The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 134 Welcome
The temple is small and exquisite, with a plaque that reads "Baoxing Temple" hanging above the door. Although it is not very popular, the architecture is very elaborate.

As Xiao Yi watched the young monk leading the way run into the temple gate, he heard a conversation.

"Where did you go? You didn't even do your afternoon classes."

"Reporting to my master, a benefactor has asked me to convey a message to invite someone to come for her."

"Nonsense."

“But that benefactor distributed thirty strings of cash as a blessing.”

"Amitabha Buddha, your blessings are profound. Which benefactor did you invite?"

Xiao Yi dismounted and walked into the temple gate, where he saw a middle-aged monk looking at him. His face twitched, first showing fear, then calmness.

"Is he a general? Amitabha, this humble monk has come to avert the general's karmic afflictions."

“Uncle-Master, we’re not here to eliminate karmic obstacles,” the young monk said. “That benefactor asked me to take the general to the small Buddhist hall.”

"This small Buddhist shrine is not for ordinary people."

"Yes, but she has the Li family's token."

"Shh, why do you say everything? You're so unrestrained."

Why should monks cover up their robes?

"Shut up."

The middle-aged monk turned around, put his palms together, and said, "Amitabha, please follow me, benefactor."

Xiao Yi followed the middle-aged monk inside and asked, "What is the connection between this temple and the Li family?"

"It has nothing to do with it. It was just that in the early years, the Li family donated a sum of money to build a small Buddhist hall in our temple."

After passing the main hall, there is an exquisite palace behind it, with the words "Salvation of All Living Beings" hanging on it.

Stepping inside, one is greeted by a colossal statue of Shakyamuni Buddha, seated on a three-foot-high platform, his eyes lowered in a compassionate manner. On either side stand statues of Manjushri and Samantabhadra, and the surrounding altars are laden with ritual implements.

"Search!"

As soon as Xiao Yi gave the order, the middle-aged monk's expression changed, and he asked, "Benefactor, what is this?"

"Imperial Guards, arrest them!"

"Here!"

His soldiers searched and rummaged, but they didn't really know what they were looking for.

Thinking that this place was only separated from Li Ye's residence by a wall, Xiao Yi instructed again, "Check the ground for anything unusual."

"General, we've found it!"

Lü Chou flipped over a blue brick, revealing the stone steps below, and was extremely excited. He immediately went down to explore.

After a while, he came up and reported, "General, there is a tunnel leading to Li Ye's residence, but it has been sealed off. There is another iron gate below, but it is too heavy to push open."

"Give me the torch."

Xiao Yi went down himself, lit a torch to shine on the iron gate, and soon saw a small hole in the gate.

On a whim, he took out the key he had taken from Li Ye, inserted it, and turned it.

"despair."

Pushing the door open again was quite easy.

Inside was a stone chamber, with a stagnant smell. When a torch was lit and swept across it, it was about the size of an ordinary warehouse.

Several large earthenware jars were placed beside the iron gate. When they were opened, they contained food and water. It turned out that this was the hiding place that Li Ye had prepared in case the coup failed.

In the center of the stone chamber, a row of wooden racks hung dozens of suits of iron armor and ring-pommel swords, along with twenty hand crossbows and hundreds of arrows.

A sweep of the torch revealed a large box in the corner. Lifting the lid, the box was found to be full of copper coins.

Walking to the innermost part, there was a small wooden box on a bed. Opening it, I saw some gold ingots, but not many.

There were tables and chairs nearby. I went over and lit a candlestick. On the table was a list of Imperial Guard generals covered in dust. It must have been written by Li Ye before he killed Shi Hongzhao. It was no longer of any use.

Sitting here, one can sense the eve of Li Ye's planned palace coup. Sitting in this hiding place prepared for failure, one's heart is filled with conflict.

Pulling open the drawer, he found many booklets inside. Picking one up at random and opening it, Xiao Yi's gaze sharpened.

He has probably found the most useful thing here.

"In June of the second year of Qianyou (1281), Wang Zhang levied two additional taxes, with 60,000 strings of cash being retained as military supplies. In early July, he acquired a villa in the west of the city with 30 tenant households. In mid-July, he used his cousin's salt monopoly..."

His gaze swept quickly across Su Fengji's belongings and businesses behind him, which had already been completely taken advantage of.

Before long, I saw a familiar name.

"In the early years of the second year of the Qianyou reign, Hou Yi converted 2,000 mu of military farmland into farmland for hired laborers, who were exempt from paying taxes. In July, he established two warehouses at the Bian River wharf. In October, he permitted merchants to trade horses under the guise of military service, thus avoiding market taxes of 500 strings of cash..."

"Yan Jinqing's family businesses include the Jinzhou Iron Mine, a white porcelain kiln, a silver shop in the East Market, cargo ships for transporting grain, seven shops in Beijing, and businesses involving restaurants, silk, grain, and pawnshops..."

The entire booklet was filled with records of how many properties the families of nobles and high-ranking officials owned, their approximate income, and their methods of tax avoidance.

Li Ye kept a separate record of his own hidden businesses. He only glanced at it briefly because of the time constraints. He had opened quite a few post stations under the guise of tribute, taking advantage of his official position in the Xuanhui Academy, but he didn't make much money from them.

He then took out another notebook, which contained records of Li Ye soliciting bribes from these people and bribing the imperial guards under Shi Hongzhao.

No wonder Li Ye killed Shi Hongzhao so quietly; it seemed effortless on the surface, but he had put in a lot of hard work behind the scenes.

Xiao Yi looked around and saw that his soldiers were all standing guard outside and had not followed him in.

He thought for a moment, then put the booklets into his pocket, keeping them as a backup plan.

Therefore, the armor and treasures in the stone chamber need not be kept; they can be offered to Guo Wei as a way to make amends for past mistakes.

As we stepped out of the stone chamber, it was nearly evening.

The monks in the temple were filled with apprehension. After leaving the temple, they looked around but still couldn't see anyone else.

Leaving some soldiers to guard the village, Xiao Yi seized an opportunity to hand the account book in his arms to Old Pan, instructing him, "You don't need to come with me to Gaomen Village, just keep this safe."

"Don't worry, General."

Xiao Yi dared not delay any longer, mounted his horse, and headed straight for Gaomen Village.

When he saw Guo Wei's large banner in the distance, he could already sense an atmosphere that was very different from that in the city.

Before even reaching the village entrance, the road ahead was already completely blocked by horses and vehicles.

Two soldiers stepped forward and said, "Please dismount, General. The village is crowded."

"it is good."

Seeing this, Xiao Yi was somewhat puzzled as to why Guo Wei insisted on staying in a small village. He tied his horse to an old locust tree, noticing that the bark of the tree had been completely eaten away by the refugees, but five fine horses were tied to the trunk.

Walking further, a luxurious carriage was stuck in the mud, and the servants were shouting to find stones to put in, when they dug out a skull from the snow.

"This road is difficult to travel. How do you say that in Xingzhou dialect?"

“The road is broken and dilapidated, but it's a place for children to go north.”

People speak a non-standard Xingzhou dialect.

Upon entering the village, two villagers were repairing their dilapidated thatched hut. A plump, fair-skinned man dressed in an embroidered official robe emerged from the hut, muttering to himself.

"It's so cold! Isn't it cold in previous years?"

"We're used to it."

"It's getting dark, you don't need to mend it anymore, why don't you add some more firewood? Do you want some?"

As the plump man spoke, he turned around, revealing himself to be Hou Renbao.

Xiao Yi knew about his family background, and his feelings towards him were different. He felt that this rich young master was actually quite adaptable.

"Eh, General Xiao?"

Hou Renbao quickly stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Thank you, General Xiao, for helping me abandon darkness and embrace the light."

"Brother Hou, you don't need to be so polite."

"General, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

Hou Renbao, with his hands tucked into his sleeves, stepped forward a few paces, appearing quite mysterious.

Xiao Yi said, "Speak freely."

"If I am wrong, please forgive me, General. I overheard this by chance... A high-ranking official said that you have committed a great crime, to be precise, 'tainted the palace.' Please be careful, General."

"Is it about defilement within the palace?"

Xiao Yi pondered to himself, "The mistake I made was clearly causing the Empress Dowager to commit suicide, yet it has become a scandal of corruption within the palace? How did Wang Jun discover this?"
He was indeed somewhat surprised, and he didn't hide his expression.

Hou Renbao, with his keen observation, asked, "General, it seems you are unaware?"

"I really don't know."

"Then, let me remind the general of something, Your Majesty."

"Queen?"

"Moo-"

An old ox bellowed.

Hou Renbao's expression was simple, but his eyes were full of emotion. He smiled politely, put his hands in his pockets, and hid back in the thatched hut.

"By the way, His Majesty is staying at the village head's house; just walk straight ahead."

Xiao Yi walked forward until he saw a heavily guarded three-courtyard house with mud walls. A skinny mongrel dog raised its leg and urinated at the guard's feet.

He showed his token and went inside, where he saw Tang Jin sitting on a millstone, eating dry rations and occasionally kicking a passing chicken.

"Giggle!"

"General Xiao is here. Tell me, why isn't this hen laying eggs?"

"It might be a rooster."

“I’m not stupid, of course I know,” Tang Jin said. “What I mean is, putting a rooster in the pile of hens is definitely to make the hens lay eggs. If they don’t want to lay eggs, then don’t put them in. Since they’re already in the pile, let them lay eggs.”

Xiao Yi smiled.

Tang Jin glanced sideways into the room and said, "This village head raises chickens, but he wants the roosters to crow and doesn't let the hens lay eggs, they just peck."

"Yes, Brother Tang is not only skilled in martial arts, but also intelligent."

"Hehe, you know me."

"Where is my lord?"

"Inside."

Xiao Yi walked further in and came to a small front courtyard. Wei Renpu, Wang Pu and others were busy with their staff. Several snotty-nosed children were huddled around a charcoal brazier to keep warm. They must have been the village head's children.

Wei Renpu looked up, nodded in acknowledgment, and continued his work, his expression as normal as ever.

Wang Pu stood up and came over, saying in a low voice, "Wang Jun is handling state affairs in the inner hall. You'll get nowhere if you run into him. I'll take you to see Lord Ming."

"Thank you very much, Brother Wenbo."

"This way."

They went through the side gate and left the village head's residence.

It was already dark. After passing the mud-brick houses, we arrived at the edge of the field and saw a bonfire in the distance. As we approached, we found several old farmers sitting around it talking.

Xiao Yi didn't see Guo Wei at first, but when he saw Guo Shouwen standing to the side in a tattered coat, he noticed the burly figure sitting by the campfire, dressed like an old farmer.

"This year I harvested fifteen shi of millet. I paid four shi as the regular tax, leaving two shi as surplus. Then they charge me for the remaining grain, losses, and wastage. I don't understand any of it. I just noticed that the tax collection measures used by the government are a whole size bigger than mine. They charge me for two shi even though it's a huge waste!"

Guo Wei, with his hands tucked in his pockets, asked, "Is half left?"

"How could that be?!"

The farmers, clearly unaware of his identity, became enraged upon hearing this and their tone grew agitated.

“Brother, he hasn’t finished yet. Doesn’t your family have to pay for the cloth? It has to be weighed. After weighing it, they say it’s five ounces short, then three ounces short, and you have to make up the difference.”

"The rent for the ox hasn't even been calculated yet, and that's a huge expense. The ox they give us is so skinny it's like a stick, it can't even plow the land, and we have to pay two shi (a unit of dry measure) every year."

"After renting out the cattle, there was another cattle hide tax. I asked, 'My family doesn't raise cattle, does it?' The officer said, 'You still have to pay a cowhide. We need leather to fight the Khitans,' so he forced me to sell a shi of grain and donkey meat to pay for it..."

As they were talking, Xiao Yi silently walked over.

Seeing this scene tonight, he felt inexplicably at ease, and he could roughly understand why Guo Wei had stationed himself in this small village after being granted the yellow flag.

Upon seeing his attire, the old farmers tensed up, stood up, and said cautiously, "A military officer has arrived."

"Don't be afraid of this kid, he's still wet behind the ears." Guo Wei beckoned them to sit down and said, "He's my good-for-nothing junior, he knows a few lousy tricks and is just a bodyguard by the general's side. Don't take him seriously."

Xiao Yi removed his armor, smiled modestly and shyly, and said, "Greetings, gentlemen."

Guo Wei then turned to him, pointed to the empty space beside him, and said, "Wait here. Don't rush to talk about your crotch stuff. I'll talk to the older brothers about serious matters first."

(End of this chapter)