A Good Landlord in the Tang Dynasty: Emperor Yuan Cong

Chapter 1058 Let the emperor take the blame
"I didn't expect that Mr. Xiao would be killed again."

Yong'anfang, Wuzhai.

The Huaiyu brothers were making tea around the stove. It was already February, and both brothers were about to leave Beijing and return to their posts. Even Lao Wu had already returned to Sanyuan Longqiao with his wife, concubines, and children.

The older I get, the more I like the countryside.

There is a copper kettle on the stove to boil water, and what is brewed is Miyuan Fu tea. The fine golden flower tea bricks are very popular among herdsmen outside the Great Wall and are sold at a high price.

Huaiyi was guarding the Hetao. There was no shortage of milk and meat there, so he needed tea to relieve his tiredness. Huaiyi especially liked the black tea bricks produced by Huaiyu's family. The tea had a strong aroma.

"Yeah, I don't know how Mr. Ao provoked the saint this time." Wu Huaiyu was a little numb when he heard the news about Xiao Yu's resignation. The old man went in and out of the political hall just like he followed the kitchen.

Let’s not talk about the Wude Dynasty to worship the prime minister, let’s talk about the Zhenguan Dynasty. This year is only the eleventh year of Zhenguan. In total, the old man has already worshiped the prime minister five times, and then stopped five times.

It is unprecedented in history and will never happen again.

You may say that Xiao Yu is not favored by the emperor, but he can serve as prime minister five times in ten years. You say that he is trusted by the emperor, but he can be dismissed from the prime minister five times.

The water is boiling.

Huaiyi poured fresh milk into the copper kettle and added milk rind cheese to accompany the cooking.
If this wasn't enough, I added ghee to it, and finally added sugar and green salt.

Wu Huaiyu looked at Huaiyi's serious and skillful tea-making technique, and then looked at the milk tea that was getting thicker and thicker. It was really fragrant, but he still liked to drink green tea with one bud and one leaf.

"Brother, your taste is getting heavier and heavier, isn't it?" Huaiyu said with a smile.

"Hey, I can't live without milk and meat in the border, and I can't get rid of the greasiness without drinking tea. I drink this tea, but I still like black tea bricks. Among the black tea bricks, I like your Fucha made by Miyuan Tea House Futian the most. It tastes better."

"Then I still have some 10-year-old Mihara Fushi tea bricks, and I'll give them to you later."

Fucha is a specialty product among dark teas. It is fully fermented tea and steamed and pressed into bricks. This kind of tea tastes better and has a more mellow taste when stored for a long time.

"It would be better to live without food for three days than to live without tea for one day," Huaiyi sighed.

Nowadays, the Tang Dynasty has good relations with the nomadic tribes on the border. Border trade is prosperous, and the tea trade is also very considerable, with explosive growth every year.

"Can you give me more tea leaves this year? I'll make tea bricks." Huaiyi smiled and poured the freshly brewed milk tea for his brother.
"Nowadays, various places are opening up, and the demand for tea is huge. But you are my brother, so I must focus on your side first."

Wu Huaiyu is now regarded as the largest tea merchant in the Tang Dynasty. He not only owns a large number of tea mountains and controls the source of tea, but also has many tea farms to produce Maocha.

Some of the Maocha will be sold to other tea shops.

Some of them are reprocessed by the Wu family for domestic sales or foreign trade, and there are also many side sales.

Foreign trade is mainly black tea, and border sales are mainly black tea.

"Now in the border cities of Hetao and even Qinan Mobei, tea bricks have become hard currency, which is easier to use than money."

The Wu family's tea bricks are even more popular, with each tea brick bringing a sheep.

The tea bricks that can be exchanged for a sheep are Sanjiu tea bricks. There are thirty-nine tea bricks in a box, each weighing three kilograms and two taels. Twenty-four tea bricks, twenty-four bricks per box, each weighing five and a half kilograms.
Nomads directly call tea bricks tea coins.

A tea brick of Sanjiu can be exchanged for one big hot sheep or two small sheep. For winter sheep, buy a tea brick worth 24 pieces.

Ten thirty-nine tea bricks can be exchanged for a horse, and ten twenty-four tea bricks can be exchanged for a good horse.

"Nowadays, in border markets, those barbarians like to carry tea bricks on horses as money. They even pay tea bricks when visiting brothels."

One Sanjiu tea brick can be exchanged for two horse hides, two cow hides, and one and a half Sanjiu tea bricks...
Tea bricks, especially tea bricks from the Wu family, are very popular as easy currency in border markets and grasslands. No one will refuse them. On the contrary, it is sometimes not so convenient to use copper coins or silk.

In border markets, a Sanjiu tea brick can be directly exchanged for rice and stone.

In general, in the border areas and the Hu tribes outside the Great Wall, not only are tea bricks popular, but the prices in trades with the Hu are also not in the same system as those in the Central Plains, and the Tang people and merchants make the most profit here.

Countless nobles and powerful people have been crowding into the border areas in recent years because of the huge benefits.

Wu Huaiyi was the Deputy Protector-General of Shan Yu and the Governor of Fengzhou. He now oversaw six states, three cities, two armies and four towns, and the power in his hands was somewhat astonishing.

The Turkic people's livestock furs, salt, tea, cloth and medicinal materials from the Tang Dynasty were traded in huge volumes, and the court collected a lot of taxes. But with him as the chief to take care of them, he could get a lot of share in the border trade. , make a lot of money.

Wu Huaiyi has this condition, so of course he can run a little business on his own, and his wife Cheng's natal family can of course also get a share of the pie.

Wu Huaiyu has actually been operating in Saibei for a long time, and the benefits he brings to the Wu family every year are amazing.

Nowadays, tea is a very important commodity in border trade. Whoever has more tea can exchange more cattle, sheep, horses, camels, furs, medicinal materials, etc. from the Turks and other barbarians. This kind of trade is extremely profitable. of.

"Can you give me more sugar?"

White sugar is also popular among Hu people, but because it is too expensive, it is not as big as the tea market.

"What's the price of sugar in the market on the edge of Fengzhou Sanshou City now?"

"It's very expensive. The best one costs one to two thirty-six dollars, the second one costs thirty, and the next one costs twenty-seven."

This is the price of one ounce of sugar.

One tael of sugar can actually be exchanged for one stone of rice.

The Turks and other barbarian people also like to eat sweets, but only the nobles can afford it. After all, one tael of white sugar can be exchanged for a sheep.

Prairie herders actually herd hundreds of sheep, but they did not often eat sheep. They mainly lived on milk. How could they survive after eating and selling the sheep? To them, cattle and sheep were like the land of the Han people in the Central Plains. , that is fundamental.

But now that the border areas are peaceful, the Turkic nobles have surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, and their lives are stable and comfortable. They consume a lot of Tang goods such as tea, sugar, silk, and porcelain.

Even if the price doubled, they would still snap up the upgraded version of milk candy.

Wu Huaiyu did not tell his brother that the top-grade sugar produced in Luzon now only costs twelve cents and one tael. This is still the price sent to Guangzhou Hongdao Port, the medium-grade sugar only costs ten cents, and the low-grade sugar only nine cents, which is the same as Fengzhou. The wholesale price in border markets differs three times.

As for the retail price, the difference is even greater.

Some merchants lead camels and go deep into the grassland tribes to trade, and the price of sugar has skyrocketed. Moreover, those merchants usually barter, making extra money inside and outside.

In the past few years, the Tang Dynasty had brought surrounding tribes into submission. For many businessmen, this was truly a golden age.

Datang also enjoyed a lot of dividends.

Firstly, the large input of cattle and horses from the Hu people made the war horses of the Tang Dynasty unprecedentedly rich. It was also very convenient for the people to ride horses and use horses to pull carts, which improved the convenience of transportation. In addition, the large-scale import of sheep, milk, fur, etc. not only enriched the market, but also benefited the people, and the court also had to pay taxes.

On the other hand, Datang opened up many new broad markets, and a large number of handmade goods gained more sales.

Those barbarian nobles also followed the collection of taxes until they were weak. At the same time, they also acted as second-rate dealers and made huge profits. The money they earned was naturally used to maintain their luxurious life. With money and channels in their hands, it was easier to buy Buy buy. Therefore,

This time, the imperial court allowed the Turks to return to the country and asked Li Simo to return to the north of Yinshan with 100,000 Turkic tribesmen in the interior. Many Turks who lived a very comfortable and comfortable life in the interior were not happy, especially the tribal leaders. , and also served as an official of the Tang Dynasty,

There is no need to fight, and there is no need to worry about other tribes coming to grab the grassland. There is no pressure in the mainland, just enjoy. Now they want to return to the north of Yinshan Mountain and settle south of the Xueyantuo people, but few of them are willing.

Now many Turkic nobles are crying and shouting, hoping that Tian Khan will cancel the restoration of the country. They are unwilling to restore the country, and they are not willing to recognize Simo as the Khan.
They said that they were all from the Tang Dynasty and only recognized Tian Khan.

They even had to change clothes and hair styles to become real Tang Dynasty people.

Speaking of this matter, Huaiyi felt a little helpless. He now governed a large territory, and most of the Turks who wanted to move north were within his jurisdiction.

If those people refuse to leave, it will be very troublesome.

Although the emperor also left some people behind, dispersed and resettled them, and established households to unite the people, it was no longer the original management method of inward migration and self-governance of tribes.

But now those who are unwilling to leave obviously want to continue to maintain the original set of restrictions and autonomy, a state within a state.

But Wu Huaiyu wasn’t too worried.
The emperor's decree,
It is a general trend for the Turks to move north, and it is not up to them whether they want to leave or not.

Huaiyu gave him some suggestions and promised to arrange tea bricks, sugar, etc. for Huaiyi. When he left, he happened to see Wei Zheng coming home next door.
When they met at the door, Wei Zheng invited him to come in for a drink and a chat, but Wu Huaiyu didn't refuse.

After all, the two families are in-laws,

After entering the mansion, Wei Zheng also asked his wife Pei to bring his daughter-in-law Wu Siniang.

Wan Niang was very happy to see her second brother coming. Although Wan Niang was born to the concubine Wang, the relationship between the brother and sister was very good.

"Why did Mr. Xiao suddenly stop being prime minister?" Huaiyu asked Wei Zheng.

"Involved in a case,"

"It's not convenient to say?"

Wei Zheng looked a little strange, "This case has been investigated. There is nothing inconvenient to disclose, but it is a bit strange. Mr. Xiao is old and confused..."

Wu Huaiyu felt the strong gossip and couldn't help asking curiously.

The matter was indeed very bizarre. The mother of Li Xinglian, the minister Zuocheng, was missing and he reported the matter to Yongzhou Yamen.

Shangshu Zuocheng is a dignified fourth-grade official with very important powers. His mother is missing, so the Yongzhou Yamen will naturally investigate thoroughly.

After several days of investigation, he was found unconscious lying on the street early one morning with a silk scarf tied around his neck.

He was sent to the Yamen for questioning.

When asked, she was shocked. She said that that day a woman wearing a veil, claiming to be a palace servant, came to convey everyone's secret order, and asked her to enter the palace with the palace servants without making any noise. So she wrapped herself in the cloak given by everyone, and Mi Li followed her.

She said that she was taken to an unknown place and forced to stay overnight by a man in a yellow robe. She fell into a coma afterward and woke up on the street.

The Chang'an County Wei Wang who tried her looked frightened and pale.

But in the end, he didn't dare to hide it and reported it truthfully, and then reported it all the way to Prime Minister Xiao Yu.

When Xiao Yu saw that this was okay, Emperor, how could you treat your ministers like this? He immediately ran into the palace to have a good discussion with Li Shimin.

Li Shimin was in a period of sadness and sadness, and as a result, a black blame came and was placed firmly on his head.

How can you admit this when you have never done it?
What's more, it's outrageous. Li Xinglian is already a fourth-rank official, and of course he is not young. His wife is forty or fifty years old, let alone his mother. The emperor is not even forty yet. How could he send someone to take her mother in? Stay at the palace?

Isn’t this nonsense?
Then Xiao Yu said that Li Xinglian's mother was his father's second wife. She was very young, much younger than His Majesty.

This statement still doubts Li Shimin. After all, in Xiao Yu's eyes, Li Shimin snatched his sister-in-law, Princess Qi, into the palace and gave birth to a son.

Even before, the queen was seriously ill and asked Yang to take charge of the harem.

What can't he do?
If you have the ability to do it, just admit it.

Li Shimin was furious,
Let Sansi go check it out.

There are still people in this world who dare to let him take the blame.

The Liumen Division, the Imperial City Division, and the Baiqi Division were dispatched together. Chang'an County had not been able to find out the truth for a long time. They found out quickly and easily. They interrogated all the relevant personnel and found clues.

"What's the truth?"

"Li Xinglian had a half-brother, Li Zhong, who was young and frivolous, and had an affair with his young stepmother. Because he was afraid that his father and brother would find out, and wanted to have trysts together frequently, Li Zhong came up with a daring plan.

They directed and staged a farce of disappearance, and then used the emperor as a shield. He originally thought that this matter involved 'everyone', and the Yamen would definitely not have the guts to investigate further.

And they want to make her father and brother believe that she was summoned to the palace by the emperor. When she comes back in a few days, Li Xinglian and his son will not have the guts to care. If they want to have a tryst in the future, Mrs. Li will directly arrange a "palace servant" Take him into the palace, so that the two of them can enjoy themselves as much as they want, and no one will dare to take care of them anymore.

But who would have thought that the Chang'an County Magistrate would report this matter to his superiors, and Prime Minister Xiao Yu would go directly to question the emperor.

The emperor's three divisions took action and everything came to light.

The two of them tried their best, but they lost Qingqing's life.

Dali Temple made a verdict, Li Zhongling was executed late, Mrs. Li was executed with a stick, and the king of Chang'an County warned him of his hard work and was promoted to one level.

Instead, it was Xiao Dapao,
He was directly dismissed by the emperor and returned home, taking up his post to reflect.

After hearing this story, Wu Huaiyu was also a little shocked.

Should we say that Li Zhong and his young stepmother were audacious, or should they say that they broke the rules of ethics, or that Xiao Yu was old and confused?

Xiao Yu is definitely old and confused.

He was a dignified prime minister, but the subordinates did not find out that the emperor had actually done this, so he dared to come and question the emperor. Still at this time, the emperor did not chop him with a knife, so he was very restrained.

"Li Zhong really has an affair with his stepmother?"

"Baiqi has already taken action, how can he still hide it?" Wei Zheng also disdained those two people. No matter how old and young the wife was, this woman couldn't get along with her young stepson.

At this time, Mrs. Pei came in to deliver fruits.
Wei Zheng looked at his wife who was much younger than him. They were also old husband and young wife.

My wife shouldn’t be able to, right?
When Wei Zheng saw his wife talking to Wu Huaiyu, they were very familiar with each other and had a smile on her face. He couldn't help but think that Wu Huaiyu used to live next door for several years. This guy used to like to climb the wall between their two families.

(End of this chapter)