted Liu Tong, a censor from the Secretariat, and a supervising censor into the residence.

“Lord Yuan has not yet left his office. He is truly diligent! Fortunately, we arrived in time and can report directly to Lord Yuan.”

Liu Tong and Yuwen Rong had a friendly relationship, and upon seeing Yuan Qianyao, Liu Tong smiled and said something.

Upon seeing the two men enter, Yuan Qianyao couldn't help but feel uneasy, but he still calmly asked with a smile, "It's already dusk, what brings you two attendants here?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Tong smiled and said, "We are here on His Majesty's orders to retrieve a file concerning the sale of official property. The former residence of Li Songgong in Pingkang Ward was recently ordered by the authorities to be sold by the Jingzhao Prefecture. Does Yuan Gong remember this?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianyao's heart tightened again. A mere matter of selling official property was naturally not something that required his personal attention as the Prefect of the Capital. Under normal circumstances, such a trivial matter wouldn't even warrant being placed on his desk.

However, he did know something about the sale of Li Lingwen's former residence. It had nothing to do with Li Lingwen's status or position, but rather because his son, Yuanjie, had told him that Zhang Dai was chasing after the debt because he had a dispute with Li Linfu over the residence.

However, Yuan Jie then stated that he had handled the matter properly, so Yuan Qianyao did not pursue it further. He was busy with matters of the Jingzhao Prefecture and helping Yuwen Rong form an alliance, so naturally he didn't have much time to concern himself with such trivial matters.

But now, a supervising secretary from the Secretariat and an imperial censor from the Censorate have come to his door together, specifically requesting the case files, and they are even acting on the Emperor's orders. Yuan Qianyao naturally understands that something is wrong, and it seems to be quite serious. Not only has the matter reached the Emperor's ears, but even the Emperor couldn't wait until the next day to send someone to retrieve it!

"I haven't personally overseen the handling of this matter by the prefectural officials. Please wait a moment while I go inside to arrange for the officials to retrieve it."

Yuan Qianyao forced himself to suppress his shock and maintain his composure. He first had the clerk lead the two to the front hall, and then he strode quickly toward the main hall of the government office. His steps were brisk, and even his beard fluttered, showing no trace of his previous old age.

Upon returning to the main hall, he immediately waved and said, "Go quickly! Go quickly! Bring me all the documents related to the sale of the Li Song family's residence!"

The matter had not been resolved for long and had not yet been filed or sealed, so the officials quickly found it and presented it to the court.

Yuan Qianyao did not rush to hand it over to the two people in the front hall. Instead, he opened the file and quickly browsed through it, finding that the time and details of the transaction were clearly written on it.

Li Linfu used his old residence in Anyefang to purchase this residence in Pingkangfang, but there was still a difference of more than 45,000 strings of cash between the two residences. Since Li Linfu was a registered member of the imperial clan, he first paid more than 3,000 strings of cash, and then paid the Jingzhao Prefecture 3,000 strings of cash every year to repay the land debt, until the debt was cleared.

There seemed to be nothing wrong with this deal. Anyefang was located on the west side of Zhuque Street, only three blocks away from the Zhuque Gate of the Imperial City. It was also one of the noble neighborhoods in the city. However, in recent years, the central government had moved to the northeast and it was not as prominent as it was in the early Tang Dynasty.

If there's any problem, it's that Li Linfu's old residence in Anyefang is smaller than his residence in Pingkangfang, covering only about 20 mu in area, and the number of buildings is also less than in Pingkangfang.

However, according to the records, the house was made of valuable materials, including precious materials such as agarwood. In addition, there were several murals painted by General Li himself, making their value immeasurable. With the price difference of more than 50,000 guan, the deal was quite reasonable.

However, this was only the original sales contract. There was a new copy in the same file, in which the price difference was increased to over 60,000 guan. Li Linfu's payment was also increased from the initial 3,000 guan to 5,000 guan, but the repayment terms remained unchanged.

However, a lease agreement was added to this contract, stipulating that Li Linfu, under the notarization of the Jingzhao Prefecture, pledged seventeen mu of land belonging to his residence, and a new land deed was created for the lease. The difference compared to the previous one constituted this additional cost.

Yuan Qianyao looked at the file and didn't find any obvious problems, but he could still sense something unusual from the differences between the two contracts.

However, the imperial envoy was still waiting in the main hall, so he couldn't pry. He had to suppress his curiosity for the time being and ordered someone to pack up the documents and give them to Liu Tong and the others to take away. Although he didn't know what had happened, Yuan Qianyao knew that something was wrong. After the imperial envoy left, he didn't rush home. He ordered the prefectural official in charge of the matter to be summoned back to the official residence for questioning, and also instructed his servants, "Go home quickly and summon Jiulang!"

Yuan Jie arrived at the Jingzhao Prefecture government office before the street drums stopped. After entering the hall, he looked at his father with a strange expression and said, "Father, the guests have been waiting at home for a long time. Why did you summon me here instead of going home?"

"How much did Li Ge Nu give you to make you transform his humble abode into a magnificent mansion!"

Before Yuan Jie arrived, Yuan Qianyao had already inquired about the inside story from the government officials. The so-called old residence of Li Linfu recorded in the dossier was actually a corner of the former residence of General Li and Duke of Peng, Li Sixun, where members of the Li family lived.

Li Linfu's father died young, and he inherited a portion of the property. What he is selling now is this part of his residence, but the main building only covers a few acres. The rest consists of a section of livestock pens and a wasteland of tidal flats formed by canals and irrigation ditches, all of which have been incorporated into Li Linfu's mansion, making it a large house of more than 20 acres.

“What I did was indeed inappropriate, but that Anyefang residence is not a remote wasteland. With a little tidying up, there won’t be any trouble.”

Seeing his father's ashen face, Yuan Jie lowered his head guiltily, then whispered, "Shouldn't friends help each other? I helped Ge Nu build a new house, and Ge Nu helped me solve a problem, namely Zhang Liu..."

"You didn't pay him back?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianyao's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately glared at him angrily, asking, "How are you two going to resolve this?"

"Zhang Liu coveted the Pingkangfang residence..."

Yuan Jie then recounted Zhang Dai's demands in detail, and then said, "This fellow is insatiable, demanding over 50,000 strings of cash including principal and interest! How could I possibly agree to that! Fortunately, he lives in Pingkang Ward, so I discussed with my brother and we agreed to give him a corner of our house to settle his debt. However, what we gave him was not a real handout, but rather my brother had to mortgage the land."

"Once my brother is pardoned and returns home, my family will no longer be subject to his coercion. At that time, my brother can take a letter to the government, reclaim the land, and expel him from the neighborhood! Hmph, this treacherous dog thinks himself cunning and ruthless, believing everyone in the world is foolish and easily manipulated. When the debt is settled and my brother returns, not only will his extortion fail, but the earth, stones, and timber on that land will also belong to everyone else!"

"Did Li Genu teach you this plan?"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianyao's expression changed again, and he immediately asked in a hurry.

Yuan Jie kept his head down, so his father's expression was obscured. He simply said softly, "It was a discussion and deliberation between the two of us, not just the wisdom of Ge Nu alone. Father..."

"Fool! I taught you to settle things with money! I told you not to cause trouble... Li Genu still has property to sell, so why do you hold such a grudge against Zhang Dai!"

Seeing that his son was still somewhat smug, Yuan Qianyao could no longer contain himself. Even though he was known for his good temper, he couldn't help but slam his hand on the table and point at his son, angrily scolding, "Does your family no longer provide you with food and clothing, yet you insist on making enemies like this... Is the Jingzhao Prefecture your servant's residence? Your father has to be especially careful in his actions when he lives here, yet you dare to treat him so disrespectfully!"

"Father, what happened? Could it be that Zhang Liu has used his powers of seduction again...?"

Seeing his father so angry, Yuan Jie panicked for a moment, then said angrily, "I knew it, that brat wouldn't get away with it so easily. It was right that I kept a backup plan. I'll let Ge Nu..."

"Get out! Get out of here! Stay right here in the corridor, don't you dare go anywhere else!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Qianyao became even more furious. He waved his hand to drive his son away, and then slumped weakly behind his desk.

He was unsure of how Zhang Dai had punished his family, but he felt a growing sense of crisis. After a long silence, he picked up his pen to write a memorial of repentance and plea for leniency, but he didn't know how to write it.

He sat there, pen in hand, pondering and refining his words, but no memorial was completed until dawn. As the morning bell rang, an imperial envoy led a troop of men into the city and arrived at the official residence of the Jingzhao Prefecture to read the Emperor's latest edict: Yuan Qianyao, the Prefect of Jingzhao, was to be reassigned as the Grand Tutor of the Crown Prince and to be settled in Luoyang, to depart immediately.

"I often feel unwell and wish to bring my son, Yuanjie, back to Luoyang to serve and recuperate. I request that the imperial envoy convey this message to His Majesty."

After receiving the new appointment edict, Yuan Qianyao still harbored a sliver of hope and quickly said respectfully.

"I'm afraid this request from Lord Yuan is impossible. Your son is involved in a serious case and needs to be taken to the Dali Temple for questioning."

Upon hearing this, the envoy immediately shook his head and addressed Yuan Qianyao.

"What crime have I committed? I... Father, I'm going to the Eastern Capital, I'm going to the Eastern Capital with you!"

Yuan Jie, who was standing to the side, trembled upon hearing that his father had been dismissed as the Prefect of Jingzhao. Upon hearing the envoy's words, his face turned deathly pale. He clutched his father's sash and stammered, "Zhang Liu harmed me! It must have been Zhang Liu who harmed me! Father, save me..."

(End of this chapter)